We have been learning all about growing this term. we have visited the garden centre and bought seeds. we then planted them in our classroom, and we have been watering them and minding them very carefully over the last few weeks. Yesterday we planted them out in the school flower beds on the senior yard. I wonder how big they will be after Easter!!?

This term we have been focusing on what plants need to grow. We have conducted experiments and the findings show us that plants need water and sunlight to grow. We have also been busy working on numeracy, literacy and getting active on a daily basis to promote good health. We have teamed up with our friends in yellow class for music generation which we have really enjoyed and we have several ed class students who are participating in horse riding sessions each Friday.

Or older students in Blue class have been attending the Gymable programme in Dynamo Gym in Colloney over the last 7 weeks. All our students have progressed excellenty and have become proficient at balancing, travelling using hands and feet and learning the new skill of a backward roll and a handstand. Well Done Guys!!

Over the last few weeks White class have been participating in the CRAFted Project.  This is a project partly funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and we were lucky enough to be only one of  four schools in Sligo to be selected to participate. Artist Anna Faye has introduced the students to a variety of methods and its been a very experimental experience. We have used many materials and methods over the weeks- collage, hand painting, tie-dying with natural homemade dyes, printing using a silk screen and as can be seen below using a combination of paint, water, oil and heat on canvas. The project runs for another couple of weeks so keep an eye out here for an update on the artwork created.

Orange class are embracing Springtime by bringing new life into our classroom.  We have grown cress heads, enjoyed looking for worms (spaghetti) and made our own chocolate flavoured mud.  We are focusing on the story ‘The Tiny Seed’ using lots of exciting sensory stimuli.

Our Junior Cycle Level 1 Short Course learning is going very well in Navy Class.  We have learnt about our body parts, identified medical professionals and our reasons for visiting them (we even got to see the dentist!) and are currently learning about healthy eating and exercise.  We have engaged with this through visits and practical lessons as well as using our interactive panel to sort healthy foods from those that aren’t quite so good for us!

Over the last few weeks some students in Pink Class have created narrated iBooks to share their love of reading with others. We hope to create many more books throughout the rest of the school year. In 2019 Pink class students will share these stories with junior students in a shared reading experience. We are all very excited about this project 🙂

Newsletter December 18 

Our good friend Eileen Kirrane has published a second book. We loved her last book and cannot wait to get covered in flour this time around. This might be a nice gift for someone you know. Congratulations Eileen and thank you for thinking of us.

Check out the link below. 

https://eileenskitchentable.ie/

In September Lillian Scanlon organised a walk in Union Wood in memory of Tony Scanlon. 50% of the money was donated to STOP and 50% to St. Cecilia’s School. It was a lovely walk and it was very nice of Lillian and her family and friends to remember us – thank you very much. A total of 1045 was donated to us.

Blue class have worked very hard on letter recognition, pre-reading and reading skills this term. We are matching letters to our names, writing our names and reading a story each day during sensory story time. Some of our favourites have been the Three Bears, The Pig in the Pond and Peace at last. We visited Sligo library during a social trip and enjoyed browsing through the books and practising using our quiet voices.

Orange class are busy experimenting with patterns.  We have used paint to create beautiful star patterns and lego to create pattern towers using a variety of colours.  It was really great fun adding texture to our patterns with various fabrics and fibres.

Our station teaching is going very well in Navy Class this term.  We painted to rock music, explored and sorted using tactile materials independently and we learnt about hygiene for our Personal Care and Wellbeing PLU.  We are really getting to grips with our Level 1 Learning Programmes #L1LPs.

We had a fantastic outdoor classroom day last Thursday! We were very lucky with the weather and we headed out on a nature walk to make our journey sticks. We had some drift wood and as we were walking we looked out for things to stick to our journey stick like – leaves, grass, flowers, twigs and moss. We also gathered extra pieces to make lovely decorations when we got back to school. It was a great day and thank you Shane for organising the day. 

Just before mid-term we were presented with a cheque from Wedges MMC. On the 22nd July they held their annual motorcycle run in memory of Noel Dwyer aka Wedge and this year they chose St. Cecilia’s School as their charity. On Friday 26th October Donagh and Tommy presented us with a cheque for 2985 euro.  We are very grateful for their contribution to the playground and want to say thank you to one and all.