During September, we spent a lot of time talking about classifying animals, and understanding the categories that scientists typically separate animals into. 
Finally, we did some exploring of our own; studying a selection of creatures. The fish got the most attention, with some children really enjoying getting their hands in and exploring the gills, teeth, and innards! But the adventurous ants, with their attempts to escape their viewing box!, and the spider came a close second!
​Afterwards we noted our observations in our science notebooks.

One of our first acts as Fifth Classers was to help Aoife in the set-up of the ICT Suite. Aoife had just taken delivery of 30 brand new chromebooks, and we got to be the ones to unbox them and take them for a test drive!

In history we have been learning about the Bronze Age. We learnt how they  smelted copper and tin and discovered a new stronger metal called bronze. We also learned that they made clay pots called Beakers. We made our own Beaker Pots with clay, we decorated them in a bronze age style, painted them and glossed them. Check out our pictures below.

We visited the Citywest Hotel last week. We spent time at the golf club practicing putting indoors and outdoors on the putting green. We also got the chance to  drive the golf ball through hoops. We learned about the golf course from Johnathan and we watched golfers play the 18th hole. After golf we visited one of the hotels restaurants where we enjoyed juice and a treat. It was a lovely afternoon. We really enjoyed our  visit and  we are invited back from more golf in June!

In science and geography we have been learning about bridges. We researched different types of bridges and looked at famous bridges from around the world. As part of our home learning we designed our own suspension bridges.
We then co-operated in groups to build bridges based on our designs. See pictures below of us working together and the finished products. We were are all very proud that every bridge we made was able to hold weight!

Co-operating together to build our bridges.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been discussing the importance of friendship in our class. We did a really fun activity with all to show how we are all connected in different ways, through our shared interests, our shared cultures, our neighbourhoods and our shared talents.

In PE we have been practicing relays. We learned to pass the baton to our partner while the two runners are moving. We have worked hard to improve our running skills and Aisling is delighted with the improvements.

Throughout November we have been engaged in the writing process. This is along process that involves planning, editing, drafting and publishing our stories. With help from Stephen and Ruth we have finished our creative writing stories. They are in a folder in our library so we can share them with our classmates. We began typing the stories during our laptop time. 

See pictures  below.

We had great fun programming Beebots around the Beebot maps. We worked in teams to write write the programme and programme the Beebots to go where we wanted them to go.
​We are always learning new words and adding them to our 'Word Wall'. We play a fun game called 'Vobaculary' to help us remember the meanings of  all our new words

The last week of this half term has been very busy in fourth class. We finally got to put all our debate preparation in to practice. We divided the class in two four teams and two debates were held. One was supervised by Stephen and one was supervised by Aisling. The theme of the debate was, Technology and Robots. We heard some very interesting arguments in favour of and against humans developing robots. 
In science we have been learning that heat is a source of energy and we have been learning about insulators and conductors. We carried out two experiments. One experiment tested materials to see if they conducted or insulated heat. In the other experiment we investigated what happens to air when it is heated. 
In history we have been learning about the Celtic festival of Halloween. We learned that lots of Halloween customs today can be traced back to Ireland. We really enjoyed playing  traditional Halloween games. See slide show below.

We are very happy to have our PE hall up and running again.  This month in PE we are learning how to play badminton . We really enjoyed working in pairs to develop our hand eye co-ordination and our striking skills. We learned that in badminton, foot skills are really important also so we spent sometime practicing side stepping on our toes. Have a look at us play below:

We had great fun learning about Dublin through maps last week. We worked in pairs to locate different attractions throughout Dublin city. We explored the North and South of the River Liffey. Each one of us then chose a special attraction to research and we made posters using persuasive language and pictures. The purpose of our posters is to encourage everyone to explore Dublin and all the city has to offer.