We marked Green Schools Action Day in a number of ways including:
wearing green, walking/cycling to school, planting pollinator bulbs in the pitch, litter picking, going for a whole school walk, doing climate/biodiversity themed lessons and making pledges to do better for the planet.
There was also a cherry tree planting ceremony to mark the occasion in a lasting way.
Mrs Murphy and the Junior & Senior Infants got our Green Flag for travel flying high last week!
Our school garden has been beautifully transformed thanks to the hard work of Louise and Breda.
It is well worth stopping by to have a look at what will be a lovely space for the school children to use.
The classes are part of the Green School Travel Flag application and is supported by An Taisce.
Science Investigations:
Living Things– Plants & Animals – observing and identifying a variety of living things in the environment.
https://www.herbertstownns.ie/2016/09/28/detectives-work-herbertstown-ns/
Living Things – Plants & animals -Senior infants & first- becoming aware of life cycle of common animals
Living Things – Plant & Animal life – 5th & 6th class – investigating the factors which contribute to plant growth – Sow &Grow project; growing runner beans and baby carrots.
Energy & Forces – Magnetism & Electricity- 3rd & 4th class – investigating current electricity by constructing simple circuits.
https://www.herbertstownns.ie/2017/03/10/bright-sparks-3rd-4th-class/
Materials – Properties and characteristics of materials – identify which materials are useful for absorbing water.
Energy & Forces – Sound – 5th & 6th class – explore how sound travels through materials – using a metal clothes hanger, pupils tested how sound travelled through timber vs metal.
Energy & Forces – Forces – Floating and Sinking (Junior Infants investigate which objects will float in water and which will sink)
Materials – Materials & Change – 5th & 6th class investigate how two materials react when mixed together. Creation of cornflour slime.
Environmental Awareness & Care– 5th & 6th class – Study of Water Cycle – investigation of condensation, evaporation, precipitation, collection, water vapour.
Materials – Materials & Change – 5th & 6th class – investigation into the effects of water on metals – rusting. Identifying areas in the school environment where rust is an issue.
Green Flag – Water – Whole school effort in conserving water both at home and in school.
https://www.herbertstownns.ie/2017/03/22/world-water-day/
Accelerated Reader Programme – The school purchased a suite of Microsoft Surface computers to aid learning in the school. One of the most successful applications of these tablet computers has been their use to aid the implementation of the Accelerated Reader programme in the school. Pupils read books (from the school library or books at home) and use the tablet computers to visit the Accelerated Reader website and complete quizzes on the books they have read. They can also access information on their previous results in quizzes, the amount of words they have read and view suggested titles.
Graphing results:
In order to present the findings of their survey of tea habits in Herbertstown, the pupils of 5th class used Microsoft Excel to create graphs. These graphs were then in posters which were on display at the Fair.
Design & make – Construction of bottle rockets.
Investigate engineering in local area – water tower. Pupils undertook a field trip to the local water tower where an engineer explained how the tower worked.
Tally Charts – Tally charts were used by the pupils of 5th and 6th class when compiling information on their projects for the RDS Science Fair. The 5th class surveyed parents on their tea preferences and the 6th class surveyed pupils on their attitudes towards hurling helmets. (the tallies of the tea survey were then used to create graphs using Microsoft Excel).
Math Trail – 5th & 6th class – Maths trail on school grounds with an emphasis on 2D & 3D shapes, symmetry, counting & numeration, fractions & decimals and data collection.
Investigation of symmetry – 3rd & 4th class – exploration of symmetry in the school environment.