Have a little sing song...

Firstly I'm sorry it has been two weeks since my last post I was absent last week and so had nothing TY to blog about.

This week has been a busy one in the wonderful land of TY, not that that is anything new. We began the week with much discussion on what we were going to do in each of our subjects for our end of TY Night on the 27th of May. By the looks of it, it will be a night of projects, drama and music.
In English we will all be performing some of our own written plays which are based on classic fairy tales. We have written both alternate endings to the tales, as well as totally re-writing them altogether.
In French, my own personal project will be on the wines and cheeses of France. This will include the top ten wines and cheeses, along with where they can be found in Ireland for purchase. I also will include how wine and cheese is produced in France, along with what wines go with what foods.

For our other subjects we are not 100% decided on what we will be doing to showcase our years work. For music though, we are going to do a TY group performance of Pompeii by Bastille. Speaking of music, we have recently been working on an entry for an Irish competition in which we must write a song in Irish based on an Irish proverb or "seanfhocal" as it is in Irish. A group of four girls wrote our song based on the proverb "Níl saoi gan locht" which basically means, "nobody's perfect". They then put it to the music of "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by the Script. It sounds amazing and the lyrics are great, we recorded it both on video, and for audio to be submitted next week. (Hope we do well!)

In other unrelated random TY news, the frenzy has begun. With news quickly spreading about people and whether or not they got their subjects choices or not, people are going into mad panic and worrying like crazy. We are all hoping not to get called upon.... (eeek)

Another week goes by in the wonderful land of TY....

We all arrived back on Monday refreshed after our two week break for Easter! :)

Of course we didn't. We came back in to school like zombies .... but, with excessive fatigue comes over tiredness. With over tiredness comes giddy-ness. So we were actually all very excitable. The week started off really well, with not too much work pressure.

It was a typical Monday really, apart from in Science when we got to do a cool experiment to extract DNA from a kiwi. We did this by using washing up liquid, salt, and warm water that was cooled really quickly. As we were all so tired we weren't very enthusiastic, but as we got into it and realised how cool and fun it was, we couldn't wait to see the results.
(as a quick note, I have never smelt something as fruity and yummy as kiwi mixed with green fairy liquid and salt, it was like heaven) In the end, after a few easy steps, we added ethanol and protease to break down proteins so we could simply view the DNA by itself. It was really fun, and a really interesting way to learn about DNA and its composition.

Tuesday was great too actually, with the day starting off with a double art class in which we all started to work on our puppets. We had spent many weeks completing our cassette tape celebrity portraits, so it was nice to have a change and move onto a new project. We all did sketches of how we wanted our puppet to look, and then we had to come up with what kind of person they were going to be, as we hope to do a puppet show at the end of TY for our parents. I have to be honest, I am finding it really hard to get started as I am not a very artistic...actually that is an understatement haha, but I'm sure it will look good in the end.

Also on Tuesday we made the single most delicious creations known to man. Lemon Curd Cupcakes. Now, you should be aware, that I, Lauren, and a "Lemon-a-holic". I love lemons, and I love anything with lemon flavouring, lemon icing, lemon sauce, lemon anything. Therefore these were my perfect cake. They were so good that I am definitely going to make loads more this weekend :)

Well thats all that happened so far this week in TY, yesterday was a work experience day so check out my work experience blog (linked on the right hand side) to read all about how that went.

Bye bye ~Lauren~

Singing singing and more singing!

Last night was our annual music night!!

This is the one night of the school year where St. Wolstan's Talent really gets to shine and show the parents what talent the school is hiding away in the music room. The show was a huge success and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time, with some truly incredible performances from across all years on the night. I myself wasn't even fully aware of the immense amount of talent that was present in our school, and even in my own year.

Backstage was the best part for me personally. There was such a great atmosphere, and people were jamming together and harmonising and over all it was like being in an episode of Glee! :)

We got to mingle with people from other years and meet new people and find out about their music tastes.

Overall it was amazing and I even did a little performance along with two other talented girls from my class! :) 

Well well well...

This week was another busy and fantastically fun one in the world of T.Y.

It started off nicely with a long weekend, off on Monday, then it was just one day of regular class before we were off again on the buses we have become so accustomed to during our time in TY.

All three of the TY classes wrapped up warm, donning hats, scarves, gloves and coats on Wednesday morning ready to set off on our mini pilgrimage.
We hopped on the buses and off we went to Kildare Town, where we went to a lovely little heritage centre in which we watched a really informative short film on the history of the town and what Saint Bridgid had to do with it.
After this, we were shown around some of the local "landmarks" such as statues, round towers and a cathedral.
Mr. K provided us with all the knowledge we could ever need on the history of these places along with their religious significance. The cathedral was lovely and really peaceful which was a nice break from the singing on the bus. It was absolutely freezing though. I have only today fully regained the feeling in my frozen feet. :)

After this, we headed off to the National Stud/Japanese Gardens to see two of Saint Brigids wells. This was a lovely part of the day (apart from the cold) as we got to really just enjoy the beautiful tranquillity which the entire area around the wells seemed to exude.
The wells were lovely and had flowers and tokens which people would place there so you would be remembered in their prayers.
By this time we were all getting super hungry and were frozen...so off we went to Whitewater!

After refuelling in the food court and at Starbucks, we were ready to head off to K-Bowl to end our day out on a high. Bowling was so much fun and we got to spend time with others in our class that we wouldn't usually spend that much time with. I got two strikes. Oh yes. Success.

Overall our day out was super!

In other non TY related news: Robert Sheehan is "apparently" coming back to Love/Hate after his character Darren was shot. I can tell you now, that caused a lot of excitement on Wednesday morning haha :)

Retreats and Quartets :)

Hello again ....

This week has been a really cool one, with really great revelations and new friends being made. On Wednesday we headed off to Tallaght, to the Dominican Retreat centre. None of us knew what to expect as we had never been to this place for a retreat before, and we had no clue what we were going to be doing. I think we were all slightly apprehensive when we were informed we had to get into five large groups with people we were comfortable with. I was in a group with 17 other girls.
We had a lovely leader with us and we all had to answers questions and share our own experiences of home life etc.
It was a very emotional day, there were tears and laughs, but it all in all we made new friends, and became incredibly close through the experience. We now all know within that group that if any of us ever need someone to talk to, we have someone we can trust and rely on.

On the bus on the way back, after we had all cheered up considerably and realised how good an experience the day was, I was sitting with three friends. We began singing random songs and it sounded pretty good as there were harmonies and everything. We decided that we would form an "informal quartet" for all future bus journeys...hopefully we don't annoy anyone haha

On Friday we had our annual Lá Glás (day of green) which we have every year coming up to St. Patricks Day. So, I got decked out in all my green attire as you do, literally from head to toe covered in green. As part of the day we got to watch a few films and enjoy some fun activities, which included our "informal quartet" having our first performance in front of the class. Which they seemed to enjoy which is good.. :)

The day was finished off with a wonderful Irish play performed by Class Cairdeas, which ended with some mad dancing ... all in all it was a really good week in TY.

In todays news....

Hello and welcome back to another edition of the T.Y. news ....

This week has been a little less hectic than last week. This week we had two talks, and our last day of work experience (which is so sad really).
So, our first talk, which took place yesterday was in Trinity College. It was a really interesting insight into Intel and what they do, along with why we (as young women) should consider going into a career in science. It was really lovely as the speakers were all very down to earth and spoke about what they did in a way that was easy and simple for us to understand.
We were also provided with a lovely little lunch bag which included a sandwich, an apple, popcorn and a cup of either tea or coffee.
Megan and I however were rather pre-occupied with trying to locate the "Napper Tandy" pub that was in Love/Hate. We succeeded.

The other talk we had was today, and it was a talk on the Ian Daly Swim a Mile with a Smile. Basically it was on who Ian was, why the charity swim was set up, and then some information on Barretstown and what they do to help children and teenagers along with family's, who are suffering from illness.

In other news, in English we are almost finished watching the amazing Oscar Winning film "The Artist" which is just incredible, for a silent movie it is one of the best films I think I have ever seen.
In Geography we have finished our world diseases posters, and are continuing to watch "Contagion" as part of our medical geography experience.
In Business, we are creating a new cereal, along with the box design and brand identity, and advertising campaign.

That is it I think.... stay tuned for more T.Y. updates :)

No drama queens here...well not really...

As I had said in a recent post, there were two dramas written in my class, Class Síocháin. Both dramas were performed in Mullingar Briery Gap Theatre , and as I also said in another recent post, the group which did a drama on the effects of homelessness, the prejudice we have toward homeless people in society, got through to the National Competition which was held in Cork on Friday last (1st of March)

Well well....we headed off after a busy morning of the SciFest Competition Judging, and it was a very long three and half hour journey. It was well worth it though, we sang and chatted the whole way there, and arrived at around half three, leaving very little time to get organised to go on stage.
Despite how manic, crazy, hectic, it was backstage, and also pitch dark, we managed to pull it all together (even with some minor mistakes, it's all in the recovery guys.)
We were only there about a half hour and then it was back on the bus for a four hour journey home, though we were lucky enough to have gotten to stop off at a very swish McDonalds on the way back home.

It was just the other day that we found out that our 11 person drama had won two awards

The Adjudicators Award for best atmosphere created in a production.
The Runner Up Award.

We were all so delighted that all our hard work and our effort had been recognised, and that we were able to pull an actual production together and act it so well that we received awards for it.
The experience has allowed us all to grow in confidence, to see whether acting and being on stage is for us, and to allow us to gain new skills.

Found  a few little actors in the process ;)

All work no play-wait that's not right...

Hello and welcome to another addition on the TY updates haha.

Our first week back after our much enjoyed mid-term started off with a super fun, all day workshop! Our workshop was called Jabba Jabba Jambe (link at end of post) and was provided by the wonderful David Day!
It was the most fun I have had in ages, and turns out I actually have rhythm. We all have a Jembe drum of our own, and we also got to play some really cool traditional African instruments, all percussion.
It was a great way to start back, as we got to laugh, sing, make tonnes of noise, and best of all, just be down right silly! Which was helped by the wearing of some mad looking hats.

It was also a very successful and busy week for those of the students who got through to F1 and Mini-Company. The girls of F1 team Rapido Y Furiouso got themselves a radio interview with KFM, and were absolutely fantastic!
Also, a huge congratulations to Katie Hurley who has gotten through to the Junior Spiders with her blog! (Link at end of post)

On Friday the girls set off to Lollipop day to raise money for Osophageal Cancer, off into town. Despite the cold, the shaking hands, the chattering teeth, they kept their smiles and positive attitudes. Fair play to all the girls!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Jabba Jabba Jembe: http://www.jabbajabbajembe.com/about/
Katie Hurleys Blog: http://katielouiseblogs.blogspot.ie/

Info :)

For anyone out there interested in knowing a little bit more and the mini-companies and the competition, there have been two local newspaper covering the groups that have gotten through from the school. (Williams Words and Hair Couture).
The Leinster Leader has a detailed article on Williams Words, and also The Liffey Champion has an article (written by myself) all about the companies from our school along with the winners.

Just in case you wanted to know :)

Good News !!! :D

Very exiting news for TY class Síocháin ! Remember our two groups that wrote and performed dramas at the Briery Gap Theatre?? Well well....good news, the group I was involved in, with the drama on homelessness, its effects on family life and the prejudices against homeless people, has gotten through to the national competition in Cork on the 1st of March!!!!!!!

Its all very exiting but Sci-Fest science competition is on the same day :O we are going to have to do some major planning to make it all work out for the best. But I'm sure that if we all put our heads together we will manage to sort something out! :)

SO EXITED AND PROUD!!!!!

Random Update :)

Just a quick update on what has been going on this week in the world of TY:

In Home Ec we made a delicious chicken, mushroom, onion and bacon risotto. The smell in the Home EC room was just divine and had everyone's mouth watering :)
We continued to do our regular classwork, but in terms of projects, on the run up to mid-term we seem to be getting a bit of a break.
However, we are still working away on our Fairytale adaptations for English along with projects for the Sci-Fest Science Competition (Which is all very stressful might I add, but great fun all the same).

We all know that once we get back from mid-term the projects will be unleashed once again...we may moan and groan on occasion but we love it really :) we are all looking forward to a nice break, we shall finally be able to have a lie in, which makes us...............................very happy bunnies!!

Off we go to Mullingar ;)

On Tuesday this week, we (Class Síocháin) headed off to the Briery Gap Theatre  This was because our class had split into two and in these two groups we wrote up two separate plays. Three very talented girls wrote these scripts and we had been working on them for weeks.
They were based on issues in the world today. One was on the effects of war, and the other was the effects of homelessness.
We put in so much time and effort into trying to perfect them, and even though it was quite stressful, we pulled together and produced two fantastic plays which we performed in front of the judges at the theatre :) we haven't heard back yet from the judges so we are not sure if either groups have gotten through.

The weather was absolutely horrendous the day we went, with crazy winds and awful rain. So, maybe us going down to the pound shop wasn't a wise move.
Some girls went down to the playground for our last half hour, but some of us decided to go get some treats, instead of the pound shop, we found heaven.
Mr. Simms Sweet Shop. Heaven on earth.
It had everything you could possibly imagine, it was just like an authentic old sweet shop, so, we bought a few things and decided to head back.
Then the heavens opened, without any warning whatsoever.
It was ok though, we all had plenty of sweets to help us get over our rain related trauma haha :)

Overall it was a great day out, the theatre was absolutely gorgeous, really nice place with lovely friendly staff. I hope one day we can go back to see a play :)

All things T.Y,

Over the past few weeks, we have had trips and important events taking place. On the first week back we had our trip to the BT Young Scientists exhibition in the RDS :)
This was a great day out for all of us as we got to spend the whole day , which gave us time to see all that was on display, and even take part in some of the activities without constantly time checking.
It was even more wonderful as our school was represented by three students in T.Y. who did an amazing project on The Effects Of School Bags On The Shoulders, Neck, and Spine.
The girls really did the school proud, and won a rosette for their super display :)

Another very important thing that actually happened just this Monday gone, was the Mini-Company Judging. This was held in the school hall, everyone set up a display, and reports were sent in to the judges.
Everyone put in lots of effort and each company gave a presentation the judges from the Kildare County Enterprise Board.
Three awards were given out in each class; a display award, a business report award, and an innovative award.
The Mini-Company I was in along with six other girls from my class (who are all amazing and put so much work into making our company the best it could be) won the display award for our class :)
It was a nerve wrecking and exciting day!
Everyone had fun, but we were all glad of a little time off from the stressed of running your own business haha

Back After Christmas :D

Most people dread to go back to school after a long break, but in TY, I don't know why anyone would. I was looking forward to coming back and seeing everyone again. We had about one day to get back into the swing of things, and then we were straight back into work! Projects were assigned, plays were written, and mini-company reports were printed.

Busy busy busy! With cookery, sewing, mini-company, and art projects, we are all run off our feet, but we all love it really. In Home Ec we made a delicious apple crumble which was half eaten before we even made it out the school doors.
Then we began to start our Teddy-Bear making in our other weekly Home Ec class, which for someone like me with a sewing phobia, is a bit tricky haha.
In art, we had to pick an image of a famous person, a singer, actor etc. We sketch it out, and then we will create the image using the inside of tapes. I chose the gorgeous and wonderfully talented Robert Sheehan for mine, well, who else could I chose?? Heehee
Along with these, the single most stressful aspect of TY, is coming to a close. Mini-Company. Our reports had to be all written up and perfected, and we have to be working on our presentations, and our displays. Our judging will be taking place on Monday....nervous.

(I shall include a little picture of Sheehan here, just so you know who I'm talking about.)

Pre-Christmas Fun-Time ;)

Before Christmas holidays we had our usual Christmas exams in the core subjects; Maths, English, Irish, French, and Religion. Our other subject grades were based on our project work, and a sort of continual assessment. The exams were over before we knew it and we were all super excited for Christmas :)

Before our Christmas holidays, just to re-cap, we went on a fantastic TY group trip to the bowling alley in Naas! The morning of this trip we were allowed to come into school in our clothes. We all gathered in the library where class Cairdeas had prepared a fantastic Christmas Party for all the TY's. We had our resident Santa Claus hand out all of the Secret Santa Presents, and we all had a great song and dance.

Once the bus arrived we all piled on, and off we went to the bowling alley. We were all split into teams and given a lane per team, we got a great game in and had THE single most delicious popcorn I have ever come across. After this, we all packed onto the bus and went to Whitewater for lunch, Burger King Anyone???

This was  a lovely way to finish off our term, and everyone had a great time :)