Welcome to the Junior Cycle for Parents page. Here we hope to enlighten and inform you about the course that your children will be undertaking for their first three years with us here in OLM. The Junior Cycle is a journey for the students. The idea behind it is that the students are involved in their learning as much as possible. Teachers will make this happen through a wide range of teaching methods that increase students’ involvement with all activities.
What is the Junior Cycle and how has it changed?
Take a look at the short videos below to see how the new Junior Cycle is run. The emphasis is on everything that the student does and not just the exam at the end. We know our students have strengths and weakness, like us all, and this new style of teaching and learning has been put in place to celebrate everything that our students have obtained.
The reporting in Junior Cycle is different to what we have been used to in the past. No longer will it all just be a culmination in the exam at the end. Over on the right we have an explanation and example of a JCPA but this video will also give a good guide on how work is reported on in Junior Cycle.
What will the new report look like?
The Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement or JCPA for short, is a report that shows everything that your child has done over their 3 years here in OLM. It has their exam mark on it of course but it also shows how well they have done throughout the years. Classroom Based Assessments (or CBAs) are on the JCPA as well as all the clubs, activities and achievements they have been a part of throughout their journey. Check below the JCPA to see what the Classroom Based Assessments are all about.
Grades
No longer will we be using percentages in our reporting or grades such as A, B+, C- etc. The new system uses descriptors based on how the student has done. The table below shows how the new system works percentage wise. The emphasis here is on the description on how the student has done, and not the grade. These descriptors will be used in all reports going forward in OLM.
* Christmas and Summer reports will begin using these descriptors as soon as they are updated on our reporting software. For the 2019/2020 year there may be a possibility of some subjects still using the older grading system.
Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs)
CBAs are a form of continuous assessment. For years we have known students to be bright and engaged in their subjects and do really well, only to fall short on the day of the exam due to stress, worry or other reasons. What was decided was that the students should have a chance to show their excellence in subjects throughout their years in Junior Cycle and to not just rely on the exam. Here is a quick run down of how they work;
- Students undertake two CBAs in Junior Cycle,
- CBA1 is in 2nd year
- CBA2 is in 3rd year (Gaeilge is the exception to this rule where both are in 3rd year)
- Students will get a theme on which to work through their subject
- Students will work on their project in class over 3 weeks
- All work is the students with little teacher involvement (teachers will guide students and offer advice where necessary)
- After 3 weeks students will submit their work for grading to the teacher
- Teacher grades the work and then meets with other teachers in their subject to make sure the grade is fair
- The mark received will either be Exceptional, Above Expectations, In Line with Expectations, Yet to meet Expectations
For more information about anything Junior Cycle related you can contact us by email at juniorcycle@olmdrimnagh.com