There was huge interest in our competition for a Christmas decoration made from recycled materials this year. Well done to everybody who took part and especially to Alexandra O'Looney from Rang 1 who was our overall winner. Great job Alexandra

The Bin It Roadshow visited our School in the month of October. 
We had great fun learning all about responsible litter disposal, especially chewing gum. The children from 4th to 6th class learned about correct litter disposal which helps them learn that they can have a positive influence on their environment by helping to reduce the amount of litter around them. Students learned about the need to reduce litter, become more caring about their environment and gained heightened social responsibility.
The Bin It! campaign has been running since 2006 and has grown to support schools and teachers in a multitude of ways. Each year the Bin It! roadshow visits over 240 schools across the UK and Ireland, helping young people explore a sense of personal responsibility and allowing them to see the impact of anti-social behaviour, such as the consequences of dropping gum, in an engaging in-school event.

We are working on reducing our carbon footprint in the school by implementing energy saving practices. 
In Ballina Primary School we all have the Power; THINK, ACT, SAVE!! 
We have an energy saving check list in every classroom, and an appointed Energy Sheriff who keeps an eye to make sure we aren't forgetting anything on the checklist.
 The children are also being encouraged to reduce their energy usage at home, by turning off light and fully turning off devices when not in use. All these little changes can make a difference.

Well done to all the classes who took part in Climate Action Week this month. It was a great success and we learned how each one of us can do something to slow down climate change. 
A special thank you is due to Rang a Cúig who made some fantastic pledges to do something to prevent Climate change in our world. 

Congratulations to all the children who took part in the Green Schools Walk to School Week. Thank you to Rang a 4 who collected the information on how the children travelled to school over the course of the week. The results proved that walking was by far the most popular way to travel to school in  Ballina, followed by car and park and stride. Cycling was the least popular, so get on your bike if you can!!

​This Year Ballina Primary School will be going for our 8th Green Flag. The theme of the Flag is Global Citizenship- Energy, which couldn’t be more appropriate for the times we live in.
This theme gives the school a chance to revise the Energy flag which we already won. It also looks at issues surrounding energy on a global scale. The most obvious global link to the energy theme is Climate Change, the most serious environmental problem of our time and is intrinsically linked to our energy use. During the next couple of months we will be introducing energy saving practices in our school and identifying areas where energy is being wasted.

Múinteoir Eoin's Rang 3 planted an oak tree for National Tree Week with Padraig Egan from Coillte.

Thank you to every one that made a bauble out of recycled materials for the school Christmas Tree. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Thank you. 

4th class took part in a weeks long climate change project with Clare Education Centre. Once a week they logged in for a zoom call with Evelyn at the centre. Well done to all. It really looks like the class both learned a lot and had a great time doing it.