News @ St. Teresa’s St. Teresa’s Primary School, Belfast Parents’ Newsletter

Publish Date: Summer Term 2014

Issue Number 1

Welcome to the exciting first ever issue of ‘News at St. Teresa’s’ marking the end of another 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 Primary 4 received the Sacrament of the

Eucharist. Not only was this a day of great joy for the families of these children, but also a day 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. On the sporting field our swimmers had great

success at this year’s Swimming Gala in Whiterock leisure centre achieving a number of awards. Our

Primary 6 children showed great sportsmanship during the Monsignor Toner Memorial Cup. Many of our

children continued to develop a wide range of skills at the rich and varied after school clubs on offer this

term. Primary 7 took part in this year’s Sentinus STEM challenge and we welcomed once again our

Ugandan visitors to the school. The staff too have received recognition for their work such as the ‘Media

Initiative for schools’ and ‘The Farmington Trust’. I also congratulate the Year 7 children who have

graduated from primary school and are looking forward to beginning their post-primary education together

with our Primary 4 children in the Speech and Language Centre who are moving to new schools. I wish

them well and thank them for contributing so positively to the life of St. Teresa’s. I trust you will enjoy

reading the newsletter and wish you all a restful summer holiday.

Mr T. Rodgers (Principal)

Well done to the Primary 4 children who celebrated their First Communion in St Teresa’s Church on the 17th May. The children successfully completed their preparation for this sacrament by participating in the “Do This in Memory” programme with the parish core team, and also completing the programme outlined in Alive-O 4 in school under the direction of Mrs Prior, Mrs King and Mrs McLean. The children were all beautifully presented on the day and music was provided by Mrs Conlon and Miss Campbell who led the school choir. The ceremony was a real celebration of how family, school and parish co-operate together for the benefit of all our children.

It was important that the Primary 7 children had the opportunity to reflect on their years in primary school and in particular the gifts that they had received during the sacrament of Confirmation. To facilitate this, the children took part in a ‘Transition Retreat’ in the De La Salle Retreat house on the Glen Road. Through prayer, music and games the children were able to celebrate their achievements and think about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Term 3 is always a busy time for sports events at St Teresa`s. There were many opportunities this term for the boys and girls to develop a range of skills through a variety of disciplines including athletics, boxing, Gaelic, soccer and swimming. Here are some of the highlights of our sporting events this term: Monsignor Toner Cup In memory of Monsignor Toner, who was a keen advocate of Gaelic games, the Primary 6 boys and girls competed in an inter-class Gaelic football match. The match was kindly hosted by CBS and St Teresa`s GAC at CBS football pitch. The support from Years 5 and 7 added to the excitement of the occasion. Congratulations to Miss Cullen`s boys and girls on winning both cups. Mr Rodgers

presented medals to all the children involved and the winning cup to Caolan Fennell (P6a) and Zara McCann (P6a) on behalf of the class. Athletics Coaching at Mary Peters Track A group of Year 7 children had the opportunity to develop their athletic skills and experience the area of Track and Field with the support of quality coaching from the Sports Council. Children

spent the morning having a go at sprint, long jump and shot-putt events. Swimming Gala Yet again St Teresa`s had great success at the Inter-School Swimming Gala held at Whiterock Leisure Centre. Congratulations to the following children who won medals for their swimming achievements: Cara McKiernan P6b, Amy Brownlee P6a, Jessica Haughey P6a, Rioghnach McCabe P6a, Hannah Wilson P7b, Gemma Shanks P7b, Anna McCaffrey P7a and Ciara Loughran P7a.

Over the month of June some children from Primary 2-7 gave up their Saturday mornings to participate in the school’s Basketball Club led by past pupils Hannah and Mark Walsh. The children learnt all core skills from defence to shooting, passing and dribbling. All players really improved with some showing great promise and with some hard fought matches over the four weeks! We look forward to next term!

All Primary 7 pupils participated in the first annual Primary 7 basketball Interclass competition. The pupils received coaching from Hannah and Mark and played really well in all their matches, showing great skill, athleticism and sportsmanship. Ms Smyth’s team beat Mrs Ellis’ in a thrilling outdoor match by only one basket!

P6a visited the Shankill Leisure Centre to take part in a Cross-Community Boxing Event. The children were split into groups with different schools and completed activities such as skipping, boxing and circuits. It was a great day out and the children had lots of fun! The children also really enjoyed playing on the surprise Bouncy Castle at the end of the session!

After last year’s success, the Primary 7 children once again attended the ‘Be Safe’ event at the Westland Fire Station on Wednesday 30th April in association with the PSNI, the NI Fire Brigade and Belfast City Council. During the course of the day the children took part in a number of workshops teaching children how to stay safe, for example, what to do if there is a fire at home, reducing crime, drug awareness and electrical safety in the kitchen. The day was extremely informative and the children learned how to reduce the risks around them in a very active and fun way.

Following the visit of Mrs Connolly and Mrs Keane to Uganda in March we were very glad once again to host teachers from our partnership school St John Bosco in Uganda. Mrs Teddy Mbabazi and Mrs Harriet arrived on Sunday 11th May for a week’s stay in Belfast. Mrs Connolly and Mrs Keane hosted our visitors and thanks to the fundraising efforts of the TUNISP group our visitors had the opportunity to attend a wide variety of places and events which celebrate our country and our culture. The boys and girls were as always friendly, co-operative and extremely welcoming to our guests. We value our link with St John Bosco not only for the support we can offer this school but for the understanding of cultural diversity it offers to our pupils. We would like to offer a word of thanks to the following people who through their generous donations have enhanced both people and the school of St John Bosco. Firstly our whole school community who contributed so generously to our visitors. Mr J Murray and experience Solutions who donated a laptop to St John Bosco PS, Miss Smyth and extended family, Ms P McDermott, Miss Cullen and extended family and Mrs Brady who together have sponsored the secondary education of four pupils from St John Bosco. A special word of thanks to our year 7 pupils this year, who also followed in the footsteps of our patrons mentioned above and are sponsoring the high school education of a boy and girl from St John Bosco PS. We look forward to future projects and links with our friends in Uganda.

St. Teresa’s ran this year’s Book Fair during May to promote reading and raise much needed funds for purchasing books in the school. The children from each class were given the opportunity to look at all the available books and teachers shared some of the stories with the children helping to develop a love for reading. What is more, sales from the book fair realised over £2100 – and as a result, the school received over £1600 commission to spend on books that will benefit all of the children throughout the school. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that supported the book fair which is now one of the most successful book fairs in operation according to the Travelling Book’s records!

M&M productions performed this year’s theatre production of the Hobbit! The children

from Primary 4-6 were enthralled by the action, special effects, music and lighting. The

grand finale of a fire breathing dragon finished the spectacle off brilliantly. A great

morning was had by all. The P6 children then had the opportunity to take part in a theatre

workshop after the show. During the workshop they studied how to add effects, put a

production together and develop their acting skills.

There is a strong tradition of music in St. Teresa’s. Children play a range of string, and brass instruments. Over the summer the children will complete the Associated Board Graded Music Examinations in Belfast. Listed are the pupils who will complete the examinations. We wish them luck: GRADE 1 VIOLIN Caitlin Maguire GRADE 2 VIOLIN Anna McCaffrey Shea Mooney Darragh Conlon GRADE 1 TRUMPET Patrick Doherty Jenna Farrell GRADE 1 E FLAT HORN Noah McGivern Eimear Deeds GRADE 2 E FLAT HORN Ciara Loughran

St. Teresa’s Annual School Concert took place on the evening of the 3rd of June this year. We came together to celebrate the music in our school and to give our talented children the opportunity to shine. The concert opened with our String Ensemble followed by solo performances from our brass musicians. Miss Janet Ferguson did a wonderful job preparing the children and accompanying them on the piano. Miss Smyth’s class were up next and they performed the songs they had prepared as part of their Music Morning. The highlight of the performance was their own creative composition entitled ‘The Cereal Killers’ which brought the house down. Our traditional musicians performed on fiddles and tin whistles and they were followed by Mrs Durkan’s talented class playing on their recorders. The successful evening was rounded off with beautiful singing from our choir. We want to thank all of our parents for supporting music in our school throughout the school year.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s sports’ days!

This year’s sports days were a great success. The sun was shining after a number of days of rain and the athletes of St. Teresa’s paraded out ready for the sports events. The children had the opportunity to compete in the traditional sports events such as the sprint, relay, obstacle and marathon races. Well done to all our competitors and in particular to those who were awarded medals and team prizes.

The summer term just wouldn’t be the same without a school trip. With that in mind classes throughout the school planned their own adventure including visits to Castle Espie, Exlporis Aquarium, Oxford Island, Dundonald Ice Bowl, The Ulster Museum and Fantasia Waterpark. A great time was had by all and many treasured memories were made. Here are photos from some of the trips:

Since being elected last September onto the Student Council we have worked very hard to represent the views and opinions of all our friends throughout the school. Our first official task was organising the Coffee Morning at the end of September. This was the 10th year our school hosted it and raised £987.26 bringing the total raised since 2004 to over £10,000. December saw us organise our annual Christmas appeal on behalf of the Morning Star Hostel. Once again each year group donated different items-socks, underwear, hats, scarves,

gloves, t-shirts and toiletries. As usual the appeal was a great success and some of the homeless men in Belfast had warm clothes to wear over the winter months. After a letter was sent home from Gary Keenan from the BELB who was doing a sponsored run on behalf of the Children’s Hospice, we helped organise a sponsored run for all year groups in the school and over £3000 was raised. Fundraising is not our only task in the Student Council. We also attend fortnightly meetings to represent all pupils’ views in the school. Mrs Molloy was always available to discuss issues with us and we had our first meeting with Mr Rodgers in May. Topics covered in the meeting included; dinners, playground equipment and additional seating in the playground. One major event that happened this year was a workshop regarding pupil participation. This full day workshop was organised by the National Children’s Bureau and 16 pupils (4 from each year group from P4-7) attended as part of their work with the NCB. A subsequent course was also attended by 4 members of staff who examined how children’s opinions were taken into consideration and how the school could improve in this area. As a result of the workshop the NCB devised a pupil survey entitled ‘Participation in St Teresa’s Primary School’. This was completed by all P6 and 7 pupils. This has now been published and is being considered in the school to improve practice in this area. After a busy year we finished our year off by celebrating our achievements with a lunch in the Glenowen. This was a great treat for all our councillors.

This year the children in Primary 1 and 2 have been part of the ‘Media Initiative for Children’ project.

As part of the project the children were introduced to puppets that were from marginalised or

minority groups. The children learnt about the puppets lives and how they could help them feel

welcome and happier. This in turn will help the children respect differences in each other and indeed

celebrate them. We also held a Parent’s Workshop on Friday 9th May to inform parents of the

programme and how they could support its message at home.

On Friday 16th May four Primary 7 children, namely Alicia Robinson, Dylan McDonald, Maria Louise Donnelly and Owen Smyth took part in this year’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) challenge in Wellington College. During the challenge the children had to plan, design and make a farm yard scene. All of the children worked well as a team and represented St Teresa’s brilliantly. Well done to all involved.

We have had a wonderful year in our new school and made lots of friends in Primary 1. Our favourite things have included trips to see Santa in December and our recent visit to Castle Espie with Mrs Keane’s class. We have enjoyed learning and laughing together in St Teresa’s and we love working on the Interactive White Board and the I-Pads. It was tricky at first but now we could teach our parents how to use them! We are very happy in our school and can’t wait to start Primary 2 – after our holidays of course. See you all in September, bye for now.

This year Ben, Elvinas, Michael, Kevin, Taylor, Thomas and Aaron will be transferring from the Speech and Language Centre P3/4 to go to different schools. We celebrated their years in the Centre by inviting their families to a prayer service in the classroom on Tuesday 17th June. Everyone enjoyed sharing this special time together and especially the refreshments which were served afterwards. We wish the children the very best for the future in their new schools.

This has been a busy term for the Primary 3 children. Our ‘World Around Us’ topic this term has been Animals and the boys and girls have been classifying, researching and participating enthusiastically in all the related activities. They have particularly enjoyed working with clay to make their own 3d animals. Primary 3a took part in the Belfast School of Music “Music Morning” where they had great enjoyment representing the school and showcasing their musical talent. They worked very hard on their own performance composition and their teacher was very proud.

P5A held their assembly on Friday 9th May. Following on from our World Around Us topic of ‘Brazil’ and ‘The Rainforest’ we decided to focus on the plight of street children in Brazil as the theme for our assembly. It was a very informative and moving assembly which all the pupils participated in with both enthusiasm and compassion.

On Thursday 19th June the children enjoyed a World Cup Themed Lunch. The children were able to dress up in their favourite football jerseys and were provided a special World Cup lunch. Some lucky children found a winning ticket under their plates and were awarded prizes. A great time was had by all as you can see from the photographs. We would like to thank Teresa and her staff in the canteen for their support during this.

During the year 2013/14 Mrs Durkan, applied for and was awarded a Farmington Fellowship. The Farmington Trust was conceived in the Second World War, when the Hon. Robert Wills vowed that if he survived the war he would do something to make the world a better place. The Trust is affiliated with Harris Manchester College, Oxford, where teachers like Mrs Durkan received some initial training. Successful Fellows must undertake a project with a religious theme as its basis. Mrs Durkan took as her project the establishment of the GIFT (Growing In Faith Together) Programme in our Parish of St Teresa’s. During her five weeks leave she was based in St Mary’s University College but also had the pleasure of working with our Primary Seven children as they prepared to leave St Teresa’s Primary School. The GIFT programme is aimed at post Confirmation pupils and through a programme of fun activities the children will learn and experience more about their faith. Mrs Durkan was also involved in setting up meetings with their parents were she could share her aims for the programme and also enlist their help. The meetings were well attended and the general response has been positive and encouraging. The parent leaders will begin their training in September and the programme will be up and running by January. It has been a wonderful initiative to be involved in and Mrs Durkan is excited about carrying the programme forward. On June 28th she will be presenting her report on the project to all the other Fellows at Harris Manchester College Oxford. Mrs Durkan greatly enjoyed her involvement with the Farmington Trust and hope that our pupils and Parish can benefit as well.

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

Year Group May June

1 Sienna Fox

Luke Smyth

Brandon Joubert

Cara McLaughlin

John Sharkey

India Devlin Amoh

Tony Cricckard-Ruddy

Cara Reid

Tyler Hamill

Kevin Tennyson

Mia Crudden

Fionntan Trainnor

Rory Kinnaird

Cara McDonnell

2 Naoimi Mc Carthy

Odhran Walsh

Bryan Mathers

Oonagh Saunders

John Shannon

Lily-Rose McMullan

Ronaldo Mc Anulty

Charlie Moore

Mary Kate Shannon

Jude Mallon

Caiden Wheeler

Erin O Brien

Roshan Roji

Lucy Diamond

3 David Zalewski

Charlie Horner 3a

Jessica Lamont 3a

Paul Conlon P3b

Jessica Smyth P3b

Ben Barclay

Meadhbh Gallagher

Anthony Fryers

Dylan Ferguson

Meghan Cahill

4 Kevin Thompson

Harry Mc Guigan P4b

Aoife Mc Gowan P4b

Olivia Napier p4a

Luke O’Hara p4a

Rhys Haywood

Aoife RileyP4b

Micheal FlanaganP4b

Erin McNulty p4a

Keelan Burns p4a

5 Christopher McCartney

Erin Sands

James Kinnaird

Sarah Close Ledgewood

David McDonagh

Hannah Connolly

Sophie Darragh

Nathan Mc Farlane

6 Tara Ferrin

Myles Magill

Caitlin Maguire

Odhran Fox –Turley

Maia Campbell

Shea Mooney

Katie Devlin

Aoife McCaugherty

7 Antoin McLaughlin

Lauren Nee

Eoin Hannaway

Rachel Armstrong

Tomas McCann

Sinead McLaughlin

Dylan McDonald

Anna MCCaffrey

School closes on Friday 27th June at 12.00noon

2014/2015 Academic Year

Term 1 starts 1st September 2014 Half-term 30th Oct – 4th Nov 2014

Parent/Teacher interviews 27th November School closes at 12.00pm for Parent/Teacher interviews from 12.30pm 28th November School closed for parent/teacher interviews Holy Day 8th November Christmas 22nd December 2014 school closes at 12.00pm

The Governors, Principal and Staff wish you all a restful and

enjoyable summer. visit our website:

www.stteresasprimary.org