Sci-Fest and then off to Cork!!

Yesterday was a very busy day in TY.In the morning we had Sci-fest and then We set off to county Cork to take part in the national final of the Briery Gap Drama Competition!
In the morning we had Sci-Fest judges coming around to see our projects.Each project was given a number and space on the wall to stick up their poster.My group;which was number 3,did a project on dreams.We wanted to find out if things we eat effect what we dream about;we discovered that our dreams have nothing to with food we eat before bed.Dreams are based on memories and your mood.When the judges came around we had to do a short presentation about our project.I didn't get a chance to read any of the other projects because before judging was even finished 10 classmates and I hopped onto a bus and drove to Cork for the drama competition.
Even though my group didn't get through to the national final the other group in my class did;and they offered me a place in their drama because a few girls had to go to a choir competition.After a three hour bus journey we made it to Cork safely. We were only in there for an hour but we all really enjoyed ourselves even though a few thing went wrong.
The drama was about homelessness and how it can effect family life,it was also about prejudices against homeless people.I had a very small role so I was appointed Stage Left Manager!I didn't really have to do much,only take a school bag off the stage when the lights when down but I didn't mind.We did make a few mistakes but we think they went unnoticed by the judges.In the first scene someone left the stage too early and had to walk in a circle to make it look like she was suppose to move.And at the end Eimear thinks she made a mistake in her monologue but to be honest I don't think anyone noticed.
After the drama we headed back to the bus and set off on our way home.We were all hungry so the teachers with us let us stop in McDonald's.On our way home there was a traffic jam on the motorway so we had to take the long way home.We were stuck on the bus for four hours;which was not very fun when your tired and bored;eventually we made it home though.
We won't find out if we won any awards until after Monday because the competition is still on over the weekend.I have really enjoyed taking part in the competition and I have learned a lot about writing dramas and taking part in them.Like,how you have to write stage directions on the script and when your speaking on stage you have to talk really loudly.

BT Young Scientist

Yesterday all the TYs and second years went on a trip to the RDS in Dublin to see the Young scientist exhibition.We left the school at 9 o'clock and arrived at the RDS at around 10.I went to go see the stand from our school;they did their project on how the weight of school bags effect peoples spines.It was really interesting and I learnt lots.I learnt that if you are good at maths you will be good at music;which is actually true because I'm not very good at either subject but my friend is really good at maths and she is also good at music.In the RDS I saw a robot and loads of projects.I got lots of free stuff which was really cool;I got a tree which I am going to plant I'm my back garden and I also go lots of posters,pens and pencils!It was a really good day even tough it was my 3rd time going.

A Mad Monday in Transition Year

Today in school I had a very busy day;I had technology in the morning followed by PE and a double science in the afternoon.
Today in technology we were working on our clocks.My clock is  purple and actually looks like a clock now.Today I drilled a hole in the centre of the clock and filed around the edges.Filing first thing on a Monday morning is not a very good idea;it takes so much effort and I wasreally tired so it was a good thing we had break before going into PE.
In PE we played bench ball-Red vs Blues.The game got very competitive and in the end my team (the reds)won.It was really fun and it ended six five to the reds!
Then in the afternoon I had double science;were we investigated the effects of concentration on reaction rate.We weren't in a lab so we didn't get to do an experiment but we got to watch our teacher do a demonstration and tell her what she had to do.After recording our results of the experiment we drew up a graph.When we were done our graph we got to do a word search!

Valcanoes in Science

On Monday in science class we made volcanoes.Before we made our volcanoes we had to learn some theory about acids and bases.I learnt that when you mix an acid and a base you create a salt and water.When making our volcanoes we got to wear white lab coats!
To make our volcanoes erupt we used baking soda and vinegar.To make the cone of our volcano we made dough using flour,water and green food colouring and covered a bottle with it.
When our volcano was ready we poured hot water and red food colouring into the bottle;then we added lots of baking soda and the vinegar.I didn't think it would work because anytime I try make a volcano at home it doesn't;but it did.

After we had cleaned up(which took a while because flour was everywhere) we made posters describing the reaction between the acid(the vinegar) and the base(the baking soda).It was a great science class and I can't wait until next week to see what experiment we do!

Our vocano didnt turn out as goos as this one but it was something like it!

Science

On Monday in science we learnt all about Alloys.An Alloy is 2 metals mixed together to form a new metal.For an experiment we turned a two cent coin gold!We put the two cent coin into an evaporating dish of zinc an NaOH on a hot plate.When we took the coin out it was silver and I really wanted to keep mine but then when it cooled down we had to put it back on the hot plate and it turned gold;it was a really fun experiment but our teacher said that the coin will eventually go back to its original colour.