May Day for Sustainability, on May 11th, will see eleven Tipperary ETB post-primary schools showcase a variety of activities which demonstrate their commitment to learning about the Sustainable Development Goals.
Tipperary Education and Training Board will mark its engagement with Education for Sustainable Development, through collaborative events run in its post primary schools on Tuesday, May 11th. The initiative is part of the ETBI Take 1 Programme which supports ETB schools to embed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in teaching and learning.
‘May Day for Sustainability’, on May 11th, will see eleven Tipperary ETB post-primary schools showcase a variety of activities which demonstrate their commitment to learning about the Sustainable Development Goals. On this day, each school will engage in actions which highlight where they are on their sustainable education journey. Preparations over the last number of weeks include the creation of an SDG notice board within the school, quizzes, subject group planning and progressing school policy.
‘May Day for Sustainability’ aims to reflect learning from the Take 1 Programme training workshop, provided for the Principals and Deputy Principals of Tipperary ETB, last March. This workshop not only offers a background to the SDGs, but information and resources which assist these senior leaders to embed this understanding throughout the school environment.
As part of the resource, each SDG has been mapped onto the Junior Cycle subject learning outcomes, demonstrating the existing potential within the new curricula. The important and interconnected nature of each of the 17 SDGs supports the Framework for Junior Cycle, which provides the basis for post-primary schools to plan quality, inclusive and relevant education programmes. Schools will highlight their activities throughout the school and their various social media platforms, using the #etb_sdgs.
Speaking about the event, Paddy Lavelle, General Secretary (ETBI) complimented the eleven Tipperary post primary schools on engaging with the sustainable agenda. “We hear from our students that they want change and are willing to speak out about it. They marvel that older adults don’t seem to realise what’s happening to their world. Global citizenship issues are really important, especially concerns around climate issues. ETBI is delighted to lead this support for a programme to motivate and empower the development of our young people”.
While the “May Day” initiative is a single show case event, the work on Education for Sustainable Development will continue after the event. Take 1 Week for all ETB schools in November will again promote SDG related learning as the drafting of an ESD policy for schools. This collective commitment mirrors not only the intention of SDG 17, Partnership for the Goals, but also the central transformative promise of the United Nations Agenda for 2030 – “no one left behind”.
