Difference Day - Bray Lakers

On Thursday the 23rd of April around twenty students from TY went to Bray Lakers for difference day. We were picked up by volunteer members of the organisation. Once we arrived we were split into three groups and given a quick tour of the grounds. Every group had their own section of the grounds to complete. The weather was amazing which meant that we were able to complete all the outdoor projects that they organised for us to complete. My group was in charge of fixing the area at the back of the building. Tasks included having to paint the walls and fences, clearing the flowerbeds and painting them, putting down gravel and laying down new topsoil. The tasks for the other groups were very similar. By the end of the day the place was transformed. Everyone managed to finish their section and the place look great. When we had finished we were all brought in side for cake.

 

Transport/ Environmental Workshop

On Tuesday 24th of March there was an environmental workshop for anyone in TY. Twenty four students chose to attend, including myself. Emily Archer talked to us about the different inventions she has come across that promote an environmental mode of transport. Emily Archer came from the organisation 'cre8 sustainability', they promote creative environmental sustainability. Once she finished her presentation she then asked us to split into groups, we played a game that made you combine three different objects in the world. Ours were a unicycle, snake and boat. We then had to create a transportation object including the three topics. I enjoyed this workshop as it was very creative and you had to really use your imagination.

Lecture - Organ Donation

On Thursday the 26th of March a representative from the Irish Kidney Association of Ireland came to our school to talk to us about organ donation. He talked to us about what a donation can do for a person. Then he also talked about the treatments for the people who need to get a organ. He also talked to us about the statistic for Ireland of people who are waiting for a donation and the increase in people donating their organs for others. He had to get an organ a few years ago which meant that he had a great amount of detail, experience and also made the talk very personal. At the end of the presentation he gave everyone cards that indicate whether or not you are a willing donate if something were to happen to you. He explained to us that if we wished to do so then we would carry this card around with you were ever you go. I found the talk every interesting as I did not know a lot about this topic before.

Martial Arts/ Self Defence

On Tuesday the 6th of January we had people come to our school to teach of some self defence moves. We spent the morning practicing different punches and kicks in pairs. Then in the afternoon we spent the rest of the day doing ground work so that we could learn what to do if you are being attacked from the ground. Then on Friday the 16th of January we completed the second half of our course. We were first shown a PowerPoint presentation about self defence and we were also able to see some real life footage of people being attacked. In the afternoon we went over every thing that we had learned from the week before. We then had an assessment on everything that we had learned over the two days.

Gartan

On Monday the 23rd of February my entire year departed for Gartan Outdoor Adventure Centre in Donegal. We arrived in Donegal in the afternoon. The first thing that we did once we arrived was we were shown are rooms and had time to get unpacked. After dinner we were split into the groups that we would be in for the week and began our evening activity for that night. I was put into group C. Our groups activity that night was night lining which was going around a course in the dark blindfolded. The next day our group had orienteering in the morning and team tasks in the afternoon. In the evening we did the egg test, where we had to try and make a contraption to protect the egg from cracking when we dropped it off the first floor. The following day we had archery in the morning and kayaking in the afternoon. With snake and ladders in the evening after dinner. For our final day our group had rock climbing in the morning and a hill walk in the afternoon. That evening we didn't have any planned activities as we had to spend the evening packing our bags for the early start in the morning. On the Friday we left early and made it back to the school for around one. I thoroughly enjoyed the week and thought that it was one of the best things that I have done all year!

YSI Speak Out

On Monday the 23rd of March around twenty members of the YSI team, including myself travelled to UCD for the annual YSI Speak Out. All the school from the surrounding areas came to show case the work that they have done throughout the year. We spent the day watching everyone's performances and then we also preformed ourselves. Our project was called Dose Of Wisdom and our aim was to bring equality to the elderly in our community.  We decided that we wanted to act out our message. We played out three scenarios in the short three minutes that we had to preform. We showed that the elderly are as knowledgeable as the youth of today when it comes to technology, we also showed that they are very helpful in the community. Our final scenario was to show the audience that the elderly are youthful and active. I think that our performance went very well and that we were able to get our message across to everyone.