Active Flag for Nenagh school

Second award for St Mary’s Primary

Past pupil Stephanie Browne, Musical Theatre Academy Nenagh, was part of another joyous occasion at St Mary’s Primary School last Wednesday with the raising of a new Active Flag.

The Active School Flag is a Department of Education and Skills initiative. It is awarded to schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community. The process aims to get more schools more active more often.

As part of the ASF application process, St Mary’s Primary School worked collaboratively on the following areas: Physical Education, Physical Activity and Partnerships. We organised an Active School Week in June, during which students had the opportunity to take part in different sports such as fencing, taekwondo and Zumba.

Many thanks to Patrick from Munster Blades Fencing Club, Seamus from World Taekwondo Association, and Christine Nevin from Zumba Nenagh. We also set up an Active School walkway around the school building to aid and benefit active learning, orienteering lessons and movement breaks.

Throughout the Active School renewal process, children from various classes took part in active challenges such as Climb The Heights, Run Around Ireland, Active Break a Day Challenge, Feel Good Fridays - for example, Halloween dances, Santa Dash. An important part of the process was highlighting the importance of being active both in school and in the local community. We did this by promoting local events, clubs and organisations on our notice board and social media outlets.

Our Active School Flag was led by two staff members - Elizabeth O’Connor and Rachel Forde. The ASF committee members were students from Third to Sixth classes. The committee were in charge of attending ASF meetings, organising events on the ASF calendar, voicing opinions to peers, coming up with ideas to get our school community more active, relaying information gathered at meetings to their class and promoting ASF events organised throughout the year.

This is the second Active Flag award for St Mary’s. The first flag was achieved in June 2017. The first one involved focusing on the strand aquatics of the PE curriculum and developing this strand throughout the year.

As part of this, the school provided a six-week block of swimming lessons to children from Third to Sixth classes. They participated in the National Walk to School Week in May 2017. The committee also organised new playground markings in the junior yard, which increased physical activity through play and games.

GREEN AND AMBER FLAGS

St Mary’s Primary recently achieved a ninth Green Flag for the school. This initiative focused on Global Citizenship – Travel, and saw the school receive a new bike shed and scooter parking bay. Well done to all involved. The school have also been successful in achieving an Amber Flag. The Amber Flag recognises the efforts of schools to create healthy, inclusive environments that support mental wellbeing. As part of this initiative, members of the school community participated in the Darkness into Light event in Nenagh in May 2022.

During last Wednesday’s award ceremony, the committee members received certificates in recognition of all their hard work. Guest of honour Stephanie Browne, of whom we are very proud, is a great role model for the students of St Mary’s Primary. Many of our students attend her academy and so it was very fitting that she raised the Active Flag with us. We wish to congratulate Stephanie and all involved in their recent All-Ireland success.