On the 29th August, 4B and 4G set out by bus at 8.45am to go to Uisce Adventure Centre for our class bonding trip.  The journey to Uisce was long but time flew as a bus full of rather excited girls were thinking about what lay ahead when we arrived way out west on  the Wild Atlantic Way in Belmullet!.    We were welcomed by the Uisce team at 2pm, unloaded the luggage and sat down for some lunch.  Afterwards we were assigned our rooms and divided into two groups.  One group stayed on land for a fun filled game with a parachute while the others were told to get ready to hit the water! 
Kitted out in wetsuits, swimming togs, water shoes, helmets and life jackets we felt ready to test the water.  As we were all amazed by the fact that we didn’t need to tread water due to the buoyancy of our life jackets, we played games and even did a Mexican wave!  Then the groups swapped over. 
For dinner we ate Spaghetti Bolognese and were told there was more to come that evening.  We played indoor games such as archery and rock climbing.  After supper we headed off to bed pretty tired after an action packed day. 
The next morning, we headed down to breakfast as the teachers reminded us that we had better eat everything as we had a full day ahead.  Half of us went to try out some body boarding.  We even tried some tricks while catching a wave.  The other group made go carts from wooden planks and raced them against the clock, which led to lots of laughter as we pushed each other up the hill.  After a very welcome lunch we set off to the pier to have a go at pier jumping.  We perfected our synchronised cannon balls and even had a sing song in the water….Olympics here we come!!!  Before supper we made models of famous buildings from paper and duct tape including the colosseum in Rome and Notre Dame Cathedral.  We also played X’s and O’s and the human alphabet as Gaeilge.  Dinner was a very welcome chicken curry and afterwards we got ready for the ceili with the teachers and instructors.  Many of us were familiar with the dances from Irish college and there might even be a few future stars of Riverdance amongst us!  By the end of supper we were all tired after the long day but still managed to stay up for the extended curfew extracted after much cajoling.
On our last morning at Uisce we awoke and packed our bags ready for the long journey back to Dublin.  But first we scoffed our breakfast and one group headed off to the beach to try out surfing. This was a major highlight for many of us despite rather inelegant ditching into the sea repeatedly!  The other group participated in outdoor teambuilding games such as carrying our team members through a large spider web without touching the ropes.  Once we finished up we collected a very welcome packed lunch and headed on the long road back to Dublin.
This was a really enjoyable trip as we all got to get to know our new, and in many cases our old, classmates.   What a start to our Transition Year which we hope will be the best year yet  in The Green.
Our thanks to Ms McParland, Mr. Quinn and Ms. O’Neill for accompanying us on the trip.

Grace Tiernan – 4B

On Monday 29th August, 4T and 4M headed off on the bus to Achill. I was really excited for the trip away and hoped that as a class and group we would form a stronger bond through the watersports and team activities. There was a great atmosphere on the bus on the way down and even though it was a very long and tiring bus journey,  everyone was still full of energy and enthusiasm as the coach pulled up outside the adventure centre.

Once we arrived we were all split into groups for the sports. At the centre we engaged in a number of different water and land activities, including coasteering, kayaking, canoeing, surfing, climbing and archery. All were great fun and although everyone was a bit reluctant about throwing on wet wetsuits, the rush to get changed and onto the bus definitely made it all the more enjoyable.

Each group also did climbing and archery indoors. Everyone got stuck in and we had a great time. When we were finished on the wall, we were taught how to use a bow and arrow and began archery, which was hard but fun all the same.

We all participated in surfing during the trip. Unfortunately it was lashing rain and the wind was howling which made it a little bit more challenging. We learned the basic skills and water safety rules before heading into the very cold water. It didn't take long before we were jumping around in the waves and throwing ourselves down on the boards. It was an incredible feeling to be out in the wind and rain and it was definitely one of my highlights of the trip. Although many of us never stood up on the board, I think we all still felt a great sense of achievement.

The final activity we did was kayaking /canoeing. At first we found it difficult to control the canoe but we quickly learned the mechanics. We had a few races before we got out of the boats. We went to the bog just off the lake and played games before the bus picked us up.

Each evening we had an activity, such as a walk or a game followed by a cup of tea and biscuits.
When it was time to leave, we took a big group photo before waving our final goodbyes and setting off on the road.

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