Junior School News March 2025
KG Lower March Update
Checkmate in KG Lower!
The girls have really been enjoying learning more about chess as the weeks go on in the Chess Club on a Wednesday afternoon. This month, the girls got to play their first chess match as well as learning the position of all the pieces on the board. Now we are able to put all the pieces on the correct squares and be ready to play a game. We can't wait to continue to play mini games and one day, we might even beat Mr O'Connor!
Pancake Fun in KG Lower
On Tuesday, 4th March we celebrated Pancake Tuesday. We had lots of fun learning about the ingredients needed to make pancakes. Next, we discussed the different toppings we could put on them. The most popular toppings included Nutella, fruit and sprinkles. We did our best handwriting and wrote out the ingredients needed. Take a look at how neatly we can write. As a treat, we had pancakes before PE where we could choose to have chocolate sauce or lemon and sugar. What a nice way to end a great day!
Puppet Makers in KG Lower and KG Upper
The girls in KG Lower and KG Upper were treated to an amazing shadow puppet making workshop on Tuesday 4 March. As part of the MAD Festival, Julie Rose came into our classes to show us how easy it can be to make shadow puppets using paper and lollipop sticks. Next, we were put into groups of 3 and 4 and had to come up with a short story using all the characters we made. Some of the most popular characters to make included princesses, pizza slices and animals. Julie Rose then let us go behind her special white sheet and project our shadow puppets to show our friends. We had the best day ever! Thank you to Ms Crowley for organising such an enjoyable afternoon.
J2R Assembly
Ar an Aoine, 21 Márta, rinne J2R tionól speisialta as Gaeilge. Léigh na cailíní scéal ón údar Eric Carle, ‘Dónall an Chlúimh agus An-Ocras Air’. Labhair siad go hálainn. Sa rang, d’fhoghlaim na cailíní freisin faoi shaol an féileacáin. Ansin, sa rang ealaíne, phéinteáil siad pictiúirí don scéal. Thaispeáin siad na pictiúirí sa tionól. Maith sibh, a chailíní. Bhí sibh ar fheabhas!
On Friday, 21 March, J2R performed a special assembly in Irish. The girls read in Irish, the story by Eric Carle, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. They spoke beautifully. In class, the girls also learned about the life-cycle of the butterfly. Then, in art lessons, they drew pictures to represent the story, which they shared in the assembly. Well done, girls. You were excellent!
J2R Acrostic Poem on Well-being
J2R has been learning about character strengths and how to weave our own well-being. At the end of this programme, we wrote an acrostic poem.
We will always be kind
Everyone is different
Learn to love yourself and others
Look on the bright side
Be your best self
Enjoy yourself
I know you can do it
Never give up
Go for it!
Kindness is Everything
A smile can lift the day so bright,
It turns the darkness into light,
When someone is feeling blue,
A simple smile can help them too,
So spread all the kindness that you hold,
Share with others, it wont grow old,
Never give up, kindness starts with you,
Reach out to others, touch them too,
Plant a handful of kindness seeds,
Watch the kindness grow,
You’ll find that your own kindness,
Will touch all the people you know.
Pancake Tuesday in J3R
We got to make our own pancakes in groups for Pancake Tuesday. It was great.
We used:
- 135g flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 130 ml milk
- 1 egg
We had to measure out all of the ingredients carefully ourselves. First we measured out all of the dry ingredients and then we added the milk and the egg. We then had to whisk everything together and make sure there were no lumps in the batter.
Ms Jansen brought in a raclette to cook all of the pancakes. She poured the batter onto the raclette and cooked four pancakes at a time, which was lucky because there were four people in each group!
We brought in our own toppings and shared them with everyone in the class. We put on lemon, chocolate spread, sprinkles, whipped cream, maple syrup, strawberries and MOUNTAINS OF SUGAR! They were delicious. Everyone was bouncing all around the classroom after that sugar! Then we had a sugar crash and everyone was exhausted, but we still really enjoyed it. IT WAS THE BEST PANCAKE TUESDAY EVER!
J4R
J4R have had a very busy few weeks after midterm. The class presented two separate assemblies; one on friendship customs around the world, to celebrate the end of Friendship Week and the other on the ancient Irish writing Ogham. The girls worked diligently on both of these presentations and spoke brilliantly at their assemblies.
The girls have had a very busy few weeks with the MAD festival, where they got to attend some masterclasses and music in the classroom in the National Concert Hall. They also dressed up as their favourite book characters for World Book Day and participated in the various activities for Seachtain na Gaeilge. The girls also worked on four leaf clovers, discussing and writing down reasons they are lucky this St. Patrick's Day!
J4W
From Seachtain na Gaeilge to trips to the National Concert Hall, the month of March has been busy for J4W. The girls have been making an extra effort ‘ag labhairt Gaeilge’ this month which has been great to hear.
We have been doing lots of hands-on learning in maths as we have been working on important topics like area, time and capacity. Our class has been discussing the importance of learning from mistakes and viewing them as a normal and often positive thing. We read a book called ‘History’s Marvellous Mistakes’ and the girls researched various things around the world which were discovered due to a lucky mistake.
The lovely spring weather has meant the girls have had more time outside being active and enjoying the sunshine. Speaking of weather, the girls were delighted when they received a personalised message from RTE’s ‘Trevor with the Weather’!
J5W March Update
Flora in the Burren
As part of our S.E.S.E. lessons, we have been learning all about the various types of flora in the Burren. The flowers that we discovered were the Burnet Rose, Bloody CranesBill, Spring Gentian, Orchids, Heather and Mountain Avens. The Burren in County Clare, a mainly limestone environment, makes up 75% of Ireland's flora.
Katya J5W
J5W Class Assembly
This month we had our student led assembly on endangered and extinct animals. After watching an interesting David Attenborough documentary about our planet, we began researching the animals that have become extinct or are on the brink of extinction. We researched dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, atlas bears, dodo birds, axolotls, bees and koalas.
Saint Patrick's Day
On Friday 14th March, we all dressed up in green to celebrate Lá Glas and Saint Patrick. We spoke a lot of Irish and even won some great prizes!
Start of Lent
J5W has been making a huge effort this Lenten season. We are swapping out impatience for gratitude, selfishness for sharing, worry for trust, bitterness for forgiveness, and of course, sweets and chocolates!
Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day in advance to all of our wonderful Mums! We have been putting our poetry writing skills to the test this month for Mother's Day.
Here is one of our lovely creations:
You are so nice,
I'll love you forever,
I always smile
When we're together.
Hannah J5W
Hermione Student Art Competition
Submissions for our Hermione Student Art Competition are now open! Winners will have their artwork framed and displayed in the Hermione Exhibition 9 May - 18 May alongside professional artists. Submissions are due on Monday 28 April - for more information, contact Ms Clegg in the Senior School or Ms Smith in the Junior School!
The 'Art' of the MAD Festival in the Junior School
The MAD Festival in the Junior School Art Department commenced with a memorable visit to the National Gallery of Ireland, where all the Junior School Art Captains were accompanied by Ms Smith and Ms Ferguson. Our visit started with a highlights tour, including a visit to the Young Portrait Prize exhibition, followed by a creative session in the gallery’s creative space.
A highlight of the festival was the collaborative art lessons with the Senior School Art Department, where the 1st Year students and Junior School Art Captains, along with Ms Jones, explored the art of printing.
Witnessing the live portrait demonstration during the Senior School assembly was another engaging experience for us.
In addition to these activities, we participated in various art workshops, including engaging sessions with clay.
The MAD Art Competition saw numerous wonderful and imaginative entries, adding to the artistic ambiance of the festival. The opportunity to engage in these diverse activities and collaborations made the MAD Festival 2025 a truly enjoyable experience for all of us in the Junior School.
MAD Art Competition Winners
Please see a list below of winners from each class. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners received a prize hamper of art supplies. The rest of the winners received a certificate and a small treat.
Class Winners
KG Lower: Emily
KG Upper: Isla
J1: Chloe V.
J2R: River J2W: Liv
J3R: Pearl J3W: Charlotte
J4R: Georgia J4W: Ellie
J5R: Georgia J5W: Aryna
J6R: Cara J6W: Zoe W. and Jessie W. (joint submission)
Highly Commended
KG Upper: Chloe
KG Upper: Yesol
J5W: Aimee and Ali
J5W: Juliet
Best Joint Artwork
Sisters… Lucy J4R and Anna KG Upper
Overall Winners
1st Place: Ellie
2nd Place: Georgia
3rd Place: Aryna
Choir Retreat
On Monday 10th February the Junior School Choir travelled by coach to Balbriggan to the Irish Institute of Music and Song (IIMS). The bus ride was long but it was definitely worth it. When we arrived we did lots of fun vocal warm-up exercises. We learnt two songs - ‘How Far I’ll Go’ from Moana, and ‘He Lives In You’ from The Lion King. After lunch we split into 2 groups and did some more work on the songs.
For the last hour we recorded ‘How Far I’ll Go’ and turned it into a music video. We had so much fun that day and hope to go again next year. We would like to thank Ms Qiao for organising the trip and Ms Fitzgerald for helping us to have lots of fun.
MAD Festival in the Junior School
The MAD festival was a two week period of music, art and drama. The festival included many wonderful activities, and we would like to highlight some of the music events relating to the Junior School.
Among the highlights for us were the music assemblies where we had teachers and students play for us every morning. They were excellent. The Choir led us in a whole school warm up at one of the morning assemblies. That was a lot of fun.
There were some evening events including the Band Night where loads of very unique bands played and the Strings Concert where many Junior School violin students played. The standard was very high. We also enjoyed class concerts by musicians from J1 to J6 during the week.
Some of the Junior School students had an opportunity to try out an instrument in a ‘Taster Lesson.' A massive thank you to all the teachers and TY music reps who helped with the taster lessons.
There was a weekend of music competitions. The Junior School was well represented and played very well. We enjoyed the 1st Place winners playing at morning assembly last week.
As part of the MAD Festival there were Strings, Piano and Woodwind Masterclasses. Jessie J6 participated in the Piano Masterclass, and all of the J4 girls enjoyed Michelle’s playing at the String Masterclass.
On the last day of the MAD Festival we had the Patterson Gala Concert. At this concert Michelle J4 played a movement from a Reiding Violin Concerto. She received a huge well deserved applause. Two very special moments in the concert had the Junior School choir and the Senior School choir coming together to sing ‘You Raise Me Up’, and similarly the Junior and Senior School orchestras playing together in two movements of ‘Spring’ from The Four Seasons. Also performing from the Junior School were Ms Featherston's Junior School Solo Singer We all really enjoyed the gala concert.
A HUGE thank you to all the teachers involved in the MAD festival especially Ms Fitzgerald and Ms Qiao as they were a massive part behind and in front of the scenes.
Early Years Music
It was great fun to have the preschoolers join me in my classroom for some music making. Desks were removed as we made space to sing, play and dance through the workshop. The girls got to meet some of my favourite puppets - Dino, Jack-in-the-box, and of course the little five speckled frogs who had an awful hard job trying to stay in their pond without jumping out!
We also met Ducky, from Frances Barry’s book Duckie’s Rainbow. Duckie goes on an adventure to find a rainbow. Some of the girls told me that they have already managed to find the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow!! But they have assured me they have returned it so I can hopefully find it the next time. The girls each had a chiffon scarf to represent the different colours and we sang a beautiful song called The Colours are Gliding. We made gliding gestures with our scarves, and then threw them up into the air as we sung it. This was a great help, as we could then dance to Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, which we aptly renamed Waltz of the Flowers!
Jack in the box wouldn’t come out of his box unfortunately! But luckily, the preschoolers sang him his favourite song, and sure enough, he jumped out - thankfully!
Using our parachutes, we sang a goodbye song that goes along beautifully with Beethoven’s 6th, and was lovely to sing with an orchestra too.
Huge thanks to the TY girls for their help on the day.
J4 National Concert Hall Visit
On Tuesday 11th March both J4 classes went to the National Concert Hall for a visit planned by Ms. Qiao. It was part of the MAD Festival of Music, Art and Drama. We travelled by LUAS with Ms Shaw, Ms Bergin, Ms Qiao and Ms Fitzgerald.
The event was ‘Music In The Classroom’ with the National Symphony Orchestra. We loved listening to the huge orchestra and we could easily spot the string, woodwind, brass and percussion sections as the players wore different coloured tops.
Ms. Fitzgerald prepared us for our visit the week before so we were ready to join in by singing along with the soloist to Pure Imagination from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, and the famous Ghostbuster’s song. We also got to sing along and use body percussion in other pieces.
We would like to thank all the teachers who brought us to the National Concert Hall. All of J4 are so happy that we went because we all had an amazing musical experience.
AIJS Photography Competition
Congratulations to Elodie (J3) who won 1st Place in the 3rd Class category of the AIJS Photo Competition. The theme of the competition was Christmas and Elodie’s entry was titled ‘My Mum’s Leftover Christmas Cake’. Well done to Elodie and all of the girls who took part.
World Book Day Bookmark Competition
As part of our World Book Day celebration, we held a Design a Bookmark competition. The winners were:
J1: Tati
J4W: Juliette
J5R: Chloe
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this event.
Family Group Work
The Family Group theme this year is Irish Mammals. The J2-J6 girls have researched a mammal and created a poster of their creature. The 10 mammals are fox, badger, otter, pine marten, whale, dolphin, hedgehog, squirrel, seal and deer.
St. David's Day
On Wednesday 5 March, our students joined together to learn about ‘Dydd Gwŷl Dewi Sant’ or Saint David’s Day, the patron saint of Wales. Similarly, to Saint Brigid, Saint David (Dewi Sant) lived 1,500 years ago just across the water in the west of Wales.
Saint David’s Day is celebrated on 1st March every year. His feast day is a national and international celebration of Welsh culture and identity; but he is especially associated with the phrase, ‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd’. “Be joyful, keep the faith, do the little things you have seen me do”.
We also had the opportunity to learn a few Welsh phrases such as:
Bore da = Good morning
Prynhawn da = Good afternoon
Diolch yn fawr = Thank you
And of course the famous 58 letter place name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!
Charlotte from J1 presented some interesting facts about Wales, including that Wales has the most castles of any European country. She also created two great pieces of artwork of Y Ddraig Goch, the Welsh flag. Well done, Charlotte.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
From the 10th - 14th of March we celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge. The girls had a very busy week of speaking our native language and expressing themselves as Gaeilge. Throughout the week, we had special assemblies that celebrated our wonderful Irish culture and the importance of the Irish language.
Ón 10ú - 14ú de Marta, céiliúrimid Seachtain na Gaeilge. Bhí seachtain gnóthach ag na cailíní ag caint agus ag cur in iúl as Gaeilge. I rith na seachtaine, bhí tionóil speisialta againn chun ár dteanga agus ár gcultúr a céiliúradh.
On Monday we began the week by doing a wholeschool dance to the infamous 'An Dreoilín'. Our Coiste na Gaeilge and Sports Captains led this and the girls enjoyed it immensely.
Dé Luan thosaigh muid an seachtain le damhsa mór leis an scoil ar fad don amhrán 'An Dreoilín. Bhí ár gCoiste na Gaeilge agus na cinnirí spóirt chun tosaigh ag múnadh an damhsa don scoil agus bain na cailíní go léir an-taitneamh as.
On Tuesday, Mr. Cooney and his traditional musicians from the Senior School delighted us with a wonderful performance of 2 traditional pieces. This was such a treat for the girls and showed them how they could express their love of music and Irish together.
Dé Máirt, thug Mr Cooney agus a ceoltóirí ón mheanscoil cuairt chun amhráin traidisiúnta a seinn don scoil. Bhí sé iontach agus an-spéisiúil do na cailíní agus léirítear grá ceoil agus Gaeilge le chéile.
On Wednesday J5R led us in a wonderful assembly about seanfhocails. This is such an important aspect of Gaeilge and Ms. Sheerin's class worked brilliantly to put together such a wonderful display of seanfhocails.
Dé Céadaoin, bhí tionól ag J5R agus léiríonn siad seanfhocails don scoil. Is gné an-tábhactach é seanfhocals sa Ghaeilge agus is léir go d'obair an rang thar barr chun an tionóil a chur in iúl don scoil.
On Thursday we were treated to incredible performances by Ms Fetherston's solo singers. The girls performed 4 songs; Trasna na dTonnta, Mo Ghile Mear, Ó ró mo bháidín and Beidh Aonach Amárach. We were blown away by their talent and their use of the Irish language. It was so incredibly enjoyable and all the girls were a credit to Ms Fetherston.
Dé Déardaoin bhí taispeántas speisialta againn ó na amhránaithe aonair. Chan na cailíní ceithre amhráin; Trasna na dTonnta, Mo Ghile Mear, Ó ró mo bháidín and Beidh Aonach Amárach. Bhí ionadh orainn go léir as an talainn atá ag na cailíní agus a chuid úsáid an Ghaeilge. Bhain muid an-taitneamh as agus is léir go n-obríonn na cailíní go dian le Ms Fetherston.
On Friday we had our regular assembly in the morning where J3W performed a short play as Gaeilge. It was an incredible use of Gaeilge and very enjoyable for the whole school. We also had our Seachtain na Gaeilge celebration in the afternoon, where each class group performed a song/poem or activity as Gaeilge. Each year group did such an incredible job and clearly enjoyed their performances.
Dé hAoine bhí tionóil againn ar maidin agus taispeáin J3W dráma as Gaeilge. Bhí sé go hiontach agus bhain na cailíiní an-úsáid as a chuid Gaeilge. Sa tráthnóna bhí céiliúradh Seachtain na Gaeilge againn agus taispeáin gach rang amhrán nó dán Ghaelach don scoil. Rinne gach rang job iontach agus is léir gur bhain siad taitneamh as a chuid taispeáinteas.
This week we also ran a raffle for the girls. Their mission was to speak as much Gaeilge as possible throughout the week and they would be rewarded with tickets for the raffle on Friday. The girls put incredible effort in all week, speaking Irish in class, at after school activities and even on the yard. Speaking Irish is such an important aspect of learning the language and it was great to see the girls enjoy it this week. On Friday we then had our crannchur and 14 winners were chosen at random to win some prizes. It was a wonderful way to end the week and we are so proud of the girls and their effort in speaking and using Gaeilge all week.
I rith na seachtaine bhí crannchur ar siúl do na cailíní chomh maith. Bhí ar na cailíní Gaeilge a labhairt chomh minic agus is féidir leo agus mar sin bhí ar na múinteoirí ticéidí a thabhart amach don crannchur Dé hAoine. Rinne na cailíní iarracht ollmhór, bhí Gaeilge á labhairt acu i rith ranganna, tar éis scoil agus ar an gclós chomh maith. Tá sé an-tabhachtach an teanga a labhairt go laethúil agus is léir gur bhain na cailíní an-taitneamh as. Dé hAoine bhí an crannchur againn agus bhí 14 buaiteoirí againn agus bhuaigh siad duaiseanna. Slí iontach a bhí sé chun críoch a chur ar an seachtain agus táimid fíor bhródúil as na cailíní agus an iarracht a rinne siad lena chuid Gaeilge sa seachtain.
Seachtain na Gaeilge Solo Singers
Heartiest congratulations to the girls from J4, J5 and J6, who sang so beautifully at the Junior School assembly on March 13th. Maith sibh a chailíní! How lucky we were to have Ms Orla Kelly accompany the girls with her exquisite expertise on the Irish harp. Maith sibh uilig! Well done everyone!
Sports Report March 2025
AIJS Mini-Hockey Tournament
On Monday, February 24th, our enthusiastic J4 mini-hockey team set off to represent Alexandra College Junior School in the annual AIJS mini-hockey tournament. This was kindly hosted by St. Andrew’s College. It is a great afternoon of fun, where players and teams demonstrate skills learned throughout the season and moreover in sporting, entertaining matches shown by both girl and boys junior schools’ teams. It is played in sections and in a round robin format, 15 minutes one way with rolling subs, it’s a very exciting event altogether!
Sunny conditions led to a brilliant start as the first match got underway. Many goals were scored and non stop end to end skills were on show by all teams. As the afternoon progressed, the clouds crept in from the nearby Booterstown seashore, near the wildlife reserve, and a distinct drop in temperature followed, as driving hailstones swept over the pitches like a blanket covering everything it reached! Our team kept going, reaching the top of their section and into the final with the Rathdown team. They all bravely played through the chill, in a super-exciting final and it was our J4 team who emerged as the overall winners of this year’s AIJS mini-hockey tournament for 2025! This makes it a historic ‘three-in-a-row’ win of retaining this honour! Many congratulations to all of our team.
J4 Team
Aurelia (Captain), Amy (Vice Captain), Coco (Goalkeeper), Eleanora, Mia, Holly, Juliet, Sophia, Claudia, Hannah, Lauren, Lila, and Izzy
Mount Anville Junior School Blitz
On Tuesday, 25th March there was an end of season event where we brought together 4th class teams to have a fun experience playing in a robin format tournament with other schools.
The weather was pleasantly dry and another group of 4th class took to the pitches with smiles on their faces and mouth guards to the fore!
They played brilliantly and had a wonderful result of winning their matches.
Congratulations to all our great team of Captain Hannah, Abi, Alice, Ava, Eliza, Ellie, Grace, Isabel, Kate, and Sophie.
Athletics Season
St. Patrick’s Day is usually followed by the wonderful world of track and field events, where there is a multiple choice of activities to get involved in and so it is always an exciting time in our sports’ calendar! We started our athletics’ season recently and have concentrated on our track running techniques as we prepared to learn new skills in both individual running and team relay /baton changing methods. We will be moving onto the challenging and exhilarating field events next, where jumping and throwing will be to the fore! We might even discover some new pentathletes!
Mini-Tag Rugby
The last of our mini-tag rugby sessions ended this week with our J5 classes and the previous week with our J6 classes. Big thanks to Ariel, the Leinster Development Coach, who gave brilliant insights, practice exercises and fun into both game and tactics used in the skilful playing of this exciting non-contact game.
TY Students Work Experience in PE
We had great TY students, Catherine and Sara, on work experience following St. Patrick’s weekend and Seachtain na Gaeilge. Both girls got fully involved, whistle in hand, to help with a variety of activities throughout the week and while also experiencing the younger classes through to the J6 class groups it was a busy week in our department for them, as it was our change-over to spring/summer sports. The girls managed very well indeed, showing great ability in communicating tasks and adaptability in demonstrating exercises with the classes. Big thank you girls and well done for all your enthusiasm and help throughout this week.
J6 A Team-Leinster Junior Schools League Final
Last but by no means least, we are delighted to say well done and many congratulations to our amazing J6 hockey A team. They played an exciting semi-final with Castle Park on Thursday last, with both teams showing their skills off with gusto, end to end fast passing, interceptions, use of space and scoring goals which was wonderful to see. This sporting display saw our girls win through, scoring 3 brilliant goals, in which was a close game as Castle Park had quite a few shots on goal, saved by our talented goalies. Congratulations to all our team making it to this final, a fine achievement!
Tennis
The school's tennis teams have started and both teams are having great fun and playing fantastically.
On March 12th, the tennis team travelled to Brookfield Tennis Club to play Scoil Bhríde and won 2-1. Then on March 18th, both tennis teams travelled to Mount Anville Junior School and both won 3-0. On March 19th, both teams played at home. They played against Shellybanks and won 2-1 and against Carysfort National School and lost 3-0.
The teams have 3 more matches to play, we are looking forward to them.
Ms Wales
