Welcome to Mr. Glynn’s Second Class
Tá fáilte romhat go dtí ár leathanach. Beimid ag obair go díon ar agus ag baint taitneamh as réimse leathan ábhar i mbliana. Beidh samplaí d’ár gcuid oibre agus ár gníomhaíochtaí le feiceáil anseo. Tá súil againn go mbainfidh sibh taitneamh agus sult as do thuras ar an leathanach seo!
Length – We were learning about length in Maths. Here we are are estimating and measuring the length of different classroom items. We had to decide if it was best to measure each item using centimeters (CM) or meters (m).
Science Week– We celebrated Science Week from the 16th-20th of April. A huge thanks to Ms. Harkin for organizing loads of extremely interesting workshops to take place during the week. Here is a list of the wide range of workshops that we took part in:
Monday 16th – Dublin Zoo: Ears, Teeth, Tails and Feet
Tuesday 17th – Experiment Swap with First Class 1
Wednesday 18th – Dave’s Jungle
Thursday 19th – Nurse Cogan and Dr. Sanvito
Friday 20th – Niamh Murray (HSCL) and Parents: Experiment Stations
Monday 23rd (had been rescheduled) – Irish Whale and Dolphin Group: Threats to Marine Life
Junior Achievement – Deirdre from Central Bank of Ireland has been out with us on Tuesday mornings over the past few weeks to carry out a programme with us called a Junior Achievement. We have been really enjoying learning all about our local community and the roles of the different people in it. It has been tying in closely with work that we have been carrying out in Geography. We have been learning about different industry, production both unit and assembly line, wages and taxes. Many thanks to Deirdre for all her work.
Féasta Focal – In term 1 and term 2 we covered the first 100 Féasta Focal which are similar to our Dolch Words but as Gaeilge. In term 3 we will move beyond list 10. These words are really important as they will help us with our leitheoireacht (reading) and our litriú (spelling) as we go forward. As with all sight it is vital that these words are known by heart by just looking at them and saying them. Below find a link to a list of the first 100 Féasta Focal and the associated QR codes for each of these lists so that you can hear them being pronounced. Remember, some different dialects differ slightly so if your parents don’t pronounce them exactly the same way it doesn’t necessarily mean they are incorrect. If you are unsure just ask Mr. Glynn.
Time to Read – A group of children from both Second Class (1) and Second Class (2) are currently taking part in an initiative called Time to Read which is run by an organisation called Business in the Community Ireland. As part of this initiative, a number of volunteers come out from the Bank of Ireland in Ballsbridge every Thursday afternoon to read with the children. The programme has been such a success that a number of parent volunteers have also got involved and they read with the children again on a Friday. Before the Easter holidays the children who are taking part in the Time to Read programme got to go on a trip to Rathmines Library. Here are some photographs from the day.
Leprechaun Traps – In advance of Lá ‘le Pádraig, Ms. O’ Meara came in to work with us and help us to design and create leprechaun traps. We worked in small groups of mainly 2 or 3 children. We looked at various designs, and equipped with a variety of art materials, we planned which designs we felt world be most effective at luring some troublesome leprechauns! How would we make attract them? How would they be caught? How would we make sure they couldn’t escape? Here is a selection of our masterpieces in the making…
Our finished products were simply amazing! Unfortunately when we returned after the St. Patrick’s Day weekend we hadn’t managed to successfully catch any leprechauns but our traps had definitely been interfered with! Those clever leprechauns had managed to out-smart us… We will have to try a different approach next year. Here are some of our finished products. Many thanks again to Ms. O’ Meara.
Assembly/Ceolchoirm Gaeilge – Rang a Dó (1) sang an amhráin as Gaeilge darbh ainm Peigín Leitir Móir at our February assembly. We also got the chance to perform it a second time at our Ceolchoirm which was held to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge. Peigín Leitir Móir is a traditional Irish song which dates back to 1911. Mr. Glynn Told us that some of our parents and grandparents may have even learned it in school. Some verses of the song have changed slightly over the years and many different musicians have released their own versions of it. The Cassidys and the Dubliners are two such traditional Irish groups who are well known for singing it. The song is about the beautiful Peggy who comes from Lettermore in County Galway,
This first clip is the version that learned on YouTube is you want to practice it at home.
The second clip is us performing at the Ceolchoirm during Seachtain na Gaeilge.
World Book Day – We celebrated World Book Day on 8th March. All of the children from the Montessori up to Sixth Class dressed up as their favourite book character on the day. We were absolutely amazed by the fantastic costumes that were created by students, and indeed their parents! The poor judges had an impossible job deciding on winners! We teamed up with Mr. Carty’s Rang a Sé to carry out some shared reading activities in the afternoon. It was a great opportunity for both classes to show off the work that they had been carrying out on the various reading strategies. Mr. Glynn also organised a quote hunt. Here are a few more photos from our Buddy Reading session with Rang a Sé.
Check out the answers to the quote hunt and lots more photos on the link below. Thanks to Ms. Moriarty for taking all of the photographs.
Librarian Visit – In advance of World Book Day we had a librarian from Rathmines Library, Eoin Kelly, out to talk to us about the role of the local library. Eoin talked about the different services that the library provides and the role of the librarian. Did you know you can borrow books, audio books, DVDs all from the local library and the best part is it’s all FREE? Eoin explained how you can borrow up to 12 items at any one time and that you can keep them for up to three weeks. Eoin was extremely impressed with the questions we had to ask about his job and the role of the library in general. Unfortunately, as we were a little pushed for time, Eoin didn’t get to answer all of the many questions people had for him. Instead, he encouraged us to visit the library with our family and to ask any questions that we may still have of the librarians there. Many thanks to Eoin for visiting us and hopefully he may have convinced a few more children to join! Here are a couple of pictures from our talk.
Volcanoes! We have been learning all about volcanoes in Science. We have been looking at how they are formed and how they erupt. We carried out a Think, Pair Share to assess our prior knowledge at the beginning and one pair came up with the comparison of a volcano being similar to a burp, as it is a result of a force being released, as a build up of something. We carried out an experiment where we made a ‘volcano’ erupt using water, sodium bicarbonate (bread soda), washing up liquid, food colouring and vinegar. We then broke into groups and each group made their own volcano, but changed one condition each time, eg. more sodium bicarbonate, more water, different coloured food colouring etc. We had great fun (as you can see by the amazed faces) and learned a great deal at the same time. Have a look at the photos below.
Deich-ar-a-Deich – In case you haven’t noticed, here in HCNS we are trying really hard to be as active as possible. We are working towards gaining an Active Schools Flag. In order to get a little more exercise in during the school day, some days, we have been taking part in the 10@10 on RTÉjr. It is so much fun and it has got us up, out of our seats and moving Some days we do it as Bearla and some days as Gaeilge. Is breá linn é!
Reading Strategies – The children in Rang a Dó absolutely LOVE reading! We do 10 minutes of DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read) each day which has really helped to foster and develop our love for reading. We have been using reading strategies from the Building Bridges of Understanding programme to help us become even better readers. We have been exploring Making Predictions, Visualising, Making Connections, Asking Questions and Determining Importance so far this year. Over the course of the year we will complete three class novels. In term one we covered Fantastic Mr. Fox and we have recently started to read Adam’s Starling which is our term two novel. Have a look at our reading strategy anchor charts to see the strategies that we have been working on to help us delve deeper into a text.
Recount Writing – Throughout term one we focused on the recount writing genre. We looked at the key features of recounts and the reasons why people would write recounts. When we came back after the Christmas break we redrafted our favourite recounts from term one looking closely at our WALT and WILF. Here is a selection of the recounts that are currently on display on our writers wall. This term we are focusing on the explanation writing genre.
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Lightbot – As an introduction to coding, we explored the Lightbot hour app on the iPads. Mr. Glynn didn’t give us any instructions but told us we were to try the app and see if we could figure out what it was all about. We worked in small groups to try to figure it out. Some of us got the hang of it straight away and some needed a little assistance. It really tested our problem solving, mathematical thinking and general reasoning skills. We will be working on the app over the next few weeks.
Printmaking – Since starting term two we have been exploring print in our art lessons. We have been looking at different types of print and the ways in which different prints can be made. We experimented by etching patterns and designs using a ballpoint pen onto sheets of foam. We discussed the effect that using different depths of line created and how using different amounts of paint made our prints more or less effective. Have a look at our works of art below!
We also experimented with print by painting some old CDs. We then used cotton buds to remove some of the paint to make different patterns and designs. The final product was really effective. They are currently on display in the corridor outside out classroom. 
Grandparents Interview – On Wednesday, 31st January we celebrated Grandparent’s Day as part of Catholic Schools Week. For the week prior to this, we were given the task of interviewing one of our Grandparents in order to find out what school was like when they were in school. We had a number of questions to ask and we had to report back on our findings on Grandparent’s Day. It was so interesting to see how different some of the responses were. We figured out that some of the differences were as a result of some grandparents living in different countries,some living in urban or rural Ireland and also due to the fact that all of our grandparents aren’t the same age! Have a look at some of the responses that we received.
Here we are working in groups to try and order a selection photographs of classrooms from different times from the oldest to the most recent. The more modern photographs were easy but some of the older ones really difficult which meant we had to examine the evidence really closely.
Native Irish Trees – Patrick our resident gardener was out with us to teach us about different tree types. We completed a quiz where we had to identify different types of trees based on our knowledge of its leaves, its buds, its branches, its flowers and fruits. We learned about the following trees – ash, oak, beech, holly, horse chestnut, hazel, elder, willow and sycamore. After this we went in search of some different tree types that we have on our school grounds. We managed to find an elder, an oak, an ash and a sycamore tree. We were able to identify each by examining the leaves and the branches. A tree had recently been cut down next to the astro/ the school garden and we used its trunk and it’s branches to count the rings to see how old the tree was.
Zumba – We have been having the best fun at Zumba over the past few weeks! Each and every child has been putting such amazing effort into their dancing. Have a look at a couple of the videos that Mr. Glynn recorded here.
We’re Famous!!! – Our Nativity has made it to the Independent website! Check out the following link. You were AMAZING! Well done to everyone for the fantastic work and effort that they put in. Mr. Glynn and Ms. Connor couldn’t be prouder of you all 🙂
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/banter/cute/watch-we-were-amazing-dublin-schoolchildren-invite-us-to-watch-their-nativity-36413566.html
Daidí na Nollag – Tháinig Daidí na Nollag go rang a dó ar an 21ú Nollaig. We were delighted to hear that everyone was on the ‘nice ‘ list… (even Mr. Glynn!!!). Santa gave everyone in our class a selection box as a little treat before he returns on Christmas Eve night.
Christmas Concert – Second Class 1 and Second Class 2 teamed together to perform the annual HCNS Nativity Play. We performed at the Senior Concert on 15th December and again at the Junior Concert on the 20th. A video journalist from the Independent came out to video the play on the 15th and he interviewed some of our talented performers. You would have never guessed that we were nervous given the amazing performance we gave! Next stop…Hollywood! Many thanks to Ms. Moriarty who took some pictures at the dress rehearsal on the 14th which can be seen here. http://www.haroldscrossns.ie/school-events/christmas-concert-2017/
Winter Mittens – We have recently been working on cooperative games and have been emphasising the importance of teamwork as part of the Outdoor and Adventure strand in PE. Tying in with this, Mr. Glynn assigned us a cooperative art activity to complete where we had to work in pairs/small groups to create matching winter mittens using a variety of different materials such as fabric and fibre, paper, card, sequins, feathers, markers, etc. Each pair/group had to work together to create the outline of two mittens on coloured card and then decorate the mittens so that each looked exactly the same. It was up to us to decide what colour card we would choose, what materials we would use and what design we would follow. Having looked at symmetry in Maths, a good deal of talk and discussion was involved in ensuring we worked together to create a symmetrical pattern. Here we are working together to create our mittens. We are so proud of how well they turned out. We are smitten with our mittens!
Christmas Art – What do you think of our Reindeer Portraits? We followed step-by-step instructions to sketch and outline our reindeer. Next we painted the reindeer and the background. When they were dry we outlined our pictures using oil pastels and then we decorated the scarves to make our reindeer unique. No two reindeer look exactly the same!
Zumba – As part of the Dance strand in PE we have been really lucky to have Audrey come out on Fridays to do Zumba with us. Some Friday mornings we even got to do “extra PE” before school when Audrey does Zumba with the parents, teachers and pupils in the school yard from 8:45! Gangnam Style and Despacito were the most popular songs requested by our class. Check out our impressive moves!
Symmetrical Self-Portraits – The whole school art focus in term 1 was on Portraits. We carried out work on portraits, self-portraits, partner portraits and we also looked at a variety of famous artists who were well known for their portraits. Mr. Glynn took photographs of us all and cut the photographs right down the middle of our faces. Our task was then to sketch the other half of our face paying close attention to the lines and details in our faces. This tied in closely with the work that we carried out on symmetry in maths. I think we may have some budding artists in our midst! What do you think?
Clay Workshop – Comhghairdeas do rang a dó! We won the award for the best attendance for the month of October. As a result, Ms. Kehoe organised a clay workshop for us which was perfectly suited to the time of the year as we got to make clay spiders! The air-dough that we used was so cool that it had practically set by the end of the workshop! Don’t our spiders look amazing. We got to bring them home on the day. Well done rang a dó, keep up your brilliant attendance!
Halloween Art – Check out our crazy witches legs…We used different materials to create our ‘not-so-spooky’ Halloween pictures. Halloween need not be so scary after all!
