MY TY: JESSICA WALLSand AOIFE MALONEof Skerries Community College on a local project that got young people out and about

‘COMMUNITY Projects class sounds like a doss – put my name down!” was the most common quote on that first week of school eight months ago. But we were all very wrong!

Our Community Projects class is run by our teacher, Mr O’Sullivan, and facilitated by Jane Landy and Alison McDuff of Skerries Community Association. The class was split into six groups, and each had to devise and deliver a project that would benefit members of our community in some way.

In our opinion, the Pizza Service group was the most successful. They had a very bumpy road but eventually reached the end. Students order through the Pizza Service who then coordinate with Apache Pizza to have hot pizza delivered at lunch. “We went through times where we wanted to give up but now we are very happy,” explains student Tasha Doyle.

Another very successful group were the Guerrilla Gardeners. This group is helped by Lori Alexander, an experienced gardener and green advocate. In the course of the year they’ve learnt planting skills, and taught local primary and other TY students how to plant. They have been shortlisted for the Eco Unesco Young Environmentalist Award 2009.

One of the most distinguished groups in our projects class strives to promote health and wellbeing in our community, hence the name Walk Your Way to Wellbeing. Amy Whelan, Aaron Murphy, Sarah Montcalm and Joseph O’Neill have designed four walking routes in Skerries and are producing a leaflet for distribution. Their idea has also been shortlisted for a Young Environmentalist Award.

The funding for this project was obtained through the Skerries Community Association bequest fund. The team were ecstatic when their bequest application was approved; their happiness stemmed not just from the bequest, but from the faith and support they have received from the people of Skerries.

The Painters and Decorators had initiated a series of project ideas all of which proved very difficult to put into practice. In the end they decided to settle for painting and decorating the TY office.

However, news of this spread quickly and Skerries Tidy Towns are now urgently seeking their help to do some community painting before this year’s Tidy Towns judging. Skerries is a small place and you just never know where these projects will lead.

Another group that seeks to add a twist to our task of community projects is the Goldilocks group. An assortment of Transition Year students with a keen interest in music and drama, they’ve created an original take on the classic fairytale story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The group is touring the primary schools in the area and the response has been enormous. It is specifically aimed at Junior and Senior Infants and is accompanied by original and entertaining songs.

There have been many rehearsals over the past two months but it seems directors Peadar O’Dea and Emmett Tracy are ready for the challenge and are overflowing with enthusiasm.

“We hope the project experience that the students gain in this class will get them off to a flying start in their lives after school and benefit their communities as well,” says Jane Landy of Skerries Community Association.