My sister's keeper. Key moments.

I really enjoyed reading “My Sister Keeper” I taught the book was very interesting and dealt with Kate’s diagnoses very well. However this is not the book I started with. I began to read “Never let me go” but I didn’t feel that that was the book for me. I only changed books recently so havn’t finished the book yet but these are the key moments I’ve picked so far.

The opening scene.

In the opening scene of the book we are introduced to Anna a thirteen year old girl who describes what is was like for her to grow up. We find out for her it was a lot different than us. She explains how she was conceived and why. From this scene I feel she has been hurt in finding out she was “made” and she feels most pregnancies are UN planned or the consequence of silly mistakes. I chose this scene because this is where we learn about her sister Kate who has a rare form of Leukemia and how Anna was conceived to save Kate’s life by acting as a donor. Anna was genetically created so that she could be the perfect match for Kate. In this opening scene we also learn about her sisters Kate’s current medical condition and how she needs a kidney from Anna.

Kate's diagnoses.

The next key moment in the book is when we learn all about how Kate got diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. In this scene the doctors test Jese Kate’s older brother to see if he is a matching donor. We see that after one little finger prick Jese is crying with the pain all while Kate has already started her first session of Keamotheorpy. In this scene I think we forget how young the two children are going through this crisis. I chose this as a major key moment because we learn about why Anna was conceived, because none of the family members were match’s for Kate and to have an unrelated donor is extremely risky.

Filing the lawsuit.

The next major key moment in the book is when Anna went to the lawyer’s office to file the lawsuit. Anna has been saving up for this lawyer for ages but it was taking to long but Anna goes to the lawyer’s office in the hopes that he will take on her case. At first the lawyer doesn’t take Anna seriously and he thinks this is a joke but he soon realizes that she really wants to sue her parent for the right of her own body and so he decides that he will take on her case. This is a key moment because I realized that Anna doesn’t want to be a donor for her sister anymore and that she is actually quite angry with her parents for putting her through all that pain. We also find out that Anna has clearly thought about this for a while because she is confident and has clearly revised and learned everything about this man and all his past cases. She is very determined to win this case even though the consequences of winning could mean her sister dies and possibly she gets kicked out of her home. This shows us how strong a person Anna is and even though filing a lawsuit like this might seem extremely selfish and mean we see how mature she is.

Geography project post 2 - The Haka

The Haka is a traditonal dance which is mainly danced in New Zealand. It is a posture dance which is always performed in groups of men AND women. Many people relate the Haka as being a visous male dnace but in fact it is danced by men, women and children and is not all about being violent and war. It is performed for many reasons some being amusement, as a welcome to guests, or to acknowledge great achievements or occasions. Sometimes the Haka is even performed at funerals.

New Zealand is a country that is made up of two main islands that lie in the South Pacific Ocean. Mountains, glaciers and volcanoes make the islands beautiful to visit and explore. The North Island is full of volcanic activity this is because it lie's along the Pacific's "ring of fire". The most recent volcanic eruption was Ruapheu in 1995. In geothermal ares of Taupo and Rotorua the hot rock near the earth's surface heat up this heats ground water which boils to the surface as hot springs. When the water rises as steam it bursts out of the ground as tall fountains called geysers. The heat released by this volcanic activity is used to generate electricity in geothermal stations.

Blog post 5 - The riverdance

Geography of Ireland

Ireland is an island in northwest Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean. The main features include low central plains surrounded by coastal mountains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil, which is 1,041 meters above sea level. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, headlands and bays. The island is bisected by the River Shannon, which is the longest river in Ireland and flows south from County Cavan in Ulster to meet the Atlantic just south of Limerick. There are a number of sizeable lakes along Ireland's rivers, of which Lough Neagh is the largest.

The large central lowland is of limestone covered with glacial deposits of clay and sand, with widespread bogs and lakes. The Bog of Allen is one of the largest bogs. The the Giant's Causeway, in Antrim, mainly basalt formation which was caused by volcanic activity between 50–60 million years ago.
An unusual environment is present in north County Clare, in an area known as the Burren. This karst-like landscape consists of limestone bedrock, with little or no soil in the inner-most areas. There are numerous sinkholes, where surface water disappears through the porous rock surface, and extensive cave systems have been formed in some areas

Geography post 4 - The Merengue

Cuba is an island in the Caribbean Sea.

Cuba lies west of the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Gulf of Mexico, south of the Straits of Florida, northwest of the Windward Passage, and northeast of the yucatan Channel.

Cuba is the largest country by land area in the Caribbean.

Terrain is mostly flat plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast.

Natural resoucres include cobalt, nickel, irron ore, copper, salt and petroleum. At one time, the whole island was covered with forests and there are still many valuable trees left. Large areas were cleared to grow more sugarcane, and so few trees remained that timber had to be imported.

The most important Cuban mineral economic resource is nickel. Cuba has the second largest nickel reserves in the world. Cuba ranks as the fifth largest producer of refined cobalt in the world.

Sugarcane was the most important part of the economy in Cuba's history, and is still grown on large areas. Irrigation systems are developed in the south. Tobacco, used for some of the world's best cigars, is grown especially in the Pinar del Ríon Province.

Cuba's climate is tropical and moderated by trade winds. The dry season lasts from November to April and the rainy season from May to October.

The highlights for tourists in Cuba would be High Jinks in old Havana where there is loads of dancing in the streets. Santiago in Cuba is another city but has a mor carribean influence with it's palaces, mansions and museams which makes this the historic heart of cuba.

Geography post 3 - The Tango

Argentina is offically know as the Argentine Republic, it is the second largest country in South America, after Brazil. Its position in South America gives the country a diversity of land and culture. From the artic regions in the south, to the forested jungle regions in the north, from the ocean coastline on the Atlantic, to the rugged mountain regions in the west, and bordering five other countries, Argentina provides an important cultural and economic connection for all of South America.
The main types of climate in Argentina are four, Moderate, Arid, warm and cold.
The north of Argentina is were it has a warm climate. However along wiht these high tempertures the North has no dry season at all. The moderate Climate is in the middle of Argentina. The moderate climate with an ocan fluence has no winter season. The south of Argentina suffers from a cold climate wiht low tempertures. Scantry rianfall and in the winter string snow storms

Geography project post 1 - Flamenco dancing

Andalucia is in the south of spain and is home to the flamenco dance. Andalucia is known for it's tourism. It is a hugh attraction for tourist and most poeple how visit spain will stay there. It survives off all the money tourism brrings but it's not it's only income. Andalucia has an excellent climate for holiday makers who want a gaurantees sunshine all year round.Spring and autumn are lovely seasons with midday temperatures around 30ºC. In July and August the temperature regularly reaches 40ºc and often more inland. Even in December and January coastal temperatures can reach 20 to 25º. The have very low rainfall and drought is common.

P.E

This week p.e has been great, because of the good weather we've been outside. On tuesday we played tennis and it was so much fun and I was actually good at it which made it even better! Well at the start i was a little rusty and we lost a few tennis balls in the bushes.
On the wednesday we had a double class so we played tennis and rounders. Rounders was really fun and my team won for once. i was really happy because i caought the ball and got them all out :D All in all this week has been great.

Art!

Today in art we were painting again. I was delighted because painting is my favourite thing in art. We were making a clouor wheel which looks really easy but trust me it was NOT easy. We only had three colours and had to make TWELVE it was really hard to get the exact colour needed but i eventually got it. I'm a leonardo in the making!

Jabba Jabba Jembe

Last week we had a brilliant workshop with Dave. He taught us all about the Jembe and some other percussion instruments. It was defiantly the best workshop so far. We started off with some easy tunes and by the end we had a full on Samba going and my friend Davina volunteered me to get up and dance the sambe for the class it was really funny and I really enjoyed it. Dave then showed us a video on how the west Africans use music in every day life to keep them working through the whole day. The highlight of the day is when we all had different rhythms and we played them at once. I hope to continue my Jembe playing as a result of an extremely fun and successful workshop.

Retreat in Glendalough

On Tuesday of this week all class amina headed off on our way to glendalough for our Retreat. The day didn't start off to great because the bus was so warm but when we got to glendalough it was all okay. We started of with a dance to the earth and how we should respect it. I taught it was really funny. We then walked around the labyrinth which is a journey with no decisions. We then started our walk which was a day in the life of Kevin they showed us everything he done while he was there and where he slept and prayed. They also showed us a video on Christianity which wasn't really my cup of tea but it was ok. We then went on another walk to the upper lake and we also saw the waterfall it was a really scenic route up. We then finally had our lunch and i really enjoyed it because i was so hungry. We finished off with the board walk where we saw St.Kevin's bed, te round tower and the church. I really enjoyed the day and i was very tired on the way home.

English Trip to Dublin

Yesterday the 25th of march all TY's headed of on a trip to Dublin to see the Yeats exhibition in the national library, the bog bodies in the national museum and the Yeats exhibition in the national gallery. Class Amina started their day in the national library looking at the W.B Yeats exhibition i found the day very interesting as we didn't just learn about his poetry it was also about his life growing up. I was surprised to find out Yeats wasn't actually a good student in English his best subject was chemistry and sports. We learned about his love life with Maude Gonne and how he proposed to her 5 formally times and she rejected him each time he then moved on to her daughter who also rejected him. Yeats finally met the love of his life Georgie and married happily with her.
We then continued our tour to the national museum where we had a tour on all the artefact's and bodies found in the bog. Anything that is placed in a bog will be preserved for many year. We saw all the bodies that were murdered and then recovered a few years ago. I found this the most interesting part of the day and really enjoyed it.

Work Experience

Last week the 7th of March all TY's were out on work experience. I decided to do my work experience in my old primary school. I chose to do my work experience here because ever since I was a primary school student I wanted to be a teacher myself.
On the Monday before I started work I was really nervous because I was the only student going to the school. I soon realised that there was nothing to be nervous about. The day went great in the school they had a book fair on the week i was there so every morning I would go there and take in all money and then tidy up at the end of it all. After that i would go in to the junior infants room where i would remain till two o clock which is when they go home. While i was there with them i would help the teacher with all the correcting and help any student that was stuck with there work. At lunch time i would supervise them and then read them a story at the end of the day. For my lunch break I would go out and supervise the yard then I would go to the staff room and eat lunch there. From 2 till 3 it was slow I only did some photocopying for teachers and cleaning. That was my main routine for the week except on some days i would help out other classes with art and P.E. Towards the end of the week I had even more responsibilities within the classes. I was able to teach a bit more which I loved. Also on the last day of it all i got to sit in a watch toy story 3 with the infants because it was raining at lunch time so they were unable to play outside.
I really enjoyed my week at the school and I would still really consider being a primary school teacher. I also enjoyed being back with all my old teachers and the school. I was surprised at how much the school has changed since I was there. they are now planning too build an extension and in every class room there is an interactive white boards in every classroom.

Mini Company

Yesterday the 3rd of March we went to Clane G.A.A for our mini company competition. It was to see who would get through to the next round for the county. The day started off with a bit of a bump in the road for us as our company realised that we didn't have a board when we were on the bus, but when we got there it was all OK as we just used the wall instead. the day was long as we waited for the judge to come around and interview us because we were last to be interviewed. We then heard the our company, beady Bits didn't get through. We were all heart broken but Ms. E reminded us about the next competition coming up.

Oisin McGann

This week on Wednesday we had a talk from Oisin McGann a creative writer and illustrator. I really really enjoyed the talk and taught it was very interesting to see all the tricks of the trade in being an author. I also taught he was very funny because he was saying that nothing us Irish say really does make sense for example: "Go away out of that ye mad eejit ye." and "yeah no I'll have a tea please". He then showed us how quick an idea comes to your head and how important it is to right it down. He showed us this by looking at L.M's shoes and coming up with some crazy story about a shoe that eats feet it was really funny i enjoyed the day a lot but the highlight of it all was when he read out a bit from his books and then drew a character from the book it was really brilliant.

Croke park

On Monday this week all us TY's headed out to Croke park in Dublin. I was really looking forward to the day out as I'm a great lover of G.A.A because I've played camoige since i could walk. They day was really brilliant. We started out our day by watching a video on the preparation that goes into a match on the park I was really surprised by the amount of work involved.
After the video we went to see all of the park like the dressing rooms, the lounge, the tunnels, the pitch and all the stands. It was really interesting and i think everyone enjoyed that part despite the cold.
We then went to the museum which was great we saw all the jerseys, trophies, old uniforms hurls and footballs etc. then we went upstairs too all the games i spent most the day seeing how fast i could hit a sliotar.

Here are some pictures of the day:

Old Hurl

Old boots

Pocket Watch

St. Bridgit's Crosses

On Monday this week it was the 31st of Feb and first class we had religion. Ms. K.B brought in a load of reeds and decided we would make some st. Brigit's crosses. Some of the girls in our class didn't know how to make them so i had to help them and teach them. We listened to some soothing music which was lovely and i really enjoyed the day. My cross is now featured on our prayer space for Feb.

English Workshop

Today in English we had a drama workshop to help with our movement on stage. The workshop was organised because we have a drama festival coming up in march to celebrate the work of Margreth Aylward. We wanted to make sure that our movement was really smooth on stage. We started off doing some quick warm ups by shaking out our arms and legs. We then moved on to make a big circle we had to walk around in it and when Ian Called clear we ran to a blue line when he called jump we jumped he then added in one last command, to touch the floor it was fun.
We then got into pairs and had to make crazy shapes out of our bodies. We divided our group into person A and person B. Person A would to a certain position then person B would fill the space around them. b would then hold that position and a would fill them space around them and so on. It became more difficult towards the end but the shapes were much more interesting. Ian then decided to tell us to keep our favourite two shapes and we had to do them on our own and move from one to the other slowly and then quickly. All in all it was a very enjoyable morning and i would recommend it to everyone :D

Mini Compnay talk

This morning we had a talk on our mini companies. I really found it useful and enjoyed the whole experience Orla (the woman giving us the talk) really helped us and gave us some very good advice for our product which is bracelets.

English Drama

Through out the year we have been working on an English play. My groups play was based on the poem "but you didn't"by Meryll Glass. The poem is about a couple who are in love and the husband leaves for war in vietnam and never returns. In the poem the Wife is reflecting over some old memorys where she taught he would do something but didn't hence the name but you didn't. Our play was very like the poem, In our first scene she reflects over a time that she scratched his car and she taught he'd kill me but he didn't, Scene two was were they planned on going to a formal dance and meryl forgot to tell john it was a formal dance and he turned up in jeans she taught he'd hate her but he didn't, scene three she flirts with other men (ME) to make him jealous she taught he'd drop her but he didn't in the forth scene we decied that we should show their engagment but we twisted it, meryll decides to say no as a joke but she then worries he'd get angry but he didn't. Our last scene to the play was deffinaltly most emotional she says there were many things i wanted to tell you when you got back from vietnam .... BUT YOU DIDN'T! The day was definaltly sucsessful and our play went as planned with no mistakes. We all just hope and pray that we get through to the next round in Cork. Once we finished our play we headed out around the town in mulingar down to Mc. Donalds and were quickly back in time to watch the other schools which wre VERY good also.

Rugby tournament

Last Thursday we finally put our rugby skills to the test in the rugby tournament in Tallaght. The day was a great success with Wolstans team one coming out on top after winning all 5 of there matches we were delighted and we all really enjoyed the day. The day all started with a fun bus journey up singing along to all the classics. we done our warm ups and got ready to play our first match against St. Marks we won that match but it wasn't without a fight. During the breaks of our matches we cheered on the other Wolstan's team and had great fun. We all came home with a new back pack and a t-shirt.

Young scientist

Last Friday our TY's and 2nd years all headed off to the young scientist for a day out. The day was very enjoyable with lots of experiments that we were all able to take part in and as well so fun games, shows and talks. I got a talk on self help Africa and all about how we help them and also how our phone signal can be used to light up a hole circuit. I then took part in some fun games and a table quiz. Later on during the day there was a juggling show on which i found really good fun and had a great laugh. I got my finger prints taken and was shown how they were used in crime scenes.

Talk on recycling

 Today we had our first talk or the term. We had a speaker in from WEE Ireland who gave us a talk all about recycling. First he told us what happened when electrical appliances weren't recycled properly and that they can effect the water supplies under a landfill. Did you know that almost 50% of a washing machines weight is from a concrete block? He also showed us what happens to all are materials after we recycle them. Then we moved on to the topic of batteries and how they can be recycled. He told us that it is one of the least recycled things in there company. i enjoyed the talk and found it interesting.