Abbey CBS students in Tipperary town looking after their wellbeing

Staying Well Week, an initiative in its second year at the Abbey CBS in Tipperary Town took placein the first week of March.
The feature event of the week took place on Wednesday March 4 in a packed school PE Hall of over 400 people.
“Maximising Your Potential – Taking Charge of Your Health &Wellbeing” was a symposium where motivational leaders in various fields related to health and wellness gave powerful presentations not only to the Abbey school community
but to other schools who attended - St. Anne’s Secondary School, Tipperary and
Cashel Community School in addition to other members of the Tipperary town and
hinterland communities.
The first speaker was local lady, Dr. Breda Lonergan who
delivered a very thought-provoking and informative session in relation to physicaland sexual health. Inspector James White from An Garda Síochána was equally as energetic when he spoke about a phenomenon which we hear all too often about inthe media – “One Punch Can Kill” – James asserted the dangers of getting involved in altercations especially on a night out and very frankly described his first handexperience from being involved in the law enforcement side of tragic cases and how they have devastating consequences for all involved. The subject matter of the penultimate speaker was of a lighter nature and Daniel Marsh from Health and
Fitness Ireland conveyed a very important message in relation to sports nutrition anddiet.
The keynote speaker of the session was Senator Joan
Freeman. Joan is an Irish psychologist, mental health activist and an Independent
Senator. She is the founder and former CEO of Pieta House, a national mental health services charity established in 2006. In 2008, Joan founded the annual fund- raising event Darkness into Light in aid of Pieta House. Begun with 400 participants,
approximately 200,000 people worldwide participated in the event last year which isheld in May.
Her message to the young people of Tipperary was to
“Be Kind” and she promised to be back again in the near future to work with them.
A plethora of other events were carried out throughout the week, kicking off with a
5km “Walk and Talk” event on Monday morning. At 9am, the whole school
community got involved in a 5km walk around the town. In the afternoon all 1 st Yearstudents participated in a soccer tournament which was organised and run by their senior Transition Year peers. other activities included a road safety workshop,an engineering workshop and some senior
students went on a site visit to Johnson & Johnson Vision Care in Limerick. . Other school events were held
to encourage teachers and students to interact outside of class time and give the students the opportunity to just sit and talk with their peers.
On Friday, some senior students took learning out of the classroom and on to the farm and field with a trip to Kildalton Agricultural College Open Day which was very insightful. Acknowledgment must go to Conor Hayes (Wellbeing Coordinator) at the school and wellbeing team members, Michael Hanley, Irene Ryan, Eavan Ryan and Niamh McCarthy along with TY students for leading out the planning, organisation and execution of such a valuable experience for the whole community. Recognition and appreciation also to Anne Bradshaw (HSE Disability Services) and the local gardaí for all of their assistance and their participation.

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