BANGOR CHEMISTRY COMPETITION

This competition was held at Bangor University for many students in sixth form and colleges to compete. Llandrillo college hadn't competed in a few years so it was a pleasure to be chosen. I was very surprised that I was chosen because I have some very talented classmates in my chemistry class. There was a procedure taken to be chosen and as a class, we were assessed on our written practicals and we were also observed whilst doing the practicals. You had to be quick but careful and be able to work well as a group. I think my group worked very well together because we all get along in all our other classes and are very good friends. 

The competition was a great way to experience what laboratories looked like in universities and the equipment they used. We were given a method and answer sheet to work on and the only help we received was a quick talk with our chemistry teacher, Nick, about the scenario given, which was about water contamination. It was very exciting to  be just given a method and left to carry out the experiment with new equipment and environment. We saved a lot of time with giving out small jobs for everyone to do so that nobody would be waiting and we would always check each others work whilst communicating. It started off well but we did ran into some problems. One of the equipment used to measure light gave us two readings for the same set of samples we made and I think this was where things went wrong. We needed those result to carry on with our calculations but since we were unsure on which readings to take, we had a 50 50 chance but we did come up with an answer in the end.

After the experiment was done, we had lunch and headed to the lecture theater to hear the announcement of the winners. Unfortunately, we didn't win but it was okay because we had a good time and learnt some new things. Also we had a small show about different chemicals and how they reacted. The most exciting one was when the balloon full of helium was lit up and gave a very loud bang! And anyway we got some glow sticks and a goody bag to take home so everyone was happy. 

It would be amazing to compete again next year but I think we need to let the new IB1s next year to have a go, or to even try other competitions. You learn new things and you can put it in your CV that you've been taking part in these kinds of things in your free time. It shows interest and we can find out if we want to carry on in that sort of field. All in all, it was a great day and a great experience. Also, we had lots of photos taken but only three made it!

CHERNOBYL CHILDREN VISIT

We were visited by two lovely little girls from Chernoby today. They were the few lucky children that were chosen to have a holiday here in the UK to visit other places apart from their home town and get better in health, since they will temporarily be out of a radioactive zone. We decided to play simple games with them that didn't require much speaking since they cuold only speak Russian and we could only speak English. So we decided to play jenga with them and also made a really long paper chain that we took out in the hallway to see which team won. They seemed to really enjoy these simple activities and it made me think of the lives lived by some people in the world that doesn't have the same luxuries as I do and it made me feel grateful for everything that I have and the family I have. I think these holidays that are provided for these children are really important because it gives them a chance to see the world outside their town/ village and also so that they can feel healthy again and make new friends. It's not fair that they have to sudder for someone elses fault and this holiday, short it may be, is still a chance for them to develope and gain a better understanding about the world. It can also make them feel like they aren't alone and there are people that are trying to help them.

RIBI YOUNG WRITER/ PHOTOGRAPHER COMPETITION

Runner Up!

The themes for the three pictures that we had to produce was 'people' so I decided that for my pictures I would show career, leisure and friendship as I believe that that is the norm or modern take in today's society. Almost everybody in our modern world now are born into this somewhat routine. You go through education to get a job to do things you like and you meet nice and bad people as you go along. My first picture of the person playing the guitar looks at career and the edit of it being black and white shows that a lot of people nowadays do jobs just to live. To earn a decent living to feed the family and to get by. This isn't for everyone as there are people who love their jobs but I think for the majority it's the case of finding a job to have a job. But on the flip side I think in this picture it shows commitment and sacrifice and I think that's very important.

My second picture I tried to convey leisure. Everyone has different hobbies and interests and I see them as a way of escape; to leave reality for a while and enjoy the things you like. It could be as simple as drawing or to more complex things like climbing mountains. 

In my last picture I wanted to portray friendship. Friendship can be with other people but also with animals. I agree with the quote 'A dog is a man's best friend' but for me I have a cat instead of a dog. I believe that animals can relieve stress that comes with responsibility of life. I think the picture represents how animals can bond with their owners. 

FILIPINO CHRISTMAS PARTY

Dance Practice, 80s theme!

Every year the filipino organising committee organises a big Christmas party at Rhyl town hall for everyone to attend. It's very joyful and memorable. To make it interesting there is a programme which consists of performances, such as dances, singing and raffle draws. I was part of the dancing groups as you can see below in the picture. The theme was 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, my group had the 70's music and we met up whenever everybody was free to practice. Someone decided on the music we were going to dance with and someone choreographed. To be honest it was quite hectic but our practices paid off and we performed very well! It got me out of my comfort zone since I don't really like to be performing in front of a big crowd but it was exciting and I got through it. But if someone would ask me again if I were to do it again for next year, I would probably hide back again in my comfort zone and reject the offer. I think this was a great way to experience and realise the things that I can do and shouldn't be afraid of doing but also to find out the things I like and don't.  

CAROLLING

Choir Practice & Performance: Chernobyl Trust

We had 8 choir practice sessions and we were lucky to have Tasha as our coordinator. We sang a mixture of christmas carols and some classics from the Beatles. I was only a singer but there were guitar players, keyboard players and tamborine players. I was going to play the guitar but I suddenly got stage fright so I decided against it. Maybe as a challenge I might play next time.

My favourite song out of the whole pack was 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles. It was very relaxing and had a good message, also the nah nah nah bit at the end is just fun to rock to.

Performing at bay view was a first for me since I've never been in a choir before. I enjoyed it, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We had people stopping and singling along and the crowd was very generous.

I think I prefered singing at the Convent of Mercy Nursing Home because it was quiet you could really appreciate the songs. And looking at the elderly people enjoying the music and clapping along made it worth while. They may not akways be able to go out so it was right that us young people to go and visit them.

In conclusion it was a great time for bonding with the IB1s and we were helping out for a good cause.

POINT MARKER

Basketball Match between Llandrillo Lightnings and West Cheshire College

Angel and I had the pleasure of keeping track of the team's scores. I was responsible for West Cheshire and Angel for the home team. Our task was to write down the number of who scored, the number on their jersey top and how many they got. I was panicking at the start because I've never dine anything like this before but David, their coach was extremely kind and helpful and told me everything I had to know. It was quiet a challenge because the pace of the game was very quick and I had to make sure I familiarised myself with the team to make it easier. By the end of the game I knew who was the main shooter, in defence and the rebounder. West Cheshire was very skilled and won with an outstanding score of 100. 

What I noticed during the game was their coaches demands. I for one thought he was being a bit harsh at times but looking back I guess it was necessary to keep the player in a state of mind to win. Their coach was very passionateand the game and it showed in his coaching.

I also saw and learnt that even though one team looses, at the end of the game both team come together and shake hands and there's no arguements or hard feelings. It was nice to see that there is good sportsmanship, no cheating just a fair game. 

I would like to do something like this again so I learn about the sport itself and I like sports anyway so I enjoy it a lot too. 

PSEUDOSCIENCE TRIP

Pseudoscience at Manchester 

We went to Manchester early morning to go to some talks that also included being hypnotized. The talks were quite interesting but I didn't agree with all what was said. For example they said that vitamins were completely useless. I think they do help people and from experience has helped me too and I think just the way they said that is was useless was too much of a statement. But the disagreement I had made me listen more and I guess I enjoyed it more. There was a lot of people who came and the room was almost full of students and tutors. The hypnotist that came wanted some participants but I didn't qualify with the initial test that he did which showed if we were suggestible people. There was this test where we had to imagine closing the light and we had to close our eyes and if you were suggestible you couldn't open your eyes until he said you could. But I could open my eyes which meant I wasn't suggestible. I think I was not suggestible because I was very aware and knew that I was in control of myself. I was very suspicious of everything he did so I guess that made me a less reliable participant.

This hypnotist part of the day was very funny and very interesting because there were some people that did everything he suggested to them. I was wondering if they were actors or just doing everything he said to be funny but it did look like they weren't acting. It sort of makes you think about different kinds of people and how you could manipulate others for your own good or to help. You can hypnotize a person to forget a traumatic event or you can hypnotize someone to do something bad. So it sort of makes you think about morals and peoples intentions.