Congratulations to the Green Team, led by Ms, Feeney on the raising of our third Green Flag. They were also regional winners. Flag 3 is for care of water resources. We now aim to work towards our fourth green flag which focuses on Travel. Thank you to councillor Noel French who attended our flag raising ceremony.
Three members of our Green Team and Ms. Feeney participated in the Green Schools Water Forum in the Newgrange Hotel in Navan today. They listened to a presentation from pupils attending Bohermeen Primary School before creating a poster of their "Perfect Water School". They participated in a quiz and various experiments. They particularly enjoyed making a Lava Lamp and learning how to convert dirty water to clean water. It was a very enjoyable and informative day. They boys also loved their goodie bags!
Ms. Feeney and our Green Team. This year we will be continuing our efforts to secure our third Green Flag and will be concentrating on the theme of water.
On Friday December 8th, Gavin Harte from Pedal Energy visited our school. His aim was to increase our awareness of our energy consumption and encourage us to conserve it. The boys learned about chemical, mechanical and electrical energy in a fun and practical way.
St. Michael’s has been part of the Green Schools Programme for the past number of years resulting in two green flags for our school. For the next two years we will be working towards our third green flag and will be focusing on the theme of water. We hope to raise awareness around water conservation and how to effectively manage this important resource in our school and at home.
We are delighted to have been awarded our second Green Flag which was collected by Ms. Gorry and sixth class pupils Rory Gorry, Cillian Kirby and Niall Cronly at City North Hotel in Gormanstown on Thursday May 25th.Thank you to Trim Town Foreman Mr. Anthony Conlon who attended our flag raising ceremony on Friday June 2nd. Sixth class pupils opened the ceremony with a beautiful rendition of “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers. Mr. Conlon then addressed the gathering ,spoke about recycling and praised the efforts of our pupils in securing our second Green Flag which focuses on energy awareness. Mr. Conlon, Ms. Feeney , Mr. Fitzpatrick and the Green Schools Committee proudly raised the flag while sixth class pupils played “Mo Ghile Mear” on their tin whistles to close the assembly. Thanks to Ms. Feeney who co-ordinates our Green Flag activities and to all pupils for their efforts in maintaining a Green ethos in St. Michaels
On Monday, October 10th, Ms. Feeney, Ms. Gibbons and the members of our Green Committee visited “Indaver” in Duleek. Indaver ,which is a Belgian company, is Ireland’s only waste to energy facility. The facility treats more than 200,000 tonnes of waste per year and generates 18mw of electricity, which is enough to power the plant and 22,000 homes in the Drogheda area. The boys were welcomed by tour guide Marian who very kindly answered all the many questions. They watched a short film before dressing in protective gear. They all looked the part in their hard hats, high vis jackets and protective glasses. They explored the control room and had a great view into the bunker where waste was burning at 850°c. It was a most informative trip. Many questions are yet to be asked regarding the possibility of building more of these very energy efficient plants in Ireland. The Green Committee plan to explore this further over the next few months on their journey towards obtaining our second green flag which focuses on energy conservation.
We are currently in the process of applying for our second green flag which focuses an energy conservation. The Green Committee was set up and their first job was to carry out an energy audit of the school. They then devised a plan which involved turning off lights when not in use and turning down the thermostat. They also held a “Power Out” “No Energy Day” on June 3rd when no electricity was used. Light switches, plugs, the iPad room and interactive boards were taped up and powered off for the day. We had no bell so Ms. Gorry did it the old fashioned way and rang the handbell to signal the beginning and end of breaks. The teachers were not allowed use the kettle in the staffroom so many of them brought their flasks. Everyone tried their best and at the end of the day very little energy was used. We will continue to reduce the amount of energy we use in the future.