Vanishing Art

Tuesday, November 18 transition year students went out on a short art tour. We went to see a sculpture exhibition called 'Vanishing Art,' and it was held in Carton House this year. It was an indoor and outdoor exhibition, and the larger sculptures were found outside and were placed at different areas around Carton house and the first sculpture that stood out to me was a sculpture of a bird hanging from a tree. The sculpture was called, 'Seraphin,' and the sculptor of this piece is Imogen Stafford. The sculpture looked creepy but I think that was why it stood out to me featuring the different types of materials used. My second favourite sculpture was called 'Blue Moon,' sculpted by Catherine E. Greene. This sculpture caught my eye because I thought it looked unique but it was also simple. 

                                             
                                          

IMMA

Another week of work experience and it keeps getting better each week. I have really enjoyed myself this week as I went to a modern art museum in Dublin called 'Imma.' I went with my supervisor and three of the service users. My supervisor brought us there to encourage the service users with more creativity in art and the exhibition inspired me. I learned alot that day and it gave me opportunities for the future. After the exhibition, one of the staffs in 'Imma' informed me about a course I could take in the museum in a few months and it was something that I have a huge interest in. I was also given advice about picking careers and college courses.

When we got back to Crossroads, I went to drop the service users to their afternoon activities, Gym and Choir. 

At the end of the day, I was really proud of myself as my communication skill has been improved and I now remember all the names of the service users.



                             

Part Of Your World

First Year : Pink
Second Year : Purple
Third Year : Green
Transition Year : Yellow
Fifth Year : Blue
Sixth Year : Black and White

Our class decided to do our dance based on the name of our base class, 'Ariel.' Since we were yellow we played the role of flounders, our tutor was the shark and someone played Ariel. It was friendship week so we made our dance about friendship. The shark turned out to be friendly and wanted to be 'Part Of Our World.' We had a hard time putting our dance together as we didn't have enough time and some people in our class had to be somewhere but gladly at the end it was a success. At the end, we didn't win but the main important thing was to have fun.

Myself and everyone in class Ariel were road patrols during the walk. The class was divided into groups of two and were organised in different places where we had to perform our given task.

Work Experience

For my first work experience, I got a placement at the Crossroads Day Programme in the Celbridge Abbey. 

On my first day, I was nervous and excited at the same time. When I arrived at the place I met one of the staffs and I was introduced to the other staffs and service users. There were so many names I have to remember but hopefully I'll remember their names by the end of the month as I'm not very good with names. I started off with drawing and decorating for Halloween with the service users. Later on that day, I was given a proper introduction and I was shown around the place. I got to learn more about the service users and and their medication.

I had fun working with the service users and the staffs on my first day, and everyone was very kind and respectful. Being around them puts a positive energy in the room. And I am looking forward to the next day of work experience.

Carlingford

Day 1 - September 15th:

On that sunny Monday morning we left by 7 am as we had a long journey ahead of us and so that we could get our activities started. When we arrived in Carlingford, we were divided into two groups, group A and group B. Group A and group B did different activities and I was part of group A. We started our first activity of the day which was canoeing for group A while group B was kayaking. Afterwards, we headed back to the building and had our lunch and our next activity was the combat course where we did different challenges to gain gems. After the activities, we had a three hour break from 5 pm to 7 pm and we headed back out for a walk in the forest and we were blindfolded which was probably the highlight of my day. 

Day 2 - September 16th:

Our day started at 8 am and we headed back to the beach for our second water activity which was kayaking was more tiring than canoeing as we had to carry our own boat but it got better when we went on the trampoline and jumping off into the water. Our second and last activity of the day was laser tag. I was pretty disappointed because my laser gun wasn't working and I had to play along which was not fun. After a long-fun-tiring day, we headed our way home.

After all the activities that we've done, I've realised that the activities were all about group works and trust. 

                                       

Results Day

Wednesday 10th September, was the day we got our Junior Cert results. The minute I woke up that morning I couldn't stop predicting what grades I thought I'd get. When I stepped foot the school hall, my heart was beating so fast and I started to have butterflies. Our results was given to us one by one and when it got my turn, I felt like turning back.

      I slowly opened the envelope thinking that I failed a subject or more but when I took the sheet out and examined it I was surprised. I did better than I expected and I was really happy. I was proud of what I studied for and I studied really hard for the State Exams.

      Later that day, I went out to celebrate with my friends and we had a great time. I'm not just happy for myself, I'm also happy for my friends and everyone else.

My First Day of TY Workshops

The first workshop that I've participated was 'Etiquette.' At the beginning we played a game where we put down a fact about ourselves and people had to guess whose it about. I think the game helped and we all learned something about each other that we never knew. We watched a video about 'body image,' and I thought that it was inspiring. It inspired me to accept my body shape and that I shouldn't feel insecure about it. Afterwards we learned how to walk properly in heels I thought that was fun. We walked down on a red carpet and learned to keep our posture while walking in heels. We then learned about skincare and from that we exfoliated our hands. The result of exfoliating made my hands really smooth and I was impressed.

The second workshop that I've participated was called 'Positive Parties.' In that workshop we did various types of activities that keeps the positivity going. We learned how to be positive if we were ever out of our comfort zone. We did a laughing exercise and we played a game where we think of various ways on how not wear an underwear and that made everyone positive. When it came to the end of the workshop we danced to keep the positivity and energy going.

The last workshop of the day was 'First Aid.' I really enjoyed this workshop as I learned a lot about how to save a life. I thought that this workshop was really helpful as it would help save a life in the future. We learned how to perform CPR, how to position someone in a situation and how to save someone from choking. 

My First Day of TY

         So far as a TY student, I'm enjoying TY. 

Rewinding back to the morning of the first day of school, I felt nervous and excited at the same time. I was nervous about not knowing anyone in my class but on the bright side I can make new friends and get to know them better. And my excitement was finally getting to see my friends again. On the first day, I felt like a first year again but throughout the day it got easier. I'm looking forward to what TY has in store for me in the future.