Intel Workshop

Today all TY's traveled to Trinity College of a workshop and lecture on Intel and about studying science coarse for the leaving Cert. 

We started of the day with a sort of speed dating section in groups of four's with an Intel worker. They gave us an introduction into what thy do in Intel and what they studied for the Leaving Cert and at Third level. They asked us what we were planning on studying for the Leaving cert and what sort of career we would like to go into in the future. They also gave us some advise on what are the best coarse to study at third level. 

Afterwards everyone got a small lunch bag with sandwiches and popcorn and a drink before moving onto the last part of the workshop.

Once we had finished eating we made our way to the auditorium for a talk with 2 Intel representatives on what Intel actually is all about ad the future of technology and science for males and females. 

Here is a video on what it is like inside the Intel fab:

We also learnt about the typical working day of an Intel worker and what it entails. We also learnt about the new and up coming move "Girl Rising", which is about girls in third world countries fighting for their right to an education. 

Here is the trailer for the movie the Girl Rising: 

Jabba Jabba Jembe

Today we had a drumming/ percussion workshop with Dave from Jabba Jabba Jembe. My class, Siocháin, were the first group of the day. We started off the workshop in the school library by introducing our selves and learning the different sounds of the drums. Dave then introduced us to some basic drumming rhythms. Once we had that nailed, Dave moved on and introduced us to the different sorts of drums for example:

The Jembe

The Kpanlgo

Bass drums

After our short break we moved over to the music room to make more noise! Dave taught us some more intricate rhythms . He also gave out more percussion instruments such as the Asalatos, Agogo bells, Marakas and Shekeres. Everyone got a go of each instrument. Once we had profected our song we recorded it on Ciara's phone while wearing traditional African hats. We also had a bit of a free-styling session to Bob Marley with Zoe on the piano and Shannon on the Guitar. Everyone was in great spirits and really enjoyed the 3 hour session. Thanks to the music department for organizing the workshop for it, it was great fun! Pictures from the day and our recording will be coming soon. :)

The shekeres

The marakas

Agogo bells

The Asolatos 

Also make sure to check out Dave's website for "Jabba Jabba Jembe" here. There is loads of background information on the different types of instruments and traditional drumming. 

Simon Community Talk

This year as part of our religion coarse we are writing and preforming our own dramas on issues that we have a particular interest in. My groups drama is about the effects that war has on all sorts of different people. This week Rósin wrote the first part of the script and we had our first sort of rehearsal today in religion. I am playing the role of the killer who was reluctant to actually kill another soldier on the opposition. I am really look forward to seeing how our entire play turns out. We have to act out an actual war so we're buying fake blood, toy guns and adding some cool sound effects! Should turn out pretty impressive ;) 

The other group in my class are preforming their drama on homelessness. So as part of their 'research' they or organised a talk from our Art teacher Ms. O'S on the work she did with Simon Community. She spoke to us about the different projects she worked on and how they tied in with art. I found the talk really interesting and made me realize that I really want to get involved in Volunteering work when I'm older. Thanks to Ms. O'S for giving us the talk yesterday. 

Get on your bike!

Today a man from Kildare County Council came to talk to us about cycling. In his presentation he showed us the importance of cycling and how it can also improve the environment. He also showed us some stats of the number of people that cycle in Ireland by comparison to the number of people who cycle in Sweden. Lets just say there is a huge difference in the numbers! He then went on to talk about the advantages of cycling to school. Throughout his presentation he showed us a number of videos to do with cycling. This video was one of my favorite's, it was made by Mercedes-Benz. It proves that cycling can sometimes be faster than using a car however, it also shows us the advantages and disadvantages of using a car or bike.

Workshop Wednesday Week 2

Today we had our second Wednesday of organized activities. Once again we had three workshops.The first was with our Guidance Concealer Ms. H. She made sure that everyone was completely organized with their work experience. She also gave us some advice on what we should do in certain situations if they are to arise. After the workshop I felt more confident about going on work experience as I kind of knew what to expect.

Our second workshop was with Austin.  Everyone had to pick up 8 different coloured flash cards. On each card there was a sentence to summarize the type of person you are, e.g. "Is always thinking of others". Therefore, you choose 8 cards that suit your personality the best. We then were divided into four groups depending on the colour of the cards that we choose. Each colour represented a type of personality. Then Austin talked about what each person with that type of personality is best at. He discussed with us how different people can mask there true personality also. Overall the workshop was absolutely excellent. I definitely learned a lot about the different types of people/personalities in the world.

Our third and final workshop was a Positive Party! We not only had a great time messing around with each other in the masks that Denise brought for us, we also learned about how to interact with people in the work place. She spoke to us about building re-pore with our employers, she also spoke to us about how we should great our employers and our co-workers.

Class Síocháin

Class Cairdeas

Class Cinealtas

Workshop Wednesday Week 1

On Wednesdays TY's have no scheduled classes, so instead we had three different workshops organized by Ms. L. The first workshop was with two lady's who spoke to us about manners and etiquette which will be very important once we begin our work experience in a few weeks. The second workshop was called "Life Without Limits". Here we got to know our new classes mates a little better by telling everyone our most embarrassing moment in life. You have to say some girls stories were quite funny but we all ended up laughing at ourselves after a while! :)  To finish off the exciting day we had a positive party! :D To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect and I was kind of worried when the instructor emptied a bag of over sized nickers into the middle of the floor :O She then split us up into groups of three and we had to put the pants on the way you would not wear a normal pair of pants! :D Everyone was in sticks laughing! :) I can't wait for our next positive party! Here's the link to positive parties : http://positiveparties.com/

Thanks to Ms. L for organizing the workshops for us they really did provide us with a day of fun! K - :)