Mic drop Mid-term dress up!
Thank you to everyone for putting in such an effort with costumes today. I think all of us staff had even more fun than the children being able to dress up. Here are some of this year’s highlights. Contributors: Ms Harper & St Patrick’s National School Community!
Space, Maths & Poetry!
The pupils of Fourth Class Rowan really enjoyed Space Week and produced some beautiful artwork using a wax resist technique with paint and crayon. Maths week was great fun too, and we all enjoyed trying to figure out those challenging puzzles, as well as heading outside with Fourth Class Larch to do a maths trail. Fourth Class Rowan also became poets last week, creating marvellously descriptive sensory poems on the theme of autumn. Contributors: Sarah McAuliffe and 4th Class Rowan
Golden Books
Aaron in 6th Ash put lots of time and effort into his project on WW2. He presented it so well he made it into the Golden Book. Great work Aaron. Contributor: Sorcha Ryan
Autumn X-rays
It’s a hive of creativity in senior infants at the moment. As part of our Aistear theme on the doctor’s surgery, we are creating our own ‘x-ray’ pictures, which is lots of fun. While creating this art, we are extending our vocabulary on this theme. We may have some budding doctors, nurses and radiographers in the class! We are also discussing the season of Autumn and the autumn colours and creating our own autumn tree pictures. In senior infants we have a nature table and the children have been bringing in beautiful autumn leaves and pinecones.Contributor: Angela Morrissey & Senior Infants
Successful Space Mission
Space week 2020 was a roaring success. We had so much participation from senior infants wearing space themed raincoats and bringing in homemade rockets to 6th class listening and responding to David Bowie’s Space Oddity with drawings. We studied the International Space station and Neil Armstrong in 6th,5th class built and tested their own rockets, 2nd class learned about constellations and drew their own after and of course we had some fantastic entries to the Planet you would like to visit competition. The winners were Emily Shevlin in 6th OakRobert Langton in 6th Ash Poppy Smullen in 5th Kanav Sukhija in 4th Fred Swaine in 3rd class
School Life in 2nd Holly
2nd class Holly has been settling into school life very well. I’m so impressed by their patience and understanding regarding the new COVID rules. During September we spent a lot of time focusing on our mental health and wellbeing. We reminisced on all the positive aspects quarantine brought into our lives. We spoke about how a dark and dreary day filled with clouds and rain can bring a bright, beautiful rainbow to our skies. We compared this to our experiences during the lockdown. Although scary and dark some days, there were plenty of positives to it as well. Many included more time with family, a lie in each morning, activities outside, visiting places around Ireland and a chance to reset themselves. We created rainbows for our classroom during the first week, to remind us of this time in a positive light. These rainbows remind us of all the positive things that happened during the lockdown and brighten up our classroom!
6th Class Ash hard at work!
Jordan in 6th Ash spent 5 and a half hours on her project about Iceland. She hand drew all her illustrations and even included some Icelandic phrases for us to learn some of the local language. She showed a serious amount of dedication here and deserves a special mention. This is a fantastic example of hard work and a wonderful example to the younger classes. Contributors: Sorcha Ryan & 6th Class Ash
Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11!
2nd class Holly have been loving space week so far! Throughout the week they have done lots of work and experiments on space. They learned about Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11. They got to listen to a real astronaut tell a story about space, while up in space! They studied the sun and why it is needed. To prove this, they did a science experiment on a basil plant to see how well it grew in the sun and in darkness. They also studied a poem called ‘Alien’ by Julie Holder. They each illustrated a line from the poem and these have been hung up on their display board. Finally 2nd class Holly studied the stars and constellations. They created their own constellations using their own name. Contributors: Sam Donohoe & 2nd Class Holly
Happy Space Week from Senior Infants!
The children worked collaboratively to create this super spaced themed display…and one little senior infant came to school very appropriately dressed in his space coat! Contributors: Angela Morrissey & Senior Infants
Life of Valentina Tereshkova
Using one of the new Promethean panels to research the life of Valentina Tereshkova during Space Week. Contributor: Heather Jordan
Stormy Days & Birch Trees
3rd class Birch have been very busy showing off their artistic skills. Stormy Day pictures with trees inspired by the artist Gustav Klimt We took inspiration from Gustav Klimt and experimented with drawing trees in the style of Klimt. We also added another stormy element to our pictures by drawing houses leaning to one side as though they are bending in the wind. If you look closely at our pictures you might see some of the little details we have added (including animals being blown in the wind and you might even spot some people caught in a gust of wind!) Once we finished drawing, we used a Watercolour wash to finish off our pictures and give them a stormy effect. Birch Trees We felt Birch tree paintings were the perfect fit for 3rd Class Birch! We have been learning about warm and cool colours and painted backgrounds for our pictures using these colours. We then added some silver birch tree trunks to our pictures and spent a lot of time carefully drawing on the detail to the tree trunks. Contributors: Karen McCormick & 3rd Class
Buzz on in to First Class with Miss. Flynn…
We have had a busy start to the school year and have jumped straight into Integrated Play (Aistear) each afternoon. We wanted to make up for lost time in Senior Infants and have been thoroughly enjoying the different activities that work on a rota basis. This year, our stations have been playdough, building, crafts, puzzles and the water table. Check out some of the above activities in the photographs below 😊
Do you need Inspiration for School Lunches?
We are officially 1 month back at school and already, in our house ‘lunch box’ fatigue has set in! While I was aimlessly searching Pinterest for inspiration, my phone pinged and in came a message from Sorcha Ryan sharing a podcast from the Weekend Breakfast show on Today FM. The Podcast is Aisling Larkin from Food Oppi and Alison Curtis on Weekend Breakfast show, where they share some great inspiration for tasty lunch recipes and ideas! Aisling chats through ‘Bento’ lunch boxes, how to make the most of leftovers and batch cooking and adding dips and fibre. Its a quick listen with some fantastic easy to do ideas and the recipes look delish! Click here to listen: INSPIRATION FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES Contributor: Sorcha Ryan & Today FM
Bike Week 2020
Here are some photos of Rang a Dó. We were learning how to use the pedestrian crossing correctly by placing our foot on it to indicate we want to cross. The cyclists were demonstrating stopping safely as part of Bike Week exercises. Contributor: Wendy Morgan
A walk down memory lane
Our to the ESB Science Blast exhibit which we entered in 2020. We attended the event on March 4th and our project was very well received. A trip to the RDS to visit the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in 2019. Fun Day in May of 2019 which took place as part of Active week. A very busy Active week in 2019 What a day to remember! This is from 5th 2018/19 when we went to the Bord Gais to see War Horse as that was our class novel for that year. October 2016 Contributors: Sorcha Ryan & Anabel Hands
Visit Wicklow
This month 4th class Larch were learning about some of the natural features of Ireland, focusing on features we can find in our locality. We love living in Wicklow and decided to create brochures to show off all the beautiful natural features that can be found in Wicklow (of course we had to add some food suggestions too). You can see some of our brochures here. We also wanted to show you our sock puppets that we created on our first day. This month, the topic for Gaeilge is ‘Mé Féin’ and we used the puppets to practice some of the phrases we are learning. Contributor: Ailbhe Murphy, 4th class Larch
6th Class Orienteering
6th class have been busy completing some orienteering activities that included: following maps and deciphering Morse code as part of the Outdoor and Adventure Activities of the PE curriculum. The Morse code revealed some questions based on different lessons we have covered so far in 6th class e.g. What is the Irish for scientist? Who wrote Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven? Contributor: Sinéad Regan
Visual memory, Game-playing & Turn-taking
Here Amy Mc Avoy, in 3rd Class Willow, is revising her visual memory of quantity through game-playing and turn-taking. Her reaction says it all!
Do Not Worry’ in the sunshine
Enjoyed quality time outside in the sunshine with 6th and 2nd classes ; we agreed that birds have a great life ; they don’t need clothes, bank cards , mortgages , their homes are rent free and they don’t have any worries ! Lets learn from our feathered friends! Contributor: David Mungavin
Spelling Programme takes off!
This 6th class pupil is demonstrating a spelling programme, which we are introducing for the first time in St Patrick’s. It has been especially developed to create individualised spelling lists, so no two children will have the same bank of words. We are trialling it with our SEN pupils. Contributor: Gill Sheil
Random act of kindness
A random act of kindness from our lovely first class pupil Eben. We’re always keeping an eye out for moments like this – no matter how small ! Contributor: Ms Flynn
Creative Play at work
This 3rd class pupil is taking a break from “book-work” and working with these Torsty Blocks. Not only are they for creative play, but they also assist stimulate colour and shape recognition, assist problem solving and sequencing as well as hand-eye co-ordination. So while the child thinks he is just playing with blocks, he is actually promoting his developmental skills at the same time. Contributor: Gill Sheil
Early Christian Ireland Artwork
In 6th Class we are learning about Early Christian Ireland, we learned about the great monasteries that were founded in Ireland and how Ireland was a beacon of light for learning at this time. We looked at the intricate illustrations found in the Book of Kells, learned about the ancient form of writing called Ogham and other famous relics from that time such as Celtic Crosses. In Art we integrated what we had studied in History and created some Early Christian Ireland inspired clay works of art.
6th Class explore Ancient Christian Ireland!
In 6th Ash we have been busy learning about Ancient Christian Ireland. We have learned about life in a monastery, the Book of Kells and some famous Irish saints. As part of this we created our own high crosses, chalices, torcs and shields and I think you will agree they turned out beautifully.
Senior Infants adventures in learning!
Senior Infants are settling in well – they are enjoining seeing their friends again and playing together in the yard. This month our Aistear theme is myself and my school. We are working on art and other activities on this theme. Note: Aistear is the play based learning framework that we follow in infants. Each month we follow a different theme e.g. myself and school, space, the vets.
World book day
Here at St. Patricks, we recognise the importance of reading and the joy that it can bring to children. Although we celebrate books each and every day in school, World Book Day gives us the opportunity to share our reading experiences. In previous years we have dressed up as our favourite characters, completed many quizzes including ‘Guess which bookshelf belongs to each staff member’ and ‘Guess your teacher’s favourite childhood book.’ All classes enjoy both reading and listening to stories daily. Most recently we introduced ‘Recommended Reads’ into our weekly assembly. Children submit their recommended books during the week, rating and discussing them in class. “You can find magic wherever you look, sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” – Dr. Suess. Although our school library room is currently out of action, teachers may freely update their classroom libraries from our wide selection of books. We are so lucky to have hundreds of pages waiting to be explored within our school libraries. Children are encouraged to read daily and independently in St. Patricks. We often participate in the ‘Write a Book’ programme. Ms Rachel Flynn
2nd Class Holly goes to Space!
2nd Class Holly have been busy rocketing through space into our Solar System! Contributors: Sam Donohoe & 2nd Class Holly
Welcome back!
We hope you enjoyed a wonderful summer. We also hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year. We are delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community and we welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education! We hope you all had a wonderful summer and are coming back relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year. We are delighted that you are part of our amazing school community and we look forward to starting our school year together. Our hard working and conscientious team have spent time preparing classrooms and school for your return. Each year brings positive change. This includes a few additions to our staff. We are delighted to welcome Karen McCormick (3rd class Birch) & Sam Donohoe (2nd Class Holly) who are a great asset to the team and we know they will bring so much to the school community. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” Nelson Mandela Thank you so much for all your positivity and encouragement and helping the children understand that during these uncertain times we are able to work together to overcome the most unusual challenges. We understand that it can take a few weeks for your children to adjust to this new normal, a new class, pods and teacher and we appreciate your patience and understanding. It was really great to see the school full of children again and to see their happy smiling faces. It has been way too long. The atmosphere at the gate was incredible and it was a huge pleasure to open those gates. Together, I know we will make this school year one of growth and achievement for all children.
After School Activities Suspended
Unfortunately After School Activities will not be going ahead at St Patrick’s commencing September 2020, until further notice. The Department have given very strict guidelines that children must stay within their class groups only throughout the school day. As you can appreciate, this needs to follow through to After School Activities that are held on the school premises. “ It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi We know that this is challenging and disappointing for us all but the main focus is enabling the children to return to school and keeping the virus at bay. We will keep you updated with any changes advised by the Department.
Planning to reopen is going full steam ahead!
We have been busy planning for our reopening over the Summer, working within the Departments official guidelines and consulting with other community schools and experts. Before school opens We will be sending out a map of the school with hand sanitiser stations, guidelines for children and parents and a video from myself, Rachel Harper giving you a tour around the school, starting at the gate and onto the classrooms. We hope this will give the children a glimpse into what they can expect and a chance for the parents, to discuss this with them. We are really looking forward to welcoming our children back to school and will be doing all that we can to ensure that the return to school is a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. We can assure you that we will work with the children at whatever level they are at, both on a personal and academic level, as we are acutely aware that many families have had different challenges during the time away from the school environment. Acknowledging the recent changes to lock down restrictions we are still planning for a safe school re-open on Tuesday 1st September 2020. We will all be called on to play our part in ensuring that re-opening of the school is done in a safe manner which prevents the spread of the virus and allows the vital work of teaching and learning to proceed with as little disruption as possible. Re-opening the school safely requires the co-operation of all members of our school community – the Board of Management (BoM), school leadership, staff, parents and pupils. DES Covid-19 Response Plan We have been working on our plan for the safe re-opening of the school for some weeks now and will forward the COVID-19 Response Plan for the safe and sustainable re-opening of the school in the near future with our information pack. The Response Plan will give details of: Physical preparation, signage, hand sanitiser stations; Advice, procedures and training for the safe return to working in the school for all school staff and pupils; General and specific advice on how all pupils, staff, parents and visitors will prevent the spread of the virus. Physical Distancing and Safe School Attendance We are currently working on upgrading our procedures and routines within the school to ensure that there is as much physical distancing as is possible in our building. We will apply physical distancing in a practical and sensible way, recognising that the learning environment cannot be dominated by a potentially counterproductive focus on this issue. Physical Distancing will be achieved in two ways: Increasing Separation. This will be achieved by re-configuring the classrooms to maximise physical distancing. Each class will be referred to as a bubble and we will ensure that there is as little contact as possible between children in different bubbles. Within the bubbles, children will be organised into pods. A pod is a group of children (normally 6) who will sit together and who will stay in their pod while in the bubble, or classroom. Decreasing Interaction. This will be achieved by decreasing the potential for children from different bubbles to interact. For example, children from each year group will be kept to their own class at all times throughout the day. This will include break-times. As I am sure you will understand, there will be no Assemblies, Church Services or swimming lessons at this present time. More information will follow detailing new school/classroom layout along with staggered times etc. Our aim remains to re-open the school in an orderly, safe, enjoyable manner, while reassuring the children and making them feel comfortable, safe and relaxed with their friends in the new school environment. Like all of us the children are looking forward to getting back into a new routine. This will be achieved by all of us working towards this common goal. While all children are more than welcome back to school, we would remind parents that, where children are displaying colds, coughs or flu like symptoms, they should not be sent to school. Children who display such symptoms in school will be isolated and parents asked to collect them from the school. Children who have travelled from countries not on the Green List should not attend school during the 14-day self-isolation period. Further information on COVID-19 symptoms in children is available here Our teachers will make children aware of the proper hygiene procedures regarding hand washing and etiquette related to sneezing, coughing or spitting. We would be grateful if you could also emphasise safe behaviour in this regard to your children at home as part of the preparation for returning to school. In the coming weeks we will be sending out more information via email and also updating out website so please do check back for any updates.