Transition Year E-Bulletin

January 2017

All of us in Transition Year would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Module 2 is heading towards its close already which means 2/3 of the year have already gone. Module 2 is always a very busy but slightly fractured one due to the long Christmas break in the middle.

Guest Speakers:
We have had another exciting and varied number of guest speakers this module. Sarah Benson from Ruhama, who is a past pupil of Newpark, gave an extremely informative and harrowing talk on people trafficking and prostitution in Ireland.

John Lonergan, author of ‘The Governor’ who is always a highlight for students, came in to speak about his experiences as The Warden in Mount Joy. We also had a super talk from Mr Hollwey on his exciting adventures in Africa during the Summer, always entertaining and engaging.

We are looking forward to welcoming Claire and Mark from Irish Guide Dogs with their dogs. This always causes a stir and has been one of the highlights for many students.

One of the major upcoming events at the start of Module 3 is the lectures on Leaving Cert options. It is obviously a very important issue for the students as they begin their transition into 5th Year so is something we would advise that they start considering what they would like to do.

Leisure and Recreation:

Leisure and Rec has been brought mostly indoor for the colder Winter season, with a big group taking part in free climbing in The Wall Climbing Gym and another large group doing Yoga with Ms Edge.

The new lists for Module 3 are out and it is great to see so many people trying out new and different things. A big group will take on the challenge of Wake Boarding, SUP and Kayaking and plenty of people are heading to do Yoga, Tennis and Baseball.

We would encourage as many people to get involved in different activities as possible.

Trips:

Almost the whole of TY took the last Tuesday before Christmas to go Ice Skating. It was a great success that only carried a minimum number of bumps and bruises with it. Plenty of wet bums but a great deal of fun was had by all.

Ms Whelan’s Business group headed off to Mastercard, taking part in their Junior Achievement programme to do mock interviews, without a tie or smart outfit between them!

It has been amazing to see the wide variety of leave being applied for, whether it’s extra work experience, trips abroad or exciting days in Trinity, RCSI or DCU. We have had students in the US, South Africa, and all over Europe.

Congratulations to Teresa Xu who participated in the RCSI Mini-Med Programme, which although very real seems to have been a big success.

Assessment week and Module 2 Reports:

Assessment week will be running this module from January 30th – February 3rd. All subjects will be expecting projects and tests that week. Also the TY Module 2 Folder will be due to be uploaded to their E-Portfolio on or before February 1st. All the write ups that are required are in the Transition Year section of the App and in their E-Portfolios themselves.

Reports will be posted out after the February Mid-Term break.

Interview Day:

Interview day is coming up quickly after the February Activity Weeks. It will be on Wednesday March 15th. All students must present an up to date CV in a folder (which will be provided), with a letter of application and an advertisement, either fictional or real, for a job / Apprenticeship/University or College place of their choice. They will then be interviewed for this place or position in a mock interview on March 15th.

Their first draft of their CV is due to be handed in as a hard copy on February 1st. They all have a template for this which has been sent to them by Niamh O’Brien from Irish Recruitment Consultants who was in recently to talk through job applications, interview preparation and CV structure.

Anyone who may have an interest in becoming involved in Interview Day could contact morgan.lennon@newparkschool.ie. We are always looking for new interviewers with different areas of expertise.

Activity Weeks:
With activity weeks coming up fast, the Newpark App will be a crucial piece of technology to keep updated, with meet times, places and activities for In Dublin Week and Arts week. We have an exciting new format for Arts week and some interesting trips planned for In Dublin Week. These two weeks we are very lucky to have access to Dublin Criminal Courts which is something extremely difficult to get hold of. The App will be the main form of communication if changes are made or alterations required.

We are encouraging all students to ensure they have a topped up Leap Card for their ‘In Dublin Week’ in particular, they will be required to move around the city during the week and the easiest way to this is by using a Leapcard. Please also remember to be aware of the appropriate dress code during the week. The Monday walk may require different clothing to the trip to the Dublin Criminal Courts!

Please make sure all Work Experience forms are returned to Form Teachers as soon as possible. The deadline date was January 25th. Where possible do not allow employers to post back the assessment form. Please ask them to fill it in and hand it back to you at the end of the week as there are a number of credits allocated for its return to Form Teachers.

Algae Tecture:
Who are we? We are a TY based student orientated project. During a trip to Cloughjordan Eco Village in Tipperary we were set the task of coming up with an idea that can help our environment. What do we do? We are making Algae Powered oxygenators that take co2 and other bad gasses from the air and produces oxygen in its place. We have been working on this project as part of the “Young environmentalists awards” we are entering as an Eco Enterprise. We hope to start selling our oxygenators soon. We have a Facebook and an email: Facebook: Algae-Tecture email: algae.tecture@newparkschool.ie.

Attendance and Punctuality:

Don’t forget if you are taking a trip, doing an extra work experience or doing something inside of school time you must get an application for leave and hand it to ML. Please make the effort to attend all school activities during activity weeks and all school days! If you’re absent you need a note and please adhere to the meet times and timetable given!

TY Leave will only be given if the leave is for educational reasons.