Welcome to our P.3 Class Page.

We really hope that you enjoy looking at all our photographs and videos of our school activities throughout the year.

(The most recent activities are at the top of the page.)

In Numeracy we combined the topics of Shape and Data Handling. Using a Venn Diagram, we were encouraged to sort 2D shapes according to two given criteria. The first set of criteria were “red” and “4 or more sides.” We then got to pick a random shape from the “Shape Sack,” place it in the diagram and state why we thought it should be there. As we were presented with different criteria our sorting skills really improved.

We took advantage of the lovely, dry, mild, weather and had a session of Activity Based Learning outside. We were so excited to play with some of the new equipment and discover its many uses. The favourites were the painting screen and the balance beam.

In Grow in Love, we were invited to bring a set of Rosary Beads to school, and we participated in the Pilgrims of Hope “One Million Children Praying the Rosary for Peace,” initiative. We were taught how to use the beads to help us count the prayer as we recited the Hail Mary.

We had the opportunity to improve our “estimation” skills. We were presented with a number of objects on the IWB for a few seconds and then we were asked to write down how many objects were thought there were. The number was never more than 20, but it can be difficult to estimate when the objects are randomly placed and not in a pattern.

This week we had a visit from our local Missionary Priest Fr. Nicky Hennity. He told us about how he worked in Kenya, which is a country near the equator, in a place called Mombasa, so it is always hot. He said that he swims in the Indian Ocean as the water is always warm and he sees lots of different wildlife. We discussed all the different animals that he has seen on his travels such as zebra, lions and giraffe. He informed us about some of the behaviours he has witnessed from the elephant and the mountain gorilla. He reminded us that all these fabulous beasts were created by God, as we were. He informed us that his work was to spread God’s message of love throughout the world. We sang for him, and he was very impressed.

We participated in “Restart a Heart Programme.” This showed us what to do if there is a person whose heart has stopped beating. We were shown how to look for danger, check if there is any response from the casualty, and what to do if there is no response. We placed our hands in the “CPR” lock and then performed compressions on our teddies. It was fun, but it is a very important.

In Numeracy, in the topic of Shape, we have increased our awareness of the properties of shapes, and the fact there are regular and irregular shapes. Using a 7 shaped tangram, we identified the shapes we were given, (5 triangles, 1 square, 1 parallelogram). We were shown a selection of “pictures” that can be created using these shapes and were encouraged to try to create them as best we could. We had great fun making rabbits, horses, cats and dogs.

We celebrated Rosh Hashanah this week. We had such a good time as we had the opportunity to taste the food that is eaten by the Jewish people as they observe this occasion. We had Challah Bread, Honey Biscuits, apples dipped in honey (well, we dipped everything in honey) and Pomegranate. We really enjoyed the opportunity to taste new foods, textures and flavours. We are looking forward to our next celebration.

We finished the week by taking part in our Annual Sponsored Walk, in aid of the Mourne First Responders.  Once again, the sun shone for us as we walked around Mourne Park. It was a beautiful setting for the event and each and every one who took part really had an extremely enjoyable experience. We used our ears to listen to the sounds of the birds, animals and the river. We used our eyes to see the beautiful colours of the Autumn leaves.

In Numeracy we have continued to explore Shape. We once again looked at some of the “shape” artwork that has been created by different artists such as Braque and Delaunay to see what shapes we could identify in their work. We were introduced to the pentagon and the hexagon. We also learned that there are different types of triangles, such as equilateral and isosceles. We were given some 2D shapes and were encouraged to draw around them any way we wanted on our pages, overlapping as much as possible. We then coloured in each different section achieved to create our own shape pictures.

We had great fun using ICT to reinforce our knowledge of Place Value. 

Place Value Basket Ball!

We had the very important task of voting for those we want to represent us on our School Council. We had the opportunity to watch the "promotional videos," created by the P.7 pupils, informing us, as to why we should vote for them. We then had to make our selection in secret. 

In Irish we learned how to pronounce our names i nGaeilge, and how to say “Maidin Mhaith,” to each other. We also explored how to describe how we are feeling.

In Numeracy we have been exploring Place Value. In pairs we were tasked with counting a large number of cubes. We counted in so many different ways; in 1’s, 2’s, according to colour, rainbow colours but we discovered that is was a lot easier to count the cubes if they were built into a tower of ten. We were then able to count up all the tens and add on the extra single cubes. We were encouraged to describe them as Tens and Ones, stating what the whole number was, and then trying to write that number in words.

In WAU and ICT we worked on “Rosh Hashanah.” We logged onto Just2Easy and using the “mix” option in JiT, we created a “Fact File” about Rosh Hashanah. “Mix” means that there will be a ‘mix’ of pictures and text on our work. It was great fun typing onto the screen, we had to find where the letters, were on the keyboard, because they are not in alphabetical order. We had to find the special keys that help us create a capital letter, a space between our words, a full stop, and of course the delete button, just in case we make a mistake.

In PE this week we focused on teamwork and how we have to listen to each other, focus on the task at hand and work together if we want to get the desired result. We realised that encouraging and supporting each other is a major element of collaboration.

We had our first Irish Session Bean Uí Riain this week. She had her “furry” friends with her who helped us remember their animal names and colours. We had fun singing in Irish “Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star!” “Travelling to School,” and “The Rainbow Song!”

Our WAU Theme for this term is Celebrations Around the World. We have been learning about Rosh Hashanah the Jewish feast of New Year, that takes place during the month of September. Rosh Hashanah lasts for two days. The Jewish people do not work, and they go to their Church which is called a synagogue. A special horn called a ‘shofar’ is blown to signal the start of Rosh Hashanah. Sweet food like apples and honey are eaten. Challah bread is dipped in honey. Pomegranates are eaten to wish that in the new year, people will do as many good deeds as the number of seeds in a pomegranate. We had great fun creating some of the elements associated with Rosh Hashanah. 

In our ICT session this week. We all had the chance to log on to our Chrome Books using our individual usernames and passwords. We signed into the “Mathletics” site and worked on the tasks that our teacher had set for us to reinforce the work we have been doing in class. 

In PE this week we had the opportunity to “Rob the Nest,” developing our skills as a team (tactics had to be discussed,) and following the rules of the activity.

In Numeracy we have been exploring the 30 Array. We discovered that there are a lot of patterns to be found on this Array. However, “Pete the Painter!” slipped into our class and he loves to cover up numbers, so we had to try to identify the numbers he had covered up by using our knowledge of the patterns.

Look at all these happy faces, glad to be back at school.

In Literacy we practiced our Talking & Listening Skills as we told each other about our Summer Holidays. We then listened to the story of Michael and his Mum’s trip to the seaside in “Sand, Waves and Ice Cream.” We worked in pairs to sequence some pictures of the story on the correct order.

In ICT we logged in to JiT and using the “draw” tool experimented with some ideas we had as a design for a   “Star of the Week” Certificate.                                         

In Phonics we have been reinforcing all our letter sounds and practicing how to blend these sounds when we are reading, but also how to segment sounds when we are spelling. We had great fun playing “Pairs” on the IWB where we had to match the sound action to the letter. 

In Numeracy we revised our number knowledge, counting forwards and backwards in ones starting from different numbers. To help reinforce this skill we played “Count Around.” (outside, P.E style.)