St. Brendan's Boys Primary School

The boys from Mr. Carrolls class took part in a cool project where they all got to plan , design , construct and paint wooden bird houses and fairy houses. Thanks to Mr. Carroll and Mick for all the help.

As part of Green schools we are taking part in An Taisce scooter challenge as part of Green school travel initiative. Boys are encouraged to scooter ( safely ) to school and we will have some areas / activities organised during feb during some breaks / lunchtimes. Watch this space !

We were fortunate to have Garda Padraig Connaughton call to the school to chat to the boys about the importance of cycle safety last week. He spoke to 40 boys who cycle occasionally / regularly to school. He also did a helmet and bike check with some passes and fails in both departments. His passion for cycling along with safety really inspired the boys and helmets have increased steadily since ! Please spead the Gospel..cycle safely.
We have high visibility jackets and armbands on the way so that our cyclists can travel safely to school over the coming dark mornings also so please keep an eye out for the lads.

This year our hardworking Parents Association ran their annual fundraiser as a 2

part activity for the boys to get involved in. Each boy in the school received a

sponsorship card which was completed amd sent back to school. The boys from

Junior Infants to 4th class went to the lovely grounds of Birr Castle and enjoyed

a lovely walk. Thanks to the parents who helped out and to the teachers for guiding

them around on a lovely Tuesday morning.

We took a step into the unknown with a trip to Lough Boora parklands for a sponsored

cycle by the boys in 5th and 6th classes. It was a great sight to see 50+bikes coming to

school on a bright wednesday morning with many of the boys cycling to school. The

ever-helpful Keith Harte of Harte Fuels loaded the bikes up onto the trailer and the

boys hopped aboard the bus and away to Lough Boora. 46 boys and some staff

members led by Mick “Ironman” Hansbury completed the 12 k cycle in an hour while

15 boys were brought on a lovely architectural walk by staff and parents. All met back

at the car park for a drink and refreshment before returning to school refreshed.

Many thanks to Keith Harte for bike transport, Andrew Walsh for sponsored bus and

Michael Loughnane for supporting with refreshments. Mile buiochas to our Parents

Association for their continued hard work in support of the school and to all who

sponsored the boys with funds going to our excellent music and swimming programme.

Boys continue to be encouraged to cycle and walk to and from school safely.

An Gairdin Draiochta was in need of a major clear up and our fantastic 6th class

under the watchful eye of Mr.Carroll put on the wellies and overalls last week, rolled

up the sleeves and took into the work with great gusto! They brushed the decking,

weeded the paths and under the trees, cleared the sandpits and storage areas of rubbish,,

dug and freshened up the raised beds, cleared the waterfall area and had a go at taming

the willow maze ! All in all lots of work done and a debt of gratitude from all the classes

who regularily use the garden is owed to the boys..Mile Buiochas !

On Friday 7th September we had over 45 boys who cycled to school. Garda Padraig

Connaughton paid a visit to the school where we talked to our cyclists. He had a chat

with them about road safety and did a quick bike safety inspection of the boys bikes.

He also looked at our soon-to-be-opened cycle entrance onto High St. and gave the

boys some safe cycling tips. Thnaks to Garda Connaughton for his now annual visit

to St.Brendans and the talk was well appreciated by all.

On Tuesday 26th June, St. Brendans PS proudly raised its 4th Green Flag on its

flagpoles outside the school. This flag was awarded for its Green Travel initiative.

The sun was shining (Buiochas le Dia) as the whole school community gathered outside

on the front grass area. Guests invited to the ceremony were Michael Loughnane (Chairman

of Birr Town Council-and Dad to Charlie in Junior Infants), Mieke our An Taisce officer,

Tony McLoughlin (Birr Tidy Towns) and VIP guest was Maria Donegan who cam back

to raise the flag. Our ceremony included a few words from our guests on the significance

of our achievement and then the 4 flags were raised, with 6th class boys reading the green

code for each theme. Finally it came to our latest flag. Leon Hogan read the code which he

designed and to a mighty cheer, Maria Donegan raised the flag.

Cue Party time…Our fantastic parents association had organised for the ice-creamvan

to come and give everyone a cone (with green syrup). Mr.Crofton had organised for

Piotr and Nicky (5th and 6th) to bring in their DJ gear and the boys played a set that

had the whole school on the dance (grass ! ) floor. La brea glas a bhi ann !

Wednesday 20th June was listed as National Cycle on Wednesday day. With not much notice

and a lot of other activities on, we still manged to have over 25 bikes in school on the day.

Mieke from An Taisce led the boys in some cycle games on the yard and then took a group

of 14 senior boys for a very informative puncture repair workshop. The winning pair of

boys in the workshop were Kieran Riley and Alex Smith. Well done boys!

Remember to stay safe on bikes and wear your jacket and helmet always..

Green flag for travel to be raised on Tuesday 26th June..hope to see you there!

Even though we are working towards our second Green Flag by reducing our energy consumption we also continue with our efforts to reduce waste and litter in the school. We do regular bin checks to make sure each class room is sorting there rubbish properly. We also encourage students and teachers to bring in waste free lunches and we reuse whatever we can.

Green Schools is an international environmental education programme that was the brainchild of FEE, the Foundation for Environmental Education. It is a means of encouraging school-going children to be more aware of their environment and determine what they can do to protect and enhance it. It is a controlled mechanism for taking environmental issues from the curriculum and applying them daily within the school.

In Ireland the scheme is run in conjunction with local authorities and is managed by An Taisce. Following the successful establishment of the seven steps of Green Schools the school can apply for a Green Schools award. This award comes in the form of a Green Flag that can be displayed in the school. A certificate is also awarded to the school as well as having a Green Schools logo to print on headed notepaper. The award lasts for two years and must be renewed on a bi-annual basis thus encouraging the school and its pupils to constantly evolve and improve.
For further information from the An Taisce website click here.