Halloween

We had been planning and talking about our Halloween outfits for ages. Finally our Halloween Dress Up Day arrived.

There were witches, vampires, superheroes and quite a few Wednesdays. We had some yummy treats and we shared our own treats.

We got to do it all over again for real at Halloween.

Definitely, our favourite time of the year!

Parachutes

One of our favourite activities during Science Week was making parachutes. We were all given the same materials except for different colours. 

We all came up with different ideas. Of course we had to see if they worked and they did.

We took them outside and had great fun seeing them fly.

Static Electricity

During Science we explored Static Electricity using balloons.

Static Electricity is a build up of charge on a surface. By rubbing a balloon on our jumpers we charge it. 

We used the balloons to make our hair stand up and to pick up small pieces of paper. We also discovered that the balloons would stick onto us. All of this is due to static electricity.

Maths Week

Our favourite activity during Maths Week was Card Games. We had lots of fun playing the different games and we were also practising our maths skills at the same time. 

Autumn

Even though we always head back to school in the middle of autumn we don't always get to see the leaves change colour for a few weeks.

This year the leaves were especially colourful so we couldn't wait to head out.

On one of the last fine autumn days we had lots of fun catching the leaves as they fell and walking on them to make a cool crunching sound.

Friendship Bracelets

We started Friendship Week by making Friendship Bracelets for our friends. 

Like ourselves they are all different and unique. 

Friendship Week Drawing

For Friendship Week one of out most fun activities was drawing portraits of our friends. 

You can see how they turned out below.

Road Safety

One of our first activities this year was a Road Safety training session. We learned about how to stay safe on the road by following the Safe Cross Code and by wearing Hi Vis. 

We also learned how important it is to be safe in a car, by wearing a seat belt and using a booster seat. Sitting in the back seat is also a very safe choice.

We then got some practice as a driver and as a pedestrian. By the end of the session we had earned our own Driving Licence.

A Visit to the Garden

Way back in Spring when they were in Senior Infants, the children from 1st Class planted onions in the garden. The wet summer meant that they grew really well! Mrs. Magnier let us know that it was time to pick them, so the first fine day that came along we did just that. Everyone got at least one onion to bring home and we really enjoyed exploring the garden again.

Energy and Forces

In science we were learning all about magnetism and used magnets to see what materials would attract or repel.  

We carried out an investigation to look into this and enjoyed experimenting with the magnets around the classroom. 

School Tour

1st Class went to The Planet this year on their school tour. We did bowling and soft play and stopped off at Athenry Park on the way home. It was a fantastic day and one we won't forget.

Stained Glass

We had lots of fun creating stained glass sea creatures for our classroom windows. We used cellophane and a template to create this effect.

Minibeast Hunt

We went on a minibeast hint in the school garden and found lots of interesting things hiding under stones and lurking in the shadows. 

We spotted lots of minibeasts such as woodlice, centipedes, ants, spiders, slugs and much more.

Sports Day

Sports Day 2024 was a blast. We enjoyed playing hurling, engaging in relay races and doing penalty shoot outs and water games.

Summer Planting

1st Class planted some runner beans in their vegetable box this year. There is chicken wire ready to support the beans in their growth and they will need plenty of watering. 

We look forward to tasting the beans after the summer holidays.

Role-Play

Here we are checking out the new additions to the playground. We are very lucky to have such great facilities and areas to play in at school.

Junk Art

After the Easter holidays we recycled our Easter egg boxes by making monsters out of them. We used other recyclable materials to decorate them. 

Shadows

In science we were discussing light and heat and went out on yard one fine, sunny day to investigate shadows.

We drew our friends shadows and used chalk to outline them. We repeated this activity at different times during the day to see if our shadows stayed the same. We had great fun doing this.

Fractions

During maths stations we were learning all about fractions. We made a fruit salad by cutting fruit into halves and then we got to eat the fruit. Yummy!

Bird Feeders

We read about the different steps needed to make a bird feeder. We followed this procedure to create our colourful bird feeders. We are sure the birds will like them.

We used 1 litre cartons, cut out a hole for the birds and decorated them using paint, buttons and string. We are very proud of our work and will find a nice spot to hang them.

World Book Day

It was World Book Day on 7th March and we got to come to school dressed as our favourite book characters.

We joined up with our buddies in 3rd Class to do some Paired Reading. We really enjoyed parading around the school yard in our costumes for everyone to see.

Lego Spike

We are very lucky to have gotten 5 Lego Spike Kits to use at school. Using the iPads we built a boat by following the step by step instructions on screen.

We worked together in groups to engineer this project. The final challenge was to make the boat move and add sound effects. Coding was used for this part.

We can't wait to get building again. There was a real buzz about the classroom for this lesson.

Pancake Tuesday

We enjoyed making and decorating some pancakes with our favourite toppings for Shrove Tuesday.

Some of our favourites were chocolate spread, marshmallows, sprinkles and maple syrup. Just yummy!

Wellbeing Week

As part of Wellbeing Week we got to go outside to play some playground games and well-known board games.

Other activities we engaged in were Musical Statues, Red Light Green Light and Just Dance.

We also did some Mindfulness Colouring, Meditation and Yoga as well listening to Mindfulness Music throughout the week. It was a very positive experience.

Clay Snowmen

We thoroughly enjoy working with clay and recently made some clay snowmen.

First we rolled and shaped the clay into spheres. We used these for the snowman's head and body. 

Next we decorated the snowmen with beads, buttons and matchsticks. Finally we painted the snowmen.

We had great fun during our Halloween Fun Day. The day started with our annual Halloween Parade.

Followed by some tricks and treats. We played Snap Apple, Floury Grape and bobbed for tasty treats.

Check out the homepage for more photos of our cool costumes!

For Halloween we decided to bake some pumpkin cookies. We used butter, sugar and flour to make the cookie dough.

We rolled the dough out with a rolling pin and used a pumpkin cutter to cut the cookies out.

Then we placed them onto a baking tray. When they were baked and cooled we spread some icing sugar on, to which we added orange food colouring.

The cookies were delicious!

We recently celebrated Friendship Week in school. We discussed How to be a Good Friend.

We made friendship crowns as well as friendship bracelets. We really enjoyed making and decorating these.

The garden is bearing lots of fruits and vegetables after the summer holidays. 

We tasted raspberries and peas and loved the smell of the lavender. Our sunflowers have grown really tall. 

We weeded our vegetable box and gave everything a good watering.

We just absolutely enjoy doing free play. We get to choose our favourite games to play with our friends.

Some of our favourite activities are Lego, chess, playdough, snakes and ladders and Hedbanz.

STEM

One of our favourite activities to do is STEM. We enjoy using building blocks to build different constructions and using marbles to make marble runs.