PJP Newsletter

At Pope John Paul’s, we are proud to highlight our ongoing commitment to fostering curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. This year, every class is diving into exciting STEM learning experiences thanks to a dedicated programme led by Ms. Hayden and supported by the individual class teachers, whose enthusiasm and expertise are inspiring young minds to explore and innovate. Alongside this, our students have been actively participating in a variety of STEM initiatives, showcasing their talents and growing their skills in problem-solving and teamwork. In this special STEM edition newsletter, we are excited to share the incredible projects, achievements, and opportunities that are shaping the future for our budding scientists, engineers, and innovators!

We are delighted to announce that our school has received the Gold Award in the SFI Curious Minds STEM Programme for 2024! This accolade recognises our commitment to excellence in STEM education and celebrates the incredible work of our students and teachers in fostering a love for discovery and innovation. From engaging science experiments to creative engineering projects, our STEM initiatives have inspired curiosity and critical thinking across all year levels. We are immensely proud of this achievement and grateful to everyone in our school community who has supported these endeavours. Together, we are making STEM learning an exciting and integral part of our students’ educational journey!

The BEBRAS Challenge is an international competition which is run every year to promote Informatics and Computational Thinking in pupils of all ages. The challenge involves participants completing a number of online computational and logical thinking challenges. It is run in over 60 countries and takes place every November. This year, all of our fourth, fifth and sixth class children took part in the challenge. We are absolutely thrilled to have received the news that thirty PJP students have qualified for the final of the competition which will be taking place in Maynooth University on the 5th of April next year! We would like to congratulate and wish the following PJP students the very best of luck in the final: Alannah Kiernan, Seán Griffin, Zoe Walsh, Louis Chong, Joseph McGovern, Yi Ran Bi, Annie Harkin, John Griffith, Isibéal Goble, Daniel Griffin, Oliver O'Grady, Jake Walsh Barry, Seán Cloonan, Harry Breen, Patrick Serkedi, Ben Howley, Jessica Connor, Daniel Rawson, Ailish-Laila Asraf Sani, Luka Steininger, Emily O'Meara, Lúa Garciá Cunningham, Mihael Puskaric, Jack Léger, Max Williams, Tara Bosson, Yaqing Zou, Robbie Hayes, Caimin Fogarty and Corissa Moloney.

We are delighted to continue our partnership with Microsoft through our participation in the Dream Space Ambassador Program again this year. The Dream Space Ambassador Program is a flagship initiative supported by the Dream Space Teams in Dublin and Belfast. The program offers a unique leadership and training opportunity for students with a passion for STEM education and mentoring others. As part of the program, ten selected Dream Space Ambassadors from fifth class are engaging in virtual training sessions with the Dream Space Team at Microsoft. They are developing leadership skills and helping to support, train, and inspire their peers in STEM activities. At the end of the academic year, our ambassadors’ dedication will be celebrated with an awards day at Microsoft HQ in Dublin recognising their achievements. Last year we were awarded a Platinum Award for demonstrating outstanding STEM skills and 21st century learning skills through our engagement in the programme. We are excited to see the positive impact our Dream Space Ambassadors will bring to our school and beyond this year!

All of our 6th classes will be showcasing STEM projects at the Primary Science Fair this year. This primary school initiative is part of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, which will take places at the RDS on Friday, 10th January. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to display their hard work, creativity, and scientific curiosity on a national stage. Our school will be presenting five exciting projects that demonstrate the innovative spirit and teamwork of our 6th class students. The project titles we will be presenting this year are:

· Dizzy in the Digital World - Exploring Motion Sickness with VR Technology (Ms. Kieran's Class)

· Flavour: Tastebuds, Brain, or Both? (Ms. Byrne's Class)

· Feeling Blue or Seeing Red? - The Impact of Colour on Emotional Response (Ms. O'Connor's Class)

· Thrills and Chills: The Science Behind Roller Coaster Motion (Ms. McDaid's Class)

· Taste Test Showdown: Store Brand Vs Name Brand Food - Can You Tell the Difference? (Ms. Farrelly's Class)

We are incredibly proud of our students’ dedication and can’t wait to cheer them on as they share their learning with a wider audience. Thank you to our teachers and families for your support in making this achievement possible. Stay tuned for updates and photos from the event!

Our 5th classes will also be showcasing STEM projects at a national level this year. Science Blast is a non-competitive educational programme for primary schools and it involves the whole class investigating the science behind a simple question of interest to them. Science Blast will also take place at the RDS and all of our 5th classes will be presenting projects at the showcase event in March. The questions we will be investigating this year:

• Why Don’t We Fall Out of Rollercoasters? (Ms. Clinton’s Class)
• Auroras Unveiled: What Powers Nature’s Neon Lights? (Ms. McCarthy’s Class)
• Can Exercise Sharpen Your Mind (Ms. McKenna’s Class)
• Fear Factor: Why Do We Have Certain Phobias and What Do They Mean? (Ms. McDevitt’s Class)
• Why Do We Dream and Do Our Dream Have Meaning? (Ms. Diver’s Class)
• Can Bacterial Soap Eliminate All Bacteria? (Ms. Cahill’s Class)

Science Week took place this year from the 10th - 17th November. Science Week is a national celebration of science with events for people of all ages taking place across Ireland. We had a lot of fun celebrating Science Week by developing our scientific skills such as predicting, investigating, experimenting, estimating and designing and making. All pupils participated in lots of fun science experiments and activities throughout the week.

Ms. James's 4th class will be participating in the Tech We Can programme this year. This engaging initiative inspires students to explore the world of technology and its potential to shape the future. We are delighted to once again team up with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for this incredible opportunity. A huge thank you to John and Mary from PwC, who will be delivering the lessons and sharing their expertise with our students. We can't wait to see the innovative ideas and excitement this programme will spark in our classroom!

We are thrilled to share the incredible success of our Lego donation drive last year. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our school community, we received an amazing collection of Lego that is greatly benefitting our students. These donations will not only foster creativity and problem-solving skills but also encourage collaboration and imaginative play among our learners. Building on the success of this initiative, we are planning to create a number of interactive Lego spaces in the school this year. These promise to be vibrant hubs where students can explore, build, and learn together. Stay tuned for updates as we bring this exciting project to life!

We are very proud to highlight the remarkable progress being made in coding and robotics across our school, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Ms. Hayden. Ms. Hayden has planned and delivered an extensive programme of work over the past two years and all classes have had the opportunity to engage with these exciting learning opportunities. These lessons introduce students to the foundations of computational thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, while also preparing them for a future increasingly shaped by technology. Coding is becoming an essential skill, not just in the tech industry but in a wide range of careers, making it crucial for students to develop these abilities early. Through coding lessons and projects, students explore everything from basic programming to robotics, fostering skills like teamwork, resilience, and innovation. We are proud to see our students thriving in this dynamic area and look forward to expanding these initiatives further as we embrace the future of education.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the parents who volunteered their time and expertise to come and speak to our classes on a variety of STEM related topics. Your contributions have enriched our students' learning experiences and helped bring real-world insights into the classroom. We greatly appreciate your support and would love to continue collaborating with parents in the future. If any other parents or guardians are interested in sharing their STEM knowledge or experiences with our students, we warmly welcome you to get in touch.