It was good to be back and to see everyone after the Easter holidays. The weather overall in April was nice and sunny so we enjoyed being able to take our learning outside and spend more time in nature and breath in the fresh air.
We have been learning about Africa in geography. We learned about the 8 countries that Irish Aid works. They are Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Vietnam. This was a lovely opportunity to use the new school laptops for the first time. We researched an animal that comes from one of those countries and wrote poems about the animal in English. Did you know that the African lion faces the threat of extinction by the year 2050! We continued the African theme in art. We drew and painted colourful zebras and chameleons.
We are continuing to work on our Green Flag for Litter and Waste- Global Citizenship. We like the motto: Think Global, Act Local. Little actions can make a big difference. As the Green Committee, we are making sure our school is litter free and we have a lunch time rota when two people from the class go litter picking.
April 22nd was Earth Day. We watched a live video presentation hosted by the National Museum of Ireland and learned about some cool fossils from Ice Age Ireland and how global warming affects our ocean. We planted fruit and vegetables such as chives, turnips, carrots, lettuce, and strawberries. The plants are already starting to shoot up.
In history, we learned about how the Normans came to Ireland and the types of homes they built. Before the Normans came Ireland was separated in to eight kingdoms. There was the kingdom of Leinster, Connacht, Brefine, Meath, Oriel, Ulaid (Ulster), the kingdom of the North and Munster. Dermot McMurrough was King of Leinster but he did not have many friends. The other Kings in Ireland decided to form an army against him. Dermot went to England to get help from King Henry. King Henry II sent the Normans to help him. Richard de Clare (Strongbow) was a powerful Norman lord. He agreed to gather an army of Norman soldiers to help Dermot. Dermot promised Strongbow his daughters Aoife’s hand in marriage. Dermot also promised that Strongbow could become the next King of Leinster. The Normans arrived in 1169AD and gradually took over the country.
We made 3D pictures of a Motte and Bailey. Did you know that the Normans introduced new farming methods that we still use today such as making hay and bringing cattle indoors for winter!
April 23rd was National Skipping Day. We had lots of fun skipping in the yard and playing with skipping elastics while learning some new rhymes.
We did obstacle courses in PE and we’re running lots of laps for our Active Flag. Damien Hicks has started rugby training with us too and we are looking forward to continuing this over the next couple of weeks. We enjoyed playing with the parachute for Active Week too.
Comments