Scifest at ITT

Yesterday was the next round of Scifest and it was held in ITT in Dublin. When we arrived we had to register and then head straight to our display area and set up our projects. We then had to stay at our area for an hour or two while the judges came around talking to us, and asking us questions about our project. We got questioned by 3 judges in total and we felt that we communicated very well them and explained out project well. When this part of the day was finished we were free to attend the various talks that were being held in the college. I went to the forensic science talk and the howling jelly babies talk, which was fun chemistry experiments. I got to partake in one of the experiments which was putting a banana in liquid nitrogen and then i hammered it to pieces. This was very entertaining.
After the talks it was time for the prize giving to take place. Unfortunetley my project didn't win anything but alot of prizes were awarded to St. Wolstan's. Overall we had a very enjoyable and informative day.

GAISCE!

Last weekend we went on the Gaisce hike up the Wicklow Mountains. We left Celbridge on friday and as soon as we reached Cappure we began our first half of the hike, which was 10k. We had to walk to the track hike started at a green hill with a small forest at the top. Once we emerged we could see a road leading about half way up the mountain. We started on our way with everyone in a good mood and excitement and anticipation filling the air. The weather stayed dry for the 2 days which was perfect but the hike in general was still very mucky and wet. At times it got very steep and that's when the going got really tough, but we all pulled through. On the first day when we reached the top we ate out lunch at the big pile of rocks. We found out after that it was a stone tunnel so we all had a turn of going through it and coming out the top. It was quite claustrophobic but i we managed to get through. We all really enjoyed the first day and we couldn't wait to get back to our houses for the evening!
The next day we had to be ready for 10.00 as we had the rest of the hike to finish. The weather was alot warmer on the second day but it wasn't as steep as the first day. It was longer today as we had 16k to do. We covered four peaks by the end of the day, which was very tireing and draining but we all did it! We were so happy that it was over but so glad that we did it!

Just keep swimming....

Last Friday the TY group took part in the annual Swim  a Mile With  a Smile fundraiser. It took place in the National Aquatic Centre and it was to raise money for cancer research and Barretstown. I took on the challenge of swimming the mile myself and I was delighted that i did. I swam 64 lengths while alot of the other girls swam part of or half a mile. Everyone did really well and overall we raised a good amount of money. After the swim we all went to Blancherstown and had lunch. It was a very enjoyable and rewarding day.

Pilgrimage and what not....

Yesterday, our whole TY year went on a day trip to Kildare town and then we went bowling after. We visited many places in Kildare, like the heritage centre, the round tower, the cathedral and St. Bridget's well. It was a very historic and cultural day as we found out many things about St. Bridget and Kildare that we didn't know.When we had finished the pilgrimage we went to Whitewater shopping centre for lunch and then we went bowling. All in all it was a very enjoyable and cultural day

TY Retreat

Yesterday, we had our annual retreat. This year since we were in TY went to a different place outside of Celbridge for our retreat. It was called the Dominican Retreat Centre and it was in Tallaght. It was a very unexpected day as I thought it would be completely religion based, but it was far from that. It was a very reflective day that got us to think about our lives and the people that are in it. We were all together in the morning talking about what's important in our lives and our worries for the future. These topics made us really think and i thought it was a good way to start off the day. From then on we were split into different groups and went to different rooms with a different worker each. We filled out a questionnaire about our family life and friends and then we discussed the answers together. It was a day filled with laughter but also seriousness as we discussed things that made us sad and difficult times in our lives.
After lunch we did an exercise where we said something about each person in the group. I really enjoyed this as you felt really good saying all these lovely things about people, but also hearing what they have to say about you.
At the end of the day we all wrote down a prayer and they were blessed in an urn and then burned. I got the honour to do this, which i was happy about to give further participation.
I thought it was a very good day!

D-DAY.....

Last Friday was the competition for Sci fest. It was the day that everybody had been working towards since the start of the year, and it was safe to say the nerves were running high! Me and my group felt very confident as we had our poster completely finished and we knew exactly what to say when the judges came around. There was 4 judges in total, with every group seeing at least 2. Our group though ended up talking to all 4 judges. We were very confident whilst talking about our project and we felt that we had explained our project well. It must have worked in our favor, all of our talking, as we got through to the next round! We were so happy as we also won the best communication award!
As well as out victory in science, that same day was the Wesley college choir competition. So even more nerves! We were on first in our category, which we thought was a good thing because we would be waiting then We felt that we had done pretty well and that we sounded very well for a newly formed choir this year. Unfortunately we didn't win, but we came third which we were delighted with.
All in all it was a very jam packed day, but it was all worth it and we all enjoyed it!

The History of History...

This week in history we have been given the task of doing a project on a controversial topic or person. We are on the subject of the history of history and how people or a movement in history effects the rest of the world. We can do our project on anything we want so i have decided to do my project on Mormonism  My teacher gave me the idea of this so i researched it. It actually is a very interesting topic as it is a recent enough religion but a very strict one. Many people oppose this religion or have ideas about how they sin and don't show real faith. I want to find out in my project what is true and what isn't. I am looking forward to starting this project.

Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Lollipop

Last Friday our TY year volunteered in the annual appeal for Oesophageal Cancer Fund called Lollipop Day. We were in groups of 3 or 4 and we were scattered all over Dublin city collecting for Lollipop Day. It was 2 euro for a lollipop or a badge. Throughout the day a lot of people supported the fund by donation money. We were very grateful to these people and we were very happy that we raised the amount of money we did! The only downfall during the day was it was freezing in town!

Coco Avant Chanel..

Over the past few weeks in French class we have been watching the French film Coco Avant Chanel. It is the story of Coco Chanel's life and her career. We finished it last week and the whole class thought it was brilliant! I thought it was very good adaption of her life and an excellent example of French Culture. Over the midterm we have to complete questions based on the film and also an essay about Chanel's contribution to the world of fashion. I have been working on the questions and just started the essay. Here is the trailer for the movie...

Scifest so far...

Over the last few weeks in Science we have been getting our Sci fest projects underway. This is a national science competition for Secondary Schools. We have to come up with a title and carry out research and experiments under that title. Me and my group choose the title of  "The Effectiveness of Mnemonics as a Study Skill". Mnemonics, for those of you who don't know, are devises that help you learn and memorise information eg. Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain for the colours of the rainbow. We conducted surveys and tests to see if mnemonics actually work and the benefit of them. At the moment my group is finishing off our report book and we are starting on the presentation poster for the competition. We are looking forward to the competition and hope we get through!

Cover page and meet the team from katies05

St. Bridgets Crosses...

This week during religion we made St. Bridgest crosses. Since it is the start of Spring out teacher thought it would be a good idea to make the crosses to celebrate it. Our teacher got the rushes off her brother so they were fresh. We were given a lesson in how to make the cross and then it was our turn. It was hard to get it started but after a few trials and errors a finally got the hand of it. I was quite pleased with how it turned out and i have put up a video to show anybody that is interested in making one, how to make one :)

Happily Ever..... After?

In English class over the past few weeks we have been working on fairytales with a twist. I was very excited when i heard of this concept cause it really gives you an opportunity to let your imagination run wild! I am in a group of 2 people and we first had to think of the fairytale we have to change. We picked Snow White and we went straight to work! The twist that we have come up with is that the Queen wants get revenge over the dwarves as Dopey broke up with her. Snow White pretends to go along with the plan when really she had no intention of hurting the dwarves, sinse Dopey left the Queen for her! It's all happening in our fairytale, from betrayal to battles! This week we started on scene 3 so we will have to see how the story ends....

Scene two of english play from katies05

Mé Féin agus Mo Shaol...

This is the presentation that I had to do for Irish class!

Irish powerpoint from katies05

Career talks....

This week we have been having career talks about what subjects we want to take for the Leaving Cert. It has made me think about what i would like to pursue when i leave school. It has been my dream job to be a teacher so i think that is still what i would like to do. I think that TY is helping me think about and decide what i want to do when i leave school. It is helping me mature and how to handle decision making. If any current Third years are reading my blog i would definitely reccomnend TY, as it gives you a year to experience new things and think more about what you want to do in the future.

Around the World in 365 Days!

This week in Geography our Trip Around the World projects are due. So far my group hasn't been called to present, but i will be soon. This is our finished presentation that we are very happy with.

Our trip around the world finished from katies05

French Designer project...

French Designer Project from katies05

The Choir..

This year in Ty I have joined the Choir. I have always wanted to and I felt this year was a good time to do it. So far I am loving the Choir. At the moment we are rehearsing for a choir competition that will take place in Wesley College on the 1st of March. The song that we are singing is "Caresse Sur L'ocean" from the French film, Les Choriste. It is a beautiful song and the contrast in voices in the choir makes it sound even better. I am in the soprano 2 section. We are working very hard to perfect the song because it is in French the the pronunciation can be difficult. I think overall everything is giving it their all and I hope that we put on a good show at Wesley!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEs1wtsw_IA

Teddie Bears and Cassette Tapes

For the past 3 weeks our TY practical classes have been getting very exciting. During our double of Home Ec we are making Teddy Bears. So far we have cut out all of the shapes and started sewing the arms and legs. I am enjoying the sewing so far and I cant wait until I have completed it.
In art we are doing something very different. We are creating cassette tape drawings. We had to print off a celebrity in black and white form, draw it on a page and now we are sticking the inside of cassette tapes onto it. So far i have just done the eyebrow of Lana Del Rey but I hope this week I will continue sticking the cassette tape down.

Mini Company Competition...

This week, on my birthday, we had the Mini Company competition. This meant that we had to set up a display are in the hall with everyone else, showcasing our product and our information and advertising to go with it. Our mini company id DIY Dye and we are selling kits to dip dye and stud your own shorts On our display area we had posters, our name, balloons, my laptop with a slideshow and our product with the variation of studs and dyes you can get. We also had to make a presentation in front of the judges, which we thought went very well. The judges seemed very interested in our product and liked it, but unfortunately we didn't get through to the next round, but we did get the best business report award! We were happy with that and it was a good day overall.

Young Scientist....

Last week we went to the BT Young Scientist Expedition in the RDS for the day. It showcased experiments and organisation from all over Ireland. I really enjoyed reading about all of the experiments and participating in some of the practical ones. I thought the the Trinity college booth had the best practical experiment as it showed us through an infer ed camera, which shows how hot you are. We put ice on parts of our face to show how it changes through the camera. Overall it was a very good day, learning new things and meeting new people.

Exams and Bowling Time!

We had our Christmas exams this week which wasn't very exciting ,but we were very excited for what was happening when they were finished. In the Tuesday we came into school in our own clothes and had a Christmas party. After that we went bowling in Newbridge and then to Whitewater Shopping Centre for lunch. We all enjoyed this and had a brilliant day. It was a really good end to our first term of TY!

Development Workshops...

We had 3 development worships this week. They were about the Millennium Development Goals, organisations that help the third world and Fair trade. These workshops went in for the whole day and we took part in debates, discussions and overall it was a very informative day.