Exam Essentials

So don't panic but the Leaving Cert is this Wednesday!  I know, I'm freaking out too but I thought I would compile a checklist of exam essentials so you can walk into your exam confidently knowing you have everything sorted out.  Pens and pencils are just as important as the knowledge when it comes to exams because obviously you need to be able to write something.  So without further ado here's a list of everything you need to bring with you to your exam.

Pens: 2 red, 2 blue, 2 black.  You can never have enough, they are essential.

Pencils: not as essential but still come in handy.

Tipex Mouse: gotta get rid of those mistakes!

Highlighter: helpful for highlighting key words or phrases

Calculator: don't even dream about going into your maths exam without one and make sure the batteries have been changed recently!  Unless you can magically calculate the correlation coefficient in your head a calculator is a must have!

Speaking of maths make sure you have a ruler, compass (with leds), protractor, set squares.

Rubber, topper.

Don't forget to bring water and a small snack for maximum concentration and to keep you going throughout each exam!

On a final note I wish everyone the best of luck in whatever exams you're doing.  They'll be over before you know it and all our hard work will pay off.

Until next time I'll see ya when I see ya!

How To Study

The countdown is on!  Only 25 days until the dreaded Leaving Cert begins.  You're probably wondering where all those months went when you started way back in September.  Time flies when you're having fun (or slaving away with books and notes piled high towards the ceiling)!  You may be feeling slightly panicked like I am so I thought I would help out a little with a few study tips to maximise your potential!

1). Get rid of your phone:  Turn it off, lock it in a safe underground if you have to!  Make sure it cannot distract you or tempt you in any way!  You'll thank me later!

2). Make a study plan and stick to it:  Making a study plan is great and makes you feel very productive but you have to follow it for it to actually work.  Weird, I know.  Don't just throw any old riff raff on it either.  Make a study plan that works for you and that you find easy to follow.

3). Be realistic:  Planning to study 5 Geography essays, complete 2 Maths exam papers AND learn every word in the French dictionary in one night will not work!  You are immediately setting yourself up for a fall!  Don't just say you're going to study History this Tuesday.  Decide what topics you want to look at and what you want to have learned by the end of your study session.

4). Take breaks:  Studying for hours on end will only make you exhausted and nothing will go into your head.  Take a 10 minute break every hour or so or else you will have a mental breakdown!

5). Remove distractions:  Like with your phone anything that is not a text book or study notepad is a distraction.  When you're studying even the fluff on your carpet is distracting and I'm sorry to tell you that there is nothing I can do about that!  What I will say is go into a quiet room where no one can disturb you, remove everything from your desk except your study essentials and then it's full steam ahead!

6). Don't stress:  Don't stress!?  What planet are you living on?  Okay, I of all people know what it's like to be stressed but sometimes you are almost blinded by it.  A little stress is good.  Stress is a good motivator but too much is bad.  As the LC comes closer you stress about not knowing anything but you know more than you think you do.  I'm at the stage now when I test myself I find information pouring out if me.  Sometimes I have to take a step back and say: "Where did you come out of?". Everyone has a box in their brain full of knowledge, you just have to figure out how to unlock it.

7). Put your study to practise:  Like I said in the previous point, I test myself and it is honestly the best way to study and prove how much you really know.  Practise loads of exam questions and time yourself because timing is so important!  Ask your teachers to correct your work.  They won't mind because they want you to do just as well as you do!

So those are just a few study tips I have come up with and they have worked for me so far.  The Leaving Cert is just another hurdle we have to get over and we will.  Until then, I'll se ya when I see ya!

Oral Exams are over!?

Yes, yes the Leaving Cert orals are over! (Well, for me anyway.)  I cannot even explain how relieved I am right now.  They are just one more obstacle out of the way.  I never have to speak a word of Irish or French ever again.  Saying that, is it odd that I'm slightly sad about all this?  I am definitely not sad that the orals are over but about the fact that I have no more opportunities to speak these languages in the near future.

On the run up to the exams I absolutely hated both languages and was so looking forward to seeing the back of them but now that they are over I appreciate them more.  To be honest it would be great if we had more opportunities to speak Irish.  It is our native language after all and it's what makes our country unique.  When I was in the middle of doing my oral exam with the examiner in front of me, I realised how much I actually love speaking other languages.  Now I'm a bit upset that it's over.  I suppose I could always go to France to speak French and maybe move to the Gaeltacht to speak Irish. (Not likely.)

Apart from wanting to speak all these languages, my head feels like it is about to explode because my thoughts are all jumbled together in a mixture of English, Irish and French and I don't know how long that will last.  If I had to go into another oral exam today it would probably go a little like this:

Examiner: "An raibh tú riamh sa Ghaeltacht?" ( Were you ever in the Ghaeltacht?)

Me: "Non Madame, ní raibh mé riabh sa Ghaeltacht.  Je préfére rester sa bhaile." 

(No Madame (French) I was never in the Ghaeltacht (Irish).  I prefer to stay (French) at home (Irish).)

Examiner: "?????" 

Well, those are my problems but I hope everyone else does well in all their languages.  We're on the home stretch now. (42 days until the Leaving Cert). I am literally crying inside right now.  I'll se ya when I see ya!

Blue-eyed Brunette.

Je suis in trouble for my French orals

The Irish orals have come to an end and that means French orals are only around the corner.  I was nervous enough for the Irish oral but French is a different story altogether!  I can at least make up some half decent Irish in my head but when it comes to French I have to learn everything off by heart and if I forget one word it messes the whole thing up.  It's at times like this when you really wish you were multilingual. (Why couldn't I have been born French?).  Not only am I terrible at speaking French but my head is still thinking in Irish which complicates the situation even more.

What I don't understand is why we're not taught how to speak French that will actually be useful in the future.  Take for example if I went on holiday to France and went to a nice restaurant, I wouldn't be able to tell the waiter what I want to eat! 

     'Sorry, I can't pronounce anything on the menu but I could tell you my life story instead if you'd like or maybe my opinion on gender equality?'.  (Life skills.)

Anyway, that's my rant over but it looks like I have a long week ahead. ;(  Best of luck to everyone doing oral exams.

Blue-eyed Brunette.