Career Guidance
Portlaoise College addressed 6th years on the range of QQI Level 5 Post leaving certificate courses available at the college in areas as diverse as Hair and Beauty, Business & Criminology, Computer & Applied Science, Design & Engineering, Childcare & Social Studies. Students were given an insight on the application procedures and key dates.
Students applying under HEAR & DARE and other access procedures have now completed & posted their supporting documents to the relevant institutions. Students will hear about whether they have been accepted onto the programme on or after June 22nd 2018.
Information on sports scholarships is available in the Guidance lobby. Individual colleges have different dates regarding application and students are advised to read the information on the individual college websites.
The Defence Forces are accepting applications for cadetships. Information is available in the Guidance lobby. Information on apprenticeships with TEGRAL in Athy is also displayed.
The SUSI online grant application facility will open on April 5th. Parents/Guardians should do the eligibility reckoner on the susi.ie home page to check eligibility before applying.
NUI Irish exemption forms must be completed by candidates who are applying to NUI colleges (UCD, MU, NUIG, UCC and affiliated colleges) and who hold an exemption from Irish. Forms must be stamped by the school authorities and posted to the NUI in Merrion Square, Dublin.
The 5th year colleges tour to DCU & MU will take place on May1st 2018 at a cost of €10. Students will be notified about the Higher options conference in May 2018.
Educational Guidance
Interviews for Transition Year 2018 have been held and students have been offered a place.
Mock interviews for students participating in the Kildare Village programme have taken place in Kildare Village head office. Students experienced interviews in areas as diverse as IT, HR, Law, Retail and Business. The process was a very positive experience for the students involved.
Transition Year students have applied for places on the Engineering weeks available for students at IT Carlow / DIT. The programme will give students insights into the field of engineering.
The incoming 1st years CAT 4 test will take place in KTCS on May 3rd & 4th 2018. Parents/Guardians have been notified of the dates. All students will need a set of headphones to complete the test. Students will sit a test to measure their abilities in the areas of verbal (Word), Numerical (number) and non-verbal (shape) reasoning. As stated in the letter, parents can purchase a copy of the parents report which gives advice on how parents can support their child’s learning at a cost of €5.
Personal Guidance
6th year students have had two presentations from guest speakers this month. Past pupil Holy Hanlon gave 6th years who participated in the focus group a presentation on Building Resilience.
Marc Mulligan gave a presentation on Fears, Focus, Resilience and Being in control of your life to 6th years on March 23rd. Marc spoke about fears, moving forward into growth and building resilience when you fail. Touching mini spiders was one of the activities that students enjoyed during this very insightful, well received presentation.