TY Reflection Collection

Amina and Emnet

Chloe O DonoghueTy is nearly over and what a year it has been. We have done so many new things and learned so many new things. I have made so many new friends this year that I have never even talked to before. Id say the best thing about Ty is all the new friends you make. It has been so nice getting to know all the people in my year.

Another great thing has been all the trips we got to go on, they have been educational but so much fun at the same time. We have been to Croke park, the national museum, Dublin and Carlingford. We have also been in different competitions such as the young scientist a drama competition, mini company and a formula one competition. These competitions meant we had to spend a day in town or somewhere else. Here we met new people and learned so many new things.

We have also got to do different subjects in school such as home ec, music and tech. I have never done these subjects before and it was great to get to do them. I have made a key ring, key holder and a toy car in tech which I thought id never do. The whole year has been absolutely amazing and I wouldn't change it for the world, I've had so much fun this year. Now I'm leaving Ty with more then what I started with, I have learnt so many new skills and I'm glad I did it:)

Jessica McHughWell, well, well where to I begin????TY has been such a busy year , even busier than third year. We have so many projects to be doing all year round, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the projects that we are doing a a fun and interesting, and you get to work with new people. Ty is also a very good opportunity to improve your core subjects. I know it sounds weird, but it is really useful for leaving cert, as you get a whole extra year to practice your core subjects. You have a very good advantage over people who do not do ty. Many people say that ty is a doss, but that could not be further from the truth. Just because it is not about academics does not mean that it is a doss.We did so many things over the whole year. I wont name all of them because I will be here for years, but here are some:Social development day, colour me beautiful, fun run, Pilates, modern dancing, English plays, mini company, f1 in schools, Sean nos dancing, music night, fashion show, swim a mile, Croke park, state laboratories visit, Irish youth ballet, young scientist and Scifest, tag rugby tournament, Easter feaster, charity work, Gaisce......I could go on for ages!!!!Ty has definitely benefited me. I have met so many new people and made friends for life :) ty gives you opportunities that you would not get in any other year. I learned so many new things, and I will feel a lot more prepared for the LC than I would have if I went straight into 5th year.You get out of ty what you put into it. Don't just cruise along and hope for the best. You need to put some work in, and then you will get the most out of the year. Ty teaches you to be very organised, which is good preparation for the rest of your life. You get great life experiences, like work experience, which makes you feel like a proper worker everyday! You meet great people, and I will really miss Amina and Emnet <3 I know that next year, we will all be even closer.Ty is an amazing year, quite stressful at times(!) but I would definitely recommend it :)

Ailbhe EarleyIn many ways TY was an absolutely fantastic year for me as a person. I do have mixed opinions on the different parts of the year as I feel certain things benefited me personally. You only benefit from TY if you are totally immersed in it. What you get out of TY comes from what you put into it. I honestly believe this!! From creating a drama to acting as a drunken woman, from inventing a project and going to Athlone Institute of Technology to coming runner up in Kildare Enterprise Regional Final, from hosting a Christmas chocolate breakfast for Amina from Emnet to competing against them in the Fun Run, from huffing and puffing to swim that mile to perfecting our wonderful presenting skills at Scifest :L and coming home with all the prizes on the day….. Yes we have done quite a lot and that does not even account for Carlingford, our endless amounts of projects, our rugby tournament and creative dances, our pod casting, our fashion show, colour me beautiful, work experience, Pilates, Social Development day, Self Help Africa Workshop, our trip to the beach at Halloween, our Round the World Geography trip project, our efforts to stand up in front of third year students to present history projects, our English movement workshops, volunteering to bag pack for charity, our beautiful singing haha, music night and other performances…Mama Said, Young Scientists for some, Cáca Milis what an odd film, our conflict films in Religion which we loved so much ( such a relaxing class after a hard day’s work!!), Croke Park, Waris Dirie, Gaisce Hike, our book report ( mine was The Great Gatsby) and sooooooo much more!! I honestly would be here forever if I had to list out everything that we have done. In some ways this was a difficult year as everyone had to adjust to a new way of learning. I remember at the beginning of the year everyone was exhausted and everyone outside of TY could not understand it…they thought we had the high life ….. but in fact we were doing so much all the time and we were not used to all the projects and working in groups! It was such a learning experience and to be honest I loved every minute of it! I wouldn’t know everyone if I didn’t do TY and our year is so happy as we all know each other and get on with each other. I will be devastated leaving TY because I will really miss being Emnet and Amina! I will miss our freedom but I know that next year everyone will be even closer together. I have no doubt that it will be hard going into fifth year and adjusting to the fact that you cannot just walk into classes such as the computer room and say “ oh I’m a TY ….” And getting away with it .It will be sad but it’s a new beginning!!The laughs I have had have been amazing with these girls Michelle, Aoife B, Clara, Emma, Mia, Leah, Aoife O’B, Katie, Zoe, Fiona, Laura, Rachel D, Rachel L, Aisling, Ciara, Sarah, Jessica M, Danielle, Ellen, Kellie, Elaine, Niamh O’R, Eileen( who I will miss so much), Hayley, Laura, Grace, Rosette, Jessica McH, Ruth, Niamh McC, Niamh C, Niamh O’R, Oriana, Steph H, Stephanie S, Karen, Grace, Ciara, Ruth, Chloe, Rebekah, Saidhbh, Bebhinn, Siobhán, Roisin G, Roisin P, Orlaigh, Louise, Davina, Alison, Lauren T, Lauren M, Niamh P, Aoife B, Patricia, Eimear, Kate and of course Sandra who was with us at the start of the year! I love you girls <3 and we still have to keep our TY page because God that did help me in remembering things I would be wasting paper if I listed all the advantages of TY …. But I will just end with this! I really thing TY is an amazing year to do. You meet so many nice people and you learn so much about yourself as a person. I have grown in maturity I hope and confidence from doing TY and I have met the best people in the world! The pressure in TY is exhilarating and you get such good life experience from it! I wouldn’t recommend doing TY if I really didn’t believe that it is one of the most beneficial years in school. I hate to see it nearly over . . . in my mind it’s going to last forever! EMNET & AMINA <3 Thanks to everyone who contributed to this year- Ms. L and all the teachers and of course the students.

Kellie WaldronThis year has been the best school year, by far! We did so many things. My all time favourite was Carlingford. Although it didn't turn out as I had planned, it was still one of my favourite times during TY.

TY has made my life so much better. I have made a whole bunch of new friends. Some from TY and some from 5th year, but I met them because of TY. If anybody in 3rd year is reading this and can't make up their mind about doing TY, just do it!!! You get so much out of it. Sure, the projects pile up from time to time, but it is a fun year and I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Some of the TY trips we went on were amazing. The teachers who brought us were so good with us and controlled us when we were a little out of control.

Mr. W, did very well to 'take care' of us when we were at the f1 at Schools Competition. Ms. O' C and Ms. R did brilliantly with us when we were in Carlingford, taking special care of me because of my ankle. Mr. K handled us quite well when we went on retreat.And last but certainly not least, Ms. L did an AMAZING job with us throughout the whole year. I don't know what we would have done without her!!! She really makes TY for everyone. :)

So my conclusion to TY is that it's the best, and it shouldn't be changed, one little bit!!

Ruth Fitzmaurice

TY is almost over, its so sad, I don't want it to be finished.I really enjoyed work experience, I liked working in the village at Lyons Cookery school because I really enjoy cooking. My other work experience was in the electronic engineering department in Maynooth College which I also enjoyed because I learned about the job.

Another thing that I enjoyed was making new friends, and all the trips that we have gone on. We went to Carlingford, the Croke Park museum, The young scientist, a drama competition, a ballet competition, National museums in Dublin, mini company competitions and Scifest.

Louise YoungSo TY's already just over and what a year we've had!

As well as going on trips here and there , we also got to try loads of different subjects like music and technology and as well as learning academically you also learn loads of stuff about yourself. TY is all about team-work and I think it really helped me to grow as you have to take on lots of responsibility. I also learned to be organised and self-motivated.

We also went to loads of places such as Work experience, Young Scientist,Carlingford,State Labs,Mini Company Workshops, Ballet show ,English Trip to town, Swim a Mile, Retreat and Drama Competitions.

We had lots of talks such as WEEE, cycling, our social development day, a pod casting workshop and a colour me beautiful workshop. IN PE we tried out new things such as dancing, Pilates and tag rugby.

I've was also lucky to be part of lots of successful teams. The noughts and crosses drama group won best new comer at the Briery Gap Drama Final. Team Swift, my technology group got to the semi finals and my mini-company Green Hero won 1st for sustainability and 3rd for quality in the regional finals and 3rd for quality in the national final.

Its a great year of change and a way to make new friends. It was a year of meeting new people and trying new things and I’ll miss it! Overall , TY is was an amazing experience and I'm really glad I did it. :)

Emma KnoxLooking back over my experience of Transition year, I can say that it was without a doubt, the busiest year yet. Whether it be projects, dramas, competitions or group trips, we were always kept busy and our efforts certainly did not come without success :)As a whole, the year group really did themselves proud, winning awards in Scifest, Mini-company, Drama and so much more. The highlight for me was definitely the Mini-company competition - after a rather stressful few months of carrying out market research, designing prototypes and contacting manufactures, our efforts eventually paid off when we came runner up in the regional final. Through different activities and assignments throughout the year, it has enabled us to gain so much more confidence in ourselves, acquire new skills and break away from the typical academic work in school. Whether it be group work within the school or conversing with other schools during the competitions, we have all become a lot closer as a year group and made a great deal of new friends, which perhaps, would not have been plausible otherwise.All in all it was a great year, I have no regrets and I would recommend it to anyone interested in exploring something a bit different :)

Aoife ByrneWell.. Transition Year!! What a year! Been fun meeting new people, going on trips work experience etc ... I could go on and on about it.

With like the start of the year to now, friendships have changed so much!! Its like scary how much change has happened over the year and how people change and grow up.. :) I remember how stressed people got with the mini company an how to start in up and all, so crazy.. The English plays.. They were AMAZING!!!!!!!! They were brill haha Z.M, C.B, F.H.D and L.M being boys :L was so good:) I suppose Ty kind of makes you the person you are today really, like it'll break you down, with trying to get assignments done or projects.. The kind of makes you with new friendship, like even if friendship grow and change like at least you can look back and see the friends you have now are the ones your probably gonna have till the end of school :) I loved how the students got to know teachers more on trips and the teachers got to know us too.. :L Reminding of that coming home from the Sci fest the group I was sitting with on the bus, we were so hyper, but we didn't really care that they saw us like that cause like its TY let lose and have fun I suppose. :) That's really it I suppose..

Niamh C O ReillyHi There..

Well... I have to say, this year was a pretty amazing experience. In third year, I wasn't even thinking of doing TY, and only decided to do it once I went to the meeting about TY during 3rd year. I have to say, I definitely made the right choice!

This year has given me so much. Work experience is something that I will never forget. Trips and activities such as Carlingford, Social Development Day, Retreat, etc. were really good experiences and also going to competitions such as Scifest, getting to regional's in the F1 in schools competition and Getting to the Mini Company 'Get Up And Go' were amazing opportunities.

We got to try different subjects, such as technology, art and home ec. that I have never done before. And I have to say, I have started to develop a liking for technology which I didn't think would happen. We also did fun projects such as making things in technology, designing clothes in Home Ec. and doing a cookery project on India! And if it wasn't for TY, I probably wouldn't be blogging :P

I'm so glad I did TY, as if I had gone straight to 5th year, I don't think I would have liked it as my subject options have changed. In third Year, I wanted to do Biology, Chemistry and Music. This Year I have Chosen Physics, Business and Music! What a difference!

I have also gotten on well with so many people in my year that I didn't know before!

I loved this year, getting the chance to do new things and meeting new people... I would definitely recommend it!

Siobhan BradyT.Y is coming to an end....:(  I have had such an amazing year and have been given so many different experiences throughout the year. I know that I am going to have to keep this blog post so I will try my best .I thought that this post would be easy to write and well I was wrong. To say that I have had an amazing year is just not enough. It has been far better than that. I have done so many different things that I won’t forget. The opportunities that I was given this year have been something different and very worthwhile.

I think that it’s fair to say that I have enjoyed every minute of this year no matter how stressful it was or how many different projects that we had. This year has really helped to prepare me for the future. Thinking especially about mini company and how in the future I know that I would not like to set up and run my own company. But in saying that it was fun going to the different mini company competitions and it was all a bit of good fun in the end.

Things like work experience had got me ready for working life and I really enjoyed it so much. Especially the week that I spent in the fire brigade training centre. I wish I didn’t have to leave it was that good. I learned so much.

The highlight of my year would have to have been when I went up to Belfast for the Irish blog awards. That was the best night I have had in a long time it was so fun and relaxed for an awards ceremony. Thanks you Mrs L for nominating and helping me to make my blog what it is and thanks to everybody who has commented on my blog and read my blog. If it wasn’t for T.Y I would have never even started blogging.

When I think back now to third year when I was trying to make up my mind about doing ty I think that I am glad that I chose to do it. It has been such an amazing year jam packed with so many different things going on. I have done so many different things that I never thought that I would do and for some of those things I am surprised to say that I really enjoyed doing some of the things like dancing.

I have done so many different things that if I hadn’t chose to do T.Y I would never have got to the chance to do. I have made new friends and kept the old ones. I have tried new things, I have failed and succeeded. I don’t want T.Y to end I wish every year in school was like T.Y.  I am glad that I did T.Y and now that I have all of these amazing memories to look back on. :) Thanks to all of the amazing teachers that have helped to make this year so go and thanks to Mrs L without her this year who not have been as fun as it was. Thanks Mrs L. :)

Roisin PowerThis Tuesday we returned back to school for our last 4 weeks of school and of TY! I can't believe it's nearly over, and don't I know it! We have an graduation night to prepare and several end of year projects and of course and good few summer test (just to prove we actually did class work!...joke!).

I'm really excited for summer though and I've lots planned. I still have my Geography, History and Science projects to finish and we have to put together a whole ceremony for grad night! I'm in charge of sound on the night, as well as doing the Mini company and English stands!

The other class are organising hoodies for us and they are putting together a video for incoming TY's, so they have an idea what to expect from TY, though I think that was half the fun! Looking back on all my blogs and work I can see how much we have done and achieved this year! We did so much more than I expected and we did it all well. I'm still having so much fun and I know it won't stop till the very last minute.

It will be sad to leave TY, I will definitely shed a tear or two. I'm so greatly for all that I've experienced and learned, for my new friends and the chance to grow closer with old friends to.

I want to know what your favourite moment or trip in TY? I have to say going to Cork or the drumming workshop!

Orlaigh KennardAs a whole, I have really enjoyed the Transition Year Experience. Thinking back, I am glad that I have done it. I was most definitely not ready to go into fifth year; I was not mature enough to begin studying for my Leaving Cert and I would not have taken it serious enough. I also needed a break from studying for my Junior Cert, it was a tough year and I felt that the 2 months summer break we had, was not enough.

Although, there were times that I regretted doing TY. Times when everything was getting too much for me to handle; with all the projects and trips we had, it was a big responsibility. Those days didn't last and within even a day or 2, I would be back loving the year again.

I have benefited a lot from doing Transition Year. I have learnt so much about myself and my friends. I never thought I could learn so much about myself in one year. I also gained skills and new friends. I had time to take part in more extra curricular activities and so was more active than before. I had free time - time which I had to use well. Two things I did with my time were: getting a job and entering a talent competition. If I did not do TY, I would not have gained experience with the job that I have now. I also really enjoyed the talent competition, with which myself and a few other girls from my year, won the heat but not the overall competition. I would not have met the lovely people I met and I got to know the other girls in the ballet group really well and they are so lovely :)

Even though I had some bad days, I enjoyed TY and all the experiences and opportunities it offered :)

Eimear ByrneThis year has gone so fast its hard to believe its almost over! I have enjoyed this year because I made new friends and got to spend more time doing things I want to do rather than school work. I am glad I did TY because I feel ready to go into 5th year now, and I really didn't this time last year. I think Carlingford was the best part of TY because we were all together and we had such good craic. I got to try subjects I never would have picked - art, music and tech. Although I still wont be doing them next year, I enjoyed doing them this year! I also really liked Pilates and dancing! Although it was hard work, mini company was a good experience. We had to contact loads of companies in our search for a manufacturer, and I think we learned valuable communication skills. We had loads of interviews, between mini company and Scifest, so that will help us when applying for jobs too. Work Experience was the most beneficial part of Ty without a doubt, so that in itself made it worthwhile. Sometimes I regret doing TY when I see my friends who went into 5th year and only have a year left in school. Although I'd like to be finished sooner, when I think of everything I have got out of this year I don't really regret it.

Lauren Murphy There is only like 2 weeks left in school, so that means TY is nearly over :( There is so much I want to say about TY, it has just been such an amazing year for me and my life will never be the same again. If we had our way I'm sure most people would do TY again. TY was definitely an experience, one I'll never forget. Throughout the year I have tried things that I would never even dream of doing, I learned a lot this year and we did a lot more work then any other year in the school! Some things that I have learned and done in TY has changed my perspective about where I want to take my life and what I want to do. Since the year started I thought from the very beginning that TY was just amazing, even though I got stressed at the end because of the projects which I sort of expected, it has been the best year of my life! I finally know what I want to be when I'm older thanks to my work experiences. But it can be hard in a working environment and I think it's fair to say that I'm ready :)

Ever since the start of the year Mrs. L kept telling us to be blogging about our TY experience and now I know why. When we leave school and in years to come when I think about my school days, I can always just come on to this and read all about it because to me it's not just a blog, it's my memories.

Mrs. L has just been amazing and I want to thank her for all the opportunities that she has given us and she has helped me so much. I was on the fence for so long in 3rd year about whether I should do TY and now I am so glad I did. If I didn't I would be studying to sit my Leaving Cert. whereas in TY we sort of had a year off from the hectic studies and got to learn new skills. Right from the very start Mrs. L has helped me achieve great things and she doesn't just treat us as students because we were all friends in TY even though there was some rivalry going on between Amina and Emnet:) Without Ement we would be nothing.

Throughout the year I have made new friends and I just know we will be friends forever thanks to TY for the tasks put in front of us. I have done so many things in TY and I just can't put them down because they were just amazing, like Carlingford, I mean before that I wouldn't even dream about hiking up mountains but I did. I can take all of these memories with me thanks to Mrs. L and to all the other teachers who pushed us for the entire year to do the best of our ability. Without them we wouldn't have all this knowledge, I always thought that teachers taught because they had to but know I know it's because they want to and I admire them for that. Cheers Guys :)

I will keep all of my TY experience in my mind and on my blog forever and I wish every year in school was like TY because it is just a once in a life time experience.

Danielle ReevesTy to me was great adventure and experience , I love getting a lot closer to my class. We started off not really knowing each other , but that soon changed we all became really good friends and are all very comfortable around each other . I like the fact that we had a lot of freedom and we were trusted to do things and organise events ourselves, wiring this seems kind of weird because to me ty isn’t over and when we finish school it wont be either I’m sure everyone will remain good friends in ty. I learned that everyone is in the same position as you and not to be sacred of speaking up ty gave me more confidence , I do not regret doing it one bit , my favourite memories of ty would be our trip to carlingford where we bonded and also ate Chinese at 11pm after a hike ! I also really enjoyed the fun run when we did our dance, there are so many things I cant even begin to start. I will really miss everyone when the school year ends but I’m also excited to see what is next to come :D

Laura KThis year began with so many clicks and groups, with about 60 in whole year group it was a small enough group and I couldn't wait to make new friends.. When we were split into classes by the language we studied, I was really annoyed, not only because my friends were in Amina, but because I was in basically the same class as last year. It took me a while to realise that I didn't actually talk to half the people I thought I knew. Starting off the year with Carlingford was brill, we all got split up and forced to talk to different people with all the little challenges.. I do think we should have gone back for another weekend at the end of the year though ! It would show how much has changed ! Our first round of projects were really overwhelming haha, we just couldn't handle everything at once. We had to master presenting and Microsoft PowerPoint which is all worthwhile in the end, it just seems horrible at the time. A big deal of TY at this stage was coming up with mini company ideas ! If I could give only one piece of advice for TY it would be to start thinking of ideas before the year starts, once you get a head start on the product and straight into selling it would be so much easier.. When it came around to work experience, everyone was just a little stressed about placements and insurance but once the first day was over they were all really good. For my two weeks, I did the guards and a pharmacy. Overall I preferred the guards because I was more active, but I wont be pursuing a job as a bean garda. We were all nackered after them. Christmas came early with the heavy snow which was a good thing for everyone, who doesn't like Christmas?. When we got back, our main project was working towards young scientist competition, only one or two groups got chosen in our year haha! but it was still a really good day out. So many projects were starting up again, for home economics we were designing an outfit, in Irish we were doing the walls of limerick and any other jigs and reels (no complaints), and in French we were starting our French pen pal letters to a school in Brest. I think the pen pal letters are a really good idea, because it not only helps us learn but them also. We went to Croke park one of the days, we were the only school there and I loved this. I'm into my GAA sports so I found it really interesting, we got a full tour of where the teams would go and we went out on the pitch too. Meanwhile in P.E, we had been learning rugby from Ross and Tom. A certain amount of us went to a blitz in Dublin which I thought was really fun too! In mini-company, we managed to get into the county final and we won judges prize, we were delighted. We still have USB cookbook's if anyone's interested! We had soooo many workshops and days out, these are only a few! We went into town to see the museums, we had a very successful music night, we went to the holy faith drama competition, we had a jembe drum workshop, we all did swim a mile, our lá glas was hilarious and we also had mini Irish orals hoping for a gold fáinne. To celebrate all our awards throughout the year, Mrs Leahy had a photographer in from the Liffey Champion to take our pictures. I thought this was a really nice way to acknowledge our hard work. The end of year, or summer test projects are definitely exhausting us - whoever said TY is a doss, lied. We have a huge geography project, a written English one, a terrifying maths one and Irish and French haha. Overall I really enjoyed TY, the days out were always great craic, the tests were okay, the workshops were fun, the competitions were successful, and we have brilliant memories to remember forever. I think Mrs Leahy played a great part of our year, she always cheered us up and had loads of things for us to do. We were never bored! Thanks miss! I just hope I'll be able to knuckle down in fifth year haha!

Fiona Healy-Donnelly We were told to have this done for Thursday and to keep it brief but I think trying to keep this brief will be hard as so much has happened this year and we've done so much. I remember when we first started TY everyone was so scared almost, nervous I'd say cause we didn't know each other that well. Before TY our 3rd year classes never really socialized or did things with each other that much. Everyone pretty much kept to the people in their own class. On my first day here I was glad to see that I was with my past 3rd friends but also happy that we were with some new people. It was strange being without my 3rd class. I think some of the teachers were surprised about how quiet we were at the beginning but we soon eased into everything and of course we all became a bit nosier :).Soon afters we realised how different TY was to all the other years, a good different though. We did so much through out the year that it would way too long to write about. But overall it was a great year and was really quite a unique experience. I hope people who choose to do TY have as good as a year as I did :) I know I'm going to miss TY and all the people in it and all the great teachers in it and everyone will be bawling their eyes out during TY Night.

Eileen SiaThis is my reflection on TY. It has been undoubtedly my most eventful year yet. This year I have become a lot closer to some of my friends. TY has given me an opportunity to try out different subjects I haven't done before such as Art, Music and Technology. I really enjoyed doing these subjects because they are different to what I studied for the Junior Cert. Despite all the projects we were assigned through out the year I can say that I have now mastered the production of projects. The projects have helped a lot with my computer skills and made me more confident to present it in front of a class. There are, of course, a lot of highlights of TY such as , Mini company, where my group, The Just Desserts, won the Judges Award in the Enterprise Board Competition. I don't think I can ever forget the look on our faces when our names were called up to the stage to receive our trophy and €100. Mini company certainly has opened my mind for running my own business in the future and also has thought me a lesson to always research and not everyone is truthful! Another memorable moment of TY for me was Carlingford, which was one of the first and longest trip we went on. It was great staying over night with my friends and the activities were fantastic. Nothing beats water recreation! Some of the activities we did included archery, canoeing, climbing and pier jumping! I found careers really helpful as well because of the subject choices and career interests. This gave an idea of what career I'd like in the future.

Work experience was one of the reasons why I picked to do TY and I have not regretted it. I went to Twin Oaks Bakery, NUI Maynooth and Dublin Dental Hospital. The places I went to definitely showed what the working world is like, and also what jobs I would like and not want. It was very beneficial and recommend it to students applying for TY .

Overall TY is a year to remember for the random things we did such as swim a mile, percussion workshop, Scifest, English workshop, retreat and a lot more.

Niamh R O Reilly

I'm glad that I did TY. Its been such a good year, getting to know everybody, making new friends and we went to so many places and entered so many competitions. Its been such a busy year, doing so many projects and getting ready for the mini company competition and young scientist and Scifest, but it was all worth it in the end (: I like TY because its year off of study and exams, but so many memories are made, and I'm glad to be apart of it. Its been such an amazing year and I don't want it to end. The best part of TY was Carlingford because we all got to bond and get to know each other. I cant wait for TY night now, its going to be fun but sad because the year is ending, and I cant wait to see how the performances turn out :)

Stephanie Smart

Ty was an amazing year, I would definitely recommend doing it. It really helps make you more confident and more mature ;) Its great because you get to bond and become closer to the teachers and also the other students in the year. Its very different from the all other years because you do more activities outside. I really liked work experience because it gives you an insight into the work life and it can give us a hand in the future because we know what to expect. Carlingford was so much fun we got to know each other a bit more and get to know them better. Overall it was a great year and i don't want to leave. I had a great year bonding with the teacher and the students and it will be very sad to part and go onto studying in 5th year thanks fellow Tys for an amazing year and to all the teachers for bringing us on trips :D

Oriana McFarland

Ty has been a great year full of memories. It all began with carlingford and the 12 people staying in one room keeping Ms O Calaghan awake til 3 in the morning. The fun we had making up little jokes between us was absolute ‘banter’. First day we started challenges and other various activities like water sports and hill walking. The day we came home we were all very tired but ran home to do our tan and others for ‘Junior Cert Results Night’. We all very excited to get them and the craic we had that night will never be forgotten . The memories we have had since then have built up to create a great year! I have made so many new friends through our bonding experiences and I am glad I did TY for that reason. I would’nt have gotten to know people aswell as I do by doing TY. We all appreciate the work the teachers have put in for us this year by organising all the trips for us:D I would recommend TY but if im being honest it depends on the person, it makes you so much more mature and confident and for people who don’t find it easy to make friends it brings you closer to everyone in your year because it’s so small. Goodbye TY 2010/11

Aisling Byrne

TY was the best year EVER! I loved every minute of it...if I could do it again I definitely would! I made so many new friends and learned so much! Carlingford and the Gaisce hike were my favourite parts of the year! We had so much fun and Carlingford was a great way to get to know our new year group! I also thought that work experience was great because it really gave me a chance to learn about different careers and jobs I could have in the future. I loved trying out new subjects that I’d never done before...like Technology, Art and Home Ec...cooking was so much fun and it was cool being able to eat food that I cooked myself. I loved getting ready for TY night, as stressful as it was ...everyone worked together so hard and in good spirit! If anyone ever told me I was going to be this busy in TY I would never have believed them before this year...but TY is no doss! There were projects from start to finish...as well as lots of fun stuff! TY taught me soooo much, especially how to work in a group, meet deadlines.....and how to use a saw! It was the best year I ever had (in school) and I’d recommend it to everybody!

Mia Martin

TY was a very unforgettable experience! From Carlingford to TY night there was never a dull moment in the school year! The competitions were one of the best parts for me especially Mini Company! The new friends I have made will carry on being my friends for a very long time. Ty has been an amazing experience for me and im sure it was for a lot of other people to! I’ll miss everyone!

Michelle Cunniffe

I think TY is the year that I will never forget. I will miss it so much! I made lots of new friends , which I will always remember!!! I have loved TY and it is a year that (if I could) I would repeat again and again!

I will miss everyone so much!!!! <3

Sarah Bourke

Ty has actually been the best experience ever, from all the friends I have made, to all the skills I have learned. Even the new teachers have been a bonus. Some of my favourite memories would have to be swim a mile and mini company. Some of the funny things we got up to, and all of the problems we faced. For example, having to get our report book into Kildare Enterprise Board for 3oclock,but not having it finished....good times

Bebhinn Cullen

Ty has to be one of the best years I have experienced in school , I have learned so much skills and made some great friends & so much memories were made . I wish I could re-do the year again . Ty has taught me how to be organised and has made me more confident

It defiantly will be a year I will never forget .

Thank you