Wellness Wednesday

On Wednesday the November 11th, all first year students participated in the “Wellness Wednesday” initiative organised by Ms. Kehoe. This program consisted of six innovative activities aimed at supporting the wellbeing needs of this student cohort.

Students learned the importance of physical activity on their mental health, by completing an invigorating outdoor walk. They learned to focus their minds and live in the “Now” with mindful meditation, they soothed their souls with mellow music, and did calming colouring.

Pupils were introduced to “The Jigsaw of Perspective” as a concept and are now capable of independently using this wellbeing tool whenever they need to. A problem solving class taught students about perseverance and resilience, both essential life skills in the modern world as well as problem solving strategies which they can now apply to their own individual circumstances.

Finally, students took part in a fun filled quiz organised by the Transition Years, to challenge their “grey matter” and put their general knowledge to the test.

First Year Writing Competition

Artwork by Adam Sterio

MY FIRST YEAR IN SECONDARY SCHOOL (SO FAR)

By Allen Geoff Mejia

As a first year in 2020, a lot of things were a bit unusual. For starters, we had to wear masks almost every day because of the CoviD-19 virus. It all started just before lockdown in the middle of the year as a pupil in 6th class when we heard that we were going into lockdown for two weeks. We hoped that after the 2 weeks we would be back to school to finish the year, but after those weeks we were told that the lockdown would be extended for another few weeks and then another and another and so on. This went on for months and during those six months (half a year) I was bored out of my mind doing online school work. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to see my friends again. I ended 6th class with a small zoom call in the month of August as we were not allowed to meet at the school for the last time due to restrictions. So in my last days as a primary school student, I did not say goodbye to those whom I worked with for eight years which made me a bit upset. And so, I ended the year without properly saying goodbye. This was two weeks before the induction to Drimnagh Castle.

Two weeks have passed and I’m at the induction. There wasn’t much to it as for the whole time we were being introduced to our new subjects and getting the books we needed. We had to wear masks and social distance which was a bit vexing and it made it so much harder to meet and talk to my teachers and classmates. One of my friends was there so I was a little less worried about meeting new people. We were told to bring two bags to the Induction and after, I could see why we needed two bags. The weight was unbearable! It was unbelievably heavy. We went home at around 1 PM that day and I was glad so because my arms felt like they were about to fall off.

On Monday (The proper first day of school) we did a little bit of learning but most of the time we were talking about CoviD restrictions and other things related. It was really boring having to listen to all those lectures in almost every class! At Lunch, we had some hot food which was nice but then we had to eat it outside on the football pitch. I’d much prefer if we were able to eat inside where I can sit down and enjoy it. The rest of the week was the same as we met our other teachers, particularly our options. We had very little homework. Some new things that I have enjoyed were the optional subjects. It seemed a little bit more interesting than the rest of my subjects. I chose Business and Technology. That summed up the rest of my week.

In the 2nd week, we were starting to actually do something instead of listening to lectures about CoviD-19. Usually after such a week, I’d sleep in on Saturday but I didn’t know what was better: doing work or listening. By this time, we were starting to get more homework. Towards the end of the term, we found out about our first upcoming exam: The Midterm tests. I’d be lying if they were easy. They were also not too hard. Being in secondary school has been great so far for me but sometimes I miss being in Primary School.

What it is like to be a 1st year in 2020

By Adam Mady

The first day of secondary school was by far the hardest day because of not just getting used to a longer day but getting used to wearing a mask for a long time and social distancing and the hand sanitizing. The aspect of school that i found the hardest was wearing a mask since school was the first time i ever really wore a mask for such a long time. Overall this pandemic made starting secondary school very hard. It is very hard to get to know people while wearing masks because people look a lot different without their mask and because it is harder to hear them and harder tell their emotions since you can only see their eyes.

What I enjoyed most about secondary school was that we had a different teacher for every subject. It was nice because if you didn't like a certain subject or teacher the class will be over in 40 minutes and you will move onto the next class which you might like.

My First Day At School

By Gabriel Col Alves De Lima

I was feeling nervous with a lack of confidence at home. I took the Luas to go to Drimnagh Castle School and it took five minutes and then ten minutes to walk to the gate, the parents were not allowed past the dull gates, so I walked inside, there were a few kids there chatting, they were probably friends from another primary school. A teacher came and set each student into a group, I was chosen to go to room twenty-nine with Ms Nelson.

The first thing we did was sit down and try to make new friends, the first person I met was Numan and a few others whose names I have forgotten. Wearing a mask was hard and kind of suffocated me when we were speaking, but there wasn't another option since it is mandatory to wear face masks. The chairs and tables were glued together and the white board had a board that you could pull down and turn on the projector. The teacher gave us tests(I have no idea what my results are)about math etc… she was really nice and funny when talking to the class. It was lunch break, we went past a long dark corridor then into a glass tube that led us outside, we all ate near the lake with a group of ducks that kept on asking for bread and went home after that.

One curious thing that happened was that I was in the wrong class, my dad picked French by accident instead of Spanish so a person came during small break and gave me a sheet and said that on Monday I would change to room 27 because my dad was able to change my language to Spanish I was thrilled to be able to do Spanish but a bit sad because I would change class and only see my new friends only on big break.

This school is ginormous compared to my primary school with long corridors and giant rooms for Tec, Science and Art. There is also a castle there from the brother´s Drimnagh( my mum told me). At the start I was scared to come to this school with no one I knew as I am a shy kid but in the end everything turned out great. I have made a few new friends, met a few teachers that were really nice to everyone comforting them and I am very lucky to have chosen to come to this great school with excellent teachers.

Student Council

Here at Drimnagh Castle Secondary School, we aim to maintain a voice for the school which represents the students themselves. I feel it is imperative that we as pupils have the right to express our own concerns in the best interest of our education, as well as issues of concern to us. Our Student Council helps to maintain that standard, as well as give students like myself a medium in which to communicate our own views and opinions as one partial governing body.

The Council is composed of members throughout First to Sixth Year. Our president, John Anrei Sy and vice president Luke Carruthers are in charge of role delegation as well as ensuring all tasks are met among members. We hold an informative meeting each Monday during lunch times, to inform the entire Council of tasks ahead as well as monitoring tasks yet to be conducted.

Extra-curricular events are a vital part of our identity as a school. The Student Council work in conjunction with Transition Year students with a great deal of success, to help plan and organise these events. A recent example of this was our inaugural Careers Fair. Having direct influence over the events of the school, and by extension the activities of students themselves provides a great sensation of success and achievement, especially after looking up to giant Sixth Years for three years of our life.

Pieta House Resilience Training

A Diary of second year Cian Foley

WEEK 1

We started off this venture with the volunteers by filling out a sheet on how we cope with difficult situations. The Pieta house volunteers gave us tips and showed us stories about famous people and told us about their past. They told us about Robert Downey JR and how he was addicted to drugs but he fought hard also always wanted to be an actor.

They also told us the pen trick. Try this at home: If you put a pen in your mouth horizontally it will put a smile on your face if you keep it there you will become a little bit happier.

From this first session we had to vote on what we wanted to cover over the next few weeks. Our top-Picks were substance use, sexuality, racism and bullying.

WEEK 2

We started on the topic of sexuality. This was chosen from the list of options that the class had voted. We talked about how people looked at someone differently if they were Gay Or lesbian. Some might see it as weird because they are not used to being around situations like this. We learned new ways to accept difference in our society. This is a very important tool.

WEEK 3

This week we covered bullying and all the different forms of bullying. We found out what bullying is and how it can be stopped.

Bullying is repeated physical or verbal discouragement.

This is a good topic to cover because it makes people aware of bullying and if they were ever in the situation to report it or if you are the person bullying how to stop and made us more knowledgeable about bullying as a whole. We learned that bullying is a very serious thing and can lead to people having suicidal thoughts.You never know what is happening in someone else’s life and one little thing could have a big impact on someone’s life.This is why Pieta House has a suicide helpline if you are being bullied just Freecall 1800 247 247.

WEEK 4

We covered substance use and what type of substances are legal and what are not. We then discussed “over the counter” tablets or medicine and things like weed, hash, meth, cocaine, crack cocaine. We discussed how addiction to these things can lead to people becoming homeless, involved in crime and also mental health issues.

They also said that you can overdose on “over the counter” medicine and tablets and that any drug or substance can be abused. It is good to be aware of these things at a young age. We are developing and growing and education about the world around us is the thing that might help us to grow in a way that allows us reach our full potential.

We all look forward to the next few sessions with the Pieta house crew.

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