Green Schools
Green Schools St. Mary’s N.S. has had a long tradition of exploring the local environment as part of the S.E.S.E. Curriculum i.e. History, Geography and Science. Pupils have always enjoyed field trips and educational tours to study habitats, geographical features and buildings of historic interest in the local area such as: Rossmore Forest Park, Bragan Bog, Ballybay Wetlands, Castle Leslie, Blackwater Village Trail and Tour of Monaghan town.
Therefore it was no surprise that the school whole-heartedly embraced An Taisce’s Green Schools’ Programme which aims to increase pupils’ awareness of environmental issues and to transfer this knowledge into action plans both within the school and in the wider community. The programme has the added advantage of developing values and skills which foster citizenship, leadership and teamwork among the pupils.
Since first participating in the Green Schools’ Programme, St. Mary’s has achieved Green Flag Awards for; Waste Management in 2006 Energy Awareness in 2008 and Water Conservation in 2010
Therefore it was no surprise that the school whole-heartedly embraced An Taisce’s Green Schools’ Programme which aims to increase pupils’ awareness of environmental issues and to transfer this knowledge into action plans both within the school and in the wider community. The programme has the added advantage of developing values and skills which foster citizenship, leadership and teamwork among the pupils.
Since first participating in the Green Schools’ Programme, St. Mary’s has achieved Green Flag Awards for; Waste Management in 2006 Energy Awareness in 2008 and Water Conservation in 2010
The school is currently working on the fourth Green Schools’ Theme which is Travel. The launch of Walk on Wednesdays known as W.O.W. Days in November 2010 has been highly successful with an average of 77% of the pupils choosing to walk, park ‘n stride, take the bus, cycle or car pool on Wednesdays.
