We celebrated Earth Day by learning how to cultivate our own garden in our new Outdoor Classroom.
Ms. Steele taught us how to plan our planting so that we can start harvesting before the end of term.
We planted strawberries and raspberries that were grown from seedlings in Ms Steele’s home greenhouse. Everyone across the school from Junior Infants to 6th Class got to plant and we look forward to helping each seed grow over the next few months.
Check out the highlights here and thanks to Ms. Steele for sharing her knowledge with our students.
Today Clontuskert’s students presented their Climate Action project at Galway Science and Technology Festival. Check out highlights from the day.
Thanks to staff, parents and students who all travelled to the Bailey Allen Hall in the University of Galway to share our work.
Learn more about the project here:
Climate Change is a massive problem.
What are you doing about it?
In Clontuskert we want change.
One small change would be to ban plastic packaging in supermarkets.
Let’s start with the Fruit and Veg Aisle.
Why do we need plastic on fruit and veg at all? It already has its own natural packaging!!!
France banned fruit and veg packaging from January 2022.
Why can’t we do the same?
We are calling on the Irish government and all of our supermarkets and shops.
Ban plastic on fruit and veg!
Today Seán and Josephine from Galway Library Services brought the Schools Library Van to the school for a very special reason as Alan and Elena from Soundtrack and Podcast in Galway were with us to help us record our Fierce Close podcast.
Over the past month we have been working with Orla and Annie from CURO NUIG to challenge our thinking, discuss our views, and form and unravel opinions around philosophical questions. Clontuskert’s critical thinkers prepared dialogues and monologues to record for the Fierce Close podcast. We look forward to sharing with you soon. In the meantime, here are some highlights from behind the scenes. Thanks to Elena and Ms. Tracy Murray for recording footage today.
*The Fierce Close Project*
The aim of this programme is to create critical thinkers and activists on Climate Change. The project takes its title from an Irish idiom for a humid day, one where a storm is imminent. Through sessions that build their philosophical skills and a creative outcome that can be shared with their communities, this project gives voice to young people’s perspectives on climate change while building their critical thinking skills and debating literacy. Project participants will express their ideas to one another with the support of professional philosophers and create and perform new monologues through skills building workshops and guidance in podcast creation from Soundtrack and Podcast
This project responds to the scale of change expected in Galway City Council’s Climate Strategy by allowing young people to meaningfully explore possible solutions together.
‘Climate change is a critical challenge for Galway. It will result in a range of impacts across a wide number of sectors that are likely to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Taking proactive action to adjust and prepare for anticipated changes will reduce losses, improve our environment and provide a host of community benefits.’ (Galway County Council’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2019-2024)
These young people will be engaged in philosophical dialogues, informed by Lipman’s Community of Inquiry method, to build an understanding of how and where perspectives need to shift in order to think and act productively in relation to Climate Change. These workshops will be led by community philosophers from Library partner Curo who will scaffold their acquisition of critical thinking skills. Through this process they will isolate the most important questions relating to climate action and climate justice that faces Ireland today. At its close this project will allow young people to give voice to nature itself, through guided reflection, and podcast creation workshops.
Core Outcomes:
-Participants will develop their critical and creative thinking skills through facilitated dialogue with professional philosophers.
-Participants will identify pressing questions in relation to climate change and climate justice creating collaborative answers to these by drawing on their own lived experience.
-Participants will communicate their thinking through the production of short podcast episodes that focus on emerging ideas and questions from their philosophical dialogue.
The aim of this programme is to create critical thinkers and activists on Climate Change. The project takes its title from an Irish idiom for a humid day, one where a storm is imminent. Through sessions that build their philosophical skills and a creative outcome that can be shared with their communities, this project gives voice to young people’s perspectives on climate change while building their critical thinking skills and debating literacy. Project participants will express their ideas to one another with the support of professional philosophers and create and perform new monologues through skills building workshops and guidance in podcast creation from Soundtrack and Podcast
This project responds to the scale of change expected in Galway City Council’s Climate Strategy by allowing young people to meaningfully explore possible solutions together.
‘Climate change is a critical challenge for Galway. It will result in a range of impacts across a wide number of sectors that are likely to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Taking proactive action to adjust and prepare for anticipated changes will reduce losses, improve our environment and provide a host of community benefits.’ (Galway County Council’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2019-2024)
These young people will be engaged in philosophical dialogues, informed by Lipman’s Community of Inquiry method, to build an understanding of how and where perspectives need to shift in order to think and act productively in relation to Climate Change. These workshops will be led by community philosophers from Library partner Curo who will scaffold their acquisition of critical thinking skills. Through this process they will isolate the most important questions relating to climate action and climate justice that faces Ireland today. At its close this project will allow young people to give voice to nature itself, through guided reflection, and podcast creation workshops.
Core Outcomes:
-Participants will develop their critical and creative thinking skills through facilitated dialogue with professional philosophers.
-Participants will identify pressing questions in relation to climate change and climate justice creating collaborative answers to these by drawing on their own lived experience.
-Participants will communicate their thinking through the production of short podcast episodes that focus on emerging ideas and questions from their philosophical dialogue.
Fierce Close
The aim of this programme is to create critical thinkers and activists on Climate Change. The project takes its title from an Irish idiom for a humid day, one where a storm is imminent. Through sessions that build their philosophical skills and a creative outcome that can be shared with their communities, this project gives voice to young people’s perspectives on climate change while building their critical thinking skills and debating literacy. Project participants will express their ideas to one another with the support of professional philosophers and create and perform new monologues through skills building workshops and guidance in podcast creation from Soundtrack and Podcast
This project responds to the scale of change expected in Galway City Council’s Climate Strategy by allowing young people to meaningfully explore possible solutions together.
‘Climate change is a critical challenge for Galway. It will result in a range of impacts across a wide number of sectors that are likely to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Taking proactive action to adjust and prepare for anticipated changes will reduce losses, improve our environment and provide a host of community benefits.’ (Galway County Council’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2019-2024)
These young people will be engaged in philosophical dialogues, informed by Lipman’s Community of Inquiry method, to build an understanding of how and where perspectives need to shift in order to think and act productively in relation to Climate Change. These workshops will be led by community philosophers from Library partner Curo who will scaffold their acquisition of critical thinking skills. Through this process they will isolate the most important questions relating to climate action and climate justice that faces Ireland today. At its close this project will allow young people to give voice to nature itself, through guided reflection, and podcast creation workshops.
Core Outcomes:
-Participants will develop their critical and creative thinking skills through facilitated dialogue with professional philosophers.
-Participants will identify pressing questions in relation to climate change and climate justice creating collaborative answers to these by drawing on their own lived experience.
-Participants will communicate their thinking through the production of short podcast episodes that focus on emerging ideas and questions from their philosophical dialogue.
If you are interested in enrolling your child for 2023 or beyond, please complete this Expression of Interest Form to be kept in the loop of upcoming events including the Virtual Open Day. Expression of Interest Form.
We will also offer tours of the school outside of school hours as per HSE COVID-19 regulations.
Please contact the principal if you wish to avail of this.
Please click on the image below to view each page of Clontuskert’s School Brochure for 2022-2023
Today Clontuskert worked with the PDST (Professional Development Service for Teachers) to create a Best Practice video about the Climate Action Project. The students have worked on this project for the past five years.
Find out more about the project and sign up your school here:
https://www.climate-action.info/
We were delighted to have our school staff and students recognised by Senator Aisling Dolan in the Irish Seanad last week. Click on the two clips below to watch.
We also received a letter from the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science commending the school on our work in the area of Climate Action. Congratulations to everyone for their hard work and thanks to Aisling Dolan for her support of St. Augustine’s National School.
St. Augustine’s N.S. Clontuskert in Co. Galway, Ireland has become the first Irish school to be awarded Climate Action Project School of Excellence. Only 250 schools globally were recognised because of their intense work on climate education in a whole-school approach. The recognition was awarded by Cartoon Network Climate Champions and the international Climate Action Project.
Today Students and Staff of St. Augustine’s NS Clontuskert celebrated becoming the first Irish Climate Action School of Excellence with local Councillors Dermot Connolly, Michael Connolly, Dr. Evelyn Parsons, Rosie Greaney Copp, Secretary Clontuskert Parents Association, Fr. Michael Finneran Chair BOM, Packie Callaghan, Ciaran Cannon T.D., Senator Aisling Dolan, Joe Lyons BOM and staff Eimíl Scott, Shane Gohery, Kate Murray, Katie Feehily, Teresa Nevin, Alina Boyan, Deirdre Tully, Lucy Dolan, Karen Kenny, Mary Callaghan, Tracy Murray and Melissa Croffy.
Cartoon Network Climate Champions is a climate change awareness initiative that sets out to inspire kids to take on daily challenges that collectively can make a big difference to the health of our planet. It has been developed in collaboration with WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), a world-renowned environmental organization.
Climate Action Project is a free, global education project that was launched by Take Action Global, an education non-profit based in the USA, involving 2.7 million teachers and students across 146 countries. The project aims to help students learn about the climate crisis in authentic ways and disseminate solutions online.
Clontuskert submitted their work for the past year and met extensive criteria, including a school-wide commitment to climate education and student solutions.
Students and teacher were interviewed by Maolra MacDonnchadha of TG4 for Nuacht TG4 this evening at 7pm about the award. We are very excited to watch. Comhghairdeas le gach éinne!
Clontuskert is currently campaigning to ban plastic packaging in the fruit and vegetable aisles. Sign our petition here
