Guidance Newsletter Term 1

01/10/2021

Hi all parents and guardians of LC2 students,

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Welcome to the Guidance Section of the School Website! As your son/daughter settles into Leaving Cert the importance of their plans for next year is very likely to be the forefront of everyone’s mind. I would just like to take this opportunity to outline the supports and many resources that are available to students to help them with their career decisions. 

All base classes have a series of Careers classes with the Guidance Counsellor throughout the year where general topics such as CAO, DARE, SUSI and alternatives to CAO are explored. All students have a Career File on Careersportal.ie where they have saved careers and courses of interest.  As a parent/guardian it would be very beneficial to get your son/daughter to log into this Career File at home so you can gain some insight into what interests them.  CAO points, Course descriptions and an Events Calendar are some of the features that can be explored on www.careersportal.ie. 

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All colleges will be holding Virtual Open Days and various Information Sessions throughout the year.  All links for Open Days are made available through the general Sixth Year Team for all LC2 students to access.  A link to the Schedule of Talks available at the Open Days is also made available to students through Teams and will be uploaded to Upcoming Events Tab on this website also. 

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All Leaving Cert students will receive an individual guidance appointment with the Guidance Counsellor and these appointments are currently underway.  As has been explained to the students they do not need to wait to be scheduled for an appointment - they are welcome to message Ms.Fitzpatrick directly and request an appointment if they feel they need it more urgently.  Parents and guardians are also welcome to email and refer on their son/daughter if concerned about their career plans for the future.

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This Guidance Section of the school website is where you will find useful and relevant information throughout the year.  I have uploaded links to some useful websites such as careersportal.ie and apprenticeships.ie. on this page and will continue to upload relevant information and links as they arise.  Any links to Open Days or Information Evenings can be found under the Upcoming Events Tab.  Please see this tab for links to the NUIG Virtual Open Day this Saturday the 2nd of October and the Schedule of Talks available for this Open Day.  The Events Calendar on www.careersportal.ie also has a list of all upcoming events and Open Days.

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CAO Applications for Leaving Certs 2022 will open on the 5th of November and I will hold a Virtual Information Evening for all parents and guardians closer to the time to explore this system and other alternatives in more detail.

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If you require further assistance or have any queries, please email me on guidance@stcaimins.ie.

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I look forward to working with you and your son or daughter this year,

Kind regards,

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Hannah Fitzpatrick

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Guidance Counsellor

Senior Cycle Options 2021 - 2022

Dear Third Year Parents/Guardians,

All Third Year students had the opportunity to attend a Subject Choice Assembly on Wednesday 24th of February from 13.20-15.20 where Senior Cycle Subject Choice was outlined in detail. The Presentation included an overview of Leaving Cert Subjects and the Transition Year and Leaving Cert Applied Programmes.  A recording of the Presentation has been uploaded to the Third Year Team so parents and students can listen back if they wish. 

A copy of the PowerPoint Presentations have also been uploaded to the Guidance Section of the school website along with a Subject Choice Information Pack with detailed information on all option subjects.

This Assembly was just a starting point for the Subject Choice Programme and following this each Third Year class has already begun a series of Subject Choice Classes with the Guidance Counsellor Ms. Fitzpatrick where the following topics are being covered:

• Completion of an Interest Test to give an indication of career areas of interest

• Overview of how to use Careersportal.ie so students can have the skills to research the course content of each option and also learn how to check the subject requirements for specific college courses

• Overview of how to use the Minimum Subject requirement Module in Qualifax.ie so students can check to see what courses require specific subjects eg. a third language, a lab science etc.

Subject Choice selection is due Tuesday 23rd of March so it is vital all Third Years give this their time and attention over the next few weeks.  The Subject Choice Form must be completed through VSWare and all parents/guardians should have received a link for this app from the school.  Please contact the school if you have not received this link.

We understand Subject Choice is crucially important and it is obviously not ideal to be undertaking this virtually, but it is unavoidable in the current circumstances.   

We ask for your full support to encourage your son/daughter to engage with the Subject Choice classes with Ms.Fitzpatrick and to avail of the many resources online to ensure they make the right choices at this critical point in their education.

If you or your son/daughter have any queries regarding Subject Choice over the next few weeks please email Ms.Fitzpatrick on guidance@stcaimins.ie. or Mr.Quealy on Tom.Quealy@stcaimins.ie if you require any further information on TY or LCA.

Kind regards,

Ms. Hannah Fitzpatrick

Guidance Counsellor

Guidance

The Guidance Counsellor advises on career choices and assists pupils in making educational, vocational and personal decisions. She supports and helps students who are experiencing difficulty in their lives.  

Students and parents are free and welcome to come and visit the guidance counsellor. An appointment system is the best operational mode in this way. Alternatively, a phone call from parents over a concern can be accommodated quickly. Also, as part of overall school information dissemination e.g. school notices, parent-teacher meetings, open nights, enrolment days etc. information regarding guidance and counselling is made available as required.

Ms. Fitzpatrick can be emailed directly at guidance@stcaimins.ie