A Week in Our School

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A Week in Our School
Céad Míle Fáilte!
A Transition Year presentation of the Brigidine
Secondary School, Mountrath.
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Our Timetable

• Our subjects include Irish, English, Maths,
  French, German, History, Geography, Business,
  Accounting, P.E., Religion, S.P.H.E, Art,
  Science, Music, C.S.P.E, Computers,
  Home-Economics and Careers.
• In TY we also do Italian, Photography, Drama
  ,Dance, Mini-Company and European Studies.

• 08.50-09.00 ?Assembly
• 09.00-11.00 ?3 classes
• 11.00-11.10 ?Break
• 11.10-13.10 ?3 classes
• 13.10-14.00 ?Lunch
• 14.00-16.00 ?3 classes
• 16.00?HOME TIME!!

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Comhairle na nÓg

• We were invited to participate in the Laois
  Comhairle na nÓg (a youth discussion group) with
  all the 12 schools in Laois where we discussed
  important topics including road safety, sports
  development and sustainable energy.
• We were divided into groups with people from each
  school around the county to discuss each topic.
  We made new friends and made our voices heard.
• Our local council will take our points of view
  into consideration when making decisions for our
  area.
• 5 students were chosen to represent Laois in Dáil
  na nÓg which is a nationwide youth discussion
  group.

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Before the Musical

• Our class was involved in the stage preparations
  for the musical.
• Our job involved painting props, stage crew and
  musical backing.

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Our Musical - Heritage and Horizon

• Our schools performance this year was Heritage
  and Horizons. It was about the history of the
  founder of our school, Bishop Daniel Delaney, and
  his love of Saint Brigid (the patron of our
  school).
• There was singing, dancing and acting. Almost all
  the students were involved in some way.
• It ran for 5 nights, a lot of effort went into
  every aspect of the show and it was a great
  success.

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Sports in our School

• Our school takes part in a range of sports
  including volleyball, basketball, football and
  athletics.
• We have a very promising cross country team.
  Ciara from the TY class recently qualified for
  the All Ireland finals in athletics.
• Our cadette basketball team has an impressive
  record of victories, including this weeks game
  against Athy.
• Our cadette volleyball team, which won last years
  All Ireland Championship, are currently training
  hard for upcoming matches.

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Work Experience

• As part of our Transition Year course, we get the
  opportunity to go on work experience, to find out
  if we would like to pursue a particular career.
  It lasts for four weeks, two weeks in November,
  and two again in April.
• We have acquired positions in places like
  veterinary clinics, hospitals, photography
  studios, the County Council, dressmakers, primary
  schools and offices.
• It is a great opportunity that provides an
  insight into future careers and allows us to
  experience life in the working environment.

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Debating

• We have a very successful debating history in our
  school.
• At the moment we are competing in the Concern
  Debates. It is a great experience and the girls
  really enjoy it. The motion for their upcoming
  debate is Celebrity led campaigns do more harm
  than good for the developing world.

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Bridge
The Transition Year class are learning to play
the card game Bridge every Wednesday. It is a
very complicated game and requires a lot of
concentration. It is quite hard but enjoyable.
Interior Design
We also have some Interior Design classes on a
Wednesday. We are learning about colour and
different styles of design. We are making mood
and sample boards for a design for our
bedrooms.
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Meitheal
The 1st years are divided into groups and given
leaders from 6th year who help the students
settle in and make friends. Each group has a
colour and they meet regularly to discuss things
with their group and do group activities. Our
aim is to integrate the girls into the school in
a caring and friendly manner. We like to be seen
as friends to the girls, not authority figures.
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Green Schools

• Our school is involved in the Green Schools
  Programme. The Green Schools Programme is setup
  to encourage an environmentally aware attitude
  towards everyday life amongst students. We are
  currently working towards our 3rd green flag for
  water conservation. We have already received the
  flags for Litter and Waste and Energy
  Conservation.

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Fancy Dress

• Coming up to Halloween the school decided to
  have a Fancy Dress in aid of the Brigidine
  Sisters working in Kenya. It was a fun event and
  we raised over five hundred euro. Everyone got
  involved including the teachers and prizes were
  given to the best costumes.

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Skiing!

• For the TY Bonding Day we all went up to
  Kilternan, Co. Wicklow for a day of dry-slope
  skiing. It was quite difficult to walk with the
  heavy boots and carry the skis up the steps to
  the slopes. It took a while to gain control of
  the skis and to stop falling over, but we managed
  to pick ourselves up and laugh it off. As we
  gained more confidence we ventured further up the
  slope. It was a great experience to try something
  new and we got to know each other better.

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TY Mini-Companies

• There are 8 mini-companies in our class. Each
  group has come up with a business aimed at the
  students in our school. Our businesses include
  B-Day Bashaz, Charming, Dolly Mixture,
  Picture This!, MMMz and Sweet Treats.

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European Studies
As part of our European Studies Classes we are
developing our French and German as well as
learning about the background of the European
Union, its history and its policies. We hope to
become more aware of our identities as European
Citizens and to understand relationships between
different cultures and traditions in regional,
national and European contexts. Soon we will be
visiting the Dáil (the Irish Parliament) and will
be meeting with Dick Roche, the Minister for
European Affairs. We will be posing questions to
the Minister about his work and current issues in
the European Parliament and receiving a guided
tour of the Dáil.
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The End!
We hope you enjoyed our slideshow!! We cant wait
to see your profiles and presentations about your
school!