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An EU funded peace project has launched a wellbeing app for kids at Dromintee Primary School this week as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. The school's P7 pupils got a chance to try out the app produced by OUR Generation. The app aims to educate children & young people about mental health and wellbeing. It is designed as a game, featuring 5 levels with activities relating to mental health and well-being, coping and problem-solving skills, perspective taking, empathy and intergroup contact & trust.
David Babington, CEO of Action Mental Health, speaking at the launch event, said “We’re delighted to be launching the OUR Generation app at Dromintee Primary school. It was important to us that children and young people were involved in the co-design of this app, and pupils from Dromintee were involved in our initial research workshops that helped us get a sense of what types of apps they like to play, and the kind of content they enjoy.”
OUR Generation is an EU PEACE IV-funded project managed by the Special EU Programmes body and led by Action Mental Health. Match funded by The Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland. The project aims to build positive relations and emotional resilience in children and young people.
Ulster University is one of a number of partners involved in the project, and the OUR Generation app was developed in collaboration with researchers at the University’s School of Psychology along with Prof. Maurice Mulvenna of the AI Research Centre in the University’s School of Computing.
Children and young people were also involved in app co-design by participating in 7 cross-border workshops which gathered their views on the types of games they play and the types of characters they like.
The app is divided into two age categories, 11 years old and under, and 12 years old and above. Activities include simple drag-and-drop games as well as videos and links to other sources of help and support.
Players can select from four buddies who guide them through the app - Stripey, Roby, Hoofy or Bulby. Users earn stars as they complete their journey through the levels and climb the leader board from expert, ambassador, champion to genius.
Prof. Maurice Mulvenna, who was involved in the app’s design and development, said “The OUR Generation App will provide a fun, free, safe, and engaging way for children, young people, and emerging adults to tackle their worries on mental health and well-being, so they can build resilience, gain confidence, and thrive.”
He added: “The OUR Generation App aims to demonstrate an improvement in the emotional resilience of children and young people. The anonymous usage data collected will help us answer the question of whether using the App can improve the knowledge, skills and behaviours of users and improve users’ resilience.
David Babington added: “We hope the OUR Generation app will be used as a digital learning tool by children, young people and their key contacts to help develop awareness around resilience, mental health and wellbeing. For many years, Action Mental Health has been working to give children and young people the skills they need to look after their mental health through traditional programmes, so I am delighted to see this support develop digitally also.”
The objective of the OUR Generation project is ‘Growing Up Better, Together’. It is currently being delivered on both sides of the border in education, youth and community settings across the Five Urban Village Areas of Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its aim is to build positive relations and emotional resilience in communities impacted by four decades of the Troubles, to help tackle the legacy of the conflict across the island of Ireland.
Seven organisations have partnered with lead partner Action Mental Health, including Donegal Youth Service, Co-Operation Ireland, Youth Action NI, YouthWork Ireland, PlayBoard NI and Ulster University.
Together, the organisations have utilised EU PEACE IV funding to support communities to tackle post-conflict peace building and mental health. The project will run until September 2023. The Executive Office in Northern Ireland, and the Government of Ireland have provided match funding for the project.
OUR Generation will reach over 36,000 children and young people who will engage in programme design and delivery, including provision of peer support, developing skills and confidence to improve well-being within their communities. They will also act as agents of change, building peace for future generations.
The OUR Generation app is free and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and the Apple Store.
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Southern Regional College students have won an incredible twelve medals at the SkillBuild NI Finals 2023 held by The Construction Industry Training Board NI (CITB NI). The SkillBuild competition is held annually each spring with top local construction apprentices competing to win titles in the categories; Brickwork, Cabinet Making, Carpentry, Electrical Installation, Joinery, Painting & Decorating, Plastering Dry Wall Systems, Plastering, Plumbing, Wall & Floor Tiling.
Successful construction competitors at the regional qualifiers will move forward to represent Northern Ireland in the SkillBuild UK national final which, for the first time, will take place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on 21, 22 & 23 November 2023. Successful participants in the areas of Plumbing, Electrical and Fire winners may get the opportunity progress on to the UK Finals of SkillPLUMB and SkillELECTRIC also held in November.
The competition is designed to test skills, technique, ability within tight timeframes, and identifies the top performers in 11 different trade areas within construction apprenticeship programmes from across Northern Ireland. It is a showcase of the wealth of talent, professionalism, and the brightest recruits throughout the industry. Competition test pieces are designed to challenge the ability of competitors to follow detailed instructions, produce accurate and neat work outputs, be economical with materials while working to strict timescales – all essential requirements needed for today’s construction industry.
Southern Regional College are delighted with the success of students. Students placing at the competition from the Newry Mourne Down area, picking up the top spot include Niall Rice from Castlewellan (Brickwork); Joshua McBride from Kilkeel (Plastering) and Conor Braniff from Portaferry (Wall and Floor Tiling). Conor is also Northern Ireland Apprentice of the Year, having received this accolade in March.
Other successful students at the competition include Charlie Hutton from Downpatrick who picked up third place in Brickwork and Matthew Connolly from Newry, also receiving a well-deserved third place in Plastering.
Brian Doran, Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College commented “I extend my congratulations to the SRC students who excelled at the SkillBuild NI Finals by winning 12 medals and maintaining our position as the best performing College in Northern Ireland. I am immensely proud of all our students, for the commitment and dedication shown to get to this stage and for embracing the challenges of the NI Skill Build competition. I look forward to hearing of their continued success as they move onwards to the National Finals in November”.
Barry Neilson, Chief Executive CITB NI, added “A huge congratulations to all the apprentices who took part in the annual SkillBuild NI 2023 competitions. There was an incredible amount of talent on display. It was great to see the enthusiasm and commitment from a new generation of construction industry leaders – the future of the industry is looking very bright!
"Apprentices at all levels are a vital component to helping the construction industry develop and grow. Offering young people apprenticeships gives businesses the chance to play an active role in developing their future workforce as well as creating the future skills that they need to help their businesses develop.”
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Over a dozen girls from the Construction Department at St Paul's High School, Bessbrook recently got a chance to view several large construction projects in Belfast thanks to an invite from Women's Tech, Northern Ireland's largest quality provider of training for women in non-traditional skills.
The two very large sites were under construction through Mascott Construction. The first was a private project for over £13 million on Bradbury Place for 120 brand new fully equiped student accommodation dwellings - right next to Queens University. Students were taken on a tour of every level and shown aspects of onsite labour, quantity surveying activities, project management and BIM coordinator duties. The second site saw the girls take a tour of a large community project.
Mascott Construction have built a significant portfolio of successful projects over the past 30 years. Students will be invited back to see the student accommodation project fully complete in September.
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Southern Regional College’s much anticipated Art & Design end of year showcase is back. With exhibitions from the College’s Foundation Diploma and Higher National Diploma students, the exhibition promises to ignite creativity as students prepare to showcase their final exhibits to the public.
The exhibition commences on Thursday 25th May 2023 with opening night at the College’s Newry West Campus between 06:30pm – 08:30pm. The general public are also invited to attend the exhibition between Tuesday 30th May to Thursday 1st June.
The College’s Foundation Diploma is described by Newry student Jordan Lennox “The best in terms of subject and environment.” Jordan had considered undertaking a Foundation Diploma at university but after considering options, he decided SRC was the better option as the curriculum on offer provided him with a broader experience.
The Foundation Diploma course is available in both the Newry and Lurgan campuses and helps students obtain direction on a wide variety of specialist disciplines while preparing portfolios for university interviews, or the College’s own BA (Hons) degree in Creative Imaging.
Jordan commented: “The Foundation Art Diploma at SRC is broader in scope than comparative courses at university. After investigating my options, I felt the course at SRC was a much better option and has prepared me for university a lot better than the universities’ own foundation art courses.”
Fellow student Gergana Georgieva from Banbridge aspires to become an illustrator. Gergana came to the College after completing A-levels in chemistry, physics, maths and psychology at secondary school. Whilst undergoing her A-levels, Gergana knew she wanted to return to Art, and enrolled on the Art foundation course as traditional A-levels did not inspire a career choice. Gergana has obtained a lot of practical skills on the course, from Adobe skills to critical thinking.
Gergana’s exhibition piece focus’ on designing a book cover for “Herbalism for the Modern Mind” to attract a younger audience into the practice of plant healing. Jordan prefers to provide a social commentary on current world events using a medium of collage and spraypaint.
The students are keen for everyone to come along and experience the exhibition, so head to the College’s Newry West campus to experience the exhibition.
Tammy Fullerton, Course Coordinator for Art and Design Level 3 Foundation Diploma at Southern Regional College commented “Students at the College are delighted to welcome the public to view their exhibition pieces. Students on the UAL Foundation Diploma and Higher National Diploma have worked all year to produce a wide and varied range of Art & Design outcomes in a variety of media and materials. Our students have responded to a number of themes including global warming, current political world events, plastics pollution, mental illness and plastic pollution to name but a few. Students are progressing to higher level study in SRC, Universities in Northern Ireland and England to study Graphic Design, Fine Art, Animation, Media Production and Illustration.”
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St Paul's High School U13 Girls' soccer team have won the regional IFA Electric Ireland 7-a-side football tournament.
The girls played amazingly throughout and came through a tough group consisting of Markethill High, Lagan College and Brownlow Integrated College. The team overcame Fort Hill College, Lisburn, in the semi-final to set up a place in the final against Our Lady's Grammar School.
St Paul's kept their best performance for the final and won with a convincing 3-0 scoreline.
A school spokesperson added "Massive thanks and well done to coaches Miss Rooney and Mr Caldwell. Special thank you to our team sponsor Fiships in Camlough for the amazing jerseys."
Team: Connie Havern, Danielle McParland, Sophie Rock, Niamh Muckian, Ava O'Neill, Emma Toale, Charlotte Havern, Cadhla Faloon and Anna McKeown.
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Our Lady's Grammar School U15 seven a side team have won the regional section of the Electric Ireland Super Schools Tournament held at Lurgan Town Arena.
J3/S1 in their group had 2 wins, 1 defeat and a draw but it was good enough to see them get through to the semi finals as runners up. They won their semi final and played Lagan College in the final, the team that beat them in the group stages. The girls played fantastic in the final and came away with a deserved 1 nil victory over Lagan.
The Our Lady's J1/2 squad topped their group with 3 wins out of 3 won their semi final but were unfortunate to come up against a very good and strong St Pauls team in the final who went on to beat them 2-0.
The school thanked the IFA for providing their pupils with a platform to showcase their talent.
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Southern Regional College’s Art & Design students are hosting their end of year showcase this week. The event is open to the public from Tuesday 30 May to Thursday 1 June with an incredible variety of work exhibited. The exhibits are inspired by many different factors with the environment taking a central role. Inspirations come from as varied topics as the Climate Crisis and the Orange Order. Current affairs and the plastic surgery industry also feature.
Maeve Mcmanus is exhibiting a sculpture entitled '"Swallow", "Envelop", "Dissolve"' Mcmanus explains "Through this scuptural project, I hoped to convey a tangible representation, of the physical sensations, experiences and 'Umwelt' that can sometimes accompany those who struggle with mental illness such as Depression."
Martin Moore's exhibit is entitled 'Powerless' which examines the relationship between the landscape and power.
Sheila McGaffin's installation is entitled 'Take a Seat'. McGaffin explains "We as people are forever running around, progressing, never thinking of what happens when we advance, what is left behind. Never stopping and thinking about the consequences, only looking forward. Take a Seat is to stop, think and acknowledge the Climate Crisis, rather than ignoring or completely seeing through the issue. If we do not see the issues now, eventually we will be consumed by the trash that we are actively ignoring, and we will have no one to blame but ourselves when the time comes."
Student Raymond McAteer's installation is entitled 'When Beauty Kills' which explores the plastic surgery industry. McAteeer explains "I created a narrative which depicts the addictive and progression of plastic surgery procedures. Through the use of digital processes, I indended to pay cognisance to the digital world that bombards us with images of 'perfect' bodies, which are often enhanced. These images were set in a pseudo clinical environment to evoke a sense of unease with the viewer."
Gergana Georgieva's exhibition is entitled 'Herbalism for the Modern Mind' and her brief was to design a book cover and chapter openers for the title. Georgieva explains "The client asked for a 'modern vintage' style so they could draw in an audience of young adults into the practice of plant healing."
Jordan Lennon's exhibition was entitled 'Society in Freefall' and is a social commentry on politics and current world events. "The creation of my works is a visual response to articles and research on world news and ongoing events, as well as bringing in my own views and stances on these subjects."
Kimberley Liggett's exhibition is entitled 'Is Orange in Order' and it was commissioned by a local orange lodge. Liggett explains "I was commissioned by a local lodge to create a series of mixed media pieces showing my perception of the Orange Order within my culture from a young person's perspective."
Tarry Sweet has two pieces in the exhibition 'It's Happening' and 'The Storm'. On 'It's Happening' Sweet said "This mixed media piece is a visual representation of the impact of climate crisis on our planet, as it is happening!"
Mairead Havern's exhibit is called 'Eco Anxiety' Havern said "My work is my interpretation of climate change, more specifically eco anxiety. While researching climate change I came across the term eco anxiety and I decided to explore it further"
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Students at Sacred Heart Grammar School in Newry excelled at the recent Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) Young Economist of the Year Awards in Dublin with 12 of them receiving awards.
Year 14 Student Isabella Morgan was the overall Northern Ireland winner of the PDST Young Economist of the Year Award 2023. The student was awarded for her research project entitled 'Back to the Future: Is gold providing stability to central banks in unstable times?' The project questioned the feasibility of returning to a gold standard and if there are other alternatives. It analysed the current anomaly in the economy of entering a recession while still experiencing inflation. It explored the history of gold and the reason countries have decided to turn away from gold in the past centuries. Also, it explored why countries could be relying more on it with the current geoeconomic and political conditions.
The Northern Ireland Award Runner-Up was announced as Lily Brannigan, Lucy Johnston and Orlaith Lambe, Year 11 students from the Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry. Their research essay and animation was entitled: Unheard Consequences: Unveiling the Economic Implications of Hearing Impairment in Today's Society. This explored how individuals with hearing impairments affect the growth of the global economy, and the cost burdens it has on both the individual and society. It focused on a range of aspects, from hard of hearing individuals to inequality rooted in the educational system.
Also, a number of Sacred Heart students were awarded a Silver award for their projects and were invited to the ceremony to be presented with their medals and to present their projects. They included Eleanor Dunne, Orlagh McEvoy, Lauren McSwiggan (Year 11) for their project 'The Climate-Economy Conundrum,' which investigated the implications of climate change on the global economy. Isabella Leary, Grace Mallie, and Ellen Boyle (Year 11) for their project 'Uncovering the Correlation between Crime and Poverty,' which delves into the connection between crime and poverty. Tara Reilly (Year 13) for her project 'Examining The Paradox of Peace: Is Peace Good For The War Business?' This was a commentary piece focusing on the question of defence spending in a time of non-conflict. Ella Finnegan (Year 13) for her project 'Cinematic Growth: An Economic Analysis of the Impact of Film and Media on Ireland's Tourism Industry,' which provided an economic analysis of this booming industry.
Mr McComb, the Head of Economics at the Sacred Heart Grammar School, expressed his immense pride in his young economists and commended them for their dedication, diligence, and enthusiasm. "All of the contributions from my students demonstrated a considered methodology, probing significant economic investigations through the employment of economic theory and empirical exploration. I am genuinely pleased that a vast number of students took part in the 'Young Economist of the Year' contest, as it availed them of the chance to polish their research skills and amplify their enthusiasm for economics, hence augmenting their understanding of the world that surrounds them."
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Filling the gap between the creative industry and the education sector is Southern Regional College’s brand-new degree in Creative Music and Audio Production. Southern Regional College is the only college in Northern Ireland’s further education sector equipped to deliver this course programme, subject to validation by The Open University.
The degree is open to applications from anyone currently working in the sector, from musician, songwriter, engineer, producer, technician, teacher, promoter, or manager. To launch the degree, the highly successful bluegrass and folk band Cup O’Joe returned to their Southern Regional College origins to see where it all began and check out the Armagh campus’ state of art facilities. The College boasts one of the largest recording studios in further and higher education in the UK. No expense has been spared in equipping studio space, with over £100,000 spent in bringing the latest technology to students.
Current student Rory Harte from Newry is planning to progress onto the course. Rory commented “The degree will help me establish a financially realistic path to music, from being a session musician, teacher and opening avenues while continuing to perform live music. It will enable me to develop my portfolio and equip me with the right industry contacts. In the day that I’m in College, my skills will be developed, with the remainder of the week used for doing gigs and making connections in the music industry. It’s the real next step towards getting a job in industry. I would advise anyone to come to SRC”.
Prospective students can expect to be paired with industry clients and work on projects aligned to their own talents and interests. The degree was developed following consultation with music industry professionals who identified gaps in current education provisions. Students can expect to have their skills honed as they gain relevant experience whilst networking with industry professionals; one of the many benefits to the degree.
The innovative industry centred degree will be delivered one day a week over two years. This flexibility allows students to fit study around work commitments. Plus, low tuition fees of £1,178 per year make the course practically a steal compared to full time yearly university fees of £4,700 in Northern Ireland and £9,250 in Scotland, England, or Wales.
Students will be tutored by experts in their field, namely Paddy Craig and Matt Duke. Both lecturers have a long list of musical accomplishments to their names, from musical performances, live sound engineering, studio productions and compositions for radio, TV, and films. Their work has appeared in many outlets including BBC Radio, RTE Radio, Today FM, BBC One, Channel 4 and E4. There is no doubt that students are in the best hands, with these industry experts. Something which Cup O’Joe were quick to note.
Commenting on the new degree, Paddy Craig, lecturer at Southern Regional College commented “The degree is a fantastic opportunity to develop your career in music and create something new and exciting with one of the best equipped colleges in the UK!”
Declan Legge, Producer & Artist Manager of Jealous of the Birds/Atlantic Records, further commented “The SRC music department has produced some of the best young musicians and technical crew, I have worked with in Northern Ireland. The teaching staff, many of whom still work within the music industry, help to nurture a sense of professionalism and creativity that can only help us to continue to punch above our weight.”
To find out more about the degree, visit: https://bit.ly
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