Microsoft and Helicopter Visit School

Click on the Posts link on the bottom right corner of the Player. Click on Helicopter Visit to hear a podcast about the visit of the Garda Air Support Unit and Captain Phillip O' Brien who came to visit us from Baldonnell.


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Yesterday Microsoft came to our school. But first at 9:30 2 guards called Sergeant Paul Duggan and Sergeant Tom Mansfield arrived. They showed us videos and told us about the radar and the gadgets that are in the helicopter. We saw different videos from car chases and people running from the police at night. They told us about the Garda Air Force and we asked them lots of questions. Then they showed us pictures of helicopters and at about 10:30 we heard a helicopter. I was on the camera and I took the camera off the tripod and everyone lined up outside in the hall. Ms O' Connell told us to stay on the school side of the wire that a helicopter was going to land in the pitch. The helicopter circled the school a few times and then hovered over the pitch before landing It was very loud and the rotor blades made the place very windy. It was raining and they took a long time to turn off the helicopter. Then Captain Philip O' Brien the driver of the helicopter came out with Carmel and the dog trainer with his English Springer Spaniel Deas. Captain O' Brien introduced us to everyone and then we went down to the helicopter. We split into 2 groups. 1 group stayed at the helicopter and the other group went to look at Deas the dog. Then we went for lunch and after lunch Captain O' Brien gave a speech about the history of flight. He then had to leave because it was raining and with too much rain the helicopter could get grounded.It only took them 35 minutes to come here from Baldonnell. Before they left they brought Ms O' Connell on a spin in the helicopter and we got even closer to the helicopter and it was even more windier. We had to go back inside and wait until Ms O' Connell came back and we got Roses sweets from Mrs. Brett and when they we about to land we went out again. Then they left after that.

Then we did our presentation that we have been practising for ages. We went up when we had too and everyone talked about their pieces. Mary Healy {Captain Philip O' Brien's cousin} Siobhan Moore from Microsoft, Cathal O' Connell{NCTE}, Deirdre Butler from Tech Net and St. Patricks Drumcondra and Fr. Mcgrath was here when we were doing our speech. Captain O' Brien, Carmel, the dog trainer sand the dog Deas weren't there because they had left before it. Mary Healy also made chocolate chip muffins for us aswell. Thanks Mary!!

At the end of the day we played games and sixth class got footballs from Cathal because we won't be here next year and that was probably the last time we will see him. Microsoft's Siobhan Moore also gave us a goodie bag with pens, PC mouse mats, calculators, highlighter pens and mints. Today {Thursday 19 June} we will be looking at some of the footage that we took yesterday. We had a really good and exciting day yesterday.
By: Danan.

Yesterday on 18th of June it was the best day of the eight years I was in school so far .At the start of the day there were Guards in our classroom to congratulate us for our Microsoft award. They were called Sergeant Tom and Sergeant Paul. They weren’t normal guards, they were helicopter guards and they rescue people aswell as arrest people. G**** was terrified that he would be arrested. Garda Paul was showing us ideos of car chases, motorbike chases and much more. Some of the videos were very dangerous like a motorbike crash and a video of a fight. We could see a video from a helicopter looking at a man during the night and it was pitch black but with the thermal imaging you can see a black shape moving and it is the person on the run, you can see the black because of his body heat. After a while at 11 O’ clock Miss O’ Connell brought us outside for a surprise and a Garda helicopter landed in the football pitch, the wind from the rotor blades is unreal, it makes you take a few steps back. Captain Philip and Carmel who is the navigator showed us all the controls of the helicopter and then to our surprise a small dog called Deas that was a Springer Spaniel(a sniffer dog)came out of the helicopter and got a lot of attention from everyone, mostly the girls! Now it was breaktime and everyone went and got their lunch and went into the shed and were talking about the helicopter . After break we went into our classroom and Philip started talking to us about helicopters and flight. He showed us a powerpoint of pictures of planes and helicopters that look unusual. Philip, Carmel, Deas and the dog trainer were leaving, but first they took Miss O’ Connell up for a spin and we got to closer to the helicopter for take-off and the amount of grass that flew back into our faces was horrible but the wind was lovely. The helicopter flew for around five minutes and it came back down to ground. They took off for real then to go back to Baldonnel and we all waved them off.

It was now time for our own presentation. ***** introduced us and I was first and I talked about the Wright Brothers and showed my LEGO model to everyone. In the audience were Sergeant Paul Duggan and Tom Mansfield, Siobhan Moore from Microsoft, Cathal O’ Connell(NCTE) and Deirde Butler(Teach net St. Patricks Drumcondra), Father McGrath and Mary Healy. The teachers and the junior room were looking too. Siobhan Moore made a presentation to mark our achievement as the best school in Europe, she also gave every student pens, calculators, highlighters and mints. Garda Paul put the handcuffs on ***** and the bulletproof vest . Cathal gave everyone in sixth class a football because it was probably the last time he would ever see us. As I said before it was the best day ever.
By: The Red Baron.