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Many Local primary schools took part in the annual Science Week at St Joseph’s High School in Newry.
Science Week gives pupils a chance to take a hands-on approach to learning about Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
Schools that participated included St Patrick’s PS, St Ronan’s PS and St Mary’s PS Barr.
Great praise was given to all the staff and pupils involved for their tremendous enthusiasm, engagement and participation.
See www.stjosephsnewry.com for more
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An announcement from NUI Galway that they will be increasing their intake of students from the North of Ireland has been welcomed by SDLP MLA Dominic Bradley.
The pilot scheme will reserve 200 places across 50 undergraduate programmes for students currently preparing their A-Levels and hoping to enter university in September 2015.
Mr Bradley said: “This scheme marks a great opportunity for A-Level students hoping to advance to higher education this autumn. There is currently a surprisingly low number of students from the North studying in the South compared to the numbers travelling to Britain to study.
“Currently the points system of the Republic’s Central Applications Office makes little allowance for those studying A-Levels. While top level students in the South may earn between 500 and 600 points, 80% of students in the North will only sit 3 A-Levels, limiting them to a maximum of 450 points. This scheme will examine a student’s 3 best A-Level results and offer places to applicants who rank highest.
“The announcement is of special significance in light of an expected reduction in the number of university spaces available in the North next year following proposed cuts in the draft budget. I commend NUI Galway for pioneering this scheme which I’m sure will prove successful and mutually beneficial. I hope it will inspire other institutions in the South to examine the allowances that they make for A-Level students who would jump at the chance to continue their education in Ireland.”
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St Joseph's Boys' High School, Newry certainly have a lot to be proud of and yesterday the 18th of December will be long remembered by all those associated with the school as they secured their first ever Ulster Colleges trophy by winning the under-16 Faul Cup.
They defeated the Belfast side Colaiste Feirste, who narrowly secured a victory against St Joseph’s in last year’s final. This year, it was hard win that took a massive whole-squad effort to come out on top following extra time. With both teams nervous in the early exchange it was St. Joseph’s who settled the quickest but struggled to turn the early domination into scores. In a low scoring half St. Joseph’s lead 0-3 to 0-1.
St. Joseph’s were dealt a hammer blow on the restart when a speculative Colaiste Feirste high ball found its way into the net. Those who feared that this would signal a change in momentum need not have worried because if anything the setback seemed to spur on the St. Joseph’s lads who raised their game and rallied, showing some excellent defensive work and build up play which lead to a series of majestic scores being registered by the hard working and industrious forwards. Colaiste Feirste registered another goal but again St Joseph’s regrouped, resulting in Ryan McAleavy dispatching the ball into the back of the net to raise the green flag. With the finish line in sight, Colaiste Feirste where not going to relinquish their title easily and dug in deep to battle back. Their resilience was rewarded with fortuitous penalty goal in the dying moments of regulation time. With the penalty dispatched St. Joseph’s mounted one last attack but could not muster the required point and so it ended 1-8 to 3-2.
So to extra time, and again St. Joseph’s were the dominant side overall with their superior fitness and desire for a historic first title helped them to push on and register a final score victory of 1-13 to 3-4. The unbridled spirit, tenacity and team effort that shone through from each and every player is testament to the ‘never-give-up’ attitude of St Joseph’s High school. This phenomenal team success will undoubtedly reverberate for a long time and the pride of staff, pupils, families and the extended school community will live long in the hearts of all associated with St Joseph’s!
Team: Aaron Osbourne, Cathal O’Reilly, Patrick O’Reilly, Caomhan Boyle, Niall Magill (0-1), Padie Magee (0-1), Micháel Dillon (0-1), Caolan Marron (0-1f), Conor Magee, Turlough Marks (0-4-1f), Cathail Byrne (0-1), Eoin Flynn (0-1), Sean Sands, Ryan McAleavey (1-3)
Subs used: Ryan Gorman for Cathail Byrne, Stephen O’Connor for Conor Magee (both in normal time). Keelan O’Reilly for Ryan McAleavy, Cathail Byrne for Eoin Flynn, Joe Mc Conville for Sean Sands (extra time)
For more images see www.stjosephsnewry.com
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Education Minister John O'Dowd has officially opened a new Play Area at St Patrick's Primary School in The Meadow, Newry.
Speaking after the event, the Minister said: “Play is a central element of learning in the early years. Children benefit greatly from playing outdoors in the fresh air during school hours – it energises and stimulates them and complements and enhances their learning in the classroom.
“This new play area at St Patrick’s Primary School is covered so that the children can enjoy it in all weathers, all year round. It also comes after the completion of other recent works at the school, funded by my Department, representing a total investment of almost £65,000.”
The Minister added: “I commend the school Principal, Governors and all the teaching and non-teaching staff for their ongoing commitment to educating local children and wish them well for the future.”
Other guests at the opening included Bishop McAreavey who blessed the £27,000 facility and Daire Hughes, Mayor, Newry and Mourne District Council.
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Pupils from Newry High School, St Colman's College, St Paul's High School and St Mark's High School were just some of 270 pupils from 10 local schools to have taken part in the southern heat of this year’s Step ‘N’ Zones competition.
The Competition organised by Invest Northern Ireland as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2014 (17–24 November), Step ‘N’ Zones is a series of events across Northern Ireland designed to inspire young people to be entrepreneurs.
The competition is aimed at students aged 11–14 (Key Stage 3) and challenges them to develop a business idea during a 2.5 hour session.
Sharon Polson of Invest NI’s Enterprise and Employment Team said: “This is the fourth year we have run this competition as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week and yet again we have been very impressed by the enthusiasm of all the students who took part.
“Entrepreneurship is vital to the future of our economy so it is important that we inspire our young people and provide them with the knowledge and confidence they need to pursue their ambition. The Step ‘N’ Zones competition is a great way to introduce young people to the idea of entrepreneurship and to help them develop skills such as communication, negotiation and problem solving.”
To help them with the process, the students pass through four Step ‘N’ Zones (Ideas & Research, Brand & Customers, Resources & Finance and Our Business) where they get expert guidance. The zones are facilitated by W5, YENI, Advantage NI, Sentinus and HDB Deign.
Following the event the students can further develop their idea before finally submitting it online in December. Up for grabs are cash prizes of up to £1000 for the winning school and up to £100 in high street vouchers for each member of the winning team.
One group from each local event will be shortlisted to compete in a final Northern Ireland-wide event on Friday 23 January 2015.
The local heat of the competition was held in the Armagh City Hotel, Armagh yesterday.
Participating schools
St. Colman's College, Newry
Newry High School
St. Paul's High School, Bessbrook
St. Mark's High School, Warrenpoint
St. Patrick's College, Dungannon
St. Mary's High School, Lurgan
St. Louis' Grammar School, Kilkeel
The Royal School Armagh
St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon
The Royal School Dungannon
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Southern Regional College were one of six regional Further Education (FE) Colleges to visit The Long Gallery at Stormont to showcase their roles in widening participation to higher education.
The event, sponsored by the Committee for Employment and Learning, was attended by key stakeholders including business and trade unions representatives, MLAs, as well as staff and students from the six regional Further Education Colleges.
A number of interactive exhibitions highlighting the range of Foundation Degrees, Higher Level Apprenticeships and Higher National Diploma courses offered by the FE sector were on display.
The exhibitions included courses from right across the priority skill sectors, namely, ICT, financial services, advanced manufacturing, life and health sciences and creative industries & digital media.
Employers were at hand to talk about their role in engaging with the Colleges. Norbrook Laboratories are involved in the Higher Level Apprenticeship in Applied Industrial Sciences (Chemical Science) offered by Southern Regional College
The event also included a musical recital from Southern Regional College students studying towards a Higher National Diploma in Music.
Robin Swann, MLA and Chair of the Employment and Learning Committee said: “On behalf of the Committee I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students and staff from our local colleges for attending today’s event and for showcasing the range, the breadth and superior level of Further Education (FE) courses available.
“The Committee is very supportive of the Department for Employment and Learning’s ‘Widening Participation Strategy’ and as such we are keen to promote the opportunities available through Further Education Colleges for those students wishing to continue towards Higher Education courses and qualifications.
“It is crucial that we ensure that all prospective students are provided with a fair and equal path towards Higher Education. Sometimes, the most able people are the least likely to participate in education and we must do all we can to encourage, promote and support their access to and involvement in Higher Education. Today’s event is an important step in highlighting the opportunities that exist in Further Education and my Committee was delighted to be involved. We look forward to working with the FE sector to promote and support future initiatives geared towards increasing participation.
Colleges Northern Ireland, the representative body for the six regional FE colleges organised the event. Gerry Campbell, their Chief Executive said “The FE sector offers an alternative route to obtaining a third level education. The sector supports over 11,000 Higher Education students annually and offers them the opportunity to progress on an undergraduate degree – in most cases this means potential progression on to the second year of such a course. In terms of success – our statistics are impressive - 37% of our higher education students are from the most deprived areas in NI and despite this we rate of 95% for retention and 91% for achievement”.
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Thomas Davis GFC Golf Classic 20th September 2014
This weekend Thomas Davis took on their very first Golf Classic. There were a few teams who took to Ashfield Golf Course on Friday evening but the majority of our teams came on the Saturday. Saturday was a perfect day, the weather was glorious and all our teams arrived on time and in style!!
The teams battled it out on the golf course, a few Rory McIlroy’s in the making…… All in all everyone enjoying the craic!!
Congratulations to Sid Fallone and his team (La Dolce Vita) on winning the overall competition, winning by only 1/2 point.
We would like to thank everyone who took part. The day was a great success for Thomas Davis GFC and we hope to have many more in the future.
A big thank you to our sponsors and to everyone who helped out over the weekend. There is always a lot of organising in events and praise goes to all our volunteers. Thank You!!!
All Ireland Draw
Congratulations to David and Kevin Lenaghan who won the All Ireland Tickets at our draw on Friday evening, I hope you both had a great day yesterday at the match.
Lotto
Lotto Winning numbers w/e 14/09/2014 23 24 25 26 No winners Next Week’s jackpot £2,800
We would like to thank everyone who week in week out takes time to sell our lotto tickets, buy our lotto tickets and just generally supports the lotto. Your help and generosity is greatly appreciated.
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Year 8 team students at the Young Enterprise “Your School Your Business” seminar held in St Mary’s High School on Friday 19th September.
Students were given an opportunity to meet new people, learn about enterprise capabilities, reflect on their own capabilities and set goals for the future.
They also learned about different jobs within the school, teaching and non-teaching and were introduced to the idea of the school as a business. The morning culminated in the groups applying their enterprising characteristics to problem solve. A fun learning experience had by all!
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Cllr Dáire Hughes, Mayor, Newry and Mourne District Council has congratulated young people from the area who received GCSE results yesterday noting the number of students achieving A*-C grades increased this year.
Commenting the Mayor said "Well done all from the Newry & Mourne area who received GCSE results today. They should be proud of the hard work they have put in towards their GSCEs. It can be an emotional time for young people and I would encourage anyone with concerns about the results they have received today to work with careers advice providers to help them make the best choices about their future."
This year:
78% of entries at GCSE here achieved grades A*-C, an increase from 76.5% in 2013.
The top grades, A*-A, were awarded to 28.2% of entrants, a slight increase from 28% in 2013.
The A* grade was awarded to 8.9% of entrants compared to 8.7% in 2013.
The overall pass rate has remained the same as last year, with 99.2% of grades awarded at A*-G.
Compared to 2013, the proportion of entries for English getting grades A*-C rose by 4.2 percentage points to 73.0%.
Compared to 2013, the proportion of entries for maths getting A*-C rose by 1.6 percentage points to 66.2%.
Department of Education Minister John O'Dowd noted that local young people have performed strongly yet again, with increases in the proportion of students achieving the A*-C grades and in those achieving the very highest A* and A grades.
Congratulating those who got results, Minister O’Dowd said: “Today is a momentous occasion in the lives of thousands of local young people. It can be a time of high emotion but it should also be a time for young people to be proud of the hard work they have put in over the last two years towards their GCSEs.
“These young people now face choices about their future. Many will decide to continue their studies, either at their current school or perhaps in a new one. For some, the best choice will be to move into further education or into training or employment.
“Whatever choice they make and whatever grades received, I offer my sincere congratulations to all who have received results today.
“Inevitably there will be some who may feel disappointed that they did not achieve the grades they had hoped for. To those I say, do not panic; this is only one chapter in your life, seek advice and move on to the next chapter. Talk to your teachers, to your parents and families and make use of the services available that can provide useful help and guidance. There is a future pathway for every young person and these services can help identify the right one for you.
“Those who do stay on at school will experience even greater choice in their post-16 studies. From the new academic year, the Entitlement Framework policy will ensure that young people have access to at least 24 courses, both general and applied, offering clear progression routes to further and higher education, training and employment.”
The Minister went on: “I am encouraged to note that attainment by local pupils has again improved in English and maths, and overall, and that our young people continue to outperform their counterparts in other jurisdictions. This is down to their hard work and commitment and the sound support and encouragement they have received from their families, friends and teachers.
“I strongly believe, however, that progress remains to be made in future years to continue to raise standards and narrow the performance gap between the highest and lowest achievers. The number of pupils leaving school without five good GCSEs, including English and maths, has fallen in recent years and still too many finish their time at school without reaching this important benchmark. It is a key commitment of mine to continue to tackle this ongoing issue.”
Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry said: “The importance of making an informed decision following exam results is imperative to effective career planning. Taking time now to explore options will pay dividends in the future. There are many opportunities available to you and I would urge you to examine these fully. My Department’s Careers Service provides professional, impartial careers help to people of all ages, tailored to individual needs. This includes assistance with CVs, job applications and interviews and advice on job trends, including industry sectors and occupations which will be important in the future.
“Young people and parents can also access a wealth of useful information through the Careers Service www.nidirect.gov.uk/careersexternal link which also contains contact details of all careers advisers throughout Northern Ireland. Alternatively you can call 0300 200 7820.
“Northern Ireland’s further education colleges also offer you the opportunity to study from a wide range of full-time courses to suit your career path, with options including A levels, GCSEs, NVQs and apprenticeships. You may want to consider an apprenticeship, where you have the opportunity to develop specialist skills, using new technology, giving you the chance to earn while you learn and gain qualifications that are recognised worldwide.
“Training for Success can also provide you with an opportunity to gain the skills necessary for employment, letting you enter at the level that matches your needs, develops your employability skills and allows you to gain nationally recognised qualifications. Further information is available on the www.nidirect.gov.uk/skills ”
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