We were presented with our first Green Flag in 2001 then, 2003, 2005 and our fourth in 2007.  To earn our flags we worked on such environmental issues as waste management, energy saving and water conservation.

We are currently working towards earning our fifth Green Flag.  Our theme is Travel.  We conducted a travel survey in December 2008 and discovered that most children and teachers travel to and from school by car.  We hope to encourage children, parents and teachers to think about how they travel to and from school and to try to walk, car pool or park and stride at least one day a week.  To achieve this we will have WOW days (Walk on Wednesdays), car pooling and Park and Stride (park the car a little way from the school and walk)

There are many benefits to walking to school - or car pooling, it is good exercise, it cuts down on Co2 emissions, and it eases traffic congestion in front of the school.  Did you know that teachers have reported that children who walk to school are more alert and ready to learn than those who travel by car?

Meanwhile, we continue to encourage the whole school community to keep up the good work on the themes already in force.

• Reducing waste – recycle and reuse where possible, and take home uneaten food and packaging'

• Energy saving – turn off all lights when not needed.  Don’t leave electrical equipment on stand-by.

• Water conservation – make sure taps are turned off completely after use.

We at Muire Gan Smál would hope that the pupils would take the message of Green Schools into their homes and the wider community and that they will grow up to be responsible, informed and environmentally conscious adults.