I know this was supposed to be a continuation of the Orals but I’ve been advised by a friend (after a year and a half of blogging on this, I’ve finally entrusted two friends with my URL. Who knows, by June I may have told three more!) to stop dwelling on the past. I agree with her-if you thought I had a lot to say about the French, the Irish would have been akin to a postdoctoral thesis in length.

To summarise though, the Irish Oral was a low-key affair. I wore navy, as I am obligated to do in keeping with the school’s dress code. I made the mistake of dragging myself out of bed at six in the morning to look over notes on the economy and this was my downfall. By nine a.m., I was too sleepy to be nervous about the exam. By twelve noon, when some Second Years walked down the off-limits corridor that was being used for the Orals, I was too tired to shoot them with a disapproving look. By the time the examiner called me in, I was exhausted. She was nice but made a lot of notes rather than eye contact, which put me off a little. In my fatigue, I kept forgetting simple words and used “deas” three times in one sentence. Grabbing at straws, I shared my poor French Oral joke with her about my lack of exercise but she merely replied with a “I suppose that’s how it is”. I know my consumption levels have increased twofold since the start of Sixth Year but even that was uncalled for, surely! I’m not going to sugarcoat it (even though the examiner seems to think I enjoy sugar quite a bit)-I’m disappointed with the way this Oral went. However, the eternal optimist in me knows that things could have gone worse. I could have fallen asleep.

Before we got the holidays, I finally completed my History RSR. Anyone who does History will understand the rush of emotions involved in handing up the project for good. Having worked on it since the start of Fifth Year, I no longer felt like I was submitting a simple project for a State Exam. I was giving my baby up for adoption. Hopefully the Department of Education can give it the care it needs, and the examiner the grade it deserves, whatever that may be. Sadly, I didn’t get my Geography Field Study completed yet but there are still three days to finish my graphs when we go back to school.

I’m not sure if anyone noticed but there seems to have been some form of a royal wedding taking place. Of course I’m joking, one look at the internet on Friday was enough to inform me that seventy-eight of my Facebook friends are going to marry Prince Harry. Should I start looking for a hat? What made me laugh was the fact that prior to the wedding, when criticising it was the fashionable thing to, most of these people sounded like they were going to resurrect the ghost of Thomas Clarke to ruin the occassion. Then come Friday afternoon, suddenly they were in love with the dress, the bridesmaids, the happy couple and the British public in general. It was hypocrisy at its finest but at least it was a break from the “passed my theory test” statuses!

I watched a few minutes of the ceremony in the morning and some highlights later on (together with the live commentary it makes it sound like a soccer match) but I was reaching a breakthrough with a History essay at the time so I returned to it after hearing “I do”. Kate Middleton wisely completed her education before settling down with William, after all. Although they first met at university, I highly doubt there’ll be any royalty attending NUIG this autumn.

That reminds me, the CAO Change of Mind form is opening soon (5th May for all those who lost the handbook) and indeed, I have had a change of mind. I couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm for my first choice and after a long think about it, I’m almost sure I now want to do Public and Social Policy instead. It seems to be a combination of all the courses I’ve considered in the past, although I’m a bit wary of the Economics element. That being said, I always would have liked to have studied Economics for the Leaving Cert if my school offered it. I guess I won’t know until I’ve tried it! My problem is that I know the career I want and have a list of others that I would thoroughly enjoy, yet I’m finding it hard to pick the course that suits me. Most of the girls in my school are the other way around, as in they know a lot of courses they would like to do but don’t have a clue where to go from there. Sometimes I don’t know which is worse.

I hope everyone had a good Easter and took the chance to take a rest as well as get some revision done. My better teachers set some work to do, which was great because it prevented me falling back into lazy habits. I’ve also noticed how considerably relaxed I’ve been without the company of a hundred stressed students the past two weeks! I would generally deem myself a laid-back person but I’m sure you all know how capable exam stress is of having a domino effect. One person gets upset about a Maths result and by the end of the day, we’re all pulling our hair out and swinging from the lampshades. Well, it hasn’t gone that far yet but with three weeks until graduation, it’s only a matter of time!

Today marked the last of my orals with my weaker of the two, French. For the past two weeks, questions have been flying around the year such as ‘What’s she like?’ and ‘What did she ask you?’ with people trying to get some last minute prep on each exam. I’ll start with Irish. Over preparation was my only downfall here. For months, we’ve been bombarded with notes on politics, the recession, the education system and just about everything else topical that would make for an intelligent conversation. Us being the Higher level class in the year, we thought we would try steer the conversation towards these topics and try sound bombastic as Gaeilge. But no. Instead, the examiner just happened to be the nicest woman in the world. She point blankly refused to talk about any of this stuff. Walking into the room, I was surprisingly calm. I happened to be the last person in for the day, but being greeted by an ’I’m knackered’ from the examiner was the last thing I wanted to hear. Her laziness at that stage came to the fore when she asked me to read the sliocht I had facing up. I looked down and to my horror, Peig Sayers, my least favourite starred back up. Bad planning I figured. It went well however and gave her my ‘Oh Mo shliocht is fearr!’ fib. I’m pretty sure I saw her scribbling down 30 across the desk. Or 20. Maybe she could smell the lies. All I got was a ceart go leor. Thanks for your indifference like, every pass guy got an ‘Ar Fheabhas!’. Funny enough, both orals started with ‘Have you any brothers or sister….’ Although any time I threw out these ‘nascanna’ for my prepared topics, the next question was always something simple like ‘Inis dom faoi do chaiteamh amisire?’ It’s quite hard to show off whatever Irish you have when you’ve to deal with this. I came out of the exam thinking ‘great!’, but as I aptly walked into Irish class, I thought ‘Súcra, forgot to use the Modh Coinnealeach!’ I managed to use the gnáthchaite a few times, but with an Irish teacher who is actually in love with the tense and continuously talks in it, I feel ashamed of how I managed to not use it! The only consolation is that the majority of my class was relying on reeling off notes, but from trips to the Gaeltacht, I’m able to make up things on the spot fairly easca. We did a few mock orals before the test and I was always hitting the 70ish mark, so hopeful it was in and around that on the day!

All Irish did however was give me a big head for French. Maybe arrogance is a trait of the French, but not a good trait going into the exam. So for the following few days, I was convinced all I could do was wing it. That was until I did a mock oral with a friend. And then it hit me, I’m gonna have to learn this stuff… Me and French have never really got on well. It has always had its ways of annoying me. Not being particularly blessed with great teachers for the JC, and finally when we get a good teacher for the Leaving, she decides to leave us two weeks before our Orals to adopt a baby! Granted she hadn’t planned to leave so soon, but we’ve now had three different French teachers in three weeks, with our current one only staying if they cannot find a replacement! So with no teacher pressure, preparation kind of slacked off. I can honestly say I learned to speak the language in five days. Writing a language will only get you so far, but you really have to be speaking it regularly to get any sort of fluency going. So for five days I studied nothing but French despite Economics and Chemistry tests in between (still got 91 and 95 respectively!) I threw together some brilliant notes. I had sentences prepared using all the irregular subjunctives and what have you. Everything learned of to a tee on any subject. I still felt apprehensive about the whole thing, as I had only ever spoke French once before to a fluent speaker, while with Irish I had countless encounters. Reports said she was nice, and spent up to six minutes on the Document with some people, I had ten minutes prepared on it. Before going in, I downed half a bottle of Rescue Remedy. For those of you that don’t know what it is, It’s a whiskey-like substance with much the same side-effects I suppose. So I strolled into the room, reeking of alcohol. In hindsight, not clever. I think she knew something was up. I started with a warm ’Bonjour Madame, ca va?’ to which I just got ‘Bien’ back. Grrrrr. What about me and my ‘Je suis trés nerveux madame, c’est eprouvant!?’. That kind of set the tone for the exam. She sounded exactly like the woman off the SEC listening tests. She was a native French speaker and that worried me a little. Within a minute of the exam, she asked me if I liked ‘to shoot birds’. What the hell! How do I know this is what she asked? She turned to the side the imitated someone shooting a recoiling shotgun, I kid you not. I tried not to laugh, and began to wonder if I was drunk and hallucinating things. I muttered a childish ‘Euh…. Non, j’aime les oiseaux’. Thanks. That wasn’t the end of the bizarre questions, out of nowhere, I got a ‘So why do young people today not go to mass?’. That really threw me. I ended up giving a conflicting response and at that point I truly felt like a French man, like giving up that is. Thankfully this women picked up on a few hints. I managed to talk about the economy and NAMA for a minute or so and that was my saving grace. I weakly managed a regular subjunctive and that was it. I always thought that getting these questions during an Oral was a good thing and a sign you were doing well, but in my case, unequivocally not. I really came across as being a weak higher level student when really I am normally one of the better ones in the class. The standard is poor enough as it is and French really was my place to shine. I guess not. I would have hoped for a B from both. Irish I’d imagine so but in French, a very mediocre C. It annoys me because it’ll be a toss up between the two for my sixth subject on the day, and seeing as I got a B in the mocks in French, it’s looking less likely that it’ll make that B category come August.
If I can give any tips to fifth years, it’s to get cracking on the Oral section as soon as you return in September. Try hold a conversation in whatever language and it’s amazing how it helps. All this year there has been people I just spoke Irish to and it really gives you the confidence speaking it on the day.
I’ve decided to take the evening off as a reward, not that I’ve done much, but with 47 to go, I’m taking one last break before tearing into it for the last six or so weeks. Instead, I’m writing articles for our School Magazine, or prep for English Paper 1 as I call it. We just got our student profile forms for the yearbook, so that’s a sure reminder that the year is quickly coming to an end. With just over four weeks until we graduate, one feels that the Leaving Cert is just around the corner.
I hope the Orals went well for everyone else!
Aurevoir!

Hey everyone!
I owe you an apology for vanishing for a few weeks there! I suppose the only school related topic atm is the mocks, well down this part of the country they are! I have all mine back except the most dreaded! That would be Irish and Maths, so far I’ve calculated that I have 465 points, hopefully at least a B3 in irish or A2 in maths (pass) will bring me up?(updated-465 are my total points..not exactly what i hoped for,,)Overall, apart from English,which I will get to later, (believe me), I thought I did really well.  I had my mock French oral and got 92/100.So that along with my actual mock got me an A1 in french! Delighted so I was! I keep asking myself what was my problem back when I was young, *sigh* a C in the Junior Cert was pathetic in my case, considering I LOVE french and am decent enough in it I know you shouldn’t really go by the mocks because who knows? I could get a horrible paper on the day and totally screw it up (hope that won’t be the case though). I thought my art exam may have been marked too easily, but I cant complain.  Actually, just thought I’d throw this in here, my friend got into NCAD!! So 140 points-yep that’s all, and a few months later she shall be walking into the NCAD college building, dressed like one of those indifferent, aesthetic, expressive art students (which in my opinion are the coolest frickin’ people on earth!!). 

Anyway,what was I actually bringing myself to say…? Oh yes! PLEASE if this has happened in your school too COMMENT and let me know..because to say this as politely as I can possible say, I am absolutely furious, mad, raging, fuming pure angry! Ok, so for the next minute please excuse my ‘big-headedness’ as I’m not going to be modest at all. Basically, I’m an A1 student in English, I’m hoping for an A1 in the actual thing this summer.  I think I’ve only once or twice gotton lower than a B1.  Since 5th year my average has been in the high 90s. This is honours English we’re talking about, there is about 25 people in my class. Not everyone is the same standard. So how is it even POSSIBLE to have given not only my English class, but EVERY higher level English class in the SCHOOL a C1. Yep, everyone got grades ranging from C3-C1. Ridiculous, was the examiner just not bothered or did she actually think that we were all C3 students? The proof? There is no ticks beside my work, no coding, no nothing, nada, zilch, nothing:( yet he/she just marked it in ‘general’. A few people don’t mind, a C3 was shocking to get after failing the whole year, (these students don’t exactly attend school). I hope I’m not coming out as insulting or arrogant but I’m seriously mad at the way the English mocks were corrected.  I mean we pay good money to do these exams, what’s the point if they come back not corrected right and don’t give any significant idea of where a student stands? I mean, i honestly thought I would have gotten a B or something…a C though was just, sickening, and just left me disappointed really. The teachers have filed a complaint but I doubt that will do anything.  The other schools were marked properly. Yet, we were apparently ‘bunch marked’ as they told us. How can over 100 students all get a C?

Has anyone else been getting the exam briefs with the Irish Independent? I find some of them helpful, mostly I just dwell on how well the past students have done, ha,  sad, sad Ally. The total opposite of what the papers are meant to do.  Well done *pats self on back*. This Wednesday are all the business subjects, then the following is the Junior Cert.

Hmm, what else? I’m kind of rushing this blog because I have my Irish mock oral on Wednesday, not as good in Irish as I am French. I also have chemistry revision to be doing. Right now I feel as though I should be doing something productive,I mean I think we have 3 months left? Wow, seems shorter when I type it out Ohh! I also finished ‘The Road’ last week, by Cormac McCarthy, a very different book might I say, well written but the style was something I’ve never experienced before. A good read, it’s a movie now too I think? On another note; isn’t the line up for Oxegen amazing? Muse AND 30 seconds to mars??

Isn’t it funny? (ok not really), this year is just pure mad.  I mean we’re definitely going to remember it forever, hopefully for all the best parts but just the whole experience, the stress and everything, it’s something we’ll keep for the rest of our lives.  After all they pretty much depend on what we do this year!

Bonne Chance mes amis!

-Ally.