We were delighted to host a football tournament for our local primary schools recently.  Everyone  had a great day – well done to everyone who took part. Team Photos below.

Winners: St Oliver’s Primary School, Carrickrovaddy

 Runners up: St Malachy’s Primary School, Ballymoyer

St Laurence O’Toole’s Primary School, Belleeks

St Theresa’s Primary School, Tullyherron

St Oliver’s Plunkett Primary School, Forkhill

St Peter’s Primary School, Cloughreagh

St Joseph’s Primary School, Bessbrook

Some photos from the football tournament below:

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:

St Paul’s Science students demonstrating an experiment to a P7 pupil and a parent at Open Day. 

St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook held its annual Open Day on Saturday 25 January.  Prospective pupils from Primary 7 classes in our feeder primary schools and their parents visited the school in large numbers.  They were guided around the school by our current Year 8 and Year 9 students and shown the different departments, getting a flavour for what the school is about.

Principal Mr Oliver Mooney addressed parents and pupils on the day.  A video of Mr Mooney’s address is available below.

Prospective parents and pupils of St. Paul’s can watch the video to experience a virtual tour of the school.

A selection of photographs from Open Day 2012 are visible below.

Principal, Oliver Mooney and Head of Year 12, Mary McMahon congratulate pupils at St Paul’s High School, who received their GCSE results.

Ryan Cinnamond with his friends are congratulated on their results by Principal, Mr Oliver Mooney.

Pupils from St Paul’s High School are celebrating GCSE success after the exam results were announced recently.

The figures for the Bessbrook school, for pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades including English and mathematics, is 85 per cent, up from 34 per cent in 2002.

Principal of St Paul’s High School, Mr Oliver Mooney said: “These are a marvellous set of results for our students and reflect their hard work and that of the staff. I congratulate them all and look forward to seeing them go on to further success at post-16 level.”

“We are extremely pleased to have achievedsuch outstanding results results, as this can only mean that more students than ever from the school can go on to advance their studies on courses of their choice.”

Mr Mooney added, “This outstanding set of results is all the more special, considering the changes at GCSE, and the introduction of controlled assessment, which is much more rigorous than the old style coursework.”

“Our students have once again outperformed the previous cohort and deserve praise and congratulations for their hard work and efforts.”

One Year 12 student who had experienced more than most when completing his GCSE year was Ryan Cinnamond, who overcome severe medical problems to complete his exams with his year group and graduate with a full set of GCSEs at Grades A*-C.

Ryan Cinnamond, and his parents paid tribute to the staff of St Paul’s High School for their support and commitment to Ryan over the last number of months.  Ryan said, “I would not have passed without the help of St Paul’s.  If I had not had the one-to-one support from my teachers, I would have failed.”

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.