IT Video :)

Hey lads!

               So for our IT end of year project, wehad to create a movie of whatever we wanted.. I chose ta do mine on my whole TY year.. I have really enjoyed myself, and I have met some class people over the year! Every single trip we went on was mad craic, even including the recent Irish trip.. (ish) !
              So movie maker was not exactly being my best friend during the time i was putting this together, so sorry its a tad bit blurry and whatnot.. Anyways, hope ye enjoy it!

                                                                My TY Movie :)

Swim a mile with a smile :)

Hey there!

               Im sorry i haven't written a blog in a while, TY has started ta get even busier than before! With new projects and even more new deadlines, its hard ta squeeze writing a blog into free time! Today im going ta tell ya a little bit about our trip to the Aquatic Centre for Swim a Mile.
               On Friday the 19th April, every TY and LCVP student who wanted to participate in swim a mile with a smile made their way to the Aquatic Centre. Overall, we swam a total of 26 miles altogether :) I swam a mile with Emma and Clíodhna, then went for the second mile with Orlaith, Alanna, Róisín and Eilise! 
               Swim a mile with a smile is organised every year by the Daly family. It is in aid of their son Ian Daly who died of cancer. The raised money goes to Barretstown and Crumlin Children's hospital every year. These are brilliant causes! Each of these charities helped Ian immensely in his last days, and so we are helping to give back to them what they did for Ian. If any of ye wish to donate, you can do so on this  website : How to donate to Swim a Mile.
                                                     Thanks lads, talk to ye soon!

Retreat!

Heya lads!

               Last Wednesday we went on our retreat to Tallaght.. We set off early in the morning, completely unaware of the emotional day ahead of us.. It was truly a great day, and enjoyed by the majority of TY.
               We arrived at Tallaght and were brought into a big room in the retreat centre. A priest came our to talk to us for a little while and say a quick prayer before we split into groups. We split into groups of twelve going with whoever we were comfortable with.. We answered questions on a sheet, and then came the hard part.. Saying our answers out loud. 
                 Every single one of us twelve girls broke down crying at one point.. When we broke for lunch, everyone had red eyes.. We had tea and biscuits and our lunches, and sat around chatting and whatnot! My group decided to head back to the room earlier to writer about each other. We each sent a sheet around with our names up the top.. Everyone wrote a paragraph about that person, and we were overcome with joy and happiness when we got our sheets back.. We instantly knew who our true friends were!
                We concluded with a prayer from the priest and each placed a prayer into the earn to be burned.. We really bonded in our groups and learned alot about each other! I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls, we gelled so much over that particular Wednesday! 

Wesley!

Hey there!

               Friday the 1st March.. We went to Wesley College to take part in the Choir Competition! We all had mad craic and thoroughly enjoyed the night!
               We arrived at Wesley with adrenaline rushing through our veins! We practised to our hearts content, then took a break for a wander around the grounds.. We had good craic talking to the other schools around and about.. Once again, the thing that got us the most excited was the food! We sat in the canteen for about an hour chatting and eating until it was almost time to go on stage..
               We went back to the room we practised in to give it one last shot before we went on stage.. We had it perfected, now it was time to go..
                We filed into the side room one by one, ready to line up on stage.. When we were called, the adrenaline kicked in once more.. We walked out to the stage, to be greeted by applause. It was truly happening! All those weeks of practise had finally paid off..
                The piano began, and we sang our hearts out! We finished up in fourth place, three points behind the third place school.. Fairly proud i must say :')

Trinity!

Heya lads!
 
             So today we went to Trinity College to visit the science department.. Intel gave us a presentation and overall it was bery interesting!
              We went in and were directed ta get into groups of four.. In our groups, we went to a table each where a representative from intel told us about their story in intel.. We had a lovely woman named Amy! She told us about the points ya needed and certain aspects of chemistry and physics ya needed ta become an engineer in Intel.
               We then moved onto the food.. I'd say this was the part people enjoyed most! Everyone ran for the food and drinks and raced for the seats! It was true chaos!
               After this, we went to a cinema-like room.. Two women named Sarah and Jennifer told us about their part in Intel.. This part truly interested me! They talked about the clean room.. It amazed me that it is 10,000 times cleaner than an average operating theatre! They also talked about the special suits they have ta wear into the clean room, as to keep it clean.. They are called bunny suits, shown in the picture..
               I truly enjoyed the day out, and found the whole concept extremely interesting!

 

Sci - Fest!

Hey there!

               On friday the 1st March, all TY's entered a science competition called Sci-Fest.. We have been working on our projects since the start of the year, and have been enjoying the experience the whole way through!
               We were put into groups at the start of the year for Sci-Fest. At first i wasnt sure whether i wanted to be separated from my friends for this project, but in the end i was glad i was! Myself and Lorna decided to do a project on Gorillas.. Our title was "The similarities in behaviour between Humans and Gorillas". To complete this project, we had to take a trip to the zoo and keep the Gorillas under observation for a period of five hours (from 11-4). We had deadly craic at the zoo!
               On the day, we were sure to be prepared.. We brought in all sorts for our table display including; a powerpoint on the laptop, monkey teddies, bananas and whatnot! We even dressed up as monkeys on the day! We had good craic!
               Unfortunately we didn't progress to the next level, but sure theres always next year!

Conflict Project!

Hey lads!

          
               So for the past two weeks or so we have been working on a Conflict project in Religion class.. I have ta say, I was not looking forward to it, but once we got started, it became extremely interesting!

               We got into groups of three or four to start off.. We then chose our topics and got straight into research! I was in a group with Aisling and Shannon.. We chose to do WWII: The Holocaust. We had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into, the devastation behind the Holocaust.
               I learned alot from the Holocaust conflict project! Over 6 million Jews died in Concentration Camps alone, due to an evil dictator - Adolf Hitler. Many of ye have heard of Hitler, as have I.. But trust me, through this project i have learned ALOT more in this project!
             Hitler prefered the people of the Aryan Race. He disliked many Jewish people.. As a child, the jewish children always had more than Hitler.. He hated them for this and many other reasons! 
              It was a project i really enjoyed doing, and have gained alot of knowledge on this topic!

Guitar!

Hey there lads!

             So this year, Transition Year has allowed me to take up many new skills with all the free time us TY's have ;) One of these skills is Guitar.
             At the beginning of the year, we began to learn simple yet useful guitar chords including A,G,D,Em and C.. I was extremely excited as i was able to play simple songs such as 'Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me' and so on..
               During the next few months, i showed a strong interest for Guitar, it is an instrument i have always wanted ta learn! I asked Ms. Mahon would we be able ta start learning guitar outside of classtimes, maybe after school.. She proposed we set up a guitar club, and so we did!
              With the help of class prefects and experts in guitar, the Guitar club began to emerge.. More and more people began to join, and we started to learn new chords, such as F and Am! We are currently learning how to play 'James Arthur - Impossible'
              We have all come so far from the start of the year, and hopefully, when Ms. Mahon leaves St. Wolstans next year, a day i am particularly dreading :'( , we will carry on with the Guitar Club!

Lollipop Day!

Hey there!

               So this Friday we, as Transition Years, are going into Dublin City! We will be selling lollipops for €2 each in aid of esophageal cancer!
               St. Wolstans have been helping out with Lollipop Day for the past couple of years.. TY's go into town in the morning, and ask the passers by would they like to support Lollipop day and buy a lollipop.. It is most definitely a great cause!

               

Some facts about Lollipop Day!

• The Oesophageal Cancer Fund (OCF) is a registered charity which was set up in 2001 by friends of Lucilla Hyland to raise awareness of the symptoms of oesophageal cancer and to provide money for research so as to improve the journey and outcomes for people with oesophageal cancer and their families.
• Over the past few years that Lollipop Day has been running, they have managed to raise over €2.5 million. Thanks to everyone for their brilliant support! Ye have all made such a difference in peoples lives!
• This money has gone towards research on cures for esophageal cancer, medical care for those dealing with esophageal cancer and also towards the machinery and medicines for doctors/ hospitals treating esophageal cancer.

Any of ye bloggers out there around Friday 22nd - Saturday 23rd February, come support Lollipop day! It would be widely appreciated! :)

The djembe drum!

Heya lads!

               Yesterday the TY's all went toa workshop, based around percussion.. I have ta say, it was truly an amazingggg experience! I had the deadliest craic with the rest of the class! :) 

               We learned about the different types of drums for example the djembe.. This was the most common drum used in the percussion workshop.. There was a variety of different sized drums; a large, medium and small drum.. The smaller drum was was harder to use, as ya had ta keep it elevated and slightly tilted to let the sound run! The bigger one was alot easier, as all ya had ta do was tilt it slightly.. There was other drums such as the bass drum, with different sizes also.. This drum, we learned kept the beat! It was pretty cool!
               I really enjoyed the whole day and had mad craic with the others! Dave was cool, and class at drums! It was a class experience and it really gave me a good insight to other aspects of music!

THANKS DAVE!

Subject choices..

Hey lads! 

               Well, the time has come. The time where we realise as TY's that there is another world surrounding us, which we will be living in in less that seven months.. Leaving Cert subject choices.. Dun dun dunnnnn!

               We have all had individual meetings with guidance counsellors, looking back at results and deciding what's best for us! The subjects I have chosen are; Music, Geography and Physics.. I am terrified however, as Music and Physics are not exactly a common choice for the girls in Woolies.. 

               I fear i might not get both subjects, which would be the second time.. I didnt get technology coming into Wolstans, which is a shame, considering i probably would have kept it on for Junior Cert as i love it this year! Ah sure, ya can't always get your own way.. Well anyways, I'll keep ye updated.. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

After Junk Kouture !

Hey lads! How are ye all?!
   
              Well, as i have explained in one of my previous posts, Junk Kouture has sadly come to an end.. We miss it, and the six classes a week it took to create a truly unique and original outfit!
               Now, instead of having six classes dedicated to Junk Kouture, we now have a double class of Home Ec (cooking), Art and TY Design (sewing). I really like these classes, as it gives us a chance to do some practical work rather than theory.
              In Home Ec, we have been giving a number of recepies, such as profitteroles, risotto and cheesecake.. Every Monday morning, we have a double class to cook these dishes with our partners.. We have great craic, taking on new challenges and learning how to be a deadly cook ;) I swear we will be pros by the end of the year!

               In are classes, which we have on a Tuesday afternoon, we have taken on the project to draw one of our favourite celebrities of our choices. We had ta pick out the shadow spots on the person, and colour them in black with pencil.. After we did this, we had ta place the inside of a tape over the shaded parts.. They are all starting to come together, and look pretty class!
               In TY Design, we are making and sewing a teddy bear.. My one is made of denim! We get to put lothes on it when we finish! Every Tuesday in the mornings, we have TY Design.. I enjoy making our own teddy bears from scratch, and when we finish, it will give us a sense of accomplishment and we will be delighted with our own teddy ;)
             

Young Scientist :)

Hey there lads!
               I cant believe its the new year already! Those four months went soooo fast! Its worrying, i still fear going into fifth year :S Ah sure, i am enjoying every bit of TY! :)
               On the 10th of January, 2013, we went to the RDS to the BT Young Scientist.. It was good craic! We left early in the morning, and were gone pretty much the whole day! Was exciting shtuff.. One of our teams entered and got through to the RDS, so ya can imagine the excitement and the flurry to find the stall!
               Every single project had a brilliant display, and some quite interesting views on their topic.. I was amused by some of the unique projects! I was fascinated by the projects written as Gaeilge, they were class! There was one about chickens, and the stall pulled me in immediately! There were little chicken teddies, a big yellow poster and everything referring to chickens.. It drew my eye in, and i have to say it was my favourite stall!
               After a while, we all grew starving.. We walked around different food stalls looking for something nice ta eat, and settled on a pizza ta share.. I have ta say it was the nicest thing I have tasted! We all sat around talking about our RDS experience over pizza,  and thoroughly enjoyed the day :)