Holy Child Community School Sallynoggin were invited by Co-operation Ireland to take part in the educational programme Civic Link. Civic Link develops links between schools in Northern Ireland and the South of Ireland.

It encourages young people to get involved in their local community.  Young people from two parts of the island work together on a project based on citizenship and civic responsibility. In September, Transition year students commenced their involvement with Moville High school in Newtownards; both schools started examining their own community.

 

The students of Holy Child invited guest speakers from the local community to speak in the school. The Community Garda, Claire O’ Dwyer talked to Transition year students about local problems such as Graffiti, Crime and Unsocial Behaviour caused by youths. Dun Laoighre antisocial unit came into the school to explain about the Laws in place with regards to specific local areas. Following the new information the Transition year students received from the guest speakers, they were able to undertake a case study of the problems in the local area with Ms. Lawlor. They were able to identify two main problems that existed outside the school. At lunch time the senior students go to the shops across the road to have their lunch and the only place that they have to sit is on the side of the road. However, there is a grassy area beside the shops which is not used for anything so the Transition year students thought that this could be changed and made use of by putting in seating and more bins to clean up the area. Thus, both the school and the local community would be able to benefit from this new and improved green space.

Holy Child were hosting the first exchange. We went about finding a suitable venue to bring Holy Child and Moville High School together. Having decided upon the Glendalough Youth Hostel, the first exchange was able to take place in December. Here, both school spent three days working together and having fun. Mr. Walsh brought both groups on a hill walk in the snow and some of the students prepared so well that they thought they were going to a disco! On this exchange both schools agreed to work on their similar problems .Moville were going to improve their image in their local area by fixing the green house in the area near the school and Holy Child were going to try and improve the previously mentioned grass area outside the school.

Holy Child went back to school and started the process to solve their problem. Surveys were carried inside the school and outside in the local community. The students invited the head of the parks unit in Dun Laoighre into the school.

At the end of April, we went on our second exchange to the Ulster Folk Museum where we spent time socializing and experiencing the differences between the two cultures. Luckily enough the girls were able to put on their glad rags and enjoy a disco! Even the teachers got up to dance!

The exchange was so successful that one of the students Natalie Handyside has since visited the home of one of the girls from Moville. Natalie also had her down to stay with her in Sallynoggin. The Civic Link Programme has encouraged both Holy Child and Moville High School to work together, where there are both cultural and religious differences in both communities    

Ms Lalor

Assistant Principal