Off on an Irish adventure we go!

Hey guys,

As this post is coming a little late (whoops, sorry) my memory as to what went on the past week has slightly faded, and all I can really remember is the week previous, our Irish trip to be precise.

So, on Friday the 10th of may, all of us transition years headed out in our tracksuits to explore the grounds of St.Enda's school in Dublin. This was an all-boys school set up in 1908 by Patrick Pearse and Willie Pearse, two leaders of the Irish 1916 rising that were executed in Kilmainham jail for their involvement. The school was set up as the pair wanted gaeilge to be taught and spoken throughoutin schools and throughout Ireland. It was therefore set up as an all Irish speaking school which did succeed at influencing the teaching of Irish, which is of course still around today. Mar is eol duit.

While there, we had a tour of the beautiful gardens, learnt about the history of the school and the students that attended (the boys wore yellow skirts, blazers and white shirts). The house itself was fabulous, finished with three stories, a massive garden and a set of stairs which lead to the large green front door. (inside they even had the butcher block on which Robert Emmet was beheaded.

We then watched a movie about the life of the Pearse Brothers and enjoyed a nice lunch in the accompanying Brambles café. It was a lovely day out with everyone, and we all enjoyed learning more about the history of Ireland. If you are near the area, I definitely recommend a visit. The gardens are full of flowering plants and it is a wonderfully quiet and relaxing place to visit.

Till next week,
Ciara

   

Supersize me, and make me a teddy bear.

Hey guys,

So this week has been a prolonged week whereby we finished homework assignments etc. and found out about upcoming events and deadlines. Our summer tests are fast approaching and we've already been briefed on what subjects each student will be organising for Transition Year night, but more on that in another post.

Today we learnt about the geography and cultural contexts of India, and soon we will be having two native Indian speakers in to talk to us about their cultures and knowledge of India. We also got a little break from sewing our teddy bears (which are coming along just fine) and began to watch a  documentary style movie called 'super size me'. It's a really interesting film to watch, and is all about the rapid growth of obesity in America and their problems with fast food, ie. McDonald's. One man goes on a 30 day binge of mcDonald's food which involves him eating 3 square meals a day and nothing else from any other food source. Definitely check it out.

I'm afraid that's all we've been getting up to this week as nothing new has been scheduled. Make sure you check again for next week's blog post as I will be covering an up and coming Transition year outing.

Till next week,

Ciara