Personal Finance Project.

     Personal Finance Module

One of the modules I took this year was Personal Finance, a useful module that taught you how to keep your money and budget wisely. Mr. Kelly took this module and I found it very interesting and it will definitely stand to me in the future with regards to knowing how to spend and keep my money wisely. 

Below is the link to my project which is about budgeting for a Ski Holiday with a family. 

My Personal Finance Project

Grease! - The Musical

         The Musical Experience

                                  Being part of Grease – The musical was definitely the highlight of TY so far this year. I loved every single minute of it and I wish I could do it all over again. From starting the rehearsals to finishing the last show, every moment was a joyous occasion sprinkled with laughter and loads of fun. I think throughout the process of the musical we all saw different sides to everyone. Sides that included musical, dancing and acting ability. Everyone had something to bring to the show and I feel that everyone’s little hidden talents made the show what is was.

                               

Looking back on the amount of rehearsals we had, there was not one moment where I wasn’t having some sort of fun. We all got on so well and giggled our way through challenging dance routines and dialogue laced with the cheesy Grease accent. Everyone really put their all into the musical no matter how comfortable they were with performing. A lot of the principles were already quite at ease with the idea of being on stage but I think together as principle roles we really helped each other to blossom into our parts and step into our character’s shoes.

                                 

I think a magical moment for me throughout the musical was when we had band call with the band. Hearing each other sing with the band was just amazing and the band were so fantastic. We were all in awe of their incredible playing. I think the overture they played at the beginning of our musical will stay with me forever.

                                  

Performing each night to a packed hall was an intense yet exhilarating experience. Seeing each other in our costumes every day was very funny and enjoyable and I think even sitting with all the girls in our dressing room putting on our makeup helped to bring us all together as a group of friends. During the day before matinées and before evening performances we were running around like mad hatters – making finishing touches on our makeup, hurriedly throwing a bit of foundation on the boy’s faces and fixing each other’s mics. The only way I can describe The Musical is a rollercoaster. It had its ups and downs and you could never be sure of what was around the corner. The only thing we knew was that when we looked back we would know that it was a great ride.

                                      

Every show ran so smoothly and that was because of Aishling’s fabulous directing and Ms Olohan’s producing. Without them we would have been lost. They helped us to make sure our talents shone through and that everyone was included in the production. It was actually quite emotional finishing Grease and leaving the character of Marty behind. A flirtatious, flamboyant, and fashionable woman, Marty a pink lady was someone I could really dig my teeth into. With her multiple love interests, there was never a dull moment with Marty who always kept me as an actress entertained. I loved playing Marty and she really helped to improve my acting skills. I will miss her immensely.

                                        

A huge thank you to everyone involved in the show and to everybody who came and supported Grease. It was an experience of a lifetime and one I would do again and again.        

A talk during Catholic Schools week

   Catholic Schools Week Talk

                                             

                                                During Catholic Schools Week, a very important week in the school calendar, we had a lovely woman called Reena came in to talk to us about her journey of faith throughout her life. Reena grew up in the 1950s during tough recessionary times. She told us that the recession we know today was plain sailing compared to the recession she lived through. She noticed growing up the issue of gender equality and how women were expected to just clean the house and mind the children – practically to be seen but not heard. Reena wanted to be unique and live her life as an independent woman so she left Ireland to travel to Canada where she felt she had a vocation to become a nun.

                                              

                                                 In Canada, unlike many women back in Ireland, she completed secondary school and university where she studied nursing and eventually became a nurse. She soon realised that although being a nun was a worthwhile vocation for some, she realised that it wasn’t for her so she turned solely to nursing and through nursing she wanted to understand what it is like to be a Christian.

                                              

                                                 She thought about it for years and realised to be a Christian you must act and do what you would like done to you. Wanting to be a good Christian helped Reena to found a hospice movement. This inspiration also stemmed from a child with leukaemia Reena grew to know and Riona then wanted to work with people who were dying.

                                               

                                                     To this day, Reena still works in hospices and feels that rather than being a place of sadness and darkness, a hospice is a celebration of life. Reena was one of my favourite speakers so far in TY as she brought something different, something inspiring. There was no power point presentation or distractions, just her speaking and she held our attention all the way to the end. The things she said throughout her talk were influential, humanizing and liberating. Honesty shone through Reena’s words and she made me want to do something good in the world.   

A legal studies Correspondence course with DCU

      Law assignments 2 and 3 with DCU’s Legal Studies Course

                                            

  As you may know from reading my blog, before Christmas I decided to sign up for a legal studies correspondence with DCU’s centre for talented youth. So far, I have completed three assignments and I have got very good feedback from my tutor, Edel, a barrister specialising in criminal and refugee law and also a former criminology lecturer in DCU.  I have had no criticism yet on any of my assignments and I am finding it to be a stimulating and refreshing experience. It also fuels my passion and interest for the law which is a great thing.

                                            

  Law Assignment two consisted of different questions on the Court System in Ireland. Questions included; the purpose/function of the Supreme Court, The composition of the Supreme Court, a paragraph on a court of your choice (I chose the children’s court), and an argument on why our special criminal court should be abolished. Edel emailed me with feedback and told me that it was an excellent assignment and that I clearly understood the nature of the essays.

                                            

  I feel that this legal studies course is helping me with my ability to research broad topics and also is sharpening my knowledge on the law and all the issue that surround it.

                                              

Law assignment three was about miscarriages of justice, which I found very thought-provoking. Questions like write a report to the department of justice, outlining how you think the state can avoid miscarriages of justice in the future were on the assignment and really helped me to see the faults hidden within Ireland’s justice system. What especially shocked me was the amount of miscarriages of justice that happen in Ireland and in fact all over the world. It was an engrossing and compelling assignment to research and I was very pleased to be complimented on my clear and concise writing skills.

                                          

Law assignment four is coming up soon on precedent and reading a case which I have already started working on. I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.    

A weekend competing in MUN

         Model United Nations

                         Straight after arriving back from a week of activities in Carlingford Activity Centre, myself, Jane, Harry, Ciaran, Laoise, Joshua, Zenia, Sabine and Cian headed off to a Model United Nations Conference in Wesley College, Dublin along with some fifth years who included, Cameron Brady, Mark Cullen and Liam Noonan. I was in the delegation of Ukraine alongside Cameron, Jane and Joshua. The others were part of the delegation of Syria.  

                          

                        Model United Nations or MUN is a simulation activity in which young people play the role of diplomats representing a particular member state of the United Nations, with older young people, teachers or youth workers taking on the role of UN advisors. Taking part in MUN involves playing the role of an official delegate representing one member state of the United Nations and working in a team to form a delegation. Each delegation will try to persuade other member states to support their resolution.

                           

                           I was in the Environmental Committee and I was solely representing Ukraine among 30 other delegates representing their member states. Other committees included economic and social, security, human rights and many more. In my committee we discussed issues like Global warming and oil spills. My resolution got submitted and was discussed thoroughly in my committee but sadly it didn’t pass. I was very proud though to have even got it submitted as it was my first time taking part in MUN and I only had a vague idea of what was going on around me!

                            

                           We were at MUN for 2 days, Friday evening and all of Saturday. And even though all of us TYs were exhausted we threw ourselves into the vibrant, working atmosphere that is MUN. On the first evening we had to lobby for 30 minutes which meant we had to try and get as many signatures as possible on our resolutions. Lobbying was probably one of my favourite parts of MUN as I love to talk to new people and I managed to get 13 countries to sign my resolution which definitely helped me to get my resolution submitted.

                            

                               Ferdy Emmet, Thomas Rafferty and Cameron Dorlas, past St Gerard’s alumni, were all around to give us advice and help if we were in need of any tips. There was many students from all around the country and the delegation of Ukraine soon became allies with Uruguay, America and Spain, thanks to our expertise note passing at General Assembly. 

                           

                               MUN was an exciting and crazy experience and although it took me a little while to figure out the different elements to MUN, once I caught on I found it very enjoyable and had a brilliant time. I would definitely do another MUN conference in the future. After the conference ended on the Saturday Evening we all headed to Dundrum and got dinner which was a lovely way to finish what had been a great weekend.       

 

Feeling like a barrister for a week!

    Work Experience in the Four Courts

                                   

                                 

 On Monday 29th of February, as part of my third week of work experience I decided to keep on the law route, as that is what I'm interested in doing when I'm older. I have already done two weeks in a law firm shadowing and working with solicitors in order to get an insight into what they do so that experience enticed me to take a week in the four courts shadowing barristers and sitting in on trials in various courts.

    Harry and Amber were also in the courts that week so it was great as we could sit together in court and keep each other company throughout the days. We also made our way into Dublin together each morning using both the Dart and The Luas. Public transport and I have become good allies throughout Fourth year, something I thought would have never happened as in previous years I have missed various darts and sometimes I would get on the wrong one!

                               I was meant to be shadowing a barrister called Rebecca who specialised mainly in human rights law and refugee law but she had a lot of private meetings that week so I mainly went around with Harry and Amber and their devil Roger. A devil is a person who is qualified to work as a barrister but must have two years’ experience working under a full time barrister before they can become self-employed and work fully as a barrister.

                                   Roger brought us around to various courts such as the district, circuit, high and supreme courts, informing us about different cases that were going on or were quite controversial. We even got to see the chief justice Susan Denham working away in the Supreme Court. Some of the trials we saw were in the newspapers the next day and it was really cool to be able to read about a case that I had been watching physically in court.

                                 

Watching the barristers at work was an exhilarating experience and something I could see myself working as in the future. Their work ethic and debating skills were something to be admired and every one of them was brilliant at laying out the facts of the case. It was also very interesting to watch the defence go up against the prosecution and debate the case.

We even met a barrister called Imogen McGrath who is an alumni of St Gerard's and a former head girl. We watched her win her case and then she brought us for coffee and we all reminisced about Gerard's life. She was a lovely woman and it was so nice to meet someone who attended St Gerard's.

                                  One of my favourite days was definitely the Thursday when we went to the CCJ or Criminal Courts of Justice. Amber, Harry, Roger and I took the luas from The Four Courts to the Criminal Courts and I was very excited as Criminal law is an area of law I am really interested in. When we arrived in the Courts we had to go through a full security check to make sure we had no narcotics or weapons hidden on us and as soon as we got through we were all in awe of the building. It was so modern and didn't seem to fit in with the atmosphere of crime and offence that surrounded the CCJ. The lifts were fascinating, fully glass and zoomed up to the floor of your choice. Roger told us the building was built in 2010 and the architects take great pride in the image and structure it still obtains today.

                                                                                                                                                              

                         In the CCJ we watched a murder trial which involved a man who hit another man on the head with a baseball bat resulting in death. The defence were saying that the defendant lost control of his mind and therefore did not know what he was doing but the prosecution argued that the defendant put on clothes, ties his shoelaces and purposely took the baseball bat and went to find the man, this had to prove that the defendant was guilty and in fact did not lose control of his mind. In the end, the defendant was found guilty by the grand jury and he is being sentenced tomorrow, 11^th March. He could face many years in prison or a lifetime.

                           Working in the four Courts was a fabulous experience and it has enabled me to really become interested in working as a barrister when I am older. I learnt new things and things I knew already were magnified and improved while in The Courts. I am very grateful to Rebecca Lacy, the barrister who granted me the experience to shadow in the four courts and also to Roger who showed me around and found the most interesting cases to watch!

 It was an amazing week and I enjoyed every minute of it.   

Adventuring in Outdoor Pursuits Week

       Outdoor Pursuits Week

                                  

                           

On the Monday after the musical, we travelled straight to Carlingford Adventure Centre, with all of us girls weighing the buses down with our numerous bags as per usual. We got there around midday and took in the beautiful picturesque views that surrounded the quaint and charming village that is Carlingford. We walked through the classic cobbled stone streets sweating and giggling with the weight of our overflowing suitcases and reached Carlingford Adventure Centre, our base for the week. We had a quick meeting with Ryan, the head of the centre and we sorted our rooms out and headed off to see where we would sleep and hang out for the week. Our rooms were mixed groups which was great as we got to know other girls a bit better in our year. My room consisted of Amber, Chloe, Rachael, Sabine, Mia, Evelyn, Catherine, Caroline and Jane. I had brought my speaker along so tunes like ‘dancing in the moonlight’ and ‘September’ blasted out of our room and we soon became the music dorm.  

 Straight after lunch on the first day we headed off on a 3km walk to ‘SkyPark’ a zip lined area which slogan entailed – ‘Get High’ (a terrifying slogan for scaredy cats like me!). As I have a huge fear of heights I decided to sit SkyPark out as the huge zip lines and wobbling tightropes made my legs quiver beneath me! The two Mr Kelly’s and Ms O’Regan were as excited as the rest of my group about the prospect of zooming through the air at a huge height and decided they too would have a go at the SkyPark experience. I was in charge of taking pictures of everyone using Mr Kelly’s very high quality camera. I had great fun snapping pictures of people with nervous grins as they wiggled and wobbled their way across an obstacle high up in the sky.

                                   

                                 

                                        

                                                             

                                       Eventually I had a group of people to walk around with while taking pictures as some had become a bit afraid of the harrowing heights and decided their preferred place was the firm ground. After hours of fun at SkyPark we walked back to the adventure centre and were greeted to a lovely dinner which was gobbled up eagerly by everyone. After dinner, everyone went up to their rooms to relax for a while and then Group A which I was in went on a 10km hike around Carlingford and the forests that surround it. It was a terrific hike as we had music booming out of my trusty speaker and it was in the dark which made the hike more exhilarating with our flashlights beaming around the forest. We got back at about 9.30pm and chilled in the common room until bedtime at 11pm.

                                        Throughout the week our routine varied every day and activities included laser tag, canoeing, team building activities, high rope climbing and zip lining in Ziptopia. Surprisingly, I managed to do some of the zip lining and high ropes as even though I was nearly frozen with fear I decided to push myself to do something different and I was so proud of myself after completing a zip line circuit and climbing up a pole. I was happy to have faced my fear and if I can do that then I can do anything.

                                           

                                           We also had great fun canoeing in the absolutely Baltic sea where we were all freezing but had so much fun together laughing and canoeing along. The funniest moment though was when Mia, Jane, Caroline and Tom’s boat sank underwater and everyone on the other boats started singing the theme song to titanic. I felt so bad for them though as they were very chilly afterwards. It was so peaceful out on the water and canoeing was one of my favourite experiences out of the whole trip.

                                                

 I had a fantastic time the entire week and I really bonded with everyone in the year. I feel like I pushed myself to do things I would have never done before. I would like to thank all the instructors in Carlingford who were so kind and encouraging to our whole year and also all the teachers who accompanied us. It was an exhilarating adventure and one I will never forget.             

Relationships and Sexual Education project

        R.S.E Project on Contraception

                This term my class took the relationship and sexual education module with Ms. Hilman. We discussed many various things to do with relationships and we also researched and looked at sexually transmitted diseases in great detail. 

                At the end of the module I did my project on contraception which was really interesting to examine the different contraceptive measures available. I was very pleased to get an A± for all my hard work.

Below you can see my project.