CSPE Action Project Initiative
Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland
IHRC invites CSPE students to submit human rights images for national exhibition
Ensuring that everyone everywhere, including Ireland, can live "equal in dignity and rights" is at the heart of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Young people can play an active role in making this principle a reality and in so doing help build a culture of respect for human rights in Irish society. Education is an empowering factor and Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) aims to foster a spirit of active citizenship based on human rights; nurturing knowledge, skills and agency. The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is inviting CSPE students to make the human rights of people in Ireland the focus of their CSPE Action Project. We are asking them to play a prominent role in promoting human rights by creating images that express what human rights in Ireland mean to them for display in their schools or community, and at Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland, a national exhibition organised by the IHRC at the Lighthouse Cinema, Smithfield Dublin 7 from 27 February to 6 March 2013. The Express Yourself! initiative is being organised by the IHRC in collaboration with the Association of CSPE Teachers (ACT); Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU); the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST); and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD). Aims of Express Yourself! The IHRC was established in 2000 under statute to promote and protect human rights in Ireland. A key aspect of our work is to support education that strengthens human rights as knowing about human rights is the first step towards protecting them. Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland aims to foster in CSPE students a greater understanding of human rights, empathy with people whose human rights are not being met and encouragement to promote awareness of the importance of protecting human rights in Ireland. Producing and exhibiting human rights images developed as part of such a collaborative process as the CSPE Action Project will also give concrete expression and validation to students’ concerns about human rights and what actions we as a society need to take to secure everyone’s rights. Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights is a follow-on to Human Rights Framed by Young People Exhibition organized by the IHRC with the Law Society of Ireland in 2008 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Express Yourself! on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2012 Every year on International Human Rights Day, 10 December, people everywhere are asked to come together to celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). As part of the Express Yourself! initiative, the IHRC is encouraging students to organise an event in their school or community to display their images and promote human rights and the enduring relevance of the UDHR more than 60 years after its adoption by the United Nations.Express Yourself! Exhibition Human Rights images produced by CSPE students will be displayed at the Express Yourself!, national exhibition at the Lighthouse Cinema, Smithfield, Dublin 7. The closing date to submit images is Wednesday, 16 January 2013. The Exhibition will officially open on 27 February 2013 and the images will be on show until 6 March. Application details are available on the IHRC’s website www.ihrc.ie/cspe Express Yourself! Resources and Support The IHRC is offering a range of supports to aid both teachers and students. 6-Step Guides for Teachers and Students to Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland are being sent to CSPE Co-ordinators in all schools. The Guide is designed as a complement to CSPE textbooks and CSPE Action Project resources produced by other organisations. A similar guide is available for CSPE students. A section of the IHRC website is dedicated to Express Yourself! containing a range of human rights resources and information for both teachers and students. See www.ihrc.ie/cspe
For further information on Express Yourself! Young People Promoting Human Rights in Ireland, please contact Fidelma Joyce at the IHRC. Tel: 01 8589601 or email: expressyourself@ihrc.ie
ISSU Congratulates Students on their Junior Cert Results
12th September 2012 On the day of their results, the Irish Second-level Students’ Union (ISSU) wishes all those receiving their Junior Certificate results today the very best of luck. However, the ISSU appeals to students to be responsible and mindful to others in their celebrations. Results this year are broadly in line with previous years, and we are encouraged to see an increase in the proportion of students opting for higher level in core subjects such as English, Irish and Maths. The ISSU is encouraging all students to enjoy celebrating their well-deserved results, but to stay safe and do so responsibly. ISSU Education Officer, Brendan Power said: “Getting their Junior Certificate results is a landmark in most young people’s lives and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all students on their hard-earned results. It is heartening that there has been an increase in the proportion of students taking core subjects at higher level, and I hope that this trend will continue in future years”. ISSU President, Dylan Grace said: “While many people are currently discussing the new Junior Cycle syllabus, it is important that we all take a moment to congratulate all students of what will soon be the “old” Junior Cert on the three years of hard work and effort which has hopefully been rewarded with today’s results”.
Results Helpline 2012
1800 265 165
The helpline will commence on Wednesday August 15th and the times for the duration are as follows:Wednesday: 15th August 8.00am to 7.00pmThursday: 16th August 8.00am to 7.00 pmFriday: 17th August 8.00am to 2.00pmThe helpline for the “first round CAO offers” are as follows:Monday: 20th August 8.00am to 7.00pmTuesday: 21st August 8.00am to 7 pmWednesday: 22nd August 8.00am to 2.00 pm National Parents’ Council post primary is pleased to announce the Leaving Cert Helpline2012. The helpline is provided courtesy of NPCpp in association with the Irish Independent, Eircom and the DES and it is staffed by fully qualified guidance counsellors from Institute of Guidance Counsellors.
A Guide to the CAO Change of Mind Process
If you have already submitted an application form, you can submit a Change of Mind form to the CAO. You can change the level 8 and or level 6/7 courses from your original application, except for restricted application courses/restricted categories of applicant (see page 4 of the CAO handbook).
How do I do it?
Log onto www.cao.ie and complete the process there. There is no charge, you can do it more than once, and the closing date is July 1st at 5:15pm. We recommend that you keep a record of any submissions until you receive confirmation of any changes from the CAO in the post.
What if I don’t want to change my application?
Don’t complete a change of mind form; you don’t need to take any action.
Will I receive confirmation?
Yes – if you do not receive this by the 7th of July, contact the CAO immediately. You will need to provide proof that you submitted a change of mind form.
Where can I find out more?
The CAO website – www.cao.ie
Maintenance Grant 2012-2013 Information for New Entrants
Going to College? Apply for a Maintenance Grant TODAY!
If you will be starting college (or a new course) in college next September, you can apply for a maintenance grant now. You do not need to know what course or where you will be studying to apply.How do I apply?
- Register on www.grantsonline.ie with your PPS number.
- Log into the system and complete your application (this can be saved).
- When you submit your application, you will get a confirmation e-mail.
- Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) will contact you by post with following an initial assessment. You may be asked to post them photocopies of documents to support your application (e.g. tax certificates, proof of address etc.).
An information video about applying for a maintenance grant is available here. Am I eligible for a maintenance grant?There are four criteria under which grant applications are assessed, you must fulfill all four criteria. Full details are available on www.studentfinance.ie.
- You must be studying an approved course at an approved institution.
- Your gross income must fall at or below specified levels to qualify for a grant and to determine what the amount of that grant would be. Full details are available here (http://www.studentfinance.ie/mp9556/check-reckonable-income-limits/index.html)
- You must have been resident in Ireland for 3 out of the last 5 years.
- You must hold (1) EU, EEA or Swiss Nationality; (2) Humanitarian leave to remain in the State; (3) Official Refugee status; or (4) Permission to remain in Ireland as you are married to an EU national employed here.
NB: This document does not purport to be a legal interpretation of the Student Grant Scheme 2012 and it does not cover all aspects of the measures contained therein. Copies of the Scheme and Regulations 2012 can be downloaded from www.studentfinance.ie or can be accessed from Local Authorities or Vocational Education Committees. The Student Grant Scheme and Regulations 2011 are liable to change during the academic year.
Leaving Cert Physics
Katarzyna - Higher Level
It was a long night of studying before my most important exam. I had a strategy to first do my three experiments, and then do Question 5, followed by Question 10 part A and after those, the two parts of Question 12. Later I was going to decide what other two questions I was going to do. Overall I have to say that the experiment questions were very fair. I did Questions 1, 2 and 3. I heard that many people hoped for Joule's Law and the Simple Pendulum experiments to come up. Joule's Law wasn't there; instead we had the variation of current with voltage for a semiconductor diode. The Simple Pendulum experiment came up, where we had to use a graph we were given to calculate the acceleration due to gravity and it was quite a nice question to start with. Then a question on finding the focal length for a converging lens and variation of frequency with length were also straight forward enough. Nothing really surprised me in this section, which made me worry if the other section was horrible. Question 5 was more difficult than usual. The questions were new and quite detailed. I managed to answer my best eight and moved on to Question 10 (a). The particle physics question was about positrons and pair annihilation. I thought that it was one of the easiest questions on the option I have seen. I didn't have problems with it. In question 12 I did parts (b) and (c). Again it was more difficult than usual. I didn't like any part, but these two suited me best. Part b was about refraction and part c was about latent heat of fusion. The other parts were about circular motion, which was difficult enough, and the photo cell which I didn't revise in the detail that the question required. Then I looked at other questions and Question 8 about fission and fusion jumped out at me. I scanned through the questions and was really pleased. However there was one down side; the quantities were not given at the bottom of the questions. I had to go and look for the required quantities in the log tables, which I have to say was time consuming because I had to keep on flicking back and forth from the quantities to the formulae and it was a bit tedious. It was the first time ever when I noticed that. My friends complained about this, because sometimes the quantities gave you a hint about what formula to use, whereas here you had no help. I really liked that question so when I solved everything I had one more question to do. I looked at question 11 and 9. I didn't like them and I doubted if I could answer them well. Then I looked at 6 and 7. The choice was easy because question 7 was a bit weird and the mechanics question was actually really nice compared to other years. Apart from the very last part of this question which I couldn't do, everything was fine. I am really happy with the paper because I expected it to be much worse. Last year's paper was horrifying and I was afraid that we will get something similar. I was glad that I didn't have to do any electricity questions, which I don't particularly like. I was ecstatic when I saw a whole question on modern physics which I really find interesting. I hope you found it okay as well. For all those who are finished today I wish a nice, long, sunny summer and for those who still have some exams to do, I wish you the best of luck!
ISSU Commentary
Today Leaving Certificate physics students were tested on applying their knowledge to everyday scenarios. Rote learning would have been of little benefit, as has been the prevailing theme with most of the exams this year. Some teachers were full of praise for the more practical examination that their students encountered. The physics paper is split into Section A and B. Section A, at higher level was ‘as expected, and typical’. However some highlighted that students should have been given prior warning, to include their exam paper with the answer booklet, if they answered question 1. This had never happened before, and could have ‘thrown’ some students. That was not the only difference as students were given a graph, rather than being asked to draw one. The rest of section A was described by many as ‘fine’, some even highlighting question 4, and calling it ‘lovely’.Linking physics to real life was continued in section B, where questions were challenging but clearly phrased. Some found the first question particularly difficult. Some described the first question in Section B, question 5 as a ‘mixed bag and parts being more of a geography question, overall it was ‘testing’. Part G was commended for being realistic. The final question on the paper was ‘really nice according to many. The ordinary level paper held ‘very few surprises’ and the paper, like higher level required students to apply their knowledge effectively. Many singled out the Fukushima nuclear disaster as particularly topical. Overall both papers were generally good, but challenging in parts.
Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates