Nelson Mandela

We have been learning about the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela in our History.

First, we looked at the Republic of South Africa,

where Nelson's life story begins. Here are some facts:

•In 2011 the population of South Africa was around 52 million.

•South Africa has three capital cities, Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Pretoria.

•The largest city in South Africa is Johannesburg.

•South Africa has 11 official languages.

•South Africa has the largest economy of any African country.

Follow this link to the country's fact file:

 Explore South Africa

We have explored the early life and work of Nelson 

Mandela:
He was born in 1918, as Rolihlaha Mandela.
He was given the name Nelson when he started school.
Nelson Mandela's father died when he was 12.
He was adopted by the new leader of the tribe.

While studying law, Nelson Mandela was asked to leave university. It was unusual for black people at the time to attend university.

He began working as a lawyer, fighting for black peoples rights.

Follow the link to read more about Nelson Mandela, and try the quiz!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/nelson_mandela/

Classroom art

The classroom has been beautifully decorated recently with the children's art. The children all designed their own versions of Apollo 11 in space. Take a look!

School Tour

On Thursday, the pupils from 2nd - 6th class went to Lough Key Forest Park, in Boyle, Co. Roscommon. 'Zip - It' was the order of the day, and everyone had tremendous fun zip-lining along the tree trails.
Have a look at the photo's below of all the fun!!

King of the Jungle....??

Zipping along!

Girls are planning their next move

Caoimhe tackling the obstacles! 

Daniel making his way across the tree tops!

Cathal zipping his way around the woods!

6th class enjoying their last tour with Tooreen!

5th class conquering                                                             the woods!

Cumann na mBunscol Hurling

Both the boys and girls competed today in the Cumann na mBunscol blitz in Tooreen. Three teams competed, all winning one game each. No top team emerging today means Tooreen will have to do it all again! Well done to the team, who won their first match v Kilmovee, and were unlucky against Claremorris boys. 

Update : The team was out on Wednesday (11th May). The team won their first match against Claremorris, but unfortunately lost out to Kilmovee in the second match. Hard luck and well done to the team for battling hard in both matches and representing their school admirably. 

Shooting to the Moon!

We have been busy learning all about the moon recently, both in our History and Geography.

In History, we learned about the 1960's space race between Russia and America.

Here is a link to more information about Yuri Gagarin: http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level1/gagarin.html

The following link shows various facts about the Apollo 11 mission: http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11-facts.cfm

In Geography, we are exploring the moon's surface, and it's wacky weather!

Did you know?

• Scientists believe the moon was formed by clumps of rock joining together.
• The moon is the 5th largest moon in the Solar System, and only 4 times smaller than the Earth.
• Every year, the moon moves away from the Earth by 4cm!
• There is less gravity on the moon than here on Earth, so you would weigh 6 times less on the moon!
• The moon has no atmosphere or water!

Find out more about the moon here: Moon Facts

Phases of the moon:

The moon orbits the Earth every 27 days - the word 'month' comes from the word 'moon'. Have a look below at the different phases of the moon:

Have a go at this whiz quiz, and test your knowledge on the moon!

quiz-whiz-moon

O' Duffy Cup Visit

This afternoon, the boys and girls of Tooreen were lucky enough to get their hands on the O'Duffy Cup. This cup is presented to the All Ireland Senior Camogie Champions each year. Cork are the current holders of this cup, after beating Galway in the 2015 All Ireland final.

Cork have won this cup 26 times, a record they share with Dublin.

The cup is named after Seán O' Duffy (1885 - 1980), a Mayo man, born in Killawalla, Westport. Sean O' Duffy worked hard to establish the Camogie Association and promote the game across the country.

Mayo contested the All-Ireland final back in 1959, however lost out to Dublin.

Let's hope the O'Duffy Cup finds its way back to Mayo, and Tooreen, in the years to come!

5th and 6th class pictured with the O' Duffy Cup

Camogie silverware is no stranger to our 5th and 6th class girls!

Camogie I.N.T.O Mini-Sevens Blitz

Congratulations to the girls who won all three matches today at the Min-Sevens Blitz in Bekan . The girls are now through to the final, time/venue TBC. Well done all!

Update: Congratulations to the team who won their final today in Claremorris. Up against the Gaelscoil from Westport, the girls excelled in all areas of the pitch and were well deserved winners. A great day for St. Brigid's NS, take a look at the day's action below!

A winners welcome!

The victorious team

The team receiving their medals and Shield

The captions speech!

Eagerly awaiting the silverware

The team in action