March-may﻿

March-may

5/23/2016

The past few months have been extremely busy in rang a dó with a lot of things going on. Here are some of the things we have been learning and getting up to.

English: We spent a lot of time working on narrative stories. There were fantastic stories written that interesting characters, plots and well described settings. The imagination of the boys and girls was very impressive too. Here are some good lines from some of the stories..

'He was very weird but he had good in his heart' (Kate)

'When Clare opened her window everyday, she could smell the smelly bins that cats tumbled over at night' (Saoirse)

'I see a big mansion and I see the birds flying over the sunset that is reflecting over the sea' (Ryan)

'As Bambi grew older, the spots on her hip started to shimmer' (Imogen)

'They were on their way home and they saw a little milk carton. They were thirsty so they picked it up but it was actually a baby and he began throwing pencils at them'. (Ben)

'When they got to Sophie's house, they marched up the stairs to Sophie's pink room with long, sad faces' (Emily)

'When Indiana Jones went in, he dodged the arrows, slid through the axes and came face to face with the Alpha-Rex'(Christopher)

We were also continuing to practice our reading strategies including 'determining importance'. We tried to find the difference between things that are important and things that are interesting in stories.

The boys and girls prepared a speech and then presented it to their classmates. Despite being nervous, everybody did great. They tried to use body language, use a clear voice and keep eye contact with the audience.

Gaeilge: Over the past few weeks the students have been learning Irish through the topics of Aimsir (Weather), Caitheamh Aimsire (Hobbies) and Éadaí (Clothes). They were learning to say and write what their hobbies are, how they are dressed and how the weather is, among other things.

Maths: We were continuing to improve our speed at adding and subtracting numbers in our heads and we were practising some shortcuts to help us get even faster. We were writing numbers with hundreds in them and practising arranging numbers in terms of their place value. We are continuing to practice difficult word problems while using the RUCSAC approach. The strands of fractions, weight and data were also explored.

Science: The students put on their science hats again and did some experiments. We tried to establish whether sound travels better through solids or gases and we also did an experiment to check if friction creates heat. Olivia was very kind to bring in pots for us to plant onion bulbs in. The students loved planting the onions and observing them grow.

Geography: The students were learning all about different forms of transport. They also drew pictures and wrote about new transportation ideas.

History: The students learned all about 1916 and the events that happened over the Easter Rising. They learned about the people involved and how life was different in 1916. The students also learned about Anne Frank and her diary.

Music: The students worked in groups to come up with a musical composition and play the music to the class. Some of the pieces of music were wonderful and there was a great variety of sounds created. They also learned about the music of Evelyn Glennie.

PE: The students worked in teams to create dances that were performed to the rest of the class. The students have also been practising basketball.

Communion: Well done and congratulations to all of the students who received their First Holy Communion in St. Peter's church. They put in a lot of practice to make sure they were well prepared. A great day was had by all.

School Tour: We went on our school tour to the Crystal Maze in Cavan. It was a beautifully sunny day and the students had a fantastic time working in teams to complete various tasks. Their highlight of the day was walking through the stream and soaking each other.