Newsletter Term 1 Christmas 2020
We returned to a very different school experience in September after months of lockdown due to Coronavirus. There are now lots of restrictions and new rules that we have to follow, such as sitting in small groups called pods within our class which is now known as a bubble. We wash and sanitise our hands many times a day. We cannot play tin whistles and we must go outside to sing. We leave our books and copies at school and we use the Seesaw app to send our homework back to the teacher. Junior & Senior infant classes, 5th & 6th have their breaks first, followed by 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th classes. The biggest challenge is to stay one metre apart while indoors. We say #GRMA- Go raibh maith agaibh to everyone in our school community who has worked so hard to keep our school safe since it reopened last August. This includes the principal, teachers, SNAs, the secretary, pupils, parents, BOM, cleaners, caretaker and bus drivers.
News from the classrooms:
Junior Infants
We welcome the new Junior Infants to our school. They all settled in very well in September, keeping all the new rules and regulations. They have had a very busy first term. They have all been learning the letter names and sounds and how to write their names. They enjoyed planting bulbs and acorns and learning all about autumn and winter. Junior Infants Liath made wonderful hibernation stations and even enjoyed ‘Hedgehog buns’ during science week. They have created lovely cards and art for Christmas and are so excited for Santa to come and to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.
Meanwhile, Junior Infants Bán also enjoyed participating in a variety of activities during Maths and Science weeks. These include Snakes and Ladders games, throwing the dice games, exploring sound, making play dough, feeding the birds to name but a few. They are very busy preparing for Christmas and are eagerly awaiting the big day!
Senior Infants
Science Week was full of interesting experiments. We used the static electricity from a charged balloon to separate salt and pepper. We learnt that salt is heavier than pepper. We also made a glittering lava lamp as we explored the density of different liquids. Next time though we will use an Alka-Seltzer tablet to make our lava lamp bubble.
We love reading stories in senior infants. Our favourite author so far is Julia Donaldson. We like the way her stories rhyme. Our favourite story is Zog. Ms Harmon’s favourite story is Room on the Broom. A story called ‘While we can’t hug’ by Eoin Mc Laughlin made us a little sad as we thought about people we can’t hug at the moment. But it also showed us many other ways we can show we care while we socially distance.
Rang 1
For science week this year Rang 1 completed a number of experiments. We did the 'bouncy egg' experiment where we made an egg bounce! We also made paper helicopters, made raisins dance and did an experiment to test the rate of our heartbeats. We had great fun learning all new scientific facts.
As part of our 'Golden Time', Rang 1 made 'Cookies in a Jar'. We weighed out flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and smarties and put all the ingredients in a jar. When children went home, they added an egg and some butter to the dry ingredients and popped their cookies in the oven. Everyone enjoyed their cookies while watching the Late Late Toy Show.
Rang 2
We have already prepared for our First Confession and we will begin preparing for our First Holy Communion after Christmas. We started the ‘Spelling for Me’ programme, a new approach to learning and practising our spellings online. We thoroughly enjoyed all the experiments during Science week.
Rang 3
We have been very busy in third class since September. We celebrated our deferred First Confession and First Holy Communion in September. One of our favourite weeks was Science Week. We put an egg in vinegar to see if the shell would dissolve. We made paper airplanes and we threw them to measure how far they flew. We learned about fingerprints and crime scene investigation. We have been busy doing art, PE and lots of other things too.
Rang 4
During Maths Week Ireland, Rang 4 took part in a fun workshop streamed live on Youtube. The pupils were part of the studio audience where thousands of school children across the country tuned in. We learned about using number patterns to help learn our times tables and other related number facts. We made lovely artwork during Term 1: swan creations when learning about the myth of The Children of Lir in history; we painted beautiful Halloween tiles in October and for Christmas we constructed festive candles to light up the mantlepiece at home.
Rang 5
During Science Week, 5th class participated in a live webinar with IT Tralee called ‘Food to Bioplastics’! This event explored what the bio-economy is and how natural resources can be used to create sustainable new bio-based products. Pupils were busy making buttons from bioplastics using food waste (milk powder, vinegar & water).
5th class also decided to fundraise for Crumlin Children’s Hospital this Christmas. They made Christmas cards and sold them to their parents and relatives. They raised €525 and we are very proud of them for that wonderful achievement.
6th classes
Science week provided many opportunities for lots of science activity and experiments in the 6th classes too. We did an experiment with celery and food colouring. We put red food colouring into a jar with the celery and over two days the celery turned red. This process is called osmosis. We watched a video showing us how to build tall structures out of paper. We had a competition to see who could build the tallest tower while balancing a 100g bag of rice on top
Both 5th & 6th classes watched a science video about the water cycle. We saw a lot of fun experiments being demonstrated.
6th also did an experiment where we saw how long it took the bread to mould after it had touched our hands.
Science Week Family Quiz
During science week, the Kelly family (Ronan, Niamh, Daithí & Aisling) & the O’Regan family ( Jenna-Louise) participated in this science fact or fiction quiz, in association with Kerry Library.
Dromclough was a hive of activity during science week 9th -13th November. Pictures of very busy pupils can be seen on the school website
http://www.dromcloughns.com/science-week-nov-2020.html
Maths Week
During Maths Week the senior classes watched lots of videos that showed us fun tricks that we can use in maths.
Sixth class also did some fun activities which helped us improve our table skills. We also played a board game called the multiplication swirl where we had to answer a maths table and then we rolled a dice and whatever number we landed on we moved that many spaces on the board. Rang 6 Glas did the Maths Week Target board challenge and finally got on the leader board on the 5th day.
Save Dublin Zoo
Pupils in Rang 6 Glas each contributed €2 to collect €50 to adopt an orang-utan from Dublin Zoo for one year. We will receive an orang-utan pack after Christmas including an adoption certificate and updates on the orang-utan.
Aquaculture
5th & 6th classes had a Zoom webinar on ‘Aquaculture’ for schools in the Listowel area as part of the Listowel Food Festival in partnership with Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Education Centre Tralee.
We learned what aquaculture is and how it is a more sustainable way of getting seafood. Aquaculture means fish farming. The three species of fish farmed in Ireland are salmon, mussels and oysters. Aquaculture is more sustainable than fishing because fishing is seasonal whereas aquaculture ensures that fish is available all year round.
There are many different benefits from aquaculture. One of them is that it provides many jobs in seaside communities where farming is harder because of the rocky terrain. Another is that fish has many vitamins and minerals which are extremely good for your health. There are nearly 300 aquaculture farms in Ireland and they are spread out across 14 coastal counties.
Kerry County Council Road Safety Calendar 2021
Dromclough pupils participated in the Kerry County Council Road Safety Calendar art competition. Congratulations to Caoimhe Barry Rang 6 whose prizewinning picture will be featured in the 2021 Road Safety Calendar for the month of June.
Junior Infants
We welcome the new Junior Infants to our school. They all settled in very well in September, keeping all the new rules and regulations. They have had a very busy first term. They have all been learning the letter names and sounds and how to write their names. They enjoyed planting bulbs and acorns and learning all about autumn and winter. Junior Infants Liath made wonderful hibernation stations and even enjoyed ‘Hedgehog buns’ during science week. They have created lovely cards and art for Christmas and are so excited for Santa to come and to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.
Meanwhile, Junior Infants Bán also enjoyed participating in a variety of activities during Maths and Science weeks. These include Snakes and Ladders games, throwing the dice games, exploring sound, making play dough, feeding the birds to name but a few. They are very busy preparing for Christmas and are eagerly awaiting the big day!
Senior Infants
Science Week was full of interesting experiments. We used the static electricity from a charged balloon to separate salt and pepper. We learnt that salt is heavier than pepper. We also made a glittering lava lamp as we explored the density of different liquids. Next time though we will use an Alka-Seltzer tablet to make our lava lamp bubble.
We love reading stories in senior infants. Our favourite author so far is Julia Donaldson. We like the way her stories rhyme. Our favourite story is Zog. Ms Harmon’s favourite story is Room on the Broom. A story called ‘While we can’t hug’ by Eoin Mc Laughlin made us a little sad as we thought about people we can’t hug at the moment. But it also showed us many other ways we can show we care while we socially distance.
Rang 1
For science week this year Rang 1 completed a number of experiments. We did the 'bouncy egg' experiment where we made an egg bounce! We also made paper helicopters, made raisins dance and did an experiment to test the rate of our heartbeats. We had great fun learning all new scientific facts.
As part of our 'Golden Time', Rang 1 made 'Cookies in a Jar'. We weighed out flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and smarties and put all the ingredients in a jar. When children went home, they added an egg and some butter to the dry ingredients and popped their cookies in the oven. Everyone enjoyed their cookies while watching the Late Late Toy Show.
Rang 2
We have already prepared for our First Confession and we will begin preparing for our First Holy Communion after Christmas. We started the ‘Spelling for Me’ programme, a new approach to learning and practising our spellings online. We thoroughly enjoyed all the experiments during Science week.
Rang 3
We have been very busy in third class since September. We celebrated our deferred First Confession and First Holy Communion in September. One of our favourite weeks was Science Week. We put an egg in vinegar to see if the shell would dissolve. We made paper airplanes and we threw them to measure how far they flew. We learned about fingerprints and crime scene investigation. We have been busy doing art, PE and lots of other things too.
Rang 4
During Maths Week Ireland, Rang 4 took part in a fun workshop streamed live on Youtube. The pupils were part of the studio audience where thousands of school children across the country tuned in. We learned about using number patterns to help learn our times tables and other related number facts. We made lovely artwork during Term 1: swan creations when learning about the myth of The Children of Lir in history; we painted beautiful Halloween tiles in October and for Christmas we constructed festive candles to light up the mantlepiece at home.
Rang 5
During Science Week, 5th class participated in a live webinar with IT Tralee called ‘Food to Bioplastics’! This event explored what the bio-economy is and how natural resources can be used to create sustainable new bio-based products. Pupils were busy making buttons from bioplastics using food waste (milk powder, vinegar & water).
5th class also decided to fundraise for Crumlin Children’s Hospital this Christmas. They made Christmas cards and sold them to their parents and relatives. They raised €525 and we are very proud of them for that wonderful achievement.
6th classes
Science week provided many opportunities for lots of science activity and experiments in the 6th classes too. We did an experiment with celery and food colouring. We put red food colouring into a jar with the celery and over two days the celery turned red. This process is called osmosis. We watched a video showing us how to build tall structures out of paper. We had a competition to see who could build the tallest tower while balancing a 100g bag of rice on top
Both 5th & 6th classes watched a science video about the water cycle. We saw a lot of fun experiments being demonstrated.
6th also did an experiment where we saw how long it took the bread to mould after it had touched our hands.
Science Week Family Quiz
During science week, the Kelly family (Ronan, Niamh, Daithí & Aisling) & the O’Regan family ( Jenna-Louise) participated in this science fact or fiction quiz, in association with Kerry Library.
Dromclough was a hive of activity during science week 9th -13th November. Pictures of very busy pupils can be seen on the school website
http://www.dromcloughns.com/science-week-nov-2020.html
Maths Week
During Maths Week the senior classes watched lots of videos that showed us fun tricks that we can use in maths.
Sixth class also did some fun activities which helped us improve our table skills. We also played a board game called the multiplication swirl where we had to answer a maths table and then we rolled a dice and whatever number we landed on we moved that many spaces on the board. Rang 6 Glas did the Maths Week Target board challenge and finally got on the leader board on the 5th day.
Save Dublin Zoo
Pupils in Rang 6 Glas each contributed €2 to collect €50 to adopt an orang-utan from Dublin Zoo for one year. We will receive an orang-utan pack after Christmas including an adoption certificate and updates on the orang-utan.
Aquaculture
5th & 6th classes had a Zoom webinar on ‘Aquaculture’ for schools in the Listowel area as part of the Listowel Food Festival in partnership with Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Education Centre Tralee.
We learned what aquaculture is and how it is a more sustainable way of getting seafood. Aquaculture means fish farming. The three species of fish farmed in Ireland are salmon, mussels and oysters. Aquaculture is more sustainable than fishing because fishing is seasonal whereas aquaculture ensures that fish is available all year round.
There are many different benefits from aquaculture. One of them is that it provides many jobs in seaside communities where farming is harder because of the rocky terrain. Another is that fish has many vitamins and minerals which are extremely good for your health. There are nearly 300 aquaculture farms in Ireland and they are spread out across 14 coastal counties.
Kerry County Council Road Safety Calendar 2021
Dromclough pupils participated in the Kerry County Council Road Safety Calendar art competition. Congratulations to Caoimhe Barry Rang 6 whose prizewinning picture will be featured in the 2021 Road Safety Calendar for the month of June.
Credit Union Art Competition
Well done to all the pupils who entered the Credit Union art competition in October. The theme this year was ‘Imagine More’. Congratulations to Eimear Keane, Rang 6, who was awarded 2nd prize in the 11-13 age category for her picture ‘Imagine More’ seen below.
Well done to all the pupils who entered the Credit Union art competition in October. The theme this year was ‘Imagine More’. Congratulations to Eimear Keane, Rang 6, who was awarded 2nd prize in the 11-13 age category for her picture ‘Imagine More’ seen below.
Kerry Hurlers
On Sunday the 13th December the Kerry hurlers took on Antrim in the Joe McDonagh Cup final. The 1st half-finished Antrim 0-9 Kerry 1-7. Despite the best efforts of the Kingdom, Antrim were too strong on the day. The final score was Antrim 0-22 Kerry 1-17. Le cúnamh Dé, beidh lá eile acu i bPáirc an Chrócaigh sar i bhfad.
Football in The School
This year unfortunately due to the restrictions of the Covid 19 pandemic, we didn’t have the annual Cumann na mBunscol football tournament. 5th & 6th classes did however have football skills sessions from Halloween to Christmas with visiting coach Breandán O’Neill. We really enjoyed these games in the basketball court.
Active School Flag
We continue to promote a physically active school environment while adhering to all the HSE safety regulations. In particular, this term, pupils in all classes took part in a socially distanced Halloween disco outside in the court. Children enjoyed themselves dancing and singing along to their favourite spooky songs.
Remember over the Christmas holidays try to get 60 minutes of physical activity each and every day. "Be wise and exercise!"
Peace Proms 2021
In recent weeks 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th class have been practicing singing outdoors in the basketball court for the 2021 Peace Proms. We sing songs such as Dance Monkey, Memories and Take on the World. The Peace Proms is where large choirs of schoolchildren sing a variety of songs with the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. This concert would normally take place in UL in Limerick. However, due to Covid restrictions this year, we will record a video and send it in.
Bloody Sunday 1920-2020
21st November was the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the 1920 massacre in Croke Park that left 14 Irish people dead, including Tipperary footballer, Michael Hogan, of whom the Hogan Stand is named after, and the youngest victim, 10-year-old child, Jerome O’ Leary. There was a very poignant and moving ceremony in Croke Park on Nov 21st to commemorate B100dy Sunday.
On Sunday the 13th December the Kerry hurlers took on Antrim in the Joe McDonagh Cup final. The 1st half-finished Antrim 0-9 Kerry 1-7. Despite the best efforts of the Kingdom, Antrim were too strong on the day. The final score was Antrim 0-22 Kerry 1-17. Le cúnamh Dé, beidh lá eile acu i bPáirc an Chrócaigh sar i bhfad.
Football in The School
This year unfortunately due to the restrictions of the Covid 19 pandemic, we didn’t have the annual Cumann na mBunscol football tournament. 5th & 6th classes did however have football skills sessions from Halloween to Christmas with visiting coach Breandán O’Neill. We really enjoyed these games in the basketball court.
Active School Flag
We continue to promote a physically active school environment while adhering to all the HSE safety regulations. In particular, this term, pupils in all classes took part in a socially distanced Halloween disco outside in the court. Children enjoyed themselves dancing and singing along to their favourite spooky songs.
Remember over the Christmas holidays try to get 60 minutes of physical activity each and every day. "Be wise and exercise!"
Peace Proms 2021
In recent weeks 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th class have been practicing singing outdoors in the basketball court for the 2021 Peace Proms. We sing songs such as Dance Monkey, Memories and Take on the World. The Peace Proms is where large choirs of schoolchildren sing a variety of songs with the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. This concert would normally take place in UL in Limerick. However, due to Covid restrictions this year, we will record a video and send it in.
Bloody Sunday 1920-2020
21st November was the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the 1920 massacre in Croke Park that left 14 Irish people dead, including Tipperary footballer, Michael Hogan, of whom the Hogan Stand is named after, and the youngest victim, 10-year-old child, Jerome O’ Leary. There was a very poignant and moving ceremony in Croke Park on Nov 21st to commemorate B100dy Sunday.
Christmas Raffle
Each class held the annual Christmas raffle on Friday 18th December with all proceeds, €650, going to the local St Vincent de Paul society. Every class had a variety of prizes and every pupil won a prize. They were all delighted too to receive a surprise Selection Box on the day. Go raibh maith agaibh go léir don tacaíocht do SVP.
Christmas Song
Mrs Neville’s 6th class composed their own Christmas song this year. They made up lyrics and musical notes and called the song “Christmas Time”. Because of Covid 19 restrictions, they had to practise their song outside. While they sang, Mrs Neville accompanied them on the guitar.
Christmas performances
Each class has recorded a special Christmas performance for parents and families. They range from a Christmas prayer service, poems & songs to Christmas carol instrumental music and storytelling. Some of the videos were recorded outdoors as the pupils were singing. You will notice that in the outdoor recordings, it is far more difficult to get good sound quality. Each teacher has put them on the class Seesaw app. They will also email to you a link to send to family to see the videos on our school YouTube. These videos are not public and can only be viewed through the link.
‘The Spirit of Christmas’
Christmas artwork by pupils in 3rd class is in the Kerryman this week for the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ art competition run annually by the Kerryman newspaper. Comhghairdeas le gach éinne.
Christmas art
Pupils in 2nd, 5th & 6th classes have drawn beautiful nativity pictures in chalk which will be on display over the Christmas season in Irremore Church.
Each class held the annual Christmas raffle on Friday 18th December with all proceeds, €650, going to the local St Vincent de Paul society. Every class had a variety of prizes and every pupil won a prize. They were all delighted too to receive a surprise Selection Box on the day. Go raibh maith agaibh go léir don tacaíocht do SVP.
Christmas Song
Mrs Neville’s 6th class composed their own Christmas song this year. They made up lyrics and musical notes and called the song “Christmas Time”. Because of Covid 19 restrictions, they had to practise their song outside. While they sang, Mrs Neville accompanied them on the guitar.
Christmas performances
Each class has recorded a special Christmas performance for parents and families. They range from a Christmas prayer service, poems & songs to Christmas carol instrumental music and storytelling. Some of the videos were recorded outdoors as the pupils were singing. You will notice that in the outdoor recordings, it is far more difficult to get good sound quality. Each teacher has put them on the class Seesaw app. They will also email to you a link to send to family to see the videos on our school YouTube. These videos are not public and can only be viewed through the link.
‘The Spirit of Christmas’
Christmas artwork by pupils in 3rd class is in the Kerryman this week for the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ art competition run annually by the Kerryman newspaper. Comhghairdeas le gach éinne.
Christmas art
Pupils in 2nd, 5th & 6th classes have drawn beautiful nativity pictures in chalk which will be on display over the Christmas season in Irremore Church.
Nollaig Shona daoibh go léir agus rath Dé oraibh don bhliain nua
Check out our school website for mor
www.dromcloughns.com
Check out our school website for mor
www.dromcloughns.com