Fourth Class 2008/09
Teacher: Mr. Mulligan
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Rippling Rhythm
Fourth class had great fun when bringing composer Shep Field’s Rippling Rhythm piece to life with their percussion instruments. We used triangles, wooden blocks, agogos, rhythm sticks and guiros. We even used plastic bottles with water and straws to make the gurgling, rippling sounds.
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Éanna Ní Lamhna's Visit Fourth Class had a fun and educational morning with well known environmentalist, radio and TV broadcaster, Éanna Ní Lamhna. Éanna is also chairperson of An Taisce the organisation which is in charge of the Green Schools’ programme. She gave a talk about spring and took the class on a nature trail around the school grounds. She talked about the trees and how their leaves grow in spring. The Horse Chestnut is first to show its leaves in March. The Sycamore and Beech have their’s in April. Last of all are the Oak and Ash who have their leaves in May. Cavan and Monaghan are the last counties in Ireland to show leaves on trees. Insects, caterpillars, slugs and greenflies are delighted to see the leaves appearing. So also are spiders and ladybirds. The birds are happy to see all these insects. They lay their eggs in spring and will need lots of food top feed their young chicks – May is a very busy time for feeding. Birds sing (mostly males) to mark out their territories – not just because they are happy to see spring coming. Some animals wake up from their hibernation in spring. Hedgehogs, bats and frogs hibernate. However, squirrels do not hibernate – this is only a myth. Éanna showed us some of the wild flowers in our school grounds. On the top pitch we found dandelions (yellow), cuckoo flower (purple), speedwell (blue), daisies (yellow and white) and hedge mustard (purple). Using our pooters we turned over stones and found many insects and creepy crawlies! Éanna also shook trees and bushes into her umbrella to discover more creatures. We saw worms, snails, slugs, wood lice, a centipede, lots of flies, a shield bug or stink bug as well as a ladybird. Éanna also captured a huge queen bumble bee. We had great fun!!
ART
ART
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Our Questions for Lincoln School, Bergenfield 1. When does your school year begin and end? 2. During the holidays do you go to summer camps and what activities do you do? 3. Do you have a homework club? 4. Do you have quiz competitions against other local schools? 5. Where does the name “Bergenfield” come from and what is its’ history? 6. Is there a choir in your school? 7. Do you have any historical sites around Bergenfield? 8. Does the school have a “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” policy? 9. Does every child have their own locker? 10. Is there a Lollipop man or lady outside the school gates who helps the children cross the road? 11. Does your teacher give you tests at the end of the week? 12. How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? 13. Does your local police and firemen come into your school to talk about safety? 14. Would you see any wild animals while you are out playing in the field? 15. Does your teacher take you to see your local Museum? 16. Are there any famous people living in Bergenfield? 17. Do you have vending machines in your school? 18. Do you have a litter warden who comes to the school? 19. What percentage of people take the bus to school? 20. Do you need a hall pass? 21. Do you have poetry competitions? 22. Are there more girls than boys in your school? 23. Do you have foreign teachers in your school? 24. Can you get hot food in your canteen? 25. Do you hold school plays during the year and if so, what plays have you performed? 26. Have you had any serious accidents at your school? 27. Do you get homework at the weekend? 28. Do you have a “student of the week” in every class? 29. Do you have CCTV on your school premises? 30. Did you have school on the day of Barack Obama’s Inauguration as the new President of the United States? 31. What did you think of George Bush? 32. Did you know that some of Barack Obama’s ancestors came from Moneygall, Co Offaly in Ireland? |
You might remember that we sent a questionnaire to our new friends in Lincoln School, Bergenfield, New Jersey, U.S.A. in November. You can read their answers here:
Our school has about 400 students. One section of our school is called the Tri-Valley Program. These children are autistic and they come in either the morning or the afternoon. Then we have 2 classes of Special Education Pre-school. Theses children also come in either the morning or afternoon (not a full-day). Then we have 1 Kindergarten class that is only half days. So the parents can choose if they want to come in the morning or afternoon session. From there we have 3 First grade classes, 3 Second grade classes, 3 Third grade classes, 3 fourth grade class and 3 Fifth grade classes. We also have 2 Special Ed classes for grades (2 and 3) and (4 and 5). For all the general education classes, we have about 20 in each class. The special ed classes are predominately smaller (10 in class). Our school has 3 floors and we are located on the third floor (4th and 5th graders are on 3rd floor). In the town of Bergenfield, we have 5 elementary schools. Our school, Lincoln, is the 2nd oldest and was built in 1947. We start at 8:40 and end at 3:05. We have snack at 10:00 and Lunch at 11:20-12:20. Our subjects are Literacy, Math, Social Studies (with the focus on New Jersey) and Science. Our Specials are Art, Music, Physical Education, Spanish and Library. The children have a choice to play an instrument and be in the choir.
Our school is very diverse. I truly can’t give a number however I will give some examples from our class. All but 3 of the children were born in America, however there are many nationalities. Mexican, Phillipino, Pakistanian, Puerto Rican, Spanish, Peruvian, African American Columbian and German are just some of the nationalities. The 3 that were born in another country are from Bolivia, Mexico and London.
Again, our school is just too big to see who is Irish, but in our class we have children who are half Irish. And they do not know from where they have relatives.
We have about 400.
Out of all the schools in Bergenfield, we have the biggest and nicest grounds. We have 4 large fields for the children to play on. Plus we have 2 large parking lots. There is also a large wooded area next to us for the students to go on nature walks.
We have 2 in our class. However our Library was converted to a “Cybrary” because 28 computers were installed for the children to use at any time.
This year unfortunately we have not gone on any. However we will be going to Sterling Mine where the children will walk in Mines (caves) that have been worked in many years ago. They will discover many kinds of rocks and minerals and learn the uses for them.
Snickers, Milky Way, Skittles, Sour Gummy Worms, Hershey Bars, Twizzlers, Caramels, 3 Musketeers, Milk Duds and Gum are my class’s favorite.
We do not have any sports at our school. Our town runs different programs for the children to join.
In our class I have 22 students. 3 of them wanted McCain to win. So overall, my class is pleased with Obama winning. We are very happy that we will be witnessing history.
We don’t know anything about Irish history. The most we know about is St. Patrick’s Day.
No.
Monopoly, Chess, Scrabble, Checkers, Luto and Risk
No, our school does not have a website, however our town does. www.bergenfield.org. You can click on our school and see a picture of it. Thank you so very much for these very interesting questions. My students absolutely loved answering them and look forward to learning more about our Irish friends!!! Sincerely, Mrs. Jeannine Babino |
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Santa Visit
Christmas Concert 2008
U2
The Bangles
ABBA
The Beatles
The Spice Girls
New Friends We have started a contact with Lincoln School, Bergenfield, New Jersey, U.S.A. Here are our answers to questions about our school they e-mailed to us. You can also see the questions we asked our new friends in America about Lincoln School. We look forward to their answers. We also sent some pictures of our Round Tower and our Celtic Cross. Our questions for Lincoln School
Quiz Fourth class took part in the Clan na nGael Inter Schools' Quiz held in the Clan na nGael hall, Dundalk, recently. Forty three teams took part in a very well attended event. Even though we were the youngest team there we did really well and scored 70 marks out of 80. Ms. Farrell's 5th Class team won the quiz. They each received a family ticket to the Dundalk Bowling Alley.
SCIENCE WEEK 2008 VISIT TO DKIT, DUNDALK, THURSDAY 13th NOVEMBER As part of Science Week 2008 4th Class went to Fun With Science, presented by Randal Henly, in DKIT Dundalk. We really enjoyed our visit and saw lots of interesting experiments.
We learned lots of things about science:
· We saw that air has weight · We learned about air pressure and vacuum packing. Orna got a big fright! · We saw how a bazooka works. Aine was very brave! · We were shocked to see how much sugar was in Coca Cola · We saw how different liquids have different densities – syrup, milk and cooking oil. · We saw how chemical gases can cause explosions. Tadhg nearly blew a hole in the ceiling! · Randal showed us that some magic is really science · He showed us some amazing optical illusions · We learned how a pamper’s nappy worked. It was amazing to see water turned to gel. · We were amazed to see what happened when different chemicals were mixed together. It was scary to see the bloody handprint on the wall! · Randal also used different chemicals to make foam which spewed foam out of the pumpkin
As part of Science Week we designed a wind mill using paper. The instructions can be found on the SEI.IE (Sustainable Energy Ireland) website. Follow the links and go to: Schools – Primary Schools – Activities – Create your own windmill. It was tricky at first but our windmills looked great and really worked!!
OCTOBER 2008 4th Class Halloween Art
4th Class Art Exhibition
The winner of the Halloween dress up competition in Mr. Mulligan's class!
October Creative Writing (Click on title to view story - requires Microsoft Word) The Happiest Time of My Life ~ Áine The Happiest Day of My Life ~ Lee The Door ~ Orna The Door ~
PERSONAL TIMELINES
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POETRY |
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Megan Sister of .... Who loves animals, sweets and ice cream. Who feels tired, happy and crazy. Who needs food, drinks and clothes. Who gives money, toys and games. Who fears rats, snakes and wasps. Who would like to see world peace, an end to poverty and an end to sickness. Who lives in... |
Naomi Sister of ... and .... Loves chocolate, music and films. Who feels happy, tired and sad. Who needs clothes, food and drinks. Who gives money, food and toys. Who fears spiders, bees and bears. Who would like to see peace. Who lives in a happy house. |
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Holly Sister of... Daughter of .... and .... Who feels sick, sad and happy. Who loves music, school and lunchtime. Who needs food, money and clothes. Who gives to friends clothes and help. Who fears cows, heights and birds. Who would like to see happiness, friends and joy. Who lives in a happy house. |
Alex Son of ... and... and brother of ... Loves football, sweets and chocolate. Who feels tired, happy and giddy. Who needs clothes, friends and food. Who gives playstations, cakes and DS lites. Who fears heights, wasps and spiders. Who would like to see world peace, an end to poverty and sickness. Who lives in a big house. |
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Karli Daughter to ... Who loves chocolate, puppies and rabbits. Who feels happy, sad and lonely. Who needs food, water and friends. Who gives money, clothes and food. Who fears wasps, earwigs and snakes. Who would like to see world peace. Who lives in a big house. |
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