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…”

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?

…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.

WHAT IS TRANSITION YEAR?

…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.

• T.Y. Year Head - Ms. Norris

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

• T.Y. Co-ordinator:

Some key dates

• Exams –4th and 5th December ‘14: – TY exams (Gaeilge, English, Maths and Continental languages)

• Exams – 14th and 15th May ’15 : – TY exams (Gaeilge, English, Maths and Continental languages)

• Work-experience 8th Dec. ‘14 (two weeks)• Community-care 2nd Feb. ‘15 (two weeks)

• TY Night Monday 18th May ’15

• Work-experience Diary due date: Monday 19th January 2015

• Community-care Diary due date: Monday 9rd March 2015

• Late diaries will be penalised

• Planned week for Play

- Week of November 17th 2014

WORK EXPERIENCE - AIMS

• To 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...

THE WORK PLACEMENT

• Students are advised to begin their search for a placement as soon as possible…

• During the work experience students keep a diary of each days work...

• They are monitored by teachers through telephone calls to their employers…

Community Care

...to give students a greater understanding of volunteering in their community…

...a time set aside to in the transition year calendar for pupils to give back to the community…

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 Modules

1. Animation – Ms. Tynan

2. Digital photography – Mr. Higgins

3. Heritage - Mr. Dempsey / Mr. Curran

4. Film-studies –

5. Life-skills – Ms. Richardson First-aid – Civil Defence

TY Reports

• Irish / English / Maths / Continental European Language

• You will sit two formal examinations (Christmas and Summer) and receive two reports with a percentage grade in each subject

May TY Report

Divided into three parts:

• The Modules (except life-skills / First-aid) = 400 marks

• Academic options (six subjects plus I.T. and P.E.) = 800 marks

• Participation

= 300 marks (Work-experience (100), Community Care (100), Portfolio(100)

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

Change

In 2014 / 2015 it is planned to allow 300 marks for the Portfolio

Last year (2013/2014)

• 1050 - 1,500 - Distinction

• 825 – 1049 - Merit

• 600 – 824 - Pass

• 1 – 599 - Fail

A small number of students got a “fail” certificate last year, many got a distinction.

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

• May TY Report – on the TY Night – a significant certificate crafted by Mr. Higgins

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

Gaisce

• Presidents Award Leader: Mr. Dempsey

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

• Deadlines are deadlines

Internal programmes

• Various 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”

• Fundraising – Walk in my Shoes (St. Patrick’s University Hospital) / Oesophageal cancer / RNLI

Other Activities

• Song-school (Up to twenty students - Small fee)

• GAA coaching with local Primary-school

• Pupil participation in the Arch Club

• Rotary Club – youth leadership

• Variety show

Links with Third-level

• DCU Compute TY (thirty places 2014)

• UCD – Physics workshop (one place)

• RCSI – Mini-Med (one place)

• RCSI – Innovations exhibition (thirty places)

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

• DIT Computing academy (five places)

The way students (you) are going to college is changing

DCU: 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 ideas

• Had 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 ideas

Built 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 ’14)

Sports programmes

• …emphasis on Coaching

• …emphasis on skills development

• …Dance / Frisbee

• …possibility of Diving (extra cost)

PE 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…

Extras

• Ski-trip (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

Unscripted opportunities

• Film

• Gardening

• Student Council

• Fundraising

Portfolio

• The 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 Portfolio

• One 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 Portfolio

• A folder

• With a table of contents

• Use dividers for the ten pieces of work

• Individualise it – but don’t make it “dazzling” – you may need to show this folder elsewhere

Portfolio Interview

Portfolios submitted to Tutor on Friday April 24th 2015

Interviews: By tutor

Monday 27th April and Monday 11th May