LIBRARY NEWS: JAN-Feb 2024
The library kicked off the year with a Word Millionaire Battle! 1st, 2nd and 3rd year classes raced each other to be the first to class to reach 1 million words. Students were reading when classes finished, at breaks, during study periods and at home. After a very close sprint to the finish, 1st years won on February 20th with 1,130 words. They win a trip (to be decided together) in the coming month! Runner up classes will receive a library party with treats and, individual prizes will be awarded at the end of the year to the top readers and top efforts.
Thanks to JCSP funding, we had a visit from Coding Ireland, for 1st and 2nd years recently. Students took part in workshops to design a retro arcade game and to programme small robots. We hope to begin a coding club in the library this term, as students enjoyed this so much.
February is the season for mocks, so Inspire Ireland visited the school to run study skills workshops with 1st years, 3rd and 6th years covering note-taking, memory techniques and stress-reduction skills. With thanks to Ballymun Anseo School Completion Programme.
February is also the inaugural Creative February month, run by the Arts Council Creative Schools initiative. See the poster attached for the myriad of creative activities going on in the school this month.
Dafe Orugbo of the band Tebi Rex, has been visiting 1st year students for rap and songwriting workshops, since January. Students are working in groups to write lyrics to a beat and we will have some groups ready to perform with other schools at JCSP WRaPParound in late April, in Trinity College Dublin!
Leon Dunne, the CDETB writer-in-residence continues to visit Ellenfield Ink writer’s group and a small publication is planned for the schools involved in this initiative. We hope to see lots of our student’s work published in this, by end of year.