The children were very busy this week planting bulbs in the school garden. We are really looking forward to a wonderful, colourful display in the spring.
Category Archives: S.E.S.E
School Garden
Some of the children in Sixth Class have decided to give every spare minute to tackle the weeds and overgrowth in the school garden. They have been very busy since the return to school getting the garden ready for it’s winter rest.
Downhill Car Race
The children explored Gravitational Potential Energy during Chuck Delpier’s Science Workshop. The children were delighted to learn that this involved designing, refining and improving downhill race cars to travel faster, straighter, further and smoother.
Compressed Air Water Rocket
Chuck Delpier’s Science Workshops really allow the children to explore science in a “Hands On – Minds On” manner. During the recent workshop the children learned about Newton’s third law – To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction. All rocket engines operate on the principal of this law so it was time to go outside and launch some rockets! We hope you enjoy our video below.
Friction and Heat
During Chuck Delpier’s (Mr. D.) Science Workshop the children explored the science of Friction and Heat. Friction is the resistance of motion when one object rubs against another. Anytime two objects rub against each other, they cause friction. Friction works against the motion and acts in the opposite direction.When one object is sliding on another it starts to slow down due to friction. This means it loses energy. However, the energy doesn’t disappear. It changes from moving energy (also call kinetic energy) to heat energy. This is why we rub our hands together when it’s cold. By rubbing them together we generate friction and, therefore, heat.
During the workshop Mr. D introduced the children to pump drills. A pump drill is an ancient tool traditionally used to generate friction heat for starting fires, as well as for boring holes. A pump drill generates friction and heat through rotational momentum which is built and maintained by repeated twisting and untwisting of a cord.
Vex IQ
The children in sixth class have been busy building and operating their Vex IQ robots. We hope you enjoy the video we made.
Engineers Week
The Children in the Senior Room were asked to design and engineer a vehicle with rolling wheels. The standard of the completed vehicles was amazing. Each child gave a brief presentation on the ideas, design and construction methods they used while engineering their vehicles.
Build a Tower Challenge
We have really enjoyed online webinars with Mark “The Science Guy” as part of Engineers Week. Miss O’Connell challenged the children to create a tower using toothpicks and marshmallows. Construction challenges provide a fabulous opportunity for the development of a range of important skills: inventiveness, problem solving, creative thinking, perseverance, motivation and the ability to overcome disappointment, evaluation, editing and revision, analytical thinking and the use of a range of real life tools. It was wonderful to watch the children work collaboratively to find solutions to the challenge.
Heritage in Schools
The Heritage in Schools Scheme provides a panel of Heritage Specialists who visit primary schools (in-person or virtually) to help children and their teachers learn about and appreciate their local heritage. The children in Miss Daly’s class enjoyed a wonderful virtual visit from Marina Levitina. The children enjoyed a virtual woodland walk, and learned about a variety of Irish wildflowers and trees of the woods and meadows. The children were amazed to hear plants “sing” through the Music of the Plants biofeedback device and listened to traditional stories about native Irish trees and flowers. Marina then helped the children create some beautiful chalk drawings of the flowers they had learned about.
Marina Levitina from Heritage in Schools
We really enjoyed a virtual visit from Marina Levitina from the Heritage in Schools programme. Marina Levitina is a herbalist, nature educator, film-maker and artist, and a certified Forest School leader. She loves sharing the magic of wild plants and trees with children, through listening to the Music of the Plants, and through storytelling, drawing and other fun activities that help foster creativity and imagination, while encouraging children to connect with nature and learn about biodiversity.
