Ballyhooly pupils scoop Green Schools’ Regional Award
Scoil Mhuire, Ballyhooly were celebrating their green credentials last week, when they were awarded a Regional Award for their outstanding work on their Green Flag in the category of ‘Global Citizenship Energy’.
The school was awarded first place at a special ceremony held in the Hotel Kilkenny on Thursday. Victors in the Southern Region category, they beat off tough competition from other primary schools in Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, Limerick, Tipperary and Kerry.
The school was commended for their creative twist in how they managed their Green Schools’ committee, as they created sub-committees to better address different aspects of the Green Flag around their school.
Scoil Mhuire’s work on expanding their knowledge of what they had in common with people in less developed countries was also highlighted. Each class picked a country from a more disadvantaged part of the world, and explored commonalities. They also had to research a fruit or vegetable imported from their chosen country, calculating the air miles associated with its importation into Ireland, and to find out if it was an option to obtain it in Ireland or closer to home. This prompted initiatives in saving energy by reducing food miles.
The 6th class committee members read the school electricity meter weekly and gave recommendations to classes on how to reduce consumption. All of those actions meant that their ‘Global Awareness Survey’ results improved from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’.
The school was also complimented on their efforts to increase inclusivity, by having Irish Sign Language taught to the pupils by Helen Geary.
Ballyhooly NS’s Green Code, created by 4th class children, was read to the audience:
“Climate change is happening fast, Our fossil fuels will not last, We close the doors, turn off the lights, Saving energy is always right, So let’s go green and keep our futures bright!”