Shinrone National School

Green Flag Presentation

We were awarded our Green Flag in 2009. The National Award Cermony was held in Croke Park Conference Centre on Thursday 5th March at 1.30pm.

The school wass represented by three pupils and a teacher. For a number of years we have been caring for our own environment by reducing, reusing and recycling.

We have a Green Schools Committee and hold meetings regularly to decide what is best to do. We carried out an environmental review and decided on a plan of action. All the children in the school got involved and we are delighted to have been rewarded for our efforts.

For more information on the green Schools Project check out the website below



www.greenschoolsireland.org

Green Schools Trip to Dublin

On the 5th March 2009 the Green School Committee of 2007/08 and 2008/09 were rewarded for their hard work with a trip to the National Botanical Gardens and Croke Park. When we arrived at Croke Park we waited for our own tour guide. When he was ready he took us out to a room where we watched an audio visual movie about a Senior All Ireland Hurling Final with Tipperary V Clare and an All Ireland Football Final with Kerry V Mayo. We then went on to the service area and after that we went into the Players' Lounge where the players meet after their GAA and rugby matches. What impressed me was the chandeliers which change colour to represent the team which is victorious.

The tour guide took us to the dressing rooms next. In the dressing rooms we saw the jersey for each of the 32 counties, 28 showers and 2 flat screen tv's. When we had finished in the dressing room we walked out to the pitch. Then we went up to the Hogan Stand. Some of the committee got to sit on the President's seat and the Taoiseach's seat. After that we went up to the Upper Tier where our tour guide gave us the history of Croke Park. We next went into the Ulster Bank Corporate Box for which Ulster Bank paid €500,000 for 10 years.

As we were on our way down to the museum we looked down and we saw the Gardaí training on their bikes. When we got to the museum we learned alot. There were different sections for hurling, gaelic football and athletics. In the museum they showed you how to make a hurley, test your balance and lots more. There was a memory wall for 125 years of the GAA on which you could write a message on a piece of paper and stick it on the net. My favourite part of the museum was the room which measured the speed of sliothar when hit with the hurley and the area where you kicked the football at a target.

Mr. Cleary took us to Elverys Sports and we met up with Ms. Heffernan, Cora, Cian and Michelle who had returned from receiving the Green Flag. Finally after a long enjoyable trip we made the journey home. It was a very interesting trip and hopefully we will be successfull in our efforts this year to get a second Green Flag!

Recieving the Green FLag

Ms. Heffernan, Cian, Michelle and myself were given the honour of receiving the Green FLag on behalf of the school. We sat down in a room with alot of different schools like Cloughjordan, Dromakeenan and Coolderry.

A man called Michael John introduced alot of people from Offaly Co. Council. There was a special guest Catherine and we all recognised her from the Den's Kazoo tv programme.We got our photo taken with the flag. Each of us was given a bag and pencil which was made from re-cycled cd cases.

'Re-cycle Season Project'

Mrs. Duggan's 2rd & 4th classes have been saving up our empty yoghurt carton, juice boxes, plastic bottles, scraps of material,, old socks etc for our 'Re-cycle Season Project'. Before Christmas for winter we make jolly snowmen and this spring we make scarecrows. It is great fun to make little people like this and we are not filling up our blue bin at the same time. The first thing we have to do is select the right boxes/bottles etc to make the shape of a body. After the body is all stuck together we make clothes out of the scrapes of material or old socks. All our scarecrows turned out different and we really love them. I cant wait to see what we will make for Summer!