This year, 3 Babthorpe decided to raise money for the charity 'Headstrong' as part of our 3rd Year Action Project. 'Headstrong' deals with teenagers' mental health issues and the prevention of suicide amongst Irish youth.
Overall we raised €1152.34, which the charity was delighted with. We did this by selling wristbands, raffle tickets and by holding a sponsored walk. We also raised awareness by bringing in a guest speaker from the charity to speak to the whole of 3rd Year.
The wristbands (which I am sure you have all seen throughout the school) are light purple with the slogan 'Live Life Headstrong' printed on them in white. Many pupils and teachers alike bought a wristband and we were delighted to see such a positive response to our fundraising efforts.
The raffle tickets sold were part of our 'Principal for the Day' competition. Ms Mannion stepped graciously aside for the day and allowed one lucky student to run the school in her place. This honour was won by Leah Cooke, in 1st Year. She invited her friend to be Deputy Principal alongside her. Many 'green slips' were given to teachers and both participants had fun on the day.
The sponsored walk was held during our P.E class. We did a 5k walk down to Cabinteely Park, around and then back. I must give a special thanks to our P.E teacher, Ms Ryan, who allowed it to happen and, on the day, very kindly provided ice-creams for all. It was a beautiful day and everyone in the class enjoyed the walk.
Last, but by no means least, we brought in a guest speaker from the charity to talk to the whole of 3rd Year about the charity, the work it does and what the money raised goes towards. She spoke to us about the projects 'Headstrong' is trying to set up in various counties throughout Ireland. Take, for example, the 'Jigsaw' project. This project brings community services and supports together around young people to better meet their mental health needs. It is currently located in five sites around Ireland and is officially up and running in Co. Galway, Co. Kerry and Ballymun in Dublin. In the coming year it will also be set up in Meath and Roscommon.
We believe our Action Project was a success and we greatly enjoyed raising money for this wonderful cause. We would like to give thanks to our C.S.P.E teacher who helped us every step of the way. Also we would like to thank Ms Mannion and Ms Daly who allowed us to give away the prize of 'Principal for the day'.
