.Ms. .O'Grady's ."Sparkling Bubbles"
.Welcome .to .our .Class .Blog.
Scroll down to see some snippets of what we've been doing in 4th and 5th Class!
June
End of Year Ice-cream treats
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream!!
Sports Week
Obstacle Course
Wellie Throw
Clothes Line
Water Race
Bean Bag Balance Race
Shuttle Run
Sprints
Egg and Spoon Race
Art
Ice-Cream Art
Summer Penguins
Zentangle Pineapples
Fun Day
We didn't get to go on our usual school tour this year but instead we had a 'Fun Day' in Ballymitty N.S. Here are some photos from our 'Fun Day'. We even got a special visit from Mr. Mac in his ice-cream van.
Irish Games
We really enjoyed playing games during our Irish lessons this year to practice all of the new vocabulary and phrases.
Rounders
May
Obstacle Course
We made the most of the beautiful weather and enjoyed some time outside taking part in an obstacle course and playing tug of war and swing ball.
Inclusion and Diversity Week
We had our first ever 'Inclusion and Diversity Week' in Ballymitty N.S. We completed lots of different activities to become aware of our similarities and difference.
'DiversiT-shirts'
Trust Challenges
Celebrate Difference, Celebrate Us Artwork
Our art lesson was based on the quote : 'Celebrate Difference, Celebrate Us'. We collaborated with Ms. Foley's 2nd & 3rd and Ms. Foley's 5th & 6th Class.
Word Challenge
We were challenged to make the word 'Diversity' using our bodies. Here is our attempt.
Art
Funky Turtles
Hot Air Balloons
April Showers
3D Shapes
This month in Maths we were learning all about the properties of 3D Shapes.
P.E.
As usual we had lots of fun during our weekly P.E. lessons.
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April
In 4th and 5th Class we were very lucky to have Ms. Byrne as our teacher for a few weeks during her teaching practice. She did lots of exciting lessons with us and we had lots of fun too.
Art with Ms. Byrne
We explored the technique 'printing' with Ms. Byrne. First, we drew silhouettes. Next, we used markers to colour on a sheet of tinfoil. Then, we wet the sheet of tinfoil using a spray bottle. Finally, we placed the tinfoil on top of our silhouettes and pressed it down to create a colourful background.
Water Cycle
For Geography we were exploring the 'Water Cycle'. We learned about the four different stages and created our own 'Water Cycles' using water, food colouring and zip lock bags. We played a 'Water Cycle' matching game and made 'Water Cycle' posters.
S.P.H.E.
We enjoyed 'Circle Time' outside in the sunshine with Ms. Byrne.
English
This month we were learning about 'Narrative Writing'. We started to create our own settings and characters. We shared our writing with the class by using our 'Authors Chair'.
Maths
4th Class were exploring the topic of 'Capacity' in Maths. We went on a 'Capacity Hunt' around the school with Ms. Byrne.
History
For history Ms. Bryne taught us all about the Renaissance. For art we put on our thinking caps and recreated the 'Mona Lisa'.
G.A.A.
We are so excited to have Lloyd back for P.E. every Friday morning. Here we are playing 'Cups and Saucers' and practising our football skills.
Autism Awareness Week
During April we celebrated 'Autism Awareness' in our school. We had a no uniform day to raise money for AsIam. In the senior end of the school we had a poster competition. Click here to watch a video of all the wonderful posters that we created.
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March
Easter Bunny Art
Easter Egg Hunt
We had lots of fun searching for eggs and solving some riddles to find some Easter treats.
St. Patrick
We were back in school just in time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We explored the history of St. Patrick and how St. Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world.
Leprechaun Art
Creative Writing
We completed some St. Patrick's Day themed creative writing.
Fundamental Movement Skills
This month we were practising the skill of 'catching'.
English
Our writing genre for this month was 'Procedural Writing'. We wrote our own recipes and instructions. Here we are giving our partners 'step by step' instructions to draw 'pineapples' and 'dinosaurs'. We found this task really tricky. We had to give lots of specific instructions to our partners.
Mountains of Ireland
This month for Geography we were learning about the Mountains and Mountain Ranges in Ireland. We completed some Atlas Hunts. Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland. It is part of the Macgillycuddy Reeks in Co. Kerry.
Mothers Day Art
World Book Day Online
Here are some pictures of our 'World Book Day' Activities.
Book Collages
World Book Day Winners
Book Reviews and Book Cover Designs.
Parts of a Flower
For Science we were learning about the different parts of a flower. We drew some diagrams and labelled each part of the flower.
Spring and Viking Art
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February
Pancake Tuesday
Did you know Pancake Tuesday is celebrated all over the world? Every country has different 'Pancake Tuesday' traditions. In England they have pancake races. Pancake Tuesday is also known as 'Shrove Tuesday' which is the start of Lent. Pancake Tuesday in Irish is 'Máirt na hInide'.
Valentine's Day
We were busy celebrating Valentine's Day on Seesaw this year. We completed lots of Valentine's Day themed activities. We learned about the history of St. Valentine and Valentine's traditions in Ireland and around the world.
Heart Stem Challenge
Ms. O'Grady asked us to complete a 'Heart STEM' challenge. We made hearts using whatever materials we had at home. Here are some of our very creative hearts.
Valentines Day Art
On zoom we followed step by step instructions to create these Romero Britto inspired heart scenes.
Ms. O'Grady gave us a Valentine's Day art Choice Board on Seesaw. We got to choose which piece we'd like to draw.
Chinese New Year
We were busy learning about 'Chinese New Year' and the New year traditions. Chinese New Year is a really big celebration in China. It is celebrated for 16 days. This year Chinese New Year was on the 12th of February.
Chinese New Year Zodiac
Each year there is a different zodiac animal. The zodiac animals come from the Chinese Legend of the 'Great Race'. This year is the year of the pig.
Chinese Lions
During our weekly zoom we created these Chinese Lions.
Chinese Crafts
We followed step by step instructions to make some papers fans and lanterns.
St. Brigid's Day
We celebrated St. Brigid's day on the first of February. We read the story of the Legend of St. Brigid's Cloak and we made our own St. Brigid's Day crosses using paper and rushes.
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January
In January we were back to online learning. We were busy beavers on 'Seesaw'.
U.S.A.
During online learning we learned all about the U.S.A. and the presidential election. We even wrote our own inauguration speeches. We completed some U.S.A. themed art.
Catholic Schools Week and Grandparent's Day
This year we celebrated 'Catholic Schools Week' and 'Grandparent's Day' online. We wrote poems for our Grandparents and made them a card. Have a look at some of the things we created.
World War One
During January, we explored the events of World War One. We also read the novel 'Billy the Kid' which was set during World War One. Here is some W.W.I. art that we created.
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December
It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!
The countdown to Christmas has begun in 4th and 5th Class and there is definitely lots of Christmas Cheer in our Classroom.
It's Nearly Christmas Time
Click here to listen to our performance of the song 'Nearly Christmas'.
Click here to watch the video of our Christmas Prize Giving in 4th and 5th Class.
Ms. O'Grady's 4th and 5th Class are proud to present to you "A Covid Christmas!"
For the past few weeks there has been lots of excitement in our classroom. We all put on our 'Drama Hats' and we were busy learning our lines. Some of us even took a journey to Dáil Éireann, more headed to Áras an Uachtaráin and the rest landed in the North Pole.
Please CLICK HERE to watch our version of "A Covid Christmas". We really hope you enjoy our performance!
We had great fun using the 'Green Screen' App to put our performance together.
We had a special preview of our play in class.
Frosty the Snowman
This week for art we created these funky snowmen using watercolour resist and markers. We learned how to make our markers 'bleed' by gently rubbing our wet paintbrushes over the marker line.
We also made some Christmas cards for our families.
Christmas Traditions Around the World
We have been exploring Christmas Traditions from around the world. Here are some pictures of our projects.
Santa Walk
We really enjoyed our 'Santa Walk' around our school and church.
Special Delivery
On Monday the 30th of November, there was a special delivery from the North Pole waiting in our classroom. There was an elf hiding inside! We named him 'SNICKER DOODLE!!'. He has been in quarantine since he arrived but he has still got up to plenty of mischief!! Here are some pictures of Snicker Doodle.
Our Special Delivery
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
A Christmas Pallet
We were busy beavers this week painting our Christmas Pallet. A big WELL DONE to all the boys and girls in 4th and 5th class for creating this MASTERPIECE!
Here are some pictures from our process of turning a plain wooden pallet into a wonderful Christmas Nativity Silhouette. A big THANK YOU to Conor for cutting out our star.
Christmas Art
We're Driving Home for Christmas!
We had great fun creating these Christmas themed cars.
Christmas Tree Bauble Art
Advent
Sunday the 29th of November was the start of Advent. We explored the meaning of Advent and also the different meanings for each candle on the Advent wreath. We made a class Advent Wreath.
Fundamental Movement Skills
This week we had our last Fundamental Movement session with Lloyd until January. He organised a 'Bench Ball' tournament for us. Ms. O'Grady even joined in with us today to make sure the teams were even. Her glasses nearly made a trip across the basketball court. Ms. O'Grady's team were the winners and Katie's team were a close second place.
Last week Lloyd challenged us with a 'Skipping Olympics'. Lloyd was fantastic at showing us how to skip. We tried to see how many skips we could do in a row, had a skipping race, tried out different ways to skip and we also had a skipping relay.
December Birthdays
Happy 10th Birthday to Holly, Dea and Daniel and Happy 11th Birthday to Laura!
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November
November was another busy month for the 'Sparkling Bubbles'. We were busy learning about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Space and lots lots more. The highlight of November was Science Week!!
Space
During the month of November we explored the theme of 'Space' for S.E.S.E. and Art.
First, we learned about the Sun and the Earth and how we have 'Day and Night' and 'Seasons'. We discovered that the sun affects our climate. There are three different types of climates: Tropical Climates, Temperate Climates and Polar Climates. In Ireland we have a Temperate Climate.
Then, we explored the 'Goldilocks Zone'. This is a region in space where the conditions are 'just right' for supporting life. Earth is in the 'Goldilocks Zone'.
Finally, we learned about 'The Space Race'. America and Russia raced against each other to get to space first! Russia sent Laika the dog to space. She was the first animal to reach space. Russian Yuri Gargarin was the first human in space and Russian Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. The Russians achieved many 'firsts' in the space race. However, America were the first to land people on the Moon. The Apollo 11 brought Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon. The space race between America and Russia might have ended, but a new kind of space race is still happening. Companies around the world are competing to be the first to provide tourist trips into space for ordinary people.
By 4th Class
Clay Aliens and Monsters
Step 1: Moulding our piece of clay into a ball.
Step 2: We turned our ball of clay into pinch pot by putting our thumbs into the clay and pinching the clay out. We then squashed it down to turn it into a mouth.
Step 3: We made facial features for our monsters and aliens. We had to use the techniques of 'scoring' and 'slipping' to make sure our pieces were attached securely to our alien / monster mouths.
Step 4: Painting our clay.
By Ellie
In a Galaxy Far, Far Away
We created space themed images using chalk and oil pastels. We used the smudging technique to make our planets look 3D. We had small planets, big planets and colourful planets! We put all sorts of interesting things in the background e.g. shooting stars, astronauts and even spaceships! All of our 'Outer Space' scenes looked so unique especially with the 'splatter painted' stars. They really looked magical! We all had so much fun painting them and after all our hard work they looked amazing!!
By Muireann and Laura.
Confirmation
In 5th Class we are busy preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation. We have started our scrapbooks and we've completed our first piece of Confirmation Art.
In November We Remember
Here is our 4th and 5th Class 'Garden of Remembrance'.
Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King
This month we learned about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King and their amazing achievements. Rosa Parks was a woman who fought for Civil Rights. We listened to an audio book and a song about Rosa's life. Did you know she was taken to prison for twenty-four hours? She was arrested because she sat in the white section of a bus! Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King organised the 'Montgomery Bus Boycott'. During the boycott 40,000 people refused to go on the local buses for 381 days. That's a lot of people! We don't even have 200 people in our school. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King are two amazing heroes. We enjoyed every second learning about them. (By Ellie & Muireann)
Here is a picture of our Rosa Parks Fact Files. They are hiding inside the buses.
Inspired by Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" Speech, we discussed our own hopes and dreams for the future. We then created an "I have a dream" piece of art. Click here to listen to his speech.
Science Week
This week in school it was Science Week. We did lots of fun activities. Ms. O'Grady had Science Experiment Stations organised for us and we carried out a different science experiment each day in our pods. We even watched some 'Virtual Science Shows'.
Please click here to watch a video of our Science Week Experiments
On Tuesday, Ms. O'Grady did a trick for us. She got a puppet called Síofra, a match box and a shoe box. She lifted up the box with one finger and it balanced but when Síofra was there it fell over. To see the trick please watch our 'Science Week' video above. Dr. Matt from the Virtual Show showed us how to do the trick. Can you guess how we did it? (By Dea)
To finish off a fantastic week of science we had a 'Science Week' Kahoot quiz and we made a mess on the basketball court before we went home by putting mentos in Diet Coke. The Coke Exploded!!
Station 1: Fruity Sweets Colour Mixing
We placed Skittles around the outside of a plate. We then poured some warm water onto the plate. We discussed how the shells of the coloured sweets are made from sugar. When sugar is put in warm water, it dissolves. As the colours meet, they mix, creating different colours.
Station 2: Dancing Raisins
We had two cups of water. One contained still water and the other contained fizzy water. We added raisins to both cups. In the still water cup, the raisins sank because the raisins were denser than the water. In the fizzy water cup, the raisins were again denser than the water. However, the bubbles got trapped in the grooves of the raisins, helping them to float back to the surface. When the bubbles popped, the raisins sank back down.
Station 3: Paper Towel Colour Mixing
Using water with food colouring and paper towels we discovered that water moves up the paper towel because the paper is absorbent. It sucks up water. The colour travels with the water making the paper change from white to red, blue or orange. The colours then mixed when they joined together.
Station 4: Fizzy Colours
We made a chemical reaction by mixing the acid (vinegar) and the alkali (bicarbonate of soda). We added food colouring to the vinegar to help us to see the reaction. This station was a little bit smelly! 
Station 4: Firework in a Glass
We filled a tall glass with warm water. In another glass we mixed some oil with food colouring. We then poured the oil and food colouring mixture into the warm water and waited for our fireworks show!
We found out that oil and water don’t mix. Also, oil is less dense than water and therefore, it floated on top of the water. The food colouring we used was water based and it did not mix with the oil, instead it sank through the oil into the water below. Since the addition of the colouring makes the food colouring heavier than the water, it sank to the bottom leaving trails. These trails resembled fireworks.
Station 5: Fun with Density
In cups we measured out the same volume of golden syrup, oil, honey, water, washing up liquid and milk. We added food colouring to our water and milk to make our experiment more colourful. We poured in the honey, golden syrup and washing up liquid into a tall glass. Next, we poured in the water and milk. Finally, we added the oil. We ended up with a rainbow glass!
We discovered that each of the liquids had a different mass, this makes them have different densities. Therefore, one can sit on top of the other – the more dense a liquid is the heavier it is.
Kahoot!
In our pods we took part in a 'Science Week' Kahoot Quiz. The Purple Pod won! The Green Pod came 2nd and the Orange Pod came 3rd.
Virtual Science Shows
The Science Foundation of Ireland hosted some 'Virtual Science Shows' this week. We really enjoyed watching them. Our favourite show was 'Surprising Science with Dr. Matt Pritchard'. We even picked up some magic tricks from Dr. Matt! Watch our Video above to see us trying his 'Shoe Box' trick.
On Wednesday we watched 'The Forensic Science Show with the Junior Einsteins Science Club'. The forensic scientist explained how detectives catch criminals by looking for fingerprints, footprints, saliva, teeth marks, fibre and even hair. They send this evidence to the lab so it can be inspected. (By Nathanael)
Science Experiment Stations ~ Monday
Science Experiment Stations ~ Tuesday
Science Experiment Stations ~ Wednesday
Science Experiment Stations ~ Thursday
Science Experiment Stations ~ Friday
Fundamental Movement Skills
Our new 'Fundamental Movement Skill' for November is 'Skipping'. We are busy learning how to skip.
We practised the skill of 'Skipping' by playing 'Skip and Tip'. We also played a game of 'Baseline'.
We also revised our F.M.S. of 'Dodging' and our G.A.A. skill, 'Hand Passing'. We practised dodging and hand passing by playing 'Olympic Handball' with Lloyd.
November Birthdays
Happy 11th Birthday to Ruby!
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October
Happy Halloween from a very SPOOKY 4th and 5th Class! We had a very exciting last day before Halloween.
Well Done to Danny (4th Class) and Ellie (5th Class) who were the winners of our 'Fancy Dress Competition'.
Puking Pumpkins!
In our pods we cleaned out and carved a pumpkin (with some help from Ms. O'Grady). We then went outside and made some 'Puking Pumpkins' by mixing baking soda, vinegar, washing up liquid and food colouring.
Toilet Roll Mummies
Some of our pupils got turned into Mummies today!! We used some toilet roll to wrap each other up as Mummies. We had one little problem as the toilet paper kept ripping but in the end it all worked out! Which one is your favourite?
Bone Bridge STEM Challenge
Using lollipop sticks, pegs, cotton buds and pipe cleaners we tried to make some 'Bone Bridges'. Look at our amazing creations!
Movie Time
In the afternoon we watched 'The Addams Family' while enjoying some treats.
Halloween Art
We have been doing some very 'SPOOKY' art for the month of October.
The dog ate my HOMEWORK!!!
We have all heard the excuse that 'The dog ate my homework'. This week, a dog DID eat someone's Mental Maths Homework! Meet Boisterous Boots! He brought great giggles to our class bubble this week! 
October Birthdays
Happy 11th Birthday Hannah and Happy 10th Birthday Georgia! 
Friendship Week
Friendship week in our school is always a real treat!!!!
First of all we had a poster competition. Congratulations to Ms. Abbie Nacey (5th Class) and Ms. Dea Kehoe Dos Santos (4th Class) who were the winners from our class. Please click here to watch a video of all the 'FANTASTIC' posters that were created by our class. Speaking of art we also created this beautiful 'Friendship Hand Art'.
"Side by side or miles apart friends are forever close to your heart".
We talked about the traits of a good friend e.g. a good friend is generous, respectful and honest. We also coloured some wonderful Friendship Mindfulness sheets. We then had a walking debate to discuss what is important in friendship.
We finished Friendship week by having a zoom assembly. We were really excited to see all of the other classes. Each class had a 'Friendship' party piece. We sang 'You've Got a Friend In Me' and we recited the poem 'Friendship has no Borders'
We were all very kind this week and we are really looking forward to our next 'Friendship Week'!
By Ellie and Laura
Fundamental Movement Skills
We are all so excited that Lloyd is back to practice our 'Fundamental Movement' skills with us. This month we are practicing the Fundamental Movement Skills of 'Running' and 'Dodging'. Here we are playing 'Baseline' and 'Flush the Toilet'.
National Tree Day
National Tree Day was on the 1st of October. We have been busy learning about different kinds of trees and how they change during the year. We then went outside to find out what types of trees are planted around our school. We received a tree sapling for 'Tree Day'. We are looking forward to watching our tree grow during the year.
We also created these 'Falling Leaves' portraits.
Stretch & Grow
We are all wide awake every Thursday morning after our super work out with Nicola from 'Stretch & Grow'.
Ms. O'Grady and Ms. Rose even join in with us!
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September
We have had a very busy first month back in school. Here a glimpse of what we got up to.
September Birthdays
Happy 10th Birthday Séamas!
Art
In September we focused on different art techniques.
We experimented with water colour techniques and different types of lines to create the Landscape and Leaf art below. Click here to read about the process we followed.
It's hard to see in this photo but we also used different types of lines and shapes to make our colourful backgrounds for these 'Funky Portraits'. Can you figure out who's who?
Maths
In 4th Class we have been busy exploring 'Lines and Angles'. We went on a Maths Trail around the school to find different types of lines and angles.
We also practiced telling the time and we learned about the different types of clocks and units of time.
S.E.S.E. - Schools in the Past
We learned so much about Schools - "Schools: Behind the Scenes", "Schools in the Past" and "School Founders".
We explored the roles of all of the different people who work in our school and we discussed the different services we use every day in school. Can you guess how many people are needed to run our schools and can you name all of the different services used in our schools? We also drew maps of our classroom and created symbols to illustrate the different items and services in our classroom.
We talked about how our classrooms are very different in comparison to classrooms in the past. We looked at some artefacts from schools in the past. We discovered some of the first school founders in Ireland. Nano Nagle set up a primary school for girls in Cork. It was called the Presentation Sisters. Edmund Rice was inspired by Nano. He set up a school in Mount Sion, Waterford for boys. There are still some schools in his memory today. They are C.B.S. and Edmund Rice schools. Did you know the first non-religious school was founded in 1978. It was called the "Dalkey School Project National School". These non-religious schools are now known as "Educate Together National Schools".
By Muireann & Abbie
Yoga
Every Thursday Tina visited our classroom for Chair Yoga.
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First Week Back to School
The pupils in 4th and 5th Class are so excited to be back in school and what a super first week they have all had!
We've been busy washing hands, sanitising, catching up with each other, having fun and learning.
Back to School Activities
Look at the fabulous 'All About Me' and 'Mé Féin' bunting activities that we completed.
Here we are playing a 'Back to School' Board Game which helped us to get to know each other even better!!
Romero Britto Inspired Initials
Have a look at our AMAZING 'Initial Art' inspired by the work of Romero Britto.
The History of Germs and the Importance of Hand Washing
We reminded each other about the importance of washing our hands and we explored the history of 'Germs'. Ignaz Semmelweis was the famous scientist who discovered germs. When he discovered Germs nobody believed him! Other scientists and doctors laughed at him. He even published a book about Germs but people still didn't believe him. Finally, in 1864, 20 years after his death Louis Pasteur confirmed the Germ theory. Semmelweis is now known as the 'Father of Germs'. A stamp was released in Germany as a recognition of his discoveries.
Check back soon for some more updates!
Ms. O'Grady, Ms. Rose and all the boys and girls from 4th and 5th Class.
