Peace Proms
The school choir is participating in the Peace Proms program. Peace Proms is a choral education program which impacts 20,000 primary school children in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This programme is recognised as Ireland’s most valuable Arts Education initiative. Dr. Helen Haughey has been working very hard to prepare the choir for this event.
On Tuesday, 24th January, the school choir travelled to the Ulster Hall in Belfast for a workshop in preparation for the concert.
The choir will also take part in the Peace Proms concert in the SSE Arena on Sunday 26th February. It should be a memorable occasion for staff and pupils!
Literacy Lift Off
Senior Infants are taking part in the Literacy Lift Off programme at present. Literacy Lift-Off is a whole-class intervention aimed at increasing each child’s competency in oral language, reading and writing. Diverse activities are essential for extending literacy processing power. Hence, the pupils work in ‘stations’ to carry out a number of activities in reading and writing, over the course of an hour, under the guidance of 4 teachers.
During each Literacy Lift-Off session, children experience four activities:
- Familiar Reading
- Word Work
- Writing
- New Book
Station 1: Familiar Reading
Pupils read previously seen PM+ Readers. Purpose: Development of enjoyment, fluency, comprehension and speed.
Station 2: Word Work
They use magnetic letters on the whiteboard to make and break words. Purpose: To show children how words work, so that they can make a fast visual analysis of their reading.
Station 3: Writing
Pupils write sentences based on a poster that they have discussed.
Purpose: The purpose is to encourage children to focus their thought so that they can create a concise well-formed sentence based on the poster that they have just discussed as a whole class at the beginning of the lesson .
Station 4: New Book
Encountering new texts each day challenges the pupils to discover new ways to go beyond their current operating ability and lift their literacy processing. Purpose: Pupils learn to use strategic activities to read new texts.
Junior and Senior Infants
Aistear
This month’s theme focused on fruit and vegetables. A fruit and vegetable shop was set up in the class. Children engaged in role play as customer and shopkeeper. A game called ‘Shopping List’ was taught to the boys. This is a memory game which focused on language development and turn-taking. This month’s theme was integrated with Gaeilge and SPHE. Healthy eating and taking care of our body was discussed in SPHE.
The Ravenous Beast
Junior and Senior Infant’s enjoyed the story ‘The Ravenous Beast’. The boys came up with wonderful ideas explaining what else the Ravenous Beast might eat! Ideas included giants, boats, cities and even the school! The children enjoyed exploring the language of the book, and amazing drawings and paintings were created by all!
Senior Infants and 1st class
Senior Infants and 1st class have been learning all about polar bears and the chilly Arctic landscape that they come from! They wrote detailed reports based on what they learned about the polar bears. The boys made some lovely polar bear art work using different coloured paper and chalk. They also painted winter landscapes with a focus on perspective and cold colours.
Third Class
This month Third Class were examining communication methods. We learned about how people used to stay in touch in the past by using methods such as the Pony Express and how carrier pigeons were used during World War 1 when travelling became difficult. We also listened to some Morse Code and tried to decipher it! We then looked at how scientific advancements have made it much easier to communicate with people, even if they are on the other side of the world. We made a string telephone and listened to messages from people on the other side of the classroom. It was great fun!
In history we examined the Middle Ages and learned how a town crier was used to spread news among the people. We also learned about what life was like in this era, how craftsmen came together to form guilds and how people who broke the law were put in stocks and had rotten eggs thrown at them! We then used clay to design and make our very own medieval castles – definitely fit for any king or queen!
