Today was our final assembly of this half-term. We have enjoyed being able to keep our weekly tradition going and come together every Friday morning on Zoom. This week, Orla's class joined us for the first time, so we had every class in the school logged on together - what a wonderful way to end the half-term!

We have been able to introduce some new activities into our assemblies this year. We now begin assembly with each class saying 'Hello' in a language of their choice. We also end assembly with a Mexican wave around the school. As always, we continue to celebrate the pupils who are working hard to enact our value of the month around the school. For October, our value was safety - well done to all of the pupils nominated this week: 

• Emily in Amy's 3rd class stood back and waited safely until the coat area was empty and safe enough for her to hang up her coat.
• Callum and Aiden D. in 5th class are nominated for being so safe - when they noticed a door was locked, they were very responsible in walking around to the main door to get inside the school.
  
• Aaliyah from Amy's class for being kind and friendly.
  
• Ali in Deirdre's Senior Infants class thought of great solutions to small safety problems in the classroom, all on his own.
  
• Teagan in Sarah L's class has been walking so safely in the classroom. Teagan takes her time and does not run, this helps keep everyone around her safe. Well done Teagan.
  
• Xander in Senior Infants sets a great example to others by always walking safely in his line.
  
• Jakub hangs his coat, hat and scarf safely each morning. He endeavours to make his Senior Infant classroom a safe space.
  
• Sofia in Emer's 1st class always waits patiently if a child from another pod is at the book area. This shows she is keeping a safe distance from those in other pods.
  
• Ahmed from Sarah C's 1st class fixed the yellow fence on yard one morning before school. He made sure our school was safe for everyone.
  
• Cathal in 5th class noticed that some safety bollards had blown over in the wind and he safely picked them back up again.
  
• Anto in Emer's 1st class always walks so safely in the line when his class are walking through the school.
  
• When Vadim is at the front of the line, he always ensures that everyone from the class on yard before him have left, before he enters the yard.
  
• Shane in 5th class kindly offered to swap scooters with another child, even sanitising both for safety.
  
• Vincent in Sarah O'T's class picked up all the barriers on the junior yard to make it safe for Junior Infants yard time.
  
• Well done to Slawa in Sarah's 4th Class for always checking her social distance.
  
• Robyn in 2nd class showed great kindness as she stopped to let an adult through the door. Lovely manners!
  
• Well done to Killian in Orla’s Class - when one of his friends had a balloon that blew away, he ran over and offered for them to play with him and his toys instead. Such a caring thing to do!
  
• Leila in 2nd class is nominated this week for being kind and caring to others in her pod to ensure everyone is safe and doing the right thing.
  
• Lexie, Caleb and Alantas in Martha's class were very brave and kind. They noticed that one of their friends was being treated unfairly and they stood up for him and made sure he was OK. We are so proud of them. Well done!
  
• Well done to Alicja in Lisa's class for always being safe, listening carefully to instructions and doing her best work in class.
  
• Well done to the members of the Green Pod in Trisha's - for always holding the door for their classmates when going out to yard/PE/home each day.
  

The certificates this week were awarded as follows:

• Cleanest class - Emer's class
• Cleanest toilets - the whole school!
• Friendliest class - Ruth M's and Ruth Mc's classes 
• Best líne - Martha's class

We wish everyone a safe and happy mid-term break and we cannot wait to see you on the 2nd November.

We were so proud last year to hear that Callie won a prize in the Zurich Young Portrait Prize for her portrait of her Senior Infants teacher, Sarah C.

Caitriona and Sarah went into the National Gallery for the prize-giving ceremony and couldn't believe it when we heard that Callie won her age group prize. We were thrilled to be able to share that special moment with Callie and her family.

We couldn't believe our ears when Callie suggested that she gift the portrait to the school once it had finished a tour of the galleries of Ireland. Of course, we said Yes immediately!

Before school on Tuesday, Callie came to the school to present the portrait to the school. It wasn't quite the presentation ceremony we thought we'd have when we discussed it last year but it was special all the same. All the staff came out to watch the handing over and cheered and clapped. Those new to the school were blown away by Callie's talent.

We look forward to finding the perfect spot in our school for this wonderful portrait.

There are so many talented children in our school - talented in art, talented in sport, talented in caring for others, talented in writing and reading and debating and gardening and so many other areas. It is with absolute pride that we show off the fruits of such talent in our gorgeous building.

Thank you, Callie!

Every Friday morning, our classes join together on Zoom for assembly. We used to love going to assembly in our school hall, so it is brilliant to still be able to come together (virtually!) each week. 

For the month of October, the Learn Together value which we are celebrating is safety. Wait until you read about all of the wonderful actions our pupils have done throughout the week to keep themselves and others safe: 

• Well done to Oscar in Amy's Class - when another pupil was tidying up at golden time and they dropped something, Oscar helped them to pick it up and then proceeded to finish tidying up for them. Thanks for showing great kindess Oscar!
• Oisin in Emer's 1st class sneezed and then immediately sanitised his hands. This was a very mature and safe thing to do.
• Callie  in Andrea's 2nd class picked up a large stone on the basketball courts & returned it to the flower area outside the courts. Someone could have twisted their ankle on it and Callie acted with safety in mind. Good job!
• James in Ruth Mc's Junior Infants has been showing us all how to sit safely in our chairs this week. He always sits up straight and tall in his seat and has his 4 chair legs on the ground. He also did a very special job for us this week and put an X beside an absent child's name on the red rolla. How fantastic!
• Millie stood back to let a teacher through the door. She also greeted her teacher with a big smile! Well done Millie!
• Arda in Sarah L's class did great work as a pod leader this week. Arda maintained distance and walked so safely in the line. Great job Arda!
• Sophia in 4th class is always careful to check her social distance. Well done Sophia!
• Kinga is always so happy and cheerful in school. She always has a big smile on her face and helps to brighten everyone's day!
• Marcel in Laura's Senior Infant class always makes good choices when standing and walking in his line, he keeps himself and other around him safe.
• Khadijah demonstrated safety at tidy-up time by stacking the Jaego Blocks neatly and securely. Thank you, Khadijah!
• Matthew in 2nd class has been careful to keep a safe distance between his own group and the other pods in the line.
• Theo is always very safe, as he listens carefully to instructions and always walks safely around the classroom and school.
• Hadiya and Oisin from Emer's 1st class sneezed into their elbows which was a safe choice to make.
• Lucas, Dhruv, Laith, Zoe, Conor, Borys - fixing the barriers on the yard when they had been moved, without being asked to!
• Well done to Aoife's 4th class for always making sure that the gates are closed behind them when they finish yard, so that the yard is safe for the next group of students.
• Victoria in 3rd Class let another pupil know when their bag was not left in a safe place in the classroom.
• ​Nico in Sarah C's class waited safely when he saw a class going up the stairs ahead of him.
• Aaliyah, also in 3rd class - when another pupil fell in the line she stopped with them to check that they were OK.
• Well done to Grace in 3rd class, who always offers to help in the classroom. This week she offered to tidy the floor using the sweeping brush. She even remembered to clean her hands before and after using the brush.
• Jackson and Daniel R for being very safe and picking up an earring off yard.
• Lexie in Martha's class has been very safe in the line this week. Well done Lexie!
• Susie in Deirdre's Senior Infant class was an excellent and safe Pod leader this week!
• Joaquin in Sarah C's class waited safely when he saw a class going up the stairs ahead of him.
• Well done to Darya for observing  physical distancing and allowing staff members to pass safely on the corridor.

Our certificates this week went to these 4 classes:

• Cleanest class - Deirdre's class
• Friendliest class - Andrea's class
• Cleanest bathroom - Amy's class
• Best Líne - Emer's class

Next Friday will be our last assembly in October - we can't believe it! Check back in to celebrate all of the wonderful actions of our pupils - we are so proud!

This month, our school value is safety. This is always an important value, but even more so this year, as we have lots of new safety measures around our school. We spent lots of time learning these new measures in September and we are so impressed with how many pupils are nominated this week for showing such a fantastic awareness of safety - both for themselves and for others. 

Have a read of our nominations for this week; are so proud!

• Noah in Sarah L's class walked so safely in his classroom. He took his time walking to the sink and safely got in line. Well done Noah!
• Dominic, Azlan, Fiachra, Vas and Mahian from Deirdre's S.I. were safe and careful pod leaders this week.
• David from Sarah OT's 4th class always makes sure the gates on the basketball courts are shut before and after yard. 
• Well done to Arminas in Aoife's 4th class for showing a great awareness of physical distancing and for being mindful of others' space.
• Lucas, Conor, Daniel and Apurva fixed the barriers on yard (and showed excellent teamwork to do it quickly!)
• Artas created a safe classroom by noticing that a coat had fallen on the floor and reminding its owner to hang it up.
• Isabelle in Laura's class creates a safe classroom by always remembering to lift her chair in under her table. She takes her time doing this and shows respect to our classroom property.
• Well done to Jaime for doing the Covid checks upstairs every day, which helps to keep our school safe.
• Leon was very safety-conscious when he reminded his friends to maintain their distance at yard time.
• Alexa and Sienna cleaned up a mess on the floor so other people wouldn’t trip.
• All of Andrea’s class were nominated for continuing to improve in their line and walking safely throughout the school.
• Sophia and Alison in 4th Class were helping out their friend who was on crutches. They both showed kindness by carrying things for her.
• Ayaan, Anastasia, Cillian for fixing the barriers on yard when they had been moved out of the way, and for working really well as a team to do so.
• Sarah C's first class were coming back from PE during Paudie's class' Daily Mile time. Paudie saw 1st Class coming around the corner to go back into the building and he stopped his line. Everyone else who was running stopped behind him and waited to let 1st Class pass safely to the yard. 
• Calista stopped to let a teacher out of the staffroom. Well done on having lovely manners too!
• Conor in Sarah O'T's class is ​always doing such great physical distancing in school. Well done!
• Well done to Anu from Sarah C.'s 1st Class for being a super line leader this week, and making sure to stay 2m away from other lines while moving though the school.
• Eeshal waited safely while another class passed her in the corridor. She stood back and was sure to leave a 2m distance between herself and the class. Thank you Eeshal!
• Ethan from Amy's 3rd Class showed a lovely act of kindness on yard this week.
• Camilla in Martha's 3rd Class is always very safe in the classroom and on the yard. Well done Camilla!
• Lora in 2nd Class is always helpful and hardworking in class.
• Well done to Lilla for showing great enthusiasm with her learning, putting her hand up all the time and doing her best work.
• Abdulrahman - for being kind and welcoming, making sure others in the class are included.
• Anna in 6th class impressed her teacher in English this week. She is a fantastic reader.​

Our certificates this week went to these four classes:

• Cleanest class = Claire's class
• Cleanest bathroom = Ruth McEvoy's class
• Best line = Andrea's class
• Friendliest class = Ruth Maxwell's class

​Well done to all! 

We had a special assembly this morning with two big events:

1. Junior Infants joined us at assembly for the first time ever
2. Our newly-elected Student Council was announced

It was really lovely to have (almost!) the whole school at assembly at last and it went so smoothly. No technical issues hampered us today and we are all getting better at knowing what to do.

We are just missing Orla's class, our early intervention class, from assembly now. Even though they are not ready for assembly yet, they still got nominated for the Golden Book! Here is their nomination: "Orla's class are doing a super job at walking safely into the school and to their classroom each morning, and walking safely back out at home time!" Well done to you all!

We are very much looking forward to working with our new Student Council as they represent our student body in the running of the school. Elected members are:

• 1st class - Oisin and Teddy
• 2nd class - Alex and Alexa
• 3rd class - Grace and Holly
• 4th class - Alison and Maja
• 5th class - Achyut and Aiden

Congratulations to all on your election.

We had some nominations for the Golden Book for children in Junior Infants - can you believe it?! Their first assembly and already in the Golden Book. Wow!

• Rosie for leading the whole class really safely when we travel around the school and remembering where to stand. Because she stands in the right place, other pod leaders know where to stand.
• Jake for helping Linda clean the tables in the classroom when everyone had left
  
• Clara showed kindness this week in Junior Infants by leading our class out in line so well and keeping us all safe as she guided us to where we needed to go. She listened to the teacher and made sure all of her pod were following her as pod leader.
  
• Jack was so helpful. He helped organise the wellies. Jack stood all the wellies that had fallen over up. Making our class safe for everyone. 
  
• Ruth Mc's whole class for being so kind and quiet walking past 5th Class classrooms this week!
  

We had LOADS of Golden Book nominations this week:

• Bhi Zach ag baint úsáid as Gaeilge i rith an lae agus ag caint leis a mhuinteoir as Gaeilge.
• Cian for being incredibly helpful
• Robert for always showing lovely manners to everyone, both children and adults
  
• Eitvydas for noticing his teacher needed some help and giving him a hand
  
• Sabari for always making people smile in the mornings
  
• Ariana has been doing a great job at bringing the first aid box out to yard this week. 
  
• Arnav has been really safe this week and was really good at keeping a 1m distance from others in his class.
  
• Gabrys offered to hold the door one morning for Linda to let her go through ahead of him.
  
• Shane for showing kindness and respect in class and for doing fabulous Home Learning this week!
  
• Cillian for fixing the chains on the yard before school when they had been knocked over
  
• William gave his classmate a very kind compliment on her work.
  
• The Marvellous Matildas table group for being so kind, welcoming and helpful to a new child in their class.
  
• Darragh for all his zest, friendliness and smiles. It is great to see Darragh's big smiles each morning and to hear all his friendly hellos to his classmates!
  
• Vihaan- ag úsáid Ghaeilge timpeall na scoile agus i rith an lae sa seomra ranga. Maith thú, Vihaan!
  
• Arthur for always offering to hold the door for his class
  
• Gleb for making sure everyone in the class is included and helping others with their work
  
• Holly stopped to let adults through a doorway as her class were moving to yard.
• Oisín stopped to allow an adult come through the doorway, as his class were moving through the corridor to yard.
  
• George helped a friend when his foot got stuck.
  
• Lucas helped a friend when his pencils spilled.
  
• Bella showed kindness by supporting others on her table to make sure they understood the work they needed to do. 
  
• Millie and Holly helped 2 people in their class to resolve an issue they were having in their friendship.
  
• Robert showed kindness to his classmates by congratulating them on all of their hard work and learning at the end of the school day. He said "well done, everybody!" and left his classmates feeling accomplished and proud. 
  
• Timur shows kindness to his teacher and classmates by greeting them with a big hello each morning.
  
• Lake shows kindness to his teacher by moving his chair so that his teacher can get by safely. 
  
• Manu stepped aside and let Sarah OT through the gate on yard without her having to ask! Manu was so kind to Sarah who was going on her break.
  
• Karlene, Ana-Irina, Conor and Rebecca saw that the yard barriers were moved so they moved them back into place without being asked, so that the yard would be ready for the next year group.
  
• Piotr and Mekhael for being always kind to everyone at their pod
  
• Milena for helping a friend carry the pod's books to the press
  
• Racibor: When someone's water bottle spilled on the floor, Racibor kindly offered to help clean it up.
  

Certificates this week were awarded as follows:

• Cleanest classroom: Sarah C's 1st class
• Cleanest toilets: Andrea's 2nd and Lisa's 2nd classes
  
• Friendliest class: Laura's Senior Infants
  
• Best line: Emer's 1st class
  

Holly from 2nd Class stopped to let adults through a doorway as her class were moving to yard.Holly from 2nd Class stopped to let adults through a doorway as her class were moving to yard.

On Wednesday, 30th September 2020, our Principal Caitriona and Deputy Principal Anita held a 90-minute consultation meeting with our school inspector, Caitriona Ni Bhriain.

The agenda for the meeting was set by the Department of Education:
-        Health and safety protocols for the safe opening of schools
-        Curriculum implementation for the 2020/2021 school year
-        Wellbeing support for the school community

Caitriona (Hand) had a presentation ready, which had been approved by our Board of Management at their meeting last week. Under each point, Caitriona and Anita outlined what we feel our school has done well, followed by the challenges we have faced and finally recommendations and requests we asked Caitriona Ni Bhriain to share with her team.

The inspector was very impressed with how our school had coped with reopening. Her particular comments were that:

1. We have a clear vision, centred on children, well-being and learning.
2. We have been very creative in our approach.
   
3. We have foreseen challenges that show a deep consideration of the issues.
   

Caitriona took a number of our ideas to share with her team and asked that we send on some of the documents that we referenced in our meeting.

In return, Caitriona helped us to further develop our thinking around planning, especially in using the content of the curriculum to develop skills and getting deeper into thematic planning and teaching.

This meeting was a very positive and affirming experience. The inspectorate is an important part of the school community and we relish the opportunity to have professional conversations that push our thinking and help us to grow.

Many thanks to Caitriona for taking the time to meet with us and for the commitment to bring our concerns and suggestions to others in the Department of Education.

Please see admissions notice here.
Applications can be made here.
Applications should be made before 31st January 2021.
Any applications made from 1st February 2021 will be categorised as late applications.

Our first pupils walked through our doors on 3rd September 2012.
For 9 Septembers, we have been a developing school, waiting to hit that magic number each year that would guarantee that we get to keep all of our teachers. We made it every year other than 2015, when we were granted a special extension on the deadline and secured the necessary numbers in December. In fairness, we grew by 4 classroom teachers that year, making it our biggest jump ever!

Today, 28th September 2020, with 4 new children joining our school, we finally hit our magic number for this year. I can breathe easily now, knowing that all teachers can stay for the year and that all the support we have planned for learning this year can go ahead, uninterrupted by staffing losses.

This is the largest our school is ever expected to be. We will have 19 classes for the next two years and will then settle into the size we were always destined to be - 18 classrooms, which is two classes at each level.

Today is the day we become an established school. We are no longer a developing school.

Our 8 years of being a developing school was a lovely chapter in our history book. Today, we close that chapter and start a new one. From today, Monday 28th September 2020, we are an established school, no longer spending September wondering whether we will get to keep all our teachers for the year. From now, we will know each February what our staffing for the coming year will be.

It is a day to celebrate. Thank you all so much for being part of Chapter 1. Let's make Chapter 2 just as great!

Caitriona.

We had such a lovely response to our Golden Book nominations last week, we decided to share the nominations again. Here are the nominations for the Golden Book this week:

• Isaac has been a great team player this week. He has helped out his table group lots and really encouraged his classmates in PE.
• Giovanni said "thank you very much" to his classmate who was holding the door open for our class.
• Vincent saw that his friend was sad and he went to check on him to see if he was okay.
• Jonathan saw that his teacher was carrying a lot of things and he offered to help.
• Azlan and Robert were kind and helpful to their teachers.
• Danylo is always offering to hold the door.
• Ava is kind to everyone in the class.
• Richard helped a friend when she fell.
• Holly helped a friend when she got hurt.
• Ianis and Daniela for always being super kind and polite when asked to help out.
• Szymon for always saying thank you when someone helps him in class
• Daniel for always being helpful and hard working in class
• Julia for being kind in class to others and providing brilliant and neat Home Learning
• Aoife's 6th class: Thank you for being patient while other classes walk past your yard at yard time. Thank you for being safe and keeping a 2m distance.
• Lucas saw some art had fallen off a display in the corridor and stopped to pick it up and hang it back in the display.
• Oisín showed kindness: when a classmate was hurt on yard he went and collected their coat to bring it back to the classroom whilst they were being looked after.
• BOTH First Classes for being really kind and using their manners, and saying "Thank you" at all times during the day.
• Brandon helped his friend come down on the slide and then said 'best friends' when he reached the bottom.
• Vicky saw that one of her friends was finding it hard to come down from the climbing frame and she held her hand and guided her down all the way to end!
• Purple Pod, Laura's Senior Infants: each child in the Purple Pod showed kindness to their friend by offering to help clean up water that leaked from a bottle. They worked as a team and helped their friend to feel better about the leak.
• PJ, Aidan E, Eymran: When we got out to yard the chain link barrier between classes was moved to the side and they offered to put it back before the other classes arrived out.

We also distributed certificates at assembly:

• Ruth Maxwell's Junior Infants got the certificate for Cleanest Class - well done, Junior Infants!
• Emer's 1st class got the certificate for Friendliest Class
• Sarah OT's 4th class got the certificate for Best Line

Aoife B's 4th class also got their certificate for last week (18th September) as they had the best line that week.

Well done, everyone, and thank you for making Citywest ETNS a kind, friendly, clean and caring school!

We are pleased to publish our Annual Admissions Notice.
The admission process for the 2021/22 school year will open on 1st October 2020.