2nd Class are so happy to be back in school. Not only have we been learning lots, but also having plenty of fun.
Recounts
We have been writing recounts. Recounts are stories which happened in the past, they can be real or imaginary. We have written about Our Summer, Our News, GAA with Jackie, Little Red Riding Hood and Our Day Out. It is important that we answer the questions Who? What? Where? When? and Why? when writing a recount. Ms Darcy’s favourite words and phrases are: first, after that, finally and because. These words help with the organisation of the recount.
Maths:
In Maths we have been working on adding and subtraction. We are getting faster at counting in 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s. Ms Darcy loves to challenge us and see if we can count in other numbers too. When we finish our Maths exercises early we practise our tables on our whiteboards. We have also been revising 2D shapes. We especially enjoyed making rectangles and triangles from a square using a pink post-it.
Gaeilge
In Gaeilge we have been reading, writing, speaking, listening, and spelling. We are really trying our best! The topics we have covered so far are ‘Mé Féin, An Fómhar, Ar Scoil’. We have learnt lots of poems and songs. Ms Darcy’s favourite is Duilleoga.
Newtownmountkennedy
We did a lot of fascinating research on Newtownmountkennedy where we compared the buildings now to the past. We used the new heritage map to help us with our research. Did you know that there used to be a saddlery and stables where the doctor’s surgery is today? We also found out that Fishers used to be a school. We were privileged to have Mrs McDermott come and talk to us about the history of Newtownmountkennedy Primary School and the town. We discovered that our classroom used to be the cookery room!
Trees
We have been learning about different trees and went on a nature trail to look for different trees in the woods. It was a lot of fun and we saw many trees such as Sycamore, Beech and Sweet Chestnut. We are so lucky to have the Mighty Oak in our woods.
Scot’s Pine
We were so excited to plant our Scot’s Pine at school. Ms Darcy contacted the tree council who sent us the Scot’s Pine in the post. We are looking forward to watching the sapling grow into a tree.
Clay Faces
We made wonderful clay faces with sticks, leaves, pinecones, and stones which we found in nature.
Healthy Diet
We have been learning about food and the importance of having a healthy diet. We checked our lunches to find out what food we had from the food pyramid. It is so important to have a balanced diet, good sleeping habits and do exercise. We also learnt about the history of Irish food and the unfortunate Famine because of the potato blight.
The Dot
At the beginning of September, one of our first art lessons was inspired by the book ‘The Dot’ by Peter Reynolds. Great art happens from one small dot!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clpw7PG7m1Q&t=8s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clpw7PG7m1Q&t=8s
GAA
Every Monday we have GAA with Jackie. We are learning skills such as hand passing and the correct way to pick up the ball.
Bodhrán
Every Tuesday, we are learning the Bodhrán with Neil. The Bodhrán is one of three Irish instruments, the others are the harp and the uilleann pipes. We now know how to hold the stick and keep the beat.
Reading
Reading is very important. We try to read for 10 minutes every day after lunch. For topics in SESE (History, Geography and Science), Ms Darcy goes to the local library in Greystones to take out books related to the topic. We are now both learning to read and reading to learn. Please email me odarcy@newtownprimary.ie if you require more books for your child to read.
Halloween
We had a fun filled Halloween week. We made bat silhouettes during our Art lesson the previous week, which we were able to display in our classroom for the week. We learnt about the history of Halloween, we found out that it used to be called Samhain and it was a celebration to thank the spirits for a good harvest. We really enjoyed learning about ‘The Day of The Dead’ which is celebrated in Mexico.
We learnt about >, < and =, the less than sign looks like the letter L and we have two classmates whose names begin with L! In Gaeilge we learnt words associated with Halloween and then listened to the story ‘An Cailleach agus an Púca’. In English we made fantastic potions and antidotes to help the forgetful witch. We also used adjectives (describing words) to complete a spooky Halloween story.
We were so excited to dress up in our Halloween costumes and we are looking forward to seeing our photograph in the paper!
We learnt about >, < and =, the less than sign looks like the letter L and we have two classmates whose names begin with L! In Gaeilge we learnt words associated with Halloween and then listened to the story ‘An Cailleach agus an Púca’. In English we made fantastic potions and antidotes to help the forgetful witch. We also used adjectives (describing words) to complete a spooky Halloween story.
We were so excited to dress up in our Halloween costumes and we are looking forward to seeing our photograph in the paper!
Curriculum Update for September and October
Please find attached an overview of the work covered in our class in September and October.

curriculum_update_o.darcy_2nd_class__sept-oct_2020.pdf |