Hi all,

What a busy few months it has been for us all.

Here is a snapshot of where we are at and what we are planning for the coming busy weeks in ACS.

LCVP –

• In early December every year, our 6^th year students complete their last Link Modules portfolio item, being the recorded interview. This, like every other year, some students found it a difficult experience and were very nervous. I interviewed all students in the 3 classes, across 3 days. I had a timetable emailed to the students 2 weeks beforehand and displayed in their lunch area. Those who were prepared and relaxed were fantastic. Having corrected LCVP previously, I feel that it is a great optional portfolio item for all students to do, as the marks given tend to be very good. The skills and experience they get from it are also valuable. We use their date of birth to identity them, as they will not get exam numbers until later in the year. I find leaving the recorded interview any later than December puts pressure on you, the teacher, as well as the students. Most students have their other 5 typed items fully or partially completed. If I am honest, although it can be difficult, we try to get the 5 typed portfolio items completed, if only partially, in 5^th year. The correcting of these portfolio items takes time outside of the class. As I stated in my previous blog, our students set up an LCVP portfolio folder on their OneDrive. They then share this with me, their teacher. Their 5 typed portfolio items are the only items in the folder. Their other LCVP work is just saved in their own LCVP folder on their own OneDrive. I find it best to correct all CVs together, all career investigations together, etc, within a class group. This helps to ensure that no student’s copied another student’s work within the class. This rarely happens, but is still important for me, their teacher, signing off the portfolios as their own work in March! I type comments and advice on the report when I am correcting in coloured font, rather than adding comments at the side of the document, if I feel that more information is needed in a certain section. I always find if their description is too good to be true, then it probably is…. I would then advise them to ensure that the work is their own (not copied and pasted) and in their own words using short concise sentences. I keep a MS Word document for each LCVP class’s corrections. I have a list of the 5 typed items and the student names underneath each item. I take a note of the date I corrected and the feedback I added to the report. I then email each student what they need to do, by a certain deadline. It is then up to them to email me back, when they have made the changes or updated the document. It takes times to ensure that the students take this process seriously – however, self-directed learning is all about trying to get them ready for college and working life by getting them to take charge of their learning! I can refer to my correction record of work in discussions with students and their parents, if needs be, so I find it very useful. Although we cover exam questions, where we can in 5^th year, we really concentrate on them in 6^th year. With mocks in early February, the portfolios need to be wrapped up ASAP. The deadline for signing off and locking away the LCVP portfolios is Wednesday 7^th March 2018. So with mocks and mid-term, that just over 5 school weeks, roughly. With the written exam on Wednesday 2^nd May 2018, the students need to get as much practice as possibly on the 3 parts of the written exam. The hardest section for most is the Case Study. Completing Case Studies in class, is a great way of revising a lot of the Specific Learning Outcomes of the Link Modules programme – you can nearly revise them all! The Case Study will arrive 4 weeks before the written exam – so ensure to prepare the students for the Case Study in their mock paper, as well in advance. Practice makes perfect. The way that the students answer all questions in the paper is important. They should use bullet points, key words, detailed explanations and examples. The biggest mistake they make is not reading the question properly, so going completely off the point in their answer, and not writing enough information. Students need to read the question a few times, and think logically about their answer. E.g. I advise them not to use hardworking as a quality for their career – as everyone has to be hardworking. They need to be more specific to the career they are explaining. From January 2018, I will email students every day or every few days, with a few key words or terms explained, to keep them focused and thinking in terms of the LCVP and the written exam.


• With 5^th years, I have completed the CV, career investigation report and started our summary report on our enterprise activity before Christmas. Have a look at what is going on in your school, and see if the LCVP class could organise a fundraising event or get involved in an activity that is being planned or happens every year. 5^th year LCVP students do their work experience on the 3 days before February mid-term, so we will prepare for that in early January. Students who do not wish to miss 3 days of school, are permitted to complete the work experience at weekends, or during their holidays – once it is done before the end of February mid-term. Garda vetting is important for those who will be or are 16 years old, on or during work experience, if they are intending on working with children, the elderly or those with additional needs. They need to have secured their placement first, and then their parent is emailed the vetting information to complete by our secretary. It is pretty straightforward but needs to be completed a few weeks in advance by their parent/guardian. Keeping a note of what they do each day helps them type their work experience diary when they return to school. So we give them a printout of the diary to fill out for the 3 days, so they will not forget key information when they are typing it up. We remind students of the Specific Learning Outcomes of the LCVP that they should look out for on work experience and include in their diary. Giving them a printout of these with their diary is helpful.

Business –

• 2^nd year Business Studies teachers are preparing for the Classroom Based Assessments which will begin in March 2018. A new, hopefully exciting, part of the Junior Cycle course, which of as it is the unknown, can be a bit daunting. Working as a team within the Business Department will be key, now more than ever. There are excellent online supports as well for clarification but teamwork will be essential. We believe that each week of the term should include revision for 1^st and 2^nd year classes.


• As 3^rd and 6^th years prepare for their mocks, using exam paper questions as homework and revision work, giving them great practice for the exam is essential. Regular class tests are important on work from previous years. We get our students to complete a results evaluation sheet, before they get the result of a test and then after they get a result. This enables them to reflect on their learning and how they can improve their result. The teacher also writes a comment. This can be shown to parents. The teacher keeps the sheet, but the student can see their progress after each test. I have an OneNote for each class, where they can access all key words, revision, exercise solutions, workbook solutions, presentations, video clips, articles, etc, for chapters they have completed or are completing. It is like a one-stop-shop for all they need when completing homework, studying and revising. I also have a weekly revision plan set up for exam years. From January, I will email students every few days, with a few key words or terms explained, to keep them focused and thinking in terms of business. Not all will appreciate the emails, but those who read them will benefit from them. For success in LC Business, reading the question carefully is vital. It can be helpful to underline key words to understand what the question is asking. Clarifying the number of points needed based on the allocation of marks is also important. Students must remember to use the SEE approach – state, explain, example. Using bullet points and different colour pens or a highlighter to separate the example from the rest of the answers is also a good idea.

LCA ICT – ICT is a specialism for our LCAs in ACS. We complete the Mandatory ICT course in 5^th year, and the Specialism ICT course across 5^th and 6^th year. I like to link in with the other courses the students are doing, as much as possible. The 5^th years are currently working on their Art task, which will be examined at the end of January 2018. I started the Art task report with them in ICT class in November. It is a great way of the students applying the skills they have learned or are learning in ICT class. They then see that what they are learning is transferable! I will do the same with the Vocational Preparation Task and the Engineering Tasks in Session 2, if it is needed. I will anchor the ICT Specialism Task in Session 3 in 6^th year. We have a great LCA teaching team in ACS, most of whom have been teaching LCA for many years. We like to link up and show cross-curricular links where we can. If students ask to work on other course work in our class, at a time when they feel under pressure to complete it, we like to be flexible and help them out.

Young entrepreneurs – it has been a busy few months for our young entrepreneurs as they prepare to represent ACS at the Meath County Final of the Student Enterprise Programme run by the Local Enterprise Office in March 2018. The idea generation, product development, marketing and sales are all completed or continuing. Students have started working on their business reports, which will be emailed off to the organisers, before mid-term in preparation for the County Final in March. We have found that having the young entrepreneurs’ extra-curricular activity is a fantastic way to showcase the Business subjects at our Open Evening in early October every year. It is a lot of work to have it up and running in 4 weeks at the start of the year, but it is worth it. As an option subject, we have to promote our subject well to keep numbers up in our classes. We will have companies in all 3 categories (Junior, Intermediate and Senior) again this year, which we are very proud of. It is definitely not about the winning, although we have had huge success, most recently in the past 2 years. The lessons learned by these young entrepreneurs will stay with them forever and hopefully lead them to business success in the future. Coordinating and working with the young entrepreneurs, all in their and your own time, is a lot of work and takes commitment. The more Department members involved to share the workload the better for all. We are lucky to have 3 of us in the Business Department to share this workload.

A few general points:

• In terms of SDP, remember to keep a record of how you are progressing through each scheme or specification – this is important for your own recordkeeping but also for the evaluation at the end of the year with your colleagues.


• For PR purposes, keep photos and articles in a shared PR folder. Have relevant information on the school’s website and social media, e.g. a visit in, a visit out, an enterprise activity, achievements, etc. This will help with the writing up of the annual report. Community links are important especially for Business subjects.

Finally, since mid-December 2017, I have been appointed as Programme Coordinator for TY, LCA and LCVP in ACS. I am excited at this new role, and aware of the hard work ahead. I am lucky to have hardworking and enthusiastic teaching teams in all 3 programmes. I also have a lot to live up to – as our previous Programme Coordinator was somewhat of a legend, an amazing colleague, and thankfully a friend. As I said in my first blog, I will not afraid to ask for advice or help when I need it, on this new journey. This new chapter will be a big change for me, from being Assistant Adult Education Director in ACS, which I have loved being involved in for over 11 years. I will keep you posted throughout the months ahead.

I hope that you have found this information helpful.

I wish you all health and happiness in 2018.

Regards,

Caroline Mathews