Active Schools Flag

Active Schools Flag
This year, we are working towards getting an Active Schools Flag for our school. The aim of the Active Schools Flag is to encourage schools to be more active, more often. It links in with all of the work we are doing throughout the year on Healthy Living - being active, getting exercise, taking care of our minds and bodies. For more information on the Active Schools Initiative, see here.
You will find all thel latest Active Flg news below.
This year, we are working towards getting an Active Schools Flag for our school. The aim of the Active Schools Flag is to encourage schools to be more active, more often. It links in with all of the work we are doing throughout the year on Healthy Living - being active, getting exercise, taking care of our minds and bodies. For more information on the Active Schools Initiative, see here.
You will find all thel latest Active Flg news below.
Active Home Learning Menu
We have created an Active Home Learning menu for children to choose activities from on Mondays, our Active Home Learning Day. The menu is divided in three categories of activities : Strengthening and Stretching, High Energy and Skills Development. We hope it helps all our families get active and have fun together. See link below:

active_home_learning_menu.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |

The P.E. Curriculum
There are 6 strands in the P.E. curriculum:
5 out of the 6 strands are covered each year, with Aquatics being taught both in the classroom (water safety) and in the swimming pool (lessons begin in 2nd class).
If you wish to take a look at the curriculum, it can be found on the NCCA website.
Physical Education is allocated 1 hour per week of overall teaching time.
There are 6 strands in the P.E. curriculum:
- Athletics
- Dance
- Games
- Gymnastics
- Outdoor and Adventure
- Aquatics
5 out of the 6 strands are covered each year, with Aquatics being taught both in the classroom (water safety) and in the swimming pool (lessons begin in 2nd class).
If you wish to take a look at the curriculum, it can be found on the NCCA website.
Physical Education is allocated 1 hour per week of overall teaching time.
School P.E. calendar
All teachers in our school are working off the same calendar for the teaching of the Physical Education curriculum. Each month, there is a focus on a different strand, and on a different Fundamental Movement Skill. Click here to see the calendar.
Active News from around the school
June News - New Skipping Zone in Yard
After a successful fundraising event in April, Movie and PJ Day, the Student Council have purchased a great selection of skipping ropes and skipping toys for yard. They have set up a skipping zone in yard and a timetable that ensures every class gets access to the skipping ropes and skipping zone for one break per week. The school community is very grateful to the student council for the efforts they are making to help us stay active during break times. Along with Playworks we now have two structured yard areas dedicated to activity.
Pictures from a very active May
April Active Flag News
In April we have worked really hard to ensure we reach all our targets and achieve our Active flag before the end of June.
News from the Staff:
Julie Ann attended an Orienteering training day organised by South Dublin Sports Council. She found the day very useful and brought back some wonderful resources and ideas to our school. These will come in very handy when we are teaching the orienteering strand in June.
At the end of the month there was a staff led continuous professional development session. During this session Eldon and Claire shared golfing tips, Anita and Orla shared basketball warm up games, Julie Ann and Bobby shared orienteering resources and ideas, Aisling shared tips for incorporating peer learning in to the teaching of Fundamental Movment skills and Shane and Tara taught other staff members football drills. It was a great afternoon and all staff members expressed that they had learned something worthwhile from their colleagues.
Reaching out to our Community:
This month fourth class visited the local golf club in the Citywest Hotel. They practiced putting on the green and driving. It was a great experience for the children. They learned about the game from members of the club and employees of the club. They look forward to improving their skills when they return in June.
Recognising Active Achievements outside of school:
The Active Agents have set up an Active Achievement Box where children can share what sports and activities they are learning outside of school. At assembly we announce our active news and acknowledge all the amazing activities that the children from Citywest Educate Together are taking part in outside of school. This week we heard about atheltics, gymnastics, swimming, horse riding, tawkwando, dancing and karate.
Activity around the School
4th and 5th class walked to St.Mary's GAA pitch to play a football game and put all the skills, that they are learning at lunchtime football, in to practice. The children from those classes who do not play football enjoyed a circuit training session at the pitch instead.
All children attended a Star Wars Themed Disco. The Disco was organised by the Parents Association. It was great fun! Children dressed up as their favourite Star Wars Character. The DJ got everybody involved in fun and challenging movement games.
That's all the Active News for April. Check back here soon when we will have a photo gallery of all of April's active news and details of our upcoming Active Week and Sports Day.
News from the Staff:
Julie Ann attended an Orienteering training day organised by South Dublin Sports Council. She found the day very useful and brought back some wonderful resources and ideas to our school. These will come in very handy when we are teaching the orienteering strand in June.
At the end of the month there was a staff led continuous professional development session. During this session Eldon and Claire shared golfing tips, Anita and Orla shared basketball warm up games, Julie Ann and Bobby shared orienteering resources and ideas, Aisling shared tips for incorporating peer learning in to the teaching of Fundamental Movment skills and Shane and Tara taught other staff members football drills. It was a great afternoon and all staff members expressed that they had learned something worthwhile from their colleagues.
Reaching out to our Community:
This month fourth class visited the local golf club in the Citywest Hotel. They practiced putting on the green and driving. It was a great experience for the children. They learned about the game from members of the club and employees of the club. They look forward to improving their skills when they return in June.
Recognising Active Achievements outside of school:
The Active Agents have set up an Active Achievement Box where children can share what sports and activities they are learning outside of school. At assembly we announce our active news and acknowledge all the amazing activities that the children from Citywest Educate Together are taking part in outside of school. This week we heard about atheltics, gymnastics, swimming, horse riding, tawkwando, dancing and karate.
Activity around the School
4th and 5th class walked to St.Mary's GAA pitch to play a football game and put all the skills, that they are learning at lunchtime football, in to practice. The children from those classes who do not play football enjoyed a circuit training session at the pitch instead.
All children attended a Star Wars Themed Disco. The Disco was organised by the Parents Association. It was great fun! Children dressed up as their favourite Star Wars Character. The DJ got everybody involved in fun and challenging movement games.
That's all the Active News for April. Check back here soon when we will have a photo gallery of all of April's active news and details of our upcoming Active Week and Sports Day.
March Active Flag News
March was a very busy month, with lots of Active Flag news to report!
Firstly, we said a huge thank-you to our outgoing Active Agents, who had completed one year in their role. We now welcome our new Active Committee, which has a representative from each of the 15 classes in our school; check them out below (3 Agents are missing from the photo).
Firstly, we said a huge thank-you to our outgoing Active Agents, who had completed one year in their role. We now welcome our new Active Committee, which has a representative from each of the 15 classes in our school; check them out below (3 Agents are missing from the photo).
The new committee was introduced to the whole school at assembly, and they wasted no time in getting stuck into their new role! They led the Active element of assembly and taught the whole-school how to side step, as this was our Fundamental Movement Skill for March.
Seachtain na Gaeilge takes place during the month of March, and this year it was a very active week of celebrations. The whole-school took part in a parade, walking several laps around our yard, and finishing with some free-dance. The GP hall was a hive of activity each afternoon as some classes spent time learning and practicing ceilí dances.
February's Active Flag News
Our P.E strand for February was Gymnastics, and our new Fundamental Movement Skill was landing. There has been lots of activity happening around our school, with teachers also busy labelling our P.E store room.
February is the last month for our current Active Agents, before a new Active Committee is put in place. There will be a new representative from every class, who will make up our Committee until next year.
February is the last month for our current Active Agents, before a new Active Committee is put in place. There will be a new representative from every class, who will make up our Committee until next year.
Assembly continues to have an active element to it, with the whole-school participating in the new FMS for that month. 4th class have taken some of their P.E. lessons outside, and are continuing to run laps on our running track in the yard.
GAA lessons continue every Friday afternoon with Peter, our local coach.
January's Active Flag News
In January were lucky enough to have the Sam Maguire back in our school - for a whole day this time! The cup visited every class, and was also available for parents to see at collection times.
Playworks continues in our yard, with pupils from 3rd class doing a fantastic job of leading the games. The games are open to pupil from all classes, and are really popular at break time!
Every Friday at assembly, we practice the skill we are learning for that month, with the Active Agents leading the whole-school with their demonstration. The fundamental movement skill for January was balancing.
The P.E. strand for January was gymnastics. Take a look at some of the work done in various classes around the school.
The P.E. strand for January was gymnastics. Take a look at some of the work done in various classes around the school.
In other news, our teachers all met one afternoon in January to do a complete tidy-up of our P.E. equipment, including sorting all of the new equipment which has been purchased in the last few months. It was a very worthwhile way to spend an afternoon!
One of our teachers, Shane, has also set up a new blog on the school website this month. The 'Healthy Living' page contains lots of information about healthy eating, exercise, sleep, playing sport and lots more. Be sure to check it out.
One of our teachers, Shane, has also set up a new blog on the school website this month. The 'Healthy Living' page contains lots of information about healthy eating, exercise, sleep, playing sport and lots more. Be sure to check it out.
November's Active Flag News
This month we welcomed , local woman and Dublin footballer Olwyn Carey to our school. She was part of the team that beat Mayo to win the All Ireland Football Championship this year. She brought the Brendan Martin Trophy with her. She answered questions from the children and encouraged everyone to keep active and train hard if they wanted to follow in her footsteps and play for Dublin in Croke Park. We are all very proud of her achievements!
For the month of November we are learning about the fundamental movement skill , running. Our Active Agents demonstrated the skill at assembly. At every assembly this month we will practice the correct head, body, arm and leg movements together. Practicing the skill of running will help us to be active and safe during yard time. The pictures below show us learning at assembly together.
Playworks has started in our yard this month. Playworks is structured play that children run themselves. Children in 3rd class have responsibility for playworks in our yard. During break time they wear high visibility vests and corner off an area of the yard. Children from all classes are welcome to learn and play new games in the Playworks area.
September and October's Active Flag News
Since the beginning of the new school year the school has taken many actions to work towards our active flag.
All teachers are working off our new PE Strands Calendar and for the September and October we have all been learning games. Classes have enjoyed a wide range of games from football to uni-hockey to basketball to handball and to badminton. We are making great use of all our new PE resources.
Eldon and Aisling went to day 1 of their fundamental movement skills training. This was an excellent learning day for the teachers where they learned all about increasing movement literacy in our children. They are very excited to share their knowledge with the other teachers and plan to add one 'Fundamental Movement Skill' per month to our PE calendar.
Our running track is still a very busy place in yard. Third class and fourth class have set themselves the challenge of running a marathon before the end of the school year. The active agent in their class is keeping track of their progress on a running chart. Their fitness is increasing with every lap they run.
On lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays children from 2nd to 4th class have the option of taking in part in football drills in the PE hall with Shane. It's proven to be a very popular choice. See pictures below:
All teachers are working off our new PE Strands Calendar and for the September and October we have all been learning games. Classes have enjoyed a wide range of games from football to uni-hockey to basketball to handball and to badminton. We are making great use of all our new PE resources.
Eldon and Aisling went to day 1 of their fundamental movement skills training. This was an excellent learning day for the teachers where they learned all about increasing movement literacy in our children. They are very excited to share their knowledge with the other teachers and plan to add one 'Fundamental Movement Skill' per month to our PE calendar.
Our running track is still a very busy place in yard. Third class and fourth class have set themselves the challenge of running a marathon before the end of the school year. The active agent in their class is keeping track of their progress on a running chart. Their fitness is increasing with every lap they run.
On lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays children from 2nd to 4th class have the option of taking in part in football drills in the PE hall with Shane. It's proven to be a very popular choice. See pictures below:
October 12th was a historic day in our school as our first ever school team represented us on the football field. The girls from 4th and 5th class did us proud on their first ever outing as a team. Boys from 4th and 5th will play their first football game on Friday October 20th. See pictures below of the girls in action:
In an effort to increase children's active time at home every Monday the teachers will be setting 'Active Home Learning'. The children will be set a fun active task to carry out at home and hopefully family members will be encouraged to get active too!
We are trying to reach out to local sports clubs in our community. We are carrying out surveys of all the children in the school to see what sports clubs are represented in our school. We intend to contact these clubs and invite them to engage with our school and help us in our efforts to achieve our Active Flag. If you are reading this and you think you know a sports club who can help please get in touch with Nicola and let us know.
That's all the Active Flag News for this half term, check in again after the mid-term break and see what progress we are making!
We are trying to reach out to local sports clubs in our community. We are carrying out surveys of all the children in the school to see what sports clubs are represented in our school. We intend to contact these clubs and invite them to engage with our school and help us in our efforts to achieve our Active Flag. If you are reading this and you think you know a sports club who can help please get in touch with Nicola and let us know.
That's all the Active Flag News for this half term, check in again after the mid-term break and see what progress we are making!
June's Active Flag News
June has been a very active month in Citywest Educate Together! Fourth class took part in an Anti-racism soccer prorgamme run by the Football Association of Ireland.Teachers have been working on our whole school PE plan. Classes from first to fourth played in blitzes against the school next door. We had our second ever Active Week. During Active Week we increased our busy breaks, danced our way to class in the morning, did active home learning every night, finished our laps, held an active assembly and had an amazing sunny sports day.
During the active assembly we took park in a whole school work out, celebrated the sporting achivements of our children in sports clubs outside of schools and presented certificates to all the classes to mark their amazing running achivements. The picture above shows our Active Agents collecting their class's certificates. In total our school has run 126km since February. We are very proud of this achivement. See more pictures below.
During the active assembly we took park in a whole school work out, celebrated the sporting achivements of our children in sports clubs outside of schools and presented certificates to all the classes to mark their amazing running achivements. The picture above shows our Active Agents collecting their class's certificates. In total our school has run 126km since February. We are very proud of this achivement. See more pictures below.
Our sports day was on the last day of active week. We were very lucky with the weather and to have so many of our parents volunteer. The children got to spend time on lots of different stations like parachute, volleyball, water relays, target practice and races. Each station was run by a parent volunteer, it was great to have them involved in active school life. See pictures below.
We are very proud of our student council and all the work they put in to orgainising the first ever inter-school activity between us and the Community National School next door. We had three blitzes over three days. All classess from 1st to 4th played soccer games against the classes in the other school. All the children really enjoyed playing in matches and meeting the other children. See pictures below.
Active Flag News May 2017
We have been very busy over the last few weeks working towards our Active Flag.
The teachers have done a great spring clean of the PE resource room. Bobby and Eldon attended teacher trainging with Ultimate Frisbee Ireland. They received frisbees for the school and learned lots of fun skills to share with the children.
All the classes have continued working towards their laps goal and have been enjoying running their laps in the sunshine.
Children in first class learned a Spanish dance from our Spanish visiting teachers Angela and Judith. They really enjoyed being active and learning about Spanish culture at the same time.
Third and fourth class took advantage of the fine weather and did an active maths trail in Corkagh park. They worked in teams walking around the park figuring out maths puzzles and identifying maths in nature.
Third and fourth class took part in the final of the South Dublin cross country running competition in Corkagh park on May 11th. All their hard work running laps on our running track paid off. They all did brilliantly with fourth class running a 400 metre race and third class running a 350 metre race. We are all very proud of them and we celebrated their achievements at assembly that week.
First to fourth class have started their swimming lessons. They will continue for eight weeks. They are going great so far!
The teachers have done a great spring clean of the PE resource room. Bobby and Eldon attended teacher trainging with Ultimate Frisbee Ireland. They received frisbees for the school and learned lots of fun skills to share with the children.
All the classes have continued working towards their laps goal and have been enjoying running their laps in the sunshine.
Children in first class learned a Spanish dance from our Spanish visiting teachers Angela and Judith. They really enjoyed being active and learning about Spanish culture at the same time.
Third and fourth class took advantage of the fine weather and did an active maths trail in Corkagh park. They worked in teams walking around the park figuring out maths puzzles and identifying maths in nature.
Third and fourth class took part in the final of the South Dublin cross country running competition in Corkagh park on May 11th. All their hard work running laps on our running track paid off. They all did brilliantly with fourth class running a 400 metre race and third class running a 350 metre race. We are all very proud of them and we celebrated their achievements at assembly that week.
First to fourth class have started their swimming lessons. They will continue for eight weeks. They are going great so far!
See slide show below:
Disco 07/04/17
The children at Citywest ETNS had a very active last day of term. All the classes enjoyed a fancy dress disco organised by the Parent's Council. Everybody worked up a great sweat dancing to the their favourite tunes.
Active Flag News March 2017
This month we have been busy organising our PE equipment in our new bigger store room. The new store room allows us to store our equipment in a much more user friendly way so that classes can get their PE lessons started easier and quicker.
Did you know that children should be active for 60 minutes every day? Physically active kids have better concentration and focus and perform better academically, Finding ways to energise the school day is therefore of benefit, not only for the health of children, but also to enhance the teaching and learning environment. Through busy breaks, PE lessons and yard time children are very active during the school day but there's still a need for activity after school. See the following link for ideas on how to increase children's activity levels throughout the day www.getirelandactive.ie/Children/What-do-I-need-to-do-/
First class took advanatge of the fine weather last week and got out to yard to run laps on our running track. Their active agents are keeping a record of all the laps that the classes are running this year.
Did you know that children should be active for 60 minutes every day? Physically active kids have better concentration and focus and perform better academically, Finding ways to energise the school day is therefore of benefit, not only for the health of children, but also to enhance the teaching and learning environment. Through busy breaks, PE lessons and yard time children are very active during the school day but there's still a need for activity after school. See the following link for ideas on how to increase children's activity levels throughout the day www.getirelandactive.ie/Children/What-do-I-need-to-do-/
First class took advanatge of the fine weather last week and got out to yard to run laps on our running track. Their active agents are keeping a record of all the laps that the classes are running this year.
Third and Fourth Class Cross Country Running 15/02/17
On February 15th third and fourth class travelled to Tallaght to take part in a cross country running league with other local schools. This was the first race of three. The classes have been practising running up to 250metres in the yard. They are enjoying getting fitter and faster. See pictures from the race day below.
Active Assembly 10/2/17
On February 10th we had an active assembly. We took part in RTE's '10 at 10' initiative. Our school community did ten minutes exercise together led by our Active Agents. Have a look at the video.
Active Agents
We launched our Active Schools Flag campaign in January, with a whole-school assembly. At this assembly, the Active Agents were introduced to the school. There is an Active Agent from each class in the school and their job is to help encourage activity and exercise around our school.
We launched our Active Schools Flag campaign in January, with a whole-school assembly. At this assembly, the Active Agents were introduced to the school. There is an Active Agent from each class in the school and their job is to help encourage activity and exercise around our school.
Parent and Student Surveys
In order to apply for the Active Schools flag, we need your help! We are looking for information on all of the activities and sports taking place within our school community.
Student survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MP6GB86
Parent survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MPHT7PQ
In order to apply for the Active Schools flag, we need your help! We are looking for information on all of the activities and sports taking place within our school community.
Student survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MP6GB86
Parent survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MPHT7PQ
Activity in our school
Everyday, the pupils in Citywest ETNS are taking part in physical activity; through P.E. lessons, yard time, busy breaks in the classrooms, extra lessons from visiting sport teachers, going swimming, learning a new dance, after-school classes - there is a lot happening!
Everyday, the pupils in Citywest ETNS are taking part in physical activity; through P.E. lessons, yard time, busy breaks in the classrooms, extra lessons from visiting sport teachers, going swimming, learning a new dance, after-school classes - there is a lot happening!