Wednesday 28th March was a lovely day for our Year 8 & 9 charity walk.
The pupils left school after lunch time and began the enjoyable, but challenging walk to Marconi's cottage and back again. There were plenty of smiles and chats as the pupils finished off a hard-working term 2 and eased into their Easter break.
During the walk, year 9 pupil Ben Devine took some lovely snaps and created the attached collage. Well done Ben - it looks superb!!
With GCSE programmes increasingly featuring modules and controlled assessments in Year 11, it is important for all pupils to understand the kind of preparation they need to be completing both now and over the next few months. Too little study (or indeed too much) will not lead to pupils being adequately prepared and, in their recent information session, Year 11 pupils and staff discussed some of the best ways to prepare well and to reach their potential. The importance of finding the balance between school work, hobby/family time and study time was discussed and pupils/parents should chat to Mrs Walker or Mrs Magee if they have any more questions or queries.
Click here to access the presentation resources for Year 11 Study Skills.
A group of our Year 12 pupils recently organised and ran two indoor football tournaments as part of their Occupational Studies course. More than one hundred and forty pupils took part in the events over the two days and this clearly required a lot of organising to be done!! The skills the class displayed and developed, over the two days, were those of working in teams and sharing out leadership responsibilities, all designed to make sure the events were a big success!!
Thank you to Mrs Black, Brad and Hannah and all the Occupational Studies group for their support for what was a really successful and enjoyable day!
Year 13 pupil Ciara Mathers recently won the Ballycastle Youth Rotary Leadership Competition. Her prize was a trip to Strasburg where she visited the European Parliament buildings along with 30 other young people from all over Ireland. Ciara participated in several debates relating to equality and human rights issues. Below is Ciara's summary of her wonderful experience. Thank you to Mrs McCallum and Ballycastle Rotary Club for all the support given to Ciara in her preparation and on the trip.
On the 11th February I set off with 30 other young people from all over Northern Ireland to take part in a very memorable trip to Strasburg. Our first stop was Stormont. We met with several MLA’s and caught a glimpse of Teresa May and Leo Varadkar as they were visiting amid the crisis talks which have been taking place.
Next stop was Dublin where we visited the European Parliament office. We listened to several members of the Irish Government tell us about their role and responsibilities. We then flew from Dublin to Frankfurt where we stayed the night. We had the opportunity to sight see and soak up the amazing culture on offer in the city.
From Frankfurt we drove to Strasburg. On Thursday we visited the European Parliament. We were given specific topics to research beforehand and now had the opportunity to debate specific issues with others from 23 countries all over the world. The varying opinions and ideas shared was staggering. We had translators present for English, German, Spanish and French. We also had the opportunity to meet several members of the European Parliament.
This trip has had a very positive impact on my understanding and appreciation of different political systems and views. I now have a much deeper appreciation of what happens in the EU and how it can have an effect on us. It was a particularly interesting time to visit given the Brexit situation. I have also met many new friends and we have all been keeping in touch.
I would like to thank Ballycastle Rotary, Meg Healy, Philip Beggs and Criona O’Reilly for giving me such an amazing opportunity, I am very grateful.
Connor McClafferty and Keelan Clarke recently featured in the Channel 4 programme 'Village of the Year', where they did a superb job of informing viewers of the importance of community and what it brings to their home areas.
Armoy was the winner of that edition of the programme, in no small part due to the efforts of these boys.
Mayor Joan Baird invited them to a function at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council to recognise the efforts of all involved. Well done lads!!
Mrs Irwin and a group of pupils had a fantastic day at the BBC School Report Festival of News recently. Students had the opportunity to go behind the scenes at BBC Broadcasting House in Belfast, learning more about production, presentation and everything in between. As well as meeting some of the staff involved in different roles, they had the chance to try their hand at live sports commentary, use the latest broadcasting technology, make a news programme, present the weather, suit up in safety gear used by BBC correspondents in conflict situations and much more.
A great learning opportunity for all concerned. Special thanks to the BBC for the warm welcome and superb hosting of the event.
Our fabulous Senior Camogie team treated us to a thrilling adventure on their way to the All Ireland Senior A Camogie Final, and what an explosive finish to the competition it was. Although the girls came so close to victory, it was the nature and manner of their fightback that we will hold in our hearts for many years - they are a legendary bunch already.
Thank you to the girls, and all the staff involved, for such a wonderful event and you will find a superb analysis, pictures and match report on our great friend Curly McIlwaine's website the Saffron Gael. Linked below.
https://thesaffrongael.com/2018/03/14/a-mix-of-heartache-and-pride-lots-of-pride/
Our annual Year 8 Céilí took place on Friday 16th March, when the young people came together to enjoy music and dancing for a few hours. Mr and Mrs Black had organised pupils from all year groups to take part in the performances and the atmosphere was buoyant throughout.
Boys and girls were taught some traditional Irish dances, and in some cases showed off a few moves of their own, whilst the band played a range of jigs and reels.
There was a special rendition of 'Ireland's Call' in honour of the Irish Rugby Team attempting their Grandslam completion on St. Patrick's Day.
Thanks to Mr and Mrs Black, Brad, Hannah and all the other staff who helped make the event such a success.
