Monthly Archives: March 2015

Concern Hunger Hero Certificates

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Transition Year’s undertook a variety of activities around the area of world hunger and food poverty for their DE Module. They participated in a CONCERN workshop on the area of World Hunger and learnt more about how people in developing countries are affected by lack of food. Another activity they undertook was the St Vincent De Paul Christmas Food Appeal where various food boxes were donated in school and helped those in need on the lead up to Christmas. This was part of their work during Social Awareness Week. The final activity students took part in was the Concern Fast prior to Christmas (along with some of the Junior students) where the total amount raised for Concern was €857.66 . Well done to all the students in school who participated in the fast and helped raise a fantastic amount for Concern.  As a result of their effort and work in this area they were each awarded a Hunger Heroes Certificate from Concern in recognition of their commitment to understanding more about this topic.

Self Help Africa Workshop

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As part of DE (Development Education) in school this year and to tie in with this years focus theme (World Hunger) the TY’s participated in three workshops over a three week period led by Dorothy Jacob and her daughter Jess who both work with GORTA- Self Help Africa. Workshop 1 – set the scene of the inequality that exists in our world that we all share. Students began to see their own world as part of the problem and part of the solution to Global Inequality. Workshop 2- focused on the lives of rural farming families and the issues that have driven them into a cycle of poverty. Water, land, trees, gender equality, farming and access to seed, trade and markets for their produce were just some of the issues explored. Workshop 3– students gained a deeper understanding about Climate Change and Fairtrade and began to realize what actions they could undertake to make a difference and create a better and fairer world.

Green Schools Action Day 2015

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On Tuesday 3rd March we held our Green Schools Action Day as part of our work on achieving our fourth Green Flag for the theme of TRAVEL. There were a variety of activities on the day to promote greater awareness on the area of travel which included the following-

  • Presentation on road travel and safety from Garda Adrian Keane to students
  • 1st year History class completed a themed walk around Ballinamore taking in various historical buildings and locations around town. Students made a great effort dressing up and getting into the role of various historical figures for the event.
  • Transition Years also went on the historical walk.
  • 3rd year CSPE and TY’s visited Glenview Folk Museum to learn more about the various transport systems.
  • After lunch an interesting experiment was carried out with some students outside the school gates where there is a signpost stating the speed should be 50km. Students raised concerns to Guard Adrian Keane about cars driving past the gates in excess of the speed limit and so Adrian parked the speed van outside the school and students got to see how the process of recording the speed of vehicles works. Interestingly once the garda signs were placed on the van the speed of passing vehicles reduced.
  • There was a Green Schools display in the canteen area to highlight and inform the student body and staff of all the work that has been carried out in various subjects for the past two years as we work towards achieving our flag.
  • Check out some of our pictures from the day along with pictures of students carrying out a traffic survey earlier in the year.

Concern Workshop on World Hunger

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As part of  the Development Education (DE) module being carried out in school the Transition Year group participated in a workshop on World Hunger which was facilitated by Claire O Carroll from Concern. Some shocking facts learnt –

1 in 8 people in our world will go hungry today!

Women do 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the world’s food but only earn 10% of the world’s income and own 1% of the world’s property…. and 60% of the world’s hungry are women!

A child dies every 12 seconds from hunger related diseases!

Students are working towards achieving their Hunger Hero Certificates for work carried out in our DE theme of World Hunger and Food Poverty.

Trip to The Dock Arts Centre

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Dodeca Cycle is an electronic and mechanical music installation designed and built by Ed Devane in 2014. The system allows people to make intricate rhythmic and melodic music. TY students took part in the workshop on the 26th February in the Dock Arts Centre in Carrick on Shannon and created their own sounds using the unit which were then recorded. Upstairs in the exhibition space there were two exhibits that the curator in The Dock explained to students. The exhibition continues until Saturday 28th March.

Fair-trade Fortnight 2015

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Fair-trade is an alternative approach to conventional trade and is based on a partnership between some of the most disadvantaged farmers and workers in the developing world and the people who buy their products. Fair-trade offers us a powerful way to reduce poverty through our everyday shopping. 

Fair-trade Fortnight was held this year from 23rd February-8th March. Students learnt all about fair-trade and its importance through the DE programme in school. The Transition Year students then got involved in an organised event during Fair-trade Fortnight by participating in a fair-trade parade in our nearest designated Fair-trade town (Carrick on Shannon). Students got the opportunity to meet and hear Chief Adam Tempuri (a cashew nut farmer from Ghana) speak about the difference we make to his families life by supporting fair-trade.

After the event students visited the local farmers market which runs every Thursday in Carrick. They visited the various stalls to see what local farmers and producers has to offer and enjoyed sampling some of these delights. IMG_5501[1]

 

50 Years of Athletics

Athletics

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A timely reminder of half a century of Schools Athletic successes. On Wednesday 10th March 1965 the school had its first notable success at provincial level when a team consisting of Pat Joe Leddy, Thomas J McManus, Kiernan McGovern, Pat Ferguson, Brian McKiernan and Noel Crossan won the Smithwick Intermediate Schools Cross Country Race. We congratulate the team involved, their coach Padraig Griffin and indeed the hundreds of students who have represented the school with pride in the intervening years.