St Eunan’s College.
Students and Local Businesses Collaborate to Improve Facilities at Saint Eunan’s College, Letterkenny.
BY EVAN McCROARY, CHAIR, STUDENT COUNCIL: Over the past few months the Student Council of Saint Eunan’s College have been working on improvements to the school’s environment which they hope will, in turn, have a positive impact on student life.
The Committee prioritised a number of projects this year with the first being the installation of bike racks to cater for any students who cycle to the College. These bike racks have been located on two different sides of the school which are the two main entry routes for students each morning.
The Students Council were delighted to secure the support of Cllr James Pat McDaid through the Members Development Fund, Letterkenny Municipal District, and Evan McCroary, Chairperson of the Student Council, outlined that the project would not have been feasible without Cllr McDaid coming on board and expressed sincere thanks for all his support.
Over Easter, new football nets were installed on the all-weather pitch where students play football at lunch. This project included adding new steel fixtures to six different goal posts. All this work was sponsored and carried out by PJ Designs and the work has already been very much appreciated by the whole student body.
Since February the Student Council have established the Century Cinemas Student of the Month Award which is awarded to one student from each of the Junior House years as well as Transition Year. This is not an academic award – students are nominated by staff members for setting a good example among their peers in class and around the school. The Student of the Month Award is being supported by Century Cinemas, a collaboration which all students, especially the Award Recipients are delighted with!
A further project which the Student Council embarked upon was the upgrading of the gym facility. This involved the painting, re-carpeting and addition of some new equipment to the gym.
With Carpet Interiors generously agreeing to supply the carpet, Pete from the Donegal Flooring Company giving of his time and expertise to put it down, and Fit-Hub Letterkenny donating much needed equipment, the gym project advanced at a fast pace.
Several Student Council members and their teacher, Ms. Dawn Costello, were busy painting and moving equipment over the Easter Holidays to ensure that this project was completed and the refurbished gym fully operational before the student body returned to school.
Thanks to the support of the aforementioned businesses, the College’s gym is now much improved for student use. Evan is keen to highlight that ‘this is a work in progress and if other gyms in the area have equipment that is surplus to their requirements, the Student Council will be delighted to give it a new home so as to further enhance the gym for students’.
The Student Council took on these projects as a direct result of student body suggestions, and as their funding streams were limited, they approached Cllr McDaid, a past pupil of the College, and local businesses to help with their endeavours. The Student Council Committee were involved in the co-ordination of each of these projects and are very grateful to the individuals and businesses who showed their support and generosity to help improve the school environment for all of its students.
Written by Evan McCroary
