The boys in Room 13 were treated to some pancakes today. They had Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce and lemon and sugar for their toppings.

Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake day) is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), and is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes. In others, especially those where it is called Mardi Gras or some translation thereof, this is a carnival day, and also the last day of “fat eating” or “gorging” before the fasting period of Lent.

The boys in Mrs. Lawlor’s class have recently started Reciprocal Reading. They are really enjoying it and are learning from each other. During Reciprocal reading, the boys are divided into groups and each boy is given a role. The roles are: predictor, questioner, clarifier, summariser and group leader (called the Big Boss!). The boys practise four reading strategies (predicting, questioning, clarifying and summarising) collaboratively. These strategies can be practised at home while doing their nightly reading.

The Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme is an award winning programme developed by the Food & Activity Research Unit Bangor University, Wales to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables both in school at home. It is based on positive role models (the Food Dudes characters), repeated tasting and rewards.

We are currently in Phase 2 which extends the home element of the programme by encouraging children to bring their own fruit and veg to school every day in special Food Dudes containers. We use a classroom wall chart are to record progress, and the children receive further rewards upon reaching goals. This phase maintains fruit and veg consumption in the longer term.

Here are the boys who have been awarded their Bronze Certificates already: