Alri St. Kevin?

Tuesday 24th April, Fódla had their Religion Retreat in Glendalough. Glendalough is a place up the Wicklow Mts where St. Kevin set up his very famous monastery hundreds of years ago. It is a glacial valley and is absolutely beautiful!
                                                                     Glendalough (source)

We headed off at 9am with Mr. K (our Chaplain) and Mrs. L. It was a very bumpy bus journey up a mountain and lets just say I was feeling a little green when I got off the bus :S
Then we met the man and woman who would be bringing us on our walk (some would say hike) around Glendalough. The first thing we did was walk around a labyrinth that was in the grass at the front of the ecumenical center. Then we we're brought to the graveyard, St. Kevin's Church, the lake and all over Glendalough. We stopped for a much needed lunch - I bought chips OMNOM - which is when the rain started. And boy, did it rain. For the rest of the day it absolutely lashed out of the heavens (see what I did there? No? Ok...) We were all soaked to our skin.
Finally we headed home absolutely shattered and very very sodden.

Until my next post :)

Jelly Legs

Easter came and went and now, I am in the final term of TY :'(
First thing on our agenda when we returned was the Ian Daly Swim a Mile with a Smile. It is a foundation in aid of Child Cancer Care and specifically Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and Barretstown camp for seriously ill children. Ian Daly was a boy from Celbridge who died at the age of 11 of a rare and aggressive brain tumour. He is the inspiration for this event as he loved to swim.
We were each given a sponsor card to raise money for the event. Some people swam the mile in groups of 2-4. I wouldn't consider myself a strong swimmer but I decided to try and swim the mile on my own. It is 64 lengths of a 25m pool. I knew that it was going to be difficult - but its not supposed to be easy. All the kids in Our Lady's go through so much everyday so me swimming a teeny mile, is minuscule compared to what they have to deal with.
Well I did it! I swam an entire mile on my own! It was tiring and my legs felt like jelly after ward but it was well worth it :DI got chicken fillets and cheesy chips in Eddie Rockets after so I was a happy bunny. (Why do I always mention food in every blog?)

Overall the day was really good! I am definitely doing the Swim a Mile next year!

Welcome Visitors!

I was taking a gander at my blog when I noticed that www.sarahlikessmarties.blogspot.com has been viewed 837 times! :O That is astounding!
I've gotten views from Cambodia to California. From Montenegro to Mongolia. From Hungary to Honduras. (Ok, I'll stop now)

So, I'd just like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has viewed my blog! :D

My beats per minute will never be the same...

Last night we had our annual school Music Night and well...it didn't go fantastically to say the least :/

Seeing as Fódla have a different music teacher than the other 2 classes, we did not join in in singing 'Shake It Out' - unfortunately. Instead we did Wham's 'Wake Me Up'. Bitta George Michael. WHAM JAM!
When we started rehearsing it was atrocious. But over the past week or so, it really truly came together and sounded pretty good. We also had some amazing dance moves - I got jiggy with it and I'm not ashamed to say it.
Then about 20 mins before we were due to go on stage last night we did another rehearsal and it sounded great. We were all excited and nervous to go on stage and perform. Things went downhill from there...

When we got on stage and the song finally played it just flopped! Yeah, it was waaay better than our rehearsals but compared to the performance we did right before it wasn't the greatest. Oh and I forgot to add that no one in Fódla is a singer - the other 2 classes were blessed with all of them.

At least its over and done with now and we never have to deal with it again! I suppose it was fun but for someone who has ZERO musical ability, I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon.

Until my next post :)

Work Experience the Final Day :(

My last day at adidas Area North :(
Seeing as my flight home was around 12, I only had a bit over an hour of work today. There was really only one job that I had to do - present my power point of "My Evaluation of adidas on Manchester's High Street". As I mentioned before, there was a change of plan yesterday. Instead of working on my presentation all day, I visited a creative agency in Leeds. This meant that I had only 2 slides done! Also, I went out with my aunt, uncle and cousin last night for dinner so we didn't get home until late so there wasn't much time. I stayed up until 12 finishing my presentation (dedication I know) This was really experiencing the world of work - working hard to reach a deadline.
At around 10 the following morning I went into my aunts office to present my project. She is the head of the Trade Marketing team and that morning was the only time when she felt more like a boss than an aunt. I was so nervous and I hoped my presentation was good enough because my aunt is amazing at her job and I didn't want to disappoint her.
Things went well, thank god. I spoke well-ish and she was really surprised by how professional my power point was. I had included all the information and pictures that I had gotten on Wednesday in Manchester city and I had put a lot of effort into the whole look of my presentation. Overall my aunt said that my presentation was really good and professional and that I seemed to know what I was talking about. I was so so pleased of myself! Looks like I am a natural trade marketer ;)
After saying my good byes and thank yous to the rest of the Trade Marketing Team, I got a taxi to the airport headed home. Although, my flight was delayed by an hour -_- grrr

I will never forget my week of work experience at adidas Area North. I learnt so much - how to communicate with new people, the ins and outs of marketing, the different areas of marketing, computer skills, organisation skills and that I honestly have a huge interest in marketing! These lessons will stay with me for a lifetime... :)

Work Experience Day 4

The original plan for today was for me to stay in the office and work on my power point presentation on "My Evaluation of adidas on Manchester's High Street", but instead I drove to Leeds with two of the Trade Marketing Team. It's an hour and a half away from Manchester and we went there to visit the creative agency called name. A creative agency work for adidas and create the posters, free standing units etc that are used instore and install them too.
I sat in on meetings about the London 2012 Olympic and the adidas Originals line (fashion clothes). I loved today because I really have an interest in the more creative and artistic side of marketing seeing as art is my favourite subject. They five name employees that we met with were really friendly and so easy to talk to :) They took the two members of the trade marketing team and myself out for lunch in a reeeally nice Italian restaurant. I got a margherita pizza (original, I know). Then after a quick round up we headed home.

                                           An example of a creative designed and installed by name.

            

I found today really eye opening because I saw another side of marketing - a more artistic side. As I've always looked into marketing as a future career, I thought that today was really interesting.

Only one day left :(

Work Experience Day 3

This was possibly the most beneficial day of the entire week. I went into Manchester city with Will, the intern in Trade Marketing. The objective of the day was for me to analyse and evaluate adidas on Manchester's High Street. I had to go to all the stockists of adidas and study adidas' share of space (SOS), point of sales (POS), use of creatives (basically the advertisements/posters) and the general display of adidas products. That probably sounds like gobbledygook and thats what it was like for me at the start of the week but by Tuesday I knew aaaall the lingo!
I got a taxi into the city at 10am (woo lie in!) That was heaven because I was used to getting up at 6.45am.
We went into Debenhams first. I had to take note of the amount of adidas logos used (POS) and I had to count the amount of gondolas and bays that adidas products take up (SOS). Gondolas are the standing units that hold clothes and bays are the wall mounted units that hold clothes. I also had to take pictures to put on my power point presentation.
We visited JJB Sports, Sweatshop, Sports Direct, Next Sports and evaluated there too. For lunch we went to NANDO'S! (my choice) Got my usual: Chicken Butterfly, Garlic Bread and Chips with PERI PERI salt (om-freaking-nom). I had a total of 3 Nando's that week. NO REGRETS.
I left the city at 4 o'clock and headed home - I was collapsing with the tiredness.

Out of all the days, this was probably the day when I worked the hardest. My notebook was absolutely filled with notes and I took over 100 photos! I really enjoyed the day and I was proud of my work :)

Work Experience Day 2

Day 2 of Work Experience at the adidas Area North offices was really good :)
Today a Team Meeting was held in the adidas suite (mentioned in my last blog). The Team Meeting is a monthly meeting to run through what has been done/what needs to be done etc. So when February 28th rolled around it was time for another Team Meeting.
In the morning, I went to the main offices and helped another employee, Louise, stick 3-page agendas together. These mapped out the deadlines which need to be met between now and the end of the year. This includes the all important London 2012 Olympics.
After doing this I made my way over to the adidas suite, a 2 minute walk away. The entire Trade Marketing Team were assembled in the conference room - all 17 of them.
I observed presentations on the Olympics, new policies and the new Predator football boots and took notes from each presentation. I took every opportunity as a chance to educate myself.
Lunch was brought to the adidas suite and I spoke to the other members of the Trade Marketing Team during lunch. They are all really friendly and nice. After lunch, an hour was given for everyone to work on their own so I used my time to revise what had been presented and to write about my day at the Team Meeting.
After planning when the next Team Meeting will be, it was time to head home. Before I left, I was briefed on my arrangements for tomorrow. At 5.20pm, absolutely shattered, I headed home.

Once again, my day working at adidas was really really good :) And also, I learnt A LOT today.

Work Experience Day 1

Just like November, I am doing another week of Work Experience (but this time just one week lol).
This time around, I am doing my Work Experience at adidas - before you correct me, it is spelt with a lower case 'a'.
The adidas logo:

My aunt is the manager of the trade marketing team of the adidas offices in Manchester so I'll be staying with her while I am doing my Work Experience. On Saturday, 25th, I flew over to Manchester from Dublin. Little story - I almost missed my flight because I was updating my Facebook status. Awks.

I had to wake up at 7 on Monday morning and surprisingly for me, I actually managed to get out of bed.
We left the house a bit after 8 and drove to the offices. When I arrived in the gate, I saw a medium sized building with the adidas stripes on the outside so I presumed that these were the offices but I was wrong - that was the adidas suite. A bit further up the road was a huge black building with a white stripes running down the front - THIS was the building. We walked in and once you get past the reception, it opens up into a big atrium where the canteen is. Its turns out, the whole building goes in a circle around the atrium so its actually really easy to find my way around.I then introduced myself to the other members of the trade marketing team who I would be working beside for the rest of the week.
I was given my agenda for the week and boy is it good :D But I'll let you know as the week goes on *suspense*
Then I headed up to the HR (Human Resource) department and was given an induction by two employees from HR and where I had to sign a load of forms on health & safety, policies, benefits etc. I then returned to my desk and read a book all about the history of adidas.
My aunt's intern, Will, then showed me around the offices and explained the jobs/roles of each section. Then we visited the showrooms of adidas stock (they are in the adi suite that I mentioned above) . Buyers from shops come in to see these showrooms and view the stock before deciding whether or not to purchase it and sell it in their shops. There are also boardrooms where meetings are held in the adi suite. We also visited the Reebok showrooms which are right beside the adidas building as adidas owns Reebok. In the warehouse where the Reebok showrooms are, there is also a huge gym where the staff of adidas take part in 'Crossfit' which is like a test of fitness.
Then it was time for lunch. I went back to the adidas building and had lunch with my aunt (chicken tika and naan bread NOM) in the canteen. Employees are given a lunch allowance of £1.50 which covers an entire meal so my lunch was free. But if I decided to buy something extra like a cup of tea or a bar of chocolate, I would have to pay for it myself.
I returned to my desk and continued reading the book about the story of adidas. Then I had to look at all the online suppliers of adidas and write down my opinion of each of them. For example - was the site easy to navigate? Is there obvious adidas branding?Etc. I left the offices a bit after 5pm.

I really enjoyed today. I learnt a lot about the jobs done by the trade marketing team and as I am looking at marketing for the future I found it very interesting and eye opening :)
Everyone was really friendly and I am looking forward to the rest of the week.

The offices:

                                                                                                                              ( Source 1 Source 2)

I feel so charitable

Friday, 24th February, 2012: All of TY spent the day in Dublin City (it will hereafter be called simply 'Town' lol) We were going in to sell lollipops for the Oesophageal Cancer Fund. The reason that Lollipop Day is related to oesophageal cancer is because one of the first signs of that particular cancer is that you can't swallow properly. 
We hopped on a bus and well...you know my love of the banter which occurs on buses ♥. Before we got on the bus, all of us were given t-shirts and caps which had 'Lollipop Day' on them. Firstly, the t-shirts were HUGE (size extra large) and secondly, hats do not suit me... but it was for a good cause so I put my vanity behind me.
When we arrived in town, we went to Powerscourt Shopping Centre and were given the buckets that we would be collecting money in as well as the badges and more importantly, the lollipops that we would give to the people who donated. And off we went!
I was in a group with Laura, Aoife and Eimear and our area to collect money in was Fitzwilliam Street which is MILES away! Surprisingly we actually got quite a lot of money. Some people even put fivers in! It was up to me to do all the asking (grrr Laura -_-) and I have never got rejected so many times in one day </3 *forever alone*
Then about an hour and a half in, Mrs L rang me and asked did we want to go and collect money around Grafton Street (one of 2 major shopping streets) so obviously I jumped at the offer!
So back we headed to Grafton Street.
Me, Laura and a couple of other girls from TY had our lunch in McDonalds (surprise, surprise) then continued collecting.
By the end of the day, we had gotten LOADS of money :) And apart from a strange encounter with a group of sleazy Belgians (never thought I'd say that...) it all went well. I like to thank in particular, the generous men who work at the Viking Splash Tour and the Dublin City Bus Tour! Cheers lads ;)

Being charitable was fun! :D

The Best Day of my Life...

Thursday, 23rd February, 2012: You can guess from the title that this was a pretty amazing/fantastic/awesome/mindblowing day!!
The school bank - Super €uros - which is ran by TYs (Caitriona, Aoife, Fiona, Sarah B and Elizabeth) was launched. The bank began around October and since then it has grown steadily. I am a member and proud to say it!
The girls are going to be competing against other school banks at a competition in a few weeks time and will be in with the chance of winning really good prizes. The launch is a huge part of the running of the bank so it was crucial for it to be a success.
The day of the launch, all the bank members we're super busy and getting really stressed. Me and Daloo helped them set up in the hall. We blew up balloons then painted the all important bank poster for them. That poster actually took ages! Me and Daloo were literally running around in such a panic trying to get it finished. We painted the Superman symbol  with a '€' in the centre rather than a 'S' on a blue background with red writing saying "Super €uro's Bank Launch". The bank girls were really happy with it but being the perfectionists that we are, myself and Daloo thought it could improve. :L
Seeing as we were helping out, me and Daloo were the first to arrive at the launch which meant that we got RIGHT in front of the stage. "A stage?" you say. YES a stage! And that is because there was going to be some very special guests at the launch...
The rest of the bank members came running in and swarmed around the stage (exactly why I was glad that I got there early). Finally the first special guest was introduced on stage - Johnny Doyle!! :D The Kildare gaelic football player. He made a speech about how saving in time like this is important... he's so motivational :') And after he cut a ribbon to symbolise the official opening of the bank.
Then Caitriona (she is the manager) came back onto the stage to introduce the next special guests. It went something like this:
Caitriona: I would like to introduce -
Audience (Me especially): Wooo!
Caitriona: Our next guests -
Audience (Again, me especially): WOOO!
Caitriona: The Original Rudeboys.
Audience (Ok, all me this time): WOOOO-ohmigawd-OOOOO! ^_^
Yes, believe it or not, Sarah B managed to get THE ORIGINAL RUDEBOYS to come to our school! For ages I've absolutely loved them (they even replied to me on Twitter!). Then, out they came onto the stage - one word...PHWOAR ♥♥♥. Neddy, Sean and Rob looked pretty darn gooood. (My reaction: Daaaaammmmmn!)
They performed 4 songs in total and I was belting out the words because I have no self respect. After I got loads of hugs from them and they signed my poster and my arm (I was the only one who got that lol). I even had a chat with them after! They were so nice :)

So yeah, that was honestly the best day! All thanks to The Original Rudeboys ... :) x

Down to Business

Wednesday 22nd February, 2012: (yes I have once again falling behind in writing my blog posts) we spent the entire day taking part in a competition for our TY Mini Companies. Unlike previous years, only 1 or 2 Mini Companies from our school would be involved in the competition - so we had a preliminary competition in our school. We had to present our Mini Company to Orla and another woman, Phyllis, from the Kildare Enterprise Board to be in with a chance of getting through.
My Mini Company, Mod-Pod, is a plastic cover for an Apple iPod touch that has an indentation around the edges so you can wrap your headphones around your iPod and secure them in place, as well as preventing them from getting tangled. It also features a clear slot at the back of the cover which allows you to place a personal photo or template into. (That has been rehearsed so so SO many times, I can recite it off the top of my head!)
We have failed to get a manufacturer seeing as our idea is so complex and unique. The cheapest we have got it for was 1,187 euro so obviously no way josé were we ordering from that company. This put us at a disadvantage seeing as we were only presenting an idea, rather than an actual product. Also, my Mini Company was unbelievably disorganised (lol). We had a last minute meeting on Tuesday to sort out our poster for the competition and at this meeting, I found out that we needed a banner with our company name/logo on it for tomorrow as well!! ...awks...
The morning of the actual competition was possibly THE most productive morning in my life. Me and Emma got the banner painted and if I do say so myself, it looked pretty good :D Then we stuck the poster on the display stand, stuck the banner on the wall above the stand, put a white sheet over a table in front of the stand, found a red cloth somehow and ran that along the centre of the table (our Mini Company colours were red, white and black), place random iPods and covers and tangled headphones around the table, got a prototype of our product made (we owe you big time Mr W) and learnt off our presentation! I can't actually believe we got aaaall that done in one morning :O *Slow clap* I was really proud of our display stand.
Then we presented the idea and it surprisingly went really well. Both the judges were super positive about our idea, the only fault was the fact that we couldn't get a supplier. They even said we should get the idea patented but oh well! I was really happy with my Mini Company's work so well done guys :)

In the end, we didn't get through but I honestly do not mind in the slightest (and I'm not just saying that). Mini Company was fun and a great experience and all, but it wasn't worth all the stressing so in a way I'm both happy AND sad that it has finally ended.
But well done to Illuminate for getting into the competition! I knew you would! So, Good Luck next week ;)

I can now officially say: Farewell Mod-Pod xoxoxoxo

We Sing a Song to Brigid

Tuesday, 7th February 2012: All over Ireland people celebrated St. Brigid's Day on the 1st February. She is a the patron saint of the county which we live in - Kildare! (YEAUH BUDDY) The story of how she built a church on the site which is now the Curragh Racecourse can be found here . (Sorry, but I'm too lazy to write it out tehe)

To celebrate this, all of TY was brought to Kildare town, about half an hour away from here. We went to the Visitor Centre in the middle of Kildare Town and watched a video all about St. Brigid and the religious history of Kildare. Then we visited the Protestant church there and we all got the chance to ring the bell in the church! *Dream come true* But, I'm sure the people of Kildare were very confused about what time it was. After, we walked to Brigid's well which was a bit outside the town and blessed ourselves with the holy water in the well. I did it twice so I might as well have been Jesus himself. (Amen) Then came the super long trek to the other, bigger well. When we finally got there we took part in some religious ceremonies. It was really pretty and peaceful there :)

Then we walked aaaaall the way back to our bus in Kildare Town.

Oh and I forgot to mention that me and Daloo spent the whole day in huge fluffy hats :3 We looked pretty fly...

Until next time :) 

A Drama Filled Day in Mullingar

Tuesday, 24th January 2012: TYs headed off on the long bus journey to Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Myself and Emma spent our time on the bus doing our best rendition of "We Are The World"... ears bled to say the least.
The two other TY classes, Eriú and Banba, have spent the last few months preparing 4 separate plays to take part in a drama competition. Just to let you know, the students wrote these play themselves which is such an achievement so well done girls!
Arriving in the surprisingly large town over an hour later, the huge wine coloured group of us, squeezed into the theatre.
Fódla took our place in the seats of the theatre and watched a couple of the plays rehearse. We had to give our advice but we may have taken our criticisms a tad bit too far.

Drama 1 (Eriú)
This drama was based on Seamus Heaney's 'Mid-Term Break' (a poem I absolutely love, by the way). It was so good! The poem is so heart breaking that it wasn't too difficult to recreate the sadness on stage. Eleana was playing the character of the dead child's sibling and when "A four foot box, a foot for every year" was quoted by the narrator, her portrayal of the crushed sibling was just amazing! I asked her afterwards had she ever done acting before and was so shocked to find that she hadn't! I really liked that play.

Drama 2 (Banba)
The following drama was centred around bullying, a topic that is always so sad. The typical story of an outcast vs. a trio of popular girls with a vicious ringleader that ended with an unimaginable twist! The leader of the popular girls was played amazingly by Sarah. Her boyfriend (well not so much 'boy') gets the outcasted girl, Siofra, pregnant. Sarah's character's bullying and exclusion of Siofra's character backfires leading the rest of the school to hate Sarah. The final scene is off the visions of her schoolmates taunting her. With each snide comment, Sarah takes a pill. When she tries to stand she collapses onto the table and the pills spill everywhere. Believe me when I say, that her death was so realistic, that firstly, I questioned was Sarah ok and secondly, me, Emma and Niamh gave each other the "OH MY GOD, DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?" look. After that performance I thought to myself that it was the one to beat...until the 3rd play began.

Drama 3 (Eriú)
I feel mean saying this but... this was the best drama of the day! It was inspired by the song 'Concrete Angel' which is one of the saddest songs in the world! It makes me cry everytime I listen to it :( The song is about a young girl who is abused by her mother. But this abuse goes unnoticed by her teacher and father. The play was just as heartbreaking as the song. Aoife played the cruel mother flawlessly, and I flinched when she was beating down her daughter, played by Grace, physically and mentally. One day, things go too far. The mother smashes a bottle over her daughter, killing her. The father, Isabelle, walks in to find his sweet daughter dead and his demented wife in the corner, sobbing. But, nothing compares to the final scene of the play - the funeral. Standing over the grave, Isabelle delivered one of the best monologues I have ever heard. It was so emotional and rivalled that of Shakespeare and Wilde. I would consider myself the least emotional person in the world and I am very embarrassed to say that tears threatened to come! I would see that play again in a heartbeat.

Drama 4 (Banba)
The final drama of the day, once again, centred around bullying. This one was inspired by the Wendy Cope poem, 'Tich Miller'. It is viewed from the eyes of an unpopular girl who knew of another girl who was even more of an outcast than herself - Tich. Vicky played Tich so well and was decked out in nerd glasses for the part. Tubby, the less unpopular girl, was played by Niamh. The story is taken from a heartfelt diary entry written about Tich, by Tubby. It tells us of the cruel treatment Tich and herself had to deal with from the bullies - Tich always drew the short straw. The last line of the play is the most heartbreaking. Tubby explains that over time, her life improved and she managed to get her own back. The Niamh delivered the final, sorrowful line: "Tich died when she was twelve". Once again, I found myself getting embarrassingly emotional.

All of the plays were so amazing that I have not done a good enough job of explaining just how amazing they were! Who knew there were so many brilliant actresses in our year?
After that depression session, I was in need of a little pick-me-up... Hello, McDonalds!
We (literally) stuffed our faces with the most unhealthy food imaginable (life = complete) then took a look around the town.
Like every other TY day out, it ended too soon so we had to make our way back onto the bus and off we headed to home.
On the return journey, me and Emma took a break and listened to a bit more 'relaxing' music and fell into one of those "bus ride home" comas.
An unforgettable day filled with drama :)

Sarah

Oxygen Hydrogen Sodium Sodium

Whats my name?

13th January, 2011: all of TY went to the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (using the full name awh yeah) in the RDS in Dublin City.
We went in 2nd Year but this time round was waaay better :)
The main reason being that we knew people actually IN it! Out of TY, 3 groups got in - the lucky suckers. All the projects were so good, its easy to see why my group and I didn't get in...
Me and Laura spent the day looking for free stuff (unsucessfully) and chillin' at our peeps' stands hehehe
Also, a momentus day in the history of our school life happened. Our school booked something on the SAME DAY as the local guys' school :o so yeah, talked to people we knew from there too :P
The bus ride to the RDS consisted of a small group of Fódlians belting out tunes from High School Musical. (badly)

Even though I was so tired that I needed a nap on the way home (most of us dozed off) I still didn't want the day to end.

Until we meet again
xoxo