F1 in Schools Regional Finals

On Tuesday the 10th March we headed down to Mayo to compete in The Regional Finals. The bus left the school at 3:30am and picked me and other students up on the way.

On the way to Castlebar we picked another team up in Sligo. As soon as that was done we headed for The GMIT. When we arrived at the college we got changed into our team uniform,set up our pit stop and got our car and team portfolio checked and graded.

After we had our pit stop set up we were given a schedule for the day of what we would be doing.

The day went really well and I’m glad to say that our car won the race it was in but the sad thing was that we didn’t get through to the next round.

Mud Run

On Wednesday we headed up to Letterkenny to take part in a mud run. Before we left for Letterkenny we all went to the gym to get changed. When ever we arrived we were split up into two teams. The first activity we did was to shoot down two cans with a paintball gun and after that we all went and did an obstacle course. We had to jump over bales and crawl under a net. When we finished that we all went down a big slide.

Finally we started the mud run, the best part of the mud run was the last 2km because the mud was up over your waist.

The most funniest part over the mud run was when Alex got stuck and five people had to pull him out.

This was one of the best days out of TY.

Personal Interest

My personal interest is to restore vintage tractors and bring them back to their original style. Last summer my father and I decided to restore my granddad’s Massey Ferguson 35x. We started the  project at the end of June and weren’t finished until the middle of September. I founded working on the tractor very interesting because you got to see different parts of the tractor that you have never see before.

I’m glad to see that I’m the owner of the tractor now and I hope in the future that I can restore other tractors.

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Engineers Week

Yesterday our class went up to The Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny with Mr. Ward. We arrived in Letterkenny around 12 o’ clock. There were about 15 stands with people to inform us about all the different types of engineering. The people were very informative about engineering. After about an hour in the hotel we all went for food.

We were back at school for the last class. So we had a great day.

Living with a Disability Workshop

Last Wednesday and yesterday Jennifer and her guide dog OJ with her assist Debra came in to do a workshop with us Jennifer was born blind. Last week we watch a DVD about to girls who were in wheelchairs. One girl lived in the town and the other lived in a village. After the video was finished we had to compare their lives to one another. We also discussed names what people called disability people. Before Jennifer and her assist left we were given a presentation to do on people with a disability, my group was given a person who was in a wheelchair.

Yesterday all the groups got to show their Power Points to Jennifer and the rest of the class.Our presentation went well so I was happy. Jennifer showed us her iPhone that was able to talk to her and she also had a app that will take a picture and tell her what it is.

Before Jennifer and OJ left we all got a certificate that we completed the course. We all went outside and got a picture together.

I found the two days interesting.

Chocolate Cake

175g soft margarine
175g caster sugar
175g self raising flour
3 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa

Butter icing
200g icing sugar
100g butter
1 tbsp cocoa
3 drops milk

Equipment
Bowl and mixer
2x18cm tins
Spatula
Wire rack
Sieve
Fork
Jug
Plate
2 ingredient bowls

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C
2. Sieve flour and cocoa into a bowl
3. Add sugar to bowl
4. Whisk up the eggs and add to bowl bit by bit while mixing
5. Add to the tins and put in the oven for 25 minutes
6 . Put on cooling rack to cool
7. Add icing sugar to the bowl and mix
8. Then decorate

RSA Workshop

Wednesday the 7th of January two girls from Dublin came to talk to us about road safety. The girls names were Louise and Emma, they showed us some stats. about the amount of road collisions in 2013 and the amount of deaths that year.

The girls also showed us some horrific videos of road crashes and a doctor from Letterkenny also was showing in a video. He was talking about what the person who was injured has to go through for the rest of his/her life and also the family.

When I start to drive I will take extra care on the roads.

Ice Skating in Derry

All day yesterday we spent the day in Derry. We left the school around 9:30 and we headed for the ice ring. When we arrived at the ice ring but it was still closed. To pass the time we walked over the Peace Bridge in the rain to a cafe to getting some hot chocolate and something nice to eat. At 10:40 we all went back over to the ice rang to see if it was opened. I was glad to say that they opened it for us because we were booked in and we had the ring all to our self’s.

Before we got on to the ring we all got skates to but on and after we got them we all final got to do some skating. I had a great time on the ice and I only fell one time.

After the skating we all got to do some shopping in the Foyleside and in The Richmond Centre, also we got to have lunch as well.

This was the best Christmas trip so far.

A Day with Michael Mc Killop

All day yesterday we spent the day with Michael Mc Killop. Michael arrived at the school at around 9:30am, Catharine and I got to welcome him to the school.

The first thing he did was opened the school bank for the students that are running it out of my class. After he opened it he told us a brief summary of himself and the competitions he took part in it. Michael Mc Killop is also a Para Olympian.

At around 10 o’clock the rest of the class met up with us in room 19 with Mr Mc Mullen and Michael. Up until break time Michael told us his life story and about his disability.

After break we were in room 19 to do a work shop with Michael. We got to a worksheet, build a tower with pasta and marshmallows and also we got to watch some  videos of some people doing cool things.

When lunch was over we went up to the P.E.  hall to do a session with Michael. The afternoon was full of games which included the following skills:  communication, mental toughness, hunger to achieve and planning for success.

Just before we all got changed Michael took out his two gold medals that he won in 2012 to show us. I was one of the luck ones to get his autograph and also to get a picture with him.

This was one of the best days of Transition Year so far.

  

Work Experience

On Tuesday I started my second work placement of the year. The place I chose for this term of work experience is The Harbour Inn in Buncrana. I started work at 11:30am and I don’t finish until 5:30pm.

My first job of the day was to polish some cutlery and after that was finish I had to clean the menu’s that they used over the weekend but while I was doing that I was serving the public food. After my break I got to stock up the drinks in the bar.  Also I helped to keep the place clean and tidy.

I really enjoyed my first day at The Harbour Inn and I can’t wait to learn some more new skills throughout my time there.