New programme for Autumn/Winter!
We are happy to meet up (in person) once again with our neighbouring school, Trentagh.
The Autumn term is here and that means lots of fun activities. See below for some of our activities and outdoor learning.
We enjoyed our first joint chess lesson in Kilmacrennan. We will be meeting each Friday for several weeks and focusing on social skills and inclusion through playing traditional board games in the Junior room and specifically chess in the Senior room.
And of course, all this active learning is happening through the wonderful Peace IV Shared Eduation Programme, enabling us to meet in a spirit of friendship and shared purpose.
The Autumn term is here and that means lots of fun activities. See below for some of our activities and outdoor learning.
We enjoyed our first joint chess lesson in Kilmacrennan. We will be meeting each Friday for several weeks and focusing on social skills and inclusion through playing traditional board games in the Junior room and specifically chess in the Senior room.
And of course, all this active learning is happening through the wonderful Peace IV Shared Eduation Programme, enabling us to meet in a spirit of friendship and shared purpose.
Junior Room Sports Day
We had a lovely day in Trentagh for our sports day. The weather was not great (to put it mildly) but we had a great day none the less!! We had races, including potato and spoon race and a drop and run. In the afternoon, we had fun indoor activities, which was a great opportunity for the children to play and get to know each other!
Quiz time!
One feature of our most recent meet up was a good, old-fashioned quiz! Rathdonnell and Trentagh pupils enjoyed working together in their teams. Longest river in Britain? What did Johann Gutenberg invent? What does a philatelist collect? No bother to this lot!
Senior Room Sports Day
Our sports day takes the form of a Mini Olympics and pupils were placed among 6 teams- France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Portugal and Brazil. A busy day of sport and activity today. The morning began with some warm ups and then the 100 metres! Next the relay race.
After break it was out to play our team sports- basketball, soccer and Olympic Handball. During a particularly wet spell, we went indoors for a quiz.
In the afternoon we had the individual events - golf, shot putt, target shot, archery and table tennis.
Finally- the ever-popular tug of war followed by prizegiving. Everyone went home with their prize- a tennis ball- to practise catching and throwing skills!
Well done everyone! The teachers and SNAs observed some very skilful and sporting play- right across the board in all sports.
After break it was out to play our team sports- basketball, soccer and Olympic Handball. During a particularly wet spell, we went indoors for a quiz.
In the afternoon we had the individual events - golf, shot putt, target shot, archery and table tennis.
Finally- the ever-popular tug of war followed by prizegiving. Everyone went home with their prize- a tennis ball- to practise catching and throwing skills!
Well done everyone! The teachers and SNAs observed some very skilful and sporting play- right across the board in all sports.
Peil Gaelach
Pupils from Rathdonnell and Trentagh enjoyed a day of sport at the Burn Road today. We played lots of matches and had a penalty shoot out at the end. Great to see our friends. The day was wet but that didn't dampen our fun!
Ards Forest Park
Ards Forest Park is a beautiful amenity and we're lucky to have it on our doorstep. On Monday, pupils watched a local geography lesson prepared by Mrs Duggan. The Scoilnet maps website is brilliant. Pupils located Trentagh and Rathdonnell on the Discovery Map. We then explored the Ards Peninsula by zooming in on the map. Geography vocabulary: peninsula, estuary, map key/ legend, river. We also looked at the old six inch historical map.
See below.
See below.
On Tuesday, we came together (virtually) for a Google Meet call and watched a slide presentation, in preparation for the visit- learning about the park and its diverse habitats. These include woodland, seashore and sand dunes.
Lá Amuigh faoin Aer
Great day out in Ards with our Trentagh friends. Activities included a scavenger hunt, picnic lunch, sports- soccer and rounders, playground fun and a delicious ice cream from The Coffee Tree!
Treasure Island at the Regional Cultural Centre
Ballyarr Woods
The Junior Rooms had a really lovely morning with Aengus Kennedy in Ballyarr Woods. We were able to find and touch tadpoles! This was very exciting and the children really enjoyed looking and feeling the tadpoles. We also looked at many leaves on the trees and identified many of them. We saw oak, beech, hawthorn, holly and many more. We were shown where beavers live and looked down the hole to see if we could see any, but they were being shy. We played inside some lovely wood huts that were created by local children and families during lockdown. At the end, the children create some beautiful flower arrangements on card. It was great fun.
Junior Room Trip to The Glebe House and Gallery
The two junior rooms had a fantastic trip to The Glebe House and Gallery on Thursday. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the house, where we saw lots of artworks and artefacts from around the world. We then had a lovely run around the wild flower garden. We also got to meet the gardener, Ryan and he helped us plant some sunflower seeds, which are now growing in our classroom. After our lunch the children were given the task of building a house for a mouse in the forest. It was lovely to see the children's creativity and imagination coming out. We finished the day with a clay workshop where the children were free to create anything they wished.
Spórt agus Spraoi sa Chraobhín
We met in the Craobhín for basketball this week as the weather forecast had been for stormy weather. All the pupils enjoyed meeting up in this spacious and bright sports hall. We can see great development in skills and the children are enjoying mixing and meeting up.
Rinka
The Junior Classes met up with their counterparts in Trentagh National School for some dancing and fun in Kilmacrennan Community Hall. We had a great facilitator, Eibhlín, from RINKA and everyone really enjoyed it. We had some dancing, some coordination exercises and some activties to build up our muscles. We finished off with some javelin throwing. The children thoroughly enjoyed it all and can't wait for next week!
Reaction Skill Games
Andrew introduced us to some fun games today- designed to improve reflexes, reaction times and listening skills. One game was "River, Bank"! In another activity, pupils had to compete in pairs to see who could grab the ball first!
Team-building and Olympic Handball
A sunshine-filled session today amuigh faoin aer. Pupils are coming on well at their basketball skills. The passing is good, games are competitive and most importantly, pupils are working well together. Andrew, our basketball coach is an excellent player himself so it's good to learn from an expert!
We also enjoyed playing Olympic Handball today, which is another great sport.
We also enjoyed playing Olympic Handball today, which is another great sport.
Basketball - Junior Room with Trentagh NS
Cispheil gach Chéadaoin..
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2022
Bhain muid sult as Tráth na gCeist ar líne le gairid.
Bhí na ceisteanna oirúinach do achan léibhéal agus bhí an-chraic againn. Deas a bheith abálta ár gcairde as Tréantach a fheiceáil ar an chlár bán. Nach iontach an rud é an teicneolaíocht!
Bhí na ceisteanna oirúinach do achan léibhéal agus bhí an-chraic againn. Deas a bheith abálta ár gcairde as Tréantach a fheiceáil ar an chlár bán. Nach iontach an rud é an teicneolaíocht!
Andrew puts us through our paces!
First week together after what's been a long absence! The mizzly afternoon didn't dampen our spirits and we were really glad to meet up with Trentagh NS again.