Pictured above are pupils from St Joseph’s Primary School, Meigh and Bessbrook Primary School with Sue McGrath the Science Magician

Recently at St Paul’s students from the Learning Support Centre, Rathore School, Bessbrook Primary School and St Joseph’s Primary School, Meigh, experienced a Science Magic show.

Sue Mc Grath, from the Institute of Physics and “Science2 Life”, gave the pupils a very enlightening and enjoyable experience. She made science relevant and attainable for all pupils, using materials that are easily found in our own kitchens. She captivated the children’s attention and involved them as volunteers every step of the way. All had a very enjoyable experience.

This activity was part of the PEACE (Partnership, Education and Community Enrichment) initiative set up by the Shared Education Programme. This programme aims to encourage schools to make cross-sectoral collaborations an integral part of school life, creating enhanced educational and personal development opportunities for everyone involved.

Highlights from the Science Magic Show:

Selection of Photos below:

Pupils from Rathore School, striking a pose in their recent Drama class in preparation for their upcoming play at St Paul’s High School. 

Rathore School pupils had great fun in St Paul’s recently when they popped in for a costume fitting for their upcoming play.

We’re looking forward to their production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’.  You may be able to spot the characters present in the picture above which include: Belle, the Beast, Gaston, Gaston’s Accomplice, the ugly sisters, The woodcutter and Lumiere.

The play will begin with rehearsals within the next few weeks as part of the ongoing collaboration between St Paul’s High School and Rathore School.

 Pupils from St Paul’s and Newtownhamilton High School along with Newtownhamilton High School teacher, Mr David Sloan and Gerry Hughes from Sentinus.

On Friday 7^th of October, Year 10 pupils from St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook and Newtownhamilton High School, participated in an Engineering Day with Science and Technology company, Sentinus. The theme of the day was flight.

The pupils worked in mixed groups, designing and building various types of flying machines.

This activity was part of the PEACE (Partnership, Education and community Enrichment) Initiative set up by the Shared Education Programme.

This programme aims to encourage school to make cross-sectoral collaborations an integral part of school life, creating enhanced educational and personal development opportunities for everyone involved.

Mr Martin Canavan and students from St Paul’s High School, along with Mrs Caroline Alexander and students from Newtownhamilton High School, who are working together as part of the Shared Education Programme.

St Paul’s High School Bessbrook and Newtownhamilton High School are continuing their partnership links through the Sharing Education Partnership.   Students and staff from both schools are working closely cross community projects to promote mutual understanding.

This is the second year of the programme and involves Year 9 pupils from both schools. The work they will carry out will hopefully be of benefit to themselves and also to the wider community in South Armagh.

As part of the Sharing Education Project (SEP) the Learning for Life and Work departments within St Paul’s High School and Newtownhamilton High School have been working together on a unit of work entitled My Cultural Identity over the past year. The programme has been designed by staff in both schools to encourage students to investigate aspects of our cultural identity and to promote a greater understanding of the unique traditions and customs that exist within all communities in Northern Ireland.

On Friday 15^th April the culmination of the first year of the collaborative project was marked by a Cultural Identity Show in St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook. This event provided students with a platform to showcase their talents. The performances included Irish and Ulster-Scots dancing, traditional instrumental music performances as well as a celebration of an array of time-honoured songs from both cultural backgrounds.

The over-riding success of the event has been the opportunity for staff and students from both schools to work together to enhance not only the curricular aspirations of the project but moreover to continue to forge meaningful and lasting relationships between the two partners.

Pictured is Mrs Noella Murray (SEP Co-ordinator), Ms Joanna Ferris (Teacher in Newtownhamilton High School), Mr Mark Baker (SEP - QUB), Mrs Una McNulty (Vice-principal of St Paul's H.S), Mr Oliver Mooney (Principal of St Paul's H.S), Mr Garnet Mullan (Principal of Newtownhamilton H.S), Ms Clare Maguire (LLW Co-ordinator St Paul's H.S), Ms Joanne Leonard (Teacher in St Paul's H.S) along with a group of students who took part in the Diversity Celebration Show

As part of the Sharing Education Programme (SEP), St Paul’s High School and Newtownhamilton High School have begun a collaborative programme to create a joint rugby team.  This is a first for the South Armagh area and involves students in Key Stage Three from both partner schools working together to develop their interpersonal and team building skills.

Over the course of the academic year, thirty students have been participating in a training programme facilitated by Mr Jonathan Black, Newtownhamilton High School, and Mr Martin Rafferty, St Paul’s High School.

On Wednesday 6th April the team enjoyed an intensive training session hosted by the Acton Adventure Centre at Poyntzpass, before returning to St Paul’s to compete in a mini-tournament.

The tournament allowed the two schools an opportunity to launch their new strip, which was designed by students from both schools, and bearing the logo of their proud sponsors CR Sports, Newry Physio & Sports Injuries Clinic and Mc Cartan, Mc Lornan and Associates Dental Surgery Bessbrook.

The new team are looking forward to competing against other local rubgy teams in the near future.

Principal of St Paul’s High School, Mr Oliver Mooney, said that he was “delighted to see the new joint rugby team compete in their first tournament.”  Mr Mooney added, “This initiative is an integral element of our PEACE project, and advances the aims and objectives of our programme.  We now can see the project coming alive as our students continue to make real and lasting friendships.”

Mr Garnet Mullan, Principal of Newtownhamilton High School, paid tribute to the contribution of the students who have given up their time to become involved in the rugby team and to the staff of Newtownhamilton High School, and St Paul’s High School, who have shown dedication and commitment to the spirit of the SEP programme.

The launch of an exciting new multimedia local heritage project was celebrated at St Paul’s High School recently.  ‘Living in the View of Slieve Gullion’ is a collaborative project between the Bessbrook post-primary school, and six of its partner primary schools which showcases the many aspects of the shared local history between the younger and older pupils.

The project was funded as an Extended Schools initiative and involved close collaboration between the seven schools, St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook, Ballymoyer Primary School, St Malachy’s Primary School, Camlough, Drumilly Primary School, St Joseph’s Primary School, Bessbrook, St Peter’s Primary School, Cloughreagh and St Joseph’s Primary School, Meigh.

Speaking at the launch of the project, recently retired Principal of St Joseph’s Primary School, Meigh, Mr Brian McKinley said, “This was a project based on cultural heritage, that combined the best of the Revised Curriculum, involved generations working together within our communities and involved recording the heritage of each area to be presented in an accessible format for future generations.”

“The main aim was to draw together information from several communities into a single resource which would promote and nurture awareness of the past.  We hope that this pack will be viewed as a showcase of places of interest in the area and will hopefully motivate people to come and visit these sites, looking at them from a fresh perspective.”

Principal of St Paul’s High School, Mr Oliver Mooney, congratulated the pupils and their teachers for their effort and commitment in producing such a valuable resource.  Mr Mooney said, “Our cultural heritage defines who we are, and it is our responsibility to maintain and to pass it on.  This multimedia project will assist in that responsibility and educate and inform generations to come”.

Chairman of Governors of St Paul’s High School, and Principal of St Peter’s Primary School, Cloughreagh, Mr John Campbell, paid tribute to the hard work of the team involved in the production of the multimedia project and added that he hoped the material would be widely available in the local community.

The project was co-ordinated by Bursar at St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook, Mrs Sharon Cowan and designed and edited by Mrs Siobhán O’Hare, assisted by Mr Conor Starrs.

The project was launched in the presence of the pupils from the primary schools involved, as well as their parents, teachers, and members of local history and heritage groups, and the Mayor of Newry & Mourne District Council, Councillor Mick Murphy, as well as local councillors.

Read the interactive online version of ‘Living in the View of Slieve Gullion’ by turning the pages below left or right.

If you’d like to receive a copy of ‘Living in the View of Slieve Gullion’ please contact St Paul’s on (028) 3083 0309 or emailing us by clicking here.

The recent launch of an innovative cross-community inter-school initiative was celebrated in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry.

Partnership for Educational and Community Enrichment (PEACE) in South Armagh is a collaborative programme which is funded by the Shared Education Programme (SEP).

SEP  is a three year programme which promotes reconciliation by facilitating collaboration and sharing between schools across Northern Ireland. The programme is funded by the International Fund for Ireland and Atlantic Philanthropies and is being managed by Queen’s University Belfast.

The partners involved in the PEACE Initiative include St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook  who will lead and manage the programme as host school, Newtownhamilton High School, Rathore School for Children with Special Educational Needs, Bessbrook Primary School, St Joseph’s Primary School, Meigh and St Joseph’s Primary School, Bessbrook.

The core aim of PEACE is to promote a learning environment to ensure that all students irrespective of academic or physical ability are respected and valued within a framework designed to promote the ethos of collaboration across all communities within South Armagh. It is our intention to create a culture of inclusivity whereby students and teachers from a range of religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds come together to enhance their educational experiences and develop a new mindset that embraces diversity.

Watch our specially commissioned PEACE Launch Video.

Students from all of the partner schools will be involved in a range of weekly activities across all areas of learning including, Performing Arts, Sport, Learning for Life and Work, Science and Modern Languages.

Mr Oliver Mooney, Principal of St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook conveyed his appreciation for the support of each of the partner principals and their respective Board of Governors. He commended their commitment to our targets of inclusion for all and ensuring that all pupils learn to respect and value each other’s traditions.

Pictured above is Mr Oliver Mooney (Principal of St Paul’s High School), Mr Garnet Mullan (Principal of Newtownhamilton High School), Mr Raymond Cassidy, (Principal of Rathore School for Children with Special Educational Needs), Mr Albert Maguire (Principal of Bessbrook Primary School), Mrs Sheila McArdle (Principal of St Joseph’s P.S, Bessbrook),  Mr Brian McKinley (Principal of St Josephs P.S, Meigh),  Mrs Una McNulty (Vice Principal of St Paul’s High School) and Mrs Noella Murray (SEP Co-ordinator)

Throughout this year, Year 8 students from St. Paul’s High School along with, primary 7 pupils from Bessbrook Primary School; St.Joseph’s Primary School, Meigh; St. Malachy’s Primary School, Ballymoyer and St. Peter’s Primary School Cloughrea, worked jointly on a project organised by Science Expressions and sponsored by Astrazeneca. The theme we chose as a group was “Building Bridges”.

Science Expressions is a curriculum support programme related to science KS2 / KS3 transition. It is designed to enhance the enjoyment and achievement of key stages 2 and 3 pupils through enabling outside experts to work with primary pupils in the areas of health education and engineering and enabling primary and secondary pupils to present their science and technology to their peers at pupil conferences and exhibitions.

For the pupils taking part in this project it;

-  made science more relevant, exciting and enjoyable,

-  raised student motivation and interest in science,

-  improved pupils’ achievement in thinking skills and personal capabilities,

-  eased the transition from primary to secondary education and

-  showed how school science is related to the outside world, and possible careers.

For the teachers taking part in this project it:

-  enabled primary and secondary teachers to understand one another’s concerns,

-  helped teachers to shift their emphasis from content to process learning,

-  enhanced teachers’ management skills in unfamiliar situations

-  provided an opportunity for continuing professional development (CPD) and

-  provided resources to enable teachers to implement the revised curriculum.

The climax of the year was a day in W5 presenting all of the work that was carried out by the schools throughout the year. Our presentation consisted of a display of all of our work including numerous brilliantly made model bridges, a five minute film outlining our activities and a drama based on “The Billy Goats Gruff”. The pupils involved from all of the schools were outstanding and did all of our schools proud.

On Friday 28^th May 2010 Year 8 pupils, working with their Science and English teachers, took part in a Science In The News project. It was a day jammed packed with fun filled activities. The “collapsed” timetable day gave pupils the opportunity to extend their knowledge, enrich their understanding, enhance their skills and develop both their general literacy and their scientific literacy.

Many of the pressing issues confronting our society have a scientific dimension.  It is the case that most people gain their information about these matters from the media.

The ‘Science In The News’ project promotes media awareness in general and an awareness of Science in the news in particular.

In an action packed day pupils investigated how the media helps inform, influence and persuade the public about Science and Science-related issues. In short the key messages of the day were to “Be Media Savvy, Not A Media Zombie!” and “Question What You Read!”

Pupils were involved in “hands on” activities, using ICT to design and produce comic strips, podcasts and a television advertisement to inform 11 and 12 year olds about possible health risks associated with mobile phones.

Dr Billy McClune and Dr Joy Alexander from the School of Education were in attendance as was Theresa Duffy from our partner in education, Norbrook Pharmaceuticals Worldwide. Dr Joy Alexander said how interesting and enjoyable the day was, “We were very impressed to see Year 8 pupils spending the day learning from the media about possible dangers of mobile phones and then producing impressive ICT/media texts on this topic.”

Comic Life for Science in the News from St Paul's Bessbrook on Vimeo.