Nenagh College wellbeing challenge

Nenagh College staff and students will embark on an attempt to walk 5,000,000 steps between Monday and Friday, February 8th and 12th.

The initiative arose from the awareness among the school community of the amount of 'screen time' that everyone is having as a result of the Level 5 lockdown and remote teaching and learning.

With over 500 students and staff, the school hopes to reach 5,000,000 steps during the week, every step being symbolic of the fight being carried out against coronavirus by each person in Ireland, the population being circa 4.9 million people. Each member of the school community is being encouraged to do 10,000 steps on a designated day during the week of the initiative.

The initiative is being driven by the school’s Pastoral Care and Physical Education teams, with each member of the teams taking responsibility for encouraging every pupil to “get out” and take some exercise and fresh air, as access to both is curtailed by the pandemic. The school PRO, Ms Siobhan Tobin, has the unenviable task of making sure all the staff get in their 10,000 steps!

School Principal, Damien Kennedy noted that students and teachers are spending all day in front of a screen. When school is over, inclement weather and dark evenings present extra obstacles, making exercising, within the permitted limits, difficult. Students do not have access to the normal vehicles of social interaction such as sports training, music lessons, going to the gym or simply “hanging out” with their friends so it is back to the screen.

The school recognises the negative effects of constantly being “on – line” and hopes that this initiative will inspire everyone in the school community to “get out and walk”.

Each step taken and recorded will be a symbol of the determination of every single individual in the country to challenge the pandemic and to encourage each other and those beyond the Nenagh College community during these difficult times.