Great progress has been achieved in our school during the first semester on the topic of “Greener way to a better future”. This is an EU sponsored programme lead by 18 TY students and co-ordinated by Mr Kajic and Ms McBride.
We teamed up with the Art department and in liasion with Ms Connell and Ms Ni Anluain the budget for Junk Kouture has been worked out and basic items like mannequins and sewing machines purchased. Sponsored by RTE, Junk Kouture has been challenging post-primary school students across the country to create high-end designs from junk, and it is going global in 2021.
Incorporating elements of environmental sustainability, fashion, art, design, and engineering, Junk Kouture annually showcases aspiring designers aged 12 – 18-years from across Ireland as they rise to the challenge to create wearable fashion – the golden rule being that everything used must be 100% recycled. You can see from the photos that TY students are now creating beautiful clothing designs and getting ready for the exhibition(s).
Ms McBride is leading the student’s group working on the Green Gardens and soon we will be seeing the first organic vegtables growing at the back of our school building.
Mr Kajic and Mr Janus, the Deputy Principal of our German partner school Petrinum Gymnasium, have paired up the students from Erasmus classes and the contact via email and eTwinning is established now, so that the students can exchange their “green” ideas and start a “virtual” partnership until the time for travelling comes back again.
We also teamed up with the PE department and in liasion with Ms O’Connor, Ms Nugent and Mr McDermott great work is being done in the field of wellbeing for students and staff. So far 10 indoor table tennis tables, 54 bats and 60 balls have been purchased and they are made out of 100% recyclable materials. Soon we will order 2 full size sturdy outdoor table tennis tables for leisure and break times. Also the Eramus+ budget has paid for the “reward” pizzas for students who organised the Sports Day in December.
The Eramsus+ students watched David Attenborough’s programme “Climate Change – The Facts” and it was clearly stated by all scientists who featured in that programme that planting trees is the best way of supporting sustainability. Therefore we will be looking into the best ways of getting our school community involved in the climate action “Planting Trees” immediatly after the restart of school in March 2020. Hopefuly we can work on that topic in liasion with the OPW, Trim Town Council, Teagasc and EU Food and Veterinary Office Trim.
Just this week we have started working on “Biodiversity” in our school. The plan is to install bird feeders, hotel for bugs/insects etc. We look forward to hearing about other Green Iniviatives from the rest of the school community.
All these initiatives should lead to massive improvements in student and staff wellbeing as connecting with nature and reconnecting with our fellows students and teachers are going to be the biggest challenges facing the post-lockdown environment.
Some more photos of the Junk Kouture work:
