Bhí lá
deas ag an dá Rang 6 sa Helix i mBaile Átha Cliath. Bronnadh
duaiseanna ar Sophie agus Ciara don chomórtas aistí Dear
Grace.
Don't
Judge a Book by its Cover: Clic
anseo chun scéal le
ceacht maith a léamh
Where
I'd Love to Live: Click here
to read two essays
My stomach
lurched as I fell down, down, down...
go on with the story: click here
to read them
It is the year 2100, and
global warming has being stabilised, but it is still uncomfortably high
temperature. The earth is almost constantly being bombarded by bad weather,
from typhoons to acid rain. Much of the forest on the planet is destroyed,
only small pockets remain, but no move is made to replenish them. As for
the animal life, it is depleted dramatically, mostly confined to zoos,
small remote areas and in factories (though these genetically engineered
meat bags can hardly be called animals any more)...
Léigh ar aghaidh!
Click here to read
on, and to read two other essays on the Travel Theme
Ever get
a dog from Pet Rescue?: Read this tail
from Éabha
"If
I were Ruler of the Country":
Clic anseo chun dlithe a chuirfeadh
Robin i gcrích a léamh
Toraíocht
Taisce: clic anseo chun léarscáileanna
agus scéalta a léamh
Click here to see treasure maps and pirate tales related
by Rang 3 agus 4
Babysitting
le Heather Ní Ghlanncaidh, Rang 4 2008
I arrived
home from school and my mum told me Mrs Cuckoo
from the next estate wanted me to baby sit her baby that night...
clic anseo
chun an scéal ar fad a léamh. It was written for Halloween.
Shopping:
a look at the psychology behind the activity: Click here
for Robin's account
An maith
leat scéalta a scríobh?
Does essay-writing get you down?
Click here to meet a reluctant
writer
THE
HOLIDAY DISASTER by Ciara Loftus, aged 9, from Castlebar, Co Mayo
After all that happened on
our holiday I was very glad to see Dublin Airport once again. Our holidays
began normally enough but then, well…stuff happened. Let me explain.
Last September my family and
I travelled to Disneyland Resort, Paris on a family trip. We stayed at
the Newport Bay Hotel. (The name caught our attention when we saw it advertised.)
We saw all of the usual attractions in the first few days, and later travelled
into the city to see the world famous Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe,
Notre Dame Cathedral and the Elysee Palace. It was exhausting but very
enjoyable. But on the return home everything changed.
On the morning we were leaving for home I awoke confused after a restless
night of dreams. I dreamed that all of the Disney characters had come
to life! Alice was looking at herself in the mirror, Tigger was bouncing
around the room, Cinderalla was dancing with Prince Charming, while Winnie
the Pooh sat on my bed eating honey. What an odd dream. Thank goodness
I was awake. We rushed to the airport to make our flight. As I carried
my bag onto the plane I noticed that it was really heavy. But no matter!
Soon we were crossing the Irish Sea. As I began the story, I was very
glad to see Dublin Airport again. Our holiday began normally enough but
then, well…
We've been here before haven’t
we? You see I have a dark and terrible secret. The March Hare has stowed
away in my luggage, and his madness has put a curse on me. I must serve
him and his guests at their tea parties every day for the rest of my life.
I must tell the same story every day, (AND YOU MUST READ UT!) Ugghh! Go
to go and serve that stupid hare!!!
The Round Room
at The Mansion House, venue for IBAS Awards Dinner
Comhghairdeachas, a Chiara,
as ucht an bua a fháil leis an scéal seo sa chomórtas
DAA Book Awards 2008
Deireadh
Fómhair 2007:
The Funfair
Comes to Town
What do I hear?
Carousel music and engines humming
Popcorn popping and candyfloss whirling
Children laughing and screaming for joy
What do I see?
The big ferris wheel going round and round
Children and adults holding on for dear life
The Wild Mouse and other amusements with colourful lights
Hundreds of people going round with delight
Great crunchy chips
sizzling in my mouth
Succulent juicy burgers are gorgeous on my tongue
I see a great rollercoaster spinning around
Flashing red lights bumping on the walls
The jingly jangly
music is like a child magnet
Families are drawn to the multi-coloured lights
Here everything is so fun and bright
The carnival is back in town
ó na dánta
a scríobh Éabha, Sinéad agus Máiréad, Rang
3
The
Funfair Disaster
One Friday evening,
I was so excited. In school, I had heard rumours about the funfair being
in town. My mum said we could go tomorrow night! That night I couldn't
sleep because I was too busy thinking about the funfair.
On Saturday night
at seven o'clock we were at the funfair. The first thing I did was look
around. I saw the big wheel, the wildmouse, the fun house, the bumper
cars, the ball throwing game and the water pistols. But then duh duh duh...
Everybody stopped
everything. There was a massive creaking noise. It came from all the rides.
"What was that?" asked everyone. A member of the staff said
it was nothing, but in a quivering voice. I wondered if he was telling
the truth.
I felt a bit dizzy
after going on the waltzers. "Ahhh," I yelled as a water pistol
squirted me in the face, but there was no one squirting me. It was squirting
by itself! As I wiped the water off my face someone flew right past me.
Another one and another one! They were coming from the waltzers. The waltzers
were going super fast! There was a bang and the big wheel took off down
the road. People were jumping off the big wheel, but they all got squished.
Lots of people took
out their mobiles and dialled 999. They all said that there was an accident.
But I know that there was a little more than an accident! Finally the
ambulances and police came and cleaned up the mess.
Stiofán,
Rang 3
Tús
2007:
Féile na
Leabhar
Seo scríbhneoir
John Quinn
Labhair sé le Ranganna 4 agus 5
Bhain na páistí
an-taitneamh as
Buíochas
do Mhúinteoir Nóirín DeBúrca a d'eagraigh imeachtaí
na seachtaine
Bhí Máire Uí Dhonncha an-chabhrach freisin
Lily
and Esme
We were on our way to our new
home in Galway, because my father had got some "new job". Suddenly
I felt really carsick but I didn't tell my Mum or Dad because they would
just ignore me.
You see my Mum, Dad, my older sister and I never talk to each other. So
today we certainly weren't talking. My Dad has a leather belt and if we
said or did anything wrong my Dad will hit us with it, even my Mum is
afraid of him. If we want to speak to him we have to say "Sir"
after every sentence. When we finally arrived at our new home my Dad told
us not to get out of the car so he could pick our bedrooms. It was three
o'clock when we finally saw the house my Dad had picked the smallest room
in the house for me. I rushed upstairs and ran into my bedroom and dropped
my bags on the empty floor - boards. Then I ran into the bathroom and
there I puked for ten minutes.
When I stopped puking I walked
back into my bedroom. It was actually very nice. If I just put my wardrobe
in and painted the walls black and put up my skull-head candles it would
perfect. When I had finished unpacking I went next - door to check out
my new neighbours. The two old ladies were very nice and invited me in.
They said their names were Lily and Esme. Esme said that I reminded her
of their younger brother Albert who had died a while before. The two old
ladies said that I could have a tour of the house while they made the
tea. So I went out of the kitchen walked down the hallway. On my left
it said "do not enter" but I couldn't resist it so I sneaked
inside. In the middle of the floor there was a trap door that led to the
cellar. I quickly looked around and then climbed down the ladder. I looked
around in confusion. I could hear something but couldn't see anything.
I felt my way to the end of the cellar where I felt a doorknob. I turned
it and walked into darkness. I found a torch on the floor and there at
the end of the room was a middle-aged hermit. I ran out screaming. I stumbled
to the door scared that the hermit would follow me!
I fell in the door where Lily
and Esme stood motionless staring at the space behind me. They looked
at each other and said "Albert!" I asked them who Albert was.
They told me that Albert was their brother who had turned into a recluse
at a very young age. Esme went back down to the cellar to check that Albert
was still nice and cosy. She firmly closed the cellar's trap -door and
walked back into the kitchen. Then they made us all a cup of tea and explained
that Albert had always been afraid of people. Doctors had wanted to put
him away into a mental hospital when their mother had died. Esme and Lily
promised him that they would always take care of him. As they got older
their biggest concern was that if something were to happen to them who
would take care of Albert.
Róisín
Nic Raois
Someone Like
Me le Rút Nic Nioclás
I know someone
just like me. She shares the same dreams and the same hopes with me.
There is just one thing different about us. She is disabled.
When she
was born, she had no arms. But even though she is disabled,
she was in the Special Olympics and she won a silver medal in the 400m race.
She looks
really different, but she's not! Inside, she's exactly the same as me.
When somebody sees my friend Emma, they think "Oh, the poor girl".
But Emma doesn't need sympathy, she's just the same as you and me.
Not only does Emma not have any arms, she also has a trace of Downs Syndrome.
Although she has Special Needs she tries not to let it show at all.
Sometimes
she feels left out. She often wonders what it would be like
to have both arms and nothing to do with Downs Syndrome.
Emma likes how she is and she said she loves being different to everyone else.
This girl is the same as all of us. Just because she is "special"
does not mean that she is not interested in the same things as all of us.
Even though Emma has a disability, she is just the same as me.
Clic anseo chun scéal
a léamh faoi History of Special Effects a rinne Lorcán agus Earnán.
Chuaigh Rang
Ghearóid go dtí an leabharlann chun an scríbhneoir Ré
Ó Laighléis a fheiceáil
i Mí Deireadh Fómhair, 2003.
The writer talked about his books in a very entertaining fashion.
The
Funfair (le Rang a Trí)
Sticky
pink candy floss fingers
Huge boxes of hot buttery popcorn
A juicy burst of mustard hotdog
Sizzly salty chips with ketchup hats
Whirling
waltzers going round and round
Miami surf making a lot of sound
The crazy frog with screams very loud
Fun houses with ramping traps
Sick
in my tummy from the frog
Dizziness from the spinning walzers
Nausea from the miami surf
Excitement on the big wheel
The
bright lights could blind you
There were sparks in every corner
The crowd was screaming mad
There were people everywhere
I felt
a shiver when I entered the fun house
Roll-a-ball horses went clippety-clop
Knocking the bottles was very hard
I didn't see anyone win a prize
The
noises are loud,
With a thumping beat,
The sights are beautiful with swirling colours
Yellow and red in the dark dark night.
But what
is this?
A groping hand
I am plucked from my home!
This is not
right,
I am shorter somehow
I feel as if I'm not all here.
My petal!
My gracious petal!
I am not finished
I feel so ugly!
I am but
a stem in a vase.
A hand again?
I am rubbish!
I once was so proud
And now I am nothing
Nothing but rubbish!
Saileog
Shared Reading
We started Shared Reading with Rang a 6 in October and as a result
we have read lots and lots of books. It is very enjoyable. One of the
best books I read is "The Powerpuff Girls": Powerpuff Professor.
Its author is Amy Keating Rogers.
The story is as follows:
Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, the three Powerpuff girls, like to spend
time with the professor. But they're always fighting crime so they're
too busy. Then the professor had a wonderful idea. He made himself a supersuit
and joined the girls. Everything went well until the professor started
to call the Powerpuff girls baby names. The girls had a problem. They
gathered together and made a plan. The plan was to pretend to be hurt
when Moto jojo next attacked and let the professor handle it. The plan
worked brilliantly so the professor quit. So once again the day is saved
thanks to the Powerpuff girls.
It's a very good book. We in Rang a 2 are very thankful to Muinteoir Magella
and Rang a 6 for reading with us every week and for being so patient with
us.
Go raibh maith agaibh go leir.
