The Juniors enjoyed their two weeks off school to celebrate Easter but were very happy to be back in the classroom with Ms. Mills! We only had two weeks on our April Aistear theme ‘At the Vets’ but we packed a lot in! In Play Time, the children enjoyed Role Play in the vet surgery where they got to bring stuffed animals in to see the vet. They filled out patient forms, waited to be called in the waiting room, and observed, operated and gave medicine to different animals including dogs, cats, a snake and an owl. We even had a dog give birth to five puppies! In Playdough, the children made vets, animals and food out of dough and in Construction they built the vets, complete with different animals. Finally, for Play Time was Small World where the children created a patient’s area and the surgery and then enjoyed acting out scenarios with the animal figures.
In SESE, the Junior Room looked at people and their jobs, starting with a postal worker and learning about the journey of a letter. They moved on to think about which people do different jobs, looking at the clothes they wear that help us to identify them, such as a high-vis suit and breathing apparatus for fire fighters and blue scrubs for a nurse. The children really enjoyed thinking about what they might like to do when they grow up. We have an Infant Class made up of a pilot, a vet, a bus driver and a life guard! The older children read about Aleen Cust, a woman from Tipperary who wanted to become a vet over 150 years ago. They were fascinated (and a bit angry) to find out that even though Aleen worked very hard at her training, she was teased a lot and was not allowed to take her final exams because only men were allowed to be vets at the time. After working with a male vet for 27 years, and giving lots of money to the poor, she was finally allowed to take her final exams and became the first qualified vet in Ireland. The children took what they had learnt to write a letter in character as if they were Aleen. What an incredible story!
As the weather has been getting warmer, the Junior Room have had a lovely time helping Ms. Mills to plant some flowers to help make our school environment and even nicer place to be. They first had to prepare the window boxes from last year, removing any weeds, dead flowers and moss and then turning the soil so that it was less compact. The children then listened carefully to learn how to make a hole in the soil, unpot the flowers and gently release their roots. Once the window boxes were done, they planted up the big flower box next to the outdoor classroom and then worked with the Seniors to use the hose and water them all.
In Art, the children learnt all about Romero Britto and his love of Pop Art and Cubism. They used his style to create a piece of art, starting off by following a step-by-step guide to draw a dog. They then used pattern, bold lines and bright colours to produce these final pieces.
