2015 - 2016

PORTMARNOCK COMMUNITY SCHOOL
TRANSITION YEAR 2011 - 2012

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…”

• 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 Dempsey
• Tutors: Mr O’hAonghusa, Mr
McDermott, Ms Tynan, M Curran, Mr
McNieve
• T.Y. Co-ordinator: Ms. Molamphy

• 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 8 th Dec. ‘14 (two weeks)
• Community-care 2 nd Feb. ‘15 (two weeks)
• TY Night Monday 18 th May ’15

• Work-experience Diary due date: Monday
19 th January 2015
• Community-care Diary due date: Monday
9 rd March 2015
• Late diaries will be penalised

• Planned week for Play
- Week of November 16 th 2015

• 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...

• 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…

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…

– 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

1. Animation – Ms. Tynan
2. Film Appreciation – Mr. Higgins
3. Heritage - Mr. Dempsey / Mr. Curran
4. Model making – Mr Behan
5. Life-skills – Ms. Richardson First-aid –
Civil Defence

• 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

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
= 500 marks (Work-experience (100),
Community Care (100), Portfolio(300)

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

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

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

• Presidents Award Leader: Mr. Dempsey
• Face to Face and Online requirements with both Mr. Dempsey and Gaisce
• Deadlines are deadlines

• Various Talks e.g. Garda road-safety
• DATS Aptitude Tests
• Thinking Outside the Box
• Law Day
• Titanic Trip

• Mini-companies, mentored by Fingal
Enterprise Board
• AIB Build a Bank
• An Gaisce Award (€10 extra)
• The Play 2014 “Much Ado About Nothing”
• Musical 2014“ The Phantom Of The
Opera”
• Fundraising – Walk in my shoes/ RNLI

• Create-school – movie/video making
• Compute TY DCU
• Department of Foreign Affairs
• Law library
• GAA coaching with local Primary-school
• Pupil participation in the Arch Club
• Rotary Club – youth leadership
• Variety show

• 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)

 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

• 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

• ...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

• …emphasis on Coaching
• …emphasis on skills development
• … Scuba Diving (extra cost) Certificate
• …Sailing (extra cost – National
Certification)

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…

• Ski-trip (participants selected in Thirdyear)
• South Africa experience (participants selected in Third-year)
• Surfing in Mayo (with an marine awareness module) -
• Sailing with Malahide Yacht Club – certification – excellent value for money

• Film
• Gardening
• Student Council
• Fundraising

• 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

Portfolios submitted to Tutor on Friday April
24 th 2015
Interviews: By tutor
Monday 27 th April and Monday 11 th May

• A fee of 250 euro
• “easy payments” on the school website
• Letter going home in April/May
• Pays for a range of activities

• DATS
• Law Day
• Play
• First Aid – Civil Defence and equipment
• Ballymun School Christmas trip
• European Youth Parliament
• DCU Compute TY
• Thinking Outside The Box
• Portfolio Prep days

• Irish Books
• Glendalough trip as part of their Gaisce
Award, buses and hostel
• Jean Gill – JC results day
• Textiles and model making equipment
• EcoUnesco application
• Day out – cinema and bowling
• Samba drums
• Create School – movie and video making

• Supervision for TY activities when teachers are out
• Buses – Glendalough, cinema, Titanic
• Titanic trip