We woke up to blue skies and sunshine this morning! The students were excited for some “summer-like” weather. Today was another class day, so the students were a little bummed when they had to spend such a lovely morning inside the classroom. Nevertheless, it was well worth it. Brigid had a class discussion on the Irish involvement in the American Civil War. David was able to offer our students some interesting insight because he has participated in Civil War reenactments and was often in the Irish brigade! How cool is that? Scones taught a lesson on writer, Frank O’Connor, in Irish Literature. Then Taryn gave the Irish Counties Quiz that the students have been studying feverishly for during the past week. Altogether, ten students were able to identify all 32 counties. Three students, Brendan, Dylan, and Eme were able to name all 32 Irish counties with correct spelling! AMAZING! Taryn is so proud of her awesome ILEer’s! They received Dublin flags, Ireland stickers, and keychains for their perfect scores.
After classes, the students had three hours of free time. Many of the students headed over to the Liffey Shopping Center, which includes many popular stores and most importantly, a Starbucks with WiFi. The girls came back from their shopping excursions showing the teachers and female counselors the cute and trendy clothes that they found. Mariah and Molly were particularly happy that they were able to shop at H & M.
We had two opportunities for students to sign up for Irish workshops this afternoon. Counselor Casey held her Celtic Cards Workshop and Scones held her Tin Whistle Workshop. Aaron, Alex, and Megan created some beautiful Celtic cards. Aaron displayed his exceptional drawing skills on his card. Megan decorated her card with Celtic designs and green sparkles. Alex went with a simple shamrock design out of printed paper. They worked very hard and their cards were creative. Cool, wow, awesome. Families-keep your eyes out for a Celtic card in your mailbox!
Brendan, Dylan, Emily, Jess, Katie, Keely, Linnea, Rocky, Sarah, and Stephen attended Scones’ Tin Whistle Workshop. In this workshop, the students learned basic notes and how to play Scones’ favorite Irish song, Molly Malone. After the workshop, Scones commented, “I can’t believe how quickly the students learned to play, while a few people (Miley and Ninny) had a more difficult time.”
After dinner, it was time for drama and dance. In drama, students started to develop their presentations on their Irish historical/literary figures that they would be performing on Tuesday. In dance, Casey started working on a lively circle ceili with the students. They are improving drastically and Casey is amazed by their abilities.
The last activity of the day was a game of Capture the Flag. The counselors thought it would be more interesting to play in the dark, so we started our game at 10 PM. The students were split into two teams and told to hide their flags. It was a lengthy battle, but Emily was able to find the other team’s flag first. With the help of Rocky’s speed, the two captured the flag and won the game for their team!
Without a doubt, it was another fabulous day in Dublin!
