Francesca gave very interesting workshops to 4th & 5th class and then 6th class. She brought examples of different artefacts and show the children some examples of the types of materials used for clothing during the different Ages.
It was a great start to Science Week 2022!
The sixth class are gaining experience in this area using the ‘Lightbot’ app on the school’s iPads.
For the past couple of weeks 1st & 2nd class have been learning about apples.
From looking at the different apple varieties, to how they are harvested and creating an excellent apple harvest display they now have a great deal more knowledge on a favourite fruit for many.
In recognition of their hard work, they all got apples from the Apple Farm in Cahir. The variety they received was ‘Tipperary Pippen’.
3rd & 4th class completed an excellent investigation in their room last week. You can read about it in these write ups:
The pupils of 4th & 5th class had great fun investigating friction using matchbox cars.
The children used a ramp to launch the car and measured the distance it travelled on different surfaces. They also explored the classroom to look for textures which were rough or smooth.
Martin and Louise from SSPC came to the school on Wednesday morning to for a workshop which featured a talk about crystals and also saw the children getting the chance to design and make a device which could safely ‘drop’ a crystal to the ground.
The boys and girls had a great time designing their devices and then working in small groups to construct their design using a finite set of resources.
The gallery and videos below show the children working on their designs and also testing them when completed.
The children found examples of blackberries and ‘haws’ and learned about blackberry bushes and hawthorn trees. We also looked at seed dispersal and the importance of birds to this process. Wind dispersal was also discussed and the sycamore tree on the school grounds allowed everyone to look at ‘helicopters’ and how they can be carried by the wind.
Fourth class will be exhibiting the results of their project into ‘Which Spud Cooks the Best’ at the ESB Science Blast in May but Third/Fourth class have extended this study to include growing some potatoes to help better understand how potatoes find their way to the dinner table.
March 21st
We watched a video to learn how to plant spuds. It said spuds came from South America originally. It said to plant a seed potato. It said the seed potato should be planted in a drill. We got seed spuds but we can’t plant them yet. We need to dig the vegetable plot up and leave the seed potatoes in a dry, cool place. We put them in an egg carton. When they grow we will cook them! Christian
28th March
We prepared our vegetable garden for sowing our potatoes. We loosened up the ground using a shovel and fork. We removed the weeds and stones as best we could. We added farmyard manure to the soil. When the manure is mixed up with the soil it will add nutrients and will condition the soil. It will help produce more potatoes. Sinéad
April 11th
Today we planted 9 Maris Piper spuds in the garden. We made 3 drills of spuds, whcih were about 40 – 50cm apart. Then we watered all the drills and flattened the soil with the fork. David Mul.
Captain Cason was paying his second visit to Herbertstown NS having spoken to the then 5th & 6th class in 2017.
The airline pilot answered the children’s questions and talked about how he came to be a pilot. He brought some videos and pictures with him to help illustrate what his job entails and told many stories about his experiences both as a cargo pilot and as a commercial or passenger jet pilot.
Cpt. Cason said afterwards that he really enjoyed the visit and was very impressed by the children’s questions.
Our third class visited the Irish Cement factory in Mungret for a tour of the facility. Concrete is the second most commonly used material in the world (after water) and the children got to view how the cement is manufactured.
Below is an account of their experiences and a gallery of photos from the trip.
Today 3rd class went to the Irish Cement factory in Mungret, County Limerick. They organised a bus to come and collect us at the school at 10.ooam. So we all got on the bus!
When we got there they brought us into reception. In there we met Elaine, Caoimhe and John. They said they would be our guides for the day so they showed us a slide show and a video about how cement is made. Elaine showed us some rocks: Limestone and shale.
Next we went down to the quarry and saw a big truck. We all went into the shovel and for a picture. They told us that every Thursday the guards come while they blow up a bit of the quarry. Then we went to the kiln and put our arms up to see how hot it is. Then we went back and took off all our safety gear. They gave us all a bag with goodies in it before we went back to school.
Molly
After the quarry we went to the kiln. The kiln is very hot. The rock has to reach 1450 degrees for the rock to melt. It can get to 2000 degrees, hotter than a volcano!
Ciarán
A kiln is a big round machine like a cylinder. Elaine told us to put up our hands and feel the heat!
Liam
The first stop on the tour was the quarry where we saw the loading shovel. It was massive! It had a bucket that could hold over 20 people.
Sinéad
