Welcome to the SEN Department.

The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Department in Belvedere College S.J. has been set up to support students who have been diagnosed with a learning need that falls within the Department of Education & Science (DES) guidelines.

The SEN department’s philosophy is grounded in the context of fulfilling the central aim of the College, to provide an education based on the characteristics of a Jesuit education. It is also based on the principle of inclusiveness, which underlies any policy for special educational needs and our Mission Statement that states ‘students are encouraged and challenged to realise their full potential as human beings’.

(Image taken from: http://www.silverspiral.org/images/stories/multipleintelligences.png)

Students who wish to apply for reasonable accomodations in Leaving Certificate 2013 need to get the relevant form from Mr. Finegan to be signed by parents/guardians.  Please return this form to Mr. Finegan’s office no later than 25th April.

Just a quick reminder that DARE applications need to be submitted by Thursday 1st March.  If you need any help writing your personal statement or with any other aspect of your DARE application please do not hesitate to come and see me.

For those of you who don’t already know, my office is at the end of the rudiments corridor.

Ms. Ellie Gillooly

Dyselxia Association of Ireland I runs a one-day Parents’ Course several times each year. Upcoming courses:

• Saturday 25th February in the Arklow Bay Hotel in Wicklow.
• Saturday 12th May in the Stilorgan Park Hotel in Dublin.

Topics covered on this one-day parents’ course will include:

• Understanding Dyslexia.
• Understanding the assessment report.
• Accessing support in school, e.g. learning support, Irish exemption, exam accommodations.
• Practical suggestions for parents and helping with homework.
• Planning for the future – second level and beyond.
• Computers and assistive technology.

The information and application forms for these courses are available below:

Arklow Parents’ Course February 2012 – Info & Application Form (PDF format)

Stillorgan Park Hotel May 2012 – Info and Booking Form (PDF format)

Just a quick welcome back to everyone and also a reminder to Rhetoric students that CAO and DARE applications need to be completed by 1st February 2012 (CAO) and 1st March 2012 (DARE).  Please come to speak to me if you need any further information on applying to either the CAO or DARE.  For those of you who don’t already know, my office is at the end of the rudiments corridor.

I look forward to seeing you! Ms. Ellie Gillooly

NCSE is pleased to announce the publication of a new Information Booklet for Parents of Children with Special Educational Needs. This booklet gives parents information on the full range of educational supports available in schools for children with special educational needs.

http://www.ncse.ie/uploads/1/ChildrenWithSpecialEdNeeds.pdf

This year 171 undergraduate applicants with a disability accepted a place in Trinity, with 68 of those students accepting a place under the DARE scheme.  In order to ensure that this trend continues, Trinity College Dublin have set up a programme called Pathways to Trinity aimed at supporting second level students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties in their transition to Trinity College.  The programme is being run in conjunction with The Transition Research Project which aims to highlight areas of need and concern for young people making the transition from school to college or university.

The Pathways to Trinity website  is a one stop shop for advice and information on your college application, course choice and college supports.  It includes advice from current students and lecturing staff, academic resources to help with Leaving Certificate studies and assistive technology soutions.  The website even includes an interactive demo which allows you to practice filling in your CAO and DARE applications online. So if you’re thinking of going to Trinity College next year, check out the website here:  www.tcd.ie/pathways-to-trinity

There will be a number of DARE application advice clinics nationwide on Saturday 14th January 2012.

For locations and times see:  www.accesscollege.ie

On Wednesday 30th November AHEAD – Association for Higher Education Access & Disability are hosting a one day event at the National College of Art & Design for students with a disability and/or SEN considering their college options in 2012.   The event runs from 10:30 am to 2 pm, it is free and all are welcome.  For further information go to the following website: www.ahead.ie

• Students using laptops should sit at the front of the class where they have access to a power point.
• Students should not shut their laptops down in between classes but should just close the lid leaving the laptop in ‘sleep’ mode.
• Students need to have individual folders for each of their subjects on their desktop and save classwork and homework in these folders accordingly.
• When saving files, students should label them appropriately (ie. Classwork 10.10.11 or Homework 10.10.11)
• Students should not use their laptops for maths – maths classwork and homework and in class tests should be handwritten unless otherwise agreed with maths teacher.
• It is the student’s responsibility to print off classwork and homework each evening at home and file it in a subject display book that can be presented to the teacher as a substitute for not having a copy.
• Students should have a display book for each subject with them in class so that teachers can monitor student’s classwork and correct classwork and homework as required.
• When teachers administer ‘in class tests’, students can complete their tests on their laptops.  Any diagrams etc. should be handwritten on a separate sheet of paper and handed up with the rest of the test.

These guidelines will allow students to fully benefit from the use of a laptop in school.  Furthermore, it will encourage them to take responsibility for all work done on their laptop in the same way that other students must be responsible for their subject copies.  The guidelines should ensure that the laptop is the responsibility of the student NOT the teacher.  All classwork and homework must be available in a subject display book that can be handed up to the teacher whenever necessary.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all work is printed up and filed in individual subject display books each night and brought into school each day.