During the period of distance learning in January and February, we missed having our Friday assembly. However, since we have had children back in the building, we have been able to attend our virtual assembly once again! It takes place on Friday mornings on Zoom and is a lovely chance for us to come together and celebrate another week of learning. 

Our value for the month of March is cooperation. Take a look at the Golden Book nominations over the past two weeks, with lots of wonderful cooperation on show!

• ​Erik in Deirdre's class is nominated for taking great care of his friends.
• Adya and Freya in Sarah C's First Class impressed Sarah and Dorothy by getting the sweeping brush and dust pan and cleaning the floor around their table after art. That showed respect for their classroom!
• Joshua in Deirdre's Senior Infants showed lovely cooperation by playing nicely with others at his new pod.
• Fiona in Sarah L's class did so well this week and co-operated so nicely with the others in her pod. Well done!
  
• Well done to Aleksandra, Paddy, Xander and Claudia (the yellow pod) in Laura's Senior Infant class - they co-operated so well with one another when tidying up after play rota. They are a good team!
  
• Bobby and Artas in Laura's class worked well together during an important task and showed good problem-solving skills. Well done!
  
• Sisi in Ruth Mc's Junior Infants has been doing lovely sharing and using "please" and "thank you" when working with others in her pod. Well done, Sisi!
  
• Arav, also in Ruth's Junior Infants is nominated for being a terrific pod superstar this week and remembering to keep his distance from the other pods when walking in the line.
  
• Dean in 2nd class has been really helpful to the teachers helping with Covid checks this week and also working hard and doing his best in class. Well done Dean!
  
• From Laura's Senior Infant class, Isabelle, Maya, Khadijah, Marcel and Lake (Blue Pod) are nominated this week. They co-operated well with one another to create a wonderful structure during play. They worked as a team. Well done, Blue Pod!
  
• Well done to Ollie and Xander from Laura's class - they solved a problem by having a meaningful and respectful conversation with one another. Well done!
  
• Eoin, from Ruth Mc's Junior Infants, has been showing respect to his friends in the classroom and allowing them to learn by using his listening ears. He has worked well in his pod and is waiting to take his turn.
  
• Matejus and Rìan in Sarah L's class worked together to lift a box safely. Well done!
  
• In Orla’s class, Bennie is nominated for working really hard on sharing and cooperating with his friends and with the adults in his classroom. Well done, Bennie!
  
• Akshar from Deirdre's class is nominated for playing nicely with his pod at playtime.
  
• Andrea's whole class are in the Golden Book this week for doing a great job lining up at their new pod stations in the mornings. Keep up the great work!
• Robyn & Hugo in 2nd class have been showing extra manners to their teachers by standing back in doorways.
  
• Well done also to Bobby, Arti, Lakshiv and Timur in Laura's Senior Infants. They are co-operating so well and safely when moving around the school building and in the classroom. Well done!​
  

Our certificates on the 12th March went to the following classes: 

• Friendliest class - both 1st classes, with a special mention for the wonderful effort being made to greet one another and Caitríona as Gaeilge each morning. 
• Cleanest classroom - Emer's class
  
• Cleanest bathroom - Sarah C's class
  
• Best líne - Deirdre's class

As part of our whole-school SPHE policy, the teaching of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) takes place over the coming weeks. Lessons are taught in all mainstream classes and follow our school policy. You can read more about the programme here and check out lessons for each class level.

Tá Coicís na Gaeilge ar siúl i Citywest ETNS ón 8 - 19 Márta 2021. 

Irish Fortnight is running in Citywest ETNS from the 8 - 19th March 2021. This is an opportunity for us to celebrate the Irish language and culture. We have a whole padlet created to give ideas for ways to celebrate Coicís na Gaeilge - be sure to check it out here!

On 23rd February, our government announced that children in the junior end of primary school (Junior Infants - 2nd class) would return to in-building education on the 1st March. Following this announcement, our staff and Board of Management got to work to prepare for this return. 

​On Friday morning, our Board of Management ratified the Response Plan for the reopening of these classes - have a look at it here. 

On Monday 22nd February, our two autism classes returned to in-building education, as part of the phased return to school.

Both Claire's and Orla's classes had a super week, with the focus on getting back into routines and having fun. The children also enjoyed having the building to themselves, taking full advantage of the empty yards and running track.​

It was wonderful to have children back in the building and we now look forward to welcoming back our Junior Infants - 2nd class pupils on the 1st March. 

With 50 places on offer for Junior Infants 2021, we sent out 99 offers of place on 1st February 2021. All places were filled from Round 1. This is the first time in the history of the school - 10 years of filling Junior Infants places - that this has happened.

This leaves 79 children on the waiting list for places in Junior Infants 2021 in our school. We are so sorry to disappoint so many families, in particular the 9 families who already have children in the school. The commencement of Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 (Admission Policies and Admission of Students) Regulations 2020 last year means that we must offer places to all those who pre-enrolled prior to 31/1/2020 before we can offer places to any family who applied after that date. There remain 26 children on the waiting list who applied prior to 31/1/2020, categories 2, 3 and 4 - see below.

Parents of all children remaining on the waiting list received an email this morning, letting them know that all places have been filled.

Numbers on the waiting list are currently as follows - see details for each category here.

• Category 2: 7 children
• Category 3: 4 children
• Category 4: 14 children
• Category 5: 4 children
• Category 6: 29 children
• Category 7: 9 children
• Category 8: 1 child
• Category 9: 6 children
• Category 10: 5 children

We have asked those who secured places with us to let us know as soon as they make a decision not to use the place in our school so that we can offer available places to those remaining on the waiting list as early as possible.

We recommend that families apply to other schools in the area such as Rathcoole ETNS and Scoil Aoife CNS. We are also delighted to hear that another new school will open in the area this September, clearly much-needed: Gaelscoil Lir.

Yesterday, 1st February, we sent our first round of offers for places in Junior Infants 2021. While the email of offer was welcome news for some, there were many disappointed by the email letting them know that their child remains on the waiting list. We hope to outline the process here so that those who are disappointed can understand the process. 

In late 2019, we were instructed to stop taking pre-enrolments for future years on 31st January 2020. In line with new national legislation, our new admissions policy was created in 2020.

The school has no autonomy over who is placed where on the list. We must follow our policy, which follows national legislation. School admission is a formal process protected by law and exceptions cannot be made.

There are 10 categories for admission, outlined below. Children are listed in order of categories and within each category according to the policy. Places are offered in order of this list.
1. Old policy, category 1

• Application received by 31/1/2020
• Has a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age by 31/3/2021
• 22 children in this category
• Children listed in order of pre-enrolment date

​
2. Old policy, category 2

• Application received by 31/1/2020
• Does not have a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age by 31/3/2021
• 84 children in this category
• Children listed in order of pre-enrolment date

​
3. Old policy, category 3

• Application received by 31/1/2020
• Has a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age between 1/4/2021 and 30/6/2021
• 5 children in this category
• Children listed in order of pre-enrolment date

4. Old policy, category 4

• Application received by 31/1/2020
• Does not have a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age between 1/4/2021 and 30/6/2021
• 14 children in this category
• Children listed in order of pre-enrolment date

5. New policy, category 1

• Application received by 31/1/2021
• Has a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age by 31/3/2021
• 4 children in this category
• Children listed in order of date of birth, oldest first

6. New policy, category 2

• Application received by 31/1/2021
• Does not have a sibling in the school
• Turned 4 years of age by 31/12/2020
• 30 children in this category
• Children listed in order of date of birth, oldest first

7. New policy, category 3

• Application received by 31/1/2021
• Does not have a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age between 1/1/2021 and 31/3/2021
• 10 children in this category
• Children listed in order of date of birth, oldest first

8. New policy, category 4

• Application received by 31/1/2021
• Has a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age between 1/4/2021 and 30/6/2021
• 1 child in this category
• Children listed in order of date of birth, oldest first

9. New policy, category 5

• Application received by 31/1/2021
• Does not have a sibling in the school
• Will turn 4 years of age between 1/4/2021 and 30/6/2021
• 6 children in this category
• Children listed in order of date of birth, oldest first

10. Late applications

• Application received after 31/1/2021
• 1 child in this category
• Children listed in order of pre-enrolment date

There are 50 places available in Junior Infants.
In the first round of offers, 99 children were offered places, as follows:

• 22 children in Category 1
• 77 children in Category 2

This means that we currently have 83 children on the waiting list for places in Junior Infants 2021:

• 7 children in Category 2
• 5 children in Category 3
• 14 children in Category 4
• 4 children in Category 5
• 30 children in Category 6
• 10 children in Category 7
• 1 child in Category 8
• 6 children in Category 9
• 1 child in Category 10

Following the deadline of 8/2/2021 for those offered places in Round 1, we hope to be in a position to move further down the waiting list. Parents may like to consider Rathcoole ETNS or Scoil Aoife CNS.

​If you believe that your child has been placed in the wrong category, please contact us immediately so that we can work together to rectify that.

Every year in Citywest ETNS, we celebrate a number of themed weeks/fortnights on various topics. This year, from the 1st - 12th February, we are hosting Environmental Awareness Fortnight.

As a school, this is the perfect opportunity for us to launch our Green Schools campaign. Schools are awarded green flags for their work in being an environmentally-friendly place: looking after the environment, learning about how to care for our planet, taking action to make the school and community more aware of our impact, cutting waste and generally striving to be more caring to the environment.  

We are currently working towards our first green flag, which is awarded under the theme 'Litter and Waste'. Be sure to get involved - check out the Padlet of ideas and activities for the week. You can also submit your work in either the Junior or Senior section and see what others in our community have been getting up to. 

Last night, we hosted our first webinar! It was the first time our Information Evening for prospective parents was done virtually and it was a great success. We were thrilled to welcome over 70 people, to learn more about our school and help them to decide if Citywest ETNS is the right fit for their families. 

Thanks to Jessica, Marie, Sarah L., Caitríona and Anita for hosting!

You can see the presentation slides from the event below:

Next Wednesday, 27th January, we look forward to hosting our annual Information Evening for Prospective Parents at 7pm. This year, the event will take place on Zoom, with details already sent to any families on our pre-enrolment lists. If you aren't yet pre-enrolled, we would still love to see you and you are invited to attend - just follow the zoom details below to sign up and we will see you there.  

Caitríona (our principal), Anita (our Deputy Principal), Jessica (the chairperson of our Parents Association), a Junior Infant teacher and an Additional Needs Assistant will all be in attendance to let you know all about our school. Prospective parents will hopefully feel more informed to decide if our school is the right fit for them and their families. 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar. 
When: Jan 27, 2021 07:00 PM Dublin 
Topic: Citywest ETNS Evening for Prospective Parents
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pEebRN0uRjuqMMndW8hvdQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. See you on Wednesday at 7pm.