Transition Year

TY Team

Our programme aims to:

• Enable students to develop life skills for their working life.

• Promote the development of personal and social responsibility for their community, both in school and in their local vicinity.

• Encourage the development of a wide range of transferable critical thinking and creative problem solving skills.

• Provide the students with a wide range of opportunities to broaden their educational experiences.

• Develop programmes that allow the students to learn independently.

• Provide a “bridge” to allow the students to transition between Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle, using the skills attained in Transition Year.

Core

All students take the following Core subjects:

(From transition year on the Sciences are taken in modular form) 

Modules

IN ADDITION, THE FOLLOWING MODULES ARE OFFERED:
 

Activities

(These can vary from year to year)

Students have the opportunity to get involved in a number of programmes that work in conjunction with curricular subjects, promote social and personal development, and foster greater social awareness.These include:

Homework

A key objective of our Transition Year Journal is to help the pupil keep a record of the work carried out in each class. It is essential that pupils RECORD the work covered in each class, as well as specific homework assignments. This helps pupils to keep an account of the work covered in each class each day. Tutors do check these Journals on a regular basis.

Homework includes READING OVER the material covered in each class, as well as written work, learning work, practical work, revision and exam preparation. Homework may also include independent research work in some subjects at different times.If a pupil is absent from class for any reason, it is the student's RESPONSIBILITY to find out details of the work she has missed. This applies to pupils who miss class due to sporting or extra curricular activities as well as illness.

This Journal serves a supplementary purpose of providing a template for personal reflection throughout Transition Year. It is the students’ responsibility to follow all requests by teachers and the T.Y. Team to complete reflective assignments on a regular basis.

Homework during T.Y. will often be of a highly varied type. All homework assignments are of educational value and merit. Students must complete all homework assignments on time and in the format requested by the subject teacher. Homework will consist of research, project work, preparation for oral presentations and exhibitions as well as written homework.

School Reports

Formal school reports will be issued on 4 occasions during the school year.

• Report 1. November (This report will contain the results of the 1st module rotation)

• Report 2. January (This report will conatain the results of the 2nd module rotation and the results of the Christmas exams)

• Report 3. June (This report will contain the results of the 3rd&4th module rotations/the stationary rotations and the results of the summer exams)

Assessment at Summer time will involve an exhibition of the student’s work. The school report will assess students on the following:

Attendance ∙ Attitude to school work and programme ∙ Cooperation with staff ∙ General Behaviour ∙ Homework and study habits ∙ Initiative/Independent learning ∙ Leadership qualities ∙ Maturity ∙ Participation in class ∙ Participation in extra-curricular activities ∙ Participation in TY opportunities ∙ Punctuality ∙ Relationship with others ∙ Reliability ∙ Teamwork skills

Evaluation

Sacred Heart Secondary School will regularly review and evaluate its Transition Year Programme. This will be done in consultation with all parties. Through review and evaluation we will allow the Transition Year Programme to constantly evolve to meet the requirements of parents, students and teachers. Review and evaluation will involve the use of the following forms:

Evaluation of Transition Year Programme by parent ∙ Evaluation of Transition Year Programme by student ∙ Evaluation of student work experience by employer ∙ Subject/Module evaluation by student ∙ Teacher self-evaluation

Evaluation of Transition Year Programme by students and parents is conducted using online surveys. The school facilitates the completion of these surveys on the occasion of the TY Graduation Night. External evaluation is carried out by the Department of Education and Science Inspectorate

Communication with Parents

Close contact with parents will be maintained during 4th year. The following means of communication will be used:

School Website and TY specific E-News ( parents need to sign up for this on the website and all TY news items will be automatically forwarded to the e-mail provided) ∙ Information Night for students and parents on Transition Year Programme ∙ Information Night for 4th Year students and parents before Student Exchanges ∙ Letters including permission letters ∙ Parent/Teacher/Student Meeting in January each year ∙ Parents and students are provided with the Transition Year Programme Handbook ∙ Parents attend an Exhibition Night at the end of the school year ∙ Parents complete a Transition Year Programme Evaluation ∙ Parents sign an Application Form and a Contract of Learning ∙ Reports

Certification

Certificates are presented towards the end of the May each year at a Graduation Ceremony to which parents, family members and teachers are invited. This ceremony is a highlight of Transition Year for both the students, their parents and the TY core team. As well as the presentation of certification, students create an exhibition of their year work and families have the opportunity to chat informally to teachers and get a taste of work carried out during the year.There will be opportunities to receive external certification during TransitionYear in some subject / modules.

Other Certificates Awarded:

First Aid - Student Enterprise Awards certification - Get Up & Go Mini Company certification - Community Awareness -J unior Achievement certification - P.E. programme certification - Gaisce Certification - An Duais

Some of these course and programme certificates are compulsory aspects of Transition Year, whilst others are optional extras. The school will also certify the students’ participation, enthusiasm, commitment and progress throughout the year.