Green School
Holy Trinity School has been a Green School for many years. We have achieved 7 green flags, one for each of the following themes:
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Recycling
Energy Water Travel |
Biodiversity
Global Citizenship Litter & Waste Global Citizenship & Energy |
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We received our 7th green flag for Global Citizenship & Energy in 2017
All in all, Holy Trinity School is a great place to be if you are genuinely interested in saving our environment.
Our Walking Bus
We have a very diligent group of parents who volunteer each week for “the walking bus”. The number of children walking to school has increased dramatically from 50 to over 150 since beginning the walking challenge. Children receive "no homework" passes for participating in this healthy activity.
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Our 2017/2018 Green School Committee We have a vibrant Green Schools' Committee, who are visible daily, litter-picking, recycling and organizing various campaigns to highlight our Green Schools’ ethos.
30/11/17 An Taisce Visit Slow the Flow
Our Newspaper: The Water News |
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Action Day 7th Green Flag
Global Citizenship and Energy On Tuesday, March 7th, 2017, we had our Action day for our 7th Green Flag. Fiona Coen, Environmental Officer from Galway City Council attended. Parents were also present to inform Fiona of the brilliant work they are doing to promote sustainable travel in our school. Each class displayed their project work on the theme. There were projects about Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Non- Renewable Energy, Energy Surveys, Recycling, Biodiversity, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Travel. Junior Infants and Second class performed. Katie from 6th class and a valued member of the Green Schools Committee presented us with the Nationality Survey results. She told us that there are 19 different nationalities in our school. Children come from Poland, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Nigeria, Russia, China, Latvia, Congo, Slovakia, Czech Republic, England, Pakistan, Portugal, Croatia, Togo, South Africa, Zimbabwe and of course Ireland. Fiona was very impressed with our day of action and all the children showed their knowledge of the theme and their interest in it. We are looking forward to receiving our 7th Green Flag soon and moving onto the next flag which is Marine Environment as we have a big interest in this area. |
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Trócáire Workshops 2017
This year we invited the Trocáire’s Educational officer, Elisha Kelly to conduct a number of workshops in our school to show us the effects of Global warming on our planet and how it effects people in Third Worlds countries. This year Trocáire are focussing on Honduras to highlight the serious flooding that is taking place there in recent years.
We learned about a little girl called Maria and her family. Maria is only six years old. She lives only metres from the sea. Her home was not always near the sea but rising sea levels and violent storms means her home is constantly at risk of being flooded. Maria is very scared. Sometimes the floods get so bad that they have to evacuate their homes and go by boat to safety until they can return. This upsets all the families and their in the area and the children’s schooling is often disturbed. Their lives are always at risk. Trocáire are educating the local people of these small villages in Honduras to get to safety quickly and they are providing them with the resources to evacuate their houses safely.
We also learned about renewal methods of energy and non- renewal methods.
To help the cause for Climate justice we are going to take part in this year’s Trocáire’s Lenten campaign and Trocáire boxes are left in every classroom. Children are encouraged to bring in small change because we all have a part to play in transforming the lives of families facing natural disasters and poverty.
This year we invited the Trocáire’s Educational officer, Elisha Kelly to conduct a number of workshops in our school to show us the effects of Global warming on our planet and how it effects people in Third Worlds countries. This year Trocáire are focussing on Honduras to highlight the serious flooding that is taking place there in recent years.
We learned about a little girl called Maria and her family. Maria is only six years old. She lives only metres from the sea. Her home was not always near the sea but rising sea levels and violent storms means her home is constantly at risk of being flooded. Maria is very scared. Sometimes the floods get so bad that they have to evacuate their homes and go by boat to safety until they can return. This upsets all the families and their in the area and the children’s schooling is often disturbed. Their lives are always at risk. Trocáire are educating the local people of these small villages in Honduras to get to safety quickly and they are providing them with the resources to evacuate their houses safely.
We also learned about renewal methods of energy and non- renewal methods.
To help the cause for Climate justice we are going to take part in this year’s Trocáire’s Lenten campaign and Trocáire boxes are left in every classroom. Children are encouraged to bring in small change because we all have a part to play in transforming the lives of families facing natural disasters and poverty.
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Feb/Mar 2017 The Big Travel Challenge
This is the second year running that Holy Trinity took part in the 10 Day Walking Challenge. An Taisce encourage schools all around Ireland to take part in The Big Challenge to try and increase the amount of children using sustainable TRAVEL. We asked our pupils to walk to school for a 10 day period and we recorded the total amount of walkers taking part each day. On Day 1, 5, & 10 we had special incentives to get a good push on the numbers walking. When the children arrived at school they would get a “Happy Feet” sticker and a “Homework Pass”. We have had many Happy Feet walking to school even though the weather was not very favourable at times. You’d never know we may be in with a chance of winning a nice cash prize for our school. Keep up the great work walkers!!! A very special Thank You to all the parents who organized the Walking Bus from Ballybane Church @ 8.20 every morning, hail, rain or shine. |
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12/5/16
Ballyloughane Beach Clean Up
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4/5/2016
Canine Buddies On Wednesday, May 4th, 2016, 6th class had a visit from Carmel and Brigid from Canine Buddies. The children learnt about responsible dog ownership, choosing a suitable dog and looking after your dog in a safe and responsible way. Everyone who took part got a special certificate on completion of the course. The girls were very excited as they got to meet a greyhound and two small dogs in school. Here are some of the tips we learnt;
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Fourth and Fifth class were asked by Becky Finn Britton, the Education Officer from An Taisce Clean Coasts to do a clean-up of Ballyloughane beach. We wanted to help An Taisce secure a Blue Flag for Ballyloughane beach. On Thursday the 12th of June we walked down to the beach to take part in the clean-up. We split into pairs and Becky gave us all gloves, Hi-Vis vests and plastic bags. We picked up lots of rubbish including wet wipes, cigarettes boxes and butts, cans, plastic wrappers and bottle lids. We filled around 7 large bags of rubbish. After our hard work Becky had arranged for us to do some Marine Activities. We had a great day and are very proud of the work we did to help clean up Galway’s coastline. |
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26/4/2016
Clean Coasts An Taisce Environmental Education On the 26th April 2016, we had a visit from Beckey Finn from Clean Coasts. Beckey presented 3rd, 4th and 5th classes with a very interesting workshop on what NOT to flush down our toilets. She carried out an experiment to show how toilet paper is the only item we should flush down our toilets as it dissolves straight away. She also carried out different experiments to show the bad effects untreated water can have on our coastlines and beaches. Here is a list of items we should NOT flush down our toilets. Cotton buds Baby wipes Facial wipes Cleansing pads Toilet roll tube Medicines Cigarettes Plasters Nappies After the workshops we all agreed that we are now much more aware of what we should not flush down the toilet. We did not realise the damage we were doing to Marine life and to our beaches. We are looking forward to getting involved in cleaning Ballyloughane Beach, in May. |
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8/4/2016
Galway City Council Community Planting Initiative Holy Trinity School is a member of Galway City Council Planting Initiative for many years. This has enabled us to maintain the beautiful school grounds and continue annually to enhance the development and growth of our bedding plants.
In autumn, 2015, we planted daffodils provided by this initiative and we are currently reaping the fruit of our labour with a lovely display of yellow daffodils in our raised garden beds, to the rear of the school building. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Galway City Council for all the kindness they have shown us over the years. We would like to mention in particular Fidelma Barrett, who is currently overseeing the planting initiative and who is always ready to meet our needs and requests. A special mention to Gerry, our Caretaker, who lovingly cares for our school grounds all year round. |
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Trócaire’s Lenten Campaign 2016
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This year, once again, we joined up with TRÓCAIRE to raise money to fight the root cause of poverty in the world. Trócaire is an overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland and they have been working with An Taisce to raise awareness of Climate Change and Climate Justice.
A Trocaire box was left in every class in the school during Lent. Together we have raised 158.32 EURO!!! Well done to everyone who contributed. The money was given to Mervue Parish Church and will be added to the total contribution from Mervue parish. We want to stand together with Trócaire and the men, women and children who face poverty and injustice. Together our work transforms lives. |
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27th January 2016 Science Presentation On Wednesday 27th January, Robin Barry delivered a Science Presentation to our school. The theme was the Environment. We learned about many different species of animals. We discussed air pollution, water pollution and light pollution. At the end of the session Robin passed around jars containing animals, such as a scorpion, bees, worms, cockroaches, butterflies and moths. We also got to hold a piece of snakeskin. Robin's presentation was really enjoyable and we learned about the importance of caring for the environment. |
8/3/2016
Gear-UP….. Bicycle Maintenance Workshop On Tuesday, March 8th 2016, Halfords Bicycle Shop, in partnership with An Taisce, ran a series of bicycle maintenance workshops for classes from 1st-6th.
Firstly, the children were shown how to repair a puncture and care for their wheels. They were shown how to check the spokes of a bike and how to pump the tyres. Then they were shown how to check the saddle to make sure that it’s the correct height. Next they looked at the chain, the pedals, the reflector and the brakes. The Halford team emphasised the importance of safety on the road and told the children to light up and wear hi-vis vests when cycling. They were also told that it’s a legal requirement to have a working bell on your bike for safety. The children got plenty of opportunity to ask questions and leaned a lot about cycling in general. Thank you to Halfords and to An Taisce for such an interesting workshop. |
In 2015, we celebrated the diversity of cultures in our school. In all there are 24 different nationalities from all over the world attending Holy Trinity.
Gallery of Photos from Our Multicultural Day
