Meet Holly our Hooves 4 Hospice calf.
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On the 20th of Novemberer St Kieran's NS held their Hooves 4 Hospice day. Pupils dressed up as farmers and took part in a sponsored walk. The children also engaged in different activities throughout the day linking in with our Hooves 4 Hospice theme. Holly was the winning name in our 'Name our Calf' competition, well done Dan. We had had lots of fun and pupils really enjoyed dressing up as farmers for the day. We raised enough money to pay for our calf and an additional €660. Thank you to all who donated, it was our little way of giving something to what is a great cause. Pupils took part in the Agri Kids programme with Alma Jordan. Each session started with a reading from one of her books. In the first session Alma read her book 'The Tree Swing'. Children then learned how to prepare for a safe farm visit and how to recognise some of the signs they will see along the way. The second session started with a reading from 'The Big Brown Bull'. Children then learned how to read the different behavioural traits and mannerisms shown by animals including bulls, horses and dogs In the last session children listened to the story 'The Red Tractor. Children then learned about top tips on how they and farmers stay safe around farm machinery and vehicles including the do's and don'ts of quad bikes and tractors. Children enjoyed the programme and more importantly learned a lot about farm safety.  The BOM have invested in a new chromebook for each pupil within our school. Pupils were very excited to receive their new chromebook and they couldn't wait to start exploring all the new apps and programmes installed for them. With each pupil having their own device this means that we can taylor each device to the pupils needs.  On Thursday the 22nd of October pupils visited Feighery’s field where they saw where the pumpkins are grown. They had the opportunity to ask lots of questions and see first hand how a pumpkin grows. The pupils then got to pick out their own pumpkin. They had so much fun carving out their pumpkins. It was great to see the older children helping the younger ones. All children were very proud of their finished pumpkins. We are very grateful to Feighereys for supplying each pupil with a pumpkin.  As a school we were delighted to receive the news that we would be awarded our 5th Green Flag. The theme of the flag was ‘Biodiversity’, all pupils worked very hard throughout the year to expand upon their knowledge of biodiversity. Pupils took part in workshops, listened to speakers that visited the school and built a bug hotel. All pupils took on an active role in achieving this award. Well done to all involved, especially to Ms. Flynn who is our Greenschools co-ordinator.
Today we were learning all about the different parts of a plant and what it needs to grow. We made these seed frames so children can see the different parts of a plant as it grows.  In school we want to educate pupils of the importance in looking after the environment. We have created a nature corner in the school where we have our bug hotel, we planted native trees and we are now working on our wildflower garden.  For Engineers Week 2020 students visited Birr Castle for an engineering workshop. They learned the history and science behind a rocket launch, designed and launched their own rockets and had an incredible time doing so. Every year a small selection of schools in Co. Offaly are picked to take part in an Environmental workshop . We were one of the ten schools selected this year. Maura Shannon visited our school and did lots of fun and educational activities with the pupils. It was great to see the children so engaged in the activities and learning the importance of caring for our environment.  With over 300 eye-popping interactive science and STEM experiences, our day at the Explorium was phenomenal! Students visited the amazing Gravity Rooms, the Live Science Show, the G Force, and the Lightening show to name but a few. Students explored the interactive activities which improved understanding of scientific concepts and encouraged curiosity in all students from Juniors up the 5th class. This week all pupils took part in a 'Bricks for Kids' workshop. Pupils followed instruction manuals and built different types of airplanes and attached a motor to make it move. For our second Farm to Fork lesson we used eggs as our main ingredient. Egan's kindly gave us lots of fresh free range eggs to use. In small groups pupils made their own omlettes. We also made scrambled egg and boiled eggs. Pupils enjoyed cooking the omlettes and really enjoyed eating them. This week pupils made their own sandwiches. They were very creative with their fillings and enjoyed eating them. With theses practical activities along with the Food Dudes programme pupils are learning all about the importance of healthy food and how satisfying it is to make their own food. Pupils were very excitied to be making their own Bug Hotels in school. We discussed what types of insects we might attract and why these insects are good for biodiversity. Pupils then used their emaginations to think of different things that could be used to fill up the Bug Hotels to attract lots of bugs.   Pupils visited Multyfarnham Cookery School in Co. Westmeath today. Students learned how to make multi-coloured buns, pipe icing and how to prepare calzone pizza from scratch! The best part was enjoying their food for lunch afterwards. Without a doubt, we have some mini master chefs in St. Kieran’s N.S!
Today we had our first 'Farm to Fork' lesson. All pupils took part in making vegetable soup and brown bread. Feighery's kindly provided us with all the fresh vegetables and pupils followed their own recipe which they wrote to make the delicious soup. You can't beat Feighery's fresh vegetables! The senior room also made solar ovens and different types of insulated containers to see which materials were the best insulators to make flasks. The school held it's annual Christmas show on Thursday the 12th of December at 7pm. We had two shows this year entitled 'The Wriggly Nativity' and 'Is Christmas Cancelled?' It proved to be a great night with all pupils displaying their dramatical and musical talents. The junior room visited Birr library to listen to some Christmas stories. The children were super listeners and really enjoyed the stories. Pupils then attended Birr Theatre to see a show entitled 'Santa’s Fairytale Christmas'. The children had a great day out.  The Junior Room took part in the ‘Living Heritage Competition for Schools 2019’. Three of our pupils represented the school in Laois Education Centre where their project ‘Ireland Past and Present’ was exhibited and judged along with many other schools from Laois, Offaly and Tipperary. The pupils explained our project to the ajudicators and had great discussions about Ireland long ago. We were delighted to be awarded 4th place in the primary schools category. Well done to all the children involved in the project. |
