Birch in March
Contributor: Sorcha Ryan We had a busy month in March. We had engineers week and made out own playground items from paper. We made ice cream in a bag while celebrating world book day! We were learning about states of matter and saw how a liquid cream turned into a delicious solid by a chemical reaction using salt and ice! Yum!
Froggy Firsts
1st Class Elm have been learning about the life cycle of a frog and birds we would see in our garden. They have loved learning about both. They were bird spotters over the weekend and recorded the birds they spotted on a bird tally worksheet. After learning all about frogs, one was found near the pond! We were all very excited to see what we had been learning about in the classroom, in real life. They even examined the frog to see what stage of its life it was at. Contributor: Sam Donohoe
5th Class update
Rang a Cúig had their Assembly on Wednesday 16th March at St. Patrick’s church. Well done to all for celebrating diversity through exploring the themes of Identity and Moving and Travelling. We celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge by reading Scríobh Leabhar projects from St. Patrick’s N.S. in Bray to our Senior Infant buddies! We look forward to getting our own books back next month. We’re about to spring into serious action in the school garden. 5th will plant spuds as part of their History curriculum learning about The Great Hunger next but for now, the remains of the Brussles Sprouts will have to do… Anyone looking to help out practically with the school garden, please send an email to wendymorgan@stpns.ie
Having a Cracking time
3rd class Holly During engineers week we were learning about bridges. If you have a look around you will see that arches are used to build some bridges. Arches are said to be very strong. We put this to the test using eggs and as you can see, we had an egg-citing time! When you stand on a carton of eggs your foot is big enough to spread the pressure of your weight around all of the eggs and their arch structure prevents them from cracking. Apparently if you squeeze an egg in your hand it shouldn’t crack. If you completely surround the egg with your hand, the pressure you apply by squeezing is distributed evenly. We had a go and as you can see that’s eggs-actly what happened, the eggs all survived!
Amazing Work
Junior Infants Ash have been very busy this month 🍎 Our theme in Aistear was transport. We got to work at the train station 🚂 It was great fun! We also created some amazing art work. We made beautiful butterflies based on the story ‘The Hungry Catterpillar’, print tulips using forks and we made hot air balloons. Take a look at our amazing work 📷
The past was a blast!
2nd Class have been learning about games that were played in the past. This week, they had the opportunity to play some of those games. In their groups, they played Stuck in the Mud, Bomb, Donkey, Skipping, Marbles and Hopscotch. The children voted on their favourite game and Bomb came out on top. Their reasons for liking this game were different. Some children said it was fun, others said they liked the concept. Bomb – Rules Stand in a circle. Throw the ball (bomb) to each other. The bomb is activated when someone drops the ball. This means that a 10 second countdown begins. Continue to pass the ball as you count down from 10. When you reach zero, the bomb goes off and the person holding the ball is out.
Senior Infants Become Authors
Contributor: Angela Morrissey Since January, senior infants have been working hard to write their very own books. These books are their entries for the Write a Book project, which is run by the Blackrock Education Centre. Each child wrote and illustrated a book on the theme of the farm, which was our Aistear theme in January. They worked very hard on their handwriting and their illustrations, and they should be very proud of their books! We are now waiting to find out which was the winning entry from our class, but Ms Morrissey thinks that they are all winners! A big thank you to Ms Boland and Ms Harden who also worked with senior infants on their books and to Tara for helping to put the books together.
Leaping First Class Larch
Contributor: Rachel Flynn We leapt into the topic of frogs this month, learning all about their life cycles and special abilities. We enjoyed discussing how tadpoles essentially ‘eat’ their tails (use the nutrients from it) to help them grow into froglets with legs and lungs. We’re hoping we’ll be lucky enough to find some frog spawn in the school pond again this spring. We also really enjoyed a 2D and 3D shape hunt around the school… who knew so many shapes were hiding in plain sight?
All you need is love 💕
1st Class Elm Contributor: Sam Donohoe
6th class Art
Contributor: Sinéad Regan In art 6th Class have been creating using clay. Here are some of our finished products:
Guided Reading books!
We are delighted to share that we have a brand new set of Guided Reading books for the school. The mix of Engage Literacy and Collins Big Cat readers have been funded by the PTA and the board. These books will be used across the whole school for all children to read. We have six titles of each books which means teachers can read with the children in groups much more easily. Currently, we are setting up targeted Guided Reading Interventions in most classes. These classes will have an SET and their class teacher running Literacy stations daily. First Class Larch, Second Class, Fourth Class Willow and Sixth Class are the first classes to start and the children are really enjoying the variety in the books. More classes will be starting guided reading after Easter time. We’re all very excited about the opportunity to grow in our love of books and reading. A HUGE thank you to the PTA and Board of Management for funding this exciting new initiative! Contributor: Jessica Boland
Work station toy makers
1st Class Elm finished off their theme of toys by making their own fortune tellers. Contributor: Sam Donohoe 1st Class Elm have been working so hard during station work. We have 4 stations that they do twice a week. Mrs Boland comes in to help us with them and we are both so proud of the improvements they have made.
Maths – Chance
3rd Class Holly had lots of fun last week learning all about Chance. They carried out investigations with coins and dice. They also explored Chance in card games by playing games such as Higher or Lower, Go Fish and Red or Black. Contributor: Karen McCormick
A colourful start to 2022!
Some pupils from Fifth Class started the new term with wonderful creativity by making these gorgeous 2022 posters to brighten up one of the school hallways. Each colour they selected represents something positive they would wish for the year ahead. It was difficult to choose just a few from the long list we made!
Special visitor today
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Move Well Move Often
Look what Rang a Cúig have been doing since the beginning of the year in P.E. We do the Move Well Move Often programme to develop our Fundamental Movement Skills and over the past 8 weeks have been doing Gymnastics.
4th Class Readers Theatre
Both 4th class’ literacy groups worked on Readers Theatre in the run up to Christmas. The main idea behind this kind of reading aloud is to show-case clarity, pace and intonation. It is not about memorizing the lines but rather building confidence and developing fluency. I am very proud of the groups for doing this in front of their peers, and grateful to some other pupils for stepping in at the last minute. Contributor: Gill Sheil
Wearing masks in school
When I heard that I had to wear a mask at school, I flipped out. I asked why? Why? Why do I have to wear a mask? I got a head-ache and felt a little bit sick thinking about it. I wore a Star Wars face-mask, worried that others might think I was a fan. Actually no-one cared. I don’t feel too bad now, except that my glasses get foggy. I get sweaty because the moisture behind the mask makes my lips hot. I don’t feel flipped-out anymore. I didn’t like it at first but I’m getting used to it. Every now and then, I need to take a breather, and I have to take it off. I feel annoyed that I have to wear a mask at school for the next few weeks but we all have to do it. I’m happy that I won’t have to wear one at Christmas, because I will not be at school. Matilda is a pupil with SEN, for whom the pandemic has been particularly difficult. I am very proud of her for expressing her feelings so clearly and for being a voice for others who feel the same way. G Sheil (SET)
Glittery emotions
Have you ever felt so full of emotion that you could not think clearly? We have been enjoying making glitter jars to explore this. Add lots of different coloured glitter for different feelings …. gold for excitement & happiness, blue for sadness, purple for worry.. Shake them all up… it’s hard to think clearly with all that emotion (glitter) swirling round inside! Now – stay still! …..watch it settle, breathe… The glitter is still there, settled on the bottom and the liquid is clear again. Contributor: Heather Jordan
Rang a Cúig
Rang a Cúig have been exploring their Rights and Responsibilities. We’ve been celebrating individuality alongside being part of a whole group. We hope you agree we’ve produced something effective to share this theme. Contributor: Wendy Morgan
1st class Larch are rolling forward
First Class Larch have been enjoying the use of our brand-new gymnastics’ mats. We’ve been working on building our core strength through pulling/pushing and getting used to weight on our hands using cushions. We have explored how to complete a forward roll safely and will now focus on jumping and landing. We’re very excited to make a vault with the new mats. As Gaeilge, we have been learning about An Aimsir and we performed our first ‘Nuacht an Lae’ using some exciting costumes! Christmas has officially landed in our classroom too (can you spot our winter penguins?) we’ll save the rest of those pictures for the school newsletter. Contributor: Rachel Flynn
Getting into the Festive Spirit in Senior Infants
Senior Infants have just finished up their Aistear topic on outer space – this was a topic that the really enjoyed. They created fantastic astronaut pictures and made their own rockets using kitchen roll tubes. They also wrote a list of the ten things they would take to space in their rocket – there were lots of smart, funny and usual ideas! Roman said he would take his homework with him! We have now started our new theme which is The Post Office. In the role play area, the children have been busy setting up the post office and discussing what they need and the journey that our post takes. We have also been working on beautiful Christmas mosaic pictures to bring festive cheer into our classroom! The children’s positive energy is so uplifting. Contributor: Angela Morrissey
History revisited
A major topic covered each year in 6th class is World War 2. We have recently read the novel Goodnight Mister Tom. This book deals with the war from the point of view of an evacuee and those left in England trying to live their lives in scary and uncertain times. Anabel, our wonderful SNA, gave a riveting presentation on the experiences of her father who was himself an evacuee. To experience a first-hand account of someone who remembers the terror of hearing the air battles and who witnessed pilots parachuting from their aircraft was amazing and really brought the war to life for us all. Our art pictured was inspired by the blackouts necessary to evade the Luftwaffe bombers during the Blitz. We have just begun the novel the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which looks at WW2 from the point of view of a 9-year-old German boy, Bruno. It’s a fantastic book and has raised many discussion points already. Contributor: Sinéad Regan
Dragons STEM
1st Class Elm started Dragons STEM this week. They made castles, lighthouses and farmhouses which Bernie and I would love to buy. Contributor: Sam Donohoe
5th class Geography
4th Class helping resettlement
Over the past few weeks, the two fourth classes have been learning about Syria and refugees in line with the class novel ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’. The classes were very generous and made a huge donation to a direct provision centre in Bray. We also had Naomi from Respond – Wicklow Resettlement Programme in to give the class a talk on resettling refugees in Ireland. The war has been going on in Syria since 2011 and over half of the refugees in the world are children. The two classes showed great empathy and interest while learning about this topic and this was evident through the questions that they asked Naomi. If you would like to learn more information on the Wicklow Resettlement Programme please visit https://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Irish_Refugee_Protection_Programme_(IRPP)
4th class Literacy Group
We have been working on our reading fluency through the pleasure of poetry. We looked at a couple of different genres and even listened to some poets reciting their own poems, to hear their intonation and expression. One of our favourites was “Don’t Put Mustard in the Custard” by Michael Rosen. It was very funny. We compared this to another poem called “The Dream of a Plastic Bag” by Lucinda Jacob. It was rather depressing. By reading the poems a few times aloud, we increased our fluency, raised our confidence and had fun along the way! At the end of our poetry-reading module, we were inspired to write our own. Using “storyteller dice”, we each rolled a dice (twice!) at the same time and got 12 words. Then we composed the following poem entitled… “The Crazy Christmas” I was making the meal on Christmas Eve Accidentally, it fell under the Christmas Tree A banana, a burger and ice-cream too Missed my mouth, falling into my shoes! Outside I heard the rain like a whale, Its song made a sound of stones of hail. My football burst, and I was sad Because I got it for Christmas from my Dad Luckily, he came home later that night With a brand new ball, all new and white The next day, my ball had paw-prints I looked at my muddy dog who needed a rinse! By Isla L, Geoffrey D, Juliette H, Oisin B-M, Juliette L, Zach G.
Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery is now up and running in our school! Reading Recovery is a school-based, short-term, early Literacy intervention. It is designed for children aged around six, who after at least one year of school, are having significant difficulties in Literacy. Reading Recovery involves intensive and structured one-to-one lessons for 30 minutes a day with a specially trained Reading Recovery teacher. This series of lessons is individually designed for each child, and the goal is for children to become effective readers and writers. Thanks to the PTA, we now have a beautiful set of new PM readers to be used during Reading Recovery lessons. Ms. Boland, one of our teachers, is now taking some lovely children for this 1:1 intervention and already their reading is really improving! Contributor: Jessica Boland
4th class Willow
4th Class have been reading the novel ‘The Boy at the back of the classroom’ by Onjali Q. Raúf. The novel is about a boy who has fled Syria for a better life in the UK. In Geography, the children worked in groups to create projects focusing on different aspects of Syria (culture, refugee crisis, climate, geography and history). In Art, the children drew an eye with a reflection of life in Syria during troubled times. Ms O’Neill 4th Class Willow and Birch collected some items for the ‘Bridging the Gap’ which is a direct provision centre in Bray. The items we gave included: toiletries, suitcases, books, stationery, and treats. Jennifer very kindly met with Bernadette D’Arcy outside the centre and gave her our donations. Everyone was so grateful. Thank you to everyone in 4th Class Willow and Birch for your generous donations. By Kate Martin and Juliette Hyland 4th Willow.
Our Student Council
On Thursday 21st of October, the student council met for the first time with Miss. Bedell and Miss. Flynn. We are so excited to announce the following representatives for each class (see photograph): 2nd Class: Anna and Sonny3rd Class Hazel: Sophie and Fionnuala3rd Class Holly: Kitty and Aimee4th Class Birch: Alma and Cameron 4th Class Willow: Kate and Oliver 5th Class: Catherine and Fred 6th Class: Tom and Isabelle We look forward to meeting on a regular basis and the children will keep you posted on any updates.