As part of An Taisce’s Spring Clean Week Mrs. Sampson’s class in partnership with Tesco Shopping Centre were involved in organising a “tidy up project ” where pupils took the responsibility of making their community tidy. Mrs. Donegan and the Green Schools Committee were also involved in setting up the project.
As part of Tree Conservation Week Martina Needham ( Birr Library ) gave a talk to junior classes on trees, oxygen, carbon dioxide and pollution. All pupils found it very interesting and informative.
Each class was involved in the creation of a beautiful Willow Sculpture in our School Garden ( Gairdin Draiochta ) . Under the watchful eye of Lynn Kirkham each class planted the willow saplings and shaped them into a wonderful bee-hive hut and maze. The creation is a living structure and will continue to grow and all classes will have the responsibility of caring for it.
As part of our Green Schools Programme the junior classes were treated to an Environmental Puppet Show emphasising the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle theme as well as water conservation.
Science Day this year explored the theme of ” Water “. All classes tested, explored, investigated, questioned and then recorded the various pieces of information available at each of the five testing stations.
Our next Green School theme is ” Water ” and we look forward to working on this project over the next two years. A new Green School Committee has been elected.
All classes are acyively involved in our new School Garden ( Gairdin Draiochta ) . They enjoy playing, learning and working in their new outdoor classroom.
A speaker gave a talk to the pupils about looking after the environment and recycling in general. This was followed by the arrival of a large Environmental Bin and the pupils were asked to bring in small electrical items for recycling purposes. There was a great response and the project was a great success.
On Tuesday the 10th of June a very special event took place in St. Brendan’s P.S. Birr. A large crowd of people came to the school, including parents, teachers, children, and members of Birr U.D.C. Deputy Olwyn Enright T.D., members of the Presentation and Mercy Communities and local clergy, representatives of Birr Lions and Offaly Co. Council environment section. The occasion was the raising of the school’s second Green Flag. The ceremony was performed by Councillor Tony McLoughlin Birr U.D.C.. Mr McLoughlin praised the teachers in the school for working to raise the awareness of the pupils to the importance of caring for the environment. He said it was a great tribute to everyone involved to achieve a second flag as some schools had struggled to achieve their first flag. He was particularly pleased to see Br. Nilus from the Presentation Brothers in the audience. He had been taught by him 60 years ago and felt very proud to have passed through this school. The influence of the brothers had been huge in the town and the academic standards they had achieved had been enormous. This year it would be 130 years since they had first come and he was delighted that their connection with the town still continues. Mr. McLoughlin stressed how important it was that children should be taught to respect the environment and praised the parents, teachers and pupils for their hard work. He said he was delighted to see St. Brendan’s P.S. still thriving and doing the work of education so well. Mr. Donegan, the school Principal, thanked everyone for coming to the event . He spoke briefly about the work of the Green School Committee and said it was made up of Parents, pupils and children. Everyone had their role to play. The first flag had been won on the basis of the plan for dealing with litter and waste and the school had succeeded in reducing waste from five wheelie bins to less than two each week. This time the focus was on conserving energy. The school had installed a wood pellet heating boiler and tried to make everyone conscious about the conservation and proper use of energy. It was on the basis of their plan for this that the school had achieved the award.
The second part of the event was the official opening of the school garden (An Gairdin Draiochta). Mr. Donegan explained that before the Brothers had left Moorpark Street they had donated a portion of the old Monastery garden to the school. The school had set about converting this into an outdoor classroom so that the boys could experience nature at first hand. He thanked the many people who had helped with the project. The project had been spearheaded by the Parents’ Association and he paid tribute to their support and dedication with this and all matters pertaining to the school. They had succeeded in raising 1000 euro to get the work done and had succeeded with the help of “Gardenia” in turning a neglected piece of ground into wonderland with a playground, climbing equipment, play sandpits, a water feature, raised beds and a potting table. There was also a decking area and even a shed for tools. One of the most charming features was the fact that three fine old apple trees remained from the brothers’ time and had been included in the plan. Aine Brummel, the Chairperson of the Parents’ Association spoke on their behalf.She thanked all those who had given sponsorship towards the project such as Birr Lions, Rigney-Dolphin and Company and Palace Kitchens as well as all those who donated plants. She thanked the members of her committee, especially Emer Dolphin Murray for the hard work and dedication she had put into the project. Afterwards Brother Nilus formally cut the ribbon on the garden gate and Fr. Tony Cahir P.P. blessed the garden.
The final part of the evening was the presentation, to Fr. Michael Reddan C.C. by Mrs. Maria Donegan on behalf of the Green Schools’ Committee. The money had been raised by recycling old mobile phones. Fr. Reddan accepted the cheque on behalf of Sr. Bosco of the Mercy Sisters in Nenagh and thanked the school and committee. Sr. Bosco raised money for relief work in Kenya and he guaranteed everyone that there would be no wastage before the money would reach its destination. Afterwards all the children present were treated to minerals and crisps and the adults were given tea and coffee courtesy of the Parents’ Association.
We had a wonderful Environmental Puppet Show visiting the school highlighting the Reduce/ Reuse/ Recycle themes.
