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Colaiste Phadraig
Maths: Ms. O' Neill's 3rd yr Maths class took to the school yard for an outdoor practical trigonometry class last Friday. The students brought in their homemade clinometers (a tool that is used to measure the angle of elevation in a right-angled triangle) which they made using a protractor, straw, string, a paper clip weight and sellotape, after viewing demonstrations on Utube as a guide. The students were put into socially distanced groups and tasked with measuring the height of any building (school/sports hall), wall, lamp post, basketball hoop etc on the school grounds and finding the elevation to the top of the object. They had to take into account their distance from the object/building and their own height before applying their trigonometric skills that they had learned in class.
The origins of Trigonometry lay in practical measurement tasks of finding unknown sides and angles, using right sided-angles, and the students fully embraced the challenge of discovering different angles that encouraged them look at familiar objects with fresh eyes.
The students thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the classroom into the beautiful, crisp air for a practical, hands-on trigonometry lesson and they all successfully completed their tasks. Ms. O' Neill was delighted with the students' co-operation, attentiveness and behaviour throughout the outdoor lesson, so much so that the students were not given any homework (which is a rarity for Ms. O' Neill!) as a reward.
Gaeilge: Our 3rd yr students completed their Tasc Cumarsaide (Communication task) Classroom Based Assessment this week. The students were tasked with selecting a topic of interest to them and researching information about the topic over a period of two weeks. They then had to do a live oral presentation in front of their classmates.
The students selected a wide variety of interesting topics for their presentation such as their favourite football club, hobbies, the GAA, local, national and international sport stars, famous figures from history, local area, an Ghaeltacht, music, school, family, pets and even the Queen of England! The students used Google Slides, photos, visual aids, props etc to engage the audience and the quality of spoken Irish was very impressive throughout. A number of the students also used humour to great effect during their presentations and awareness of target audience is one of the key skills being assessed during these CBAs, along with language proficiency, voice projection and presentation skills.
Each student will be awarded one of four descriptors (Exceptional/Above expectations/In line with expectations/ Yet to meet expectations), which will appear on their Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement.
Comhghairdeas le gach dalta as cur i lathair suimiuil, taitneamhach agus ard-chaighdean a chur le cheile.
For the final few weeks of term, the 3rd yr Irish students will be preparing for an oral examination (Bealtriail) that will count for 20% of their final grade for their 3rd yr Junior Cycle report.
Assessments: Colaiste Phadraig's Entrance Assessment was held online on Saturday 8th May from 10am until 1pm. The 6th class students completed the assessment from home using computers, iPads, laptops and tablets. They were advised to use headphones and complete the tests in a quiet room, free from any distractions. All instructions were given via a voiceover that explained exactly what steps to take to complete the assessment correctly and in a timely manner. 1st yr classes in the school are all mixed-ability so the main purpose of the assessment is to identify students' strengths and also identify areas where they may need a little extra help and support in. We look forward to welcoming our 120 new 1st yrs into the school in September 2021.
Exams: Our 23 6th yr LCVP students sat their Link Modules Leaving Cert exam on Saturday from 10:00-12:30. The students had lots of choice in the exam which they were very pleased with and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive afterwards. The written exam is worth 40% of their overall marks with the remaining 60% going to their Portfolio of Coursework which has already been submitted.
15 of our 6th yr students also completed Written Proficiency assessments in various subjects such as Romanian, music etc on Saturday. The assessments were held to give the students an opportunity to provide evidence of their proficiency in the subject (as the students are not studying them as part of their regular school timetable and so have outside instructors/tutors such as family members preparing them for exams). The students can still sit the written exam in the subject in June so the purpose of the assessment was to ensure eligibility for an accredited grade.
St Joseph's College Lucan
Our 6th year LCVP students sat their exam last Saturday. LCVP (Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme) combines academic study with a focus on self-directed learning, enterprise, work and the community. It's great for the students to have one exam done!
Ms Lynn's TY class made beautiful bird feeders this week, as part of their biodiversity projects. The students made great use of our new outdoor benches. The finished bird feeders, made using paper rolls, peanut butter and bird seed, looked superb!
We had our second non-uniform day on Tuesday, to raise funds for student equipment. This was another Parents' Association initiative and was our last fundraiser for the year. Thank you to everybody for supporting our Parents' Association throughout the year! prompting others on how to educate and empower themselves to love their bodies.
Lunchtime on non-uniform day. Students making full use of our new outdoor benches!
Transition Year YSI (Young Social Innovators) group - 'Redefining Perfect' - Follow them on Instagram @Redefining_perfect & Facebook. The team has been working hard lately producing their new magazine, prompting others on how to educate and empower themselves to love their bodies. The team has been helped by their mentor Judy Wong.
The magazine is complete and the team aim to distribute copies to schools and libraries around the country.
Well done 'Redefining Perfect', you are making great strides!
'Redefining Perfect'with their mentor Judy Wong displaying their new magazine.
School website https://stjosephslucan.com
Follow us on Twitter: @STJosephs3
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