Junior Infant Tour: On Wed June 19th the junior infants went on a school tour to the Burren Nature Sanctuary. We went on a bus and when we got there we met the leaders who showed us into the lunch room where we ate lunch. Then Edel’s group played in the inside play area and Mary’s group played outside. We played with sand and on the swings. We then went to feed the animals such as goats, rabbits, guinea pigs and onepig. Then we went on a nature trail and we met the carpenter who makes the furniture and the Tooth Fairy Elf. Then we had to run around until we found we found the fairy fort. Then we went back and the Tooth Fairy Elf showed us purple flowers and she made us be busy bees on the way back. Afterwards we went to the playground and then we went home.
By Sam Smyth and Mia Hedigan
Senior Infant Tour – Moher Hill Farm
We went to Moher Hill farm on our school tour. When we got there we had lunch. After lunch we fed the animals such as sheep, goats, pigs, llamas, peacocks, Shetland ponies, ostriches and deer. We then we went back and had something to eat. Afterwards we went to the play area. Here we played on the bouncy castle and the ball pit. Then we went to the sandpit. After that we went Go Karting. We also got to hold a bunny and an ostrich egg. We fed the goats some milk. We had a really good day.
By: Lily Mc Mahon, Amy Mannion and James Cosgrove
1st class tour: On May 29th we went on our tour. We went to Galway aquarium. When we walked in the door we saw loads of tanks. In one tank there was fish and every 30 seconds the water splashed up like a waterfall. There was another tank and it had a submarine you could go into to see the fish. Another tank had a shipwreck in it and it had baby sharks in it!! We also got to hold loads of fish like crabs, starfish and lots more. We also got to touch some fish with ourhands, put our hands into the tank and the fish would kiss your fingers. Some other fish would try and eat fish out of our hands! We also did experiments and made some things explode. We mixed salt water and normal water to see what would happen and it looked like the sea. After the Aquarium we were going to go to Coole Park but it was too wet so instead we stopped at a shop and got ice creams.
By Jessica Hassett and Siara Moore
2nd class tour: On May 30th we went to the Ailwee caves and the Birds of Prey centre on our school tour. We left the school at 9.00. When we got to the Ailwee caves we had our lunch and waited for our turn to go into the caves. Once inside we saw waterfalls, a bear’s skull and some bones from bears. We saw stalagmites and stalactites. We also saw straws that are really delicate and hang from the roof of the cave. We saw the “bunch of carrots” which was a very unusual stalactite. We also saw a pillar where the stalagmites and stalactites join. We then went to the Birds of Prey centre where we saw a snowy barn owl called Jess. Before the show we looked around and saw all the birds and then we watched the show on birds of prey. Our guide told us some facts and afterwards he asked us questions. Those that got it correct got to hold the birds. We then had our lunch and came back to school.
By Orla Blake and Eilbhe O Gara.
3rd class tour: On June 17th we went to Mullaghmore and The Planet. We went to Mullaghmore first and had our lunch when we got there. After our lunch we started climbing to the top. The surface we were walking on was rocky and dusty. We had a guide called Tony. As we were walking Tony told us about the rocks, about fossils and badger claw marks. He told us about different flowers like the bloody crane’s bill,The bird’s foot trefoil and the spring gentian. We climbed continuously to the top of the hill. When we got there, Tony told us about how the cows come here in the winter. Then we began the long trek back to the bottom. Whenwe [finally] got to the bottom, we went back to the bus and set off for The Planet. When we got there, we all got out of the bus.1st we did Quasar, then we went to tumble towers and 3rd we did bowling, we had a great day.
By Meadhbh Mockler and Connla O’Halloran.
4th class tour: On May 28th we went on our tour to Lahinch. First of all we did surfing in Ben’s surf school. We all got wetsuits and went to the beach. We practiced on the boards on the beach before we went into the water. On the water we lay on our boards for the start and we then got out and practiced standing up. We then went back up and tried standing up on the boards. It was really difficult!! After surfing we went inside, got out of the wetsuits, had a snack and were split into 2 groups. One group did archery and one did rock climbing. Both were good crack! Then the groups switched around. We went to the shop on the way home. We had a really good day!
By Oscar O’Gara and Kate Mc Mahon
4th class -Ardnacrusha: On June 24th we went to Ardnacrusha. When we arrived we got goggles , hard hats and high viz jackets. We walked outside and looked at the facts and the history of the place. We also saw a video of how 33 people died while building the power plant. We also went into an art room where there was paintings on display showing the building of Ardnacrusha. We went upstairs and saw the turbines. We went into another room and watched a video how the power station works and nothing had broken since it was built !! We also saw lots ofartifacts. There was also loads of buttons that were never changed and they still all work.
By Orla Mulligan and James Mc Mahon
5th class tour: On June 18th we went to UL activity centre in Killaloe. When arrived there we were greeted by a man named Ross. They gave us a quick introduction about the rules and the behaviour that was expected from us. We then received our wetsuits, helmets and lifejackets. Next we split into 4 groups, 2 boy groups and 2 girls groups. Our first activity was kayaking with Ross which was some craic! Next we went on a raft with Joe; we got to do flips and cannonballs off the raft which was great fun! Our third activity was wind sailing with Noah and we all played our part in helping the boat get to deep waters safely so we could jump off. Our final water activity was canoeing with Eabha and that was some fun!! Once we got showered and changed we started our land activities. Our first activity was the high ropes from where we could see the whole of Clare. This was really a game of trust!! Next we did team work games and finally we did archery where we learned how to use a bow and an arrow! Mr Mullins & Mr Forde also took part in this and they wereaverage !!…probably could need more practice!!
By Sophie Leahy, Grace Herbert and Lily Hegarty
6th Class Tour – Inis Oírr:
On Wed June 19th 6th class went to Inis Oírr for two nights. When we arrived we went to the hostel and got settled in. Then we were allowed to explore the island. That night we went to a ceile where we danced with people from the Irish College. It was a really wet night so after the ceile we went to bed. We had an early start the next morning. We got up at 6.30 because we didn’t have our phones and we didn’t realise it was that early. We had a lazy breakfast, went for a walk and then went swimming. We also went swimming later that day. The whole class also went to the playground. That night we went for a walk and had a bonfire and hot chocolate!! On the Fri we went swimming and explored the island some more. We also got a ride on the Wanderly Wagon around the island and food at TighRuairís. It was then time to go back to the hostel and head for the ferry. It was an unforgettable experience!!
By Jack O Halloran, Ruby Stubbs Considine and Maya Hogan
Knockanean National School 