On this page you will find information about the work we have completed as a school towards achieving an SFI Plaque of STEM award. We have already achieved three SFI Plaque of STEM awards and we participated in the SFI Badge of Excellence for STEM Awareness pilot programme and achieved a Badge of Excellence for our work. The gallery below is just a snapshot of some of the work taking place under the STEM umbrella in our school this year (2021/2022).
Step 1: Science
Living Things
Autumn Walk
Ms. Barry's Junior Infants went on their Autumn nature walk to the 'Hugging Tree' in Rathcormac. The pupils brought a bag with them and found lots of different leaves on the way. They even found some conkers on the ground at the horse chestnut tree!
After many wet days Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants were finally able to go on their nature walk to look for signs of autumn. On their walk they saw many signs of autumn. They saw dew, conkers, fallen leaves, helicopter seeds and spider webs! On their nature walk they also visited the magical Hugging Tree. Legend has it that the Hugging Tree can grant wishes if you give it a hug so they all gave the Hugging Tree a hug and made a wish. They had a great time exploring autumn on their nature walk and their bags were full by the time they returned to school! Back in class they explored what they had in their bags and they discovered they had found horse chestnut, sycamore, beech and oak leaves as well as conkers and their husks, beech nuts and their cupules and sycamore seedlings (helicopters). They could see some conkers that were almost ready to come out of their husks and they had some beech nuts almost ready to come out of their cupules too. They made their sycamore seedlings (helicopters) spin and they enjoyed looking at their collections through their magnifying glasses so that they could see them in better detail! They also used the leaves they had collected to make leaf lanterns.
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Ms. Bermingham's 1st Class really enjoyed going on their Autumn walk to see the many different signs of Autumn in the world around us! They looked for the different types of trees - oak, horse chestnut, beech, holly, sycamore and their fruit - acorns, horse chestnuts, beech nuts and helicopter seeds. They enjoyed their walk in the nice weather and explored what they found back in the classroom after. They also gave the great 'hugging tree' a hug!
The Life Cycle of an Oak Tree In their science and geography work, they also learned about the life cycle of an oak tree. It was very interesting to see how the tree grows through the four stages from a little acorn to a sprout, then a sapling and then after many years in to a big oak tree. They also really enjoyed their story 'Little Acorns' which was about the story of an oak tree which showed great pictures of each stage. Then they went to see a young sapling of an oak tree in our own school grounds which was great to see! |
In Mr. Neville's first class, the boys and girls were learning all about the different signs of Autumn. On a sunny day in September, they went on a nature walk to explore the different signs of Autumn close to the school. They saw lots of conkers, acorns, beech nuts, pine cones, colourful leaves and lots more. The boys and girls gave the 'famous' Hugging Tree a big hug and made a wish. In their groups, they collected some signs of Autumn that they explored further back in the classroom. They had also been learning about the different types of trees that are common in Ireland so they were looking out for oak, sycamore, beech and horse chestnut trees on their walk. Back in the classroom, they learned about the lifecycle of an oak tree. The boys and girls were very interested in hearing about how a little acorn can, after many years, grow into a mighty oak tree.
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Tasting Day
In Science, Ms. Barry's and Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants have been learning about keeping healthy. They learned that we can take care of ourselves by eating a balanced diet, exercising, having good personal hygiene, dressing appropriately for the weather, talking about our feelings and getting enough rest and sleep. In class they tasted pears, peppers, cucumbers, nectarines, tomatoes and watermelon. They were very brave and tried all the different fruits 😊 They also recorded their preferences on their recording sheets.
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Ms. Hogan's 5th Class completed experiments while exploring the lungs in Science. They made model lungs to investigate breathing in our bodies and labelled all the different parts involved.
Ms. Hogan's 5th Class conducted two experiments and were surprised by how well they worked, especially making their mini fire extinguishers! See below.
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Ms. Hogan's 5th Class went on an autumn walk and made beautiful trays out of clay using the print from the leaves they collected.
Energy and Forces
Sound
Junior Infants and 5th class met in the school halla and the pupils made their own phones using paper cups and string.
Junior Infants and 5th class met in the school halla and the pupils made their own phones using paper cups and string.
Heat
Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants carried out an experiment to find the hottest place in their classroom. They placed ice cubes in 3 different locations in their room (on the worktop, by the whiteboard and on the radiator) and they checked the ice cubes every 5 minutes. The ice cubes on the radiator melted quickest. This let them know that the radiator was the hottest place in their room.
Light
Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants have been learning about colours. They went on a colour hunt around the school and then they experimented with paint to create different shades of colours, using white paint to make their shades lighter. They also ordered shades of yellow, red, green and blue from darkest to lightest.
Ms. Hogan's 5th Cass investigated light in Science. They looked at refraction and reflection of light and how light travels. They conducted experiments to explore it further.
Materials
The girls and boys in Ms. McCarthy's Senior Infants tested what would happen when certain items were heated. They had lots of fun testing ice, chocolate, butter and ice-cream.
They also had lots of fun mixing vinegar and baking powder together. They predicted the outcome and were very excited to see that the gas caused the balloons to inflate. They love science!
Environmental Awareness and Care
Ms. Kearney's 3rd Class and Ms. Hynes' 3rd Class organised a litter pick of the local area. Well done 3rd Class!
Ms. Hogan's 5th Class have begun work on our school garden. They have planted potatoes, onions and spinach in the garden to date. They are also bringing the garden indoors to their classroom and have beetroot, tomatoes and lettuce growing on their windowsills.
Science Week
Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants really enjoyed Science Week and had lots of fun carrying out experiments each day!
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Skittles Experiment
Investigating Waterproof Materials
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Dancing Raisins
Exploring the effect of heating and cooling on chocolate
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The boys and girls in Ms. Kelleher's Senior Infants participated in lots of different experiments during Science Week. They had so much fun during these experiments. Well done to all our little scientists.
During Science week Ms. Bermingham's 1st Class did experiments each day. They made 'fireworks in a glass', a 'skittles experiment', learned about static electricity and also about heart rate and exercise. See some pictures below!
Mr. Neville's 1st Class had lots of fun during Science Week investigating different experiments. They explored the affect of hot water on Skittles and made lots of rainbows in their classroom. The boys and girls loved watching the different colours merge together. They also investigated the effect of water on Gummy Bears. They left them soaking in water over a few days and they grew into giant Gummy Bears. It was very interesting comparing the size of the jellies afterwards.
They learned all about static electricity and the effect it can have on materials. They investigated what happens when you charge a balloon with static electricity by rubbing it against their jumpers. They saw the balloon was able to pick up materials, such as crepe paper and tissue paper, off the table. When the balloon was charged with static electricity, it was also able to make their hair stand up which gave them lots of new, funny hairstyles!
They learned all about static electricity and the effect it can have on materials. They investigated what happens when you charge a balloon with static electricity by rubbing it against their jumpers. They saw the balloon was able to pick up materials, such as crepe paper and tissue paper, off the table. When the balloon was charged with static electricity, it was also able to make their hair stand up which gave them lots of new, funny hairstyles!
Below are photos from Ms. Feeney's 2nd Class. They made Lemon & Lime Volcanoes which they created using lemons & limes, bread soda, food colouring and some vinegar at the end for extra fizz! Lemons and limes are acidic and baking soda is basic and when they are combined they cause a chemical reaction creating lots of foam and fizziness as carbon dioxide is released!
Ms. Feeney's 2nd Class also carried out the 'pepper and soap' and 'magic milk' experiments. They gave them a great understanding of how soap can shift away germs! The magic milk experiment came out on top for the coolest effects!
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Ms. Dorgan's 4th Class put up a display in the hallway to share some of their Science Week work with other classes.
Investigating the Vitruvian Theory in Ms. Barry's 5th Class!
Ms. Hogan's 5th Class conducted an experiment to examine the importance of hand hygiene. The results were generally as expected with one surprise, their santised hands performed best of all! They do admit however, that a lot of hand sanitiser was used in conducting this experiment! 😁
For Science Week Ms. Hogan's 5th Class also set themselves the task of designing and making a prosthesis for their toys. They thoroughly enjoyed this task - it was challenging and funny in equal measure! 😁 The feedback was unanimous, everybody had great fun doing it.
They had to assess themselves using the following criteria:
1. Does the prosthesis fit?
2. Do you think it feels comfortable for your toy?
3. Does it improve mobility (movement) for the user (toy)?
4. Is it suitable e.g. is it balanced?
Take a look at their designs below...
They had to assess themselves using the following criteria:
1. Does the prosthesis fit?
2. Do you think it feels comfortable for your toy?
3. Does it improve mobility (movement) for the user (toy)?
4. Is it suitable e.g. is it balanced?
Take a look at their designs below...
Guest Speakers
Visit from the Heritage Council
We were very lucky to receive a visit from the Heritage Council. We found out about some of the birds that can be found in Ireland, we learned how to draw a bird and we even got to see and touch a bird's nest and some birds too. Below you can see photos from Junior Infants and 1st Class.
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Ms. Hynes' 3rd Class are really enjoying their Lego workshops with Bricks4kidz.
Space Week
For Space Week Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants learned about the sun, the moon, the stars and planet Earth. They watched some videos from astronaut Chris Hadfield showing how people sleep, eat and brush their teeth in space. They also learned about Neil Armstrong and watched a video of him walking on the moon. They created pictures of themselves as astronauts in space, they made their very own rockets and after listening to the story 'Aliens Love Underpants' they made aliens out of clay! They really enjoyed Space Week!
For Space Week, Mr. Neville's 1st Class had so much fun learning about our Solar System and what astronauts get up to while they are in space. They learned cool facts about astronauts as they were reading Adventures of an Astronaut, such as what they eat, how they exercise and what they do in their free time in space. They also read a book The Darkest Dark, which is written by the famous astronaut Chris Hadfield. They got creative and made rockets that they used to blast off at the end of their poem 'Climb Aboard the Spaceship!'. They also made funny aliens and spaceships out of their playdough. The boys and girls learned new facts about the eight planets in our Solar System. They watched videos of astronauts blasting off from N.A.S.A. in their rockets and discussed if they would like to travel to the moon someday.
Ms. Crowley's 2nd Class learned how to do marbling in Art and then used the finished sheets to create the planets in the solar system for Space Week!
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Ms. Feeney's 2nd Class really enjoyed Space Week. They learned about night and day, the first moon landing, the Space Race and they created very cool solar systems using polystyrene balls, paint and barbeque sticks! They showed fantastic teamworking skills during this project.
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Ms. Kearney's 3rd Class had a great week over Space Week. The children learned about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon in English. They looked at the Space Race and filled in a timeline of the events in History. The children learned about the sun and the planets. The children learned the correct order of the planets from the sun. They made their own solar system by placing the planets in the correct order.They were also extremely lucky to have their first workshop from Bricks4kidz this month.They had so much fun and can't wait
for them to return to do the 2nd session in November!
for them to return to do the 2nd session in November!
Bricks4Kidz also came to visit Ms. Hynes' 3rd Class. The class got to learn about being an engineer, design their own rockets and even make a rocket that moved! Have a look below for some pictures of the engineers at work.
Ms. Hogan's 5th Class really enjoyed learning about planet Earth in space, our solar system and how it all works together. They learned about day and night, the seasons and why we have them here on Earth and why some planets do not. They used the chromebooks and iPads to find out more interesting facts about our solar system and created a 3D model using papier mache below. It was a messy task but they were very happy with how it turned out! 😊
Step 2: Technology
There was great excitement when Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants used the school iPads for the first time! They used them to work on patterns, puzzles and their sounds. Look at the concentration on their faces!
Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants used their interactive whiteboard to create graphs on different topics. Each child moved their vote into place on the graph and they could then easily see the most/least popular items in each graph. You can see 2 of their graphs below.
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Bee Bots
Working in small groups, Ms. Feeney's 2nd Class loved designing and playing Bee Bot games!
Working in small groups, Ms. Feeney's 2nd Class loved designing and playing Bee Bot games!
Ms. Kearney's 3rd Class had so much fun when Emer from Bricks4Kidz came to visit them. She gave them the challenge to become engineers and problem solvers and make a speed bot. They all worked so well on building their speed bots! Then the fun began when they got to race their speed bots against each other.
Ms. McGrath's 4th Class were delighted to take part in the Johnson and Johnson STEM Academy Energy Program. They learned that energy is what makes things move, change or carry out work and that work is done when you push or pull something over a distance. They also learned that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be converted from one type to another. They looked at electrical, light, sound, thermal and kinetic energy over the course of their work. They had great fun working with electrical circuits, building lighthouses and racing cars. Thank you to all in Johnson & Johnson for facilitating such an enjoyable program!
The 2 Cool 4 School Podcast!
Students in Scoil Bhríde have been hard at work over the past few weeks, preparing and recording their very first whole school podcast! Hosted by Sixth Class students, Nicole and Isabelle, the podcast is packed with jokes, music, quiz questions and more. Tune in and listen carefully for your chance to win a mystery bag!
Click on the link below to listen!
Click on the link below to listen!
Step 3: Engineering
For Engineers Week Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants had 4 stations and each group tried a different station each day. The stations were: 1. Design a way for the Gingerbread Man to cross the river. 2. Design a way for Rapunzel to escape from her tower. 3. Construction station. 4. Working on Maths and designing Lego trains on the iPads. On the last day they were delighted that their buddies from 5th Class came to work with them. You can see some of their wonderful work below. We definitely have lots of budding engineers in Junior Infants!
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The boys and girls in Ms. Kelleher's Senior Infants had lots of fun creating buildings during Engineers Week. They particularly enjoyed designing and creating their own playgrounds! Well done boys and girls!
Ms. McCarthy's Senior Infants designed playgrounds for Engineers Week. There are lots of budding engineers in Senior Infants!
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Ms. Bermingham's 1st class enjoyed taking part in the 'Design a Playground' challenge. Lots of engineers in this class!
The children in Ms. Crowley's 2nd Class were very busy planning, designing and creating their Marble Mazes! Didn't they do a great job?
Take a look at the marble mazes from Ms. Feeney's 2nd Class. They learned about the different phases of engineering including design, build, testing and improvement. Their favourite part of the process was getting to try out each others mazes at the end!
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On Wednesday 9th March, Ms. Kearney's 3rd Class were so lucky to have a zoom call with Michael from Designer Minds which was sponsored by Johnson and Johnson. They learned about the various types of engineers before becoming engineers themselves. They had to design a zipline using various recycled items they found at home. They then went one step further by making a zipline with a slope!! They came up with some wonderful creations, don't you think?
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Ms. Kearney's 3rd Class were learning about sustainability in urban areas. As part of this the children learned about the engineering design process. They decided to put it to the test by designing something that they would love in the park. The children were put in groups and they discussed together what they would like. They then decided on materials they would use to make their models. The children had to use some problem solving during their constructions just like engineers on a daily basis. Their final creations turned out amazingly!
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Ms. Hynes' 3rd Class used recyclable materials to create new items for the local playground. Have a look at their amazing creations.
Ms. Hogan's 5th Class really enjoyed Engineers Week! They had great fun learning about the different types of engineers in our lives and what their jobs involve. They interviewed engineers they know, conducted experiments at school, completed an engineering task and presented it to the class.
Engineer's Week is always a highlight of our SESE curriculum in Scoil Bhride, and this year was no different. Ms. Cashman's 6th Class learned lots about engineering and engineers over the course of the week, and even had a go at some hands-on engineering themselves. They divided into groups, and their task was to design and build a free-standing tower with a hanging bucket. Well done to Philip, Sian, Charlie, Angelica and Evan who won the challenge with their 'Bermuda Triangle' tower.
Step 4: Maths
Maths
Ms. Barry's Junior Infants have been sorting and grouping materials based on different attributes.
Ms. Barry's Junior Infants have been sorting and grouping materials based on different attributes.
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Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants have been learning the numbers 1-5 and they went on a number hunt around the school to see if they could spot any of their numbers!
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In Maths Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants have also been learning about Data. They created their own graphs using hands on materials and they also created graphs together on the interactive whiteboard.
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Ms. Hogan's 5th Class made clinometers in class during Science Week. They had great fun testing them out around school. Making the clinometers wasn't the hardest part, using them proved a little trickier! They had to work in pairs and help each other to get an accurate reading, it took a few attempts. They measured the height of basketball posts, lamp posts, trees and the highest peak in our school building. They used a trundle wheel to complete their calculations and recorded them in their SESE copies.
Step 5: STEM Show and Tell
Ella & Róisín presented their wonderful Intel Mini Scientist Competition entry "What is the best way to tie your shoelaces?" We were so impressed by the standard of their project and all the hard work and effort they put in. Well done Ella and Róisín.
Ms. Hogan's 5th Class were so lucky to be able to take part in the Johnson and Johnson STEM Academy. They learned and completed the 3D Printing process from start to finish!
They decided to print name keychains. They created their designs in Tinkercad, sliced them for printing using the Dremel Digilab and printed them in class using the 3D printer! Some of of their designs took time and had to be reworked a couple of times before printing but they were delighted with the finished product!
They learned so many new skills along the way such as: engineering a design that could be printed easily and experimenting to find the most efficient way to print it; designing and making their product unique by adding different details; and problem solving the technical issues they encountered using Tinkercad and Digilab. They all worked together as a team to help each other out and to share what they had learned with each other. See below the presentation they put together to explain the process and some of the class presenting the project.
They decided to print name keychains. They created their designs in Tinkercad, sliced them for printing using the Dremel Digilab and printed them in class using the 3D printer! Some of of their designs took time and had to be reworked a couple of times before printing but they were delighted with the finished product!
They learned so many new skills along the way such as: engineering a design that could be printed easily and experimenting to find the most efficient way to print it; designing and making their product unique by adding different details; and problem solving the technical issues they encountered using Tinkercad and Digilab. They all worked together as a team to help each other out and to share what they had learned with each other. See below the presentation they put together to explain the process and some of the class presenting the project.
2020 - 2021
LIVING THINGS
We have planted bulbs and seeds, explored plant life cycles and conducted experiments!
ENERGY & FORCES
We explored energy and forces through tornado designing, raft building, balloon boarding and magnetism!
Magnetism Experiment - Investigating how to make a compass...
In 5th class we did an experiment in Science to test two different ways to make a compass. Both methods involved magnetising a needle but we used two different ways to test it...
Method 1: We placed the needle on a leaf floating in water.
Method 2: We suspended the needle from a pencil in a wide glass.
Results: Method 1 was the most effective, the needle floating on the leaf pointed North 100% of the times it was tested in each pod! Method 2 was far less successful, only pointing North 50% of the time in some pods and not at all in others!
Conclusion: After much discussion, we think it is because method 2 was quite tricky. It was difficult getting the needle to stay on the thread when magnetising and then suspending it from the pencil also. Method 1 was very simple and there was very little interference with the magnetised needle, so it held it's charge better.
In 5th class we did an experiment in Science to test two different ways to make a compass. Both methods involved magnetising a needle but we used two different ways to test it...
Method 1: We placed the needle on a leaf floating in water.
Method 2: We suspended the needle from a pencil in a wide glass.
Results: Method 1 was the most effective, the needle floating on the leaf pointed North 100% of the times it was tested in each pod! Method 2 was far less successful, only pointing North 50% of the time in some pods and not at all in others!
Conclusion: After much discussion, we think it is because method 2 was quite tricky. It was difficult getting the needle to stay on the thread when magnetising and then suspending it from the pencil also. Method 1 was very simple and there was very little interference with the magnetised needle, so it held it's charge better.
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MATERIALS
In Second Class we are using different materials for printing in Art and decided to learn more about each one. The bubble-wrap was our favourite! We learned why it is used to protect objects that might be fragile.
TECHNOLOGY
Miss Mc Grath's 4th Class were incredibly lucky to be chosen to take part in Johnson and Johnson's STEM Academy this year. The students learned about Depuy Synthes and the products they make, how to design 3D models, how to use a 3D printer and the positive applications of 3D printing in the world. Using TinkerCAD 3D modelling software, the students designed their own keyring and experimented with designing characters, houses and play areas. Thank you to Johnson and Johnson for the opportunity and kind gifts for the students!
ENGINEERING
We designed and created windmills. Take a look at our creations!
For Engineers Week Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants had 4 different activities to try during the week: free construction, designing a way for the Gingerbread Man to cross the river, problem solving/designing using a Lego app on the iPads and designing a way for Rapunzel to escape from her tower. Ms. Murphy's Junior Infants are wonderful engineers!
Rapunzel station: help Rapunzel escape from her tower. We had lots of great ideas to help Rapunzel escape. We designed ladders, slides, stairs, trampolines and poles to name just a few! Have a look at our ideas below:
Rapunzel station: help Rapunzel escape from her tower. We had lots of great ideas to help Rapunzel escape. We designed ladders, slides, stairs, trampolines and poles to name just a few! Have a look at our ideas below:
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The Gingerbread Man station: Design a way for the Gingerbread Man to cross the river. We made boats, jet-skis, planes, robots, bridges, stepping stones, tunnels and speed boats to name just a few. Have a look at our ideas below:
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MATHS
5th class made and learned how to use Clinometers and investigated if the Vitruvian theory is true...
CLINOMETERS
In 5th Class we made clinometers in class during Science Week. We had great fun testing them out around school. Making the clinometers wasn't so bad but using them proved a little trickier! We had to work in pairs and help each other to get an accurate reading, it took a few attempts. We measured the height of basketball posts, lamp posts, trees and the highest peak in our school building. We used a trundle wheel to complete our calculations and recorded them in our Maths copies.
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THE VITRUVIAN THEORY
