Friends, TY Friends!   

Ty has defiantly been one of the best years for so many reasons, the main one is that I've made so many new friends that I would have never spoken to before and our year has become ridiculously close. We've all had so many oppurtunities this year which we would have never had if we havent have taken part in transition year. With outings from Carlingford,Braveforce, Swim a mile, musics workshops, Lollipop day, our retreat to Glendalough but my favorites had to be Work experience and our Gaisce hike.Some people say transition year is a complete doss and waste of time, but I completly disagree. Yes,TY is a year away from exams but you are always kept busy, with so many projects piling up each week. Throughout ty I also feel you become alot closer with the teachers as well as the girls in your class as classes aren't as structured. We also get to take part in classes that you wouldnt be able to have in exam years such as IT and creative writing and our much loved thursdays with Zumba, Photography, Pilates, Make up and Charleston dancing.Transition has definatly made everyone more comfortable and has brought so many out of their shells and we have all bonded so much. With only two weeks left *tear*, we are all beginning to get ready for ty night which is a night where we display everything we have done throughout the year for our parents and perform 'Seasons of Love' from Rent, well try as most of us are musically challenged and also our Zumba and 1920 dancing routines and get our ty hoodies,halla to Martha and Caitriona, theenks guuys. Overall transition year has been so brilliant and I'm so glad I did it.

SCIFEST IS COOL.

According to Caitriona

                                                                           


On the 9th of May all Tys headed off to ITT to take part in a science competition much like the Young Scientist, rejects for life! Vicky and I teamed up to create 'Carpool to School' which aimed to design a carpool lane within our school car park to help reduce traffic congestion within our school community and to cut down on the Co2 emissions being released in the atmosphere. And because we're so dedicated and all we even joined greenschools to help the school receive the transport flag. After our projects had been judged we headed down to a talk where a lady exploded vegetables and set dragons on fire for the craic,what a fun time. Overall the day was great and Vicky and I even left with a prize for our communication, GO TEAM
                

 Artists from different regions and their affect on tourism

Leonardo da Vinci 

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15th  in 1452.At the young age of 14 he became an apprentice and overtime, became one of the greatest artists,along with being an inventor, sculptor,engineer,scientist and mathematician. Da Vinci developed many new art techniques and was the first person to dissect the human body. Due to his frequent travelling around Europe to places such as Milan, Rome and France, this allowed Leonardo to observe nature closely, contributing greatly to his artwork.Leonardo da Vinci created some of the most famous images in European art. Though many of his works were never finished, and even fewer have survived, he influenced generations of artists.Some of Leonardo's well known work includes 'The Mona Lisa' and 'The Last Supper'. Leonardo also created geographical paintings such as his printing of Tuscany and its neighboring regions.

Leonardo da Vinci left his mark all over Italy in frescoes, buildings, and drawings. Some of  Leonardo's masterpieces are held in museums outside of Italy, but most remain in his native land. One of Italy's most important art museums, the Uffizi Gallery holds a number of Leonardo's work,such as the 'Annunciation','Adoration of the Magi',and a self-portrait. Due to these masterpieces , over 1.5 million tourists visit the Uffizi,in Florence annually to get a glimpse of his work. Due to the large amount of tourism, this also contributes to Florence.

    


Another huge tourist attraction is Leonardo's hometown, Vinci,which is a small village located outside of Florence.The Casa di Leonardo, the farmhouse,and the Museo Leonardino, a museum dedicated to models based on his prolific drawings,attract millions of tourists per year.Also,one of his most famous paintings, 'The Mona Lisa', is held in The Louvre,Paris. The Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world, with 6,004,254 visitors in 2011.


 

As Leonardo completed so few works in his lifetime,the art industry sprang up and created a huge hype around the search for 'real Leonardo's' over the years ,encouraging tourism.Leonardo has contributed greatly to the world and his artwork still attracts millions of tourists to museums all over the world to view his masterpieces to this day.


Michelangelo Buonarotti


Michelangelo Buonarotti was born on the 6th of March 1475 in Caprese, near Tuscany. Michelangelo, an artist, sculptor,architect, poet and engineer, has been believed to be one of the greatest artists of all time and many of his masterpieces rank among the most famous in existence.Overtime, Michelangelo's work has impacted tourism greatly as millions travel to view artwork such as 'Pieta', 'David', and 'The battle of Cascina'. Along with his great art, Michelangelo, much like Da Vinci created geographical prints of Frankfort, Germany.


  


Vatican Museums- Vatican City
The Musei Vaticanti holds one of Michelangelo's most famous and well known pieces. This incredible frescoes is painted on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel which is the highlight of the Vatican museums.The ceiling is divided into 9 central panels, which depict The Creation of the World, The Expulsion of Adam and Eve, and The Story of Noah. Over 2.9 million visit the Sistine Chapel to get a glimpse of the ceiling each year.


  


DavidThis 5.17 metre marble statue stands in the museum 'Galleria dell' Accademia' in Florence but they're are many replicas situated in Italy such as in the public square, located outside the ' Palazzo della Cathedral'. Over10,000 visit this sculpture daily and over 4.5 million each year.Michelangelo has not only impacted art greatly but his artwork creates an interest for tourists which contributes to Italy as tourists are spending money and the museums are creating jobs

Gaisce

Hey Nomad
Last weekend 33 transition years set out to Kippure Lodge to complete our 25km hike.Our preparation started on Thursday when we went to Tesco to buy our feast fit for kings, safe to say we were in our element.Birdseye chicken dippers and chilli heatwave Doritos in hand we set out on Friday for Wicklow. We arrived at around half 4, geared up and set out for the first half of what seemed our never ending hike.Hiking through bogs and all sorts of mountainous terrain, wise words of skelly, respect. Until we reached a historical tomb, which being typical tys, turned into an opportunity for a photo shoot.Feeling proud we had finally reached the top, we soon realised we had to slide down, falling numerous times. That night was one of the best nights so far this year.Sharing a house with 10 girls with no teachers, rebels whaa?, we headed straight to the fridge and never left all night. Then it was time for the all time best, hsm 2! The next day we were woken at 7:30 and headed out on the second half of our hike. With only 2 hours of sleep had, we quickly got ready but of course left time to eat. The second day of hiking was alot easier than the first as the route wasn't as steep. Being the classy women we are, we took advantage of the muck and streams and ended up bog hopping and spreading muck all over our faces while eating our much loved Dorito sandwiches. As our hike ended, we were all so proud that we had completed our task and that we did it as a group. Next on the list to do was high ropes.This was by far one of the best things I've done so far as i have no fear of heights at all. Altogether we did rock climbing, beam balancing, abseiling but my fav ever was the leap of faith. Basically we had to climb a narrow pole the size of a two story house and stand on top and get your balance with the wind blowing you all directions. Then on the count of three you leap off and try to catch a metal bar leaving you swinging in mid air, boo yeaah. Overall the weekend was tiring but so worth it as I felt it was one of the best experiences of Ty
cute

  
  

Glendalough

 

This year all tys went to Glendalough for our retreat.Over the years are retreats were very practical and involved praying and talking with everyone, but this year was different. Hiking through forests and hills we walked in silence reflecting on our lives and experiences through a spiritual means.Father Michael brought us through Glendalough and stopped a number of times at crosses and the lake to reflect. He was a very inspirational man who really knew what he was talking about. Throughout the day we visited a wishing cross where we all circled the cross, placing our hands on it and wished, we also visited the monastries and finally the lake. Here each of us took water from the lake and let it drain through our fingers. Michael soon symbolised this as letting the pain in our lives drain away.Throughout the day Michael gave advice on life such as "have no regrets"." Old age- its not what you did and didnt do you that you regret, its what you wanted to do but never did.".One I found most interesting was, "God is something more than a man, he is something more than human". I feel this was good as many people stay with the image from when they were younger of god being a man in a big white robe sitting on clouds, but being in Gendalough, you feel God has to be more than human to create what is around us.I felt the retreat was a great part of transition year as instead of being in a room all day, we got to go out walking through Glendalough.



 

source

Swim a mile with a smile

Hey Nomad,
Every year the Ian Daly Swim a mile with a smile fundraiser is held in aid of Child Cancer Care, Our lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and Barretstown camp for seriously ill children. The inspiration for this swim is Ian Daly who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the young age of 9.Since then his family have been raising money for the hospitals and have given up to 347,200 euro since 2005. Tomorrow, all Tys are gearing up and swimming the mile alone or in teams and are collecting money to raise funds.Goodluck lads!
http://swimamile.webnode.com/

Fat camp in Puddenhill

Hey Nomad,
Yesterday all tys took the challenge of attempting the braveforce challenge which is an army assalt course. With muck up to our knees, we roamed the course trudging through rivers up to our necks, rope climbing, crawling through extremely narrow tunnels and running straight into hay bails, go team! When we arrived to the course, there were 3 other schools there that were not only competing with us but had been training for months and were chosen by their schools because of their fitness, while Wolstans brought 70 girls not knowing what we were getting ourselves in for, losers for life.Overall the day was very tough but brilliant.

La experiencia le boral

For my second work experience, I worked as a rep for the famous Irish pottery company, Louis Mulcahy. Each day I travelled around different parts of Ireland visiting shops to take stock counts and to take orders. I also worked as a rep for a new company called 'The Handmade soap company'. I met with the director, Donagh and got to experience the making of the product and how it is done and also to see the graphics of the product. Throughout the week I travelled to Carlow, all around Dublin, Laoise and Meath, visiting craft shops such as the Kilkenny shop and also vitage shops placing orders and having the craic with the customers.Overall the week was great!

Mullingaaar

So today all transition years went to a drama competition in Mullingar. Us Fodlians we there to support the plays within Eriu and Banba and then write a review.
The first play was called Midterm Break, which was based on the poem by the man himself Seamus Heany. I felt this play was heavy hearted as it dealt with the death of an infant and the struggles following his death. The highlight of this play in my eyes was the heartbreaking departure of the coffin as the stage was dimmed revealing only a 4 foot coffin, white rose pettles and a candle, where the distressed  Elaina delievered a heartfelt goodbye to her dear brother.

The second play named "What are you looking at" dealt with the harsh issue of bullying. The play began with the character Amelia finding a diary, which belonged to the bully of her class Jenny revealing her true fellings for a fellow classmate Tyler. Jennys sour feelings toward Amelia  began when she found out that Amelia had also gone out with Tyler and turns the whole class against Amelia, who is also rumoured to have fallen pregnant. Life is a living hell for the tortured character and this play reveals the damaging effects of bullying on not only the victim, but also the bully as we witness her cries for help after being abondoned yet again by her parents and how the shouts of her conscience wont leave her at ease. This constant guilt leaves Jenny turning to pills and death soon follows. The set matched this play as it was dark and accompanied by music expressing the characters feelings.

The third play was based on the well known song 'concrete angel' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO5bhAbO9DM and personally this was my favourite play of the day due to high standard of acting from the girls and thd tormenting plot leaving you in high suspense throughout the performance.This drama dealt with seven year old Holly suffering the brunt of her mother's alcohol driven rage as she brultality abused her daughter desperately trying her take her  troubles out on someone. This disturbing story was even more heartbreaking when it came to the final moments of Holly's life as her father had arrived home early to talk about the noticed changes in Holly's personality and her schoolwork, only arrived to witness his dear daughters death as her mother staggered over and smashed a bottle across her head. This then led to the funeral which had theatre near tears, gowan the Isabelle! Overall I fealt this play dealt with the important issue of abuse within the home and felt the girls gave an excellent performance and they interpreted the true feeling of the song in their drama.

Last but not least was the final play from St Wolstans was the drama 'Titch Miller'. This play also dealt with the issue of bullying. Titch and Tubby were both bullied but formed a bond and became friends throughtout their years of primary school. Unfortunatly they were parted when it came to secondary school and unlike Tubby, Titch never learned to finally stand up for himself and make a change to his life. Titch soon became fed up and began to question life, asking if things would change if she didnt have braces? would they even noticed if he just disapeared? The play concludes with Tubby writing in his diary, revealing the cruel words ' Titch died when he was 12..' These words left a heavy inpact on the audience as bullying has become such a widespread issue.

 We then set out to munch it up and wander the streets of westmeath and soon returned home blasting the tunes ending a great day.

Washington, take two

Hey Nomad,

So for our January blog challenge we have to write about a place that we want to visit when we leave school. Me and Skellaay have agreed to travel the world together,foreva and paint all the towns red. Even though I was five, Washington was by far the best holiday Ive been on so I decided to bring seerah. In Washington were going to visit Barack's gaff and the Smithsonian cause we believe we can fllyyy. And then to finish it all off we are going to willingly go down a huge weir to go white water rafting, mad scones. Also, were going to swing by the 'cougar mountain zoo', lawl, and the one the world's largest waterpark and amusement parks 'six flags America'. Roll on 2015!

'The Desert Flower'

                       Warris Dirie

In religion, class Fódla studied all about the millenium development goals.We watched the story of Waris Dirie, who was a woman from Somalia who experienced many struggles related with gender equality, which is a vital goal. As a child, Waris was degraded as a woman and suffered from the harsh culture within Somalia. When she reached her teenage years, the Samalian tradition continued and Waris was seperated from her family to be married to a much older man. Her mother took a risk and sent her running to escape this arranged marriage and Waris soon emigrated to England where she found a job and also room mate. Waris spent her time working in a fast food restaurant and was soon discovered by the top photographer, Terence Donovan. Waris set out and became one of the top models featuring in many fashion shows and made the cover of magazines such as Vogue.She also did advertisements for brands such as Chanel, Levi's, L'Oréal and Revlon. As she became known to the world, Waris began her mission to reach out to the UN to banish these cruel traditions in Somalia. She worked to campaign globally and in 1997, at the height of her modeling career,she spoke for the first time with Laura Ziv of the women's magazine Marie Claire about the female genital mutilation and the harsh practises carried out in her native country. She also created a movie, named 'The Desert Flower' which told her story as we witnessed her troubles throughtout her life in Somalia. Waris soon became a UN embassoder and is working to ban these practises and achieve gender equality throughout the world.