TY Experiences at Nagle Rice, Doneraile, Co. Cork
During Transition Year (TY) we took part in a range of activities. A
major part of TY is Business Enterprise where we run our own business
and experience the highs and lows associated with it. Our class was divided
into two, each group each running their own business and participating
in a Trade Fair during the year. By the time of the fair we had a wide
range of products and it was great fun selling them. One of out groups
won the Best Transition Year Company. Business enterprise was a very worthwhile
experience for everyone as it will be a great benefit to us when we start
working.
We did a lot of outdoor activity during the year. On one occasion we
went hiking in the Ballyhoura Mountains and although it rained hard all
day making the assault course more challenging, we were delighted to finish
it. On two occasions we visited a nearby golf driving range where we had
great fun letting loose on those golf-balls.
A big project completed over the course of the year was an addition to
the school's already impressive wildlife area by making a herb garden.
There was a lot of work for us to do including constructing a pond and
a very long path. Many days were spent digging and getting dirty but everybody
enjoyed getting stuck in and our efforts reaped many rewards. In fact,
a team from the programme 'Nationwide' came to our school and filmed the
wildlife area and many of us were on television a few weeks later. One
of the highlights of the year was going to Skibbereen for a weekend. The
whole TY to Russagh Mill Youth Hostel which is also an outdoor pursuits
centre . While there we did canoeing ,orienteering, absailing, wall-climbing
and hiking and on the last day we had a massive six hour hike in the Carberry
region The scenery was breathtaking and everyone was sad to leave.
During the year we also visted museums, theatres and cinemas. We went
to see a film called 'Last September' during the Cork Film Festival and
then attended a theatre workshop which was very interesting. We visited
the Cork Opera House to see Hamlet - the acting was superb. On another
day we travelled to the Imax Theatre in Dublin where we saw Fantasia which
was an amazing display of animation and sound. The screen in the Imax
Theatre was at least 3 times the size of a normal cinema screen and this
made the animation even more fantastic. After the show we went to the
Ceolcentre, a museum of Irish music with brilliant facilities. All the
information you could possibly want is on computer there and there are
guides also.
During a school break many of us got work at the National Ploughing Festival
wheich took place in the nearby town of Castletownroche. This was very
memorable as it was unbelievably muddy and nobody who visited went away
clean.
We also completed some unusual courses during the year. Some completed
a cooking classe and for Christmas we all made Christmas cakes. As most
of the boys had never made Christmas cakes before it was an achievement.
We also did a law course in which a barrister explained his profession.
In video and drama courses we learned how to use a video camera and we
were shown various methods of filming, and then we acted out a scene from
a short film we saw. Each week we took a class in Argi-Aware for which
we had to complete a project. Three group projects were presented at the
Argi-Aware finals in Rathkeale. One group from our class came 3rd with
a project on REPS and as a result they will take part in the National
Finals in Dublin soon.
Another major part of TY is work-experience and there was a lot of preparation
involved in deciding where to go. This experience lasted two weeks and,
like the business enterprise, it will be of benefit when we leave school.
After the work-experience we typed up reports and employee interviews
on computers. We are all quite good at computers now and we are helping
in the design of the school website.
As our school is associated with Edmund Rice it was natural for us to
take part in the Edmund Rice Community Service. Some are helping with
homework in primary schools, managing a youth club and working with old
people. During their free time everyone does twenty hours Voluntary Community
service. As part of my community work I along with Maria Buckley and Eric
O'Gorman visit Dunmhuire Nursing Home in Buttevant where there are about
ten residents. During each visit we play music (Maria plays the piano,
Eric plays the percussion and I play the piano-accordion) and the nurses
aides tell us that the music is good for the residents.
Some of the residents are really talkative others are very quiet but
the more visits to the Nursing Home we pay the more talkative they become.
We get many requests to play songs such as 'After the ball', 'I'll take
you home again Kathleen', 'Muirsheen Durkin' and many more. A lot of the
songs we don't know so we have to learn them for the next visit. During
these music sessions the resident budgie is loose and spends its time
eating our sheets of music. I think these visits help the residents and
that the music brightens up their day - when we leave each Wednesday they
thank us for coming.
Some people say that you can be lazy in TY but when you see how many
hours we have put into the Community Service that opinion is clearly wrong.
We are all glad we made the decision to do Transition Year And we have
greatly enjoyed and matured over this year.
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