Gaisce

Last Friday all of the students doing Gaisce and the teachers Ms.Hughes,Ms.O'Callaghan and Mr.Kennedy left the school and headed off for the Wicklow Mountains. After a journey full of twisty roads and fabulous views we reached our destination, "Kippure Lodge" in Glendalough Co.Wicklow. There we met our instructors that we would have for the next two days and divided up into our houses. The houses we're really nice and we quickly settled in. After having a quick snack we went back outside to greet our instructors and headed off for the first part of our hike.
My house(house 5), was led by instructor Wayne and he gave me the map to lead the way for the first part of our journey. We had only walked a few kilometers before tiredness hit, but we all knew we had a long way left so kept on going. After walking through fields full of sheep horses and goats we reached a hill. Which turned out to be a very steep hill indeed! Every time we thought we had reached the top, we would look up and see more and more of it, merging into the horizon. Finally when we reached the top we were so overwhelmed by the views surrounding us and the feeling of accomplishment was great!:)
We went to a burial tomb which had been there for thousands of years. It was really deceiving as from the distance it just looked like a pile of stones but there was actually a chamber in it, which we walked through right out onto the roof , it was pretty spectacular to see and i was amazed that it was there for thousands of years.
After reaching the peak we started to make our way downhill, back to the houses. It was all so much easier going downhill! And we were all able to just take it easy and chat to each other:)
That evening back at the houses we cooked up our dinner, i had chicken tikka, nom.
After dinner we settled down to watch some HSM in the sitting room. Then it was off to bed to gain a goods night sleep for the day ahead.
Waking up at cocks crow we left the houses together, and set off for the mountains once again. We had to walk the rest of the 25km. I'll admit that it times it was a struggle but as we went through the gates of Kippure Lodge for the last time after we finished the hike ,we knew it had been worth it :)
After we completed the hike we went to do some high rope activities. We got a new instructor called Dave and he was such a mad egg! They were really fun and i tried them all :)
At about half four it was time to go home, we bit farewell to the people of Kippure and headed home.
I'm pretty sure that everyone really enjoyed the trip and the sense of accomplishment afterwards was just amazing :-D

Run forest run..

So its athletics's season again and the West Leinsters schools are just around the corner. All the athletes in the school have been training hard and choosing what events they would like to compete in .
This year i'm doing the 300m hurdles and hopefully the triple jump and the relay.
As well as the WL's the holy faith school competition is also coming up and its on the Tuesday we come back from our Easter holidays. Last year our school did really well in both these competitions ad we hope to replicate that this year too :-)
Because outdoor season is beginning the indoor season is coming to an end. This weekend I have the All Irelands for relay. Me and my team will be running in our club colours of blue and white and hope to bring home an All Ireland medal after travelling down to Neenagh in Tipperary for the day!

Could this be a cool curent?

 For young scientist all the Ty's did science projects in groups of two or three. Recently we had to present our projects through powerpoint to our year and the science teachers. The best three groups were chosen by the teachers and the girls in those groups were given a certificate and a voucher for Liffey Valley shopping centre.
My group which included of me, meg and Rachel were one of the groups chosen and below is a link to our powerpoint of our project "could this be a cool current?", which deals with the changes in water temperature because of icebergs melting in the sea.
Have a look and tell me what you think :-)
http://www.slideshare.net/AoibheannOF/could-this-be-a-cool-current1

Bon Anniversaire Kate!

C'est mon "blog challenge"..
Aujourd'hui' c'est l'anniversauire le Kate. Elle a seize ans!
Sur vendredi, elle aura un parti. Je vais aller à la parti.
Nous allons aller au cinéma et nous manger de la pizza!

Ce sera amusant:-)

On your marks, get set(to die), GO!

Yesterday, the 14th of March Ty's went on the bus up to Puddenhill in Meath. As we arrived at the Brave force assault course we were nervous but excited as we looked into the field full of trenches, tunnels, bales of hay and tyres.
After a quick warm up, the whistle was blown and we set off up a hill to start the 3.5k run. The first obstacle we encountered was an underground tunnel, that we had to climb under. It was difficult to get through without hitting your back off the roof!
Then it was time for the first water trench, i jumped in with Rebekah and i'm pretty sure my body went into shock from the freezing temperatures of the icy water! We had to wade through the water and then pull ourselves up on topes. Looking like drowned rats we continued on, jumping our way over logs and bales, climbing up ropes and on monkey bars, swimming through ditches and streams, and scariest of all walking a tightrope which was above green slimey green (I was pretty determined not to fall in!).
Climbing over the last obstacles and seeing the finish was great, we really felt like we had accomplished something looking back at the course.
After the race we went into a room to get changed, and it was amazing to get into warm, dry clothes and eat our lunch.
One sentance to describe the day :

<--- Me and emily in the river!

Hell but fun at the same time :-)

Canter banter

Last week we went on our second week of work experience. I spent my week working in Clonfert Maynooth Equestrian Centre. I wasn't nervous at all on the first morning 'cause i go there everyday anyway because i keep my own horse there.
I did different tasks like mucking out the stables, catching horses, putting them out in the Field, putting them on and off the walker and grooming the horses.
On the first morning Michelle(my supervisor) introduced me to a young pony called Aero, i was to work with him throughout my week. He was only a four year old who was broken last summer put then was left out in the field for the winter, which had caused him to become unused to people. My job was to get him used to interacting with people and to become more sociable again. When i went into his stable on the first morning he was very nervous and wouldn't come over to me. I petted him and fed him treats to show that i was not a threat and that i was there to be his friend. When he become more used to me i took him out of his stable, tied him up and groomed him. I could slowly see him accepting me being in his space but he was still nervous.
As the days went on he became alot friendlier towards me so i decided to bring him on a walk around the yard to get him used to the sights and sounds that he will see on a daily basis once he has entered his job of a riding school pony. As i walked him around the yard his ears were perked forward and he was very interested in everything that was going on, but was very frisky. He jumped at the slightest sound and even reared up once or twice when he saw people driving past the gate of the yard. I brought him for a walk everyday from then on and i was delighted to see his progress throughout the week, as he became familiar with the surroundings. At the end of the week i thought i had formed a bond with the little pony and was very pleased with his progress.
I was sad to finish on the Friday but i really enjoyed my week :-)

We sing a song to Brigid..

On tuesday the 7th of February, Ty's went to Kildare town to follow in the footsteps of St.Brigid. After studying and doing a project about her, it was decided that because we live only a half hour drive from Kildare town, that we should take a pilgramage there.

When we arrived in Kildare town we went straight to the heritage centre, where we watched a dvd about St.Brigid and her infuence on Kildare.
Then we headed out into the cold to begin our walk in the footsteps of Brigid. We began our trip at the St.Brigids Cathedral. We listened to Mr.Kerigan talk about the history of it,and discovered that it is still in use today by the Church of Ireland. We leanrned about the different wing of the church for ladies, we saw the stained glass window and the tomb of Bishop Welsley. We were told that there is a certain spot on the tomb that if you touch you will be blessed with fertility.
Then we went around the grounds of the cathedral, where we saw, a round tower(the 2nd tallest one in Ireland), a fire pit and Brigids kitchen. They were all really interesting, and i learned loads of new stuff about them that i never knew before. For example, that the there was always a fire burning in the fire pit, to show that people were welcome. It lighted constantly until Cromwell put it out.
After seeing all the things in the grounds of the Cathedral, we set out on a walk to see St.Brigids wells. The first one we went to see was the original one. You walked around in a circle town in the well and blessed yourself with the holy water. The second well was newer. We had a prayer service around the second well where we said a decit of the rosary. The prayer was led by ms.kavanagh bracken. It was really peaceful, and a nice opurtuinty to reflect on the day.
I really enjoyed the day and learned alot about St.Bigid :-)

Here's a picture of one of St. Brigids wells,
 
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