Category: Classroom News
Bernadette’s Retirement Party
There was a function held in Dunmore House Hotel on Sat 7th November to celebrate Bernadette’s Retirement. Happy Retirement Bernadette !
Homes and Houses
We have been learning all about different types of houses and homes, from bungalows to flats and two-storeys to castles. We have talked about the rooms you would find in most houses and the materials used all around the house.
In the past two weeks we have also been building houses! We made our own buider hats from paper maiche and made a big mess! We have been designing rooms in shoeboxes and collecting photographs and drawings of furniture for the various rooms in a house. It has been hard work but good fun!
Big, Bigger, Biggest!
In Junior and Senior Infants we have been comparing the length of pencils, the size of our slippers, the height of our Senior Infants and much more!
Debating Ireland Competition: Inter-Regional Level
Ballinacarriga Debating Team strike again!
On Thursday 20th of March, Ms. Nagle, Mrs Milner, the Sixth Class debate team and their parents set off for Dungarvan for the inter-regional round of the Debating Ireland competition. The motion was ‘All schools should have a healthy eating policy’ and Ballinacarriga were proposing the motion. The opposing team were from Carlow and they had a completely different style of debating to our team. It was hard to know which way the adjudicators would sway and spectators felt it could have gone either way. Luckily for Ballinacarriga NS our journey in the Debating Ireland competition would not end here. The motion was carried and we are now through to the All-Ireland semi-final! Both the semi-final and final will take place on the same day in Dublin so the team have the tough task of preparing two motions before their final day out.
We are extremely proud of the whole team and we wish them every success on Tuesday 1st of April in UCD.
Regional Final Debate
Our Sixth Class debating team have continued to be successful in the Debate Ireland competition. They have recently won the regional final which was held in Ballyvourney against Scoil Bhríe, Loreto, Killarney. The motion this time was ‘Charity begins at home, here in Ireland’. Ballinacarriga were proposing the motion and as they say in debating circles ‘the motion was carried’.
Debate Final Success!
Huge congratulations to the Ballinacarriga National School debating team who are now the proud winners of the West Cork debating competition! What a final it was. The motion was ‘Religion Should not be taught in school’ and Ballinacarriga were proposing the motion. The opposing team were from Ardfield National School, the reigning champions. It was a tricky subject for a primary school debate but it was clear on the night that both teams had put many hours of research into their speeches. The adjudicators were so impressed with the standard, they said it was ‘off the richter scale’. The adjudicators also highlighted just how tight the competition was, explaining that it had never been crystal clear which team would win but Ballinacarriga were slightly more convincing in their argument. Commiserations to the Ardfield girls, who made it a very entertaining final. Ballinacarriga NS will now go on to represent West Cork at a regional level debating competition.
Debate Semi-Final
On Thursday 16th of January 2014 the semi-finals of the debating competition took place in The West Cork Education Centre. They were held at 7pm, the evening time slot adding to the competitive atmosphere.
Ballinacarriga N.S and Drinagh NS were in the first semi-final. The motion was ‘I-Pads should replace all school books’ and Ballinacarriga NS were opposing the motion. Both teams were very strong, speaking clearly and convincingly, it was a very exciting debate that kept supporters on the edge of their seats. The winning team was not revealed until after the second semi-final between Bantry Girls NS and Ardfield NS. We were delighted to be pronounced finalists but will have tough competition in Ardfield NS.
Huge congratulations to the team, their sub-team, time-keeper and teachers. It takes a big team effort to research, write and practice the speeches and everyone who takes part in some way deserves credit for the continued success.
The final will be held on Thursday 30th of January, best of luck to Ballinacarriga NS.
Debate: ‘Climate Change is not my Problem’
On Friday 13th of December our Sixth Class debating team, supporterers and Ms. Nagle and Mrs. Milner travelled to Knockskeagh NS to debate the motion ‘Climate Change is not my Problem’. Knockskeagh proposed the motion while our team were opposing the motion. Both teams were well prepared and once again it was a tight competition. Ballinacarriga NS won the debate and are now through to the semi-finals. We hope their winning streak will continue.
Debate: ‘Homework is a Waste of Time’
On Thursday 5th December Ballinacarriga NS hosted a debate with the motion ‘Homework is a Waste of Time’. Derryclough school were proposing the motion and our Sixth Class were opposing the motion. It was a very close encounter , with both teams making a strong impression, but Ballinacarriga had the edge and won the debate. Congratulations to all involved and best of luck in the next round.
History and Geography
First, Second and Third Class have been learning about the local castle in Ballinacarriga. Here are some pictures they drew of the castle:
They have also been learning about the mountains and rivers of Ireland.
Advent Calendars
Junior and Senior Infants are very excited about Christmas. To help them count down the days they made their own Advent calendars, with a surprise behind each door!
People Patterns
This week Junior Infants were looking at and making patterns. Can you spot the patterns in these photos?
Sixth Class Debate
On Friday 8th November 6th Class held a debate in the middle room in front of first-fifth class. The motion was “I-Pads should replace all school books”. Both teams made strong arguments for and against the motion. Everyone spoke confidently and passionately and the audience and adjudicators witnessed an excellent debate.
We look forward to the next debate, which will be against another school in a few weeks time. Good luck Ballinacarriga NS!
An Aimsir
This week we have been learning about An Aimsir and as part of this we made our own mini weather station.
We made a windsock which shows the wind direction and how strong the wind is.
We also made a rain gauge to measure the rainfall. Ryan’s Dad brought us a big pot full of chips to keep the gauge steady, we made a funnel from the top of a bottle and the rain collects in a jar underneath.
Art with Jennifer
This week Junior and Senior Infants were very lucky to have Jennifer help them make beautiful fish tanks from shoe boxes.
Fionn and the Salmon of Knowledge
In History we are reading the story of Fionn and the Salmon of Knowledge.
In Art we made an image of ‘The Salmon of Knowledge’
First and Second class have been learning a 2D shapes song.
Music
Ger Wolfe and Mrs Milner giving their weekly music lessons to 4th, 5th and 6th Class.
Autumn Nature Walk 2013
We are nearing the end of Autumn and as we have been learning about the various signs of Autumn we decided to investigate for ourselves. We took a walk up the lane and discovered many brown, yellow and orange leaves that had fallen from the trees. We found blackberries and an apple. We also collected many seeds like the ash key, the horse chestnut and beech nut. We heard birds and a tractor and we noticed that the weather has started to get cooler. Here are some pictures from our nature walk:
Ms. Kelly’s Class
We have been learning about parts of the body and taking care of our bodies. We have been talking about visits to the Doctor and the different people who work in a Doctor’s Surgery. We have practiced making phone calls and explaining how we are feeling if we feel unwell. We are also learning rule about medicine. This is all part of the Aistear programme.
Mrs Milner’s Class
Jennifer came into our class on Thursday 3rd of October and did lovely paintings with us. Here are some examples:
