TY NEWSLETTER. TY Hamper Packing As part of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul charity work that the Transition Years are participating with, we got the chance to pack over 250 hampers on Monday the 19th of December. The Fifth Years and Fourth Years all got together in the Sports Hall to organise the hampers. We were first all given a short briefing from Ms. O’Connell about what we were doing and what teams we were put into and who our leader from fifth year was. We packed the boxes with many different foods. These were very basic foods such as jam, gravy, rashers, tinned soup and beans, crisps, biscuits and 3 large soda drinks each. It took some time but everyone really got stuck in and enjoyed helping. Later on when all the hampers were packed, the Fifth Year students got to go out to the homes and deliver the hampers to the SVP families. It was a really great day and we loved helping out especially as these were all going to homes in our area. It truly made us realise how privileged we really are with everything we have this Christmas. By Alanna Stanley
Christmas Bazaar A key date in the St. Gerard's calendar every year is the annual Christmas Bazaar. In celebration of the festive season, a large fundraising event involving the entire school community is held. This year, the Transition Year students had their first opportunity to take part in the organisation of the Bazaar itself, something we were all very excited about. The YSI group in particular were keen to do all they could for such a good cause. The days leading up to the Bazaar were full of activity, with the YSI group meeting regularly to organise their bake sale, along with other activities. In order to raise even more money, the group decided to sell goody bags of sweets, have a “Great Irish Bake Off” decorating table and sell Christmas Cards in aid of the Jack and Jill Foundation. As well as this, TY students were registering to sell their Mini Company goods, from candles to Christmas decorations. After many hours of planning and preparation, the day of the Bazaar finally came. That morning, Transition Years were busier than ever, filling up bags with all kinds of sweets, decorating trays and assembling the table. A piano was also transported upstairs, with much difficulty, to provide some atmosphere that night. Meanwhile, the Mini Companies were setting up their tables, making the products look as appealing as possible. The whole year was excited to sell their wares that evening. The night was a great success, with the YSI table a resounding success. The corridors were crowded with people trying to get their hands on a treat from our bakers. The Mini Companies did very well too, with lots of friends and teachers stopping by to check it out and make a purchase. Overall, the Bazaar managed to raise an impressive €18,000, and the Transition Year students were delighted to have played their part in this. By Emma Beashel
Musical Rehearsals The musical that the Transition Year students will be performing this year is Beauty and the Beast, which is a Disney production. Before Christmas, after many rounds of auditions, the cast was named. Everyone waited in anticipation as The Beast, the main part, was to be announced. When Ms.Jackie Olahan told us that Marc Finn would be The Beast, the whole room let out a roar as there could not be a more perfect person for the role. Other very important roles include Belle, who will be played by the amazing Anabel Sweeney. Gaston who will be played by Rory Wilson with David Byrne as Lefou, Gaston’s assistant. Mrs. Potts will be played by Lauren Harkin, Lumiere will be played by Jeremy O’Donovan and Cogsworth will be played by William Culliton. The Bookseller will be played by Jack Joyce. Since the beginning of the new term rehearsals have been going on every day and the Principals have been learning lines and the many dances that appear throughout the Musical. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D go to practice their dances to their assigned songs which are all choreographed by Ms. Aisling Doyle. Each day new dance moves are learned and rehearsed numerous times. Some big numbers include Be Our Guest and Belle. At this stage we are about half way through rehearsals and the acting part of the musical is well under way. Everyone is doing a spectacular job so far and it appears that the casting was absolutely spot on. Let’s hope over the next few weeks all goes well and that this TY Musical will be one of the best ones yet. A huge thank you to Ms Jackie Olahan and Ms. Aisling Doyle for their patience and hard work, as well as to our teachers who have been very flexible, allowing us to practice so hard. By Jeremy O’Donovan
BT Young Scientists - Peter O’Flynn On Fri, 13th Jan, fourth years were given the opportunity to travel to the RDS to the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in Ballsbridge. That morning, the RDS was packed with students from across the country, either visiting the exhibition, or participating in it themselves. St Gerards student Peter O’Flynn also had a stand at the exhibition. In the exhibition we wandered around looking at all of the stands and experiments that were set up there. We went to a presentation in the BT Arena, where we were shown the properties of liquid nitrogen and its effects, as well as some experiments involving the use of electricity. We also saw several presentations involving robots which were really interesting. Overall it was a really enjoyable day, and I was glad to have the opportunity to go to the exhibition. By Carla Connolly
Work Experience I completed my first week of Work Experience in the law firm A&L Goodbody. There was a special programme for Transition Year students that I along with around 30 other students from different schools took part in. I had some great experiences at A&L. We got to visit the Criminal Courts and Trinity College, as well having a mock job interview and doing work shadowing. I feel like these five days really improved my knowledge of working in a law firm, and also working life in general, and has made me more eager to study law in college. I am so glad that I got this work experience in A&L and am very grateful to them for having me, and enhancing my knowledge of working life by organising work shadowing of the employees there. They were all so kind and helpful to me and to everybody else too. I honestly enjoyed my week there, and am looking forward to trying out other work experiences too. By Robyn Kierans
Community Service On Monday the 7th of November I began my community service in Bray Lakers down in Bray. Bray Lakers cater for people from the ages of two years old to ninety and onwards with different disabilities. Bray Lakers is a place where these people go to socialise with others and they have different activities for different people, including swimming, basketball, tennis, pingpong, cookery, art, music and so on. These activities help these people communicate with others as well as help them on their daily basis. While I was working there, I was doing all different jobs including picking up and dropping people on the buses as well as helping out with the different teachers doing cooking or arts and crafts. While I was there I made many new friends and I got an idea of what I would like to do after I leave school. I worked there for a week which I felt wasn't long enough as I was just getting really into it and I was just finally getting the hang of everyone's names. When I finished my week there I was sad to go because in Bray Lakers it's like one big family. For someone going into fourth year and is looking for Community Service or Work Experience I highly recommend Bray Lakers because you don't feel like you're working when you are because everything there is so fun and the workplace is such a safe and comfortable unit. By Bobbie Rose O’Neill