Innishannon school awarded flags for reducing energ consumption and creating safe space for mental wellbeing 

A ceremony was held in a Cork primary school on Friday, June 16 to mark the awarding of two flags to the national school in Innishannon.

Scoil Eoin National School marked the flag-raising ceremony in style as they received the Green Flag for the seventh time in their history and also received their first Pieta Amber Flag.

The Green Schools Flag was awarded to the Innishannon national school for the Global Citizenship Energy movement.

This focused on the importance of reducing energy consumption in the local environment and spreading awareness among the school community of the best ways to achieve this.

Actions included litter picking, global awareness surveys, a low carbon day and a sustainable picnic. A variety of workshops reinforced the message.

A Green School committee was also established and they worked tirelessly with the whole school and local community to achieve their goals. The previous themes, which included litter and waste, biodiversity, travel, water, and energy, were all revised.

A new initiative, called The Pieta Amber Flag, was also started in Scoil Eoin during the academic year. This recognises individual efforts to create healthy and inclusive environments that support mental wellbeing.

It involved the whole school community coming together to create a safe, positive, and healthy attitude to mental health and wellbeing.

Ambitious targets included the setting up of an amber flag notice board. This notice board displayed information on the themes, such as the hosting of a wellbeing week and organising a fun accessories and colourful hoody fundraiser for Pieta.

The wellbeing committee was comprised of a cross section of the school community included both pupils and staff who helped to steer the initiative.

A large crowd including pupils, staff members and members of the board of management and parents’ association gathered on the school grounds on Friday, June 16 to celebrate and to acknowledge the combined efforts of all within the school community.

Clodagh Creedon, Green Schools Coordinator and Carol O’Sullivan, Wellbeing Coordinator as well as pupils from both committees spoke about the processes and the journey they had to undertake to successfully achieve these flags.

An ice-cream van which proved very popular with both young and old was also on hand to mark the occasion.