Christmas Carol Service.

It's a tradition in St.Wolstan's to have all the school come together for a morning for a carol service before the Christmas exam's begin. On Monday the 17th, we had our annual carol service. In the music department there has been a huge amount of effort gone into preparing for this occassion.
In choir we sang lot's of Christmas carols, in orchestra we also played some Christmas carols and in the Irish Traditional Group we played two polkas. The music certainly got everyone into the festive mood.
Mr.K also went through a lot of effort to organize this carol service and it was an absolute success like the years before too. Students from each year read and it was a nice opportunity for the whole school to get together.

My former year head, Mrs.Holmes gave out certificates to a few students for their Junior Certificate results. I was really surprised that I got one, it put a smile on my face! We had to stay behind to get our pictures taken by the Liffey Champion. The three girls who got 10 A's were also awarded. Well done to everybody. :)

Christmas Fun Day

Having fun is what us TY's do best, and we certainly had some craic last Thursday. Class Cairdeas kindly hosted a party for the TY's in the library in the morning. We all did Kris Kindle in our classes where we bought a small present for someone under a fiver. A girl in class Cairdeas dressed up as Santa and gave out the presents. There was smiles all round when everyone opened their gifts.
There was food, drinks and party music playing and everyone was having a great time. We all did the cha-cha slide! Then, at quarter to eleven there was two coaches outside to take us to bowling. In no time, we got to the bowling alley and we divided into groups. I am terrible at bowling, I must admit but I still enjoy it thoroughly and I had a brilliant time with my friends.
After bowling, we went to the Whitewater Shopping Centre. We had the opportunity to do anything we wanted for an hour. Typically, my friends and I headed straight to the food court and I got Ginzeng. Mm love  chinese food :)
Overall, I had a brilliant day and it got me into the festive mood :)

Fashion Show

Since September, we've spent six classes a week doing our Junk Kouture project. It was finally worth it as we had an opportunity yesterday to showcase all of our creations with a Fashion Show. A Third Year class, a Fifth Year class and all of TY's were there. Everyone was nervous, as there was Judges. After a while the nerves had went and everyone was having fun.

I decided to go crazy and dance whilst modelling my outfit. No one was expecting me to dance to it was nice to see all the smiles on their faces. It was great fun and I was glad after it. Today we found out that Ruth and I had came first place in our class. We're delighted, our hard work paid off! Everyone in the class had completely different outfits, they were all original and everyone did an amazing job and should be so proud. Here are some pictures from the eventful Fashion Show :)

Trying to Meet Deadlines

From September onwards, we've been working on the two main projects in T.Y. "Junk Kouture" and "Mini Company". Last class, in Home Ec. was our deadline for Junk Kouture. We've all put in a huge amount of effort for this project so the result was brilliant for everyone. In my group, Ruth and I are making a dress out of crisp packets and it's turning out really well. We're all delighted and we hope our hard work pays off in the competition and fashion show.
In Mini Company, we're doing a Shakespearean dictionary. We have so much work to do and we need to have it ready this evening to print. Lots of work to be done! :)

Work Experience.

Next Wednesday is my last day of Work Experience in the Chemistry Department at NUI Maynooth. Over the past nine weeks, I've had some amazing experiences, met a lot of new people, learnt to adjust to a new environment and finally got a taste of the world of work. For Junior Cert, I was science mad and enjoyed it thoroughly. By doing a science-related Work Experience I learnt what Chemistry was like at third level and it helped shape my view towards choosing Science as a sector to have a career in when I'm older. I really enjoyed it, but I'm not too sure if it's for me. I'm going to do my next two Work Experience placements in careers which I'm also interested in, as it's enjoyable if you have a passion for it.
This is why Work Experience is so important and useful, as it gives you a taste of what the career is like, and it helps to shape your view towards it. I have met a lot of new people in my Work Experience, and it has thought me to not be afraid of new people and places, and to make the most of new opportunities which I'm given. I'm really looking forward to my next Work Experience placements and I'm truly glad that we're doing Work Experience as part of our Transition Year Programme.

For people who are interested in science, I would definitely recommend going to NUI Maynooth Chemistry department as you perform experiments and learn a lot about Chemistry. You get the opportunity to meet a lot of lovely people, and to get a taste of what college life is like. :)
http://www.chemistry.nuim.ie/

Junk Kouture Madness!

All us TY's have spent from September onwards working on our Junk Kouture projects. There is a wide variety of differently styled outfits in my class. From presents, to flower pots, to lolly pop sticks! Having a look at the Junk Kouture projects would certainly make you smile as they're all bursting with colour. This day in two weeks we have our fashion show. I am doing my Junk Kouture project with Ruth and the outfit is based on the theme of crisp packets. For the last few weeks we were both stressed, but now as it's coming together nicely it's a great relief!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0egjZdiCs8 <--- Here's a video which shows what theme our outfit is based around. But, our end result is completely different to what we intended to create at the beginning... I will show you all the outfit when it's finished!
                     Junk Kouture really shows us that with a bit of effort and time, old "Junk" can be transformed into something truly beautiful. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!

 

 

Friday :)

We have finished yet another week in Transition Year. We've done so much this week, PROJECTS! This week was the deadline for our Virtual Trip Around The World project, and our mood boards for English. I have a history project due on Monday also. I've noticed that I've learned a lot by doing these projects and I'm enjoying them as they're of interest to me.
In Trad group and Orchestra we're starting the Christmas carols for the Carol Service. Spirits are high and everyone is looking forward to that special time of year. Only 5 weeks and 4 days! 

The name's Bond...James Bond.

Last Thursday, we were brought to the Odeon Cinema in Naas for our Work Experience workshop with Orla from the Student Enterprise Board. At half ten we were all confused as Orla had not shown up yet.. we then got the news that Orla was sick and couldn't make it. To our surprise, the Odeon cinema allowed us to watch Skyfall - The new bond movie. When this news was revealed the atmosphere certainly lifted in the audience. It was so exciting. The movie was an amazing action packed one and we were all delighted that we had the opportunity to see it together.

Zombies...boooooo

Halloween Dress Up Day

Today, we had our annual dress up day. There was an unforgettable atmosphere in the school hallways as students dressed up as many different Halloween characters. From witches to harry potter characters! Two members were voted to represent each class for the fashion show in the hall. Luckily, Zoe and I were chosen!
Smiles were on our faces as we both won out of TY. Lots of sweets for us! Everyone in school who participated in dressing up all looked amazing and put in a lot of effort. The money donated from today goes to a charity so this whole dress up day is for a good cause, leaving unforgettable memories with everyone.

Mad Music Classes

As music is one of my favourite subjects, I've been enjoying music a lot this year. Our teacher has been teaching our class guitar. I like this as I already play guitar so I can help teach others. We're also singing the song, "Say a Little Prayer For You" by Arethra Franklin. We're all really enjoying this, we should sing more! I wish we had music more often as we only have it once a week, and it's such an enjoyable class and an opportunity for everything to get involved and enjoy themselves.


Here's the link to the song if anyone is interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtBbyglq37E

Encouraging Cycling

So this morning we had a talk off a man from Kildare County Council on cycling. He highlighted the positive benefits of cycling, and reasons why to cycle to school. It was pretty convincing. He showed us different videos and a Powerpoint presentation on cycling. In the presentation there was statistics on cycling, and it showed that Salesian's college (The boys school in Celbridge) have the most amount of people cycling to school in Kildare! Our school has a green flag in Transport, and in order to maintain this more people have to walk or cycle to school. So this talk was a great encouragement for all of us. Kildare County Council are also giving free bicycles to four lucky Transition Year students. It is very kind of them. :)

Shannon's News

I recorded my news today

What us TY's are getting up to so far...

Transition Year is a great opportunity to focus on things you usually wouldn't have the opportunity to do in other years. In each subject, we've been getting up to a lot so far...

Irish: In Irish we're doing presentation's about life in school, our area, sport in our school and so on! Standing up in front of my class and present something I wrote myself was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I overcame it and its really not as bad as I thought it was. We're also learning about different careers and what people do. 

English: For the first few weeks, we did a module on Film Studies. It was like what we covered in the Junior Cert, but more expanded. We read an inspirational speech by Nelson Mandela which included the line "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond imagination". I really enjoyed that speech. We're now on debating. I'm really enjoying Transition Year English so far.

Maths: We're working on simultaneous equations and algebra, which I've always found slightly difficult.. but I'm beginning to get my head around them all!  Last week our Maths teacher assigned us a project on a famous mathematician. I'm looking forward to get cracking with that.

Spanish: In Spanish we've done a lot on describing movies, and talking about going to the cinema. My Spanish vocabulary has expanded a lot already. We wrote a paragraph in Spanish on our favourite movies. Mine of course, was "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days". We typed these out and our teacher is pinning these up on the walls in the classroom.

History: So far this year we've been focussing on the government, and what the government does. I have a different History teacher this year and I'm beginning to look at History differently. It's really interesting!

Geography: We've spent the last few classes in the computer room working on our, "Trip Around The World" project. There's a lot to do in it, but it's really fun and interesting. I'm learning a lot about countries that I never would have known.

Home Ec/Art: We're still working hard at our Junk Kouture projects. We have a whole box, of about five hundred crisp packets cut up into shreds which we're sticking on our outfit. Never knew designing an outfit would take this amount of time and effort. The result at the end will make it all worth it.

Music: Our class is learning how to play the guitar. I think it's amazing that more girl's are learning how to play, because it's such a great instrument. I love music!

Technology: In the first week or two, we learned how to use the technology instruments and learned about the techniques needed by making a keyring out of plastic. We're currently making a clock.. it's slightly harder than the keyring.

Science: We've been doing a Nanotechnology module with Ms.O'C. It's been so interesting! We're changing teacher next week to do another module. We also have to get started on our Sci-Fest projects.

Religion: We did projects on the 2015 World Millenium Goals. I had Goal 4. We've watched "Educating Essex" as part as anti-bullying week to highlight the damage that bullying can do to someone emotionally. We're watching "The Secret Millionare" at the moment. This shows us all about the poverty in Ireland. 

Overall, we're doing so much work in Transition Year. We're learning a lot, and having fun along the way. I hope the rest of Transition Year is as enjoyable as it has been so far :)

The Journey of TY so far in pictures..

 

Anti Bullying Week

We're certainly ending Anti-Bullying Week on a high as we have our fun walk today! The hallways in school are so colourful with pinks, purples,greens,yellows,blues and blacks. My class and I are doing lego. I spent all of yesterday evening designing my yellow lego box.. so worth it.
We're dancing to "Hey Ya" by Outkast. It's a really feel good, upbeat tune which everyone will love. I'm really excited for this afternoon. My class, Síocháin were chosen to stand at different points on the fun walk route to help guide the students. I have never done this before so I'm looking forward to it.
Yet again I had another eventful week in Transition Year. My second Wednesday of work experience was great. I'm getting an idea of what college is like as I'm doing Work Experience in NUI Maynooth Chemistry labs. It's really fun :)
On Thursday we had our school mass to open the school year. It was the first service that the whole school has been together for this year. I had a lot of fun singing as I was in the choir. All the hard work paid off. Fr.Kevin said a great mass and everyone had a lovely time. 
I'm so excited to see everyone's dance this afternoon. 


Since it's anti-bullying week, I might as well leave you all with a nice quote I found...
"To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks, but a special mind that listens."

Becoming Entrepreneurs!

At nine o'clock this morning, Transition Years headed off on yet again. We went to a Mini Company workshop in "Odeon Theatre" in Naas. What a pleasant way to end a fantastic week. St.Wolstans along with three other schools were greeted by Orla and we were given a fabulous workshop by her. After today I feel a lot more eager and excited to begin Mini Company. An inspiring group from another school had already created their product. 
I hope my group and I come up with a successful idea for Mini Company, as the prizes seem unbelievable! The top prize is a trip abroad to a city in Europe... who wouldn't love that?! On the way back from Naas our bus driver kindly stopped off at Lidl and let all of us TYs buy some sweets for the rest of the trip. I was looking forward to going back to school as we had Junk Kouture and now IT. Loving TY so far... I'm having so much fun already. I can't wait for what else is in store :)

Memories that will last a lifetime.. Carlingford 2012

The thoughts of going to Carlingford had waking up at 6.am in the morning so easy! All of Transition Year met at Spar at 7am. Spirits were high as we were all really excited for this highly anticipated trip. The buses came and within no time we arrived in the enchanting town of Carlingford, Louth. 

          We were split up into our groups and met our instructors. They were ever so friendly and up for a bit of craic. Our first activity was Laser in the forest. My group and I got changed into army suits and we each got a laser gun each. I was on the blue team and my code name was "Romeo 001". I had a fantastic time. After lunch we then went Kayaking. Zoe and I shared a kayak. It was a lot of hard work trying to get the kayak to move, but it was certainly worth it. When we got back to the centre, dinner was served. Our last activity of the day was "Night line". All of us TY students were blindfolded in the forest in the dark. Sounds scary right..? We had to follow the ropes around the forest, whilst the instructors attempted to scare the living daylights out of us by pouring water on us and screaming. It was hilarious to say the least!

 Time for Chinese food! The staff at Chinese restaurant must've been fairly surprised when a bunch of TY students suddenly appeared in their take away to order food! We ate our food in the common room in the centre..and it was time for bed.

     There was twelve girls in the room where I stayed. We stayed up chatting for a good while, and bonded quite a lot. We were up early the next morning for lots of more exciting activities.

We were woken up at 8am. We had breakfast then we were off for our activites. We did High Ropes and Zorbing that morning. I was feeling fearless so I attempted to face my major fear of heights. It didn't go down to well when I started crying when I was about two metres up in the air. Our instructor Paddy came to my rescue and I was soon laughing over the whole incident. Some girls were up metres in the air, I couldn't believe how daring and fearless they were. After, we did Zorbing. I can honestly say, I have never laughed so much in my life. I discovered that rolling down a hill in a giant ball can bring great happiness to someone! 

Later on that afternoon we did team challange's. We then headed home on the bus and we were back in Celbridge for 7pm on Tuesday evening. I had one of the best times of my life in Carlingford, and I'm glad that I got to share it with such great girls!

Below is the site to the adventure centre, I would definitely recommend it. http://www.carlingfordadventure.com/

 

Here's a few pictures from the fantastic trip...

Carlingford here we come!

So we all got our results on Wednesday morning... The atmosphere in the hall was indescribable as we all waited for our results. The teachers came along with the envelopes and we all stood in our original class groups. I was going to wait until I got home, but the anxiety was killing me! As I heard the screams of happiness in the hall from the girls who opened their results, I couldn't help but open mine. Overall, I was happy with my results and celebration was in order!        Now with all of that out of the way, we have Carlingford to look forward to. Mrs. L gave us all a list of what to bring with us, so I will begin packing soon. I am so excited to say the least. Usually, I would dread the horrid thoughts of waking up at 6am, but I'm actually delighted. I've heard a lot of stories about Carlingford from last years TY students, and I can't wait to make my own memories with my friends in Carlingford. Excitement is an understatement of how I feel now! 

Junior Cert Results

I Can't believe September the 12th has arrived! It seemed so far away when we were doing the Junior Cert, but I can easily say that time has flown by since then. This time in three hours, all of last years Third Year students will be handed an envelope which will show how hard we have worked in school over the past three years...

To be honest, I'm really excited as I've awaited this day for months! To finally know my results, but I'm also really nervous. I hope I'm happy with my results as I did work quite hard over the past three years. I'm so excited!

Musical legend Bob Marley once said, "The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory". This is true, the harder you work, the more you will achieve :) 

Got that Friday Feeling!

Can't believe we're in Transition Year a week and a day already! This week has certainly been one to remember... in particular Wednesday. Wednesday was jam packed with three workshops. A Social Development workshop, a workshop on Etiquette and last but not least a "Positive Party" in the library. They were all great fun, and I can feel all the girls in my class becoming closer already!
       In the Etiquette workshop, we learned a lot about personal hygiene and lots of make up tips! They also advised us how to wear our make up for work experience. In the Positive Party we reminisced on positive and happy memories and danced to music!
      We have began our projects in many subjects, such as Home Economics, Geography and Religion. These projects are interesting ones, and I'm quite eager to get cracking on them. 
 Nerves are rising as our Junior Cert results are on Wednesday. I have anticipated this for months, and I can't believe its nearly here...
Excitement and fun are two words I would use to describe my experience of TY so far. We have many things to look forward to this year, such as Carlingford, work experience, Junk Kouture, Young Scientist.. the list is endless!
 Although we do a lot of projects and learn a lot in Transition Year, I feel much more relaxed than last year and I have more time after school to practice music and spend time with my friends.
        So far TY is great and I'm really looking forward to what's in store for the next year.

Here's a link to positive parties.. I would really recommend it as we all had an amazing time. http://positiveparties.com/

BT Young Scientist

 The BT Young Scientist is a competition which is held every year to showcase the talent of all secondary school students in Ireland. As Science is one of my favourite subjects, I'm super excited about entering! 
       For the next few weeks in science class we'll be doing a lot of work on this project in our groups. It will definitely be worth it if we get through! If not, there's another science exhibition that we get to take part in - Scifest. Right now I'm on the internet trying to come up with a good idea for our project.

 My brother got through to the Young Scientist last year, and he said it was an amazing experience, so it'd be a great opportunity! 

  

A New Beginning

I've been looking forward to Transition Year since the beginning of Third Year...I can't believe its finally here! Its a big change, new teachers, new subjects and new friends. It's a good change though. I've been in TY two days, and already I've made a lot of new friends. 

      The atmosphere in TY is great, everyone is excited and up for a chat. All my teachers have given us an introductory talk to all the subjects, and what's in store for the rest of the year. We've been assigned a project already - Junk Kouture. This is when you collect recyclable goods, or "junk" and create them into something fashionable and eye catching to be in the chance of winning a great prize. Can't wait to begin this!

So far I'm liking TY... there's a lot to look forward to in the next few months :)