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The Middle Room

Welcome to the Middle Room page!

The Middle Room is made up of:

1st, 2nd & 3rd Class.

Our class teacher is Ms. Mc Hugh

 

 

September:


We began this school year by focusing on the topic ‘All about Me’. We linked our work across many subject areas and discussed belonging in our class. The children discovered many new things about their new classmates and teacher.

We also looked at ‘days’ in the month of September that were of interest to our class. Two days that we focused on were ‘International Dot Day’, which is based on the story ‘The Dot’ and ‘Roald Dahl Day’. Both of these days focused on creativity in our classroom.

In Science, we examined how much sugar there is in various drinks. Many of our estimates were quite different to the results, which we found very interesting – and alarming! We will be sticking to the low sugar alternatives from now on hopefully!

In our hallway, we have our Wow Work displays. The children all have work displayed on these walls, and when they complete any new pieces of work that they are particularly proud of, this display is updated.

We have really enjoyed our first month back in school and are looking forward to the rest of the term!

October:

Maths week took place in our school from the 17th of October until the 21st. We completed a variety of maths games throughout the week and went on a maths trail in the local park with the Junior room.

One of the highlights of our month in October was making clay ghosts. We kept the inside of the ghosts hollow so that a tea-light could be added underneath to add greater effect! We also made green slime with the Junior room and had great fun working together and playing with it.

Other art lessons this month included creating autumnal mosaic art pieces, autumnal tree pictures and squirrel drawings.

In science, we were exploring forces and friction. We used four different materials (felt, rubber, sandpaper and wood) and we predicted and investigated which material the toy car would travel on the fastest.

November:

For science week, we completed a variety of experiments. We examined how carbon dioxide can be formed and how the reaction will inflate a balloon. We made bottle tornados and we also investigated floating and sinking using oranges.

International Kindness Day was also in the month of November. As a class, we discussed the importance of being kind and ways in which we can show kindness on a daily basis. The children then created kindness posters, in which they are ‘the ‘I’ in kind’.

The book fair came to our school and the children got the opportunity to purchase suitable books for themselves.

We were visited by the Irish Guide Dog Association and had the privilege of seeing a guide dog in action. This organisation is so important for the lives of people in Ireland with visual impairments and it was fantastic to hear about and see first-hand the amazing work carried out by trainers and guide dogs.

As part of our Creative Schools Initiative, we had our first photography workshop. The children brought in objects from home and created photograms. We then went on a visit to the obelisk and took photos of it from different angles.

The children also entered the parish art competition, where they drew photos of their perception of the Nativity scene.

December:

December was a very busy month for our class. Preparations were in full swing for our school play in the church which was a great success. As well as that, we were lucky enough to go on a school trip to the cinema which was organised by the Parents’ Association (Many thanks to them for this treat!).

 

In class, we created much Christmas artwork. The children particularly enjoyed making their winter villages and Christmas tree ornaments.

In Science, we worked in groups to design ski jackets. We discussed important characteristics they would need – to be breathable, waterproof, warm etc. and then the children set to work.

January:

The children drew self-portraits to begin the new year. They  wrote resolutions around their portraits of ways in which they could be the best version of themselves in the year 2023.

In maths, we were exploring 2-D shapes. We made tangram animals using a variety of shapes. It was very interesting to see the children use their creativity to put the shapes into where they deemed to be the correct place.

We explored the Chinese New Year in SESE. We learned that it is the year of the rabbit and looked at Chinese traditions surrounding this occasion.

We completed still life drawings in Art. The children showed great attention to detail and created fantastic drawings.

In Science, we learned about insulation. We completed insulation experiments and recorded which materials kept water warmer for longer.

In January, we also completed our second photography workshop. For this workshop, the children brought in their favourite objects from home and took still life photographs of them. The children worked in pairs and used coloured films to create different lighting. We then went down to the church and took photographs of it from different angles. 

February:

We began February by discussing St. Brigid and making St. Brigid’s Day Crosses. We made these crosses with the Senior room and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the challenge!

For Art this month, we were focused on the theme of Spring. The children painted snowdrops, completed pointillism paintings and creatively painted Spring lambs.

In SESE, the children were learning all about life on the farm at this time of year. The children were shown a video of newly born calves, of cows being milked and of sheep grazing in the field.

This month we also looked at poetry. The children in 3rd class picked a topic of choice to write about. They drafted their poems, edited them and finally wrote out their completed versions to be displayed. 1st and 2nd class also wrote poems in their copybooks.

In Gaeilge, we have been studying the topic ‘Sa Bhaile’. The children have worked very hard at this topic as they used new vocabulary and phrases about the theme.

March:

We celebrated World Book Day on the 2nd of March. The children dressed up as a character from their favourite book. The children engaged in shared reading with children from different classes in the school. Our class also completed word searches with the names of famous book characters and they took part in a book scavenger hunt, searching through books to find different things, e.g. a happy ending, a king, a frog etc.

For Engineering Week, we made robotic hands. This activity required a lot of attention to detail but the children did a great job and really enjoyed it.

Seachtain na Gaeilge took place in our school from the 13th to the 16th of March. During this week we placed a huge emphasis on speaking Irish throughout the day. We had a whole school céile which the children really enjoyed and we also had ‘Lá Glas’. The children wore green to school, they went on a scavenger hunt in the park, completed St. Patrick’s Day art and they also played St. Patrick’s Day games which were organised by the student council.

Our Creative Schools dance and drama workshops got up and running this month. The children participated in four sessions with a dance and drama teacher and learned many new skills from the sessions.  

We looked at ‘Travelling the World in a Hot Air Balloon’ for art. The children constructed their Balloons using strips of paper. We also completed Easter art, making Easter wreaths and making Easter bunnies.

We were exploring the topic 3-D shapes in Maths. One of our practical activities was a great success when we made 3-D shapes using marshmallows and small sticks. This reinforced the different characteristics of each shape for the children and they thoroughly enjoyed it. We then moved onto the topic ‘Capacity’ and had great fun measuring liquids!

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