2nd and 3rd Classes
September 2022 - June 2023
1st and 2nd Classes September 2021 - June 2022
Engineers Week 2022
This week 1st and 2nd Class participated in Engineers week and what a group of future engineers we have in our school. The children worked as part of a team in designing projects and coming up with solutions to fix problems they encountered. The projects included moving table tennis balls to different locations using simple materials, learning about combustion engines and constructing a bridge based on a design by Leonardo da Vinci himself!! The groups also designed and built contraptions to allow for the safe landing of eggs dropped from a height. All eggs survived thankfully. To finish the week we were treated to a brilliant insight into medical devices and how they are designed and manufactured in a presentation by Aine Laffin from Boston Scientific. A super week was had by everyone!!!!!
Music Generation
1st & 2nd Class are currently taking part in music lessons with Music Generation every week. James the music teacher has introduced the ukulele to the group and the children are having great fun learning some amazing sounds.
Picker Pals
The children in 1st & 2nd class have recently started participating in a super initiative to make Ballyglass and Ardrahan a litter free environment. Picker Pals have sent Ballyglass NS their own Litter Pack which includes litter pickers, rubbish bags, gloves and most importantly Hi-Vis jackets. Two children each week bring home the Litter Pack and with the help of their parents clean up litter in the areas near their houses. This programme will aim to highlight the importance of looking after the environment and keeping our locality free from litter. Stay tuned for the final tally of litter bags filled by the children.
Build a Bridge
As part of 1st and 2nd Class SESE curriculum, the children had to design and make their own bridges. This was a great follow on from the amazing activities we had during Engineers Week in early March. The children learned about the lots of different factors taken into consideration when designing a structure, especially the weather. Many areas around the world experience different kinds of weather like high winds, heavy rainfall and snowfall. Structures are designed to accommodate these weather conditions and ensure they serve their purpose safely for people to use them. As from the pictures we sure have some intelligent future bridge designers!!!!!
Lumper Potatoes - The Story of The Irish Famine Potato.
1st and 2nd Class recently participated in an initiative to celebrate a famous potato type and to learn of its involvement in the Great Potato Famine of Ireland in 1847. The Lumper Potato was a commonly sown type of potato at this time. The children planted their own Lumper potatoes in the school garden with great enthusiasm while also learning of the devastating story of the Famine in Ireland. The group are hoping to harvest their crop before the school year ends. A big thank you goes to local vegetable man Gerry Quinn who shared some expertise and kindly donated some fertiliser to help with the growing of the potatoes. We are looking forward to the taste test already!!!
School Tour - Bunratty Folk Park
Our 1st and 2nd Class school tour took place on the 17th of June. We visited Bunratty Castle and Folk Park where the children experienced life in an Irish Castle from the 15th century. The group visited the old school house, doctors surgery and spent the last part of the visit enjoying themselves in the playground. A super trip was had by all!!!!
Lumper Potatoes Update!!
After more than 100 days our Lumper Potatoes were harvested by some eager and excited gardeners. We planted our seeds in mid March in commemoration of the Lumper Potato which was a most common type sown in the times of the Great Famine in Ireland. The children got stuck in to clearing any weeds before some real digging deep to find some tasty vegetables. This is just the beginning for this group of budding growers!!!
Ballyglass has lots of Talent!
The 1st and 2nd Class students participated in the Ballyglass Talent Show with a wide range of skills on display. The acts included magicians, dancers, gaeilge speakers, walking crabs, keyboard players and even some children speaking Korean! Safe to say everyone in the school were highly entertained and and enjoyed a great afternoon of talent!!
Music Generation - One Call Away
Our fantastic ukulele teacher James O Brien from Music Generation invited the children of Ballyglass to participate with 5 other schools to record a video as part of the Cruinniú na nÓg festival of music. The video originally was to be shot on the beach front in Spiddal but due to weather conditions was changed to the Ballinfoyle Community Centre in Galway. To say our children enjoyed the experience is an understatement. The sang their hearts out and played the ukuleles with high skill. Well done to everyone in Ballyglass NS.
Ballyglass Sports Day
The recent Ballyglass NS Sports Day put lots of skills and sporting talent on display. Blessed with perfect weather the children participated in lots of sports ranging from sprinting, spud and spoon, long jump, welly throwing and team events. The children were all on different teams with individual and collective scores determining the winner. Regardless of winners the skills and laughs were a joy to see from all the children. Well done everyone!!