Upon arrival at St Pat’s campus my class went into a room where we were greeted by the instructors of the robotic course. They told us about how the course was aimed at young kids in an attempt to educate them about coding and simple robotics. We separated into small groups and received little Lego kits accompanied with instructions for a complex robot. The instructors tasked us with building a Lego robot capable of driving and turning, which was much more difficult than expected. One of the instructors then showed us a race course laid out on the ground with many long stretches and painfully winding paths. Each student was tasked with getting their team’s robot through the race course, many failed attempts followed but some teams managed to triumph the course. The whole experience was brilliant, it sparked an interest within me to learn to code and create technical robots. I would like to thank Ms Peoples and Ms O’Brian for organising the fascinating day out and encouraging many students to engage with coding and robotics.

Ben Dawson, TY East.

TY students out and about in town collecting for Barnardos, they said that the general public were very kind. Well done to all involved.

On Friday the 5th of October, my Art class and I visited the National Gallery of Ireland on Clare Street. At the gallery, we attended the ‘Roderic O’Conor and the Moderns’ exhibition. We were given quite a wonderful insight into the art of O’Conor and his contemporaries by Rita, our tour guide. The exhibition displayed work by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Cuno Amiet. Rita was very helpful and made the exhibition quite engaging for us. She expressed such an admiration for the work on display. I must say, the array of pieces blew me away. It was energizing to see such a vibrant retrospective of post-impressionist art. One painting I particularly enjoyed was ‘Le Cap Canaille’ by Roderic O’Conor. It’s an exquisite image of a headland in southern France, enriched with vibrancy and brimming with energy. The painting was so full of colour and drew me in immediately. 

We also visited the Hugh Lane Gallery. Here, we were given a comprehensive tour of the gallery’s collection. However, the most intriguing part of this tour was our visit to Francis Bacon’s studio. It was captivating to see Bacon’s artistry come alive right before my eyes. I think Bacon is such a great example of a true artist and the exhibition only strengthened my opinion even more. 

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting these exhibitions. It was fantastic to see some art work in reality rather than in a book. I’m delighted that we got the chance to view these galleries and I hope one day soon I can return to celebrate the beauty of them once again. 

TY Astronaut in Space