1^st YEAR PARENTS & STUDENTS 2026

Patrician Presentation Secondary School, Fethard.

Transitioning from Primary School

• Landmark Moment(Anxieties and Excitement)

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• Social and Academic Transitions (New Friends and New Subjects and Courses)

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• Allow the time to settle in. Parent should Support, Listen, Encourage and Show them but don’t do it for them. Build resilience.

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• Start Right Initiative - Student Mentoring Programme (5^TH Year Students) to help students settle in.

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

School Expectations/Code of Behaviour

• Being organized (Books, Lockers, Zipped Pockets, Journal, Punctual, Timetable with basics at home(PE/Home Ec/Practical Subject equipment needed for certain days)
• Absence Notes(in Journal) for medical appointments or illnesses must be submitted to

collecting students in these

the Office. Students and Parents must sign out when circumstances.

• Respect the Rules (See Journal)
• Sanctions (See Journal)
• Get involved in school activities
• Role of Parents - Monitoring Progress in Journal and signing Journal at the end of each week/Parents' Council
• School Policies (Mobile Phone, Uniform etc.) (See Journal)

Being Organised

• Seats are assigned to students in each class, so their will be there.
• Becoming familiar with your timetable is important. Students should check their journal the night before and check what class they have, what materials they need, and where the rooms are if they are moving.
• On arriving at school students should go to their locker, sort their books and equipment, get the books for the classes to morning break.
• Being organized, they will lose less. Put names on everything, encourage them to keep belongings in bags or lockers. Most lost items can be found if named and looked for.
• Having spare uniform is very important (often easy to acquire from friends or family).

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Solution to being organised -The Journal

The Journal is invaluable as an organisational tool as it has the timetable, the school rules, term dates, and should have the homework written in it.

Keep a copy of the timetable at home. Colour coding for each class is helpful. It is the plan for the week, what you need and when. From PE gear to ingredients, cornflake boxes for making castles, to leaves for science class, the diary can have you prepared for your whole week, avoiding many of the issues that beset the new first year student, if they use it properly.

• Homework should be written for every class, if not assigned write “no homework.
• Homework should be done if possible when its given. Students will have some subjects just 1-3 times a week. If homework is left,

unless they are checking their journal the night before for the next day, they will forget to do it.

• Homework should become a good habit, an organised place to do it, kitchen table is fine, a set time where possible, begun and finished in 1 ½ to 2 hours.
• The phone and homework - All the research says phone out of the room. If they need it for research or dictionary you should

monitor it, and only allow it used for the subject specified. Left on the table it will be a distraction. Can be a reward.

• Students need to be clear about what they have to do for homework, encourage them to ask the teacher if they are confused. This has been mentioned as a major cause of stress at home. Most teachers are happy with written evidence of engagement where a student does their best.

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W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Homework/Study

• Student Journal - Record H/W
• Revision Plan from the start, Set Targets (2 Stars, A Wish and a Target) (See Journal)
• Parents’/Guardians’ role
• Study time -1½ to 2 hours nightly
• Extra-Curricular (Finding the right balance)
• It is important to note that not all homework is written and that learning homework/writing up of notes is just as important.
• Remember to always listen attentively in class!

Homework Routine -10 step Approach

• Choose a suitable, quiet place without TV or music.
• Try and do homework at the same time every night.
• Plan your homework before you start.
• Use your Journal and tick off work as it is completed.
• Try and do all your homework on the night it is given, even though it may not be required for the next day. This helps to ensure that something doesn’t “come up” the night before to affect the work – internet outage, device/book misplaced, needing help with the work etc. etc.
• Make sure all written work is neat and tidy (put a title/page number and date on top).
• Ask your parents/guardians to check your homework.
• If you are absent from a class, find out what homework was set and complete it.
• Always make an effort – teachers will not accept not doing it but will accept that you tried
• Finally, each evening following your homework, check that your schoolbag is packed for the next day and that you have all your homework so that it is presented on time.

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Classes/Subjects

• Each class group has a base room for breaks and morning check-in time
• Students then move to teacher-based rooms.
• Mixed ability classes
• Choosing Subjects Options (after Sampling) before October Midterm.

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

First Year Subject Options - Sampling & Choosing Subjects.

• Students will Sample the following Option subjects before October Midterm break: Art, Technical Graphics, Home Economics, Materials Technology (Wood).
• After Sampling the subjects students will be asked to rank their top preferences in each pairing on a subject choice form (before October Midterm).
• Spaces in all Option Subjects are subject to demand, availability of teaching resources, and suitability of the student (Work Ethic/Progress/behaviour)

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Social Media

Keeping connected to your teen gets harder, they want independence and privacy. You want communication and to know they are safe. It is about monitoring, creating rules and boundaries and some compromise. If you can have the phone out of the bedroom for sleep that’s huge!

• Parental Involvement and Responsibility
• Parental access to child’s Social Media Accounts
• Keep Phones and Devices out of bedrooms at night

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Referral System(Ladder System)

• Subject Teacher (1^st Port of Call)
• Class Tutor (2^nd)
• Year Head (3^rd)
• Pastoral Care Team/GC (4^th)
• Deputy Principal (5^th)
• Principal (6^th)

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All staff email addresses are found on our school website

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Junior Cycle what’s new

Wellbeing as a central pillar.

Now considered a specific area of learning - 400 hours have been allocated. CSPE, SPHE, PE, Guidance-Related Learning along with other areas of learning such as wellbeing classes, literacy, numeracy, digital skills are incorporated into this important element of education.

Classroom assessments and assignments.

Homework may look different, there is a bigger emphasis on project work and presentation of research than before. Tests and house exams remain.

Skills and knowledge based.

There are 8 key skills students will develop in Junior Cycle. Literacy, Numeracy along with the 6 on the next slide are embedded into every subject. Students will be expected to demonstrate both subject specific knowledge and skills in each subject area.

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Key Skills-Junior Cycle

Assessment for New Junior Cycle

Classroom Based Assessment CBA’S(Subject Teacher assessed)

• CBA 1 in 2^nd Year
• CBA 2 in 3^rd Year

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Assessment Task(State Exams Commission assessment)

• 10% completed in April/May of 3^rd Yr.

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Grading

Exams and grading.

Final grades in most subjects are composed of 90% terminal exam and 10% Assessment of skills. Practical classes give more weight to skills.

CBA Descriptors of Criteria Junior Cycle Student Award

Distinction 90 to 100 %

Higher Merit 75 to 89 %

Merit 55 to 74 %

Achieved 40 to 54 %

Partially Achieved 20 to 39%

Not graded 0 to 19 %

Exceptional

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Above expectations

In line with expectations

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Yet to meet expectations

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Terminology

CBA and JCPA.

There is a language to everything and school is no different. As well as changed grades from the old style A,B,C to merit, higher merit and distinction, students will have Classroom Based Assessments (CBA) and will no longer receive a Junior Cert but a Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA).

W │ www.ppss.ie E │ principal@ppss.ie

Guidance Counselling (Justin McGree)

During your child’s time in PPSS Fethard, he/she may need to see the Guidance Counsellor

for information and help with areas such as:

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1. Testing/Aptitudes, personality and career interest
2. Counselling: Personal, Educational and Vocational (adjustment problems, personal concerns, school related issues, subject choice and career)
3. Referrals in school and to outside supports
4. Confidential note taking and storage of information
5. Parent Meetings
6. Student Information
7. Liaising with Year Heads, SEN, parents and Management re. Student Support
8. Guidance Classes, organisation and facilitation of careers talks and external career visits

Guidance Counselling

The counselling service is available to all students. Students are offered one to one appointments on a need to see and priority basis.

Counselling is offered on a confidential, one-to-one basis and/or in classes/small groups. Students can self-refer to the service by making their own appointment with the Guidance Counsellor, or they may be referred by parents, teachers, year heads, deputy principal or principal.

The guidance counsellor cannot promise confidentiality where a student is at risk or may harm somebody else or where required by law to share information with relevant authorities.

If it is thought to be in the best interest of the student, a referral may be suggested to outside agencies (HSE, Education Welfare Officer and JLO). In such cases it is the principal/deputy principal as the designated liaison person who makes the referral.

AEN Coordinator (Helena Walsh)

Home School Liaison (Margaret O’Neill)

School Completion Programme �(Roisin Slattery)

Settling In

Here’s how out first years rated their experience of transitioning this year

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1. My experience of transitioning in this school was:

2. I feel I have settled in well:

3. I got all the information I needed:

4. Teachers give me enough work to do:

6. Teachers give me too much work to do:

7. I understand the school rules:

8. I know what is expected of me:

9. I am happy at my new school:

Suggestions

What helped me:

Causes me concern still:

Suggestions:

Parent/Guardian Survey

https://forms.gle/DRK3saHQNs7rFVEN7

Further Information/Resources

https://padlet.com/patrician3/Transitioning

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https://padlet.com/jmcgree/2v2ntmedl4n2ec1g

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School website: www.ppss.ie

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Email: jmcgree@ppss.ie

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THANK YOU