Our whole school has been extremely busy this year as we wanted to apply for our fifth D.P.S.M. award. Each class has been working hard at science and Maths. We hope we are successful in achieving this. Here is our application- we hope you enjoy it!
Step 1- Science
Living things- Lungs 5th and 6th Class
Energy and Forces- Magnetic Slime - 5th and 6th Class
Materials- 5th and 6th Class- Emulsions
Environmental Awareness and Care- 3rd Class- Water Cycle
Materials and Change- Senior Infants and 1st Class
Senior Infants and First Class tested different materials to see if they were waterproof. We tested these materials with a basin of water and our hands. Some items that were waterproof were rubber gloves, tin foil and plastic.These materials kept our hands dry. The children discovered that cotton wool, paper and fabric were not waterproof. When these materials were dipped into the basin of water our hands got wet. We talked about the different uses for waterproof materials, such as raincoats, shoes, boots, tents and umbrellas.
Senior Infants and First Class tested different materials to see if they were waterproof. We tested these materials with a basin of water and our hands. Some items that were waterproof were rubber gloves, tin foil and plastic.These materials kept our hands dry. The children discovered that cotton wool, paper and fabric were not waterproof. When these materials were dipped into the basin of water our hands got wet. We talked about the different uses for waterproof materials, such as raincoats, shoes, boots, tents and umbrellas.
Materials/ Energy and Forces- Chemical Reactions- Making Volcanoes 1st and 2nd Class
Visit a DPSM Centre - We are really looking forward to our visit to Ballycroy Visitor Centre on Tuesday 10th of May 2016. Keep following our blog so you can see how we get on!
Step 2 Technology
Technology plays a big part in St. Joseph's N.S. Check out every class blog to see all of the different ways we use technology everyday in the classroom. Each class has one hour of laptops a week. We usually spend this time working on our numeracy and literacy skills or developing PowerPoint Presentations to present to our classmates
Step 3- Engineering
Our Science Week
During Science week we used our science class to complete a design and make activity. We had to create a structure made of spaghetti and tape. It had to hold a marshmallow. First we were separated into groups and tried it out. The two winning teams, including ours, were selected. Both teams went to a competition with our teacher Ms O’Brien in the Mac William. There were many other teams there from different schools. We had forty minutes to make the structure. First and second place went to the tallest two structures and the judges also gave a place to the structure with the most unique design. Sadly we didn’t win but we still had a good day out!
By Áine and Leah
During Science week we used our science class to complete a design and make activity. We had to create a structure made of spaghetti and tape. It had to hold a marshmallow. First we were separated into groups and tried it out. The two winning teams, including ours, were selected. Both teams went to a competition with our teacher Ms O’Brien in the Mac William. There were many other teams there from different schools. We had forty minutes to make the structure. First and second place went to the tallest two structures and the judges also gave a place to the structure with the most unique design. Sadly we didn’t win but we still had a good day out!
By Áine and Leah
Design and Make written by Orlaith Coffey
Experiment: The Egg Drop
Materials: String, balloon, tape, cotton wool and an egg
Step 1: Build a structure with the materials supplied
Step 2: Put the egg in the structure and drop it on the ground
To ensure a fair test: Everyone dropped their structure from the same height
Result: Only one group managed to drop their egg without cracking it. Every other groups' eggs shattered
Experiment: The Egg Drop
Materials: String, balloon, tape, cotton wool and an egg
Step 1: Build a structure with the materials supplied
Step 2: Put the egg in the structure and drop it on the ground
To ensure a fair test: Everyone dropped their structure from the same height
Result: Only one group managed to drop their egg without cracking it. Every other groups' eggs shattered
Step 4 Maths
LearnStorm 2016
4th, 5th and 6th Class participated in the nationwide competition LearnStorm. The children really enjoyed the competition and many of our students were placed on the leaderboards. One of our students will go on to represent our school in the national final.
Maths Involved in Experiments
We have to use a lot of Maths when we are completing science experiments. These include measuring liquids, measuring lengths, timing certain experiments and completing graphs.
We also used Maths in our J.E.P. project where we had to survey our school and show our results on graphs and pie charts.
We also used Maths in our J.E.P. project where we had to survey our school and show our results on graphs and pie charts.
Maths Week 2015 by Jason
During Maths week 2015 Miss O'Brien organised a Maths trail for the children of 5th and 6th Class. We were put into groups of four. The trail took place in the school yard. Some of the Maths we had to do included arranging the cars in numerical order, finding the area of the basketball court, pricing new windows and finding the perimeter of the prefab. We had to answer a series of questions on these. We really enjoyed the Maths trail.
These are some of our children who were placed in the national weekly LearnStorm Leaderboards- well done to all involved!
Step 5 Attend or hold a Science Event
5th and 6th Class held a science show for the children of 1st Class. They showcased all of their experiments and first Class then got to test them for themselves. All children really enjoyed themselves.