Make the most of the Easter Break!
As you head into the Easter holidays, Leaving Cert students are undertaking a busy and stressful week of oral exams and music practicals. You are bound to feel exhausted at this point in the year so it’s all about pacing and priorities for the last stretch. Once you return to school after the break, you will have six and half weeks to the beginning of the exams on June the 8th. Before that you will have graduation to look forward to but it is very important that you make the best use of the class and study time you have left.
Priorities - Rest, recharge and revision!
The orals, music practicals and any outstanding project work you need to complete should take priority for the first week of the holidays. Towards the end of the week, make out a revision plan to run from Easter Monday for the remainder of the holidays. You will definitely need to take a couple of days to recharge after a very busy term so take a breather over the Easter weekend, get some rest and enjoy some time with family and friends. Make a priority list of topics you want to revise in each subject and assign those topics to particular times on each of your study days. You will have learnt a lot from doing the mock exams about the structure of the paper, marking schemes and what the examiner is looking for. Build this into your revision from now on. Always finish your study sessions by looking at an exam question on the topic you have revised. It is also useful to look at exemplar answers. www.studyclix.ie is a real help for this.
Return to career research.
The CAO Change of Mind facility will open on May the 5th at 12.00pm and will remain open until July 1st at 5pm, so there is still plenty of time to make changes to course choices and to look at alternative pathways. Your attention in the lead up to the exams and for a lot of June will be focused on performing as best you can in the Leaving Cert, so it can be difficult to find the time to focus on career choices. I highly recommend that you take some time over the Easter break to review your CAO course choices, making sure that you are ready to place them in order of preference once the Change of Mind facility opens. At this stage your research needs to be targeted and thorough to make sure you are making choices that you are happy with and also to ensure that you have a plan A, B and C! Look beyond the course title and career options, make sure to look into the detail of the modules you will be studying each year of the course. That detail is really important as you need to be sure that you will enjoy the majority of what is ahead. Explore all the options available in colleges for further education, many of which will allow you to progress onto higher education here in Ireland and abroad once completed. Check out apprenticeship options which continue to expand across a variety of career sectors. Some study abroad options are still available for those who are interested. Check out www.eunicas.ie and www.medicalpoland.ie. More options will open up in the UK when www.ucas.com open their Clearing in early July. For students who need more of a supported transition into education, training or the workplace, check out the National Learning Network. Some colleges are running events over the Easter break and after it, so take a look at www.careersportal.ie www.qualifax.ie and www.classroomguidance.ie to see if there are some that may be of interest. Ask any questions you have by emailing college staff and it you have are having difficulty making a decision make an appointment with your guidance counsellor once you return to school to discuss all options.
The end is in sight now so make the best of the Easter break and you will reap the rewards in June and on results day!