Ms. Kelleghan's 4th Class

The Nativity

We have been learning about the Nativity in Religion. Every class in the school has made or designed a crib for Advent and Christmas. Our class decided to create our crib by painting the Nativity scene on our windows.

In the Nativity story, Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born in a stable. Jesus is the centre of the story, as we believe He is the Son of God, born on Christmas day to bring love and hope to the world.

An angel announced His birth to shepherds in the fields, showing that Jesus came for everyone. The Three Wise Men followed a bright star and brought special gifts to honour the baby.

Painting our own Nativity scene helped us learn about the important people in the story and the true meaning of Christmas.

The Nutcracker

Back in October, you might remember that we organised and ran a bake sale to raise money for a very special trip. Our goal was to travel to Dublin to watch our classmate, Tyron, perform in The Nutcracker ballet. After lots of planning and excitement, the day finally arrived!

On Friday, 5th December, we set off for Dublin full of excitement. The ballet was amazing, and it was interesting to see the whole story told through dance, music, and movement. The dancers were incredible, the costumes were beautiful, and of course Tyron stole the show! We were so proud to see our friend performing on such a big stage.

We are very happy and grateful that we got to go on this special trip together. It was a wonderful experience, and a great way to support and celebrate our friend’s achievement.

Hyacinth Update!

At the start of October, we planted hyacinth bulbs as part of our Science work, and we’ve been watching them grow ever since. Just look at them now! It has been exciting to see how each plant has developed in different ways.

Some bulbs grew slower than others, and along the way we had to top up the water and carefully remove a few rotten roots. We learned that plants need the right conditions and a bit of care to stay healthy. Now, everyone’s hyacinth is growing well. The jars are full of long roots, and the green shoots are strong. Some of the plants are even beginning to flower!

Interestingly, our control bulbs are growing too. We kept one in water in a dark box, and another in a dark box without water. They are still growing, but not at the same rate as the bulbs with water and light. This helped us observe how important light and water are for healthy growth.

We have really enjoyed this project. It has helped us understand how bulbs grow and change, and we can’t wait to see all the hyacinths in full bloom.

Christmas Art

This December, in Art, we are exploring the strand of Fabric and Fibre by making our very own Christmas stockings. We have been learning how to work with felt and practicing our sewing skills.

First, we designed our stockings on the whiteboards, planning where our decorations and characters would go. Then, we carefully stuck our felt shapes onto the front of our stockings. Working in small groups, we sewed our stockings together using a whip stitch, and some of us added extra decorations to make our stockings even more special.

Our stockings will hang in the classroom until the holidays, adding a festive touch to our space. I wonder… will anything be left in the stockings before we take them home for Christmas?

We are also developing our drawing skills using the grid drawing technique. Each pupil chose a Christmas or winter image to recreate. A grid was drawn over the original image and the same grid was drawn on their page. By carefully observing each square and drawing what they could see, pupils were able to build their pictures step by step.

This technique helps to develop accurate positioning and proportion skills, while encouraging careful observation and attention to detail.

Vex Robotics: Coding

This month, we continued our STEM work using our VEX GO Robotics kits. Back in September, we focused on developing our engineering skills by completing the introduction to the VEX GO STEM Labs, learning how to follow instructions, build different models, and understand how each part of the robot works.

This month, we are taking our learning further. Not only are we extending our engineering skills by building more complex robots, but we are also beginning to learn how to code the robots using VEXcode GO. Coding allows us to control our robots’ movements, make them complete tasks, and even solve problems independently.

Through coding, we are learning how to break tasks into smaller steps, use logical thinking, and experiment with solutions when things don’t work as planned. It’s exciting to see our robots follow our instructions and complete challenges we set for them.

By combining engineering and coding, we are developing important skills for the future, like problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork, all while having fun with robotics.

Winter Gingerbread Houses

For this month’s STEM challenge, pupils worked in groups to design, build, and decorate winter gingerbread houses. Using a clear rubric, teams were challenged to ensure their houses remained standing, were visually appealing, unique, and creative, while also working collaboratively and keeping their workspaces tidy.

The activity was great fun and, at the end of the challenge, all of the houses were standing — at least for a little while! Along the way, pupils discovered how icing can make gingerbread soggy and how the weight of decorations can cause walls and roofs to collapse. It was a hands-on learning experience that combined creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

Winter Art

To build on our drawing and observation skills, we enjoyed a fun and engaging art lesson inspired by a YouTube tutorial on how to draw a winter forest. We carefully followed each step, paying close attention to shapes, lines, and details as our drawings developed. Some children chose to extend their artwork by adding Santa in his sleigh flying across the moon, using their imagination to personalise their scenes.

Once the drawings were complete, everyone added colour in their own unique way. Many of us confidently applied what we have learned about painting techniques, including mixing colours, blending tones, and using shading to create depth and atmosphere. The finished artworks were creative, expressive, and a wonderful showcase of the skills we have been developing in art.

Hot Chocolate & Board Games

Our class proudly earned our second class prize by collecting 25 stars, awarded for consistently embodying our classroom vision. Throughout the term, we demonstrated kindness, cooperation, and respect for one another, and this achievement reflected the positive and supportive learning environment we have worked hard to create together.

For our reward, the spinner landed on “Yes Day” — the prize we had all been hoping for! Excitement filled the classroom as we came together to plan our own timetable for the day, choosing activities that everyone would enjoy.

The day began with VEX Robotics, where we got to play with the robots we had built, followed by poster design on Canva, allowing creativity to shine. We then enjoyed a range of party games and an energetic game of dodgeball. After lunch, we relaxed with hot chocolate while playing board games, enjoying time to chat and unwind together.

The day was filled with laughter, teamwork, and memorable moments. It was a truly special celebration and a wonderful way to end the term, rewarding the hard work, positive behaviour, and strong sense of community within our class.

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