Category: Comenius Trip to France

Comenius Visitors to Clontuskert

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France Winning Logo Small

This week sees eighteen students and twelve teachers from our Comenius partner schools in France, Spain and England visit Clontuskert. They arrive on Monday and will leave Ballinasloe on Thursday. We will host them in Clontuskert school on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Wednesday evening we will hold a Community celebration from 7.00pm-9.00pm, in the school hall and all are welcome.

So far students and teachers from Clontuskert have visited France and Spain.
Get a flavour of our adventures in France here:

In March 2015 we travelled to Spain:

About our Project

This Project blog is centred around five schools from all across Europe. In Comenius, schools from across Europe come together, to work on a project to learn about each other’s countries and cultures. The schools originally met at a Comenius Contact Seminar in Durham, England in 2008 and completed a project called STAGE: Seven Towards a Greener Europe between 2010 and 2012.

The Partner schools include two schools in England, a school in France, Ireland and Spain.
We also have two silent partner schools in Estonia and Sweden.
Our project name is SHAPE – which stands for S trong H ealthy hAppy P eoplE
.

The five schools involved are:
Edmond Bocquier, St Gilles Croix de Vie, France
Dryden School, Gateshead, United Kingdom
The Oaks Secondary, Durham, United Kingdom
St Augustine’s N.S., Clontuskert, Ireland
Colegio Rural Agrupado, Valencia, Spain

Project Outline:

Year 1: 2013-2014: Nutrition and Food
Year 2: 2014-2015: Sport and Fitness

Year 1: 2013-2014: Nutrition and Food
1. Logo Competition Activity
2. Baseline Assessment of Healthy Eating in each country
3. Mascot Travel to each country and share information about countries
4. Healthy Breakfast:
• Swapping recipes/menus
• Make a Healthy Smoothie
• Breakfast in School
5. Mobility to England: March 2014
6. Healthy Traditional Food:
• Each Country will send a recipe and have one day where each country would make this recipe and post pictures on blog. Also send home
7. Food Language: Each Country’s Language. Each country will create a Powerpoint on Food and send to each other
8. Trip to local food producer. Report and photos on blog
9. Healthy Eating Poster Competition
10. Mobility to France: May 2014

Year 2: 2014-2015: Sport and Fitness
1. Baseline Assessment
2. PP: Famous Sports people and Exchange between countries
3. Film each country’s national/local dance. Upload onto blog. Each country perform during their own School Hosting
4. Mobility to Spain: November 2014
5. Each country sends rules of national game to others. You Tube clips of sport to be uploaded and embedded on blog.
6. Dictionary of Activities
7. SHAPE European Games Day
8. Play each National Game. Share on blog. Community Event
9. Mobility to Ireland: May 2015

Clontuskert Tribune October Edition

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Check out the Clontuskert Tribune for October. The editors this month were Triggy and Little Star.
Bain taitmeamh as!
October 2014:
Clontuskert Tribune October 2014


Learn about how we create our School Newspaper above. This film was made by Microsoft Partners in Learning.

Clontuskert Tribune newspaper is researched, written and edited by the students themselves.

Click on the links below to read each edition.

Please note student nicknames are used as per our school’s Internet Acceptable Use Policy.
September 2014:
Clontuskert Tribune September 2014

Annual Report to the Board of Management

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Today the first Board of Management meeting took place in the school. Please see below for the Annual Report to the Board outlining activities that happened in Clontuskert over the past school year.

School-Logo2

St. Augustine’s N.S. Clontuskert staff and students would like to thank the community for their help and support this year. 2013-2014 was a wonderful year for the school. Some of the events that took place in the school over the year include:

Parish Links:
• Various masses in school including Welcome Mass in September and 6th class Graduation
• Visit from Bishop John Kirby in December
• Catholic Schools’ Week in February
• Grandparents’ Day during Catholic Schools’ Week
• First Holy Communion in May

Parents’ Association:
• Annual Fun Run
• Anti Cyber Bullying Workshop with Brendan Smith (DERI Galway)
• Spring Clean in school for National Spring Clean
• Open Day in school for new students
• Subsidised school buses to various events
• Money raised from Fun Run to aid implementation of new literacy programme; Jolly Phonics and future painting of the school

School Activities:
• European Day of Languages with German teacher Ms. Janna Maerz
• German language classes for all students
• FIRST LEGO League Robotics Programme (11-16 year olds) Competition in Radisson, Galway.
• Junior FIRST LEGO League Robotics Programme (6-9 year olds) Presentation in Radisson, Galway.
• Student vegetable garden
• Built a willow outdoor classroom with Kay Synott (Heritage in Schools)
• Comenius Project with schools in France, Spain and England
• Four students travelled to partner school in France; St. Gilles Croix de Villes, with Mrs. Murray and Ms. Byrne, for a week as part of Comenius Project SHAPE (www.stage.scoilnet.ie ) Next year four students travel to Spain.
• Presented project on flooding at Galway Science and Technology Festival in NUIG.
• Created film for Reel Life Science.
• Took part in Mathletes online competition. 5th class student represented school at Connacht Finals.
• Health Promotion Committee with Ms. Colette Baynes.
• Healthy Breakfast in School organised by 5th and 6th class.
• Three 1st and 2nd class students represented school at ExcitED Digitial Learning Festival in Dublin Castle where they presented Junior Robotics work. Invited on stage with Head of Education Europe, Dr. Rene Lydiksen.
• CraftED Art Programme run in school by Ms. Eimíl Scott.
• Christmas Concert in school.
• Attended Music in the Classroom with RTE Orchestra in Salthill.
• Online ePals with Lannoye Elementary School in Wisconsin, US.

Workshops and Visitors to the school:
• Coding classes with Mattie Kelly
• Filmed by Microsoft Partners in Learning for podcasting, filmmaking, newspaper editing and blogging. Work shared on Microsoft site.
• Dr. Anne Dolan (Mary Immaculate College) visited to learn about our work in Geography
• Events in school for Maths’ Week, Engineers’ Week, EU Robotics Week, EU Code Week and Science Week.
• Science Workshops with Jane Shimizu for Galway Science Festival
• Canine Buddies Dog Handling workshop with Carmel Marzouk and Councillor Dermot Connolly
• Ballinasloe Fire fighters, Joe and Jamie Ward ran Fire Safety course in school
• Tony Ward, Frank Ward, Nicola Kelly and Aoife Dolan visited with Senior and Intermediate All Ireland Camogie Cups
• 6th Class Transition Programme with Helen Butler (HSE)

Sports:
• All Ireland Silver Medallists Spikeball (Primary school volleyball)
• Handball training with Peter Mulryan
• Hurling training with Kevin Molloy and Ray Duane
• Swimming in Kingfisher Ballinasloe
• Soccer
• Gaelic Football
• Rounders
• Community Sports Day
• Sean Nós Dancing
• Ceilí in school

Awards:
• Digital School of Distinction. First school in East Galway
• Third Green Flag (Water Conservation)
• Eighth Discover Primary Science and Mathematics Excellence Award
• Clontuskert Tribune Online Newspaper shortlisted for Eircom Junior Spiders Award. Fourth year school shortlisted. (Won in 2013) School invited to Google HQ, Dublin
• Three students awarded Write a Book Awards

Find out more on www.clontuskert.scoilnet.ie and follow on Twitter @clontuskertns

Day 2: Larry’s Adventure in St. Gilles Croix de Vie

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Dia dhaoibh arís,
Go raibh maith agaibh do na daoine a thug an ám freagraí a sheoladh chugham! Táim cinnte go bhfuil sibh ag obair go dian i gCluain Tuaiscirt.
Tá mé féin agus Bean Uí Mhuirí at mhuin na muice.

I have some photos to show you from yesterday in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie. These are some of the typical houses in the region.

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St. Gilles and Croix de Vie were originally two towns divided by a river. St. Gilles has a sandy beach and Croix de Vie has a rocky and a sandy one. Can you find some information about when they joined together?

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As you can see from the photos it is quite wet over here. Can you find the temperature today and for this week and work out the average temperature this week for me? Is this usual all year in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie?

Cedric told me a very interesting fact about their winter and summer population. Can you predict what this is and then see if you are right?

Here you can see us about to go into the school.
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I took some photos of the classrooms and art work for you.

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Táim ag teacht ar ais amárach agus feicfidh mé sibh arís ar an Luain.

Go dtí sin,
Slán agus beannachtaí,
Do chara,
Larry.

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Day 1: Larry’s Adventure in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie

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Dia dhaoibh at maidin,
Larry agus Bean Uí Mhuirí anseo in Aerophort Baile Átha Cliath. Táimíd ag fanacht lenár eitleán chuig Nantes.
Greetings everyone! Hope you are all well and happy this morning. Myself and Mrs. Murray are here in the airport waiting for our flight FR1986 to Nantes.
As you know we are on our way to meet our friends in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie to prepare and set up a new Comenius Project. We apply for this project in February and I will be working very hard to help the teachers prepare the curriculum content and application form for the project. As you know I will be of great help to them as I, Larry the Leprechaun am a well travelled Leprechaun!!

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Here I am having a healthy breakfast! It’s important to fuel up for the day!
Some questions this morning;
Can you remember the countries we will partner with?
What is the name of the school we will travel to?
What is the name of their principal teacher?

Slán go fóill,
Larry.

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Larry Returns

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Dia dhaoibh a pháistí,

Tá mé go maith agus tá mé ag baint taitneamh as mo t-am anseo.

Today we voted on the logos, everyone was very impressed by your artwork. It was a very close vote and a logo by the school from Durham won. I have sent you a picture of the logo. Well done to Magnificent, Buzzer and Triggy – you all did really well.

Tomorrow I will give the letters Mr O’ Riordan’s class wrote to the children in one of the classes in the school.

1. Do you have a school mascot like Larry?

The school does not have a mascot but can you remember the mascot I brought back from France last year? That is the mascot of St.Gilles..lets see who can remember!

2. How often do you get to surf in school?

They don’t surfing from school but they have no school on Wednesday so they go surfing then and at the weekend

3. Would you be able to teach us how to surf?

I’m sure they could teach you but I don’t think we can bring them surfing on the river suck

4. What do you know about Ireland?

They know a lot about Ireland and in December they will send us information about their country.

5. How old is your school building?

Their school was built in 1952 and has been renovated recently

Tóg mé griangraf  don scoil agus na leannaí. The pictures show a hallway in the school, some of the children’s project work and two of the classrooms.

RESPONSE FROM CLONTUSKERT NS STUDENTS:

Thank you Larry for your great news updates! We spoke about your trip to France in Assembly today! It is so exciting to hear from you and see photos of the school in France. The children in St. Gilles look very happy.

Congratulations to the student in Durham in England who won the LOGO competition. It is an excellent LOGO.

Don’t worry Larry, we remember the mascot from St. Gilles-it was a fish, wasn’t it?

Today in class we are working on stories about ‘Larry’s Adventure in Clontuskert Abbey’. When we have finished we hope to make a Photo Story Book from the stories we have made up! We are reading them out in class today. When we are finished we will put them up on the blog for all of our friends across Europe to read!

Safe travelling home to Ireland on Sunday! We can’t wait to see you, Ms. Burke and Mr. O Riordan on Monday. We hope that you are looking after Mr. O Riordan and Ms. Burke Larry!

Slán go fóill!

Juniors, Seniors, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th class from Clontuskert NS!

Bonjour

kmurray3190

Bonjour,

C’ est Larry ici. Je suis ici en St. Gilles avec les professeurs Francaises. Il est un trés jolie ville et les étudiants disent “ça- va”

Hello Children,

How are you? Larry here in St. Giles with teqchers from all over Europe. In the picture you can see me with Miss Burke and Cedric. Cedric hqs the present I gave his school. In the other pic I am with Les from England and teachers from Sweden. Today we visited the classrooms. Have you any questions you would like to ask the students here? Also, can you find St. Gilles on the map?

See you again soon,

Au revior, a bientot

RESPONSE FROM THE STUDENTS OF CLONTUSKERT NS:

Dia dhaoibh Larry, Iníon de Burke, an t-Usal O Ríordán agus na múinteorí go léir i St. Gilles,

We are all so excited to see you today online! We are all missing you here in Clontuskert. We hope that you are having a lovely time in France.

Questions for the students of St. Gilles:

1. Do you have a school mascot like Larry?

2. How often do you get to surf in school?

3. Would you be able to teach us how to surf?

4. What do you know about Ireland?

5. How old is your school building? Ours was built in 1956. It was made bigger in 1999. We have three classrooms and two resource rooms and a big indoor hall. We love our school!

We are going to look up St. Gilles on Google maps now!

We look forward to hearing from you all again!

From all the students in Clontuskert!