D7ET Classroom

Dublin football star Bernard Brogan visited the school today with the Sam Maguire Cup in hand. As this was Dublin’s first All-Ireland Victory in 16 years, it caused quite a buzz of excitement in the capital. This meant that D7ET had to wait in line with other schools for a visit, but it was worth it today. The entire building was draped in the navy & sky blue, and the children waited in the yard from 10 am for a chance to meet with Bernard – and Sam.
Padraig’s 5th Class even got a chance to take penalties on Bernard, who isn’t after all, a keeper.
Unfortunately, Dublin’s prowess in sport may contribute to a drop in academic standards, as the Dublin star pronounced today a homework-free day before he left.

6th Class began Irish dancing lessons today, with the Siege of Ennis. There has never actually been a Siege of Ennis (perhaps it was meant to be Venice).
The class started with basic steps: “Leimigi, casaigi, le cheile, ar aghaidh ar chle, arais ar dheis, aris.”
The main steps were then used for the ensemble dance, as shown in these pictures.

NCAD students generously gave their time to 1^st to 3^rd classes on Wednesday, February 8^th. Organising print workshops for the classes, pupils got a chance to make art, stamping peppers and palm-prints onto  pages.

Here they are at work with Ruth’s 3rd Class.

On February 8th, a zoologist from Dublin Zoo came to talk to classes about the Zoos work. We learned that: The Zoo first opened in 1831; that snakes suffer intense stress when brought out from the zoo on visits; that a tiger can roam 150 miles from its home.
Pupils got to stroke a tiger skin and hold an embalmed sea-turtle, without any suffering bites or mauling.

“The tigers and lions practise their hunting skills with dummy animals, stuffed with meat.”

“There are 650 animals, 120 species, the oldest of which is a gorilla called Wendy, at 50 years old”

“She’s not a gorilla, she’s a monkey”

“Gorillas are monkeys”

“N,o they’re not”

“Gorilla mothers cling to their children for three months”

“You get fined 500 euro for each smuggled animal skin at Dublin Airport”

“The confiscated skins are then brought to the Zoo”

“The new gorilla enclosure is much larger than the last one.”

Recently, D7ET’s 6^th Class chess stars took part in a tournament in the Red Cow Hotel. It was great fun, and all improved a lot by learning from their mistakes.  Chess coach Rory was the organiser, and he helped us out between games. I think more people should join After-School Chess because it is really fun and it helps your concentration (just don’t sing during games because you will lose automatically). Unfortunately, all but three people in chess are in 6^th class and even they are in 5^th Class. Unless more people join, those little chess pieces will be left in the After-Care Room forever! If you know how to play chess and are into chess maybe you could teach  your siblings (if you have any).  There was a very high standard at the tournament, and D7ET participants all scored very highly for their age and standard. Even the Dublin u18 chess champion was there. Our school’s players won most of their games. So all in all I think everyone should join chess and have some fun!

This is a short message form the school’s new Student Council.

 We were elected in November 2011 by our classmates to represent their views and concerns at school level.

4th, 5th and 6th Class each chose 3 representatives by secret ballot, though there are also class representatives from 6th visiting all of the classes.

Information gathered is put together, and at Council meetings, the councillors decide what are the most important and pressing issues to be acted upon.

Last week, we had our second meeting, discussing issues that the classes brought up. This work will continue for the duration of the school term.

As part of our History lesson we looked into New and Old objects. We decided to do a History project relating to this topic. We all went home to see what old objects we could find either in our own homes or in our grandparents homes. We collected a vast amount from attics, old cupboards and even under the stairs! As a result of our gatherings, we held a New & Old History Museum in the General Purpose room for all the classes to come and see.

We invited our parents and grandparents to come along and take a trip down memory lane. Friday morning the museum was open from 8.30- 8.45. I’m sure they all saw something that reminded them of long ago.

Thank you to New York’s Fire Chief, Dan Daly, who visited the school on September 13^th. It was a fitting way to mark the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, as over 300 of Chief Daly’s colleagues died fighting the inferno on that day a decade ago.

However, the occasion was not a gloomy one, and Chief Daly’s message was more one of inspiration for the pupils of the school. He was emphatic that children should nurture their own talents, and should always carry ‘an attitude of gratitude’ throughout their daily lives.

We also gained some valuable advice for dealing with fires (“Keep low and just go!”). The presentation went on longer than planned, as D7ET pupils had quite a few questions for Chief Daly:

“What is the average response time of brigade units to fires in the metropolitan area?”

“Where do you draw your water supply, when hydrants prove inadequate?”

“Why don’t you have a Fireman Sam hat?”

These are just a few snaps taken at this year’s 6th Class passing-out ceremony, on Tuesday, June 28th.  I know there are only a few children included, but hopefully, more pics will be added soon.