Carlingforddd

"You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take."

On Monday the TYs went to Carlingford Adventure Centre for the night. We were all extremely excited. The bus was leaving at 7 so most of us had to get up at 6 or earlier (wooh) but everyone arrived to get the bus with loads of energy, most girls with a bag filled with food!

The journey was around two hours long. When we arrived we were divided into our rooms. There were 9 of us in our room ... but only eight beds. We had to make a bed on the floor with extra duvets for Emer (Thanks Emer :))  Straight away we started our first activity. We went down to the beach to do kayaking. We changed into our swimsuits and wet suits and put on life jackets and helmets. We looked just fab!

After kayaking and eating lunch we went out for the second activity which was laser tag in the forest. To get to the laser tag we had to basically hike the huge hill. I swear I nearly died it was so hard! Laser tag was so much fun. The instructor Martin told us loads of 'inspirational' quotes to get us pumped for the laser tag (like the one at the top of the post). We were split up into two groups and played different games like capture the flag and sniper school. I felt like I was in Call of Duty or something!    

That night we went out for an activity called Night line after dinner. We went back up the huge hill again, luckily taking an easier route this time. We put on blindfolds as it was getting dark out and formed a conga line with our hands on each other's shoulders. We had to hold onto a rope and walk through the dark in the forest. We could see nothing but all we could hear is each other screaming "Tree!"

That night we had cake in our room for Lauren's birthday. We had a disco in a room upstairs and all of us danced around in our pyjamas. It was like a cheesy movie! For the rest of the night we ate and ate but didn't really even make a dent in the huge pile of food everyone brought. 

The next morning you could hear loads of groans as we were woken up by a wakeup call at half 7. We were wrecked! Our first activity was Canadian Canoeing which is three canoes tied together. We went out into the middle of the water and jumped it. We also went on a water trampoline and jumped into the water from it. The water was freezing!

The instructors brought us through a tunnel on the the land on the other side of the water. There was a fountain of fresh water that supposedly gave you an extra day of life. We were each shoved under and held there for 10 seconds and the water was colder than the sea! Canoeing was definitely my favourite thing that we did on the whole trip.

The last activity of the trip was a challenge course. We were put into teams and had to solve different puzzles and were rewarded gems. Our team came last... but we were still the best :)) We packed our bags to go home but we wished we could've stayed longer. Everyone was extremely tired on the bus home. It was an amazing trip!

Our Room :)

-Eve x

Results!

On Wednesday we finally got our Junior Cert results after three months of waiting! We arrived at school at 11:50 and lined up in our old base classes to receive the brown envelope. I hadn't been worried that morning but while we waited in the line I was nervous all of a sudden because I didn't know what to expect!

When I got the envelope I couldn't bring myself to open it at first! I went outside the front of the school and opened the envelope. I was SO happy! I was so glad that three years work paid off. The other girls seemed to be happy too as everyone was smiling. I went to the car park to tell my mom and then called my family who were all really proud. We went out for lunch and then I went home to get ready for the night!

We were going to Wrights in Swords and I was looking forward to it for ages. My cousin Kariba did our makeup for the night which meant that there was no rush in getting ready. We left at eight, but we left our tickets at home (shout out to Ellen for forgetting them:) ) so we had to go back. We arrived at nine so the night wasn't lost. It was a great night! You could tell everyone had a good time by how tired we were the next morning in school, some with eye makeup still on from the previous night. Being allowed to take out a mat and lie down for PE was appreciated by all of us!

On Monday, all of the TYs going to Carlingford Adventure Centre and are staying overnight. I am really excited because I heard its amazing! :)

-Eve xx

Week One and Workshops

Summers over and the school year has started. I have been in Transition Year for one week. At first, I found it strange to be wearing a different skirt and being called a 'senior'. I was really excited for TY to start though. On our first day we were divided into our new classes. I was nervous about what class I would be in but I was really happy as I am with all of my friends! Our classes are name after Disney Princesses. I am in class Ariel, named after Ariel in The Little Mermaid.

So far, I am really enjoying TY! It is more relaxed than third and we don't have to do as much work. Yesterday we had three workshops. The first was an etiquette workshop. We learnt about body image, dressing for job interviews and hand and nail care. We also brought in our own heels and the women showed us how to walk in heels properly. I'd never thought that I would wear heels in school! The second workshop was Positive Parties. This was about self esteem, confidence and how to have a positive mind set. We danced, laughed and had fun. The third workshop was for First Aid. We learnt basic first aid skill such as the Heimlich manoeuvre and CPR. This was my favourite workshop of the day as I found it really interesting.

I am excited for the following week because school sports and choir will be starting soon. We are also getting our Junior Cert results on Wednesday which I am nervous about, but looking forward to!

-Eve x