Mars

It takes Mars 687 days to orbit the sun. On a clear night you can see Mars. Mars is called the red planet because of oxidisation or in other words it is rusty. Mars is cold and dusty. Mars seemed to have had rivers and seas billions of years ago and may have supported life but now it is cold and dry with no signs of life. Mars has little atmosphere. Mars is 228 million kilometres from the sun. The biggest volcano on Mars is called Olympus Mons and is 26 km high, which is three times bigger than Mount Everest. Mars has two moons called Phobos and Deimos.

More Random Facts from Mr. Bergin’s class.

picture of solar system

Random Facts about the Solar System

Jupiter is the biggest planet.  It is 11 times bigger than the Earth. Neptune, Uranus,  Saturn and Jupiter have rings. The rings are made of ice and dust. The sun is the most important part of the solar system  because it holds the planets in their positions.  Venus is the second planet from the sun. It is covered in clouds of poisonous gas.  There is a storm on Jupiter that has gone on for at least 180 years. The Earth is the perfect distance from the sun to support life.  Stars look like they are twinkling because we are looking at them through our atmosphere. It takes the Earth 365 days to orbit the sun.  Giant jets of gas shoot up from the surface of the sun. The moon is the same age as the Earth.  Mars is called the red planet because of oxidisation by Carbon Dioxide or in other words it is rusty. Mars is cold and dusty.

Random Facts by Mr. Bergin’s class.

We went to Corkagh Park on Tuesday, 27th September. It was a sunny day and there were no clouds in the sky. It was one of the warmest days of the year even though it was Autumn. We did a tree survey. We looked for seeds and leaves and we tried to match them to the trees using a chart.  We drew a picture of a tree and we had to answer some questions like was it an evergreen or decidious tree.

Busy identifying trees

After the tree survey we went to the Pet Farm. We saw a playful parrot that danced for us.  We saw a colourful peacock standing proudly on top of the big, fat, black pig’s house. The pig didn’t seem to mind as she was fast asleep at the time. We saw a chinese duck. He was white with a little mark on his head. We saw and learnt a lot, especially that animals need to be respected and they don’t like to be petted.

Our sleepy friend

When we finished in the Pet Farm, we had an orienteering challenge. Most of us had never done orienteering before but we all enjoy outdoor pursuits. We had to find cones that had shpes and numbers on them and record the shapes and numbers on a grid. The first team back with the completed grid was the winner.

Finally it was lunch time and we went to the playground. We scoffed our lunches so that we would have more time for play. We played on the slides, swings, roundabouts, monkey bars and climbing frame.Soon it was time to go home. We walked back to the school, feeling happy, tired and very very hot.  We had a great day and we are looking forward to going back.

Orienteering champs!

parrot

Report by Mr. Bergin’s class.

The date for Communion will be Saturday 19th May.

Maths week is coming up on 17th of October. Second Classes are of to the Helix for a talk on magical maths on the 17th and Sixth are off to Castletown House in Celbridge to do a Maths Trail. Check out the website www.mathsweek.ie for more information.

School reopens Wednesday 31st August

Don’t forget folks the end of year concert is coming up! It’s on in Moyle Park on Saturday June 25.

It promises to be great fun and all the boys are working really hard to get ready for the show.

We really need your support as the funds raised will go towards the much needed school extension. Tickets are still available through the school so come on folks. It will be a great night’s entertainment.

Second class had a great time on their school tour in Lullymore.

Lee really liked the way Conor spoke about history and mythology. We learnt about how people lived in Neolithic times and about how people lived in the nineteenth century. We saw a settle bed and learnt how people used to iron their clothes and cook. We saw a bog oak sculpture of a an ancient Irish wizard.

a bog oak sculpture

Ade liked when we jumped on the bog – the ground is spongy and we bounced on it.

Dean liked the green twisty tunnel slide in the indoor play area.

indoor play

Joe liked the road train. We made lots of noise.

choo choo we sang very loudly

But school tours are not just for children.

…. they're for adults too.

No school tour would be complete without a game of footie.

next stop Champion's League

And finally meet our new pupil. His name is Al Paca.

a very friendly alpaca

Second class working on their dance moves for the end of year concert.

The concert is on in Moyle park on June 25th. As always it will be a great night so come and have some fun and remember you will be supporting the school in our attenpt to build a much needed extension.