Principal: Belief Artefacts Celebration in Citywest & Saggart CNS
We have a very special celebration coming up on Thursday, 26th February. Community National Schools are multidenominational schools where children of all beliefs, both religious and non-religious are celebrated. For some people, this part of their identity is extremely important. As it is Human Rights Month, we are looking in First Class in particular Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 18 states the following: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. To bring this human right to life in the school, we are developing a belief artefacts display for our school foyer at the moment. Our parents and children informed us of what they would like to see in this display that would represent their belief tradition. We will be putting up the display boxes next week and then during the ceremony on the 26th, parents of the various belief traditions will put their special artefact into the various boxes. Parents who have volunteered to do this will speak a little about their artefact/belief tradition and why it is important to them. The children from Mr. Kinsella’s, Ms. Looney’s and Ms. Harney’s classes will sing some songs also during the ceremony. We are very excited about this event as even though it will be very simple, I think it will really show all who come into the school our commitment to the celebration of...Principal: Human Rights Month in Citywest & Saggart CNS
This month we are looking closely at the whole concept of human rights. The children have been learning that rights are things that every person on the planet is entitled to. The children have really enjoyed learning about what these are. We will have a Human Rights Month every year at around this time. As the children grow older, they will begin to discover that even though everybody is entitled to these rights, not everyone is lucky enough to have them. Please talk with your children about things such as needs versus wants and human rights this month to reinforce the work that is being done in class. You would be surprised at the level of understanding the children have of this concept already. Sadly, some of you may have experience of not receiving your basic rights as a human. Again, when the children get older, we will invite members of the school community in to speak about these times as it is really important the children understand that breaches of human rights is not something that happens in far away places, it can also happen right here on our doorstep. As well as looking at human rights this month, we are looking at how in Ireland, it is built into the law that everyone is treated equally regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, membership of the travelling community, family status, civil status and disability ((Equal Status Act, 2000). As we are a Community National School, at the heart of our ethos is inclusion and the celebration of diversity. The children learn from a very young age that...Junior Infants Room 3: Teamwork in Construction
Room 3 got the Giant Lego again this month for our construction area. The boys and girls demonstrated what wonderful things can be achieved when they work together. They built this amazing structure by sharing the blocks and helping each other. I think you’ll agree that they did very well. They were very proud of their work and enjoyed describing to the rest of the class how they made it. They got a big ‘thumbs-up’ from...Principal: Parental Involvement
I am delighted with the amount of parents that have v0lunteered to participate in Maths 4 Fun that will be running over the next few weeks! It is a great opportunity for parents to see how their child is getting on in their classroom. It also gives these parents an insight into how children learn best and how they can support their child’s numeracy skills development. If you haven’t already signed up, please talk to your child’s class teacher. Ms. Doherty is in charge of this over the next few weeks. She meets the parents in the staffroom before they go to class to teach them how to play the games and what kind of questions to ask the children. The children have such a sense of pride when they see their parents/guardians getting involved and “working” in the school. Research shows that parental involvement is a major factor in the levels of success a child achieves in school. As this is such a success, we hope to roll out something similar for Literacy and Science in the future. We will keep you...Principal: Information Meeting Success!
Many thanks to the parents that packed the school out last night for coming along to our information meeting. The huge turn-out on such a miserable night is a sure sign of their dedication and commitment to their children’s education already! Citywest & Saggart CNS is fortunate enough to have an extremely supportive and enthusiastic parent body in the school. It is clear from last night’s meeting that new parents coming in this September will be a great addition to this already established partnership! I am delighted that so many parents found last night’s session useful and informative. As parents in this particular area are lucky enough to have such a wide choice of school, it is extremely important that you make an informed decision. It is vital that you fully trust the school that you send your child to. It was great to get the opportunity to speak with so many eager parents last night after the presentation. It was obvious that although this is a very exciting time for parents of children about to start school, it is also quite nerve wracking! Please see the timeline below to remind you of the key dates discussed at last night’s meeting. If you are offered a place in Citywest & Saggart CNS in February, it is extremely important that you fill in the acceptance form completely and return it by the due date. As there are so many applicants for each place available, the school will have to stick rigidly to the timeline below and late or incomplete acceptance forms will not be accepted. If you require any help filling in...Notice Board
