Transition Year is a one-year programme between the end of the Junior Cycle and the start of a Leaving Certificate programme. It is a highly structed programme that is designed to promote academic, social and personal skills. Transition Year should assist each individual develop himself or herself as a person. Through a Transition Year programme young people should become more independent learners. Transition Year aims to help young people prepare for adult life, especially through contact with workplaces and career interest.
Our transition year programme timetable is designed around four layers.
• Core Subjects:
Our core subjects are timetabled for the entire year and these provide a strong foundation for students as they progress into Senior Cycle.
- Irish
- English
- Mathematics
- French/German
- Religious Education, PE, Tutor Class and ICT - which promote wellbeing in students.
• Subject Sampling:
These are the optional Senior Cycle subjects offered in Coláiste Chiaráin. For example; Biology, Construction Studies, Accounting, Physics. There are various timetabling options for subject sampling, including block rotation or optional choice. This taster programme should put students in a very good position when choosing Senior Cycle subjects.
Our Career Guidance Department runs an annual Careers Fair which is highly beneficial to students. We have a range of Universities, Colleges, Apprenticeships and Professionals from industry. Below are some of the images from our 2024 Careers Fair.
• TY Modules or Subjects:
These modules are specific to TY and students in 2023 will complete one from each of the following. (These modules are subject to change to take into account student voice)
Creative Writing, Environmental Studies, Enterprise, Young Social Innovators, Junk Koutoure
and
Finance Management, CAD/CAM, Drama and Public Speaking, Journalism, World of Science
Many of these modules involve national competitions where students work in teams. They are hugely important in terms of developing all kinds of skills and exploring areas which may be of interest at 3rd level.
• Once-off or Calendar:
These are events/activities that take place at specific dates and times during the TY year.
They include Workshops in many different areas such as:
- Songwriting, Percussion, Forensics, Wellbeing, Consent, Climate Change etc.
- Courses in First Aid, Driving, Language, Coaching, Refereeing etc.
- Trips to Adventure Centres, Careers Fairs, Outdoor Pursuits, School Tours etc.
We constantly evaluate our TY Programme and adapt it to suit the needs of our students and the resources available.
It is an excellent programme with hugely positive outcomes for everyone involved.
Below are two accounts from students on their recent adventure trip to Killary.
Killary Adventure Centre is a place like no other! It is filled with exhilarating experiences and surrounded by picturesque coastal scenery. It is found on the west coast of Ireland in northern Connemara near the Killary Fjord. To its north are the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm and to its south are the Maumturk Mountains. Ancient woodland surrounds the accommodations creating a relaxing atmosphere.
Our action-packed school trip was filled with land-based and water-based activities, these consisted of: Gorge-walking, Ziplining, bog jumping, evening games, archery and orienteering and more. Each day we would be woken up by the staff and head down for a carb filled breakfast. We would then prepare for our first activity; in my case it was orienteering. It took my group until half way through the activity to realise our map was upside down!
The next day we had ziplining, which was surprisingly my favourite activity even though I am afraid of heights. In general, the activities were very fun. A lot of the activities relied on teamwork, which was a fun way to talk to new people. We were required to give our phones to the staff. In the beginning this had me and many other students raging. However, I quickly forgot about my phone because I was so busy having fun. Once all the activities were completed, me and my friends would go to our room and talk until we fell asleep.
In my opinion it was refreshing to take a break from my phone because I feel like I am constantly glued to it. Killary was a great opportunity for me to discover how much fun I can have without technology. Daria Formina
We went to Killary Adventure Centre on Monday the 16th of April. It took around 3 hours to get to killary and we stopped off at the Galway Plaza for around 30 mins. Our first activity of the trip was ziplining and the Killary Challenge, but because of the wind and weather conditions we weren't able to do the ziplining. The Killary Challenge consisted of many different challenges that would require teamwork and solving skills to complete the challenges.
For the evening games, we played mafia and we learned circus skills. Mafia was a game where the instructors chose a person to murder another person and then we had to vote out who we thought was the murderer. When we went out to the circus games we learned how to spin a plate on a stick and we could also try and learn to juggle. In the evening, we could get hot chocolate or tea, they were served with biscuits.
In the morning we went for breakfast at 9 o'clock and then got ready for our first activity of the day which was the turf challenge. The turf challenge was jumping into bog holes and into bog water which was very cold but would have been much worse if we didn't have wetsuits on. We then went for showers and went back to the hostel for lunch. This was one of our favourite activities.
After our morning activities we had lunch and got ready for our next activity which was gauge walking and raft building. We wore wetsuits into the river bed. We had to walk through the river and rocks uphill. There was rope to guide us in the right direction. It was really fun and we fell a couple of times. After the gorge walking, we had to build a raft out of barrels, wood and rope that would support people. It was hard but we got there in the end. After that we had showers and then had our dinner which was chicken curry. We then had some evening games. We played dodgeball and had a great time. It was very competitive but our team won in the end. After evening games were done everyone had hot chocolate in the canteen together.
On the second morning, we had to clean our room and go to breakfast. We got ready for our next activity which was ziplining. It was such a good time. It was hard not knowing how to clip yourself on to the zipline, but was easy to get the hang of it. It was scary at first going up high on the zipline, but once you did it it was really fun. In our opinion it was the best activity.
After that activity we had to pack up and get ready to go. We all got on the bus on a three hour journey back to the school. We stopped at the Galway plaza on the way back which was really nice. Overall we enjoyed Killary very much and had a great time. We would highly recommend a trip there for fun activities and beautiful views. Sean Finneran & Oisin Kelly
