A ‘brake’ from the classroom isn’t ‘tiring’ for St. Colman’s TY’s
The Transition Year students from St Colman’s College, Fermoy learned valuable life skills, as well as driving skills last week with The Irish School of Excellence whose aim is “to improve the quality of driving by targeting the young driver whilst still at school.”
Bernard Dilger oversaw operations on the day with a group of students in one corner of the Colman’s pitch learning how to change a car tyre and check the oil and brake fluid with mechanic Noel Enright. Meanwhile, in another corner of the grounds, students were learning how to drive a car with Seán Curran of Blackwater Driving School.
The Harty pitch saw Mr Dilger coordinating a group of students performing basic skills like hitting a ball with a hurley or kicking a football at a target whilst wearing special goggles. The aim of these googles was to blur one’s vision and make them dizzy. Our students had great fun trying to coordinate the ball and hurley; usually a task they would be adept at, but very quickly realised how difficult it was to locate a target with blurred vision. Their efforts fell into farce and proved comical.
These goggles emulated “beer goggles” and the stark reality of drinking and driving. Mr Dilger emphasised that, “It’s all about skills, driving, looking after your car and looking after yourself.”
Whilst there was a fun and enjoyable element to this exercise, it proved to be a very informative and comprehensive day with the boys entering the classroom for the afternoon and practising the Driver Theory Test. The students then engaged in some hazard perception videos. These are interactive videos where the students were virtually driving along when hazards emerged in front of them. The students then had to spot the hazard and react to it.
And if that was not enough, the students completed their skillset by learning how to go about buying a car and virtually purchasing insurance and tax for the said car.
TY student Louie Roche stated that, “It was such a fun day and a real eye opener. I learned so much about driving from the mechanics and the safety aspect to the paperwork and the act of driving itself.”
This day no doubt provided a future crop of informed and safer young drivers.
ANNUAL FIRST YEAR HIKE PROVES “A MUDDY AFFAIR”
The St. Colman’s annual first year hike is usually a muddy affair in October, where first year students get to know each other and bond outside of the classroom. It is always a great day out with an abundance of physical and emotional
benefits.
With restrictions lifted, this April saw 97 enthusiastic first years and 8 transition year Gaisce Award students take to the Ballyhouras and the hike did not disappoint.
First year student Daniel Dorgan was really impressed with his day. “If walking over fourteen kilometres and falling into muck wasn’t in the description of going to St. Colman’s then you would be surprised that such happened when
we were brought to the Ballyhouras to trudge through the fog covered, windy mountain.”
Year Head Mr. Donnelly and teachers led the students through an array of obstacles from paths of rocks, to ditches and rivers. Daniel Dorgan concluded that “No point of our journey was a trek, from the forest below, to the incredibly steep summit, all that happened was good craic and laughs. This was one of my best experiences yet in St. Colman’s College.”