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St Mary’s High School, Newry, has joined forces with Buttercrane Shopping Centre to create the centre’s new youth team of ‘Roving Reporters’ for its social media channels.
Over the past two months, the year 11, 12, 13 and 14 students who are studying media (aged from 15 -18) from have been carrying out interviews, sourcing stories and editing packages for social media.
Principal Mrs Margo Cosgrove said: “This is a golden opportunity to partner with the Buttercrane and the local business and retail community to explore current issues through the very popular Twitter platform.”
The girls, who operate through Twitter on social media as @SMaRT_6_, report on what is interesting to them in the local area and things they feel are of interest to their peers.
Recent topics have included Halloween, Faces of the Buttercrane as well as carrying out research on the cherry blossom trees in Newry. This in particular helped rouse the public's interest toward extending the life of the existing trees along Buttercrane Quay which leads to the centre.
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Pupils from St Joseph’s Boys High School Pioneer Centre recently made the trip to Dublin where they were awarded the Gradam na Readoiri Award from the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association.
This special award was presented to the pupils in recognition of the outstanding achievements the Pioneer Association has been responsible for, over a decade of work involving young people.
To commemorate the presentation, a special mass took place at St Joseph’s, in which representatives from local schools took part.
Mrs Una McCourt expressed great delight at the special honour and thanked all the staff who are involved in ongoing work of fundraising, supervising morning meetings and arranging extra curricular activities for the pioneer pupils.
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Last week over 60 students from a number of post primary schools across the Newry and Mourne District heard Holocaust surviver Joanna Millan tell her story.
Joanna was born Bela Rosenthal in August 1942 in Berlin, Germany. In June 1943, Bela and her mother were taken from their home and sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto. In 1944 when Bela was two, her mother contracted TB, leaving Bela orphaned and alone in the camp. Some of the women working in the kitchens would take food to the orphans. On 3rd May 1945, the Red Cross took over control of the camp and Bela was liberated by the Russians.
After liberation Bela, along with five other surviving orphans, was flown to England. After living in a series of children’s homes, Bela was adopted by a Jewish couple living in London. They decided it would be better for Bela to have a less German-sounding name so it was changed to Joanna. Joanna was told not to mention that she was Jewish or that she was born in Germany and to pretend that she was their natural daughter. Growing up and hiding her identity was hard for Joanna, but she believes that the scale of antisemitism was such that Jews were discriminated against in all sections of society, even in England. Joanna went on to marry a Jewish man and has three children and eight grandchildren. She is a magistrate and today speaks regularly about her experiences during the Holocaust.
Students from St Paul’s High School, Newtownhamilton High School, Newry High School, St Joseph’s High School, Crossmaglen, St Mary’s High School and St Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel heard the testimony of Joanna as part of a visit organised by Newry and Mourne District Council and the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET).
The Mayor of Newry and Mourne, Councillor Michael Ruane said “It is a privilege for us to welcome Joanna Millan to the District and her testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced. We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Joanna’s testimony, which is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances, we will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead.”
This event has been organised by the Council’s Good Relations section and is supported by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy Minister. It is part of a series of workshops that focus on the theme of ‘Dealing with the Past’ which seek to encourage all of our local communities to use the lessons we have learnt from the past to make a positive difference in our own lives, ensuring that we can all work together to create a shared future.
The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) was established in 1988 to educate young people from every ethnic background about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. HET works in schools, universities and in the community to raise awareness and understanding of the Holocaust, providing teacher training, an Outreach Programme for schools, teaching aids and resource materials. Among HET’s earliest achievements was ensuring that the Holocaust formed part of the National Curriculum for History. Since 2005 the Holocaust Educational Trust has received Government funding for its flagship Lessons from Auschwitz Project, which gives two young people from every school and college in the country the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. HET also played a crucial role in the establishment of Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK and continues to play a key role in the delivery of this national commemorative event.
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St Mary’s High School Newry received the Welcoming Schools Award during a presentation ceremony hosted by the SELB and the International Fund for Ireland. Since September 2012, St Mary’s has been involved in the Welcoming Schools project. The project is organised in conjunction with Southern Education and Library Board and the International Fund for Ireland.
The Welcoming Schools project aims to develop, within schools, a welcoming ethos and atmosphere built on the principles of inclusivity, respect for others and an embracing of diversity within their own school culture.
The goal is to make school a more exciting, satisfying and enriching experience for everyone – all students, all staff and all visitors.
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St Joseph’s Boys High School held their annual prize afternoon this week for Year 11 and Year 12 pupils.
Mr Hugh Mallon, school Principal, told the pupils and the other invited guests that he was delighted with the outstanding results from these students.
Mr Mallon spoke of the great efforts the Year 11 pupils had made for their Key Stage 3 examinations. He said’ these results are a fitting end to the first three years of your post primary education. I hope they have helped you realise that great things can be achieved if you do your best and work in partnership with your teachers. I also want to thank your Key Stage 3 teachers who worked exceptionally hard with you to bring about the results you have today. Key Stage 3 results at St Joseph’s Boys’ High School have improved year on year with this years results being the best overall results so far. Well done.’ Mr Mallon asked the pupils to continue to build on this KS3 success by applying themselves fully to their KS4 courses both in school and through the courses offered in collaboration with others.
Yuriy Kravchenko a former pupil and now a first year student at Jordanstown University studying Bio-Medical Engineering made the presentation of KS3 certificates to pupils now in Year 11, which also included certificates in Online Language Assessment Level 3
Special awards were given to
Reece Connell for Best English at KS3 presented by Mr Mallon,
Donal Hanna for Best Science at KS3 presented by Mrs Mary Delargy,
Niall Magill for Best Mathematics at KS3 presented by Mrs Lilian McGuigan,
Tiarnan Casey for the Best Sports Award at KS3 presented by Mr Sean Mc Guigan,
Conor Selfe for the Best ICT in KS3 Award presented by Mr Ciaran Maguire,
Niall Magill Best in Irish at KS3 presented by Mr Bradley
Conor Selfe for Best School Spirit presented by the Parents Association.
Year 12 pupils who had achieved Occupational Studies GCSE grade C in their Year 11 where presented with certificates of achievement by Mr Mallon. Yuriy Kravchenko presented Cathal Dooley, PJ Haughey, Martin McConville, Jordan Morgan, Ryan McAllister, Fintan Havern, Jack Travers, Marcin Mil, Ross Brown, Woitek Pyrchak , and Jay Lyons Magill with trophies for achieving best in 11 disciplines within Occupational Studies in their Year 11.
Mrs E Hughes made the final presentation to Year 12 pupils who had achieved the ECDL qualification in their Year 11. Mr Mallon said ‘ Well done in achieving this success. The ECDL qualification remains an excellent benchmark of IT competencies required by many businesses. ‘
Mr Mallon praised the pupils now in Year 12 for the tremendous work last year and encouraged them to continue to build on these successes achieved in Year 11 and he believed they would complete KS4 with excellent overall results..
Mr Damien Rooney from Bank of Ireland presented Niall Magill with the Best Student in KS3.
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Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland made a visit earlier today to St. Josephs’ Boys’ High School in Newry to has open the school's new £403,000 pitch.
The pitch was funded by the Northern Ireland Executive through the Department for Social Development’s Neighbourhood Renewal Investment Fund. The pitch will allow the school to enhance its physical education programme, enable its teams to play competitive matches at home for the first time and provide an additional local facility for use by the surrounding community.
Opening the new pitch facilities Minister McCausland said: “Sport develops and enriches communities and there are clear links between sporting activity and improved health and well being. The new playing pitch at St Joseph’s will provide state of the art facilities for use by the school teams, its pupils and the surrounding community. It will help to create a strong sense of local community pride and I have no doubt the young men at St Joseph’s will make good use of their new pitch.”
During his visit the Minister also announced an additional investment in schools in the Newry area. He said: “Strong numeracy and literacy skills are an essential start for any career in today’s job market. I want to commend the local Neighbourhood Renewal partnership and the SELB for taking this project forward in Newry.
“My Department has provided further funding of £123,620 for the ‘Count Read Succeed Plus’ numeracy and literacy and parental engagement programme that will be rolled out in all the schools in the Neighbourhood Renewal Area.”
He added: “The ‘Count Read Succeed Plus’ programme highlights all that is positive in Neighbourhood Renewal where partnership working involving Statutory Bodies and community sectors is helping to build better futures for our young people. It will contribute to an improvement in standards of literacy and numeracy, address the void in educational outcomes and make a real and tangible difference to the lives of our young people. ”
St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School – Principal Hugh Mallon said: “I would like to thank the Minister for coming here today to officially open our new facilities. St Joseph’s has served this area for over 50 years, making its facilities available to the local community through Neighbourhood Renewal and the Extended Schools programmes. The new football pitch will, therefore, make a major contribution towards addressing physical, social and community renewal in the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Area.”
Welcoming the news of the ‘Count Read Succeed Plus’ funding he said: “The provision if this funding will help to make a real difference to the lives of many children and young people in the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal area. It will help to build on the improvements in educational attainment that have already been made and ensure that our young people are given every opportunity to fulfil their potential.”
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All local primary school pupils have been asked to help find this year’s ‘greenest teacher’ after Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan, launched the 2013 ‘Belfast Harbour Green Teacher of the Year Award’
Given the unprecedented pressure on both global and local biodiversity, Belfast Harbour and Action Renewables have again joined forces to showcase and reward primary school teachers who are taking responsibility for the environment.
Pupils from across Northern Ireland’s 850 primary schools are being urged to help their teacher be crowned ‘Belfast Harbour Green Teacher of the Year 2013’ by telling Action Renewables, in no more than 100 words, about the hard work their teacher does to look after the environment and educate them about green issues. Prizes for the finalists will include a fun-filled challenge day at W5 with the winners receiving class tickets to Titanic Belfast.
The Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan, said "Our environment is so fragile. It needs people committed to caring for it. That is why it is so important for our schools to be eco-schools, for young people to be continually encouraged to protect our environment. I congratulate every pupil, every teacher, every school committed to actively addressing environmental issues. I am proud to see the number of 'green' projects taking place inside schools, from recycling to reducing energy to exploring more sustainable ways of living.”
“I encourage as many schools as possible to enter the Green Teacher of the Year Competition. My message to young people is simple - keep inspiring us to think of new ways to look after our environment, keep practicing good ways of looking after our environment."
Roy Adair, Belfast Harbour’s CEO, continued “The Green Teacher of the Year Award 2013 is a great opportunity to celebrate the excellent environmental work which many primary school teachers do year-in, year-out.”
“The award, now in its fifth year, aims to increase understanding about the need for nature conservation, and this year we will be putting a particular focus on Belfast Harbour’s Bird Reserve which is managed by the RSPB. This year, the classes of the teachers who make it to the final on 14th November will receive membership of the RSBP for a year, which will be a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the RSBP and the work they do in Northern Ireland.”
Nicola Murphy, Business Development Manager, Action Renewables, said “It is with increased importance that the children of today’s generation learn about environmental responsibility and importantly be accountable for it. Action Renewables are delighted to again launch the Green Teacher of the Year competition with Belfast Harbour, and through it communicate key messages which the children will hopefully put into practice throughout their lives.”
“Each year that the competition has been running we have received hundreds of entries and hope this year will not be an exception. We look forward to seeing what inventive projects this year’s competition will bring, with eco comic strips and a greenhouse made from recycled bottles being highlights from previous years”
From the hundreds of entries received, six teachers will be selected as finalists. They and their classes will be invited to take part in an all-expenses-paid fun Challenge Day at W5 on Thursday 14th November 2013. The teachers and pupils will meet Webster, Belfast Harbour’s environmental guardian, enjoy an interactive W5 show about local wildlife, work on a team challenge and take part in an ‘Ask the Expert’ session. All finalist schools will receive a goody bag and a year’s membership to the RSPB for their class.
The day will conclude with one teacher being awarded the coveted Belfast Harbour Green Teacher of the Year title by Belfast’s Lord Mayor and winning tickets for their class to The Titanic as well as a large hamper for all their hard work. There will also be prizes for the 2nd and 3rd prizes of hampers and tickets for another day out to explore W5 with their classes.
Any primary schoolchildren who think their teacher deserves the Green Teacher of the Year title should send their entry, consisting of no more than 100 words, to ‘Belfast Harbour Green Teacher of the Year 2013’, Action Renewables, Boucher Business Studios, Block C, Unit 1, Glenmachan Place, Belfast, BT12 0PL or email education@actionrenewables.co.uk by 18 October to ensure their teacher doesn’t miss out.
This year’s judging panel includes David Knott, Environmental Manager, Belfast Harbour, Laura Coey, Education Officer, Action Renewables, Kate Noble, Environmental Officer, National Trust and Catherine Gleave, Education Officer, RSPB. Last year’s winner was Mrs Jocelyn Brown from Ballycraig Primary School.
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As part of its Global Outreach, St Mary’s High School is actively working with ‘The Newry Africa Link’ to support the work of Fr Donall O’Cathain SMA in building a new primary and secondary school in North West Nigeria.
As a Rights Respecting School, St. Mary’s is keen to improve the life opportunities of children in developing countries by supporting quality education.
On Friday, Fr Donall visited St Mary’s before travelling back to Africa to attend a special assembly where he informed the school community of the progress made in building the new secondary school for the Kamberi children.
He praised the work of the students through both their fund raising and curriculum links with St Mary’s Nigeria. To date St Mary’s Newry has raised £20,000 to support both the building programme and resources of the new school.
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TV Licensing has launched an information campaign for first time students and their parents.
With A-level results confirmed this month, TV Licensing is working with UCAS to help new students and their parents from Newry understand the law around watching TV before moving into university halls or rented student accommodation. Information has been sent to 160,000 new students in UCAS confirmation packs and further resources are available for both students and parents at www.tvlicensing.co.uk/studentinfo
Just two out of five students ask their parents for advice about the TV Licence according to new research by TV Licensing*. It’s important for students and their parents to know you need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record programmes as they are being shown on TV, on any device. Anyone caught watching TV without a TV Licence can face prosecution and a fine of up to a £1,000.
As 99 per cent of students own a device capable of streaming live TV*, it’s crucial freshers understand the law so they’re covered to watch the TV they love for the academic year ahead. Getting a TV Licence is an important part of the ‘to do list’ before students leave home.
Deborah King, TV Licensing spokesperson, said “Starting university for the first time can be both exciting and daunting. With so much to think about, TV Licensing is on hand to clearly explain when a TV Licence is needed. A TV Licence can be bought online in minutes and costs £145.50 for the year. There are many ways to pay including weekly, monthly and quarterly payments.
“Finance savvy students who move out of their term time address over the summer could be eligible for a refund of around £36, as long as your licence is still valid for at least three full calendar months and you don’t need it again before it expires.”
Lee Fellows, IT and Communications Officer for the Association of Student Residential Accommodation (ASRA) says, “Students and their parents will be spending the next few weeks planning, preparing and getting ready for university life. For many students, this will mean living away from home and their first experience of financial independence in their new digs. Just as ASRA provides support for student accommodation staff, TV Licensing is on hand to offer advice and information for both students and their parents when it comes to the TV Licence.”
TV Licensing works each year with universities, student publications and money advice services to provide literature and information to students starting university.
*Research was conducted by Harris Interactive among 220 students spread across universities in the UK in May 2013.TV Licensing, students and the law
TV Licensing Information
When you need a TV Licence:
A licence is needed if you’re watching or recording television programmes at the same time as they are being shown on TV. This is true no matter what device you’re watching on (including TV sets, laptops, mobile phones) and no matter how you’re receiving the programmes (including terrestrial, satellite, cable or digital television channels or via the internet). Anyone without a valid TV Licence who watches or records television programmes as described above risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.
If you live in halls of residence and use a device to watch/record TV in your own room, you need your own separate TV Licence, it’s the law
You also need your own licence if you are sharing a house with other students and use a device to watch/record TV in your room, and your room is a separately occupied place (a separate tenancy agreement would normally indicate that this is the case).
If you have a separate tenancy agreement but a television is only being used in a communal area, then only one licence is required.
If you are sharing a house with other students and you use a device to watch/record TV in your own room, but the house can be treated as one place shared by all, then only one TV Licence is required (a joint tenancy agreement would usually be evidence that the house is a single licensable place for this purpose).
In the majority of cases, your parents’ TV Licence will not cover you. You would only be covered by your parent’s licence if:-
Your out-of-term address has a licence
AND you only use TV receiving equipment that is powered solely by its own internal batteries
AND you have not connected it to an aerial or plugged it into the mains.
Cost of TV Licence:
A colour TV Licence currently costs £145.50, and a black and white licence is £49. They will remain at these rates for the next few years as the TV Licence fee has been frozen until 2017.
TV Licensing refund for students:
If you are moving back home for the summer from university and no longer need a TV Licence over the holidays, and there are three full calendar months before your licence expires, you are entitled to a refund for the unused, quarter of your licence, as long as you don’t need it again before it expires.
You will need to ensure you buy a licence early on, by the end of September or early October, in order to allow enough time at the end of the academic year to qualify for a refund. The refund on a TV Licence bought in 2013 will be £36.37.
To arrange your refund, or for further information, simply visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk/studentinfo where you can complete an online form, or call TV Licensing on 0300 790 6090.
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