BT young scientist
A few of us from fourth year decided we would go to the BT young scientist competition in the RDS. There were some amazing projects and we spoke to loads of people there. I was talking to one of the Garda’s and he was lovely! We even got to see robots fighting in a circus tent and it was like an MMA fighting ring. This was definitely my favourite part of the BT young scientist. I’m excited to find out which project won the competition too.
CARLINGFORD
For this school trip, my year went to carlingford adventure centre in Louth. We stayed in the centres hostel and living space but the main activities were done at the sky park which was a 15 min walk up the mountain. The hostel was lovely and the food was so much better than I had expected it to be. The instructors were so funny and nice and they really wanted to get along with everyone. When I was going to carlingford I was a day late. Everyone had left on the Monday morning on a bus. But I was still in Italy skiing and my flight wasn’t til midnight on Monday! I made my own way down bright and early on Tuesday morning and made it in time for the first activity. The first activity I did was zip lining with an obstacle course. It was really fun but at the start I was slightly nervous. The more I did, the more fun I had and easier it was. The second activity we did that day was canoeing. We were all completely and utterly dreading the thoughts of it due to it being so cold and horrible out. But surprisingly, it was so much fun. I was barely cold (just couldn’t feel my toes or hands) but it was so much for fun that I thought it could have been and actually enjoyed it enough to say I’d of happily done it again!
We did so many different activities over the week but my couple of favourites would have to of been the challenges we did for the evening activity on the Tuesday night and the zip lining on the morning of our last day.
The evening challenge on the Wednesday night was so much fun. We had to do things like who could build the tallest stack using ten of our shoes (which we won) and make a human chair and see who could hold it for the longest amount of time. It was so funny how competitive everyone got and it was very enjoyable.
The zip lining on the last day was my favourite outdoor activity. I think this was because I had gained so much courage over heights and zip lines which made the biggest ones so fun. We did it for hours and got to do as many as we likes in the zip line Forrest. It was so much fun and i spent most of the time doing it with Alex and lily kate.
Carlingford was so much for fun than I had ever expected it to be. I went in thinking it wasn’t going to be all that fun and I’d just be tired the whole time but that wasn’t the case at all. There were so many things to love about the experience like, spending so much time with my friends and having a week of sleepovers. The sweet shop and the activities. And last but not least, getting to spend time with the teachers and the lovely instructors we got to meet. I’m so glad that I went to carlingford and would do it all over again tomorrow if I were given the chance.
We did so many different activities over the week but my couple of favourites would have to of been the challenges we did for the evening activity on the Tuesday night and the zip lining on the morning of our last day.
The evening challenge on the Wednesday night was so much fun. We had to do things like who could build the tallest stack using ten of our shoes (which we won) and make a human chair and see who could hold it for the longest amount of time. It was so funny how competitive everyone got and it was very enjoyable.
The zip lining on the last day was my favourite outdoor activity. I think this was because I had gained so much courage over heights and zip lines which made the biggest ones so fun. We did it for hours and got to do as many as we likes in the zip line Forrest. It was so much fun and i spent most of the time doing it with Alex and lily kate.
Carlingford was so much for fun than I had ever expected it to be. I went in thinking it wasn’t going to be all that fun and I’d just be tired the whole time but that wasn’t the case at all. There were so many things to love about the experience like, spending so much time with my friends and having a week of sleepovers. The sweet shop and the activities. And last but not least, getting to spend time with the teachers and the lovely instructors we got to meet. I’m so glad that I went to carlingford and would do it all over again tomorrow if I were given the chance.
camping trip to Lough Dan
on Wednesday the 13th of September, we received our junior cert results. Everyone was relatively happy with their results although no one got eleven A's. After receiving the results, it's an annual occasion for all the transition year students to set off on the camping trip to Lough Dan. I was slightly sceptical and unsure as to how the camping trip would be and what effect it would have on out year group.
When we arrived at Lough Dan, we set up our tents and got food and drinks sorted. I was in charge of making sure we had as much junk food as possible. That evening, we went for a 6K walk down to the lake and I think that this was one of the highlights of the trip as it was our first stepping stone and first taster of the camping trip. This walk was my first experience of our year group beginning to bond. Most of us shared our company around with as many people as possible and this definitely made it more enjoyable and allowed me to get to know other people that I wouldn't usually get the opportunity to have a proper conversation with.
On this walk, we got absolutely soaked and extremely muddy, which definitely dampened the general mood but we continued on with an optimistic outlook that our shoes would eventually dry for the 16K hike tomorrow.
My favourite parts of the camping trip was definitely both of the nights. When we would settle down in the evening and change into our warmer, comfier clothes we would gather around the camp fire and all talk, sing and mess around. I couldn't even take a guess at how many marshmallow packets we went through them nights. I think that night times were the key element to bringing us all closer together on the trips as you were able to talk to everyone in a really great atmosphere and environment.
On the Thursday, we tackled to monsterous hike for our gaisce. This hike took us five hours and while we were all in bits afterwards, it was extremely enjoyable. It was also a great accomplishment to have completed a part of our Gaisce. When we got home from the hike, most of us jumped into the freezing cold lake and splashed around so much water that it actually stung. The water was excruciatingly cold.
On the Friday, we left for home at about 11:30 AM and it was honestly quite sad to have to say goodbye to the camping trip no matter how exhausted we all were. We packed up our clothes, put away our tents (the pop up tent being the hardest!) and loaded our bags onto the bus. The camping trip was such a great experience and I definitely recommend the trip to younger years as I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
When we arrived at Lough Dan, we set up our tents and got food and drinks sorted. I was in charge of making sure we had as much junk food as possible. That evening, we went for a 6K walk down to the lake and I think that this was one of the highlights of the trip as it was our first stepping stone and first taster of the camping trip. This walk was my first experience of our year group beginning to bond. Most of us shared our company around with as many people as possible and this definitely made it more enjoyable and allowed me to get to know other people that I wouldn't usually get the opportunity to have a proper conversation with.
On this walk, we got absolutely soaked and extremely muddy, which definitely dampened the general mood but we continued on with an optimistic outlook that our shoes would eventually dry for the 16K hike tomorrow.
My favourite parts of the camping trip was definitely both of the nights. When we would settle down in the evening and change into our warmer, comfier clothes we would gather around the camp fire and all talk, sing and mess around. I couldn't even take a guess at how many marshmallow packets we went through them nights. I think that night times were the key element to bringing us all closer together on the trips as you were able to talk to everyone in a really great atmosphere and environment.
On the Thursday, we tackled to monsterous hike for our gaisce. This hike took us five hours and while we were all in bits afterwards, it was extremely enjoyable. It was also a great accomplishment to have completed a part of our Gaisce. When we got home from the hike, most of us jumped into the freezing cold lake and splashed around so much water that it actually stung. The water was excruciatingly cold.
On the Friday, we left for home at about 11:30 AM and it was honestly quite sad to have to say goodbye to the camping trip no matter how exhausted we all were. We packed up our clothes, put away our tents (the pop up tent being the hardest!) and loaded our bags onto the bus. The camping trip was such a great experience and I definitely recommend the trip to younger years as I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
kairos
On the 10th of October we went to the Kairos Centre in Maynooth. The Kairos centre is a place for young people like us to experience making a T.V show in a proper set with all the real equipment under the same circumstances a real T.V show production would be under. Previous to our visit to the centre in Maynooth, we had a huge amount of preparation to do. We had been planning our T.V show for weeks before hand. Doing the Kairos was really fun but was so much harder that I expected it to be. It was really difficult to get everyone to co-operate, but in the end we eventually managed it. Our show was called the 'Morning Show'. We did all kinds of news segments like weather and sport and we also added our own touch to the show. It was a really fun day in Maynooth.
DCU open day
DCU was a really lovely campus with so much to offer and I found it really interesting and motivating to visit the campus. I don’t know what career path I want to follow yet or what college I want to go to but even still today was definately a step in the right direction for me in deciding. In the morning I went to the psychology lecture ad it was my favourite of the day. The woman really laid it all out for us and explained the course really really well. It was really interesting.
The second lecture I went to was journalism. I was surprised to say that I found it really boring and it wasn’t really what I was expecting so this one was my least favourite of the day.
I then went to the general nursing one and it was really interesting and factual and the man presenting the lecture was quite funny and made the course out to me a lot more fun than expected.
I also went to the law and society lecture but I didn’t get to stay for all of it as we had to leave. It seemed interesting enough although doesn’t look in anyway like it would be easy or possibly fun either.
The second lecture I went to was journalism. I was surprised to say that I found it really boring and it wasn’t really what I was expecting so this one was my least favourite of the day.
I then went to the general nursing one and it was really interesting and factual and the man presenting the lecture was quite funny and made the course out to me a lot more fun than expected.
I also went to the law and society lecture but I didn’t get to stay for all of it as we had to leave. It seemed interesting enough although doesn’t look in anyway like it would be easy or possibly fun either.
GIRLS BONDING TRIP
For our TY girls bonding trip, we went to jumpzone. It was really fun and they had done up the place with New trampolines and activities including dodge ball and a foam pit. It looked really fun but I was unfortunately not able to participate in jumping as I am injured. After jump zone, we went to Mc Donald’s and all got food. It was a really fun day and I had a good time with all the girls.