News at St. Colmcille’s

www.stcolmcilles.com St. Colmcille’s Primary School, Ballymena Parents’ Newsletter

Publish Date: March 2016

Issue Number 25

Junior Choir – 1st Place at the Ballymena Festival

Welcome to our spring term News at St. Colmcille’s. This has been a busy and exciting term full of events and opportunities for the children. Once again the children of St. Colmcille’s have excelled in both the academic and extra-curricular arenas. The children have represented the school in science and technology events, quizzes, sport, music and speech and drama competitions. History was made this term when the school reached the county finals of the Gaelic football competition and we entered a Junior Choir for the first time at the Ballymena Festival – winning the class in the process. I congratulate the children of Year 7 who were runners up in the N. Ireland Formula 1 in Schools competition. The school holds the prestigious Primary Science Quality Mark and to this end had an exciting Science Week packed with workshops, investigations and visits from scientists. The after school clubs have once again proved very successful with over two hundred and eighty pupils registered in various clubs. Catholic Schools’ Week is an important event each year and the children took time to reflect on this year’s theme ‘Challenged to Proclaim God’s Mercy’, with one of the highlights being the invitation to the Year 4 children’s grandparents to visit the school. This term, Year 7 began their preparations for Sacrament of Confirmation with the ‘Called by Name’ service and Year 3 children made their First Confession. It is on occasions such as these that the home, school and the wider parish community come together to help our young people grow in faith. The school has much to celebrate this term. I trust you will enjoy reading about our school both in this Newsletter and by visiting the school website.

Mr B McKenna –Principal

On Thursday the 28th January the Year 7 children celebrated their ‘Called By Name’

ceremony in All Saints’ Church. During the ceremony the children reflected on the Gifts of

the Holy Spirit and thought about the commitment they are going to make as they prepare

for the Sacrament of Confirmation on April 28th. Well done to Joel, Maja, Eva, Sam and

Emma who had special roles during the service.

Year 3 celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday 15th March in All Saints’

Church with the parish clergy. This celebration demonstrates God’s forgiving love to the

children in a very active way. The children took part in a presentation including the

retelling of the ‘Good Shepherd’ story. The singing rounded off what was a very special

event in the lives of the children, their families and the wider school community. We would

like to thank Fr Darren, our school chaplain, and all the priests of the parish for their

continued support and guidance.

Catholic Schools’ Week 2016

Catholic Schools’ Week was celebrated from 31st January to 6th February. This year’s theme was ‘Catholic Schools: Challenged to Proclaim God’s Mercy’. During this special week each class acknowledged Catholic Schools’ Week in different ways including attendance at daily Mass and celebrating Grandparents’ Day on Wednesday 3rd February. The Year 4 children wrote personalised prayers and presented these to their grandparents at a very heartfelt prayer service in school. Year 7 performed an assembly at the end of the week retelling the parable of The Prodigal Son and how Pope Francis has challenged us all to be ‘Merciful like the Father.’

As part of their preparation for Sacrament of Confirmation and to commemorate the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Year 7 made a pilgrimage to the Holy Door in St. Patrick’s Church, Belfast. The children were able to enter through the church through the Holy Door, symbolising true conversion and closeness to the Father. The also had the opportunity to go to mass, have their confessions heard and received a guided tour of St Patrick’s Church. We would like to thank Fr. Darren for accompanying us on this special trip.

St. Colmcille’s participated in this year’s Credit Union Quiz on Friday 29th January with four teams competing against local schools in a test of their general knowledge. The pupils had to answer questions such as ‘Which two countries have the letter ‘x’ in their name?’ The teams competed very well with one team finishing third. Congratulations to all the children involved.

After weeks of practising their standing long jump, javelin throwing and relay racing the ‘Fun in Athletics’ event finally arrived. The competition took place in Ballymena NRC sports hall and the two Year 7 classes were competing against other local schools and each other! Everyone had a fantastic afternoon at this well run event with the onus on participation and having fun. There were also prizes for the classes who scored the most points during the competition and the teams from St. Colmcille’s did fantastically well finishing 1st and 2nd overall. To save Mr Kearney’s blushes we will not mention that the picture above shows Eva and Sam from Mr Walls’ class with the winner’s trophy!

The Year 7 children attended the annual Bee Safe event in the Ballymena North Business Centre on 25th January in association with the PSNI, the NI Fire and Rescue Service and Ballymena Borough Council. The aim of the event was to teach the children life saving skills in relation to fire safety, road safety, safe use of the internet and drug and alcohol misuse. The day was very useful and informative and will help our children to stay safe and make informed decisions in the future. The school would like to thank all the organisations and volunteers who helped to facilitate the event.

Year 7 pupils participated in a video conference link up with Faughanvale P.S. to mark Safer Internet Day. The theme of the day was ‘Play your part for a better internet’ and the children had the opportunity to complete an online quiz with the partner school. Liz McGibbon from the CITHRAH Foundation visited St. Colmcille’s to give a thought provoking talk to Years 6 and 7 on the topic of staying safe online. Liz reminded the children that it is illegal

to be on any social media site before the age of 13. Liz will also host a parent information evening on Monday 9th May ay 7.00pm. Put this date in your diaries.

This term Mrs McAleer’s class had the opportunity to develop their skills in basketball, as well as meet some new friends from Camphill Primary School. Year 6 pupils from both schools participated in the ‘Peace Players’ Basketball Programme.

‘Peace Players’ aim to bridge divides, develop leaders and change perceptions all through basketball. The 8 week programme was very enjoyable as well as educational. As well as playing basketball, the children spent time discussing relevant issues such as anti-social behaviour and stereotyping.

Kevin and Tracey from the First Trust Bank visited our school on Tuesday 26th January. They visited Years 2, 4 and 6 and helped the children develop financial capability. They discussed how we save money now and how money was saved long ago! They demonstrated how to use the bank and the reasons for using a bank. They showed the children many examples of foreign currency and how different money is needed for some countries.

St. Colmcille’s outstanding success in the Formula 1 in Schools competition continued with this year’s team, Colmcille Cougar, finishing runners-up in the N. Ireland Finals. This is the sixth year in a row that the school has been in the top two places in N. Ireland. In preparation for the competition all the Year 7 pupils completed a STEM project on the Science of the Car. They designed and made a model F1 car for racing. The pupils also had to make a presentation on the project as well as be interviewed on their understanding of the manufacturing process.

Year 7 have been following the journey of Tim Peake - Britain’s first astronaut on board the International Space Station. The children attended a special launch event at W5 were they watched Tim’s rocket blast off into space. They also participated in workshops and experiments which demonstrated what life is like in space. Through using green screen technology some of the pupils were able to go on their own ‘space walk’!

To help with charitable causes, the Pupil Council organised a bun sale. This was a great success and we were able to raise £661. We would like to thank everyone for their generosity, such a large number of buns were donated that we had enough to run two bun sales! The Pupil Council have also been busy collecting and counting Sainsbury’s Active Kids vouchers. So far they have collected 2,332! These vouchers will be exchanged for P.E. and play equipment for our school. The Pupil Council would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has brought in vouchers so far and remind you that the voucher scheme runs until 3rd May 2016.

Our planting and growing project has begun! The Eco Council have planted runner beans, lettuce, spring onions and sweet peppers. We’ ve had to think carefully about where to put them until they are stringer because the weather outside has been so cold at night, but shoots have appeared and the vegetables are growing well so far. The Eco Council also received some exciting news before Easter! We are one of only a few schools in the UK that has been selected to receive seeds which have travelled to space with astronaut Tim Peake! When we receive the seeds we will be participating in an experiment to determine if having been in space will affect how they grow. We can’t wait to see what happen.

Eco Council members Chloe, Eva, Abby and Emily participated in a local Environmental Youth

Speak completition. The girls had to prepare a speech on the theme of, “Adventures of A Waste

Warrior”. Drawing on their experiences of being eco-friendly at home and school, the girls outlined

what we can do to try and manage our waste more effectively. More than twenty Year 6 and 7

pupils from the Ballymena area took part in the event and the girls from St. Colmcille’s certainly

repsresented themselves very well. The judges passed comment on their clear diction, confidence

and very thorough preparation. Well done, girls!

On Wednesday 9th March, the Fire and Rescue Service visited Year 5 and lead a workshop on Fire Safety. The children took part in the Fire Service’s Safety Team programme and learned about the dangers of fire and how to prevent fires in the home. The children were told about the importance of having a planned escape route in case of a fire and were warned about the dangers of making hoax calls to the emergency rescue services.

Primary 1 have been learning about ‘People Who Help Us’ and were very lucky to have some special visitors come into school to talk about their jobs. Our thanks go to Green Watch from Ballymena Fire Station, Joanne from the PSNI and Dominic and Paul who talked about the work of paramedics and even brought their ambulance to school! The children had great fun learning about the different jobs and especially dressing up in the uniforms!

First Aid Training at St. Colmcille’s!

At the end of January, teachers and support staff were able to avail of first aid training which was provided by Kate Agnew. Kate highlighted what to do if an emergency presented itself and put the staff through their paces when it came to practising the recovery position on each other! Following the session, Roisin Gilpin gave training on the use of the defibrillator which is now kept in the school office. Our thanks to both Kate and Roisin for giving up of their time to provide this training.

The heart defibrillator is now kept in the school office in case of emergencies.

Individual Winners

The Senior Choir

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Ballymena Centenary Festival. We are very proud of all the children who took part in this year’s event. Being able to give a performance to such large audiences, especially during a solo performance, takes great confidence and courage. This year the school entered a Senior and Junior Choir for the first time, with both choirs achieving great success. The Senior Choir won the Ballymena Festival of Britain Cup and were placed 3rd in the Shafto Adair Cup.

The Junior Choir

The Junior Choir won the Dinsmore Trophy. The adjudicator commended the children on their vocal performances and particularly their discipline as a choir.

Choral Poem

The Year 7 Choral Poem came 2nd in the Mrs McSpadden Challenge Cup with their rendition of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s ‘Hiawatha’s Childhood’. The adjudicator commended the children on their discipline and on the expression they used to bring the poem to life.

Individual Winners Gala Winners Many children were prize winners and cup winners in the various speech and drama, music and singing classes. Congratulations also to Gavin Kerr and Gareth Lau who were presented with the Robinson Perpetual Cup and the Claire Hudson prize respectively at the Festival Gala on the Saturday night. Congratulations also to Aodhan McGarry who was presented with the Robinson Cup by Mrs McDonald for his positive attitude and trying his best throughout the Festival. The tremendous success at this year’s Festival is testimony to the children, their teachers and parents who prepared them so thoroughly. Congratulations everyone!

Ballymena Festival held an art competition to celebrate its centenary year. The children were tasked with creating a piece of art which reflected the history and ethos of the Festival. Congratulations to Aisling Ardiff who was placed first and also to Sienna Crawford, Ryan Laverty, Naomi Mitchell and Ellie-Jo Butler whose pieces were highly commended. The children’s artwork was on display in the Braid Arts centre during the Festival.

Book Week provided an opportunity to promote literacy and reading in St. Colmcille’s. There were a number of fun-filled activities organised to celebrate the week.

On Friday 4th March, Mr Hullabaloo’s Interactive Theatre visited St. Colmcille’s to bring stories to life! ‘Twinkle Fairy’ performed a selection of our favourite fairy tales and some lucky children got to join in playing roles such as the wicked queen and the handsome prince.

The children also participated in a paired reading session with a child from another class. This gave the children the opportunity to share their favourite stories with one another and allowed the older children to read to their younger schoolmates.

As part of Book Week the children were challenged to ‘Get Caught Reading’ by taking a picture in an interesting or unusual place and adding a caption. The pictures were displayed on the classroom windows for everyone to admire.

Book Week coincided with the Book Fair coming to school. It was a tremendous success and the children had the opportunity to get their hands on some new reading material. As a result, the school has received £1,614 commission to buy additional reading resources for the children. Thank you for your continued support.

Looking for an adventure. Found an adventure.

Book Week came to a close with a special assembly in which the children and teachers dressed up and each class got to march around the school hall in a ‘character parade’. Not only had the children to dress like their book character, they also had to take on the role of their character for an interview- we heard from Dorothy, Mrs Twit, Fantastic Mr Fox and the Boy in the Dress as well as many others!

Congratulations to all the children from Year 3 who have successfully completed the Reading Partners programme. Mrs Beattie, Mrs Clarke and Mrs Hayes worked with the children during the spring term developing their reading skills. The school would like to thank the reading partners for all their hard work throughout the year and to the parents whose support at home makes the programme so successful.

What a busy week in school! Yet again, pupils at St. Colmcille’s have shown that there are

future scientists sitting in our classrooms!

Key Stage 1 Investigations

Years 3 – 5 opened the Science Week celebrations by taking part in some experiments and

practical investigations. The pupils investigated how toys move, strength of materials,

balance, reaction times and simple chemcial reactions. It was a messy morning but a lot of

science was going on in the assembly hall!

Foundation Stage Investigations

Pupils in Years 1 and 2 also had a morning in the hall when they took part in simple STEM

activities. They had to make boats, rockets and fences, as well as invesigate which

materials could float. Our Year 7s helped our younger pupils and acted as great mentors

for the day.

Years 6 and 7 had a STEM challenge to build a bridge that could support a heavy weight. A lot of

collaborative work and very creative thinking resulted in some very strong bridges being made.

Year 7s from local primary schools were also invited to celebrate Science Week with us. Working

in mixed teams, the pupils were challenged to design and make a slow-marble run. It was a tense

morning in the hall as we recorded how long each marble-run took to complete!

Thank you to our mentors from St. Louis Grammar School who came to support us during our

STEM challenges.

W5 came to school to deliver roadshows. Our pupils were entertained and challenged on the

themes of H20h, Space and Science Magic. Thanks to Ali and Paul who came down from W5!

Many thanks to all the parents who gave so generoualy of their time and expertise during Science

Week to come and talk to the children about the role of Science in their work.

Congratulations to the Year 3 and 4 children who successfully completed the Maths Recovery programme this term. This is a new learning support programme and our staff are among the first cohort from Northern Ireland to become Maths Recovery specialists. We would like to thank Mrs McMullan, Mr Kearney and Mrs Lavery for their hard work in implementing this worthwhile programme within our school.

Mr John McElrea, has been working with some of their Year 6 pupils with their mathematical reasoning and problem solving. We would like to thank John for giving of his time so freely and challenging the children to think about maths in a whole new way.

There is a strong tradition of music in St. Colmcille’s. Children play a range of string, brass and woodwind instruments. During the year selected children successfully completed the Associated Board Graded Music Examinations at the Antrim Board Centre. Listed are the pupils who completed the examinations this term

We would like to thank Mrs Mullan, Miss Nicholl and Mr Tohill from the NEELB Peripatetic Music Service who provide instrumental tuition to our pupils.

Grade 1 VIOLIN Olivia Diven Amy McCambridge

Grade 1 FLUTE Joanne McDonnell Lucy McGuigan

Lecciones de español

Vanessa Brodie has been taking the children in Years 4-7 for weekly Spanish lessons throughout Term 2. The children have really enjoyed learning about the spanish language and culture in a fun and interactive way. Vanessa has been teaching the children spanish words, songs and games. We would like to thank the PTA for providing the funds to employ Vanessa. Years 1-3 will be partcipating in Spanish lessons in Term 3

This term the Year 5 boys and girls have been attending swimming lessons every Friday afternoon at the Seven Towers Leisure Centre. They have been developing their skills, fitness and having great fun at the same time. We hope the programme will ensure that the children will be safer when swimming outside school. At the end of the programme each child had to complete a swimming test of various lengths and strokes and the children received certificates for their effort- well done everyone.

The St Colmcille’s soccer team have enjoyed great success in their matches this term. The team have won all their group games and progressed to the semi-final of the Senior Cup, with the fixture due to be played in Term 3. We wish the boys luck in the remainder of their games this season. Well done boys!

INTO 5-a-side Team 1 INTO 5-a-side Team 2 County Finalists

St. Colmcille’s fielded two teams in the recent INTO 5-a-side Hurling tournament in the Antrim Forum earlier this term. The boys showed great determination and sportsmanship throughout the blitz. The school also qualified for the All County Gaelic Football final in the Ballymena North Centre. The competition was much harder than the South West Blitz but our boys were well able to match the skills of the other teams. This is the first time the school has reached this stage in a Gaelic football competition - a great achievement for our boys.

St Colmcille’s girls put their camogie skills to the test on 28th January at the Antrim Forum in the South West Antrim Blitz. They thoroughly enjoyed the day showing great determination and teamwork. One of the school teams were narrowly beaten in the final of the competition. Another first for St. Colmcille’s. Well done girls.

Tennis Club Traditional Music Club

Camogie & Hurling Club Soccer Club

Cooking Club Art Club

As you can see from the pictures we have had a very successful Extended Schools Programme again this term. The children have had the opportunity to participate

in a wide range of clubs. Thanks to all the teachers and coaches who provided safe and enjoyable activities for so many children.

Over the last seven weeks four students have been completing their teaching practice in St. Colmcille’s. Miss Donaghy was in Miss Cunningham’s Year 1 class, Miss Kearney was in Mrs Dougan’s Year 3 class, Miss McKee was in Mrs McAleer’s Year 6 class and Miss McKendry was in Mr Walls’ Year 6 class. The students worked very hard and fully immersed themselves in the life of St. Colmcille’s. They have learnt a great deal during their time at our school and we wish them well as they continue their studies.

This term we welcome Mr Fergal Quinn to St. Colmcille’s. Mr Quinn is covering Mrs Kane’s maternity leave and is teaching one of the Year 7 classes. We trust he will enjoy his time with us in St. Colmcille’s Primary School.

Once again the boys and girls have been collecting toiletries and medical supplies for the parish Apostolic Works Society. These will be sent to the missions in Africa to help those in need. Many people in the developing world cannot afford medical and hygiene products and our donations will make a big difference to the people who receive them. A big thank you to all the parents and children who supported this worthwhile cause.

Monthly Draw Winners

January: Maria Atkinson February: John Ireland

March: Maria Atkinson

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA fund-raising activities.

Easter Raffle Winners

1st Cathy Kane 2nd Caoimhe Corrigan 3rd Ciaran O’Loan 4th Paula McAllister 5th Thomas Blake 6th Patrick Dunlop 7th Sean O’Brien

A huge thank you to the small group of parents who work tirelessly for the school’s PTA.

8th Niza Majo 9th Roisin O’Boyle 10th Lughan Hardy 11th Barry Gillan 12th Patrick Dunlop 13th Eva Crawford

Year Group Term 2a Term 2b

1

Iyla Brady-MacRory

Eva Crawford

Zara Scullion

Chloe McNicholl

2 Patryk Hajduga

Liam Logan

Corey King

John Ireland

Paudie Martin

Clodagh McAllister

3 Noah Patenall

Dominic Fijalkowski

Charlie Dunne

Kelan Workman

4 Caoimhe McPartland

Isabella Hendron

Matthew Watt

Sean O’Brien

5 Zach Mitchell Ava O’Rawe

6 Conan McConville

Ryan Laverty

Clodagh Reid

Sarah Boyle

7 Ryan Thom

Eva Casey

Helen Donaldson

Tyrone Mitchell

Year Group Term 2a Term 2b

1

Daniel Mullan

Ella Graham

Gabriel Mooney

Matthew Pancott

2 Konnell McKeown

Ryan Power

Alessio Melioli

Oliwier Grzegocki

Erin Handy

Leo Hutchinson

3 Charlie McCartney

Dean Johnston

Karra Louise McKeown

Eva Quinn

4 Laura Kazulek

Jack Larkin

Jack Patterson

Adam Miastowski

5 Ann Joseph Aoife Mulholland

6 Olivia McGarry

Juliana O’Mullan

Callum Hendron

Rory Dunne

7 Conan McMullan

Niall Esler

Kevin O’Boyle

Kevin Pan

Star of the Month Congratulations to all our Stars this term:

Year Group January February March

1 Natalia Frusinou

Dominika Wlodarczyk

Leigha McCaughern Victoria Logan

Ava Carroll

Maya Morte

2 Faith McDonnell

Kai Wallace

Aimee Watt

Evie McGarry

Liam Logan

Kane McNeill

Sophie Mark

Oliwia Wesolowska

Rebeca Ciuperca

3 Sophie McNicholl

Phoebe Tully

Callum Logan

Damian Ududovici

Fárris McKervey

Raul Voinescu

4

Sebastian Biegacz

Sean O’Brien

Finn Connon

Eva Glass

Laura Kazulek

Nadine Roddy

5 Aimee Corrigan Eryk Hejno Sarah O’Callaghan

6 Luke Walford

Conrad Cubitt

Abby Kirkwood Amy McCambridge

Anna Suto

Connlaith McIlwaine

7 Michael Doherty

Cara McDowell

Cailin Aikman

Anna Barry

Aoife Zensque

Kurian Joseph

Our Golden Rules

In creating an ordered and caring environment the staff and pupils have adopted six Golden Rules that permeate all aspects of school life. The Golden Rules have been introduced to the children at assembly. They are clearly displayed in classrooms, the corridors and out side in the playground to remind the children of the positive behaviour that is expected. Teachers develop this further by using circle time as a tool to encourage positive behaviour in and outside the classroom. Congratulations to all our Star of the Month award winners who demonstrate how our Golden Rules can be lived out everyday in school.

End of Term 2

Thursday 24th March- 12.00pm

Term 3 begins

Tuesday 5th April

Residential (Y7)

Tuesday 5th – Thursday 7th April

Do This in Memory Mass (Y4) Sunday 10th April – 10.00am

Service of Light (Y7)

Thursday 21st April – 7.00pm

Confirmation (Y7)

Thursday 28th April – 12.00pm

School Closed Monday 2nd- Friday 6th May

First Communion (Y4)

Sunday 22nd May – 10.00am

Do This in Memory Mass (Y4) Sunday 29th May – 10.00am

School Closed

Monday 30th May

Y7 Mass of Thanksgiving

Friday 24th June – 12.30pm

End of Academic Year

Tuesday 30th June

The Principal and Staff wish you all a very holy and happy Easter.