1. Third Year Parents’ Meeting
2. junior certificate

2. Planning the year … Where are we now academically?
Four major academic reports (Christmas & Summer)
Strengths / Weaknesses should be clear
Group subject types together:
Languages? Logic? Creative?
Where do we want to be?
Set Goals for Junior Cert – LT goal 10 months away – Wednesday June 5th 2013
Specific goal for each subject
Agreed between pupil & parents
Realistic – capable of being achieved
How to get there?
Plan to get there
Interim Major exams: Christmas, Mocks = Interim goals
Hard to improve everything all at once – be selective

3. Third Years Parents’ Meeting
3. third year work

4. Work in Third Year Minimum 2 hours each night
= 10 hours per week
Parental expectations are extremely important
Monitor Homework Journal and quality of homework
Study
Revise within 1 day of what was learnt in class
75% of material will be recalled in 9 weeks
If no revision within 1 day of new material:
< 50% recalled after 2nd day
< 20% recalled after 9 weeks

5. Homework (learning & written)
Not a punishment, but an integral part of learning
Consolidates and reinforces a pupil’s skills & understanding from the classroom
Develops skills outside the classroom
Encourages pupil confidence

6. Homework Credits Every pupil began 3rd year with 100 credits
Credits are lost for:
No homework presented (on time) = -10 credits
Incomplete / poorly attempted = -5 credits
Credits are gained for:
Extra academic work
Agreed in advance with any of their subject teachers
If below 30 credits, then liable to be put in Detention (Saturdays 8.45 – 10.45am)
At the very least … must stop losing credits
Then must gain credits to rise above 30 to avoid Detention
Homework credit report ed home weekly (Tuesday)
Sent last week (make sure correct address)

7. Supervised Study - Details
Forms already given to the pupils and ed out to parents
Students contact Ms.C Mcguire
Study group no larger than 30 pupils
Times:
4.15 – 6.15pm OR pm
Wednesdays: 1.30 – 3.30pm, Fridays: no 7pm session

8. Supervised Study
Complete silence & work atmosphere maintained at all times.
Students must manage their time.
Bring enough work for homework & revision
No music. No mobile phone usage. No bathroom breaks*
Arriving late, leaving early … very exceptional please.

9. Third Year Parents’ Meeting
4. STUDY SKILLS

10. I’ll never get all this work done in time !
How am I going to learn all this for the exams?
I’ve got so much work to do that I don’t know where to start !
I have ready this page twice and still can’t remember a thing !

11. Study conditions
Research shows it takes 15min on average for a person to get to peak concentration levels.
If you are being interrupted then you will never be at your most efficient at studying
Make sure study area does not have:
a distracting view of other activities
a mobile phone
a TV
a family member who wants to talk a lot …
Facebook, Twitter, etc
Bedrooms are probably not a good location …(parental supervision very important)
Issue of music ?

12. Taking breaks…
Regular breaks are required to prevent too great a drop in your concentration and bring you back to a new peak
Maximum length of time = 45min
Ideally change every 30-40min
Break must be short ! (e.g. 10mins)

13. Study Plans for pupils
A guideline revision plan from today to Christmas (parental involvement/supervision is key!)
Only spend 1 evening preparing this information!
1. Weekly study timetable
Will probably include 1 day of the weekend
2. Topics to be studied
Get a list of all topics/chapter done so far
Cross them off as they are studied = control
3. Study Schedule
Allocate each topic to the Revision Schedule
Avoids wasting time

14. Study Sessions Develop realistic, small short-range goals
e.g. Not “I am going to spend all day Saturday studying!”
e.g. Instead: “Finish reading 3 sections of chapter 7”, “I will complete 1 maths problem”
Decide the order to complete tasks
Begin with boring/difficult subjects. Your ability to concentrate is highest when you begin studying.
Plan a reward for the end of study!
T.V., phone, movie, Facebook, …
Probably when you turn on TV, etc. you won’t go back to study again that night.

15. Your mind wanders …
If your mind wanders, stand up and face away from your books.
Don’t sit at your desk staring into a book & mumbling about your poor willpower.
Don’t leave the room. Just stand by your desk and allow some day-dreaming.

16. Remembering …
The MOST important thing is to understand what is to be remembered & memorised.
Spot what is to be memorised verbatim, “off by heart”
Use a special marking symbol in text
Go over / repeat at odd times (e.g. on way to school)

17. Key words & phrases
Underline important points once, and very important points twice.
Use CAPITAL LETTERS
Put the key words in boxes
Draw an asterisk next to the main idea*
Going over the important points with a highlighter pen
Use a different colour pen

18. Studying is not the same as reading a novel!
Some people read textbooks as if they were novels.
They begin with the first page of the chapter and read to the end of the chapter, without stopping.
This is not the way to study most textbooks.
“Pretend” learning … just turning pages.

19. Stress Busters Get organised Positive attitude Exercise
Caffeine levels – drink water
Diet and rest
Fight or flight