We have been busy in February, despite there being a mid-term break, which was very welcome!

In English, we are continuing to read ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and we have also been writing our own narrative writing stories.

We’ve been learning about vlogging and blogging and we’ve also done a debate on the motion: ‘Doctors and nurses should be paid more than footballers’

Irish we’ve been learning about the weather and our hobbies – ‘caitheamh aimsire’.

We’ve been weighing and learning about weight, 3D shapes, multiplication, division and money in Maths – phew! We also got new Maths boxes for each table, with resources to help us learn and understand our Maths topics.

We’ve learned all about the Famine and are beginning to learn about the Normans in History.

We completed projects on tourism in Ireland in Geography. We also completed a project on energy usage in different parts of the world.

In Science we have been learning about sound, we’ve linked it to music and have made musical instruments out of junk art materials. We have also planted seeds to grow and made Chinese Lanterns. 

We’ve been learning about friendships and how to be a good friend.

We’ve been playing beanbag games and throwing skills in PE. We’ve also started dance, which is tricky to learn all the moves, and Tag Rugby, which we’re enjoying.

In Drama, we’ve been looking at the characters in ‘James and the Giant Peach’, using some elements of drama such as conscience alley and freeze frames.

Finally in Art, we’ve been doing print, we printed using crayons using different textures outside in our yard, made pictures out of them. We’ve printed using objects in the classroom and made 3D pictures using folded paper. We’ve also entered an art competition based on the theme ‘Water for Peace’.

January News – 3rd and 4th class

Well we are well settled back after our Christmas break. We have been extremely busy getting back into our work, but have enjoyed being back with our friends and catching up with each other. Let’s take you through the various areas we’ve been working on:

In English we read about inspirational women. We discussed what their legacies were and how they could inspire us. We have also started research projects on famous people we’re interested in – people who inspire us.

In Irish we learned about ‘An Aimsir’ and ‘Caitheamh Aimsire’. Our Nathanna cainte was ‘An feidir leat ___?’ -Are you able to ?, Is feidir liom ___/ Ní feidir liom ______ - I am able to ___/ I’m not able to ____. We’ve used the phrase: ‘Tá a lán caitheamh aimsire agam. Is maith liom bheith ag…’ to talk about our hobbies.

In Maths, we have been learning about fractions and decimals and linking them to one another.

In History, we learned about the first Emperor of China and a story about Chinese New Year

In Geography, we linked in with History, learning about the geography of China. We compared and contrasted Ireland to China, and it was surprising how similar China’s landscape is to Ireland – just on a far larger scale!

In Science, we used the volcano 3rd class made before Christmas to demonstrate how a volcano erupts to 1st and 2nd class. We also learned about the 5 different habitats around the world;

In STEM, we made marshmallow structures using mini marshmallows and cocktail sticks. We worked in our groups and created different structures. We then put them on a folder and shook them to see if they’d stand up to an earthquake. They all wobbled, but stood firm.

In Art, we learned how to draw a Giant Panda and we designed out our Ming Dynasty Vases. 

In Music, we have learned some new songs, we have listened and responded to classical music and played percussion instruments to go along with ‘Blinding Lights’

We had a visitor to our school, Adele O’Connor from An Taisce came int o do a Sustainable Energy Workshop with us. She told us the story of energy, ways it’s produced. We talked about renewable and non-renewable energy sources. We discussed those of us who have solar panels, wind turbines or heat pumps at home, electric or hybrid cars. We discussed fossil fuels, Climate change as a result of pollution and non-renewable energy consumption. We looked at the properties of energy – looking at a basketball bouncing giving us sound energy, Newton’s cradle which shows the transfer of energy and we learned about energy coming from a chemical reaction; using a vitamin c tablet and water in a pop-lid top bottle.

We have also started Mindfulness classes, which have been so relaxing and enjoyable.

We had a Nurture session, where we chatted and enjoyed time in small groups having hot chocolate, toast and doing an Art activity.

We have been joined by Ms McAdoo, who has been doing some nice activities with us; we’ve started reading ‘James and the Giant Peach’, we’re writing stories. We’ve been learning how to print in Art. We have acted out scenes from ‘James and the Giant Peach’ in Drama, we’ve been working together with practical activities in Maths. We’ve learned about Emigration and the Famine in History and Tourism in Geography. We’re learning about sound in Science. We’ve been really busy leaning so many new things and doing these activities.

We have had the fastest and most fun December.  The countdown to Christmas day started immediately!

We have remained busy and active in all areas! 

We learned all about 'An Nollaig' in Irish as well as finishing writing our Irish plays and performing some for 1st and 2nd class. 

We finished our Gymnastics lessons which we thoroughly enjoyed!

We learned about graphic comics and even created our own!

In History we learned about Ancient Rome and life there. We worked in partners to make projects based on what we learned. 

We also learned about the Irish Postal service, and compared urban (city) and rural (country/ island) life. 

We read all about various Christmas traditions in lots of countries around the world. Some were very strange!

As we had all earned so many dojo points, we all performed 'show and tell' for the class. There were lots of diverse topics covered and plenty of talent shared, they certainly held our interest!

We performed 'An chéad Nollaig ', 'Do they know it's Christmas?' and 'Let it be Christmas ' for the school Carol Service with AJ playing the drums brilliantly and Nathan fantastic on the cymbals. 

We also took part in an ecumenical Carol service along with fifth and sixth, pupils from St Mary's and Our Lady of Mercy. It really made us feel festive! 

We have been extra busy in Art, we designed our own Snow globe's, created Snowmen picture collages, took part in an online painting lesson and made tissue paper and tinfoil tree ornaments. 

Lastly, we had great fun giving out and opening our secret santa presents in front of our virtual fireplace and listening to Christmas music. We were all delighted with our gifts and felt really in the mood for Christmas. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy,  healthy new year! 

November News – Third and Fourth class

Time has gone so quickly since our mid-term break! We have been so busy and are definitely on the countdown to Christmas. Great excitement has been building!

We have been reading about various journeys, fictional and non-fictional stories, in English. It’s really developed discussions on where we’ve been and where we’d like to go.

In Irish as part of our theme ‘Bia’ we have been writing plays based on going to a restaurant ‘An Bialann’. It’s been great fun, we’ve written our own Irish menus ‘biacláir’ and we’re looking forward to performing them.

We’re still really enjoying our gymnastics lessons and have been enjoying playing basketball, with some students lending their own expertise.

We have been learning about Ancient Rome and the Romans, completing projects in partners based on what we’ve learned. It’s been really fun exploring and learning and so interesting too. Linking in with the Romans, in Geography, we have been learning about Italy.

In STEM we have worked in groups to make a model of a volcano, we’ve watched volcanic eruptions to see how different the eruptions can be and we’re looking forward to making our own eruption, when the volcano is finished. We have also made a model of an aqueduct and we’re looking forward to seeing if water will flow along it.

We painted wax-resist winter fox pictures, designed snow globes, created mosaic pictures and drew our own Mona Lisa pictures in Art.

We also took part in Science week activities and enjoyed a Crazy Hair Day fundraiser for Green schools. It’s been great fun along the way and we’re really looking forward to the build up to Christmas.

Well! We have had a whirlwind October. We packed a lot into the month. We are continuing to enjoy working with our reading buddies – including doing a Maths trail outside for Maths week, which was great fun. 

In RE we visited our church St Philip and St James, looking inside and out at the

features of the church and elements in it like the font, the lecturn and the pulpit. It was really

interesting and nice to take our time to look around and appreciate its beauty.

In English we learned all about tigers, the breeds and how close they have come to extinction. We

really enjoyed celebrating tigers and debating how we could save the remaining species of tiger inthe world. We also read an excerpt of Charlotte’s Web and Mrs Prenter has started to read it to theclass which we’re enjoying.

We took part in a pollinator workshop – where we learned about the different types of bees in Ireland and we explored our school grounds and couldn’t believe the amount of types of trees we have! We completed a small woodland project based on what we learned.

In History we completed projects on The Bronze Age, which are on display in the GP room. We enjoyed researching and learning about developments from the Stone Age to Bronze Age living.

In Geography we made our own leaflets advertising tourist spots in Ireland. In Science and STEM we completed bridges which we’re going to test out after mid-term.

We completed a Green School’s online workshop in Climate change with 5 th and 6 th class.

In Art we made Kandinsky collage trees, Bleeding tissue paper print pictures an Art competition and 2 tone pumpkin collages.

Right in the middle of the month we celebrated Harry Potter Book Day – some people dressed up, music was playing throughout the day to set the mood, Mrs Prenter dressed as Professor McGonagle and decorated the room. We planned our own stories, learned how to draw Hogwarts and used homemade wands to practise delivering spells. It was great fun and everyone really enjoyed the day.

A very big welcome back everyone to a new school year. We have had the pleasure of welcoming 3rd class into our classroom and a new pupil - Jacob to our class. Everyone has settled really nicely to new routines, new dynamics and we're enjoying getting to know one another very much. Honestly, at this stage, it feels like we've been together far longer than just a month!

We have been so busy! Here are a few of the things we have been doing/ learning about:

History:

In History we’ve been learning about schools in the past and school founders in Ireland who were really significant in setting up schools and influenced the education system; Nano Nagle and Edmund Rice. Mrs McNicholas and Mrs Prenter both told us about their experiences in primary school growing up. We were particularly fascinated by the outside toilets in Mrs McNicholas’ school!

Geography:

In Geography, we learned about all the various elements of running a school, the people and resources involved. We looked at the services – water, electricity and heating that are needed to run a school. We decided that our school really needs solar panels!!

We also learned about different areas people can live in – cities, towns, villages and we focused on various elements of Blackrock village, focusing on services, amenities, especially Blackrock Park and some restaurants and shops.

Science:

In Science we learned about Matter – everything is made up of matter. We looked at various objects in the classroom and decided what they were made of. We worked in pairs to complete a sorting activity of various items, it was quite interesting!

English:

We read letters to David Walliams and learned about him, which was interesting. We focused on mindfulness and looking after ourselves mentally, taking it easy on ourselves and being kind to ourselves as well as others.

We’ve been using vocabulary in our reader to build on our word wall also.

Irish:

We’re enjoying our Bua na Cainte programme this year. It’s fun, funny and interactive. We’ve learned to introduce ourselves and speak about our family.

STEM:

We have started STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths every fortnight. We are really enjoying it – so far we have worked in groups to build a tower out of paper and Sellotape. They were strong enough to hold up to 36 novels!

We are currently working on building a bridge out of cardboard, boxes and tape. It’s really fun, great to work in groups and learn at the same time.

PE:

This month we’ve been focused on games – we worked in groups to create games using PE equipment – we had great fun with our new games and relay races.

We’ve been playing some new and well-known games also, it’s been really fun

Reading Buddies:

We’re enjoying reading every Thursday afternoon with our Reading Buddies. Third class in particular are enjoying being the older buddies!

A/B partners:

We have established A/B partners within the class – a third class pupil is paired with a fourth class pupil and they work on mini projects, activities and poetry together. There’s always a lovely buzz about the room when they’re working together.