TY Presentation for Parents/Students '14

Portmarnock Community School

Transition Year 2014 - 2015

Transition-year

Teacher says! “The opportunity of a lifetime to be used with the lifetime of the opportunity”

Student says! “…get involved in as many things as you can, the year will be so much better…”


Key Information for your child

From June 2014 on the transition-year section of the

School website

www.portmarnockcommunityschool.ie



WHAT IS TRANSITION YEAR?Optional first year of a three-year Leaving

Certificate Programme

Strongly subscribed to by students, staff and parents of Portmarnock Community School

Programme varies from school to school

WHAT IS TRANSITION YEAR? Professional development Service for Teachers:

…a unique one year programme that promotes the personal, social, vocational and educational development of students and prepares them for their role as autonomous, participative and responsible members of society.


Professional development Service for Teachers:

…a bridge to enable students to make the transition from the more dependent type of learning associated with Junior Cycle to the more independent learning environment associated with Senior Cycle.

…encourages the development of a wide range of transferable critical thinking and creative problem solving skills.


Why TY?Promotes personal and social

developmentPromotes self-esteem and self-confidenceImproved results in the Leaving

Certificate (E.S.R.I. 2005)Wide range of subjectsExperience of the work environmentPositive approach to educationExposed to new learning skills

T.Y. Year Head - Ms. Norris

Tutors: Ms. O'Dea, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Maher, Ms.Woods, Ms.McDonald

T.Y. Co-ordinator: Mr. O’ Mahony


CORE SUBJECTS IrishEnglishFrench or German or SpanishMathematicsInformation and Communications TechnologyPreparation for Working LifeReligious / Moral Development / Life-skillsPhysical Education

Optional Subjects (1)Design and Communication GraphicsEngineeringGeographyHistoryHome-economicsPhysicsWoodcraft and Furniture


Optional Subjects (2) Art, Craft, design Beginners Music Biology Business Studies ((Accounting, Business

Organisation and Economics) Chemistry Continuation Music Craft- Textiles


The Form


Activity Fee €230 – Due mid-September 2014

Has not increased in recent years

Set by the Board of Management


27th January 2014


Some key datesExams – December 2014Exams – May 2015

Work-experience Dec. 2014 (two weeks)Community-care Feb. 2015 (two weeks)

TY Night May 2015


Work-experience Diary due date: January 2015.

Community-care Diary due date: March 2015


Planned for Play - November 2014

Planned week for Musical - March 2015


Aims of work-experienceTo experience the nature and realities of

working life.To identify skills and abilities required for

particular jobs.To achieve a realistic knowledge of their own

interests, abilities and social skills.To achieve a knowledge and understanding of

job application and selection.


Aims of Community-care

To give students a greater understanding of the nature and value of their local communities

To allow students to give something back to their community


The placementStudents are advised to begin their search for

a placement as soon as the dates are confirmed

Students keep a diary during both their Work and Community Care placements

Students are monitored by teachers through telephone calls to their employers


Can I do (extra) Work-experience outside these dates?

Yes – in a small number of circumstances

Where e.g. a Hospital / Business / National-body has a set week and you get a place on it. You will inform the school with the letter of offer from that organisation


Where you get an exceptional offer of work experience from a Company (two recent examples were offers from a University and a computing multinational). You will write to the Principal requesting permission to

take up the offer stating who is offering you the

position, why is has to be undertaken outside the

set-dates and what you hope to achieve from it. Please allow the Principal five working days to make a decision. The decision will depend on the disruption it causes to your progress in T.Y. – that will obviously depend on the commitment you have shown to the year, to date.



EVALUATION

Initiative in finding a placement 10%Full completion of diary 25%Presentation of diary on due date 15%Report from employer 30%Oral presentation to class 20%

Your Tutor is responsible for this evaluation

Wednesday Modules1. Animation – Ms. Tynan2. Digital photography – Mr. Higgins3. Heritage - Mr. Dempsey / Mr. Curran4. Film-studies – Mr. Clarke5. Sports Science: Mr. McNeive & First-aid:

the Civil Defence


Formal reporting to parents / guardians


Traditional school reportsStudents will sit two formal examinations

(December and May) and receive two reports with a percentage grade in each subject

Irish / English / Maths / Continental European Language


May TY Report Divided into three parts:The Modules (= 500 marks)Academic options (Six subjects plus I.T. and

P.E.) = 800 marksParticipation

= 300 marks (Work-experience, Community, Care, Portfolio)


1050 - 1,500 - Distinction 825 – 1049 - Merit 600 – 824 - Pass 1 – 599 - Fail

You teacher will clarify with you the nature of this assessment and its due date - this may be online or as a verbal presentation or a poster, etc


TY Reports – as usual in January and June. This will include your absences.

May TY Report – on the TY “Celebration” night


GaisceThere are 4 different challenge areas. To earn an award, you will need to participate in each of the 4 challenge areas. You might decide to build on an activity you’ve tried in the past.

Each participant must participate in at least one new activity to earn an award.

The 4 challenge areas are:

1. Community Involvement 2. Personal Skill 3. Physical Recreation 4. Adventure Journey


GaiscePresidents Award Leader: Mr. Dempsey

Face to Face and Online requirements with both Mr. Dempsey and Gaisce

Deadlines are deadlines



Internal programmesVarious Talks e.g. Garda road-safety

Aptitude Tests

Thinking Outside the Box

Law Day


Other Activities Mini-companies, mentored by Fingal

Enterprise Board AIB Build a Bank An Gaisce Award (€10 extra) The Play “Taming of the Shrew” The Musical “possibly Bugsy Malone” Fundraising – Walk in my Shoes (St. Patrick’s

University Hospital) / Oesophageal cancer / R.N.L.I.


Other Activities Song-school (Up to twenty students - Small fee)

G.A.A. coaching with local Primary-school

Pupil participation in the Arch Club

Rotary Club – Intel Ideation Competition

Variety show – 30th April this year

Promote SciFest


Possible links with Third-level Beaumont Hospital / RCSI (Five places 2014)

DCU Compute TY (thirty places 2014)

UCD – Physics workshop (one place)

RCSI – Mini-Med (one place)

St. Patrick University Hospital (Two places 2013)

Physics Department TCD – nanotechnology / Astrophysics (1 place each)

DIT Computing academy (five places)


The way students (you) are going to college is changingDCU: Degree in Problem Solving & Software

Development (2013)

General DCU entry requirements plus Maths – not an accumulation of points

We still encourage students to do well in their Leaving Certificate exams, but we will select students based on their passion, experience and ability

Subjects + Portfolio + Interview


DCU Portfolio ideasHad appropriate computer-based

experience during transition year inside school

Developed a web site

Programming, participated in initiatives outside school e.g. ComputeTY, DIT Computing Academy etc


DCU Portfolio ideasProgramme their own computer (e.g. the

Rasberry pi)

Been involved extracurricular activity using

computers CoderDojo

Doing own work and opening badges in codecademy


TCD & the CAO – trial from 2014...a new system will take into account

Leaving Certificate results, a student's performance ranking in their own class, and a personal statement written by the student.

...want to get a raw honest enthusiastic assessment or account of why the person wants to study these particular things, who they are and the context in which the results were achieved

Trinity & the CAO – trial from 2014

History (TR003), Law (TR004), and Ancient and Medieval History and Culture (TR028)

Full details


Consider the Centre for Talented Youth Ireland, correspondence courses (2013/14 link – will be updated in Autumn ’13)



Sports programmes…emphasis on Coaching

…emphasis on skills development

…Dance / Frisbee

…possibility of Diving (extra cost)


P.E. Assessment

Students will use….technology to present or display information on the skill component,

psychology, or nutritional aspects of Physical Education. There will also be a unit on Sports

Science.

Deadlines are deadlines for submitting projects…


ExtrasSki-trip to Switzerland (participants selected

in Third-year)Lesotho experience (participants selected in

Third-year)Surfing in Mayo (with an marine awareness

module) - Sailing with Malahide Yacht Club –

certification – excellent value for money

Opportunities will arise...Film

Student Council

Fundraising


Motivation



PortfolioThe Portfolio is the purposeful collection of

your work

To show your effort, progress and achievement in ten areas of learning

You will select the pieces of your work that best show learning, not necessarily the best pieces


Content of PortfolioOne exemplar piece of work from Five

subjects you studied (5)

Photographs and accounts of two school-organised activities that took place outside Portmarnock Community School (2)

Reflection on one outside school activity that you undertook yourself (1)

One reflection on an activity you volunteered for in school (1)

One reflection on your experience of TY – a Written Report, a song, a poem, be inventive! (1)



Presentation of PortfolioA folderWith a table of contentsUse dividers for the ten pieces of workIndividualise it – but don’t make it “dazzling”

– you may need to show this folder elsewhere


Portfolio Interview

Portfolios submitted Friday May 2nd 2014

Interviews:

Wednesday – Wed 14th and Wed 21st May

Motivation

Make Transition-year – your year!


Evaluation

You will be asked to evaluate TY by post

Students will evaluate TY online


RecapThese slides are on the school-website

You and you child fill out the application form

In August you will receive a calendar and permission forms by post

Return those forms with Activity-fee


TY Presentation for Parents/Students '14

Education

Transcript of TY Presentation for Parents/Students '14