Summer Salad Harvest

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What a difference a season makes. In the spring we got busy in the school garden and now we can harvest our first crop. The children enjoyed a lovely side salad with their lunches today. We harvested mixed lettuce, radish, onions and cress and added some cherry tomatoes. This was paired with a fantastic homemade olive oil salad dressing – Thanks Mary. We are really looking forward to our main autumn harvest. This is an organic “hands off” garden that will be unattended for the summer so the autumn harvest is very uncertain. Fingers crossed we get a decent crop.

Stream Habitat

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We discovered some fascinating Freshwater Mini Beasts living in our local stream. Our finds included The Great Diving Beetle, The Greater Water Boatman, The Lesser Water Boatman, Stonefly Naiads, Caddis, Worms, Freshwater Snails and larvae. We even caught a couple of young trout.  Stephanie from Heritage in Schools explained the life-cycles of these Freshwater Mini-Beasts and how unpolluted freshwater is vitally important as a habitat for these creatures. The children were delighted to explore the many creatures that live in a freshwater stream before returning them safely to the stream. Stephanie explained the importance of a clean habitat for biodiversity.

The history of movies

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In preparation for the Feel The Force Festival in Dunmanway the children in the Senior Room have been exploring the history of film making. The children learned about the early black and white silent movies, camera tricks, early special effects, the work of stunt people, the first “talkies”, the development of special effects, the introduction of technicolour and the development of C.G.I. Of course you can’t watch movies without popcorn – it’s a rule.

The Science of Floating and Sinking

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The children in the Junior Room conducted experiments involving buoyancy – the science of floating and sinking. Buoyancy is an object’s ability to float. Whether or not an object is buoyant relies mostly on two factors. These are the amount of water an object displaces and the density of an object.

Gardening

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The children enjoyed planting some sunflower seeds and strawberry plants this week. They are looking forward to getting busy in the school garden as soon as the danger of frost has passed.

The Science of Magnetism

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The children in the Senior Room explored magnetism this week. They conducted experiments involving magnetic poles, magnetic fields, attraction, repulsion and electromagnets involving a variety of magnets and materials.

Water Bottle Rocket

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The children always have a wonderful time when Chuck Delpier (Mr. D.) brings his science workshop to Togher N.S. They learned all about air pressure during a series of workshop experiments. In the afternoon the children went outside to launch some air pressure powered water bottle rockets.

Salt Painting

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The children in the Junior Room really enjoyed salt painting as part of a STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) project. Adding salt to a painting project creates a terrific raised painting effect and it also allows children to explore science. Raised glue and salt painting with watercolour paint is an excellent example of a STEAM project for children because it integrates both science and art. On the scientific side, the magic of this project lies in the reaction between the salt and the liquid colors. Children explore absorption, crystallization, and the dispersion of pigments as the liquid interacts with the salt, providing a hands-on lesson in basic chemistry and physics. They also created these wonderful artworks.