Coláiste Fionnchua students get creative
Many of our Transition Year students have been getting in touch with their creative and fashionista sides recently as they put the finishing touches on their submission to Junk Kouture 2023/2024.
Junk Kouture is a competition for post-primary schools where students are challenged to design and create an item of haute couture created from only recycled materials. It is the largest youth sustainability platform in the world. The competition offers schools and students a creative way to become involved in active climate change initiatives, empowering them to lasting behavioural change.
The competition is constantly evolving the educational materials available to students on issues of sustainability and circular economies to help them look beyond their Junk Kouture project and begin to apply the knowledge learned to all aspects of their lives.
We have two entries in the competition for 2023/2024. The first of these is called ‘Autumn Honey’, and the design team consists of Freya Corbett, Kathy Monaghan and Meabh Quirke. Inspired by a walk in Glengarra
Woods, where they saw a myriad of coloured leaves, the girls decided to use these colours in their design. Created entirely from newspapers, which were then water-coloured, the stunning design was first showcased on social media after a fashion shoot at St Fanahan’s Well.
Our second competition entry is ‘Sweet Sensation’, with a design team of Abbie O’Keeffe, Leah Danagher and Tara Fitzgerald. The girls design was inspired by the amount of recycling waste created over Hallowe’en and Christmas by plastic sweet boxes and wrappers. Their photo shoot video submission told the story from the warehouse to the shop floor to the recycled dress.
We wish both teams of designers and models the very best of luck.
GAMBLING AWARENESS WORKSHOP
Tony O’Reilly, from ‘Extern’, recently held a Gambling Awareness workshop with our students. Tony shared his own experiences with addiction to gambling with our students and is now a fully accredited member of the Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Thank you to Tony for a most interesting, enjoyable, and eye-opening talk.