Ms Cooney's Second Class: Rang 2 went on a litter picking adventure, armed with our new equipment. Gloved up and ready to head out, the class were happy to go outside the school grounds as thankfully, we couldn’t find litter on the school grounds. In the pathway the heads towards the Luas the class find plenty of litter, coffee cups, dog poo bags, cans and bottles were among the main offenders. Everyone was delighted to have made a difference. We were careful to wash and sanitise all hands when we got back to school.
Ms Conlon's Fourth Class:
Recreating tropical rainforest conditions Ms Conlon's class made their own ‘rainforest in a jar’ to show how water can be recycled in this environment. Equipment: jar with lid, flower seeds, potting soil, gravel, water, small piece of sandpaper, moss. Action:
Line the bottom of the jar with gravel
Sprinkle a 2cm layer of potting soil on top of the gravel
Pour enough water over the potting soil so that it moist but not soaking wet.
Gently rub the seeds with sandpaper to aid water absorption
Drop the seeds and moss into the jar
Put lid on jar and place it in a sunny spot.
Watch your rainforest grow.
Look for condensation on the sides of the jar. This is the same process that keeps the air in the tropical rainforest humid. The air in the jar will be continuously recycled. During the day, photosynthesis will take place: the seedlings’ roots will absorb; their leaves will absorb carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen into the air. At night time their leaves will absorb oxygen from the air and release carbon dioxide and water vapour into the air. The water vapour will condense on the lid and on the sides of the jar, and drip down onto the soil.
Ms Murray's Junior Infants: Subject: Science Strand: Environmental Awareness and Care Strand Units: Observe, discuss and appreciate the attributes of the local environment, Appreciate that people share the environment with plant and animal life, develop a sense of responsibility for taking care of and improving the environment We went on a few nature walks in our school grounds. We discussed the importance of caring for the environment. We discussed how important it is to not litter. We observed the lovely plant life around the school and talked about our wildflower garden and the benefits of it for the plant and animal life in our environment. We learned about bees and how important they are for our environment. We discussed why it is so important for bees to have plenty of flowers and plants so that they can collect and deposit pollen which makes it possible for many flowers, fruits and vegetables to reproduce. We also went on a trip to Airfield Farm. We saw loads of different farm animals and their babies. We learned that they grow loads of fruit and vegetables and that the food they produce on the farm is used in their café. They taught us loads of ways to look after plant and animal life in our locality.