Community Involvement

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF TRANSITION YEAR. FOR THE STUDENTS WHO DO “GAISCE”, THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IS A REQUIREMENT. APART FROM THIS, HOWEVER, THE TRANSITION YEARS GET INVOLVED WITH DIFFERENT COMMUNITY GROUPS AND DO A LOT OF FUNDRAISING FOR LOCAL AND NATIONAL CHARITIES.

2018 – 2019

BEACH CLEAN-UP

On Thursday 17th January, the TY Sustainable Living group spent the morning on Strandhill beach picking up litter as part of the Clean Coasts programme. This is a national drive operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce. It aims to get local communities involved in the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life. The local group organised a clean-up in Strandhill and our TY students eagerly volunteered their services! Seamus McGoldrick of Sligo Surf co-ordinated the clean-up and provided the necessary cleaning equipment. The students found that a lot of litter gets trapped in the crevices in and around the rocks on the beach and it is only when you get down onto the sand and look back towards the shore that it becomes very obvious. The students worked hard for a few hours, managing to gather a lot of rubbish. They even found a Fanta can from June 1994 – World Cup USA!! A special thanks to Mammy Johnstons who provided free ice-cream for the troops!

FUNDRAISING

In Sligo Grammar School TY students are encouraged to get involved in the community in a variety of ways. As well as volunteering to help with community projects, working with people with special needs and participating in flag days the students run special fundraising events within the school. One such event was jersey day/non-uniform day in aid of the charity Goal, held on October 11th. Almost all students got involved, each contributing €2 to the charity.

On Wednesday 16^th October the 80+ students in TY braved the Atlantic Ocean for their annual Sponsored Swim. As usual the group dressed up in all sorts of fancy dress and were bussed out to Rosses Point beach where they threw caution to the wind and themselves into the waves! Luckily the day was particularly fine and sunny so the hardship wasn’t too great! The sea swim is a very much anticipated TY event and the students always enjoy the afternoon. The monies raised by the swim are earmarked for local charities and will be presented to the chosen charities later in the school year. This year over €1,000 was raised by the TY class. Well done to all the students and many thanks to their teachers Mrs o’Donnell, Mr. Lynch and Mr Cradock for all the organisation.

Horseriding with St Cecilia’s

St. Cecilia’s School caters for students with moderate, severe and profound learning disabilities. For the past six weeks five TY students, Eddie Coyle, Adam Greer, Ella Bingham, Lucy Mc Nair and Grace O’Sullivan have gone out to Island View Stables, Grange with students from St Cecilias to help out and lend a hand with the children. Horseriding is very beneficial for them and Ella said that, for her, it was “ a very enjoyable experience and she loved helping out”

Projects

A host of different projects are taken on during the year which encourage TY students to think about the world outside their own experience.Below are a few examples of TY in the community.

For the last number of years TY students volunteered to help with the Primary Schools Athletic Event in Sligo IT. They worked with all classes and learnt a lot about the skills needed to work with children.
For many years TY students have worked with St Cecilia’s School which caters for children with moderate, severe and profound learning difficulties. The students from St Cecilia’s come to the Grammar School and the TY students work with them, sharing activities and playing sports with them. The SGS students find the experience challenging but very rewarding.
The TY students get involved in special and one-off projects with different groups around the town. For example, TYs have worked with people from Liscarney House, which offers help to those with anxiety and depression. They also have been involved with Intergenerational projects working with the elderly.
Every year the TYs hold a sponsored swim in Rosses Point. The students dress up in fancy dress and plunge into the sea, usually in November. It is always one of the most popular fundraisers. TY students volunteer to help out with the Special Olympics in Sligo at the athletics event in Sligo IT