Home > Articles by: saintpatsns

Author: saintpatsns

December Updates from St Pat’s

Posted on By saintpatsns

It’s a busy time in St Pat’s at the moment!

The work has started on our new classroom build!

We’re proud to announce we’re officially in a ‘School Zone’!

Our leaf mulch cages are filling up – saving so many leaves from landfill!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…!

(And don’t forget the Parents’ Association Christmas fundraiser is in full swing…you can purchase our fabulous school calendar at http://donorbox.org/st-pats-boys-school-calendar-2021-2022-fundraiser!)

The pupils of St Pat’s have a wonderful sense of community. They’ve made some gorgeous Christmas cards for people who live locally. Thanks to our community Garda who’ll be ensuring their safe delivery in the next couple of weeks!

Stay tuned for further December updates!

Ms Griffin’s Science Week Parachutes!

Posted on By saintpatsns
Ms Griffin’s second class designed their own parachutes, exploring different materials and their properties.
The boys watched a cool video of Felix Baumgartner as he jumped from a helium balloon in the stratosphere. You can see the video here http://www.redbullstratos.com/gallery/?mediaId=media1902415096001
Inspired by this, the boys worked in pairs and discussed what materials would work best for their parachutes to fall slowly and safely. Different materials were chosen by different groups such as plastic, cotton, tinfoil and paper. They came in all shapes and sizes too. Some of the groups used rulers to measure the sides to make them all the same, and some just cut free hand.
Once finished, 2nd class shared their creations with the class and then discussed what a ‘fair’ test would look like. They tried to decide between dropping them one by one by the same person and timing them, or dropping them all at the same time. In the end, they decided to go for all at once, trying their hardest to make it a fair test by all dropping from the same height at the same time. The boys did this a few times, just in case!
In the end the boys found that the slowest falling parachute was plastic, round and really big. They learned that the bigger the parachute was the more air it caught to fall slower.

Ms Griffin’s Class Create Time Capsules!

Posted on By saintpatsns
Ms Griffin’s 2nd class created their very own 2020 COVID-19 Time Capsules this week to keep, and look back on when they’re older.
They added information about themselves and included artefacts such as family photos and newspaper clippings from this time.
2nd class also spent a lot of time discussing the effects of COVID-19.
They talked about their feelings and ways of dealing with their emotions during this time.
They also talked about positive things that came from COVID-19 such as more family time and an appreciation for the wonderful country in which we live.
The class documented the clever ways they celebrated special occasions such as Halloween and St Patrick’s Day this year.
Lastly, they wrote fantastic letters to their future selves informing them of everything we are experiencing right now.
Well done, boys!
What a super project to undertake!