On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we were working on Global Goals in class. Regular timetabling was be interrupted and we focused all our learning, using a cross curricular approach, on deepening our understanding of these goals. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected – often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another. This year’s main focus is that of safety in schools.
A strong thread connecting all the lessons we covered over the course of the three days was the emphasis placed on Articles 19 and 28 of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – The universal rights for every child to be safe and to get a quality education.
Here is an overview of some of the topics we covered in class:
- Recapping on what the Global Goals are
- Discovering what young people around the world are achieving.
- Exploring how young people are making a difference.
- How to be Goalkeepers for Global Goals.
- Limerick School Project is a Rights Respecting School.
- Discussing what it means to be a global citizen
- Making connections between our strengths and how we can use those strengths to be Goalkeepers for Global Goals.
- Convention on the Right of the child
- Focus: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – The universal rights for every child to be safe and to get a quality education (Articles 19 & 28)
- School rules
- Class Rules – Class Safety Charter
- Guest Speaker from Barnardo’s
- We have organised a fundraiser for Barnnardo’s
- We completed a UNICEF School Safety Survey and organised for classes second-sixth to complete it also.
- We read some beautiful story books related to our theme:
- Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story. Gandhi, Arun
- UNICEF Story Book ‘For Every Child’
- If you Plant a Seed’ by Kadir Nelson
- For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai’s Story : Langston-George, Rebecca,Bock,
- My name is Not Refugee by Kate Milner
- Malala, a Brave Girl from Pakistan. Iqbal, a Brave Boy from Pakistan. Two Stories of Bravery by Jeanette Winter.
- Art Activities included:
- Photo Activity: Identifying as Goal Keepers
- Designing a T-Shirt that illustrates how we can make change and support Global Goals
- Rights Rockets – a visual showing children’s rights
We really did deepen our understanding of the Global Goals, of our need to be Good Global Citizens and the importance of taking action and doing something to help make a difference.
Our fundraiser: We are going to make a change.
We listened to the song ‘Man in the Mirror’ by Michael Jackson.
We listened to the story ‘Be the Change’ by Arun Ghandi. We began to realise for the Goals to become achievable we need to start acting and not just discussing.
We had Melinda from Barnardo’s, a charity group who campaign for the Rights of All Children, come to visit us to explain the work that they do. We decided we want to be that change, and that we would do a fund raiser for Barnardo’s.
We read the beautifully story book ‘If You Plant a Seed’ by Kadir Nelson.
The story is a gently humorous story about the power of even the smallest acts kindnesses and the rewards of compassion and generosity. Based on that book Third Class decided to put up a petal less flower in the class. All of the class are going to make an effort to engage in small acts of kindness throughout the day. It is our hope that at the end of everyday each child would have put a petal on the flower to symbolise the kindness they have shown throughout the day. We are going to do this for a two week period. We would hope that we will be putting up 30 petals a day (29 children and myself), for ten days =max 300 petals.
Here is where the fundraiser comes in. We have asked our families to sponsor our class 1c per petal. The idea also encourages us to become more aware of our actions, and to remember to make a concentrated effort to be kind, and that through our cumulative effort, this kindness can reach even further and help other children who may need it.
We will post a photo of our completed flower in two weeks time.
Here is to a wonderful two weeks full of kind actions in Third Class!