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

Publish Date: Summer Term 2013

Issue Number 18

Welcome to the eighteenth issue of News at St. Colmcille’s marking the end of our sixth academic year.

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, although a very short term, the children have immersed themselves in a

varied programme of activities. Children in Years 4 and 7 received the sacraments of 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. The children have been recognised for their academic and

extra-curricular achievements on many occasions during the term. The End of Key Stage results once

again place us in the top percentile in Northern Ireland. On the sporting field our footballers were runners-

up in the Plate competition. Others have represented the school in a number of STEM competitions and

have had their Literacy work published in a poetry anthology. We also say a fond farewell to our vice-

principal, Mr Rodgers, who has been appointed Senior Lecturer in Science Education at St. Mary’s

University College. I congratulate the Year 7 children who have graduated from primary school and are

looking forward to beginning their post-primary education. I wish them well and thank them for

contributing so positively to the life of St. Colmcille’s. I trust you enjoy reading the newsletter and wish

you all a restful summer holiday.

Mr B McKenna (Principal)

Well done to the Year 4 children who celebrated their First Communion in All Saints’ Church on the 28th April. The children successfully completed their preparation for this sacrament by participating in the Come to Me Lord programme with the parish core team, and completing the Alive-O4 programme in school under the direction of Mrs Smith and Miss Cunningham. The children were all beautifully presented on the day and participated fully in the music liturgy. This celebration demonstrates how family, school and parish cooperate together for the benefit of all our children.

The Year 7 children celebrated their Confirmation on 23rd April, along with the children from the local parish schools. The confirmation ceremony was celebrated by Bishop Farquhar. There was a great sense of reverence on the occasion and all of the children who took part were excellent ambassadors for St. Colmcille’s. We are grateful to Fr Toland and Fr Aidan for their support during the preparation for Confirmation and to Bishop Farquhar for ensuring that the children had the opportunity to get a photograph with him after the ceremony.

Mr McKenna was a special guest at Parliament Buildings, Stormont at the invitation of the Education Minister, John O’Dowd. This invitation was in recognition of the school’s excellent Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) Report published in February. Mr McKenna was joined by a number of other principals who had elements of their school’s provision graded as ‘very good’ and/or ‘outstanding’. Mr McKenna has been invited to join the ETI as an Associate Assessor to contribute to the inspection process of other primary schools.

Year 6 were invited to St. Louis Grammar School to take part in a STEM based taster day. The children had a fun-packed and interesting day. They searched and identified mini beasts, studied the functions of our main body organs, made exploding tubes and designed and constructed their own LED badges. The St. Colmcille’s children came away from this day with a new enthusiasm for the STEM subjects.

As part of the parish mission in May, Thady O’Connor and Mary O’Brien from the Ember Mission Team visited the school along with Fr. Delargy. In preparation for the team coming, every child in the school contributed to a banner displaying how we can praise God through our five senses. The team were very impressed by the atmosphere in the school, the children’s enthusiasm and their awareness of God’s presence in their lives. The children ended the assembly by singing a selection of songs for the team.

Four Year 7 children (Brenda, Rory, Rebecca and Matevsz) represented St. Colmcille’s at the recent K’nex challenge at Ballymena Academy on the 15th May. The children had to design and make a piece of playground equipment in less than an hour. Well done to the team who demonstrated a range of skills during the challenge.

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.

The school also said farewell to Mrs G Reid, lower strings NEELB peripatetic music teacher. Mrs Reid has been teaching the pupils in St. Colmcille’s since the school opened in 2007. We wish her well as she begins her ‘new’ schools in the autumn term. We look forward to welcoming Mr Heron who will be replacing Mrs Reid next year. We would also like to thank Mrs Mullan and Mr Tohill who also provide instrumental tuition to our pupils.

Grade 1 VIOLIN Lucy Donaldson Niamh Walsh Sian Zensque

VIOLA Brenda McGuigan

CELLO Aoife Hamill

Grade 2 VIOLIN Odhran Cosgrove Patrick Dougan Emma Duffy

Katie Logan Maria O'Rawe Hannah Reid

Grade 3 VIOLIN Emer McAtamney Rebecca McDonald

FLUTE Ciara Fraser Christopher Laverty

CLARINET Caolan Darragh

The PTA has once again been working throughout the year to help raise much needed funds to support projects in the school. As you know the main focus of the fund-raising efforts over the past two years is providing a Trim Trail for both the children to avail of during play times. The Years 1-3 Trim Trail was installed last summer and the PTA are delighted to announce the Years 4-7 Trim Trail will be in place for September. With the support of Big Lottery Funding the PTA has contributed £25,000 towards both projects. We are indebted to the members of the PTA who give of their time so generously and to the parents who support the various fund-raising initiatives.

Alabanza is a children’s bible group for Years 5-7 and was the brain-child of Rebecca McDonald, Year 7. Once a week during lunch-time, this group of children would meet and Rebecca would lead discussion on certain topics such as ‘God so loved the world’ and ‘Creation’. Each session began with a reading from the Bible followed by one of three activities: singing/dancing, drama and art. Over 35 children attended Alabanza and they all freely shared their thoughts on their faith. Prayer was a central feature of the sessions and the children were able to pray collectively for special intentions.

The pupils and Parent/Teacher Association have been fund-raising for a number of different charities this year. The following donations were made at a presentation ceremony in the school: £2,200 NI Children’s Fund for Cancer £800 Trocaire £260 Children’s Chernobyl Fund £200 Barnardos Pictured with the children are Kathy Tang representing NI Children’s Cancer Fund; Suzanne Crawford, Trocaire; John Duffin, Ballymena branch of the Children’s Chernobyl Fund; Michelle Scullion, Barnardos; Kaeley Logan and Daniela Wilson, PTA.

St. Colmcille’s is currently being assessed for the PSQM award. The Primary Science Quality Mark is an award scheme to enable primary schools across the UK to evaluate, strengthen and celebrate their science provision. Schools can achieve bronze, silver and gold awards. We are delighted to submit our bid to achieve the Gold Award. If successful we will be the only one of three schools across Northern Ireland to have achieved this accolade. We will be able to notify you of the outcome of the pending assessment in Term 1 of next year.

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, Pirates Adventure Playpark, Ulster Museum, Causeway School, Dunluce Centre in Portrush, the Greenmount Centre in Antrim and the Gartan Ourdoor Education Centre, Co. Donegal. A great time was had by all and many treasured memories were made. Here are photos from some of the trips.

Year 4 At the Causeway School Year 5 at the Ulster Museum

Y1 at the Peoples’ Park

Year 2 Trip to The Pirate’s Adventure Year 6 trip to Dunluce Centre in Portrush

The Year 7 pupils had a wonderful three day residential trip to Gartan Outdoor Education Centre, Co. Donegal from 20th-22nd May. Gartan has particular significance with our school as it is the birth-place of St. Colmcille. During the residential the children took part in a wide range of activities including kayaking, orienteering, rock climbing, archery, gorge walking, canoeing and abseiling. It was an early start each day beginning at 8.30am and the activities continued until after 9pm, so it certainly was an action-packed week!

Pupils from St. Colmcille’s took part in Walk to School Week, the aim of which was to encourage children to become more active and to consider how they can help reduce the amount of pollution caused by traffic. Pupils and their parents met up at points along the Galgorm Road, Ballymoney Road and

Cushendall Road to walk to school with their friends and teachers. Children from Years 1 – 7 were involved and over one hundred pupils walked at least one mile to school in the course of the week. Miss Stewart, Mr Kearney and Mr McKenna accompanied the children. A big thank you to the volunteer parents who helped make the event such a success.

To coincide with Walk to School Week, St. Colmcille’s organised a Healthy Living Week. During this week children were encouraged to become more active and to think carefully about the choices they make with regard to their eating habits. Everyone in the school (pupils and staff!) were involved in daily physical challenges in the playground. These included sessions of dancing, aerobics, games and stretching.

The children from Year 7 took part in Cycling Proficiency Training with Mrs Beattie and Mrs Sheehan. As part of the course the children had to learn a series of manoeuvres to teach them how to cycle safely on the roads. All the children passed their Cycling Proficiency Test and have been awarded their certificates. Congratulations to Claire Douglas in particular who won the overall cycling award at the school’s prize-giving ceremony on 17th June.

Year 4 made lots of new friends when Carniny Primary School came to visit them. During the year the children from both schools took part in a variety of activities led by Maurice Todd and Playboard. This project continues to build upon the Shared Education programmes that currently operate in the school with a number of different primary schools. We look forward to developing these links next year!

Roll up! Roll up! Libraries across the UK are getting ready to introduce children to a summertime circus spectacle that will keep them reading throughout the school summer holidays....with the 2013 Summer Reading Challenge - and it’s all free fun, which is top news for parents! The Summer Reading Challenge is just one of many exciting schemes public libraries are developing to help children love reading and gain confidence. So mums, dads and carers, pop down to the Ballymena Library and find out more! The Summer Reading Challenge to children is simple. Challenge yourself to read between 2 - 25 library books during July and August. From 1st July, call in to any public library to get your Big Reading Relay Race Card. Each time you return your books, your Race Card will be stamped to keep track of your reads. So good luck to all who decide to take up the Summer Reading Challenge – we look forward to hearing about your favourite books and seeing your certificates in September.

The Pupil Council were delighted to receive the books they ordered from Nestle’s Box Top promotion last week. These books will be distributed between the classes. This is a very easy way for our school to receive books and so we would encourage all of you who eat Nestle cereals to collect the tokens on the boxes and take them into school. Next year’s collection has begun already! Let’s see if we can beat this year’s total!

Year 7 said goodbye to their ‘Faith Friends’ from St. Louis Grammar School. The Year 13 students helped the children prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. They taught the children about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit using rap and music! We would like to extend our thanks to St. Louis Grammar School for their continued support.

Year 5 completed this year’s swimming programme for St. Colmcille’s P.S. Following their swimming assessment the pupils were presented with their swimming certificates. Some of our Year 5 children can swim over 1500metres!! All of the Key Stage 2 classes have enjoyed improving their skills over the year with many making great improvements.

On April 17th the Cahoots’ Drama Production, sponsored by Danske Bank, arrived in St. Colmcille’s to provide the children with a magical maths experience. During the show the children were spell-bound with the illusions and magic tricks on display! Each illusion had a mathematical problem which the children helped solve. The children each received a complimentary book including some of the tricks shown in the show and an explanation of the maths used in each of the tricks. No doubt many of the children have recreated these tricks at home.

We say a fond farewell to Mr Rodgers who will be taking up his new post as Senior Lecturer of Science Education at St. Mary’s University College, Belfast. Mr Rodgers has been vice-principal and teacher in St. Colmcille’s since the school opened in September 2007. He has been an outstanding teacher and an inspirational leader. He has been instrumental in creating the school that we have today – one that we are all proud of and one that has been recognised as having many ‘outstanding’ features. We are indebted to Mr Rodgers for all he has afforded us and trust that we will continue to build upon his work in striving to ‘be the best we can be’.

In recognition of Mr Rodgers’ contribution to St. Colmcille’s the pupils made a presentation to him at assembly this week. The Year 7 pupils also wrote a poem and composed a song about Mr Rodgers and enjoyed performing it to him at assembly. Mr Rodgers wanted to express his gratitude with the following words: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the children, parents and staff of St. Colmcille’s for making the last six years as Vice-Principal a truly exceptional part of my life. So many wonderful and exciting things have happened during that time and with every event that I was part of, my pride in St. Colmcille’s increased. The children of St. Colmcille’s are second to none, full of confidence, talent, ability and the drive to fulfil the school’s vision to ‘be the best they can be’.

This is in part due to the outstanding staff that make up the St. Colmcille’s family. Each and every teacher, learning support and ancillary staff member, give of their very best to ensure that St. Colmcille’s is a school to be proud of.

I would like to thank everyone who made my last days in school so special. I would especially like to thank all those who contributed to the beautiful gift that I was presented with at assembly on Thursday as well as the wonderful performances from my Year 7 class - giving me memories that I will always treasure.

I would also like to thank Mr McKenna in a special way. He has been an inspirational leader, mentor and friend to me over the last number of years. We were in the unique position of beginning a new school together and I could not have been working with anyone more able to meet the demands and challenges that this brings.

It has been an honour and privilege being Vice-Principal of St. Colmcille’s and I will always be grateful for the time I had in Ballymena. I wish you all a restful summer and best wishes for the future.”

It has been another successful year for the St Colmcille’s soccer team. The boys reached the final of the Plate competition and were narrowly beaten by Ballymena PS. Throughout the season the boys were great ambassadors for the school and showed great sportsmanship in every outing. Well done boys.

Throughout the year the boys have been fine tuning their skills during their after school sessions. Although the weather prevented the school teams taking part in school competition the Gaelic team had the opportunity to take part in the INTO 7-a-side competition this term. The boys showed great skill and commitment but most of all demonstrated superb sportsmanship throughout the competition. The GAA Ulster Council kindly donated equipment to our school. This will be used not only to further develop Gaelic games within our school but all areas of the curriculum. St. Colmcille’s greatly appreciates this sponsorship and acknowledges the support the Ulster Council provides the school. The children and staff benefit immensely from the professional coaches.

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Eamon Mc Donnell was selected to represent the South West Antrim Primary School Team in the Ulster Championship game between Antrim and Monaghan on 9th June. Eamon was a great ambassador for St. Colmcille’s and even managed to score the first point in the game! Well done Eamon.

Year 2 have been learning about ‘New Life in Spring’ and thanks to the Dillon family they got to see, touch and feed a real lamb. Nibbles was just two weeks old and really hungry! This was not only a very enjoyable experience for the children but it also reinforced what Year 2 have been learning about - animals, mothers and their babies.

Congratulations to all the winning teams Congratulations to all the winning teams Congratulations to all the winning teams Congratulations to all the winning teams

in the alternative sports!in the alternative sports!in the alternative sports!in the alternative sports!

Key Stage 2 Alternative Sports

Key Stage 2 Staff Race

Mrs. Beattie demonstrates

some Girl Power!

Mrs McAleer is the

new Jessica Ennis!

Foundation Stage Alternative Sports

Traditional Sports

This year’s sports day was a great success. The sun was shining after a number of days of rain and the athletes of St. Colmcille’s paraded out as the countries of the world, ready for the alternative sports events. The children were grouped into teams and completed a variety of games earning points for speed and accuracy. After a busy morning the parents and children had a well earned break and refreshments were provided by the Parent/Teacher Association. In the afternoon the children had the opportunity to compete in the traditional sport events such as the sprint, relay, sack race and marathon. Well done to all our competitors and in particular to those who were awarded rosettes and team prizes.

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W.A.L.T. add using real objects The Year 1 children made the most of the recent sunshine and took their learning to the great outdoors! They carried out a range of mathematics activities and had lots of fun at the same time.

The Year 5 children have been developing their Science skills by completing a range of Scientific Enquiries throughout this term. Here the children were set the challenge of building pyramids using a variety of materials to link to their World Around Us topic of Ancient Egypt.

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 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.

Well done to all the children who completed the Springboard Maths programme! This is a programme

designed to reinforce and develop maths skills for our Year 4 children. We would like to thank Mrs

Duffy and Mrs Madison for their hard work and enthusiasm throughout the year.

Mrs Smith Miss Cunningham Mr Kearney Mrs Kane (Y5)

Maths Award Aoibhin Cosgrove Aodhan McGarry Shaun O’Callaghan Cormac Butler English Award Patrick Kerr Joel Cushenan Matthew Wray Sam Crawford Best Effort Award Tyrone Mitchell Ryhs Haveron Megan Reid Sofia Agnew

Social Spirit Award Anna Barry Emma Clarke Orla McAtamney Mary-Kate O’Rawe

Mrs Kane (Y6) Mr Murray

Maths Award Niamh Walsh Maria O’Rawe OVERALL AWARDS English Award Odhran Cosgrove Hannah Reid Mrs Kelly Cup Dylan Loughram Best Effort Award Kara McLaughlin Emma Duffy ECO Award Dylan Letters

Social Spirit Award Ciara Thom Leah McErlane Best Girl Athlete

Arianna Chang

Best Boy Athlete Matthew Corr

Mrs McAleer Mr Rodgers Vocalist of the Year Christopher Laverty

Maths Award Dylan Magill Eamon McDonnell

Instrumentalist of the year Rebecca McDonald

English Award Caitlin Martin Leah Barker

Cyclist of the Year Claire Douglas

Best Effort Award Lucy McNeill Sinead McGarry Top Girl Award Emer McAtamney

Social Spirit Award

Christopher McCallan Rory McCormick Top Boy Award Adam Dempsey

Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7

Christopher, Rebecca and Dylan

Matthew, Dylan and Claire

Emer & Adam with Mr McKenna

Congratulations to the following who have completed at least one year full attendance:

Full Attendance - 1 year 2012-13 Full Attendance - 2 years 2011-13

Nicholas Agnew Sofia Agnew

Molly Brady Ellie Jo Butler

Veronica Chylinska Harry Connon

Finn Connon Korey Cushenan

Louis Doherty Lucy Donaldson

Oliver Doherty Serena Gallagher

Ruairi Flynn Lucy Gilpin

Amelie Gardner Liam Heggarty

Aoife Hamill Eleanor Ireland

Meghan Herald Orla McAtamney

Conor Kerr Rory McCormick

Tony Logan Michael Read

Caitlin Martin Hannah Reid

Emer McAtamney

Mark McCormick Full Attendance - 3 years 2010-13

Eamon McDonnell Luke Mulholland

Kara McLaughlin Oliver O'Rawe

Tyrone Mitchell Silvana Wilson

Aoife Mulholland

Jane O'Boyle Full Attendance - 4 years 2009-13

Iseult O'Loan Joel Cushenan

Ava O'Rawe Kara McLaughlin

Maeve Preston Full Attendance - 5 years 2008-13

Jamie Riordan Caolan Darragh

Megha Sibi Joseph O'Rawe

Matthew Wray Full Attendance - 6 years 2007-13

Maria O'Rawe

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

Year GroYear GroYear GroYear Groupupupup MayMayMayMay JuneJuneJuneJune

1 Paul Mullan

Kitty McAuley

Laura Kazulek

Niamh Holmes

2 Conan McKeown

Caitlin Higgins

3 Lucy McGuigan

Leon Convery

Joanne McDonnell

Harry Connon

4 Aoife Zensque

Natalia Misikova

Cailin Aikman

Alicia Jaimon

5 Ryan McCartney

Richard McCann

Joshua Blair

Mia Flanagan

6 Siannah McKeown

Louis Doherty

7777 Caolan Darragh

Michael Kelly

Odhran Devlin

Molly Brady

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. All of the Golden Rules have been introduced to the children through assemblies each Friday morning. They are clearly displayed in classrooms, the corridors and out side in the playground to remind the children of 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.

Mrs. McAleer’s Class

Mr. Rodgers’ Class

This has been a truly adventure packed year for Year 7 and it is with sadness that St. Colmcille’s bids farewell to both classes. The Year 7 children finished their time at St. Colmcille’s by celebrating a thanksgiving Mass with Fr. Toland. The ceremony was beautiful but tinged with sadness as Emer and Adam gave speeches about their time at primary school. However, with the talents all of the children have displayed throughout the year we are certain that they will have a bright future ahead of them, and we wish them well as they begin the next chapter in life’s journey.

School closes on Friday 28th

June at 12.00noon

2013/2014 Academic Year

Term 1 starts 2nd

September 2013

Half-term 28th

October – 1st November 2013

Christmas 23rd

December 2013 – 6th

January 2014

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

visit our website: www.stcolmcilles.com