Monthly Archives: April 2021

30/04/2021 There was such excitement here today! * We marked our entry into Fittest School with a hang tough and wall sit challenge for our children! 6th class are a determined bunch and Kaydie championed in hang tough while Sophia and Niall tied for first place after ten minutes in the wall sit! Best of luck to Mr. Breen, Ms. Morris, Ms. D’Arcy and Ella’s Dad Stephen , who will compete tomorrow. Pictured is Ella representing her Dad when we cheered the team on!  

30/04/2021 We had a visitor this morning! As lovely as it was to see a hedgehog during daytime, we know that it is not natural so this little guy is gone to our local vet. Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals. Fingers crossed he will be ok! *Update* The vet says we have the healthiest female hedgehog ever! As you can see, our infants are delighted. We are now giving her some food and will release her back into a hedgerow shortly. 4462dfb7-a6f7-43f3-a1a3-830987468c79 Click on the link above to see our little friend eating his cat food!  

We have been blessed with the recent good weather and have taken advantage of the brilliant learning opportunities outdoors. Planting new plants to attract the pollinators under the watchful eye of one of our neighbours! Look at the happiness and engagement in these photos! We believe that children learn in a variety of ways, through multiple intelligences. We hope to pique their interests and talents through a variety of learning opportunities

Earth Day took place during a very busy week in Scoil Ghormáin Naofa. As a result of lockdown, we have been exploring the benefits of outdoor learning for positive mental well being. Our staff has been delivering the curriculum in a very hands on manner in our developing outdoor classroom. We would like every day to be Earth Day in our school and are currently devising a long term plan to utilise our surroundings for learning. All classes are currently involved in projects based in nature and our environment. Students of all ages have been digging, sowing, raking, planting and watering. Infants to first class have been observing and recording … Continue reading →

23/04/2021 Wow! What a beautiful legacy for Alannah in 6th class to leave our school. Many thanks to Alannah’s dad of Noctor Furniture for our beautifully crafted outdoor classroom blackboards; one for teacher and one for our students to enjoy at breaktime at their height! * Please ensure children are wearing sun screen daily as we will take advantage of outdoor learning opportunities from now on. Sun hats are also permitted. Have a lovely weekend!

We are enjoying exploring the SESE and SPHE (among other subjects) curriculum outdoors. Our children are loving getting their hands dirty as they learn about biodiversity, ecosystems and nature. Updates will be posted to our Outdoor Classroom page. Stay tuned…..  

* The field is a hive of activity for outdoor lessons in SESE and PE. Here is a picture of 6th class enjoying rounders for their PE lesson while 4th/5th were enjoying a different PE lesson on the other pitch. I have been listening to happy chatter all day as I hear our busy students digging, playing with the mud kitchen (right up to 6th class!) and enjoying Aistear outdoors. Long may this weather continue!

* Pictured: Carmel and her husband giving up their free time on Saturday to prepare ground for our meadow area, thank you! Carmel and Finola are working hard on a Biodiversity Champion programme that we will be rolling out over the next few months and into the future. We are really excited about this as it will educate our children from an SESE, SPHE and social citizenship perspective. We hope that their hands-on involvement will teach them more than any book can! * Also pictured: our students cooking up a feast in the mud kitchen, I think it is vegan day!  

A lovely surprise on non uniform day – a gift of Bodibro hoodies and half zips from our super Parents’ Association! Wear them well, 6th class! #graduation  

We think our school looks so vibrant with the new paintwork and some lovely additions to our outdoor classroom, thanks to  Alison and Lucas’ mum Fiona! The field was dry today and the children really enjoyed playing football on the grass and using their little imaginations in the woodland.