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WELCOME to TRANSITION YEAR
YOU ARE NOW STARTING YOUR THREE-YEAR SENIOR CYCLE PROGRAMME.
Transition Year (TY) is a year where you get to step away from textbooks and exams and focus on real-life experiences, personal growth and figuring out what you want for your future. Transition Year helps you become more independent, creative and confident while giving you the chance to try new things, meet new people, and explore possible career paths.
WHYTRANSITIONYEARISWORTHIT
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A Break from the Pressure of Exams
Transition Year is a chance to breathe after the Junior Cycle and explore new ways of learning such as working on projects, taking part in workshops and learning through hands-on experiences.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
You get to try new activities, take part in trips, gain work experience and develop skills that will help you in college, employment, or wherever life takes you.
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Becoming More Independent and Confident
Transition Year is designed to help you grow as a person. You’ll gain confidence in yourself by stepping outside your comfort zone, working on group projects and leading initiatives.
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Figuring Out Your Career Path
One of the biggest benefits of Transition Year is getting a taste of the working world. Through work experience placements and career talks, you’ll have the chance to explore different jobs and industries.
Making a Difference in the Community
Transition Year also focuses on giving back. You’ll have opportunities to volunteer, work on community projects and take part in social initiatives that make a real impact. This helps build empathy and teaches you about the importance of contributing to society.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS YOU’LL GAIN IN TRANSITION YEAR
Transition Year is all about developing skills that will help you both in school and in life. These fall into four main categories: Personal Growth, Learning Skills, Social and Community Engagement and Career Exploration.
PERSONAL GROWTH
Transition Year gives you an opportunity to mature socially and emotionally while developing in areas such as health and wellbeing, autonomy, identity, empathy and leadership.
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Increased self-confidence andPrioritisinghealth wellbeing settingPersonalgoalmakingBetterdecision- Greater task perseverance
Seeing challenges as growth AdaptingtosocialsettingsMoreempathetic interactions
INDICATORS THAT YOU ARE DEVELOPING IN THIS AREA
Owningbehaviours anddecisions
Increased leadership and initiative
POSSIBLEEXPERIENCESTODEVELOPYOURPERSONALGROWTH
Self-expression through projects
Health and wellbeing activities
Personal growth portfolio
Reflecting on personal goals
Opportunities to present publicly
Teamwork and collaborative projects
List three areas of personal growth that you would like to develop during the year.
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What activities would you like to participate in to help you to grow in these areas?
PLANNING YOUR TRANSITION YEAR journey
To help you make the most of your Transition Year, it is important that you reflect on what you want to get out of the programme. Here are some exercises to get you thinking about your goals, skills and aspirations for the year ahead.
VISIONBOARD
(Personal Growth – Planning)
Create a vision board using words, images and drawings to represent what you want to achieve in TY. Include new experiences you want to try, skills you want to develop, career paths you’d like to explore and personal growth goals.
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TERM 1: Planning
Personal Skills Self-Assessment – At the Beginning of the Year
Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = it needs signi ficant development and 10 = you’re acing it) in the following areas:
Confidence
Why did you give yourself this rating?
What do you plan to work on in the weeks ahead?
I sometimes feel confident, but not always.I will try to speak more.
Teamwork
Why did you give yourself this rating?
What do you plan to work on in the weeks ahead?
I get along well with people.I will try to listen more.
AprilI will have done something different.
May I will think more positively.
AprilI will do better in tests.
MarchI will get better at schoolwork.
MayI will pay more attention.
MayI will have helped someone.
AprilI will have taken part in an event.
March I will join an activity.
April I will know more options.
MayI will have researched careers.
MarchI will have a CV done.
Reflection on a
PROJECT/ACTIVITY
TITLE:
DATE(S):
Describe in some detail the project/activity undertaken:
SUBJECT AREA(S):
OVERALL RATING:
What did you enjoy most about this project/activity? Why?
What did you learn as a result of completing this project/activity?
In what ways will what you learned from this project/activity help you in the future?
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How would you rate your own level of participation during this project/activity?
Reflection on an
EDUCATIONAL TRIP/EXCURSION
DESTINATION:
DATE(S):
Describe in some detail the trip/excursion undertaken:
SUBJECT AREA(S):
OVERALL RATING:
What did you enjoy most about the trip/excursion? Why?
What did you enjoy least about the trip/excursion? Why?
What did you learn about yourself as a person on the trip/excursion?
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What skills did you learn or develop while on the trip/excursion?
How would you rate your own level of participation during this trip/excursion?
If you want others to be happy, practise compassion. If you want to be happy, practise compassion. - Dalai Lama
Looking Back
How I performed: rate your skills as a self-directed learner over the past week.
Rate
Comment
Initiative
I got on with tasks without waiting for others to tell me what to do.
Persistent
I continued practising until I got things right.
Responsible
I didn’t blame others for things not being done.
Perspective I saw problems as challenges rather than obstacles.
Self-discipline I didn’t get distracted easily.
Learning desire I wanted to learn new things.
Organised and goal oriented I had clear goals for the week and a plan to achieve them.
Motivated
I did my very best at all times.
What I learnt this week:
Three things I enjoyed this week:
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One thing I could have done better at during the week:
Looking Forward
My top three intentions or goals for the coming week:
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Student Name: Class:
Absent from: / / to / / No. of days:
Reason: Illness Urgent Family Reason Holiday
Other