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C.B.S. Roscommon was amongst 15 schools to receive the National Quality Label (NQL) at this year’s Léargas eTwinning National Conference. eTwinning, an online community developed by the European Commission, is a platform designed to encourage European schools to collaborate with each other and create links and partnerships. In Ireland, eTwinning is managed by Léargas, the national agency responsible for coordinating international and national exchange programmes in education, including Erasmus+.

Last school year, the C.B.S. Roscommon was privileged to host Ms. Esther Paniagua-Puertas, an English teacher from Extremadura, Spain. Esther, who works in I.E.S. Virgen del Puerto, in Plasencia, spent two weeks at the C.B.S. job-shadowing our staff to observe teaching methods, exchange ideas, and learn new practices. Following her visit, Mr. David Jiménez, Ms. Yéssica Jiménez and Ms. Rachel Staunton started an exciting collaboration with Ms. Paniagua’s school on an ambitious eTwinning project called ESPIRELAND.

This project, which involved all of last year´s 2nd year Spanish students who are currently in 3rd Year in the CBS, was a two-way initiative whose aims were to improve the use of new technologies, teach geography through project-based learning, foster collaboration with the Spanish school and use Spanish in a real context. Students participated in a variety of activities, worked together to research climate and landscape in Ireland, analysed the effects of climate change in both countries, and created presentations and videos. These tasks encouraged interaction between students, increased their understanding of global environmental issues and improved their language skills.

After completing the project, the Spanish Department submitted an application for the National Quality Label. On the 20th September 2024, Léargas notified us that our project had demonstrated excellence in all five evaluation categories, making the C.B.S. Roscommon one of only 15 schools in Ireland to reach this standard and be awarded an NQL.

The award ceremony took place on October 19th at the Hyatt Centric in Dublin during the eTwinning National Conference. A number of teachers gathered in person while others joined online to celebrate a hybrid event where a discussion from experts on wellbeing at school was had. At the ceremony. Mr. David Jiménez and Ms. Yéssica Jiménez received the award which provides concrete recognition for the C.B.S. Spanish Department and all current 3rd Year Spanish students who achieved excellence through the ESPIRELAND project.

Along with the 15 schools that were awarded with the NQL, three schools also received the Erasmus+ European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA).

The Spanish Department would like to thank all the 3rd Year Spanish students for their hard work towards the project as they were the ones who played a key role in the

success of ESPIRELAND. They also extend their gratitude to the parents and guardians as without their consent and constant support this award would never have been achieved. Finally, they invite the whole school community to explore the final product compiled in a digital book: https://read.bookcreator.com/lvDqK38xxTdf0TBDJCL06IeCENd2/c5Do6FoyQRu0X8BNjPNulA/4StEAC0eRmWyXuTHK97sfg