On the 21st of December, as our last school day 2015, our year went to Blanchardstown to go Ice Skating. Since Ice Skating started at 2, we had the morning to buy our lunches and to go shopping.
I really loved the Ice Skating after I got the hang of it. We had the whole ice rink to ourselves so none of us had to worry about falling into strangers...
It was really fun just skating around with loads of friends, although Joy and Clara kept grabbing the rails to keep themselves up so I had to leave them and continue overtaking them.
THEN WE WERE OFF FOR CHRISTMAS
Monday 11 January 2016
Tuesday 15 December 2015
Speed Dating Castleknock College
Last Thursday the 10th December we went 'speed dating' in Castleknock College as part of our Spanish course.
When our school arrived in their drama room, we were surprised to see it was decorated with hearts and Spanish flags everywhere. We had 3 minutes with each lad and a sheet with questions to ask them. They were supposed to have a similar sheet too, however, theirs had a huge heart on it so most of the lads I was talking to were way too embarrassed to even take it out!
It was hard to know what to expect with each individual lad. Some of them were so good at speaking Spanish it was hard to understand, some were at my level and then some had absolutely no interest in speaking Spanish at all and carried out a conversation in English.
At the end of it all we were given crisps, sprite (which some of us spilled everywhere..) & a bar which was good.
When our school arrived in their drama room, we were surprised to see it was decorated with hearts and Spanish flags everywhere. We had 3 minutes with each lad and a sheet with questions to ask them. They were supposed to have a similar sheet too, however, theirs had a huge heart on it so most of the lads I was talking to were way too embarrassed to even take it out!
It was hard to know what to expect with each individual lad. Some of them were so good at speaking Spanish it was hard to understand, some were at my level and then some had absolutely no interest in speaking Spanish at all and carried out a conversation in English.
At the end of it all we were given crisps, sprite (which some of us spilled everywhere..) & a bar which was good.
Holly Day Town
Last Wednesday the 9th December our year took the bus into town to volunteer for the ISPCC. As usual myself and my friends got a little hyper on the bus which started the day off well
When we arrived, we were given vests to wear and boxes full of holly. Myself, Joy, Niamh and Sarah walked to our post outside the Bank Of Ireland. For the first twenty minutes or so we were standing awkwardly with no donations, which was pretty embarrassing!
Once the first person came to donate, we were flat out giving holly to people. I think that by standing in the cold with puppy eyes trying to politely ask for donations really helps you understand what other charity volunteers go through. From now on I will respect volunteers much more because although it is fun to have a chat with your friends outdoors, it's still not the nicest thing to do for hours on end with periods of zero donations! By spending the day collecting, I also learned that some people are so rude while others would literally donate their whole family if they could, just because "it's a great cause"!
When we arrived, we were given vests to wear and boxes full of holly. Myself, Joy, Niamh and Sarah walked to our post outside the Bank Of Ireland. For the first twenty minutes or so we were standing awkwardly with no donations, which was pretty embarrassing!
Once the first person came to donate, we were flat out giving holly to people. I think that by standing in the cold with puppy eyes trying to politely ask for donations really helps you understand what other charity volunteers go through. From now on I will respect volunteers much more because although it is fun to have a chat with your friends outdoors, it's still not the nicest thing to do for hours on end with periods of zero donations! By spending the day collecting, I also learned that some people are so rude while others would literally donate their whole family if they could, just because "it's a great cause"!
Monday 7 December 2015
Aussie Rules 2015
This Saturday the Aussie's are coming to Croke Park to play the annual International Rules game against Ireland.
International Rules football is a team sport with a mixture of Gaelic football & Australian football. A player must bounce, solo or even touch the ball on the ground every six steps, different to Gaelic football which is a hop/solo every four steps, without double hopping. Players can solo the ball as many times as they want but there is a maximum of two bounces per player. Also unlike Gaelic football, the ball can be lifted off the ground without putting a foot underneath it.
An International Rules game lasts for 72 minutes with four quarters, each 18 minutes. This year, Bernard Brogan (Dublin) Captains Ireland alongside Lee Keegan (Mayo) as Vice Captain. Other skilled players such as Aidan O Shea (Mayo), Peter Harte (Tyrone) & Conor McManus (Monaghan) are part of this 2015 squad, managed by Joe Kernan.
Now it's just time to go and see who wins :)))
Spinning Classes
PE classes have been really good this year. We spent three classes going to The Mill Community Centre for karate/self defence classes. We really enjoyed this because it was a change from our usual PE in the gym. Right now, for the next three weeks we are in The Mill completing a spinning module. All of us find this extremely exhausting! We soon learned that spinning on the bikes is way harder than it looks, especially since we were already tired from the unexpected circuit session beforehand! By the end of the class we can all agree that the pain was worth it, or at least most of us can.
Amber Flag Day 2015
Last Friday the 4th December the TY's organised 'Amber Flag Day'. The Amber Flag promotes positive mental health and well being around our school.
We spent weeks preparing for the day by forming different groups. I was part of the website committee so we launched the Amber Flag website as part of our religion course. The website includes blogs we have written and pictures from events.
Other tasks the TY's completed were making Amber bracelets for everyone in the school, organising the bake sale & putting posters up around the school so all the students and staff knew about Amber Flag day.
On the day itself the atmosphere was electric and everyone was in a good mood. We had a chilled out morning with no classes before preparing for the bake sale. The bake sale was a great success too and we made 400 euro for charities such as pieta house.
We spent weeks preparing for the day by forming different groups. I was part of the website committee so we launched the Amber Flag website as part of our religion course. The website includes blogs we have written and pictures from events.
Other tasks the TY's completed were making Amber bracelets for everyone in the school, organising the bake sale & putting posters up around the school so all the students and staff knew about Amber Flag day.
On the day itself the atmosphere was electric and everyone was in a good mood. We had a chilled out morning with no classes before preparing for the bake sale. The bake sale was a great success too and we made 400 euro for charities such as pieta house.
Monday 16 November 2015
Start of TY
TY
The first day of Transition Year started with a speech from Ms Leonard, our principle and our deputy principle. They told us that TY is what we make of it, and that we should put in lots of effort throughout the year. We then were sorted into classes and I was relieved that most of my friends were in my new class, LaGarde.
The first few weeks started with lots of team building activities such as our retreat, workshops and trips. These activities put us in good spirits for the best trip which was our team bonding trip to Carlingford, Co Louth. We boarded the bus at 9:00 and arrived at Carlingford an hour later. Everyone was buzzing with excitement and the atmosphere was brilliant. We were all split into 2 groups for activities. My group did land activities such as 'community breakdown' first, while the other group began with water sports. Our activity was very scary as we were in a dark maze trying to find our way out without sight. This helped us bond as we had to trust each other in the pitch black confined space. I really enjoyed this, but some girls suffered claustrophobia! We stayed up all night talking and eating and it was great fun. After even more exciting activities the next day like zip lining, we had to leave Carlingford and overall it was an amazing trip.
The first day of Transition Year started with a speech from Ms Leonard, our principle and our deputy principle. They told us that TY is what we make of it, and that we should put in lots of effort throughout the year. We then were sorted into classes and I was relieved that most of my friends were in my new class, LaGarde.
The first few weeks started with lots of team building activities such as our retreat, workshops and trips. These activities put us in good spirits for the best trip which was our team bonding trip to Carlingford, Co Louth. We boarded the bus at 9:00 and arrived at Carlingford an hour later. Everyone was buzzing with excitement and the atmosphere was brilliant. We were all split into 2 groups for activities. My group did land activities such as 'community breakdown' first, while the other group began with water sports. Our activity was very scary as we were in a dark maze trying to find our way out without sight. This helped us bond as we had to trust each other in the pitch black confined space. I really enjoyed this, but some girls suffered claustrophobia! We stayed up all night talking and eating and it was great fun. After even more exciting activities the next day like zip lining, we had to leave Carlingford and overall it was an amazing trip.
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