Projects

Sustainable Living

TY students have a module called Sustainable Living where they use recycled materials to make furniture and other projects. One of their past projects was to make an “Insect Hotel out of discarded pipes and other rubbish. Ms McIntyre leads the Sustainable Living module in TY.  This year the Sustainable Living group is volunteering every Thursday morning to pick litter from the grounds of Sligo University Hospital. The TYs, under the guidance of Ms McIntyre, take on the task of keeping the front and rear of the hospital litter-free. This project is organised in conjunction with Sligo County Council and Sligo Tidy Towns. The organisers ensured that all volunteers underwent a hand-washing course prior to working in the hospital grounds, and safety is also insisted on with regard to the wearing of latex gloves, provided by the hospital. Ms McIntyre feels that community involvement is very important for students in order to foster a sense of collective responsibility with regard to improving our local environment.

Last year the TYs got the chance to contribute to the development of the old walled garden at the Hermitage, the girls boarding house. The aim was to develop the garden as a centre of organic and sustainable gardening practices and of biodiversity. The students installed raised beds in the Herm Garden.  Ms Tiernan of our Science Dept. also worked with the Sustainable Living students to increase biodiversity in the garden by planting bee and bird loving plants.  TYs  followed the National Pollinator Plan as part of their Science and Sustainable Living studies. The front lawn was let grow wild as part of the National Pollinator Plan and the bees have loved it! Science teacher, Sandra Tiernan has put together a video tour of her own bee-and-bird friendly garden for her students and colleagues to see how the National Pollinator Plan works in domestic gardens.  See it on our Science page. 

Green Schools

Irish Angus Competition

The school has been very successful in this project in recent years. TY students from 2018 – 2019 are National finalists in the competition and this year TY students also entered. After weeks of hard work and preparation, two groups of TY students entering the Irish Angus beef schools competition 2020 travelled to Mullingar to compete in the second stage of the competition. Each group was interviewed by a panel of 5, including members from Irish Angus producers group, ABP, Kepak and an agricultural science teacher. Well done all! 

Young Social Innovators

A group of TY students are involved in the Young Social Innovators project which en- courages young people to take an interest
in social issues of all kinds.

In 2020 – 2021 the YSI students are considering issues surrounding Mental Health. On Thursday 22nd October the Transition Year YSI group held a feel-good Fancy Dress Day in aid of Pieta House. Students and teachers all took the idea to heart and wore their best Hallowe’en costumes to school. Everyone donated €3 to Pieta House, who do such great work in mental health, and certainly the occasion gave everybody a boost, much needed after what was at times quite an anxious term in school. The YSI steam raised over €1,000 for the charity and gave us all a fun-filled day at school! Well done to all the YSI students and to Ms Stinson, their teacher.

On December 7^th  YSI organised and ran a “Christmas Orienteering Fun Day” for the first year students. They aimed to spread some Christmassy positivity while also encouraging socially distanced teamwork, enjoyment of the outdoors and some physical activity. Under a blanket of thick fog the First years, in teams of 4,  explored the school grounds to find clues and reach goals. The fog gave the whole experience a mysterious air and was greatly enjoyed by all, first years and TYs. Prizes of chocolate santas were awarded to the winning team in each class. This YSI project follows the hugely successful whole-school Fancy Dress Day in October where they collected over €1,000 for Pieta House. Well done to the YSI students and their teacher Ms Stinson.

Last year 
the topic the TYs decided to tackle was water safety. On the 24th of March the students took part in a “speak out” competition at the Clayton hotel. The students performed fantastically and their props were amazing!! Thank you to Mr.Henry for being the best!

In 2017/2018 The TY students researched the issues surrounding obesity and diet in young Irish people.

In 2016/2017 our students are researching the issue of micro-beads in skin- care products. The YSI  group were awarded a Highly Commended Award in the National Final of the competition.