16 05 2025
New life sprouting in our wildflower garden.
Good afternoon, parents and guardians,
We hope you’re enjoying the lovely weather!
There’s been lots happening in school as always. Our Camogie team had another game this week, 5th Class enjoyed their visit to the Custom House, 3rd class enjoyed a trip to Rossborough house. We’re looking forward to bringing 5th Class to Lough Muckno in Monaghan next Wednesday. Thankfully, the weather is looking promising!
A quick reminder that school will be closed this Tuesday, May 20th, for our Curriculum Maths Day.
We’re excited to welcome a theatre company to D7 on Monday. Up in the Clouds will perform 4 special shows for the children in our ALC. We’re sure they’ll love it!
Finally, thank you to everyone who attended this morning’s meeting. It was a stark reminder of why developing a Smartphone Free School matters and how we, as a school and local community, can continue to support our children in developing healthy relationships with technology.
It was particularly interesting to hear Colman speak about the reactions of children involved in a study when their devices were taken away compared to when items like crayons or jigsaws were removed. The emotional responses were markedly different, highlighting just how deep the attachment to devices has become. This only reinforces the importance of teaching children how to build a balanced and respectful relationship with technology. As Eleanor said, they need guidance, structure, and the chance to earn responsibility rather than simply having access handed to them.
Another point that resonated was the idea that childhood is shrinking. The pressure to grow up too quickly, often driven by exposure to adult content or concerns on digital platforms, means many children are missing out on essential parts of being a child.
The analogy of the rocks, pebbles, and sand really reminded us that if we fill our time (and our children’s time) with all the small, less important things first, there won’t be space left for what really matters
The ball is very much back in our court. One of the final and perhaps most powerful reflections was the need for us, as adults, to model good behaviour. If we’re constantly online, checking messages, and reacting to every notification, how can we expect our children to learn restraint? This isn’t about blame, more about taking small, intentional steps to shift the culture around us.
Sincere thanks to Conor for chairing the meeting, to Stephen and Martin for setting up the room, to Ciara and Peter for their tech support, to our colleagues across all the schools in D7 and to you, the parents for supporting this initiative.
The last point to hold onto is not only to ask what children are doing if they are online, but also to consider what they are not doing. Are they missing chances to connect, to play, to explore, to rest?
Thank you once again for being part of today’s conversation.
I will let you know where we go from here in the next few weeks.
Custom house tour
All 5th classes had the opportunity to visit the historic Custom House this week. The building itself, now an incredible 230 years old, remains a working government building and is still in use by the Department of the Environment.
Our guides brought the rich history of the Custom House to life with engaging stories.
How lucky are we to be located so close to so many architectural sites, steeped in history?
Bike Week Poster Competition
We are very proud to say that Anna Byrne from Gráinne / Marie’s class has won with her entry to the Bike Week Poster Competition. We are proud to say her poster is now on display in Herbert Park, Donaghmede Park and Poppintree Park.
D7ETNS Girls Show True Team Spirit in Tough Camogie Clash
The D7ETNS camogie team put in a determined and spirited performance in their recent match against a strong St. Mocha’s side at Porterstown GAA grounds. Despite the final scoreline not going their way, the girls displayed resilience, teamwork, and passion from start to finish.
Facing a physically tough and well-drilled opponent, D7ETNS stood tall and defended bravely right up to the final whistle. Every player gave it their all, working tirelessly to close down space, block shots, and support one another throughout the game.
While the scoreboard didn’t reflect the intensity and commitment of the team, the girls can be proud of their performance. They played as a united group, showing real grit and determination under pressure. It was a challenging match, but one that highlighted the spirit and potential of this talented young squad.
Well done to all the players and coaches – the hard work is clear to see, and the future is bright for D7ETNS camogie!
Picture call out
As you may know, D7ET is celebrating 25 years of history this year. We would like to take this opportunity to reminisce over golden moments from the last quarter century of our existence. The school has an archive of such photographic highlights, but if you can in any way augment this, we would welcome your contributions. Please forward any photos, short videos etc to the school to help us put together a montage.
Email: peadar@d7educatetogether.com or send it in on a memory stick to Peadar in 5th Class (you will get the memory stick back immediately)
Community News
This may be of interest to some 6th class children
Spleodar is a not-for-profit youth organisation that runs immersive, three-week Gaeltacht courses for young people during the summer months. They asked us to share this notice with our school community.
They would like to let you know that there are still 20 places available on our primary school Gaeltacht course, Spleodar Ros Muc, which runs from 27th June to 19th July 2025. This course is specifically tailored for younger students and offers a mix of language learning, cultural activities, and fun. The student to staff ratio is 6 to 1. They are currently offering a special discounted rate for this course. The regular cost is €1,260 but will offer it now for just €700. If you are interested in securing a place or would like more information, please contact us at 091 388916 or email eolas@spleodar.com
Aogán Mac Conmara Bainisteoir Riaracháin Spleodar