The pupils of third and fourth class designed and constructed the rockets using a variety of materials. Their designs were inspired by prior study of The Space Race and the International Space Station. Each rocket was graded in terms of appearance/design and its performance in flight. These scores were provided by the pupils of fifth and six class. The winning group was group 3!
Today we came into school like normal. When everyone was in, Mrs. Heelan told us to clean off our tables. We had no idea why but she just said it was a surprise. After we cleared up everything she announced we were having a visitor. We’ve had all sports people coming to us but today we were having someone teach us chess. His name was John Alfred and he knew quite a lot about it. Some people knew how to play chess but some people had no idea how to do it.
He hd a big leather board which he hung on the wall and he also had some plastic chess pieces which he slotted onto the board. He taught us some history about the game. He then took some flat boards and pieces out of his bag. We were sorted into pairs and told how the pieces worked and what we could do with them. First we learned about the pawns. The pawns could only move forward and take diagonally. If they made it to the other side of the board it could turn into any other piece apart from the King. Then we learned about the Queen. This piece can be moved in any direction as far as it wants. We learned about the Rook and Bishop next. The rook can only be moved forwards, backwards and sideways. The bishop is a completely different story and can only be moved diagonally. Next we learned about the most complicated piece on the board, the Knight. The knight is unusual because it moves in L shapes. It is also the only piece that can jump other pieces. Last but not least the King. The king can only move one space at a time in any direction. It also can’t be captured. You must checkmate it to win. All the pieces have different points and probabilities:
Pawn =1 point
Bishop = 3 points
Knight = 3 points
Rook = 5 points
Queen = 9 points
King = The Game
We played a couple of games after this against each other. He stayed with us until 12 o’clock. And overall I found it quite fun and I’m sure everyone else did. We all said thanks to John and left. After this day we’re ordering a couple of own chess sets to play with in school. Chess is a great, unique game that I love and I hope you like it too.
Darragh Connaughton, Sixth Class
One pupil from each classroom was selected by their class teacher and the award winners were presented with certificates at today’s assembly. They were also given a night off homework for their efforts!
Today, Michael Sheehan from GAA Rounders visited the school to take 3rd to 6th class through some of the basics of the game. Michael plans to visit the school once again next week to build on the start made today. The children really enjoyed running the bases and practising ball handling and teamwork. Rounders was once a popular sport in the school and in local community games and the hope is that with a better understanding of the rules the school will be in a position to promote the game properly.
Here are some photos from this afternoon.
Some of the nice work of our Junior Infants during September.
Second & Third class were busy during September creating some very nice work during art.
The school have just purchased a wide variety of new sports equipment thanks to the funds generated by our pupils who participated in the UL Sport Kids Run for Fun. The equipment is varied and caters for many sports and physical activities. The new gear will benefit every pupil in the school from youngest to oldest. Thanks again to everyone that participated in April and made this purchase possible.
The sessions are being thoroughly enjoyed by pupils from juniors to 6th class. They will serve as a great boost to interest in soccer in the school. In the coming weeks our pupils will take part in the Primary Futsal tournament in Cappamore. In the last term, our senior pupils will participate in the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s.
Our pupils may only be back a short few weeks but they have been busy on the football field already. There has been some great attendances at both boys and girls after school training sessions.
On Monday our girls team travelled to Martinstown to compete in the South INTO mini football sevens. The boys attended their sevens tournament earlier today. Both teams put in some excellent performances and did the school proud. It’s back to the training field again now ahead of the 11-a-side blitzes in a couple of weeks.
