Tomatoes & Ice Cream

14

10GC’s Trip to W5 15

Prefect Training 16

Frames of Mind 17

Stars in Your Eyes 17

Music News 18

Weddings & Farewells

19 20

Inside This Issue

Sports Day

Food Fest

Work Experience Primary 6 Visits

Wedding Bells & Farewells

Young Enterprise

June 2007

LAGAN COLLEGE UPDATE

Sports Day 2-5

Football & Gaelic 6-8

Young Enterprise 9

Work Experience 10

Primary 6 Visits 11

Food Fest 12

Maths Puzzle Week 13

Inside this issue:

Editorial Team

• Mrs D. Hill (Editor)

• Mr A. Harper(Reprographics)

Have a great summer!

The Athletics season of 2007 included a full class programme, Inter School Competitions, District competitions and the NI Integrated Pentathlon. The pinnacle was our Sports Day held on Tuesday 12th June at the Mary’s Peter Track. Fortunately the rain stayed off for Sports Day and the thunder storms began just as the final relay of the day took place. All of the year 8 – 11 pupils were selected to take part in Sports Day either in an individual event, Relay or the 800m. The track events included the 100m, 200m, 800m and the 4X100m Relay. The field events were the Long Jump, Shot putt, Javelin and Discus. The day ended with the staff relays. This year both year 11 teams managed to beat the male and female teams. A first for the students! Lets not say the staff are getting slower, but rather that the students are being trained and coached to such a high level by the PE Department! Sports day was a great accomplishment thanks to the organisation and planning of Mrs Gough, Mr McCloskey, the House team captains and the assistance of all members of staff at the track. Mrs R McKnight

P A G E 2

Sports Day

L A G A N C O L L E G E U P D A T E

Mr McCloskey gives a few tips before the race begins.

Sports Day

P A G E 3 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

The Female Staff Relay Team

The Male Staff Relay Team

Sports Day organiser, Mrs Gough, and Mr McFadden

Junior pupils enjoying Sports Day

P A G E 4 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Sports Day Results

Most Valuable Athlete Year Girl Boy 8 Sarah Hanna Jordan Locke 9 Ashleigh Donnan William Skillen 10 Mikaila Hepburn Andrew Mills-Neely 11 Claire Moynes Kyle Stevenson

House Competition Year House 8 Ardnavalley 9 Forge 10 Shawsbridge 11 Loughview Overall Shawsbridge

P A G E 5 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Sports Day Results

High Jump Results Year Girls Boys 8 Elle Rowan Cal Cleland 9 Ashleigh Donnan Richard Marshall 10 Mary McDowell (Record) Kris Cairns (Record) 11 Claire Moynes Jonathan Cousins

Sports Day in action

P A G E 6 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Football Season Results

Year 8 Lagan v St Colmans lost 4-7 Newtonbreda v Lagan lost 3-2 Lagan v Bangor lost 1-4 De la Salle v Lagan lost 4-0 Knockbreda v Lagan lost 3-0

Year 9 Lagan v St Colmcilles lost 2-5 Lagan v De la Salle lost 0-4 Bangor v Lagan lost 5-0 Lagan v Newtonbreda won 2-0

Year 10 Knockbreda v Lagan lost 3-1 Lagan v Bangor lost 1-3 Lagan v De la Salle won 2-1 Lagan v St Colmbanus won 7-2 De la Salle v Lagan (away) lost 6-0 Lagan v Devenish won 3-1 (N.I cup)

Congratulations to the year 8 team who finished third in the NI Integrated Shimna Cup.

Congratulations to Ryan Irwin and Brian Cunningham who were selected for the North Down District team.

Congratulations to Aaron Neill and Aaron Pakenham who were also selected for the North Down District team.

P A G E 7 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Football Season Results

Year 11 Newtonbreda v Lagan won 2-0 Knockbreda v Lagan won 3-1 Lagan v De la Salle won1-0 North Down Cup Final Lagan 0 v De la Salle 1 Priory College v Lagan won 4-0 Lagan v Bangor Year 12 Lagan v D’dee won 4-0 Saintfield v Lagan won 5-1 Lagan v Down Academy drew 1-1 The lads lost their final 1-0 away to Down Academy! Their last ever Lagan match! Lagan v Newdrum won 5-0 St Colmbanus v Lagan (April) Knockbreda v Lagan won2-1(friendly) Sixth Year Lagan v Strabane won on penalties Lagan v Regent lost 2-0 (N.I cup)

Congratulations to Jamie Cleary on his selection for NI Schoolboys! Lagan’s first! Also, congratulations to William Gracey and Kyle Stevenson on being selected for the Belfast Foy-le Cup Squad.

Gaelic

P A G E 8 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Coventry Bishop Visits the College

The Annual Integrated Schools Under 15 Gaelic Football Blitz took place at Lough Moss Leisure Centre on Friday 22nd June. Lagan College emerged victorious in a closely fought final against last years winners, Sperrin College. Congratulations to everyone in the team! Mr F McGuckin, Lagan College Coach

The triumphant team, with captain, Michael Magee, holding the winners trophy.

On Wednesday 20th June Lagan College was visited by Bishop John Stroyan of Warwick. He is the new President of The Community of the Cross of Nails, based in Coventry. Lagan College has been a member of this international community of reconciliation for 5 years. Bishop John met staff informally, met with pupils and took assemblies with Years 8 - 11. It was Bishop John’s first visit to Northern Ireland and he thoroughly enjoyed his visit. Sr A Kilroy

Mr Dowd, Mrs McHugh, Mr Matchett, Bishop John Stroyan , Mr McFadden, Mrs Killick and Mr McNally

P A G E 9 L A G A N C O L L E G E U P D A T E

Year 10 Young Enterprise

On Monday 18th June, all Year 10 students took part in the annual Enterprise Competition. Our guest judge this year was Karen McDonnell from the East Belfast Enterprise Centre. The judges were very impressed by the standard of entries and it was nearly impossible to decide on the winners. Two teams were highly commended – “Hands for Cancer” for their excellent fundraising idea and for the large amount they have already raised; and “Picture Gallery” for their idea to put together a year book containing pictures of all the students that can be kept as a keepsake. In third place were “R.B.S.D.G” – Ryan Massey, Ben Wort, Stephen Hughes and Daniel Wallace – with their hand made bird boxes. In second place were “Big Sparks” – Andrew Johnston, James Gallen and John Crawford – with an imaginative idea for a revolutionary new type of battery using superconductivity. Taking first prize this year were “A-Play-With-Advertise” – Julia Brown, Mary Brown and Kaya Carville – with an innovative website advertising other enterprises, businesses and charity events. The website was linked to the school site and the girls had a fantastic display including a DVD they had made to present to the judges. Congratulations to all who took part, and thanks to all the form tutors for their hard work behind the scenes. Mrs Bingham.

First Prize Winners, Mary Brown, Kaya Carville and Julia Brown

Second Prize Winners, Andrew Johnston and James Gallen

Third Prize Winners, Ben Wort, Ryan Massey, Daniel Wallace and Stephen Hughes

Year 11 Work Experience

P A G E 1 0 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

In Lagan College all pupils in Year 11 and Year 13 get involved in the Work Experience Programme. Each pupil in Year 11 got the opportunity to experience one week in a working environment from 18th – 22nd June. The main aim of work experience is to give students an insight into the world of work and to provide an opportunity for them to gain first hand information as to what particular jobs entail. It involved students taking on the role of a young worker and: Undertaking work tasks; Using and developing work and employability skills; Being involved in work processes; Experiencing work environments. Examples of just some of the placements our pupils are involved in: Media, Journalism, Law, Engineering, Teaching, Public Relations. Here are some thoughts of work experience from our pupils: “For my work placement I went to a learning disability day care centre, it was a brilliant experience and is the career I want to pursue in the future” Orla “I did my work experience in Fontana Restaurant. I really enjoyed myself and I learnt a lot about how to work in a kitchen. I used a lot of skills such as communication and team working. These skills are very important when you are working as a chef. I would like to be a chef because it is really fun and I learnt a lot about how to cook and present food. From this placement, they offered me a part time job and I am now training in the kitchen and learning more about cooking and being a chef.” Claire “For my work experience I went to a graphics design company based in Holywood. The business was called Hexagon Designs. Throughout the work experience I did a lot of design work, from creating logos to constructing compliment slips. I really loved everything in my one week’s work experience and I believe that this is the field of work in which I would like to pursue a career in. I would recommend this placement to anyone!” Matthew Many thanks to the private and public businesses providing placements for our pupils. Miss L Mullan

Matthew Gibson Fiona McDonnell

Claire Moynes

Primary 6 Visits

P A G E 1 1 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Over 3 days from 20th to 22nd June this year, almost 300 P6 pupils participated in our Taster Days. Pupils from 7 primary schools, Loughview, Forge, Cedar, Cranmore, Holy Rosary, St. Joseph’s Ballyhackamore and St Joseph’s, Carryduff , spent a day in lessons from a menu of 10 different subjects. The children were able to take part in activities such as making French bread pizza, making clay totem poles, orienteering, carrying out an experiment with rock salt and learning songs in Spanish and French. The feedback from the P.6 pupils was really positive and many of the pupils have already said they are coming to Lagan in 2008. Many of their teachers expressed their thanks to our staff for giving their time so willingly. The teachers wished to particularly thank the forty senior prefects for escorting the children around the lessons and for helping to supervise them at break and lunch time. Mr D McNally

International Food Fest On Saturday the 23 June we held our final celebration for the college's 25th anniversary. Parents, pupils, staff, past pupils, ex teachers and other friends of Lagan College came together to sample dishes from all parts of the world and to enjoy an evening of music, dancing and fun. This was a true community event; a vast array of delicious Chinese dishes was prepared by past pupil Chung Wing Wong, delicacies from Poland, Argentina and Germany were provided by parents, Don Miguel slaved all day in preparing a range of mouth-watering Spanish tapas and Miss Coudiere's cheese stall was a big favourite. There was a range of delicious Middle Eastern specialities, provided by friends of the college, the international 'YWAM Forgiveness Project'. Scrumptious puddings were created by the H.E. department and the bar was manned by Mr McFadden, MrMcGuckin, Ms Bell and willing prefects. The Linfield goal keeper was challenged by our up and coming professional footballers as they tried their luck in penalties and Parents' Council sold books and CDs. Year 9 Drama stars provided 'street' theatre and added a splash of colour in their multinational costumes. Lucky, the Bollywood dancer added a truly exotic touch, Miss Orr and Ms Bell sung beautifully in French and Spanish, ex teacher Mr Gerry Jones played guitar tunes along with Normandy musician Monsieur Thierry Michel. Music tutor and rock legend Iggy Ward joined forces with leavers Rory Cameron and Richard Van den Bos in a rapturous finale that had us all dancing. It was a fantastic evening and many thanks to all those who worked so hard to make it happen. Aine MacParland

P A G E 1 2 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

David Morrow, winner of the penalty shoot-out, with Linfield Goalkeeper, Alan Mannus

Parents Council serve Indian Cuisine

Mrs MacParland hard at work!

Anna Lo, who opened the event, with the Principal, Mrs McHugh,

Maths Puzzle Week

P A G E 1 3 L A G A N C O L L E G E U P D A T E

The Maths Department ran a whole week of different mathematical and logical puzzles in the library during 18th-22nd June 2007. Students seem to enjoy the puzzles and challenges that were on offer. Try some of these mathematical and logic puzzles:- At the start of the Grand National horserace, I correctly count the number of legs of the horses plus the jockeys, and came to 216. How many runners were in the race? Out for a hike and pushing through some thick prickly bushes, Beth puts her hand in her pocket and found something with no legs and lots of teeth. What was it? You are walking through a field in early Spring and you find two lumps of coal and a carrot. How did they get there? A boy lives in a bungalow where all the windows in all the rooms on each side of the house face the same direction. Which are the only two possible places that he could live? A cricket batsman is out for 35 runs, which raises his batting average for the season from 15 to 17. How many runs would he have to score to bring his average to 19? Mr Mooney

Tomatoes and Ice Cream!

P A G E 1 4 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Have you ever wondered why tomatoes are red? No, well neither had Miss Wells’ Year 13 Chemistry class until one fun filled trip to Queens Chemistry Department! We arrived at Queens (Mr F-R dropped us off), and were led into a talk, about tomatoes! We were all saying,” What the Fudge?", but then it all made sense later, when we were taken into a lab and told to extract the dyes in tomatoes! Using state of the art equipment, we had great fun being real chemists, with nice new lab coats! A few professionals and professors came round telling us how many millions of pounds we could make with a chemistry degree and what fun studying Chemistry at Queens could be! And I actually think he was telling the truth, because the students that were there seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as we were!! We then had a tour of the building, looking at how molecules dance, how they are discovered, and how they are identified (this last part was really helpful with our AS course)! Then came a free lunch (for some people, two lunches) It was great! And as for the ice-cream; well the real chemistry behind that....it tastes great. Darren Dornan, Year 13

10GC’s Trip To W5

On Friday 4th May, 10GC went to W5 on a science trip with Miss Wells and Mr Carleton. When we first arrived we did a workshop on car making where everyone worked in groups to make a car that could use a clockwork motor to move. Prizes were given for the best looking car and also for the car that travelled the furthest. My group won both of these categories. We then watched two brilliant demonstrations. One was on forces and the other was about flight. The W5 staff carrying out the demonstrations were very enthusiastic and got us all involved. Thomas really enjoyed playing the part of Isaac Newton! We spent the rest of our trip looking at the exhibits. Miss Wells was very impressed at Ben’s attempts to be a weather presenter. It was a great day out and I would love to go again. John McIlroy 10GC

P A G E 1 5 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

P A G E 1 6 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Sixth Form Prefect Training Mrs Anderson organised a training day for our Year 13 students, which involved students attending a number of workshop sessions. Each workshop was focused on improving students’ skills in a particular area of school life. A number of key staff led each workshop: Mentoring (Miss Morgan), Reading Partnership Programme (Mrs McNamee), Media Awareness (Mrs Harbinson/Ms Black), Environment (Mr Patton), Integration (Mrs MacParland) and Leadership training (Mrs Anderson) – many thanks to all staff who made a contribution to the day; with particular thanks to Mr McBriar, from the BBC, who also led the Media Awareness Workshop. Students thoroughly enjoyed the day and appreciated the efforts of all the staff.

Mr Willis McBriar, from BBC Northern Ireland

Miss J Morgan with some of next years prefects

Mrs A McNamee discusses the importance of prefect duties.

P A G E 1 7 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Frames of Mind

On the 30th March 2007 the winners of the Frames of Mind short film competition were announced at a ‘mini-oscars' events at the Queens Film Theatre in Belfast. It was hosted by BBC Northern Ireland's Joe Lindsay and David O'Reilly (ATL's Rigsy) presented the awards on the night. Over 100 people were in attendance to watch the debut screening of the final 20 short films. The creativity of the film-makers was inspiring and the judges had a difficult time selecting the final four winners. Congratulations to Lagan students Andrew Hanratty Mullan and Chris McGlade, both Year 10DWD, who came first in the Under 16 category with their short film, ‘Living with Aspergers’. The judges were impressed with the concise style, the use of animation and locations in their film. Both the presenter and the subject were extremely personable and the judges felt that they had been given a small and positive insight into a young life. A personal documentary told with wit and honesty and illustrating how the central character is supported at school and has come to terms with his condition. The winners all get to attend a coveted BBC Blast Film-Making Master Class during the summer. Well done Andrew and Chris!

Stars in Your Eyes Update

Baby Boom!

Congratulations to Mrs Major, Geography, Mrs Danter, Maths and Ms O’Connor, Irish, who all had bouncing baby boys this month! We wish them all the best whilst they are off on maternity leave and hope that they are enjoying the new addition to their families.

Well Done to Sarah Bell and Emily Dunwoody, Year 11, who made it through to the final round of Stars in your Eyes in The Waterfront Hall this month. The girls performed the Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey song, ‘When You Believe’. Unfortunately the girls didn’t win but they were happy to have met the X-Factor runner-up, Ray Quinn, and to have had some ‘Chico Time’! Well done Sarah and Emily and good luck for next year!

P A G E 1 8 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Moleque De Rua

Using the instruments and dance moves they had learned at the workshops, the Years 8 -11 students performed at the Belfast Carnival on Saturday 23rd June. It was a very colourful display enjoyed both by spectators and students alike. Many thanks to the members of Moleque de Rua for running the workshops and for leading the parade.

Belfast Carnival

This month the members of Moleque de Rua ran a 2 week workshop in the Music Department for Years 8-11. The workshops involved making and playing samba instruments and dance. The students had a great time and learned lots of new skills.

Wedding Bells & Farewells

P A G E 1 9 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

Shifting Scientists Miss D Fullerton is getting married to the delightful Ciaran and will be returning as Mrs Rogan. Mr D Carleton is getting married to the angelic Aoife and will be returning under the thumb! Miss M Duffy is departing for Our Lady and St Pats and will not be returning as anything! Scientists value facts only, hence the above. The good news is that Miss Wells is staying put! M Wells K Bingham

Congratulations to Ms B Dawson, Assistant Bursar, who will be marrying Stephen in Florida this July. Congratulations Brenda and Stephen and we wish you all the very best for a long and happy marriage!

A Marriage Made in Lagan This summer two of our staff will be getting married to each other. Miss L Mullan, from the ICT Department, and Mr P Mulholland, from the History Department, met in 2001 when Mr Mulholland (a past pupil of Lagan College) joined the staff. Needless to say it was love at first sight which led to them getting engaged last year. Congratulations to the happy couple and we wish them all the best for a long and happy marriage!

Miss M Duffy

Mr D Carleton

Mr P Mulholland and Miss L Mullan

Miss D Fullerton

We bid farewell to one of our nurses, Mrs Nuala McKavanagh. Nuala has been a great asset to the college, treating both pupils and staff alike! We wish her all the best in her new position at the Royal and hope that she keeps in touch.

Farewells

P A G E 2 0 LA GA N CO LLEG E U P D A T E

A quarter of a century -Twenty five years! To all of you pupils I’m sure that seems like an awfully long time. It is after all almost twice as long as you have lived so far. But of course that’s how long Lagan College has been in existence and that is also how long Mrs Jellett has been a teacher here too! It is hard to underestimate just how much Mrs Jellett has shaped the school we now have. Margaret was there from year one supporting and encouraging those first set of twenty eight pupils and their parents begin the integrated school journey. She had no classroom and to be truthful still doesn’t. She has fostered, cajoled and nurtured all of her pupils over the years in a now rather dilapidated mobile. Through all of that time she has never stopped being totally committed and optimistic about Lagan College and its success and more importantly her pupils success. There are many, many young people out there who still talk about and enquire with real affection after Margaret, as the teacher who made a difference in their lives. As friends and colleagues we will all miss her sensible and sometimes not so sensible self. There is no doubt she made a difference to Lagan College too. Good luck and best wishes from all. Mr P Burch

Mrs Gough will be finishing school on Friday 30th June just like everyone else but she won’t be returning in September! Instead she will be taking a year long career break and hopes to spend her time travelling, playing golf and training her new puppy. We wish her all the very best and hope that she enjoys her time off, however we look forward to seeing her return in September 2008. Replacing Mrs Gough next year is Mrs E Brady. Mrs Brady has taught in England for 8 years and is a specialist in hockey, gymnastic and netball. She will be an excellent addition to the department! We welcome Mrs Brady to the college and hope that she enjoys her time here at Lagan.

Mrs M Jellett

Mrs J Gough