For their topic work in World Around Us, P5 - P7 have been studying the Egyptians. They were given the challenge of making a mummy with moving arms and legs, using only pipe cleaners and toilet roll. Lots of team work and problem solving skills were required! We got big mummies, scary mummies and very funny mummies.
We are delighted to be involved in a Forest School project supported by the Northern Ireland Forest School Association. Over the course of the coming months, children from P1 and P2 will be involved in various Forest School project activities, working alongside children from St Patrick's Primary School. On Thursday 22nd February, the children had their first session, which was taken by Brian from Forest Schools. They made trees by gathering branches, leaves etc. Brian then lit a fire and heated some orange juice which the children all enjoyed.
On future dates the children will be looking at - the structure of trees and having a scavenger hunt. Our thanks go to Northern Ireland Forest School Association for giving us this wonderful opportunity to become involved in this exciting venture.
As part of the Shared Education Signature Project, the children from our school and St Patrick's Primary were asked to design a new school logo. This logo will be used on correspondence about Shared Education Activities etc. There were lots of entries and Lily from P6 had the winning logo. Her drawing has now been made into a computerised logo.
P3 and P4 had another very beneficial Shared Education lesson with St Patrick's Primary School. Their topic is 'Then and Now'. The children used books to investigate how things have changed since World War II. They made up their own storyboards, and then used the iPads to make comic strips from these storyboards.
P3 and P4 had another talk from the two policemen who having been coming into school over the past number of weeks. Their topic this week was bullying. The children were given lots to think about - What does a bully look like? Who might be a bully? Why do people bully? What type of behaviour could be called bullying? They also gave lots of advice on how children can deal with a situation where they feel they are being bullied. Bullying is wrong!
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Congratulations to Ella in P5 who was the winner of the Accelerated Reading Cup for this half term.
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Once again we are delighted how keen the P4 -P7 children are to reach their individual Accelerated Reading Targets. Certificates were presented today to those children who had reached their target for this half term. Missing from the picture are Tyler and Andrew from P6.
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In their World Around Us for this half term, P3 and P4 have been looking at the topic of 'Transport' They have been writing transport poetry, making transport games and researching lots of information about transport now, and in the past. Yesterday they did a 'Car Colour Traffic Survey' on Duneaney Road. They have found out lots of interesting facts about cars, lorries, tractors and aeroplanes.
On Tuesday after school, P4 - P7 children enjoyed their first Archery Session. Nigel, the coach from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, taught the children how to safely use archery equipment and they had lots of practice at hitting the target. The children will also have lessons on Kurling and Boccia over the next few weeks.
Yesterday was the first day of after school sports coaching. Nigel from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is the coach for these sessions. P1 - P3 children had great fun in their Multi Skills class. There were lots of team games, and lots of running and of course a game of football at the end.
Over the past number of weeks, Constable Mark Crawford and Constable David Mitchell have been coming into school to speak to all our children about various aspects of keeping safe. They have spoken to our children about 'Road Safety', Drug Awareness' and 'Stranger Danger'.
In the photo, P3 and P4 are being given information which will help them to think about who they are speaking to, and whether it is safe to speak to them. Sometimes it may be necessary to speak to a 'Safer Stranger'. If you get lost in a Shopping Centre, speak to a Police Officer, Security Guard, shop worker or receptionist.
Rachel and Emma from Kennedy's Pharmacy visited P5/6/7 today to tell them about the dangers of smoking. They also told them about 'Non-Smokers' Day' on 14th March. The children have been given the opportunity to do a 'Non-Smoking Poster' with the winner receiving a voucher from Kennedy's Pharmacy.
Over the next few weeks, our P3 and P4 children will be working together with the P4 children from St Patrick's Primary, as part of the Shared Education Signature Project. The topic for Shared Education this year is 'Then and Now'. The group, with the assistance of the Nerve Centre, are going to create a short animated iBook on various topics relating to themselves now, compared with World War II era. Today was a 'Getting to Know You Icebreaker day'. The children made name badges and they also worked in small groups to find out about each other. They then used the iPads to create profiles of themselves. This was a really good first session and they are looking forward to the next sessions together.
We are delighted that Libraries NI have agreed for their Mobile Library to stop at our school every two weeks during term time. Today was their first day, and children in P3, P4 and P5 were given the opportunity to visit the van, and choose two books to take home. This is an excellent service, and we hope the children will use it to borrow and then read books that are not available in our own school library.
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At lunchtime, in the dinner hall and in the playground, the supervisors look for children who have impressed them with something good that they have done on a particular day. Examples of this are - showing good table manners, lining up quietly and quickly or playing well together. The child's name is then put on a reward slip and placed in a box. Today three names were picked from the box to receive a special prize. Hana in P3 received a prize for ' Using Great Manners at the Dinner Table, Emily in P6 received her prize for ' Being a really Patient Server' and Ruby in P1 received a prize for 'Being a good Example.'
Well done to the children who received certificates for January 2018. The certificates were awarded for - 'Being a Willing Pupil' - 'Great Recall of Number Facts (Tables)' - 'Careful Classwork' (Missing from picture - Ella P5
On Monday, as part of the Shared Education Programme with St Patrick's Primary School, P6 and P7 children enjoyed a 'Team Building Day' at Woodhall Education Centre in Kilrea. It was a busy and exciting day from start to finish. The children worked together in teams, as they participated in lots of activities which challenged then to work together, use their thinking skills, and often do challenges which pushed them beyond their comfort zone. The activities included: - Human Jenga, crossing the crocodile pit safely, lighting a small fire to toast marshmallows on, and Spanish Rules - orienteering. Everyone had a really great time there.
The title of P1 and P2 topic work for this half term is 'Look At Me'. One of the questions we have been looking at is - 'How have we changed since we were babies?'
Anna's mummy and little brother came to school to show us all the equipment babies need. We heard Jonathan try to talk back. We learnt all about the check ups he has when the Health Visitor visits. Thanks to Anna's mum for taking time to talk to us all.
Children from St. Patrick’s PS and our P6/7 came together to focus on improving their learning in mathematics and numeracy. Working together in small groups the children solved a diverse range of Izak9 tasks. This shared learning environment provided an ideal forum for collaborative work including opportunities for self-expression, discussion and debate.
Izak9 supports a range of learning styles i.e. visual, kinaesthetic and auditory, thus allowing each child to contribute in his/her own way to solving the problems posed by their online facilitators, Abacus and Helix.
In these photographs, which were taken during the first session, the children can already be seen working together happily in groups, presenting their mental maths strategies and problem solving techniques to others.
P1 and P2 also had a visit from Mark and David, and the focus of their talk was 'Stranger Danger'. Here are a few thing that we learned -
Mark reminded the boys and girls how to stay safe if they get lost.
