March
It's the end of March already and we can't quite believe it in Room 4. We have had another great month. Some of the students attended a swimming gala in Cork and although we only brought back one medal all of the swimmers tried their best and we couldn't have been prouder. Congratulations again to our medal winner, Lauragh.
Half of our class also attended a basketball blitz in Cork this month and had a fantastic day. Well done to all, it's great to see so much enthusiasm for sport within the class.
Below is a small insight into some of what we have been up to this month..enjoy!
Half of our class also attended a basketball blitz in Cork this month and had a fantastic day. Well done to all, it's great to see so much enthusiasm for sport within the class.
Below is a small insight into some of what we have been up to this month..enjoy!
An old Irish blessing for our display board. The students created the shamrock art using tissue paper and water to create the watercolour effect. They then cut out the three-hearts shapes and one triangular shaped piece and assembled them into the shamrock on card. The bunting was also cut and coloured by the students.
For our unit of work on the human body, the students learned the names and the role of some of the organs in the human body. When we had finished studying the unit, the students worked as a group and were tasked with putting the organs on the poster in the correct position. Working as a class group for this task worked really well and was great for their communication skills as there was a lot of listening and turn taking needed to ensure that the task was successful. The students really enjoyed learning about the organs of the human body - although one of two were a bit squeamish when it came to looking at the real-life pictures!
As part of the St.Patrick's day celebrations, the students participated in a game of Would You Rather? Some of the options included 'Would you rather have green teeth or green hair? Would you rather dress like a leprechaun for a month or have to wear only green clothes for a year?' This game always creates lots of discussion in the classroom and there's always a lot of laughter involved too.
We had a volunteer to dress as a leprechaun that day but not sure how he would feel about doing it for an entire month!
For Art, the students followed written and pictorial step-by-step instructions to draw a leprechaun. We also used this task as an opportunity to learn the colours of the rainbow, using the acronym Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain to help us to remember (thanks to our SNA Natasha for that one!) I love how differently all the leprechauns look in spite of all the students following the same instructions. They really brightened up the classroom - however we're still waiting for the pot of gold!
We took advantage of the beautiful weather and got out for a walk to stretch our legs. Dungarvan is such a beautiful place and even more so when the sun shines. On the walk we discussed what it means to be a coastal county or one that is inland. The students then tried naming a few of each and that tied in very well with the counties of Ireland which we are learning at the moment.
We have been playing an online game in class in which the students must try to point out all the counties of Ireland and beat the time set by the teacher. Anyone who can beat the time set by the teacher wins a homework pass. We have had one winner so far and it has proven to be a fantastic incentive to help their learning.
A great morning of Irish dancing in the hall. A huge thanks to Ms. Moore's mother for coming in to teach the class the various dances. As you van see from the students faces it was enjoyed by all.
As part of the theme of Ireland, the class did some research online in pairs and gathered information on our country. After completing a first draft they transcribed the information onto the template and selected images to complete the projects. The students learned the name of the current president, Taoiseach, the population of the country, our national flower, national bird, animal, and so on.
This project worked really well as practise for searching for information online, and doubled up as learning more about their country in the process!
February
February has really flown by, and as always we've been very busy! Our class diary had a couple of events pencilled in for this month.
At the beginning of the month, we attended the musical production of Hairspray put on by transition year students in the Friary. It was a wonderful morning of entertainment and we were all in agreement that we would rate it 10/10! Well done to all involved in the show and we'd like to say a special thanks to Ms. Southern for organising it for us.
Some of the boys from Room 4 also played in an U-18 soccer tournament in the University of Limerick last week. They played really well and were a credit to themselves and to the school.
We have been working hard on keeping the school yard litter free as part of the Green School's Initiative. We watched a very interesting documentary on what happens to the rubbish we create and we discussed how we can try to be more conscious of the waste we create and to ensure that we are always disposing of rubbish in the correct manner, be it at home or at school. The students have really embraced the litter picking that we do every Thursday and we never cease to be amazed by the amount and variety of rubbish that the wind seems to deliver into the bushes!
The students have been working hard in woodwork with Mr. Morgan and they were all very proud of their finished pieces!
In Maths, the students in Room 4 have been learning about weight and capacity. This involved using a variety of scales to weigh a variety of foods, the students also weighed their schoolbags to see whose was the heaviest. In capacity the students worked in groups and had to measure given amounts of liquids. The active learning kept the students interested and they even found it "fun"!
A close eye being kept on the measuring jug!
Working well in pairs and groups.
The beautiful Spring weather also meant that we could get back out working in the school garden and continue preparing the polytunnel for planting, which we will be doing over the course of the next few weeks. We are very lucky to have Sue come in to share her knowledge and skills with us, and we are learning from her each week. We are so lucky to have this garden area in St. John's and to be able to take the learning out of the classroom for the students. It gives students who may not always be the strongest academically a chance to highlight their skills and it is wonderful to see their confidence flourish in this way.
We had a bit of fun with Valentine's day this year and played an oral language game of 'Would you rather?' The choice between kissing a slobbery dog or a camel resulted in a lot of debate and laughter. We then discussed different ways to show love or to make people feel loved.
In Art, we looked at the life and work of the Brazilian artist Romero Britto. We viewed examples of his work and how it has been used by designers and companies around the world. The students then created their own take on a Romero Britto heart-shaped design resulting in a colourful display for the corridor.
We also studied Pontillism. Each student used the template of the letters Love and created their unique version. They turned out so well and really brighten up our classroom.
More artwork completed on the theme of Love and Friendship.
January
Some of the Winter themed artwork done by the students in Room 4
Our first theme of 2019 was Winter. In Room 4 we began learning multiplication skills in Maths and used counters to practice grouping and our Polar Products game using repeated addition was a real hit and got quite competitive at times!
In History, we were learning about the Inuit people (Eskimos) and their lives. This topic was a popular one and the students had lots of prior knowledge to contribute. In English, the class read an extract from The Last Polar Bears by Harry Horse and we used this as our inspiration for our Art lesson. The students experimented with pastels before designing a background for their polar bear scene. We think the final product looks great!
We also went shopping down town and bought blank postcards and then wrote a postcard back to the Grandfather from the story.
The second theme for January was Toys. We had a great discussion about what our favourite toys were when we were young. In History, we looked at the toys of the past and discovered that they are all still available today. We played some games that would have been popular in years gone by including Queenie Queenie. We experimented with magnetism using toy cars as part of our Science lesson.
November
The first theme this month was Occupations. This was a great theme as it led to lots of class discussions about preferred jobs, and the pros and cons of each. We also played lots of guessing games, including headbandz which the pupils were great at! The class watched some video clips of people in the community at work, and got to hear what their job involved, skills needed and what they liked and didn't like about their job. The students then researched an occupation that they are interested in and used the information to create wonderful projects!
Our class also spent an afternoon being scientists, investigating germs, and also experimenting with red cabbage water. The students all enjoyed the experiments despite the unpleasant smell from the cabbage water!!
Our class also spent an afternoon being scientists, investigating germs, and also experimenting with red cabbage water. The students all enjoyed the experiments despite the unpleasant smell from the cabbage water!!
Our class also tried our hands at being bakers with Mrs. Lynch and I think judging by the results we may have a few budding bakers in Room 4! The chocolate logs tasted as good as they looked.
In maths, this month we were learning about length. The students worked really well in pairs deciding whether to measure using centimetres or metres, and made great use of the rulers, metres sticks and measuring tapes.
Music was the second theme for November. We focused on Mary Poppins as only one of our students had seen the film before! We learned the song 'Let's go fly a kite' and made our own kites. Natasha brought in a kite for us to fly but the weather was too wet, hopefully we will get a chance to bring it out before Christmas. We began watching the film and you could hear a pin drop in the classroom..I guess it really is a classic!
We also looked at musical instrument families and made percussion and stringed instruments from recycled materials. The class are writing their own song for the Christmas show so work has begun on the lyrics and the tune, there are some talented lyricists in Room 4. Much more work to be done before the big reveal!
We also looked at musical instrument families and made percussion and stringed instruments from recycled materials. The class are writing their own song for the Christmas show so work has begun on the lyrics and the tune, there are some talented lyricists in Room 4. Much more work to be done before the big reveal!
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER
We have had a very busy first half term. As well as plenty of hard work in class. We have found time for some fun activities and Halloween spookiness!
We started the year by revising our work on time. We also had time to go and collect blackberries to put into a tart in cookery.
We welcomed some new pupils to our class, and went for a coffee morning as part of our getting to know you time! A lovely treat for everyone!
After the heat of the Summer the polytunnel required a lot of clearing work to be ready to plant some new crops! It was hard work but thank to a great team effort we are ready to go !!
Halloween gave us an opportunity to do plenty of art and crafts!
