Fighting Words!

2nd, 3rd & 4th Class were extremely lucky to have a virtual session with Fighting Words. The children created a fantastic story  as a group and then wrote individual endings or new stories. It was an incredible workshop and wonderful for the children to explore their creative writing skills, not to mention let their imaginations run wild!
​Our story, The Volcano Between Two Friends has even been published on the Fighting Words website!
​You can check out the story by following this link https://www.fightingwords.ie/stories-creative-work/school-stories/volcano-between-two-friends

Road Safety Workshop

Nicola from the RSA visited all the classes to give us a very important workshop on how to stay safe when using the roads whether we are in a car, walking, biking or scooting!

Heritage in Schools

The whole school was treated to a wonderful visit by Heritage Council expert, Ross who taught us all about the trees found locally in the Dunboyne Castle estate.

Sketch Note Workshop

5th & 6th Class have been taking part in Sketch Notes Workshops. This is a type of study skill where pictures are drawn to help connect and make learning more embedded and meaningful. It was really interesting!

STEPS Young Engineers Award

2nd, 3rd & 4th Class have been busy working as engineers over October, November and December.  We brainstormed ideas for an engineering project that would improve life in our local community.
Once each group decided on an idea, the prototype was designed and materials were gathered. Then the fun really began! We relocated to our outdoor classroom and each group built their prototype. This was such a learning curve as a lot of our ideas worked 'in theory' but in reality we had to put on our engineering hats and make adjustments. Luckily, overcoming challenges is at the heart of being an engineer.
Once our prototypes were finished, we held a virtual showcase to engineers, Fiona and Paul. This was a fantastic experience as the children got to receive positive feedback on their projects while developing their presentation skills.
To celebrate all the hard work, our class will attend a virtual STEPS Student Christmas Party on the 14th December where we will try to break the record for the loudest digital cheer across the country! 

Fire Safety Visit 

2nd, 3rd and 4th class  were visited by 2 firemen who told us about all the dangers that may be present in our homes and what we can do to prevent them. They spoke about candles, matches, electrical fires and heaters as well as overloaded sockets and extension cords. They also spoke about the importance of hoovering out our fire alarms annually and changing the batteries. They gave each child a pack containing a home checklist that they asked them to complete and return to school to pass on to them. The children learned a lot during this visit. 

Science Activities in 5th & 6th Class

Our school takes part in the Primary Science programme each year and so we will be holding a school science and engineer's week later in the year. We decided to avail of some of the zoom workshops going on which were great fun. 
We took part in 'Sensational Space', 'Nuts about Nature' and 'Bubbles'. The one about bubbles was run by a professor in Maynooth University and it was really interesting. He studies shape and in particular how bubbles within shapes form. Look at the photos to see some of the different shapes! 

Internet Safety Talk - 5th & 6th Class

Here are 5 important points we learned about during our internet safety talk:
• Apps/Websites – We need to be careful what apps we download, some could be tracking or storing our personal information and location and even sharing it with others. Often we just hit accept without reading or understanding the terms and conditions.
• Personal Information - Once we post a picture, video or comment on social media, it can be copied and shared lots of times – it is no longer our own property. You need to be very careful about the personal information we put up/in our bio and think carefully about what username we choose. 
• We need to think about the future - We need to be as respectful to people online just as we are to people in person. We need to be really careful about what we type and the photos we post as even when we’re applying for a job or maybe even famous in the future, people can find those comments/photos we put up as teenagers.
• Cyberbullying - We learned about how serious and damaging online bullying can be. We talked about the emotions that person would feel, what they could do and who they could ask for help. We need to try and be ‘upstanders’ if we see bullying or cyber bullying happening to help that person. It’s important we can all screenshot any comments or words we think are disrespectful, hurtful or make us feel uncomfortable. 
• Passwords – We learned we need to change our passwords frequently and never share them – make sure they are strong – 8 characters at least including numbers, symbols, upper/lower case.
​
What does a toothbrush and a password have in common?
- You should change them frequently!
- Don’t share them - they’re personal!

Heritage in Schools

Every class had a visit from Frankie as part of the Heritage in Schools programme. It was based on The Normans. She gave us some history on where our surnames originated from and we all designed a family crest. She explained what her job as an archaeologist entails and brought lots of great artefacts for us to explore. We really liked guessing what animals the bones might have come from and how old they might have been! It was a great day!

Credit Union Competition 

Last week Michelle from the Credit Union came in to visit us and tell us how we did in the local Art competition. This year's Art work was based on the word "Imagine" and I am delighted to announce that we had several winners and some runners up as well so congratulations to everyone who took part! 

Aoibhinn Ní Shuilleabháin - October 2021

Pupils in 5th and 6th Class took part in a Zoom interview with Aoibhinn Ní Shuilleabháin as part of the Inspiring Ireland, Inspiring Students programme. Aoibhinn is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mathematics & Statistics where she is director of the BSc. Science, Mathematics & Education programme in the College of Science. Her research investigates issues in Mathematics Education, with a particular focus on teacher education. Her scholarship focuses on making mathematics more accessible and exciting for those who have historically been left out, whether because they are underprivileged economically or because they are female. A former post-primary teacher, she is committed to making the teaching of mathematics more effective. Following on from her extensive experience as a science communicator on TV, radio and in print, she is committed to research on public engagement in STEM. She is also a member of the STEM Education Policy Review Group and Gender in STEM group with the Department of Education & Skills. Aoibhinn gave some great insight into her journey of Maths in school to where she is today.

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David Walliams - September 2021

​Pupils in 2nd, 3rd & 4th class were treated to a special Zoom call with beloved children’s author, David Walliams. The children were rolling around laughing as David read from his books, ‘Gangsta Granny’ and ‘The World’s Worst Children’. David gave advice to our budding authors and answered questions sent in from children. He introduced us to his adorable dog and promised to include an Irish character in a future book. Motivated by this call, we are writing our own stories inspired by the book ‘The World’s Worst Children’ which we are looking forward to sharing with you!

GAA with Teresa - June 2021

We love when Teresa comes to visit and teaches us many new GAA skills!

Biz World - February 2020

Matthew from Bank of Ireland was extremely impressed by the business savvy pupils in 4th -6th Class. Matthews runs the Biz World programme which operates in a style similar to Dragon's Den. The pupils collaborated in groups to come up with a business idea, create a company, develop a marketing strategy and finally pitch their business idea to prospective investors. Judging from the excellent work produced over the two days, we have some future entrepreneurs in St. Peter's NS!

Takeda Visit - October 2019

Takeda Dunboyne paid a very welcome visit to St. Peter's on Friday. They taught children from 2nd -6th class different Science concepts through three different stations. The activities were based on chromatography, circits and non-Newtonian fluids. All children had a fantastic, hand-on experience and they all spoke positively about the visit afterwards. Thanks again to Takeda for coming out and educating the future scientists in St. Peter's! Have a look at what we got up to below... Check out the 4th, 5th and 6th class page to see even more pictures!

School's Heritage Visit - June 2019

On Wednesday 26th June Mairead from heritage in schools visited St. Peter's National School. She took Junior and Senior Infants on a walk around the church grounds. We explored some trees and went on a mini-beast hunt using magnifying glasses to study the insects. It was great fun!

GAA training with Teresa - June 2019

We absolutely love when Teresa comes to visit us for our 6 week training blocks. We are having the best time! Thank you Teresa!

Tag Rugby - April 2019

Tag rugby is proving to be a firm favourite in the Senior room - big thanks to tag rugby for visiting us for our 6 training sessions!

Musical Workshop! - March 2019

We made lots of music and had great fun! This was such a great visit and had great fun with our musical talents today!

STEM Workshop - Shire visit October 2018

On Friday, we were treated to a workshop from Alan, a scientist, and Beth, an engineer, from Shire. In a jam-packed session we learned how and why to wash our hands, used UV lights to track "germs", tested acids and bases, Alan demonstrated how to make a bottle rocket and we explored the density of a variety of liquids. It was a really fun workshop and we learned a lot. Many thanks to Alan and Beth!!