Cow

Mini Company is really coming together. We had a meeting on Tuesday where we brought in our materials and made more products. We have decided that our bracelets will be four euro each, and now all that's left to do is to make loads in time for the Fashion Show. We've also got a slot in the show, and we're going to get models to wear our bracelets on the catwalk. Along with the music act and running the stall, it will be a busy two nights. Only two weeks to go!

My work experience on Wednesday was a lot better. The guys in the shop showed me how to restring an acoustic and an electric guitar, which was really fun and interesting. Next week, I will be helping with some of the repairs and restringing bass guitars and nylon strings.

Yesterday we had a talk on Road Safety- two guards came in to talk to us. It was a little graphic (to say the least), but it was a good chance to learn how to keep yourself safe as a pedestrian. Click the link to find out more: http://www.rsa.ie/

Our Young Scientist project is coming along well. We now have three schools who are able to facilitate our tests, and we will be going out to them next week. Now all thats left is the get the books and write the questions (!). We're meeting with Ms Ward in the next class to talk things through.

Next Tuesday, we're going to an art exhibition in Carton House called Vanishing Art. I'm really excited as we get to see award-winning sculptures and art installations and learn a bit more about them.

Also, I found this (thanks to Allana)

:)

KnB Music, Gaisce and Fashion Show

On Monday, we had our first practice for the Fashion Show. A group of around forty students (mostly TYs) are performing a Christmas medley at the show. Me and Eve have put together Let it Snow, Winter Wonderland and Baby It's Cold Outside. Eve is doing the harmonies and I'm doing the melody line. We've had practices every day this week, and its coming along really well.

   

Also, me, Eimear and Aimee's group got into the Young Scientist! Now we have to properly get going and get things ready for January. 

  

 I've also decided to do Gaisce, as its a great opportunity and chance to try new things and get involved in more extra curricular activities. Michaela is going to teach me guitar and I'm going to teach her piano, because we've both been wanting to learn for ages. I think I might volunteer for the Guide Dogs as well.

   

I had my first work experience at KnB Music this week as well. I was really excited beforehand, and went in a few days earlier to make sure everything was okay. I arrived at half ten on Wednesday to find that my supervisor was on holiday, and hadn't told anyone that I was coming in! The guys in the shop didn't have anything for me to do, so I ended up playing the shop piano until five. It wasn't the most exciting day (!) but they said they'd have more for me to do next week, so I'm hoping it'll get better. 

We also finished our project on Careers in Maths today, and put our maths tree up on the wall. Each of the branches have different sectors on them (Technology, Businessd etc.) and the different jobs in each sector involving maths. It turned out great!

:)

A picture paints a thousand words

Part of our October Challenge is to write a sentence using only pictures...see if you can figure it out!












:)

So many projects..

This has been such a busy week! The projects are piling up...

Seeing as this week is Maths Week, we've started a maths project in class. Our group is doing Careers in Maths, and we're making a tree to display in one of the corridors. The different careers and branches of maths will be 'hanging' on the branches. The other groups are doing Maths Eye and college courses in Maths.

We are writing scripts in English to enter into the Briory Gap competition in November. Our group (Me, Allana, Michaela, Molly and Serena) are writing a script about a girl who meets her sister in a cafe after ten years of them being apart. While they're talking and catching up with each other, she reveals to her sister that she's gay. The story will follow her journey and experiences over the last ten years of her life, and also her sister's journey as she struggles to come to terms with the fact. Deep, right?

In Geography, our class is doing a project on the EU and each person is taking a country. I'm doing Portugal, which is handy as I went there in the summer.



Our Young Scientist Project is going really well. It's called 'The Ideal Conditions for Learning'. We plan to go out to primary schools in the area and read some stories to their First Class. We would change the conditions in the classroom each time. By doing this we hope to find out the best environment for students to learn in. We're really excited about this and are contacting schools and educational psychologists to get their opinions We have also surveyed teachers and students in St Wolstans asking them what they'd expect the outcome to be.

The project that will probably take up the most time is our Mini Company. Since the last time I blogged about this, our group is a lot clearer about what they want to do. Our company is called Seem (Serena, Emma, Emily and Michaela) and we make jewellery and accessories out of recycled beads, buttons, leather and other materials. We're having a meeting to begin making our products today, and we have some really good ideas to work with.



:)

Fun Walk, Work Experience and Mini Company Ideas

This week ( and a half) was probably the least hectic we've had since we began TY. Last Thursday we had our annual Fun Walk. TY's colour was yellow, and everyone came in dressed up and ready to go on the day. Our class (Class Belle) had a bit of an advantage, as Belle's dress is yellow, so that was the main theme of our dance. We of course got our tutor Mr Lawlor to dress up as Belle, and Sinead dressed up as the Beast. Sadly, we didn't win, and the prize went to Class Aurora. Still, we had loads of fun participating in the walk around Celbridge and were tired out by the end of the day.

On Wednesday, I went for my third work experience at Celbridge Library. This was my second last day there, as I will be going to KnB Music in Maynooth on the 22nd of October. It was a busy day and a little frustrating, because the list of new books I was going to order in had been lost as the wifi was broken. We ended up making a new list, and removing some of the old books from the shelves instead. In the afternoon, we helped the borrowers find specific books and shelved and packaged school sets. Next week, we'll be calling schools and arranging to go in and read to the kids. I'm really looking forward to it.

For a few weeks now, we've been thinking about our Mini Company idea. The girls in our group (Michaela, Emma, Serena and me) have decided to make jewellery and hair accessories using recycled items : old beads, wire and leather. I've made a few necklaces already and we are designing more. Now, we have to do some market research and start to buy materials like thread and cord in bulk. 

Also, on Wednesday, my Guide Dog puppy Umber finished her year with us and left to complete her training in Cork. There were many tears and we all miss her loads, but it helps knowing she will be improving a blind person's life and enabling them to do things they wouldn't be able to do otherwise.

                                ^ Umber when she was three months old^

Work Experience Day One

    Two days ago, I went out for my first work experience. I had spent all summer securing places, and my first trip was to Celbridge Library. After our workshop last week, I knew all about what to do when I got there: how to dress, and how to act. Even so, I was really nervous the night before. I know my supervisor well and was excited about working with her. I couldn't wait to see how a typical day in the library went.
 


One of the best things about the day must have been the lie-in! I got up at eight, ate my breakfast and got dressed, and left the house at five to nine. Arriving at nine on the dot, I was met at the door by my supervisor Aisling, and she began to give me a tour of the library. The building doesn't open until two on Wednesdays and was almost empty. Aisling showed me around the different sections; Teen, Adult Fiction, Children's. She also showed me how the computers are accessed and explained about the different workshops that are held there every Wednesday. Today, English was being taught in the centre upstairs.
   
After tea and cake in the upstairs kitchen, we headed down to the computers again. Aisling showed me how the Kildare Library website was run. I also learnt about the library app, Overdrive. You can rent ebooks, films and audio files from your local library using this app. You can also sign up for online courses and access local history files. This is a really great service that I hadn't heard about before, and I will definitely be using it in the future.

The library are currently clearing out their Teen section, and I was given the job of choosing new books to be ordered in. This was a brilliant part to the day, as I had made a list beforehand of all my favourite books, and I was able to order in ones I want to read!

At one, I went home for my lunch. I took my hour off, and returned at ten to two, ready to meet the storm of people when the library opened. The next few hours were daunting but really fun. I was taught how to scan the books and stamp them properly, and I chatted with the kids and adults who came to the desk. I also put back the books that had been returned, and learned how they're ordered and stacked. I bound up books to be sent to other libraries and schools, and ordered a few more. It was hectic and a little stressful, but fun and informative. Before I knew it, it was four o'clock and my first day was over.

 All the staff are lovely and friendly, and the work was fun and interesting.I can't wait to go back next week, as I had the best time.

:)

Carlingford, Workshops and Mini Company

This week was really busy. On Monday and Tuesday the whole of TY went to Carlingford Adventure Center in Louth. We had the most amazing time.
 
  We arrived bright and early at the Esso station at seven o'clock. Feeling groggy and tired but really excited, we loaded our bags onto the bus and set off for Carlingford. At nine we started our first activity, kayaking. Our instructors, Edel and Teddy were friendly and fun, and we had a great time out on the water in our two man boats. Getting changed out of our wet suits was probably the worst part- we stayed wet for most of the day.

 We walked back to the main building, had chips and chicken for lunch, and started our second activity, laser tag. Wearing camunzies (camouflage onesies), we battled fiercely in the forest above the centre. In the evening, our rooms were allocated to us and we settled in by eating the mountains of sweets we had brought. After dinner, we were brought on a blindfolded walk though the dark forest, with the instructors jumping out and scaring us with walkie talkie static. After late night chips and a walk around the town we went into our rooms. Needless to say, we got lots of talking done and not much sleep. I felt sorry for the teacher who was staying in our house with us!
   
  The next day brought exhaustion and grumpiness. We pulled through though, and went out on the water to canoe. This was far better than the first morning, as there was a water trampoline we all jumped off, and we got a ride in the speedboat. There were much less jellyfish than the day before, which meant we could swim around and generally have more fun. After potatoes, chips and sausage rolls for lunch, we had a go at the team building exercises in the centre, although they should have probably been called team breaking down exercises...

  Exhausted, muddy but happy, we took our bags out from our rooms and got on the bus home. The return journey was a little less lively- there was a lot more sleeping going on (especially by the teachers)! I got home after the two hour drive, put on my pajamas and fell into bed. I had the best time with my friends and enjoyed every minute of it.

  Unfortunately, we had school the next day. I was surprised to see as many TYs as there were in the building, but then again, we had been promised a full day of workshops. First, we had our work experience talk from Mr Corcoran and Ms Hughes. It was really interesting to hear about the do's and dont's of work experience, and some of the incidents that had happened in the past. It made me really excited to start, and I can't wait for next week when I begin working in Celbridge Library.
   
   After break, our second workshop on stress management began. We learned about the different personality types and figured out which ones we were. I was green, which means I'm quite laid back and relaxed. He also showed us some mind games and word puzzles that I had fun telling my friends after. This was my favourite workshop as we discovered more about ourselves and others in our class, and definitely helped us bond more.
 
   Our last class was etiquette. We painted our nails, learned how to apply makeup and fake tan and found out our colour schemes. This workshop was loads of fun and really informative.

   Yesterday, our year went to Maynooth to hear a talk about Mini-Company. We bustled into the lecture hall and, along with another school, were told about the different projects people have done in the past. Most of them were really innovative, and we came up with a few ideas of our own and presented them to the other students .After that, we went to Starbucks and headed home. Yesterday was so inspiring. and has sparked off a few ideas in our mini company group. Watch this space!

This week has been jam- packed, but if the rest of TY is like this, I can't wait to get going.

:)

Results!

Today is only our second week, and already we've got our Junior Cert results back. On Wednesday the whole school was buzzing- you could feel the tension in the air. Classes Belle, Aurora and Ariel trudged reluctantly into the hall and lined up in our old class groups, where we were joined by the fifth years. Our hearts were pounding and our palms sweaty as we recieved our envelopes. Five minutes later, we walked happily out of the doors and down to our parents waiting in the car. Later, I went shopping with my friends, and to a party. It was the perfect end to a brilliant day, and I couldn't have been happier.

I'm really looking forward to next week as we have a lot of things on. On Monday and Tuesday the whole of Transition Year is going to Carlingford Adventure Centre in Louth. 

We'll be doing activities like kayakking, team-building, swimming and much more. I'll be packing a bag full on sweets this weekend! On Wednesday a series of etiquette workshops will be held in the school, and on Thursday we are all going to Maynooth to hear a talk on Mini-company. TY is turning out much busier than I expected! 

:)