tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57469207932357474532024-02-19T09:14:56.004-08:00Student Teaching Abroad - IrelandAlexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-88741009106539523842012-05-27T04:38:00.005-07:002012-05-27T04:40:08.377-07:00St. Aidan's GraduationHello everyone!<br />
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As I write this, I can't stop thinking about how my parents and sister will be here in 6 days - where did the time go??<br />
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Anyways, this week was pretty hectic at school. It was the students last week at school, as their summer exams (finals) begin this upcoming week. Much learning didn't occur - students were very antsy for summer! Which, I can safely safe, was felt by the teachers as well!<br />
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On Monday, one of the younger teachers at St. Aidans, Aine (who is 24 years old) invited me to get ice-cream with her and her room mates. We went to Blessington, a beautiful village with a lake about 20 minutes from where I am staying. I was hoping to get there before I left so I was glad I got to go. I am so glad Aine has been so welcoming! She is always inviting me places - it is so nice!<br />
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Aine and I at Blessington Lake</div>
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Blessington Lake - beautiful!</div>
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The most memorable thing from this week was St. Aidan's Graduation.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This past
Thursday, St. Aidan’s had its graduation night for 6<sup>th</sup> years (11<sup>th</sup>
grade). There are about 100 students in 6<sup>th</sup> year, and approximately
70 or 80 of them graduated. The drop out rate at St. Aidan’s is very high; most
students drop out sometime during 5<sup>th</sup> year (10<sup>th</sup> grade),
some as low as 3<sup>rd</sup> year (9<sup>th</sup> grade). With that being
said, graduating at St. Aidan’s is something that students, staff, and
community members find to be a huge accomplishment. Graduating from secondary
school, allows students to continue schooling at universities, go to technical
school, and overall just obtain a better job, than those who drop out.
Attending St. Aidan’s graduation was a very memorable evening for me; the
atmosphere was full of pride! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before attending
the event, I was really excited to go. I was eager to see how a graduation
commencement is handled in a school where the graduation class is small, let
alone in another country. After attending, I could see that the graduation
commencement is very different than how we handle the ceremony in the United
States. Students at St. Aidan’s do not wear graduation gowns; they wear their
usual school uniforms. Also, they sit in the audience with everyone else, just
off to the side. There also isn’t a valedictorian, or even students who give
speeches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During the
beginning of the ceremony, a student-singing group started off with an opening
song. Then, there was a symbolic piece, in which 6 students carried different
objects to the stage. For instance, a football to represent all of the hard
work in sports, a jumper to symbolize that although students are graduating,
they should never forget their memories and friends at St. Aidan’s. Other items
included a book, French book, exam papers, candle, and class registration; each
holding some meaning to the class. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After this
introduction was completed, a prayer was done and then there was a reading from
part of the Bible. I expected something like this, since all schools in Ireland
are Catholic (even public ones like St. Aidan’s). After this, there was a
candle ceremony. Then, the Principal and Vice Principal gave speeches. One of
my favorite parts was when the 6<sup>th</sup> year’s tutor (advisor), read a
poem she wrote for the class. It included every single of one the student’s
names that graduated in it. It was amazing how she was able to include all
students, showing that the class really was very close, and that they all knew
each other by their first names.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The longest part
of the ceremony was the prize-giving portion. What I found fascinating was that
because it was such a small group of students, students could be recognized for
their achievements. For instance, students received awards for “Most Improved,”
or “Most Caring”. My favorite award was giving to a girl who was the first
traveler to graduate following the traditional route of attending all 5 years
of school. Travelers are a group of people in Ireland who move from town to
town, not staying in one place long. With that said, most travelers don’t stay
in school long enough to complete all classes and graduate. The traveler that graduated
looked so proud – it was so inspiring!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After the graduation was
over, and students received their medals (instead of diplomas), the community
all celebrated together. There was food in the hall after the ceremony where
all of the families came together and celebrated the students graduating. It
was such a nice evening and I was really glad I got to attend!</span>
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The stage</div>
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The 6th year class(standing in black)</div>
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The 6th year's tutor (advisor) reading her poem</div>
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The 6th year students who presented the symbolic gifts</div>
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The celebration after the ceremony</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">I know I have said this time and time again, but I have continued to be impressed by the sense of community that is evident at St. Aidan's. All through the graduation, you could feel the strong sense of community. I love that teachers are also always getting together to do things outside of school. For instance, on Friday the women teachers all went out to lunch. It is so nice being a part of this community, and I hope I get this opportunity when I get my own teaching job in the U.S.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">I will most likely be blogging my last entry this Friday, as it will be my last day at St. Aidan's and my parents and sister come the following day. When my parents and sister get here we are off on a week-long tour of Ireland! I am SO excited! I have missed them SO much - I can't believe I haven't seem them in nearly 7 weeks!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Thanks for reading!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next time,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Alli</span><br />
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<br />Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-32236288638234857092012-05-20T05:27:00.002-07:002012-05-20T05:30:57.757-07:00St. Aidan's Sense of CommunityGreetings everyone!!<br />
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I hope everyone is doing well. I cannot believe I have been here 6 weeks on Tuesday. Where did the time go?? Anyways, I thought I'd take this post to update on the strong sense of community I have since been impressed at, at St. Aidan's (the school where I teach).<br />
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As I blogged in an earlier post, three weeks ago this Wednesday, a teacher at St. Aidan's died suddenly. The event left the entire school in shock. The last couple of weeks have since been really hard on the teachers. But, with his passing, I have seen an amazing sense of community emerge from this terrible situation. Over the past couple of weeks, teachers have organized a few get togethers in order to help each other cope and with the healing process. I fortunately have been able to take part in these activities and they have been really memorable.<br />
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On Thursday, St. Aidan's had their annual Sport's Day. This was a day for students to just come to school and compete in field day activities. All of the teachers get really into it and help out. It was a lot of fun! Students especially loved the high jump event. I even got to take part in some events. I did the tug-o-war and the egg and spoon race. Even the teachers competed in some of the events. At the end of the day, students who won events even receive medals.<br />
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After Sport's Day, some of the teachers decided to organize a 5K walk through some of the gorgeous Dublin Mountains that can be seen from anywhere in our area. One of the teacher's young daughter was recently diagnosed with cancer. Everyone thought that we as a staff could complete a 5K to raise money for his daughter's treatment bills. Many thought this could also get the ball rolling for starting up regular social activities for the staff members. So, on Thursday, 20 or so of the teachers and myself took part in a 5K walk. The mountains were beautiful (see pictures below). It was a lot of fun getting to talk to the teachers outside of class, and getting to know them better.<br />
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Then, on Friday, the teachers got together for another social event. Approximately 20 of us or so, met in the city for dinner at a place called Chatham Brasserie. We all indulged in three-course meals. After dinner we went to a pub and continued our social event there. All the teachers really welcomed me into their social gathering. It was great! The teachers are just so friendly - one even walked me about 20 minutes to the nearest train stop when the night was over so I didn't have to walk alone. It was such a fun night!<br />
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This weekend, I took it pretty easy. Jessie (my roommate) left today (Sunday)! It was so sad seeing her go, but I'm glad we got to spend 6 weeks or so together. I am counting down the days now until my parents and sister come. I miss them SO much! I never really considered how long 8 weeks would be away from home. I miss everyone so much, but know I will be sad to leave beautiful Ireland in just 3 weeks.<br />
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Pictures:<br />
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Sport's Day:</div>
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High-jump (Students LOVED this event)</div>
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Our principal is nearly 60 years old and still loves being involved with this day!</div>
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Tug-o-War (Even the teachers take part in this :))</div>
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Our Deputy Principal (Vice Principal) (in blue) participating in a race</div>
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Potato Sack Race!</div>
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Wheelbarrow Races!</div>
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5k Walk:</div>
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Some of the teachers during the 5k walk</div>
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At the middle of the 5K walk we ended up at a beautiful reservoir</div>
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Night out with the teachers:</div>
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If you've noticed I've been blogging once a week - I just realized that leaves me with just two more posts until I am home!!<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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Sm:)e,<br />
Alli<br />
<br />Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-76205455754772035352012-05-14T02:47:00.002-07:002012-05-14T02:49:52.513-07:00Dublin Zoo, National Leprechaun Museum, and Dun LaoighaireGreetings everyone!<br />
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First, a belated Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers reading this. Every Mother's Day, my family, Nanny and Great Aunt travel to our golf club for a brunch. I was really bummed that I had to miss this day! I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day and spent sometime with their loved ones, if possible!<br />
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The weeks are flying by here - I can't believe I only have 4 weeks left! My parents and sister are coming to visit in just under 3 weeks...that leaves just two weekends left before they get here! It's crazy how fast time flies. With that said, I am missing my family and friends so much! I never really thought about how long 8 weeks is. This trip has really made me appreciate the ones I love, and realize how many wonderful people I have in my life. Thanks for everyone taking the time to read this! I really enjoy being able to keep in touch with everyone through this blog.<br />
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Up-date about St. Aidan's:<br />
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I only have three weeks left at St. Aidan's and I can't believe that! I still feel like there is so much I'd like to do to help, and leave my mark here. Currently, the tasks I am enjoying the most are working with small groups of students. My one group is made up of 6, fifth year students. They are 16 years old. I really have enjoyed working with them and revising their algebra skills with them daily. I have found it really interesting how they learn algebra versus how we teach it in America. Even a lot of the most common terms are different between the school systems. It's fun learning the differences in our vocabulary terms and teaching practices. It makes for a good time having to first understand what my students are talking about, to then be able to help them. Being here has really helped me to become a well-rounded educator and understand how vital it is for teachers to be flexible and relate to students as much as possible! For instance, when doing word problems with them, in America I would usually talk about football or baseball. But, here those sports are not the most popular. Hurling is one of the most popular sports. So, I had to understand what this game was, to be able to use it in word problems! I am hoping to make it to a hurling match before I leave!<br />
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There is also one student who is going to America this summer to play soccer. The program he is a part of requires him to take the SAT's. I just started working with him last week but I have really enjoyed this part of my experience. Being in Ireland, no one really knows what the SAT's are. I feel fortunate enough to have come at this time to tutor this student to get him on track for getting the score he needs to get to America!<br />
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On Friday of this week there aren't going to be any classes because St. Aidan's is having their annual Sport's Day. Sport's Day is basically like field day. There are activities and events for students to participate in. It is my hopes that I get to help out with the events or maybe even get to participate in some of them! I am very excited for Friday!<br />
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Now to update about my weekend.<br />
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This past weekend I stayed in Dublin, but took advantage of a beautiful weekend to see the local attractions. It seems that during the week it pours constantly but then the weekends are bright and sunny. I am completely okay with this ha ha!<br />
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On Friday, Claire (my host mom), Jessie, and I went to Claire's brother's pub. Jessie and I have been begging her to take us there because we really wanted to meet more of her family. Unfortuantely, her brother was not there on Friday, but we did get to meet two of her sisters. Claire is part of a huge family. She has 14 brothers and sisters, so it is nice I get to meet any of them.<br />
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On Saturday, Anna (another student teacher from PSU in the program) and I went to the Dublin Zoo. The Dublin Zoo is located in Phoenix Park, one of the largest parks enclosed recreational parks in Europe. The zoo was fun, except most of the animals were sleeping!<br />
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On Saturday, we also went to the National Leprechaun Museum. As silly as this sounds, it was actually an awesome museum. The museum was a tour-based experience. The tour guide lead us through the museum, telling us tales and folklores of fairies and leprechauns. Did you know that leprechauns didn't even wear green in traditional tales? They looked more like dwarfs, with red caps, and overalls. It wasn't until the 1950's when Walt Disney made the movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People, that leprechauns got portrayed this way! I thought that was really interesting. Anyways, the whole museum was set up as different rooms - there was a giant people's room, wishing well room, pot of gold room, etc. I would definitely recommend this museum if you're ever in Dublin!<br />
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On Sunday, I traveled to Dun Laoighaire to visit Anna's town. Dun Laoighaire is a coastal town with a yacht club and located on the Irish Sea. It was beautiful! Although it took nearly an hour to get there by bus, it was well worth it.<br />
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With that said, with every new place I travel to, I think about how I will never see those sites again. It really makes me appreciate my time in Ireland and to see as much as possible. With its green landscapes and historical towns and buildings, I know I will miss the gorgeous views when I leave.<br />
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Below are some pictures from this past weekend:<br />
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Claire's brother's pub - Smyths</div>
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Claire!!!</div>
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Phoenix Park/Dublin Zoo:</div>
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Wellington Monument</div>
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Headquarters of the Irish Defense Forces</div>
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National Leprechaun Museum:</div>
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A very BIG chair - part of the giant's room (all the furniture was large so we would feel small)</div>
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Dun Laoighaire:</div>
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There was an outdoor gym! (This one's for you Bryan)</div>
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People were swimming!! No big deal...it was only in the high 40's. </div>
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Me on a pile of huge rocks in the middle of the sea!</div>
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Thanks for reading!!<br />
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Until next week,<br />
Alli<br />
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<br />Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-85999287398360493722012-05-04T04:03:00.000-07:002012-05-08T02:05:01.734-07:00Celebrating Graduation - in LondonHello everyone!<br />
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Quite a bit to update now.<br />
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This past Sunday, I graduated from Penn State. I knew from the start that coming to Ireland would unfortunately have me miss my big day. I have always envisioned the day of walking across the stage, shaking the president's hand, and receiving my diploma. Although I was not able to be there for the ceremony, I was still there in spirit. When I was a junior in college, I never could have imagined what my four years of college would be like. Penn State has prepared me as a student, community member, PSU fanatic, and now a math teacher. Looking back over the last four years, it is hard not to tear up and think about how all of the wonderful memories I had, friendships made, and experiences completed are coming to an end. But, with so many PSU alumni all over the world and have been prepared so much by our college, I know I am ready for the real-world. So many events have taken place at PSU these past four years, of which I will never forget. I have seen first hand, how both bad and good events can bring even approximately 40,000 students together to celebrate or support one another in certain times. It is my hopes that I feel this love, support, or guidance, no matter where life takes me. I have grown so much over the past four years, and I owe PSU a big thanks for that.<br />
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Although I was not able to walk in our graduation commencement this past weekend, I will be walking in the August commencement. I cannot wait to walk! I really missed being able to be there with my sister, family, and friends on my big day but I knew that I wouldn't be able to, with being in Ireland. Nevertheless, I graduated and am now a Penn State Alumni!!! I can't wait to start in the real-world now. All that is left is to get a teaching job! :)<br />
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Congratulations Penn State Class of 2012!!!!!!!!!!!! We did it!<br />
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Now to update about Ireland:<br />
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This past week I spent a lot of time teaching classes at St. Aidan's. Unfortunately on Wednesday a teacher at our school died suddenly before coming to school that morning. The teachers at St. Aidan's were extremely upset with this happening. Our school has about 50 teachers so it is a tight community. But, it was such an inspiring experience seeing the teachers, students, and faculty pulling together to get through the hard time. The teacher was in his 40s and was really loved by his students. As much as St. Aidan's wanted to run normally, we did get out of school early on Friday because of the funeral proceedings on Friday and Saturday. It was a very sad time to be at St. Aidan's this week but I am confident that the school will get through this.<br />
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This past week I taught a few classes - two for one of the teacher's (Liz) classes. I taught frequency tables as well as line plots. I also taught two lessons two another teacher's class (Emer). I taught mean and trend graphs. My main teacher who I am working with, Carol, had me teach a class for her as well. I taught slope. The teachers don't require any type of lesson plans so it's very strange just getting up in front of a class and teaching! It's great!<br />
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Also, this week I have started helping with lunch club. Since students have an hour off for lunch every day, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, students can go to the community school, get a free lunch and play games (pool, foose ball, play station etc.). I went on Thursday and it was a lot of fun. I ended up playing pool with a few of the students!<br />
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After a long, crazy week, it was time for some fun. Me, Jessie, and Liz (another girl in the program), decided to go to London to enjoy our three-day weekend and celebrate our graduation. I have off today (Monday) because of a bank-holiday, where all banks and most businesses are closed.<br />
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London was amazing! It has always been a dream of mine to go to London so I was extremely excited to visit. We flew into Luton, which although the tickets for the flight was extremely cheap for booking last minute and with a bank holiday (about 200 dollars round trip), the airport was about 45 minutes from where we were staying in a town just outside of London, called Paddington.<br />
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Once arriving at the airport, we took a shuttle bus to a train and then finally arrived at our hostel. Our hostel was called The Pride of Paddington and located above a local pub. It was actually quite an interesting experience. We had to check-in at the pub at the bar! But, the hostel was really nice. We had 3 other room mates stay in our room. One room mate was French and named Romain. We also had two German room mates. They were very friendly and it was nice getting to know about France and Germany from our fellow room mates. On Friday night we didn't do much. We had dinner at the pub, I have a beef and ale pie which was really delicious, and then we just hung out for a few hours and went to bed early because we had a full day ahead of us on Saturday.<br />
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On Saturday we woke up early, received our complementary breakfast at the pub and were on our way to travel. We bought a bus ticket for a "hop-on-hop-off bus" for the two days we would be in London. This would allow us to take one of the open-top busses and travel around London. This bus was awesome. They had earphones that you could plug into the seats and listen to the history as you were passing sights in London. On Saturday we took the bus to see: Big ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and other parts of London. We also took an hour long river boat ride (which was free with our bus tickets). This allowed us to see SO many parts of London. It was great seeing everything in London in one day!<br />
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Sunday was a hectic day. We did a little bit of shopping in Soho and Chinatown and then headed to the airport. Unfortunately, on Friday we purchased train tickets to return on Sunday. But, the train lady who sold us them did not tell us that the trains did not run on Sunday due to the holiday. So, after a bus, two trains, a tube ride, and two very expensive cab rides we finally made it to the airport. It was quite a trip, filled with a lot of memories and great experiences. I would love to go back to London if possible!<br />
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Pictures:<br />
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Our hostel for the weekend (The Pride of Paddington)</div>
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Traditional Full English Breakfast</div>
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Big Ben</div>
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London Eye</div>
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The London Towers Bridge</div>
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Westminster Abbey- Where William and Kate got married</div>
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Telephone booth!</div>
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The girls!</div>
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Buckingham Palace</div>
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Classic Fish and Chips</div>
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London was beautiful!</div>
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Until then,<br />
Alli</div>Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-72203600376148792022012-04-28T14:15:00.001-07:002012-04-28T14:22:31.109-07:00Week 2 of Teaching and Day Tour to KilkennyHello everyone!<br />
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I can't believe as of this Tuesday I will already have been here 3 weeks! Time is flying by!!<br />
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<u>Second Week of Teaching</u>:<br />
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This second week of teaching flew by. But, I finally started teaching so that part was great. I also started working with small groups of students.<br />
I am working with 4 of the maths teachers. Two of the teachers teach 2nd year students (8th grade), one teaches 3rd year (9th grade) and the other teaches 1st year (7th grade). I will be teaching lessons for these teachers throughout my 6 weeks at St. Aidan's.<br />
I am also responsible for working with small groups of students who are struggling with their current maths classes. One group is 5th year (11th grade), and the other is 3rd year (9th grade). There are 7 students in the 5th year group and 4 students in the 3rd year group.<br />
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On Thursday I taught my first lesson. It was on the topic of mode and I taught it to first year students who are in the foundation level of maths (the lowest level). I actually taught a similar lesson on mode (as well as mean and median) to students during my pre-service student teaching experience last fall so it was nice being able to think about similarities and differences when teaching students in Ireland versus the United States. Overall the lesson went fine. But, I have observed that students at St. Aidan's are not the most behaved. Especially in this class specifically, students call out and talk to their peers as the teacher is teaching. This actually did not happen too much during my lesson, partly I'm guessing because I a new person to them. But, when students were talking and I tried to get them to stop, the students really didn't seem to listen too much. This is a challenge I am willing to accept and excited to get students to stay on task more! But, students were very enthusiastic in wanting to answer all of my questions which was great!<br />
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Once other students in the school found out I taught a lesson to a class, they all were repeatedly asking me to teach them. Many made references to wanting a teacher with an American accent to teach them. I found this really amusing but am glad that I am accepted by all of the students to teach them!<br />
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Friday's lesson was a continuation of the lesson on Thursday to the same group of students. Again the students were eager to volunteer. This was great to see!<br />
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Like stated earlier I have also started working with small groups of students who are struggling with their maths classes. This has been really neat. I haven't really done any group tutoring too much outside of classrooms so this is a really fun experience. I get to work closely with students on strengthening their maths skills. On Thursday I even thought a song I learned from my pre-service student teacher mentor to one of the groups. Although this song was made for younger students (7th graders), I used it with the 5th year (11th grade) group and it really helped them with the topic they were struggling with. They all even asked for copies of the song, which I was perfectly okay with doing!<br />
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Next week I will be teaching two classes for two of the other teachers. I will most likely be teaching more but this is all that was planned for Monday and Tuesday of this upcoming week.<br />
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Here are some pictures of St. Aidan's. I'll post more when I get the chance to take more!<br />
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(P.S. I have learned that if you click on each picture you can see a bigger view of it!)<br />
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The upstairs main hallway</div>
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The canteen (cafeteria)</div>
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The main entrance</div>
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The middle sitting area, on the ground floor</div>
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The school's crest</div>
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<u>Day Tour to Kilkenny</u><br />
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Well this is an interesting part of my blog. Last night (Friday) I was talking with one of the girls in my program who is student teaching here in Ireland as well and is about 30 minutes from me. I've never met her but we were talking about meeting up to do something this weekend. Jessie is away this weekend so I was without my travel buddy. At about 6pm she texted me and asked if I wanted to do a day tour for today. I decided, why not? So we booked it last minute! Twelve hours later I had to wake up (at 6am) and get to Dublin city. There we met our tour guide and bus for the day. Our tour was to Glendalough, Wickalow Mountains and Kilkenny. My parents and sister are coming in June and this was actually part of Ireland not on our tour we will be doing so I was extremely excited to see a part of Ireland I wouldn't have gotten to see if I didn't go on this tour! The girl I traveled with, Anna, was a very nice girl and we had a lot of common and to talk about since we both go to PSU.<br />
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The weather was also wonderful! Although it was a tad chilly it didn't rain at all! This past week it has rained every single day so it was a miracle we didn't get any rain :)<br />
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We first started at Glendalough. It was about a 40 minute drive from our pick-up stop in Dublin. It was beautiful!! It is a mountain/park site. There were beautiful waterfalls, lakes, and old ruins (see pictures below). It was wonderful seeing the scenery.<br />
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Anna and I</div>
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I wish I could post all of the pictures I took at Glendalough - there are over 50 though, so I choose just a few highlights.<br />
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I should mention that throughout our tour we saw these fields and fields of yellow flowers. I forget their name, but a picture is below. The picture doesn't do the scenery justice.<br />
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After Glendalough we drove through the Wickalow mountains. Then we reached our other main destination besides Glendalough, Kilkenny. Kilkenny is a medieval town with a gorgeous castle called Kilkenny Castle. I was extremely excited to see the castle because I had yet to see one. The castle was beautiful. </div>
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After Kilkenny castle we boarded the bus and headed back to Dublin. After getting off the tour bus, Anna (the girl I traveled with), decided to go to a pub. We wanted to go to the oldest pub in Dublin (The Brazen Head), a pub our tour bus driver suggested we checked out. It was really old - built in the 1100's!<br />
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All in all, it was a wonderful day to tour the countryside and towns of Ireland! I am glad I went and now have another travel buddy, Anna, to travel with for the remainder of my trip!<br />
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Until next time,<br />
Alli<br />
<br />Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-74130355302389954062012-04-23T08:34:00.002-07:002012-04-23T08:34:41.995-07:00Galway City Weekend<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hello!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This past weekend Jessie, myself, and three other students from the program traveled to Galway City. Galway compared to Dublin City, is much smaller. It is more of an intimate atmosphere. But, there are still streets and streets of shops, pubs, and restaurants. On Friday, Jessie and I left our house right after school, around 3:30pm. We then took the Luas (the train very similar to our Septa train), to Heusten Station. Heusten Station is a train station right outside Dublin City. We then met the three other students we were traveling with at the station. Our train ride to Galway was only 2 and a half hours. It is really neat that someone can travel anywhere in Ireland in just a couple of hours. I think it takes only 5 hours to go from the top to bottom of Ireland by car. But, any part of Ireland can be accessed by train or bus pretty much. Also, because we were students we got a great rate on the train ride (it was a total of 20 euros round trip for us, compared to the 46 euros it would have regularily been).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After arriving in Galway, we made our way to our hostel. We stayed at Kinlay Hostel, right in the center of the city. We had booked a 6 person room for the 5 of us which meant we would possibly have a stranger staying with us as well. Our room was very basic. There were three sets of bunk beds, a sink, and a small bathroom that had a shower. The shower was really interesting because you had to hold a button for the shower to work, or the water would turn off after about 5 seconds. But, we made it work. After checking in, we went to dinner. We got to the hostel around 8:30pm so by the time we went to dinner it was about 10pm. Most of the restaurants and pubs stop serving food at this time so we were fortunate enough to find a sort of "hole in the way" restaurant to eat at in town. I ordered a panini, but learned that panini's in Ireland are just basically a deli roll that is toasted. But, it was still delicious. After dinner, we headed to a pub called, The King's Head. They had a live band, who was amazing. They played American music, but played everything from Queen to today's hits. We met a few of the locals, as well as visitors from England while at the pub.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">On Saturday, we finally met our room mate. His name was Clement and he was from France. It was somewhat hard to understand some of his English, but it was still really interesting and fun comparing meanings of words in English and French. Saturday we spent the day in Galway City exploring the shops and some of the sights, such as the Galway Cathedral and beautiful coast lines. Saturday night we went out to dinner again and I had Guinness stew at a lovely restaurant. It was very yummy! Saturday night we spent at a pub, called Kelly's, with our new room mate Clement and had a very good time.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Our train on Sunday didn't leave until 3pm so we were able to do some sightseeing before heading out. We went to a town called Salthill. Salthill was about a 15 minute walk from Galway City. It was a beautiful coastal town, and we spent time just wondering around. After Salthill, it was time to catch our train home. I finally finished the last book in the Hunger Game series on the train. It was a great book. Everyone else slept on the train because they were very tired. Overall, it was a great weekend and I really enjoyed myself!</span><br />
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Galway City</div>
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Salthill</div>
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Galway Coast</div>
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The four lovely Americans and I from my program</div>
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Irish Words:</div>
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grand - fine (they say this ALL the time)</div>
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timetable - schedule</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">get a lift - get a ride </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This week should be a very full and busy week for me. After observing different classes all of last week, I will start to teach this week most likely. I am working with many teachers, and students from ages 13-16. So, I will have a very wide-range of experience teaching students in Ireland!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Until next time,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Alli</span>Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-60448881802458150112012-04-19T14:56:00.001-07:002012-04-19T15:17:36.794-07:00First Week at St. Aidan'sHello all!<br />
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This is most likely going to be a super long post. It's already 10pm here and I have to pack but there's so much I want to write about the education system in Ireland. Me, Jessie, and three other students in our program (who are from Indiana), are off to Galway for the weekend tomorrow afternoon. One great thing about Ireland being so small is that it is very easy to travel around the whole country. In just 2 and a half hours we will go from one coast to the other. Pretty cool! We're staying in a hostel. I'll update on that later.<br />
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Anyways, this blog is just going to recap my first week at St. Aidan's. So, I'm sorry for all the teacher terms and discussion about the education system in Ireland. This is a warning for those reading this - it is all about schooling in Ireland so if you are not a teacher you will most likely be bored :)!<br />
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I am teaching at St. Aidan's Community School. It is a Catholic public school that houses approximately 500 students from ages 13-17. It is a lower-economic school but has a very good reputation. Students wear a uniform everyday that consists of black or gray pants, a gray button up, and green sweater (or "jumper") with the school's crest on it. The school day goes from 8:50am to 3:30pm, with an hour break for lunch.<br />
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Monday was my first day at St. Aidan's. I arranged with my teacher to have her pick me up on her way to school. I meet her at a hotel which is takes just under 10 minutes to walk to. This is much better than the 25 minute walk I'd have if I had to get to school on my own! She also gives me a lift home as well which is nice.<br />
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As soon as I arrived to school, I was greeted by the principal and what they call a principal deputy, which I have learned is just another name for Vice Principal. St. Aidan's doesn't start until 9am which I found to be much later than I expected when compared to high schools in the United States that start around 7:30am. Also, from 8:50am - 9am, while students have their version of homeroom, teachers gather in the teacher lounge and have tea. In this past week of being here, I have had enough tea to satisfy me for the rest of my life. But, I don't mind that ha ha. I really think the United States should adopt this whole drinking tea thing. It really is a nice way to socialize with other teachers and begin your day. Although school starts at 8:50am, teachers do not have to arrive early. This was something that completely surprised me. Every school I've worked at, teachers are required to usually arrive 30 minutes early. But, this is not the case at St. Aidan's. Also, when the students leave for the day, so do the teachers.<br />
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After the short tea time, I observed throughout the day, different teachers in the maths department. Class periods are 40 minutes, which is similar to the U.S. Something I found interesting was that although there are bells, students are not giving any transition time in between classes. One ends, and the next one begins when students enter the class.<br />
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But, students are not in grades. They are in years. This is very important because third year students have to pass a Junior Certificate Exam to attend what they call the senior levels. Basically, students in Ireland start secondary school in 7th grade (which is considered 1st year), 2nd year (8th grade), and 3rd year (9th grade). After 3rd year, to get to the senior level, students must pass an exam (junior certification). After passing, students have an option to take a transition year, where students focus on one subject (i.e., language) for a year, before entering the senior level. This 4th year is not offered at St. Aidan's because most students skip it. So, the senior level consists of 5th year (10th grade) and 6th year (11th grade). This means most students graduate from secondary school at the age of 17 in Ireland.<br />
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Throughout the week, I observed all of the maths classes offered at the school. Students are placed in one of three options: foundations, ordinary, or higher level. Because St. Aidan's is a low-economic school, unfortunately, many students are in the foundation level. These classes I observed were extremely small, and made up of about 5 to 10 students. This was actually pretty cool because the teacher has time to individually help the students during class. Also, the lowest of these classes, students just work through different level work books. Although this seems tedious and doesn't give students much of an in-depth education, it seems to keep them on track and allows for students of different learning levels a chance to learn in one classroom (i.e., a differentiated learning technique (teacher term!)).<br />
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Something else that's interesting to note, is that at 11am students have a 10 minute snack break where they get to visit the canteen (lunch hall). They get a snack and a quick break. These 10 minutes are also utilized by the teachers. They get tea time. I told the teachers that in the U.S. this break is non-existent and no one really drinks tea. They were shocked!! They didn't understand how we didn't get breaks or socialize over tea. At 12:30pm all students have lunch. Since there are only 500 students in the school, St. Aidan's is able to accommodate all students at one lunch period. But, the unique thing about this is that most students go home for lunch. They all live locally and lunch is an hour long so they can afford to do so. The canteen is a new concept to the school, and offers lunch to students who don't leave for a small price. Another thing I've noticed is that the teachers bring amazing lunches to school. Anything from gourmet salads to pasta dishes are brought in. I definitely stood out with my PB & J on the first day.<br />
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In general, I've noticed that most of the teachers wear the same outfits a few days in a row or every other day. Not because of a money issue, but simply because this is normal to them. I feel almost out of place with my "new" outfits everyday lol. Something else I've noticed is that female teachers are called "Miss" and male teachers, "Sir" by students. Students do not use their names when calling them. Sometimes a student will address me, but then I am not sure if it's me that he or she is asking for.<br />
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Being from America, I have become quite the talk of the school. Students who I do not know in the hallway always say hello to me. It is very welcoming. In general, students think that I know all of the American celebrities. I don't think students grasp how big America is and how small Ireland is compared to our country. Also, I am shocked by how much America influences Europe, let alone Ireland. In one of the classes a poster of Obama is on the wall. Students are also constantly listening to American music, too. Just yesterday I heard one of my student's singing my favorite song, "Call me Maybe". This was something I was not expecting in Ireland.<br />
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Overall, I have had a good week at St. Aidan's. I can't wait to start teaching classes!!<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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-Alli<br />
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<br />Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-26467971460192004672012-04-15T13:08:00.002-07:002012-04-15T13:08:21.639-07:00Exploring Ireland - First WeekendHello all!<br />
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Lots to update. Spent my first weekend here and it was great. It was filled with memories and great pictures. Check out my Facebook for all the photos! I'll put a few on here, as you can see below.<br />
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Anyways, on Thursday Jessie and I traveled into Dublin City. It was great! It's about a 40 minute train ride from our home, but a very easy commute. There was so much history surrounding us in the city. Many breathtaking buildings such as Trinity College and the Bank of Ireland.<br />
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There were also many many shops but everything was somewhat expensive. The city itself was really cool. There were street performers everywhere. Something interesting I saw all around the streets were people dressed as statues. Such as in the photo below. They were frozen and then if you gave them any money at all they would move around and you could take your picture with them. There were also live bands playing up and down the streets.<br />
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Jessie and I had a really fun day just hanging out in the city. In the evening we visited a few of the local pubs in the city which were fun and upbeat. There were local bands at all of them.<br />
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On Friday Jessie and I explored the surrounding "mountains" as the town calls them, that surround our neighborhood. We didn't get to climb any of the mountains but we hope to do that soon! This was the view from part of our walk.<br />
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Friday night we went to a local bar in our town square. Ireland has their own "The Voice of Ireland". One of the singers from the show was actually at the bar! It was cool seeing a "local" celebrity.<br />
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On Saturday Jessie and I didn't do much during the day. I've been reading the Hunger Games (which was very good!) and I spent all afternoon finishing that. At night, Jessie and I went to a local nightclub. It was actually surprising how much American music they played. At most of the pubs, American music is actually the majority of the music played. But, it was fun to see how the Irish dance and what type of music they like. <br />
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Today, (Sunday) was a great day! Jessie and I went to a local fishing town called Howth. It was an hour ride on the Luas but well worth it! As you can see from the photos below, the views from various spots in the town were breathtaking!<br />
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Tomorrow I start my first day at St. Aidan's! I will write in detail about the school when I learn all about it tomorrow. I am very excited!!<br />
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Hope you enjoyed this!<br />
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-Alli<br />
<br />Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-47547589312966430172012-04-12T03:32:00.005-07:002012-04-12T03:35:55.724-07:00The Local Town - Day 2Greetings!<br />
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Yesterday morning Jessie (the other student teacher living with Claire) arrived back from "holiday" with her parents. We talked a bit over Facebook but had never met before yesterday. She is really awesome! We're going to get along just fine. After we talked a bit, we went into town, to the town square. I had to get a cell phone and a few other items. Right next to the outside square there is Tallaght Square which is a mall. With only a 10 minute walking distance or so, you can be sure I was happy!</div>
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Around the square in general, there are a lot of beautiful modern buildings but most are completely empty! They had a huge economy boom like 10 years ago so many people got loans and built buildings but then ran out of money to furnish or run them. </div>
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Yesterday, I also met up with my teacher I will be working with at St. Aidan's Community School. She was very nice and even paid for my coffee! I can tell already that my work here will be completely different from back in the states. Although classes are 40 minutes (similar to my 42 minute classes with student teaching in the states), the maths teachers teach every type of math! For instance, they don't just have a class on Algebra 2, but instead Level 3, which would be like an all freshman general math class. My school also doesn't start until 8:50 am! My last placement in Pittsburgh started at 7:15am. I can't complain there! I am really excited to start at my school on Monday!</div>
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Last night me and Jessie went out to to local pubs. They were both in hotels. Since it was a Wednesday night they were pretty dead but we still had a good time. I tried my first Guinness. It was pretty good! Then Jessie and I found the best thing...a McDonald's. But, there menu was different than the U.S. They had some similarities but unique items as well. For instance, they had curley fries and mozzarella sticks! All the stores and restaurants close early here, so we were happy to learn that the McDonald's is open until midnight.</div>
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Today we're going into Dublin (city centre they call it). It's about a 35-40 minute ride on the luas. Excited to explore!</div>
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Words in Irish:</div>
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Maths class - math class</div>
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Food hall - grocery store</div>
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Sweater - jumper</div>
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Craic - have a good time<br />
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Pictures:<br />
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Claire's house.</div>
<br /></div>Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746920793235747453.post-51631991640882957482012-04-10T12:16:00.003-07:002012-04-10T12:16:32.178-07:00Arriving in Dublin - Day 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Greetings from Dublin!</div>
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It is currently 7:30pm here and my first day in Dublin is winding down. I'm really glad I arrived in the morning today; I got to spend all day settling in and exploring the near by town. I also don't think the jet lag will be too much of an issue because I had a full day to get my body used to Ireland.<br />
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My flight got in around 8:20am (European time). The flight went fast - I was able to sleep for a few of the hours on the plane. Getting through customs was a breeze! But, once getting through customs I was on my own to navigate my way to my host mom's house (she lives about 25 minutes from the Dublin Airport). I took a taxi, which was very easy to do! The taxi driver was also very cheerful and welcoming. It is common to get a receipt when taking a taxi, something I thought was very interesting. But, it's not common to tip the driver.<br />
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Claire, my host mom, met me at her house. She works during the day as a receptionist at the town's dentist office. She is a widow and has to grown children. She has 3 grandchildren total, one was just born a week ago. I'm hoping I get to meet the baby soon. Claire was also very welcoming! As soon as I walked in she started showing me where everything was and offered to make me tea.<br />
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My room is much bigger than expected. It has two twin beds and a fairly large wardrobe. I was able to fit everything perfectly! I'll attach a picture of that later on in a future blog post.<br />
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After settling in I decided to take a walk down to the center of square. They pronounce it, "Square Tallaght" instead of the Tallaght Square. It was a 5 minute walk. In town there is a hospital, a library, and a few shops and restaurants. I think there is more to the square but I only stayed a few minutes because it looked like it was going to rain - which it actually hailed! I did walk through one clothing store though and there was actually a small grocery store (sort of like a Wawa) in the back of the store which I thought was neat!<br />
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The weather seems to change constantly here. One minute it's sunny, the next minute it's raining. I'm glad I brought an umbrella!<br />
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After exploring the square I came home and had dinner with Claire. It was really delicious!<br />
I am currently watching "Soaps" as Claire calls it, with her. I also just looked at this book Claire has of all the students she has housed over the years. She's been doing this since about 2003 and has had many students stay with her! The book is filled with pictures and letters from all the students. I can't wait to write in it when I am done.<br />
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Tomorrow Jessie, the other student teacher Claire is housing, returns from holiday she took with her family this past week. I am excited to get to know her and hang out! She is my age and goes to the University of Iowa. I guess we will have to put our rivalry aside :). I'm glad to have someone to travel around with!<br />
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Below are three pictures I thought I'd add:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Here I am at Philadelphia International Airport with my three bags of luggage! I was somehow able to cram 2 months of belongings in just 3 bags.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">This view can be seen right when I walk out of Claire's neighborhood, towards the main road. I love that just out of town is the beautiful mountains that Ireland is famous for! You can see them from the busy streets!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdiNB-3qEH5J7fyfPFTaTA99GVU0I0rdkaLWRoaYIpTMLJyQcEoybPHKwjAKX2BTMazw_BvPjxIsQV-xitnZl1rLX8Z6kPR-Q1Z_YQP2iERFsBBV0XDKdiIbel-Gk5j-YZL2N0YuEfTc/s1600/IMG_1193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdiNB-3qEH5J7fyfPFTaTA99GVU0I0rdkaLWRoaYIpTMLJyQcEoybPHKwjAKX2BTMazw_BvPjxIsQV-xitnZl1rLX8Z6kPR-Q1Z_YQP2iERFsBBV0XDKdiIbel-Gk5j-YZL2N0YuEfTc/s320/IMG_1193.JPG" width="256" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">This was my first dinner in Ireland! It was delicious. </span></div>
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<b>Here are some phrases that the Irish say:</b></div>
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Bin - trash can<br />
Luas - a train/monorail that goes all throughout Dublin<br />
Tallaght - pronounced Talla<br />
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I hope to post every couple of days, if not every day. Hope this doesn't bore you guys too much!<br />
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-Alli<br />
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<br />Alexandra Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07452505829698508337noreply@blogger.com0