My TY Diary by Sarah Coakley

Sarah Coakley, one of our TY students, wrote a diary about the virtual TY Activity Week 2021.

Monday:

Due to the ongoing restrictions, we could not hold our annual TY Activity Week. So we made history by holding the first ever Virtual TY Activity Week.  

The week was jammed packed of fun activities, designed to give us a taste of real-life.  This really boosted morale amongst students.   

The TY Class Representatives helped organise different events. Thanks to Ms Harte and Mr Barry for their support. We’re so grateful to Ms Brosnan and Mr Walsh as well for giving us permission. 

We threw ourselves into our first activity: the SHSS Celebrity Bake off. The theme of the bake off was design your cookies with a celebrity theme. The event was thoroughly enjoyable and the end result was so impressive! The winning cookie was inspired by Harry Styles and it was amazing!

In the afternoon it was a real honour to get to participate in a music technology workshop which was hosted by Mr David Bickley. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in this area. He provided us with the tricks of his expertise and gave us an insight into just what it is like to create and sell music.  This interesting event drew the first day to a close.

Tuesday:

As a TY class rep I felt very honoured to get the opportunity along with my fellow classmates and best friends to host today's event: The Working World in School. As we are currently living with Level 5 restrictions,  we couldn't go out on the usual TY work experience. To combat this, we brought the working world into school. We were thrilled to welcome four guest speakers back to the school. Each of these were young unique past pupils which had extremely interesting paths in life. These inspirational women each spoke to us about the highs and lows, good things and bad things about working life. Their words alone were truly remarkable and inspirational. As an MC for the day, I gave presentations along with my fellow MC on the working world. I will never forget today’s event. It was informative and worthwhile. 

Wednesday:

Wednesday once again was another exciting day.  We were due to have a quiz in the morning, however, due to technical issues, it had to be postponed until Thursday. This gave us a well needed break from the screens and allowed us to go outside before a busy day of workshops started. The first one that I completed was an Alpha programme which was delivered by members of the NET ministers team. The theme of the workshop was ‘Chosen’. It was interesting and informative and allowed us to take a different approach for a while. 

The workshop was closely followed by a dance session delivered by our PE teacher Mr Browne. As an experienced dancer, he choreographed a dance for us to learn. If we participate we are getting the chance to perform it on Inchydoney Beach when we return to school which is definitely an incentive.  After a well earned lunch, we joined our music Ms Hayes’ rap workshop. This was something I was nervous about, as I can’t rap for my life, but much to my surprise, it was very enjoyable. We listened, practised, played and wrote raps before signing off after a busy day.

Thursday:

On Thursday morning we were given the opportunity to take a break by updating our Folders of Achievement. This was welcomed by all. We had so much to write about, like courses and extra activities.

Our Folders of Achievement doubled in size this week!

We then got the opportunity to log onto the iWish STEM Digital Showcase. This event promoted women in Science and Technology. I was a bit apprehensive about this event as it didn't look like something that would interest me. However, much to my surprise, it was truly  enjoyable.  The event from start to finish was packed full of information. I learned so much about an area I was unfamiliar with.  We were really lucky to get this chance to attend this virtual event.

The Quiz went off without a hitch this time, much to everyone's delight.

The teams were really competitive and it was very close.  The quiz consisted of rounds from celebrities, music and sport, to pop questions on our own town (which were more challenging than you would think). The end result was so close, with two teams almost level.  It was a fun activity and one of my favourites. Everyone was in high spirits. 

Friday:

After a TY assembly,  we welcomed another guest speaker: Cairin O’ Connor. She delivered a workshop on self-employment. This was another fascinating workshop. Her wealth and expertise in this field provide us with lots of information and statistics. I learned a lot. Although she couldn't finish the workshop due to technical difficulties,  it didn't affect the impact this presentation had on all of us. Feedback was extremely positive. 

Now as energy levels were starting to drop and throats were starting to get sore, we all needed something to end the week on a high. The perfect activity for this was none less than the TY SHSS International Women's Day Dress Up. This was a remarkable event, with a strong and powerful message. What stood out to me from the results was that it wasn't just scientists and celebrities. Some dressed up as their mothers and friends. These women are most often the women who shape us and have the most profound impact on our lives. I personally believe this is what made this event so effective. The week most certainly ended with an empowering message as we left to the song Run The World (Girls) by Beyoncé.

The first virtual TY Activity Week was a resounding success!