This week was pretty hectic, as usual! On the Monday evening, I had the Callbacks for the TY Play, for which I am music director. It was a very long and gruelling process because it took hours and hours to decide on the cast list! Luckily Alex (the director) and I had the help of Joyce, Tommy, Aaron and Simon Blay but it was still extremely difficult to decide!
The next evening was the Senior Carol service. I sang once again with Chamber Choir and I also performed with Senior Choir. We sang 'O Holy Night' and 'Gaudete'.
We had another school trip on the Wednesday to the ice rink in Dundrum. This was brilliant fun, despite my lack of skating skills! We then went into town to see a bilingual play in the Smock Alley Theatre. That evening was a reunion of the cast of Les Mis to watch the video of our performance. It was great fun but I did sink down into my seat when I had to watch myself as the Old Woman!!
Saturday 26 January 2013
Week 14
My trip to Paris didn't slow down my busy schedule and the day I came back to school we were on a trip into the city centre, collecting for the ISPCC. I really enjoyed selling the pieces of holly and I managed to sell all of mine! It was quite a mean feat as I was on Harcourt Street mid-morning which meant there weren't many people around! The Friday was the Junior Carol Service. I was performing at this with Chamber Choir. We performed the Shepherd's Pipe Carol for the Preps, First and Second Years.
I had attended my second Comhairle na nOg meeting this week. I am one of two Wesley delegates for the Dun Laoighare-Rathdown Comhairle. We were discussing the 'lost years' campaign they have been working on. We were discussing the fact that teenagers between the ages of 16-18 are charged adult prices on public transport and in the cinemas, even though they cannot learn the same amount of money as adults.
This week has been quite festive and I am feeling very Christmassy!!
Week 13
This week of school was rather insignificant as I couldn't concentrate all week. The reason being I was going on the Senior Choir trip to Paris at the weekend!
It honestly was one of the best weekends of my life and definitely in Fourth Year!
We were all told to meet in the school at 3.45 a.m. to get a bus to the airport for our flight at 7. It was extremely early but I was far too excited to be tired!! We flew into Paris and were at our hotel at 11 o'clock. I was sharing a room with Ella and so I knew I wasn't going to get much sleep! We then went out to the Arc de Triomphe on our first excursion. This was incredible but the stairs to the top and down were very, very, very narrow and twisted around all the way up......my claustrophobia was not happy! It was worth it though as we had an amazing view right across Paris!
Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower and walked around that area. Unfortunately, I didn't think the Eiffel Tower lived up to its reputation and I was quite unimpressed! The surrounding area was incredible though and we were allowed go off on our own to look around and get something to eat. I managed to convince my friends not to go to McDonalds because I wanted an authentic Parisien meal! We ended up going to a gorgeous little creperie down one of the side streets......very authentic and Parisien!
We then met the rest of the choir and the teachers for a boat cruise down the River Seine. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me because it was an amazing way to see the sights of Paris, despite the freezing temperatures. In the evening we went to a little Italian restaurant in the heart of Paris which was beautiful inside and had incredible food! To end the first day we went to a workshop in the chapel of the Irish Cultural Institute with a soprano named Lena. This was fun at the beginning but we were all exhausted after out early start and busy day so we all just wanted to go back to our hotel!!
The second day began with a trip to the L'Orangerie Gallery to see Monet's waterlillies. I absolutely loved them!! They were incredible! We then crossed the park to the Louvre Museum where we were given four hours of free time to look around the Louvre and to make our way to Notre Dame. I loved the Louvre, mostly because of the stunning architecture! Myself and a few others went shopping after a few hours and, after Aaron got us very lost, we made it to the Notre Dame which, again, had breathtaking architecture.
We then returned to the Irish Cultural Institute for a Carol Service in the Chapel which was really fun and very festive.
The best part of the trip for me was that evening when we went to see the West End production of West Side Story! I had never seen it live and it is now my second favourite musical (just behind The Phantom of the Opera!).
The next day was really sad because it was our last day in Paris. However, we definitely made the most of our final 12 hours. We spent the morning in Monmatre on a guided walking tour and in Sacre Coeur Cathedral. This was incredible and made me want to live in Monmatre in the future! After that culturally enriching morning, we then made the two and a half hour bus trip to Disneyland! I thought this would be the best part but it's not really my thing! I was too scared to go on Space Mountain and Indiana Jones with the boys so I sat outside! I then made them come up the Princess Castle with me and go on the Carousel so it was alright in the end!!
We then flew back to Dublin and got back to Wesley late that night.
It was an absolutely incredible weekend and definitely one of the highlights of Fourth Year so far!!
It honestly was one of the best weekends of my life and definitely in Fourth Year!
We were all told to meet in the school at 3.45 a.m. to get a bus to the airport for our flight at 7. It was extremely early but I was far too excited to be tired!! We flew into Paris and were at our hotel at 11 o'clock. I was sharing a room with Ella and so I knew I wasn't going to get much sleep! We then went out to the Arc de Triomphe on our first excursion. This was incredible but the stairs to the top and down were very, very, very narrow and twisted around all the way up......my claustrophobia was not happy! It was worth it though as we had an amazing view right across Paris!
Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower and walked around that area. Unfortunately, I didn't think the Eiffel Tower lived up to its reputation and I was quite unimpressed! The surrounding area was incredible though and we were allowed go off on our own to look around and get something to eat. I managed to convince my friends not to go to McDonalds because I wanted an authentic Parisien meal! We ended up going to a gorgeous little creperie down one of the side streets......very authentic and Parisien!
We then met the rest of the choir and the teachers for a boat cruise down the River Seine. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me because it was an amazing way to see the sights of Paris, despite the freezing temperatures. In the evening we went to a little Italian restaurant in the heart of Paris which was beautiful inside and had incredible food! To end the first day we went to a workshop in the chapel of the Irish Cultural Institute with a soprano named Lena. This was fun at the beginning but we were all exhausted after out early start and busy day so we all just wanted to go back to our hotel!!
The second day began with a trip to the L'Orangerie Gallery to see Monet's waterlillies. I absolutely loved them!! They were incredible! We then crossed the park to the Louvre Museum where we were given four hours of free time to look around the Louvre and to make our way to Notre Dame. I loved the Louvre, mostly because of the stunning architecture! Myself and a few others went shopping after a few hours and, after Aaron got us very lost, we made it to the Notre Dame which, again, had breathtaking architecture.
We then returned to the Irish Cultural Institute for a Carol Service in the Chapel which was really fun and very festive.
The best part of the trip for me was that evening when we went to see the West End production of West Side Story! I had never seen it live and it is now my second favourite musical (just behind The Phantom of the Opera!).
The next day was really sad because it was our last day in Paris. However, we definitely made the most of our final 12 hours. We spent the morning in Monmatre on a guided walking tour and in Sacre Coeur Cathedral. This was incredible and made me want to live in Monmatre in the future! After that culturally enriching morning, we then made the two and a half hour bus trip to Disneyland! I thought this would be the best part but it's not really my thing! I was too scared to go on Space Mountain and Indiana Jones with the boys so I sat outside! I then made them come up the Princess Castle with me and go on the Carousel so it was alright in the end!!
We then flew back to Dublin and got back to Wesley late that night.
It was an absolutely incredible weekend and definitely one of the highlights of Fourth Year so far!!
Week 12
This week was the week of the Aptitude Tests. It felt like the tests we took at the end of sixth class to sort us into classes. We also had a hockey match which was the quarter final of the cup. Unfortunately, we lost to Alex 2-1 which was really disappointing as it meant we were out of the cup.
The Saturday was the Salvation Army concert in St Anne's Church on Dawson Street. I was performing there with Senior Choir which was really fun and festive as well! We all went out for dinner in Little Caesar's restaurant beforehand which was great fun and really tasty!
This week was very Christmassy and I was very excited for the festive season to kick off, as I love carol services!
The Saturday was the Salvation Army concert in St Anne's Church on Dawson Street. I was performing there with Senior Choir which was really fun and festive as well! We all went out for dinner in Little Caesar's restaurant beforehand which was great fun and really tasty!
This week was very Christmassy and I was very excited for the festive season to kick off, as I love carol services!
Week 11
This week was quite a contrast to the previous two. It was very normal and very uneventful.I did all my usual extra-curriculars like Amnesty, Debating, Senior Choir, Chamber Choir and Hockey. It was very weird not having rehearsals for Les Mis but I began to start on the organising of the Fourth Year Play with Nadia and Alex; High School Musical. On the Saturday I was adjudicating at the Castleknock Community College Junior Debating Mace, along with some of the other Wesley debaters.
Week 10
After my busy week, and indeed weekend, the stress didn't let up as this week was the week of Les Miserables. We had our Dress Rehearsal on the Monday, straight after the Belfast trip the evening before. This was in front of a paying audience form various local primary schools. It was so much fun performing in front of a live audience and I loved the buzz backstage and the costumes. We had the proper performances on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which were all incredible. I also had a Legal Studies trip to the Criminal Courts of Justice on the Thursday. It was a bit of a disappointment because the cases weren't as good as they had been when I was in the courts for Work Experience but it was still a fun trip.
Nadia and I then rushed back from the courts to Wesley to get into our costumes for the second performance of Les Mis. The first two nights were a huge success and, despite the small mishap of the fire alarm going off and the building being evacuated, closing night was brilliant too. The best part of the week, however was the cast party on Friday night. It was great to be able to talk to the other members of the cast in a more relaxed and less stressful environment!
Week 10 was ended with the Kicoole Music Festival on the Sunday. I competed in two competitions, one with Senior Choir and the other with Chamber Choir, both of which we won!
Nadia and I then rushed back from the courts to Wesley to get into our costumes for the second performance of Les Mis. The first two nights were a huge success and, despite the small mishap of the fire alarm going off and the building being evacuated, closing night was brilliant too. The best part of the week, however was the cast party on Friday night. It was great to be able to talk to the other members of the cast in a more relaxed and less stressful environment!
Week 10 was ended with the Kicoole Music Festival on the Sunday. I competed in two competitions, one with Senior Choir and the other with Chamber Choir, both of which we won!
Week 9
This was probably my busiest week yet because it was the week of my first Work Experience. I was working in the Criminal Courts of Justice in Parkgate Street with Martina Baxter and Barry Murphy. This was extremely interesting but very tiring as I was sitting in on court cases which was quite mentally draining.I was then at play rehearsals each night as Les Mis is coming swiftly down the tracks. I was only there for four out of the five says because on the Friday I went to Sligo with Chamber Choir. We were competing in the Sligo International Music Festival. We sang firstly at the Founder's Day service, followed by a Senior Choir rehearsal. We then got on the bus and drove off to Sligo, where we were awarded second place, narrowly losing out to Presentation College, Kilkenny. I had lots of fun on the trip because there is quite a large crossover between the people in Senior Choir, Chamber Choir and Les Miserables and I love getting to know all the people in other years who have mutual interests with me.
On the Saturday, I had the first dress rehearsal for Les Mis. This wasn't the official dress rehearsal but it was the last run through we have until the dress rehearsal in front of an audience.
Sunday was a very important day and a great end to the 9th week of term. I travelled up to Belfast with Senior Choir. We were competing in the All Island School Choir of the Year Competition Final in the Titanic Centre Belfast. It was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed being the challenging and bustling environment of a television production. We came second overall to Wesley's sister school Methodist College Belfast but I wasn't that disappointed as we had performed the songs the best we had ever done and I had really enjoyed the day in Belfast. The bus journey home was the best part as we all sang songs and ate chocolate on the way back to Wesley!!
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