Happy Holly-Days!

Today we went into town to raise money for the ISPCC by selling the ISPCC's famous holly badges. First, we went into the hall where Susan and Emma gave us our collection boxes and told us where we had to go. They also told us that the money would go towards the ISPCC's Childline service. We then went off wearing our Santa hats to our designated areas. Aine, Jessie and I went to stand outside the Gaiety Theatre. It was really cold but it was for a great cause and we collected way more money than we had expected to! 

On Sunday, the choir sang Christmas Carols at the Christmas fair at Castletown House. We sang carols for about an hour and some of the fifth years performed pieces that they had been working on in music class. Afterwards we got crepes from a stall at the fair!

 Doing all of this Christmassy stuff has definitely got me even more excited for Christmas! 

Below is one of the Christmas songs that the choir sang. :-) 

                                                                                                                                                     

CJFM

On Saturday, we did a flashmob to promote our school's musical, Calamity Jane! We met up in secret, wearing our checked shirts, before going to the church where lots of people had gathered to see the Christmas lights being turned on. We handed out flyers about the musical until the music started. We then ran into our positions and began our dance. It went really well and afterwards, my friends and I stayed in the village to watch the Christmas lights being switched on. :-) 

Whip Crack Away!

On Friday evening, the launch of our school's musical, Calamity Jane, was held in the Celbridge Manor House Hotel. I sang in the choir at the start. The cast of the musical then performed some of the songs in the play. They were really good, it was obvious that a lot of hard work and practise has already been put into the musical. The launch was very successful. Lots of people showed up and bought tickets. We were all pretty tired afterwards but it was worth it! 

This is one of the songs that was performed at the launch, enjoy! :-)

Road Safety Roadshow!

On Thursday, we went to a Road Safety Roadshow that was held in Punchestown. As soon as we got our wristbands we were free to look around the exhibition that had been set up on one side of the hall. There were lots of different stalls there, such as the Kildare County Fire Service stall. We also got lots of free stuff which was good.

After about two hours, we went into the other part of the hall for the road safety show. At the start of the show, a policeman from New York spoke about the NYPD. He was very funny. After that it got pretty serious. We watched lots of videos about road safety and we saw the consequences of not driving safely. It's safe to say I'll definitely never forget to wear my seat belt again. The show was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. Even though the Roadshow ended at one o'clock, we got to go home as soon as we got back to the school because we had a half day. :-)

Maths Madness

On Wednesday, we went to a new Project Maths trail in Rathbeggan Lakes, Co Meath. We were put into groups to solve lots of different maths problems, such as figuring out the height of the zipline pole and finding out the area of certain places in the grounds. It was really really cold but we still had fun doing the tasks, and we got to wear our wellies which is always a bonus! My group didn't win a family pass, but it would have been nice to win because there is lots of other cool stuff to do there like kayaking and abseiling. 

On the way home we went to Blanchardstown Shopping Centre for lunch. When we were finished we got to look around the shops until it was time to get back on the bus. We had a really good day and I would definitely recommend the maths trail to students who are doing the new Project Maths course. :-)

This is a map of the Rathbeggan Lakes Centre

Fundraising Friday!

Last Friday, all TY and fifth year students in our school had a massive bake sale in aid of the people in the Philippines whose lives are in danger after the disastrous Typhoon Haiyan. Everyone baked as much cakes, brownies, cookies etc as they could and loads of us helped to

sell them all at lunch time. Our bake sale turned out to be a huge success. By the end of lunch, there was nothing left to sell! We raised a total of over €1,500! All of the money raised will be given to UNICEF's "Saving Childrens' Lives" appeal. 

Schools Across Borders Conference

On Thursday we went to City West Hotel for the School's Across Borders Global Citizens Student Conference. There were students from six other schools there. 

When we arrived, Darren Irvine gave us a quick introduction. Then, about four students from each class made a presentation on the progress they had made so far. Aoife B, Ailbhe, Roisin and Karen presented from our class. After this, we were split into different groups with people from different schools to discuss the presentations. I was in group "Justice". Next, a drama group from Antrim called "Quadrangle" performed a play for us. It was called "Burma for One". It was a really effective play about an Irish girl who wanted to raise awareness about what was going on in Burma. We then got to meet some students from Palestine and Burma. 

After lunch, people who work for different NGOs, such as Trócaire and Amnesty International, came to talk to us and briefly explained the work of their NGOs. We then split up and half of us got to go to a different room for an activity fair. I spent most of my time at the graffiti wall activity. When we got back, people from each of the NGOs had set up a stall around the room where they spoke more about their organisation. My group only had time to visit one of the stalls. I went to the Amnesty International Stall. A man called Dan spoke to us about Human Rights, it was really interesting. 

This conference was an opportunity for students from each school to get together and share their ideas and thoughts about the project. Before the conference, I was still confused about the project and what we are trying to achieve but now I have a better understanding of what we are doing. :-)

IBC Contest!

Over the October Midterm Eilis, Ciara, Shauna, Melissa and I got a letter from Beaver Ireland asking us to compete in an online computing competition called the Irish Beaver Computing Contest. On Friday, Mrs L brought us to the library and helped us to log in. We had 45 minutes to complete 15 questions. It was really nerve-wrecking because there was a clock in the corner telling us how much time we had left! The questions were actually fun to complete because it was kind of like a computer game. We will get our results in the next few weeks. :-) 

Trip to Town

On Thursday, our English teachers brought us into town for a WB Yeats themed trip. When we arrived, we split into our class groups before beginning our first tour. 

 A Lunula

One of the Bog Bodies

First, we went into the National Museum with Mr K. Our tour guide showed us lots of artefacts from the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. My favourite artefacts were the lunulae that we saw. They were thin, golden pieces of jewellery that were worn at the start of the Bronze Age. It was interesting comparing them to the jewellery we wear today. Our tour guide then brought us to see the Bog Bodies. I found them really interesting but also pretty creepy. I was surprised by how much our tour guide could tell us about the lifestyles of the people who were found in the bog, just by examining their bodies. 

Dublin Lockout Exhibition

Our tour of the museum finished a few minutes earlier so Mr K brought us to see a 1913 Lockout exhibition. We studied the Lockout in history so it was good to get some more information on it. 

Next, we went to the National Library to see the WB Yeats exhibition with Ms O'R, our English teacher. She gave us a worksheet with lots of questions to answer about Yeats and his life as a poet, so we were busy filling it out for the hour that we were there. The exhibition was really cool. We got to read lots of Yeats' poems and there was a small room set up at the back that was like the backstage area in the Abbey Theatre.

Yeats Exhibit

When we were finished in the National Library, we had about two hours for lunch on Grafton Street. It was really fun. My friends and I had lunch in Mc Donalds. When we were finished eating, we went to look around some of the shops. 

The Disney Shop!

After lunch, we went to the National Art Gallery. First, our tour guide showed us some of Jack B Yeats' artwork. One of his paintings that we saw was called "The Liffey Swim". She then brought us on to see another painting called "The Opening of the Sixth Seal" by an artist called Francis Danby. Danby was trying to portray the end of the world. Next, we saw some of Picasso's paintings. He used a technique called cubism. This was my favourite part of the trip and now I really want to do art for my Leaving Cert!

The Opening of the Sixth Seal

The Liffey Swim

Busy Bees!

Whoever told me that TY is a doss year must have been joking. Since we came back after midterm, we've been so so busy with projects, trips, work experience etc.

We're still working on loads of projects such as Junk Kouture, Mini Company and our Sci Fest project. We are also doing an Irish project on our Family Tree, a geography project on Ireland's Islands and our Schools Across Borders project for religion. We're making clocks in technology. We had a debate in English about social networking and all of the TY maths classes are working on a maths dictionary to help students in our school with the new Project Maths course. We have also written a French essay on Coco Chanel and a history essay on the 1913 Lockout. 

I am still doing work experience at the Liffey Champion newspaper every Wednesday with Jessica. It's going really well and three of the stories that I have written have been printed. I'm definitely considering becoming a journalist when I leave school! It's pretty tiring but I love it, and I'll be sad to leave in two week's time.

Naas General Hosptial

We have been going on a trip at least once a week! We went to Tallaght IT to see a science show and today we went into town for an English trip about WB Yeats. I have also been to some talks in Naas General Hospital that were really interesting. If I eat any more Mc Donald's for lunch I'll probably become terminally ill. Our teachers also have lots of trips planned for us. Next week, we are going on a religion trip to City West and we will be going bowling on the 19th of December.

I joined the St Raphael's Friendship Club at the start of the year and I'm really happy I did. We go to St Raphael's every three weeks to visit the service users for about an hour. We talk to them, play games, and do arts and crafts with them. It's so much fun and I have made friends with a few girls from my school in different years that I had never spoken to before. 

This is the art we did on the open day!

The open day for incoming first years was held last Saturday. Jessie, Niamh and I went in to help out in the art room with Mr H. We did lots of drawing and I worked on my leaf drawing that we are doing in art. Some of the parents gave me really nice compliments on my work which made me really happy. When the open day was finished, we had a party in the music room!

In choir, we're already doing lots of practise for the Wesley Choir Competition. We are singing a song from Phantom of the Opera called "Think of Me". I am a Soprano 2. Our line is pretty tricky but we're getting better! Next week, we are going to start learning Christmas Carols, I'm so excited! Below is part of the song that we will be singing. :-) 

Xtraordinary Science

As part of science week, our science teachers took us to Tallaght IT to see a show called Xtraordinary Science. The show was performed by a man called James Soper, who had a great British accent. When we first got there, we were pretty early, so one of the lecturers showed us around the room where they make bacteria. It didn't smell too good but it was pretty interesting!

The show itself was really cool. I was sitting in the front row so I got a really good view of all the exciting experiments that he was doing (I was terrified that he would make me go up and do a demonstration though, especially because there were TY students from another school there!). He did loads of experiments. My favourite experiment was when he popped a balloon full of hydrogen, producing a massive bang.. I got such a fright and Niamh screamed! 

When the show was over, we got to go to Liffey Valley for lunch. We had Mc Donald's (surprise surprise!). When we were finished eating, we walked around Liffey Valley and looked in some of the shops until we had to go back home on the bus. I had a really good day and I learned lots of interesting things that I never knew before. :-) 

Zumba!

On Thursday, a woman called Gráinne came in to do Zumba with us. Zumba is a dance fitness programme. Our year had to be split in half. I was with the rest of my class and half of class Tabei. We all really really enjoyed Zumba and some of us are even going to join a Zumba class outside of school. 

We are going to be doing Zumba every Thursday for the next six weeks. Unfortunately, we won't be here for our next class because we'll be away on an english trip, but we get to do Zumba on Friday instead. I can't wait! :-)

Tons of Talks!

This week, myself and some other TYs went to Naas General Hospital to attend talks that were given by some of the doctors and nurses there. I went to two of the talks. Each talk lasted about two hours and there were TY students from other schools in Kildare there too.

Nursing

On Monday, I went to a talk on Nursing. The talk went on from eleven o'clock to one o'clock.  During the talk, different nurses who specialize in different types of nursing also came in to talk to us. There was a general nurse, a pediatric nurse (a nurse who works with children), a a nurse who works with people who abuse drugs and alcohol, and a nurse who works in palliative care. They spoke to us about what they like and dislike about their job. Most of the nurses said that helping people to get better is a very rewarding part of their job, but they said that seeing people die can be very hard. They also told us what universities do nursing courses and how many points we would need to get in our Leaving Cert. I found this talk really interesting.

Physiotherapy 

I also went to a talk on Physiotherapy on Tuesday with about ten other girls from TY. There were two physiotherapists talking to us. They told us about what being a physiotherapist involves. They also told us what universities do physiotherapy courses and how many points we would need to get in our Leaving Cert. I was surprised because I didn't realise how much work physiotherapists do. When the talk was finished, we were allowed to go up and look at all of the equipment that physiotherapists use and they showed us how to use it. It was really fun. 

I'm really glad that I went to the talks because I learned lots of information about nursing and physiotherapy that I didn't know before. We also got to go to Mc Donald's in Naas afterwards! :-)

Voy a ir a Barcelona!

I'M GOING TO BARCELONA! (Aoife Byrne and Roisín helped me with my Spanish hehe).

After the draw for the trip was held last Friday, I was fifth on the reserved list. I was really glad that my name got called out but I didn't think I'd actually get to go! When I was having lunch at work experience on Wednesday, my mam rang me to tell me that I had been offered a place! I was delighted to say the least!

Our trip will be for four days during the Easter break. We will get to do lots of sight-seeing and on the third day, we're going to Port Aventura. I'm so excited!

Only 170 days to go ;-)

WE DID IT

Yesterday, I went to do a charity walk for the Marie Keatinge Foundation in Glendalough,Wicklow with a few other girls in TY and fifth year. We got up really early for the long drive down and the walk started at 11 o'clock. It was much harder than I expected it to be! The first half of the walk was all uphill and we had to take a lot of breaks. We walked up so high that our ears popped! When we got up to the very top, it started lashing rain. We got soaked! The wind was also very strong and at one point, we thought the wind was going to blow us over the edge of the mountain. Luckily, the rain started to stop as we went back down. After the walk we changed into dry clothes and got hot chocolate from the shop.

In total, we walked about 7 kilometers (but it felt like 17 kilometers) and we are still collecting money. I was really tired after the walk but I'm glad I did it as it was for a very good cause. :-)

The scenery on the walk was really pretty!

We got caps :)

Projects!

This is the PowerPoint that Ailbhe, Jessie and I made for our religion project on the Millenium Development Goals. We did our project on the fifth goal, Improve Maternal Health. When we were finished, we had to present the PowerPoint to our class. The aim of our project was to become more informed on the Millenium Development Goals and to find out how we can contribute to achieving the goals. :-)

Millennium development goals project religion from katiedonaghy


This is another PowerPoint that I did for my English project on film studies. I had to pick a scene from my favourite movie and write about the different film techniques used throughout the scene. When I was finished, I had to present my project to my class. :-)

English powerpoint film studies from katiedonaghy

Fun Walk 2013!

On Friday, we had our annual Fun Walk. Every year, as part of Friendship Week, each class must prepare a routine that encourages friendship and anti-bullying. On the day of the Fun Walk, each class must then perform their routine for the rest of the school out on the tennis courts, and a winning class is picked from each year group. 

Our duck costumes!

This year, the colour for TY's was yellow, so my class decided to dress up as ducks. Our tutor, Ms O'R, dressed up as the Mother duck and Lauren Mc dressed up as the Ugly duckling. We had a lot of fun practising our dance and making our costumes! In our performance, all of the ducks were excluding the Ugly duckling at a party, but soon the Mother duck helped us to see that what we were doing was wrong and we became friends with the Ugly duckling. I thought I would be nervous when we were performing, but I actually really enjoyed it!

After our performance, we got to watch the rest of the classes, they were all really good! I was one of the TY's who had volunteered to stand at different points along the route of the walk and make sure that everyone knew what way they were going. There were six of us standing around the same place and we had a good laugh.

When the walk was over, we all went back to the school and got a drink. The prefects put on music and we danced for a while before we went home. I really enjoyed the Fun Walk and we raised lots of money for charities such as the Crumlin Hospital Diabetes Unit. 

This morning we found out that Cornaro were the winning class from TY! We were all delighted that we won and had a party in english class with Ms O'Reilly to celebrate. 

This is a small part of the video that inspired my class' idea.  :-)

Road Safety Week

As part of Road Safety week, a man called Pat Mc Neely came in to do the Drive 4 Life road safety talk with us on Tuesday.  He spoke to us about the main causes of car crashes in Ireland and he told us about the impacts of car accidents on peoples' lives. Although it was very sad, I thought the talk was really good because it showed us just how careful we have to be on the road when we start driving. The talk was sponsored by Kildare Road Safety officer, Declan Keogh, who also came in to visit us. 

By lunchtime, after watching lots of very sad videos, we were all feeling pretty depressed. So to lighten the mood, we all did the RSA theory test. I failed! I got 32 out of 40 and you need to get 35 or more to pass. 

I think that after that talk, we will all be really safe and responsible drivers. :-)  

An Abundance of Selfies

Yesterday, we went on a trip to the Pearse Museum in Rathfarnam. The Museum is dedicated to Patrick Pearse, who was an Irish teacher and one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. First, we went into the nature room and one of the tour guides told us about Pearse's love for nature. Then she took us out into the gardens of the building and told us about all of the trees and other plants there. The gardens were really nice. My favourite tree was the Crimson King because the leaves were really pretty.

After our break, we watched a short film about the history of the school that Pearse set up, St Enda's. It was very interesting. Our tour guide then brought us on a tour of the actual school. The school was also Pearse's home. I thought it was really beautiful. We also got to watch a college student's photo shoot for a portfolio which was really cool. 

When we were finished our tour and our lunch, we all went out into the gardens and made a video with our teachers, Mrs L, Ms O'C and Ms B.

I really enjoyed our trip and I had lots of fun. :-)

Pearse's Office

Ailbhe's new friend

Cornettos!

Siyahamba!

Even though I can't sing to save my life, I decided to join the choir with some of my friends. We have meetings every Monday for an hour after school. We sang at the school mass last Friday. I was really nervous when we first started singing, but as the mass went on I started to enjoy myself a bit more. So far, I think it's really fun and all of the girls in choir are so nice. Below is a video of my favourite song, Siyahamba (still can't pronounce all of the words).    :-) 

Work Experience Worries

Tomorrow is my first day of work experience, and to say I'm nervous is an understatement. I am going to the Liffey Champion newspaper in Leixlip. I'm particularly anxious because Wednesday is the day that the Liffey Champion goes to print, everyone working there will be extremely busy, and to quote the editor, I'll be "thrown in the deep end". 

Despite the nerves, I'm still really excited about starting work experience. I have always been interested in becoming a journalist and I can't wait to see what it's like. This morning I also found out that I'll be doing work experience with another girl from my year, which has definitely made the whole thing a little less scary! 

I start working tomorrow at nine o'clock and don't finish until five. I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing yet but I do know that I'll get a chance to write articles and some might actually be published (only if they're good enough!).

I really hope that after my first day I won't be as nervous and I'll enjoy going out for work experience. :-)

Can't Spell Party Without a TY!

Last Wednesday was our last day of workshops before work experience starts. Our first workshop was with Brenda and Kate from BK Inniu. At the start of this workshop we had to walk down a red carpet while balancing our journals on our heads. I was really bad at it and I kept dropping my journal. They also showed us how to find out our face shape and taught us how to apply make up properly. 

After break, we had a workshop with Mr C and Ms H about work experience. They told us what we should wear and taught us how to greet our employers. They also told us about dangers in the workplace. I really liked this workshop and now I don't feel as nervous about my first day of work experience.

Our last workshop was Positive Parties with Denise. As always, it was a lot of fun. We got to eat sweets and dance. Marketa got to put on a banana costume! We learned about building rapport, which is all about building relationships with people. It was really fun, but I had to leave early to go to a hockey match.

I'm really sad that we haven't got any workshops for a few weeks, but I'm excited to start work experience. :-)

Budding Entrepreneurs

On Thursday, we went to the Moat Theatre in Naas for a mini-company talk. We sat in the theatre with TY students from other schools while a woman from the Kildare County Enterprise Board spoke to us about our mini-company projects. She told us more about the project and explained the marking scheme. She also gave us useful tips on how to set up our business and how to think of good ideas. During the talk, we also had to get into groups. Each group had to come up with a new type of pen. We then had to decide how to market our pen. When we were finished, two people from each group got up to speak about their ideas. I was really surprised by the amount of amazing ideas that each group had thought of. When the talk was over, our mini-company teachers let us go to Mc Donalds! :-)

Workshop Wednesday Part II

The morning after our action-packed two days in Carlingford, I dragged myself out of bed and into school for our second day of workshops. Our first workshop was laughter yoga with Denise from Positive Parties. We put on funny masks and wigs. Unfortunately it didn't work as well as it was supposed to as we were all still very tired, but it was still fun. 

Next, we went to a workshop with Brenda and Kate from BK Inniu. They taught us how to walk properly in heels, how to dress appropriately for interviews and how to care for our nails. They also showed us a very sad but effective video about body image. This was my favourite wokshop of the day. 

For our last workshop, Gilíosa came back to teach us how to do head massages. This time, I was partners with Holly. The massage she gave me was so nice that I fell asleep! 

I really liked these workshops and I am looking forward to

our workshops next Wednesday. :-)

Carlingford 2013!

On Monday, we all got up really early to get our bus to Carlingford, Louth. Although it didn't seem like it at 6.30 in the morning, it was definitely worth the early start! When we got there, we were split into two groups. My group went to do the 'Carlingford Challenge', which was a series of team building challenges. This was a lot of fun and my team was one of the teams that won. After lunch, we changed into camouflage suits and went into the forest for our second activity, laser tag. We were given special guns and had to shoot the other team. This was by far one of my favourite activities. We were nearly having too much fun to realise that Mr K was cheating the whole time!

That evening, we went back into the forest for a blind-folded walk. I was terrified because one of the instructors kept growling in my ear! When we got back, we had some free time and Mrs L let us go to the Chinese. After we ate, we went back to our room and ate some more (no surprise there...). Sharing a room with my friends was great, Aine K and I made a fort out of our bunk bed! Even though we planned to stay awake all night, we struggled to keep our eyes open past 12 o'clock after our busy day.

The next morning we got up early for our next activity, kayaking. It was freezing! No amount of singing about Father Abraham and his seven sons could warm us up. Despite the cold, this was another one of my favourite activities. We kayaked across to a cave and I put my head under a waterfall that would supposedly give me eternal life. On the way back, we went on a massive water trampoline. It was so much fun, but I was so cold that all i could think about was going back and changing into warm, dry clothes.

After lunch, we did three activities; body zorbing, 'Communication Breakdown' and archery. In 'Communication Breakdown' we all had to help each other to complete a maze in the dark. I got to learn a completely new skill when we did archery and I surprised myself when I hit the bullseye three times in a row! Body zorbing was my favourite out of the three. After getting myself stuck upside down numerous times, I think I have perfected my somersault. 

I really really enjoyed our trip to Carlingford, but I wish we could have stayed longer. The instructors were very friendly and I got to know girls in my year who I had barely spoken to before.  :-) 

En Route to Castletown

Last Thursday, our history teachers took us out for a tour of Castletown House. We were delighted when we found out we didn't have to walk down, particularly because we were all exhausted after our Results celebrations the night before. I think that was the first time that I was glad to see it was raining!

When we got there, we split into our class groups for our tour. Our tour guide was lovely and she told us lots of interesting stories about the history of Castletown House. She even told us about how she can sometimes feel the presence of spirits in the house! After the tour we stood on the steps outside the house and took a photo. I really enjoyed our trip to Castletown. :-)

I'm taller than Jessie, just saying

Workshop Wednesday!

Last Wesnesday I got a break from classes and spent the day doing different workshops with my class. Not only did I have lots of fun, but I got to learn some new skills and I also learned a lot about myself.

During our first workshop, a woman called Gilíosa taught us how to do shoulder massages. I was partners with Jessie and, it has to be said, she's a great masseuse! Although it seemed unimportant at first, learning this skill actually turned out to be very useful. She also taught us about overcoming stress, which will come in very handy during exam years.

Feeling very relaxed and quite drowsy after our massages, we moved on to our second workshop, Positive Parties, with a woman called Denise. She gave us tips on how to stay positive while we had a party. We also danced, sang, played with balloons and, most importantly, ate sweets! This was, by far, my favourite workshop of the day because I had a lot of fun.

CORNARO

Lastly, we went to Personality Profiling with a man called Austin. He taught us about self-confidence and about interacting with others. I found this very interesting, but I found it quite difficult to concentrate because I was being attacked by wasps.

Unfortunately we don't have any workshops this Wednesday as we're getting our results (I'm really nervous!), but at least we have our trip to Carlingford to look forward to! :-)

And TY Begins!

Coming to the end of my first week back at school, I am beginning to realise that my summer holidays are well and truly over. While I'm going to miss the surprisingly warm weather and long summer evenings, I am excited to get my Transition Year started. 

                    

As a TY student, I  get to study subjects that I have never studied before, like Technology and Home Ec. Both subjects are very different to what I am used to and can be quite daunting, but are fun all the same. I have already started lots of projects, such as Junk Kouture, Mini Company and Sci Fest.

Before my first day back, I was nervous to find out what my new class would be like. However, after one day, I realised I had nothing to worry about. My class is called Cornaro, but we prefer to call ourselves "Cornetto". It was named after the first woman in the world to get a degree, Elena Cornaro. I have already made lots of new friends in my class and am looking forward to spending the rest of my TY year with them. :-)