Gaisce hike

We went on a hike for Gaisce this weekend. We walked 25km over two days, walking for five hours and covering 15km the first day and another 10km the second. it was very hard going and extremely steep. we stopped when we climbed the first mountain, which was 700m high. there was a bronze age tomb at the top that we could go into. we walked back to the houses then after climbing a second mountain. We walked along a river and had to cross it. the fields around us had been in a forest fire and were burnt to ashes. we had to cook our own dinner when we got home which was at nine o clock. overall i got about two and a half hours sleep as we all stayed up.
the next day was freezing and lashing rain. when we began to climb the mountain it turned to snow and we were caught in a blizzard for four hours as we walked. when we finished we changed into our pajamas and came back to Celbridge.
it was hard but im glad i did it as i feel as if ive accomplished something after walking and completing gaisce.

millenium development goal

goal 6: to combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases

1. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

Our school, along with others, has been chosen to make a book on the sixth millennium development goal. we are researching this goal, finding statistics and facts and creating articles and artwork to go into our book. some of the aims of MDG 6 are the following: 

"Target 6.A:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

• New HIV infections continue to decline in most regions.
• The number of new HIV infections per 100 adults (aged 15 to 49) declined by 44 per cent between 2001 and 2012.
• An estimated 2.3 million cases of people of all ages are newly infected and 1.6 million people died from AID-related causes.
• Comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission remains low among young people, along with condom use.
• About 210,000 children died of AIDS-related causes in 2012, compared to 320,000 in 2005.

Target 6.B:
Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it

• Antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV were delivered to 9.5 million people in developing regions in 2012.
• Over 900,000 pregnant women living with HIV globally were receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis or treatment by December 2012.

Target 6.C:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

• Between 2000 and 2012, the substantial expansion of malaria interventions led to a 42 per cent decline in malaria mortality rates globally.
• In the decade since 2000, 3.3 million deaths from malaria were averted, and the lives of three million young children were saved.
• Thanks to increased funding, more children are sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Treatment for tuberculosis has saved some 22  million lives between 1995 and 2012. "

                                                                   source

I have mixed opinions about transition year so far. 

On one hand, there have been weeks where we haven't done much or gone on any trips. during these weeks it feels a little boring as it is hard to motivate yourself in class. sometimes it feels like well if i have nothing to work towards, why work at all?

but there have been things about this year that i have loved. the pressure is off and you get to do things that you wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to do before. if you are in anyway quiet this is a year to volunteer for things and to take charge. it is a year that you'll have life experiences in, like writing and performing your own drama, work experience, even having a blog. Going to town to sell lollies for cancer or to sell holly. Things like this are things you can look back on and say you had a great time. 

if you don't really put in your all, and forget about looking bad in front of friends, your ty experience will not be all it has the potential to be. Grab every opportunity - like Gaisce. while sometimes i have wanted to give up and not put in the effort of doing it, i continue because it is something that i'll be able to say i have done, and the trip at the end will be worth it. 

You do get more comfortable in transition year. i have become more comfortable with teachers and speaking in class and have made friends that i wouldn't have if i was in fifth year. I have began talking to people that i used to think i wouldn't like and become friends with them. 

You don't know what will be thrown at you next when you're in ty but it is worth it. i have had a very eventful year so far, and have become happier in myself and in school.

i would recommend this year for people who are feeling uncomfortable, or want to participate but are too shy. You'll get so many chances to stand up and do something and while it can be tough getting through it - like in mini company - you'll never get the chance do it again.  

one of our blog challenges is to link a youtube video that would be appropriate to our blog. the video i am linking is something that i feel very strongly about, and i think that it is expressed very well in this video.

road safety talk

Last Thursday, two members of the gardaí came into talk to us in school. they talked to us about road safety and showed us clips of car crashes. we learned about how dangerous it can be on the road in the wrong conditions. they showed us how speed is a huge factor. you have an 85% chance of dying when hit by a car at a speed of km, but you have a 45% chance of death when hit by a car going at 50km. that 10km can make a huge difference, and thats why you can get penalty points for going over the speed limit. They showed us why we need to wear a seat belt, even in the back seat. though some of the videos were hard to watch it really has made me more cautious even of crossing the road. your life can be changed within seconds, or you could change someone else's life,and you have to respect that.
below find the link to the road safety authority website.
http://www.rsa.ie/

my hobby

As part of the November blog challenges, we have to write a post on our hobby. The hobby i picked is reading.

Many teenagers dont like to read, or just dont say that they do. but many people do actually read - whether they admit it or not.

i have always loved reading, even before i was able to myself. My family would read to me when i was young, and i saw them constantly buying books and reading - it runs in the family. my aunts gave me the first books i ever properly read myself, Jacqueline Wilson ones i admit, but they got me into reading myself. i was about seven then, and i soon started reading Enid Blighton novels, Roald Dahl, and many others avidly. i went to the library and read The Twins at St.Clares, Malory Towers, the Trebizon books, all the books my mam and aunts passed down to me. When i was in about fifth class i got into fantasy books and went through six books a week. I began reading classics when i was around twelve, starting with A Christmas Carol and going through to Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. more recently i read the Game of thrones novels, and The Green Mile, by Stephen King.

reading has always been something important to me as its a way of escape. i have lived a thousand lives as the characters in these books, i have done thousands of things alongside them. Youre transported from your home and swept up in romance, mystery, adventure, violence - whatever it is that you want. Reading was something I did if i wanted to escape from an uncomfortable situation. for example if i was away from home and felt homesick i'd read a book in which the main character felt homesick. it was something to reassure myself that i wasn't alone in feeling that way, and i still do it today. 

walk in my shoes

on Friday 10th October we had a non uniform day to raise money for 'walk in my shoes'. walk in my shoes looks for ways to fundraise to support people struggling with mental health problems. We decided to help by having a non uniform day but specifically it was a 'funky shoes day'. you wore your strangest shoes to school and paid €2 that went towards the charity. Mental health issues are affecting many people - 1 in 4 people in Ireland experience problems. young people in their teens and twenties are particularly vulnerable.suicide is the leading cause of death among men aged 18- 25 in Ireland. 75% of mental health problems begin before the age of 24.
but early intervention in illnesses such as depression can prevent deterioration and aid recovery, which could make a huge difference in a persons life. this is why our school got involved- to donate money that could go potentially towards saving someones life.
you can learn more about how to get in contact with walk in my shoes here.