Hazelwood College Transition Year Students being Kept Busy
Since their induction day in early September, the two Transition Year groups in Hazelwood College have worked hard, developing personally and socially, as well as on a vocational and educational level. Students have developed general, technical and academic skills as well as interdisciplinary and self-directed learning. The students have achieved a lot and have gone on many educational trips. Some of their activities are outlined here. The first trip out was to Ballyloughran. Here students had great fun getting to know each other better.
Many weeks of dedicated work with Margaret, Mike and co. in West Limerick FM 102 has worked out well. As a result the students will continue working on putting together their shows. The student’s visits to the station in Newcastle West were also accompanied by many visits to the library. Students are very grateful for the informative tours they received from Aileen and other staff members. All students became aware of what a valuable resource the library can be to them in their journey through education.
Mary Martin taught First Aid to students over six weeks. These proved to be fun and very valuable lessons. The students are now awaiting certificates. Catriona from AIB is a familiar face in the school. Following interviews, six students were selected to participate in the Build a Bank Campaign. They currently have the school bank up and running. They will be competing at the regional finals in Galway on March 3rd .
Build A Bank: Donal O’Callaghan and Danielle Curtin guiding Declan Stack in choosing the right bank account for him.
Physical activity is of paramount importance in the college. Students have completed a GAA coaching course with Noel Hartigan. Students also completed a Boxercise course which was both fun and helpful for personal safety. On a bright fresh morning in early October the students enjoyed a trip to Springfield gardens in Broadford. Here they met Christine Best from the herbalistix clinic of herbal medicine and holistic health. Various plants and their properties were examined. Then various creams and make up products were made back at the Home Ec. room This trip was facilitated by teacher Ms. O’Flaherty.
A trip to Tralee Institute of Technology with Mr. Kiely was thoroughly enjoyed. Students were introduced to aspects of Multimedia, Games Development and Web Technology. Two two-day trips to Curraghchase on a Lucca Leadership course with Paul Moriarty and co. proved very successful and were enjoyed thoroughly by all students. The exercises and drills they took part in were very unique and helped bring the groups closer together. One student said “it helped me to become more involved in activities and conversations. It also helped me to be more confident”.
A trip to Friarsgate theatre in Kilmallock with Ms Murphy Reidy, to see Psycho Spaghetti was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The following week the transition years got an opportunity to put their own acting skills to use when they worked with the Stop and Stare theatre group to put on a performance for all of Hazelwood College’s first year students. On open day and at careers night in the college in early November, the transition year students worked extremely hard to prepare for the many visitors. The transition year’s excellent social skills shone through as they brought groups on tours of the college’s facilities. Student in the Concern debating team have worked hard and had a successful year having recently defeated students from Mallow and Charleville. But sadly they were knocked out by Mercy Mounthawk in Tralee through a very controversial decision.
In late November, after lots of preparation, phone calls and letters, the students went on their first week of work experience. This is a very important element of their diverse programme. The variety of subjects taken by students include Irish, English, Mathematics, Computers-ECDL, Chemistry, History, Woodwork, Technical Graphics, French, German, Engineering, CAD, Physical Education, Home Economics, Art, Geography, Religion, Career Guidance, Physics, Drama, Car Maintenance, Music, Business. With an equally busy time-table ahead, some transition years look back and recall some of their activities.
More Updates to follow