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Planning for Reopening in the New School Year

25/6/2020

 
I'm sure it's not news to anyone that, while the Department of Education have been promising guidelines for over a month now, they are yet to issue anything to or for schools on how we are to reopen. It has been very frustrating and we are regretful that we don't have any certainties to offer to parents as we finish up this school year as to what school will look like in the new school year.

We are, however, primed and ready to go again in mid August, in the hopes that guidelines will have reached us by that stage.

We have various reopening committees who have been planning as far as we can plan:
  • Reopening learning and teaching
  • Reopening logistics
  • Reopening Junior Infants
  • Covid-19 Committee
  • Reopening Relationships
  • Summer Provision team
Each committee has tentative plans based on the different scenarios we anticipate may be happening.

We have plans for a full reopening, partial reopening and distance reopening. We have plans for lunches, yards, arrival and dismissal. We have plans for support teaching, co-teaching, resources and movement breaks. 

We are as set up as we can be at this stage.

Whatever scenario greets us at the end of August, we have identified a number of areas where we expect children to struggle. We will be focusing on those areas in September and we encourage you to do what you can to set your child up for success too.

We expect to have a plan to share with you some time between 14th and 21st August. If you have any feedback that will help us in planning for next year, particularly in relation to how distance learning went, please let us know below. We will not be able to reply to each one but we will take it into account when planning in mid August.

​Many thanks.

    Feedback to help with reopening plans

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6th Class Graduation

25/6/2020

 
This bunch of really cool people have made history from their first day of school right to their last!

On their first day of Junior Infants, they OPENED A SCHOOL! Their first day of Junior Infants was also the first day of Citywest ETNS!

And they finished with a bang too - with a unique virtual graduation!

We are so so proud of them and we wish them the very very best as they move on to the next stage of their lives.

PS We were very impressed at how reluctant every single child was to step off the path and onto the bedding area. They all went to walk around the path and had to be persuaded that it was ok THIS ONCE to walk on the mulch. These children are the best!

PPS You won't be able to see the photos on the mobile version of the website. Please go to Web version to see the photos. Thanks.

Last assemblies and Zoom calls!

22/6/2020

 
As we all adjusted to working and learning from home over the past few months, we decided to trial Zoom calls with our pupils. The aim of these calls was to provide greater connection between home and school. The schedule for the school Zoom account quickly filled up with assemblies, weekly ANA calls and individual class calls. 

This week is the last week of the school year, meaning we are currently participating in the final Zoom calls for each class. This gives pupils the opportunity to see their friends and classmates once more before the summer holidays. Caitríona also hosted a final assembly on Zoom last Friday - another lovely way to mark the end of the academic year!

End of Year Reports 2020

12/6/2020

 
End-of-year reports are issued two weeks before the end of the school year. This year, that is 12th June. This is so that parents have an opportunity to address any questions to the child's teacher before the end of the school year.

Based on work up to 12th March only
While teachers may make a comment on the content the child has sent in since the school building closed, any assessment or judgement is based on the child's presentation and work in class up to 12th March.

No standardised test results available
As standardised tests did not take place this year, there are no standardised test results on the report cards. If your child is moving school, we advise giving the new school a copy of their 2019 report as well as their 2020 report sot that the new school can see their most recent standardised test results. This applies for those moving to secondary school as well as those moving to a different primary school.

Meaning of grades
Where a mark is given (all classes other than Junior Infants and Claire's class), that will be between 1 and 5.

3 is what is expected for each child. A mark of 3 means that your child is right on track, following the curriculum and doing fine. We expect that 60% of pupils - or approx 16 children in each class - would be given a mark of 3. 

20% will achieve below that and we expect approx 4 children per class (15%) to be given a mark of 2 in any area and 1 child per class (5%) to be given a mark of 1.

Similarly, 20% will achieve above that with approx 4 children in a class to be given a mark of 4 and 1 child per class given a mark of 5.

This is the general bell curve for the population. Of course, every class doesn't follow that curve exactly. However, we hope that outlining it helps you to understand the marks given for your child a little better.

Attendance
It is our obligation to report to TESS where a child has missed 20 days or more in a given school year. This is regardless of the reason for the absences and regardless of whether the families informed us of a reason for the absences. We have no choice in making this report.

If we are concerned about your child's attendance, we will have been in touch with you. To seek action and support from an Educational Welfare Officer in supporting your child's attendance, we need to complete a referral form. You will be informed about this at the time of referral.

Having your child's name submitted for missing 20 days or more in the school year is NOT a referral. It is simply a report.

Aladdin Connect
This year, end-of-year reports are going to you via the Aladdin Connect app. They should appear there before midday on 12th June.

For families who have not sent us consent for Aladdin Connect, we will print and post the report cards. This will happen on Tuesday 16th June.

Information Night for Incoming pupils

10/6/2020

 
Picture

Usually at this time of year, we would have met with the pupils and families who are due to join our school in September. We invite them to visit our school, meet our staff and speak with Caitríona. This year, however, we have had to come up with a new plan!

While we cannot meet families in the usual way, we are using Zoom to host our Information Night, tomorrow, 11th June. We have 3 meetings scheduled for: 
​
1. Parents of incoming pupils to our Early Intervention ASD class.
​
Please click here to view a presentation for parents of incoming pupils to our Early Intervention ASD Class.

2. Parents of incoming Junior Infants.

Please
 click here to view a presentation for parents of incoming pupils to our Junior Infant Classes.
​

3. Parents of pupils joining classes from Senior Infants - 6th. 

​Please click here to view a presentation for parents of incoming pupils to our higher classes.

We cannot wait to to meet the parents and guardians of our new pupils... and we cannot wait to meet the children in September!





Mick Phelan Rest in Peace

2/6/2020

 
We are absolutely devastated to hear of the sudden death of Mick Phelan. Mick was Dad to Jazz (We know her as Orinthia but she is called Jazz outside of school and would like to be called Jazz in school now), a pupil at our school, and to Chéile, who graduated from our school last summer. Mick and Leona are the reason we exist. They fought for our school to exist. They fought for years and put so much energy into that campaign. It was also because of them that we were allowed to enrol Senior Infants in our first year and got to meet all of the wonderful students who graduated last year.

In the early years of our existence, we had no money. We could barely cover our bills. Everything we had came from our homes or from car boot sales. The tasks we can afford to pay people to do now had to be done by volunteers. We could always rely on Mick to be top of the queue to volunteer and always with a cheery smile and a kind word for everyone.

I will always remember August 2012 when we were desperately trying to get to the magic enrolment number of 20 so we could employ a teacher to work alongside me. Mick joined Stephen, who is now our Chairperson, and my family and I on a leaflet drop around Carrigmore. Enthusiasm is generally high for the first 50 houses in a leaflet drop but it gets monotonous after that. We had 100s to do, up and down stairs for every second one. It was Mick who kept us all going, kids and adults. And we got the magic number 20!

Later that year, we realised how shaggy the outside of the building looked. We asked for volunteers to spend a day weeding. Of course Mick was there, keeping everyone jolly as they finished the job.

Mick is probably best remembered for his presence at our discos. He was our enthusiastic DJ, wearing a crazy glitter-ball shirt! When not DJing, he was great for looking out for the little one who was hanging quietly at the back and coaxing them in to join the fun.

Mick worked on the second-level campaign. He went on school trips. He supported our community in a quiet, dependable way. It has been our privilege to be on the same team as him watching his daughters grow and thrive.

Mick, thank you for being you. With all my love and with condolences and full hearts for Leona, Chéile, Jazz and all of your many family and friends,
Caitriona Hand,
Principal,
Citywest ETNS.

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