Green flag for global citizenship

Pupils from all classes at Rushbrooke NS have been invited to write their ideas to make the world a better place, writes Niall Murray

THE committee is working on its next challenge, the green flag for global citizenship, which ties in concepts from previous flags as well as wider themes.

A day of activities at the school last month involved the creation of a Tree of Action, which hangs on the wall of the school hall. Pupils from all classes have been invited to write on a leaf their ideas to make the world a better place.

From some very common ones, to more innovative thoughts, the tree is in full bloom and new growth is appearing every day.

Molly O’Keeffe was placing her leaf on the tree when we asked what she had written.

“I wrote that you should turn off the lights when you leave the room.”

And why is that a good idea?

“Because lights waste electricity,” said the first-class pupil.

It’s hard to argue with that explanation, and many similarly-convincing ideas hang on the tree, such as: “help poor people”; “don’t pollute the Earth” and “turn off taps when your not using them”.

Another common suggestion is that people should buy Fair Trade goods, a topic that committee members have been telling fifth and sixth classes in workshops organised as part of the recent action day.

Sixth-class pupil Cathal O’Dea spelled out some of the things they had learned and have been passing on to the rest of the school.

“We found out coffee is one of the most traded things in the world. But the people who make it only get paid very, very little. And two thirds of the people who pick coffee beans are children,” he said.

One of the ideas generated recently at Rushbrooke NS was that older pupils would read books about environmental issues to the younger classes.

During the Irish Examiner’s recent visit, third-class committee members Aimee Coady and Rachel Reidy were reading a book about recycling to Deirdre O’Connor’s junior infant class. The teacher said she was really impressed with the enthusiasm of the girls.

“We might have different weeks focusing on aspects of the green flag system, but we have to explain to the younger children what the green flags are about because they’ve only started here this year,” said Ms O’Connor.

“They’re more likely to give their full attention to other children than they might to me if I was telling them about it. Having new voices in the classroom makes a big difference.”