Iris do Bhunscoileanna, Winter 2015 / An Geimhreadh 2015Dublin City Council’s Primary School Magazine

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Winter is here!

3 Easter 1916: Dublin 100 Years Ago

4 Dublin at Christmas

5 New Exhibition Centre

Opens in Richmond Barracks

Inchicore

6 Make Your Own Christmas

Decorations

7 Word Spiral

8 City Library Update

9 LUDO Exhibition

By Aideen Barry

10-11 Looking at Art in The Hugh

Lane Gallery

12 Agallamh le hArdmhéara

Bhaile Átha Cliath

13 Focal-chuardach

14 Games to Play in Winter

15 Winter Birds in Dublin Bay

16 Design a Front Cover

Competition

What is inside?

Céard atá faoi iamh?

Welcome to the winter edition of classmate. Hi everyone, Dublin city centre is always a magical place at Christmas and this year there are many great events for all ages taking place during the weeks running up to Christmas. Highlights include the IFA Live Animal Crib at the Mansion House, the switching on of all the Christmas lights across the city and the new I BELIEVE Christmas Village in the Docklands area. See page four for more details.

2016 will mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising, a significant event in Irish History. For a full list of events to commemorate the centenary log onto www.dublincity.ie/decadeofcommemorations We will be featuring more events on 1916 Easter Rising in the spring edition of Classmate.

You can make your own Christmas decorations from paper and glass jars. See page 6 for some ideas. Our libraries are happy to announce the three winners of our recent competition suggesting new ideas for Dublin City’s new Central Library which will be housed in Parnell Square. Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane has a mini studio for you to make. Check out pages 10 and 11 for more details. Dublin’s new Lord Mayor, An tArdmhéara Críona Ní Dhálaigh is interviewed as gaeilge by Tomás Ó Coileán, from Gaelscoil Míde, Kilbarrack and she gives us an interesting insight of life as Lord Mayor and what Christmas will be like in the Mansion House this year.

2015 welcomed the whole of Dublin Bay as a designated UNESCO Biosphere. Page 15 describes a typical winter scene in our beautiful Dublin bay. See if you can recognise any of the birds featured. Slán go foil, Nollaig shona daoibh

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Easter 1916: Dublin 100 Years Ago

100 years ago on a bright Easter Monday as people walked about Dublin enjoying the sunshine, Patrick Pearse stood outside the GPO to read the Proclamation of the Republic. This was the start of a battle known as the 1916 Rising, which lasted for almost a week and left Dublin city badly destroyed.

Did you know that almost 500 people were killed during the Rising with over 2,000 people injured? Most of those who died were not soldiers or rebels but ordinary Dubliners, including 40 children, who died in the crossfire during the fighting.

There will be many things to do in Dublin next year to mark the anniversary of the 1916 Rising. We invite you to an exhibition in Pearse Street Library to read the stories of the people who were in the Rising. In City Hall you can find out how Dublin firemen saved the city from being completely burned down after the Rising and see old helmets, uniforms and equipment from 100 years ago. When the men and women who fought in the 1916 Rising surrendered, they were brought to Richmond Barracks in Inchicore to await sentencing.

A new exhibition centre will open in the Barracks in May 2016, it will tell the story of male and female rebels who were held in the Barracks after the Rising. You can find more information here and watch a video about our 2016 events: www.dublincity.ie/decadeofcommemorations

Richmond Barracks

O’Connell Street after the 1916 RisingFireman’s uniform from 100 years ago

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Dublin at Christmas

IFA Live Animal Crib 9th - 24th December The annual Live Animal Crib returns to the Mansion House this December. The IFA Live Animal Crib has been a joint venture between Dublin City Council and the Irish Farmer’s Association since 1995. The Crib opens on the 9th December and it will run until Christmas Eve. Open daily from 11 am – 5 pm with a 2pm closing on Christmas Eve.

Dublin city is a magical place at Christmas time and this festival season is going to be especially magical. There is a variety of festive events taking place during the weeks running up to Christmas, from switching on of the Christmas lights across the city to Geansaí Nollaig record breaking challenge on O’Connell Street. There is something happening in the city for everyone to enjoy! Every Saturday in December there will be free festive family fun on Grafton Street and Henry Street, including face painting, elves, a giant snow globe and Santa’s letter post box.

Dublin at Christmas is a partnership initiative between Dublin City Council and Dublin Town.

For more information on all events that are happening in Dublin over Christmas visit www.dublinatchristmas.ie

I BELIEVE Christmas Village 26th November – 23rd December

This year a new I BELIEVE Christmas Village will open in the Custom House Quarter from 26th November – 23rd December.

The Village will also be home to a 50ft ‘Rockefeller style’ Irish Christmas Tree, which was grown in Wicklow and donated by Coillte.

Visit www.ibelieveinchristmas.ie for more information on the Christmas Village.

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New Exhibition Centre Opens in Richmond Barracks Inchicore

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, a new exhibition centre and digital archive will open in Richmond Barracks in Inchicore in May 2016.

Set in the historic Richmond Barracks, the exhibition will trace the story of the site from military barracks to housing estate, to school.

The 200 year old Barracks has significant connections with the 1916 Rising and the events that took place after the Rising. Over 3,000 rebels were detained within the barracks after the fight for Irish Independence before their sentencing. Some 90 death sentences were handed out over the first 2 weeks of May 1916 and 13 executions were carried out in Kilmainham Gaol, including the seven signatories of the proclamation. Michael Collins, Eamon De Valera, Constance Markievicz, Arthur Griffith, William T. Cosgrave and the poet Francis Ledwidge were all held at the Barracks. To find out more about the history of Richmond Barrack visit www.richmondbarracks.ie

Competition Time To celebrate the opening of the new exhibition centre in Richmond Barracks, we would like you to send us a drawing or a poem about the history of the barracks and the people that were held there in 1916.

The competition is open to children from Junior Infants to sixth Class. The winners and their teachers will be invited to a reception in Richmond Barracks and the winning entries from each school will be displayed in the new exhibition centre. All Prizes will be presented by the Lord Mayor Críona Ní Dhálaigh.

Prizes:• Overall winner will receive a €100 voucher and their

school will receive an iPad• All Individual winners will receive a €25 voucher

To enter the competition, please send your drawing or poem (up to A3 size paper only) to the address opposite. The closing date for entries is Friday 26th February 2016.

Name:

Age:

Class:

School:

School Address:

Dublin City Council, Corporate Services Department, Corporate Communications Section, ‘Richmond Barracks Competition’, Block 3, Floor 3, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.

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MAKE YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

A paper chain is an easy decoration to make. Cut out strips of paper (white or coloured) that are even in length and width. A good size for each strip is 2.5cms wide by 20cms long. Cut as many as you need, depending on the length of chain you want. Paste, tape or staple the ends of the first strip together to form a loop.

Christmas is coming – there is just no way of avoiding the obvious signs of the festive season! Houses, shops, streets and even classrooms are filled with decorations and lights. Christmas trees laden down with baubles and trinkets, wreaths on doors – there is just no end to our celebrating this magical time of year. Making your own decorations from materials such as paper, newspaper, glass jars and cans, for example, can be fun and will impress your family and friends.

Place the second strip of paper through the newly made loop and join the ends of the strip together with glue, tape or staples. Continue until you have reached the length you want. Be careful using the scissors or stapler! (Ask an adult to help you)

An old glass jar can be turned into a lantern in minutes. Clean off labels from the glass jar. Cut out the shape of a heart, a star or Christmas tree from paper and glue it to the side of the jar. Place a small candle or tea light inside the jar and place on a window sill. Do not place this near curtains.

Similarly remove labels from old tin cans – use the ones with lift off lids that you do not have to use a can opener on! Fill with cones gathered from the forest and tie a piece of string or ribbon in a bow around the can to finish it off.

Using up old paper, newspaper and even materials such as lace or velvet to wrap your presents in can be very attractive. Tie with string or ribbon and attach some nice buttons from old clothes to the string for a decoration.

It just goes to show that as well as

being good for the environment, recycling and reusing in your home or school can give new and

extended life to old materials in an

unexpected way!

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Word SpiralMAKE YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Work out the puzzle and find the hidden word. Starting from 1, fill in the grid in a clockwise direction with words, using the clues below. The last letter of each word becomes the first letter of the next word. If you have correctly filled in the grid, there should be a six-letter word revealed in the centre of the puzzle. To give you a little help, two letters have been filled in.

1. People crowded into the C _ _ _ _ to hear the judge ask the jury for their verdict in the case.

2. A T _ _ for the day! Eat some fruit and vegetables each day and you will live a healthy life!

3. Jessica helps her Mam bring the washing out to the clothes line. She takes a P_ _ and hangs up a pillow case on the line.

4. The signs at the Recycling Centre showed where to dispose of Plastic, Clothes and G _ _ _ _

5. The word S _ _ _ _ can mean to clean or rub or can be another word for bushes or shrubs.

6. If you fill your glass up to the B _ _ _ , the drink will probably spill over!

7. A factory that makes flour is called a M _ _ _

8. The family sat down on the couch to watch the L _ _ _ episode of their favourite television drama.

9. A T _ _ _ _ is a chirping sound made by a bird.

HIDDEN WORD: BEETLE ANSWERS: 1: COURT, 2: TIP, 3: PEG, 4: GLASS, 5: SCRUB, 6: BRIM, 7: MILL, 8: LAST, 9: TWEET

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1

6 8

3

49

5

7

2

R

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City Library Update

Last year we let you know about plans for a new Dublin City Library at Parnell Square Cultural Quarter. The Parnell Square Foundation, a partnership between Dublin City Council and Kennedy Wilson is developing the new library, creating a new space in the city for people to learn, create and participate. The City Library will be a fun place for kids to visit, with books and activities for all ages. It will be a great place to read, relax, study and make things. It will be yours to explore and enjoy. We asked Classmate readers to imagine what they could do in the City Library and to create a picture of a library space they would like to be in. Thanks to everyone who entered our competition! Your pictures suggested lots of books and comfy places to read, bright colours, toys and activities such as art and music. Congratulations to the three winners

Bree Shelley from Dublin 5, Etain Sievers from Dublin 4 and Josephine Manikulam from Dublin 7. If you visit Parnell Square today you can see where the new library will be, in the redbrick houses beside Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane. These buildings are more than 250 years old. Over the years they have been used as homes, offices, and schools. We are working with our architects: Grafton Architects and Shaffrey Associates Architects on a design to redevelop these old houses as new spaces for you to enjoy. The new city library will have books, music, art and lots of fun activities. It will also include an Education Centre and Music Centre and they will all be beside Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. Read more at www.parnellsquare.ie

Bree Shelley Etain Sievers

Winners

Josephine Manikulam

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Ludo Exhibition by Aideen Barry At the Cabra Library in December

Have you ever been to an art exhibition created just for children?

At the Children’s Art in Libraries (CAL) Programme we are very excited about our new exhibition of a work called Ludo created by Aideen Barry! As an artist, Aideen uses her imagination to respond to the sometimes difficult realities and facts about the world we live in.

In 2012 a report called Growing Up in Ireland surveyed 9 year old children in Ireland; looking at things that made them happy and talking about things that might worry them.

Aideen used this information to create her exhibition Ludo, describing it in the following way: “Ludo is a world, constructed out of paper, like a pop-up book or an origami object. My world is inhabited by individual creatures that play or allow the world to surround them. These little creatures behave in rather odd ways at times, sometimes they daydream, sometimes they are rather cheeky, sometimes they are slightly peculiar”.

Aideen sees libraries as spaces of the imagination, worlds within worlds, each unique and different. Ludo will ask you to think about what your imaginative world looks like and what creatures you might create in a world of your own making. The exhibition uses video and objects created specifically for Cabra Library. LUDO is curated by Brenda McParland.

Why not come along and see it?

Ludo runs from 2nd – 19th December and is

particularly suitable for classes 4th – 6th.

For more information contact Cabra Library:

T. 869 1414 or

e-mail cabralibrary@dublincity.ie

Looking at ART at The Hugh Lane Gallery

Artist studio: a room where an artist paints, sculpts, draws or just sits and thinks of ideas!

• What is covering the floor? • What coloured paint is on the walls? • What shape are the windows?

The following objects are usually found in an artist’s studio: Easel: a stand to support an artist’s painting

Canvas: cloth on which an artist paints

Portfolio: a large flat case which holds drawings or unframed pictures

Chisel: a tool which helps shape details and texture in stone, wood, marble, metal or other material.

Paint brushes and pots of paint: An artist can use brushes of lots of different sizes for the background and finer details.

Have you visited the Francis Bacon Studio?

We invite you to visit Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane to see Francis Bacon’s famously messy studio before starting the Art Activity. Walk around it; look through the door, the spy holes and the window. In a notebook or on a piece of paper write or sketch what you see.

Francis Bacon Studio photographed by Perry Ogden

Eva Gonzales (1870) by Edouard Manet

Science and Power (c. 1910) by Kathleen Fox.

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Looking at ART at The Hugh Lane Gallery

Art Project: Make your own mini studio. Why not design your own mini studio using a shoe box. The box will act as the studio space and walls. Imagine you are the artist and make little mini pictures to stick to the walls of your studio space. Make a little figure out of plasticine or clay to represent the artist in their studio. What equipment would an artist need to have in their studio?

At the gallery, you will also see the French artist Edouard Manet’s famous painting of his pupil, Eva Gonzales, sitting at her easel painting a vase of lovely flowers. In this painting Eva is shown wearing a beautiful white dress and scattered around the room are her canvases and portfolio of drawings.

An excellent example of an artist chiselling is Kathleen Fox’s picture entitled Science and Power. Here you will see a painting of the talented sculptor Albert Power carving away at two very large stone figures in his studio.

What you need:• Shoe box with lid• Poster paints or crayons• Magazine and/or newspapers• Tin foil for the mirror• Sheets of acetate or plastic for windows (optional)• Card• Scissors (ask an adult to help you)• Glue (ask an adult to help you)

Instructions:The shoe box is like the studio.

Outside:• Cut out the window at one end

of the shoe box • Cut out a door and a skylight

window in the lid of the box• Cover the windows with light

coloured clear plastic (optional)

Inside: • Fill the inside of the box with

items based on ideas you collected from your visit to the Francis Bacon Studio

• Cover the floor with torn pieces of newspaper• Put colours on the walls with paint or crayon

Studio Items:• Using some card, make a stand-up easel and a table• Add other things such as a circular mirror by covering

a circular card with tin foil• Make mini books and paint cans• Make your own mini paintings to put on the easel• Add objects you would like to have in your studio

When the lid is on you can look at the studio through the windows and doors or from above. Making Mini Francis Bacon’s Studios is one of many lovely art ideas you will find in the book ‘Discover Art’ by Jessica O’Donnell.

Would you prefer to be a painter or a sculptor? Why?

For upcoming events and guided tours with your class at

the Hugh Lane visit www.hughlane.ie Tours cost €25 per

group of 30 students and at least two weeks notice is

required. Depending on availability it may also be possible to

arrange a combined tour and art workshop during your visit.

For further information or to make a tour or workshop

booking please contact the gallery’s Education Department,

Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Charlemont House,

Parnell Square North, Dublin 1. T. 222 5550.

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Agallamh le hArdmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath,

Críona Ní Dhálaigh agus Tomás Ó Coileán ó Ghaelscoil Míde

Cár rugadh tú?Rugadh i gCromghlinn, i i mBaile Átha Cliath.

An bhfuil aon deartháireacha/deirfiúracha nó páistí agat?Ta beirt dheirfiúr agam, Aisling agus Niamh, deartháir amháin, Cormac agus beirt mhac agamsa, Caoimhín atá fiche sé bliana d’aois, agus Domhnall atá fiche bliain d’aois.

Cár fhreastal tú ar scoil?D’fhreastail mé ar Scoil Mhuire, i lár na cathrach.

Cathain a thosaigh tú ag obair mar Chomhairleoir?Sa bhliain 2006. Táim ag obair sa phost ó shin.

Is maith leatsa Gaeilge a labhairt. Conas a chuirfimid feabhas ar an teanga in Éirinn?Le cúnamh Dé agus le daoine cosúil leatsa a Thomáis, agus le do dheirfiúr Ava, daoine óga, go mbíonn a lán Gaeilge á labhairt acu. Is é an rud is tábhachtaí ná go mbeadh daoine óga ag labhairt Gaeilge. Ach i mo thuairim, caithfimid níos mó a dhéanamh chun deiseanna a thabhairt do dhaoine Gaeilge a fhoghlaim agus deiseanna a thabhairt do dhaoine an teanga a labhairt. Caithfimid Gaeilge a labhairt ar scoil, caithfidh tú a bheith in ann Gaeilge a cloisteáil sna siopaí, ag an mbaile agus i ngach áit.

An maith leatsa bheith i do chónaí i dTeach an Ardmhéara?Is breá liom a bheith i mo chónaí i dTeach an Ard Mhéara. Tá sé i gcroí lár na cathrach agus tá sé iontach cóngarach do gach rud.

An dtugann tú tacaíocht d’aon fhoireann? Cén ceann agus cén fáth?Baile Átha Cliath. Bhuaigh siad an ‘Sam’ i mbliana agus thóg said an ‘ Sam’ abhaile leo.

Cad is maith leat a dhéanamh i d’am saor?Is maith liom a bheith ag damhsa seiteanna agus céilithe, éisteacht le ceol agus bheith ag féachaint ar an teilifís.

An bhfuil peata agat?Bhí madra agam cúpla bliain ó shin ‘Bosco’ ab ainm dó. Anois tá dhá iasc ag mo mhac, Jackie agus Chan is ainm dóibh.

Cad a dhéanfaidh tú lá Nollag?Beidh an Nollaig seo dhifriúil domsa. Mar Ardmhéara rachaidh mé ar cuairt go dtí roinnt ospidéil chun bualadh le paistí atá tinn agus ansin beidh mé ag dul go dtí na brúnna do dhaoine gan dídean (homeless shelters) ag tabhairt dinnéir dóibh siúd. Ní bheidh mé ar ais sa bhaile go dtí tráthnóna lá Nollag nuair a bheidh mo chlann ar fad inár suí chun boird.

Spideog

Crann

Uan

Caora

Bronntanas

Beannachtaí

Íosa

Seosamh

Muire

Aingeal

Aoire

Asal

Bó

Ceol

Maisiúchán

Soilse

Oíche

Deoch

Daidí na Nollag

Muintir

Bia

Sneachta

Guí

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Focal-chuardach

Cé mhéad focal a bhaineann le féile na Nollag gur féidir leat a aimsiú san fhocalchuardach seo thíos?

Seol do Fhreagra Go Dtí:An tAonad Forbartha Gaeilge, Seirbhísí Corparáideacha, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath, Urlár 3, Bloc 3, An Ché Adhmaid, Oifigí an Cathrach, Baile Átha Cliath 8.

Dáta Deiridh Iontrála: 22 Eanáir, 2016 Ainm:

Aois:

Rang:

Ainm agus Seoladh na Scoile:

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Winter Birds in Dublin BayGames to Play in Winter

Bowl-a-rama

Gather together six small empty water bottles for bowling pins and a small ball (a tennis ball would be perfect). These are all you need to transform the family room into a bowling alley. If the bottles fall over too easily fill them up with a little water for some extra weight.

Why not paint numbers one to six on to the bottles to help you score your game?

Balloon Tennis

To start you will need: - plastic spoons or lollipop sticks - tape - paper plates - balloons

The game is simple. Hit the balloon back and forth. Make up your own rules as you go! In addition you can have races where you try to balance the balloons on your plate and run across the room.

You can try balloon ‘keepy-uppies’ where you hit your balloon up in the air without letting them touch the ground.

There is lots of fun to be had with balloons.

As we all know, the weather is getting colder and the days are much shorter than in the summer. This means that there is not as much time to play outside and sometimes your sports training might be cancelled if the pitch is icy! We want to make sure that you have some ideas to keep you busy during the cold winter months and also during the school holidays. We have gathered some of our favourite indoor activities for you to play with your friends.

Early one morning on Dublin Bay...

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Winter Birds in Dublin Bay

The morning light breaks across a hazy winter skyline, capturing what remains of the retreating tide. In its wake, there remains a shallow lagoon, surrounded by vast pockets of sand and mudflats that stretch far out into Dublin Bay. And as the sun throws back the cover of darkness from the sand-dunes and salt-marshes of North Bull Island, Dublin’s most recent visitors begin to emerge from their hiding places.

A gaggle of Brent Geese, fifteen hundred strong from Polar Bear Pass in the Arctic Circle waddle their way towards the acres of eelgrass left exposed by the retreating tide, as a mob of waders begin what looks like a frenzied attack on the bay’s invertebrates. It is led by the usual suspects, a gangster’s squad of Curlews, Godwits, and Plovers. However, on closer inspection, It is clear that this is a very sophisticated and well-organised assault. Each bird, you see, has a specialized weapon that targets a different prey – their bill size!

Twenty thousand birds appear to aimlessly mill around, but in reality, each and every one is focused on the mission at hand – to find something tasty for breakfast, before the returning tide forces them back to their hiding places among the sand-dunes and salt-marshes of North Bull Island!

Without warning, a thousand Teal rise up into the sky, with the green band across their eyes flashing like the mask of Zorro, as they turn on their wing and descend to the still waters of the lagoon. More colour soon follows – reds, whites and chestnuts, as Shelducks and Shovelers begin to arrive and the stillness of the morning quickly disappears.

Shelduck

Brent Geese

Curlew

Games to Play in Winter

Would you like your drawing to be on the front cover of the next edition of Classmate?

Above is a collage of images showing a snapshot of life in Dublin city in 1916. To mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising, we would like you to design a front cover showing us what you think O’Connell Street and Dublin city would have looked like after the 1916 Rising. The winning entry will be on the front cover of the spring edition of classmate and you will also win a prize. The closing date for entries is Friday 22nd January 2016.

*Drawings should be returned in portrait format to the address below.

Name/Ainm Age/Aois:

School Address/Seoladh Scoile:

Corporate Services Department, Corporate Communications, Classmate, ‘Design a Front Cover Competiton’Block 3, Floor 3, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.T: 222 2266W: www.dublincity.ieE: comms@dublincity.ie

A Dublin City Council PublicationFoilseachán de chuid Chomhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath

Competition Time