SNC Mgarr Primary School

School Motto : Dak li tiżra taħsad / Reap what you sow

It’s that time of the year again…

Posted on December 4, 2014 by mgarrprimary

December – an important month for us Christians… It reminds of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. During this month we remember the hardships Mary and Joseph had to face and the poor circumstances in which the Lord chose to be born. It is a time of reflection about the important things in life – not material ones, but spiritual ones.

Students are encouraged to prepare a special assembly in a run up for Christmas. This special assembly is spread over 9 days, hence it is called the novena. During these assemblies the students, under the direction of their teachers and LSAs, and with the help of Ms Borg Vella, assistant head, the students explore moral values and issues which remind us of love, peace and generosity.

This is also an opportunity for students to sing Christmas carols, to animate our morning assemblies and to enhance their self-esteem. Merry Christmas to all 🙂

Nurturing love towards nature…

Posted on December 2, 2014 by mgarrprimary

The Kinder 1.2 students, of Ms Joanne Galea, have been busy preparing a beautiful collage of a robin. The aim of this activity was to make students aware of this cute bird which visits our island at this time of the year.

Robins migrate to warmer climates in winter. They travel long distances to reach our island and face many perils on their journey. It is thus of utmost importance to welcome and to enjoy robins in their full freedom on our island, and not locked up in a cage.

Well done for sharing this activity with us and for working on another Dinja Waħda activity 🙂

Helping our students become creative and literate…

Posted on November 29, 2014 by mgarrprimary

The year 1.1 students of Ms Louise Cutajar have been experimenting with paint. During an art and craft lesson, they used different colours of paint to create various patterns.

On another occassion the students were asked to bring their favourite toy to school for a show and tell session. During such sessions students are encouraged to speak about something, in this case a toy. The aim is to enhance the students’ confidence while encouraging them to practice their spoken skills in both Maltese and English 🙂

Theatre in Education… X’se Ndoqqu?

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mgarrprimary

On the 19th November 2014, the year 5.2 students of Ms Sharon Calleja, went on an extremely interesting outing at the Drama Unit in Blata l-Bajda. First the children talked about musical instruments and how they are played. They mentioned the wind instruments, strings and percussions. Then, they played a game called Maestro where they imitated playing a particular instrument and made sounds that mimic the sound made by that instrument. In another activity, the children were given flashcards with pictures of different musical instruments. In pairs they mimed how to play that instrument and the rest of the children had to guess which instrument it was. Later the students went to the theatre and watched a group of actors gathering for rehearsals and discussing how to go about the play they should perform. Finally, the students saw the actual play about Ulysses being performed and they were involved in the play by playing the musical instruments during the performance when instructed to do so. This was a very enjoyable experience for everyone 🙂

Entrepreneurship

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mgarrprimary

As part of the entrepreneurship project 2014 the year 5.2 students of Ms Calleja were divided in groups or pairs. They were asked to come up with a project on a topic of their choice.

During the 3 sessions carried out in the school hall by Mr Max Bartolo, the children discussed and planned their work. When they reached the final stages, they presented their ideas to their friends.

These photos show a sample of the student’s work. Melchior Mifsud and Faith Schembri showed the desire to present their work to the class since they could not use a laptop in the school hall to present their work there. They talked to the class about their pet dog.

Exploring verbs… The Present Continuous

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mgarrprimary

During one of the Language lessons, the year 5.2 students of Ms Sharon Calleja talked about the present continuous. The learning intention was clearly displayed on the board and the class talked about what the present continuous and when it is used. A powerpoint followed to help students understand this topic better. The presentation served to allow students time to practise using the present continuous in the interactive exercises that followed. The students were also given flashcards with different verbs written on them. Each verb displayed on the flashcard was changed to the present continuous and that verb was then presented in a sentence created by the students themselves.

A class activity followed where the students had to work in groups. The teacher gave each group a picture. The students observed the picture attentively and wrote several sentences using the present continuous, based on what they were seeing. Finally, each group presented their work to the rest of the class.

Enhancing speaking skills…

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mgarrprimary

During an English lesson, the year 5.2 students of Ms Sharon Calleja, talked about sports and the equipment needed to practice various sport disciplines. The students then talked about which sport they would like to do, and why, in pairs. A class discussion followed this activity to further enhance the students speaking skills.

Doubling and Halving…

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mgarrprimary

The year 5.2 students of Ms Sharon Calleja did a series of Mathematics lessons about doubling and halving. Since the lessons were held close to Halloween, during one of our lessons the student played an on-line game called Ghost Blasters. They were then given a number and they had to find the ghost which had the double of that number written on it. It was so much fun 🙂

In another lesson, the students carried out an investigation. The students started with a number and kept doubling / halving it several times to see how many times this could be done.

Then, the students practised more on-line games for doubling and halving 🙂

Science Experiments…

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mgarrprimary

During a Science lesson the yr 5.2 students of Ms Ssaron Calleja talked about the scientific process and how experiments should be conducted. The students carried out an experiment with a glass of water, some salt and an egg. First the children were asked to predict what would happen to the egg if was to be placed in a glass of water. After hearing their hypothesis, the teacher placed the egg in the water and it sank. The class discussed why the egg sank. Then the children were asked to predict what would happen to the egg if salt is added to the water. After hearing the children’s predictions, salt was added in the water and the egg was placed in the mixture. To the children’s surprise, the egg floated. The class discussed why this could have happened and reached the conclusion that when salt is added, this increases the water’s density. Thus the egg floated as it was lighter than the water.

After this activity some children in class created their own experiments and shared them with their friends. Here are some photos of Faith Schembri explaining why a balloon bursts when placed on 1 pin and pressed, but does not burst when placed on several pins and pressed. Then there was Giuseppe Azzopardi who showed the different objects and materials that sink or float in water.