This article is from page 88 of the 2008-10-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 88 JPG
ST AIDAN’S national school in Shannon is going green – by conserv- ing energy! The school won its first green flag last year and every effort is being made to retain it this year.
Earlier this year the school was honoured when it was praised by the national tidy towns adjudicators, who were impressed by the green flag outside the school.
Now, led by teacher Patrice Hayes and the staff at the school, hopes are high that the green flag can be re- tained.
The school’s focus last year was on litter and waste reduction and this
year the theme is energy.
“Last year we launched our cam- paign to get our first green flag by planting 278 bulbs in our school gar- den, one for each child in the school. This year we launched our campaign in a rather different way,’ said Ms Hayes.
Last Wednesday, the — school stepped back in time, in an effort to save energy. All pupils were encour- aged to walk or cycle to school and if this was not possible, parents and staff were encouraged to pool cars. During a 100-minute period that morning, everybody refrained from turning on lights, kettles, cd players, photocopiers, computers and other
appliances. They also left the heat- ing off for that time and did not use the interactive whiteboards.
“To keep ourselves warm and to use our own energy each class took part in circuit training. A number of fun activity stations were set up in the yard, including hoola hoops and skipping ropes,’ she added.
Later that day, the third class pupils, led by their teachers Ms Clarke and Ms Falvey, demonstrated a number of science experiments, where en- IRAN oer- Fee BUN MO sComOee- BUN MONlo) talon
A series of science experiments were also run on Thursday, where energy was the main theme. These experiments were led by ‘Sue’ of the
Science and Engineering show ‘Steps to engineering’, which was held re- ar hae meson
Last year’s initiative was a major success and surveys carried out at the school produced startling results. They showed that 40 per cent of the rubbish in the bins consisted of pa- per tissues and this was eliminated. Children were also encouraged to bring home their rubbish, as part of plans to reduce rubbish levels. The programme also encouraged pupils to pick up papers around the school before going home each evening. The school is hopeful that last year’s suc- cess in obtaining the green flag can be followed through again this year.