We've adopted an Author!
We've adopted the author Shane Hegarty for the year! A couple of the children had already read some of his books, so there was a lot of excitement when he he visited us recently. He spoke to us about where he gets inspiration for writing his books. He gave each child a copy of his new book 'Boot' which the children are thoroughly enjoying reading. This program has certainly gotten the children excited and motivated to read and write! We will keep in contact with Shane via video calls and e-mails throughout the year as we write our own books.
Photo Shoot in the Garden!
We have been participating in a Green School's Initiative that incorporates growing food in the school garden. Michelle Darmody, PHD researcher with TU Dublin and Food Writer for the Irish Examiner visited us. We had a photo shoot for the Weekend section of the newspaper. We planted potatoes and stawberries whilst posing for the camera!
Our Valentine's Art Inspired by Piet Mondrian
Soil Testing in the School Garden!
Our Pop-Out Polar Bears
Science Week
During Science Week we did loads of fun activities. We had a Science Fair in third and fourth with lots of fun experiments. We had a frozen balloon experiment, made glitter slime and we even had a blind-folded tasting experiment to explore our sense which was wildly popular!
We visited Scientific Sue in Ballyroan library for a ROAR-some journey on scientific discovery - we learned about how palaeontologists discover fossils and use them to unravel the puzzles surrounding the lives of dinosaurs!
We visited Scientific Sue in Ballyroan library for a ROAR-some journey on scientific discovery - we learned about how palaeontologists discover fossils and use them to unravel the puzzles surrounding the lives of dinosaurs!
Maths Week
We had great fun during Maths week doing daily maths puzzles and playing lots of fun games, such as Mathopoloy, Pizza Fractions and Multiplication Bingo. The children were encouraged to observe mathematics in the environment “using their maths eyes” during our Maths trails, and there was a wonderful sound of fun and laughter as they did so. Maths week helps children embrace Maths through play based activities.
Picasso Frankenstein!
Our introduction to Division
We used some real life examples for our introductory lesson to Division. We worked on our mini whiteboards and the children were encouraged to use concrete materials, such as counters and 100 squares. The children used various strategies to work out the problems which showed their conceptual understanding of Divison. They came up with lots of interesting methods!
World Space Week
The Big Dig
We had a great day for “The Big Dig” in Edmondstown! The children got a basic introduction to archaeology with a variety of interactive lessons and hands-on activities. We spent time digging, examined Viking artefacts and even made some coins! It brought history to life for the children learnt about Irelands past in a hands-on, fun, informative environment.
Our Autumn Trees
Show and Tell
The children is 3rd and 4th have been enjoying Show and Tell each Friday since we returned to school. They bring in an object to show the class, and every object that a student brings has a story. The class can discuss the item, ask inquiry based questions, and make connections. It's an exciting way to work on our communication skills!