Greann...
Paidir chuig Bríd Naofa. A Naomh Bríd, a Mhuire na nGael, scar orainn do bhrat. A Naomh Bríd a chroí na féile stiúir sinn ar an mbóthar ceart. A Naomh Bríd geanúil grástúil ar ár namhaid cosain sinn. A Naomh Bríd a bhean rialta álainn ar uair ár mbáis glaoigh orainn. 2
Suíomh Idirlíone Úr na Scoile! A New School Website! We are very pleased to announce that the school staff have been working hard with Fintan Marquess to develop a new school website. We hope to use the website as a ‘one stop shop’ for posting information and in communicating information to parents and to our wider school community. As part of this process we will be consulting with parents and we are asking you what you would like to see from this new exciting venture. What facilities should be in place to help you, as the primary educators of your own children, develop the learning of our students at home. We want you to take ownership of this website and to use it regularly, checking for updates or newly released information regarding school life. However, we also want to use the website to celebrate our pupils’ achievements and to highlight important milestones in their learning. More information on a launch date to come, but watch this space!
Spring is Here
Continuing to provide a strong home learning environment (HLE). Everybody knows that parents / guardians are children’s first educators and that their homes are their first classrooms. I often say that five minutes with a parent / guardian at home can be more beneficial than an hour with a teacher. Unfortunately, due to lockdown, our pupils spend the whole day at home now and I appreciate that we all want to see our children back at school. It is important that we keep our eye on the ball. Naturally, some children are independent enough to lead their own learning but some need still need your encouragement. I would ask, especially with our youngest children that you continue to provide them with experiences in some of these well-known activities that are known to help children succeed against the odds: read to your children, frequency read to, going to the library (we know that’s on hold at present), playing with numbers, painting and drawing, working with letters, teaching numbers (and help with the spelling of the numbers), choose some songs/poems/rhymes to learn off by heart during lockdown. It doesn’t matter that you are delivering all (or some) of this in English or in another language. All of these activities are listed in an article – Success Against the Odds. The article points to the successes of young learners when a strong Home Learning Environment is created by parents. So, keep up the good work and call me if I can help in any way. Séamas
Spring is here! Spring is here! Winter is gone and two flowers appear. Three little robins begin to sing. Four bicycle bells begin to ring. Five children come out and jump the rope. Spring is here now! I hope, I hope! Author Unknown
March Wind
March wind is a jolly fellow; He likes to joke and play. He turns umbrellas inside out And blows men’s hats away. He calls the pussy willows And whispers in each ear, “Wake up you lazy little seeds, Don’t you know that spring is here.
3
Lorg an Bhéarla Lorg an Bhéarla
Gaeilge
Bhí mé ag dúil le m’athair theacht chun an bhaile.
Bhí mé ag dúil chun an bhaile le m’athair.
Bhí mé ar oiléan Thoraigh
Bhí mé istigh i dToraigh anuraidh.
anuraidh. Tá poll sa bhalla.
Tá poll ar an bhalla.
Tamall beag i ndiaidh dó éirí dorcha...
Tamall beag i ndiaidh a ghabháil ó sholas dó...
Is cuimhin liom go maith...
Is maith is cuimhin liom...
...thug mé iad liom go Baile Átha Cliath.
...thug mé liom iad go Baile Átha Cliath.
Tuismitheoirí agus páistí Here are some phrases that might help parents encourage/ develop the use of Irish at home: Le do thoil (le-do-hol) - please Go raibh maith agat (go-row-my-ogit) Thanks Suigh anois. (see-anish) - sit now. Ar mhaith leat…? (aer-y-lat…?) - Would you like…? Peann luaidhe (pan-louie) - pencil Peann (pan) - pen Obair scoile (ow-ber skulla) - school work Ag an tábla (ig an tabla) - at the table Cad é mar atá tú inniu? (ka-j mar ata two in-u?) - How are you doing/feeling today? Tá mé go maith. (ta may go mi) - I feel good. Tá mé go holc. (ta may go hulk) - I feel awful. Am súgartha! (am sug-er-ha) - play time! Am lóin (am lone) - lunchtime. 4
An ríomhaire (an ree-wear-a) - the computer.
Ar Scoil—le Pól Mac Brádaigh Nach mé atá ar sásta nuair atá mé ar scoil, Is mór agam go bhfuil mo chairde ansin liom. Muid ag éisteacht leis an mhúinteoir is ag gáire gach lá, Ag foghlaim faoin sport, an cheol is an ghrá. Nach mé ata sásta leis an Phríomhoide deas fial,
A labhrann linn go minic fá’ bhriseadh na riall. An fhoireann scoile is fearr dá bhaca tú ‘riamh!
Sean-fhocail na míosa
Nach mé atá sásta agus grá agam go deo, Do mo mhuintir is mo theaghlach a chuir mé anseo. Le Gaeilge a fhoghlaim agus í a thabhairt linn, Ár dteanga dúchasach a bhí i bhfolach faoi choim. Nach mé atá brónach ag imeacht liom as seo, Ag fágáil slán le mo chairde is an fhoireann faoi bhrón. Ach beidh mé ar ais, san áit a bhfuil mo chroí, Is mé i mo mhúinteoir Gaelscoile, le cuidiú an Rí.
5
Is binn Béal ina Thost! (Silence is Golden!)
Ag múineadh ár bpáistí , bliain i ndiaidh bliain.
Máire Áine Nic Reachtain / Mary Ann McCracken The tireless campaigner for social justice who gave her name to our school.
The bust of Mary Ann McCracken at Clifton House
The Belfast Charitable Society, the city’s oldest charity, has set up a foundation to celebrate the life and work of one of Belfast’s most remarkable women – Mary Ann McCracken. Our school is named after her for all the right reasons.
The foundation’s purpose is to examine issues around poverty, slavery, human rights and equality – all of which are causes she espoused and all of which are relevant today. She was also a pioneer for Early Years education, campaigned against child labour, helped to revive Irish music and was a protofeminist.
Mary Ann McCracken is best known as the sister of Henry Joy McCracken who led the rebellion of 1798. It is time this tireless campaigner for social justice and pioneer of the charity sector came out from the shadow of her older brother. She deserves to be remembered in her own right.
6
Therefore the first act of the foundation is to publish through the Irish Academic Press a revised edition of Mary McNeill’s 1960 biography: The Life and Times of Mary Ann McCracken 1770 – 1866. Mary was a prodigious letter writer throughout her life and the book quotes extensively from her writings allowing her warmth, intelligence, compassion and great courage to shine through.
Her family were prosperous Presbyterians with reformist leanings and were prominent in the growth and development of the town. Her maternal grandfather Francis Joy had founded the News Letter in 1737, overcoming a paper shortage by collecting rags across the north and building his own paper mill. Another family business founded the first mill in Ireland to be powered by water.
As Belfast grew so too did more and more unemployed workers, beggars and destitute people drift into the town. There was no welfare system in the 18th Century. It fell to Belfast citizens to alleviate homelessness and poverty. Her uncles Henry and Robert were leading lights in founding the the Belfast Charitable Society which built the town’s poorhouse. The building was designed by Robert and is now known as Clifton House, still home to the charity.
Her father John was a wealthy sea captain and she was brought up on High Street at a time when the River Farset still flowed down the middle of the street.
This was a time of new, radical thinking – and Mary was sent to an extraordinary school run by the eccentric educationalist David Manson. He taught boys and girls togethers, believed that education should be fun, banned corporal punishment and introduced games and play into the curriculum. The Manson approach pre-dated the Montessori schools’ system by more than a century. This environment influenced her thinking – both on sexual equality and on her own educational initiatives she pursued as an older woman.
She was brilliant at figures and when just 21, started a muslin business with her older sister Margaret. It was a success and gave her the financial independence to support her brother Henry Joy and other revolutionaries during the insurrection which was to follow.
Mary Ann’s passion for helping to secure better lives for the working classes and the destitute was clear: “The world affords no enjoyment equal to that of promoting the happiness of others, it so far surpasses more selfish gratification from its not only being pleasant at the time but from affording agreeable recollections afterwards.”
When the lockdown is over, Mary Ann’s life will be used as a topic in Local History Studies in the on7 ly place named after this great lady – Bunscoil Mhic Reachtain.
An Churaclam—What were January and February Rang 1/2—Helen. Rang 1/2 have been working really hard at home. Our topic this half term is Houses and Homes and we have been exploring this through different stories and activities. While working at home on Seesaw, we have been developing some ICT skills.
Rang 1 have been continuing our work on lett numbers.
Rang 2 are working on High Frequency Word punctuation for literacy. We have been worki subtraction and we will be learning about mo next week. Maith sibh a pháistí.
Rang 2/3 —Oisín. Rang 2/3 have been producing excellent work from home this year. I am looking forward to seeing the projects the children are working on based on our topic this term—The Home. Rang 2/3 have also been working on reading High Frequency Words, on improving their segmenting and blending skills and on developing their confidence in literacy. In Mathematics the children have started working with money and developing their
Rang 4/5 —Éamann. It’s been somewhat of a different learning experience this month for everyone involved and I would like to thank those working with the children at home and at school. We have worked on different aspects of numeracy this month. Rang 5 have worked hard developing their multiplication and division knowledge while Rang 4 have been learning about subtraction, working up to subtracting three-digit numbers. We have also worked on identifying and using money an have more recently been learning about 3D shapes. In literacy, the children have been enjoying using Reading Eggs and a lot of positive feedback has been reported. We have also been learning about 8
understanding of spending money and getting change. It is an enjoyable and very practical topic in maths and one that our parents are encouraged to help out with at home. Finally, as part of Kids Mental Health Week, the children completed walking challenges. Although it was quite cool, the pupils enjoyed having the opportunity to explore the outdoors as part of their learning. The children also take part in weekly PE lessons online with me. Maith sibh Rang 2/3.
famous scientists through our reading comprehensions in English and we’ve learned about some animals in our Irish reading comprehensions. The children have worked hard learning their weekly spellings at home and are engaging in weekly dictionary work in both English and Irish. Our ‘The World Around Us’ topic at the minute is ‘Forces’. We have learned a lot about different forces and how they affect us. This includes gravity, air resistance and water resistance. The children are given the tools to do some research at home and carry out some experiments each week. We have also been tuning in to watch our Rang 2/3 teach Oisín and taking part in his PE classes on Tuesday and Thursday!
Maith iad!
e we learning about in during lockdown?
ters and
ds and ing on oney
Rang 5/6 —Pól. The children in Rang 5/6 have been learning about the Vikings. Like other classes I have found it difficult to get all the children to engage with all the work on Google Classroom. It has been a fun topic to look at despite the difficulties caused to learning by the current Covid 19 lockdown measures. In Numeracy we have continued to develop our learning by using Google Classroom Quizzes, online learning games such as Hit the Button for our tables (multiplication and division), games on Fractions, and The Number Train to name a few. We have looked at Fractions and Pie charts during this period aswell as reading and writing numbers up to 100, 000.
next term to further our use of this excellent resource. We have also been developing our English and Irish language comprehension skills on a daily basis by reading or listening to stories read by the teacher and answer ing Google Quizzes on them.
In using ICT we have begun using the programme Scratch this term to develop our computer coding skills. The stuff that has been produced by the children so far has been awesome! Finally, I want to thank all our parents and children for engaging with the online Google Classroom. It has been difficult to teach and learn this way, but we are doing it. Maith muid!
In Literacy we have also started using Reading Eggs to develop our literacy skills. Although as a class we have started slowly, we hope in the
Rang 7 — Tríona. This term Rang 7 have been working extremely hard on our theme All About Space. We have been researching facts and figures which we used to design information leaflets and posters. We have been working on making 2D and 3D models of the solar system using the information we have learned with regards to the planets. In Numeracy we have been learning about data handling and different ways of recording information. We have been looking at tables of information, pictograms, bar charts, line graphs and pie charts. In Literacy we have been continuing to work on our
comprehension skills. We have also been focusing on adjectives and creative writing. We have written letters, postcards, descriptions and diary entries. We have even rewritten some of our favourite stories to be set in space with some weird and wonderful characters. We have played many online games and started to use Reading Eggs to support our literacy skills. The children in Rang 7 have been working extremely hard on Google Classroom and are always willing to engage with others and participate in discussions. Maith sibh a pháistí.
9
Crosóg Bhríde—Dathaigh.
10
11
WHY WE READ... A Chairde, At the last staff meeting, teachers discussed the centrality of our children reading as early as possible. It set me thinking that there have been some great quotes down the years about reading – some humorous and others quite thought-provoking. It would be amazing if some of our pupils remember Lockdown 20/21 as the period in which they fell in love with reading. Here are some of the quotes for you to use at home – maybe some of them could be used to make posters for the children. My personal favourites are No.6 below and one that isn’t on the list: Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. Séamas
1. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin 2. “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” – Harper Lee 3. “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” – Lemony Snicket 4. “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C.S. Lewis
5. “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn 6. “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” – Groucho Marx 7. “‘Classic’ – a book which people praise and don’t read.” – Mark Twain 8. “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” – Ray Bradbury 9. "So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place, you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall." – Roald Dahl 10. “Think before you speak. Read before you think.” – Fran Lebowitz 11. “Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.” – Lena Dunham 12. “The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest (people) of the past centuries.” – Descartes
12
DEIS AISTRITHE/ A CHANCE TO USE YOUR TRANSLATION SKILLS!
le Pádraig Mac Giolla Cheara Dath na nduilleog an rud is mó a chuireas aoibhneas orainn san fhómhar. Cuid acu a thiteas leis an tsioc roimh an am, díreach mar sciobas an galar agus an tinneas cuid de na daoine ar shiúl sula mbeireann an aois orthu. Ach i gcás na nduilleog i gcoitinne, tagann an t-athrú de réir a chéile. Gabhann na duilleoga dathanna na mbláth chucu féin ar na crainn, agus bíonn a dhath féin ag gach crann. Éiríonn an bheith órga, an fhuinseog ar dhath na líomóide, an fáibhile donn, an dair rua, an crann siríse dearg, agus an driseog ildathach. Dearcann an duine ar na duilleoga ag feo agus cuimhníonn sé go raibh dreach úrmhaiseach na hóige orthu tamall gairid ó shin. Seal blianta ó shin fosta, bhí sé féin ag fás aníos mar an bláth, agus is gearr go mbeidh a chraiceann críon, casta mar an duilleog fheoite, agus a ghruaig liath mar tá an féar tirim a chí sé ar mhínte an fhómhair. Imeoidh seisean mar imíos an duilliúr, ach ní ábhar bróin sin don duine chéillí. Tiocfaidh an bheatha arís leis an earrach, agus éireoidh an duine go beatha gan éag. Má chaitheann sé a shaol mar is cóir, is méanar dó aiséirí na beatha.
Test yourself:
Cuidiú:
Irish for leaf: - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I gcoitinne—in general
Irish for Autumn: -
Ar dhath na líomáide—lemon coloured
An _ _ _ _ _ _
Ag fás aníos—growing up
Irish for November: -
Mar is cóir—properly
_______
Is méanar dó—lucky for him 13
An Bláth Álainn ón tSráth Bán—Liam Mac Carráin (The flower of sweet Strabane)
Dá mba mise Rí na hÉireann a’s gach rud ar mo thoil, Ó! Shiúlfainn tríd an tír seo, a’s seolfainnse siar ‘gus soir Le radharc a fháil ar Phlúr Bhan Fáil’s bheadh corn an tsonais lán, Dá mbeinn ceangailte le Marta, an bláth álainn ón tSrath Bán.
Sonraí Teagmhála/ Contact Details Gúthán: 02890 322404 Ríomh-phost: amcglue354@c2kni.net For more information about our school or to see how we can help you or your child/ children, get in touch with us using the information above!
Tá a grua ar dhath na rósaí, ‘s a gruaig mar chleite ‘n fhéich; Is í’n is beosaí as seo go Bealach Féich, Ó molfaidh mé a háilleacht le hamhrán binn ‘gus dán Mar is mór a cáil’s níl seoid le fail mar Mharta ón tSrath Bán. Dá mbeinn pósta leat a spéirbhean ’s muid ‘raon in Inis Eoghain, Nó i ngleann bheag choillteach fhéarmhar i gContae ghlas Thír Eoghain, Ó clúdóinn thú le póga, a lile aoibhinn án, Mar is tú mo bhrí agus grá mo chroí, a bhláth aoibhinn ón tSrath Bán. Mo chúig chéad slán ag Leithbhear i gContae Dhún na nGall, ‘s mé ’mo sheasamh ar an droichead a fhágfas mé ar ball Le ghabháil thar toinn na farraige ’nonn ’mo sheachránaí bhocht ar fán, Ach tiocfaidh mé ’r ais chuig Marta an bláth díleas ón tSráth Bán.
14
Ionad na Fuiseoige, Béal Feirste.
Saibhreas na Gaeilge
Here are some online resources/ classes that Ionad na Fuiseoige in Twinbrook are providing via different platforms. Two of our own teachers, Pól and Tríona, help deliver some of these classes each week. This highlights the important role and often extra hat(s) that the teachers in our school wear in our community. The Irish language community is one community. By supporting Irish language initiatives
no matter where they are we are supporting our community. During this time of lockdown supporting our community can be done by registering an taking a weekly online class. You will improve your Irish and you will meet new people which will help your own mental health. For more info ring 02890 620373. Ar scáth chéile a mahireann muid! (By 15 supporting each other we will survive!)
Gabhaim molta Bríde, Ionmhain í le hÉireann. Ionmhain le gach tír í, Molaimis go léir í.
Lóchrann geal na Laighneach, ‘Soilsiú feadh na tíre. Ceann ar ógaibh Éireann Ceann na mban ar míne.
Tig an Gheimhreadh dian dubh,
An focail scoir… One final thought…
‘Gearradh lena ghéire. Ach ar Lá ‘le Bríde, Gar dúinn Earrach Éireann.
“The pulse of a language clearly lies in the youngest generation. Languages are at risk when they are no longer transmitted naturally to children in the home by parents or other caretakers. Even languages which older, but not younger, children in a community have acquired are at risk. The key question then is: how many languages still spoken today are no longer being learned by young children?” A very important quote taken from the book Vanishing Voices, written by Daniel Nettle and Suzann Romaine. Speaking Irish at home with your child will help keep it alive. We have a saying in Irish—’Beatha teanga, í a labhairt’ which roughly translates as ‘A language will live, if we speak it’. If we are serious about keeping our Irish language alive, use it even the few words that you may have. If anyone wants to develop their Irish speak to Séamas, he will be only too glad to help. Go n-éirí linn a chairde!
16