Junior and Senior Infants
January - March 2024
We have been very busy in school since we came back after Christmas, we've enjoyed a variety of activities that made learning fun. From math sessions to Irish games, we've had a blast exploring different subjects. We learned about vets and the garden centre during Aistear, got lost in English stories, phonic activities, reading, writing, SESE and so much more. We also celebrated Pancake Tuesday with creativity and fun, composing pancake poems and indulging in delicious pancakes. We also learned about farms and got to practice milking the cow ‘Bó’ which Ms McNamara kindly made for the class.
Over the term we loved learning and participating in our French lessons with Ms Rice and the class also learned how to say ‘good morning’ in five different European languages as part of our European Project.
Last term, we also had the thrill of a surprise snow day which added great excitement, it was a very ‘cool’ day for all in school which involved falling snowflakes, building snowmen and throwing snowballs!
'Seachtain na Gaeilge' was another fun event which was full of laughter, cómhra and Irish dancing. We got to perform our Irish songs and Irish dancing during a whole school assembly and we all dressed up in green for our ‘Lá glás’.
As Easter approached, we got creative with art, poems and stories. And of course, who could forget the excitement of our Easter egg hunt, a joyful conclusion to our term filled with fun and learning.
September - December 2023
We had a busy term before Christmas. The Junior and Senior Infants settled well into school in September and they worked very hard over the past few months, learning, playing,
socialising and having fun. We were very lucky to have Dee Dee come to teach some Music lessons to the class whichalso included having fun with bubble machines, lights, songs, dances and loads of laughter.
We have been keeping ourselves busy learning our sounds, reading books, speaking Irish, completing Art activities and so much more. We also did some Halloween baking and we
made spooky cupcakes. They were scary but DELICIOUS and enjoyed by all.
Our learning also moved out of the classroom this term and we went on Nature walks nearby to spot the different signs of the seasons. We really enjoyed going into TUS on the
bus to take part in the Athletics programme which was so exciting. The children loved the large running track in the TUS grounds.
As time moved closer to Christmas the Junior and Senior Infants had a very special visitor from an elf called ‘Sparkle’. He loved watching the children complete all their Christmas art and learning activities and he really enjoyed listening to them practicing their songs for our Christmas Mass. The children in infants performed the Nativity the night of our Christmas Mass and sang beautifully. We then had a great Christmas party in school to mark the end of 2023 which all the children loved. We are looking forward to more fun and games in 2024.
September2022
The Ardnagrath Infants have started off the school year to a great start. It has been such a busy term
for us all. Our new Juniors are all very welcome to Ardnagrath and are all settling in so well. They
have been very busy since starting their ‘Big School’ journey and along with the Senior Infants, they
have been busy making new friends, playing games, learning new sounds, reading, singing, speaking
Irish, participating in Maths activities, dancing and much more. They have been very busy bodies!!!
Over this term we have been busy learning about Autumn and all the changes that it brings. We
went on a nature walk and created a lovely autumn nature table in the classroom, along with doing
some lovely autumn art and literacy activities.
The Infants also have a huge love of Aistear in the classroom. Aistear is based on themed play areas
focusing on a different topic to learn about each month. They have been amazing taking part in all
the different play areas and activities and they have especially loved playing in the ‘Witches Den’ as
part of our Role play area for Halloween. We are really looking forward to the next few months and
all the work, learning, play and fun that is to be had! There is also a Christmas play in the
making…….WE CANT WAIT!!!
Junior Infants
April 2022
The children in Junior and Senior infants have been so busy over the past term. We are always working hard on our sounds, reading, tricky words and much more. We love our active Maths lessons and we also love speaking and practicing our Irish, taking part in our Art, doing Drama and creating interesting SESE activities/ experiments.
We recently went on a Spring Walk, along with First class and we loved being out in the sunshine searching for all the signs of Spring. We even brought some leaves, branches and flowers back to our classroom for our Spring Nature table. We used daffodils to do a science experiment to learn about what plants need in order to survive. We used red and blue food dye in the plant’s water and it was amazing to see the flowers changing colours. We have also made grass heads as part of our ART/SESE. We are watching them eagerly each day as we cannot wait for them to grow.
As part of Seachtain na Gaeilge we spoke lots of Irish each day. We also learned a new song ‘Teidí Beag Álainn’ and we enjoyed doing all of the actions and singing the song. As it was Seachtain na Gaeilge we learned a new jig in our PE class and we danced along to traditional Irish music. It was so much fun.
Yogo in Class
The infants are big fans of Aistear in the classroom (Play based learning). We recently had the Vet’s Surgery in the classroom and now our role play area is based on the Garden Centre. We were also lucky to get a visit from Garda Jimmy Cronolly who told us all about the job of a Garda and how important it is to help others. We always look out for our friends in school and we have been trying to help our community by caring for the environment. We take turns to bring home the litter picker to gather any litter and we also work hard at recycling in school.
We are really enjoying our Athletics classes every week in the AIT in Athlone. The infants love all the running, jumping, sprints and hurdles. Travelling on the bus into the college is also a great novelty and enjoyed by all.
Recently we took part in the Arcadia project with the rest of the school. We had the job of sorting the crayons by their colours and we loved having the older children in to help us.
Young Sciencists
As a treat for all the learning and hard work, we had a pajamas day in School just before Christmas. The children wore their cosy pajamas to school and enjoyed hot chocolate and a movie. We are now looking forward to a toy day in our classroom where we can bring toys from home to show our friends and play with that day.
The school year is flying by as everyone is so busy learning, playing and most importantly having fun. Roll on our next term for more fun, games, lessons and learning.
April 2011
Welcome back to school everyone after a long Easter break.
We had great fun during lockdown using SeeSaw and having Zoom classes.
SESE
We learned all about Spring-
Out on our Nature Walk, looking for bird’s nests, daffodils, crocus, snowdrops, bluebells and tulips.
We saw baby lambs and calves.
We all became gardeners and sowed our own seeds, radish, peas, beetroot and lettuce.
We make sure to water them every day. It is so exciting to watch them grow.
Science
We became scientists and did lots of experiments with plants.
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We sowed seeds just in soil with no water.
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We sowed seeds with water and soil but put them in the dark press.
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We sowed beans in a jar with tissue paper.
It is fun to watch the roots break the seed shell and begin to grow.
Here’s some of the fun activitiess and events that have taken place since our return:
We took part in the Westmeath Moveathon.
We walked, trotted and trotted around the school grounds. All the other children took part too.
St. Patrick’s Day
We all dressed up in green for St. Patrick’s Day and had our own parades. We were searching for Larry Leprechaun outside and his pot of gold.
We had an orienteering adventure at Easter when we found lots of Easter Eggs.
Fire Safety
We are learning all about fire safety and the brave firemen and women who save cats from trees and put out fires. We might even get a call from the fire brigade soon.
P.E
Every week we are practicing our football skills with Alan.
Maths
We love doing Data in Maths when we collect information about lots of interesting things.
Make sure to check back in for more updates in the coming months.
Update from Ms Keena's pod - Junior Infants:
Welcome back everyone to a very unusual year. It is fun that all the teachers are wearing masks and we have to sanitise our hands and clean the table spaces often. This year is going to be lots of fun and we have lots of exciting things to look forward to.
Senior Infants
The Senior Infants have really enjoyed being back to school since March. We have been very busy learning, playing and having fun in the classroom and out in the school yard.
We have been trying to make the most of any sunshine and good weather so we have been learning a lot outdoors. The school carpark is of great interest to our class as we have been having great fun carrying out Maths, Irish, English and PE activities in the carpark. We also brought out our Aistear play toys and activities and really enjoyed playing with them in our outdoor space. Sunshine calls for fun time so we have had a few picnics out on the rubber-lock area when the weather permitted and we hope to do this even more in the coming weeks.
On the run up to the Easter holidays we had a very interesting visitor playing tricks around the school- Mr Easter Bunny himself! He left lovely chocolate eggs for the Senior Infants. We also really enjoyed learning all about Easter, completing Art activities based on Easter and learning all the Irish vocabulary around ‘An Cháisc’.
Recently in school, the Senior Infants have been learning all about the Emergency Services. We have a lovely teacher, Ms Fahy, who has been in helping us and the class have been learning all about the work of a firefighter. Ms. Fahy has completed some lovely art pieces and other activities with the children all based on the Firefighter.
Although we only have a few weeks left until the Summer Holidays, we will continue to have loads of fun in school, learning and playing together.
Update from Ms Maxwell:
We want to say a big welcome to all our new Junior and Senior Infants; it is so great to be back to school and to see all of the children’s happy faces each day.
The children have settled into our new school environment so well. Each class forms their own bubble and the children are then divided into groups or pods within that bubble. All of our infants have been excellent and they been working so hard to keep themselves and their friends safe with regular sanitizing, hand washing and social distancing when possible.
We have been so busy in class learning our sounds, writing our letters and words and reading books.
We were also very lucky with our Autumn weather so the Junior and Senior infants went on a nature walk near the school. We used our senses to explore autumn and we also learned about the old castle of Ardnagrath.
We have been having so much fun in school over the past few weeks, from playing during Aistear, exploring drama games, playing outside during GAA training and getting active during PE. School has been great fun so far and we are looking forward to all the learning and activities that are yet to come.