The pupils from Junior & Senior Infants remained in Magherabeg NS and were joined by children from Drumoghill NS and Ray NS. Children from the other classes travelled to different locations, as outlined below, where they were joined by children from our partnering schools.
Junior & Senior Infants – Magherabeg NS
During the visit to Magherabeg, the children were divided into groups and took turns at each activity area. They enjoyed free play with materials like stickle bricks, Lego, polygons, jigsaws and in the imaginative kitchen/shop area. Each group also had the chance to participate in a dance session with Sarah Marie from Pinehill Studios. One of the highlights of the day was an arts and crafts activity called “Fill the Bucket,” which every group rotated through and really enjoyed.
1st & 2nd Class – Ray NS
Today we all went to Ray N.S. to meet up with the boys and girls. We all had a wonderful day as we took part in a selection of fun activities.
1). Basketball
The children participated in a selection of games that saw them practice and improve their ball control and teamwork skills. They were very competitive and worked together to win points for their teams. It was very evident that the boys and girls were all engaged and had fun working in their small groups and each child made a contribution to their success.
2). STEAM – Building the highest tower
Each group had to design the highest tower they could using only paper and sellotape. The children planned their design, made their predictions, built their tower using the materials provided and made alterations as they went along. Great discussion and problem-solving skills became very evident as they worked their way through the activity. Results: The towers were getting taller and taller with each attempt. Some of the towers were almost a metre in height.
3). Art – Clay with Bernie from Art Farm
The children’s creativity was challenged today as they had to design and make their own monster using clay, googly eyes and pipe cleaners. We had lots of fabulous and very unique creations. The boys and girls were very proud of their monsters and came away with not only their monsters but with a real sense of achievement.
3rd & 4th Class – Glenveagh National Park
The boys and girls in 3rd and 4th Class enjoyed a fantastic trip to Glenveagh National Park. The sun was shining and excitement levels were high as they set off on their adventure.
Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by our guide, Charlie Gallagher. Charlie, who has a wealth of knowledge about animals, plants, trees and the history of the area, captivated the children with his humorous stories and engaging delivery.
The children had a wonderful day exploring the park and were especially delighted to reconnect with their new friends from the neighbouring schools.
5th & 6th – Drumoghill NS
The children had lots of fun in the sun on a glorious summer’s day where they met up with their new friends from Drumoghill NS and Ray NS. They played ‘Mirror Tag’ and participated in races where they had to collect jigsaw pieces and assemble them in their teams. They also played a memory word game and engaged in a very hotly-contested orienteering activity!
The children were divided up into four mixed groups. All of the groups were given the same amount of materials with which they had to work together to create a protective structure for an egg. The children drew a design for their structure, then they had to work together as a team to make sure the egg didn’t crack before the final test. The children thoroughly enjoyed displaying their structures and explaining their design process to the other groups. All of the creations were dropped from a height of two metres and thrown against a wall. The groups got great enjoyment from taking the structure apart and finding out if their egg survived the challenge and a few of them did!
