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Transition Year News Update
September October 2018
‘Transition Year: Our Favourite Moments So Far’
So far this year, we have taken part in many activities and have been proactive in helping our school community in many ways.
Kate and Emma’s favourite part of TY so far was visiting Lough Gara Stables. “We enjoyed the horse riding and the shooting. We did three types of shooting, clay pigeon, air soft and air rifle. We also visited the petting farm where we met Percy the pig. We also liked the scavenger hunt last week. We went around town searching for answers and competing challenges set for us by Ms Cronin. We had to split into groups of 6 and take pictures around many areas in town. Our favourite part was having to act out a famous movie scene on the bridge!”
Tom and Carly’s favourite moment in TY so far, was meeting new people and going to Lough Gara stables and playing with the animals.
“The best part of TY so far was clay pigeon shooting at Lough Gara Stables. We got to shoot long shotguns with suppressers. We had to hit flying targets in the air. We got to use the single barrel shotgun and the pump action shotgun. I also liked shooting the sniper rifles at plastic bottles.”
Tom’s favourite moment in TY is playing Gaelic with the juniors and seniors and another favourite thing in TY is taking a big part in the breakfast club. Carly’s favourite part of TY is having the time to choose a suitable career and deciding what subjects to study for the leaving cert.
Rachel and Alisha’s favourite part of TY so far is when we went to Lough stables. We liked the horse riding and the pet farm. We also enjoyed the scavenger hunt around the town. As part of this scavenger hunt our group gathered items and information and took pictures outside some of the town’s buildings. Our favourite challenge was the take a picture with a train.
“We had to do a movie scene somewhere in town and a marriage proposal on the bridge opposite the royal hotel, although some of the tasks were embarrassing it was fun because the whole team took part. Everyone worked together to get the tasks complete and we learned a lot about the town.”
We also enjoyed meeting our little sisters as part of the Big Brother, Big Sister programme. This will be brilliant for our CVs and is great fun at the same time. The essence of the Big Brother Big Sister programme is rooted in the school ethos of respect. The first years get a helping hand at the start of the year, just like we needed.
“Out of this interaction young people develop in ways that will make them more likely to succeed in the transition from adolescence to adulthood.“ - Big Brother Big Sister Ireland
Nicole and Sophie - A part of TY that we enjoyed was when we went to Lough Gara stables. I liked the horse riding and archery. Nicole liked the petting zoo thing with the animals. We also liked the scavenger hunt we did last week. I'm excited that we have a musical later this year.
Amy and Jamie’s highlights of Ty so far was when we went to Lough Gara Stables. I really enjoyed the horse riding and the archery. The horse riding was good because it was something that I’d never done before. Trying new things is what TY is all about. It was something different and a good day.
We have so much more to look forward to and we’ve achieved so much already!
European Youth Parliament
The European Youth Parliament is taking place in Cavan on the 9th, 10thand 11thNovember. Accommodation and meals are provided to the students attending. The school is allowed to send eight students. It was decided to draw names at random in front of the students. Students were only to put their names forward if they were available for all three days of the conference.
The lucky people selected were….
Grace Lally
Cadell Beirne
Kate Garavan
Nadine Johnston
Anna Demetrova
Jamie Reynolds
Shayn O'Dowd-Hayden
Megan Reynolds
Bonding Trip
TY bonding trip to Lough Gara stables confirmed for next Wednesday 24th. €25 per student. There will be horse riding, archery, obstacle course, etc.
There will be a full day’s action….
Work experience
Students will be on work experience from Monday 5th November - Friday 16th November. We will do random checks on students to see how they are getting on in their placement.
Scavenger Hunt
Students went on a Scavenger Hunt around the town next Thursday 18th Oct. Students had to work in groups and plan their route in order to complete as many tasks as possible. Students were very creative in completing the tasks and I have had great feedback from people and businesses around the town in how students interacted with them on the day.
Shoebox Appeal
Students are completing the collection of shoeboxes for the Shoebox Appeal which has been coordinated by Ms. Fahy & Ms Gannon and the TY class. Deadline for boxes if tomorrow Friday, 9thNov. Boxes can be loft into Trojan if after that date.
Christmas Market
Students will have a stall at the Boyle Christmas Market in King House in December selling handmade crafts. Students are working hard on making items and organising this event. This is being organised by Ms. Fahy.
Christmas Dinner
Transition Year will be holding a Abbey College TY Christmas Dinner in mid-December, date to be confirmed. TY Students will be involved in the preparation and cooking of their dinner on the day. This is being organised by staff and student
Show Brothers of Charity
Some TY’s are presently working with the Brothers of Charity on a “Football for All” soccer event each week. This is done in conjunction with Boyle Celtic
Music & Choir
Ty students are presently involved in music production and song writing using our new recording studio
* Students are writing songs in groups using Sound trap Interface
* Training in Sound trap Interface for music production
* Sampling existing hooks and riffs to make new songs
* Importing and editing tracks
* Creating drum loops and patterns
* Recording vocals/instruments using Logic Pro X
Ukulele lessons
* Parts of the ukulele
* Tuning/Using tuners
* How to read chord diagrams.
* Basic open natural chords (Am, G, C & F)
* Basic strumming patterns and notation (Down and up strums, and common patterns)
* Currently learning “Riptide” and “I’m Yours” songs as a class group
General Studies
Students are learning the basics of first aid over this term, giving them the skills and knowledge necessary to deal with both minor and major injuries.
* First Aid Basics
* CPR (123 ABC Compressions and AED use)
* Bleeds (PEEPS and dressings)
* Choking (Universal sign, backslaps and abdominal thrusts for both adults and children)
* Seizures (Signs and symptoms, how to assess and protect casualty from further harm, monitoring vital signs, and protecting the dignity of the casualty)
* Burns (different types of burns, degree of burns, treatment and dressings)
Social Studies
Students are studying 4 documentaries before the midterm, on 4 different topics to create awareness in each. They will then undertake to make a podcast in groups on one of the topics that interests them most, pitching it to the age level of their peers to create greater understanding in their chosen area. Students will have the option to make it a visual or purely audio podcast.
Documentaries are:
* Orla Tinsley “Warrior”, Cystic Fibrosis and Organ Donation Awareness
* “Before The Flood”, Climate Change and Environmental Awareness
* “Sky Ocean Rescue”, #passion plastic initiative, and Single Use Plastic Awareness
* “Tomi Reichental: Condemned to Remember”, Racism and Holocaust Awareness
School Trip to Paris
At the request of students an end of year foreign trip for TY’s is being organised by Ms Cronin. Details are as follows:
Destination- Paris for 4 days 26th-29th March.
The cost will be the region of €565. The cost of a coach to the airport is also included in this price. A Way2Pay link will be sent to all TY’s to pay the €150 deposit. This money is non-refundable. This trip can only be paid for using this method. The school or Ms Cronin cannot accept any cheques or cash. The deadline for payment of this deposit is Monday 5thNovember 2018. As the tour is happening in March full payment will likely be due in January this year.
Engineering
To date, most of the metalwork transition year group have completed their first "key tag" project and have now progressed onto their section task of designing collection boxes for the local football club lotto envelopes. The key tag project is made from brass and has each student’s name stamped onto it before being polished up to give a very decorative personal object which each student is very proud of. The metalworking processed that students have learned during the manufacture of this key tag are,
: Designing
: Marking out procedures.
: Drilling
: Cutting procedures
: Filing operations
: Engraving
: Polishing
: All safety and operating procedures for the tools and machinery involved in the manufacture.
Wood/DCG
DCG
Currently “Solidworks” is being updated to the 2019 version on ALL computers in the DCG room thus students are benefiting from the most up to date drawing version which is more user friendly and has many more applications than the previous version.
Students will be drawing the cab and storage box of the model truck over the next two weeks.
Wood
Ty students are currently making products for the Christmas market in December – one of our TY fundraisers for the year. Students are also making wooden trucks for this market. These items proved very popular last year and were sold out in the first hour of the market.
Maths
September to October
1) Statistics Project
-Types of Data,
-Questionnaires (1st & 2nd Years),
-Tabulation of raw data,
-Data collected represented on graph,
-Reflection of results collected,
-Presentation of Results on a poster to all of the TY group.
-Peer Assessment Graded
2)Transition Year Elections
-Ballot papers filled out to establish head boy and head girl.
3) Maths Week 13th-21st October
-Students assigned a first- or second-year class group to organise a fun maths activity
-Students research, designed and implemented activity (treasure hunt, bingo, quiz) under the observation of a maths teacher.
-Feedback was given to TY group based on activity structure, resources used and student engagement.
-TY students had to reflect on activity.
4) Maths Eyes Competition 2018
-Students had the opportunity to take photos of their local community to identify how maths is used in every day life.
Photos will be uploaded to “Geogebra”
Term 2
November to December
5) Measures of location and spread of Data
6) Fundraiser for Transition Year -Christmas Market on the 8th of December
-Students will be involved in researching, reducing, reusing, recycling, designing, budgeting, preparing, baking, marketing and selling hand crafts produce
A report will be typed up by each student for accountability of each student involvement for the two assigned weeks.
German
Transition Year German September/October 2018
So far this year we have been focussing on “Landeskultur”. Students have been watching a mini series called “Neue Freunde”, which consists of 10 five-minute videos that follows 4 teenagers around Berlin and deals with a variety of everyday issues. A variety of grammatical, oral and listening exercises have then been completed by students.
Topics covered so far include
* School
* Family
* Hobbies
* Planning a party
* Shopping
* Hosting a surprise party
We are presently completing the remaining four topics.
German Exchange
Plans are currently underway to host a German Exchangein Abbey Community College in February 2019. It is hoped as many Transition Year German students as possible will host a German student.
Irish
As with all of the languages there is a strong oral and cultural focus. In Irish we have been studying short films in Irish, Irish mythology, proverbs and Irish expressions to use in essays or letters.
Apprenticeship Information Day
The GRETB Training Centre, Mervue, Galway are holding Apprenticeship information Days as part of the European Vocational Skills Week 2018 from Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th of November 2018. As part of the Information Day, they will be holding tours of the Training Centre, information talks on Apprenticeship, as well as providing students with the opportunity to speak with Apprenticeship staff. Interested students from TY and 5thyear will be travelling to this event
Transition Year Work Experience
5th Nov-16th Nov TY Work Experience
All TY’s should have their work experience sorted at this point. Ms Cronin has been working on Garda Vetting where necessary for students who require this vetting.