ThinkWithYourInk
5th Class St.Mary’s, Blessington
Monday 15th of April
To conclude our week on Dandelions we had to create an hairstyle using grasses and wild flowers from the school grounds.
Food dudes begin today and Ms. Morris begins the badminton league today where William and Caoilainn will represent the class.
In Art this week we will be printing using potatoes.
In Geography this week, we will be taking an in depth look at Maps, their scales, symbols and grid reference. We will read about maps today and then we will take a more in-depth look at maps of locations around the world.
Homework this Week
News Story of the Day
Fast action needed amid pressure on water supplies
The fact that people in the greater Dublin region were asked to conserve water during January just gone, in the middle of the winter, at the height of the rainy season, highlights the extent to which the situation regarding water supply in the capital is on a knife-edge.
If the situation is that bad in the winter, what is it going to be like during the summer this year?
Are we heading for hosepipe bans, water supply restrictions, nighttime shut offs and conservation appeals?
Uisce Éireann has pointed out that the increase in demand for water in the Greater Dublin Area last year was equivalent to the addition of 120,000 new homes.
When one considers that 85% of Dublin’s water comes from a single source – the River Liffey – water supplies in the east are clearly under enormous pressure.
Uisce Éireann is already taking 40% of the entire flow of water in the Liffey.
It is not sustainable to take any more and yet what they are taking is not enough to satisfy demand.
As we enter the dryer summer period, the pressure on water supplies is likely to increase.
People have been arguing about what to do about this situation for 25 years.
But we are clearly at a point now where decisions need to be taken and action needs to be put in place, fast.
Piping from Shannon
The Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region is the technical name Uisce Éireann has given its plans to take water from the Shannon and pipe it to the midlands and the east of the country, especially to Dublin.
Their conclusion is that piping water from the lower Shannon is the best, most efficient, most sustainable, and least environmentally damaging solution to the issue.
It is also the solution that will benefit the greatest number of people.
The water will be pumped for the first 40km to Cloughjordan, also in Co Tipperary, and from there flow by gravity another 132km to a termination reservoir at Peamount in Co Dublin.
Not everyone is in favour of the proposal, however.
The River Shannon Protection Alliance (RSPA) is dedicated to ensuring it does not happen.
It argues that it is an unnecessary project and that there are better and far cheaper alternatives.
Donal Whelan is a Director and Treasurer of the RSPA and lives right on the shoreline of Lough Derg at Dromineer in Co Tipperary.
He claims the project started out costing an estimated €700 million, but is now up to about €1.6 billion before it has even started.
“There are alternative sources of water much closer to Dublin in the Kildare area, even underground water,” he said.
“The Slaney River is 20km from the Dublin region. Yet they are proposing to pipe water 172km and through 500 farms. It is crazy idea really.”
Mr Whelan says all they need to do is create another reservoir or two in the Wicklow area.
Mr Whelan is also concerned because Uisce Éireann will also install a second water pipe as a backup in case something goes wrong.
He says this raises a worry that at some future date Uisce Éireann could increase the amount of water it takes from the Parteen basin.
The Shannon River Protection Alliance argues that the solution to Dublin’s water supply issue lies in fixing the water pipes that are leaking in the capital and preventing the loss of millions of litres of clean water every day.
“If people have to pay for it, they won’t waste it.
“I think dropping the water charges was very bad. People don’t appreciate something unless they have to pay for it.”
Friday 12th of April
Almost another week of 5th class complete. As we walked down to the GAA pitch yesterday we didn’t get a chance to do our written homework corrections so both written homework will be corrected and Friday tests will take this morning.
The Green Schools committee had a meeting yesterday, they have a few events coming up that they wanted us to know about. Ms. Nugent’s class are bin monitors next week, there is a marine poster competition next week, we will send the top 3 posters to Ms. Beaubien and she will select a winner in each year group. Earth day events will take place Monday the 22nd, there will a number f outdoor events that day. Litter picking will take place on the 25th of April.
Chicken fence posts are now all painted are ready to go. Concrete is being delivered today and I hope to be outside this afternoon setting the first post in place.
Scenario of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Thursday 11th of April
Homework corrections today and best of luck to those participating in the skills competition. Give your best.
Here is a small selection of some of our dandelion art yesterday and we will be creating a ‘Wild Flower Fro’ in a few weeks when the growth spurt comes.
As part of the creative schools scheme, all teachers in the school will be picking something they like to do and teach (e.g. baking, sewing, knitting, music, construction, art etc). They will be then take another class to show and teach them to create something new. This will happen next week.
Maths test this morning, I will give you an opportunity to ask questions about it before it begins.
Wednesday 10th of April
We have almost completed our dandelion lesson, we have one more segment left to listen to. What did you learn about them yesterday? You will complete a sketchnote on it today and there will be an art activity this week also. Do you have used toilet roll cylinders at home?
New posts have arrived for the chicken fence. They need 2 coats of paint today and weather permitting Tony will have concrete tomorrow and we will stand them in the ground.
Rugby begins for 5th class next Tuesday. It will be after 1st break.
Conundrum of the Day
Are these plates broken or not broken
Puzzle of the Day
Everyone in the world (men, women and children) 7.9 billion people have entered a rock paper scissors tournament. It is a knock out championship. If you win, you go through to the next round, if you lose you are out. If you were to become world champion, can you guess how many times in a row you would need to win?
Tuesday 9th of April
Great start back yesterday. Well done to Brazil on taking the 4 points yesterday. It’s a new day today, everyone is back to zero with a prize for the wining team on Friday at lunchtime.
After the downpour yesterday we will get outside today to find some dandelions. We can then begin the lesson on them. Later this week we will also be doing some dandelion art
We looked at three types of bullying yesterday (physical, verbal and emotional bullying). This is a good intro to our next Stay Safe lesson called Other types of bullying. Hopefully we get to it today.
As some members of the class attending a skills competition o Thursday and with the temperature hitting 18 degrees, it may be a good day to get outside and work on the chicken fence. It has been so wet for the past month it has been difficult to even stand out there.
Scenario of the Day
Video of the Day
Monday 8th of April
Welcome back everyone, I hope you had a good break. You are now in the final third of 5th class.
We will be taking an in-depth look at this plant this week. What do you know about it? We will be picking some of them and bringing them into the classroom also.
There is a new reward scheme starting today. You will be at a table representing 1 of 4 countries. Students will be rewarded by receiving tickets, you receive a ticket by making an effort and doing your best at a task. The country will the highest number of tickets this evening will receive 4 points, 2nd place gets 3 points, 3rd place get 2 points etc. Each country starts with zero tickets every day. The points are counted on Friday and the winning team will be rewarded.
Scenario of the Day
Physical bullying, Verbal bullying and emotional bullying, what type of bullying would these scenarios come under?
Homework this week
Friday 22nd of March
Happy Easter to everyone. Enjoy the break, you deserve it. You will be in the final stages of 5th class when you return. Some things to look forward to in May and June is of course our school tour, a 5th class footgolf tournament (on the school grounds), sports week and several class projects.
Thanks to the 11 hurlers/camogie players and 24 Gaelic footballers who to put themselves forward for the GAA Skills competition. I will announce the 8 winners today.
Thursday 21st of March
It was great to get the 15 trees planted yesterday. 4 people will be asked to place cardboard and mulch around them later today.
We looked at Topic 2, lesson 1 of Staysafe yesterday. It was about Friendship. The lesson was helping us to understand the value of friendship, how to make and keep friends and to understand the importance of treating one another with respect and dignity. We filled out a worksheet about a what a good friend is. Thanks for your honesty in filling it out. There was a bit of variety in your answers but it was nice to see very important ticked for many of the core values of friendship. We looked at three scenarios between friends, can you recall what happened and a possible solution? Here are the other stories we didn’t get to yesterday.
Although bullying has been covered many times in the past, we return to the topic in today’s Staysafe lesson. The lesson is called , ‘What is Bullying’?
Assembly is at 11:30 and best of luck to Leon who will be reading the 5th class news. Hydraulic crane building will continue again today. It is not an easy project but stay resilient and you will complete it. Any remaining members of 5th or 6th class who wish to take part in the skills trial will happen today also.
Wednesday 20th of March
We will begin building hydraulic cranes after first break today and it may be Friday and we will complete as much as we can. We also have trees to plant and we will also fit in Maths, reading & Staysafe this morning this morning too.
Tuesday 19th of March
Just 3 and a half days until Easter holidays. I hope to have the hurling skills trials after 1st break today. Many of you will be assigned a skill to judge and score. You will fill in their points and times on their record sheet. Tomorrow looks wet so we will have the football skills after 1st break on Thursday.
Project day tomorrow where we will make hydraulic machines.
Statistic of the day
E is the most common letter in the English language but what percentage of all english words does it feature in?
Video/Photo of the Day
Friday 15th of March
Well done to everyone in yesterday’s Ceolchoirm Seachtain na Gaeilge. Here is a short video summary of the ceolchoirm. Unfortunately in the video, the music to Lauren’s amazing dance had to be cut out due to copyright but it still doesn’t take anything away from her performance. An mhaith gach duine.
The Wicklow Primary schools hurling and football skills competition is on the week we return from Easter holidays. Next week we must have a trial to select girls and boys that will represent the school.
No Friday tests today but we will correct written homework. There will be no homework next week also.
Knex is in after 1st break were you will be asked to make a golf putter. It must hit a ping pong ball with reasonable accuracy down the centre of the classroom.
Thursday 14th of March
The Seachtain na Gaeilge talent show will be on after 1st break today where we will perform the Haka as Gaelach. Lauren will also perform with members from the other 5th classes. As last years talent show ran over time it was decided to keep the Seachtain na Gaeilge talent show to 2 acts per class this year. There will be a another talent show in June for anyone else who would like to perform.
In Staysafe we looked at the rights of the child yesterday. We ranked them from 1 -13. Our top choices were 1. Children must not be used as cheap workers or as soldiers 2. Children have the right to enough food and clean water 3. Every child has the right to life 4. Children have the right to be kept safe and not to be hurt or neglected 5. Children have the right to be with their family or with those who will care for them best.
BvG Statistic of the Day
How many times do you blink in a year?
Wednesday 13th of March
Thanks to everyone who helped out and volunteered with the hole digging yesterday. The temporary fence for the hens fell on Monday night leaving the hens exposed so we have been asked to get the new fence up as soon as possible. Weather permitting we will complete the hole digging today. Anyone who wishes to help please bring old shoes and clothes to leave at the back of the classroom.
The first of our persuasive writing have been published on the site.
It was fantastic to have musicians in yesterday as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge. Today there will be a Céilí practice in the hall for 5th class at 10am. It is hoped (weather permitting) that the whole school will then perform at 12 in the yard. Tomorrow is the Seachtain na Gaeilge talent show where we will perform the Haka as Gaelach.
In our 3rd Staysafe lesson we will discuss hoe every child has the right to be protected from harm. This right is included in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Remember with every right comes a responsibility?
Children have the right to play so we have a responsibility to include others in our play.
Every child has a right to education so we have a responsibility to make sure others are not distracted from learning.
Children must be allowed to speak their own language and practice their religion and culture so we must respect other religions and cultures.
News Story of the Day
Statistic of the Day
How many minutes does it take the average human to fall asleep?
Tuesday 12th of March
With the beans put aside for the foreseeable future we began a new system of rewarding good effort yesterday. This system pits boys against girls. The girls took the Monday victory, can the boys make a comeback today. A treat on Friday for the winners. Don’t forget you can still spend any beans that are in your account.
We will have lesson 2 of Staysafe this morning. There was a good discussion yesterday about the topic, it was nice to hear what your opinion was when the negative feelings came into their heads. What did you take from yesterdays lesson.
Do Seachtain na Gaeilge déanfaimid an Haka Gaelach. We will be performing it in Thursday with the other 5th classes in front of the whole school.
Haka is a variety of Māori ceremonial dances. It is performed by a group, it has vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. The Haka has been traditionally performed by both men and women for a variety of social functions within Māori culture. It has been made famous by the New Zealand rugby team, they perform it before every game.
Photo of the Day
BvG Statistic of the Day
What percentage of people are left handed?
Persuasive writing to be completed today and reading groups after 1st break.
Monday 11th of March
Back to normality this week after Scienceblast. I plan to have Staysafe lessons after Maths group return and I hope to complete 3 each week. Reading and Close groups will also resume this week.
There is a new seating arrangement for the next 2 weeks up to the Easter holidays. If it works out, it may stay in place for longer.
Seachtain na Gaeilge atá ann an tseachtain seo. Inniu beidh Tráth na gCeist ar a leathuair tar éis a haon déag.
The 3rd/4th class boys will play their hurling/soccer final this week also and we will be attending that.
Homework this week
Poem of the Day
Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face
by Jack Prelutsky
Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.
Imagine if your precious nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you’d be forced to smell your feet.
Your nose would be a source of dread
were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.
Within your ear, your nose would be
an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.
Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place—
be glad your nose is on your face!
BvG Statistic of the Day
What percentage of their life do cats spend asleep?
Friday 8th of March
Another busy day ahead, the school has KNEX kits for the next 3 weeks and we will have them in the classroom today after 1st break for 40 minutes. Bodran is at 10:30 also. We must also try to fit some Friday tests and corrections in also.
Thanks to Suzie and Síofra for helping to plant the marigold seeds yesterday and we must sow our potatoes today also. We will also put the final touches to your mothers day bowls also.
We will our 1st StaySafe lesson today. There are 13 lessons in total. Today we are going to think and talk about different feelings and how we respond to them. We will begin by brainstorming a range of words used to describe a variety of feelings. Then we will read a story and we will see how different people can experience a range of different feelings in response to the same situation. You will then fill out a worksheet individually followed by a short discussion on how as we get older we deal with our feelings in different ways.
As the weather seems to be finally picking up we will be getting outside more for quick 15 minute lessons. Today we will play ‘3beats and a clap’ . 4 hoola hopps and 4 players needed.
Thursday 7th of March.
What a fantastic day at Scienceblast in the RDS. All 3 classes were a credit to the school in how they behaved and spoke about their respective projects. Well done.
Wednesday 6th of March
ScienceBlast RDS
Tuesday 5th of March
Just a few reminders about tomorrow’s trip to Science Blast at the RDS. Please wear a full school uniform, bring a good lunch and drink but there will be water stations there to refill. At the moment the departure time is 8am but that will be confirmed for all three 5th classes later today as there may be a small issue with buses arriving on time.
I know we will have a great day.
We will go close to completing our persuasive writing today and we will will do a final run through on the Science Blast presentations.
Monday 4th of March
I hope you all had a nice weekend. I’m still waiting on the final few permission slips so please hand them up now if you have them. In PE today we will play capture the flag.
After 1st break today we will practice our Science Blast presentation and I will let you know the group you will be presenting with on Wednesday at the RDS. It is important that every member of the group can speak clearly about the experiment and our poster display. It may happen that your group will be at the display when the judges arrive. Even if you don’t meet the judges, many students and teachers from other schools will be coming up to ask about the experiment when your group is at the stand. Along with attending some brilliant science shows there it is also a great opportunity for you to go look at other schools experiments and give yourself the challenge of asking other schools 3 questions on their project.
Photo of the Day
Homework this week
Friday 1st of March
It’s great to have finished all the graphs and displays for our Science Blast poster. We will glue down everything this morning and I hope to get someone to do a voiceover of the display so we can post it on our notices on Monday. Just one final part to do, that is to make and code two Microbit reaction games that will be on display on Wednesday at the RDS. We will make 3 games with 3 different types of switches.
Unfortunately we didn’t get written homework corrected yesterday, we will get that corrected along with completing your tests today. Bodhran at 10:30.This afternoon we will get another layer of paper on your balloons.
Reminder: permission slips (Stay safe & Science Blast)
Photo of the Day
Video of the Day
Thursday 29th of February
Short notices today as we will complete the Maths test before Maths group leaves at 9:30.
Ms. Sheward will be in at 10 and Spanish today also.
WE should be very close to finishing our display today and there will be a few finishing touches needed tomorrow. We will begin practicing the presentation then.
We will distribute items in the friendship week basket before lunch today, there is no pressure to put items in it.
Reminder: permission slips
Wednesday 28th of February
Reminder: Science Blast & Stay Safe permission slips.
Opposite is a nice display format and I feel we should use these titles for our display. Most of our work will appear in the results section so we will make that section almost half of our display. There are a couple of averages and medians I want to find out today (let’s compare the boys and girls in each group). Is there any other comparisons we can make?
We must complete the titles and results section at the very least today.
Tuesday 27th of February
Reminder : Stay Safe notes and Science Blast permission slips.
You will receive data this morning previous to the skipping challenge and after the skipping challenge. Please be aware that everyone tried their best on that day doing these runs and we are using this data to make charts and to find out if Skipping for 5 minutes everyday makes you run faster.
We will be calculating the average percentage improvement for each group (control, skipping, tag games) but we need to also look at the median. When all the results are quite similar the average is a good measure but when you have outliers median works best.
We may not be able to include the results for the throwing and catching part of the experiment in our project. When we tested back in November it seems that each group had a very different version of what a catch was. Yesterday, our judges were very strict and rightly so and a catch was only counted if the ball was grabbed with 1 hand. The results from yesterday do not compare or show no similar pattern. In November I should have took more time and made sure the testing conditions were the same for all. We may even include this error in our display.
How did homework go last night? Tell me about a new vocabulary word? Who has questions on the Maths test? What is on the left side as Gaeilge?
Monday 26th of February
Busy week ahead in order to complete our display and presentation. We will complete the running test and hand eye coordination test in the hall this evening and we will begin analysing the data in Maths on Tuesday morning. It would be great to complete the display by Friday so we can present to other classes in the school on Monday & Tuesday before we head to the RDS on Wednesday.
Entertainment at Science Blast –
Each class is scheduled to visit both main entertainment shows – Limitless, with Mark, The Science Guy, and The Science of the Circus, with StrongWomen Science. This year we are also delighted to welcome back, Jon Chase, with his fabulous show – A Rapper’s Guide to the Galaxy. Jon will be performing on the Expo stage in the Exhibition area, at the following times:
- 11:30am (for those children following Red and Blue schedules)
- 12:15pm (for those children following the Green and Yellow schedules) we have green bands
- 12:45pm (For any children who may be in the Expo area at that time)
ScienceBlast strongly recommend that each child brings a packed lunch. There will be two clearly signposted Hydration Stations for the refilling of water bottles. ESB Science Blast is technically closed to the General Public, we are very happy for parents or family members of the children to pop in to say ‘Hi’. As with all attendees/participants, they will also be asked to sign the Photography/Imagery Consent form on arrival.
On our schedule, there is a clearly marked section called ‘Project Judging/Exhibition Zone/Lunch. We will create a rota, so that there is always someone at our stand to talk about our investigation. It is recommend that we create one in 15-minute blocks; therefore, no child will miss out on seeing at least the majority of the shows/exhibits. ScienceBlast really can’t over-emphasise how important it is to always have our stand ‘manned’. Last year, some of our judges really struggled to locate their allocated classes. If he or she arrives at your stand repeatedly and there is no one there to talk to them, then the judging simply can’t take place. It might be advisable to arrange a time with your judge for the feedback visit at the stand, at a time that suits you both. Some schools might leave earlier than planned and it would be a shame for the class to miss out on receiving their trophy and feedback!
Homework this week
Friday 23rd of February
Bodhrán at 10:30 today and this will continue every Friday until Easter.
Skipping is now complete, the hall is reserved for us after lunch and we will begin testing then. We will have a good warmup and then some members of the class will complete their shuttle run. Remember to run the best you can and leave nothing in the tank. Anyone who doesn’t complete their run today will complete it on Monday. There is a lot to do on Science Blast next week. We have to analyse the data, make graphs and complete our display. I hope to complete the display on Friday next so that we can practice and present it to 6th class on Monday and Tuesday before we head to the RDS on Wednesday.
Daniel & Zoey will take a few minutes now to pick out the best Global Citizenship Litter and Waste Slogan Poster. The winning poster will be announced today.
Fantastic work with the microbits yesterday, we have added a power pack to them and we communicated outside temperature to microbits inside the classroom and vice versa.
Reminder : permission slips for Science Blast and Stay Safe
It is Friendship week next week, we will do a draw and each member of the class will have a secret friend. They will try to do nice things for them during the week. What nice things can we do for each other? There will be Friendship Bingo and a different Friendship games played next week.
As part of the Green Schools Committee, Daniel and Zoey completed a project on Honey, they will present to the class later.
Thursday 22nd of February
Our Green Schools committee members Zoey & Daniel informed us yesterday that A Global Citizenship Litter and Waste Slogan Poster must be in by Friday. We have 4 complete already. Time will be given to complete them today. Daniel, Zoey & I will choose a winning poster.
It is our last day of skipping and everyone will ho pefully be retested by Monday evening. We are covering data next week in Maths and this will tie in nicely as we will have to analyse times and put this information on different types of charts.
We will keep the notices short so that we can complete some homework corrections before 9:30. Finally bodrán starts tomorrow Friday at 10:30 and it will continue every Friday for 4 weeks or so. Papier Mache will Ms Sheward at 10am today and Spanish at 11.15.
Reminder : permission slips for Science Blast..
Wednesday 21st of February
Over the next 2 weeks Ms. Sheward will be doing papier maché with you. You will be making bowls.
We have begun writing the code for our Reaction Game that will be on display during our Science Blast. After completing the software (the code), our next step is to put the hardware in place.
How big is planet Earth? Lets hear some words to describe it.
If I asked how big is Earth in comparison to the universe, what would you say?
It’s incredible to see just how vast and diverse our universe is. It really puts things into perspective and makes you realize how tiny we are in the grand scheme of things
We learned about the first Transatlantic cables yesterday but do you know that there are 550,000 miles of cable under the ocean that power the internet. Every time you go on the internet, Netflix etc the data you send and receive will travel over one of these lines.
We began 4ADay yesterday and we will move onto Day 2 today, what did you learn yesterday? We begin a new genre of writing today also – Persuasive Writing.
2 days of skipping left and we will also play a game of Snatch & Run while we are outside.
Tuesday 20th of February
3 days of skipping now left, did any of you have a discussion last night about what might be included on our Science Blast display?
Next Tuesday for a break from the classroom we will be holding a paper airplane championship. You do the research at home between now and then to find and build the best plane possible.
How did homework go last night, who has Maths questions? We will also begin ‘4 A Day’ in Maths today, it is a 60 day challenge where the questions get progressively harder each day.
Photo of the Day
Video of the Day
We discussed the Renaissance yesterday, What was it? Why do you think the Mona Lisa painting is so famous?
Monday 19th of February
4 days of skipping left before testing on Friday. You will all redo the shuttle run and ball throw exercises.
As part of your homework this week, you are being asked to discuss the Science Blast display poster.
Each school project is allocated a stand, with a display board measuring exact size is 2055mm x 920mm and a countertop/display area which is 3m long and .5m in depth. Your stand will have the name of the school and your project question on it, so you don’t need to worry about making a title sign. A single socket power source will be available for each stand, although you should bring your own extension cord if you think you will require one. Here is an image of the lay out of the stands at Science Blast.
What great engineers we have in class. 2 cars reached the wooden panel in their individual runs and 2 more cars reached in the whole class race. Well done to everyone and our winning car built by Sam , Ryan, Leon & William.
Homework this week is as follows and could i get a quick show of hands for who has protractors and rulers.
Riddle of the Day
There are 3 light bulbs in three separate rooms. in front of you, there is a panel with 3 separate switches. They only turn on or off. You may look inside each room only once. How can you tell which bulb belongs to which switch?
For a bit of Fun
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
go
I went to the cinema (pictúirlann) yesterday
Do you go to school everyday?
He will go to school tomorrow
Wednesday 14th of February
Electric cars are almost complete. When you finish, you may test them in the atrium and make necessary changes. The hall is free before lunch and we will race the cars then.
5 days of skipping left before we retest. We also have 15 trees to plant today.
Tuesday 13th of February
Busy day ahead, it sis a project day and we will spend most of today building electric cars. All 3 5th classes will be coming together for a short time to celebrate Pancake Tuesday and there will be pancakes.
Before all that we have a very short yet important survey to take this morning.
Monday 12th of February
Mid term this week, there is no school Thursday & Friday. As a result there is no homework and no tests this week.
We will be building electric cars however, I hope to race them on Tuesday evening but its more likely it will take until Wednesday. It is up there with other tricky projects we have done this year. As always though, the real test is not how well your car runs, it is how well you work with teammates, how well you listen to others opinions and most important of all when sometime breaks or you cant figure sometime out, how well do you deal with the emotion that arises. Lets take a look at how last years class did.
Photo of the Day
We think of electric cars as a pretty recent phenomenon but they have been around longer than you think.
News Story of the Day
Disused wind turbine blades to be turned into new e-mobility hub
The ESB Group has announced a plan to turn decommissioned wind turbine blades into a new e-mobility hub. It is part of a collaboration with BladeBridge, a Cork-based start-up specialising in wind turbine blade repurposing.Wind turbines have a 25-year lifespan, and the blade is the only part of the turbine that is not commercially recyclable.
The e-mobility hub will be a physical structure, approximately the size of a car parking space. One of the designs would see part of a decommissioned wind turbine blade housing electric bike charging infrastructure where e-bikes can be plugged in to charge. A canopy overhead, also made from a decommissioned blade, would provide shelter for the e-bikes.
“We are delighted to be working with BladeBridge to repurpose wind turbine blades through the development of an exciting e-mobility hub that will showcase that this type of infrastructure can still serve a purpose after decommissioning while preventing further landfill waste,” said Donal Phelan, Head of Innovation at ESB Group.
BladeBridge repurposes decommissioned wind turbine blades into sustainable infrastructure such as pedestrian bridges and e-bike charging stations.Some of the company’s creations can be seen on the Midleton to Youghal greenway in Co Cork, and the Achill greenway in Co Mayo.
“Once decommissioned, these blades still have a lot of life left in them, as they are crafted from composite materials that withstand massive forces and extreme weather conditions,” said Dr Angie Nagle, CEO of BladeBridge.
“Current methods of disposal include sending turbine blades to landfill, which will be banned in Europe by 2025,” she said.
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
hear (irregular)
did you hear the wind last night (aréir)
He hears the bell (clog) every day
Will you hear rain (báisteach) tomorrow
Friday 9th of February
Our Talking History podcast is now complete. We will listen to it just before 1st break.
It was great to see an improvement in homework quality yesterday but some can still do better. Tests this morning.
PE this afternoon where we will play ‘the running triangle’ game and basketball.
News Story of the Day
Over a third of electricity produced by wind power last month
Ireland continue path to a zero-carbon society
A report today shows that more than one third of electricity used in Ireland last month was generated by wind power.
The latest figures, published by Wind Energy Ireland, show that the amount of electricity produced by wind farms was one of the highest ever recorded for the month of January.
Last year was was a record-breaking year for wind power generation.
The latest figures so far this year show that wind farms here continue to build on that success.
36% of Ireland’s power was provided by wind last month.
The latest Wind Energy report shows that the demand for electricity increased slightly when compared to the same month last year.
“New wind farms, along with solar and battery projects, will be connecting before the end of 2024 which will further reduce Ireland’s emissions, but we really need to accelerate the delivery of onshore and offshore renewable projects if we are to achieve a zero-carbon society for Ireland,” he stated.
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Did you injure your leg (cos)
‘I will injure my leg’ said Michael
Thursday 8th of February
We will continue with this project today and begun the timer project also. I know it can be hard to understand some of it but when you slow down and talk through each line of code it really does make sense.
Maths test and homework corrections today and Ms. Sheward will be in at 10 also.
We began learning about bogs and peatlands yesterday. We spoke about why bales of briquettes will no longer be seen in shops soon. Why is this so? Why have the government stopped the cutting of turf?
Rebus of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
He promises to walk (siúl)
Will you promise to walk?
Wednesday 7th of February
It was great to have Garda Gary in yesterday on Safer Internet Day. What do you remember from his chat? We will watch another video today and have another discussion on the content and complete a worksheet. Yesterday’s video was about cyber bullying but it also brought up the topic of what a positive bystander is? How could Brenda have done better, what could you have done? Why might it be difficult to do that?
Let’s take a few minutes now to discuss Risky Online behavior and Being a Good Digital Citizen.
How did Maths test preparation go last night? Who has questions today?
Who learned a new vocabulary word this week? The podcast is being edited currently, well done to all 3 groups. It will be ready by Monday and possibly this Friday.
We will continue to work on our microbits this evening. We will use the radio function to transfer an image from one microbit to another. We will also make a timer with the ‘A’ button starting the timer and ‘B’ button stopping it and displaying the time.
It is a short week in school next week, we do not have school on Thursday of Friday so that calls for a project day. We will be making and racing electric cars on Tuesday an Wednesday.
Rebus of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
leave
Did he leave the book on the table?
She leaves for school at 8 every morning
They will leave the food on the table.
Tuesday 6th of February
It is safer internet week an there are a number of items in the line up regarding this. There will be a poster competition, the guars will be in on Tuesday to talk with 5th & 6th classes, there is an online safety booklet to complete an we will watch and discuss several videos.
Homework this week will be shortened slightly as we had Monday off. I will let you know what to take off later.
As it is a shortened week, I have highlighted the words that will be aske in the English spellings test this week.
We will record the history podcast today. Well one to the 3 groups selected. Hannah W, Leon and Suzie will present the story behind WWI, Isabel, Clayton & Oisín will present the Inustrial Revolution with a particular focus on the Spinning Jenny and William, Rachel, Hannah S and Noah will tell us all about the French Revolution.
Friday 2nd of February
We will keep notices short again this morning to get as many tests as possible complete before the Maths group leave. Talking History podcast auditions will happen today, we will record now instead on Tuesday.
Reminder: Keep the science blast photography permission slips coming in.
Thursday 1st of February
Short notices this morning to allow time for our Maths test first thing. New jobs and seats will be allocated today also.
Ms. Sheward is in at 10 and Spanish is at 11:15. Homework corrections will be done later today also.
Excellent to the microbits yesterday. We can all now download the code on the chip and see it working. Today you will use a radio to transmit a message to another microbit. You will also use the power pack so that you can use the microbit remotely.
2 questions have popped up in Master your Maths this week that are really relevant to our money test today. Lets take a look at them.
I seen the new Ladies football ad last night for the first time. What message are they trying to get across in it? What do you think of it?
Wednesday 31st of January
Last day of January already. New seats and jobs tomorrow. I will also need 2 new announcers and hall prep volunteers as 3rd & 4th class begin their lunchtime leagues next week.
It’s the final day of podcast prep. Auditions tomorrow, recording will be done before Friday. Here is an example of an introduction.
Hello and welcome to our talking history podcast. On today’s show and we will be discussing the French Revolution. I am really looking forward to this conversation and in the studio I am delighted to say that I am joined by 2 experts on the Revolution. On my right I have Professor Glodel Muamba from Trinity College Dublin, Glodel has written two books on the French Revolution – his 1st book Storm the Bastille sold over 100,000 copies and his 2nd book Marie Antoinette was released just last week. On my left I am delighted to be joined by Qun Benson an expert curator from the museum of Paris. Quinn will speak to us about the 2 most popular artifacts in her museum. So what a treat we have in store for you listeners today. So Glodel when did you first become interested in the French Revolution?…..
Great to have so many Maths questions yesterday morning about the the Thursday test. Please continue to ask them them. Tell me about a Talktime word you studied this week?
Continue to bring in your science blast permission forms. Our final day of skipping will be Friday 23rd of February leaving us a week and a half to test and write up our project.
Check out the true size of Africa v Europe. We are looking at lakes, bays and towns of Ireland in maps over the next 3 weeks.
Rebus of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
go
The went to the shop
Does he go to school every morning?
Will he go to school tomorrow evening?
Tuesday 30th of January
The girls indoor football concluded yesterday with a thrilling final. Wexford grabbed 2 late goals to win on a score line of 6 goals to 4. It was fantastic to see the spirit that every game was played with right from the start. There can only be one winner in every game but everyone can leave the pitch as a winner. Did you try your best, when things go wrong in the game how did react with both yourself and your teammates, did you take chances etc. Well done to every girl that took part. 3th and 4th class will be the focus for the next lunchtime competition but we will get another competition in before the summer for 5th class.
We begin something new this morning on the app. It is in the growth mindset section. We will learn about growth mindset and we will also look at a task card every day. This task card gives you a scenario. You will discuss this scenario with a class mate and then share your responses with the class.
After 1st break will be dedicated to the podcast, we may have our 1st auditions tomorrow. We will record before the end of the week so we can watch and listen to the podcast when we return after the bank holiday weekend.
Rebus of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
wake
Did you wake up at 7 this morning
I wake up at 8 every morning
Will you wake up at 8 tomorrow morning
Monday 29th of January
Girls football final is kicking off at 11:30 today. Any classes who wish to can join us in the hall.
It was suggested last week to put the weeks homework up on the site every Monday in the case of a homework sheet was lost. This is a great idea.
English Spellings are raspberry, melon, tomatoes, banana, apricot, damson, currant, parsley, celery, garlic, cabbage, potatoes, lettuce, rhubarb, gooseberry and cucumber
I was unfamiliar with a damson so here they are.
News Story of the Day
Deposit return scheme – what you need to know
Friday 26th of January
Beans are not updated. Unfortunately we didn’t get all the homework corrected yesterday but we will correct Mental Maths later this morning after Friday tests. The Thursday Maths test may take place today and if not it will be on Monday.
Podcast research is now complete on the Chromebooks. It was great to hear that some groups are using famous paintings from the French Revolution as one of their artifacts. There was some other fantastic facts I never heard of uncovered also. You will get some time today to begin writing your script.
Girls football semi-final today with the final on Monday.
If you look outside the door you will see birdboxes that have been painted by Ms. Steedman’s class this week. Each birdbox needs a name and we have been asked to submit 3 names. Let’s get suggestions now.
After lunch today we must at least make a start at digging the holes for the fence posts.
You will receive a consent form for ScienceBlast either today, try to return this by next Friday. The hosts of ScienceBlast the RDS require a RDS Photography and Videography Consent Form to be completed in order to attend. All the details will be on a letter accompanying the consent form.
Photo of the Day
Video of the Day
Thursday 25th of January
Busy day ahead. Ms. Sheward will be in at 10am, Spanish is at 11:15 with our library visit at 12:30.
Homework corrections later today also.
You all know your topic and group for the January podcast at this stage. There was some excellent research done on your Chromebooks yesterday evening and you will receive another hour of research time this afternoon. You will begin writing your scripts on Friday and auditions hopefully taking place on Tuesday.
Sam, Zoey, Global (French Revolution)
Daniel, Lauren, Precious (French Revolution)
Síofra, Jack, Eve (World War I)
Isabel, Clayton, Oisín (Industrial Revolution)
Caoilainn, Brody, Veronica (Industrial Revolution)
Hannah W, Leon, Suzie
Rachel, William, Hannah S, Noah
Quinn, Ryan, Hareem, Cian
We completed our sketchnote s on the French Revolution today. Who wants to tell the story of their sketch note.
Wednesday 24th of January
The weather looks good tomorrow and Friday, I have been putting on the long finger for a while now so we will dig the holes for the fence posts that will surround the new chicken coop.
How is both written and learning homework going? Remember written homework is now due on a Thursday.
Some our Statues of Liberty drawings from yesterday’s art lesson.
You will complete your sketch note on the French Revolution today. You will then be divided into groups of 3 and you will be given one of the 3 topics (WWI, Industrial Revolution & French Revolution) to prepare for the podcast. Each group pf 3 will have a host, an expert on the topic and a curator from a museum. Your group will prepare questions and using what you have learned so far and the Chromebooks this evening and tomorrow you will prepare your answers.
Photo of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Hang
Past Tense -Did he hang up the towel?
Present Tense – Does he hang up the towel every day?
Future Tense – Will he hang up the towel?
Tuesday 23rd of January
Great effort from everyone in table tennis yesterday and the best part of it all was that everyone gave it a go. We will try it again soon.
How did homework go last night? What vocabulary words did you learn? How did Maths test preparation go? Who has questions for me this morning?
Here is the Maths test this week, I will pick out 6 questions on Thursday morning for you to complete.
We did cover as much of the French Revolution as I expected yesterday but hopefully we will be complete most of it today. Can you remember what democracy means?
To follow up last weeks lesson on WWI this is a letter from the Front. A soldier writes to a family letting them know about their son who died in battle a few weeks previous.
Photo of the Day
News Story of the Day
Irish teen’s Olympic dream in ‘crazy sport’
Monday 22nd of January
The hall is unavailable for PE this afternoon so we will be setting up the classroom for table tennis.
Part 2 of our 3 history lessons are complete. Let’s hear about the story behind these 6 sketch notes. Today and tomorrow we will complete work on the French Revolution freeing you up to do research on the Chromebook’s on Wednesday and Thursday.
Photo of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
I put the book on the table
He wakes up every morning
I will write the letter tomorrow.
Friday 19th of January
Friday tests this morning and as we have no written work to correct today we can take our time and give ourselves the best chance to do our best in them. Skipping, reading and tin whistle must also be ticked off our list today.
We will our begin our Sketchnote on WWI and making sure to include what we learned about the Dublin Lockout and how it led to Irish soldiers participation in WWI.
We study the French Revolution next week and then we are ready to start making our Talking History podcast.
The Lego trolley will be in after lunch today for our Golden Time.
Our coding time was cut short this week due to the Marble Run project on Wednesday and skipping yesterday but we still got the chance to introduce you to the radio function on the microbits. These microbits can wirelessly talk to each other up to a distance of 20 meters and we will be trying out different thins on them in class when they arrive.
The group stages of the girls indoor football are complete and the knockout stages begin today. The draw for the knockout stages takes place right now.
Video of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Did you stop the car?
I will catch the ball during the game
I am walking to the shop?
Thursday 18th of January
Well done yesterday with the construction of your Marble Runs. Here is a video of your demonstrations.
It’s another short notices this morning as its a very busy morning. Maths test this morning, Ms. Sheward is in doing WWI art at 10am, Spanish is on after break and we will correct our written homework before lunch.
Wednesday 17th of January
We are straight into our Marble Run Project this morning, it is a full day activity. You will work in groups of 4. These groups are on the board. There are 12 points on offer for your completed project. 3 points are on offer for a successful run, 3 points for creativity, 1 point for 5 turns or less, 2 points for 6 – 8 turns, 3 points for 9 – 11 turns, 4 points for 12 turns or more and 2 points if a wide variety of materials are used . However the most important part of the project is how you work as a team, is everyone opinion valued, is the work shared equally and when things go wrong (and they will go wrong with this project) how do you react? Do you remain resilient? Do you take a small break and take a few deep breaths? Do you stop work for a minute and have a short discussion with your group to find a solution.
Tuesday 16th of January
Our version of human fuse ball seemed to go well yesterday and our skippers are keeping motivated and putting in a great effort for those 5 minutes everyday. It will be interesting to find out what the results will be in 4 and a half weeks.
I just want to take a few moments to check in with homework last night, both written and learning homework has been reduced in the hope that the quality improves. How did both written and learning homework go for you last night?
Quinn is charge of making sure we put 10 minutes aside 3 times a week to practice the tin whistle. New booklets with tunes have been put together and we will work through the booklet over the next few weeks.
Photo of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Did you make the cake
I will go to the shop
We gave them our money?
Monday 15th of January
As you know there is a small change to homework this week, we will correct written homework on Thursday with tests on Friday. Here is a homework plan for those struggling to complete all the work.
Thursday is looking particularly busy thus week, Ms Sheward will be doing WWI art followed by Spanish.
We will cover WWI in class this week and get us a step closer to preparing our Talking History podcast.
We look to be on track to do our Marble Run project on Thursday, hopefully we have enough materials in by then.
Photo of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Did you make the cake
I will go to the shop
We gave them our money?
Friday 12th of January
Fridays have been very busy before Christmas with both tests and homework corrections. Starting next week I’m going to correct written homework on a Thursday giving us more time for Friday tests. There will obviously be less written homework given but it will give you Thursday night to fully go over learning work.
Some of our Sketch Notes from The Industrial Revolution.
Spanish also begins next Thursday for the next 5 weeks. It will be on between 11:15 & 12:00
Thursday 11th of January
The girls lunchtime league starts today with 2 games between. I must pick out 3 helpers that will oversee equipment, jerseys, substitutions and score taking.
It was a great start to our new programming language. As you can see there are many similarities between Scratch and Microbit coding and if you continue to learn more coding languages throughout secondary school and beyond you will notice they are all quite similar. We will complete some more projects this afternoon but we will take a break from it next week to do research for our Talking History podcast.
For the next 5 weeks between 10am & 10:45am I will be swapping classes with Ms. Sheward and she has some interesting lessons in store for you.
We learned about the Greenhouse Effect yesterday and how important it is to Planet Earth. If heat from the sun was not trapped in our atmosphere we could not live on Planet Earth, however it is a very fine balance and gases from burning fossil fuels and methane from livestock are creating an extra barrier in the atmosphere and keeping too much heat in. Hence Global Warming.
But so what if it’s warmer, don’t we all like warmer days?
What can we do in our classroom and at home each day to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we release into the atmosphere?
Please continue to bring in cardboard boxes, milk carton, pipes or anything that a marble will run through. I’m still hoping to do the Marble Run project next Wednesday.
Photo of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Did you push the chair?
I will not gather the leaves?
We sang a song?
Wednesday 10th of January
The teams for the girls football lunchtime league have been picked. There will be a group stage where your team will get a ranking, all teams will then go through to the knockout section. A draw will place this morning to decide the groups.
We move onto a new coding language today, we will also be getting chips in the new few weeks that we will actually be able to code and use in the classroom. These chips will also be used at Science Blast to do a number of tests on those who come to view our stand.
We began learning about the Industrial Revolution yesterday. The Industrial Revolution was the transition from creating goods by hand to using machines and there was a huge movement of people from the countryside to cities where factories now existed. We began talking about ‘The Spinning Jenny yesterday but I think we first need to know what spinning wool is.
Todays classroom game is called Pterodactyl. Going in a circle you must say the word Pterodactyl without showing your teeth and if you make a screech the direction changes.
Picture of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Will you walk to the shop with me?
I left the leaf on the ground?
Did you clean the fridge?
Tuesday 9th of January
Almost all classes have handed in their player list so we may even get a chance to pick teams today and begin the girls indoor soccer tomorrow.
We are still warming into 2024 and the Cone Order game yesterday was a great way of settling back into classroom life. There is another short game today called ‘Feet & Hands’.
It was great to start our Science Blast skipping today and it was great to see all 3 groups being committed to the task asked of them, especially the skipping group. It is not easy skipping for 5 minutes and there was some members of that group new to skipping and I was delighted to see how resilient they were and never gave up for the 5 minutes. Susie will oversee the skipping and make sure that we go out everyday. Cian will oversee our D.E.A.R. and in order to get his wage every Friday we must do this 3 times a week. D.E.A.R. starts today.
The incorrect Thursday Maths test was added to the homework sheet. The test this week is Multiplication 2. You will practice it in class this morning.
Photo of the Day
Briathra Gaeilge Challenge
Where was Mr. Brown?
Where is Mr.Brown?
He will be in the office
Monday 8th of January
Welcome back and I hope you all had a nice Christmas.We have a busy January ahead.
Science Blast is on the 6th of March, we will begin skipping today but we must first confirm that everyone in the skipping group and tag group and happy and committed to their task over the next 6 weeks. After 6 weeks we will retest and begin our poster presentations.
Thanks to Hannah and Jack for all their work during the boys football league, I am looking for 2 new students to do the same for the 5th/6th class girls soccer league that starts this week. Sheets will go to classes today, teams will be selected on Wednesday.
Next week we will have our first project of 2024. It is a day long project and it is called ‘The Marble Run’. I have some equipment in class but not enough so I’m looking for orange juice, milk cartons cereal boxes any type of pipes to be brought in and left and the back of the classroom. When I feel we have enough we will schedule a day to take on the task. Here are some of last years projects.
Please have your reading books in from tomorrow Tuesday, there will be 10 minutes put aside at least 3 days a week to sit back, relax and read.
PE this afternoon along with our first skipping outing at some stage (we must dedicate a set time to this every day). Also we will play the ‘The Cone Order’ Game at some stage on class today to ease us back into school.
Our next podcast is called ‘Talking History’. I will cover 3 topics in class – The Industrial Revolution, World War I, The French Revolution. These chapters are in our History Quest book but they will be accompanied by videos and images in class. After the we cover the 3 topics you will be divided into groups of 3 or 4 covering one topic. One member will be the presenter, another will be a curator from a museum who will speak about artefacts that they bring into the studio, the third will be an expert on the topic. Our Chromebook time starting week will be dedicated to researching this topic.
Photo of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
