School Life

Claregalway Educate Together is proud to have a diverse and talented group of students and teachers. Below you will find a selection of activities that represent what we do and who we are.

Green Flag School

Promoting long-term, whole-school action for the environment Green-Schools is a student-led programme with involvement from the wider community. The programme is operated and co-ordinated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce (FEE member for Ireland). We have a very active green school committee which are democratically choosen by the other students to represent them on matters pertaining to a greener school. 

Ipads

At Claregalway E.T we utilise ICT (Information Communication Technology) across the curriculum. iPads are one of the many forms of technology which play an important part in enabling children to achieve their full potential on a daily basis. Here we see children in 1st & 2nd class learning to code/program through scratch. Further information on scratch programming can be found at https://scratch.mit.edu/

Green School Committee

The Green Schools Programme

The Green School journey began with the opening of the school in 2005. We were granted our first Green Flag for Litter & Waste in 2007, proudly raised into a blue sky by the now President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. We are now delighted to display our fifth Green Flag for Biodiversity, having achieved Green Flags for Water, Energy and Travel over the intervening years.

Raising environmental awareness across the school community is an intrinsic part of the worldwide Green School project. Recycling and reusing our waste; switching off unnecessary lights; turning off the tap; being aware of environmental matters; all of these and more are ingrained into the fabric of everyday life for all the students of CETNS, whether in school or at home.

The Green School Committee is a democratically elected body of children from across the school who strive to make our school and the school community a greener place. Each year a new committee is elected by the children. Candidates have to make a speech to their peers explaining why they are the best person for the job. Each classroom from First Class up is represented and the work to date has been inspiring.

We are currently working on our sixth flag, Global Citizenship Litter and Waste. This returns us to our original topic but makes us look at the wider world this time. We are carrying out an Environmental Review this year. This has kept the current Green Committee very busy. They have already carried out a Litter & Waste Audit around the school and are currently preparing an educational video to show to the rest of the school. A survey asking about Global Awareness in the school is being designed and will be sent out to the school community very soon. We will devise an Action Plan by the end of the school year which will be worked on between now and our application for the Green Flag in Spring 2018. The Green Committee are also looking at the use of Fairtrade products in the school and are interested in tackling the amount of packaging waste in their lunches, e.g., plastic bottles and individually wrapped items. They are a dedicated bunch who keep us all on our toes! Please keep an eye out for developments as we continue our Green School journey…

Student Council

Claregalway Educate Together holds that the pupils should play an active, positive role in the life of the school and we believe that our Student Council helps to achieve this.

Our School’s Student Council is comprised of one representative from each class from 1st to sixth. The Council is run along the lines of the Green Schools Group and meets at lunchtime once a month with one teacher, the Principal, who acts as Assistant Chair. The elected representatives chair the meetings after some initial training.

The role of the Student Council is to:

• Provide an opportunity for pupils to voice their opinions and offer suggestions in relation to many aspects of school life

• Discuss issues relevant to the school and encourage and promote initiatives from the pupils

• Offer an opportunity for all pupils to voice their opinions on proposed changes and thereby play a very important role in improving our school

• Act as a channel for communication within the school, between pupils and between home and school

• Encourage pupils and thereby their parents to organise events central to the life of the school

• Provide an opportunity to raise funds for charities or our school equipment fund.

Through our Student Council we hope to give the pupils a positive role in the organisation of the school and thus ensure they feel they are listened to and respected for their ideas and concerns and these are both valued and valuable. It involves the pupils in many of the decisions, which are made regarding the day-to-day running and management of the school. Discussions in classes and at the Council meetings help to develop social and learning skills in many areas such as speaking and listening, problem solving and decision-making and the decision-making process.

From time to time the Student Council will discuss, make suggestions and decisions on topics such as:

• school rules

• our Anti Bullying Code

• friendship

• lunchtime games and activities

• behaviour and discipline

• making the yard a happy place

• care for the building

• vandalism

• health and safety

• fundraising

• parents/homework

Election

In September, each class elects new members to represent them on the Student Council. Each class elects a member. Each pupil seeking election puts his or her name forward. Prior to the election, those standing for election make a speech outlining their ideas and asking students to vote for them. A student may serve a maximum of three times on the Student Council. This is in the interests of fairness.

The pupils elected are required to be actively involved in the Council, to attend meetings regularly and participate in activities and be a role model for other pupils. As well as bringing matters to the council for discussion, the representatives are required to report the outcome of meetings to their own class and occasionally to other younger classes. Each year the council decides on its own hands-on activities which might include organising local events eg the petition for a footbridge over the river, welcoming visitors to the school or organising fund raising events.

The Council has an important role to play in the organisation of;

• Open Day for new Junior Infants

• Welcoming New Pupils

• Annual Jumble Sale in June.