SVP bag packing
On the 16th of October we were given the opportunity to help bag pack at the dunnes in Cornelscourt and in Newtown for SVP. The bag packing was a great way to raise money for the charity and everyone who went worked really hard on the day. We left the school at 11 and we bag packed until 1. Cournelscourt was very busy so we were lucky to have enough people to cover the tills. It was a really good experience and thing to do for such a good charity and everyone enjoyed it.
Martial Arts
From the 23rd to the 24th of October we participated as a year in a Martial Arts course in the school. The course lasted two full days and it was a really important life skill for us all to learn. In the course we were taught all different ways to defend ourselves and we looked into situations and discussed the outcomes in a group. The first stage of the course was accessing the idea of what self defence is all about and the instructor showed us real life examples of fights and situations where the victim's decision was going to determine whether they live or die. As soon as we were aware of the subject we learned how the skills we were about to learn would help us if we ever encountered a situation where we the victim.
The learning stage lasted two hours and after that we all went down to the sports hall and began the physical aspect of the coarse.
The physical part of the course was really enjoyable and the skills we learnt were quite practical but effective in a real life scenario. We all worked in groups and were given a punch pad that we would all get a chance to use and practise skills on. The instructor taught us 10 defensive skills and also a few take down skills which completely trapped the opponent. One of the most interesting things we learnt was how to disarm an opponent who has a weapon and to finish it off we did some kickboxing and tecmundo.
Overall the experience was really fun and exciting and we learnt some valuable defensive skills that would help us if we were ever in that situation but also what kind of situations are too dangerous and how we can avoid them for our own safety.
The learning stage lasted two hours and after that we all went down to the sports hall and began the physical aspect of the coarse.
The physical part of the course was really enjoyable and the skills we learnt were quite practical but effective in a real life scenario. We all worked in groups and were given a punch pad that we would all get a chance to use and practise skills on. The instructor taught us 10 defensive skills and also a few take down skills which completely trapped the opponent. One of the most interesting things we learnt was how to disarm an opponent who has a weapon and to finish it off we did some kickboxing and tecmundo.
Overall the experience was really fun and exciting and we learnt some valuable defensive skills that would help us if we were ever in that situation but also what kind of situations are too dangerous and how we can avoid them for our own safety.
Bazaar
The bazaar this year was held on the 14th of December. For the bazaar, I worked at the candy floss station with my mum and my two friends Max and Rory. Every year my mum uses our candy floss machine to raise money for charity at the bazaar. This year was the first year that I worked at the station as it’s important for the transition years to get involved and help out as much as they can. As always the bazaar was really enjoyable and we ended up raising a lot of money for charity.
Hamper packing
On the 19th of December the TY’s helped out in the annual Saint Vincent de Paul Hamper packing. This involved packing hundreds of hampers with food supplies for families in need in our local area. All TY students went down to the sports hall in the morning and we were divided into our different groups. Each group was in charge of packing 20 boxes collecting the supplies that were evenly split per box. We packed the hampers with food items such as biscuits, tinned good and cakes that would go to people in need to help them have a good christmas dinner. In total we packed over 200 hampers which would be of great benefit to the families we packed them for.
Overall it was a great experience and I really enjoyed it.
Overall it was a great experience and I really enjoyed it.
Barista course
This year i was given an opportunity to participate in a ten week barista course which took place every Saturday from 3-4pm in the 9th degree cafe on Westmoreland street. The course offered a full barista certificate and a three hour work placement in the cafe which are taking place between the 3rd of February and the 7th of April. The course could also be used as a new personal skill for Gaisce.
The course started with some general understanding of the different types of coffee and where they come from. I learned how coffee is actually a fruit and not a nut and what countries we import the fruit from. The next week i began the practical part of how coffee is made and we spent the next few weeks practicing and perfecting the base of the coffee. We learned the steps involved when making an espresso and the key factors to remember when operating the machine. The last few weeks were based on perfecting the milk in order to make latte art. I practiced on perfecting the temperature and frothiness of the milk and then i learned how to make a heart using the milk. The last week ran for three hours instead of one in which we learned about the different flavours and i looked at the measurements of different coffees and what makes them unique.
Overall the course was well worth doing and i really enjoyed it. Eighteen students took part in the course and are now have the abilities and experience to work in a cafe.
The course started with some general understanding of the different types of coffee and where they come from. I learned how coffee is actually a fruit and not a nut and what countries we import the fruit from. The next week i began the practical part of how coffee is made and we spent the next few weeks practicing and perfecting the base of the coffee. We learned the steps involved when making an espresso and the key factors to remember when operating the machine. The last few weeks were based on perfecting the milk in order to make latte art. I practiced on perfecting the temperature and frothiness of the milk and then i learned how to make a heart using the milk. The last week ran for three hours instead of one in which we learned about the different flavours and i looked at the measurements of different coffees and what makes them unique.
Overall the course was well worth doing and i really enjoyed it. Eighteen students took part in the course and are now have the abilities and experience to work in a cafe.
Musical
This year from the 6th to the 8th of February I participated in the TY musical, legally blonde. I played the character of Aaron Schultz who is a Harvard student that works alongside Elle woods and his fellow classmates to defend Mrs Brooke Windom in her murder trial. We worked many weeks before the show to perfect our choreography and how we would present ourselves in the scenes. I think the musical was a really enjoyable experience that will be one of my favourite moments looking back on my experience in St. Gerard’s. The musical was a great way to interact fully with the whole year and to work together and depend on each other to make the musical into the performance we could all be proud of.
Overall i am really proud and happy to say that I got the opportunity to be a principal role and I’m happy and confident to say that the work done definitely payed off and I think everyone was really happy with the performance.
Overall i am really proud and happy to say that I got the opportunity to be a principal role and I’m happy and confident to say that the work done definitely payed off and I think everyone was really happy with the performance.
First aid
This year we were given the opportunity to complete a first aid programme which took place from the 16th - 18th of April. The course lasted three days in which we learnt things such as CPR, the recovery position and how to help someone who is choking. We were split into our form classes and were given an instructor. We learned a lot of theory about first aid and about certain steps that we would do if we were ever in the situation were the victim needed CPR and what signs we should look out for to recognise this. We practised our CPR skills on dummies using masks that were provided for us and how and when to use a defibrillator. We then completed a both written and practical exam at the end of the course on what we had learnt.
Overall the course was very interesting and enjoyable but extremely important for us to learn and now we know what to expect and do if the situation ever came upon us.
Overall the course was very interesting and enjoyable but extremely important for us to learn and now we know what to expect and do if the situation ever came upon us.
Special olympics bag packing
On the 20th of April 12 people in TY were given the opportunity to raise money for Special Olympics Ireland by bag packing in Cournelscourt. We left the school at 10:30 and we bag packed from 11 till 1 with a 15 minute lunch break each. The supermarket was busy at all times but we were lucky to have other people there helping out also. We raised a lot of money for a great cause and it was a really enjoyable and good experience take part in.
Bake sale
On Friday the 27th of April the TY’s held a bake sale in the school to raise money for an organisation called operation smile which helps kids that are born with cleft palate that don't have the money to fix it. It a really great organisation that a guy in my year called Ben Hogan found out about and he asked for out help to raise money for them. I baked rise crispy cakes and muffins and together we all baked loads of different cakes which were then sold on the day for 1-2 euros each. In total we raised over 2000 euro which will go towards life changing operations for these kids. Overall it was a really good experience and a great cause to raise money for and i am really happy i was apart of it.
Steer clear
This year i participated in the 13 week steer clear driving programme. The course started in September and finished in January and it was every Thursday evening after sports from 5:15-6:30. In the course we learned all the theory of driving and what we would need to pass our driving theory test ( DTT ). The course consisted mainly on theory but we also learned a few practical skills like how to change a flat tire and we also looked at the engine. After every class we would have a short test to see what we know and what we need to learn. We learned a lot of road safety and what to avoid when driving and what to do if our car broke down or had a puncture.
Overall the course was really beneficial and i learned a lot of information that will help when i sit my DTT.
Overall the course was really beneficial and i learned a lot of information that will help when i sit my DTT.
ECDL
As part of Transition year we all got the opportunity to complete a computer course which last years TY had to pay for so we were very lucky to all have the chance to do it. We all had access to complete the course over the year on our IPADs or during IT class on the computers. The main objective of the course is to teach us how to use different programmes that are commonly used in big businesses such as powerpoint, excel and word etc. Firstly we would watch a video that would tell us all the information and then we would complete a series of quizzes on the programme that we would get graded on. The grades gave us different amounts of points depending on how well we did and then we would get a overall score that would show our knowledge towards the course. We then get a certificate with our scores which we can use on our CVs in the future. I think the course was very helpful for us to learn how these programmes work and it gives us a head start if or when we use them in our future jobs.