Coder Dojo

CODER DOJO BY NATHAN T

Every Wednesday After School At Around 6:00 To 6:30 Some

Of The boys in 3, 4, 5 and 6^th go To the RDA Hall To Do Scratch

At The Coder Dojo club.  While you’re there you can do Scratch

Projects and show them with your Friends, It Is really fun and lasts

until 7:00.  So, if you want your kid to sign up to go to the Coder dojo

Website and proceed from there. I would recommend it for children aged

5 plus of age to get the full experience. I like it very much and recommend it for coders everywhere, THANK YOU!!!!  

How to Plan a Project by Morgan

Points on Planning a Project.

·      Start with researching your topic

·      Plan out your Topic Contents

(Introduction, Middle and End)

·      Make a list of materials you’ll need

·      Decide on how to present your project

(Book Format, Slideshow and or Poster)

·      Allow enough time to get project completed

·      Last but not least, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PROJECT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!

By Morgan Karra

The Class Aquarium

OUR AQAUIRM.  BY NIAMH TAYLOR.

It was the start of September just a few days after our summer holidays. We were told that we were going to get an aquarium. we were so excited that we all were jumping up and down we all wanted a certain fish and there was a lot of looking on the Wikipedia and other internet sites to decide what fish to choose. Then we decided which fish we wanted. We also made a group project about fish it was so fun and we are all happy that we have our fish and that Mrs. Spencer’s husband got us some other new one`s after our WW2 Project, Thank You.     

Our Fish Tank

By Rowan Parameter

We got our fish tank quite soon after school started and have tetras, ancistrus, a bronze cory, angel fish and harlequins.  We had two angel fish, one golden and the other black.  The black one died about a month ago.  We have increased the fish population as the tank has become mature and have replaced the angel fish which died.

Skip Hop

Skip Hop

By Lara Mullally

On the 16^th of November a man came in to teach us skipping.  He took class by class to go out and skip. When it was our turn we went into the hall.  First we did a warm up.  We did forwards and backwards skipping for the warm up and some cool tricks, then we started to do some hard stuff.

 We did thing where you had to skip in the figure of eight.  It worked like this, you had to run in jump once then run around the person holding the person holding one side of the rope and then run in and jump again.  Then we had to do it with the whole class, the man said that whoever, touched the rope was ‘out’.  In the end only Hannah, Maeve, Patrick, Matthew and Seth were left ‘in’.  We did it eight times then we had to go back to class.

Later on, we went back with the whole school. The man called up the best people to come up and show their skills. After a while he called up Hannah, Maeve, Patrick, Matthew and Seth to do the figure of eight.  We got a score of 16 times.  We went back to our classrooms afterwards.

Our class went outside to do more skipping at 2 o’clock.  This time we just practiced doing the figure of eight, then the class was over.  We said ‘Goodbye’ and went back inside.  It was time to go home.

Skip Hop

By Lucy Fitzgerald

On Friday the 16^th of November Lee came into do skipping with our school.  Everyone did 45 minutes with their class.  Then after lunch we had a skipping show and a few people from each class did some skipping tricks.  At the end of the day 5^th and 6^th class were very lucky to get half an hour extra time before Lee left.  We had so much fun and I wish I could do it again.

              

SKIP HOP

by Leah Condell

A guy called Lee came to school and he showed SOOO many cool skipping tricks and routines, some of them where double dutch, 360 turn , figure of eight  and sooo much more. He said that he worked with boxers, gymnasts, football players etc. . We had a little show doing the skipping tricks that we learned 

 

Our World War 2 Projects

World War 2 project

by Naoise Wheeler

Recently Mrs. Spencer had an idea and asked us to do a project about WW2.  Mrs. Spencer gave us a sheet which had the amount of points that you got for each topic in the project.  Everybody did completely different types of projects.  Some people did booklets and some people did big posters.  The biggest project was Seth's which was longer than one of the school tables and Seth hand-wrote most of his project himself.  Lucy Fitzgerald used home-made paper which looked really old.  Matthew finished his project in the shortest length of time.  Dara and Nathan did Powerpoint presentations on the computer which was very good.  All the projects were displayed in the PE hall and the parents came into school to look at them.

Lucy Rhatigan came first place overall and she wrote a lot about Adolf Hitler when he was growing up.

The main topics we covered out WW2 were: an introduction, a timeline of events in the war, the countries involved, the big battles e.g. the battle of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain, the evacuation (the kids that went to live in the countryside), the Blitz (the bombing of London), technology and warfare, different types of aircraft, spies, concentration camps and the Holocaust.  Adolf Hitler, the leader of the German Army.  The diary of Anne Frank and some people even have ancestors that were involved in World War 2.  The invention of nuclear weapons and the Atomic Bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the USA which forced Japan to surrender.  61 countries were involved in World War 2 and around 60 million people died and 6 million Jewish people died in WW2.

All of the projects were amazing.  I was really surprised because most of the people who died in WW2 were from the Allies and the Allies won the war.  I never knew how bad WW2 was until I did the project and I learned so much.  It was really sad because so many people died.  I hope people will never start such a big war again.  I want to thank Pete and Larry and Pete's wife for coming into our school and judging our projects. 

World War 2 Projects

  We had to present our WW2 projects to the 5^th and 6^th class parents.  Friday the 17^th was our open day.  We did a lot more than just presenting on the day.  It started with a visit from Pete McWilliams.  He talked to us about the RAF.  Later we went to the hall to present our projects to the judges.  The three judges were Peter McWilliams, his wife Lorraine McWilliams and Larry Roe.  Which we were presenting our projects Mrs Spencer cooked really yummy pizza.  We had a break while the judges were looking at the projects.  When the judges came back afterwards they said that we had all done an amazing job.  Then parents came to the hall along with pupils from the other classes. We had a great time telling everyone about our projects.        

WW2 Projects 2017

At the beginning of October 5^thand 6^thclasses were given individual World War 2 projects that were due on the 17^th of November.

By the time we were finished our projects we became more knowledgeable of WW2 topics such as Hitler, important battles, The Holocaust etc.

It was a great experience for us to work at a secondary school standard.

All about Science Week 2017

Science Week 2017

By Kai Arthur

From the 13^th to the 17^th of November we had Science week. During science week we had a lot of fun activities like assemblies and guest speakers the senior room did debating in front of the school [to be completely honest it was really scary debating with everyone looking at you], but it was really fun.

   We also did science posters and a little wrap. I think Science week was really fun and I can’t wait for next year.

Science Week

by Hannah Joynt

Last week was Science week 2017. It was great fun and I learned lots. I never knew there was science behind skipping.

My highlight of Science week was on Tuesday the 14^th of November. On that afternoon Dr Ross O`Neill came into us to talk about his new invention. Dr O`Neill is a neuroscientist and he focuses on the human brain. He invented a new device helps people with tinnitus. Tinnitus is a condition where there is a constant high pitched drone, hissing or buzzing noise in the patient’s ear. This device helps the patient’s brain to forget the noise. There is a thing that is called a lollipop every time the patient hears a noise they put on these special headphones place the lollipop in their mouth and presses a button this slowly helps the brain realises the noises are not there. The mute button has been tested 365 times and it has worked. I am so glad he came into us and told us about his new invention I learned lots from his visit and I hope his device is successful.

Dr O’Neill

By Mathew Cherry

Dr O’Neill came to my school on the 15^th of November (so about a week ago). He is a Neuroscientist (brain scientist). He has invented a cure for tinnitus - a psychological problem when you hears noises that aren’t real (normally a ringing noise) created by your own brain. I won’t go into details but it’s pretty cool. He also told us why your ears pop and that the three smallest bones I your body are in your ears (one for each ear), they’re most well known as the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup (they also have technical names that I don’t know of). To wrap it up, Dr O’Neill is a really nice (and smart) guy who – by my opinion- has great taste in suits.

   J

The End.

Aishling Kerwin

Science week, food talk 

Her business: cooking up change

On the Monday the 13^th November, Aisiling  Kerwin came in to talk to us about healthy foods. She is a nutritional therapist. She was very interesting because first she spoke all about the body and that it is proven that all the different foods you eat all make a different but huge impact. After that she showed us a drink it looked really nice it was a purple colour. After we had a taste (it was so nice ) she told us that it was mainly beetroot. The good thing about this drink was that it opened up you blood cells so if you go for a run you can get more blood running through your system. After that we made a different drink it was a green drink is tasted really good too this had pineapple, broccoli, spinach and ice. After that drink we made something that was called chocolate balls these had mulberries, cocoa powder, dates, all sorts of seeds and nuts, they were really good I have made them at home and they were amazing as a treat.

We had an amazing time and thank you Aisling for coming into us to talk to us it was really appreciated.

Aisling Kirwan

Science week Food Talk

On Monday the 13th of November Aisling Kirwan visited our school. Aisling is nutritional therapist and has her own company called cooking up change. She had a pretend body pop-up book that showed us how good food and bad impacts our body and some of the boys in 5th and 6th class decided to call him Steve!

Aisling told us about different types of nutrition that our bodies need to be fit and healthy. She also talked to us about bad food and sugars and the impact of them in our bodies if you don't exercise.

After that she showed us a healthy energy juice that she had made the night before. The juice was a dark red sort of colour, it had beetroot, nuts and seeds, raspberries and different types of forest fruits. Everyone got a small taste of the juice. In my opinion, I thought the juice quite nice but other people thought it wasn't that nice.

Then she made a green energy drink she got some helpers and we all got a taste of that juice too! Next, Aisling and some helpers made some healthy chocolate. The chocolate was made out of cocoa powder, dates and different types of seeds. Of course everyone got a taste of the chocolate as well!

At the end, everyone said “thank you” to Aisling and everyone loved the talk and learned lots. I loved having Aisling here and I have already tried to make some of the recipes.

October Dress Up

 In the excitement of the moment we are short high quality photos - the costumes on the other hand were amazing...............

October 2017

October was another action packed month in the Senior Room. Here are some of the activities we did.

Cross Country Running
We started the month with Cross Country relay running in Avondale Park.  We entered three teams from our room.  Each team ran a circuit of 2 km  (500 m per runner).  The team spirit from the St Saviour's runners was uplifting.  We had great fun and had a chance to catch up with some other friends from nearby schools too.

One of the Cross Country Teams

Rugby
We started tag rugby in October and are looking forward to a few more lessons in November.  Everyone really enjoyed the warm up games which help us improve our ball handling skills.

Debating
We have been debating once a week.  Each week we choose different topics including; 'Should we be allowed wear make up to school?', 'Should buskers have to have a licence?', 'Should primary school have a shorter day and be restricted to core subjects only ?'  The class gets to choose the topics, but individuals do not choose whether they are for or against the topic....this has had some interesting outcomes!!!

Maths Week
Maths week nearly didn't happen with Storm Orphelia!  We changed the dates a little and did lots of different things including playing chess for homework, having a 'Crystal Maze' challenge in the classroom and most enjoyed of all creating a Maths Passport Trail for Junior and Senior infants.  Each junior infant was given a passport and every time they completed an activity they had their passport stamped and moved to the next 'country'. The juniors 'visited' 10 countries on 7 continents.

Young Scientist
We have applied to participate in Young Scientist along with the Middle Room.  So far we have not heard back as to whether we have been successful on not.  Nonetheless, we have started work on what on our project 'Is it possible to paint the colours of the rainbow from natural dyes'.  So far we have made two colours using flowers.

First step, crushing and blending petals

Visit to Dublin
See Kai Auther's  blog entry.

World War 2
Our history topic of the moment is World War 2 and we have been very busy learning about many different aspects of the war.  The class is working on projects which will be presented mid-November.

Visit to Glendalough
We had a wonderful day in Glendalough.  First we went on a treasure hunt and learnt about the principles of 'Leave no trace', and later we split into groups and went on a hike.  We had an opportunity to do some map reading and use a compass (which we had a sneaky practice at in school beforehand!).  The day was very windy in the morning and the lake was covered in little waves.  After lunch the lake was as smooth as glass, the reflections of the autumn trees were amazing.

Visit to Avondale College Open Day
5tha nd 6th classes were invited to the open day in Avondale College.  The staff and pupils made us all feel incredibly welcome.  The day involved a STEM science workshop, a tour of the classrooms and an opportunity to meet some of the teachers.  There was a unanimous vote for the Robot Workshop.  Teams programmed their robot cars to complete a tricky race track.  Everyone had so much fun.  The pupils from Avondale were really kind and helpful too.

Art
This month we worked on print and construction.  We did two fantastic construction projects.  Firstly, we made fish out of wire and plaster of Paris with Mrs Lawson.  Secondly, we made our own haunted houses for Halloween.

by Kai Arthur

In the National Gallery of Ireland

A few days ago 5^th and 6^th went to Dublin. 5^th class went to St. Patricks for a tour as 6^th class went to Christ Church.

        I learnt about lots of interesting things at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and made a stained glass window.

   After the tour we met up with 6^th class and had lunch before getting back on the bus to go to the National Gallery. We saw a lot of detailed paintings there, big ones and small ones.

    After that we went to the National Museum of Ireland. We were put in small teams and chose a place to go [we went to Ancient Egypt]. It was really fun looking at all the stuff, but not long after we rushed to get to Eddie Rockets.

     We all got to choose something to eat there. I chose a chicken nugget meal with seven up to drink. We all had a fiver to spend in Tesco but some people got other things in Eddie Rockets instead.

     Then we went to Tesco to finish the day off.

     My favourite part was St.Patrick’s Cathedral choir, because my Grandpa went to the school and was in the choir. It was so much fun.

              The End  

5^th and 6^th Class in September 2017

Back to school and what a busy month we had.  To start with it was a fishy tale.  We have put a tropical aquarium in our classroom with Angel Fish, Ancistrus, Cardinal Tetras, Rummy Nose Tetras and Black Mollies.  The fish are native to warmer waters than the Irish Sea so the aquarium heater is set at 25 degrees Celsius.

Our Aquarium

We learnt about how water is filtered to make it clear.  Filtration can happen naturally or, in the case of our tank, it is man-made.  We made our own filters in plastic bottles experimenting with fine stones, sand, filter wool and sponges.  The filters removed particles from the water fairly well, but we all agreed with a bit more work, our designs could be further improved

Making a filter

 If that wasn’t fishy enough, we then worked in teams on our 1^st projects of the year: Creatures which live in the Water.  We all choose different topics including Seahorses, Sharks, Turtles, Coral Reefs and Weird Fish.  The winning project was one of the Seahorse projects, closely followed by Weird Fish.

.

The winning project - all about seahorses

A close second - super work!

We went on three wonderful trails: two history trails of Rathdrum with Mrs Lawson.  We learnt all about the past of the town and how it was; the centre of the flannel industry, a major tourist destination for visitors coming on the train not to mention having a large garrison. We learnt about the Brunel Bridge, the importance of the Mill, the 1798 Rebellion and the impact of the Great Famine.

We also went on a Maths trail.  Parents very kindly came along to make this lovely afternoon possible.  We had to match photos, price meat in the butcher, find the cost of a stamp to Peru and many more activities.

Selfies at key locations were part of the trail.

In Art we made amazing harvest breads. They are made out of dough (a bit like pizza dough) but with more salt and then glazed with eggs.  We used 30 egg yolks to glaze our breads!  They looked wonderful and smelled delicious when they came out of the oven. ….we didn’t eat them.  The breads were used to decorate the church in Laragh for the Harvest Festival Service.

Step 1 - Make a base

Step 2 Start to add the pieces

Step 3 - Mouse in place, nearly there!

The egg glaze is essential 

5 stunning harvest breads were made by the teams to send to Laragh for Harvest Festival.

  

As well as all of this we were delighted to take part in the leaving ceremonies for both Mrs Finnan and Mrs Lawson.  5^th and 6^th class miss both teachers greatly.  We also wish them great happiness for their futures.  We performed the poem ‘Macavity’ by T.S. Eliot for Mrs Lawson  and wrote a song for her too.