In both the junior and senior rooms, we learned loads about Christmas traditions. Our mischievous elf, Jingles, came back to visit us again this year, reminding us to be on our best behaviour. In the junior room, we learned all about the robin redbreast and created beautiful Christmas art inspired by it. As a special treat, we made rice krispie buns and used what we had learned about procedural writing to follow the steps perfectly.
In the senior room, we read an amazing story called The Last Bear, which showed us life in the Arctic Circle through the eyes of a young girl April. Inspired by this, we completed projects on the flora and fauna of the Arctic and how animals and plants adapt to such harsh conditions. We also researched the geography and tourism of Svalbard. For STEM this month, we had a really fun home project where we used old storage boxes to create Christmas displays. Everyone came up with such creative ideas and really “thought outside the box” (literally!).
This month in PE, we had a fantastic time working with Kool Schools during a block of gymnastics workshops. We learned how to create cool shapes and try out some creative moves. Gary, our GAA coach, also visited us each week in December, and we were lucky to have mild and dry weather, which meant we could train outdoors without any problems! We continued the work on our Active School flag application and completed the four week active breaks challenge.
As part of the Christmas traditions in Killurney, our amazing Parents Association organized a hamper raffle. It was wonderful to see how kind and generous everyone was and the lucky winners were delighted to go home with some yummy prizes.
On Thursday, December 19th, we also had a “Christmas Jumper Day” to raise money for Laura Lynn Children’s Charity. It felt great to be part of a community that gives back, especially at Christmas time.
To finish off an incredible month, we had a special visit from Santa Claus! Everyone was so excited to see him and receive a small gift all the way from the North Pole. We ended the term on such a happy note and headed off for the holidays full of Christmas cheer.