Thank You Transition Year! – My Year in Review

As my Transition Year in Crana College draws to a close, I look back on one of the most interesting and inspiring times in my school life. The year has by far exceeded any expectations that I ever had, encompassing everything and anything inside the Irish Education System.

I think that it is fair to say, that I had an action-packed, yet educational year in TY. Like many other skeptics, I came into the year, with an idea of prejudice in my head, thinking that the year didn’t yield any opportunities or chances for me, and I couldn’t have been further wrong! Within a matter of weeks, I realised that TY In Crana College (and in many other hard working schools around the country) is one of the best organised programmes, that aims to get the most out of each and every student, based on the effort and commitment that the students dedicate to the programme.

Transition Year, has improved me for the better. I have became a lot more confident in this year. Through this, I have countless unforgettable memories, but of these, the most prominent include:

Speaking on behalf of TY Ireland at the National Parents Council of Post Primary Secondary Schools annual conference in the INEC, Killarney.

Participating in the 5K Mud Run!

Making the Eir Junior Spiders – Giga Spiders – Best Induvidual Project Shortlist.

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Being ‘Highly Commended’ in the National Career Skills Competition with CareersPortal.ie 

Transition Year has been simply, amazing, and has made me much more ‘well-rounded’, and confident person. I feel that this year has benefited me greatly, and that I have taken every opportunity possible to get the very best out of this year. I would urge any student who is doing TY next year, to firstly, push themselves in TY, secondly, take every opportunity available to you, and thirdly, enjoy TY – It will be amazing!

Above, is only a snapshot of what has being going on in my Transition Year! I’m sure that if you were to read through this blog, or my Twitter Feed, you would see a much bigger picture of what my Transition Year was all about.

Writing one of my final blog posts of TY has really saddened me, not only has this blog been an ongoing assessed piece of work for my Media Studies Module, but it has been a space where I can freely write about a topic that I have grown to love! A special thanks has to be given to absolutely everyone who have supported me in this journey – My TY Coordinator, Teachers, Staff, Employers, Co-Workers, Transition Year Ireland, Volunteers, Guest-Speakers, Fellow Bloggers & Twitter Users, Family & Friends , and everyone in between- each and every one of you have helped make my TY that extra bit more special!

Thank you Transition Year!

The Eir Junior Spiders Shortlist

TY’s at the Colosseum

The TY Boys Walking in Sorrento

The Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

Me & Ciarán Touring Rome

5th Years at the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast

The Streets of Sorrento

‘Rome’-ing about with Roisín & Tiree

The TY Boys on a Boat Trip

Selfies at the Trevi Fountain

Outside St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican

‘Frescos’ in the Vatican

The Time Elevator

Subject Choices for Leaving Certificate 2018

TY First Aid Training

Promoting Inishowen’s Tourism Industry

Skiing Tour Key Ring Design

Rome Tour Key Ring Design

My Cover of ‘O Fortuna’

Starting the Architecture Module!

Me and my little sister Dearbhla, pictured just after my last day at work experience at her “Big School”

My ‘Space Study’ for Architecture

Blog Challenge – Six Word Story

Ice Skating in Belfast

Hill Walking Trip

Hill Walking in Uriris

Christmas Market Poster

Drugs & Alcohol Conference

Disability Awareness Module Part 1

Our Greatest Scientist – Nikola Tesla

Completion of the Cube Project

TY Panel at the National Parents Council Post Primary Annual Conference in the INEC, Killarney

TY Panel at NPCpp Annual Conference

‘Chain Reaction’ Key Rings – TY Enterprise Mini Company

Semi-Completed Cube

Prize-giving – Co-Junior Student of the Year 2014/2015 & Co-Recipient of the ‘Bríd Boner Memorial Plaque’

TY Panel at the National Parents Council of Post Primary Secondary Schools

Irish Wheelchair Association Collection

What I’ve been learning about in TY Geography – The Human Development Index (HDI)

‘Chain reaction Keyring’s’ first product!

Oisín i dTír na nÓg – Mindmap

TY Panel at National Parents Council

Month In Review – October

My Work Experience Report, written in ‘The Drumfries Times’

Monthl

Foyle Hospice Coffee Morning Donation

National Road Safety Week

Ireland Trip

TY1 Post-Surfing Selfie

Cube Project

Surifng

Surfing

Foyle Hospice Coffee Morning

Cube Project

Music Appreciation Module

Room 13 – Pre-Coffee Morning Setup

TY1 Receiving the iPads

Junior Cert Results

Irish Mythology presentation

European Day Of Languages

 

Proclamation Day in Crana College

Today, my school, Crana College has been celebrating ‘Proclamation Day’, which aims to act as the day in which all schools around the country must promote, celebrate and remember the 1916 Easter Rising, as part of the Irish Centenary celebrations.

In my school, we have been remembering the 1916 Easter Rising through our History Module, which is taught to us by our teacher – Mrs McConalogue. As part of this module, we were asked to create our own Proclamation, of what we would want out of a now present Ireland. Like everyone else in my class, I created a proclamation, that stated my wishes for the country.

Yesterday, I was let know that my very proclamation had been chosen as the Senior Representative to read my proclamation as part of the Proclamation Day celebrations. I was extremely honoured to be selected from all of the senior students to read out my proclamation.

The Proclamation Day Celebrations took place in the school gym, and were arranged by the History Department. Mr Casey, Head of the History Department, overseen the events, while the school choir sang the national anthem – Amhrán na bhFiann, while various students read out the original 1916 Proclamation. We were also talked to about the Irish Flag, and its symbolism.

Although it was extremely nerve-wracking to stand up and talk in front of about 300 students, I was extremely proud to overcome this, and be part of such a prestigious event!

Our Greatest Scientist – Nikola Tesla – Science Presentation

Our Greatest Scientist - Nikola Tesla

Last Friday, in my science class, myself and Oran were set with the task to present a project on the topic of ‘Our Greatest Scientist’. We had been working on this project since we returned back to school, and started Transition Year. This project will also form the grade for our November Portfolio Assesment, which is due on Friday 27th of November.

We had chosen to make Nikola Teala ‘Our Greatest Scientist’ for many reasons. Nikola Tesla was one of the most influential scientist and physicists of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. His work features prominently still to this day in the fields of electricity, wireless communication, radiology, mechanics and engineering. His work also has helped us to think differently to the ways in which we think about electricity and the way and form in which it flows and travels.

Nikola Tesla, essentially created ‘alternating current’. This invention and idea is opposed to ‘direct current’. With alternating current,  current travels both forward and back while travelling in a circuit. However, direct current flows in one direction only. This means that alternating current is a lot more ‘smarter’ and/or efficient.

I was really nervous when presenting the project, but I was really happy I did it! I felt that I was a lot more natural when I was talking. I believe that it this was because I was talking about someone who I knew a lot about. I felt the presentation went quite well, I believe that I presented well as I was interested in the topic. I hope that this project will now be of a good standard for my November Assesment of my portfolio
 

Monthly Photo Post – November

TY Panel at the National Parents Council Post Primary Annual Conference in the INEC, Killarney

To make my blog more interesting and to keep track of my favourite photos that I have took in the past month, I have decided to start up a ‘Monthly Photo Post’, where I will choose my favourite picture of each month.

About This Photo

L-R: Finian O’Connor – TY Coordinator, Ashbourne CS, David Kelly, Ex – TY Student, Myself, Clive Byrne – Head of the National Association of Principals & Deputy Principals (NAPD) & Edwin Lanzaard – TY Ireland.

This photo is by far, my favourite photo of me in November. This photo was took right after I Stepped off the stage after the TY Ireland Panel, at the National Parents Council of Post Primary Secondary Schools Annual Conference in the INEC in Killarney. The Conference was an unbelievable experience, and I honestly would say that it has been my favourite experience of my Transition Year so far! I was really chuffed to be asked to take part in the nationwide event. It was unbelievable to get the chance to step up onto the stage and speak about my opinions on Transition Year. I couldn’t believe that I was able to speak in front of 200-300 people, and it was a really proud moment for me as I was able to slightly overcome my fear of Public Speaking! 

‘Demistifying The Doss Year’ – TY Ireland Panel at the NPCpp Annual Conference in Killarney

TY Panel at National Parents Council

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be part of a panel at the National Parents Council of Post Primary Secondary Schools, in the INEC in Killarney. The event was the annual conference for members of the National Parents Council, who had children in secondary schools throughout the country. The panel that I was speaking at was organised by ‘TY Ireland’ – an organisation who help to promote the TY programme, and to provide helpful resources for anyone associated with the Transition Year Programme, throughout the country.

‘Demystifying The Doss Year’ was the name of the panel, that I was speaking at, and was organised by TY Ireland. On the panel, sat four people who have an important, but each unique roll in the Transition Year Programme. I was on the panel with three others – Clive Byrne – Head of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals & TY Student parent, Finian O’Connor – TY Year Head and Coordinator, and David Kelly – Past TY Student.

I was chosen to represent the ‘TY Student’ side of the TY Programme. I was extremely proud to be approached the organisation known as TY Ireland on Twitter, who asked me for contact details, as they were very interested in the work that I have carried out in Transition Year so far. I was expecting the organisation to possibly retweet one of my blog posts, or something similar. However during the Halloween Break I was contacted, via email, by one of the workers at the organisation, Amanda, who asked me if I would like to talk at this conference in the INEC on Saturday the 14th of November.

I was sent a number of questions, on a number of different aspects of the Transition Year Program, ranging from personal finance to unique opportunities offered by TY. I had prepared answers for the questions in advance. I was really happy toward the answers pre-prepared, as I felt that if I didn’t the answers prepared, I probably wouldn’t have be able to speak as fluently or as confidently.

My panel was held at 10 o’clock on the Saturday, straight after the Minister for Education – Jan O’Sullivan, had addressed those attending the conference. When I first stepped up on to the stage I was extremely nervous, and I felt that I wouldn’t have been able to speak, however, I calmed myself down, and got on with answering the questions. I hoped that my answers came across well, and that I was able to provide my insight of Transition Year to those who may not have been that familiar about it.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made this opportunity possible – The Crana College Staff, who arrange and manage the activities of the TY Program , The Transition Year Coordinator – Ms. Bradley and TY Tutor – Mr. McMullan, The Media Studies Teachers in Crana College – Mrs. Morrison and Mr Boyle, and Amanda, Edwin and their team at TY Ireland, who have made this unbelievable opportunity possible!

 

TY Panel at the National Parents Council of Post Primary Schools (NPCPP)

TY Panel at the National Parents Council of Post Primary Secondary Schools

It is with extreme happiness, that I get to say that I have been chosen to speak at a Transition Year Panel – ‘Demystifying the Doss Year’ at the National Parents Council of Post Primary Schools Annual Conference in the INEC in Killarney on Saturday, 14th of November from 11-12 am.

I was extremely proud to be approached by an organisation known as TY Ireland on Twitter, who asked me for contact details, as they were very interested in the work that I have carried out in Transition Year so far. I was expecting the organisation to possibly retweet one of my blog posts, or something similar. However during the Halloween Break I was contacted, via email, by one of the workers at the organisation, Amanda, who asked me if I would like to talk at this conference in the INEC on Saturday the 14th of November.

The panel that will happen is called ‘Demystifying the Doss Year’ and aims to promote and illustrate the ongoings of a Transition Year Programme, to parents and teachers of the National Parents Council. I will be joined on the panel by three others – Harry McCann , a past TY pupil, TY ambassador, and Entrepreneur, Finian O’Connor , a current TY Coordinator and writer of a TY advice blog, as well as Clive Byrne, the current director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD).

I was chosen to speak at this panel, as the staff at TY Ireland were really interested in this very blog – which documents all of the activities that have happened in my Transition Year. I was extremely chuffed to hear that this very blog had received recognition from a large organisation and had gained me this spot on this panel.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made this opportunity possible – The Crana College Staff, who arrange and manage the activities of the TY Program , The Transition Year Coordinator – Ms. Bradley and TY Tutor – Mr. McMullan, The Media Studies Teachers – Mrs. Morrison and Mr Boyle, and Amanda and her team at TY Ireland, who have made this possible!

My First Term in Transition Year! – Advice for Students Considering TY in 2016

My First Term in TY

Now that I have just completed my first term in Transition Year, I have decided that I will create an ‘advice post’ for 3rd Year students who are considering enrolling in Transistion Year in 2016. I will outline some of the insights and encounters that I have came across in my first two months.

1. Transition Year is NOT a “Doss Year”!

Although Transition Year may come across as more ‘easy-going’ and lenient than other school years, I would definitely say that it is not a ‘Doss Year’. Yes in TY you may have more time to yourself or you may have more time to develop personal skills, but I know from my own experience,  that I have been extremely busy everyday since I walked into school in September.

I would say however that the work and day-to-day running of TY is less text heavy and does not require as intense of a study schedule. The work in TY may still be as time consuming and requires the same concentration level as any other school year. I know that from my own experience that I have had at least one PowerPoint Presentation each week so far. This work is coupled with a scheme of work for 14 different modules, as well as organising charity events,  attending talks, visits and trips to various places, organising and helping with events in the school and the local community, among various other activities!

2. Take every chance and opportunity that is offered to you, and be confident!

After about a week in TY, I quickly learnt the importance of this piece of advice. I had the state of mind that ‘If you don’t volunteer you won’t get to participate in what you want to’. To note here I am not encouraging anyone to be pushy and forward, I’m just re-iterating that you need to put yourself out there! Through this I noticed that you will become more confident and in turn will enjoy the activities that you actually want to participate in.

I know myself, that I have blogged a few times about public speaking, and I noticed that since I enrolled in TY I have became a lot calmer and more confident when I am speaking in front of the class. Theis is one of my main goals in TY and I am really happy that I have been given the opportunity to improve this skill, as I believe that it would be a skill that may be very important in later life – possible for college or job application interviews.

3. Set goals, work on something that may interest you, and take up a new hobby.

I think that this piece of advice is often overlooked by students when applying to participate in Transtion Year. After a year of studying and working hard for the Junior Certificate Examinations, and being so involved in the coursework and project work of numerous subjects, Transition Year offers students a unique opportunity to focus on their activities that they may have neglected in the weeks coming up to the state exams.

I know myself that this year I have set myself a goal to really work hard and focus on my music. This November I will sit my Grade V in Piano with the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). This will be a majorly importantly exam for me to further to develop my music skills, and may help me when applying to college. I can honestly say that without the time I received during the first term of the TY Programme, I would not be able to sit that exam.

Transition Year, therefore in turn has made me a lot happier as I have more time to focus on and perfect a skill that I love. I get the amazing opportunity to immerse myself in piano and guitar, while still keeping up a busy enough school schedule, so that I do not fall out of the routine of study. 

I am extremely happy that I have enrolled in the Transition Year Programme in my school. I hope that by reading a few tips which I have encountered in my first two months, I will have helped some students who may be considering Transition Year next year y getting an insight from a TY student who is experience it right now!

National Road Safety Week – 1st Year Bus Safety Lesson

National Road Safety Week

As part of ‘National Road Safety Week’, which is on this week from  the 5th-11th of October, Adam and I had been set the task of delivering a lesson on ‘Bus Safety’ to the first year class, 1E, and I felt that in my own opinion, it had been quite successful.

In Transition Year, we study a module called ‘Road Safety’ in which we learn about the many ways in which we can stay safe on our local roads, and the ways that we can promote road safety and awareness in our local area. Each person in our class was given a partner and a topic which we had to deliver to a first year or a second year class.

The topic that myself and Adam had been given was ‘Bus Safety’ and we had focused on the importance of bus safety and how we can keep students who may use a bus when travelling to and from school safe.  On Monday, we went into a first year SPHE class and delivered the lesson. We tried to make the lesson interesting by using a more interactive approach to the delivery of the lesson. We had used an agree/disagree game based around statements from the ‘Rules Of The Road, that had slightly shocked the students about some of the statements about road safety. It was a great chance for the students to familiarise themselves with some of the correct procedures that they may have been unsure about.

I felt that the lesson had been quite successful, as I thought that the students were engaged in the lesson. We held a lot of  Q&A sessions as well as interactive games. 

One of the most important topics that we had touched on was ‘How to stay safe on buses’ in which we laid out a simple acrynom that I think everyone should be aware of. Below I have added the acrynom which we used: 

Link to the Road Safety Authority (RSA’s) website: http://www.rsa.ie

The Rules of the Road: http://www.rulesoftheroad.ie

  

“Las Fiestas Españolas” – The Spanish Holidays & Festivals – Spanish Presentation

Spanish Holidays & Festivals

On Thursday, 8th of October, I had to present my first ever project in my Spanish class. In this project I was working with Jack & Tomás, and our project was on the ‘Fiestas Españolas’ or the Spanish Holidays and Festivals.

In our class, we were split up into six groups of three people, where we had to work on a project based around the Spanish Culture and Lifestyle. The projects were based on various topics, like Spanish Food & Drink, The Spanish Political System, Famous Spanish People, Spanish Sports People, Spanish Holidays & Festivals and The Spanish Royal Family.

As mentioned before, my project was based on the Spanish Holidays & Festivals. This topic had really interested me, as I had slightly touched on these festivals before, while reading comprehensions when studying Junior Cert. Spanish, however the Junior Cert. Curriculum had covered festivals of both Spain and South American Spanish Speaking Nations.

My project was based on only Spanish Holidays and Festivals, and the two holidays  that I had looked at were ‘La Nochevieja’ or New Years Eve and ‘El Noche de San Juan’ or Bonfire Night. This was really interesting, as many of the Spanish customs were very unfamiliar to me. On New Years Eve in Spain at midnight, there is a custom where each person will eat 12 grapes – one for each chime of the clock. This custom originated when a group of vineyard owners from Alicante had grown too many grapes, and they had to come up with a way of getting  rid of them. During Bonfire Night in Spain, especially in the Catalan-Speaking areas of Spain -(Catalonia, Valencia & the Baleric Islands)  there is a custom known as ‘Fire Jumping’ by which people will jump on the extinguished bonfires or ‘Hogueras’ as a ritual to keep them free from illness for the rest of the year.

Some other festivals that were included in our presentation included ‘La Semana Santa’ or Easter Week, The Pamplona Bull Running Festival, La Tomatina Food Fighting Festival and The Festival of Las Fallas. This project was of gret interest to me as each it opened up various aspects of the Spanish Culture & Lifestyle, that I had never knew about before and had never learned about inside normal Spanish classes.

  

Music Appreaciton Module – Presentation!

Music Appreciation Module

Rockabilly Music & Its Influence on Modern Musicians 

Today in TY, I got the chance to present a project that I had really enjoyed creating. This project was my ‘Music Appreciation Module’, which I had studied inside my Perfoming Arts class. Since we had returned in September, we had been set to the task of creating a presentation that we would present to the rest of the class, on our favourite genre of music or a musical genre that had interested us.

I had mentioned about this project in one of my very early posts on this site, where I had talked about public speaking, as well as the initial research which I had carried out to help me to create the presentation that I presented today.

Similarly, to when I had presented other pieces of work in front of the class, I was very nervous! I had felt very conscious of my work, and I was very nervous that I would make a mistake. I however tried to learn the project off as best as I could, and practiced saying it aloud before I presented the project. I believe that this had helpd me as I was quite calm when I was delivering the project. I really appreciated that I could get the chance to improve Public Speaking, inside the TY course as it is a major goal of mine this year, for me to be able to improve my public speaking by the end of the year.

My project focused on an uncommon genre known as ‘Rockabilly Music’. This project really interested me as music is of major interest to me. The influence that this genre had on areas such as art and design, had also been focused on in this project as I felt that this would be a unique topic to focus on and it would stand out whenever I was presenting the project. I then finished the project by me playing and singing the song ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’  by Imelda May on the guitar, while I got my class involved by accompanying me, percussively by clapping out a rhythm.

I really enjoyed this module in my Perfoming Arts class, and I hope that the rest of the year on Perfoming Arts will be as good !