A Letter from The President!!!

There was great excitement in 3rd Class on Friday when we received a letter from President Higgins :-). 3rd Class had written to The President before Christmas to congratulate him on his appointment. They really did a wonderful job with their letters and President Higgins wrote back to say how ‘thoughtful’ they were in writing to him. He said that he was ‘deeply appreciative of their support’ and he ‘sends his best wishes’ to all the children and their families. He also enclosed a signed postcard of himself and a lovely DVD about the Role of the President in Ireland. What a great response to our letter writing 🙂
The Gold Harp
The Presidential Letter
The Role of the President DVD
A Signed Postcard of the President

Cycle Workshop

Following on from a workshop for parents, An Taisce provided training on bike maintenance and safe cycling to children in fourth and fifth class who brought in their bicycles. They got to repair punctures and learn how to stop correctly. This proved very successful and has whetted their appetite for the cycle training they will receive when they will be in sixth class.

Meath Credit Union Table Quiz

St Mary’s Credit Union organised the annual table quiz for Meath branches of the Credit Union. We won this quiz last year after it went to a tie-breaker. This year was nearly as dramatic!
We entered two teams with both performing admirably. After all the rounds were complete one of our teams was in a two-way tie for second place. After two tie-break questions, third place was the outcome. This was good enough for them to represent Meath at the regional finals in March. We wish them all the best of luck!

An Antarctic Journey

Thank you so much to Shauna and Aoibhe’s Grandad and uncle who came to tell 2nd & 3rd class all about their exciting journey to the Antarctic. They showed us amazing photos of their trip and we learned so much.

Here’s a list of the amazing facts that we learned:

  • The Antarctic is at the South Pole.
  • The ice is 6 miles deep.
  • The skua is a dangerous bird.
  • The penguins have a special path to the ocean and they walk right past you.
  • If you fall into the water at the Antarctic you only have 2-3 mins to get back into the boat or else you would freeze.
  • There are mountains at the Antarctic but not at the Arctic.
  • Antarctica is colder than the Arctic.
  • Leopard Seals are dangerous and eat penguins.
  • The albatross stays in the air for years and their wingspan is about 6 feet.
  • You are not allowed to leave anything or take anything from Antarctica ( not even a stone).
  • The boat has 60 days of food in case of emergency.
  • There is a hospital on the boat.
  • Only scientists live at the Antarctic.
  • In the Summer penguins make their nests from stones.
  • The boat to Antarctic can only carry 100 people at a time.
  • In the Winter the boat can’t travel to Antarctica as the sea is frozen over.
  • Seals prey on young penguins.
  • It’s bright all the time in the Summer at the Antarctic.
  • The boat leaves from Ushuaia, the end of the world.
  • It costs €18,000 for 3 people to go, that’s €6,000 per person.
  • There was only one phone on the boat.
  • The scientists paint their cabins different colours so that they don’t get lost.
  • The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean in the world.
  • Every month a boat brings a container of food for the scientists.
  • You put something behind your ear to stop you feeling sick.
  • You only get bottles of wine for dinner if the weather is calm.

St. Brigid’s Crosses

This week we made some St. Brigid’s Day crosses to mark St. Brigid’s Day.

The Legend

There is a legend associated with the origin of St. Brigid’s crosses. Brigid was called to the bedside of a dying pagan chieftain. She sat by him to keep watch over him in his final hours. While sitting by the dying man, Brigid picked up some rushes from the floor and began to weave them into a cross. The sick man asked her what she was making and Brigid began to explain the story of Jesus to him. Before he died, the chieftain had become a Christian.

St Brigid’s Cross

A St. Brigid’s cross is usually made from rushes or, less often, straw. It is traditionally believed that the cross protects the home from fire. St. Brigid’s crosses are often made on 1 February and sprinkled with holy water. In some traditions, the cross from the previous year is taken down and burnt, and then replaced by the new one. St. Brigid’s crosses were often kept under the rafters of the roof.