2019 American Exchange
Patricija Rimpo
I recently had the opportunity of a lifetime to go on the Limerick to Limerick American Exchange in Philadelphia, which is organised every year for Transition Year students here in Coláiste Chiaráin. I stayed with students from Springford High in their homes for a 2 week period, during this time I got to see the school they attended, find out more about what they do in their day to day lives and get to know American culture and their environment.
While I attended their school I saw a lot of contrast between schools in America and schools in Ireland. One of the very first differences I noticed was that they did not have uniforms. Everyday pupils were allowed to wear their own clothes but the students on the exchange had to wear a uniform they picked out themselves for the days that we attended school. Another difference I encountered was that the school had a large variety of clubs. From sports clubs such as basketball, volleyball, swimming and even lacrosse to clubs that involved more creativity like theatre, music and art clubs.
Secondly, I paid a lot of attention to the schools and the general area to see what they do for the environment. The streets were practically spotless. While driving around the town of Limerick I did not see any areas of waste or plastic. The students told me that there are volunteers who would sweep the streets of waste occasionally but usually it was clean. Philadelphia has laws set out for the improper disposal of rubbish.
I also discussed with the students about what they did in their school regarding recycling and environmentally friendly activities in general. I was disappointed to find out that they did not recycle in their school and only had one type of bin for all waste. Although they did not recycle inside the school, I noticed outside there were large green bins that I assume were used for large recyclable materials by the janitors.
Overall, the experience was incredible and I had a great opportunity to really see what the people on the other side of the world do to try and help our environment.
https://www.epa.ie/irelandsenvironment/waste/
Information Gathered from Interviewing Argentinian
Schools.
Instituto Maria Inmaculada
The school does not recycle at all however they have attempted to in the past, this was unsuccessful
and went back to its old ways.
and went back to its old ways.
This school has a garden but only consists of grass and a few trees which does not need looking after.
They are keen on conserving electricity by always turning off the lights whenever they leave a room.
Since they don’t have lunch at school the waste produced from foods are minimal.
Instituto de Educación Católica
Similar to the last school they have attempted to recycle and was also unsuccessful.
They also conserve electricity by turning off the lights and computers.
The school has a small shop that sells small lunch items so waste is made from the packaging and
the food itself.
the food itself.
The school is fully paved with no garden at all and there is lots of gum around the school.
Colegio de la Universidad
This school does not recycle at all but unlike the other schools they have not attempted to either.
They have a small garden that does not need to be looked after as it only has trees and grass.
Like the other school they conserve the electricity as the lights are always checked by the caretakers
in the school and the air conditioning is controlled by them as well.
in the school and the air conditioning is controlled by them as well.
Federico Froebel
The school does not recycle at all nor have they attempted to.
The students have lunch at the school so a lot of rubbish come from this, as well as they usual such
as passers and plastics.
as passers and plastics.
The teacher encourage students to turn of lights and computers however the students don’t.
Saint Margaret’s School
This school has attempted to recycle in the past but was unsuccessful and has not continued to
recycle.
recycle.
They have a small garden that is looked after well as it has flowers.
The school has a complete ban on gum.
Lights are always turned off after classes and computers after use.
The school encourages the activities of green school with regular talks and posters.
"Colaiste Chiarain have paired up with a school from the Netherlands to explore European cultural identity and to share ideas on becoming more eco-friendly. The students will meet on April 10th 2019 and will discuss green strategies in place in their schools and local areas. At the end of the discussion, the students will share ideas on what can be done to help improve both schools and local areas in becoming more eco-friendly in the future."
ttps://www.grotiuscollege.nl/
"Colaiste Chiarain have paired up with a school from the Netherlands to explore European cultural identity and to share ideas on becoming more eco-friendly. The students will meet on April 10th 2019 and will discuss green strategies in place in their schools and local areas. At the end of the discussion, the students will share ideas on what can be done to help improve both schools and local areas in becoming more eco-friendly in the future."
ttps://www.grotiuscollege.nl/
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