Put Your Litter in the Bin and the Environment will Win!
Proud to be a Green School
We recently received our first green flag in Castletown school. We started working on the Green Schools programme in September 2014 and were delighted when our hard work paid off this year. Thank you to everybody who helped us to gain our Green School status.
The theme of the first flag is ‘litter and waste’. Our Green School code or slogan is 'Put your litter in the bin and the environment will win!'. We have put lots of measures in place to ensure we reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible in school.
The aims of the programme are to promote environmental awareness in the wider school community and to make our school a more environmentally friendly place. We hope you will support and join us in our efforts!
Our Green School committee has representatives from staff, parents and students. The committee meet once a month to discuss our progress and plan the next steps.
Scroll down for photos and information on the various 'green' initiatives going on in the school.
You can find more information about Green Schools on this website http://www.greenschoolsireland.org/.
The theme of the first flag is ‘litter and waste’. Our Green School code or slogan is 'Put your litter in the bin and the environment will win!'. We have put lots of measures in place to ensure we reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible in school.
The aims of the programme are to promote environmental awareness in the wider school community and to make our school a more environmentally friendly place. We hope you will support and join us in our efforts!
Our Green School committee has representatives from staff, parents and students. The committee meet once a month to discuss our progress and plan the next steps.
Scroll down for photos and information on the various 'green' initiatives going on in the school.
You can find more information about Green Schools on this website http://www.greenschoolsireland.org/.
Garden Update
Our garden has sprung to life. It is great to see the quick progress our veg and plants have made in the past few weeks. Thanks again to all who have helped our with this project.
Our School Garden
We are very excited about our new school garden. Preparation for our garden has been ongoing since the Easter holidays. We are very grateful and lucky to have Mr. R. Doyle and Mr. S. O’Brien leading us with this project. They have dug our plot, tilled it, fed it with organic compost and tilled it again. They erected a fence made from old palettes.
The next step was to decide what to grow. Seeds were then bought to sew potatoes, onions, leeks, runner beans, carrots, beetroot and pumpkins. We also have wild flower seeds and sweet pea. Plants have also been purchased including; strawberries, lettuce, lobelia and peacock shrub.
Seeds and plants were sewn by the children in May.
As we are a proud green school, we have tried to reuse and recycle as much materials as possible in our garden. Our palette fence was treated with left-over creosote from a variety of tins. We have reused a barrel to plant our strawberries in. Hazel sticks have been put up as supports for our beans and old timber cut offs have been reused.
We look forward to seeing how our garden grows and we can’t wait to taste the healthy treats it will provide.
The next step was to decide what to grow. Seeds were then bought to sew potatoes, onions, leeks, runner beans, carrots, beetroot and pumpkins. We also have wild flower seeds and sweet pea. Plants have also been purchased including; strawberries, lettuce, lobelia and peacock shrub.
Seeds and plants were sewn by the children in May.
As we are a proud green school, we have tried to reuse and recycle as much materials as possible in our garden. Our palette fence was treated with left-over creosote from a variety of tins. We have reused a barrel to plant our strawberries in. Hazel sticks have been put up as supports for our beans and old timber cut offs have been reused.
We look forward to seeing how our garden grows and we can’t wait to taste the healthy treats it will provide.
Collecting Our Green Flag
We are delighted to have been successful in our first Green Flag application. We collected the flag for 'Waste and Litter' on Tuesday 10th May in Athlone. Thank you to everybody in the school community who has worked hard and helped with this achievement. We are very proud to say that we are now a Green School. Below are some photos of out student and staff representatives at the award ceremony.
Clothes Collection
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Thank you to everybody who supported our clothes recycling drive. 750 kgs of unwanted clothes and textiles were donated. These will be recycled an/or reused as appropriate. We also raised funds for the school. Thank you for your for taking the time and effort to support our fundraising drive.
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Our Composting Pig has Arrived
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We are delighted to have our composting pig at school. We are excited to start using it. Thank you to our 2 parent representatives for organising, building and delivering it to the school. We look forward to learning all about it and to using the compost in our own school garden in the coming months. Now let’s find a name for our new addition!
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Have a look at some of the 'green' projects all classes have completed recently
Battery Collection
We are currently collecting old batteries in school. Each classroom has a box for waste batteries. Recycling batteries is free. It helps to protect the environment from harmful waste and pollution caused by improper battery disposal. Funds raised from this recycling drive will be raised for LauraLynn, Ireland's Children's Hospice.
Thank You to Everybody who donated glasses for Sightsavers.
We collected 24 pairs.
Electrical Recycling Drive
Thank you to all the families who brought in there unwanted electrical items on Tuesday 19th January. It was a great success. We walked to the recycling bank to give in our old appliances. The men there told us that the items will now be brought to the recycling plant in Tullamore. The materials will be separated into metals, plastic, glass etc. they will then be crushed and broken down. Following this the materials will be recycled and used to make new objects.
Electrical Recycling Day of Action
There will be a free electrical recycling day in Castletown on Tuesday 19th January 2016. The recycling bank will be set up in the lay-by opposite the church from 9am-1pm. We invite children to bring in unwanted electrical items for recycling. We will visit the recycling bank during the day and children can hand in their appliances. Weee Ireland say ' We'll accept anything household with a plug or a battery. For more information visit www.recyclefree.ie.
Look who has made a home in one of our little bird boxes.
Many thanks again to Ian Quigley for donating the boxes to the school.
Reusing in School
The theme of our first flag is Reduce, Reuse and recycle. Below are some examples of how we reuse items around the school.
Green School Dress Up Day
We held our first Green School action day on Friday 20th March. The children were asked to dress up in costumes made from recycled materials. below are photos of the children's creations. Well done to everybody who made great efforts!
Our New Bird Boxes
Look at our lovely bird boxes. The bird boxes were beautifully painted by third and fourth class and then hung up around the school grounds. A special thanks to the parents who help with this project. Fingers crossed they attract lots of feathered friends.
