rock rule!

sct blackrock VS cbc monkstown
(willow park, where i teach, is the
junior school of blackrock college)

blackrock fans.

up close & personal.

i think the ref's shorts are crossing the line.

i went to my first rugby match today with some of my
fellow teachers. i have never experienced anything quite like
this. blackrock is an amazing team with a huge following. we
left before the game ended but with 7 minutes left blackrock
was winning 31-6. *this video is of the beginning of the match*

arts & crafts.

patrick, cormac & luke.

robert, oscar & jonathan

i interviewed jody about his fish & it turned into
one of mj's special stories. haha. this video is really
just for my own enjoyment but i hope you get a kick
out of it too!

my co-op teacher, apparently, is really enjoying having me around
bc i am able to do all the messy art projects with the boys. i have been
hired by the other first form teacher and a second form teacher to do
their arts and crafts... awesome.

all about me writing activity.

to go along with their self portraits, i had the boys write an "all about me" story. i personally think some of them are hilarious, so i figured i might as well share some of them:

My name is Morgan. I do football on Sundays. I am very good at Legos. I share with my brother at my house. I am allergic to cats and dogs inside. I am a nice boy. I like to do science.

My name is Ciaràn Drohan. I am interested in imaginary monsters and aliens on meteoroids. My hobbies are art and rugby. My favourite rugby team is New Zealand. I also like recourds from the past. I play violin and piano. My house is in Kildonen. I come from Ireland.

My name is MJ. I am a happy boy. Normally I play football. I go out with my friends on my bike. Sometimes I just wander around. The best place I went was Legoland.

My name is Oscar. I am six years of age. I am interested in football. I have brown eyes and brown hair. One of my favourite things to do is when Louie chases me with a plastic light saber. I play tennis every Easter. I love my family.

My name is Peter. My favourite day of the week is Friday because I get to go to McDonalds. I am a happy boy. I like to play chasing. I am six years of age. I have a little brother and his name is Hugo.

My name is Cormac. I am funny. I like football. I support Man-United. I live in Blackrock. I was born July the third. I like my family. I have six friends.

Hi my name is Hugo. I am seven years of age. I like playing with my friends. I have five people in my family. I have fun with my brothers. I am a very friendly boy. Sometimes I am funny. I love holidays a lot. I like science. It is interesting.

My name is Alex. I am interested in football. My family is nice. My age is seven. I love to go for a walk on the beach with my family. I have six people in my family. That’s it for now.

My name is Robert. I am seven. I am interested in the dvd Sims. At school, I like coloring. I don’t know how many fish I have. I have one sister. I used to have a dog. Oh, I forgot to tell you my Dad has a red face.

My name is Harry. I am seven. My eyes are blue and green. I go to Willow Park. My best friend is Charlie. I used to have four cats, two died and one got hit by a car.

galway (city-centre).

"kicking" the wall to signify the end of the longest
seaside promenade walk in ireland.

salthill.

swans are all over galway. also, these people are freaks.

i bought of postcard of this picture.

galway cathedral.

bridge building contest.

tom made a draw bridge - he was a runner up.

the boys did a great job with their bridges. what is also
great is that not one looked the same. for the most part,
the boys made the bridges on their own with little help
from their parents or minders (babysitters).

i highly doubt fionn made this by himself.

leo was the winner!

james/mr. dougherty the fifth form/dean came in to
be the judge for the bridge contest. he also brought his fifth
form students. the fifth formers were very sweet & enthusiastic
about the competition which made my first form feel extra special.

"we're irish, of course we love obama!"

luke, charlie, leo, freddie, robert, fionn, patrick,
michael, alex, jody & mj

my whole class was very excited for today and
a lot of them congratulated me and told me
"it's a big day for you" when they arrived this
morning. all of the boys were going to watch
the inauguration with their families and many of
them were going to have "american" dinners
consisting of hot dogs and "chips." the second
picture is of freddie who wore two obama pins.
GO OBAMA!

music class.

my students have music class with a teacher
from london. the boys saw my camera and
requested that i video tape them playing
with their instruments. this footage is
absolutely thrilling.

it rains a lot in ireland.

so, my roommate cari and i decided to go for a
hike on saturday from bray to greystones...
i'm not sure if you can tell by the pictures but it
was monsoon-like weather. in the second picture,
i am literally soaked and standing my ground
so that i don't blow over. so clearly, the hike did not
take place but at least we tried!

my official dublin flat!

my bedroom!

living room.

bulletin board & lesson.

the finished product.

the boys working on my science experiment.

they have swimming on thursdays &
those are their gym uniforms.

sunrise at willow park.

at booterstown station.

self-portraits (continued)

harry, david, patrick & michael.

david is proud of his final product.

robert, tom, david & fionn.

david.

tom & robert.

cormac, ciaran, freddie & morgan.

freddie!

cormac.

mj & ciaran.

"i sneaked a peak in your photo, teacher."

mj wanted me to take another picture.

luke, oscar, jody & alex.

jody.

luke posing for the camera.

oscar.

alex.