Step One - Science 

All our students have had fun exploring various strands and strand units of science this academic year.  Have a look at our best work! 

Magnetism  

We experimented with magnets in class to see what materials they attract.  We concluded that magnets attract metal. 
Listen to Ben from Senior Infants tell us about the experiment in his own words! 

Caring for my Locality 

Listen to Aaron from Senior Infants tell us all about their experiment investigating how to care for the environment. 

We sorted through a bin and grouped recyclable materials together.  We further divided these materials into metals, plastic, paper and glass, organic waste and clothes which can all be recycled.  
Materials which were left in the bin go to the landfill.
We concluded that most waste can and should be recycled to protect our environment. 

Floating and Sinking 

Pupils in 1st and 2nd conducted an experiment to investigate what would float and sink. Click here to listen to it! 

Materials and Change 

Pupils had fun investigating the cleaning properties of various liquids on house hold objects! Click here to listen to their report!  

Energy & Forces: Sound 

Pupils from 3rd and 4th class learned all about Sound in Term 2. Following extensive lessons on Sound, pupils then worked in groups to complete a project show casing their knowledge.  Pupils then spoke to other classes about Sound, sharing their newly acquired knowledge!    

The Human Body 

In term two, pupils in 3rd and 4th class learnt all about the Human Body and in particular the respiratory system.  Fantastic diagrams were drawn showing the level of knowledge acquired! 

Science Week with Jane McLoughlin!

Jane McLoughlin came to our school in November and worked with all classes! We LOVED all the experiments we did with her! 

Science Speaker - Helen Bullock 

We invited Helen Bullock out to our school to work with the students.  
​Helen brought a wealth of experience to the school and all children really enjoyed the lessons! 

Step Two - Technology 

BLOG ALERT! 

Recording and Analyzing Data 
Since September, pupils in 5th and 6th have been using Kidblog.org for various different curricular areas.  Initially it started out as a literacy tool where pupils uploaded their own 100 word stories but as the year progressed, they found that it was a wonderful way of uploading research, presenting their findings for SESE, and submitting homework for correction by the teacher!
AS part of our engagement with science and technology, we learned how to graph our results from our experiments on excel.  

We liked this website for creating graphs to help us analyse data! ​www.onlinecharttool.com/
This is an example of a chart created by 3rd and 4th class to record results from their science activities on the respiratory system. 

Children Using ICT 

In our school we use I.T. through out the day.  Last year we were awarded the Digital Schools of Distinction Award which we are very proud of!
Once a week each class has computer time in our spare prefab where pupils work in pairs on laptops / desktops and engage in age appropriate and class appropriate activities.

From Junior Infants to 2nd Class:
Every subject area is taught with the support of I.T.  
Pupils complete interactive activities in Gaeilge (Bua na Cainte), Religion (Grow in Love), SESE (Small World), Maths (Planet Maths) and English (Reading Zone).
 
During computer time our junior students love using www.starfall.com and www.abcya.com.

From Junior 3rd Class to 6th Class:
Like our junior classes, every subject area is taught with the support of I.T.  
Pupils complete interactive activities in Gaeilge (Béal Beo), SESE (variety of websites and online activities), Maths (Planet Maths) and English (Reading Zone). 

During computer time, our senior students research various topics online in all curricular areas, engage in using online presentation tools such as Prezi.com, use IT for writing up documents, presenting their work (Powerpoint Presentations).  

Our students are comfortable with IT and view it as integral part of their education. 
​
The following PowerPoint presentation was created by a 5th class pupil.  
​Using PowerPoint with voice overlay, enabled the child to make a presentation to her class on The Great Pyramid of Giza. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!

Further evidence of how we use I.T. can be seen through out our Log of Evidence.  Check out Engineering section for example! 

Step Three - Engineering 

FLY ME TO THE MOON
Pupil's sketch of a moon buggy
File Size: 2871 kb
File Type: pdf
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Our reference sheet for our travelling space buggy
File Size: 822 kb
File Type: pdf
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5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 BLAST OFF  

Science Report
By Christopher Kerans
 
On the 27th of April, a science guest came in, her name was Helen. She came into teach us how to build ‘Foam Rockets’.
Steps:
  1. The first step is to cut some A3 paper in half to share, then you cut off the top of the rectangle to make it into a square. Fold it in half to make two right-angled triangles, cut along the fold line.
  2. Once you have two equal triangles, cut half way up from the bottom of one triangle and cut half way down from the top of the other. Then you must slide the two triangles together so it looks like a pyramid.
  3. Next, depending on the height of the pyramid, cut four evenly spaced lines into the foam tube, leaving 2cm of extra space. Slide the four sides of the pyramid in the slits of the tube.
  4. Take a piece of duct tape and wrap it around the bottom of the rocket to keep the pyramid in place. That is the fins of your rocket finished.
  5. Next you will need more duct tape and an elastic band. Tape the elastic band onto the top of the rocket, then add extra tape on top of the first piece for extra strength. Take a final piece of tape and wrap it around the top of the rocket.
Now your rocket is finished!
Once our rockets were built, we went outside to try them out. We wanted to see how far our rockets would go. In order to shoot them, we needed to fire them like a slingshot. We aimed them across the yard and measured the distance that they travelled. The results were fantastic, the furthest distance recorded was 16m!
To finish off the experiment, we tried using Helen (the science teacher!) as a target! Surprisingly none of us hit her. That is my science report completed.
(*No teachers were harmed during the course of this lesson.) 
​
Our PowerPoint Presentation: Building Rockets
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File Type: pptx
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Our guiding Documents 
We checked out how to make a foam rocket from the DPSM website! Here are the instructions we followed!   
DPSM: Foam Rocket instuctions
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File Type: pdf
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Evidence of our work! 
We used IT to record distance travelled by the rockets! STEM is FUN!!! 

Engineering - 5th & 6th Class build a Periscope 

Pupils in 5th and 6th class choose this activity from the Primary Science Website.  Periscopes are always handy for spying!!! 
PUPIL'S WORK:

Step Four - Maths 

Maths Trail Time! 

Pupils from Junior Infants to 2nd Class completed a maths trail on the ground of Kilnadeema N.S.  So much fun!!!! 
Pupils from 3rd to 6th Class did a variety of activities in Maths Week.  

Below are some photos of our senior maths trails and hands on problem solving maths activities!  

Step Five - STEM Showcase

3rd and 4th class took time out of their busy day to tell 5th and 6th class pupils all about sound and showcase what they learned! Wonderful learning experience for all involved!