Pancake Tuesday in Mrs McGuirk’s Class

Today (Tuesday 5th March 2019), we had a Pancake themed day in our classroom.

1st, 2nd and 3rd class learned about the origins of Pancake Tuesday / Shrove Tuesday. We also learned how to sequence steps in making pancakes in our Irish lesson, and we completed maths challenge cards linked to the theme of pancakes. We also played a maths dice game with the theme of pancakes. We got active and sang ‘The Pancake Song’ and added in some cool actions. We composed our own acrostic PANCAKE poems. We learned about the way Pancake Tuesday is celebrated in other countries.

The children also got the chance to sample some delicious pancakes, courtesy of some of our parents who volunteered their time to come in and cook for them.

Learning about Sound in 1st, 2nd & 3rd Class

We have been learning about our senses in school this week. We learned about the different types of sounds (loud and quiet) around us. We also learned about the parts of our ear and how our ears work to hear sounds. We did an experiment to show how sound waves are made when objects vibrate. We made rice move by using instruments to make vibrations! The children could SEE SOUND at work! The rice moved when instruments were played and they made vibrations. The vibrations then made the rice move. This is the same thing that happens when vibrations make our ear drum move, sending a message to our brain telling us to hear.

Isobel and Grace for Ireland’s Got Talent

Best of luck to students Isobel and Grace who will take part in auditions for Ireland’s Got Talent as part of the dance group Hiphopical this weekend. The show will air on Saturday 23rd of February at 7.30pm on Virgin Media One.

We are all very proud and we can’t wait to see you both perform on tv!

Valentine’s Themed Day 2019 in Mrs Mc Guirk’s Room

Love was definitely in the air in our classroom on Valentine’s Day! The children sang a song about love called ‘Love is in the air’ by Paul Young, and learned about the history and traditions of Valentine’s Day here and around the world. We also discussed some superstitions to do with Valentine’s Day. The children explained  about someone special in their lives and what it is about them that they love so much. 

For English we wrote Valentine’s Poems and completed a Valentine’s word-search. We also played Valentine’s maths games – we did an outdoor maths trail and played Valentine’s P.E. games. Children also made some lovely Valentine’s pictures and Irish Valentine’s cards for their loved ones. After our days work, we still managed to have time for a little chocolate Valentine’s Treat. 

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

 

Some of our Valentine’s Day Art!

Some photos from our Valentine’s Maths Trail!

 

Some photos from our Valentine’s themed day!

Chinese New Year 2019 in Mrs Mc Guirk’s Room

Chinese New Year or ‘Spring Festival’ is China’s most important festival and holiday time. Chinese New Year 2019 falls on Tuesday February 5th 2019, beginning the year of the Pig. China’s public holiday will be February 4th 2019. 

The children have been busy learning about the Chinese New Year at school.  They have been learning about the history of the Chinese New Year, the traditions and how it is celebrated. They also learned about what animal year they were born in and how that animal is supposed to mean certain things about their personality.  The children put all their knowledge on paper when they did some co-operative group work and created some fantastic projects!

Have a look below at a sample of some of the work the children got up to!

St. Brigid’s Day in Mrs McGuirk’s Class

We have been busy this week learning about the history of Saint Brigid.  We learned about where she was born and where she died and also lots of things about her great work throughout her life.  We learned about the reasons we make and use Saint Brigid’s  crosses.  We sang ‘We Sing a Song to Brigid’ throughout the week also.  We made Saint Brigid’s Day cards and some lovely posters were we decorated her famous cloak.  Happy Saint Brigid’s Day everyone!

Mini Me Yoga in Mrs Mc Guirk’s Room

In December, teachers completed a ‘Mini Me Yoga’ Foundation course with Natalie Boyle. Today the children in Mrs Mc Guirk’s room got the opportunity to engage with yoga in a fun and active, but meaningful way. This is another step towards helping increase the overall mental health and well-being of both pupils and teachers as part of our Health Promoting Schools Campaign and Active Flag Campaign.

Here are some of the many benefits of teaching yoga to kids:

Yoga helps kids to:

  • Develop body awareness
  • Learn how to use their bodies in a healthy way
  • Manage stress through breathing, awareness, meditation and healthy movement
  • Build concentration
  • Increase their confidence and positive self-image
  • Feel part of a healthy, non-competitive group

The children enjoyed their session today and I can definitely see the children reaping the many rewards listed above!

Building a wall for Humpty Dumpty

In Mrs McGuirk’s room we put our construction skills to great use. We played a game where the children had to take turns to roll a dice, take that number of pieces of lego, and then build a wall for Humpty Dumpty. The player with the highest wall was the winner!

Bricfeasta Folláin i rang a haon, a dó agus a trí

As part of our Health Promoting Campaign and our Irish topic ‘food / bia’, we practiced our food vocabulary with a variety of poems and teacher-designed flipcharts. Then we designed a breakfast menu (biachlár). Then, we enjoyed a Healthy Breakfast as Gaeilge. We enjoyed some food, while practicing our ‘Gaeilge’ at the same time.

See some photographs below!!

Christmas Activities in Mrs McGuirk’s Classroom!

Everyone has been working hard in our classroom with Christmas activities. We have been singing ‘Tá an Nollaig Buailte Linn’, doing Christmas themed Irish role-plays, and making Christmas Cards ‘as Gaeilge’. In religion we learned about Advent and the Nativity Story. Everyday we participate in an active Advent Calendar as part of our Active School’s Campaign. At maths time, we begun lessons by answering Christmas themed riddles. We also learned about Christmas traditions around the world and about the importance of fire safety at Christmas time. We have created some lovely art work around the theme of Advent and Christmas. Some of these can be viewed below!