Welcome to First and Second Class !
About Us!
We are First and Second class.
There are nineteen children in our class, seven boys and twelve girls.
We are looking forward an exciting year ahead.
Our teacher's name is Miss Forde.
We are First and Second class.
There are nineteen children in our class, seven boys and twelve girls.
We are looking forward an exciting year ahead.
Our teacher's name is Miss Forde.
Super Second Class!
Fabulous First Class !
Halloween Fun
Baking Banana Bread
SUNFLOWERS
We decided as a class that we would like to feed our local birds. The plan was to grow sunflowers.We planted the seeds in compost and left them on our sunny classroom window. We watered them well and soon it was time to transplant them outside.Bamboo sticks were used to support them as they grew. Even though the summer was dismal, our sunflowers grew and produced lots of seeds for the birds. We measured the tallest one which reached 2.59 metres!
We decided as a class that we would like to feed our local birds. The plan was to grow sunflowers.We planted the seeds in compost and left them on our sunny classroom window. We watered them well and soon it was time to transplant them outside.Bamboo sticks were used to support them as they grew. Even though the summer was dismal, our sunflowers grew and produced lots of seeds for the birds. We measured the tallest one which reached 2.59 metres!
Living Things: Plants & Animals.
The class collected lots of conkers from local horse chestnut trees. We used recycled milk cartons to plant the conkers. First, we cut the tops off the cartons. Then we put some peat in, next the conkers and finally some more peat. We will leave them until Spring, when hopefully they will begin to grow.
Each member of the class will bring home a little sapling and plant it.
We also brought frogspawn into the classroom and watched it develop, firstly into tadpoles, froglets and finally tiny frogs!!
The class collected lots of conkers from local horse chestnut trees. We used recycled milk cartons to plant the conkers. First, we cut the tops off the cartons. Then we put some peat in, next the conkers and finally some more peat. We will leave them until Spring, when hopefully they will begin to grow.
Each member of the class will bring home a little sapling and plant it.
We also brought frogspawn into the classroom and watched it develop, firstly into tadpoles, froglets and finally tiny frogs!!
Coding Week October 2022
We had great fun with our Bee Bots and Izak9 cubes. Many thanks to Iseult Mangan for facilitating the lesson.
Maths & Science- Measurement & Materials (Properties & Characteristics)
Lots of fun baking scones and buns! We measured out out our ingredients, combined them, rolled out the dough, cut them, baked and then there was lots of munching. Yummy!
While the scones were baking we used our muscles, a plastic container, a marble and some cream to make our own butter.
Technology in our Classroom
We all have our own google accounts and with the help of 5th & 6th Class we are now able to create Google Slides & Docs.
Science Week Experiments: elephant toothpaste(Materials)capillary action,(Energy and Forces)magnets (Energy & Forces).
Foam is fun! We used hydrogen peroxide, yeast, washing up liquid, warm water & food colouring. The foam made in Elephant’s Toothpaste is extra-special because each tiny foam bubble is filled with oxygen. The yeast acted as a catalyst; a catalyst is used to speed up a reaction. It quickly broke apart the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. Because it did this very fast, it created lots and lots of bubbles. The bottle got warm. The experiment created a reaction called an Exothermic Reaction – that means it not only created foam, it created heat!
This experiment is called “Elephant’s Toothpaste” because it looks like toothpaste coming out of a tube.
This experiment is called “Elephant’s Toothpaste” because it looks like toothpaste coming out of a tube.
Science- Energy & Forces-Design a Bridge
Exploring how to design a paper bridge and make it strong.
First we decided on what span the bridge would be. Then we used just one sheet of paper and placed coins on it until it collapsed.
Next we used a walled bridge- paper with sides turned up. An improvement.
No. 3 was when bridge was supported by an arch. Finally we made a corrugated bridge which was the best.
Exploring how to design a paper bridge and make it strong.
First we decided on what span the bridge would be. Then we used just one sheet of paper and placed coins on it until it collapsed.
Next we used a walled bridge- paper with sides turned up. An improvement.
No. 3 was when bridge was supported by an arch. Finally we made a corrugated bridge which was the best.
Designing & making a toilet roll Marble Run.
Engineering with 1st & 2nd Class
Shapes which are strong-Using forty eggs sitting in an egg box we tested the strength of its dome shape. Everybody in the class stood on the eggs, even Miss Forde. The eggs did not crack- WHY???
The arches in the dome shape distributed the weight and pressure evenly throughout the entire structure. Although eggs are easily cracked if hit on the side, the dome-shaped ends will support a great deal of weight.
The arches in the dome shape distributed the weight and pressure evenly throughout the entire structure. Although eggs are easily cracked if hit on the side, the dome-shaped ends will support a great deal of weight.
Maths Trail around our schoolyard.
Off we set with our clipboards , measuring tapes and pencils!
We estimated and then measured lots of items around the school . We had lots of fun!
We estimated and then measured lots of items around the school . We had lots of fun!
Gardening, butterflies , pootering and egg incubation.
Enormous thanks to Sheona McDonald for organising all of us in the garden this year. We planted lots of bee friendly flowers in our raised bed.
We also watched a caterpillar turning into a chrysalis and eventually metamorphosing into a beautiful Painted Lady butterfly. We released them in the garden on a sunny day. Pootering for minibeasts in the schoolyard is lots of fun.
Our class placed seven eggs into the incubator. We can't wait for the chicks to hatch!
Science- Energy & Forces-Design a Bridge
Exploring how to design a paper bridge and make it strong.
First we decided on what span the bridge would be. Then we used just one sheet of paper and placed coins on it until it collapsed.
Next we used a walled bridge- paper with sides turned up. An improvement.
No. 3 was when bridge was supported by an arch. Finally we made a corrugated bridge which was the best.
Check out our Vomiting Pumpkins!!
Strand: Materials : Strand Unit: Materials & Change
We took an acid (liquid: vinegar) and a base solid: baking soda) and combined them make a gas called carbon dioxide. You can see the the carbon dioxide gas in the form of bubbles. We also added green food colouring for effect and fairy liquid for bubbles.
Mummification of an apple:On another day we cut an apple in half. We placed one half into a mug with salt and bread soda. In the other mug we put the other half with nothing. Both were placed in a dark cupboard for a week.
Result: The one with nothing rotted and the other had begun to shrivel but not rot. The salt & bread soda acted as dessicants and mummified the apple.
Strand: Materials : Strand Unit: Materials & Change
We took an acid (liquid: vinegar) and a base solid: baking soda) and combined them make a gas called carbon dioxide. You can see the the carbon dioxide gas in the form of bubbles. We also added green food colouring for effect and fairy liquid for bubbles.
Mummification of an apple:On another day we cut an apple in half. We placed one half into a mug with salt and bread soda. In the other mug we put the other half with nothing. Both were placed in a dark cupboard for a week.
Result: The one with nothing rotted and the other had begun to shrivel but not rot. The salt & bread soda acted as dessicants and mummified the apple.
Science Week - 8th- 15th Nov.
Material for a Lifejacket-Materials (Properties & Characteistics of Materials)
Forces - (Sinking & Floating)
The class brought in lots of Lego people . We had to design and test what we thought would make good lifejackets for our little people. We were given corks, sponge, cotton wool, polystyrene, newspaper, wire ties, bottle tops and string.
Investigating Slopes-Forces(Gravity/friction) and Materials(Properties & Characteristics)
After discussing what a slope is we set up a slope resting on one book. We released a toy car and a marble. Each group measured the distance travelled by both. Then the exercise was repeated six more times, adding a book each time. Did the distance travelled each time increase? The marble travelled farthest. Why?
Dancing Raisins-Forces-Investigating how forces work on objects. Using a glass of lemonade and raisins, we dropped the raisins into the glass. The raisins immediately dropped to the bottom. Bubbles of carbon dioxide attached to them and they floated to the top. Bubbles burst, raisins sank again. They danced up and down until the fizz left the lemonade.
Ink Making
One day Ruby arrived into to school with Shaggy Ink Cap mushrooms. We discovered that when left overnight, they turn to a black liquid mess which was used as ink in the past. Other children in our class brought in more mushrooms so we made lots of ink.
We then decided to make ink from oak galls, elderberries and blackberries.
Early manuscripts such as the Book of Kells were created using oak gall ink. Oak gall wasps lay their eggs on the back of oak leaves . The oak tree responds by forming a gall around the larvae. We collected oak galls and crushed them to a powder. They were then placed in a jar filled with water. If you add ferrous sulphate it makes the ink black. We added rusty nails which is the same thing. We made beautiful black ink.
We squashed the elderberries and black berries with a mortar and pestle. Then we strained them to extract the juice.
When all the inks were made, we used quills to do some writing. It was a bit messy but it was fun imagining what it was like to be a monk writing the Book of Kells!
We then decided to make ink from oak galls, elderberries and blackberries.
Early manuscripts such as the Book of Kells were created using oak gall ink. Oak gall wasps lay their eggs on the back of oak leaves . The oak tree responds by forming a gall around the larvae. We collected oak galls and crushed them to a powder. They were then placed in a jar filled with water. If you add ferrous sulphate it makes the ink black. We added rusty nails which is the same thing. We made beautiful black ink.
We squashed the elderberries and black berries with a mortar and pestle. Then we strained them to extract the juice.
When all the inks were made, we used quills to do some writing. It was a bit messy but it was fun imagining what it was like to be a monk writing the Book of Kells!
We went on a nature walk around the school grounds and found some beautiful Autumn leaves, flowers, pinecones and sticks. We used these to create pictures. They varied from cats to witches on broomsticks, a clown, an owl, and even a tractor. We love them!
Engineering:Construction & Recycling: We decided to make use of all those toilet rolls which had been stockpiled over the past six months. Our groups planned and designed our creations and then set about building them. We experimented on different ways to reach a good height. We did pretty well!
The tallest reached 1m 73cm.
The tallest reached 1m 73cm.
This download file below is an excellent interactive tables game we have in school.
I would like the children to spend 10 minutes a day practising their tables, if possible.
Download onto your computer and work may be done offline.
I would like the children to spend 10 minutes a day practising their tables, if possible.
Download onto your computer and work may be done offline.
| tables_challenge__1_.exe |
IXL - Maths and English https://ie.ixl.com/ Each child has their own username and password
Topmarks - Maths ( Excellent for Maths)
Hit the Button ( Quickfire maths)
Daily Ten - Mental Maths Challenge- Highly Recommend
Topmarks Homepage ( This is great for all subjects)
P.E with Joe-A daily workout from Monday-Friday 9 a.m.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyCLoPd4VxBvQafyve889qVcPxYEjdSTl
Epic- We will be using this every day
https://www.getepic.com/sign-in/educator
All Levels
Epic! is an online library which offers over 35000 resources including “Read to Me” books, audiobooks, student tracking, reading level linkage with Accelerated Reader and other reading levelling schemes. It also offers high interest texts such as National Geographic Kids and Guinness Book of Records. It is suitable for children from ages 4-12.
Jolly Phonics - All free at the moment. Username and Password are on their homepage- Go to resources
https://new.phonicsplay.co.uk/
Gaeilge:
Simple Irish Games/Reading https://www.seideansi.ie/
Typing :
BBC Touch Typing https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr
Or
Typing.com https://www.typing.com/
Twinkl
All Classes
Twinkl are offering all parents and teachers a One Month FREE Ultimate Membership to Twinkl.ie. This will allow parents and teachers unlimited access to every single resource for every single curriculum subject from junior infants to sixth class.
www.twinkl.ie/offer
Notes: Setting this up is really easy to do - go to www.twinkl.ie/offer and enter the code IRLTWINKLHELPS.
Oxford Owl Ebook Reader Library
Junior Classes
Oxford Owl has an ebook library with over 250 books in it and offers free access to teachers and parents once you create an account at www.oxfordowl.co.uk They also have some vocabulary and comprehension activities for most of the books.
www.oxfordowl.co.uk
www.sorchaj.com Infants to Fifth Class
This site covers phonics, dolch, Jolly Phonics including tricky word lists and practice reading sentences following the Spellbound order of words and more.
www.sorchaj.com
Teach Your Monster to Read - Infants to 1st Class.
Teach Your Monster to Read is a fun activity that helps infants work on everything from initial sounds, CVC words, blends and digraphs all the way to full words and sentences. The Web platform is free for teachers and students (the App costs, but is not necessary).
https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/
Topmarks - Maths ( Excellent for Maths)
Hit the Button ( Quickfire maths)
Daily Ten - Mental Maths Challenge- Highly Recommend
Topmarks Homepage ( This is great for all subjects)
P.E with Joe-A daily workout from Monday-Friday 9 a.m.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyCLoPd4VxBvQafyve889qVcPxYEjdSTl
Epic- We will be using this every day
https://www.getepic.com/sign-in/educator
All Levels
Epic! is an online library which offers over 35000 resources including “Read to Me” books, audiobooks, student tracking, reading level linkage with Accelerated Reader and other reading levelling schemes. It also offers high interest texts such as National Geographic Kids and Guinness Book of Records. It is suitable for children from ages 4-12.
Jolly Phonics - All free at the moment. Username and Password are on their homepage- Go to resources
https://new.phonicsplay.co.uk/
Gaeilge:
Simple Irish Games/Reading https://www.seideansi.ie/
Typing :
BBC Touch Typing https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr
Or
Typing.com https://www.typing.com/
Twinkl
All Classes
Twinkl are offering all parents and teachers a One Month FREE Ultimate Membership to Twinkl.ie. This will allow parents and teachers unlimited access to every single resource for every single curriculum subject from junior infants to sixth class.
www.twinkl.ie/offer
Notes: Setting this up is really easy to do - go to www.twinkl.ie/offer and enter the code IRLTWINKLHELPS.
Oxford Owl Ebook Reader Library
Junior Classes
Oxford Owl has an ebook library with over 250 books in it and offers free access to teachers and parents once you create an account at www.oxfordowl.co.uk They also have some vocabulary and comprehension activities for most of the books.
www.oxfordowl.co.uk
www.sorchaj.com Infants to Fifth Class
This site covers phonics, dolch, Jolly Phonics including tricky word lists and practice reading sentences following the Spellbound order of words and more.
www.sorchaj.com
Teach Your Monster to Read - Infants to 1st Class.
Teach Your Monster to Read is a fun activity that helps infants work on everything from initial sounds, CVC words, blends and digraphs all the way to full words and sentences. The Web platform is free for teachers and students (the App costs, but is not necessary).
https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/
| links.docx |
Engineering Week: Egg Drop Challenge
As part of engineering week we took the challenge to build a cradle out of sellotape, straws and paper that safely gets an egg to the ground after being dropped from a height. We dropped it from the classroom ceiling, which is 3 metres high! We had a lot of successes and one or two breakages. We discussed, planned and created our egg carrier. Second time round we made some improvements to our designs. It was great fun!
As part of engineering week we took the challenge to build a cradle out of sellotape, straws and paper that safely gets an egg to the ground after being dropped from a height. We dropped it from the classroom ceiling, which is 3 metres high! We had a lot of successes and one or two breakages. We discussed, planned and created our egg carrier. Second time round we made some improvements to our designs. It was great fun!
Float Your Boat and Testing Egg Strength
Energy & Forces- Forces/Materials and Change
Float Your Boat:Using plasticine and a bowl of water we discussed the density of objects and how heavy materials can be made to float if their weight is spread out over a big enough amount of water.
Egg Strength:We tested the strength of egg shells. We placed four eggs in an egg box and gradually added more and more books. The record was 15.3 kilograms!
The power of the dome shape meant it spread out the weight of the books to the whole egg.
Recently we made some tasty vegetable soup. We washed, peeled and chopped the vegetables, added stock, simmered and then blended it . We shared it with the infants who said it was excellent!
For Science Week we all chose an animal native to Ireland and did a project on it. We researched its habitat, diet, size , fun facts, etc….. Then we presented our projects to all the other classes in the school. They were very interested in our work. We also presented our work to our parents. They were impressed!! It was fun!
Christmas Concert December 2019- Three Little Pigs and The Nativity
Halloween Fun for All!
We baked some tasty biscuits!! Yum, yum!
Athletics in Claremorris. We jumped hurdles, sprinted, did the long and high jump. It was lots of fun!
After swimming we joined the library in Claremorris! We chose lots of lovely books to read.
