News at St. Colmcille’s St Colmcille’s Primary School, Ballymena Parents’ Newsletter

Publish Date: Summer Term 2008

Issue Number 3

Welcome to the third issue of News at St. Colmcille’s marking the end of the first year in our new school – and what a

year it has been! This newsletter gives a snap shot of school life during the third term. The summer term is traditionally a

very busy one in schools and in St. Colmcille’s the children have immersed themselves in a varied programme of

activities ranging from educational trips, to visits from other schools; from sports day, to celebrating the rich diversity of

cultures within our school community with the ‘international day.’ Three year groups received the sacraments of Penance,

Eucharist and Confirmation. Not only were these days of great joy for the families of these children, but also days of

great celebration for the parish community. It was a great pleasure to invite Bishop Farquhar back to the parish to

officially open and bless our school. This was a wonderful day of celebration in which the children had the opportunity to

showcase their many gifts and talents. The children have been recognised for their achievements on many occasions

throughout the year. Perhaps one of the highlights was the Oliver musical in which the children in Years 4-7 had

opportunity showcase their talents – and following two sell out shows the children have received many words of

congratulations. This term we also say goodbye to Mrs McNicholl who is retiring after teaching for 30 years in the parish

schools. I know you join with me in wishing Mrs McNicholl many years of health and happiness as we say thank-you for

your commitment, dedication and vocation. Mr B McKenna (Principal)

On Friday 13

th June Bishop Farquhar celebrated a blessing in the school to mark the official opening of

St. Colmcille’s. The choir and orchestra performed at the celebration and children from every year group

participated in the ceremony which culminated in a wonderful reflection given by one of our year 7

students, Shauna Hughes. This was a momentous occasion in the life of our school.

Congratulations to the children who made their first confession in All Saints Church on the 16

th April.

The children prepared thoroughly for this very special sacrament under the guidance of Mrs McAtamney,

Mrs McDonald and Miss O’Kane.

Well done to the year 4 children who celebrated their First Communion in All Saints Church on the

18th May. The children successfully completed their preparation for this sacrament by participating in

the “Do This in Memory” programme co-ordinated by Mary Waide and the parish core team, and also

completing the programme outlined in Alive-O 4 in school under the direction of Mrs McMullan and

Mrs Smith. The children were all beautifully presented on the day and music was provided by the

Parish Folk Group. The ceremony was a real celebration of how family, school and parish can

cooperate together for the benefit of all our children.

The year 7 children celebrated their service of light on April 3rd and their confirmation on April 10

th,

along with the year 7 children from all the local parish schools. The ceremony was celebrated by

Bishop Farquhar who also officially blessed and opened the parish centre. There was a great sense of

reverence at the ceremony and all of the children who took part were exemplary ambassadors for St

Colmcille’s.

The year 4 children of Carniny Primary School and St Colmcille’s have been engaged in a number of

activities throughout the year as part of the school’s community relations programme. Mrs Smith and

Mr Fisher, the year 4 teachers from both schools, planned a number of activities requiring the children

to work in mixed groups to complete set tasks. The programme included a trip to Woodhall outdoor

pursuits centre, Kilrea, and the school-based activity, Fun For All, led by Paul Diamond. This project

has been a great success and starts a strong foundation for future projects between Carniny Primary

School and St. Colmcille’s.

St. Colmcille’s Primary School was delighted to welcome Declan Carville, local author during the last

week of May as part of a programme funded by the Creative Youth Project. Declan has written a

number of well known books such as The Fairy Glen, The Incredible Sister Bridget, The Magic Harp

and Kathleen O’ Byrne to name but a few. Whilst in school Declan carried out a number of story

telling sessions with the younger children bringing his much loved stories to life. The older children in

the school developed their writing skills as Declan demonstrated how he created his books and gave the

children tips about how to improve their own writing. A great week was had by all and hopefully

Declan will have inspired the pupils of St. Colmcille’s to be authors of the future!

St. Colmcille’s were successful in their bid for funding with the Creative Youth Programme provided

by the NEELB. The funding allowed the school to commission local artist Martin Mc Clure to work

with the children throughout the school. Martin is famous for his talents with mosaics and it was

decided that he would lead the children in creating a large mosaic of the school crest and vision

statement “be the best you can be”. The year 7 children made the large clay pieces found in the school

crest, and the individual letters of the school motto. Every child in the school contributed to the

finished art piece by placing a piece of mosaic tile onto the wall. The mosaic will be permanently fixed

to the exterior wall leading into the school and will be a reminder of the first year at St. Colmcille’s.

The school would like to extend their thanks to Martin for his hard work and enthusiasm.

St. Colmcille’s Primary School presented a celebration of international culture on Friday 30th June. The

event (sponsored by Ballymena Borough Council, Ballymena Inter Ethnic Forum, Arts Ekta and Tesco)

enabled the school to celebrate its rich diversity and culture within St. Colmcille’s. After the event was

opened by Councillor Maurice Mills, Mayor of Ballymena, the Year 7 children presented a number of

international cultures using PowerPoint and provided a packed programme of music and dance including,

African drumming, Bollywood dancing and Indian classical dancing. The guests at the event had the

pleasure of tasting a wide range of foods from around the world during the interval as they listened to

Arts Ekta, an African fusion band. The event culminated in the exciting performance of the Chinese Lion

Dance which was a real spectacle for the children and parents. The school would like to extend their

thanks to all those who helped make the day a great success.

Congratulations to all the winning teams of the

alternative sports:

Come on girls, speed

is the name of the

game!

I thought ladders

were for climbing

up!

I must not drop

my brick!

The summer term just wouldn’t be the same without a school trip. With that in mind every class

throughout the school planned their own adventure including visits to The People’s Park in Ballymena, the

Ecos Centre, Greenmount College in Antrim, Woodhall outdoor pursuits centre in Kilrea, the Causeway

School and Carnfunnick Country Park in Larne. A great time was had by all and many treasured memories

were made. Here are some photos from the various trips.

With an ever increasing number of road traffic accidents it is important that the year 1 children learn to

be aware of the dangers of the road. As a consequence Maureen Mc Auley, road safety officer for the

NEELB, demonstrated to the children how to cross the road safely and talked on the importance of

wearing a seatbelt in the car.

As part of the extensive after-school clubs, children in year 7 have the opportunity to complete a cycling proficiency scheme. They had to competently carry out a number of skills on their bicycles under the watchful eyes of Mrs Smith and Miss Stewart. All the children successfully completed the course and were awarded certificates at the annual prize-day in school.

Roshan O’Donnell received the prestigious award of Primary School Young Musician of the Year.

Having successful qualified from his heat, Roshan went to Bangor for the finals in late May and played

two contrasting pieces on the piano before being announced as the overall winner. This is a wonderful

achievement and the audiences attending the end of term concert had the opportunity to hear Roshan

play.

Year 1 were delighted to welcome Raquel (originally from the Caribbean), a story teller to help them

learn about other cultures and celebrate the diversity of others. Raquel read the children two stories

namely, Giraffes can’t Dance and Anancy Spider, which she brought to life using dance and drama.

The children of years 4-7 show-cased their many talents as they performed “Oliver” on Wednesday 18th

and Thursday 19th June. Oliver is one of the most beloved musicals, vividly bringing to life Dickens’

timeless characters with its ever-popular story of the boy who asked for more. The build up to the show

within the school was tremendously exciting and the children stepped up to the mark as new stars

emerged. The children gave first class performances not only in Oliver but also during the first half of the

end of term concert which included an extravaganza of music, song and drama. Well done to everyone

involved and especially to Mrs Mc Donald and Miss Digby who co-ordinated the production.

Fr. Martin O’Hagan and the Love for Life team hosted a workshop entitled I am special you are special

on Monday 2nd June in St Brigid’s Primary School for the year 7 children of the parish schools. The

focus of the workshop was to affirm the uniqueness of the individual, reinforce the ideals of respect and

promote healthy choices. The children thoroughly enjoyed the day and we would like to extend our

thanks to Fr. O Hagan and his team, and to St Brigid’s for hosting the event.

St. Colmcille’s qualified for the Year 5/6 hurling blitz held in St Joseph’s Primary School, Crumlin on

Thursday 12th June. The event organised by the South West Antrim GAA was organised to promote

hurling among the school children of the county. The team worked together with great enthusiasm,

showing off many of the skills they had developed throughout the year as part of the coaching provided

by Ciara Quinn in the first term and by All Saints GAA. Mr. Murray, who attended the event, was

delighted with the performance of the team and relishes the prospect of developing the sport in St.

Colmcille’s.

The PTA fund raising event this term (sponsored by Doherty & Gray - wholesale meats, and

Rockfield Developments Ltd) was the Great Balloon Race. Balloons were sold at £2.00 and on

Thursday 1st May at 1.30pm over 800 balloons were released. The winner of the great balloon race was

Stephen Allison whose balloon travelled a total distance of 173 miles to Glasgow. Emma Allison in Year

2 sold the winning ticket. The total raised by the balloon race was £1614.00. Many thanks to all who

supported the event.

On Thursday 1st May Natasha Mc Donnell, Megan Westall and Patrick Farrell took part in a mental

maths tournament using the high speed 24 GAME in the Antrim Board Centre. There were over 80

primary children who took part. All of the children displayed great mental maths skills and Megan

managed to reach the semi-final becoming one of the top 16 in the event.

Mrs Smith Mrs McMullan Miss Stewart

Maths Award Sophie Donnelly Conor McCrory Sean O'Rawe

English Award Rebecca Getty Rachel McCormick Rachel Reid

Best Effort Award Catherine Kerr Niamh Donaldson Catherine McAlary

Social Spirit Award Ronan Laverty Eoin McGuigan Daire Wilson

Mrs McKenna Mr Murray

Maths Award Brenda Laverty Connaire Smyth

English Award Emma Devlin Mark Crawford

Best Effort Award Ruairi Casey Ciara Gordan

Social Spirit Award Lucy Stuart Kori Gault

Mrs McAleer Mr Rodgers

Maths Award Jack McKenna Natasha McDonnell

English Award Matthew King Joshny Jose

Best Effort Award Emma Blair Claire McAleese

Social Spirit Award Anna Fitzsimons Jack McCann

Congratulation to Natasha and Catriona Mc Donnell in year 7 who have not missed a day at school since

the start of primary school. To mark this remarkable achievement the twins were presented with shields

at the annual prize-giving ceremony in June. Well done girls!

School closes on Friday 27th June at 12.00noon

2008/2009 Academic Year

Term 1 starts 1st September 2008

Half-term 30th & 31

st October 2008

Holyday 8th December 2008

Christmas 22nd December 2008 -

6th January 2009 (inclusive)

The Governors, Principal and Staff wish you all a safe and fun filled summer.