#HomeEc - #JC2017 - Emily Reilly

 #JC2017 #HomeEcEmily Reilly - Meánscoil Mhuire LongfordI was overall happy enough with the home economics paper this year. I didn't prepare myself much as I was too excited to finish up and was hoping to receive the B I got in the mock.The paper started off with Section A which consisted of 24 short questions but you only had to answer 20. I answered 24 as I wanted to be sure I'd get full marks for my best 20. The questions weren't too difficult as a few were repeated from the previous exam years.Section B consisted of 6 Long questions in which you had to choose 4 of your best questions. I managed to complete 5 as the examiners would mark my best 4. The question I was most confident with was about the family and the roles and responsibilities within a family but the question I did not answer was about fabrics which I find most difficult to study.I had plenty of time to look over my answers and I found the paper was fair overall. #StateExams2017

Geography - #JC2017 - Olivia Whelan

 Olivia Whelan - Mean Scoil Mhuire LongfordGeography today was one of the subjects I was really looking forward to! I've always been comfortable with the subject geography.

As normal the exam began with section 1 , which consisted of 20 short questions , I flew through this section excited so see this years selection of questions in section 2. Section 1 was straight forward and nothing that I hadn't seen before , of course there were a few tricky ones thrown in to get the students attention. I marked the little tricky questions for me to go back on and moved onto section 2.In section 2 as usual we were given 5 question where we had the option of choosing our 3 to answer. I feel this is very helpful to the students who maybe mightn't be as strong in certain places of the course. To start I flicked through the questions and selected my best 3. Once I had decided , I began section 2. I chose to do questions 1 , 3 and 4 and I was happy with my choices. From my personal experience map drawing is confusing so I stayed clear from it on question 5.I started confidently until I realised I had taken one of the questions up entirely wrong , a quick few scribbles then sent me on my way forward! Timing was perfect but I got a slight bit nervous near the end when I still had a question left and short questions to look over , but in the end timing was perfect and I got to look over all I had written!Leaving the exam I was really happy with how I'd done and I hope to have kept the A I got in the mock.#StateExams2017

Women in Leadership- If She Can Do It, So Can I.

Sarah Harte is our ISSU Regional Officer for the West of Ireland.She was recently elected at our Regional Council in Galway this year. Here, Sarah shares her thoughts on women in leadership.As today is International Women’s Day, it is the perfect time to celebrate and highlight the importance of role models to young women and girls. The power of role models often goes unrecognised but they can have an immeasurable effect on the lives of young people, particularly girls. It is important to be able to see someone who you can identify with in a position to know that you can make it there.Historically, the vast majority of leaders in this country have been men. This often meant that women and their achievements were not acknowledged or written about leading to a lack of women that girls could look up to. That is not the case anymore as more and more women rise to the top of their fields. The playing field is becoming more equal but there is still hurdles facing many women. For example, just 22% of all TD’s at present are women and this is a record high. There are always certain challenges facing people who aim for power but men and women tend to face different attitudes and challenges. Having a lack of self-confidence can hold you back as it is the fundamental basis of any good leader. If you do not have faith in your own ability it becomes difficult to expect others to. This is something that is learned from early on in life. Putting yourself forward to head up a project in school may reflect into putting yourself forward for election in the future. This is something that some of my friends struggle with, some of the most intelligent girls I know underestimate themselves and therefore hold themselves back. As children, we emulate what we see in others and this does not end as we age. If you see self-confidence you will learn to mirror it. We mimic these behaviours without ever realising it from the people we watch. That is why it is important that there are women we can look up to. Another behaviour that we learn is the different ways in which we talk about ambitious men and women. Often, men are commended for taking the leap and putting themselves out there, while women are penalized. There are certain words and phrases that are reserved for strongly opinionated or outspoken women and I have been called a few of these in my time.Personally, I have always been drawn to strong women as people that inspire and motivate me. Films, TV shows and books with women at the helm have interested me since I was a child and in the last few months I have read books by and about Mary Robinson, Malala Yousafzai and Hillary Clinton. I admire these women greatly for their resilience, perseverance and sheer mental strength despite different adversaries. One thing that the above-named women have in common is that they all have varying levels of a high profile, political or otherwise. This is not the case with all role models or even most of them. They do not have to be the first female President of Ireland or the first woman with a real shot at winning the White House. They can be a local politician, a teacher or a Foróige leader. Someone who takes an interest in your future, who wants to see you get on well because maybe someone did the same for them. Their words of advice are the ones that you remember and they are the people you don’t forget.That is why it is just as important to have role models as it is to be one. I know that my 14-year-old sister learns more from me than she’ll ever admit. I feel like I owe it to her to set as good an example as I can. I know that she is watching me. I have had so many people look out for me and I know that they are there for me if I need them and that is something I will always be grateful for. 

Junior Cert Maths Paper 2

Alex - Higher Level

I found this to be a very fair paper. It was challenging but I was still able to do it. Like Paper 1 I found it to be easier than the Mocks but still relatively hard. I'll admit I was finished earlier than I thought I would be but I was happy with what I got done. Some questions, for example, the theorems question I found to be quite difficult as I couldn't remember the diagram... Until I saw it on the next page. The next question was literally the answer to the one before it. I was grateful for that. Overall I found the Paper very doable and fair. I finished the exam a little early but that gave me enough time to have a good look over the whole paper. Thanks for reading!

ISSU Welcomes New Anti-Bullying Procedures

 The Irish Second Level Students’ Union has welcomed the launch of new Anti-Bullying procedures. These new procedures and guidelines, aimed at addressing and preventing bullying such as homophobic and transphobic bullying, and particularly cyper-bullying. This will be mandatory for all schools . ISSU Equality Officer, Conor Lynott, said; “These new mandatory procedures will greatly improve the lives of all of our young people in making the school environment a safe and happy place for young people to grow and achieve their full potential.” ISSU President, Mark Caffrey, said; "The steps taken by the Department have been very positive in recent years when it comes to bullying. Now that schools have had a good chance to look at the department regulations and recommendations it is clear that schools will no longer have any excuses for developing their own local policies on bullying. We wholeheartedly welcome the new regulations. These reforms fit perfectly into the ethos of our second-level schools and are built around the action plan on bullying which the ISSU had a direct role in developing".

BT Young Scientists Generation Information

Ever notice how much information we're bombarded with every two minutes? These days we don't have to look far for the info we want, sports results, global news and celeb scandals are available at our fingertips with the touch of a button. We are Generation Information, probably the most informed teens the world has ever seen! And not surprisingly armed with all of this info, we have a few opinions! After the results of a survey on over 200 students showed that 70% of us feel adults do not value our opinions, the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is giving us a platform and a chance to communicate these opinions, after all, it's good to talk. Eight members of 'Generation Information' have been handed a camera with no script or direction, the only rule is that we speak our mind on issues that affect us every day! Take a look at our videos, do you agree with our views? The 2013 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place in the RDS (Royal Dublin Society), Dublin from January 9th -- 12th.  For more information on the exhibition visit www.btyoungscientist.com or connect on Facebook or Twitter. Alternatively, you can call 1800 924 362 (ROI) or 0800 917 1297 (from NI).1. Recession: this video was made by Josh O’Connell from Killian's College, Bray.[youtube id='MLx4mnFoFuk' width='980' height='540']2. Educational Preparation: this was made by Daniel Hobbs from Maynooth Post primary and asks students do they feel the education system has adequately prepared them for life after school.[youtube id='z3NHYcvCKRo' width='980' height='540']3. The Effects of Reality TV: this was made by Ciara Judge from Kinsale Community College.[youtube id='zGAmOwA5G_U' width='980' height='540'] 4. Daniel Hobbs - Social Preparation[youtube id='mNcmnvZQYNE' width='980' height='540'] 5. Michael Upton - Rural Living[youtube id='i_XFPncDetI' width='980' height='540'] 6. Daniel Nelson - Can Sport Help to Keep a Healthy Balance[youtube id='cWPTUAMSnVg' width='980' height='540']