Chess Tournament

A chess tournament was organised in Scoil Bhríde on Wednesday 27th April by Tony McMahon. 3rd and 4th class had great fun. Micheal and Oisín were playing a game when Micheal made a 'Smothered Mate Move' which In chess, a smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded (or smothered) by his own pieces.

The mate is usually seen in a corner of the board, since fewer pieces are needed to surround the king there. The most common form of smothered mate is seen in the diagram to the right. The knight on f7 delivers mate to the king on h8 which is prevented from escaping the check by the rook on g8 and the pawns on g7 and h7. Similarly, White can be mated with the white king on h1 and the knight on f2. Analogous mates on a1 and a8 are rarer, because king side castling is the more common as it safely places the king closer to the corner than it would have the castling occurred on the queen-side.

Well done Micheal!

Congratulations to all our winners!

Daniel was the champion in 4th class

Well done Daniel!

Brandon was the champion in 3rd class

Well done Brandon!

Inland Fisheries Ireland

We had a visit from  Inland Fisheries today. It was very exciting as we got to see a lot of fish up close. Below are some of the photos for you to see.

Small roach and perch - stripy

Roach and Perch

Brook Lamprey

They live in the mud for a number of years before maturing. These young lampreys are blind and are filter feeders, eating organic matter. Brook lamprey spawn during April and May in streams and rivers all over Ireland. The adult Brook lamprey is relatively small, up to 15 cm in length. They are eel-shaped fish with a sucker-like mouth instead of jaws. 

They spawn in gravel areas, loosening stones and excavating shallow nests or redds. They can use their sucker mouth to lift and move stones and pebbles

The white clawed crayfish only likes clean water.

Fire Safety Talk

Two of the Killeshandra Fire Brigade Personnel came into the school to talk to 3rd and 4th class about fire safety in the home. Some of the topics covered were 

• The dangers of fire and the importance of basic fire prevention - "Home Safety Check Sheet"
• The importance of owning a sufficient number of properly fitted and regularly tested smoke alarms.
• The importance of a night-time safety routine check
• The importance of escape plans and regular rehearsals.
• The correct actions to be taken if in a fire situation.
• The correct procedure for calling the emergency services.

Some of Our Classroom Display Boards

One of our maths boards Tessellating Patterns.

Triangles, squares and hexagons are the only regular shapes which tessellate by themselves. You can have other tessellations of regular shapes if you use more than one type of shape. You can even tessellate pentagons, but they won't be regular ones. Tessellations can be used for tile patterns or in patchwork quilts!

Ancient Egypt

      

Here are some interesting facts about Ancient Egypt

• Most Ancient Egyptian pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs (rulers of Ancient Egypt) and their families. To date, over 130 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.
• The afterlife was incredibly important to the Egyptians. They believed that by preserving a dead person's body - which they did through the process of mummification - their soul would live on in the after-life forever.
•  Both Egyptian men and women wore makeup. The eye-paint was usually green (made from copper) or black (made from lead). As well as offering protection from the sun, the Egyptians believed makeup had magical healing powers, too! 
• The Egyptian alphabet contained more than 700 hieroglyphs! Uncover the meaning behind these ancient symbols
• Cats were considered to be a sacred animal by the Ancient Egyptians. It's thought that most families kept a cat as a pet, which they believed would bring the household good luck! 
• The Ancient Egyptians invented lots of things we still use today, such as paper, pens, locks and keys and - believe it or not - toothpaste! 

Our Gaeilge Board

Football skills with Finbar