Transition Year News – February 2023

Our Transition Year pupils will spend the week after half-term on work experience, which is a fantastic opportunity to explore the working world and discover if a particular career area might interest them. We wish them all the best of luck and thank all the “employers” for facilitating our pupils’ experiences.

As per usual, there has been plenty of opportunity for our TY pupils to learn outside the classroom this term, through various workshops, trips and visiting speakers. We’re thankful to David Rane and Neasa Ní Chianáin who presented their new film, Young Plato, and facilitated a Q&A. Other talks this term included ‘As I Am’ – an Autism Awareness group and the Hope Foundation on their work in Calcutta. All of TY visited the Objects of Love Exhibition for Holocaust Memorial Day at Dublin Castle, a fascinating yet harrowing event. There were two Irish language activities in January – a table quiz hosted by nearby Gaelcoláiste an Phiarsaigh and an Irish language drama workshop. Our TY pupils were actively fundraising for charity also, selling lollipops for the Oesophageal Cancer Fund and the Hope Foundation.

There was another Activities Day, with pupils getting to experience yoga, self-defence and barista training. Individually, many TY pupils continue to work towards their Gaisce award by completing at least an hour of Physical Recreation (their chosen College sport), Community Involvement (mentoring younger pupils) and Personal Skill (choir/music/languages) each week. Our TY pupils have also been participating in a series of in-person and online workshops including at the Centre for Talented Youth medicine course, Trinity College Dublin TY Computer Science Week, Look into Law Bitesize (The Bar of Ireland) online course, the University of Limerick Health Sciences online course, the National Rehabilitation Hospital online seminars and the Royal College of Surgeons mini online courses in Medicine, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy.