Monday morning:
Ice breakers 1 - We were with Ms Heavy & Ms Coffey - We did an activity which involved learning the names of our students and vice versa - We were in a group with Spain & Germany - As a fun activity the teachers got the foreign students to try pronounce Irish names including Caoimhe, Saoirse, Niamh, Sadhbh, Tadgh, etc. - We then stood in the middle of the room and played a game where we stood on either the left or right side of the room according to our preference; for example, stand on the left hand side if you prefer tea and stand on the right hand side if you prefer coffee
Ice breakers 2 - The second set of icebreakers were done with Ms. Linehan and Ms.Kyne - We made posters with our names on them and a few facts about ourselves and our families. Some people also included their hobbies and interests - This group was made up of Lithuanians and Norwegians and their Irish partners - We displayed the posters at open night for parents and families to see - It was an enjoyable activity that helped us get to know every
Monday afternoon:
On Monday after the lunch we had two workshops, one with a poet and one with our English teachers. The workshop with our English teachers started with each country giving a presentation on Utopian and dystopian literature. Our dystopian examples were Black 47 and the Irish famine. Our utopian examples were Neverland from Peter Pan. We were then put into groups and we were given a sheet of paper. We had to make up a Venn diagram on the differences between utopia and what was the same. We then just presented the diagrams and that finished the workshop.
Monday afternoon:
Creative writing work shop- Oisin Mcgann
On the Thursday morning we had a creative writing workshop with Oisin Mcgann who a full-time writer and illustrator. He helped to give us inspiration for our short stories. He also drew a character from one of his comics and we all got a chance to ask him different questions about the ups and downs of being a writer and help for our own short stories.
Monday evening:
Visit to Nenagh cinema:
On Monday evening the 12th of November we traveled to Nenagh to watch a new film that was out. We watched Bohemian Rhapsody. We all bought our sweets and popcorn and sat together watching the film. The film started at 5 and finished at 6:30pm. Students then got collected from Nenagh and went home with there partners.
Tuesday morning:
Birr castle:
After our creative writing workshop on Monday evening we went to Birr Castle the following day. While we were there, we learned about the history of Birr Castle. We were getting inspiration for our dystopian and Utopian stories as we learnt about Mary Ross and her family. Mary Ross was an amazing photographer and came from a wealthy background. She helped fund many of her husband’s hobbies, such as astronomy. We also got some information on other family members who could be potential characters in our story as well as location! We then went to see the castle and the telescope and learned about the history of them. It was very interesting and enjoyed by all.
Tuesday afternoon:
On Tuesday afternoon we went to Visit Portumna Workhouse. Borrisokane school was, too, a workhouse so we wanted to show our visitors what our school used to look like before it was refurbished. This was very educational and gave all the students an insight into the hardships people faced during the famine. This linked back to the prevailing project theme of dystopia.
Wednesday Morning:
We went to Rock of Cashel leaving the school at 9 o’clock and arriving in Cashel at 11 . We got a tour of the cathedral and when we finished we watched a movie about the area. When we were finished at the Rock of Cashel we went to Cahir castle. We arrived there at 1:00pm and got a brief talk about some of the history of the castle and were showed the art on the roof and walls. We got a short tour from a nice lady called Susanne and then we proceeded to a big room where we were shown a short film about Cahir castle and its history. We then got food in the town of Cahir.
Wednesday Afternoon:
We went to Mitchelstown Caves in Cahir on Wednesday afternoon. When we got there we walked up a path to the cave and met our tour guide. She gave us some information about how the caves were discovered and we went in. It was very wet and a little bit humid inside, and the pathway down was steep. We took a tour through the caves and learn about stalagmites and stalactites and other things like that. The tour went by fairly quick but it was interesting. This was the last thing we did on Wednesday, so we went back home on the bus afterwards.
Thursday midday:
Hurling tutorial
Hurling is a huge part of Irish culture and on Thursday each student brought in their hurls and gave the Erasmus students a tutorial in the sport
Tutorial:
1. We set up the tutorial by laying out cones
2. When the drills where all set up we called all the students in to explain the rules
3. We thought them all how to rise a sliotar and they all then tried to jab lift and roll lift the ball
4. We had a solo competition and also had a shooting competition
Thursday afternoon:
Ceili:
On Thursday evening we had a closing event as it was the last time our group would all be together. We started the event with teaching the students the siege of Ennis and the walls of Limerick dances. Most found the dances confusing, but we had great fun nonetheless. After the dancing we had a little bit of a potluck. We the danced again for the teachers. After this we had a mini Eurovision. Each sang a song that originated from their country. For example, Spain sang the Macarena. It was a great evening of bonding and we all had great fun.
Friday morning:
Cooking demo:
On Friday morning foreign students from Lithuania, Germany and Spain took part in a cooking demonstration led by Ms.Hogan our home economics teacher. All students had the chance to prepare, cook and eat a traditional full Irish breakfast. They listened to Irish music and enjoyed the workshop. This was the last event for the German students before the departed Ireland. It gave all the students a chance to try traditional Irish cuisine and they enjoyed this experience.
Friday Afternoon:
On Friday 16th of November the Lithuanian and Spanish students and their partners all traveled to Nenagh castle and heritage Centre. We first visited the Heritage Center and got a tour around the old jail and learned about the history of Nenagh. We then went across to Nenagh castle and got to climb to the top to get a great view from the top . Everyone then got a chance to take photos . We then got free time around Nenagh so the foreign students got the chance to see more of Nenagh .
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