Science 23/24
Materials - PH Indicator - Ms Gleesons 5th/6th class
Ms Gleesons class were learning about materials and learned that some solutions can be acidic and some can be alkaline or base. They made a ph indicator, using red cabbage and hot water. We then dipped kitchen paper into the red cabbage solution and let it dry. We cut the kitchen paper into strips, to make litmus paper. We dipped the litmus paper into different solutions to observe if they were acid or alkali.
Forces - Rocket Workshop
Pupils in 5th and 6th classes celebrated Science Week by taking part in a Rocket Making Workshop with Seanie Morris from Midlands Science. They learned about propulsion systems and they also learned about aerodynamics. The boys and girls got to build and launch their own rockets. Massive thanks to Seanie and Midlands Science for delivering what was a most enjoayable and engaging workshop.
Environmental awareness and Care - Tourism and its impact on our environment
The boys and girls in Mr Phelans 4th class had a great class discussion about tourism. During this discussion they were asked to think about how tourism can affect the environment. The class watched a number of videos from Youtube that shared the experiences of people in the holiday hotspot of Majorca and also the experiences of people that have visited Mt Everest.
After a further class discussion about what resources tourists need and what they might leave behind, the class split into groups and each one looked at different examples in which tourism affects our environment. Groups explored:
the impact of tourism in Mt Everest
Rubbish at Irish beaches
Tourism problems in Majorca
Gum - How tourists throwing awa y gum is a big problem
The following were some of the class findings:
rubbish is a massive problem in all tourism settings. e.g. plastic bottles and coffee cups are left behing and are a massive problem on Irish beaches
travel to tourism destinations can prove to be a challenge to the environment as extra traffic or extra plane journeys cause pollution. Roads aren't big enough in some places and need to be made bigger
pollution of water can be a big problem
Fragile environments such as coral reefs can be damaged by boats hitting them e.g. in Majorca
Humans are damaging environments by trampling on plans, flowers, sand dunes etc