Coláiste na hInse

Exam Information Evening (2nd & 3rd Year)

12-10-2016

• Student Wellbeing

• Guidance and Counselling

• State Exams Commission

• Key Dates

• New Leaving Certificate Grading/Points system

• Homework/Study Tips

• New English CBA

• Attendance

Contents

Student Wellbeing

Wellness Week in The Coláiste

MindfulnessNutritionPhysical HealthGratitude TokensRandom Acts of KindnessLaunch of our CNI jigsaw

Wellbeing and Exams

SLEEP ROUTINES

Successful Students Tend to Sleep More

Sleep plays a vital role in helping students fix and consolidate their learning.Sleep helps prevent the decay of memories.Research shows students who sleep more get better gradesSeveral studies found there was a particularly positive relationship with sleep and performance in Maths and languages

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

How Does Lack of Sleep Impact Our Learning?

Procedural Memory and Declarative memory are affectedConcentration and focus suffersMood worsensStress increasesPoorer cognitive performancePerception of our performance more negative

SLEEP HYGIENE

Set your ‘sleep clock’ Create a bedtime routine Sleep sanctuary Avoid eating prior to bed Cut out caffeine Exercise but not close to bed time Ditch the phones Park your anxieties

SLEEP REMEDIES

Balance

Brain Food

Stress can have an adverse effect on your appetite and skipping meals won't do your concentration any favours.

Foods to stock up on

EggsOatsFish – Flaxseeds, Chia Seeds1.2 litres of waterPumpkin seeds, walnuts

EAT THE RAINBOW

FURTHER INFORMATION

Guidance and Counselling

Teaching & Learning Week7th – 11th November

During this week the school community will focus on HOW to study

• Presentation about what is Study Skills Week, How to study and What kind of

learner am I

• S.P.H.E. Lesson Plan on ‘How to Write up a Study Timetable’ & ‘Expectations

of students during in-house Exams’

• Students will be focusing on Time Management and Exam Tactics

• All Subject Teachers will use Study Tip Poster in classroom to give students a

tip each day on how top study their specific subject

• Students will get a talk on goal setting and personal motivation.

• Students will also get a talk from Guidance Counsellors on how to Study

Guidance & Counselling Department

Careers Expo26th January 2017

The Coláiste will hold a Careers event where

the school, employers and colleges will come

together to help daltaí and parents/guardian

choose the next step for their son/daughter.

Examples of Stands at the Careers Expo:

• Est LC Stands

• Senior Cycle Subjects

• LCA Stands

• TY Stand

• IT Colleges

• Universities

• Post Leaving Cert

• Various Careers

• An Garda Siochana

• Army

• Nurses

• Primary Teachers

• Entrepreneurs

Talks will also be happening at the Careers

Expo about CAO, Money Matters and How to

Chose your Senior Cycle SubjectsGuidance & Counselling Department

Eirquest

• EirQuest is a psychometric test 3rd year daltaí do to help them plan their Leaving Certificate. It is based on an interest questionnaire (paper-based)

By completing this psychometric test Students

• Will get to think carefully about their interests and to identify suitable career areas for further investigation

• develop skills and carry out detailed research into specific careers

• understand the likely demands careers will make on them

• make informed decisions about their future

• understand the relevance of subject choice in relation to their more likely careers and HE needs

• develop a very useful online portfolio of their skills, achievements and notes on work experience in MyCareersRoom, which is available up to age 24

Careers Clinic & Careers Library

• One to one Career advice with Guidance Counsellor available to all daltaí Wednesday at lón

• New Careers Section opened in main library

State Examinations’ Commission

Junior Certificate Key Information

Key Information

• Cost• €109

• E8 Form & Additional Subjects• What is it?

• Pre E8 Form

• Important information for completion

• Knowing your levels

• Changing Levels Post E8• Levels Form - May

• Duration of Exams & Leaving Early• School Record

Key Dates

3rd Year

• Mock exams 6th Feb-17th Feb 2017• Junior Certificate Exams June 2017

• Materials Technology (Wood)- Assignment Brief Issued last week of October/First week of November. Completed Project due April (66.6% of overall grade)

• Irish- The Irish Oral exam for junior cert will be on the week before St Particks day. Specific date to be confirmed. It is worth 40% of the Junior Cert Irish exam and is compulsory for all daltaí.

• Home Economics- Practical cookery exam is worth 35% and it is usually before Easter or just after.• Science-Coursework B is a project element of Science which is worth 25%. The titles of this project

are released around Halloween. COMPLETED COURSEWORK MUST BE HANDED IN BY MARCH 16TH.

• French- The French oral exam will take place at the end of January/early February. . It is worth 20% of the overall grade.

• Art- Completed art project has to be handed up at the end of April. • Metalwork- The Deadline for the Metalwork projects will be one of the first weeks in April.

2nd Year

Home EconomicsSecond year projects are worth 15%. They will be completed in a 6-8 week block. All materials must be ready for use upon request.

ExamsChristmas= 28th to 2nd DecSummer = 3rd to 10th May

New Leaving Certificate/Points system

*Point to note: H5 is equal to O1 in relation to CAO points (56 points)

Homework and Study Tips

Get ReadyNight before the test…• Go to bed on time• Put pencils and

erasers in your backpack

• Forget your problems at the door

The morning of… • Eat a good

breakfast• Think positively

Questions?

Tips

Good Study HabitsProduce Good Grades!

Find a Good Place To Study!

Study environment

• You should try to study at the same time and same place every day.

• You should study at a desk or a table.

• There should be nothing on your desk or table except what you need for the task you’re on

• Make sure there is proper lighting.

What should You Try to Avoid When Doing Your Homework?

Things to Avoid before starting…

• Avoid distractions such as television, radio, computer, video games.

• Avoid going on Facebook, Twitter or other social Networks.

• Avoid listening to music that will make you want to get up and dance.

To start homework, you should know:

• When it is due

• What to do

• What the expectations are

• How to prioritize what homework to do first

Make sure you have the following:

• Your homework

• Solid flat surface for writing

• Good lighting

• Chair

• Books

• Supplies

Manage Your Time• Don’t try to do all your

studying the night before your test or project!

• Do your project in smaller parts.

• Avoid studying for too long at once because your brain cannot hold all the information at once

• Take breaks when needed

Learn About The Homework You Missed If You Were Absent?

You Can…

• Call a friend

• Use one drive

• Ask teacher

Organization? How Does It Help With homework?

Organization…

• Helps you easily locate your homework

• Gets rid of your frustration

• Helps you save time and effort

Class Notes and Organization

• Write down the proper date and title

• Copy class notes in appropriate notebook to help with organization and to decrease frustration

• Have a binder for each subject and put all necessary work and handouts in there.

Organize with COLOUR

• Use a colour code system

• Colour coding is helpful for organizing class subjects and for studying for a test

Ways to colour code include:

• Highlighters

• Sticky notes

• Pens

• Folders

English CBA

2nd yr CBA 1 in English

• CBA-

• April/May of 2nd year.

• Individual presentation.

• Its assessed by subject teachers.

• Reviewed departmentally.

• Success Criteria –Summer report and official Junior Cycle transcript.

CBA 2 (2nd and 3rd year)

• Collection of texts (students work).

• Students decide what pieces of their work they would like to be assessed by class teachers.

• It is awarded a success criteria and this will also appear on their official Junior Cycle transcript.

3rd year Assessment Task

• Written task completed by students during class time.

• Not assessed by subject teachers but by SEC.

• Worth 10% of overall grade.

• Completed in December of 3rd year.

3rd Year – Final Examination

• Completed by students in June under State Examinations conditions.

• Worth 90% of overall grade.

• Assessed by SEC.

Online Resources

• Samples of work and success criteria available online at www.jct.ie

Attendance

Attendance and Attainment

• Students with good attendance levels do 1.5 times better in the Junior Certificate than students with poor attendance

• High attendance in school is linked with better mental health, improved social skills and has been seen to have a knock on effect in how students perform in both third level education and the workplace

Attendance During One School Year

Equivalent Weeks Missed

(Approximate)

Equivalent Lessons Missed

(Approximate)

95% 1.7 weeks 48 lessons

90% 3.4 weeks 96 lessons

80% 6.8 weeks 192 lessons

70% 10.2 weeks 288 lessons

60% 13.6 weeks 384 lessons

50% 17 weeks 480 lessons

• The length of exams are based on the time a student should spend on each question

• Students who leave exams significantly early have not spent the necessary time on each question, often leaving them blank

• It is better to be sitting in the exam revising, editing or adding to work than to leave

• On average, students who left an hour or more early dropped at least one grade from the result achieved in the mocks