Awards and Achievements
Table Tennis
What a fantastic year 2023 has been in Griffeen Valley Educate Together National School.
In early 2020, the school, after winning both leagues, was on course to compete in the All-Ireland National Schools competition, but this was not to be due to the COVID19 pandemic. After a long break of two years, table tennis returned, and we had 5 teams competing over 4 leagues. After many matches, both home and away, our Girls team and Boys A team won their respective leagues. This qualified them for the All-Ireland National Schools Finals which took place in the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown on April 27th, 2023.
The final match of the day was against Ballydown Primary School from the North of Ireland. Our Girls team won 5 – 1 while the Boys match was a closer affair needing a deciding doubles, after the match ended 3 – 3. The final result was Griffeen Boys won 4 – 3. It was a fantastic day of table tennis with Griffeen Valley winning both Girls, and for the first time the Boys U13 competition.
In May, 2023, the Girls team then added the Leinster Schools Cup title to the Griffeen Valley ET winning streak.
Blue Flag For Europe
GVETNS love to celebrate all the cultures and nationalities represented in our school. One of the ways that we do this is through the Blue Star programme, where children learn all about the EU- specifically about European history, geography, art and culture, and the EU as an institution. We had such a fun day at our European concert where all classes showcased songs and dances from Europe. The older classes got to meet Frances Fitzgerald MEP who taught all about how the decisions are made in the EU.
Amber Flag for Wellbeing
Students’ and staff wellbeing is something our school is celebrated for. We achieved the Amber Flag Award during a time when COVID was in all of our minds. During the award year we established a Student Wellbeing Committee to examine what we were already doing, and how we could improve. The SWC had some amazing ideas which we put into action. Among the many initiatives, we held a Wellbeing Week aimed at providing our students with ideas and knowledge to manage their feelings and mental health. We have continued this special event and it is always a success. It is based on The 5 Ways to Wellbeing, which are Connect, Get Active, Be Mindful, Keep Learning and Give to Others.
GAA Honours
Some of the recent successes:
