The Spring Concert was held on the evening of Wednesday, 26 March. A large and appreciative audience listened to performances by the orchestra, choirs, small ensembles and the excellent sixth form soloists - Arden Armstrong, Sophie Craig, Emma Irwin, Lauren Keenan and Ashleigh Watson. The Music Department would like to say a big thank you to all the students and staff who worked so hard to make this such a successful occasion! In April members of SU enjoyed a fantastic weekend away at White Park Bay, where they looked in greater depth at the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. They discussed the character of Ruth and applications to the lives of women today. On the Saturday afternoon the group went to Whiterocks beach, and were challenged to create sand sculptures of famous cartoon characters; on the Saturday evening the Upper Sixth organised a series of team challenges and hilarious games. Once again, the weekend was a great time for everyone who attended to relax and have fun together! In the first two weeks after half term we welcomed representatives from several universities who gave presentations to our Lower Sixth girls and spoke to careers staff. These included speakers from Queen’s, the University of Leicester, the Scottish University Tour (which represented the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot Watt, Strathclyde and Stirling) and Scotland’s Modern Universities Tour (which represented Abertay Dundee, Edinburgh Napier, Queen Margaret and the University of the West of Scotland). Lower Sixth pupils attended the UCAS Higher Education Convention at the King’s Hall Pavilions, which gave our girls the opportunity to attend a range of seminars (including the areas of applying through UCAS and Student Finance), find information on courses and careers which are of interest to them and to speak to many university representatives from NI, the rest of the UK and Ireland and further afield. Mrs Hearst had a series of question and answer sessions with Form Three regarding GCSE subject choice and she also talked to Lower Sixth about writing effective personal statements. The career talks for Form Five continued, and we had presentations on the following areas – Creative Industries (specifically in film, TV and radio), Psychology, Business and Careers in Sport. We also had a talk from the University of Ulster on Stratified Medicine. Many girls attended careers events outside school. Several girls attended the Flavour of Psychology event organised by the British Psychological Society while others attended a Dentistry Open Day at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Four students attended a Law Conference at Methodist College and two of these pupils went on to attend a trip to the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast. One pupil also attended a careers event organised by Arthur Cox. Two Lower Sixth girls attended a Mental Health Nursing Open Day at Knockbracken and another attended a Radiotherapy Open Day at the Cancer Centre of the Belfast City Hospital. Two Lower Sixth girls attended the Lagan Valley Oxbridge Conference. All Upper Sixth attended a presentation of Student Finance so that the girls are aware of the financial implications of going on to higher education. Finally, Lower Sixth girls interested in applying for medical and dentistry courses attended a session in the careers suite so that their Upper Sixth counterparts could give advice and recount their experiences in applying for these high demand courses. The Belfast Telegraph Student Week A-level English Literature students Kate Umphray and Rachael Adamson are joining the editorial team of The Belfast Telegraph for its student week. Together with pupils from St Patrick’s Grammar, Armagh and Belfast Boys’ Model School, Kate and Rachael will be interviewing politicians, writing stories and presenting the views of young people in Northern Ireland.
Transcript
The Spring Concert was held on the evening of Wednesday, 26 March. A large and appreciative audience listened to performances by the orchestra, choirs, small ensembles and the excellent sixth form soloists - Arden Armstrong, Sophie Craig, Emma Irwin, Lauren Keenan and Ashleigh Watson. The Music Department would like to say a big thank you to all the students and staff who worked so hard to make this such a successful occasion!
In April members of SU enjoyed a fantastic weekend away at White Park Bay, where they looked in greater depth at the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. They discussed the character of Ruth and applications to the lives of women today. On the Saturday afternoon the group went to Whiterocks beach, and were challenged to create sand sculptures of famous cartoon characters; on the Saturday evening the Upper Sixth organised a series of team challenges and hilarious games. Once again, the weekend was a great time for everyone who attended to relax and have fun together!
In the first two weeks after half term we welcomed representatives from several universities who gave presentations to our Lower Sixth girls and spoke to careers staff. These included speakers from Queen’s, the University of Leicester, the Scottish University Tour (which represented the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot Watt, Strathclyde and Stirling) and Scotland’s Modern Universities Tour (which represented Abertay Dundee, Edinburgh Napier, Queen Margaret and the University of the West of Scotland). Lower Sixth pupils attended the UCAS Higher Education Convention at the King’s Hall Pavilions, which gave our girls the opportunity to attend a range of seminars (including the areas of applying through UCAS and Student Finance), find information on courses and careers which are of interest to them and to speak to many university representatives from NI, the rest of the UK and Ireland and further afield. Mrs Hearst had a series of question and answer sessions with Form Three regarding GCSE subject choice and she also talked to Lower Sixth about writing effective personal statements. The career talks for Form Five continued, and we had presentations on the following areas – Creative Industries (specifically in film, TV and radio), Psychology, Business and Careers in Sport. We also had a talk from the University of Ulster on Stratified Medicine. Many girls attended careers events outside school. Several girls attended the Flavour of Psychology event organised by the British Psychological Society while others attended a Dentistry Open Day at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Four students attended a Law Conference at Methodist College and two of these pupils went on to attend a trip to the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast. One pupil also attended a careers event organised by Arthur Cox. Two Lower Sixth girls attended a Mental Health Nursing Open Day at Knockbracken and another attended a Radiotherapy Open Day at the Cancer Centre of the Belfast City Hospital. Two Lower Sixth girls attended the Lagan Valley Oxbridge Conference. All Upper Sixth attended a presentation of Student Finance so that the girls are aware of the financial implications of going on to higher education. Finally, Lower Sixth girls interested in applying for medical and dentistry courses attended a session in the careers suite so that their Upper Sixth counterparts could give advice and recount their experiences in applying for these high demand courses.
The Belfast Telegraph Student Week A-level English Literature students Kate Umphray and Rachael Adamson are joining the editorial team of The Belfast Telegraph for its student week. Together with pupils from St Patrick’s Grammar, Armagh and Belfast Boys’ Model School, Kate and Rachael will be interviewing politicians, writing stories and presenting the views of young people in Northern Ireland.
Form 3H, in association with two student midwives from Queen’s University, raised money to buy medical supplies for a maternity unit in Malawi. Several pupils in the class appealed to the knitters in their family
and brought in bags full of baby bonnets. We raised over £400 and the lucky recipient of our much coveted Leo the lion was Emma Carson. Supplies already purchased include a baby CPR dummy, mosquito nets, soap, and toys for the children’s ward to replace those destroyed by weather. Thank you to all who contributed to this fantastic result, and Mr Heaney gives a personal thanks to the excellent work of 3H in making this such a success.
Form 2S raised £473.91 for Diabetes UK through their
form effort in the week before the February half-term. Thank you to everyone who help raise this great total!
Form 3 Geographers raised an incredible £1,548 for Stand By Me by
taking part in Walk a Mile in My Shoes. The pupils walked 4 laps around the hockey pitches, carrying jerry cans containing water, empathising with those across the world who do this on a daily basis. The money will help buy water filters for families across Africa.
Rosie Park, 1T, who was placed first in the Mossgrove Singing Festival.
Amy Darragh, 4A, who won two Cups in a Singing Competition.
Lauren Shankey, 2T, who entered the Strand Stars Dance Competition as part of a group called Clarity and got through to the next stage of the competition.
Hannah McCann, 2H, who abseiled down the Europa Hotel on 23 March in aid of the Cancer Fund for Children NI. Hannah raised over £100.
Mia Wheatley, Olivia Nelson and Rose Templeton, 2H, who all successfully auditioned for the Opera House Production of Guys and Dolls.
Molly Longstaff, 2H, who won five Cups in the Bangor Drama Festival and was best overall Junior Competitor.
Rebecca Black, Jordan Hineson, Sarah McTaggart, Keely Whitla and Zara Wilson, 2R, who were NICMAC Intermediate Gold Championship winners.
Eve McDowell, 2R, who passed her Grade Four Piano Examination.
Jennifer Scott ,3H, who passed her Highland Dance Gold Examination and who was ‘highly commended’.
Brooke Robinson, 1A, who cycled 14 miles with the Scouts.
Freya Axten, 1A, who came 35th in the Triathlon at the championships in Milton Keynes. Freya has also qualified to compete at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.
Rebecca Welsh, 1A, who was highly commended in her Scottish Dancing Examination.
Hannah Hornsby, 1A, who gained a platinum distinction in her Tap and Modern Dance Examination.
Alice Huddleston, 1H, who will be performing in Sleeping Beauty with the English Youth Ballet at the Opera House on 25 & 26 April.
Sophie Taylor, U6S, who passed her Grade Seven Ballet Examination with Merit.
Lucy Spratt, U6S, who sat her Grade Eight Ballet Examination; we wish her luck as she waits for her results.
Ellen Ahern, U6S, who was named as Employee of the Year, 2013 at McDonald’s.
Library Effort The library’s charity effort this year managed to raise £388 for Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, through our staff coffee morning and pupil café. Many thanks to all the library assistants who took part in this event, and to the staff and pupils who supported it.
World Book Day World Book Day was celebrated throughout the world on 6 March, and Strathearn library took the opportunity to promote all the new books recently acquired. There was also a photo quiz where girls had to identify some mystery readers - members of staff reading books which covered their faces! This proved to be a more difficult task than some expected and some detective work was needed to find the identity of some. Sharp observation skills were needed to find the elements in the wordsearch based on Simon Mayo’s book Itch, and hopefully the girls’ scientific knowledge improved at the same time!
Buon Viaggio… to all of the staff and pupils who are leaving
for Italy on 9 April!
Gemma Burnside of the Eco-Committee entered our school for the Consumer Council Water Champions Award which we won! Last week we were presented with a certificate stating that Strathearn School has taken steps to reduce the environmental impact and save money by reducing water use!
Emma Watson, 5H, has qualified for the Junior European Championships in this challenging three-sport event. She finished an impressive Runner-Up in the Irish event in Dublin and is now destined to travel to Holland in May to compete at European level.
On 27 February, all five Form Two classes went on a trip to the synagogue in North Belfast as part of our study of Judaism. When we arrived at the synagogue we saw that it was shaped like the Star of David and at the front we noticed the Ark – double doors behind which the Jewish scrolls are kept. The scrolls in the Ark are called the Torah. It takes about one year for each scroll to be handwritten and is written on parchment in Hebrew. The scrolls also have to be sewn together by hand. The Torah is so special that it is not allowed to be touched and when Jews read from it they use a special pointer called a ‘yad’. We noticed that above the Ark was a light, which symbolised the ever-burning lamp showing that God is always present. We were shown around the synagogue by Dr Litvack who is part of the Jewish community in Belfast, so he was able to tell us a lot about the history of the synagogue and how a service runs. We learnt a lot on our visit, including that the Jewish community in Belfast now consists of only three hundred people and only one hundred of them worship at the Belfast synagogue. He also explained to us the challenges of being a Jew in Belfast, which included the fact there is no Jewish school, kosher food has to be imported from Manchester and when they need time off for religious holidays it was sometimes hard to arrange. We really enjoyed our trip to the synagogue, as it was very informative and interesting to listen to and learn about a different culture and way of worship.
Nicole Lawther & Tara Kane, 2T
Sisters Heidi and Tess McMillen (IT & 2S) joined UVI pupils Hannah King and Jenna Kerr on the Strathearn Golf Team at Royal Portrush Golf Club on 14 March for the Ulster round of the Irish Schools’ Championship. Conditions seemed fair at the clubhouse but out on the course they were blustery and fierce with the girls facing all the challenges associated with links golf other than rain. Completing 18 holes was a triumph in itself but congratulations to Jenna in particular, as she finished strongly to record an impressive 35 points. Sadly, this was just 1 point shy of securing a prize, but still very commendable.
Strathearn Intermediate Team competed at the Northern Ireland Creative Movement and Aerobics Content Championships in March. The girls met weekly at after-school rehearsals to perfect a routine choreographed by Katie Brown, L6T, to Michael Jackson’s, They Don’t Care About Us. On the day of the competition the girls used their nerves and excitement to give a powerful and impressive performance, which received high praise from both audience members and other competitors. The team were thrilled to be placed first in one of the toughest Intermediate Sections yet, becoming Northern Ireland Intermediate Champions for the second year in a row! The girls should be commended on their hard work and commitment, which certainly paid off.
On 8 March, the Strathearn Junior Dance Team competed in the NICMAC (Northern Ireland Creative Movement and Aerobic Content Championship) Competition, which was hosted by Lisburn Leisureplex. The team consisted of 13 girls selected by auditions from forms one to three and competed in the junior category of competition against 12 strong teams from across Northern Ireland, including Bloomfield, the reigning Northern Ireland and Ulster Dance Team Champions. The girls did a brilliant three-minute performance, choreographed by Shannon Armour and Clara Kerr, to a medley of music themed around criminals. The team was placed second overall in the junior category - a great reward after the five months of hard work from all the girls. The competition day was filled with nerves and excitement and the whole team was thrilled to achieve the silver medal. We are now more determined than ever to go for gold in 2015!
Good luck to Hannah Craig, Jemma Gillan and Emma McGugan when they play in the Irish Schools’ Squash Championships in Galway on 11 April!
5 May: Bank Holiday 9 May: Duke of Edinburgh Practice Expedition 14-23 May: School Examinations for Forms 1-4 23 May: School closes 12.50pm 26 May: Exceptional Closure 12 June: Form 2 Parents’ Consultation (3-5pm) 18 June: Form 4 Parents’ Consultation (1.50-4.30pm) 19 June: Induction Evening (New Form One)
SCHOOL RETURNS ON 28 APRIL AT 8.45AM
Please note that after school practices and competitions for both Athletics and Tennis are now well under way. All interested pupils should check details on the relevant notice boards in the Sports Hall.
On 16 March, Shannon Armour and Hannah Eakin competed in the Northern Ireland Schools’ Acrobatic and Tumbling Championships, which were held in Banbridge Leisure Centre. The girls faced tough competition from all over Northern Ireland with their modern style Bongo Song routine which they had practised all year. They performed exceptionally well to become the overall Northern Ireland Champions in the U19 Pairs category, and won Strathearn a gold medal. They received the highest score of the whole competition and qualified to compete in the British Championships in May, which are being held in Stoke-on-Trent. The girls have thoroughly enjoyed competing for Strathearn and look forward to representing their school once again in May.
Strathearn athletes combined with girls from Bloomfield Collegiate to form the East Belfast Teams at U13 and U15 levels. The teams then competed in the Ulster Sports Hall Athletics final in March at the Meadowbank Arena in Magherafelt. Medal winners in the U13 Team individual events were Molly Longstaff, 2nd place in the 2 Lap Race, Olivia Nelson 1st in the 4 Lap Race and the Speed Bounce Race and Katie Wills 2nd place in the 6 Lap Race with Murphy Miller in 3rd place. Sian Anderson was 3rd in the Vertical Jump, and Kerry Annett 2nd in the Triple Jump. Arianne Whiteside was placed in the High Jump. In the Obstacle Relay the U13 Team of Kerry Annett, Sian Anderson and Katie Wills was placed 3rd. Also at U13 level, Lauren Shankey, Kerry Annett, Sian Anderson and Claire Whiteside came 3rd in the 4x1 Lap Relay. In the U15 event, Eve Truesdale, Bonnie Ramsay and Hannah Craig came 3rd in the 4x2 Lap Relay. Jessica Leeman and Kate Farrelly came 3rd in the 8 lap Paarlauf Relay. Kate also finished 1st in the Vertical Jump, 2nd in the Shot and 2nd in the 2 Lap Race. This then placed Kate in 2nd place overall in the individual competition. Well done, girls!
HOCKEY – 2A XI WIN McDOWELL CUP The 2A XI, captained by Isla Lockhart, rounded off an excellent season by winning the McDowell Cup. In the semi-final the team played Friends’ School, Lisburn and dictated play from the outset. Aimee Irwin scored two excellent goals, and Gabrielle Park followed up with a tremendous third goal - all from open play, resulting in a thoroughly deserved 3-1 victory! On 12 March, the team then faced the Royal School, Armagh in the final of the McDowell Cup. With Strathearn dominating play, the girls were 1-0 up at half-time, and continuing their hard work they secured another goal to take a 2-0 lead at the start of the second half, with goals again from Aimee and Gabrielle. However, Armagh came back fighting and, with a couple of errors from Strathearn, they managed to tie the score at 2-2 until the final whistle. Strathearn was the stronger team in extra time and with only two minutes left, Strathearn grabbed the victory as Gabrielle Park got the ball in the back of the net: final score 3-2. Congratulations to the 2A XI on an excellent season! In the Junior Plate quarter-final, the U14A were drawn away against a very strong Ballyclare High School. Strathearn’s defence was outstanding in the first half, particularly with Jordyn Spence in goal and at half-time the score stood 1-0 to Ballyclare. In the second half, Strathearn managed to offer more in attack, but Ballyclare added to their score to finally win the match 3-0. The U12 Team experienced their first tournament when they played at Grosvenor Grammar School. The squad gave a very good account of themselves, and just narrowly failed to win their section. The future certainly looks bright with this group of players as the improvement, interest and enthusiasm shown at practice throughout the year has been great.
Individual Hockey Successes Well done to Florence Ogonda, Shannon Booth, Abby Larmour, Erin Larmour, Isla Lockhart, Jemma Gillan and Kate Farrelly, who were nominated for U17 Belfast Area Board Trials. Congratulations to Florence, Shannon and Abby who were selected for the U17 Belfast Area Board Team. Further congratulations to Abby Larmour, who has been selected to attend Ulster U18 Trials following the Area Board Tournament. Also well done to Sarah Brown, Alex Gillan, Bonnie Ramsay, Victoria Hamilton and Ailie McKinty, who were nominated for U15 Belfast Area Board Trials. Congratulations to Sarah Brown, who was selected for the U15 Belfast Area Board Team, from which she was further selected to attend Ulster U16 Trials.
Inter-House Hockey (Junior – 3 March, Senior – 18 March, Form 1 – 25 March)
At the Irish Schools’ Cross-Country Championships at Cork IT on 8 March, the Minor Team continued to show their strength against the best in the country, finishing a very commendable 2nd place overall. Olivia Nelson ran a superb race and brought home the individual silver medal as well as the team silver. The other members of the team were Sam McCormick 31st, Erin McConnell 34th, Sophie Williams 41st, Zoe Hepworth and Arianne Whiteside. Well done girls on this tremendous achievement!
The girls were back in action at the Belfast Cross-Country Challenge on 3 April in Ormeau Park where both the Form 1 and 2 Cross-Country Teams dominated their races and won the Form 1 and 2 Belfast Cross-Country Challenge Cups.
Individually in the Form 1 race: Murphy Miller 1st; Harriet Platt 2nd; Aimee Stitt 5th; Anna McKibbin 6th; Grace Ruding 9th; Megan Adair 11th.
Individually in the Form 2 race: Olivia Nelson 1st; Erin McConnell 2nd; Sam McCormick 3rd; Zoe Hepworth 10th; Arianne Whiteside 22nd.
This has been a very successful Cross-Country season for Strathearn and the girls have worked extremely hard in some difficult conditions over different courses, and so should be very proud of their achievements. Well done!
Congratulations to... Kate Farrelly, 4A, who was placed third in Ireland in the 80m hurdles. Jessica McCleery, L6S, who is the Northern Ireland Archery Champion for U18 Freestyle, having won a recent competition in Banbridge. Ruby Baxter, 2T, who was placed second in a Dressage Competition. Emma McGugan, 1H, who competed in the Five Nations Squash Championships in Dublin in March; the team was placed second.
