This year’s Transition Year class completed their TY Programme last week. While it was somewhat cut short by school closures, their work continued online and we are very proud of the students for adapting to this new type of learning. TY student Adam Roche has written the following reflection on his TY experience. A big thank you to Ella O’Neill, Neasa Bissett, Adam Roche and Eoin Byrne who created the video below capturing the TY Class of 2020 – a year none of them will forget!
Transition Year this year, while it may have been cut short due to circumstances nobody could have predicted, was still an amazing experience. Coming off the back of the Junior Cert it was really nice to have a year without that constant pressure of looming exams. At the start of the year, we were all put into different classes to the ones we were in during the Junior Cycle. I was lucky enough to have pretty much all my close friends in my base class this year, although that only really mattered for the first two or three weeks, since it turned out my class got along really well together, and there were no real cliques or anything; everyone got along with everyone.
On the first day of TY, we went to Causey Farm as a day trip. This was a great opportunity for us to get to know our new class, and the activities were also pretty fun. This was the first of a few trips we went on as a year group. The next was Driver’s Ed. This was so much fun, and as scary as it was being behind the wheel of a car, it was a good experience. At Christmas, we also went ice skating in Blanchardstown and got to spend time in the shopping centre after. These trips were nice breaks in the normal school day routine.
Speaking of the school day, I want to talk briefly about our timetables. Every eight weeks we got a new timetable with new subjects and new teachers. This meant we could try out most subjects before choosing what we want to study for the Leaving Cert, and it meant if there was a subject we didn’t like, chances are we wouldn’t have it in the next rotation. I guess some stand out classes for me personally this year were English, Construction Studies and Coding.
Work Experience was also definitely a highlight of the year. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me do things I would never have dreamed of before. As scary and nerve-racking as it was walking into a shop and talking to someone I don’t know about getting a job, or calling a number and talking about it on the phone, that’s what the real world is like and it’s good to get used to it now. Getting the chance to develop the skills needed for work, like making CVs, or communication skills and any other skills, was a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to using them more in the future once the country reopens and I can start looking for a part-time job.
Finally, I just want to say thank you to Ms. Sheehan and Mr. Roche. Thank you for organising all our activities throughout the year, and making TY as enjoyable as possible for us. As I said before, nobody could have predicted that our Transition Year would end a few months earlier than expected, and yet despite this, it was still such an enjoyable year and I would gladly spend another year in TY if I could.