December was a very busy month in Junior Infants. We were very excited to welcome a class elf who visited us each day and left a letter behind. Some days he set us challenges, other days he left surprises, and he even asked us to write letters to Santa. We posted these at the local post office, which was a highlight for many of the children.

The class worked extremely hard preparing for the Christmas show and performed brilliantly on stage. 

As a reward for filling all three marble jars, the children enjoyed a well-earned trip to the playground.

We began our class DINA programme and met the principal of Dinosaur School, a puppet called Dina, who helped us learn about school rules. 

In Maths, we explored length, capacity, and the numbers 6 and 7, which led to plenty of predictable but very popular 6–7 jokes. We finished the month with our winter maths assessment.

In Literacy, we focused on the sounds l, f, and b, while revising all previously learned sounds. We continued to develop our blending and sounding-out skills. 

We were very lucky to get a visit from Santa himself.  He answered lots of our questions about his trip on Christmas eve. Santa brought an early Christmas present with him for each child in the class. 
 

The children also enjoyed lots of winter-themed art, including making snowflakes, creating Christmas character portraits, and designing a class advent calendar for our elf to use.

We also spent time learning about the story of the Nativity and how Advent is celebrated. 

After winning “best line” 20 times, the class celebrated with a movie afternoon complete with popcorn and juice. 

We finished the term on a high with a festive disco on the last day before the Christmas break.

November was a busy and exciting month in Junior Infants. We were especially lucky to have Ms. Ormond in our classroom, who helped us with lots of our work.

Our theme for November was “The Home.” The children enjoyed exploring our home corner in the classroom, where they played with baby dolls, prams and cots. We created crafts based on the people in our families and used blocks to design and build our own houses. The dolls’ house was very popular with the boys and girls during play time. We read a variety of stories about different homes and had some interesting class discussions about out own homes.

In Gaeilge, we learned plenty of new words linked to éadaí and caitheamh aimsire, and we are trying to use these words each day in school.

In Maths, we focused on counting and ordering numbers 1–5, using our “special powers” to recognise amounts without counting (subitising), and making and using number tracks.

We introduced the sounds m, d, g, o, u, and l through songs, actions, and stories. This month, we also began writing in our copies by spelling short words that were read aloud. Alongside this, the children have been practising blending and sounding out words using their body boxes.

As part of our Religion programme, we spoke about the theme “In November, We Remember.”  We used this month to discuss our loved ones who have passed away.

In PE, we focused on the athletics strand. The boys and girls practised a variety of skills including running, walking, relay races, hurdles, skipping, jumping, and throwing.

We have also begun preparations for our Christmas performance, and the children are very excited to share their singing with their families.

October was a very busy and exciting month in Junior Infants! The children have settled so well into school life and continue to impress us with their enthusiasm for learning and trying new things.

Maths:
In Maths, we explored the numbers 3, 4 and 5 and enjoyed making and continuing patterns using colours, shapes, and objects. 

We continued with our Ready, Set, Go Maths programme in small groups with support from the SET team. The children worked hard on important early maths skills such as sorting, counting, number recognition, understanding relationships and operations. Before the Halloween break, we completed our first written maths assessment. This was a big milestone for our class!

Literacy:
We made fantastic progress in Phonics this month, completing Group 1 (s, a, t, i, p, n) and starting Group 2 (c, k, e, h, r). The children practiced using their body boxes to sound out and segment simple three-letter words, and enjoyed writing them down. We played lots of fun games, sang songs and read plenty of lovely storybooks to help reinforce our new sounds.

Gaeilge:
In Irish, we learned new vocabulary around An Bosca Lóin (the lunch box) and Oíche Shamhna (Halloween). The children enjoyed learning through games, songs and stories as Gaeilge. We also practiced our colours (buí, dearg, glas, dubh) and learned how to introduce ourselves by saying hello, asking names and telling our own names.

SESE (Science, History, Geography)
We learned all about the seasons, focusing especially on Autumn. We went on a lovely walk in the school garden to look for signs of autumn and talked about the weather and how it changes at this time of year.

Art
In Art, we worked on drawing and colouring, and enjoyed some Halloween-themed art.

PE
This month in PE, we focused on the Games strand. The children practiced ball skills, balancing and throwing beanbags, and played a variety of simple group games that encouraged teamwork and coordination.

Special Highlights
Our Students of the Week did a wonderful job giving their presentations about their weekends with Deadeye. Everyone loved hearing their stories!
We also had a fantastic Halloween Catwalk to show off our amazing costumes and finished the month with a fun Halloween Disco.
During Fire Safety Week, we learned all about keeping safe around fire. We had a fire drill, watched educational videos and even played with fire safety toys like fire trucks.

It was a month full of learning and lots of fun. Well done to all of the Junior Infants for their great work and enthusiasm!