Gaisce Hike!

   On Friday the girls that are doing the Gaisce award went on a hike. We went home at lunch time and got dressed, ready and had lunch. We met back at the school at 2.45. We were all excited to get going and we headed out to the bus. 
  When we arrived at Kippure at about 4.30 and put our bags into the hostel's mini bus and walked up to the houses. We left all our bags in a room and headed out straight away for the hike. We all started out eager and enthusiastic but soon enough our energy ran out when we started to climb uphill. We took a few breaks to say the least!
  We arrived back to the houses at 9 and we were put into houses. We all showered, got into pyjamas and then had our dinner. It was really nice to sit down with everyone and relax. Because we were up early in the morning we didn't stay up too late. 
   To put it mildly it was a struggle getting up in the morning. My room got up at 7.45 to help Ciara make the breakfast. We  called the others awake and had a good fry with rashers sausages and everything. We had to get ready quickly then clean up after the breakfast and leave the house tidy. 
   We met outside the houses at 9.45 and drove to the start of the farthest mountain we were hiking that day. The instructors then told us that we were hiking four mountains that day. That came as a shock. We were better though on Saturday than the day before and took fewer breaks. The instructors couldn't believe how much food we ate at the breaks but as Michelle said we couldn't believe how much they hiked! 
   We finished the hike at around 3.00 and headed back home. It  was a great two days and we all had lots of fun! :)

Swim A Mile!

   Last Friday our TY year and the LCVP class went to the National Aquatic Centre to swim a mile. We were organized into groups and I was with Hazel and Michelle. A mile was 64 lengths of the pool so I had planned to try and swim 20. I was surprised when I was able to swim 46 lengths as I'm not a great swimmer! The money we raise by getting sponsors goes Barretstown and Crumlin Hospital which are both worthy causes. After the swim we went to Blanchardstown where we got something to eat and did a bit of shopping. Overall it was a great day :)

Music Night

   The Thursday before the Easter holidays we had the music night. Our class did a performance of the song "Hello". After practising hard  for the performance we pulled it off and it sounded good. I also accompanied the choir and we performed "Caresse Sur l'Ocean" and the orchestra. I had lots of fun because the whole year was there, it was a good night!

Mini Pilgrimage and Bowling!

   On Wednesday we had a busy day. In the morning we got the bus to Kildare Town. When we arrived at the heritage center we were split into two groups. My group stayed outside and Mr. Kerrigan talked about the  the torch outside the heritage center  We then went in to the center and  watched a documentary on the history of Kildare Town. After the documentary we walked to St. Brigid's cathedral. It was there she had founded her original cathedral. Since then it has been rebuilt and is now made of stone. We went outside then to look at where the fire used to burn to show that it was a monastic settlement. Mr. Kerrigan told us then that if we walked around the round tower backwards 7 times we would see the man we will marry in our dreams that night, unlucky for me I don't remember my dreams! We got back on the bus then and we got off at the Japanese Gardens, we walked to a well where we said a prayer. 
  After our mini pilgrimage we went to Whitewater Shopping Center where we had our lunch and then we went bowling. Surprisingly, I won the bowling on my lane and I even got two strikes! :)                         

Retreat

    Last week our TY year went for a retreat in Tallaght. When we arrived at the retreat centre we arranged ourselvers into groups of people that we were comfortable talking with. It was a good opportunity to stop and refelect on our lives and to get to know each other. I really enjoyed the day :) 

Last day of work experience

   Last week was our last day of work experience. I really enjoyed my time in the cafe so I was sad to leave.  I'll miss everyone I worked with, they were all so nice and helpful! I gave the manager a card and a box of chocolate which she really liked. I hope I can get a job there in the future :)

Scifest

  On Friday morning we had our Scifest competition. We have been working on our projects since September so it was good that we could display our work. Our project title was "Do Sporting Activities affect your Academic Performance?"We found out that sports reduced your stress levels and in the long term it would improve your academic performance. When the judges came around we had to explain our idea and results. In TY we had to present many things (e.g. Mini Company) so I was less nervous talking infront of the judges because of all the practice I have gotten this year. Here is a picture of Cliodhna and I at our poster.