Rockford Manor Guidance Department- Newsletter 24-03-20

4th, 5th and 6th Years News

5th Year Subject Choice
All TYs and some 3rd years have been completing their subject
choices for next year online recently. Students will be informed of
the outcome of this process in the coming weeks.

2nd Year Subject Choice

Incoming second years will be choosing their subjects for next year over the coming weeks.
Mr Kelly and Ms Scarff are available via email for questions regarding subject choice.
Subject specific questions will be referred on to individual teachers where necessary. Parents
and students will find the resource from the NCCA (see link below) useful when making
decisions on subject choice.
https://www.curriculumonline.ie/Junior-cycle/Junior-Cycle-Subjects/
Reach programme
All TYs and fifth years have access to the Careers Portal REACH+ programme to assist them
in undertaking careers related research.
www.Classroomguidance.ie
Classroomguidance.ie has made their career guidance content available for free for all
students. This is an excellent resource to assist senior students with career decision making.
Click on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHurGx1tTug to find out how you can
access this free and excellent resource.
https://www.examrevision.ie
To help students with their remote learning, to help teachers with their planning and to help
parents with their home schooling - ExamRevision is offering FREE Premium Access to
everybody who signs up! 20 days left of this offer! Again a very good site with excellent
revision material and its FREE.

UCD Leaving Certificate Maths support videos

UCD has 143 free videos which cover both the Higher Level and Ordinary Level Leaving
Certificate Mathematics courses. Leaving Certificate students may find these videos useful
https://www.ucd.ie/msc/leavingcertificatevideos/
EDCO FREE Online Access
In support of students, teachers & parents during this challenging time EDCO are offering
free e-books, simply log in to http://edcolearning.ie with any of the username & password
combinations below to gain FREE access to their e-books & digital resources

Questions about CAO/Post Leaving Certificate course application

Mr Kelly and Ms Scarff can be contacted by email for questions regarding CAO/Post
Leaving Certificate course application or any other guidance related question.
IADT Portfolio Assessments
IADT has decided to extend the Portfolio submission period to April 24th. Students will be
able to submit their portfolio online. See https://www.iadt.ie/study/portfolio-guidelines for
further details. Please do not hesitate to contact IADT at admissions@iadt.ie if you require
any further clarification or information.
Laboratory Apprenticeships
Excellent earn as you learn apprenticeships available in this area see
https://www.laboratoryapprenticeships.ie (for how to apply)
Student Grants SUSI Resources
6th years applying for college grants next year should keep an eye on www.SUSI.ie for a
range of resources on how to apply for a grant and college fee payments for next year.
Career Guidance Websites: These websites are appropriate for all year groups
https://careersportal.ie/
www.qualifax.ie- national database of courses
www.classroomguidance.ie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHurGx1tTug)
 Advice for parents at home with exam students
It is essential to establish a new routine – encourage your children
to get up and go to bed at regular hours. This is not a holiday.
Students need to build on the routine they already have, their class
timetable and the work assigned to them from their teachers on
online learning platforms such as Edmodo and MSN 365 Teams.
All students need to exercise personal responsibility and keep up
with their school and homework during this time. Students should
reach out to their friends and classmates via social media if they are struggling with
schoolwork; there is lots of research to show that learning is enhanced through peer support.
Some students can form study groups with a small group of like-minded students online.
However, it is important that parents should keep an eye that they don’t become chat groups.
How about helping young people manage stress, how can parents help with that?

Stay calm, face the new challenges as they present. Maintain a sense of routine: shower,
dress, create a separate work/study space, take regular breaks, talk to others use social media
to stay connected with a peer group. Important that students do not wind each other up on
social media, everything in moderation.

Have a Plan

Students should have a study plan and share it with their parents. Having a plan helps reduce
anxiety for both the student and their parents. So, communication of that plan is key. By
sharing what the plan is, and letting parents know if it goes pear-shaped, everyone can think
about it, make a better plan and address the challenge together.

Self-discipline is the key!

Students should follow whatever advice and instructions they have been given by their
school, teachers and guidance counsellors. As students will be using their phones and
electronic devices more, families need to decide when downtime will be. This is a critical
agreement, no electronics after an agreed time at night. Strict rules re devices are more
important than ever now. Students should reduce their social media use to a specific time in
the day and then use that time to touch in with their friends and catch up. They should not be
on live face social contact all day with one eye on social media and one eye on their school
work.

Anxiety

School guidance counsellors are available to give support for stress management, anxiety,
how to prepare for exams, how to normalise this new reality, have a timetable, be disciplined
etc. We will refer more serious issues to the appropriate referral agencies. Students can
contact us by email during normal school hours. pkelly@rockfordmanor.ie or
wscarff@rockfordmanor.ie
For non-exam classes, is it still very important for students to keep doing their work?

We take the resilience approach, we work on things we can work

on and don’t worry about those things we can’t. Students have
their class timetable and will now be doing their work at home
instead of at school. So, the answer is Yes. All students need to
keep in daily contact with the school/teachers and do the
assignments sent to them. It would be a good time to do some
revision or work on projects that might not have to be completed
immediately.
Encourage children to read up on topics of interest. Remember that not all learning happens
in school. Cooking, modelling, learning how to use household appliances, engaging with
hobbies like playing a musical instrument, drawing/painting, creative writing, sport, dance,
gardening, and DIY are all important life skills which can be learned while confined to the
house. It is important to encourage the holistic development of our young and not merely
their academic abilities.
We wish you all the best at this challenging time and hope that everyone stays well.
(Source IGC)