Vision, Aims & Ethos

Vision

Limerick ETSS strives to provide a caring and supportive school community that nurtures each student’s personal, social and academic potential throughout their school career. Fundamental to our vision is an emphasis on building learning power so that all our students, irrespective of belief system, race, ethnicity, class, culture, gender, language, lifestyle and ability, are equipped with the learning habits and qualifications to thrive in the 21st century. We believe that all people should have access to an excellent education that is inclusive and fosters a culture where students can be who they want to be.

In Limerick ETSS, we place students at the centre of the learning process . Our vision for teaching and learning builds on the thinking underpinning the Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) which outlines the curriculum and assessment arrangements that will provide students with learning opportunities that achieve a balance between learning subject knowledge and developing a range of skills and thinking abilities .

We are striving to create a relevant learning environment that is real-world, connected, meaningful, global, interdisciplinary and project-based. We are developing rigorous learning opportunities that are challenging, outcome-focused, skills-based, open-ended and creative. We want our students to develop and grow to become critical thinkers and build relationships that are collaborative, compassionate, sensitive, culturally inclusive, personal, respectful, trusting and develop self-management and emotional intelligence.

Aims

Limerick ETSS is committed to providing a learning experience that is student-centred. By assessing not only what students learn but how they learn, Limerick ETSS will enable all students to contribute meaningfully to their local, national and global communities, embrace the rights and responsibilities of active citizenship and develop the knowledge and skills needed to live, learn and work in the 21st century. Our principles are:

Diversity

“The real principle that governs human ability is diversity. Diversity is what makes us human. Diversity of talents and backgrounds and experiences and disposition.”

SIR KEN ROBINSON

We live in a changing world – a world that demands a new set of skills and new knowledge. We recognise that every student is unique, and this is reflective of the society that we live in. We want to provide learning experience that focuses on the moral and social development of our students; a learning experience that will provide the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that young people need to enable them to make informed moral decisions and prepare them for life in a pluralist society which embraces diversity.

Curiosity

“The most important thing a teacher can do for students is to keep their curiosity alive”

SIR KEN ROBINSON

In Limerick ETSS, students are encouraged to be curious and confident learners. We recognise the power of asking “Why?” and this challenges our teachers to dig deeper into the learning experience. Curiosity is crucial in the growth and development of young people. It is inherent in us. Curiosity makes our brains more receptive for learning, and that as we learn, we enjoy the sensation of learning. Curious students not only ask questions, but also actively seek out answers. Instilling students with a strong desire to know or learn something is what we as teachers in Limerick ETSS challenge ourselves to do.

Creativity

“Creativity is one of the hallmarks of human intelligence and people who come up with fresh ideas are endlessly curious.”

SIR KEN ROBINSON

The challenges we currently face are without precedent. More people live on this planet now than any other time in history. The world population has doubled in the past 30 years and with this we are facing an increasing strain on the world’s natural resources. Technology is advancing at a headlong rate of speed. It’s transforming how people work, think and connect. We live in times of massive unpredictability. In Limerick ETSS, we teach creativity in lots of ways such as:

⦁ Project-Based Learning
⦁ Flexible Learning Environments
⦁ Building Learning Power
⦁ Divergent Thinking
⦁ Using Success Criteria
⦁ Integrating the Curriculum
⦁ Personal Creativity

Ethos

Limerick ETSS’s ethos is built on the values set out in the Blueprint for Educate Together Second-level Schools . The Board of Management upholds the ethos of the school, ensuring that it is:

Equality-based

We are equality-based or multi-denominational in character, ensuring that our students regardless of social, cultural and religious backgrounds have equal access to and rights within the school.

Co-educational

We are co-educational, thereby encouraging our students to learn and live together.

Student-centered

We are child-centred, respecting individual students’ abilities to learn in unique ways.

Democratically-run

We run our school on a democratic basis, encouraging active participation by parents and students in the daily life of the school whilst positively affirming the professional role of the teachers.