What Color is your iPod®?

Here are all the links to the Voicemail Slideshow photographs we took.  We have tried to separate them into cateories  We still will be adding more as time goes on, so please keep checking back.  Included also are direct link to websites about each place we visited.

Ulster Folk Museum - http://voicethread.com/share/106823/ -
http://www.uftm.org.uk/

Dinner with the Mayor:  http://voicethread.com/share/103407/
Bangor Castle - http://www.northdown.gov.uk/template1.asp?pid=636&area=5

Out and about Priory:  http://voicethread.com/share/102271/
http://www.priorycollege.holywood.ni.sch.uk/

Teaching at Priory:  http://voicethread.com/share/101982/

Spending the day at airports then finally arriving in Northern Ireland:  http://voicethread.com/share/100333/

Murals of Belfast - http://voicethread.com/share/105582/
http://www.belfastmurals.co.uk/

Mourn Mountains - http://voicethread.com/share/104563/
http://www.mournemountains.com/

The Giants Causeway - http://voicethread.com/share/105760/
http://www.northantrim.com/giantscauseway.htm

Eisenhower Pier and Marina - http://voicethread.com/share/105579/

Around Belfast - http://voicethread.com/share/107102/

Clifton House - http://voicethread.com/share/107108/
http://www.cliftonbelfast.org.uk/home.htm

Where Titanic was built - http://voicethread.com/share/107109/

Frog’s Great Adventure - http://voicethread.com/share/107114/

Well, we are all back at our homes safe and sound.  We are all exhausted and worn out but, we also agreed we will never experience anything like that again in our lives.  It is one we will truly never forget.

Over the next few weeks I will continue to post images and blogs about some of the different places we visited and the many activities we enjoyed.  Between the four of us we have thousands of images and memories we want to sort through and organize.  Please check back.  Our trip may be over, but the blog will go on

Hopefully now the Communications Project between the AVID 6th grade students at KMS and the Year 8 students at Priory will develop, grow and expand.  The possibilities are endless!  We have so much to share and learn from each other.  The students are already communicating with each other.  It is awesome!  Long range plans hope to have an exchange of students between the two schools.  A target date of 2010 has been set.  By then, this group of students will have been communicating for at least 2 years and hopefully have developed lasting friendships.

As a side note, Frog (as she affectionately became called) had a ribbeting time.  “Frogs journey to Holywood” may just be turned into a creative writing lesson for our students to do.  Hey, it may even become a published book to help raise money for the student exchange to happen.  You just never know….especially when you are dealing with the “Luck of the Irish!”

Wow, has this week gone fast.  Dr. Smith, Ms. Gilman, Mr. McKenzie and I have had a “brilliant” time.  We have been treated like royalty since the minute we stepped off the airplane.  Northern Ireland is the friendliest country I personally have ever visited!  We have been welcomed everywhere we have gone.  We could never thank our host, Mr. Peter McCreadie, enough for all the time he put into planning, coordinating and chauffeuring that he did for our visit.  But more important, all the wonderful conversations, good times, good laughs and genuine friendship he extended to each and every one of us.

Yesterday….
Lunch and Tour of Oakgrove Integrated College, L’Derry
Visit to Bushmills
Giants Causeway – ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!
http://voicethread.com/share/105760/
Dinner on the coast

From yesterday

The Eisenhower Pier and marina in Bangor
http://voicethread.com/share/105579/

The Murals of Belfast
http://voicethread.com/share/105582/

Today – airports and airplanes…….

Yesterday….
Worked with the year 8 students at Priory again
Toured Belfast
Saw where Titanic was built
Toured Clifton House
Set up a live chat between Mr. McKenzie and his 6th grade class!
Did a little (very little) shopping
Attended an a performance of an authentic Irish/Scotish Folk Music group!
Collapsed in bed!

Today….
Some time at Priory again.
Tour of Oakgrove Integrated College in L’Derry
Drive up to the Giants Causeway
Tour of Bushmill

Today, April 10 is a very important day in the history of Northern Ireland, Ireland and Great Britain.  It marks the ten year anniversary of the signing of the “Good Friday Peace Accord” which put an end to a period of unrest that the Irish refer to as “The Troubles.”  From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

“The Troubles (Irish: Na Trioblóidí) was a period of conflict involving Republican and Loyalist paramilitary organisations, political activist and civil rights groups, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and others in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until the Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998.”

Here are direct links (you may or may not have to sign in)

Dinner with the Mayor:  http://voicethread.com/share/103407/

Out and about Priory:  http://voicethread.com/share/102271/

Teaching at Priory:  http://voicethread.com/share/101982/

Spending the day at airports then finally arriving in Northern Ireland:  http://voicethread.com/share/100333/

Much more to come, too little time to get it done!

Today we were introduced to the entire student body of Priory at a special assembly.  The students meet at least once a week to hear announcements from Principal McCreadie.  He introduced all of us, then Dr. Smith had the opportunity to address the student body and thank them for their hospitality and graciousness.  We presented gifts of books for their library from our school.

Mr. McKenzie, Ms. Gilman, Dr. Smith and myself were able to teach Mr. Callender’s 8th year class.  We introduced his students to our communication project, “What color is your iPod?”  The students logged onto the Wiki and posted a reply to our initial discussion – “What color is your iPod”, or in other words what kind of music do you like.  Music is a universal connection we all share and is a great way to start talking and sharing with people we just met. 

Mr. Callendar’s students got just as excited about our Wiki as Mr. McKenzie’s students.  We ran out of time and wish we had more.  Hopefully, later this week we will get the chance to work with the students some more.

After lunch we toured the Ulster Folk Museum in Holywood, Northern Ireland.  We were able to get an idea of Northern Ireland’s history from present back to the 18th century.  We were even in a building whose roof was older than our country. 

Tuesday night we dined with the Mayor of Bangor, his wife and officials from the City Council at Bangor Castle.  The castle was built in 1852 and is now the Town Hall.  And yes, they say it even has ghosts!  It was very exciting to be meet with these officials.   We were treated like royalty.

We have the pleasure of working with the students today at Priory Integrated College.  Mr. McKenzie, Ms. Gilman and Mrs. Caviness will work with the Year 8 students - our equivalent to 6th grade.

Before that, the students and staff of Priory will be holding a short assembly to introduce all of us to the school.

It is a beautiful sunny morning here in Northern Ireland.  The temperature will be about 48 degrees

I hope to be adding pictures very soon.

We spent the first day in airports and on airplanes!

Well today is finally here!  It is Sunday, April 6 and we leave in just a few hours!  We are all getting our last minute packing done and will meet at Norfolk International Airport soon! 

 I checked the 10-day forcast for Northern Ireland, mid 40’s and rain most of the week.  We better pack our umbrellas!

Ginny-J (my nickname for Virginia-Jewell, my travel buddy, named by the students) is ready to go with passport in hand or fin or flipper, whatever frogs have.  

Hopefully we will be able to post some pictures while we are waiting at the airport in New York!

Mrs. C