Mock Exams:

Mock exams begin for 3^rd year and 6^th year students this week. Many start with mock practical exams in Construction, Engineering, Art and LCVP. They will also start their written papers this week. Best of luck to all students. Students were very happy with their efforts in the Junior Cert Oral Irish exams which took place all last week.

Students Council:

Students from the student council took part in a training programme last Thursday with Mr John Murphy who worked previously with Gaisce. Borrisokane Community College encourages students to assume roles of responsibility within the school to develop important skills necessary for their future working lives. The student’s voice is considered important in order to achieve an effective school.

Retreat:

A retreat for all 1^st years was held in the school Friday last. Transition year Cairde students were provided with training to help assist with the event.

Parent teacher Meeting:

2^nd year and 5^th year parent teacher meeting takes place this Thursday 5^th February. Feedback will be provided to all parents and guardians by all subject teachers and their respective year head’s Mr Tomas Maher and Ms Mary O’ Callaghan. Also a survey on Attendance in an effort to improve attendance and lateness in the school is being given to all 2^nd year parents. There is an information presentation on  ‘IPad and their appropriate and safe use’,  being given by the Principal and Deputy Principal at 7pm also on Thursday February 5^th. Parents of 1^st and 2^nd year students are invited to this presentation.

LCA:

Best of luck to our Leaving Certificate Applied students who will be interview for their tasks this week. The marks achieved will form part of their end of programme certification.

Transition Year:

All Transition year students are on work experience for the next two weeks. This is a vital part of the Transition year programme which encourages the development of links into the wider community. It also offers students the opportunity to develop skills other than those taught in school. For some it leads to the acquirement of part time and summer work. We would like to thank all the employers who provide work experience to our students.

Voice of the Student: – Science Club, Ruby Ryan Transition Year Student.

Science textbooks are generally divided into three categories: biology, physics and chemistry. And these books contain endless pages of words and diagrams, printed instructions detailing every possible process you could go through – but without experience, these aren’t exactly going to transform you into A+ material. Unfortunately, due to limited class times and awkwardly constructed timetables, practical class can be pretty rushed. Not to mention experiments have to be taken from the syllabus, which, it has to be said, doesn’t always go with the most exciting choices.

First Year itself is a year in which you settle, discover your likes and dislikes, build a road for the years ahead. And First Year science shouldn’t be boring. The quintessential scientist has never been a person with a head propped on hand, staring listlessly at a board, but a figure in a labcoat and goggles, clutching a test tube, perhaps some object in the background going up in smoke. That’s not to say things spontaneously combust in our Science Club. God no. And if someone let slip that they do, well, they’re a liar.

I’ll admit nothing.

But in all honesty, it’s a break from the tedious curriculum, as well as a chance to pick your own experiments and get out to see science in the real world. We meet up at breaks on Friday, the entire thing lasting about forty minutes – some we use for practise and preparation, most for carrying out what we’ve planned. My friends and I, as Transition Years, help out the attending First Years, and tag along on the trips as reward. So far we’ve done everything from dissections to setting our hands on fire to testing volcanic eruptions in plastic bottles (clean ups, by the way, are a downside). We’ve attended the BT Young Scientist exhibition, a talk on astronomy and the make-up of the universe – and there’s probably more trips ahead, when we find them. My First Year was carried out in the old school, so our science lab didn’t exactly have that much to work with (Miss Brady made it work, by the way. And set up the Science Club. Thank you, Miss Brady), and looking at what they have now, I’m honestly envious. I feel it would have made Junior Cert a lot easier, having had a year of choosing what I could use the lab for as oppose to doing what a textbook said. Freedom makes you warm to something – like how you could wince at the thought of being made to run laps, but enjoy a nice jog at your own pace. And okay, maybe it’s not freedom to the extent of tossing random chemicals in a beaker to see what monstrosity they produce, but really, it’s a little more contained, and a lot better.

Science isn’t for everyone. Some people find the idea of the outdoor work involved in biology daunting, or that the maths in physics short circuits their brain (and I know they say Einstein failed his maths exam, but actually, that’s a lie. He was in fact outstandingly good at mathematics. And a Civil Rights Activist. And had some pretty nice legs. Really, he had it all – apart from, apparently, a hairbrush). But the good thing about science is there’s so many different branches, and trying out new parts of the subject can lead to you finding one you’re comfortable with, one you enjoy. The students learn from this, we learn from this – it’s win-win. Plus, you meet people who share an interest. So whether you hold aspirations of being Jane Foster or Amy Farrah Fowler, or you’re just bored and looking for something to do, it’s a great way to spend break. I’m glad I help out. I’m going to keep helping out. And I hope it continues even after I’ve left the school.