Staff Meetings

Staff Meetings at Citywest ETNS

Working together, planning together and sharing information is very important to us.
We meet for one hour per month as a full staff, one hour per month for the teaching staff to meet and we also hold various types of shorter and smaller-group meetings each week. Below is an overview of the items discussed at our long meetings.

February 2020

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centered, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based. All decisions made are to be done so with these in mind.
Outline of the specific areas which have been established for ANAs to support and provide breaks for pupils – calming tent is beside 5th and 6th classrooms, Active Learning space is outside 3rd class classrooms, other activities on the landing beside purple stairs.
Decision taken to trial having the junior yard at the back of the school and the senior yard on the basketball courts, instead of swapping at each break. Reminder to all staff to close the gates to the soft play area after use and to close the gates at the front of the school during yard times.
Staff discussion of the Critical Incident folder which has been created, outlining the roles of various staff members if there was a critical incident within the school community.
iPad timetable is up and running, even though we are still without internet. Chromebooks will be available on a rota, with the trolley moving around wherever required.
Reminder to teachers of the reading comprehension strategies to be focused on this term and the writing genre to be taught.
Discussion on the remaining curricular budgets for the year and how they are to be spent. Area co-ordinators have their own budgets to spend (English, Irish, Maths, SPHE, Learn Together and the Arts). Other teachers volunteered to spend the curricular budgets which do not have a co-ordinator already (Science, History, Geography, P.E.)
Parent-Teacher meetings to take place on the 11th and 12th February. Scheduling to be done throughout the week and sent out via paper slips, due to lack of internet.
Daily Mile to begin after mid-term break. Each class will participate 3-4 times per week, with pupils recording their achievements over time.

January 2020

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centered, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based. All decisions made are to be done so with these in mind.

Thanks paid to staff on their work throughout the school move.
Yard discussion: identifying difficulties and deciding new procedures regarding First Aid on yard, the use of the soft play area, how to manage entrance and exit doors, who takes ownership of the clipboards, designating lines for each class, discussing how to best manage indoor yard schedule.
Discussion on some of the key items which need to be purchased from this year’s P.E. budget, including proper storage facilities for resources and padding for the outdoor basketball poles.
Worry plaque will now be placed outside the main school office, for any pupils who would like to use it.
Class teachers are to have a Green Schools representative for their class. 16 children will be nominated for this year to begin the journey to a Green Flag.
Staff create a list of possibilities for Movement Breaks for pupils throughout the day, including where they can take place.
Piano is to be moved from the library to the space outside the P.E. hall, so it is more accessible.

December 2019

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centered, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Update on new school: no water meter or phone line in place yet. We will move without phone line, but will not be approved to move until water meter is in place. Staff will need training in the new building, before opening with pupils. If we are required to close before the winter break, staff will be in during the break to sort classrooms and go through training.
Discussion of Educate Together guidelines issued, regarding Christmas. Reminder that we are a multi-denominational school and follow our whole-school plan of when to teach about the festivals and celebrations of world religions. Reminder of school motto “Our beliefs are different and that’s ok!” and to use this in class.
Pupils to vote on a charity which the money from their Movie Day fundraiser will be donated to.
Reminder of the school ‘Golden Rules’ from the Code of Behaviour. Each teacher given a poster of the rules to display in their classroom.

November 2019

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centered, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Instruction provided by moving company regarding the upcoming school move: how to make the flat-pack boxes, how to label for each individual room, packing of school resources etc.
Staff notified of changes to support teaching timetable and room rotas, to facilitate the packing of resources.
Plans of new school will be sent around to all classrooms, so pupils can become familiar with what the building will look like and where their classroom will be located.
Staff notified that broadband looks set to be difficult to get up and running in the new building – will be done as soon as possible, but to prepare for some time without internet.
SPHE programmes with a focus on well-being will take place during the next 8-week learning block. This will be done through co-teaching, with two teachers working in the classroom for the duration of the lesson.
Teachers reminded to create Learn Together lesson plans, as part of our school’s involvement in a digital cluster with other Educate Together schools.
Pupils are to participate in school survey, in order for staff to gain an insight into what is working well and what we can seek to develop further.

October 2019

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centered, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Staff discussed the school chromebooks and outlined the privileges which students earn as they progress through the school. Emphasis to be placed on teaching children to use Google Classroom appropriately, once it is set up.
Personal Pupil Plans (PPPs) and School Support Files (SSFs) aim to be in place by November. SSF meetings to take place for pupils on Stage 2 or Stage 3 of support.
School times may be required to change when we move to the new school campus, as the DES require 30 minutes between opening times. New school times are likely to be 8.25am – 1.05pm for Infant classes and 8.25am – 2.05 for children from 1st – 6th class.
Staff members who are working on a themed week or event (e.g. Active Week, Spring Concert) are to notify Caitríona of the proposed date(s) as soon as possible.
Reminder of some of the non-negotiable rules of the school, so that all staff are on the same page: no electronic devices, no watches with recording or camera function, no toys unless they are kept in schoolbags, hoods down and hats off when inside, stop and listen on whistle or bell.
A reminder that class lines should be silent when moving around the school.
Demonstration of the new school ipads and some of the features and apps which are useful for classes.
Teachers can apply to the Mobile Library for boxes of books, which will be delivered to the school for a month.
Nomination of a teacher to the Board of Management for the new four-year term.

September 2019

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centred, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Mobile library returning once per month. 1st and 2nd class to visit the library, other classes to avail of boxes of books.
Plans and documents for children with Additional Needs to be worked on over the coming month.
Confirmation of registration of our school in the Green Schools Flag process. A committee of staff, parents/community members and students to be established over the coming months.
Staff to work on the establishment of a school song for each of the core values celebrated each month.
Reminder to staff about nominating children for the Golden Book each week.
Discussion on the Strategic Plan which has been developed for the school for the next 2 years.
Decision made on the 'teams' to be established to work on various projects over the coming academic year:

Move to new school Team
Green Flag Team
Anti-Discrimination Team
Grand Opening & AGM Preparation Team
Sports Day/Active Week Team
School Concert Team

New staff social committee appointed for the coming year.
'All You Need is Love' will be the next school song to be learned across all class levels.
Reminder to all members of staff that the school is now a completely 'nut-free' zone.
Reminder to teachers that Cuntaisí Míosúla are due on the first Friday of every month.
Reminder that whole-school reading and writing plans are on the shared staff Google Drive.
Agreement on the use of the additional 32 Croke Park hours for this year.

April 2019

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centred, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Discussion on the best way to share the knowledge and expertise of staff with other staff members. Small group discussion on ideas for how to do this in coming years. Staff agree that the practice of sharing ideas and resources with each other is very valuable.
Staff-led training day on the new Language Curriculum to take place on May 23rd.
Discussion on the re-structuring of Caitríona’s annual review with staff.
School clean up: staff spent some time cleaning general areas, school displays, resource room, P.E. store room and school library.
New English readers to be purchased for the senior end of the school (3rd - 6th classes).
School Tours: Staff encouraged to book school tours as early as possible. School Tour policy shared with staff.

March 2019

Reminder of our school ethos for our decision making: our school is child-centred, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Parent presentation on Secondary School campaign: parents campaigning for new Educate Together Secondary School in the area explained the patronage vote and a timeline of events.
Reminder that pupils on Stage 3 support in our school are to have support meetings every October.
Swimming to run from 8th April to the 21st June this year for children from 1st - 4th classes. Lessons are mandatory for all as Aquatics is a strand on the P.E. curriculum.
Discussion of school resources budget for academic year 2019/20.
Home Learning Enrichment Programme will commence over the coming weeks. This year, it will finish with an exhibition of the completed projects, to showcase the pupils’ work.
School Self Evaluation focuses on handwriting and presentation of work. Surveys to be sent to pupils, parents & staff members in the coming weeks.
Booklists for next school year are to be ratified by the Board of Management at their next meeting. Staff to check over booklists to ensure they are correct.

February 2019

Reminder of school ethos for decision making: our school is child-centred, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Deadline for applications for SNA access for September is March 8th.
Whole-staff discussion on developing an empowering slogan/catchphrase to use when children have differing beliefs/faith on a certain topic. A small group of staff will bring suggestions to the next staff meeting.
Discussion of the options for the school calendar for the year 2019/20. Three options provided to staff to vote on, with one to be presented to the Board of Management for ratification.
Reminder to all teachers that the RSE programme is to be taught from the 25th February to the 25th of March, in all mainstream classrooms. Caitríona is available to teach lessons to some classes. Stay Safe Programme will take place in April.
Discussion of the procedures around the upcoming Parent-Teacher meetings.
Review of Posts of Responsibility in the school. Areas of responsibility are to be reviewed and reassigned over the coming months. When the soon-to-be-vacant AP1 post has been filled, the responsibilities will be re-allocated.

January 2019

Reminder of our school ethos for our decision making: our school is child-centred, co-educational, democratically-run and equality-based.
Whole-staff discussion on developing an empowering slogan/catchphrase to use when children have differing beliefs/faith on a certain topic. A small group of staff will bring suggestions to the next staff meeting.
Discussion of the options for the school calendar for the year 2019/20. Three options provided to staff to vote on, with one to be presented to the Board of Management for ratification.
Reminder to all teachers the RSE lessons are to be taught from the 25th February to the 25th of March, in all classrooms. Caitríona is available to teach lessons to some classes. Stay Safe Programme will take place in April.
Discussion of the procedures around the upcoming Parent-Teacher meetings.
Review of Posts of Responsibility in the school. Areas of responsibility are to be reviewed and reassigned over the coming months. When the soon-to-be-vacant AP1 post has been filled, the responsibilities will be allocated.

December 2018

New system in place for the handling of red cards in the school.
Reminder to staff that immediate child protection issues should always be brought to attention straight away.
New parking permits being issued to staff members for current school year.
Outline of upcoming Information Evening for Prospective Parents - to take place in January
Medical emergency procedures: all staff notified of children who have medical issues, and who may need immediate assistance eg. allergies. Folder with relevant information for staff to be kept in school office and in staff room.
Reminder to staff to continue to set high expectations for behaviour in the school corridors and at school assembly.
Feedback given from teachers on the ‘Weaving Wellbeing’ programme, which was implemented from 2nd class upwards this year. Teachers agree it may have taken place too early in the school year, and it may be more beneficial slightly later in future.
Reminder that our school is a participant in a Digital Cluster and need to submit some ideas of Learn Together lesson plans.
Demonstration provided on how to transfer files from Microsoft to new school system of G Suite. The aim is to have all of these files transferred by the end of the current school year.

October 2018

Move to G-suite for internal communications for our school will take place this month. This will allow further progression on our digital learning plan.
Training for staff on G-suite will take place in November.
Wellness Day for staff coming up later this month, including a wellness workshop off-site, taking place one afternoon after school.
Examination of the defibrillator and reminders for how to use it - the defibrillator is stored in the corridor outside the PE Hall.
Further developing of our digital learning plan
Review of the teaching and learning of English, Irish and Maths at our school, identifying areas for further development
Sharing of resources for the teaching of fundamental movement skills
Ciara O'Donoghue, part-time support teacher, starts this week and will work with all mainstream classes over the course of the year
DES guidelines for teachers' planning and assessment shared
Focus for children - children are encouraged to use full sentences and to be able to say what they are learning, including during eating times
Guidelines for recording responses to GDPR permission forms coming in this week
GAA coaching for children in 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes will soon begin during lunch breaks; all teachers will provide extra yard supervision in order to release the teachers who will provide this coaching
Children are not permitted to use personal devices during the school day; children may have devices in their school bag for use before or after school - these devices must be switched off at all times and the school does not accept any responsibility for damage or loss that may occur.

September 2018

Roles for staff meetings clarified and volunteers sought: Chairperson, Secretary, Time-Keeper, Covering Office for initial few minutes
Acting Assistant Principal Grade II appointed and areas of responsibility shared with staff - this completes our In-School Coordinating team of 6, which includes Principal, Deputy Principal, Assistant Principal Grade I, two Assistant Principal Grade II and one Acting Assistant Principal Grade II post.
With new books already delivered and more coming for class libraries, teachers will now remove from class libraries books that are sub-optimal for whatever reason.
While we appreciated gifts of second-hand books in the early years of the school and those donations were invaluable to us, we can now be quite targeted in the types of books we include in class libraries and will no longer be accepting donations. Class libraries include books in Irish and English, books of different genres and books relating to various areas of the curriculum. Books are graded across class levels.
Student Support meetings will be held in October.
School values focused on each month will remain the same as last year:
- September – Kindness
- October - Safety
- November - Caring
- December – Respect
- January - Happiness
- February - Love
- March - Cooperation
- April - Responsibility
- May - Peace
- June - Honesty
Reach for the Stars by S Club 7 will be the school song for this year - 2 verses with a chorus after each
Staff social committee was appointed
Procedures regarding applications for leave of absence was clarified
Reminder that it is no-one's business why a staff member is not in school; these are for approval by Caitriona and the Board of Management only
Planning our submissions to the Learn Together shared lesson plan database as part of our new digital cluster project
Reminder of procedure in relation to submitting planning and teaching records to the school principal
Distribution of Building Bridges of Understanding resources, along with guidelines for how to use it
Planning template in relation to the new language curriculum made available to all teachers
Planning for logistics in relation to the mobile library
Planning for the purchasing of further teaching resources
Further sports training opportunities considered
Each classroom to have a timeline on display
Teachers decided to engage in Droichead as an induction programme for newly-qualified teachers

August 2018

Staff discussed the ethos of the school, reviewing the four principles that are core to our Educate Together ethos: child-centred, co-educational, equality-based and democratically run.
Staff members discussed Child Protection, reviewing the Child Protection procedures in our school. New staff members are required to complete the webinar on Child Protection by the end of September.
We discussed Anti-Bullying procedures, including preventative measures and how to respond to an allegation or suspicion of bullying.
Emergency evacuation procedures were reviewed.
General health and safety reminders were issues.
Reminder about positive communication, restorative practice and following the Code of Behaviour
Reminder that class bins are for recycling waste only and that children bring home all waste from their lunches
Renewed focus on supporting children to take pride in their working environment and leaving a presentable classroom at the end of each day
Planning the logistics for parent classroom visits
Planning the logistics for parent information evening
Planning the logistics for daily arrival and dismissal of all children in a safe and orderly manner
Planning the use of Croke Park hours for teachers and additional hours for ANAs for this school year
Planning the logistics of yard supervision including
- clarification of roles during these times
- supervision on days we don't go out to yard e.g. due to weather
- Playworx, skipping zone, quiet area, senior yard and integration of Junior Infants over time
Planning the logistics of ensuring supervision and instruction on days when a teacher is absent and either a substitute teacher is not provided by the Department of Education or one cannot be found due to the teacher shortage crisis
Whole-school curricular planning - teachers reminded to follow the whole-school plans when planning and teaching
Planning for the creation and changing of displays in general school areas
Planning themed weeks and other events for the school year - each teacher assigned to one event for planning and organising
- One Day Together food fair in October
- Scholastic Book Fair in November
- Winter concert in December
- STEM Week in January
- Seachtain na Gaeilge in March
- Autism Awareness Week in April
- Active Schools Week, Sports Day and 6th Class Graduation in June
Buddy system in place for new staff members and for new children to classes other than Junior Infants
New mentors sought for the Mentoring Programme for teachers in their first year of teaching
Staff member nominated to work with the Strategy Planning Committee for the Board of Management
Staff handbook made accessible to all
Review of teaching and learning resources budget left to be spent for this school year - while most items were ordered before the summer, a portion of the budget was held back for spending during the year
Union representatives appointed