Congratulations to Sharon from P7, whose prayer was chosen to be said by everyone, every day in the lunch hall. We had lots of really good prayers and the teachers had a very difficult task choosing a winner. Runners up were :- Jeorgia, Ellen, Grace, Wiktor amd Mark.
Following on from the success of last year’s School Council, eight children from P4-P7 have been chosen to serve on School Council for 2019- 2020. All our children wrote a manifesto giving reasons why they should be chosen to be on the School Council. There was then a class vote, and the following children were elected:- Annie P6, Dan P4, Tom P6. Tilly P4, Chloe P7, Ethan P5, Cameron P7 and Flora P5. In assembly the eight new School Council members read their manifestos. They are now looking forward to working alongside the teachers, to try to implement some of the changes that pupils have suggested, to make our school a better place
Four P7 children have now been appointed as ‘Digital Leaders’ for our school. The role of the Digital Leader is to help teachers to set up laptops and iPads for their classes, and also to assist the younger children with some of their ICT projects. Congratulations to Jodie, Ella, Isaac and Jack who are our new Digital Leaders.
Congratulations to Rev Blue who is getting married in early October. Mrs Howe presented him with a gift from Board of Governors, staff and parents from our school. We hope he has a lovely day and that he will have a very long and happy marriage.
We were delighted to once again welcome Rev Blue to take our assembly on Wednesday. His message for the children was - ‘God is with us and He will carry our burdens’. To illustrate this , Rev Blue had his really heavy school bag with him. It contained lots of things that are not needed in school. When he took them out he was left with a normal bag, with only the necessary school things in it Remember to give any burdens, troubles or fears you have, over to God. He will carry them for you.
On Monday we had a visit from three trained volunteers, with the charity NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. They were Margaret, Shirley and Alice. They came to deliver the Speak out Stay Safe Programme to our children.
Here is what the programme covers -
‘Our specially trained staff and volunteers hold interactive assemblies and workshops. With the help of our mascot, Buddy, we cover topics like bullying and abuse, but without using any scary words or adult language.. Pupils learn about the different types of abuse, in a child-friendly and age appropriate way, so they can get help if or when they need it. We help them identify a trusted adult they can talk to if they're ever worried about themselves or a friend. They learn about Childline, and how it can support them'.
P6 and P7 had a workshop entitled ‘Magnificent Me’ where they identified things that make them feel happy and safe.
There will be a collection for the work of NSPCC at our Harvest Assembly in October.
P1 and P2 had lots of fun harvesting the carrots which have been growing over the summer months. The children had sown the carrot seeds in the springtime. They looked at their carrots and worked out who had the longest and shortest carrots. They also noticed that there were some very strange looking carrots!
We are delighted to welcome our new Primary 1 children to school and are pleased to say that they have all settled in really well. To help them to find their way around our school, Paddington Bear took the P1 and P2 children on a special tour. They saw all the classrooms, office and the assembly hall, and they saw where to leave their lunch boxes and coats in the morning.
Click here for more information on the Progressive Building Society’s logo competition.
Please click here for a flyer for the 10 week after school programme.
The fundamental movement skills will include:
Running/Hopping/skipping/throwing/catching/kicking/striking and more through fun games and an introduction to different sports.
Multi sports will include :
football/basketball/tag rugby/dodgeball/quick cricket/uni hoc/Handball/Hip hop dance, and will give children the opportunity to try a variety of sports
The link to book is :
https://bookwhen.com/mmdcoaching
Spaces are limited and are on a first come first served basis.
We were delighted to hear today that Demi, P5, was the Armagh Observatory & Planetarium Logo Moon Reach for the Stars Competition Winner for both KS2 and the overall winner. Her design is to be made into the sticker for summer visitors to the Planetarium.
As well as an individual prize, Demi has won a free trip for her class to the Armagh Observatory & Planetarium.
Please read the press release for more information.
Thanks to Luke Calderwood for coming into school to take some football sessions on Thursday. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the lovely sunshine as they played outdoors.
Today our P7 children had a lovely morning out to Domino’s Pizza in Ballymena. They made their own pizzas with toppings of their own choice and then afterwards enjoyed eating them. Thanks to the staff of Domino’s for the invitation and for providing the pizzas and drinks for our children.
Dr Nicholas Wright fRNS, Community Engagement Officer, Museum Services, Ballymoney Museum secured a grant from The Royal Society that enabled P6/7 children to visit Ballylough House. With kind permission of Ballylough Living History Trust, the children learnt about the amazing discoveries of the Trail brothers in 19th century. Children learnt that two brothers, William and Anthony, pioneered the first hydro electric tramway, in the world, from Portrush to the Causeway. W5 were also present to help children build their own lego model.
A huge thank you to our P7 children for organising our end of year talent show. We had a very entertaining morning of super singing, dancing, gymnastics, football skills, comedy, puppet shows etc from many of our very talented pupils. The judges had a very tough decision to make. The winners of Rasharkin’s Got Talent 2019 were ….Susanna P5 and Hannah P6. Susanna and Hannah played a duet - Susanna on piano and Hannah on clarinet. Well done to everyone who took part.
P1 and P2 had a busy morning during outdoor play. They had four main activities:-
den building
race track
building site
playing in the garden
The children all brought their teddy bears to school and after breaktime they had a delicious teddy bears’ picnic together. Thanks to Mrs Calderwood and Miss O’Boyle for organising this. Thanks also to some of our P7 children who helped with outdoor play today.
Yesterday, our P1 to P4 children had a super outing to Rosepark Farm. The children really enjoyed seeing the animals, and especially all the animals in the petting sheds. After a long walk around the farm and through the fairyland wood, everyone had lunch and then had great fun on the bouncy castles, swings and ziplines and pedal tractors. The boys really enjoyed using the diggers in the sand area. Thanks to our two guides who looked after us so well, and gave us lots of information about the animals.
Alexander and Sam went to Ulster University Jordanstown, to take part in the K’Nex Construction Challenge Final. Their brief was to design a Ferris Wheel for a new funfair. The Ferris Wheel had to be strong and it had to rotate using an electric motor. As you can see from the photo, they made a super Ferris Wheel and although they did not win, they had a great experience alongside the many other teams taking part. They also got a chance to look around the Sentinus Event that was taking place at the University. Thanks to Lorna Wylie for accompanying the boys to Jordanstown.
On Friday 21st June, our P5,6 and 7 children enjoyed a visit to CS Lewis Square in Belfast. This is a a public space commemorating the Belfast-born author, CS Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia have been recreated with seven bronze sculptures from 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe', including Aslan, The White Witch, Mr Tumnus, The Beavers, The Robin and The Stone Table.
Afterward they went to the Ulster Museum and saw the famous ‘Mummy’ - Takabuti.
Congratulations to Jeorgia, Alexander and Hannah who received a goody bag each from Causeway Dental Practice. Their posters promoting ‘Visiting the Dentist’ were chosen as first prize winners at Ballymoney Show.
