Click on the link to watch our One Good Idea film on how to take climate action in the laundry room.

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5twzyJnIdaU
​

In October 2019, for Climate Action Week we took part in the 'Do One Good Thing' campaign for climate action. The Green School committee encouraged pupils to make one small change in their habits to help tackle climate change. Ideas included refusing plastic straws in restaurants, having a meatless day once a week, taking shorter showers, turning off lights and switching off chargers when devices are charged. We held a poster/slogan competition highlighting climate action.

As part of our One Good Idea campaign, we up cycled old t-shirts into tote bags. We used old t-shirts that were no longer in use. We cut out the sleeves to make the handles and made the neck larger to place items into the bag when it was finished. We cut fringes into the bottom of the t-shirt and then tied knots with the fringed pieces of material to create the bottom of the bag. There wasn't a needle or thread in sight and everyone seemed to enjoy posing with their wares afterwards.

The One Good Idea is a competition about taking small steps to tackle Climate Change by SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland). It runs every year and is open to both primary and secondary schools throughout Ireland and this we decided to enter as part of our Biodiversity Green School Flag. Our campaign is about keeping our clothes for longer to help tackle climate change. The growth and production of our clothes has a huge impact on the environment through emissions, water usage and chemical waste. Some facts!!!!! 
Often air travel is the first thing we think of when we think of green fashion due to large CO2 emissions but other things get overlooked.
Each year, 10% of the world's pesticides and 25% of insecticides are sprayed on the cotton plant, harming people, animals and the environment.The cotton plant is a very thirsty plant and uses up to 10,000L of water to grow 1KG of cotton. 2,700L of water is used to make one cotton t-shirt. On the other hand, we have man made polyester which takes more than 70 million barrels of oil to produce polyester every year and is not biodegradable. One third of clothing production emissions come from China as they rely on fossil fuels to manufacture clothes and China is one of the top four importers of both polyester and cotton clothing to Ireland.
 If we can keep our clothes for longer, we reduce the need to buy more clothes and as a result, avoid all of the harmful effects on the environment.  In keeping our clothes for longer, we reduce the amount of clothes dumped in landfills. Currently, 3 out of 5 t-shirts are disposed of within one year into landfills, leaching chemicals into the environment.
Simple action can further reduce energy and water usage and save you money at the same time. This all happens inside your laundry room. One 60 degree wash uses the same amount of energy as five 30 degree washes. Of the energy used in a washing machine, 90% is used to heat the water and 10% is used to run the motor. One load in the tumble dryer uses the same amount of energy used in FIVE loads of washing!! If we can make little changes, we can save huge amounts of energy and keep our clothes for longer.

1. Wear clothes more than once before washing.
2. Wash full loads on shorter cycles.
3. Wash on 30 degrees. Dark colours like cool water as it keeps the colour for longer.
4. Ditch the tumble dryer and air dry your clothes outdoors. We have great weather for the drying!!
5. Air drying reduces the need to iron. 
6. Reuse and up cycle your clothes.

In December, our Club Community Rugby Officer (CCRO), Tadhg Kelleher visited our school with the European Champions Cup and the Pro 14 Cup, both currently held by Leinster as reigning champions. There was great excitement as the children got to have their pictures taken with the cups. Thank you Tadhg for arranging the visit.

This year, we are working towards our fifth Green School Flag. The theme of this flag is biodiversity and looks at the ways in which we can increase awareness of the importance of our native plants, animals and habitats and how to increase species-richness in our locality. One of the initiatives we are taking part in, is the nationwide Great Plant Hunt with An Taisce where we study and investigate native plants, animals and their habitats. During November, classes got out and about the school to find out what plants and animals we have on our doorstep. These activities included investigating bug life in the school using pooters and identification keys, investigating and recording leaves, seeds and trees species using identification keys and i-Pads,
a school visit from Dale Treadwell about bees and butterflies and planting budleas and wild flowers with Dale Treadwell to attract bees and butterflies to our bug hotel in the spring. A big thank you to Ned for building us a fabulous Bug Motel for our school garden. Click on the link below to see our school photos that An Taisce used on their website. https://irelandestoyota.exposure.co/ 

During September and October this year, Shanganamore's Senior boys' and girls' Gaelic football teams battled it out against some tough competition in the Cumann na mBunscoil Competition. Their hard work and determination paid off with both teams reaching a final in O'Moore Park in Portlaoise on 24th October. Unfortunately, results did not go our way on the day but our players displayed great team spirit and determination. We are all very proud of our teams' achievements and the great manner in which they represented themselves. Huge congratulations to both teams. We would like to thank those who helped out in any way and also, thank you to all of our great supporters. 

During Science Week 2018, we had a visit from wildlife expert, Dale Treadwell, who has featured on RTE Junior's "Albie the Why Guy" and "Kazoo." Dale spoke to the different classes about local wildlife, mini-beasts and dinosaurs. He also did some planting with small groups in the school grounds and read from his books "Robbie the Robin" and "Harry the Hedgehog." 
​