This term is a very busy one for us as the children in the Junior room and Senior room have gymnastics each Tuesday with our new coach from School Fitness Ireland. The children are learning a range of new moves concentrating on balance and co-ordination. In the Junior room the students are also taking part in hurling lessons which is new for many of the pupils, while the Senior room have started swimming lessons.

Here in Aughrim we are working on ecological projects throughout the year and learning to be climate change friendly. The children were involved in creating this videoclip with Reverend John to highlight the ways we can reduce our carbon footprint and live more sustainable lifestyles. Please watch the YouTube clip to see our wonderful work.

The second class pupils decided to write up a newspaper article this month all about our Aistear theme ‘The Garden Centre’. We hope you enjoy reading it.

We are in the paper!!! The article, as seen below, highlights some of the important ecological projects the pupils are involved in within the school. Recently the children planted twenty fruit trees in the rectory garden which were kindly donated by two different charities; DCs for Bees and Trees on the Land. The article was published in the Connacht Tribune and Ballinasloe Life in the past week. Well done to all the pupils, staff and gardeners involved.

This month as part of our aistear theme the children have been learning all about wildflowers. We decided to go for a walk around the action park to see what wildflowers are growing here on our school grounds. The children were pleasantly surprised to have found as many as they did.

The past number of weeks the pupils in the Junior room have been studying abstract art. Here you can see their own take on abstract art which they were all very proud of, and don’t they look fantastic!

We are delighted to welcome our new coach from School Fitness Ireland who is teaching the children all about exercise and fitness. The classes will focus on various skills such as balancing, co-ordination, dance, stretching and flexibility, resistance/conditioning, and circuits. We are focusing on enhancing the children’s fundamental movement skills, gross motor skills and locomotor skills.

The Senior Room are participating in the Blue Star programme this year. They are learning about the history, geography, culture and institutions of Europe. We have completed projects, sampled food from different European countries, constructed buildings from all over Europe, studied European Artists and completed Kahoot quizzes.  In November, we were very lucky to receive European goodie bags from Ballinasloe Library. This week, the pupils wrote letters to our MEPs inviting them of a virtual visit of our school.  At the end of the project, the school hopes to be awarded with a certificate and a European Flag.

The pupils were busy decorating the classrooms for Christmas this month. We designed and painted windows, wrapped doors, made Christmas decorations and much more.