Welcome to Fifth & Sixth Class News
February
St. Brigid's Crosses
In her endeavour to explain the Passion to a dying pagan, Saint Brigid wove a cross from rushes strewn across the floor. We made those same crosses on St. Brigid's Day to commemorate her. The St. Brigid's Cross is said to protect homes from evil. We had great fun making them!
Eat Smart, Move More
This month we are focusing on healthy eating and exercise habits. We have been learning all about the food pyramid and the importance of a healthy, balanced diet. Our goal for February, aided by our H.S.E. booklets, is to 'Eat Smart, Move More'.
January
1916 Irish History Live
On the 22nd of January Mike came to our school to give a workshop on 1916. He started with the junior end of the school and worked his way up to the senior end. He retold the story of the 1916 Rising using weapons, artefacts and costumes. It was very interactive and a lot of fun. By Katie and Grainne.
In preparation for Mike's visit we all looked up our own ancestors on the 1911 census on www.census.nationalarchives.ie
In doing so we learned who our ancestors were and what they were doing during that period of history. We each made a family tree showing our families as far back as the early 1900s.
Jack B. Yeats
We studied the paintings of Jack B. Yeats, in particular The Liffey Swim ,1923. A collection of his work can be found on http://www.nationalgallery.ie/en/Collection/About_the_Collection/The_Yeats_Collection.aspx
We were interested in this painting as it was done shortly after the Easter Rising; the swim was a celebratory event in a uncertain time in Dublin. We were also interested in this artist as we had studied his brother William's poetry in September.
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| We tried to mimic his use of perspective in our own work. |
Australia
Our theme for the month of January was Australia as Australia Day is celebrated on the 26th of January. We learned about Australian music from the didgeridoo to traditional folk songs like 'Waltzing Matilda'. We learned about the Aborigines and the history and geography of Australia. We tried out some Aboriginal dot art and we also did paired research projects on Australian topics that really interested us.
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| Presentation of project 'Mining in Australia'. |
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| Presentation of project 'Great Barrier Reef'. |
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| Images of Australia |
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| Australia Projects |
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| Aboriginal Dot Painting |
December
Art Project
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| A traditional Christmas scene designed and painted by a team of senior artists! |
November
Diorama
Last week 5th and 6th class were making dioramas in art. We were split into pairs to make our ideal bedroom out of recycled materials. We had a lot of fun!
Science Day
On Science Day we all gathered at the bottom of our classroom and we did a few mini experiments but before we began, we wrote our predictions to go with our mini experiments. first we put oil into water and saw which one floated to the top and which one was heavier. After that we tried a few more mini experiments with alka-seltzer tablets. We had lots of fun on Science Day!
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| 5th and 6th in the middle of making the lava lamps! |
