Portmarnock Community School: Transition-year 2013 / 2014

TRANSITION YEAR
2013 - 2014
Portmarnock Community School

PLEASE NOTE!
 The 2013 /2014 Transition-year is still in
development.
 There will be an online aspect to the year
that is yet to be finalised
 You will be informed once decisions are
made!

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

…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.

…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 - Mr. Maynes
 Tutors: Ms. Dixon, Ms. Clynes, Ms.
Richardson, Ms. Bolger, Ms. D. O‟ Brien
 T.Y. Co-ordinator Mr. O‟ Mahony

SOME KEY DATES
 Exams – 2nd and 3rd December 2103
 Exams – 15th and 16th May 2014
 Work-experience 9th Dec. „13 (two weeks)
 Community-care 3rd Feb. „14 (two weeks)
 TY Night Monday May 26th ‟14

 Work-experience Diary due date: Monday
13th January 2014.
 Community-care Diary due date: Monday 3rd
March 2014
 3% less per day – after one week (zero i.e.
loss of 45% of marks)

 Planned week for Play
- Week of November 18th 2013
 Planned week for Musical
- Week of March 24th 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 – Mr. Clarke
5. Life-skills – Ms. Clynes 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, 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

GAISCE
There 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

CHANGE THIS YEAR
Students undertaking Gaisce will be available
for their overnight at Glendalough
on
Thursday and Friday
April 10th and 11th 2014

OTHER ACTIVITIES
 Mini-companies, mentored by Fingal
Enterprise Board
 AIB Build a Bank
 An Gaisce Award (€10 extra)
 The Play “Twelfth Night”
 The Musical “Guys and Dolls”
 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 2013)
 UCD – Physics workshop (one place)
 RCSI – Mini-Med (one place)
 RCSI – Innovations exhibition (thirty places)
 St. Patrick University Hospital (Two 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 (2012/13
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…

EXTRAS
 Ski-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

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 Friday May 2nd 2014
Interviews:
Wednesday – Wed14th and Wed 21st May

MOTIVATION
 Make Transition-year – your year!

Portmarnock Community School: Transition-year 2013 / 2014

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