Irish Education System

Our language assisstant, Johnny, gave a presentation about the Education System in Ireland and it was really interesting! We learned a lot!

General Information on the Irish High School System

The Irish High School System (called Secondary School) is divided into two cycles:

• Junior Cycle which lasts for 3 years (for students from age 12)
• Senior Cycle which lasts for a further 3 years (for students from age 15)
   

The Junior Cycle is non-specialised and students usually take between 9 and 13 subjects per school year. At the end of this three-year cycle the Junior Cycle finishes with a State Examination called the Junior Certificate.

The first year of the Senior Cycle is called Transition Year (TY). It is a combination of academic, vocational and personal/social development.

TY is designed to give students, usually aged 15-16 years, the tools necessary to make informed choices about their future study and possible university or other Third Level choices.

The final two years of the Senior Cycle constitute a two-year study program which leads to another State Examination called the Leaving Certificate. This examination is both, an exit exam from school and a university entrance exam.

The curriculum for both cycles - Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle - is set down by the Irish Department of Education as follows:

Junior Cycle (aged 12-15 years)

• English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
• Irish, Latin, Greek
• Classical Studies, Music
• Mathematics
• History, Geography
• Business Studies Science, Technology, Home Economics
• Technical Graphics, Metalwork, Materials Technology(Wood)
• Typewriting
• Art, Craft & Design
• Environment & Social Studies, Social Personal & Health Education
• Civic, Social & Political Education
• Religious Education

leading to: Junior Certificate

Senior Cycle (aged 15-18 years)

• English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Japanese
• Irish, Latin, Ancient Greek
• Classical Studies
• History, Geography
• Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
• Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Physics & Chemistry
• Agricultural Economics, Engineering
• Design & Communication, Graphics, Construction Studies
• Accounting, Economics, Business Home Economics
• Art, Music 
• Religious Education

leading to: Leaving Certificate

Please note that no school offers the complete range of subject and the usual number of subjects offered per high school is approx. 16 subjects.

Sample Transition modules include: Debating, Public Speaking, Enterprise, Work Experience and a wide variety of additional modules which vary depending on the specific school.

Welcome Johnny!

This is Johnny, our  language assistant this year. Welcome to IES Pablo Gargallo !

Hi! My name is Johnny and I am the English language assistant this year in IES Pablo Gargallo. I am from a small town in the northwest of Ireland called Sligo. I am in the third year of studying a degree in Spanish and Sociology and Politics at the National University of Ireland Galway. In September I will return to Ireland to do my final year.
I like Spain and I am enjoying living in Zaragoza. When I applied to be a teaching assistant, Zaragoza was my preferred destination and I am happy about my decision!

Bye, bye Keila!!

Thanks for everything Keila! We'll miss you!!

Super Chef, 1st ESO Brit

Our language assisstant Keila motivated the students belonging to 1EF by means of a game in which  they had to create an original and crazy recipe using some ingredients they had been given.
 The result was amazing! 

This is our language assistant, Keila

Hi! My name is Keila and I'm from Houston, Texas in the United States. This is my third year teaching English in Zaragoza. I really enjoy working with children as an English teacher and also teaching them about my culture. I also enjoy speaking to them about my personal interests which include cooking, music and movies. I hope to inspire as many kids as possible to want to learn English and help them overcome any problems they may be having with it. I look forward to a fun year at Pablo Gargallo.   

 

        Welcome to our highschool!

SPELLING BEE CONTEST

A spelling bee  is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States, and spelling bee events, along with variants, are now also held in some other countries around the world. The first winner of an official spelling bee was Frank Neuhauser, who won the 1st National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in 1925 at age eleven.

Here you can see a video in which 3ESOA students (Bilingual Program) competed 

in a spelling bee contest.

Education in USA

Justin gave a lecture about education and high schools in the USA. It was really interesting as we could learn the differences between Spain and USA. Here is the power point Justin prepared for this class.

10 cities in the USA

Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas,Chicago,Los Angeles, New york

The other day Justin talked to us about the major cities of the US and he told us about their population, which important places there are in each one, important events celebrated, and about football, basketball and baseball teams.
We had a good time and participated with Justin trying to guess the cities, important places, curiosities and teams. Sometimes the students were wrong guessing the cities because they were saying states but they said quite a lot of basketball teams right.One of the curiosities that we have learnt is that  70,2% of the population of Miami speak Spanish? Now you know where you can go to learn  English easily!
                                                                    Sandra Lorente (3º ESO A, Bilingual Program)
Here you can see the power point Justin prepared for the class.

Our Language Assisstant Justin

Hi! My name is Justin. I'm the language assistant for English classes for the 2015-2016 school year. I come from Orange County, California in a city called "Anaheim." Orange County is located between Los Angeles and San Diego, and my city has about 350,000 people. I studied architecture in Barcelona in 2012 and I loved Spain so much that I decided to come back once I finished my degree! Last year I taught students at three different schools in Borja. In addition to teaching English, I enjoy snowboarding, painting, photography and making short films. I'm very excited to help the students of IES Pablo Gargallo improve their English. Nice to meet you!

Our language assistant

 

My name is Jane Dolan, this year’s English language assistant at I.E.S. Pablo Gargallo.  I was born in Sutton, a small town on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland.  I graduated with a B.A. in English at Spanish philology from University College Dublin and then moved to Zaragoza where I have made my home.

I spent several years teaching in language academies and businesses in the city before starting my family of four.  Now they are all in school, I’ve returned to work. I started in Montessori International School, Romareda, where I was in charge of the English Department for Educación Infantil, 2º Ciclo, and last year I was the Engish language assistant at I.E.S Santiago Hernández.  It was a most enjoyable and fulfilling experience which I hope to repeat this year with my new students.