Meet Our 6th Class of 2018-2019
Getting Our Brains Working After A Glorious Summer :)
The boys took part in a STEM Challenge. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The idea of this is to get our boys thinking creatively and logically in decision making and approaching challenges in order to find solutions. With 6 plastic cups and an elastic band with four pieces of string attached to it, the boys had to stack the cups into a tower without letting their hands touch any of the cups. We timed it and the first group finished within 3 minutes with the other groups finishing within a minute of the first time. The second time around, all groups finished the task within the 1 minute mark or just over. It was a fun activity to kick start the new school year!
Day One Fun!
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Bringing Rock, Paper, Scissors into our PE Lesson. The boys were split into two teams with each standing at either end of the row of hula hoops. One-by-one, the first child from each end must hop in and out of each hula hoop until they meet. Once they met they play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors and the winner gets to continue jumping in and out of the hoops until they meet their next component. The boys got a lot of enjoyment out of this and have asked to play it many times since!
September Art
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Starting the school year with a splash of colour!
The boys engaged in different art activities. Our first being an English linked Art lesson where the boys had to design a hot air balloon and attach their hopes and dreams to the basket. They also completed self portraits and 'Sunsets by the Sea'. Their artwork has gained a lot of attention and has received much praise from many staff members. Well done to our budding artists in Room 6!
The boys engaged in different art activities. Our first being an English linked Art lesson where the boys had to design a hot air balloon and attach their hopes and dreams to the basket. They also completed self portraits and 'Sunsets by the Sea'. Their artwork has gained a lot of attention and has received much praise from many staff members. Well done to our budding artists in Room 6!
Hiking
We are very lucky to be able to work with the Ballyfermot Youth Service this year. The leaders, Ger and Andrew work with 6th class every Monday. This term we are focusing on hiking and exploring the great outdoors. For our first week, we went to St. Catherine's Park in Leixlip. The boys enjoyed exploring the forest with our leaders and Lady, the dog.
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Our second hiking trip brought us to the Hellfire Club. The boys have heard the haunted stories associated with the house on top of the hill and were excited to venture to the top and see the house for themselves. Along the route, Ger showed the boys how to count the age of trees by counting the lines on the exposed trunks, showed them what berries to pick and eat and how to know if they are ripe enough to eat. Once the boys had reached the top, Ger told them the history associated with Mountpelier Hill, aka the Hellfire Club, before they were allowed to venture inside.
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Boxing
The boys are very lucky that this year they get to take part in boxing with Ed, our dedicated coach. Every Monday for the next number of weeks, the boys will take part in boxing lessons. It is great for fitness and exercise and fits in with our active schools programme. Boys wishing to participate in sparring will be taught the important stances and jabs that they will need when they are brought forward to the national stadium in December.
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Book Worms
In Room 6, we are focusing on our reading and vocabulary development.
We have 4 stations -
We have 4 stations -
- Station 1: The boys are doing independent reading and comprehension activities.
- Station 2: The boys read the story which they have read as part of the previous nights homework with Catherine and answer questions asked.
- Station 3: The boys practice their dictionary skills and familiarise themselves with new vocabulary.
- Station 4: The boys will read this term's class novel 'War Horse' by Michael Morpurgo with their teacher. Here boys will practice their reading fluency and skills involved in the reading process.
Science in St. John's College
6th Class in MQA2 are very lucky to partner up with TY students in St. John's College along with teacher Mr. Mulvey. Every Wednesday, the boys are invited up to the Science labs in St. John's and the TY students and Mr. Mulvey give them detailed Science lessons and assist them in conducting experiments. The boys are really enjoying their time and enjoy learning about reactions in their experiments.
Hiking the Sugar Loaf
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Paddle-boarding
This week, with the Ballyfermot Youth Service, we were due to go kayaking in the canal in Park West. However, the boys have shown great maturity and manners that our leaders decided to try something new with this group. The boys were very lucky that they have been the first group to use the paddle boards. The boys had lots of fun on them, and also in the water. Afterwards, they were allowed to jump into the water and have a good splash around.
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Boxing
Boys in 6th class have been taking part in boxing lessons every Monday for the past number of weeks. It is excellent exercise for the boys and is helping to improve their fitness levels. Boys who wish to take part in sparing are given the chance to do so in a safe, guided session with professional coaches. The boys with interest have been given the opportunity to go to the National Stadium in November where they will train for a further 3 weeks before entering in gentle competition with other schools.
Presidential Election 2018
We have been learning all about the Presidential Election 2018 this week ahead of Friday's vote (26th October). The boys have learned about the role of the President of Ireland, previous serving presidents, the candidates in this years Presidential Election and what they aim to do if elected President. We also learned about the Blashemy Referendum which is part of the voting schedule on Friday. The boys were taught about the process of casting votes before they received their own polling cards in order to take part in their own mock Presidential Election. The boys had to go to the polling station, get checked against the registrar and then received their ballot paper to complete in our voting booths. Ballot papers were completed and returned to the ballot box. They were then counted and votes were tallied. After the votes were counted, the new President of Ireland, as voted by the students in 6th class, is Joan Freeman!
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Cycling along the Canal
For this day out with the BYS, we went cycling along the canal from Park West to Adamstown. Altogether it was a 10km cycle. No better way to wipe away the Monday Blues!! :)
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National Boxing Stadium
After weeks of training in school, ten boys were chosen to go forward to the National Boxing Stadium on South Circular Road to train for an upcoming showcase against other schools. They met many coaches there who would prepare them for the showcase, teaching them core skills and disciplines needed by any level boxers. The boys enjoyed practicing techniques and sparring against other boys in their weight and height categories.
Bull Wall Walk
For our last trip with the BYS, we headed to Ringsend and walked along the beach to Bull Wall Lighthouse. It was a lovely, fresh morning for our walk and we enjoyed the sea air. We had a good game of chasing on the beach too before making our way to the lighthouse. On our way back from the lighthouse, we met two older gentlemen who spoke to us about the history of the Bull Wall and the area, creating a mini history lesson for us while out on our adventures.
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Boxing Showcase in the National Boxing Stadium
On November 30th, the 6th class boys who were attending training in the National Stadium had their showcase. They have put in the time and effort into their training and all enjoyed the showcase and getting to chance to spar in the ring against other schools who had been attending the course over the past 8 weeks. Well done to all boys involved and a special thanks to Ms. O'Brien for accompanying the boys on the day.
A Visit From Sam Maguire
In February the boys got their hands on the coveted Sam Maguire Cup. They are all hoping for a 5th win this year and are 100% behind the boys in blue!
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A New Year, A New Day!
By Shane Connolly Hooray! Hooray! It’s 2019, The year we start anew. I can’t wait to follow, All the boys in blue. Can they make it five in a row? I hope, but I just don’t know. But the boys in blue, Will really give it a go. 2015,16,17,18 Sam they have won It makes the others mad, But the rivalry makes it fun. The road to Croker is usually a sea of blue. While others ask ‘what can we do?’ |
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Home Economics in St. John's College
In January, 6th class were learning about Food and Nutrition in Science. We are fortunate to have a great relationship with St. John's College. Ms. Quinn, who teaches Home Economics, was very accommodating in taking the boys to the Home Ec room with her Transition Year group to talk about food and nutrition and the importance of a healthy, balanced diet. The boys got to make smoothies and fruit skewers and really enjoyed this Wednesday treat.
The following week, Ms. Quinn made mini pizzas with the boys which went down really well with them. They made two types of pizza: a dough based pizza and a wrap based pizza. Ms. Quinn demonstrated how to make each pizza before the boys set off in pairs to recreate what they were just shown. The TY students helped the boys in the pizza making process, guiding them and reminding them of instructions. Once the boys had their bases completed, they added their tomato passatta and then topped them with cheese and a selection of toppings such as pepperoni, ham and chicken.
Grandparents' Day 2019
As part of Catholic Schools Week, we celebrated Grandparents' Day on Thursday the 31st of January. The boys created Grandparent projects in which they found out about their grandparent's lives when growing up. The boys really enjoyed this personal project and loved spending time with grandparents and getting to know more about them. That afternoon, grandparents were invited to come in and do some art with their grandsons and be presented with the projects. It was a lovely day which we look forward to every year. Thanks to all the grandparents for helping the boys with the research in their projects.
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LEGO
As part of our Creative Schools initiative, our student council identified the area of construction and Lego as an area of interest for MQA2 students. We started collecting Lego by asking the local community to donate any unwanted LEGO to the school to help us to create a LEGO club. The community really got behind us and we have gathered enough LEGO for a small club. The 6th class were in charge of storing all of the donated lego and of course it is very important to make sure LEGO is enjoyable, so the 6th class boys tried it out!! ;) They got very creative with their designs and really enjoyed having fun with LEGO.
Texaco Art Competition Entries
After their success in the local Credit Union Poster Competition with a 1st, 3rd and Merit awarded to three of the boys in 6th class, the boys wanted to take part in the prestigious Texaco Art Competition. We looked at the previous winners and were astonished by the very high standard of the artwork that was featured and showed great appreciation for their work. Each of the boys were given free reign on what they wished to have on their poster and were allowed to let their creativity and imagination flow. The school as a whole were amazed by the talent within one class and admired the posters which we placed on display in the hall for all to see.
VIPs at The Department of Children and Youth Affairs
As part of being a Creative School, we were invited to take part in a workshop to develop a survey to get the views of children for Cruinniú na nÓg.
Cruinniú na nÓg is a creative festival for children and young people in local communities across the country on Saturday, 15 June. Cruinniú will be organised by the 31 Local Authorities and funded by the Creative Ireland Programme. On the 15th June, free events and creative activities will happen in libraries, community centres, theatres, halls, parks, streets and other places.
They wanted to find out from children what kind of activities would be fun, creative and interesting at Cruinniú in their local area – things they enjoy doing or things they might like to try in the future. So, they asked children from six Creative Primary Schools in Leinster to work with them to develop a survey to help Local Authorities to get the views of children to plan for this year’s event as well as future events. Mary Queen of Angels 2 were one of these six schools asked to take part and it was a fantastic achievement for our school.
Lee and Shane, 6th class students from our School Advisory Council, were chosen as representatives of the school. Along with their teacher, they traveled to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on Baggot Street where they met 10 other students from 5 other schools. They brainstormed ideas, proof-read and edited questions for surveys, met with graphic designers and they gave suggestions for events to take place. They had a great day and felt a great sense of achievement after the day. The treats and pizza may have also helped with the success of this planning day!
Cruinniú na nÓg is a creative festival for children and young people in local communities across the country on Saturday, 15 June. Cruinniú will be organised by the 31 Local Authorities and funded by the Creative Ireland Programme. On the 15th June, free events and creative activities will happen in libraries, community centres, theatres, halls, parks, streets and other places.
They wanted to find out from children what kind of activities would be fun, creative and interesting at Cruinniú in their local area – things they enjoy doing or things they might like to try in the future. So, they asked children from six Creative Primary Schools in Leinster to work with them to develop a survey to help Local Authorities to get the views of children to plan for this year’s event as well as future events. Mary Queen of Angels 2 were one of these six schools asked to take part and it was a fantastic achievement for our school.
Lee and Shane, 6th class students from our School Advisory Council, were chosen as representatives of the school. Along with their teacher, they traveled to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on Baggot Street where they met 10 other students from 5 other schools. They brainstormed ideas, proof-read and edited questions for surveys, met with graphic designers and they gave suggestions for events to take place. They had a great day and felt a great sense of achievement after the day. The treats and pizza may have also helped with the success of this planning day!
World Book Day
For World Book Day, 4 of the students were invited to take part in a showcase of work in the local Ballyfermot Library. Along with 10 other schools, Shane, Seán, Cameron and Jayson showcased their work. As a class we focused on poetry and writing poems after listening to and learning poems by poets such as Kenn Nesbitt. The title of our poetry was 'A New Year, A New Day!' and each of the boys in 6th class wrote their own poems which detailed what they would do or what would happen in 2019. Seán and Shane were asked to read out their poems for the other schools and representatives of the local library.
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A New Year, A New Day! By Seán Sheridan
2018 is over and now it’s 2019, Maybe this year ill invent the time machine, Or I could tame a wild lion, And play with him from time to time. Or maybe I could teach myself, to keep up with the flash, Or go to Hulks birthday party, And scream‘Hulk smash!’ Maybe I’ll get a private jet, And I would go to Japan, Id catch a Pokémon and say, Come on Rayzacaban. Then I will build a rocket, To fly me to space, Then give NASA, A big long race. Or I could go play hide and go seek, With an African monkey, Or sit with a pig, And go Ree! Ree! Ree! I’ve got a lot of stuff to do, So I must go now, But don’t worry I’ll be back, In 2020 to fly with a cow. |
A New Year, A New Day! By Jayson Kidd Murphy
Hooray! Hooray! Its 2019! The year we start anew. So this year I’ve decided to buy A cow that shouts moo! Or maybe I’ll go sky diving, Or ride a super speedboat, Or fly like an awesome dragon, Or wrestle a billy goat. I might travel to other planets, And meet aliens I’d love, I’d go to the hot, hot sun, And stop the raging lava with a giant, I’d shove. I have so many glorious plans, I’m starting right away, I’ll go to Mount Everest, And climb it now today! Now it’s time to be the best And achieve my goal, yay! I can’t wait to get started, Hooray! Hooray! A New Year! A New Day! |
Wellness Week in MQA2
Ms. Brogan organised a wellness week for the school to promote the importance of positive mental health. MQA2 are very active in their efforts of making the school the best that it can be. As a school we are going for our Amber Flag which is an initiative to promote positive mental health and identify ways to helps us to reduce stress and anxiety. During Wellness Week, we engaged in many relaxing activities as well as making sure to be active. We had guest speakers such as one of our local Garda members in Ballyfermot. He spoke to the senior classes about internet safety and the dangers that they are posed with. The boys also got the opportunity to ask questions about the job of a Garda. We had a visit from Debbie Scales who works with youth groups and teaches them mindfulness and muscle relaxation techniques. We talked about what stress is and what makes us stressed before learning techniques on how to handle and deal with such stresses. We made smoothies also which went down a treat. The boys in their groups got to make smoothies of their choice.
Music
On Thursday Mr. Brennan brought us to the hall where he introduced us to different instruments. In 4 groups of 4, the boys had to compose a piece of music to express an emotion. It was lots of fun and the teachers were very impressed with what the boys came up with. Each group got to perform their composition for the class afterwards. It was exciting getting to do more music outside the classroom and Mr. Brennan was very encouraging. Thanks Mr. Brennan for a really fun Music lesson!
On Thursday Mr. Brennan brought us to the hall where he introduced us to different instruments. In 4 groups of 4, the boys had to compose a piece of music to express an emotion. It was lots of fun and the teachers were very impressed with what the boys came up with. Each group got to perform their composition for the class afterwards. It was exciting getting to do more music outside the classroom and Mr. Brennan was very encouraging. Thanks Mr. Brennan for a really fun Music lesson!
Baking
Continuing with wellness week on Thursday, we baked oaty banana and blueberry muffins in class. All the boys had roles to play in baking the muffins. Some of the class don't like blueberries so we left those out. It was fun getting to do something different in class. While we were waiting for the muffins, we took down the ingredients and method in which we made them into our copies in case we decide to recreate them at home. Of course our favourite part was tasting them when they were done in the oven!!
Continuing with wellness week on Thursday, we baked oaty banana and blueberry muffins in class. All the boys had roles to play in baking the muffins. Some of the class don't like blueberries so we left those out. It was fun getting to do something different in class. While we were waiting for the muffins, we took down the ingredients and method in which we made them into our copies in case we decide to recreate them at home. Of course our favourite part was tasting them when they were done in the oven!!
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