We went to the Robo Show in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra

A few days before the Day arrived we practised presenting our project to all the classes.
I loved teaching the children about how we use our blog and all about our project.
We made our Checklist so we could tick off what equipment we need we had prepared and ready.
When finally the Robo Fair Day arrived we got there and back by bus.
There were lots of other stalls too.
I liked that at the beginning each school gave a summary of their project - That was a lovely way to attract us to other stalls.
The project about special Movie Affects really interested me.
We used bird books,notebooks,binoculars,posters,laptops and Moscow souvenirs such as Bonnie The bear and photos.
On the stage photos were taken,certs presented,projects were sumarised.
Teachers and other interested children came to ask about our project and visit our stall.
We met childeren our own ages,younger,older,teachers and Deirdre.
I liked the Trains Project - the childern were very good at explaining about their project.
I loved the Movie Affects project,The film they made was very well acted and they used clever techniques too.
My favourite part was the Questionare and meeting the other children at the other stalls.
Then the time to go back arrived we wished the day would repeat itself.
The End !!!

by Hannah K

Birds of Bray attend the Empowering Minds Robo Show

Our class was invited to present our project at this years Empowering Minds Robo Show, in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra.
This show is held every year to give primary school classes the opportunity to share their work with digital tools with others.  We had a really wonderful time meeting pupils from the other schools and talking to them about their projects.  It was also great to have people come to talk to us about our project.  We know plenty about birds now, and about writing blogs, so we were delighted to show off all we had done.  We can't wait till next year.  Hopefully we'll have a new project to show off then.

Have a look at our slideshow to see how much fun we had during our day in St Patrick's College.

Photos from the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum in Moscow

What did we think about our Project?

Off to Moscow...

Hi guys,

I'm heading off to Moscow tomorrow to go to the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum.  I will be sharing our project with lots of other teachers around Europe. 
It's going to be a busy week, with lots to see and do, and I'm looking forward to seeing all the other projects that are going on in classrooms around Europe.  Hopefully I'll pick up some great ideas that I can take back and try out in St Philomena's.
I'll be blogging for the week to let you all know the exciting things that are happening. 
Wish me luck!!

Ms McHale

4th class teach Senior Infants all about Birds

Senior Infants came to visit our class this afternoon to learn about birds.
We had activities planned for them:
1. Bird watching out the classroom window using binoculars.
2. Watching our video clips of local birds to look at behaviour and listen to bird calls.
3. Looking at picture books and posters to learn bird names and describe them.

This video show how busy it was in the class this afternoon.
We all had great fun...

Thanks to Senior Infants for being so interested in birds.

A canary report from 1st Class

Here is an example of their reports from Niamh Davies.  What a wonderful job and a very beautiful picture.
Well done Niamh...and thank you all so much for sharing your work with us.

The Birds of Bray Story

We have worked so hard, done all the research, learned loads, and shared our learning with other classes. Here is our story.

First Class Came to Visit

 

1st class heard about all our great work with birds.  They were very interested so we invited them to our classroom to do some birdwatching with us. 

When they arrived we broke the class into two small groups.  We gave them binoculars so they could see all the birds outside the classroom window.  Five of us were asked to be window-watchers so we could point out different birds to them.  They loved looking out the window and they got really good at seeing the birds and finding them on the bird identification posters.

We also showed them all our books and posters about birds and we played some of the videos we have taken of different birds so they could watch how the birds move.

Ms Stone brought us a beautiful painting of blue tits hanging on a branch, which she inherited from her grandmother.

We all have a really lovely afternoon.  Thanks for visiting 1st class.

Some Very Special Pets

Today Megan and Lauren brought their pet canaries, Bono and Joey, to visit the school.  They visited  4th class, senior  infants,1st  class and 3rd class.

First Lauren and Megan showed and talked about their canaries to 4th class.  They talked about how they clean them and wash them, how they clean their cage and how they give them air.
They answed questions from the class and  told us about  who takes care of the birds and who plays with them .

Next they went  to senior infants to explain to them what they eat and how the canarys behave. 

After that they went  to 1st class for a visit.  It was a great suprise for first class because they did not know they were coming.  Again they explained to them everything they knew they really enjoyed it.  1st class are going to write a report on the canary.  We can add that on to the website.

Next they went  to 3rd class.  They ansewered their questions and told them how the canaries behave and what they eat and  how they play with them.

It was a very good day!!!  Well done girls and thanks for bringing in the beautiful birds.

By Lauren, MoreBlessing and Tarryn

Everyone is getting involved...

We're still busy writing our reports.  They'll all start appearing on our blog over the next few days.  The news of our project is spreading and other teachers are getting involved.  Dave Foley came in to see what was happening.  One of the groups showed him what they were doing and explained how to use the blog.  He was very interested in our bird watching.  While he was in the room he saw a robin, two blackbirds and a wagtail.  He'll have to come back for another visit soon.

Special Visitor

Ms Hayes,  one of the wonderful teachers in our school, came to our class on Friday afternoon to join us for some birdwatching.  Ms Hayes used to be a member of Birdwatch Ireland, and she knows alot about birds.  She brought a beautiful calendar with her which was full of amazing photos.  She talked to us about the things we should look out for when we're trying to identify birds.

We should look at:

Their size and their feathers.

Their beaks - to tell us what type of food they like to eat.

Their wings - to see if there are any markings or "flashings"

Their feet - to see where the bird usually lives.

She also did some birdwatching with us and was amazed at all the birds we were able to name already.

It's great to have others involved in our project.

Thanks Ms Hayes.