The Prayers You Prayed For Yourself and Others At Your Graduation Mass

This here is what you prayed today, and all the many caring adults (mostly your families) prayed today, in the Prayers of the Faithful at the Mass.

I’m putting them here so that you might sometime, maybe a few times, pray them again. 

Lord, this morning we’d like to say “Thank you!”  Thank you for loving us and taking care of us in school all these years and making sure we were safe. Lord, hear us.

Thank you for our parents and guardians who have given us so much love all these years. Lord, hear us.

Thank you for everyone who has helped us during our time at primary school, including all the teachers, all the SNAs, all the school staff, and all the volunteers. And a special thank you for Fr Joe, who confirmed us last month with the Holy Spirit, and for Fr Marino and Fr Brendan, who helped prepare us for Confirmation. Lord, hear us.

  

Lord, this morning we’d also like to ask you some asking prayers. Please bless us children now as we prepare to leave primary school and begin a new part of our life’s journey in secondary school. Help us make good choices in our lives. Lord, hear us.

Lord, please bless our parents and guardians for their loving care so far. Help them to ‘be there’ for us as teenagers. Lord, hear us.

Lord, please bless everyone at Talbot with health, peace, and happiness. Help them continue to work hard and work well for all the children. Lord, hear us.

  

Lord, we have grown to be a family, like brothers and sisters. Help us get better at loving others by putting other people’s needs ahead of our own wants. Lord, hear us.

Lord, we say sorry and ask your forgiveness for the bad things we have done. We wish we didn’t do them, and we’ll try to live better and better. Please help us live like Jesus, and not sin again. Lord, hear us.

And, Lord, we know you ask us to follow you and live like you. But we also know that it’s not easy to do that. So help us become stronger and stronger Christians by praying to you more and more. Help us always remember you are there for us. Lord, hear us.

Teacher: Lord, we pray for all these beautiful children, each a wonderful act of creation, as they leave us at Talbot and move forward in their lives. Help them on their mission to become great Christians. Help them give your love to everyone they meet. Help them support each other. Help them make good choices, choosing good friends, choosing the right paths, and staying away from all that is bad. Keep them close to you. Lord, hear us.

The Class Poem — with you in it, with many memories in it...

(I told Megan O'Meara I'd put this up. It won't be up forever, so if you want to cut and paste the text now is a good time.)

In the month of September
– I wonder if you remember? –
I was excited to say
you’re each intelligent in many-a-way.

And now it’s June
I’m singing the same tune…

Each of you’s different but each of you’s equal;

The game of life you’re winning,
because your potential you’re fulfilling.

No matter what say the rest,
you know God gave you a mission to be your best.

You learned to “remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look to the future with confidence” — to pray is the way.

You learned how to learn by aiming at a target;

What’s great is you stick-with-it til you say “Got it!”

So, just who have we got, in this class that’s so hot?

Well, we got Katie the dancer, so caring and sweet;
and Ian the boxer, so chatty and neat.

RTE’s horse-mad laughing Luke Farrell so happy-go-lucky;
and “Mrs Brown’s” entertaining Luke Corbally so honest and bubbly.

We got the multi-talented and well-named Blessing,
who leads by example and puts up with no messing.

We’ve caring Courtney so constantly cheerful — she’s a joy to be around.
And we’ve gentle Djena so constantly thoughtful — she’s totally sound.

We got ever-reliable, ever-friendly, Councillor Megan O’Meara

Always ready to ask: “How are ya?”

Hugely organised it seems she always has a plan;
And of course Ireland has no greater JLS fan.

And magnificent Morgan so impressively knowledgeable;
In history and maths is his enthusiasm unmatchable.

And we’ve generous Jamie, dependable and so helpful;

What a calm Councillor he is, apparently un-flusterable.

We’ve got the independent and imaginative Jessica,
who knows the value of being alert, ready to say… “Aha!”

And we’ve been graced by a hard-working gentleman, ever-admirable Emmanuel;
who, being so honest, could anything to anyone sell.

There’s big-hearted Adam always so laid-back and funny,
and thorough Tiernan, so richly-talented and usually on the money.

Relaxed Ryan’s passion is soccer, especially United;
When Sir Alex left, we mourned his loss of the boss.

Ever-improving in every-thing Nadean’s bright smiles got us through the dark winter;
Every day she steps closer to hitting her targets right in the centre.

And thank God for mellow Megan McGrath; so musically-gifted
when she plays to heaven you feel drifted.

And of course our ever-listening, ever-blossoming, terrific twins Nicole and Jade;
of this year in English and Maths great success they made.
I hope that one day, “I met Niall Horan!” they can say.

And we’ve elegant, easy-going, and jovial Leah;
who sometimes can’t wait til 2:40 so she can say, “See ya!”

And adaptable Ajibola our amazing friendly artist,

Who in improvements in reading wins the prize that is first.

Sakirat could win the X-Factor with her singing and dancing,
and personality so full of wonderful life a pop star could ask her to be his wife.

Quiet confident Kacper is in class so friendly,
but be warned: in team sports he turns deadly.

And who’s our favourite, deep-feelings poet?
Sure, it’s the wise and all-wonderful Agata, don’t you know it.

Many memories with time gradually fade away;

What matters more is to know that you had many a fine day.

But before time makes your Class memories history
Maybe record some details so they won’t be a mystery.

Here’s some other things I’ll keep
in my memory so deep:

• Our ‘Faith Friends’ night
  when the first Pope Francis first stepped into our sight.
• Your confirmation copies,
  so full of your Spirit, they surely God much did please.
• Your progress in Maths and English
  so huge the news we must publish!
• Friday afternoon’s Talbot’s-Got-Talent where week after week was repeated
  the powerful singing and acting to which we were all treated.

Each of you is creative, intelligent, and unique;
Collectively so noisy, you can’t hear me speak.

You get busy having the craic;
often so much, I’ve to go on the “shhh!” attack.

But when the chips are down and there’s work to be done,
You get in there and work, down to the very last one.
And now we’ve arrived at the end of the year;
You move on to secondary; I stay here.
I sincerely hope, as the years quickly pass,
You’ll remember the good times you shared in 6^th Class.

Memories of Great People...

Your Songs, Your Acting... All Here

You guys are so talented. I've SO enjoyed learning from you as well as teaching you. 

Never have I been so lucky to have had such a class of so many beautiful, gifted singers and actors.  You really are so talented. I SO hope and pray you will all continue to develop these talents in yourselves. Not just so you become brilliant, but mostly simply to enjoy yourselves! Singing and acting is fun! It's a way to create, and it's so vital, so HEALTHY for you to create. 

Listen to yourselves here. You'll smile lots, you'll remember lots, and it's all good. 

Enjoy. 

And, God bless you all, now and forever.

https://soundcloud.com/talbotmrstuart is the web page for everything we've recorded and put up on the web. 

1. You guys acting and dancing scene 6 of our school play Double Trouble last week in front of hundreds of adults, hours after doing it in front of hundreds of kids. Fantastic!
2. Our very last "Talbot's Got Talent" on a Friday afternoon. And boy, is there talent in this class. We've been blessed all year by so many gorgeous performances, usually singers, sometimes comedians, sometimes actors, all... fantastic!
3. And isn't it great that the boys all sang together of their love for the girls and are ready to Let Her Go... fantastic!
4. And the girls, well, do they want the boys to Stay? 
5. Finally, here you all are, going on The Climb. Buen Camino! Bon Chemin! A good journey to you!

You guys at the school play rehearsal looking at the Junior School kids coming in... time flies! Make the most of your opportunities to make good choices for yourselves. All is well, all will be well. 

Poetry websites to explore and enjoy...

Wow. Wish I knew of this site years ago.

Fun, simple, rhyming poems about all sorts of things... http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems.html 

MORE cool MATHS websites to help you and to enjoy...

MORE cool MATHS websites to help you and to enjoy...

math500.com which doesn't look all that great but is! Try it out. 

It's there to HELP you with whatever it is you are finding hard. 
The home page has 84 types of things you might be finding hard. Just click on one and do a question. If you get it wrong, it gives feedback, one step at a time(!). It's like having your ma or your da there beside you, helping you a little but not too much, all the way until you get the right answer. 

coolmath.com 

This is a HUGE website, with lots for you, your younger brother, your older sister, even your granddad!

For Sixth Class you might be most interested in 

1. A cool and easy way to multiply (see how quick you can learn it)
2. Be stunned by the MIND MONSTER reading your mind!! Neat trick... you can work it out if you look closely at the answers on the grid. 
3. ALL THE GAMES.

Your brother or sister doing the Leaving Cert will find this 'Factory Balls' one hard... there's no way I was able to do this type of game when I was your age. (I just got up to level 6, and now it's too hard for me :(  )

YOUR Projects: Listen to Yourselves HERE

Wow. I've just listened again to you guys presenting your shockingly-good presentations earlier today and boy o boy, you sound even better!

When you listen to it again, you will pick up things that you missed the first time. And that's a lesson for us all -- to learn something well, we need to listen to it again, and again.

Anyhow, click on this and enjoy listening to how great each of you were. I'll post the photos of your projects too (mabye on our kidblog site).

"Blog-a-Blog-a-Blog!" :) Kidblog.org/MrS2013

Isn't it great. In just 34 hours of being on kidblog.org you, the class, have created 50 posts and God-knows-how-many comments. 

You're the first class in the school to blog, ever. And you're one of the very first primary classes in Ireland who

My Website For Your Parents

I've just added 'labels' (tags) to this website and I realise I haven't a post telling parents about the website I prepared just for parents in Sept/October last year. So, this is that post. And now I can label/tag it so that parents, if they click on the 'parents' label, will see it and find it easily.

The website that I have prepared for your parents is usefulsiteforparents.blogspot.ie

GREAT help with your project... AND with future homework!!

Good news for all you researchers! There's a superb encyclopedia which normally costs families hundreds of euros. But now the Irish government has done a deal with the publishers. And so all children in Ireland now have FREE access to the encylopedia, which is online. 

Simply go to

When We Do Our Projects... What Options Do We Have to Present It?

This is the list you came up with in class. It's great. When you are planning a project, think about how you will present it to others. Here are your ideas

Talbot's Got Talent... What The Class Would Like To See

So, here's a list you created in the class. I hope you will look at it and get ideas what skills you might begin to  learn and master. 

List of What More We Would Like To See in Talbot's Got Talent 

• Comedy and Jokes
• Serious Drama
• Magic Tricks
• Juggling
• Art

Sites About Animals for ICT Class and Home

Okay, guys, these are the sites I mentioned in class. 

Types of Animals That There Are

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/classification/kc_classification_appearance.htm

Threats to Animals' Lives
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/endangered_animals/whats_the_problem.htm

Research The Most Popular Animals Here http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/alltime_top10/

And the very best website
www.kidsbiology.com (click on animals)

Off you go. Enjoy your research. I look forward to hearing what you discovered and learned. 

Best Sites to Learn About Geography — Maps, Nature, Environment, Animals...

Maps!

So, like we talked about in class, we've now had our parent-teacher meetings and we now have agreed-on individual plans for the next few months. I will give you the best resources I have to help you with your plans.

These sites below are for you all, but especially for those who plan to learn more about geography — maps, nature, animals, the environment...

I hope you have fun with them. Tell each other which you find best...

Interactive Maps (Ireland and the Whole World)

• Google Maps (Enjoy exploring traveling around the world with this); perhaps begin by typing in your own address and see what happens... where else do you want to travel? :) 
• An interactive map of Bawnogue thanks to the OSI (run by the Irish government)... can you find your home? can you describe your way to school? use this to explore Clondalkin or Ballyfermot or Lucan or Tallaght or the city centre or... it's up to you!
• And here's the interactive map of Ireland thanks to the OSI... go explore Ireland: have you ever been to Galway, to Belfast, to... (You can use the "Search" button to search by any address).

'All About Ireland' Maps

• Here's a map of the counties of Ireland (you can print this) to learn to help you with the games below...
• Two really fun games from the OSI to test how quickly you can find all the provinces and the counties of Ireland
• A fun quiz way to learn the Counties of Ireland
• Counties of Ireland on map (Drag and Drop)
• Mountains of Ireland on map(Drag and Drop)
• Rivers of Ireland on map (Drag and Drop)
• Cities and Towns of Ireland on a map (Drag and Drop)
• A Cool Photo of how Ireland looks from space: why do you think the east is smoother than the west?
• If you are doing a project on IRISH geography easily the best website is the OSI's: it has great information for you about Irish cities, towns, counties, mountains, rivers, and lakes.

'All About the World' Maps

• Here's a great map of the continents of the world (how many are there?)
• Here's a great map of the whole world (to help you with the games below!)
• Here's another great map of the whole world but this website has lots of extra things too, like all the flags of the world, timezones of the world, and so much more. Easily THE website to go to if you are doing a WORLD geography project.
• A fun quiz way to learn the 48 countries of Europe (the best score I've got so far is 130)
• A fun quiz way to learn the countries of Africa (got 83 for this, unimpressive)
• A fun quiz way to learn the 50 States of the USA (doh! I only got 86 for this... after having lived there for years!!)
• A fun quiz way to learn the countries of Asia 
• YOU Choose: A fun quiz way to learn ANYWHERE!

Other Map Skills

• Know the difference between W and NW, E and SE? 

Hope you like these. Soon I'll put up more geography websites here — about nature, animals, and the environment (the earth, space, pollution, and so much more). I love geography — one of my favourite subjects. Please email me any more great map sites you find!

The Best Websites For The Best Class

Yep, I believe we are becoming – one step at a time – the best class (not just in Talbot, but in Clondalkin, maybe even Dublin; who knows, maybe even Ireland!!). And so I feel it's my duty to root out the best websites for sixth-class children that there are (not just in Dublin, not just in Ireland, but in the world) and present them to you.

I'll keep adding to this list throughout the rest of they year. When we use one we like a lot in class when we're learning, then I'll add it here too.

For now, here's some websites where you're bound to find treasure. Make your choices...

Art

1. Enjoy looking at and marvelling at the work of great artists. Find your favourite few (click on the right). To enjoy each painting even more, ask yourself some questions, like "what colours does the artist use? what types of line are used? is there a story in the painting, if so what's going on, and what happened before and after the painting? how does the painting make you feel? And, what title would I have given it?"
2. Or maybe you'd prefer to watch some of 36 videos of great "modern art". Choose from the playlist on the right-hand side at the top. All geared towards kids your age. 
3. Or, for now you don't want to look at art, you want to make it! Fair enough, how about some practice drawing. Get a pencil and paper and off you go. Copy your favourite Uncle Fred.

You Any Good Making Things? Like Science? Like Engineering? 

1. Here's an addictive game where you have to construct different bridges. It's fun! But hard! First you have to design (the blue screen), then click on the top left button to test your design: As you know, I'm not much good at this type of thing so it took me 20 minutes to get past the first stage!! I'm still on the second, having a good laugh at my bridge as it collapses into the valley. Doh! 
2. For an amazing 14 more such games (when you find your favourite, maybe let others know about it), go to http://hoodamath.com/games/cargobridge2.php 

Are You One of Those Annoying Children With Questions?  

Then you'll love exploring the very very best Irish science website, primaryscience.ie. It's split up into loads of great sections, like:

1. where you can Ask Molly just about anything (like "how would you know if your goldfish is a boy or a girl?"!! or, "Could a bridge be built between Ireland and England?", or "Why does popcorn pop?" – cool questions!). 
2. Play some games (kids have too much fun these days!)
3. See if you know all about the most common shapes.
4. Become a space expert on the differences and similarities in the planets in our solar system.
5. Choose fun experiments to watch being done right in front of you.

Want to Do a Project?

There's so much great stuff to learn in this life!! But where to start? Kidport has a reference library that might just be the place to begin. 

Or, Maybe, Right Now, You'd Just Prefer To Sit Back and Read

It's for you that good people at your library have organised TumbleBooks for you. All you have to do is click, sit back, and enjoy. 

The Life of Jesus, Born 2,000 Years Ago into a Poor Family in a Sad Country Crushed by Romans

1. Jesus led a hard life and this site tells his story lego-style. I think you'll like it!
2. Jesus taught the people many things; again, this site tells the story lego-style!
3. Ready to pray? You ready to open the door of your heart to God and let him/her Love you? Okay: on this site... you decide who to pray for..., you say a prayer..., you feel God's peace. 

That's it for now. Hope you find lots you like! 

What You Need To Do To Stay Safe Online

"Top Tips" for Staying Safe Online
(from spunout.ie)

1. Don’t trust! Even if an online friend sounds more convincing than your own mother.
2. Be very wary of people who seem desperate to meet you or torture you for your phone number.
3. Use a nickname or just your first name when chatting online.
4. Never give out personal details online like your surname, phone number or where you live.
5. Don’t tell people where you go to school. If someone constantly asks for personal details, ignore them.
6. Don’t send photos of yourself, friends or family.
7. When someone asks where you’re from only tell...

Are You Being Cyber-Bullied? (Are you bullying someone?): Here's what to do...

First of all understand it's NOT your fault. It's the person who's bullying you who has a problem, not you; it's them who are unhappy about something at home or school. 

Second, realise you're not alone. Most people have been bullied at some stage of their lives. The good news is that it is like the measles: it does stop, it does go away. But it's horrible having the measles. So what is it and what can you do?

Free Visit to see Modern Art--in New York City

Recognise this from anywhere?! :) 

And now for something completely different... a visit to the MOMA in New York City. MOMA stands for Museum of Modern Art. It's a simple, but really good website, where YOU are the boss, choosing what to see and what to learn about. Enjoy!

6th Classers: You Can Do Anything You Want. Here's Videos of Jobs You Might Want in the Future...

Remember in September we looked at a long list of common and interesting jobs? And you chose one you might want at 20, another at 50, and another at 70. Well, it was really amazing to me to see how nearly all of you wanted different jobs at different ages. You realise you will probably have lots of jobs in your life: It's more interesting that way, and you get to use lots and lots of your skills.

Well, I just found a site, careersbox.co.uk, which might show you exactly what you'll be doing with some of your jobs. Loads of videos on the left hand side. Each video is about 3 or 4 minutes. In each video someone who works at the job tells us exactly what it's like. I think you'll find it an eye-opener! Maybe an older brother or sister might like it too. You might even see something ELSE that you want to do some day!

LISTEN to this!: Yes, Listen to Yourselves! Now we can LISTEN to MUSIC that WE Record

Yep, a friend told me of the SoundCloud website, so now we can post sound recordings of our singing and music and listen to it too.

The first two recordings for you to listen to are our Halloween Music Compositions. Our musical pieces, brilliantly and quickly composed by different groups in our sixth class. Having just a couple of 'instruments' each, each group of 2/3/4/5 showed great creativity and teamwork in composing different 'stories' told in music. Well done, everyone! This is just the beginning!

To listen, go to http://soundcloud.com/talbotmrstuart Enjoy!