Piggley's Adventure

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Piggley our little mascot went to Zagreb in Croatia with our teacher, Miss O'Connell, and had an amazing trip. He got up at 5:00 in the morning to get onto his first plane in Dublin. Piggley got special treatment on the plane for all his hard work he did on the computer. He got his own seat and extras to eat from the staff (but he also packed his own lunch)!!!
Our amazing little mascot also took some amazing photos. Miss O'Connell took one of Piggley working on the computer. The next morning Miss O'Connell took another plane straight to Zagreb. But before that she met 3 famous boxers called Eric Donovan, Darren O'Neill and Jimmy Halpin.
Once she got on the plane it went straight to Prague which is in the Czech Republic. On the first day she went into the hotel, Regent Splende, and unpacked and then went to the Croatian State Archives and went and set up a stand. Then she went back. On the second day she went and got things and put them up. Then after that Piggley went around sight-seeing. He saw a cathedral and a market.
Once he was done he went back and Piggley met the Saltash chicken, aka his girlfriend. Then Piggley heard the awards and he came.............1st !!! I think it was the best day of Piggley's life!!
Piggley also met Chris Rea who is a famous singer. When Piggley came home to Ireland, we had an amazing party. At first we got drinks either orange or 7up. Then Mrs. Brett came around with walkers crisps. Then Mrs. Brett came around with sweets and **** I got extra sweets. Then Ms. O'Connell tried to burst the champagne poppers but it wouldn't burst so we just ripped it open and threw the confetti out.

By: B612

The Little Prince

In school we are reading a book called "The Little Prince". It is about a pilot forced to land in the Sahara Desert, who meets a little Prince. The wise and enchanting stories the prince tells of his own planet with its three volcanoes and a haughty flower are unforgettable. We have listened to an audio version of the story in school and taken notes. We then wrote our own version of each chapter. We hope to write a film script of this story and make our own version of the story in English, French and Irish.



This piece was written by: B612
Chapter 1:
The pilot's age was six when he started drawing. He drew very nice things. One day he drew a boa constrictor. That is a very long snake that could swallow an elephant whole. He drew him after swallowing an elephant. He brought it into the adults and asked them, " Are you afraid of this?". They laughed and said " Why would we be afraid of a hat?". He was upset. Adults just didn't have as good an imagination as children. He then drew the elephant on the inside and the adults understood but they said he should start to study subjects like geography. He became a pilot and everything he studied became useful in case he got lost.

In chapter 2: One day he had engine failure and crashed in the Sahara Desert. He only had enough water to last him one week. He had no friends or family so there was no one there with him. He took shade in under a cave. He fell asleep. At sunrise he woke up to a little voice saying, "Draw me a sheep". He looked around. Then he saw a tiny little person. He attempted to draw the little person but it didn't work out. The little person kept on asking him and then he did. He did it four times until he drew a box and said the sheep was inside it. "Perfect", said the little person, " will it need a lot of grass?".
By: B612

In chapter 3 & 4: "No", he replied, "It's just a box". "What's that funny thing outside?", the little person said. "It's a plane" , he replied. "Draw it", the little person said, but it was too difficult. "So you dropped from the sky", the little person said. "Yes", he replied. The little person laughed. "Where are you from?". "What do you mean?", the pilot asked. But then the little person went to sleep. When the little person woke up the pilot tried to find out more. "What do you mean; where do I come from?", he asked. "If you tell me I'll make string and a post to tie him up tll at night. "Why?", asked the small prince. "So he won't run away", he replied. "My planet is too small for him to run away", the small prince replied. "This planet is like the size of a house", he replied. He thought about that every small planet got a number. This must be planet B612.
The people didn't believe him because of the way he dressed so he dressed differently and they believed him. He also thought that if he told them they wouldn't believe. All they care about are figures. But I suppose it is for our sake. The little prince didn't let him ask any questions. The little prince had a good imagination. But he couldn't see the sheep in the box. Maybe his imagination is going.
By B612

Chapter 5:
The pilot was taking his time about learning about the prince's planet. But then the little prince came out and asked him 'Do sheep eat small plants?'. 'Well yes the pilot said. 'Ooh no', said the little prince that means that he eats boabab plants. 'So what!' said the pilot. The little prince laughed then said 'On my planet there are good seeds and bad seeds and the boababs are bad seeds. If the boababs grow too big and the planet is very small they will split the planet in half'. 'Here's a story', said the little prince. 'It is about a man that planted some seeds and then neglected them and they grew huge. People really don't understand them,'said the little prince.
By B612

Chapter 6:
They were talking about the the Princes' planet. And the prince said he saw the sunset 44 times one day. This was because his planet was so small. The prince said he was sad because he was lonely.
By Jimsey

Chapter 7:
The prince said he is always at home. The prince started to ask questions and the pilot started to get mad because the plane's bolt would not turn and the pilot had only some drinking water. The little prince got mad because the pilot did not answer his question properly. The princes' face was turning red. He took the little prince in his hands and felt he had to apologise.
By Jimsey

Chapter 8:
He learned about the flowers on the prince's planet. The prince watched a plant grow. He wondered was it a boabab plant. The flower was born on the same day as the sun. The flower tormented the prince.
By Jimsey

Chapter 9:
The flower told the prince a lie. The flower was trying to make the prince guilty. The prince was going to run away on the flower because he could not stick it. He put the planet in perfect order so he cleaned his volcanoes. He pulled out the boababs and he said goodbye. The flower didn't say anything. He said goodbye again and the flower coughed. The flower asked the prince for forgiveness. The flower didn't want to see the prince go. "I need to put up with one or two caterpillars if I want to get to know the butterflies", she said.
By: Jimsey

Chapter 10:
He found himself in the planets. A king had a planet. The prince yawned. The king said, "Don't yawn". "But I can't help it!" "Ok, so, I command you to yawn, but I can't do that", the King said. "I command you to yawn sometimes." The King went on and on. The King made the Prince a minister. "Why? There is no one here", said the Prince. "Then", he said, "I command you to judge yourself. It is harder to judge yourself than it is to judge others." The prince said, "I better go". The King said, "I'll make you my ambassador". "I better be on my way", said the Prince. "Authority is based on reason", said the King.
By: Jimsey

Chapter 11:
The prince continued on his journey. He saw a vain guy on a planet. The prince said this is better than the King's planet. The man fancies himself. The Prince thought that adults are very strange.
By: Jimsey

Chapter 12:
The next planet was occupied by a drinker and the drinker said, "I am ashamed." The prince said, "Why are you ashamed?". "Because I am a drinker", he replied. the Prince thought that adults are very strange.
By: Jimsey

Chapter 13:
On the next planet there was a business man. The man was doing maths. The man said, "This is a matter of consequence". Then the man said, "I was once interrupted three times". The business man said he owns the stars. He owns the stars because he bought them all. "Why?", the little prince said. "Because I count them and recount them, I am correct with matters of consequences". Then the Prince went away.
By:Red Baron

Chapter 14:
The fifth planet was very small, only enough space for a streetlight and a lamplight. The man put out his light and then turned it back on. "Why?", said the little Prince, "It is last orders?". The day lasts 1 minute. The lamplighter and the Little Prince were talking for 30 minutes which is 1 month. The man never gets to sleep. The Prince liked the man. The Prince thought to himself that that man was the only man he liked, 1440. He is thinking of someone else besides himself.
By: Red Baron

Chapter 15:
This is the 6th planet. The next planet was 10 times bigger than the last one. This man said to the Prince, "Here is an explorer". The Prince asked the man, "What are you?" and he said "I am a Geographer". The prince asked the man was there any seas, mountains or deserts on the planet and the geographer said, "I couldn't tell you, I never leave my desk". The Prince couldn't understand hhow someone would just use books all the time and never go out into the world themselves. The geographer asked the Little Prince about his planet. The Prince said, "3 volcanoes, 2 active and 1 extinct, but one never knows".
The Prince asked the geographer what planet he would go to next and he said go to Earth.
By: Red Baron

Chapter 16:
The next planet was the earth.
111 Kings.
2 hundred billion adults.
7000 - Geographer.
900,000 - Businessmen.
7 1/2 million - Drunkards.
By: Danan

Chapter 17:
When the Little Prince landed on the earth he was surprised not to see any people. The Little Prince was talking to a snake that told him he was in Africa, in the desert, that they are no people in the desert. The little prince said that the snake was a strange animal. The snake said that the Little Prince was weak. Adults see themselves as important as boababs. The snake said that it's also lonely among men.
By: Danan

Chapter 18:
The Little Prince crossed the desert and only saw one flower and asked it did it know where all the men are. The flower replied, "Flowers have roots, men don't. They can be hard ot find!"
By: Red Baron

Chapter 19:
After that he climbed a mountain. "Good morning", said the little prince and a echo came back, "Good morning, morning". The little Prince thought he was talking to the rocks.
By: Ronaldo

Chapter 20:
"Good morning", said the prince. "Good morning", said the roses. In front of him was 5,000 roses. If the roses saw you, they would pretend they were dead.
By: Ronaldo

Chapter 21:
A fox said hello and the little prince turned around, he said "Anybody there?". An answer came and said, "Up here" do the little prince looked up. A fox was in the tree. "I am looking for men". said the prince. "You do not want to go near them, they have guns and spears to kill the foxes, I hunt chickens and the men hunt me", said the fox. "Can you tame me?", asked the fox. What does tame mean? The only things you learn are the things you tame. So the prince tamed the fox and they became friends and then the prince had to leave.
By: Ronaldo

Chapter 22:
"Good morning", said the little prince. "Good morning", said the railway switchman. And a train went by and the little prince jumped on. And another train went by in the other direction and another train went by. "What do you do?", asked the prince. "I change the tracks", replied the switchman. The prince asked, "What do the people do in the train?". The switchman replied, "The adults sleep and the children are flattening their noses against the window". They look at the view outside. They are interested in the world outside.
By: Ronaldo

Chapter 23:
"Hello", said the little prince. "Hello", said the merchant. The little prince asked why the merchant was selling the pills. The merchant replied, "You do not have to drink and it saves 53 minutes a day of your time. "What do you do with the 53 minutes?" asked the little prince. "Anything you want, it's your time". And the prince went to the well to get a drink. "Why?", said the merchant. The prince said he wanted to walk and not to eat the pills. "Ok, suit yourself", said the merchant.
By: Ronaldo

Chapter 24:
It was now the eight day and the pilot was listening to the story of the merchant that the little prince was telling him. The prince said he would walk to the well instead of a pill. "I will have to go to a well now and have some water, I am thirsty", said the prince. The little prince's words came back to the pilot. They sat down, the stars and the desert were beautiful. The prince's home was hiding a secret treasure in the heart of it like the desert with the well. The prince fell asleep and the pilot carried him as he walked. The prince was loyal to his rose. The prince said the most important things are invisible. The pilot felt the need to protect the prince, he has been tamed.
By: Ronaldo
Chapter 25:
'Men', said the little prince, 'Set out their trains.' The well they were at was not like Saharan well. The prince said he was thirsty. "The men where you are from have 5,000 roses in a garden. The eyes are blind, you must look with your heart. Your boababs look like a cabbage." "You have a plan that I do not know about", said the pilot. It is the 1st anniversary of the little prince landing on earth. "I am scared but go back to the engine", said the little prince.
By: Ronaldo

Chapter 26:
The next day the pilot saw the little prince sitting on the stone wall. He saw him talking to a snake so he ran over and grabbed the liitle prince. "Why were you talking to a snake?". "Because I feel that it is my time to go home, my house is so small that you can't see it", said the little prince. "Goodbye", he said and the snake hit him.
By B612

Final Chapter.
Chapter 27:
It has been 6 years now. The Pilot's mates and family are just happy to see him alive. Every night he looks up in the sky to look at the stars. They are like five hundred million little bells up in the sky. He still wonders how the rose is. Has the sheep eaten it or is it still alive? They are questions he will live with for the rest of his life. No grown-ups will ever believe his little sad story but he knows that he always will. The desert is now a sad spot for him and for the last time, "Goodbye Little Prince."

Visit to Kilkenny Airfield

In February we went to Kilkenny Airfield. Vincent Vaughan brought us there. He said " one person will be able to fly in the plane with me". It was a very small plane. Only two people could fit in it. At school we did a raffle and **** won. We went there at 11 o' clock. When we got there we went to see the plane. We thought it would be huge but it was small. We all got to sit in it. *** and I sat in it together. There was no steering wheel but instead there was a joystick. At the side of the plane there was a little hole and if you blow into it, it will tell you how fast you are going. Then **** got in the plane and it took around five minutes to take off. They were gone for 20 to 30 minutes. **** came back with a smile on his face. Then we went home. By: The Rose


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Tim Vigors in Malaya

We have learned about Tim Vigors.
He was from Fethard which is a town near Mullinahone. He flew for the RAF in World War Two. We have read extracts from his book: 'Life's too short to cry', that was lent to the school by Fethard pilot, Vincent Murphy. This is my reading of one of these extracts.
Written by Matilda


Tim Vigors was in World War Two and went through a terrible experience.He was flying over Malaya in his Brewster Buffalo. he got it from the Churchill / Roosevelt Lend/Lease agreement in America. Tim was fighting against the Japanese and the Germans. The Japanese were flying Army 97 fighters which were slower than the Messerschmitt 109's being flown by the Germans. The Japanese were shooting at Tim's plane and hit the fuel tanks and the plane went on fire. Tim had to think fast and he kicked the throttle and was ejected out of the plane. He pulled the parachute and next thing he saw a plane coming against him and he went to salute him but the plane fired.He thought to himself that if you are going to die the past is what you see but instead of seeing family and things that he had done he remembered a captain that he met at a parachute training course. "If you climb up one side of the parachute then to canopy will collapse and you will drop like a stone." So Tim did this every time the Japs went to shoot at him and finally he reached the ground and had to oped the knob but he saw all the skin gone off his hands and the knob was really tight so it was sore.He finally got out but they were still shooting at him.



Tim Vigors went to Beaudesert boarding school when he was a boy and after a week going there he did not really have any friends and he hated it there. The only good thing was that when you could play out on a large green field and a forest. Tim didn/t play with anyone at break and he didn't want to ask anyone of he could play wih them. One day Tim was sitting up against a tree and a few metres away there was a boy around the same age as Tim playing with a plane tied onto a wound up elastic band flying around in cicrles and asked the boy what was it and the boy said a model Warnford Monoplane. Tim asked the boy what was his name and he said Henry Maudsly so Tim said his name and Henry asked Tim was he new and Tim said "yeah". Tim said he hated the place and Henry said, "not if you have friends". So they both became very close friends. One summer Tim went to his Godmother and she had a plane and brought Tim out every day and flew around and she taught Tim how to fly and when Tim was older, he joined the R.A.F.
By: Red Barron

Kilvemnon are first in Europe

Kilvemnon are First in Europe:
Congratulations to Scoil Mhuire, Kilvemnon and Ms. Kate O’ Connell who have come first in Europe for their project Flying High: Exploring Aviation. The 5th MICROSOFT EUROPEAN INNOVATIVE TEACHERS FORUM took place in Zagreb, Croatia on March 6-8 2008. European Innovative Teachers Forum has been since 2004 an international gathering of exceptional educators presenting their learning projects achieved through innovative usage of technology. It is an integral part of Microsoft’s global Partners in Learning Program. So far European Innovative Teachers Forums (www.innovativeteachers.com) were held in London (2004), Stockholm (2005), Tallinn (2006) and Paris (2007). Kate flew out to Zagreb to represent Kilvemnon, Mullinahone and Ireland at the Forum, competing against teachers from all over Europe. The purpose of this event was to:
Recognize recipients of the Innovative Teachers Leadership Awards from participating European countries.
Promote international sharing of innovative practices of technology integration.
Provide Europe-wide networking opportunities among top innovators.
Focus international attention on the importance of technology innovation in education.

Dr. Kevin Marshall, Academic Programme Manager in Ireland stated that “Microsoft was proud to facilitate this exciting opportunity to bring the most innovative teachers from around the continent together to share their experiences and practice.”
The agenda for the Forum included keynotes by well known experts on education and education technology issues. It focused on structured collaborative sessions that allowed the sharing of best practices with teachers from around the world. The Forum culminated in a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony on the evening of March the 7th 2008. Microsoft Innovative Teachers is a program within the Microsoft Educator Network designed specifically for the professional development needs of teachers. It focuses on teacher learning through the building and sharing of knowledge, inquiry and reflection on teaching practices, access to technology, and support for the integration of technology in the learning process. The program is based on the understanding that teacher learning is essential to the growth and development of schools and, ultimately, the success of the learning process for students.
Kilvemnon’s project integrated every subject in the Primary School Curriculum with ICT using the constructionist approach developed by Professor Seymour Papert of MIT and pioneered in Ireland by Dr. Deirdre Butler, St. Patrick’s College, with the Empowering Minds (EM) concept (http://empoweringminds.spd.dcu.ie). Kilvemnon N.S. have been members of the EM community since 2000 and have worked on a range of exciting projects. The award winning project in Zagreb began in September 2007 and every aspect of aviation has been explored from the first flight of the Wright Brothers to the use of aeroplanes in World Wars and the mechanics of flight. The children constructed their own working models of aeroplanes using LEGO© and programmed them to move using the LEGO© Mindstorms Robotics System. They designed and built LEGO© hydraulic lifts to raise the planes and simulate flight. They were supported in this endeavour by Cathal O’ Connell of the National Centre for Technology in Education. (http://www.ncte.ie/) who is currently the Project Coordinator of the Empowering Minds group.



There were 62 participating Projects from 23 countries around Europe with the entrants being judged in three categories: Community, Collaboration and Content. Kilvemnon came first in the Community Category. All three first prize winners will now travel to Bangkok in Thailand to represent their countries at the MICROSOFT WORLD INNOVATIVE TEACHERS FORUM in November.
Kilvemnon have opened doors to the ‘real world’ through email contact with a NATO flight engineer, Ian Nicholas (uncle of one of the students). In December word of the project reached England where Grandfather of Junior Infants students, John Thompson, became interested in the project. He had worked in the RAF as a ground engineer and he emailed information of his time in the RAF and answered the questions of the children. His photographs of Aeroplanes in an RAF Airshow were used to create Papier Mache Models that are displayed in the school.

Scoil Mhuire was visited by local aviator, Vincent Vaughan who showed the children a model aeroplane and spoke to them about the different working parts of the plane. They were then lucky enough to be invited to Kilkenny Airport by Vincent who teaches budding pilots how to fly. Whilst there the children were treated to a tour of Vincent’s aeroplane with each child allowed to sit in the plane and look at the controls. One student, Danny Freeman, was luckiest of all. He was chosen to take part in a flight with Vincent. They flew over Kilkenny with the whole event being filmed by 6th class student, Danny.

This project has been documented at all stages through Digital Film and Photostory with the students directing their own learning. In the final term students will complete a Film based on a scene from the story ‘Le Petit Prince’ by Antoine de Saint Exupery. This is a novel written about a pilot who is stranded in the Sahara desert when his plane crashes and meets the ‘Little Prince’, who reveals to him the simple truths of life. Kilvemnon has had a French Teacher in situ since September; Perrine Blanc, and hope to recreate their own version of this story in French, English and Irish.
Kilvemnon is indebted to Deirdre Butler of St. Patrick’s College, Willie McTiernan, ICT Advisor, Kilkenny Education Centre, Cathal O’ Connell (NCTE), Drumcondra and Vincent Vaughan. Special thanks are also due to the Board of Management, Principal Teckie Brett and staff; Secretary Liz Lonergan, SNA’s Sarah Ryan and Evita Hogan, Special Education Teachers; Claire Halpin, Leonie O’ Dwyer and Maria Hayes and of course, parents and grandparents who assisted the children with this project.

The school is extremely proud of Ms. O’ Connell who teaches 3rd to 6th class and are sure that the whole parish of Mullinahone and indeed the whole country are united in wishing her the best of luck at the WORLD INNOVATIVE TEACHERS FORUM in Thailand. Well done Ms. O’ Connell, well done students and well done Kilvemnon! Read more about this exciting project on www.kilvemnon.net