more engaged with your learning and develop important skills that will help you to grow as a person in this ever-changing world, including things to help your mental and physical health.
This section of your school journal contains key information about the Junior Cycle. We want you to be in control of all your learning in Junior Cycle, so we have developed an important list of keywords that you will need to be familiar with as you journey through your Junior Cycle.
Key Skills
The world that we live in is constantly changing. The Junior Cycle recognises that the world will continue to change and wants to equip you with the necessary skills to meet these changes as you grow older. While there are many important learning skills, the Junior Cycle has identified eight key skills that will be central to your learning from first to third year.
The eight Key Skills of Junior Cycle are illustrated in the diagram on the right. You will investigate these throughout your Junior Cycle.
K E Y
S K I L L S
Junior Cycle
ASSESSMENT
What is assessment?
Assessment is a way of gathering evidence of all the knowledge and skills you have developed.
Why is assessment important at Junior Cycle?
Assessment is a very important feature of Junior Cycle because it gives you a clear picture of all the work you have completed from first to third year. It also allows you to reflect on the skills that you have learned and improvements you have made on your journey.
What are the different types of assessment at Junior Cycle?
There are two main types of assessment at Junior Cycle:
Formative assessment
This is a continuous assessment and happens in most classes in the form of quizzes, homework, etc.
Summative Assessment
This happens at the end of third year in an exam marked by the State Examinations Commission.
Used continuously Used at the end TYPES OF Assessment SUMMATIVE assessment Formative assessment
Formative Assessment happens in most classes. It’s a very useful way for your teacher to assess your work on an ongoing basis. The best way you can prepare for formative assessment is to have a good homework and study routine and to always do your best!
The best way to improve ongoing assessment is to learn from your teachers’ advice and feedback. For example, one teacher might advise you on ways to write better sentences, another teacher might ask you to learn specific facts.
Summative Assessment is more formal and happens at the end of your Junior Cycle. It takes two forms. One is the external exam marked by the State Examinations Commission. The other is the Classroom Based Assessment (CBA), which we will learn about below.
The best way to achieve is to make clear goals and have a good study and homework plan. This will be explored further in the second section of the Junior Cycle module.
Assessments for the Junior Cycle
Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) are an important assessment in Junior Cycle.
• You will do two CBAs in each subject.
• You will do the first CBA in second year (CBA1).
• You will do the second CBA in third year (CBA2).
• They will be organised by your teacher.
• They will be held in your classroom.
• Your CBA will be reported on in your Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) using one of these four descriptors:
o Exceptional
o Above Expectations
o In Line with Expectations
o Yet to Meet Expectations
Other Areas of LEARNING
One additional exciting feature of the Junior Cycle is that it provides you with the opportunity to engage in a variety of other areas of learning within your school community. It allows you to develop key skills in many other areas of school life. These can include different sporting, cultural, scientific and social activities happening in your school.
Make a list of three other areas of learning in the life of your school that you might be interested in becoming involved in.
Where can I showcase my other areas of learning?
You can showcase your other areas of learning (OAL) in your Profile of Achievement. Remember to write it in the first person and to concentrate on the skills you developed as a result of these activities!
To download the Other Areas of Learning template, just go to
Junior Cycle Keywords
Soccer Ms Mulcahy Team Member GM
(Key Skill = Working with others) I participated on the team that reached the Leinster finals.
SENIOR CYCLE
There are a number of different study options at Senior Cycle that cater for a variety of interests and abilities.
Transition Year (TY)
TY is a one-year programme taken after Junior Cycle and before the two-year Leaving Certificate programme. It is designed to act as a bridge between the Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate programmes.
Senior Cycle
Leaving Certificate Established (LCE)
The LCE is a two-year programme that aims to provide learners with a broad, balanced education while also offering some specialisation towards a particular career option. Students following the LCE programme are required to study at least five subjects, one of which must be Irish unless an exemption applies. All subjects are offered at two levels, ordinary and higher. Irish and Mathematics are available at foundation level also.
Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA)
The LCA is a two-year programme designed for students who do not wish to go directly on to higher education or for those whose needs, aptitudes and learning styles are not fully catered for by the other two Leaving Certificate programmes. Participants in the LCA are mainly engaged in work and study of an active, practical and learner-centred nature.
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP)
LCVP is a Leaving Certificate with a focus on enterprise and preparation for working life. This two-year programme combines the academic strengths of the Leaving Certificate with a dynamic focus on self-directed learning, enterprise, work and the community.
Leaving Certificate Reform
The Leaving Certificate is about to undergo significant reform, which will impact you if you are starting 5th year in September 2025 or after. The changes are being introduced on a phased basis with revised subject specifications as follows:
Developing Key Competencies
Senior Cycle is designed to help you develop key competencies that will help you to grow and thrive intellectually, personally, socially, morally and physically. As you develop these key competencies, you will enhance your ability to understand and learn, navigate social opportunities and challenges, transition smoothly from school to further education or the workforce, and confidently embrace adult life. The competencies are:
• Thinking and solving problems
• Being creative
• Communicating
• Working with others
• Participating in society
• Cultivating wellbeing
• Managing learning and self
Integrated within all of these competencies are the fundamental competencies of literacy and numeracy.
LITERACY AND NUMERACY KEY COMPETENCIES IN SENIOR CYCLE
There are three elements to a competency:
KNOWLEDGE
SKILLS
VALUES AND DISPOSITIONS
The Senior Cycle is designed so that you will develop the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions associated with each competency across all your subjects, helping you to become an enriched, engaged and competent learner. This will ensure that you and your teachers make meaningful connections between and across different areas of learning, thus improving and embedding your overall learning.
Managing learning and self Cultivating wellbeing
Participating in society
Working with others
Communicating
Being creative Thinking and solving problems
Assessment Reforms
Each revised subject will incorporate Additional Assessment Components in addition to the final written exam. It is envisaged that at least 40% of the total marks will be awarded for the additional assessment components and these will be externally assessed by the State Examinations Commission. However, this may change and your teacher will advise you on the weighting of assessment components for each revised subject specification.
Additional assessment components are being introduced to reduce the pressure associated with final written exams and provide a more comprehensive evaluation of your skills and competencies.
Examples of additional assessment components include:
RESEARCH PROJECTS
CREATION OF ARTIFACTS
PERFORMANCES
Many subjects already have additional assessment components, e.g.
ORALS FOR ALL THE LANGUAGES
Going forward, these additional assessment elements will be part of all revised subjects.
THE CAO SYSTEM
The CAO form is a very important application form for any 6th year student who wishes to attend third level in Ireland. The CAO stands for the Central Applications Office. It processes application forms for undergraduate courses in Irish Higher Education institutions. It is important to communicate with the guidance counsellors in your school to receive notifications of dates for submissions, etc.
Register with the CAO before 5pm on 1 February.
Edit your application using the ‘My Application’ facility.
Confirm your Level 8 and Level 7/6 courses using the ‘My Application‘ facility before 1 February at 5pm to avoid restrictions.
Remember to place your course choices in genuine order of preference.
Round One Offers are issued following the release of the Leaving Certificate results. If you are accepting an offer, you must do so by the reply date on the offer notification. Other categories of applicant may receive offer notifications before this time.
Applicants who do not receive a Round One Offer will receive a Statement of Application email. Please follow the instructions in this email and inform the CAO of any errors or omissions.
Provide supplementary information and any documents required.
Use the free Change of Mind facility from 5 May to 1 July at 5pm to make changes to your application (restrictions apply).
Carefully check the Statement of Application Record when it is sent to you in May and inform the CAO of any errors or omissions immediately.
Offers are issued to eligible applicants until the offer season closes, or until all of the places have been filled, whichever comes first.
Note:
THE CAO SYSTEM
At Senior Cycle, it is important to be aware of the points calculation grid so that you know what points you are capable of achieving. This will enable you to set realistic and achievable goals to successfully get you a place in your chosen college course.
Points Calculation Grid
Important Additional Information
1. 25 bonus points are awarded for higher level Mathematics for H6 grades and above i.e. If you receive a H6 grade, an additional 25 points will be added to the 46 points already awarded for a H6 grade i.e. higher level Mathematics now carries a points score of 71.
2. The bonus points are included in the overall points calculation only when Mathematics is one of your best six subjects following the addition of the bonus.
3. The six best results, in recognised subjects, in one Leaving Certificate examination are counted for points computation.
4. One sitting only of the Leaving Certificate examination is counted for points purposes.
5. It is important to check the admissions office of individual third level colleges to get a full understanding of their course requirements beyond the points required.
6. You must first meet the minimum entry requirements in order to be considered for entry to a course.
7. Points for Foundation Level are only awarded by certain third level colleges; check with individual third level colleges to see if they are accepted.
8. All third level colleges award points for results in LCVP Link Modules, in place of a sixth Leaving Certificate subject.
9. Not all third level colleges count LCVP as meeting eligibility requirements in regard to passing subjects, so you need to check individual college requirements.
QQI NATIONAL FRAMEWORK
The QQI (Quality and Qualifications Ireland) have developed a system of ten levels used to describe the Irish qualifications system. This ten-level system is known as the National Framework of Qualifications.
It is important to be familiar with this qualification framework so that you can understand the different types of courses you may be interested in pursuing.
Make time to complete your own research or talk to a guidance counsellor about all of your options within the QQI Framework.
How much do you know about the QQI Framework?
Ask yourself the following:
1. What do levels 1 to 10 stand for?
2. What is FETAC and what level courses do they award?
3. What is the SEC and what level courses do they award?
4. At what level in the QQI Framework is the Leaving Certificate?
5. At what level in the QQI Framework is an honours bachelor degree?
Learning and Study
GROWTH MINDSET
People who display resilience have a growth mindset. Let’s find out a little more about this ...
What is a mindset?
A mindset is a person’s approach or attitude.
What are the different types of mindset?
There are two main types of mindset. They are known as a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset .
“I learn nothing from mistakes.”
“I am not good at some things.”
“When I am frustrated, I give up.”
“I learn from my mistakes.”
“When I am frustrated, I persevere.”
“I can learn anything if I try hard enough.”
Examine the diagrams above to identify what type of mindset you have. What techniques can you use to develop a growth mindset?
Your INTELLIGENCES
Howard Gardner, a psychologist, identified eight different types of intelligences. Research now suggests that different intelligences occur in different parts of your brain.
Here are the eight intelligences identified by Gardner:
INTRAPERSONAL VISUAL-SPATIAL
The ability to understand yourself, to be reflective, know what you can or can’t do and where to get help. Used by philosophers, psychologists and church ministers.
MUSICAL
The ability to think musically and to hear, recognise and remember patterns. Used by musicians, mathematicians, artists and dancers.
The ability to interpret space and to navigate. Used by pilots, artists, architects and racing drivers.
INTERPERSONAL
LOGICAL &
MATHEMATICAL
The ability to understand cause and effect; to manipulate numbers. Used by scientists, mathematicians and engineers.
KINAESTHETIC
The ability to control body movement and the capacity to handle objects skilfully. Used by athletes, actors and dancers.
Which are your strenghts?
The ability to understand and relate to others. Used by teachers, salespeople, politicians, human resource managers, doctors and psychologists.
NATURALIST
The ability to discriminate between living things and be sensitive to the natural world.
Used by botanists, ornithologists, gardeners and chefs.
LINGUISTIC
The ability to use language. Being able to express what’s on your mind and to understand others. Used by poets, novelists, politicians and lawyers.
A Study System
It is important to create a study plan at the beginning of the school year to keep you motivated and to avoid feeling stressed about your workload. You will now be walked through a three-part study system.
It
Planning for Success
Ensure you create a study plan that suits YOU. Make a new one weekly as each week will vary in both your school and home life!
Weekly Study Planner
Use this template to write out a planner for each week in school. Be sure to include any school events, including any homework, practicals, assessments and exercise. Also include details of your plans each evening – it is important to have a healthy balance between school work, exercise and rest!
To download the Weekly Study Planner, just go to
Subject Revision Planner
Use this template to write out a plan for one subject area.
To download the Subject Revision Planner, just go to
Tips for using the Subject Revision Planner
Here are some simple techniques for keeping an effective study plan …
• Use the Subject Revision Planner for each of your subjects.
• Divide each subject into key topics.
• Indicate how important each topic is for your assessment.
• Record when you create your study notes and complete POKER (we will examine this in detail on the next page).
• Tick the box when you have completed each review.
POKER is a simple 5-step process that you can use to create notes on any topic you wish to study. Each POKER study session should last about 40 minutes. The steps involved are explained below.
P O E R K
Study System
Tackle any subject easily
This simple system can be followed to break each subject down into bite-sized chunks called topics.
Pre-test
Overview
KKeywords
Etch & Sketch
Retest
What do I already know about this topic?
What is the structure of this topic? What are the subheadings?
Highlight the keywords for the topic.
Create a one-page summary that uses the headings and keywords. What do you now know about the topic?
By creating a study plan and regularly revising, you have made a great start. By devising your own notes and study techniques, you will have a much greater knowledge of your subject areas. However, there is one final step in the journey, and this is review!
Why should you regularly review your notes?
Did you ever wonder why you could remember your phone number or date of birth so easily but then struggle to remember what you learned in geography last class or the name of someone you met last week?
The truth is that you need to regularly review your notes in order for the information to go into your long-term memory.
How often should you review your notes?
Review
Ideally, you should review your notes…..
it
Now that you have created your notes in the form of a one-page summary, you have this knowledge of the topic in your short-term memory.
BUT it won’t be there forever, it’s up to you to review it and make sure the knowledge goes into your long-term memory.
Use the Subject Revision Planner to record each review. You will be surprised at the difference it makes!
