This past week was great. I worked with the 6th class and taught a few lessons about a book they are reading (The Guns Of Easter). They have been a pleasure to work with as have been all the other classes at Kill O' the Grange. I also attented the 6th class field hockey tournament on Wednesday of last week. A mother and coach, who was heavily involved with the field hockey teams, passed away in November of last year with cancer. In an effort to remember her the field hockey league has decided to hold a tournament every year in her name. I attended this tournament and it was really fun to see the boys from the school play. I also met their families which was also very good.
Last week in 6th class Mr. Malseed and I taught a lesson on bridges and the physics behind their design. I showed the class a video of the Tacoma Bridge collapse and then the students proceeded to design their own bridge using two pieces of paper. Mr. Malseed and I walked around the room to see whose bridge was the strongest. The students were fascinated with the video and they enjoyed the challenge of figuring out which of their designs would be the strongest. I enjoyed watching them learn from their mistakes. The best and strongest design came from two boys who tried over and over again to figure it out. They finally did, and the picture of their bridge is below.
Lindsay and I have also managed to do a little bit more travelling. We visited the Aran Islands and stayed in Galway for the night with a friend from Galway University. It was "grand" - although we do need to work on our Irish. And we were also lucky enough to have been asked to go fly fishing with my host dad and his buddy. That was one of the best times I've had so far.
