6th Class St.Mary’s, Blessington
Thursday 12th of February
We will work on our Palentines art again today. It will be displayed in the atrium at some stage tomorrow.
We have Chromebooks this morning. Ms. Gilligan class has begun their Science Blast project and has asked us to complete a survey on Google Forms. We will take this survey on the Chromebooks. Please be as honest as you can, just like with our own science Blast project. We can only get true results if everyone gives an honest effort and opinion.
We will also continue writing on the Chromebooks possibly our final letter to our pen pals in Ennis. Do you remember what to include in the 4 paragraphs?
Well done to everyone who took part in the volleyball. The badminton tournament starts next week. I am on duty today, and we will hopefully return to it again before the end of the year.
Wednesday 11th of February
Today’s webinar at 12 is Antibiotics vs. bacteria: who wins the battle?
P’alentines art for Friendship week
We made a great start to our Daniel O’Connell projects yesterday. Many of you are creating Google Slides presentations, some are making posters, others are doing art projects, and a few are working on construction—so I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished results.
You have until next Tuesday to complete your project. You can use the Chromebooks in school, and it can also be worked on at home. Because of the deadline, some of you may need to log on at home to make sure it’s finished in time.
What have you learned about Daniel O’Connell so far?
Instead of just listing events from his life, it’s great to see some of you focusing on one particular aspect in detail. Some are exploring the monster meetings he held—especially the one at Clontarf. Others are looking at his hedge schools. Some are researching statues, while others are concentrating on Catholic Emancipation.
Keep going in that direction—digging deeper into one area rather than just skimming over everything. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you produce next Tuesday.
It was great to have Garda Gary in yesterday taking about internet safety and e scooters because the Gardaí have now started taking them from people under 16.
We discussed algorithms and influencers yesterday. Remember they said that if you watch or like videos about dogs, the app keeps showing you more and more dog videos? That’s how algorithms work—they try to show you things they think you’ll like.
The problem is, that doesn’t always mean you’re getting a balanced view. You might only start seeing one side of an argument, or one type of opinion, and not the other side at all. That’s why it’s really important to think carefully about what you see online, rather than just accepting it straight away. You need to be critical thinkers.
Critical Thinking: Who Designs a Society?
Following up on yesterdays Alpha Culture and Beta Culture
- If you were starting a new country, what rules from Alpha would you keep?
- What from Beta would you keep?
- What would you definitely change?
After lunch, we’re going to be learning about Black History, because February is Black History Month. We’ll be looking at famous people who stood up for civil rights, and we’re going to use drama to help us understand their stories.
We’ll be doing some hot-seating, where one person pretends to be a historical figure and answers questions, and some frozen images, where groups make still pictures with their bodies to show an important moment in history.
These activities will help us think about what people went through, what choices they made, and why their actions were important.
How are we set for building rockets and launching them tomorrow?
Tuesday 10th of February
It’s Safer Internet Day, On our Chromebooks later we will log into this site Interland. Interland is a free online game from Google that teaches children key internet safety and digital citizenship skills through play. Set across four themed areas, it helps kids learn how to spot fake or misleading information, protect personal details and passwords, act kindly online, and think carefully before sharing content. Overall, it encourages children to be smart, safe, respectful, and responsible when using the internet.
We will also look at and chat about the role and influence of social media influencers and understand how algorithms shape our online experience. We will look to develop strategies to manage your experience online and navigate the opportunities and challenges of these powerful influences.
Friendship Week continues, tomorrow you can bring in your favourite games — just remember, no video games or tablets. Bring in card games or board games, whatever you enjoy. How about your secret friend?— have you managed to do one nice thing for them this week?
Anyone get to see any Winter Olympics last night?