Work experience
Near the beginning of the year I went to trinity science gallery to learn more about one trinity because it's an interest of mine to go there when I'm older and and to improve my science knowledge. I took the dart in everyday for a week and walk the rest of the way. This didn't only help my science but my knowledge about Dublin itself. We did many different cool tasks and one of them being and personally my favourite making both speakers and lie detectors. We did this by soldering metal to memory chips and wires. This experience pushed my outside my comfort zone and helped me inprove my social skills too.
Chinese Module
Ms Molloy took us for the Chinese module this year as she speaks mandarin. I was absent for a good bit of this module so I missed out on a bit of it but I still learned my fair share. We learnt about the culture and some simple mandarin which was very interest but also very confusing. I did my project with Laiose on the goods that Chinese people eat for breakfast through to dinner.
Careers Module
Careers was taken by Ms Maguire in the last term usually in the IT room. Before going into this module I wasn't to keen to be honest I thought it was gonna be a bit boring accually. Thankfully I was wrong and I found it really helpful and interesting. This module helped me to organise my future and notice what college course I want to go into and my future choice on employment. It left me leaning towards Architecture but I'm still not sure yet.
Shoreline
I joined the gym at the beginning of this year just to try keep myself fit. The gym I joined is called Shoreline and it's located in Greystones which is handy for me because I live really close to it. As the Rugby season died off I thought it would of been a good idea to keep fit and I surely don't regret it. I am finding it more and more enjoyable everyday and an finding myself more knowledgeable about the human body. Not only have I enjoyed it but I find myself stronger now then I was before and who knows that may help me next year even in rugby. I've learnt a lot from this experience and I believe I've developed better independent skills and my confidence is also stronger.
Art
Throughout the year i've been taking art as I have for the past 4 years in this school. Last year was rough with the stress of having the three pieces completed by the set date by the department of education but this year was different. For me it felt a lot more relaxing and more fun then a subject and it really got me liking doing it. We mainly focuses on sketching which was probably a wise decision due to the amount of extra trips and weeks of work experience , we'd have gotten nothing done. I sketched a self portrait of myself put on a body builders body and also a half and half sketch of a cat. Art was great this year but I probably would have liked if e did more Lino work cause I could have done with some more practice coming up to the Leaving Cert.n
Media Studies
Media studies was a very enjoyable module for most people who enjoy watching movies and who doesn't. We began by discussing how emotions are shown and also the set out of most common movies. As a class we watched the Hunger Games to evaluate these points on and the emotions especially were shown throughout. This module helped me see how movies are put together and their plots but also the work actors to having to portray they're characters so well. This module was great but if I could change one thing it would be the movie, I've never really like the Hunger Games.
Goal talk
A man named John O Shea from Goal charity came into my year to talk to us about the work his organisation does. He owns an organisation that helps people in third world countries that are very poor. He did a lot of work in Africa but he also helped of in the Philipenes after that tragic earthquake. I learnt a lot from this that how even I can make a difference by one giving money or helping out and it didn't even particularly have to be this one but any local. I will now think about charity work in the future and take svp into consideration for 4th year.
Architecture Module
In the last term we began Architecture with mr Craig and I was particularly excited because I'd already had a bit of experience in this due to my week of work experience with my dad. We learned numerous different skills like floor plans and rough sketches of a site plan. For our project me aimee Mark and Faye were in the same group and we decided to do a sculpture of a church. We didn't pick a church because we are religious or anything we just liked the shapes of most churches and thought it would be interesting to do.
IT Module
We began IT in the first term take by Mr Stanely. I've never been good with computers this module definitely helped me with that. It focused us on doing projects and I found it convenient that we were able to do this. I completed a project on Conor Mcgregor for this module because I see him as a great idol. Coming out of this module I know a lot more about computer technology and this helped me alot.
RSE Module
In the first term we 4B took RSE as one of our modules which was taught by ms hillman. The first few classes there was always gonna be giggles but after a while we got used to it and realised how important the topic was. This class taught about the different types of stds and contraception to stop this from happening. I now know not to take the risk of unprotected sex in the future because it's not worth it , these infections can ruin people's life.
Camping
On a Wednesday on the 9th of September I believe everyone woke up with a strong heart beat and butterfly's knowing they'd find out their junior very results that morning. The butterfly's were squashed after we received our results with excitement because we were heading off to Lough Dan to do some camping with the year group. It was a great week I stayed in a tent with my friends Mark and jack and we had a great laugh together. I was surprised that u accually enjoyed the 23km walk they brought us on because I got to explore the nature and also just talk to my classmates. I thought the food was gonna be hard but seeming as other people brought cookers it was fine, I brought a lot of meat. The few days flew by but by the last one I think everyone was feeling the hard floor they'd been sleeping on for the last few nights and just wanted to get home. I'd say I slept for 16 hours when I got back I was just absolutely wrecked. I loved this trip because it brought me closer with loads of my classmates and also helped me gain some knew skills such as my endurance and my social skills. My favourite part would have got to be the swim in the lake , it was freezing but great craic.
Ty rugby
After the year of the junior cup transition year rugby isn't taken nearly as seriously and is a bit of a rest year full of friendly matches witch I really liked. I liked not being stressed about the game because it should just all be about enjoying yourself. We trained four days a week from Monday through to Thursday by our coach Nathan. We played matches against teams like Clongows , Blackrock, Newbridge and CUS . We lost the first three matches so we knew we had to beat CUS and luckily we did and I even snatched myself a try in that match. That left me with a great memory for ty rugby and loved being able to have fun at the sport with my teammates.
Simon Harris Talk
On a Friday morning on the 23rd of October a man named Simon Harris came into our year to tell us about the work he does in politics. I live in greystones and he's the TD representing greystones so that was kinda cool to see him in person instead of on a poster stuck to a street light. I wasn't too keen on the talk because I've never really been interested in politics myself in all honesty. One thing that was interesting though was hearing Simons thoughts on the future of greystones and the youth of it.
1st year buddies
At the beginning of the year in the first term ms ni mhairtin brought the year into the halla nua to give us our first year buddies. At the start I was confused because when we were in first year it was the sixth years who were our buddies but I think It was a good decision because we had the time to talk then unlike the sixth years. This was an interesting experience because they brought us into the canteen to meet them. At the beginning they seemed a bit shy but after a bit of time they loosened up a bit and we were able to have a good talk with them over some hot chocolate and muffins.
Sherry Fitzergerald week
Sherry Fitzgerald took place on the week coming up to the musical which was a bit of a disappointment for me because I would have loved to do the musical but this course was booked months in advance and was a great course to do. I'm not sure about what I want to be when I'm older but being a reel estate agent would be up there now. I went into Ballsbridge to the main sherry fitz centre where we basically listened to guest speakers for the week. There was a group of forty in it which was quite daunting for me on the first day because I didn't know anyone at the beginning but throughout the week I made friends and tested my social skills. On the last day they sent everyone out to different branches and I got put in greystones. Here we went and looked at sites and drew floorplans. This was a great experience but would have liked If they brought us out to sites more throughout the week because the guest speakers got a bit boring after a while. But overall I enjoyed it and would think about this career choice in the future.
ECDL
ECDL was an extra class I took every Monday from four o clock to five o clock instead of games. This course basically consisted of learning about computers and how to work the little things that are really quite crucial. I took this because I knew it would be for one handy to have on my CV and two it would just be handy to know more about computers because before I hadn't a clue. Throughout the course you had to complete these tests and if you complete 1-3 was the bottom grade 4-6 was the average and 7 was the very top. I got the average grade which I was fine with seeming as I hadn't a clue what I was doing in the start. This course was a struggle but I'm happy I got it done and now it will for sure be used in the future.
Pottery
In the second term we began the pottery module which we took with Mr O Connor. This module was particularly one of my favourite because I have always loved doing art and pottery is obviously a big part of it. We began with sculpting our initials and glazing them and further painting them. They came out great so next it was something a bit harder which was making a face. Unfortunately my piece broke in the oven and wasn't able to be glued back together. This was a shame but I didn't let it ruin my experience and still really enjoyed it. I found myself looking forward to this module everyday because although it was a class it felt like fun to me.
Public Speaking
In the first term we began public speaking with Ms Kavanagh and I wasn't sure how I felt about going into this module. I was nervous at first because I knew that we'd have to talk in front of the class as a speech and I've never really been good at that sort of thing. I wrote my speech on if the school should get involved in stopping obesity in their students. I picked this topic out of the ones I was given because I felt I could make a few strong points about it to do with the vending machines and after school sports. I did my practice speech to the class and even though I was nervous I sucked it up and accually did a good job. Thus module was great because it given me skills I will be able to use in my future and also boosted my confidence.
Organ donation talk
Last Thursday a man came into the halla nua to talk to us about organ donation and how important it is. He began by showing us a PowerPoint on the organs and which ones can be transplanted and also the reasons needed for transplantation such as diseases. He then went onto show us the history of transplantation in Ireland like who and when the first transplants took place. This talk was quite interesting and made me realise that I could save someone's life just by donating blood which isn't even that hard. I would definitely consider doing this in the years to come because people who need help could seriously benefit from it. This talk was a real eye opener for me and I presume my classmates.
Carlingford
On a cold Monday morning we were up early and off to the school, everyone was so excited and full of anticipation. After a quick recap on the rules and regulations the buses were full and about to embark on a 2 hour journey to Louth and place called Carlingford. When we arrived we took a look at the little town and I enjoyed the views of the lake along with the nature behind it. The rooms were sorted and we were on our first activity in the afternoon, it was zorbing!!! This was basically where they put all of us in these big plastic bubbles and get us to run into each other,sounds fairly basic but it was great. This was something I'd seen on the Internet and had always wanted to do it. We headed back to the dorms and got food in the canteen which was nice aswell, the trip was looking good. The days went by and so did the activities zip lining , team work exercises , hikes , kayaking and more. On the last day we were ready for our last activity and it was lazer shooting which would of been great but of course I'd picked up a cold so that ruled me out. Everyone came back and I was feeling better so we harder down to the common room and got take away. The trip just flew by I couldn't believe I'd spent a week there but I had great fun and made some fantastic memories with everyone and would definitely do it again. I believe this trip brought our year group closer together and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Computers are not just for geeks talk
Marie Moynihan and Dominic Horan came into us as a year to speak to us about the work they do in computers and basically showing us that it's not just for geeks. I was intrigued by the talk to hear about they're history in del and how they work there way up to it. However I found the video very interesting, a clip was rolled about the points needed for a computer science course and the qualifications for a job in it but the best part was they were all people from del being interviewed about this. This talk helped broaden my horizons in a way and will definitely take computer related subjects into account for college courses.
work experience
My dad took me into his office on the work experience week in dun laiorghre to learn the in and out of architecture in the Irish system today. He and his work mates helped me and teached me how to design floor plans and make 3D set buildings. On the last day he took me out to a site and showed me the floor plans which was very interesting, this house was on the coast of Dalkey a few steps from the water. This week was a great eye opener to what I want to do in the future and I'd be happy if this was it. I enjoyed not dreding the day and accually looked forward to the day ahead.
SVP Talk
On the 25th of April a woman came into our year to talk about a great organisation that help homeless people throughout Ireland and have for the last 100 years. This organisation is called svp ( Saint Vincent de Paul ).she told us all about the founder Frederick ozanam and his part in svp up to today and what it does to help people in need. I was shocked to hear some of the facts on homeless people in Ireland but now I respect the commitment of volenteers in svp do to bring that number down. I will definitely join in the foreseeable future.
Salamanca
On the 3rd of April 2016 me Mark jack Max Caitlin Faye and Esme arrived in a big town that was full of exciting young college students and beautiful old buildings. We were in Salamanca. Before we could go off gallivanting around the town we had to find our hosts house because that where we'd be staying for the next three weeks and we did not wanna make a bad impression on our first day for being late. We found the apartment and for the rest of our day we unpacked our bags and took an early night due to all the travelling, needless to say it took its tole on us I slept like a baby that night. With a great sleep the night before we headed down to the school we would be taking five days a week and got our classes arranged and what not. They decided to put all of the Irish in the same class, so basically us and these three other kings hospital lads. As the first week went by I felt my Spanish getting stronger and stronger but the weather getting colder and colder, this was not good. The weekend came and we had a lot of free time to explore the town and do some shopping seeming as we didn't have school on the weekends. We would go down to this place called the plaza mayor which is basically what it says on the tin, an old square , and we'd just sit down there get some good and just chill really. This was the place to be and by far my most favourite place. More weeks went by faster and before we knew it we were on the bus heading back to the Madrid airport. I loved this experience because it improved my Spanish so much just talking around the house to our host and everyday in class it just became routine and also improved my organisation and social skills in many ways. I would highly recommend to any parent thinking about sending there kid away to learn Spanish here or anywhere.
Museum day
On the 29th of April we all woke up at 7:45 ready for the day ahead and made our way into school to catch the buses. We arrived into town early and first we visited an archeological museum in the Hart of Dublin right next to the dail. I found this very interesting seeing the age of all these object they had and the history they held. We then headed of for lunch, that gave us a good chance to walk around Dublin and soak in the Friday afternoon atmosphere. The barracks was the next on the list and this place was great. It was huge and u really enjoyed the architecture of the building itself. I was more interested in Archiology then this muesem but still enjoyed the whole experience very much.
garda drugs talk
On the 27th of January one of the most interesting and cool talks yet would be taking place, yes it was the Garda drugs talk. A man from dun laoirge Garda station came into us and told us about his day to day life as a guard and any history he's had with drugs. He told us stories about drug dealers getting caught and methods they'd use to smuggle one being in the tires of a car which I found quite clever. He even told us about a shoot out he had and how he was nearly killed. So needless to say this was by far my favourite talk and I think it had an impact on everyone including myself.
Cyber bullying talk
Probably everyones most eye opening talk took place on the 14th of December about a strong topic which was cyber bullying. We were arranged in the halla nua and a man began to talk about the topic. When we got to the end of the talk he played a video about a boy who is getting cyber bullied by someone who he thought was his friend and things got worse until he told someone about it and then it stopped. This video showed a very strong message excuse the pun about how you can make a person feel through social media but also how it's stopped.
Biodeversity talk
Biodiversity talk
Last wednesday i took part in a biodiversity talk with about fifthteen other classmates in my year. Two women took us for this talk that was kindly arranged by mr Reidy so to aware us about the enviroment. We began by being told about what biodeversity is and discussed our enviroment and our views on it. In the middle section of the talk we played a game and split us up into teams. I was in the last group and this game involved collecting marbels with limited resources. This showed us how hard it is to work without the resources needed. To sum up we went through sides that were made on a powerpoint comparing materials and animals to eachother. This talk raised my awareness about biodeversity and will duely help in the near future.
Last wednesday i took part in a biodiversity talk with about fifthteen other classmates in my year. Two women took us for this talk that was kindly arranged by mr Reidy so to aware us about the enviroment. We began by being told about what biodeversity is and discussed our enviroment and our views on it. In the middle section of the talk we played a game and split us up into teams. I was in the last group and this game involved collecting marbels with limited resources. This showed us how hard it is to work without the resources needed. To sum up we went through sides that were made on a powerpoint comparing materials and animals to eachother. This talk raised my awareness about biodeversity and will duely help in the near future.
KAIROS
On the 3rd of November me and my fellow English classmates visited kairos up in maynooth for the day. The came completely unprepared as this was part of the exercise, so we began writing our scripts for the program we were about to make. I was assigned the news reporter along with my classmate Ryan. We went over our lines and I felt I was ready to go , after a while of repetitively rehearing the show the nerves began to vanish and I got used to the whole thing. We finally got the whole show perfect and were done for the day. I really loved this and would say it was my favourite ty expierience to date. It is very interesting how to see the news or the Ryan tubrity show and know the in and outs of what's going on behind and on camera.
BOXING
Boxing was a very tough expierience for me throughput the course and most likely everyone else. Our coach was a very nice man and surely put us through our paces on our first day. From running around the sports hall like headless chickens to doing burpees until we were seeing double, things proved to be very tough. I enjoyed the boxing part the best obviously because I really loved the feeling of getting a good connection in one of your punches or when u put a good combination together.on the last day we got to spar each other to show the coaches our skills that we had picked up along the way. This was quite daunting at first but having the head gear really does help your confidence. This was my favourite part of the course but overall really enjoyed this expierience and left me a much fitter guy.
DCU OPEN DAY
Dcu held an open day a few weeks ago to show others that were Maybe Thinking of going there what it was like. Fortunately our school set up a tour to DCU so that we could explore its courses and facilities. We arrived and the first thing that was on my mind was the mechanical engineering lecture. I knew I wanted to go to it before hand and I was very satisfied with the quality of it. I also visited an architecture lecture , commerce lecture and a chemistry lecture. These were also great. I reviewed my expierience there on the bus ride back and realised that I liked the lectures but I wasn't to keen on the college itself. I felt the location was in an awkward area to get to much like maybe oth aswell.
Earths Edge
A few weeks ago a man came into our school to talk and his adventure and what his company is about. This was called earths edge. I found this talk really interesting because when I'm older I really want to travel the world and concor some of my biggest fears [climbing]. This man was telling us about all the mountains he's climbed and I hope Mount Everest is next on his list. He said he liked canoeing a lot first but later fell in love with climbing. He said he enjoyed the views he got from the top. At the end of it all I realised how helpful this talk was because it gave me a look on traveling for my future.
Dublin Zoo
I went to Dublin zoo with my school and friends. The entry was by tickets. We went up several steps to purchase the tickets. Then we entered the zoo.
We walked up and down a long enclosed path throughout the bird section Beyond the trees there were small trees. The cages of the birds were hanging down the branches of the trees. Their multi-coloured feathers gleamed into sun
We visited the tigers, lions and bears shut in cages. We saw some hippos and also a rhino. We heared the loud roar of a lion. One tiger was in a fit of anger. Overall I really enjoyed this zoo visit and would definitely go again .
MAYNOOTH
on the 29th of November me and my classmates attended Maynooth college. I was really excited coming up to this because I knew it would give me a good idea of what this college was like and the quality of these course. as I expected I found the college very intreging and of high quality course work. By taking a tour of the college itself I found this and by attending some of the lectures the courses work was evident. My only negative for this college would be its location. I live in greystones and coming in every morning with about an hours drive ahead of me tgere both ways does not sound like much fun if I'm being honest. All in all I enjoyed this expierience
WORK EXPERIENCE
For my work experience I went to kilkenny to work with my uncle Sean on his animal feed farm. The first few days i found it very tough trying to adapt to this harsh long work environment. It consisted of cleaning , shovelling and carry heavy objects which I can assure you was not easy .The long days began to catch up on me and by the end of the first week i was sleeping like a baby. The reason i found this so tough was because manual labour seriously takes it toll on you. The second and last week i found it a lot easier and began to become accustom to it. You'll never get used to the early mornings tough. The week went on and each day i felt myself maturing and hopefully with will come in handy in years to come.m
Eagles Flight
Eagles flight
On the 14th of September me and my fellow class mates undertook the workshop of Eagles flight which was a game about team work and learning to use your resources carfully and usefully. The game consisted of a large map placed in the middle of a table and use our resources to get the most amount of gold from the mountains which was located in the far corner of the map. This meant we had to time our trips perfectly so that one we don't not get back in time and two not to get hit by any sandstorms. My team came second as we didn't have enough gold to contend for first place. I really enjoyed this game and would play it in my spare time.
On the 14th of September me and my fellow class mates undertook the workshop of Eagles flight which was a game about team work and learning to use your resources carfully and usefully. The game consisted of a large map placed in the middle of a table and use our resources to get the most amount of gold from the mountains which was located in the far corner of the map. This meant we had to time our trips perfectly so that one we don't not get back in time and two not to get hit by any sandstorms. My team came second as we didn't have enough gold to contend for first place. I really enjoyed this game and would play it in my spare time.
RSE project
Spanish project
my expectations of fourth year
My Expectations of Camping and transition year
During this year as I take part in Transition Year I hope to both achieve mentally and physically in whatever activities I take part in. All these activities will strengthen my personality in the working environment and hopefully I will enjoy each and every one of them. I await this year with sheer excitement and delight and hope to get all I can from it. In this passage I will explore my expectations for this year and deeply go through each one with you.
Whilst camping I expect to have a great time and form a stronger bond with my classmates. This will help me broaden my perspective and get to know new people. Camping will also show me how lucky I am to be living in a house with food and a bed. This will help me respect what I have.
During the musical I hope to to strengthen my confidence when speaking to crowds and even any group of people. This will strengthen my social skills and hopefully make me a better person. I will do this by gaining one of the main roles and show skills throughout public speaking ang singing.
I hope to gain knowledge about the process of driving a car so that in the future to come, when getting my drivers licence, I will already be one step ahead of everyone else. During this course I will learn about the in and outs of driving, how to reverse, park and even start the car itself.
I hope to gain a sense of responsibility in the work place whilst I participate in the Work Experience I have to part take in throughout 4th year. This will strengthen my respect for the value of money.
The Gaisce President's Award will help me learn more about guitar, piano, sports and so much more. Hopefully this will broaden my interest in life and become a more outgoing person.
Modules will help me in many different ways throughout my Transition Year experience. They will improve my knowledge about each subject and this can be helpfull when applying for both college and a job.
All of these of these aspects will help me become a more rounded person and connect better with my peers. In many ways I feel this year is more important then the following two years.
During this year as I take part in Transition Year I hope to both achieve mentally and physically in whatever activities I take part in. All these activities will strengthen my personality in the working environment and hopefully I will enjoy each and every one of them. I await this year with sheer excitement and delight and hope to get all I can from it. In this passage I will explore my expectations for this year and deeply go through each one with you.
Whilst camping I expect to have a great time and form a stronger bond with my classmates. This will help me broaden my perspective and get to know new people. Camping will also show me how lucky I am to be living in a house with food and a bed. This will help me respect what I have.
During the musical I hope to to strengthen my confidence when speaking to crowds and even any group of people. This will strengthen my social skills and hopefully make me a better person. I will do this by gaining one of the main roles and show skills throughout public speaking ang singing.
I hope to gain knowledge about the process of driving a car so that in the future to come, when getting my drivers licence, I will already be one step ahead of everyone else. During this course I will learn about the in and outs of driving, how to reverse, park and even start the car itself.
I hope to gain a sense of responsibility in the work place whilst I participate in the Work Experience I have to part take in throughout 4th year. This will strengthen my respect for the value of money.
The Gaisce President's Award will help me learn more about guitar, piano, sports and so much more. Hopefully this will broaden my interest in life and become a more outgoing person.
Modules will help me in many different ways throughout my Transition Year experience. They will improve my knowledge about each subject and this can be helpfull when applying for both college and a job.
All of these of these aspects will help me become a more rounded person and connect better with my peers. In many ways I feel this year is more important then the following two years.