Transition Year Students help out in local Primary Schools!

ST AIDAN’S PRIMARY SCHOOL
Every Monday morning Students from 4A go to St. Aidan’s Primary School to help teach the students. This is great for anyone who would like to be a primary school teacher in the future. By going to St. Aidan’s and dealing with the children it gives us a good feel of what the life of a teacher is really like and all the challenges with this career.
Three students from Coláiste Bríde go into each classroom. The teachers are very nice and always keep us busy. The students are great characters and always pleasant and usually do what we ask them to do.
Some days we help the teachers out, by cutting out things, giving out copies and making posters, but usually we help with the children. Most mornings the teacher has divided the class into six groups. Each group is given a different task. Table one would practice their writing, table two use the IPods, table three do styles, table four do an unseen book,  table 5 do free writing and table six read a familiar book. There is a Coláiste Bríde student at each table and after 7 minutes we switch tables. Sometimes this can be challenging because sometimes it’s hard to keep the children focused and listening. Overall we really enjoy it.

St. Senan's Primary School
BY: Katie Fox
Every year Transition Year students are invited to St. Senan’s Primary School to help teach their students. Every Monday, Thursday and Friday a different group of students go up to the school and help the students with their maths, reading and writing.  We have a schedule; 4A go on Mondays, 4B go on Thursdays and 4C go on Fridays.  We are divided into pairs and put into different classrooms from junior infants up to second class. I was partnered with Diane Whiley and put into 1a.
The first Monday morning was nerve wrecking but exciting. At first, we sign in at the front office and wait in the hall for our teachers and our class and then we follow them up to the classroom.
We do a lot of things to help the teachers with the children. We do English; helping the children to read books and write about their weekends or they do their PAT which helps them learn new words. We do maths; which helps them memorise their tables and how to do sums. We learn songs in Irish and dance to music. Then at 10:15 we leave to go back to school.
It’s a really enjoyable experience and would genuinely make you consider primary teaching. The children are so nice and have great personalities. I enjoyed this type of work experience so much I signed up for the homework club after school to help the children with their homework.

Thank you to St. Aidan's for the pictures and to both St. Aidan's and St. Senan's for having us every week. We really love coming to help out!