News at St. Teresa’s

St. Teresa’s Primary School, Belfast Parents’ Newsletter Publish Date: Christmas Term 2014

Issue Number 2

Once again it has been a very busy time, not only in the lead up to Christmas but throughout the autumn term. In September we welcomed eighty two new pupils to our school and four new members of staff including Mr McSwiggan and Mr McCaughey, P4 and 5 Teachers, Mrs Alexander, clerical officer and Mr Sweeney, learning support Staff. We trust that they feel very much part of the St. Teresa’s family. During the term we said farewell to Mrs Mary Rose Martin and Mrs Morgan, who are learning support staff in P1 and 2 we wish them well in the future. The children have had many opportunities to experience a wide variety of activities, both in extending their academic learning as well as an extensive extra-curricular programme. This newsletter gives a brief synopsis of life at St. Teresa’s it is by no means an exhausted list but will give you a flavour of some of the activities that the children and staff have been involved in. I trust that you enjoy reading about our school and I look forward to another exciting year in 2015!

Mr T Rodgers - Principal

We began this year by welcoming eighty two children to Year 1. We trust they will enjoy their time with us in the knowledge that we work collectively as a learning school to ensure that everyone will be the best they can be during their time at St Teresa’s.

The school began a new year with the celebration of Mass on the 2nd October – feast of the Guardian Angels. Fr Hickland, our school chaplain, officiated at the ceremony and the children sang beautifully under the direction of Mrs Conlon and Miss Campbell. A number of children from Years 4-7 were involved in the readings, prayers of the faithful and the offertory - they carried out their roles superbly. This marked the beginning of a new year in St. Teresa’s Primary School. This was also a very special time in the parish as we celebrated the Festival of Flowers in honour of our patron saint, St Teresa of Avila. The children of the school visited this wonderful exhibition and the choir and orchestra performed throughout the day. We were very pleased to be able to share in the life of the parish and at such a great celebration of the life of St Teresa of Avila. This term we also had the enrolment service for First Confession on Tuesday 25th November and the ‘Called by Name’ ceremony, in preparation for Confirmation, on Monday 15th December. Again the children participated fully in both important celebrations.

P.6A participated in the “Poetry in Motion” initiative this term which is run by the Arts Council. The pupils were linked up with a local poet called Jonathan Hicks who facilitated poetry workshops for the pupils. They responded with great enthusiasm and produced poems on the theme “I Remember.” Several of these will be selected for publication in a Schools’ Anthology. Every child also got the opportunity to be recorded professionally reading their poem. The project will culminate in an inter school event where all participating schools will have the opportunity to share their poetry with others. It is a wonderful opportunity for the pupils to interact with local writers and to be inspired to write creatively. Additionally participating schools will be nominated for the Seamus Heaney Award for Achievement.

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 are 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 7th November to inform parents of the programme and how they could support its message at home. The event was very well attended and we would like to thank you for your continued support with this very effective initiative. St Teresa’s Primary School was also chosen to complete a promotional DVD about the programme to share our best practice with other schools.

Miss Cullen’s Primary 7 class took part in a Boxing Coaching session on the afternoon of the Co Antrim Youth International Boxing Event on 12th September at Whiterock Leisure Centre. The children had experienced coaches training them for the day and were given a crash course in boxing during the morning. As a result the class were awarded the Introduction to Boxing Programme Award.

On Friday 26th September Mrs Durkan`s Primary 6 class attended this exciting event at the Mary Peters Track. Children were able to try a fantastic variety of sports from javelin, judo and juggling to stilt walking, long jump and mountain biking. A great day was had by all and maybe even some children found a new sport that they could get involved in!

Over the past weeks in Mrs Branniff’s P1 class the children have been involved in a “Playful Science” project with a student teacher- Miss Montgomery from Stranmillis College supported by the Primary Science Teacher’s Trust. Each week we use a story as a starting point for some science experiments. We made a reflective coat for Teddy to keep him safe in the darker evenings, saved a baby polar bear from an iceberg and built the best house for the 3 little pigs. We even did an experiment about Christmas floating and sinking. It was really great fun and we learned a lot about making predictions, fair tests, materials, their properties and how heat changes things.

In St Teresa’s we would like to be recognised as a centre of excellence in STEM subjects and it is important that this begins right from P1!

Miss Smyth’s Primary 7 class enjoyed a three week Jujutsu coaching programme sponsored by Belfast City Council, provided by specialist coaches from Andersonstown Jujutsu club. The children learnt a range of defence strategies and at the same time were keeping active and healthy!

A perfect end to our ‘Houses and Homes’ topic, P.2 visited Culta! The P.2 children explored the old school, shops and houses. Children identified the differences between ‘then’ and ‘now.’ A highlight of the Cultra trip was visiting the farm and seeing the pigs!

After last year’s success with the Morning Star Appeal, St. Teresa’s went into action again this year in support of this worthy cause. We collected a range of clothing for the residents who live in the Morning Star. We hope our gifts will bring some festive joy to the men of the Morning Star. Both the Morning Star and the school would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all those who responded so generously to the Christmas appeal.

The primary 5 children have been working hard with Mrs Rowena Eames from the Belfast School of Music in preparation for their concert in Clonard Monastery on Wednesday 28th

January 2015 at 7.00pm. The children have been learning about rhthym, pitch and tone during their fun filled lessons! We are looking forward with anticipation to hear the children perform in this exciting venue!

The children and staff came to school in fancy dress on Wednesday 29th October as part of the Hallowe’en celebrations in school. As you can see the children went to great lengths to scare the staff and looking at the photographs above, they managed to do a good job of it! The senior pupils got into the spirit of the season by making their own Jack-O-Lanterns.

Following the election of members to the Student Council at the start of the school year, Miss Smyth and the Council members meet regularly to discuss and plan activities on how to make our school a better place. In addition to consulting with the pupils through questionnaires and surveys the Council organise school-based activities involving the pupils in supporting the school and the wider community.

The Student Council held their annual Coffee Morning to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer. The event was very well attended by the school and local community and the councillors managed to raise a staggering £1300. They would like to extend their thanks to everyone who attended the event and gave so generously.

The student council have also been given a budget of £3500 to spend on improving the school playground to make it an exciting place to play during break and lunch times. They have carried out surveys in each class to find out what others would like to have in the playground. Next term they will put their research to good use and the use the money to purchase new resources for the outside spaces in our school.

The Autumn Term After School Programme has been a great success! This year we have been able to offer an extensive range of activities including; Breakfast club, afterschool’s club, Basketball, Gaelic football, Art, Science, Choir, Soccer, Sewing, Knitting, Drama and Fundamental Movement (Body and Mind), Tin Whistle, ICT, Irish Dancing and Judo. Over 359 children took part in this terms programme and the recent parent’s evaluation was 100% positive regarding what we offer in St Teresa’s. As you can see from the sample of photographs above, the children not only had a great time but also learnt a number of new and exciting skills. I think if you have visited our foyer you will have seen the wonderful sewing exhibition completed by the children in the after schools sewing club! A special well done to everyone involved! We would also like to thank to all the teachers and coaches that led each of the clubs.

Hanban and the British Council want to encourage the teaching and learning of Mandarin in UK and Irish schools to establish and support school partnerships between Northern Ireland and China. Mr. Rodgers had the opportunity to visit the Zuzhou Foreign Languages School in Zuzhou Province in China in October of this year. This was a wonderful opportunity to get an insight into the education system in China. During his trip Mr. Rodgers spoke to over 3000 students in the school and 150 staff. This marks the beginning of a relationship with our partner school in China. A bid will be submitted to connect classrooms between China and St Teresa’s including the introduction of Mandarin in the school, exchange of projects between the children of both schools and further cultural exchanges between the staff.

On the 24th October the children in Key Stage 2 listened to a very important safety talk by Trudy Taylor on the safe use of firework safety just in time for the Halloween festivities!

This year Katie (P4B) and Amy(P7A) competed and represented St Teresa’s in the Ulster School’s Championship. The girls were great ambassadors for St Teresa’s and we are very proud of their achievements!

The School Orchestra, Traditional group and Choir performed their annual Christmas Concert on Monday 15th December for their families and friends, supported by Mrs Conlon and Miss Ferguson. Once again the children performed to their best and reminded us of the real meaning of Christmas. It was a great opportunity to take time out from the busy run up to Christmas. We extend our thanks to Mrs Conlon and Miss Ferguson for all their commitment in preparing for this event.

Primary 2 parents were invited to come into school and read to their children. This promoted reading for enjoyment among the P.2 children. They loved having their Mummies and Daddies in to read to their class and parents enjoyed it also! This will be continuing next term and we look forward to many more volunteers!

Throughout the term five members of the business community have been supporting a number of Primary 5 children with reading. The school purchased a wide range of exciting books to be used solely by the children in the programme so as to help foster a love for reading. The school would like to thank most sincerely all the volunteers including: Violetta and David, both engineers and Paul an IT support worker, who have given their time throughout the term.

A number of children from Primary 3 have also been fostering a love of reading with students from St Mary’s University College. The children have really enjoyed the programme and reading exciting stories with both Rebecca and Aisling. We would like to thank both volunteers for their enthusiasm and commitment. In St Teresa’s we have strong links with the college and we provide support for the students in a variety of ways. Additionally the college has supported the school well in STEM subjects and are currently refurbishing the library into a woodland scene!

The Christmas Craft Fair took place on Thursday 4th December from 6pm to 9pm and was a great success! The event was attended very well indeed and the FoST committee worked very hard to ensure a great night was had by all. This year the Friends of St Teresa’s Association will be raising funds to purchase a Trim Trail similar to this one:

The cost of installation of such a trail would be approximately £13,000! However we feel that this would significantly improve the play experiences of all the children in the school. The Christmas Fair raised a total of £1600 which was a fantastic start to reaching our target!

The school would like to extend their thanks to our Friends for their commitment and enthusiasm and we look forward to their next event in term 2!

Family Fund: The family fund has been a great success this term raising over £2300! We are delighted to announce this terms prize draw winner is Oonagh Saunders from P3C. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this much needed fund.

Primary 1, 2 and 3 loved the Sleeping Beauty production. There were plenty of smiles, shouts and laughs from the children as they helped the characters! After an exhilarating, high energy show from all involved, thankfully there was a happy ending!!!

In St Teresa’s we want to ensure that everyone at our school feels happy and safe. This year in our school we promoted “Anti- Bullying Week 2014” by having assemblies for all children. The P7 children designed and made posters to put up all around the school and all the children learned about bullying behaviour and what to do if you are worried. In the Foundation Stage we were learning about saying sorry and being kind when someone is sad. The P5 children made a beautiful display for their stairwell too.

On Friday 5th December 2014 representatives from both Primary 7 classes participated in a Maths Quiz which took place in CBS. Approximately 16 teams took part from different primary schools and from CBS also. The three teams competing from St. Teresa’s performed very well indeed coming 2nd, 3rd and 5th. Congratulations to them all!

St Teresa’s held their open night on Tuesday 9th December at 6.30pm. We were delighted that so many children and parents came to see our school! We hope that they enjoyed their visit and even got to see Santa before they left! We look forward to welcoming the nursery children to the family of St Teresa’s in September 2015!

On Wednesday 10th December, St Teresa’s Nursery School children, teachers and assistants presented their Nativity Play to our P1 children and staff in our Foundation Stage hall. It was a fantastic and entertaining show as all the little boys and girls told the Christmas Story through acting and song. Well done! Earlier in the term St Teresa’s also supported the Nursery during their 20th Anniversary celebrations. We are always happy working with our friends in the nursery.

The last week of term was a busy one for all the children of St Teresa’s! On Tuesday 16th December the P1 children presented their first Nativity Play for a packed audience in the hall for family and friends. P3 followed on Wednesday and P2 on Thursday. The older children performed their annual Christmas Concert in St Teresa’s Church on Tuesday and Wednesday. The children sang out their songs beautifully and all the actors spoke their lines with great confidence. Well done to everyone and we hope we helped capture some Christmas cheer for ecveryone who attended the performances. Please note the DVD recordings of the shows will be available by January 7th 2015.

St Teresa’s School choir were singing Christmas Carols in the Kennedy Centre on Friday 12th December. The children filled the huge space with their angelic voices and even had Santa on his feet and dancing. The children raised extra funds for the schools Christmas appeal ‘The Morning Star’. As a final treat the boys and girls from the choir were given a free bag of Dinky Doughnuts as a thank you for their hard work!

On Wednesday 3rd December all the P1 children went on a school trip to Winterland in W5. We had a wonderful day as we had a journey through Winterland on a little train, learned about animals that live in cold places and even got to meet Santa. We then played in the Discovery Floor and had our lunch altogether. It was such a fun day!

In St Teresa’s we promote a healthy lifestyle with the children. We encourage a healthy break of fruit or bread and milk or water and we encourage sport through PE, coaching and after school’s activity. In addition we often invite outside agencies to support the work of the school. On Wednesday 10th December the Primary 5 children observed and participated in an engaging presentation by two members of the Diary Council. The children really enjoyed this informative and interactive talk encouraging a balanced and healthy diet.

Ruth Stewart from the Holy Trinity Centre has been providing fun music classes with children across the school for a 10 week programme, helping the children to listen and respond to music. The children have enjoyed their music classes. I would like to thank Ruth for the fun she brought to her lessons!

A number of very experienced retired teachers namely, Mrs Gough, Mr Kennedy and Mrs Irvine have been enjoying stories with a number of our Year 2 children. The children select stories they love and share them with their reading partner. This is part of a voluntary scheme called Solas-‘Back on Track Programme’. Again we would like to extend our thanks to all three volunteers for supporting the children and developing a love of books and reading!

In St Teresa’s part of our school vision is to be lifelong learners. With this in mind, at the beginning of the term I sent out information regarding parent classes (OCR level 2 in English, Maths, ICT and English as a second language). We needed at least 10 parents for the programme to be viable in each subject. I was delighted to see a number of parents sign up for ICT classes which have been going very successfully in our school each Wednesday Morning. I wish the parents involved every success in their studies.

Star of the Month

Congratulations to all our Stars this term: Year Group September October November

1 Odhran Gibson

Cara Smyth

Erin Crisby

Jamie Napier

Eva Campbell

Harry Vernon

Owen Strain

Tiernan Kane

Chantell Corbett

Connlaith Willoughby

Gareth Parker

Niamh Mc Cusker

Conor smyth

Fionntan Delaney Doyle

Aoife Mc Donnell

Michael Mc Evoy

Linda Barker

Jessica Brunty

Grace Ewings

Ben Millins

Niamh Mc Manus

2 Emma Wilson

Matthew Kane

Caoimhe Shortt

Sean Mc Given

Eoin Devlin

Lucy Morgan

Abaigh Mc Nally

Caelin Neeson

Darragh Gibson

Hollie drum

Cillian Loughran

Katie Maguire

Caileigh fitzs

Cara Reid

Darren Delander

Erin Magee

Ronan Mallon

Isabella Mc Crudden

Seamus Easton

3

Dilja Joman

Tiernan Headley

Kian Mc Auley

Alanna Hale

Liam Gonsalves

Lila Mc Cann

Carly Byrne

Kevin Wilson

Alanna Hale

Kian Mc Auley

Diarmuid Reid

Emma Rice

Leo Morgan

Tierna Loughran Leane

Rianna Carlisle

Sean Mc Connell

Eoin Attwood

Eirinn Mc Cann

4 Madhbn Gallagher

Shea Flynn

Jodie Leigh Duffin

Dillon Ferguson

Mia Clarke

Anthony Fryers

Jessica Smyth

Corin O’Hara

Cillian O’ Hara

Aimee Delaney

Cassie Copeland

Connla Molloy

5 Grace Campbell

Luke O’Hara

Emma Marley

Jonathan Burns

Aaron Rafferty

Kaci Cush

Maria Mc Grady

Eadaoin McCaffrey

Caolan Grant

Cara Mulgrew

Niamh White

Sam O’ Neill

6 Rhianna Toman

Ryan O’Hanlon

Hannah Connolly

Owen McCann

Sarah Close Ledgewood

James Kinnard

Aideen Loughran

Christopher McCartney

Ellie Brennan

Ryan O Neill

Aimee McKee

Erin Sands

7 Noah McGivern

Caolan Headley

Caitlin O’Reilly

ChloeLouise Mc Connell

Kevin Mc Grath

Tierna Mc Larnon

Lisa Marie McCrudden

Jack Hunter

Chloe Louise Mc Connell

Stephen Bradley

Lucy Murtagh

Noah Mc Givern

This term the Primary 1 children’s topic for Play Based Learning was ‘Frozen’. The children have enjoyed learning about inuits, animals that live in the arctic, how to insulate things and of course enjoyed the songs from the Disney favoourite. This has been a great medium through which to teach the children a variety of Literacy and Numeracy skills! P1 parents I will be writing out to you in January to remind you of out Jolly Phonics workshop, we hope that as many of you can attend as possible!

Mrs Connolly our school’s ICT Coordinator will be very happy to provide you with the instructions on how to carry out this download at home. If you would like to avail of this opportunity please contact Mrs Connolly via the school office and she will provide you with the necessary information to do this at home.

On Wednesday 3rd December the Primary 7 children enjoyed a morning out of school as they attended St. Louise’s to be an audience for the rehearsal of their school show ‘Oklahoma’. A great time was had by all and we would like to thank the staff and pupils of St Louise’s for their kind invite.

On Friday 10th October the Primary 7 girls enjoyed a morning out of school as they attended St. Dominic’s Grammar School to be an audience for the rehearsal of their school show ‘Oliver’. The girls thought the production was excellent and had a lovely time. Again we would like to thank the staff and pupils for the invite.

Maths Week Ireland 2014 is an annual event that promotes awareness, appreciation and understanding of mathematics to all. Our school registered with Maths Week Ireland and every class took part in a series of activities from 10th to 18th October. Activities included a Year 4 ‘Bubble Maths’ workshop at W5, a trip to the Belfast City Hall to view stained glass window designs, visiting the local Spar store to view the weights of materials to name but a few. We hope these activities helped the children realise the relevance of maths.

Term 2 begins for the children on Wednesday 7th January 2015 Closing date for Applications to P1: Wednesday 14th January 2015 Mid-term break: 16th -18th February 2015 Confirmation: Tuesday 3rd March 2015 at 11.00am in St Teresa of Avila Church. School Closed on 16th -17th March 2015 (St. Patrick’s Day) Term 2 finishes on Wednesday 1st April 2015 at 12.00 noon Term 3 begins on Monday April 13th 2015

The Governors, Principal and Staff wish you all a very holy and happy Christmas and best wishes for the

new year.