It's all about science and maths at the moment at Bishop Murphy Memorial School in Fermoy, as the school is on the verge of making history in receiving, for a record tenth year in a row, the Discovery Primary Science and Maths Excellence Award. 

It's one of just 16 schools, out of 3,000 in the whole country, who can lay claim to the achievement. All classes from 2nd to 6th take part in the initiative. Students and teachers have been busy creating their science and maths logs that are evaluated by the accrediting committee in Dublin.

VARIETY IMPORTANT

It's not all slog though, far from it! A visit to the school on Wednesday last showed the young scientists were having an interesting day as they worked towards the designation. After talks from Eva McCardle, lab manager at UCC, who spoke to 2nd, 3rd and 4th classes about the digestive system, and Sinead McParland, a quantitative geneticist at Moorepark who spoke on genetics and science, including DNA, and conducted some experiments, the young scientists got to conduct a range of fun experiments of their own.

They also recently travelled to the Ballyhoura Outdoor Classroom for their 2014 science tour, located at Griston Bog in Ballylanders. The boys of 4th and 5th class, accompanied by their teacher Trevor Gumbridge, carried out a number of exciting experiments at the bog, including measuring its depth and examining pond life through microscopes. The boys also did some bird watching through binoculars at the bog.

"All in all it was a great day," Mr. Gumbridge, said. Field trips are a popular feature of the process and previously students have visited the naval base in Ringaskiddy and the Coastal and Marine Research Centre in Cork.

Tests demonstrating chemical reactions, the examination of a goat's and sheep's heart and innards, a taste test of various sugar-free drinks, a food colouring experiment and a demonstration of soccer and hockey games using a magnetic table, give an idea of the wide range of experiments the students had going on at the school on Wednesday week last, under the guidance and watchful eyes of teachers Kate Ryan in second class, Clare Coughlan in 3rd and 4th class, Trevor Gumbridge in fourth and fifth and Rachael Ahern in 5th and 6th class. Parents were invited in on the day to view the experiments and have them explained by the eager students.

"We are very proud of our achievement here. We really work hard at science and maths at the school," principal James O'Donoghue told The Avondhu, as he oversaw the hive of activity in the various classrooms.

blog comments powered by Disqus