Fashion Show reports

Over the last term, all three TY Home Economics classes were working hard to produce an outfit that they would model in the TY fashion show.

Each class group were split into groups of about three girls each, and we were given a plain white t-shirt and jeans. From this, our task was to design and make an outfit by reshaping and adding things to the outfit to make it original. There were 3coloured themes and each group were given one of these colours -black & white, purple, and red.
Groups worked so hard to get their outfit completed and to make sure it fit their model correctly etc. Each group also made a story board complete with sketches and swatches of material to show their inspiration and the hard work that they underwent to make the outfit look as good as it did.
Last Friday the 11th of December 2009 was the day of the fashion show. Prior to this each group had selected a model and speaker and someone to do the group's music. Each group got their own time to introduce their outfit and say a little bit about it, while the model walked the runway and the piece of music that linked to the outfit was played.
On Friday, it was very evident all the hard work we all put in, because the outfits and models all looked amazing! There was a variation of outfits, mainly dresses, from short and modern to long and vintage. The day was great, and this whole project was something we all enjoyed a lot. It was such a good chance to use our creativity and work in groups! :)

Ellie =]

As part of the T.Y. home economics programme, the T.Y.s had to make an outfit of their choice.
They were put into groups given either the colours of purple, red or black and white. They had to make their outfit using a white t-shirt and a white pair of jeans. They also had to pick a theme to style their outfit around. The fashion show was held on Friday the 11th of December and showcased the finished costumes. Ms. Carpenter and Ms. Leonard had the very tough job of choosing the winners in each class, the most innovative and the overall winner.
the winners were:
Group winning members:
Group 1:
class winner: Red Flapper dress: Katie Ryan (model),Susan McCormack (reader), Megan Kelly, and Leigha Mawer.
Group 2:
class winner: purple barbie: Eva Brady, Nadia Budwa (model) Robin Carroll and Hannah Walshe (reader)
Group 3:
class winner: Purple: Rebecca Eiffe (model), Aoife Burnbridge(reader), Shannon Dignan and Chloe Abbott.
Most Innovative: Purple newspaper: Sarah Vance(model), Caroline Corr, Emer O`Brien(reader) and Caroline O`Callaghan.
Overall Winner: Bork Swan: Caoimhe McCormack(model) Aoife O`Brien, Nicole McDonagh(reader), Sophie O`Carroll, Eimear McCarthy.

Overall it was a very enjoyable afternoon that showcased the talent of T.Y.!!

By Sinéad McCabe, Emma Murphy and Katie Ryan.

Creative students!

On Friday I attended the TY fashion show in the gym. I am so amazed by what I saw. The girls were given a pair of white jeans and white T shirt from Penneys, and the task was to create an outfit from them. The photograph shows some of the amazing costumes that were created.

Thanks to Ellie for the photographs and I know she is goimg to write something for here soon.

Well done to all the girls and a big thanks to their Home Ec teachers, Ms Moore and Ms Healy. Ms Carpenter and Ms Leonard had the near impossible task of finding a winner.

Mrs L

CPR 4 Schools Programme

The Irish Heart Foundation gave our school a free class set of CPR dummies so that we could learn the skill of saving someones life. During our double P.E. class we learnt how to do CPR and mouth to mouth exercises. We watched a video of a lady telling us what to do and then we each had to practice it on our own dummies called " Mini Anne ".

It was great fun learning how to do CPR and it was also funny as we all tried to do it on our own dummies. We each got to bring home our dummies and we have to teach our families to do CPR by watching the video that came in each CPR box. So not only have we learnt the CPR skill but our families have as well.

Many thanks to the Irish Heart Foundation for allowing us to learn this valuable skill.

Get more information on the CPR 4 Schools Programme here.

Don't forget to click back to read more of our TY blog.

Emma Murphy :)

Team Bladhm

We are a group of girls who came together based on our talents in relation to the task set for us: to compete in the F1 in schools competition.

We had to come up with a design for a model car which will be propelled by a co2 cannister. So far we are through to the regional finals and hopefully we will go to national finals and possibly the world final of F1.

The team consists of 6 TY girls

Team Manager: Aisling Lee
Resource manager: Caroline Kelly
Design Engineer: Alex O'Neill
Markrting Manager: Nicolle Mc Donagh
Graphics Designer: Sinead Mc Cabe

See our team website here
Don't forget to click back to read more of our TY blog.

Geography presentations

I really enjoyed my Geography classes with Desta this week. The girls were presenting their World Trip presentations.

So far we have 'travelled' to Tanzania, New Zealand and USA with Louise, Kirstin and Caroline. Louise brought in some American Oreos for us to taste and took us on a journey up the US west coast. We then 'travelled' to Mexico, France, and Sweden with Alex, Shannon and Dearbhile who brought in some Mexican nachos and dip to share with us. Katie, Paula and Emma took us to Malawi, Azerbaijan and showed us some cuddly animals from Australia. Did you know the Koala bear is actually not a bear...and it's name is just Koala?

Ali, Eileen and Niamh took us to Egypt, Italy and Austria. Imagine, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was still built even after they discovered it leaning when building the 3rd floor?



We listened to some Mozart and even sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, little Star" with Niamh because Mozart, the Austrian composer, wrote a variation of the song.




Доброе утро ( doh-brah-eh- oo-trah) Good morning.
Today, Karolina gave us her presentation on her homeland, Russia. She taught us some Russian phrases and told us about the MEGA shopping centre in Moscow where she used to shop...250 shops, that's big!
Rebecca offered us some Vegemite and crackers from Australia. I think the crackers went down better than the Vegemite:) Vicky told us about the Museum of the Revolution in Havana in Cuba, and some of the colourful festivals they celebrate there. Caoimhe was taken by Malaysia because she likes scuba diving and tempted us with the beautiful clear waters there. She also took us to Germany where she wants to visit the Black Forest to find out why it's called that.

We have more presentations to come next week and I am so looking forward to them.

до свидания (Dasvidania) :)

Mrs Leahy

My Young Scientist project

This year so far, we have been working on our B.T. Young Scientist Exhibition projects. Everyone has divided into small groups to work on their individual projects. Eimear McCarthy and I are researching “The Medical Properties of Sea Air.”

We have written a letter to Met Eireann requesting information on different aspects of sea air, and we have carried out surveys in the school. We will soon visit coastal areas to carry out experiments relating to pressure, humidity and various other properties of sea air.

We sent our detailed one page proposal to the panel of judges for the Exhibition, but unfortunately we were not accepted for the exhibition in January.

We continue to do our project for an in-school competition next year though.

I am enjoying working on my science project and I feel that is a really good opportunity to research an area of particular interest to you.

Sophie O' Carroll

Science Attack

For our minicompany our group has decided to do a science dvd of fun experiments for children. Our group is Hannah Walsh, Nicolle Mc Donagh, Ellie O Halloran, Meg Kelly, Caoilfhionn Cullen, Aoife O Brien, Susan Mc Cormack and Chloe Abbot.

I made a blog so the teachers can see the experiments online or follow our progress as we are making the dvd or even ask us questions through email at scienceattackty@hotmail.ie

Here's a link to the blog if you want to take a look :)

http://scienceattackty.blogspot.com/

Nicolle x o x o

The Build a Bank challenge!!

The A.I.B bank in Celbridge held interviews for the school bank two weeks ago. There are 6 of us on the team – the manager, the assistant manager, finance, sales and marketing and two tellers. We were told by our A.I.B representative, Michelle, the rules and the basic steps to open up the school bank.

We have come up with many names including “the Euro Bureaux”, “the Woolly Wallet” and various others but so far Ms Leonard's idea “the Savvy Savers” has been the most promising.

We have been given account opening forms to give to students in the hope that they will open an A.I.B account with us and save money in it. We are already planning a launch date for the bank where we plan to have local politicians and photographers present(we hope!!) There will be many special offers, for example when you open an account with us in the school you will receive €10 free credit for your phone without even having to lodge money!!

Come along next Tuesday - lunchtime - Science corridor - and open an account with our school bank.

See you there:)

Laura D

Ellie's TY so far

Wow! Where to begin? Since the beginning of TY the amount of things we have all got involved with is huge.
From going away to Carlingford, having numerous workshops and information talks from organisations like Schools Across Borders and Color Me Beautiful and so many more. Social development days, to Pilates and CPR classes, to various projects in class subjects and taking part in the W factor- our school talent show.

We also got to go into Dublin for an Irish trip. Can't forget our amazing work experience week, when we got the opportunity to work in a place of our choice.

In my opinion so far, TY has been a whirl wind of experience and we have gotten to do so many fun things! We have been able to get involved, work and gain experience in different things other than just basic school activities and of course got the chance to get to know lots of new people and make new friends! :)

Ellie

W-Factor

The W-Factor Finals were held this week.

The Tickets were €12 because there was tiered seating and the stage was a lot bigger. There were also two ‘W’ neon signs set up, they made it look really good and professional!

My act was called Wardrobe Malfunction, we were up 7th, before we went on stage I was very nervous, but as soon as I got on stage I was fine, my nerves just disappeared!

I never thought I would be able to stand up on stage in front of a couple of hundred people and sing as I wouldn’t even sing for my relatives before this. The spotlight was really bright and blinding so I couldn’t see everyone at times!!

My group was made up of 5 students, four TY’s and a 5th year. Myself, Louise Bailey Smith, and Nicolle Mc Donnagh were singing, Eimear Mc McCarthy was playing guitar and Michelle Sweeney played piano and sang!

The harmonies worked very well. We sang ‘I’m yours' by Jason Miraz and half way through the song we sang ‘The Show' by Lenka. I was so relieved when it was over.

It was really fun backstage to see all the acts rehearsing before they went on stage and there was a TV set up so we could watch the acts while they preformed! Everyone had a good attitude and were all genuinely supportive for everyone even though it was a competition!

I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was a great experience!

Caroline O C

Home Economics

In our Home Ec class we were given the task to complete a dress made from a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from Penneys. My group(Aoife, Nicolle, Caoimhe, Eimear, Sophie) were given a black and white theme. We decided to get our inspiration from Bijork’s swan dress. Caoimhe is our model for the dress. This is my favourite project so far because it needs a lot of creativity from the group. :)

Aoife

W Factor 2009

Last night, the 2nd of December 2009, the final of the W Factor took place at 8 o’clock in the school hall. For this competition, I was accompanying one of the acts, Wardrobe Malfunction, on guitar. However, it wasn’t just our wardrobes that were malfunctioning - I joined the group the Friday before the senior heats, and as one of the singers, Pamela, was unable to attend the final after it was changed to Wednesday night, two new singers joined the act, Nicole and Caroline.

By the time I reached the school at six o’clock, several people were already at the doors, both those performing in the show and those who were hoping to buy a leftover ticket - but we weren’t allowed in until quarter past six! As a lot of us were wearing dresses, we were fairly cold out there!

When we finally were allowed in, there was so much pushing and shoving to get through the door that my guitar was put completely out of tune! I found one of the sixth years to help me re-tune it, and listened to her group practise before going off to find Michelle, Louise, Nicole and Caroline to do our own practising. I was intercepted a good few times by people who wanted to try out the twelve-string guitar though, which I found great fun.

Our act was on seventh, so we didn’t have long to wait before being pushed onto the stage. The tiered seating looked fantastic and it was a great feeling being up there in front of the audience.

Being backstage was a lot of fun too - we had the option of watching the show from a live feed in one of the Home Economics rooms. I thought that the winning act, Purple Reign, were fantastic, but I really enjoyed the teacher’s act as well.

Eimear :)

Schools Across Borders

On the 16th of November, we had a talk with Darren Irvine, the founder of “Schools Across Borders” about the work he does with students in areas of conflict. Darren has worked with Protestant and Catholic students in Northern Ireland and in the Republic in order to help the young people make a change by helping them to realize how similar they are.

Darren has also been working with Israeli and Palestinian teenagers which we discussed during his visit. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict began in 1948 when the State of Israel was established and Palestinians were forced to move into small areas of land in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The conflict in Israel and Palestinians was started during World War 2 when Jewish people fleeing from Hitler and his persecution, took over the area, sending Palestinians away. Since this event, there has been a conflict between the two communities. Palestinians feel angry that they are being confined to small areas of land and that they are not being acknowledged as a country. The Israelis feel they rightfully own the land. However on both sides, there are many people who want peace.

There is an incredible amount of injustices and lack of human rights in this area. Israelis are under conscription meaning that all people over 18 must join the army which takes away all other job opportunities. The Palestinians rights are being violated by having their houses searched daily by armed Israeli soldiers and being
arrested for no other reason than being a “bad influence”.

The entire day was a real eye opener for me and made all of us think about how many people suffer in the world and how very lucky we are. I was very moved by the stories of families whose lives had been torn apart and the entire experience made me want to help. We were delighted that we would get the chance to communicate with
Israeli and Palestinian students through the “Schools Across Borders” programme as it was a chance to help other young people and by working with each other to make very worthwhile difference.


We're all having an amazing time in TY, every week it gets better :D

See the work of SAB at http://www.schoolsacrossborders.org/

Louise GM

Development Education workshops

On the 30th of November we all hopped on a bus to Maynooth but we nearly had to postpone the trip because of the terrible floods that occurred the night before. In the end we got to NUI Maynooth.

For the workshops we got split into 3 groups and put into different rooms for different talks. The first talk we got was about HIV and AIDS. Two women from Uganda and Tanzania came to talk about the dangers of the disease and how to prevent it.

The 2nd talk was about all the problems in the world today like drought, famine, inequality and disease.

The 3rd talk was by Darren Irvine from Schools Across Borders which we have already heard from. He talked about the conflict on Palestine and Israel.

The day was organised by Self Help Africa and the Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium, NUIM. It was very beneficial. Thanks to Patsy Toland, Self Help Africa, and Joe Clowry, CDPC, for organising it.

Nicolle

Yeats, Monk and Mc D's!

On the 26th of November the whole of Transition Year went on a trip into Dublin .

To start the day we went to the National History Museum were we looked at bog bodies and ancient Irish archives. The Bog Bodies were brilliant. They were preserved so well and amazed the whole class. At one o clock we walked into Grafton Street for lunch. After a few mc Donald’s stops, a chicken tikka roll and a twirl bar, a group of us decided we would get into the Christmas spirit and started to sing Christmas Carols. To our delight we were cheered and smiled at and gave a great festive feeling to the busy shoppers.

We returned at 2pm and began the Yeats painting exhibition. It was beautiful. His background history and he use of colour interested the group and we were all immediately submerged in late 1800’s masterpieces.

Then followed the Monk exhibition. This was more modern art, but with a severe twist. Monk’s life and peculiar paintings were a different atmosphere to Yeats colourful creations. But his individuality and extremely harsh life kept us on our toes.

Overall the day was a success and we all enjoyed the day thoroughly, learning about our native painters, historic figures, Irish literature, and ancient artefacts.

Hannah

W B Yeats

On our trip to the W. B Yeats exhibition we learned about his life, love and interests. We also heard his poetry read about to us and my favourite poem came up. It's called The Cloths Of Heaven.

My favourite lines are,

"I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

Nicolle

Irish trip to town

On Thursday 26th November both Desta and Selam headed into Dublin to the National Library, The National Museum and The National Gallery for our Irish trip. When we arrived we went to the National Library first where we were met by a tour guide. She brought us around and showed us the differnent things about Yeats, his life story, his family, how he wasn't very good in school, Maud Gonne, the events that inspired his writing etc..
We then went to the National Museum. We saw all the different things like the Bog bodies the Gold exhibition and many other interesting things. The bog bodies were so cool, they were so well preserved. One of them still had finger nails and hair.

After the National Museum we went for lunch on Grafton Street and we met Martin King and the Australian Rugby Team. It was great fun and we got pictures with them too :) Martin King is so nice haha.

After lunch we went to the National Gallery where we were also met by a tour guide. We saw pictures by Jack.B Yeats, Edward Munch etc..

Overall the day was really good and it was enjoyed by all :)

Eileen