Olympic Handball

On the 10^th of February 2015 the 5^th class students of Killeeneen N.S. went to Mervue Hall to compete in a handball tournament. There were two teams from Killeeneen (maroon and white). The maroon team lost their three matches but they still played extremely well. The white team won their three matches and were through to the semi-final. Unfortunately, in the semi-final, the white team conceded three goals resulting in a 3/2 loss. Denise and Ms. Cooney agreed that the students played and behaved brilliantly. 

Art - Creation of Adam

 We drew form observation then mixed our colours before taping our paper to the underside of the desks in order to recreate the cramped and difficult circumstances that Michelangelo had to deal with when he was paining the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Science - Acids and Bases

 We used litmus paper to indicate whether substances were acids or bases.
The pH scale is used to identify how strong acids and bases are.
We found out that Acids are below 7 on the pH scale, that Bases are above 7 on the pH scale
Acids are a  class of compounds whose water solutions taste sour, turn blue litmus to red, and react with bases to form salts.
Bases are a  class of compounds that taste bitter, feel slippery in water solution, turn red litmus to blue, and react with acids to form salts.

We found that cola, vinegar, lemon juice and orange juice were acids and they turned our blue litmus paper red.
We found that washing soda, baking soda and  washing up liquid were bases and turned our red litmus paper blue.

History - Native Americans

In January we learned a great deal about the Native Americans.
We made our own totem poles using drawings of different animals that represent different characteristics. We also made dreamcatchers by weaving wool and decorating with feathers and beads.

The Ojibwe people have an ancient legend about the origin of the dreamcatcher. Storytellers speak of the Spider Woman, known as Asibikaashi; she took care of the children and the people on the land. Eventually, the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America and it became difficult for Asibikaashi to reach all the children. So the mothers and grandmothers would weave magical webs for the children, using willow hoops and sinew, or cordage made from plants. The dreamcatchers would filter out all bad dreams and only allow good thoughts to enter our mind. Once the sun rises, all bad dreams just disappear.
 American ethnographer Frances Densmore writes in her book Chippewa Customs (1929, republished 1979, pg. 113)

Science - How Water travels through plants

In Science this week we investigated how water travels through plants.
We learned that water travels from the roots to the leaves through vessels called Xylem vessels.

First we added some food colouring to the water and left the celery in the water for a few hours. We could see where the water traveled up through the plant because of the red colour.

Next we split the stem of a white flower in half and left one side in clear water and the other side in coloured water. We observed that the red coloured water traveled up only one side of the stem and coloured only one half of the flower. This tells us that the vessels that carry the water through the plant are in a straight line.

 Finally we covered different sides of the leaves of a plant with vaseline and then sealed a plastic bag around them. This was  to investigate whether the stomata (which are tiny holes that allow water to leave the plant) are on the top or the underside of the leaves. We found that the  leaves where the underside were covered in vaseline did not produce any condensation on the plastic bag because the stomata were blocked. So we discovered that the stomata are on the underside of the leaves. The process by which water leaves the plant through the stomata is called transpiration.

International News

A snow blizzard swept across Massachusetts and Connecticut in northeastern America. It caused schools to close and cancelled thousands of flights, some from Dublin and Shannon airport. It hit places that left the residents digging up as much as 60 cm of snow.

By Adam Fitzgerald

Sport News

Luis Figo has entered the race for becoming Fifa president.
Determined to turn the organisation around he describes it as, currently having too many scandals.

BY ERIN DOLAN