The BT Young Scientist.

3 groups from St. Wolstans community school were accepted into the BT Young Scientist, sadly I wasn't one of these lucky students but we were all very proud of them and their accomplishments. To show our support Two year groups got to go visit them luckily I myself was in one of the year groups who got to go.  We had been in 2nd year also so we've been before and we know how it works.

Since we had been before it was nothing we hadn't really seen before so it was a bit boring but we had fun.  One thing I hadn't had time or the chance to do before was to experience what it was like to be in a car crash.  In the Young Scientist they have an RSA simulator which gives you the opportunity to see what it would be like if you were in a crash.  They were trying to show the importance of seat belts, and trying to show how they help in an incident where a car was to over turn.  It was a crazy experience and I would recommend everyone to try it if they have the chance. 

Ice Skating.

On the last Friday in school, we went on a trip out to Blanchardstown shopping center, sounds weird I know,  we left at 9:05 while everyone else was doing their exams and got on the bus.  Once we got to blanch we had hours to look around and to get some food to eat, but silly me forgot to bring money so i just had to borrow some of Orla.  Orla and I got McDonald's and it was very yummy, we walked around the shops for a while but it was kinda sad walking around looking at all the stuff I couldn't buy, so we ended up back in McDonald's.

While we were there Orla was meant to be meeting up with someone who was going to sell her Justin Bieber tickets, this person was meant to be reliable but ended up not even having tickets and so Orla was kind of sad but she got over it when we went ice-skating.

When we walked across to the ice-skating tent everyone was already excited and everyone was taking out their extra pairs of socks and putting them on.  It didn't take long for us to get on the ice but of course before we did we had to take lots of cute pictures. Ice-skating is not as easy as it looks which made us all look like fools when we fell, I promised myself I wouldn't be the first person to fall and I was happy I kept that promise. 

Afterwards, when we were going home loads of people were drenched from falling on the ice and of course I was one of them.  My dad also forgot about me so i had to walk home in the freezing cold drenched to the bone, but luckily he had the fire on so when i got home i could warm up with a cup of tea and in my pj's, I was so exhausted I fell asleep for a couple of hours but that was probably from all the exercise when i was walking around blanch. 

Mary Poppins

On Wednesday the 16th of December our whole year went to the Bord Gáis theater to watch the production of Mary Poppins.  I have previously seen the musical on broadway and so I had some of the merchandise which I wore when we were going to see it.

The day started off by getting on the bus at 9:05 and heading into Dublin City.  We got dropped off just around the corner from the theater so it was a short walk to where we had to go.  I was getting a few weird looks off people for wearing my fabulous 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' T-shirt and holding up my umbrella when there wasn't cloud in sight.  

We were allowed to go off for lunch anywhere we wanted as long as we were back at the entrance for 2 O'Clock, so Orla and I went on the hunt for a nice place to eat (McDonald's) but we weren't sure of the area so we didn't want to risk getting lost so we just went to spar.  I got some lovely wedges but I wasn't hungry so I didn't finish them. 

After we ate we had loads of time to just walk around the area so everyone just sat on some benches and took pictures and stuff.  Of course I was the one to sit in some sort of brown/orange mess and I couldn't do anything about it until I got home.  I just hid the stain in all the pictures so it was no problem.  

At 2:00 we all queued up and got our tickets, we went inside and found our seats after walking up about 500 stairs.  There was some hassle with the seats but we sorted it out and it was okay.  The play was very good and I would really recommend it i really enjoyed it and had a great time.  On the way home eveyone was very tired so we all just slept.

Trade fair.

On Tuesday the 15th of December we had a trade fair.  At this trade fair all the mini company's in the year set up a stall is if we were at a market.  Linda, Megan and I couldn't set up when everyone else was because Claire had our product but she came before any parents did so that was good.  Along with our mini company product we also sold candy canes just as something nice to eat if you didn't have a much money for something else.  The candy canes were 50c each.

Everyone was nervously awaiting the first people to come.  I think the first person was Marion's mam and then a few others came soon too.  The trade fair wasn't advertised anywhere outside the school so he only people who knew about it we the students parents which I found kind of silly because then there wouldn't be that many people to sell to.  We sold around 20 of our products whether it was our snowmen or our candy canes. 

                                              

For most of the night most of us would just go around looking at the other stalls and talking to people, I helped Orla to go around and take pictures of the stalls and also did some shopping around and ordered myself a why knot? A why knot is something you attatch to the back of your phone to wrap your earphones around so they don't get knotted.  I ordered mine with a special message of 'BP' on the back of it.

                                              

Afterwards, Anna Orla and I all went to the kitchen to wash all the dishes that had been used at the trade fair from giving people's parents tea, coffee and cakes that we had made in home ec.  It was actually quite fun just having a laugh with the gals even though Orla wouldn't do her share of cleaning👿

Speed dating.

On Thursday the 10th of December, our whole year got on a bus to castle-knock to find our future husbands, jk.  We visited Castle-knock college and as soon as we got off the bus we were split into our language classes, so There we stood, 60 girls covered in make up standing outside a random school in the middle of nowhere.

We walked in and the french students went into the first room and the Spanish students were led into another large hall, we had to sit down across from a lovely young boy.  The German students were playing music and going around taking a video of all of us embarrassing ourselves.  Most of the boys were nice with the odd few who were "too cool" to talk to us.

It was a great experience to see how the posh schools work, and had great fun seeing everyone doing their best flirting.  The bus ride home was just filled with the girls gossiping about everything that happened and planning what they're wearing to Enrico's.

Collecting for the ISPCC

On Wednesday the 9th of December we went to town to go collecting for the ISPCC.  ISPCC stands for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.  It is Ireland's oldest and most well-known children's charity.  

The ISPCC is the only organisation in Ireland providing unique 24 hour support services for children and young people through our Child-line service.  Child-line receives the majority of its 2,300 calls and messages per day after 6pm each evening, when most other support services are closed.  Child-line receives just 10% Government funding which means that 90% of its costs have to raised through the generosity of individual donors and corporate supporters.

We started off the day by getting the bus from the school at 9:05, It took about an hour to get to the ISPCC office and so we started at 10:30 going out and collecting.  Orla, Ali, Anna and I all went together even though we were supposed to go in two's but we made more money together.  We were on Nassau street just outside Costa coffee.  We spent the day singing Christmas songs, such as jingle bells and Santa Claus is coming to town.  We got a good few weird looks and rude comments thrown at us but it was all worth it because we were doing something good for charity.  At around 1:30 we headed back to the offices and waited outside for someone to come and let us in.  Eventually we were let in and we handed in our boxes.

Orla and I went to McDonalds for lunch and it was delicious.  We didn't have that much time to have lunch so we had to rush and once we were finished we went into Easons for me to buy a book for religion but they didn't even have it so it was a pointless trip into a very busy bookstore.  After Easons we walked to Leinster house because it was where we were getting the bus from and waited for it until it came up.

When we got on the bus I was wonderfully surprised by Eilis with a Kris Kindle present and it was the best present I have ever received.  It was lush products, a candy ring and a CD with lots of songs we have discussed, ones I love and ones I'm growing to love. such as Grilled cheese and yung lean.<3

Amber Flag Day!

On Friday the 4th of December it was Amber Flag Day.  We held Amber Flag Day to promote positive mental health, so all the TY's came in at 9:05 and we were dressed in as much amber (Orange) as possible.  I was a bit confused about what we had to do for the whole day but we found something to do.  There was many amber posters put up around the school beautifully done by students in TY. 

First we all went in to the library and the chairs were set up in a circle so we all sat down and just talked among ourselves and then Ms.Mooney and Ms.KB made their speeches and told us what we were doing for the day.  Then we went outside to take a group picture and selfies with all the cool amber faces and boards that we made.  When we went back inside we had to launch the website so we set up the chairs and the web committee (including myself) sat at the front so we could make our presentation.

Bridie from the Liffey Champion came in to take our picture and to listen to us launching our wonderful religion website.  Each person said a little bit about the website and what we did as part of the web group.  Then we got our pictures taken with Ms.Mooney, Ms.KB, Ms.Barry and Ms.Smyth.

Ms.Barry and Ms.Smyth both said speeches about how we were the best TY group ever (The usual) and it had been very good morning.  After break we returned to the library to make positive posters to stick up around the reception area, just telling people what to do if they ever feel sad or down.  and then we went to stick them up and we had lots of laughs and fun.  After this we just sat in the library and talked for a bit until everyone was ready and finished what they were doing.

Once everyone was finished we let the buskers practice for lunch time,  Cynthia, Clarissa, Róisín, Jade and the rest of the class joining in all sang songs that people were going to be singing at lunch time.  Every time the girls finished we clapped and rejoiced and then filled the silence with a Christmas song, led by Aoife, Orla and myself.  There was a really happy atmosphere in the class and everyone was just laughing and smiling.  

Lunch time was getting closer and closer and we started to set up for the bake sale, one of the main events of the day.  Orla, Anna, Emma and I set up our table, we took all the food kindly donated by Tesco.  Our table was by far the best table tbh.  Everyone loved our doughnuts and our other cakes, we had millions of mini doughnuts from Tesco and they all sold.  Apparently they were really nice but I dont like doughnuts so I didn't have any.

Our table was such a success we were sold out before many people could even see our wonderful layout.  After we sold out I went for a walk around the school to watch the busking in the courtyard and the face painting in the library.  Everything seemed to be going wonderfully and the mood of the school was just so much happier, even I myself was happy and it was noticeable.  After lunch we cleaned up. counted money and helped first years make Christmas cards.

In my opinion it was one of the best days in TY so far, everyone was in a good mood all happy and everyone included each other in everything.  I cannot thank Ms.Mooney and Ms.KB enough for such a good day and all the effort they put into making it such a good day for such a good cause.

School Bank.

Our school has teamed up with Bank Of Ireland to set up a school bank.  There are five roles in the school bank; Branch manager, assistant manager, sales and marketing, audit specialist and myself customer service official. Today, Monday the 7th of December was our launch day.  We set up our tables in reception in the class before lunch and we nervously awaited our first customers.

Once lunch started not many people were coming over as they weren't really sure about what it was but soon enough the reception was packed and we were swamped with people.  We knew it was going to be difficult since it was our first week but it was good because we had two representatives from bank of Ireland there to help us.  Along with many registration forms we were also given iPads where students could register online.  It was very stressful at the time but it was a good experience in the end. 

Transition Year: Meaning.

I just realized, I've been writing this blog about TY (Transition Year) and many people may not even know what it is or what its about, so let me explain it to you.  TY is the fourth year in secondary school, it is a year without exams such as the junior or leaving cert and a year where we can experience new subjects and try new things that we may have never even thought of doing if it weren't for TY.  In my school TY is optional so this means you don't have to do and many people didn't do it, we only have two classes in our year rather than 5 and we have 30 students in each class.

transition year is basically like a gap year to transition from junior cert to leaving cert, I think its a very good idea because you get to try new things like work experience, workshops, charity work and trips to see different museums and historical things also.  It promotes a physical way of learning, like in history instead of just reading about castle town house we also went to see it and got a tour.  

In work experience we get to experience the working world, you can try many different areas of the working world, we can try things we may not even want to do but may want to try it and see if you end up liking it.  I think its a great opportunity to figure out what kind of working person you are, for example if you would work well in an office or would prefer working in a shop etc. 

We also get to do lots of different workshops, such as etiquette or first aid which teach you very important things you need for life, even to save someones life.  we also get to try every subject, so if we didn't get to do music for the junior cert we cant try it in transition year.

Etiquette workshop

On the same day as our first aid workshop we had an Etiquette workshop also, when I first heard of this I was very very confused because I had no idea what Etiquette was all we were told was to bring in our high heels, so I did.  I asked around to see if anyone knew what it was and as it turned out Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behaviors according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group, which really just means, we had a work shop on how to act correctly or as some people like to say "ladylike" in society.

The first thing we did was play an ice-breaker or two then we were shown a power point and video all about Etiquette and whats right and wrong.  We were told how to were our clothes, what clothes to wear even what underwear to wear.  after that we got up to walk the red carpet, we had to walk with a book on our head to make sure our spine was aligned and then we had to try and do it in our high heels, we were also taught how to sit politely and i found that helpful in an interview.  

First aid Workshop

One of the first workshops we did in TY was the First-aid workshop.  This workshop was so much fun and was so interesting,  we had it before results night so it was very handy in case we ran into a sticky situation on the night.  Our instructor was so funny he was always making jokes and was very punny also (punny = pun+funny).

We learnt how to do CPR, how to help if someone is choking whether it be a baby, child or an adult, we also learned how to wrap up someones arm and what to do if someone is having a seizure.  We went through lots of different scenarios and lots of role plays that could happen in our life time.  Thankfully I didn't have to use any of these techniques on the night but i will remember them in case I ever do have to use them.

At the end of the workshop we had to fill out a report form, so to say how good it was and whether we recommend it for next years TY's.  I gave it five stars as I found it very interesting.  Just as we were leaving we were given a little card which has instructions on CPR tips without the lips, so basically how to give CPR without 'Mouth-to-mouth'. I always have it with me in my purse whenever I go out if I ever need it.

Retreat

I know its a bit late to be writing about something that happened towards the start of the year but I felt it was something that i should write about and not let it be forgotten.  So for our TY retreat we started off in the Celbridge Manor hotel.  I had to walk there because my family left at 8:15 and I didn't want to be 45 minutes early.  At 8:50 a.m i embarked on my journey to the hotel across the road from my house, the hardest part was walking up the long avenue up to the hotel itself.  Once I got into the hotel I realized i should have left earlier because everyone was already sitting in a big circle and Mr.Kerrigan was calling the role.  

I walked in after two other girls Emma and Aoife and sat down beside my buddy Orla.  Just as i sat down 4 or 5 other girls came in which made me feel better for being just a tad late.  So to start the retreat a tall man with a beard walked into the room with candles and what looked to be a bible and set it up on a desk.  Everyone was in shock because we thought this year our retreat wouldn't be religious (I'm not against religion).  He started to say a prayer and list off the things we were going to be doing, he said we were going to be in silence for a long amount of time and fast all day, that's when i started to get angry because i need my food!!  After the man finished his prayer he went on to tell us it was a joke and we all broke out in laughter it was such a relief.  

we started off being introduced to the people running it then we began some ice-breakers, they were doing a story telling ice breaker and one like fruit bowl and another one where we had to sit on each other (sounds weird believe me I know).  After these ice-breakers we had a little bit of time to each our break and just chat.  So we sat outside since it was a lovely day and we ate our lovely lunches.  When we went back inside we were told to get into groups of 6 or 7, they asked us to try not to go with our friends but they didn't want us to feel uncomfortable so we could go with our friends if we wanted.

I went with Aoife, Aoife, Orla, Niamh, Eilis and myself I think thats all.  Once we were in groups we were given a piece of paper which had a philosophical question on it, our question was "if you could change one thing about your parents would you and if so what would you change?"  our answer was simple, We would make them more understanding but also keep them the same because if they weren't the same they wouldn't be our parents. *Q the waterworks*.   We decided on our answer quite quickly and so we decided to have a sing song in our little group of old pop songs like the ones from disney channel.

Everyone got a chance to read out their questions and answers then everyone could comment and say their own opinion.  One of the questions i found interesting was "If your long-time partner cheated on you would you want them to tell you?" there were loads of other questions but that one struck up quite the debate within the group.  After all the questions, one of the leaders set up a display in the middle of the floor and we did a game sort of thing where we turned over cards with words which described us, I got enlightened.

After this we had lunch and we were allowed to order food from the bar so loads of people did and ordered chips, this was also the day that snapchat updated filters onto the snapchat cameras so everyone was having fun with them.  We got called in after lunch to do meditation.  The mediation was very emotional and I ended up crying. The day ended at 3:20pm and I went home.  It was a very good day and I had lots of fun.

Amber Flag

Amber flag is about suicide aware.  Depression is one of the main causes of suicide, approximately 1 in 10 people in Ireland are depressed at any one time.  Amber flag is a way to raise awareness about suicide and depression and informing people how to help in these situations.  Amber flag's aim is to encourage organisations such as schools, colleges or groups to promote and actively bring about a culture change in the promotion of positive mental health within the educational system and other groups and organisations.  

Transition year is the perfect year to do projects and other things that we couldn't do in a more academic based year.  In religion both class Merkel and class Lagarde have come together to work on getting the amber flag for our school. There are a few different groups within our year group there is events, audit, web and pr group.  I am on the web group which means I write on the website with things relating to the amber flag and our events etc.  Anna G and I are currently writing a post about the fun walk it is very well written since we wrote it.

Hockey Match No.1

On Friday the 13th of November at 12 p.m we set sail to Arklow to play our first league hockey match.  We were all very nervous as it was the unluckiest day of the year FRIDAY THE 13TH!!  But a silly date wasn't gonna stop us from trying our best, and so we did. It was an hour bus journey down to Arklow and everyone was tired so most people were quiet and sleepy but towards the end people got nervous and restless.

We arrived in the school after a VERY long bus journey and off we went to warm up. I was on the sideline and the usual people were playing.  Our coach told us that the team was missing a few good players and there goalie wasn't very experienced so we had to take it easy on them.  Half way through the first half we were up 5-0 and so Catherine knew we had to do something so we gave the other team our wonderful goalie Rowen and one of our best players, Kate.

I was put on instead of Kate, at this stage it was raining and freezing and I was just glad to be up and running. after half time we switched 3 or 4 more players between the two teams so that the teams were mixed.  This was possibly the worst thing we could have done because not only did everyone treat the match as a joke now it was basically a match against ourselves.  I  felt very bad for the other team who barely even got to touch the ball as it was all our players playing for them, I would have gladly sat on the sideline for the whole match if it meant that everyone on the other team would get a fair game.

After the match we packed up our stuff and got back on our bus, we were all very excited because we were going into McDonalds so we went to McDonalds and sat there for a good while.  One everyone was finished we got up for an even longer bus journey than before.  We set off at around 3:20 and we didn't reach home until at least 6 since we were stuck in a lot of traffic during rush hour on a Friday. IT was a fun game after all and I really enjoyed my day.

Sci fest!

Aoife and I are doing a science project for sci-fest.  We originally applied for the BT young scientist but sadly did not make the cut so we are now doing it for sci-fest.  We have always been told by our parents and grandparents and so on that texting is so bad for your education, Aoife and I were both victims of this silly harassment from our parents so we decided to see if they were right, to see if texting really has affected the English language.

To prove this theory we must test students and adults of all ages, we must ask them to text a set message as they usually would an then also write out that same set message in their best english possible, so far we have tested students in N.K.E.T.S and Scoil Naomh Bríd both in celbridge, we have also tested TY students from our school and will be testing students in Lucan Community College and Maynooth Post Primary this coming Thursday.  We Have sent emails and letters to many other schools asking for permision but these schools are slow to reply so our project has taken off to a slow start.

We are both very excited about our project and hope that we go on to suceed in the sci-fest competition, this is also a learning experience for us and we have discussed this with each other already.  I feel much more mature and confident after going to these schools, writing letters and emails and also speaking to principals and students and also teachers.

We have also been in contact with many other people for help with our project we were very excited when we were in contact with the minister for education Jan O'Sullivan.  We were in contact over email and she was very helpful with our project and we appreciated her help so greatly. We were also in contact with her over twitter and got a follow back from her. We made a twitter account for our science project to contact Jan and to get publicity. (@txtg8) FOLLOW US:)))

Kilkenny Art Trip

On the 24th of September our whole year went on a trip to Kilkenny on an art trip, the two teachers who came with us were Mrs.Brogan and Mrs.Carpenter.  We went on one large coach and another small coach.  We were split into groups for our buses and there wasn't many on my bus so the bus was nice and quiet for the long trip down to kilkenny.  we left the school at 9:05 we didn't even go into school we just got our itineraries and got on our bus.  When we got there we were already late and so we were in a very big hurry to the cinema, we got to the cinema and we were allowed to buy popcorn and sweets before we went in.  The cinema was really warm but it was kind of nice compared to the cold outside.  The movie we got a special screening of was called 'The Song Of The Sea'.  It was such a good movie and it had an amazing story line, I love all the characters Irish accents and the drawings and animations were so cute and very well drawn.  My favorite character was either Cú the dog or Saoirse the innocent little sister who also ends up being a Selkie.

straight after our cinema trip we walked back up to the castle, almost getting run over by a few cars here and there,  In the castle there was a a workshop/showroom thing where we got to learn all about how it was made and all the components that are used to make up the movie.  we got to see things such as first sketches and final drafts.  We were also told all about how people got the ideas for the characters and how much work was put into each second of the movie.  It takes 12 drawings to make one second of the movie.  The final room we went to had a real life set up of one of the characters from the movie it was so cool and interesting to see and the character was very funny so I found it funny too. 

After our groups little tour around the castle we got to have lunch some of us went to the little cafe and got tea and a snack, we were allowed to roam around the castle so we went down to the market and Eilis bought a chocolate cake pop. We took lots of pictures and talked to lots and lots of tourists who loved our 'catholic school' uniform.  We got loads of funny photos and group pictures in front of the castle.  There was so many pretty things to take pictures of such as the beautiful gardens.

carlingford

Our night away this year was to Carlingford adventure centre in county Louth.  We left on the 17th of September at 9:05.  Everyone was very excited as we were told it was one of the best parts of Ty, so on we went on our long long bus journey.  Everyone was singing and laughing and having fun all ecstatic for what was to come.  When we arrived at the centre we were led to a big common room with lots of couches lining the walls, we all sat down some sat on the floor because there wasn't enough room with everyone's big bags, bags as big as Mt.Everest.  We were then split into our two groups, group A and group B, I was in group A.  the groups were mainly just our classes with a few people switched around but everyone got to stay with their friends.  we were told what our itinerary was for the day and then we got ready and put our bags in a store room.  Group B went to do water activities and my group went on what seemed to be the longest walk ever to challenge island. Challenge island was all mainly just bonding activities and it was so much fun.

When we came back after challenge island we went for lunch and then we went to get ready for water activities, while we were sitting having food we were put into our rooms. I was in a room with 11 other girls: Aoife, Susan, Claire, Eilis, Erin, Caoimhe, Aoife, Lucy, Laura, Tara Laura.  We had enough sweets to feed the population of Africa but we that didn't stop us from eating until our stomachs hurt. After water activities we had free time then we went on our night hike, group B went first and did the blind hike while our group played a few games.  Once it was our turn we walked up to the forest and began to blindfold ourselves, we had no idea what we were in for.  we all had to make a train holding the person in front of us' shoulders while we couldn't see at all.  It all worked out well no one was lost and we were told we were the best group they'd ever had to do it, that made us all proud.

when we got back to the centre we were allowed to have showers or to go to the Chinese or just chill around in the common area.  The Chinese was full of people all getting their 3 in 1's or spice bags which were super super spicy. then i just chilled and played some games in the downstairs common area and we all just talked and had fun.  Once the clock struck 11 we were all sent up to our rooms but we didn't really mind because our room 32 was so much fun anyway.  We played games like never have I ever (besides the alcohol) and truth or dare or even just asked each other questions and got to know one another, there was sad questions with tears and happy questions with laughs and it was a night filled with emotion.  I was knocked out on my bed at around 3 which i thought was pretty late but obviously wasn't because others were still up while i was sleeping.

the next morning we went and had breakfast and then went on another activity this time we went to zip it, it was fun but kind of boring because I've done it so many times before.  We had a very mean instructor called john who was funny at times but other times he was just mean, it was his last day anyway so we tried to make him happy and have fun.  after that w went back to the centre and just chilled around and went to the shop and saw a few nice boys;) jk.  Then we were all sad leaving on another long bus journey home, even tho most people were asleep it was still a fun ride home.  W got back at 3:20 just in time for school to finish and all went home probably to sleep and shower.  The past Ty's were right it was one of the best parts of Ty so far.