There was great excitement in 6th class today when our hoodies arrived. Everyone was delighted with them!

Recently, we completed a STEM Challenge where the whole class had to find a partner or a group and try to make the longest paper chain. We had 20 minutes to complete the task. When the timer beeped we all dropped everything and waited for the competition to start. The first team to lay down their paper chain included Hanna, Robyn, Clara and Lily's team. Next, it was Tommy, Conor F, Vikki, Tyreek, Aisling and Emma's team. At this point, Robyn's team was winning. The next team was Liam's team with Eoin M, Eoin W and Alan. They were only around half an inch away from winning but Robyn's team held onto their lead! After that, Kate and Ava's team was up. Their paper chain was only a few centimetres long! It was more like a piece of jewellery. The leaser board was as follows: 1st Place - Hanna, Robyn, Lily and Clara. 2nd Place - Eoin W, Eoin M, Liam and Alan. 3rd Place - Edie, Caoimhe, Seán and Oisín. Overall, we had a great time and had a lot of fun! 

Congratulations to Hannah Fitzpatrick who represented St. Finnachta's N.S at the Intel Mini Scientists National Final in Maynooth. Hannah's project, The Disposable Truth, was one of 26 projects chosen among primary school students from across Ireland to attend the finals in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Hannah's project explored the truth behind disposable coffee cup; is it recyclable, biodegradable or should be thrown in with the general waste?

In December, 6th Class started practicing gymnastics in the GAA hall. At week one, we were paired up into groups of 5 or 6 and we did single poses, such as balancing on one foot with our arms outstretched, ect. In week 2 we tried out doubles poses where one person would stand on top of another. (supervised, of course) Week 3 and 4 consisted of group poses, where the aforementioned group would try to balance someone on two peoples shoulders with two people on either side holding them. The final weeks were spent practicing a group routine, where each group would come up with a cacophony of single, double and group poses. When all of the groups had perfected their routine, we began filming in the school hall. Here are the six routines which our class put together.

​Our Sixth class recently participated in Junior Achievement with Caimin Morey as our programme co-ordinator. We worked on a lot of interesting subjects like the cardiovascular system, renewable energy and forensic science. On our second-to-last day Caimin agreed to take our class to Zimmer BioMet, a company that makes artificial joints, where he also worked. We were accompanied by Mr Keane and Mr Heagney. When we arrived they showed us a quick presentation of the company. After that we split into three groups and started the tour. First our tour guide showed us some whiteboards with Health and Safety, company goals and stretching exercises. Then our guide showed us a robot arm and explained some of the materials used and the process of making the joint, in this case a knee. They also showed us how they polished the knees to a fine level. At the end of the process a robot checked the knee for faults. If a knee had any faults it would be thrown away and recycled. The tour guide said they take the quality of their products very seriously. It was a really interesting experience and I particularly enjoyed it.
By Maria Vrabete

On the 5th of March Mr.Kilcoyne's and Mr.Keane's 6th classes went on a trip to Esker on our Confirmation retreat with Mr.Clohessy's 6th class from Kilmurry.We were greeted warmly by our leaders as we stepped off the bus.First,we were split into four groups and we each went our separate ways. We all did two activities which were followed by tea and biscuits. Next, we went and did two more activities. After those they gave us soup and orange juice. The retreat was finished off by a Mass. We found it very enjoyable preparing for our Confirmation somewhere different. The three 6th classes all enjoyed their visit and would like to thank all the leaders and Fr. Séamus.

Today, on the 4th of March, Mr. Keanes’ 6th class met an artist by the name of Alan Shoesmith. He talked to us about Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl was born on the 13th of September 1916. If Roald Dahl was still alive today he would be 99!! We walked down to the Kilfinaghty Library in Sixmilebridge and met Alan. Alan had a drawing of the Big Friendly Giant (BFG). It was quite good. He asked us what our favourite Roald Dahl character was. Then he told us to draw it on an A3 page in front of us. The majority of us picked either the BFG or Matilda Wormwood (although hardly any of us knew Matilda’s last name.) Alan walked around us and made suggestions and comments that were very helpful. He suggested that maybe we could write a story to go with our drawing. When the session had finished, we thanked him and the librarian Pauleen and left happy. Here are some pictures from the day including some of our illustrations.

 

For Book Week Mr Kilcoyne's class joined  Ms Touhy's class to listen and help the juniors read books. It was very enjoyable for the sixth class to listen to Ms Touhy's class read their books and also for Mr Kilcoyne's class to read to the juniors . The sixth class were fascinated by how brilliant Ms Touhy's class are at reading. Also for Book Week we designed our own individual book tokens in class. They were forwarded to a national competition. Another enjoyable part of Book Week was when we described our favourite book character of all time in an oral presentation to our class.

             Clare Inter-Schools Quiz 2014

Sixmilebridge N.S. won the Inter-Schools Quiz 2014 in St.Tola’s N.S. The winning team consisted of Sinead Cahill, Luke O’ Halloran and Eli Murphy O’ Sullivan. The team was chosen in class by Mr. Kilcoyne by having one preliminary round out of fifteen and anyone who got over seven was in the final round. After the final and a few mini rounds the team was chosen. On the night many schools came to St. Tola’s N.S. for the chance to win the quiz. During the quiz many hard questions were asked with fifteen questions in each round. There were six rounds. We had a break after round four and were given a juice box and a bar each. When the quiz was finished we waited anxiously for our results. They called out the scores in reverse order. In third place were Ennis National School (with seventy points), in second was St. Conaire’s (with seventy one points). Then they called out first place. It was Sixmilebridge N.S! We thought we had lost but in fact we scored seventy-three points. One of the highest scores ever recorded in the quiz. Our trophies were presented to us and many pictures were taken. It was a great feeling to win such an important quiz with our friends and classmates. It was a really good night and we will never forget.                                                                                            

Rob Stephen came to our school on the 13/2/2015 to talk to us about engineering . He focused on the workings of an airplane. He explained the aerodynamics of a plane to us. After that he showed us step by step how to make a type of paper airplane. It was a very enjoyable hour. We would like to thank Rob Stephen for coming to our school! 

On the 24th of February world renowned boxer and one time World Champion!!!!! Bernard Dunne came to visit Mr. Keane and Mr. Kilcoyne's 6th class to talk about self-esteem and being the BEST YOU can be. Bernard (now retired from professional boxing) said that we should always dream and do the things that make us happy, not to the follow the crowd. He took questions and gave us satisfying answers on his personal life and boxing career. It was very enjoyable for of the 6th class pupils. We would like to thank Bernard for motivating our class for secondary school..........AND the rest of SIXTH!!!!