STEM Blog

Pupils from 3rd to 6th Class recently enjoyed a fantastic learning experience as part of the Ocean Explorers Programme. The children visited the local beach, where they had the opportunity to explore the seashore, discover marine life and learn about the importance of protecting our oceans and coastal environment. Afterwards, back at school, the pupils took part in an engaging presentation and discussion, where they explored what they had learned and developed a greater under

We had a really interesting day at Kilglass House and woods recently. We learned all about our local biodiversity and how to protect and nurture the biodiversity in our local environment.

We recently enjoyed our annual end of year walk to the seashore to explore the local coastal environment. During the visit, the children observed a variety of plants and animals living along the shoreline and investigated different habitats, including rock pools and sandy areas. The trip provided a valuable opportunity for hands-on learning and helped the children develop a greater appreciation and understanding of the rich biodiversity found on our local coastline. It was al

Our 5th and 6th class pupils recently carried out a series of fun and engaging science experiments, exploring key scientific ideas through hands-on learning. Dancing Raisins Pupils placed raisins in a glass of fizzy drink and observed them “dance” up and down. This happens because carbon dioxide gas bubbles stick to the rough surface of the raisins, lifting them to the top. When the bubbles pop, the raisins sink again. This experiment helped explain gas, density, and buoyancy

We received 5 caterpillars into our classroom last week. We are looking forward to watching them grow into butterflies.

Our 3rd–6th class students enjoyed using LEGO Spike kits this month as they explored programming and engineering concepts. They designed and built a variety of models and then wrote code to make them move and respond using motors and sensors. They also learned how to debug their code by testing, identifying errors, and making improvements when things didn’t work as planned. Students developed important skills such as coding, problem-solving and critical thinking. They also sh

We are having great fun being engineers with our new resources during activity time. We are also using the tablets this month to work on our maths skills

We had a busy week investigating light and static electricity. We used a torch to investigate whether items were transparent or opaque and recorded our results. We learned how static electricity can be caused by things rubbing together. We rubbed a balloon on a woolly jumper and touched items such as paper, tissue paper, card and our hair! Finally, we are investigating the importance of washing our hands correctly. We are using bread to demonstrate this. We are continuing

We had an exciting day in Rathlee NS as our 3rd–6th class pupils proudly showcased their projects for our Science Fair, held as part of Science Week 2025. The event gave pupils the opportunity to become real scientists - investigating, experimenting, and sharing their discoveries with others. Each class began by presenting their experiments in their own classroom. Pupils demonstrated their work, explained the scientific ideas behind it, and answered questions from their peers

In SPHE, 3rd and 4th class have been learning all about growth mindset—the idea that we can develop our abilities through effort, perseverance, and a positive attitude. We explored how challenges help us grow, mistakes are opportunities to learn, and that with resilience, we can achieve great things. To reflect on this learning, we created inspiring animal-themed artwork, each paired with a motivational message. From brave lions to calm koalas and determined ants, the art sho

Junior and Senior Infants had great fun participating in Maths Week this year! Working in pairs, the boys and girls played a tower-building game using a dice. Each roll decided how many blocks they could add to their tower — there were lots of giggles, teamwork, and careful counting as they tried to see who could build the tallest tower without it tumbling down! They also enjoyed a colourful Skittles sorting activity, where they grouped the sweets by colour and displayed thei

We are delighted to share that our school has been awarded the Curious Minds Gold Award. This is our 16th science award. This...

We learned all about water pollution this week. Our 5th and 6th classes demonstrated to our 1st and 2nd classes an experiment about how different pollutants can impact water quality.

Junior and Senior Infants were learning all about how to use the internet safely, with tips from Buddy, the internet safety dog. Buddy taught the children a song to remind them of ways to be safe when using the internet🎶

1st and 2nd class have been learning about the lifecycle of the frog in our SESE class. We wrote a report on the frog also.

We had great fun trying out a STEM challenge today in class. In groups we made a boat from tinfoil. The boat floated in water and we counted how many tens and units the boats could carry before they sank. We practised our skip counting in 10’s.

We explored data this week using smartie sweets. We sorted all the smarties into coloured sets and then counted each of the sets. We coloured block graphs to display the contents of our smartie box. We had great fun and enjoyed having them as a treat after the maths activity.

We have been learning about homes and floor plans in geography this week. We worked in pairs designing a floor plan on paper and then created it using Lego. We had lots of fun.

We have been covering pattern in maths. We decided to integrate this science experiment with the topic. You will need Skittles White plate Warm water Instructions Place the skittles around the edge of the plate. Carefully pour warm water over the top. Watch as the colours spread through the water! The Skittles are coated in food colouring and sugar. When you pour water over the skittles the coloured coating dissolves and diffuses through the water. Colourful patterns can be

We had great fun making shapes with mini marshmallows, cocktail sticks and spaghetti.

We demonstrated a handwashing science experiment that reminded us the importance of using soap when washing our hands. Soap makes "germs" scatter. We sprinkled black pepper onto water in a bowl. This represented "germs " on our skin. The teacher covered one finger with dish soap and stuck the finger into the water. The germs scattered from the soap.

1st and 2nd had fun exploring the school grounds today. We completed a shape trail in pairs.

We used bread to demonstrate the importance of washing our hands. The class touched one slice with unwashed hands and one slice with...

Our class had fun using cubes, lollipop sticks, hand span and metre strings to measure items in the classroom. We have been learning...

Our 6th class were invited to Coláiste Iascaigh on March,13th where they had a very interesting and enjoyable day. Meanwhile the 5th...

We used four glasses to investigate high and low sounds. We filled one glass with water and left one glass empty. When we tapped each...

We have been busy constructing lots of different types of buildings with Lego and Mag Snaps. We even built a whole army!

In class we worked in groups to see who could construct a tower of spaghetti that would hold one marshmallow. We attempted to make the...

Comhábhair : Plúir,so uibheacha, bainne, im. 1.Nigh do lámha 2.Cuir an plúr sa bhabhla. 3.Cuir bainne agus ubh sa bhabhla freisin....

The aim of Dara's workshop is to immerse the students in the abundant biodiversity that exists in their local streams, rivers or lakes,...

We had fun today investigating slopes and friction. We used our maths books to prop up a ramp made from a kitchen roll. We timed how...

The Bee-Bot is an interactive tool used to create hands-on and engaging learning experiences for primary school students. It is an...

Last month we investigated static electricity in Science class. We cut up paper into small pieces. We inflated balloons and rubbed the...

We had lots of messy, sensory fun playing and experimenting with Oobleck - a mixture of cornflour and water. When we squeezed the oobleck...

Planting spring bulbs, hyacinths and snowdrops . We planted 1 hyacinth bulb in water and more in clay for indoors. We planted...

We used straws, marshmallows, lollipop sticks and Lego to make houses for the three little pigs. Hopefully the Big Bad Wolf won't blow...

We used Kahoot to assess our understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, mixed numbers and improper fractions.

We have been learning about homes in our SESE this month. We worked in pairs to build a variety of buildings from Lego. Wonderful...

We have been playing gumball in pairs this week. It has been fun while working on our mental maths skills.

Thank you to Jacob for bringing in the marine mammal skeletons which he found on the seashore with his family. Our investigations lead us...

We investigated static electricity today 13/11/2023. 1. We rubbed our hair with balloons and electrons were transferred from our hair...

Materials: Properties and characteristics of materials In groups we tested a variety of materials to find out if they are transparent or...

Living things: plants and animals Energy and forces: Forces Maths:measuring We have been learning about bats in English this week. We...

Materials:Materials and Change You will need: 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of bread soda, funnel, white balloon, bottle and black...

We finished up Maths week with a shape hunt in the school yard. We worked in pairs and recorded what shapes we could see in our environment.

As part of Maths week we have been busy constructing 2D and 3D shapes using marshmallows and cocktail sticks. We worked on our counting...

Experiment: to examine how the roots of a bulb grow. We filled a bulb jar with water. We placed a hyacinth bulb in the jar. Over the...

1st and 2nd class had fun working in pairs during maths class. They were working on counting items within a set and completing the number...

We were learning about sharks in SESE. We read the book Sharks by Phillip Clarke and learned some very interesting facts. We used old...

We had lots of fun experimenting with different materials to check if they would float and make vessels to float for Lego people.