Our Gardening Club has been hard at work this week getting our school planters ready for winter garlic. With gloves on and tools in hand, the children set about preparing the beds to make sure our garlic has the best chance to grow strong and healthy over the winter months.

The first job was to clear out old plants and leftover material from last season. The children worked together to tidy the planters and make space for new growth. Once everything was cleared, they added fresh soil, learning how important rich, healthy soil is for helping vegetables to grow.

There was great excitement as the children talked about how garlic grows underground, how it survives the cold months, and how we will care for it over the coming weeks.

​It was a lovely hands-on activity that encouraged teamwork, responsibility, and a connection to nature. We can’t wait to plant our garlic and watch it grow! 🌱🧄✨

Last week in art, the children from 1st to 6th Class explored a magical mix of colour, texture, and printing as they created their very own Northern Lights scenes.

The lesson began with the children experimenting with printing techniques. Using coloured paints, black card, and pieces of plastic, they learned how to drag and blend the colours to mimic the glowing movement of the Aurora Borealis. It was wonderful to see each child experimenting with different shapes and strokes to make their lights shine across the sky.

Once the colourful backgrounds were complete, the children added white paint to gently create stars twinkling across the night sky. When everything had dried, it was time for the final touch — a silhouette scene of their choice. Some chose forests, mountains or animals, while others designed cityscapes or imaginative shapes.

Placing the silhouettes over their Northern Lights backgrounds created stunning contrast and truly mesmerising artwork. Each piece is unique, expressive, and full of personality — and our classroom walls are now glowing with beautiful scenes inspired by nature.

​A fantastic blend of creativity, colour, and new art skills — well done to all our talented young artists! 🌌✨🎨

Last week in Cloonlyon NS, our music teacher Zane brought something very special to the Junior Room — a Latvian kokle, a beautiful traditional stringed instrument from Latvia. 🇱🇻

The children were fascinated as Zane explained how the kokle is played and how its gentle strings can make such lovely, calming sounds. They listened carefully as he demonstrated different tones and melodies, and were amazed at how the same instrument could produce so many distinct sounds.

​Then it was the children’s turn! Each pupil had the chance to explore the kokle, plucking the strings and experimenting with pitch, rhythm, and volume. There were lots of smiles and curious faces as the children created their own little tunes.

​It was a wonderful hands-on music lesson that introduced the children not only to a new instrument, but also to a piece of Latvian culture. A huge thank you to Zane for sharing this beautiful musical tradition with us. 🎵