Mini Company Talk
On Wednesday the 20th of September, Serena from the Wicklow County Enterprise Board came to talk to us. She talked to us about the mini company competition and the rules. She told us about past winners who made products, such as the headphone helpers. I was impressed with a product called the 'Improved Broom' which involved attaching two brooms together in order to complete the job in one go rather than going around twice. The idea was thought of by a 3 year old. Selena gave us a task using paper clips to think of multiple products that could be made by only using the paper clips. My group came up with several ideas such as using the clips as decorations. Overall I really enjoyed the activity and I was very interested in the talk.
Eagles Flight Workshop
On Thursday 22nd of September and Friday 23rd of September 2017, the Eagles flight workshop came to St.Gerards. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was ready for the challenge that would soon be presented to me. We were sorted into groups on arrival. I was excited when we were told we that we were going to play a game called 'Dutchman's Mine'. After understanding the rules we were ready to play. I was in charge of listening to other groups ideas and discussing strategies with them and my group. The goal was to get to the mine and bring back as much gold as you could within 20 days along with obstacles in the way. In the end my group managed to collect the most gold and overall I really enjoyed the team building that this workshop provided. Each of our decisions changed the outcome of the game. Overall I really enjoyed this workshop and I hope we get the opportunity to do something similar in the future.
IT is Not Just For Geeks
On the 29th of September 2017, we had a talk from two people who worked at Dell. This was to help us with our career choices. They let us know that you don't need to be a computer genius to work at an I.T. Workplace. This interested me as I had always been interested in working through I.T. This gave me the confidence I needed to be able to consider it as a career. This talk helped me to get on a path i want to be on. I'm glad that they came to our school and I hope even more guest speakers come to our school to help direct us on the right course.
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Well Being Week
Well being week began on the 6th November. Each year was given a unique ribbon with a different colour depending on what year you were in. Fourth years received a purple ribbon which represented creativity. The school listened to talks from Simon Harris and Alison Canavan as part of the theme. Their talks were very interesting and I benefited from them. They talked about mental health and how we can look after ourselves. On Tuesday the 7th of November we had a talk from a nutritionist who told us about what foods to eat and she showed us some of the foods. There were interesting food I had never even heard of, probably because they were all healthy foods. I had no idea what to expect from well being week and I was pleasantly surprised by the eventful week that took place.
Science week
During science week the school held a small contest in the chemistry lab. We were paired up and assigned the task of creating a gondola that could cross a zipline while holding a marble. It was a lot of fun to think of ideas and to put them into action. I enjoyed science week.
Tiglin
The thing that made this talk so special was that the words came from people who had experience with using drugs. They had gotten over their addictions with Tiglin. They talked to us about the danger that drugs pose and also how people they know, people they spent years on the streets with were dying because they didn't have any help. One of the speakers told us about his story . He grew up in an abusive home and he turned to drugs to comfort him. I think everyone can agree that the talk was emotional. This was a great talk and I'm glad that there is an organisation like Tiglin out there hepling people.
Scuba Diving
On the 22nd of November, everyone who had signed up, including me, to the scuba diving course, went for a small theory class. It was here that we met our instructor. We were told about what signs to make should we be in trouble or if everything was going well. We were told about about the equipment and at this point I was getting excited about actually scuba diving. When we arrived to the centre we were split into two groups. Group one would be going first and group two, my group, would observe and then eventually get our opportunity. We were in the water at last. We had to press a button to release air from our suits so we could descend into the water. Then when coming up we pressed a button next to it, which filled the suits with air and allowed us to float on the top of the water. I really enjoyed this experience and I will most likely be scuba diving again when I am older.
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Community Service
On Monday the 4th of December, I was prepared for my first at Open door as part of my community service/experience week. I arrived at the centre expecting to be on my own but I was surprised to find two of my peers there also thinking they were alone. This pushed any nerves I had aside and instead that feeling was replaced by excitement. On the first day we were shown around and we were told how things are done, what the routine was etc. We were introduced to many people who came in each day, each one with a story to tell. Of course I had been expecting stories but I had not expected to be as intrigued as I was at each unique story. I aided in any way I could towards the members of staff. Throughout the week I learned the routine of the day and took part in different activities each day. One of my favourite activities was music simply because it was relaxed and very enjoyable as there was a large range of instruments to choose from. My favourite activity was bingo. We were in charge of calling out the numbers that a machine generated at random. We had a lot of laughs with the people there.
From my experience with Open Door I would love to visit it again sometime. The staff are very nice and they welcomed us warmly into their centre. On our last day gave us a certificate and a box of chocolates which I was very grateful for. I am content knowing that the people there are well looked after by such a wonderful staff. I am very glad that I chose this as my community service.
From my experience with Open Door I would love to visit it again sometime. The staff are very nice and they welcomed us warmly into their centre. On our last day gave us a certificate and a box of chocolates which I was very grateful for. I am content knowing that the people there are well looked after by such a wonderful staff. I am very glad that I chose this as my community service.
Drug Talk
On Wednesday 7th March my year listened to a talk about drugs. The guest speaker was very clear when he made his points and although when I walked I thought it was going to be a boring talk I genuinely liked it. He warned us that drugs today are mixed in with other substances. The quantity of drugs taken in movies is completely unrealistic and that only a fraction of most drugs would suffice for someone. He told us about powerful substances in the drugs and when people don't feel any effects they end up overdosing because they believe that the drug isn't working but it turns out that the drug just kicks in later. I became much more aware about the danger of drugs and even though I know that drugs aren't good, this talk was very informative and gave me additional information to realise that I will never take drugs.
Work Experience
On Monday 26th February I started my work experience at Avoca, Powerscourt. When I arrived I was shown the daily routine which included checking the dates on perishables and if I found any that were on the days date that I was working, then I had to place a half price sticker on them. My pace with this job increased per day as I became used to it. During my breaks I was allowed a drink like hot chocolate which I was was always grateful for because it warmed me up during the cold weather. I was also allowed to have anything I wanted from the restaurant menu. I always chose the sausage rool simply because it tasted very good. Most of my work involved making sure that there was enough items on the shelf. If there wasn't I had to go the backroom and stock the shelves. I had to go back and forth multiple times until the job was done. It felt rewarding to complete a job. For each break I got, I felt that I had earned it. When I went home I felt a sense of accomplishment. The next day I noticed that snow had started to fall. I had enjoyable coversations to the staff about the snow. The next day I received a call from Avoca telling me that the shop would be closed for the remainder of the week due to the weather. So due to the weather I spent two days doing work experience in Avoca, but I think I gained alot of experience during those two days. I definitely would be interested in doing more work in Avoca and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for work experience.
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Musical
For our transition year musical production we did 'Legally Blonde'. Before we knew what musical we were doing there were a few things we had to do first. We had to sing infront of our peers which was very nerve racking. We lined up in a semi circle and our choreographer Aisling had each of us sing a small part of a song from the musical 'Grease'. After we finished that I realised singing in front of everyone was just something we would have to do so I slowly became comfortable with singing in front of others. However that still didn't stop me from being nervous. We also had to act out a scenes in groups in front of everyone but this wasn't intimidating at all. It actually turned out to be a good laugh. After this we received the news that our musical would be Legally Blonde. Call backs were put in place and I was confused and proud to see my name on the list. For the call backs we had to sing a different song, this time, one from Legally Blonde. Eventually this all lead to the casting. I was the given the part of a Harvard professor. I was very happy to get a part. After a few weeks we didn't use our scripts to say our lines and we began to learn dances. The dancing was a lot of fun. It was hard remembering each dance for different songs but in the end I managed to stay on top of it and learn everything. Our tickets were being sold soon after that and although I knew the muscial would be on in the coming weeks it still felt surreal to see posters for 'Legally Blonde' around the school. The nights of the musical were tough. We had two shows on two days. One for the school and one for the parents. The next day was the same and I began to get tired but there was only one more night after that so everyone did their best. The show was a success and everone deserved the praise they got. Going up for the bow for the last time felt emotional as this would be the last show that we would ever do. I was both a little bit sad that it was over but I was also happy for the experience I got in the production of the musical. So overall, I loved the musical and I am very grateful that I got a part so I could be as involved as I could be.
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Work Experience
For my second work experience I worked in St.Mary's and St.Gerard's national school. I helped the staff with work like printing and cutting pages. I had the opportunity to go into the classroom and to finally see how a classroom functions through a teacher's perspective. It was very strange for me to see the school this way but it was a welcomed experience. Over time I became used to the teacher lifestyle and I received some insight as to what it's like to be a teacher. Teaching is a career that I have definitely considered before and this work experience helped me to understand what is involved in this career. I enjoyed my time at the St. Mary's and St. Gerard's school and I benefited from this work experience because I gained knowledge about teaching.
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First Aid
First Aid was a very important course and was definitely the most beneficial in my opinion. We learned life saving techniques like CPR. When we weren't doing practicals we learning about injuries how to treat them. Every minute in the First Aid course was constructive. I learned so much from this course and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to do it.