Podcasting!

Podcasting was a great way to start a Friday! It was great fun and the men who did it with us were so funny! We had to be creative, funny but witty to come up with a podcast. Our podcast was called 'Im a faker' it was based on the idea that on reality tv people act differently and put on a persona. For our podcast we did an interview with Gillian Mc Keith who a girl in our group acted perfectly. When we recored it we had to be so silent as even the turning of a page would be picked up on the microphone. I didn't have my phone with me that day so I couldn't Bluetooth it onto my phone, so sadly this blog wont have our podcast on it :( . So after an hour we all gathered back into a room and listened to everyones podcasts. Everyone went for a funny style so I was in stitches of laughter listening to all them. It was a great day and everyone was ranting and raving about it afterwards and many people said they would definitely try make a podcast at home. It was a great day and it was an experience that I learnt a lot from!! :D

Geography Presentation.

On Thursday, I presented my Geography project on Spain. I was quite nervous so I brought up notes to the presentation with me , but in the end I didn't use them at all. I loved researching Spain and I found it to be an amazing and such an interesting country. But when I was doing my presentation I talked for like 15 minutes! This surprised me, but I was happy I got through the presentation without having a total blank. I am not used to presenting projects as I get nervous so I found this to be a great experience because the more I do it the less nervous and the more confident I will get. I sadly didn't have food (chocolate) for everyone but instead I had a flamenco dress! My friend brought that in for me and I was very happy to have it even though I nearly forgot to show everyone at the end of my presentation. I found the project was so interesting and I think everyone should do it as I learned so much and also had so much fun learning it!! :)

Self Help Africa, Carlow

On Tuesday, we went to Carlow to the Self Help Africa Work-shop , We left at 9 on the dot and surprising it only took around an hour to get there which was strange because I have always perceived Carlow to be far away. So when we got there I was surprised to see there was other schools there, CBS in Carlow and Scoil Muire, Clane. So we were then mixed up into around five groups and brought to different rooms. In the first room we talked about sectarianism  in different places around the world and opinions of us and other people. We talked about what we thought conflict was and what flags mean. The next room we went to we found a young girl who spoke to us about the development and how she invented items to help others. She was so naturally smart and I really looked up to her. I was really interested in what she was talking about . She also spoke how she was in the Young Scientist and how she made a pressured cooker as she found out that the second biggest killer in poorer countries was of cooking spoke, so with her cooker she solved this problem. Then we had lunch and then in the last room we learned all about HIV and AIDS. It was a interesting talk and it contained some shocking facts and statistics. After that we went on the bus home which was quite funny as many people fell asleep after the long day. It was a good day and it was fun to meet with other schools.

Visit to the State Laboratory

When we arrived in to the entrance of the Labs I was really impressed the area was gorgeous, the grass and bushes were perfected cut and the paths were spot less. When we went into the actually building that too was amazing, we were then led into a cosy room where we watched a power point presentation about what they do in the Labs for example they test food like baby milk to make sure they dont have too muxh bactraia that could kill the children . There work is clearly really important. We were then brought around the Labs in a guided tour, they were very organised as were went to different places for exactly 20 minutes. We visited places were we tested food for food poisoning  bacteria like Salmonella or E-Coli etc.  We also went to another section were we met a vet that works in the Labs. He tests dead animals for there cause of death, so this means he will find new diseases like the Swine Flu .We had a good day there but I found with no breaks and constantly walking around it became tiring. But I learned lots and I found it quite ironic how I go to school in Celbridge but I never knew these Labs were even there! :)

Last visit to the Moate Theatre.

Today was our last time to the Moate and indeed the last time to Mac Donald's :( . We were late and we hurried in when Orla was in mid - speech. CBS in Naas was the other school there! They had great ideas (which means there are competition :P ) and one group is already making hundreds, this meant we need to get our skates on! This time in Moate we spoke about making our business report. This as Orla said is the less interesting part to business. We took down notes as she showed us a power point on making a plan. Then she called on random people to find out the companies progress. She remembered us and called us 'the pin girls', she was interested in our progress and when we showed her the prototypes she was impressed but she said we need to start selling soon. And she was right. We also watched videos on working as a team and on communication. They videos were over acted which made it quite funny but they were also helpful as it showed us how to communication effectively. The Moate overall was extremely helpful experience as I have never done business before but it gave me a real idea of how to run our business and think like a business person.

Work Experience

 For my work experience I spent the week in the Electronic Engineering Department of National University of Ireland.  When I went in on Monday I was quite anxious as the building was huge and I was worried I would be wandering around forever. But I asked a person for directions to my supervisors office and after that everything went smoothly . I was relieved that my supervisors was so nice and he made me feel very comfortable. I was set to work straight away and at first everything they told me was so overwhelming, it felt like a total crash course of years of engineering in a half an hour. It was amazing how intelligent my supervisor and his college were. Everything they told me I tried to hold in my head, as it was very interesting. I spent the week opening mutli-meter and changing the battery and fuse in the battery. I also set up media wiki, changed software on a computer and rearranged components. I had a great experience and the working world is now that I often think about as I had never been treated as an employee with responsibility. It was definite a fun and a learinig experience that I have already benefited from.

Work Experience Talk

On the 5th of Friday, Mr. Corcoran gathered all TY ’s into the library for a talk. We all each stood up and talked about where we would be going for work experience.  Some people were going to really interesting places like modelling agencies and radio stations. Then Mr. Corcoran showed us a power-point  the had prepared about employers and employees and why a student on work experience would be an advantage to them.  We also were given a hand out on health and safety in the workplace. On the handout, we and to circle any signs of danger in the workplace eg, books falling off a table. Then we were split into groups and each given a problem in relation to work experience. We had the problem that a student was given a tip when doing work experience and we and to solve what they should do. We said that they should go up to the manager/supervisor and see what the normal routine is for workers when given tips! The day calmed my nerves as I knew what to do if any awkward situations arose.  This day was really helpful and as a result I was more relaxed when I went on work experience on Monday.

Colour Me Beautiful

On the 15th October, two ladies from Colour Me Beautiful came in to talk to us and to give us advice on what colors suit us best. The talk was brilliant, they first divided us into different categories. I thought that a few of my friends would categories under 'darks' but surprising they did not. I couldn't believe how the ladies categorized us as I couldn’t work out why some people were in different groups! I was put under the 'warm' category. I found out that colours like moss green and brown suit me best. A girl from my category was picked to be used as a model in front of the class, the ladies put the 'light' colors on her and I saw that the colors did not suit her as they drained her skin and did not look nice. But then when they placed the 'warm colors' on her hair looked like it lit up and her face stood out more. The difference was crazy! The colours that I was most suited to are some of my favourite colours. We also talked about fashion style and I loved how easily the little quiz knew what type of style I had. It knew that I had a casual and relaxed style to dressing. They also talked about body shape and how to look the best with what you had. I was quite weary of the subject at the beginning but the ladies were so nice that they made everyone feel comfortable and at ease. I had a great day that day and when I came out of the demo room I felt confident. Now when I go to shop I look at the color first instead of the price! :)

Mini Company :D

In Mini Company class this year, we have set up our own company called 'Knot A Problem'. Our product is going to help a wide range of people to un-tangle there knots. There are eight members in our team and my role is of Production Manager, this means I have to get all the resources and manufactures to produce our product. In Technology class we have been creating our product using CAD (computer aided design), this software lets us view our product in 3-D. Our product looks so professional on the laptop and we are hoping it will look that well when it is produced. Our first step in producing our project is to produce a pro-type and I have contacted several people in relation to this and many manufactures seem hopeful. A pro-type will allow us to see if the product works and how we can fix it. We have carried out our market research within the school and outside it. On Sunday, a few of the girls from the company and I went outside Tesco's and handed out our surveys, many people were very helpful but a few people (embarrassingly) help out theirs hands like a stop sign when we approached them. It was a funny day and in the end the results were great! Overall our company is great were are working together well and are having fun in the meantime !! J

In Mini Company class this year, we have set up our own company called 'Knot A Problem'. Our product is going to help a wide range of people to un-tangle there knots. There are eight members in our team and my role is of Production Manager, this means I have to get all the resources and manufactures to produce our product. In Technology class we have been creating our product using CAD (computer aided design), this software lets us view our product in 3-D. Our product looks so professional on the laptop and we are hoping it will look that well when it is produced. Our first step in producing our project is to produce a pro-type and I have contacted several people in relation to this and many manufactures seem hopeful. A pro-type will allow us to see if the product works and how we can fix it. We have carried out our market research within the school and outside it. On Sunday, a few of the girls from the company and I went outside Tesco's and handed out our surveys, many people were very helpful but a few people (embarrassingly) help out theirs hands like a stop sign when we approached them. It was a funny day and in the end the results were great! Overall our company is great were are working together well and are having fun in the meantime !! :)

To find out the latest with our company click HERE