Irish Trip :)

On Friday the 10th of May all Transition Year students went to Scoil Eanna in P.Pearse Museum in Rathfarnom. We got a tour of the museum and I found it very interesting learning about Irish history. We then went and watched a video about the history of the school and it was very interesting learning the school and the people who went there. After watching the video we got a tour of the gardens and learned about the trees that were in the garden. Unfortunately a lot of the trees are dying from different diseases and fungi, which is sad because these trees have been there for years.



These are some images from Scoil Eanna, P. Pearse Museum:
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My End of Year I.T. Project- Traditional Irish Musical Instruments :)

This is my end of year I.T. project and my video is about Traditional Irish Musical Instruments. I hope you all enjoy watching my video as I put a lot of effort into it!

Swim a Mile :)

On Friday, all Transition Year and LCVP students went to the National Aquatic Centre for the annual 'Swim A Mile with a Smile'. When we arrived we were given a short talk about the day and then went to get changed. When we went out onto the bank we where put into our lanes. Everyone put in a great effort and we swam 27 miles in total. After our swimming we went to Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. We went for our lunch and then went for a luck around the shops. Everyone had a great day and it was a lot of fun :)


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Gaisce Hike :)

On the 26th of April 33 Transition Year students and three teachers went to the Wicklow Mountains for our Gaisce Hike. When we were on the bus, everyone was very excited for what was ahead of us. When we arrived at Kippure we brought our suitcases into a room and then started straight away on our hike. The hike took us about 3:30 hours. When we got back we were put into our houses. I was in a big house with 15 girls in it. I shared a room with Katie, Liz, Lisa, Shauna and Chanice and we had great fun. We ate our dinner with everyone in our living room and stayed up late talking to everyone. We woke up early Saturday morning and ate our breakfast  Everyone was busy getting ready for the hike and packing their bags. We headed out for our long hike which took us 5 hours. On the bus home it was much quieter than on the way but everyone had a great weekend and were very proud of themselves.

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Deirdre agus Naoise :)

In Irish, we have been doing a play since Christmas called Deirdre agus Naoise. On Friday we preformed our play for 5th Years, T.Y.'s and 2nd Years. Everyone in class Cinealtas had a role in our play. We all had great fun preforming this play and it was lovely to show it to year groups during Seachtain na Gaeilge :)

Pope Francis

On Wednesday the 13/03/2013 shortly after 6pm we found out that a new Pope was elected, Pope Francis. In religion in school, we had to guess what day the new Pope would be eleceted and would be entered into a draw to win an Easter egg. I said that he would be elected on Thursday, unfortunately I was incorrect. I watched the Pope coming out onto the balcony and prayed with the crowd of people who had gathered to see the new Pope.

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Reatreet :)

This week all Transitions Years went to Tallaght for our reatreet to the  Dominican Retreat Centre. We got into a group of 13 and went into a room and spoke about our feelings of T.Y. and what it is like to be a 16 year old teenager and the challenges we face in our lives. I really enjoyed talking to the girls in my group and I got to learn more about the girls in my group :). We did an activity of saying something nice about everyone in our group. I really enjoyed this activity as I got to hear what people think about me:).
I had a great day on my reatreet and look forward top next years one :)


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Intel :)

On Thursday, all Transition Years went to Trinity College for a talk about Intel. When we arrived we were split into groups of four and spoke to a woman who told us about the work that she does in Intel. We then were given some sandwiches for lunch which were very tasty. After our spot of lunch, we made our way into the auditorium and were given a talk about the work that Intel does and were shown a video of life inside the Intel factory in Leixlip. A women then spoke to us about her typical day of work, but told us that something different happens everyday and that is why she finds it so enjoyable. I really enjoyed our talk and found it very interesting :)

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Mini Company Hair Couture Presentation :)

On Monday 04/03/2013 the two mini companies Williams Words and Hair Couture headed off to the Killashee House Hotel in Naas for the Kildare Enterprise Award. We arrived at the hotel at 10:00 am and went straight to getting our display set up. Once we were all happy with how our displays looked we then went to practice our presentation. We were all very nervous walking up to present our power point to 20 other mini companies and the three judges. Our presentation went very well and we were all very happy. We had a lovely lunch provided by the Killashee House Hotel. We had a long lunch break which gave us the opportunity of looking at the different companies from different schools in Kildare. It was a long day of watching all of the companies presentations but very enjoyable. The winners were announced and unfortunately my group, Hair Couture, didn't receive any awards. Congratulations to the group 'Williams Words' who received a display award due to their lovely 18th century themed display. Congratulations to all of the mini companies who made it through to the county final and to the group that will represent Kildare in the All- Ireland Competition.

SciFest Presentation :)

On Friday the 01/03/2013 all Transition Years and three Second Year groups, presented our SciFest projects. I did my project with Lisa and our project was 'The growth of grass in different soil samples'. We got soil samples from six different counties: Donegal, Cork, Tipperary, Wicklow, Mayo and Cavan. We grew grass in each of these soil samples and found that Donegal soil was the best for the growth of grass. From further research we found that Donegal was the best for growing grass due to the fact that the Donegal soil was the only soil that was naturally fertile. We found that if we had of used fertiliser in the other soil samples that the grass would have grown better. Unfourtunately our project did not get through to the competition but we had great fun doing our project :)

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Lollipop Day:)

On Friday all Transition Years and LCVP students went into town for Lollipop Day. I was in a group with Katie, Lisa and Shauna. We all went to the Powerscourt Shopping Centre and were given a bucket with a pink balloon attached to it. We headed off with our hats and t-shirts on and began our collecting. We asked people to support Lollipop Day and to help prevent Oesophageal Cancer by buying a lollipop and a badge. Although it was very cold we all had great fun and really enjoyed fundraising for such a wonderfull charity.

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Drumming Workshop :)

This week all T.Y.'s had a drumming workshop. Class Cinealtas had it on Tuesday. We went down to the music room with our class teacher and met Dave, who worked for Jabba Jabba Jembe Percussion Workshops. We all got a Jembe drum each and were taught different songs. We practiced different songs and then were taught words to an African song. Some of the girls recorded our class singing the song and playing the drums. I really enjoyed this workshop because it was great fun and we got to learn a lot about the African culture and the songs they sing to celebrate many different  occasions.

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Hair Couture :)

All TY's have a class of Mini-Company. I am in a group of ten: Liz, Lisa, Ciara, Kate, Kelsey, Orla, Shauna, Sarah, Eve and myself. Our Mini-Company is Hair Couture, a step by step hairstlye book. This week we found out that we made it through to the county final. Everyone in my group were very excited and we are all really looking forward to the competition.

Sci Fest Project :)

Myself and Lisa have been doing our SciFest project since September and our title is 'The growth of grass in different soil samples'. We got soil samples from six counties: Donegal, Cork, Tipperary, Mayo, Cavan and Wicklow. We planted 30 grass seeds in the soil samples and watered the soil every second day. We had to do a booklet where we wrote our results, conclusions, recomendations and other important information in relation to our experiment. We also had to make a poster to display our information for when the judges come to decide who proceeds further into the competition. I really enjoyed doing this project with Lisa as we both have an interest in Biology and nature.



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Mini Company :)

Today all TY's had to present their Mini Company projects. We had to set up a display in the hall showing our Hair Couture book and everything that we had to do to make our product. When the judges were going around I began to feel slightly nervous. The judges just asked us a few questions and then they went to their seats in the centre of the hall. They then began to take each group to go and tell them who each person was and what they contributed to the Mini Company. After every group had gone the judges took a few minutes to decide who would be rewarded with a small award and the groups that would be short listed for the competition. I was delighted when we were awarded with the innovation award for my class. We were also put on the short list for the competition. Everyone in my group was absolutely delighted that all of our hard work had payed off :)

Art Project :)

We have started a new project with cassette tapes. We had to pick a famous person that we like, and sketch it. When we have it sketched out we cover the black pieces in our picture with cassette tapes. I decided that I would do Taylor Swift as I really like her music. I have never done art before and find it very challenging but I am really enjoying having the opportunity to try new subjects. I am hoping that my picture will turn out well. My fingers are crossed!


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Teddy Bear :)

This year all Transition Years have a class called T.Y. Design. We have been doing our Junk Kouture in this class but as it is finished we have started a new project of making a teddy bear. We started our teddy bear by pinning down the paper onto the material. We did this so we will be able to cut out our fabric. We have only had one class so there is not much for me to tell you about, but I will keep you updated on how it is going. We will also be making a little waist coat for our teddy bear with our partners material. I am really looking forward to having my teddy bear complete!

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Work Experience :)

This week I started my second placement of work experience in a local veterinary centre. I started my day feeling slightly nervous but very excited. I went in and was greeted by Laura, my supervisor, and she brought me up to the staff room where she told me a nurse would come and get me. Finnbar, the owner of the veterinary centre, came and shook my hand and told me what I would be doing. Finnbar left to prepare for a surgery, and a nurse came in with a girl from college who I would be working with. We went into the surgery room and watched Finnbar preform three surgeries of neutering two dogs and one cat. This was really interesting as Finnbar asked us many questions in relation to the work he was doing. Finnbar also told us very interesting information about cats that I was unaware of. This was very good as I found I remembered the information better as I had to figure it out. We then watched a fat tumour being removed from a dog. This was very interesting as I got to inject the dog with anestetic before its removal. We then watched Finnbar drain fluid from a dog. This was interesting as we found out the duration, you would keep the tube used to drain the fluid from the body. We then watched the nurses go about their usual days of preparing animals for more surgeries and giving ill animals their medicine. One of the nurses was doing a dental check on a dog and discovered that one of his teeth would need to be pulled out by Finnbar. We then watched Finnbar pulling out the tooth.
I really enjoyed my work experience and found it very interesting. All of the vets and the nurses were very friendly and I am really looking forward to my next of work experience :)

Young Scientist Trip:)

This week all TY's and Second Years headed to The Young Scientist Exhibition. When we reached the RDS arena we were aloud to walk around and view all of the projects that were on display. Three grills from my year had a project on display Corrie, Aisling and Lauren. We went to see their project. After looking at some of the student projects we decided to go and look at the exhibitions from colleges and major companies. We participated in many different experiments that they had taking place. It was really fun and we also received free gifts for participating and listening to what the people had to say. I also entered many competitions with hope of winning different prizes. We ate our lunch and then took another look at the student projects. Our day out went very quickly but I really enjoyed all of the different projects and had a great day. :)