carrickcs.ie

STUDENT FORUM

on the Young Scientist

For some of our competitors this was their second time to participate in the BT Young Scientist, but for our group (Jessie Hudson, Nancy Brandon and me) this was our first time. Our project was “Why People Get Body Piercings”.
We were very eager and, to be honest, a little bit nervous because we didn’t know what to expect. We were also really excited to actually be a part of it. We weren’t sure if our project was up to the standard of everyone else, but when we arrived in the RDS and had a good look around we realised our work was well up to scratch.
We had a fantastic time and we have taken all the judge’s comments into consideration and will learn from them for next year. Leaving Dublin our overall feel for the Young Scientist was that it was a brilliant experience. We grew more confident by talking to the judges and explaining to people what our project was about. We met many new people from all over the country and have definitely come home with more social skills.
Lauren O’Halloran 11-02-2010

on the Key Program

The Key programme - well what can you say? If you’re looking for a place to go to set up your own business while climbing a waterfall and speed boating at the same time it’s the place for you.
For me being on the Key programme has been the absolute best experience I have had in my whole life. The people you meet along with the sports and training you do is just unbelievable to imagine.
The staff who work there do nothing but show respect and kindness for your whole stay. In some ways the Key is like a guide to your whole life it teaches you about job interviews and setting up your own business and by now some of you may think “well that’s really boring, it’s just like school” but the trick to the Key is it mixes the training part of it with fun things that you wouldn’t usually do. In a way it pushes you to your absolute limits in what you think you are capable of doing.
It is also a great way to meet new people and get an insight into their background while at the same time getting to know yourself.
Not many people can say they climbed a waterfall, went banana boating and speed boating, made their own boat and used it, made their own product and sold it to the general public along with the hundreds of other things you do if you get a chance in a lifetime to get on the Key.
Believe me as a student it’s well worth it to go.
Karina Gannon (27-1-10)

on the Student Council

Hello there,
Colm Bohan here. I am presently the Chairperson of the Student Council. I'm the guy who calls the meetings, reads the agenda and has the casting vote in the event of a tie in proposed motions.
The aim of the Student Council is to give a voice to all the students.We make sure the students are settled in the school, and if they wish to have changes made we discuss them at meetings and, if passed, we propose the change to the Principal. We have come up with the ideas of ; no school tie, navy trousers for female students and fruit in the tuck shop which have all since come to fruition.
The Council also arranges special events each year. Two years ago we organised a School Fashion Show (much to the stress of those involved) and the money raised was donated to the St. Vincent de Paul. This year the Student Coucil have sold 300 "Angel" badges for the Irish Wheelchair Association and have met with Uachtaran na hEirinn.
We call meetings every Friday at lunch-time, and everybody is free to call in and raise any questions or issues with us. Colm B. (28-4-09)

on the Transition Year

TYO to date has been a great success. We have experienced a lot so far and are always "on the go" with new projects and ideas. We are using such a wide range of learning skills with all our work. We have been given the opportunity and the guidance from all our teachers to take responsibility for our own learning. We have had an insight into the world of work by undertaking a week of work experience.This taught us a lot and gave us an idea of what we would like to pursue as a career. Our weekly observations and mid-term analysis help us to record everything we have done as well as our thoughts on the different courses we are doing, and how we feel TY is going in general.All comments from teachers are positive, which is a major boost.
We have done a lot of work so far and that is why TYO has been such a success.We have been very enthusiastic about everthing we have done and have put a lot of effort into getting the most out of what we are learning. I have to say we are very happy with how everything has turned out and that is down to the work done by our teachers and by our TYO co-ordinator, Mr.Byrne. We have matured and are much more confident about ourselves compared to the start of the year.
Our highlight of the year so far has to be our trip to Strasbourg where we visited the European Parliament. All students had a great time and got to know each other a lot better. Our Radio station 2TY3 was a huge success. All students love it, all are involved and can't wait to stream it over the internet. Media Studies has been the favourite module of TY so far. It involves so many things we've never done before. We've also learned to play guitar and have also made a short film "Our Favourite Place", which we shot in Carrick.
TYO has been a great success and I hope the rest of the year has the same effect the first half has had on us
Rachel O'Halloran (30-1-2009)

BACK

NEXT