6th Class March/April

English

During the second half of the Spring term the 6^th class pupil continued their fabulous work in English. As always, they loved their guided reading lessons with the teachers and the teachers, in turn, take such enjoyment from seeing pupils taking an interest in reading and hope that it will foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

It was during this time that they studied the poetry of Patrick Kavanagh focusing on his most famous poem ‘On Raglan Road’. They really enjoyed the poem despite all the mushy talk of love and loss!

‘On Grafton Street in November we tripped lightly along the ledge
Of the deep ravine where can be seen the worth of passion's pledge,
The Queen of Hearts still making tarts and I not making hay -
O I loved too much and by such and such is happiness thrown away’.

Not a dry eye in the house!

Maths

In Maths, the pupils have been doing exceptionally well with a wide range of topics this year but finally, the day arrived when they had to tackle the myth and mystery of Algebra! Confusion and fear reigned whenever the word was mentioned and when the 6^th class teachers finally broke the news to the pupils, there were collective gasps in all 4 classes. ‘Equations’, ‘Variables’, ‘Rules’ and ‘Properties’ were words they had only heard in horror movies. "How can we do Maths using letters like x,y and z?", they would ask in panicked tones. The teachers answers were always the same, "Algebra is the branch of mathematics that helps in the representation of problems or situations in the form of mathematical expressions, of course". Silence! However, once they realised it was just addition, subtraction, division and multiplication and that they have been doing it all their lives, the crisis was averted and they did brilliantly with a difficult topic.

Gaeilge

I rith Márta agus Aibreáin bhíomar ag foghlaim faoin Eadaí agus Sa Bhaile.

D'foghlaimeamar na frásaí seo:

• Cá bhfuil do i do chónaí?
• Tá mé i mo chonaí i…..
• Chuir mé mo gheansaí orm
• Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú gléasta inniú?
• Is fuath liom m’éide scoile.

SESE

In SESE we have been learned about World War II. A difficult and sensitive topic that the pupils took great interest in and were respectful and thoughtful throughout.

Some of the key things were learned were;

• It’s connection to World War I
• How it began
• Hitler’s early life and his rise to power
• Some of the key battles
• The countries involved
• How it was won
• The Holocaust
• Its ramifications for the future world

Linking in with World War II, the pupils were tasked with doing projects on their choice of country who played a significant role in the war. They could choose from either the Axis or Allies and the results were fabulous. Their ability to follow the criteria of the report, research what they needed and deliver the final project in front of their peers assured their teachers that they are indeed ready for Secondary School.

Music and Art

The pupils had the pleasure of learning about the Beatles through music and art. Some of the children knew of the band already so didn’t need any ‘Help’ with the work so the teachers said we’d ‘Let It Be’. As we were working on the topic as a group, we had to ‘Come Together’ to do the best job possible. It was so enjoyable watching the children experience music from another generation, it seemed like the songs had only been written ‘Yesterday’. ‘In my life’, I don’t think I had enjoyed a music lesson more. Now that we’re in the Summer term and ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and the ‘Blackbird’ sings a song as sweet as some of the Beatles music, I’m glad you can read about ‘A Day in the Life’ of a St. John’s class.