The Camping Trip
On Wednesday the13th of September, after over a two month wait for the results of our Junior Certificate all ninety-two pupils assembled in the LRC. We had all left our bags in the back car park and there was mountains of luggage everywhere. At half past nine we headed to the LRC to receive our envelope containing our junior cert results inside. Everyone was delighted and most of us ran out to show our parents our results. After stopping by a few teachers we were straight on to the bus to Lough Dan. After a short journey of about forty minutes we arrived in Roundwood.
From the beginning, I knew setting up our tents would be our greatest challenge. Myself and the other girls in my tent had even done a run through to make sure we knew how to set up the tent, but of course as soon as we were standing in the grass looking at a pile of poles and material the simple instructions were forgotten and we were back to square one! Unfortunately we were not as lucky as previous years with the weather and suffered through many rain showers as we struggled to set up our tent. When everyone had eventually set up their tents and got settled down the first thing on the agenda was to make food. The aroma of bacon, sausages and beans filled the camp site.
After everyone finished eating we were faced with a 5km walk accompanied by the teachers. We arrived back to the campsite within two hours, drenched, exhausted and dreading the length of the 22km walk tomorrow. Everyone began to gather wood to start the fire. Within minutes we had a huge pile ready to burn. As it began to get darker we lit the fire and everyone stood around it roasting marshmallows. Adele made hot chocolate and we were quickly warm again. This was probably my favourite moment of the trip. After a while it was time to put out the fire and for everyone to go back to there tents and go to sleep.
Everyone woke up early the next morning in great spirit but dreading the walk that we were going on later in the day . We all stuffed ourselves with food and filled our bags with sweets to snack on during the walk. We set off on the walk in one big group and within 2 minutes we were faced with a steep hill. It was at this point that I realised this was going to be a long day. We did a full loop of lough Dan, the views were incredibly scenic. Thankfully the weather was better then the previous day and we stayed dry throughout the walk. Half way we stopped and everyone ate lunch. The second half of the walk was not nearly as bad as the first. After six hours we finally arrived back at the campsite.
Stiff legs and sore feet, many of us decided to go for a swim in the freezing lake . The water was numbing. After a warm shower we were all ravenous. The teachers made everyone a burger which was delicious. We lit the campfire and like the day before we all sat around it in a big group enjoying our burgers. The fire was huge so it kept everyone warm even as the night got colder. We sat at the fire for a couple of hours until it was time to go back to our tents. The weather got increasingly worse that night so we wrapped up in layers as bed time approached. The campsite was a lot quieter that night and it was clear that everyone was physically exhausted after the walk.
We all woke up early had breakfast and began to pack away our things. Everyone was sad to be going home but at the same time
time happy that we had such an amazing trip. Soon after we had all packed up, the busses arrived and we were on our way home. I learnt that I enjoyed camping much more than I expected! I overcame many challenges and fears on our adventure. I had a responsibility to keep track of all our equipment, set up the tent and cook! I felt like my whole year-group became a lot closer over the course of our three days away. It was also part of my adventure towards my bronze Gaisce Presidents award. I really enjoyed camping and would love to do it again in the future !
On Wednesday the13th of September, after over a two month wait for the results of our Junior Certificate all ninety-two pupils assembled in the LRC. We had all left our bags in the back car park and there was mountains of luggage everywhere. At half past nine we headed to the LRC to receive our envelope containing our junior cert results inside. Everyone was delighted and most of us ran out to show our parents our results. After stopping by a few teachers we were straight on to the bus to Lough Dan. After a short journey of about forty minutes we arrived in Roundwood.
From the beginning, I knew setting up our tents would be our greatest challenge. Myself and the other girls in my tent had even done a run through to make sure we knew how to set up the tent, but of course as soon as we were standing in the grass looking at a pile of poles and material the simple instructions were forgotten and we were back to square one! Unfortunately we were not as lucky as previous years with the weather and suffered through many rain showers as we struggled to set up our tent. When everyone had eventually set up their tents and got settled down the first thing on the agenda was to make food. The aroma of bacon, sausages and beans filled the camp site.
After everyone finished eating we were faced with a 5km walk accompanied by the teachers. We arrived back to the campsite within two hours, drenched, exhausted and dreading the length of the 22km walk tomorrow. Everyone began to gather wood to start the fire. Within minutes we had a huge pile ready to burn. As it began to get darker we lit the fire and everyone stood around it roasting marshmallows. Adele made hot chocolate and we were quickly warm again. This was probably my favourite moment of the trip. After a while it was time to put out the fire and for everyone to go back to there tents and go to sleep.
Everyone woke up early the next morning in great spirit but dreading the walk that we were going on later in the day . We all stuffed ourselves with food and filled our bags with sweets to snack on during the walk. We set off on the walk in one big group and within 2 minutes we were faced with a steep hill. It was at this point that I realised this was going to be a long day. We did a full loop of lough Dan, the views were incredibly scenic. Thankfully the weather was better then the previous day and we stayed dry throughout the walk. Half way we stopped and everyone ate lunch. The second half of the walk was not nearly as bad as the first. After six hours we finally arrived back at the campsite.
Stiff legs and sore feet, many of us decided to go for a swim in the freezing lake . The water was numbing. After a warm shower we were all ravenous. The teachers made everyone a burger which was delicious. We lit the campfire and like the day before we all sat around it in a big group enjoying our burgers. The fire was huge so it kept everyone warm even as the night got colder. We sat at the fire for a couple of hours until it was time to go back to our tents. The weather got increasingly worse that night so we wrapped up in layers as bed time approached. The campsite was a lot quieter that night and it was clear that everyone was physically exhausted after the walk.
We all woke up early had breakfast and began to pack away our things. Everyone was sad to be going home but at the same time
time happy that we had such an amazing trip. Soon after we had all packed up, the busses arrived and we were on our way home. I learnt that I enjoyed camping much more than I expected! I overcame many challenges and fears on our adventure. I had a responsibility to keep track of all our equipment, set up the tent and cook! I felt like my whole year-group became a lot closer over the course of our three days away. It was also part of my adventure towards my bronze Gaisce Presidents award. I really enjoyed camping and would love to do it again in the future !
Eagles Flight Workshop
On the 21st of September from 08:45am to 12:10pm class 4A and 4D, participated in the Eagles Flight Workshop. Ger O'Shea kindly shared his wonderful system of creating team work and leadership to our class. We weren't told much about Eagles Flight Workshop so we were all curious and excited to see what it was about. Ger split us up into groups of four and five and we each sat at a table.
On the table was a treasure map and a white envelope. He explained to us how to play the game called "Gold of the desert kings" and off we went. The aim of the board game was to collect as much gold as possible and return home to Apache Junction within twenty days. Inside the white envelope were materials which we needed to survive during the twenty days on the board game. The game was very well thought through and really made us think together as a team. My team arrived back at Apache Junction on day nineteen with six blocks of gold. We came third out of six teams.
I faced the the challenge of communicating with the other five people on my team and coming to mutual agreements following our next move in the game. I really enjoyed the workshop and learnt a lot from it. I learnt to listen to others and to think about our choices in greater detail when coming to a conclusion. I felt that this workshop was throughly worthwhile and will have a good effect on our decision making in our team projects throughout Transition Year.
On the table was a treasure map and a white envelope. He explained to us how to play the game called "Gold of the desert kings" and off we went. The aim of the board game was to collect as much gold as possible and return home to Apache Junction within twenty days. Inside the white envelope were materials which we needed to survive during the twenty days on the board game. The game was very well thought through and really made us think together as a team. My team arrived back at Apache Junction on day nineteen with six blocks of gold. We came third out of six teams.
I faced the the challenge of communicating with the other five people on my team and coming to mutual agreements following our next move in the game. I really enjoyed the workshop and learnt a lot from it. I learnt to listen to others and to think about our choices in greater detail when coming to a conclusion. I felt that this workshop was throughly worthwhile and will have a good effect on our decision making in our team projects throughout Transition Year.
Karios
On Tuesday the 10th of October my English class and I attended the Karios Communication Centre in Maynooth to make our own television show. For the weeks of lead up we had been planning the different roles that people would be undertaking. I was assigned to the job as main presenter alongside Charlotte. During class time we wrote our scripts. When we arrived at the centre in Maynooth , we were shown around the studio and were then left to rehearse and finalise our show while the people behind the camera learnt how to do their jobs. The main theme of our show was fashion. The boys dressed up as girls and modelled down the catwalk and we also included a news and weather segment. We recorded the final cut of the show twice and were happy how it turned out.
I felt it was such a great experience, making a video in a professional studio with professional cameras and technical equipment. The experience was insightful into the amount of work that goes into creating a television programme and also the importance of working as a team to make the project run smoothly. I felt the whole recording was very enjoyable and I can't wait to see if our hard work has paid off when we see the video!
I felt it was such a great experience, making a video in a professional studio with professional cameras and technical equipment. The experience was insightful into the amount of work that goes into creating a television programme and also the importance of working as a team to make the project run smoothly. I felt the whole recording was very enjoyable and I can't wait to see if our hard work has paid off when we see the video!
Public Access to Law
On Friday the 10th of November, I took part in a day long course that focused on the subject of Law. I have always had an interest in Law so i was really interested and excited to participate in the course.
During the day we learnt about the different types of law e.g criminal and civil, the different courts e.g the Supreme and the District Courts. I found this topic quite interesting as many of the court I had never even heard of ! We watched a 30 minute video also on CSI and forensics. I found this so interesting how criminals carry out crimes and the steps they take to try and cover up their crimes. This is defiantly a subject I may be possibly interested in as I particulary enjoy CSI / Criminal shows such as Criminal Minds.
The Last 2 hours of the day were my favourite part of the course by far. We had a mock trial ! I felt this was great fun but also very terrifying at the same time. I was the defendent in this particular trial and the prosecution from my fellow classmates was strong and quite aggressive in trying to get their point across to the jury. I felt quite intimidated and this gave me an insight into how distraught people must feel having to stand in the podiums in courts. I never wish to go through that process again. On a positive note I won my case by majority vote of the jury and was proven not guilty.
I feel I learnt a lot from this course and it has influenced my knowledge of the Legal system further as a result.
During the day we learnt about the different types of law e.g criminal and civil, the different courts e.g the Supreme and the District Courts. I found this topic quite interesting as many of the court I had never even heard of ! We watched a 30 minute video also on CSI and forensics. I found this so interesting how criminals carry out crimes and the steps they take to try and cover up their crimes. This is defiantly a subject I may be possibly interested in as I particulary enjoy CSI / Criminal shows such as Criminal Minds.
The Last 2 hours of the day were my favourite part of the course by far. We had a mock trial ! I felt this was great fun but also very terrifying at the same time. I was the defendent in this particular trial and the prosecution from my fellow classmates was strong and quite aggressive in trying to get their point across to the jury. I felt quite intimidated and this gave me an insight into how distraught people must feel having to stand in the podiums in courts. I never wish to go through that process again. On a positive note I won my case by majority vote of the jury and was proven not guilty.
I feel I learnt a lot from this course and it has influenced my knowledge of the Legal system further as a result.
DCU Open Day
On Friday the 17th of November my year and I attended the Dublin City University (DCU) as they had an Open Day on for all Secondary Students. I had no idea what to expect as I had never attended an Open Day before but was pleasantly surprised ! DCU is located about 40 minutes away from my school so we jumped on a bus and arrived in Glasnevin by 10:30. I had heard of DCU previously although I never knew the vast size of the campus. The whole college was black with eager students attending lectures and enjoying the day out of school ! Due to the timeing of the lectured I was only able to attend two as they were one hour long and I my interests didn't lie in the subjects of the other lectures. I attended a Bachelor of Education lecture as I have a week of work experience organised in a primary school for later this year and it's a possible career I am interested in. I found the lecture very interesting ! I also went to a Business Studies lecture. I learnt about how many points were necessary to attend the college, what this course includes and many more. The speakers that spoke to us through presentations spoke very clearly and did a great job in engaging the audience. I enjoyed the day out off school. We arrived back at school just in time for an assembly with Mr Geraghty.
Careers Workshop Evening
On Thursday the 16th of November, I attended a careers workshop in the junior school hall at 7:30pm. Many past pupils and parents came in to talk about their jobs and what they involve. There were many different career options to choose from. The first one I went to was Montessori Teaching. This was really interesting because she told us that after completing the Montessori course in college, she was also qualified to teach in a primary school, from Junior Infants to Sixth. The next table I went to was Event Management. Here, I talked to Suzi Roy, a past pupil of StGerards. Suzi spoke very highly of her job and truly enjoys it. She works as an event manager for RedBull. Event management seems like a really fun and interesting job to work in. Everyone that I visited was really passionate and positive about their course and career. It was a really good way to get an idea of what kind of career I might like to work in when I leave school.
Jump Zone
On Friday the 15th of December, all of the fourth year girls went to Jump Zone in Sandyford. Unfortunately, due to my back injury I was unable to jump. Claire, Ella, and amy were also injured and unable to jump. We went to McDonalds on the way home and were back in school in time for last class. Everyone really enjoyed the trip out!