Our Newly Elected Student Council!

We were amazed at the number of children who eagerly contested this important election. We asked them to focus their campaigns on recycling, sustainability, protection of our environment.

We had nine candidates standing from Sixth Class, seven from Fifth Class and eleven from Fourth Class: An impressive 27 in total. They spoke to a large audience of senior pupils in the hall. We were very impressed by ALL the candidates and their campaigns, not just on the day itself but on the week beforehand. Many of them had spent hours and evenings preparing their presentation and all of them spoke well despite it being a little bit intimidating to speak in front of so many of their classmates, peers and staff. They spoke about the need for a school bus to cut down on emissions and use of fossil fuels. They encouraged greater recycling, especially drinking bottles. They asked were our classroom lights of the CFL or LED variety and advised that we need to turn them on only when necessary. They want to ensure that our school is completely litter-free at all times. Some believe that bio-diversity specialists should be invited to speak here at school, so that we can learn more about caring for our local environment and county. They also spoke about the COP 27, our natural world, global warming and human behaviour. They mentioned solar panels too. However, Mr Paul and Ms Mary reminded the voters that small steps here in Caherleaheen and in our homes can add up to large strides forward in lowering our carbon footprint.

Well done to all those who participated and special congratulations to all those who were elected to the Student Council.

In no particular order:

Séan Sargent Aaron Crean Ewan Morris Luke Hanafin

Robáird Foley Adam O Brien (not in photo) Lily-Mai O’ Sullivan

Saoirse Moynihan Samuel Murphy Conor Fleming

Rubén Rivas-McHugh

Celtic Book Fair and Science: a Busy Week in November

Many thanks to Ms. Claire and Aisling Foley for organising a wonderful book fair. They were helped by parents in the hall each morning. The children were very excited and delighted to buy their favourite books or stationery. Of course, this is the best time of year to read books for pleasure at home. Snuggle up and enjoy. Shared reading, reading aloud or being read to, is an important activity that develops literacy skills, enhances concentration, widens vocabulary and enriches our imagination.

Science Activities

Fifth Class used baking soda and vinegar reaction to make the volcano erupt. Baking soda and vinegar react to neutralise each other ( vinegar is an acid and baking soda an alkali ) releasing carbon dioxide which is the bubbles of gas you see. They added a little washing up liquid to make the foam becomes thicker, like lava!

Sixth Class predicted their inertia activity and then recorded the action on their ipads. See their videos are on our CaherleaheenNational School facebook page.