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At the start of the year our school began preparing to put on a Christmas production of Jack and the Beanstalk. I was part of the chorus along with most of the girls in our year. We had to go to rehearsals at school on either the Saturday or Sunday every weekend. Whilst there Allen, our director, taught us the dances and songs. I remember we all spent a lot of time on learning the dance too. By the end most of us were sick of the songs!.
The best part about being in the Panto, was the costumes. One Saturday leading up to the show, we spent the whole day trying on dresses.
I can't say that I enjoyed the rehearsals but the nights of the show were really fun. We all had to wear red lipstick and our panto land dresses. The panto itself was very funny and the dame, Andrew the costume guy, really made the show.
After the final performance the entire cast went to the doghouse in Howth.
I won't say I loved every moment of Panto land but for the most part it was a good experience and I'd definitely do it again.

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One of the modules I have been involved in this year has been community action. In order to be awarded my Bronze Gaisce I had to partake in 13 weeks of Community involvement. Every Tuesday morning we got Pat's bus down to Howth Hill Lodge nursing home where we'd then spend the next hour talking to the residents. On my second trip to the nursing home I was introduced to Rose and continued to visit her . Rose is a wonderful lady who wears a ring on each finger, sings along to every song on the radio and always tells me to smile. It was always something to look forward to and I am going to miss her. On our last visit we made scones. Community Action has definitely been my favourite module this year and I will miss it.

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I did Toned & Fit this year to improve my fitness levels and complete my 13 weeks of sport for Gaisce.
This was tiring but actually really fun. The most difficult workshop was spin class and as it required a lot of stamina.
My favorite exercises were the weights and core work

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This year I did a first aid course.
To begin with we had to learn all the theory behind first aid and took a written test.
After passing the test, we moved on to practical work. This meant CPR. We first learned how to do it through demonstration before trying it out for ourselves.

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One of the most beneficial modules this year. We would do course research and various tests to determine what was best suited for ourselves. Below is a summary of what I learned.

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Technology was a module where we learned how to make our own websites. Here is my website for a school and its social media policy.

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This is my personal statement.

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Here is a copy of my CV

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Before easter, I did a weeks work experience in Mylan Pharmaceutical company in Blanchardstown. Each day Kerry and I would sign in for 9:00am and get our visitor badges. We would then have tea in the canteen before being given our timetable for the day. Before entering the labs, we always had to put on lab-coats and glasses. One of the days we also had to wear a mask because of the hazardous substances being tested. Before this week I didn't realize the amount of testing and logging went on within the labs. All the products would be stored in the warehouse and random samples would be tested to ensure they were safe. It was really important that all the information was filed on the system incase anything went wrong. I learned lab etiquite, organisation and administrative skills.

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For my second week of work experience I was at a law firm called McCann Fitzgerald.
When we arrived, we were given visitor passes and name tags for the week. The work experience program here was really good as it showed you what being a solicitor was actually like. We all had our own desks and were given assignments to get through by the end of the week. These assignments usually consisted of advising our 'clients' or drafting legislation.
One of the mornings we went down to the four courts to witness a barrister in action which was really cool. McCann Fitzgerald was an extremely professional workplace and we had to make sure we dressed accordingly. I really enjoyed my week there and was sorry to go back to school the next week. Prior to this I disliked the idea of working in an office but it opened my eyes as to how an office works and over the course of the week my opinions changed. Hopefully one day I will be fortunate enough to work in a place just like it.

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I think my favorite subject this year has been art. At the beginning of the year I took the art appreciation class. Because the Panto needed props and a stage set, we spent a lot of our time painting houses and arranging flowers. Ms Houlihan always played music while we worked on the set and though it was monotonous at times, seeing the overall result was cool.

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Here is my portrait

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Once a week we had a two hour psychology class. I loved this class because I think psychology is really interesting. Linked below are a couple of my assignments

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In this module we learned about nutrition and how important it is to eat healthy. Here is my presentation on Osteoporosis.

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The history course was based around Glasnevin cemetery. We spent most of this module doing a research piece on a person of our choice who was buried there. Linked below is my essay.

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Our school offered a GCSE English course this year. I decided to take this course as it is the British equivalent to the junior cert.
Below are a couple of my assessments.

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To be awarded the president's award we had to do an overnight hike.
First we had to sort out all our gear including hiking bags, boots and waterproofs. We were also given a survival bag.
We got the bus down to Wicklow in the morning and began walking. The start was difficult because we had to get used to the weight of our bags and the heat.

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The hike was very steep and we were going up and then back down a lot of hills. The first hour after lunch was challenging as we climbed to the top of Mount Joust. It began with a steep but gradual incline and ended with what felt like a vertical slope. For the last twenty minutes it felt like every time you thought you reached the top there was more to go. When we did get to the top though, the views were incredible. It was really satisfying to look down and see how far we had walked. We rested at the top of Mount Joust for a while  before continuing. The second half of the day was much easier.

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When we eventually reached Lough Dan, the place where we were camping, it was quite late and the sun was beginning to set.
We all drank lots of water and rested. After this we set up our tents and unpacked for the night. We then started chopping up onions, mushrooms, pineapples and peppers for dinner. The boys went to chop firewood for the fire. We cooked our dinner on the fires outside. It was dark at this point so we had to use our head-torches. Most people went to bed after dinner as we were all very tired after the days hike.

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The next day we had to get up early in order to leave by nine. We had breakfast and packed up the tents before heading off for round two. The second day was much easier than the first. It began quite intense as we had to get to the top of another mountain but it was a manageable gradient from there. The weather was once again very hot but it was easier to cope with as we'd gotten used to it the day before. I enjoyed the walk more because I was less tired so could appreciate the scenery around me. I enjoyed the hike but it was relieving to reach the village where the bus picked us up. I fell asleep on the way back to school as it had been a long, but rewarding two days.

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The first trip of the year was the Larch Hill outdoor pursuits trip. When we arrived we were split into two groups. the first would hike, then camp the first day whilst the others would do so the second day. I was in the first group so we unpacked our stuff and prepared for our hike. The hike wasn't too challenging and we were at the campsite by early evening. We then set to work on our tents before unpacking for the night.
We had dinner and then proceeded to the nearby woods to learn how to light fires. Once we all finally got the hang of it we started roasting marshmallows and bread. After this we stayed up for a while until we were sent to bed. It was very cold and I think most of us struggled to sleep through the night. The next morning we packed up our stuff and went back to the hostel for breakfast.

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For my ex-curricular activities this year I did choir with Ms Howard. Unfortunately I did not go to Disneyland but I did the concerts.

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A few weeks ago there was a make-up organised at school. Two make up artists came in to give us a crash course in basic make up application. They demonstrated each product and then we got to try it for ourselves.
The course started in the morning and finished around 3:30. The girls facilitating the course were really nice and ready and willing to answer any questions we had. I enjoyed the course and feel that I learned a lot from it.

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Every year in the run up to Christmas, the school asks parents to sent in 5-7 non-perishable items of food for the Vincent De Paul fund. There was a huge amount of food donated by all the students. The people helping out had to unpack all of the bags and then sort them into different categories such as cans, treats etc... We then had to repackage the bags by type of food. We then brought all the bags to the gym hall where the hampers were to be made the next day. After the hampers were made they were collected and brought down to Vincent's. It was a long process but it was definitely worth it.

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For my extra curricular activities this year, I was member of the choir.
From the beginning of the year we began preparing for the Christmas carol concert. It was a lot of work as Ms Howard is a perfectionist. I love the Carol Concert because for me it marks the beginning of Christmas.

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Throughout the second day we did various outdoor activities such as archery, aerial trekking and orienteering. This took up most of the day and in the evening there was a competition between the teams. Unfortunately my team did not win but we all had a lot of fun.
The on the final day of the trip everyone was together. We did more outdoor activities and a team photo challenge. We had to use a map to find all the locations to take photos at. My team almost won but we were beaten.
I really enjoyed this trip and would have loved to do it again.

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We baked scones, a crumble and burgers