medieval castles in progress
May 6, 2022
I promised some of the boys that I would post a few of their drawings to the blog some time ago. They are amazing! Well done Harry, Enda and Aaron!!
Words won’t do justice to how much we will all miss Mr. Mac. They boys were thrilled to make this card and to write his some messages to send him off.
Big congratulations to Mr. McCarthy on his retirement. What an achievement!
Good afternoon to all,
As the school year finishes, I found a few gems that I’d yet to post to the blog. I thought it a shame not to share them.
While I’m here, I’d like to extend my most sincere thanks for all of the lovely gifts and well wishes that I received over the last few days of school. Thank you to all of you, I really appreciate the gesture.
It’s fair to say I won’t forget this 4th Class of 2020/21. They are an outstanding bunch of lads and I consider myself lucky to have been their teacher this year.
All the best and enjoy the summer!
Today the boys got the chance to go to Bishopstown GAA for a bit of a treat day. They took part in some fun activities and even got an ice cream 🍦😁.
They were delighted with themselves!
Oliver has been enjoying our STEAM in a Box scheme so much that he did some research at home by himself and brought in these lovely signs for the class. Well done Oliver! Thank you for the nice display!
Today the boys were thrilled to take part in the Parents Association Raffle. They had eagerly been anticipating this for the last few weeks.
Big congratulations to our prize winners Patrick and Jaiden!! 🎉
Thank you to the Parents Association for organising this lovely event.
The boys have have been loving their recent STEAM activities. Last week we made bridges and today we worked on bird feeders.
We’ll continue this program until the end of the year.
Today we had session 3 three of Friends for Life. The boys learned about the importance of quiet time and relaxation. They also learned about different ways they can calm down when they are feeling anxious or nervous.
We spent some time doing breath work. In the pictures the boys are learning how to control their breath by exhaling slowly through a straw into a cup of water.
A big thank you to Ms. Ní Cheallaigh as always for leading these lessons.
Homework for this week is in the boys folder. It should be completed before Wednesday.
Today the first day of our football league. The boys were delighted to get the time to go to Bishopstown GAA club to play their first round of matches.
We’ll be going every Wednesday for the next few weeks.
The boys were absolutely delighted with their Pizza Party today!
It was a very well deserved treat!
The boys are in and settled. Its great to be back!
Well done to Cian! He's the only boy who managed to complete "the shoe" challenge!!
Bravo Cian!!
The boys were treated to a special visit from the man himself last week. They were delighted to greet Santa and were lucky enough to receive a small gift. I'd like to take this chance to wish all of you a very merry Christmas. Its been lovely getting to know the boys since November. They are a wonderful bunch!
Kind regards,
Ms. Miller
I love the latest art project the boys worked on. They used oil pastels to create a close-up view of baubles on a Christmas tree. They worked really well and were eager to learn how to use black and white to create the effect of light and shade.
They were so proud of their efforts by the end. Well done to them!
Last week we worked on a paper folding craft. The boys made Christmas trees by carefully cutting, folding and gluing paper in the right way. They decorated using shiny sequins and added a star for a finishing touch. Another one that tested the patience but we got there in the end!
A big thank you to Patrick for bringing this lovely Christmas tree to school for our class. Patrick made the tree by himself!
Thank you also to the boys who brought baubles to add to the tree and other decorations to brighten up the room. They look great!
The boys recently took part in a lovely art project. They created a winter themed mosaic design using painted squares of paper. This tedious craft involved lots of patience and skill. It was a challenge but the boys persevered!
The end result was well worth it. They look fantastic up on the wall outside our classroom.
The parents association recently came up with a lovely idea to help out members of the local community. They suggested the boys each write a letter to a local resident of a nursing home to help lift their spirits as we move closer to Christmas. The boys did a wonderful job.
The boys’ writing has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few weeks. Recently we have been working on the “Persuasive Writing” genre.
I’ve been delighted to see the class form strong opinions, backed up with reasons and examples. They have also gotten the hang of using paragraphs.
Nice job lads! A few samples are attached below.
The boys did a wonderful job on their Halloween art last week. They first had to paint the background using various shades of orange and yellow. They then designed and cut out Halloween silhouettes from black paper and glued them down. The final effect is very impressive. Well done boys!
We’ve been lucky with the weather over the last few weeks during PE time. Here are a few snaps of the lads doing some station work.
The boys really enjoyed learning about the history of the computer during the week. They made a timeline of significant dates from ancient to modern times.
We’ve spent the last while learning about Tom Crean and his exciting polar expeditions. After studying Crean’s last adventure, The Endurance, the boys each wrote a diary entry
The boys have been enjoying events in school this week to celebrate National Bike Week.
They took part in an art competition and were lucky enough to see a live performance today. They also received their high visibility bag cover this afternoon. It was great to see so many cycling and scooting to school today.
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This week the boys were delighted to finally start multiplication. We got familiar with the concept by playing with sets of “dot cards”. The boys took turns being the dealer and in turn, they had to count the cards give the total number of dots. E.g. 4 cards with 3 dots each makes 12, 6 cards with 3 dots makes 18. They loved the activity and seemed to really grasp the concept.
The boys enjoyed competing in our annual chess tournament over the past few weeks. We started off the competition with preliminary rounds and then worked through back door rounds, quarter finals, semi finals and at last; the final! Congratulations to runners up: Paul, Michael S.H. and Samuel J. Our class winner was Eli! Well done to all!
The boys were given a wonderful surprise yesterday when they were treated to ice-cream by the Parent's Association. We were blessed with nice sunny weather too!
A big thank you to the Parent's Association!
The boys had a wonderful day at The Glen Resource Centre on their school tour recently. They spent the day taking part in a range of fun activities such as zip lining, zorbing, climbing and archery.
Looks like we have some future gymnasts on our hands. They boys enjoyed this brief introduction to Sports Acrobatics recently
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As part of our History curriculum, each class in Spioraid Naoimh learn about an aspect of local history. This year, 4th Class boys learned about historically significant areas of Cork City. At the end of May, the boys had the opportunity to visit a few of these areas. In class we prepared by learning about The Shandon Bells, St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, The English Market and Cork City Gaol.
Below are some snaps of the boys time in Cork City Gaol. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their trip.
We've just started our new unit on construction in Art. For our first project, the boys made pirate ships using clay, straws and toilet roll inserts. Our next piece was a 3D paper collage in which the boys twisted, folded, looped and rolled paper to make interesting shapes. They then stuck them to piece of card to make an interesting arrangement.
The boys recently had some fun completing their Easter Art project. They created Easter baskets using clay and then painted them in nice bright colours. It will come as no surprise that their favourite part was adding the chocolate eggs!
The boys recently had a visit from a team of UCC scientists. The "Cell Explorers" team guided the boys through quite a complex experiment in which they learned how to extract real DNA from a banana! The boys thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We may have some budding scientists on our hands!
We learned about 3D shapes!
As part of our work on print, the boys spent a number of lessons producing collagraph prints. This process involved a number of steps:
Preparing the collagraph square:
Making the print:
