What I've Been Reading!

Book Review!

As a part of my Christmas exam in English I have to read a novel that is on or has been on the leaving certificate book list. The novel I have chosen to read and review is 'Lies Of Silence' By Brian Moore.

The novel is set in the 1980's in Belfast at the height of the Northern Troubles. It has an interesting plot that has a very realistic portrayal of life in Belfast during the troubles. It is a thrilling tale that displayed how the troubles affected the lives of everyone.

                          The novel is about the married couple Moira and Michael Dillon who are dragged into the troubles without choice. This topic is very interesting as it is a story that relates to the lives of many people whose lives were torn apart due to the sectarian troubles in the north.

                          Michael is a hotel manager who is not very happy with how his life has turned out, in the novel he says that he is "a failed poet in a business suit". His unhappiness is due to the unhappy relationship he has with his wife, he is also having an affair with a much younger woman named Andrea. When one night he is taken under hostage and forced to involve himself in the northern troubles Michael Dillon's life is turned upside down. He is left with a decision that involves repercussions for everyone in Michael's life.

                          This novel is very interesting and explore many topical themes such as conflict, love and role of women. It gives an excellent insight into the past and how the lives of ordinary people were impacted by the Northern Troubles. I was really impressed by the author's style of writing, especially the author's use of flashback which gave me a good insight to Michael Dillon's past and his views of Belfast for example he describes it as "graffiti fouled barricaded slums where the city's Protestant and Catholic poor confronted each other year in and year out on a stasis of fear, hatred and mistrust". His use of dialogue also made the story line easy to follow and understand.

                          Overall I really enjoyed this novel for all the above reasons, I think that Brian Moore is a very talented writer and I found it deepened my understanding of the troubles.            

                           I would recommend this novel for anyone over the age of fifteen. I would recommend it for both males and females as it would appeal to everyone. In my opinion I think this novel should be awarded four out of five stars. I hope this review has encouraged you to read this novel.

Maths trail!

Rathbeggan Lakes! :)

Today our whole TY group went on a trip to Rathbeggan Lakes to take partin a maths trail set up around the lake. We were all put into different groups and given different maths problems to solve - the problems ranged from counting cogs on a bike to measuring the height of the zip line pole. Some of the activities were more challenging than others and although it was freezing everyone enjoyed the trail. I would recommend it for anyone who is doing or has completed junior certificate maths. 

http://www.rathbegganlakes.com/508/ - This is a link to information on the project maths trail on the Rathbeggan Lakes website!

ZUUUUUUUMMBAAAA!

ZUUUUUUUUMMBAAA! 

As part of our TY experience the PE teachers and our coordinator have organised for us to do a double class of Zumba each week. Every Friday my class take part in Zumba in the hall. It is great fun! The instructor doesn't explain the moves to us, She just dances and we all copy. This was a bit confusing at the beginning but at this stage we know most of the dance moves! Everyone seems to really enjoy it and it is a really good way to exercise. 

This is one of the songs we dance to at Zumba classes! If you want to try it out you can find instruction classes on youtube but it is so popular most gyms have classes regularly!

Drop The Base!

I thought that this science joke was appropriate for science week!

This week for science week we went to ITT for a talk on science. We got the bus to Tallaght at 10.40 and arrived at 11. The talk we were given was very interesting and reminded us of all that we had put behind us from Junior Cert science. The man explained this to us throw simple experiments some of which included shooting potato past us and a crowd of student ducking in fear of being hit! It was a really interesting talk and it wasn't too short or too long. On the way back we got to go to McDonald's which was the perfect end to our busy beginning of science week!


For more information on the juggling scientist who made the presentation to our class in ITT, click the following link : http://www.thejugglingscientist.com/

Happy Halloween :)

Every Friday before Halloween midterm in school is a school dress up day!

 Each Halloween dress up day each year is given a theme. This year Transition year were evil villains. I decided to make my own Shere Khann costume and won best overall costume in Transition Year :) , although unfortunately I never recieved my prize. :( 

This is me! I even made it to the school Website!

There was a full length photo on the school website but they took it down I did have a whole outfit and my arms were also painted with tiger stripes!

If you want to see the rest of the photos taken check out the school website : www.stwolstans.ie

What I'm reading!

Circle Of Friends- Maeve Binchy

The novel I am reading at the moment is Circle Of Friends, this novel was written by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. This novel has also had a movie based on it although I have heard the movie does not do it justice. 

I began reading this novel a few weeks ago when my English teacher suggested writing a review and posting it to our blog. I chose this novel not only as it is often on the leaving certificate reading list, but because I wanted to read a novel based in Ireland and written by an Irish Author as well known as Maeve Binchy.

The novel is set in Ireland in the year 1949. It explores the lives of several Irish students going to University College, Dublin. In particular two girls from the small country village of Knockglen, Benny Hogan and Eve Malone. These two girl have grown up together constantly in awe of the thoughts of living free from Knockglen. Along the way they meet new people and make a wider Circle Of Friends. 

Mother Francis is a character that I found interesting as she took in Eve when noone else in Knockglen would despite what others said. (Eve is left as an orphan after her parents tragically passed away and her other family refuse to take her in). I admire Mother Francis as she raised Eve as well as she could and never pressured her into joining the convent. It is also clear that she cares very much for Eve.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, The novel displays a world of knowledge on Irish students attending college and although it is based in the 1950's it is very relevant to Irish people nowadays.

FUN WALK FRIDAY!

The Fun Walk Is Tomorrow!

I can't believe it's tomorrow already. Each year during friendship week each class prepares a short performance to promote friendship. It is a great way for each class to bond with eachother. This year as the colour theme for ty's is yellow my class is dressing up as taxi's. However I will be dressing up as Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince Of Belair and will be leading the dance to it's not unusual by Tom Jones. Here is a clip of Carlton performing the song I hope I an live up to his high standards and my classes high expectations. I CAN'T WAIT!

Work Experience - Block 1

Work Experience

Westgrove Leisure Club!

After months of anticipation, I will begin my first work experience block in a local leisure club in Clane. I can't wait! This work experience takes place every Wednesday for 8 weeks. I have to get up bright and early to catch the bus to Clane at 8 o'clock as my work experience begins at 9 o'clock. The Manager said that I would be taking part in classes, I hope this placement will give me an idea of what it is like to work in a leisure club especially as I am currently taking classes to become a pool lifeguard every thursday. I'll let you know how it goes! :)

This is a picture of the pool in the leisure Club!

TY WEEK 4

This week in TY we have finally settled in and the geography and religion projects that we were given on the first week are finished. The presentations to the class began this week and I have found that all the workshops on positivity and self confidence have helped and I am confident that I have put in enough effort into my projects so I am not nervous about the thoughts of presenting. I had a workshop this week from the careers teachers that taught me what to wear and how to behave during work experience. 

This is one workshop that we had during the week and it taught us how to be positive, We also got sweets which was an added bonus!

We froze but it was AMAZING

Carlingford!

After getting up at 6:15 on Monday morning Carlingford was definitely worth the early start. On arrival we went straight into the sheds to put on our camouflage army suits for our first activity - laser tag. I has never played before and it was AMAZING we were given guns and sent into a course in the forest and told to kill the other team, unfortunately the only difference between the teams was the colour of the guns and I may or may not have accidentally shot a few of my own team mates but by the end of the games I knew who my team mates were and we won three games out of four. That night we went on a night walk in the dark forest and scared the other groups. The next day we went body zorbing and kayaking in the sea in the lashing rain which was freezing but still so much fun. My friend got stuck upside down in the body zorb, and noone could do anything to help her as we were all in zorbs. The instructor finally noticed about 5 minutes later. I definitely enjoyed the weekend and bonded with the rest of the girls in my year.

This is the position my friend was stuck in! HAHAHAHA!

I GOT ALL HONOURS!

AN LÁ CINNUINA

That's the day of reckoning, and I am proud to say that after I recieved all honours in all higher level subjects. The three years of hard work finally paid off. I woke up that morning anxious and excited. When the clock turned to ten to twelve we knew it was time and entered the hall, The realisation that I was minutes away from recieving my exam results came when I saw Mrs.S walk in carrying the envelopes and we all got into lines in alphabetical order. I am delighted with my results especially my B in Spanish! I was even happier when I go home to see that my older sisters had made me a cake based on the episode of  The Big Bang Theory when Sheldon hid in the ball pool. 

This cake made the junior cert worth while!

12 Days Later..

I'm still completely clueless when it comes to using this blog but I know I will eventually figure it out, and with one day until junior cert results I'm nervous to say the least. The wait tomorrow morning until twelve o'clock will be unbearable. D:

My first full school week in class Tabei :)

This Week

The first week of school has been really enjoyable. We have already had three workshops. The first one was about living life to the full and making the best of life, it was really fun and different from the usual school day. That same day we had two other workshops. The second one was about energy and aura. We learned how to give massages and my friend R had the joys of being my model as I learned. The last workshop we had was a positive party, during the two hours we learned how to have a positive outlook on life and not to dwell on the negative in a really fun way. I definitely enjoyed the day of workshops and can't wait until next Wednesday. This song is a positive one that I like to listen to especially after what I learned at the workshops.

The Beginning

4 days Later...

After a nerve wrecking start I am a member of ty class Tabei, named after Junko Tabei the first women to climb Mount Everest in 1975. In June 1992 she became the first woman to climb all seven summits, I think it would be an understatement to say that we have a lot to live up to. The classes in our year were named after women who have done remarkable things : Tabei, Cornaro and Tereshkova. 

This is an image of Junko Tabei the woman my class was named after.