Sci-Fest Wednesday!

Last Wednesday, the 9th of May, all TY's went to Tallaght IT, for the Sci-fest Competition. When we arrived we set up our projects and waited as the judges came around to our stalls to judge our project. There were many other schools also and there was lots of great projects. We had four judges come and judge our project. Well done to all the girls who won prizes!! We also went to talks that were on in the college. One was about forensic science, which was my favourite! We also went to a Talk about chemistry which was really good too. Over all it was a great day out and one to remember!

Sports Day!

Yesterday, the St.Wolstan's girls and teachers had their annual sports day. This has to be one of my favourite days of the year! Spirits were high yesterday morning, and to make things even better, it was a roasting hot day!!! All the students and teachers gathered outside at half twelve, and stayed outside until 4 o'clock. There was so many races and competitions but hats off to Emer Reilly, who won the high jump! woohoo for Emer! My favourite was the three legged race, that I did with Caitriona. Unfortunately we didn't win, but we didn't fall which was a major bonus! So many girls got sun burnt yesterday, and are walking around like giant tomatoes! Best Sports day yet I must say!

My Geography Project

Here's My Geography Project! Happy Reading! :)


Blog 1: Ice Road

Blog 2: World's Worst Road

Blog 3: Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Blog 4: The Dakar Rally

Blog 5: Rallying, Back to Ireland

Rallying - Back To Ireland!

The last part of my Geography project brings me back to Ireland. I am looking at Rallying in Ireland and also Mondello Park. Rallying is a form of racing that takes place on either public roads of private roads. Specially built road legal cars are raced. They race from point-to-point, each point is called a stage. Rallies can be won by pure speed throughout the stages or by completing it within a set time.

Rallies can take place on many different surface types, such as gravel, tarmac, snow and ice.

Modello park is an international motor sport venue in Caragh, Co.Kildare. it is Ireland's only  venue like this. It has hosted events like the Irish Championship Car, Kart and Motorcycle race and international GT and Rallycross events. It holds car and motor cycle track days, where any road legal vehicles can be driven.

Mondello Park is home to JapFest, Ireland's only Japanese car show, which takes place every September.

The park also has a small museum containing some cars from the past 30 years!

The park is situated on 110 acres , including a 3.5 kilometre race track, 24 race garages and 12 hospitality suites. A 3 kilometre extreme-off road race trail and a 5 acre off-road activity centre.

The Dakar Rally.

The Dakar rally is an off-road type of race that takes place once a year. It is organised by Amaury Sport Organisation.

It was founded by Thierry Sabine. The race started in 1977 after got lost on his motor bike in a different desert rally in Libya. Saved from the sands in extremis, he returned to France promising himself he would share his fascination with as many people as possible. His motto for his inspiration is “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind.”

 Originally going from Paris to Dakar in Senegal, but now the destination has changed.

The race started from Paris every year from 1979 to 1994, and in 1998 and 2001. Due to various political disturbances and violence in some of the countries, the route changes annually. In 2009 it changed drastically, and moved to South America. The Dakar Rally is a very popular race; the organizers of the rally traditionally had to stop accepting applicants 6 months before the deadline.

The Dakar Rally requires extreme endurance and navigational skills. Navigation skills are always the key to winning the race, as the majority of races take place in the desert.#

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is the most popular sporting even in Alaska. It is a long distance sled dog race run that takes place every year in the month of March. The team consists of 12-16 dogs, and ‘Mushers’, the term used for the people who are in the team. The race lasts between 9 and 15 days.

The teams often race through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds. Temperatures can go to as low as -73 degrees Celsius.

The race starts in Willow, in central Anchorage, a city in Alaska. The trail runs from Willow, up the rainy pass of the Alaska Range, along the shore of the Bering Sea, and Ending in Nome in the West of Alaska. The mushers trail through harsh landscape of tundra and spruce forests, over hills and mountain passes, and across rivers.

World's Worst Road

The next type of driving i looked at was on the Worlds most dangerous road. The Yungas road in Bolivia was titled the worlds worst road by the Inter-American Development Bank in 1995. It is situated at the San Pedro Waterfall in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is a 69 kilometre road from La Paz to Coroico. It is estimated that up to 300 people are killed along this road every year. The Yungas road is one of the few routes that connects the Amazon rain forest region of northern Bolivia to it's capital city. The road ascends to around 4,650 meters at La Cumbre Pass, before descending to 1200 meters at Coroico. The road is extremely dangerous, as it has a single lane width, with the road being no more that 10 feet wide. Rain, fog and dust can also reduce visibility, and many areas of the road is muddy.
A local rule of the road is that the downhill driver never has the right of way and must move out to the edge of the road. In 1983, a bus came off the Yungas road into a canyon, killing over 100 people. It is described as Bolivia's worst road accident.