Party Time!

Friday was a bittersweet day for our class but it was a day that we all enjoyed and won't forget in a hurry.  Thanks to all those who baked so many delicious treats for us to enjoy, especially to Katie and her Mum for the very special cake!

Ballyhass Lakes

This year's school tour took place last Thursday. We went to Ballyhass lakes and had a wonderful time. We all went kayaking and then some of us went abseiling while others faced their fears and did a Leap of Faith. Ballyhass Lakes - We Came, We Saw, We Conquered!

Kayaking Fun

Amazing Abseiling

Leap of Faith

Maths Fun!

This week we had a lovely Maths lesson. We had different stations and at each one we focused on a different aspect of Maths. We discovered Nets of 3D shapes for ourselves, solved 3D shape problems, practiced long multiplication and explored tangrams! We all agreed it was very enjoyable!

Reading Buddies

Last Monday our class began the very important task of helping some of Senior Infants with their reading. We were very impressed with the excellent reading and we really enjoyed helping them. We look forward to doing more reading in the next few weeks and getting to know some Senior Infants. 

Cor Fhéile 2014

Last night Ranganna 4 performed in the historical City Hall. The tradition of allowing schools to perform on stage has been going on for over 60 years. The children performed brilliantly. They played 2 tin-whistle tunes (This Old Man & Frère Jacques) and 2 songs (An bhfaca tú mo Sheamuisín & Pompeii by Bastille). 

Well done buachaillí agus cailíní. Maith Sibh!

Here are the children during one of our performances for the rest of the school. 

Seachtain an Gaeilge

We had a very busy week this week, with plenty of activities to mark Seachtain an Gaeilge 2014. 

Well done to our class team, who got third place in the final of Tráth an gCeist.  Maith thú!

Bhí an-spórt agus craic againn inniu ag an gcéilí sa chúirt cispheile. Bhí ár rang ar fheabhas ar fad. Bhíomar ag damhsa Ballaí Luimní agus an Siege of Ennis. Maith thú gach duinne!

Readathon

Check out our Star Readers during the Readathon!

Well done to you both and to all of the class who increased their reading during the school Readathon!

Spring

We have already had a busy spring!There has been Pancake Tuesday, the school Readathon, the raising of our Green Flag for Energy and a trip to the Opera House to see the Theatre production of War Horse by Michael Morpurgo!  

Today we made the most of the beautiful spring weather and had our PE lesson outside!Long may it last!

The History of Ballinora NS

Ballinora NS is steeped in history and we are doing group projects all about our school. We are interviewing any Granny's or Grandads who went to school here, doing models of what the school looked like when it was first built and what it will look like after our new extension! We are also studying old roll books to see what interesting information we could find there. Here are some pictures of us studying old roll books and also an 'Inspectors Observation Book'.

Nelson Mandela

We have worked really hard on writing a biography about Nelson Mandela.  We learned so much about this man who made history in South Africa by becoming the country's first black president and fighting against apatheid laws.  Here is an example of one of the many excellent biographies that we wrote.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born 18 July 1918. At that time nobody knew what he was going to accomplish in life. He was born in Mvesco Transkei South Africa.

Mandela’s father was tribe chief for several years when he lived a normal South African boy’s life. Unfortunately Mandela’s father died so the family lost everything.  They had to travel many miles to go to an English school suggested by his father. He had to live with his father’s friend. He had a son called Justice who was his best friend going to school. When he went to the school his name was changed from Rolihlahla to Nelson. In English Rolihlahla means trouble maker.

After he had finished primary school he enrolled in University Fort Hare.

He studied law.  One of his friends there was Oliver Tambo.  He left the university in 1939 when he was in second year.  He left after student protests because of the way it was run.  When he got home his family had chosen a wife for him.  He did not want an arranged marriage so he left for the city of Johannesburg.  He continued his studies and he became a lawyer in 1942. When Mandela was growing up in South Africa black people didn’t have the same rights as white people so Mandela joined the A.N.C (African National congress).  The A.N.C wanted black South Africans the to have the same human rights as white people. In 1948 the white government made a new law which kept white people and black people apart this was called apartheid. 

In 1960 there were demonstrations where sixty nine black people were shot dead. The government blamed the A.N.C and banned it. Mandela became the leader of ‘Spear of the Nation’. He was hunted down by the police and had to wear different disguises.  Secretly he travelled to other countries to find help.  1962 when he got back he was arrested of sabotage and plotting to over throw the government. In 1964 at the age of 46, he was given a life sentence.  Mandela was sent to prison on Robben Island. He had to do hard labour there and was only allowed one visitor every six months.  Mandela became the most famous prisoner, he never gave up even the prison guards admired him.  At last in 1988 the government started to make changes.  One of the changes was to let black people into white universities. The call was getting louder.  Free Nelson Mandela!!! In 1990 FW de Clerk set Mandela free they agreed no more fighting.  Mandela called on all South Africans to work together in peace. In 1991 Mandela became the leader of the A.N.C. In 1994 elections, all South Africans were able to vote for the first time.  In 1994 a new government took over Nelson Mandela became the first black president.

Nelson Mandela died 5^th December 2013. Nelson Mandela was an extremely brave man and many look up to him all across the world.

Silhouettes

Check out the silhouettes we made!  We used pictures, words and symbols that we felt best represented ourselves. We wanted to portray things that we liked, hobbies we enjoy, important dates and personality traits.  Can you guess who these silhouettes might belong to?

Cork County Hall

In November we paid a visit to Cork County Hall.  It was a wonderful experience.  We saw an Art Exhibition entitled 'Encounters.'  This consisted of pieces of art that were from the North and South of Ireland.  We used the exhibition as inspiration for creating our own pieces of art.  We also got a tour of the County Hall.  We visited the top floor and got a spectacular view of the city.  We then went to visit the Council chambers.  There we had a debate about how best to spend 1 million euro in Ballinora!

Choosing the right book!

This should help you to choose a book that is just right for you...

Sensory Gardens

Here are some of the beautiful sensory gardens that we created at the beginning of the year!It is wonderful what can be done with a little imagination and some everyday things. Each garden contained something that was special to its gardener!

Jack & the Dragon

We have been working very hard on writing our own fairytales.  Here is a wonderful example of what we can do...

                JACK AND THE DRAGON

Once upon a time there lived a boy called Jack. He grew up living as a poor beggar boy for the first nine years of his life. Every day he went out onto the lonely street begging the people who passed by for money for his family.

There were four people in his family, his Gran, his Mum, his sister Molly and him. Jack’s Dad had died when Jack was very young, so Jack had had to take on a lot of responsibility. His Gran was very sick so his Mum stayed at home minding her most of the time, and his sister Molly was six and was very stubborn so she wasn’t much help.

 

Every morning Jack went out into the village centre begging for money. If he was lucky he would get three or four pence a day. A wizard called Elzibar came to their village last year from abroad and was made the king. The wizard, Elzibar, was the cause of Jack’s life changing forever. 

One day Jack was in his usual place asking for money when he saw a poster stapled onto a pole. It read: 

ATTENTION

THE KING OF OUR VILLAGE ELZIBAR HAS HAD A VERY IMPORTANT WATCH HE POSSESES STOLEN BY THE WELL KNOWN DRAGON, ALTIDORE

and at the end it read:

REWARD FOR RETURNING THE WATCH £100.

£100 might not sound that much of a reward for risking your life against a fierce dragon nowadays, but when Jack was growing up it was a lot of money. You could probably buy the whole village with that much money. Jack was determined to get that reward. He knew where Altidore would be hiding the watch, in his den about a mile from the village.

He knew his Mum would refuse to let him go so he decided to go without her knowing. The next day he woke up extra early so he could be gone before the rest of his family woke. He had been up late the night before sharpening some stones. He wasn’t sure that they were a threat but they were better than nothing. 

 

When he got up the following morning he realized that most people were already up and about. He went out of the house, ready for his quest, unnoticed. He got everything he needed and set off on the wild journey ahead of him. 

Altidore’s den was in sight. Jack felt a shiver go up his spine as he walked closer to the den. He tried to overcome his fear of a fire-breathing dragon burning him into ashes and stepped into the cave. It was dark and cold inside and there were skeletons of animals everywhere and even one or two human skeletons! He could even hear the snoring of Altidore. Jack was shaking with fear but he remembered why he was doing this. He was doing it for his family.

He turned a corner and saw the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. There were piles and piles of gold, jewels and all types of treasures. Jack looked at it in delight and then his face dropped as he realized why he was here, and what he was going to face. He looked at the pile thinking that the wizard’s watch must be somewhere in that big, shiny mountain. He would have taken it all if he could have carried it. 

He ever so quietly tiptoed over to the pile of gold when suddenly there was a small crack. He had stepped on a twig and it had snapped. Then out of the darkness he saw a big, red, bloodshot eye open. Jack knew it was the dragon Altidore, but he did not know what to do. Should he run away like a coward or should he fight the dragon and probably come to a nasty end? He made his mind up quickly as he ran, charging at the dragon.

Altidore reacted fast as he scooped the little boy up into his hand. 

“You’ll make a nice dinner” he said, as he threw Jack carelessly into a cage. 

The dragon was enormous. He had red, scaly skin with two small hands and two immense feet. He had two horns on the top of his enormous head. As Altidore walked back to where he was sleeping and curled into a ball, Jack realized that he could easily fit through the bars of the cage because he was so skinny. 

When Jack heard the loud snoring that he had heard when he had entered the cave, starting again, he easily fitted through the bars and was free. Then very quietly Jack walked over to the big mountain and started rummaging through the large pile of gold.

Jack glanced at the dragon to make sure he was still asleep. He noticed that he was holding onto something. When Jack took a closer look he saw that it was the wizard’s watch tucked under the dragon’s left arm! Jack was really scared now. He was about to try and pull a little watch out from under a 17 foot dragon without waking it!

Unfortunately, just as Jack was after pulling the watch from the dragon and was walking away in delight, the snoring stopped. He turned around slowly and saw a huge figure towering over him. The dragon took the watch and then picked up Jack and put him in a room with nothing but brick walls and a steel door. 

“Ha! Let’s see you get out of this one,” Altidore remarked as he shut the door.

Jack kicked the wall in frustration. 

“Ow!” he yelled.

But the brick in the wall was loose, actually all the bricks were loose as they were probably centuries old. Jack knocked out a few more bricks and got out of the seemingly impossible trap. 

He was back in front of the dragon and for the second time as Jack was trying to take the watch from the sleeping dragon, Altidore awoke. But this time Altidore was so angry that he started stomping on the floor. Then the floor fell in and the dragon disappeared down a big black hole! The watch and the big mound of gold fell in with him. Jack stared down the hole realizing that the watch was gone forever and with it his chance of the £100 reward.

Jack walked home lonely and sad. When he got back to the village Elzibar was waiting for him. Then Jack realized that the whole village was waiting for him. His Mum was right in the front row of people.

“Oh Jack, I was so worried. Why did you run off?” she cried.

“I had to. We are so poor and £100 could keep us going for a very long time,” he said.

Jack was expecting her to punish him but surprisingly she said, “I’m very proud of you Jack. That was a very brave thing to do.”

Then Elzibar interrupted her by saying,

“Jack, you are a very committed and brave little boy and for that the £100 is yours.”

“But I didn’t get the watch,” Jack said. 

“Yes but you killed the feared dragon Altidore that has been haunting our village for the last 7 decades. Isn’t that enough?”

Jack could not believe what he had just heard.

When Jack was given his reward, he spent it on a big house for his family and was able to buy whatever they needed. His Gran was now so comfortable that she soon recovered from her illness.

Altidore was never seen again and everyone lived happily ever after.

THE END

Lifetime Lab Maths Workshop

The lifetime lab paid a visit to our school so we could learning about solving Maths problems that aren't just written in our books!We had great fun using reason, logic and obviously our vast Mathematical knowledge to solve these problems.  We even did one blindfolded!  We had to work together and write reports on each problem we solved and learned that Maths is about so much more than just the problems we find in our books.

 

It was a wonderful learning experience and we look forward to solving more problems like these.

Venetian Masks

We have spent the last couple of weeks studying Venetian masks and looking for inspiration for our own designs. It took us 2 weeks to design, paint and decorate our masks and I think you will agree that the finished products are very impressive!  Pop in to see the display for yourself outside our door. We are very proud of them.