Second Class Blog
A busy month of June!
We have had lots of fun designing and making our ‘Under the Sea’ wall hanging in Art. The girls started with choosing colours to paint hessian. Following that, they cut felt and filled their sea creatures with cushion filler and created nice designs to make them unique and different. To create a 3D feeling, the girls made holes to stick crepe and wool through for the seaweed. They also added their Science experiment fish. Earlier in the year, the girls were learning about mixtures and floating. They learned that oil floats on water and so we used marbling ink which floated on water, mixed these, placed white card flat on top and hey presto – beautiful coloured fish resulted! Thanks to Mr. Nagle, we have displayed our wall hanging in the reception area. Well done girls.
We went on a habitat study and discovered and identified many unusual and common insects and plants in Science. Following their investigations, we did a photostory. I think you’ll learn a lot from what we found out – I know I did!
We also learned about the life cycle of a seed from germination to photosynthesis. The girls took great care to look after their plants and will get to bring them home to look after during the summer. Be sure to send some pictures during the summer on Seesaw. Alongside growing plants, the girls worked really hard during Term 3 to finish their Procedural Genre – How to grow a _____. Each child chose a different plant and I’m sure you’ve enjoyed reading their final product. Super work here in English writing class over the last few months.
Camogie training for the last few weeks has been so much fun. The sun shone for each class and our trainer, John, had fantastic lessons each day. Ferrybank camogie club may have a few new recruits after it!
The highlight from this week was of course, SCHOOL SPORTS DAY. A huge thank you to Mrs. Shanahan for all the organising for this very successful day. It was most enjoyable, as you can see…….
And we’re not finished just yet. We have our school tour to look forward to on Monday.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Power
Sunny Term 3
Summer is well and truly underway and the girls have been working really well doing lots of interesting and fun activities in Term 3.
In Maths we were learning about graphs and so the girls took some time out of the classroom and went investigating the number and colour of cars that passed out school in a 10 minute period. We started with a tally chart and afterwards we created a pictogram to show the results. It definitely beat sitting in the classroom!
We were learning about milk in Geography – From grass to glass! The girls found some interesting information about the product that they enjoy most days. We also made connections with our Science and SPHE class, as calcium in milk is so important for healthy bones and teeth. To finish we all enjoyed a simple glass of milk. The following week, we took over the staff kitchen to make some very tasty milkshakes!
We also enjoyed a Zumba class during Wellbeing Week, thanks to Rachel. The girls absolutely loved it as you can see….
It was such an enjoyable week with so many lovely activities organised by Mrs. Shanahan and the Wellbeing Warriors. We had meditation, team building exercises, bright colours day and much more.
The girls have been really creative in Art class in Term 3 and created some very funny and entertaining sock puppets. They also created some beautiful landscapes for ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ poem. They learned a little about ‘Print’ in Art class too and how to create some wonderful and bright landscapes by printing. The girls also figured out how to make a kite from various materials. And of course we had to test whether they would fly….and they did!
The girls also figured out how to make a kite from various materials. And of course we had to test whether they would fly….and they did!
The girls have been learning about the life cycle of a plant in Science and also writing a Procedural genre in English. Along with this we have been experimenting to see what a seed needs to germinate. They girls made their predictions and we set up out experiment. We will find out this week what we can learn from the experiment!
We also planted some seeds for our outdoor learning area – Garden peas, courgette, and mixed leaf lettuce.
What a busy Term 3 so far. And we have lots more exciting and fun learning experiences ahead over the last few weeks of school. Enjoy the sunny weather and ask the girls what they have learned about being Sunsmart in this sunny weather!
Happy Easter!
What a busy Term 2 it has been. The girls are well and truly ready to take a break from school and concentrate on enjoying the spring air and some rest and relaxation. They have been very busy bees over the last few weeks and need to recharge over the Easter break and get set for the final Term 3 of 2nd Class.
The girls did a lot of work in the ‘measures’ area of the Maths curriculum. There were a lot of out of seat activities where we used different non-standard materials to measure length. We estimated and then measured the length of corridors, furniture and rooms.
We also learned about Capacity and amounts we could pour and fill in to various containers. We estimated and measured how many small tubs (i.e. yogurt pots) it took to fill a 1litre bottle, 500ml bottle or 250ml bottle. Over time we learned about standard measurements, millilitres and litres. The girls did most of the teaching in this lesson!
The girls finished their final draft of their Persuasive genre entitled ‘Spring is the most important season’. Well done girls on all the weeks of planning, researching and editing. No doubt you will enjoy having these read to you over Easter.
In History, we learned about the life of St. Patrick and did our first Kahoot quiz on the tablets. The girls enjoyed the buzz and the podium results!
We have been spending a lot of time in SPHE learning about healthy living. The girls identified things that they did that were healthy and also things they can try to improve. They designed a beautiful Food Pyramid using materials from home and also magazines. Ask them what they have learned about the different layers and what size servings you should have! To finish, we enjoyed some time in the staff kitchen where the girls identified and created their very own Fruit and Vegetable Kebabs. A nice healthy treat for the lunchboxes!
We have been learning about the properties of materials in Science and what materials are made from. As a challenge, the girls were given a number of materials – leather, wool, hessian, rubber, plastic, steel, cotton wool, felt, pvc. The girls predicted and then investigated using magnifying glass, which materials were waterproof and why.
And finally, this week as part of National Tree week (19th – 26th March), 2nd class planted a Maple tree on the school grounds. Firstly the girls had to go on a “Tree-sure Hunt” which was “easy-treesie!” Our Principal, Mr. Nagle, kindly helped out with the process and informed the children how to best look after their tree. Together we had a very enjoyable time. This will grow as your children grow and we will look after it for many years to come.
Wishing you a very happy and safe Easter.
Best wishes, Mrs. Power
Busy bees in spring!
The girls have created some beautiful Art during February. What creative and colourful Dream-catchers they made. They also learned a little about Vincent Van Gogh. The girls sketched and painted their own paintings inspired by Vincent’s Starry night.
In Science we have been learning about how the force of air, water and gravity can make something move. We had some fun seeing and doing pushing and pulling activities. The girls did some experimenting and designed and created very successful boats that floated and could also move by the force of air. We also learned about friction and why the right amount of friction is needed to make something stop or slow. We experimented with toy cars and various surfaces from smooth to rough.
We really enjoyed World book day this year and well done to all the girls and their families for creating and making beautiful costumes. The girls guessed who eachother was, spoke about their books, did some reading and swapped books with eachother. They did a crossword all about world book day to finish up. As part of world book week, we attended the library for book bingo. Thanks to the librarians for organising this fun activity. The girls had a ball and some were lucky to come home with prizes!
Well done to the girls on making their First Confession. I was very proud of all the girls and my little helpers who supported them.
And finally, we couldn’t forget about pancake Tuesday. The girls had an extra treat in school! These pancakes did not last too long!
Spring has Sprung!
Some may feel that January was a long month but we didn’t feel the time go in 2nd class as the girls returned after Christmas full of energy.
After finishing their Report genre in English before Christmas, the girls are looking forward to creating their next genre – Persuasive writing. The girls will be persuading you that ‘Spring is the most important season’. Watch this space!
Baineann siad a lan taitneamh as ar ndramai i ngaeilge. Seo iad cupla paisti sa siopa breagain. (The girls really enjoyed drama in Irish. Here are a few children in the toy shop…)
In Maths we have been focussing on weight and time. The girls designed and made their own sundials and we learned to use them in the yard.
We are learning about force in Science. The girls experimented with moving air and discovered what they could and could not move by using a straw to push and pull various objects/items.
We have had lots of creative designs in Art also. Over the last few weeks the girls created desk pets, a form of transport in connection with our SESE lessons, and transport fossils. Here we can see a desk pet, The Titanic ship and the fossil of a truck.
This week we had very enjoyable and successful parent-teacher meetings. It was lovely to meet with parents and share all the work which their children have been doing. Thanks to all the mams and dads for making the effort to meet with me.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Power
Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas
A very happy and peaceful Christmas to you all. The girls have been busy elves over the last number of weeks.
They finished their final draft of their report genre – The Barn Swallow. They worked through many stages to create these amazing texts. From researching on our school tablets, to planning frameworks, to first drafts, editing and final final drafts. They can’t wait to read them for their families over Christmas.
In Maths, the girls have been busy shopkeepers buying and selling and learning how to calculate change. Great group work from 2nd class here. They will be ready to buy and sell anything during Mission week next year.
We had some lovely History lessons about Christmas traditions around the world. It was so lovely to show videos from home from some of the girls in our class. Thanks mams and dads for getting involved.
The girls should be super helpers at home over the holidays as we learned what we can and can’t recycle; what goes in each bin; and what can be brought to the bring bank. They separated out many items successfully into the right bins in class.
We’ve had some wonderful winter and Christmas Art. We learned about shading using charcoal. We also made some 2nd class memory baubles. Each year, the girls can take out this bauble as a memory of 2nd class 2022.
In PE the girls finished 6 weeks of swimming classes in Kingfisher. They improved so much over a short space of time.
These are only snippets of all the wonderful work the girls do for me each and every day. They have been a pleasure to teach.
I wish you all a wonderful relaxing break. I look forward to smiling faces in 2023.
Nollaig shona daoibh go léir,
Mrs Power
Winter has arrived!
We all feel the chill this week so be sure to wrap up as Winter has well and truly arrived. We want to keep the colds and coughs at bay as much as possible.
The girls are really impressing me with their Gaeilge. We have been learning about Eadai (clothes) and an Seomra folctha (the bathroom). Thanks to the girls for bringing in cloths and bathroom items, we had really interactive lessons. Ta crios ar an leaba. Ta tuaille ar an urlar. Ta me ag ni mo lamha!
The girls have been all hands-on in Maths class using blocks, dienes, lollipop sticks, and are learning to change units to tens, tens to units, tens into hundreds and hundreds into tens. We also used some tasty pizzas to learn about fractions – halves and quarters. It was a tasty lesson! Great work girls.
In science we are experimenting with Magnets and made a fun fishing game. Take a look at the video of the girls on Seesaw!
Finally the girls have been doing great research on our school tablets. They are finding interesting facts about the Barn Swallow and this will be the bases of our Report Genres.
More updates soon,
Mrs. Power
