Travel Forum

The first ever Green-Schools Travel Forum was hosted by St Patrick’s Junior School Thursday September 22^nd to celebrate European Mobility Week 2011. Seven schools from the area came to the forum to share ideas and experiences. St Patrick's JNS was declared a 'Car Free Zone' for the day. Everyone (including our visitors) lived up to our motto: 'Be cool! Walk, scoot, cycle, park and stride or car pool to school' . 

Our Travel Forum team showcased the work we have done so far on the Travel theme with a very impressive Power Point Presentation.




We had a morning of interactive fun and games on the travel theme organised by An Taisce. The schools present were reminded of the seven steps they must take to achieve a Green Flag for travel. 

 

Bike Parking

Since starting work on our fourth green flag for travel an increasing number of children make the journey to school on bikes, scooters or flickers. We enthusiastically encourage this sustainable method of travel. However we only have thirty bike parking spaces. These are uncovered. We are in the process of making an application to An Taisce for a grant for additional parking spaces.

 We have been monitoring and evaluating cycle parking usage over the last two months.
This has involved a lot of Curriculum work and skill development for those invloved: Estimation and Problem Solving; Communicating and Expressing; Integrating and Connecting; Reasoning; Understanding and Recalling; Counting and Numeration; Place Value; Comparing and Ordering.

Green School News

We have been doing a lot of work for our fourth Green Flag!

Our Green Schools Education Officer held Travel workshops in the school Jan 20^th and 21^st on the travel theme. Junior and Senior Infants had workshops about the sights and sounds seen and heard on the way to and from school. They learnt safety rules for walking and cycling.

First and Second classes learnt about active sustainable travel, our carbon footprint and climate change.

In February we carried out a ‘Walkability Audit’. Children from First and Second classes surveyed two Walking Bus routes. They looked for good points and bad points and potential dangers. They drew up a report and submitted it to Fingal County Council.

Beach Guardians

We continue to be the proud Beach Guardians of site no. 18 on the South Beach. Classes visit the site to do a regular clean up and enjoy some fun activities on Skerries beautiful beach.

Green Flag - Monitoring and Evaluating

Every day we encourage and promote active and sustainable travel with our Green Tree and Long Legs Lenny mascot. 

                                                                      

 

Numbers are carefully monitored by the students on the Green Schools Action squads and the ‘Best Travel Class’ receives a certificate and ‘green’ prizes  at the end of every term.

By promoting sustainable travel modes (walking, cycling, scooting, car-pooling or park and stride)
the school improves pupils' safety, health, fitness and alertness. The journey to school is an ideal way for children to take part in regular physical activity, to interact with their peers, and to develop the road sense children need as pedestrians and cyclists. The school also lessens its overall impact on the environment, by reducing emissions and pollution.

Cow Wow Day

St. Patrick’s Junior School joined thousands of students across Ireland in May by taking part in National Walk to School Week 2011, May 16th - 20th.  On Wednesday May 18th, we had a COW WOW Day (Cycle/Walk On Wednesday) and held a full day of green travel workshops and activities. 

 We set a Green-Schools record with almost three hundred students making the school journey on foot/bike/scooter/flicker on the day. 

 Pupils who cycled or scooted to school participated in a ‘Bling your Bike’ workshop and all pupils received stickers and a healthy treat to celebrate the event. 

 

 The whole school community learned about the benefits of active travel 

through a full day of games and fun activities on the theme.