BALLYMONEY STREETWISE

Yesterday 24th May, our P7 pupils attended the Ballymoney Streetwise event.  This event, for P7 pupils,aims to raise their awareness of how to keep safe as they take on more responsibility for their own safety as they move from primary school.  The event is delivered by a number of different organisations including  Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council, Dogs' Trust, Tesco, Health Trust, NIE, Translink, Home Accident Prevention, RNIB, Cancer Focus NI, Coastguards and Police Service Northern Ireland.  The children had a very good morning and received lots of valuable information.

WORLD WAR II VINTAGE TEA PARTY

On Thursday 17th May parents and friends of our P3 and P4 children and P4 children from St Patrick's Primary School, were invited to a World War II Vinatge Tea Party at Rasharkin Community Centre.  While the adults enjoyed delicious sandwiches, scones and tray bakes, the children showcased the work that they have been doing as part of the Shared Education 'Then and Now' topic.  Dressed in WWII outfits, the children sang songs from World War II and they demonstrated their dancing skills to the songs 'Lollipop' and 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'  - click here for video.  The finished movies which the children have been making with the help of the Nerve Centre were also shown.  It was a really successful morning and the many parents and friends who attended the celebration were thoroughly impressed by the work the children have been doing.  Special thanks to the Nerve Centre for their work with the children on their movies.  Also to the teachers and classroom assistants who prepared for the Vintage Tea Party. 

ULSTER FOLK PARK, CULTRA

As part of their prize for winning the Cancer Focus 'Snap the Cig' photo competition, P 6 and P7 enjoyed a great day out to Cultra.  They saw around the Folk Park and learned lots of interesting facts about how people lived in the past. 

MONEY MATTERS!

Once again we were very glad to welcome Jayne and Ruth from Danske Bank, to school to speak to the P1 -3 and P4 and P5 children about the Danske Smart Programme.  This programme aims to help children to become financially confident, by helping them to understand the value of money and personal finance.  The P4-5 children did some practical activities.  Their favourite activity was 'Budgeting'.  Working in pairs they had a £500 budget to design a new bedroom.  They were encouraged not to spend more that they had.  More fun activities relating to the Danske Smart Programme can be found on www.moneyville.co.uk

COLERAINE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Some of our pupils have piano lessons in school with Mrs. McAleese.  Seven children attended Coleraine Music Festival at the end of April where they played their piano festival pieces. All the children did really well and enjoyed performing in front of a large audience and the ajudicators.  Hannah in P5 also played her clarinet at the festival.  Thanks to Mrs McAleese for organising and preparing the children for the festival. The children taking part were :- Lucy P4, Ethan P3, Isaac P5. Grace P3 Matthew P6, Sam P3 and Hannah P5

P6 and P7 ANIMALS AND PLANTS

On Friday 4th May, Katherine from Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) came to work with our P6 and P7 children on their topic, Animals and Plants.  They conducted a biodiversity Survey to check how good our school grounds are for birds.  They found some minibeasts around the school, but we now need to focus on what we can do to encourage more bugs into our grounds.

Online Safety - Net Aware

Net Aware is the NSPCC and O2’s no-nonsense guide for parents on the most popular sites, apps and games that young people use. It equips parents and professionals with information about these sites, including the recommended age, the safety features and settings available and the types of risks that young people might encounter. This year’s site is based on reviews of 40 sites from 2,059 young people and 2,049 parents.

There are also Net Aware news pages, which highlight current online safety developments, trends and tips. Visit the Net Aware site, or download the free Net Aware app, from the App Store or Google Play.

MILLIONAIRE READERS

A few weeks ago, Peri in P5 became our first 'Millionaire Reader' as part of the  Accelerated Reader Scheme.  Each time a person reads a book and takes a quiz and passes the quiz, the words from the book are counted.  Today, two more of our pupils became 'Millionaire Readers', - they have read more than a million words,  Alexander  P6 and Ella P5. Very well done to both.

APRIL LUNCHTIME AWARDS

Four pupils had their names picked out of the box for a special lunchtime award for April.  They were, Peri, Grace, Evie and James.

APRIL ASSEMBLY AWARDS

Congratulations to the children who received certificates for April 2018.  The certificates were awarded for -  'Progress in Literacy', 'Fair Play' and 'Good Manners'. 

OURSELVES

P3 and P4 have been looking at 'Ourselves' in their World Around Us topic this half term. They have been learning all about their senses, their muscle strength, their height and they have also been writing about what makes them special.  They have also been looking at the bones in the body, the parts of the eye and have been practising bandaging parts of their body. 

FOREST SCHOOLS APRIL

This week, P1 and P2 children along with children from St Patrick's Primary had another Forest School session under the Shared Education Programme. During the lesson, the children had to make a human body using wool and pegs. They had to use different shapes - squares, triangles, etc for the body parts.  They then had to fill in the shapes with leaves and grass.  The children had to listen carefully as Brian gave instructions eg - put six green leaves in the square, find three pine cones and put them in the triangle etc. The children all enjoyed the session and benefitted greatly from the skills that were being taught in an outdoor setting.

SENTINUS STEM CELEBRATION

On Thursday 26th April, children in P5, P6 and P7 were invited to attend an event at the Braid Centre, Ballymena.  This was part of a celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths for young people in the UK.  The aim of the event was to show students just how exciting science and engineering can be.

The event included a 'High Flyers' workshop which was taken by an engineer called Peter.  The children made their own aeroplane and Peter explained to the children about air pressure and how this helps to create ' lift off'.  There was also a 'Power Up' show which focused on the Science of computer games, ultra violet light, infra red light, electricity and gravity.  The children had a great morning and they also got to meet the Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Paul Reid.

WINNERS!

As reported in our blog of 16th March, P6 and P7 were one of seven winners in a photograph competition called 'Snap the Cig' sponsored by Cancer Focus N I.  Yesterday in assembly, Naomi from Cancer Focus came to present the prize which was an IPad for the school.  The children have also won a day trip to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra.  Again thanks to Mrs Wright for working with the P6 and 7 children on this project, and also thanks to Cancer Focus for their very generous prizes.

LUNCHTIME AWARDS

At out Assembly this morning, four pupils had their names picked out of the box for a special prize.  Throughout the term the supervisors place the names of children who have impressed them for various reasons at lunchtime, in a box.  Today Stephen and Lucy received their award for being 'Really Patient Servers',  Katie for 'Having lovely table Manners', and Jodie for 'Playing well with others'.

MARCH ASSEMBLY AWARDS

Well done to the children who received certificates for March 2018.  The certificates were awarded for  - Excellent Internet Skills  -    Good Engagement in Poetry   -  Being Kind to People from Other Classes

FIRE SAFETY

Today, 13th April,  our P5 children had a visit from Seamus, a fire fighter from Kilrea.  Each year the fire service speak to all P5 pupils about fire safety.  The topics they were learning about were, safe use of electrical devices and safe use of candles, matches and open fires.  They were also told how to check their home smoke alarms once a week and change the battery once a year. Finally they were told how to have a family fire safety plan so that everyone in the family would know how to get out, stay out and call the fire brigade out if a fire started in their home.

STEM CHALLENGE

On Thursday 12th April, three of our P6/7 children, Grace, David and Leonard attended the Sentinus Primary STEM Challenge, held at Coleraine College.  There were eight teams in the competition.  Their challenge was to design and build a bridge across a river gorge. They were given card, paper, glue, paperclips, art straws and masking tape.  The bridge had to be a distance of at least 30 centimetres and support a weight of 250g for at least 30 seconds.  The team worked really well together to make a very impressive bridge. 

AMBASSADORS FOOTBALL

On Tuesday 10th April, three coaches from Ambassadors Football commenced a five week football coaching programme for children in P5 to P7.  Those children attending had a very enjoyable first session.  Thanks to Des, Derek and Luke for taking these sessions.

ACCELERATED READING CERTIFICATES

Congratulations to our P4 to P7 pupils who achieved their Accelerated Reading Targets for this Easter half term.  We are delighted with the effort that everyone has put in to achieve this.  Missing from the pictures are Tyler P6 and Harley in P7.