SHS Newsletter
Summer Edition September 2016
In a League of
their Own…
The final event of the 2015-2016 school year saw
Sacred Heart staff gather to honour two very popular
colleagues; Mrs Mary Friel and Dr. Stephanie Nelson.
Both spoke of humour, fondness and sincerity of their time in
school and took time to thank everyone who had helped and
supported them, both personally and professionally, over a total
of 49 years.
During a special evening of celebration held in the Golf Club Inn
on Wednesday 29th June, Sr. Julie McGoldrick presented Mary
and Stephanie with tokens of appreciation and wished them well
in the coming year.
‘Retirement - that forever Friday feeling! Enjoy!’
10
Telephone: 028 3026 4632 / Visit:www.shsnewry.com
Dear Reader,
Contents:
Regulars Page
Design & Technology Drama
English
Geography
Government & Politics
History
Home Economics ICT
Languages
Mathematics
Music Religion Science
Sport
Theatre Studies
29
17
24
25
06
18 - 19
24
26
20 - 21
23
06
13
26 - 27
07 - 12
30
Features
A Fond Farewell
Best Wishes
Class Outside Day
Charity
Eco Committee
Golden Girls
Linking Generations
Love is in the air
Mini Company
Moving on
New Additions
New Build
Quiz Club
School App Launch
School Bank
Success Former Students
Ski Trip
Year 10 Paris Trip
Young Enterprise
2
30
03
22
14 - 15
25
16
05
03
23
03
02
22 & 31
04
16
03
24
28
20
30
Summer is finally here and once again it is
time to browse through the pages of your SHS
newsletter.
We have compiled a vast collection of events,
trips and memorable occasions during terms
two and three of 2016. This would not be
successful without your support.
Many thanks to everyone involved and enjoy
the summer holidays!
To those of you who are leaving, we wish
you all happiness and success in your future
endeavours.
Mrs Catherine Kearney ~ Editor
& Magazine Committee
New Additions…
Congratulations to Mrs Carmel McKinley and her
husband Peter, on the birth of their baby daughter,
Isabella and also to Mrs Annemarie McKevitt, her
husband Danny,big sisters and brother,Annabelle,
Lucy and Daniel on the birth of their baby son,
Luke.
Let’s hope the sleepless nights are few and far
between!
Aislinn Fegan recipient of a BDO
Scholarship, pictured with her dad and
teacher, Mrs Gribben.
SHS Newsletter
School Bank
During this year as bank manager, I have learnt
what it was like to work together with my peers
to run the school bank. From the beginning, we
had various decisions to make such as naming
our bank, trying to draw new customers in, while
maintaining our customers who already hold
accounts.
We decided to educate the new Year 8s on the importance
of holding a bank account and encouraged them to set one
up for healthy savings. We had a successful launch day in
November where we launched ourselves as SO$ bank and
gained many new members – with the help of our chocolate
fountain.
Throughout the year, we held fundraising events in the
school such as the Valentine’s Love Board and we raffled
a pamper hamper and an Avicii ticket. Throughout the year
we earned around £200 for school funds. This was put
towards other fundraising activities and the extra money
was donated to St Dallan’s Primary School in memory of a
student, Shane Nicholl. School members were running the
Belfast Marathon to raise money for Addison’s disease in
his memory.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable year working alongside
First Trust Bank to encourage saving within the school
and I have learned many valuable lessons with regards
teamwork, management, communication and people skills.
I have also learnt a lot about banking and managing money
and would seriously encourage students throughout the
school to sign up in years to come.
Amy Cole
Love is in the
air…
Congratulations and best wishes to Mr Kevin
Smyth and his wife, Laura who were married
recently. Congratulations and best wishes are
also extended to Mr James White and his fiancé,
Mary Kate on their forthcoming wedding.
Wishing you all many years of joy and happiness.
Best Wishes…
Our thoughts and prayers are with all associated
with Sacred Heart School who are in need of
healing in mind, body or spirit, especially Mrs
Geraldine Maginn.
May the Lord continue to lay his healing hand upon
them.
Moving On…
In addition to the retirement of Mrs Mary Friel and
Dr. Stephanie Nelson (pictured on front cover)
five other members of the school community are
moving on to new challenges in the coming year.
During a special evening of celebration held in the Golf Club
Inn on Wednesday 29th June, School Principal, Sr. Julie
McGoldrick presented Sr. Anne Lyng, Mrs Teresa Quigg, Mrs
Lisa Gregory, Miss Kerry Fearon and Miss Mary McCartan
with tokens of appreciation and wished them well in the
coming year.
Secondment
The school community would like to wish Mrs
Roisin McCreesh every grace and blessing as
she takes up her secondment with CCEA.
10
3
The Quiz Club
Year
A Report from Mr Simon Burke
It was a very good year for our Junior and Senior
Quiz Club members in 2015-16
Our Year 8 students, Niamh Byrne, Sophia Costantino, Emma
Patterson and Rebecca Mulligan took part in the Newry round
of the annual Credit Union Table Quiz on Friday 29th January
2016 in St Colman’s College. The team worked very well
together and came in 3rd Place behind old rivals, Abbey Grammar School and St Colman’s College.
The Senior Schools’ Challenge Team members, Aislinn Kearns, Mathilda Kinney, Maeve Watters and Niamh Scullion travelled to
St Colman’s College on Thursday 11th March 2016 for the Northern Ireland Finals Day. This is a very young team with a great
future ahead of it. Unfortunately, we came up against a very strong Abbey Grammar School team in the semi-finals. However, the
girls did very well against an excellent side.
The next quiz of the year took place on Wednesday 1st
June - the Northern Ireland Finals Day for Junior Schools’
Challenge. The competitions were hosted this year in St
Colman’s College. The Sacred Heart panel consisted of Inez
Murray, Niamh Byrne, Emma Finnerty and Anna Fafinska.
The girls had a tremendous afternoon, defeating our old rivals
Our Lady’s Grammar School in the semi final. This set up the
Northern Ireland final between Sacred Heart Grammar, Newry
and St Colman’s College, Newry. It was nip and tuck the whole
way but the Ashgrove girls eventually came out on top to be
crowned Northern Ireland champions.
As Northern Ireland Champions, the girls travelled to Hereford
Cathedral School, Hereford, England for the UK finals. They
came up against a very strong team from Dragon School, Oxford in the Cup competition and were narrowly beaten. In the
semi final of the Plate competition, eventual winners, Nottingham Grammar School, narrowly beat them again. It was a great
experience for the girls and it was a tremendous achievement to be there.
Congratulations and thanks go to
all who attended the Quiz Club
Junior and Senior sessions so
loyally throughout the year. Many
thanks to Ms Louise Bell for her
help this year and to Sr. Julie and
the staff of Sacred Heart for all
their help and support throughout
the year.
Seniors: Aislinn Kearns,
Mathilda Kinney, Maeve
Watters, Niamh Scullion.
Juniors: Inez Murray, Michelle
Ryan, Niamh Byrne, Sophia
Costantino, Emma Finnerty,
Anna Fafinska, Aoife Reel,
Emma Patterson, Rebecca
Mulligan.
4
SHS Newsletter
‘I-Tea Time’ - Report on the Linking
Generations Project
Ten of our Year 13 students have been supporting local older people to get online and to develop their IT
skills during weekly sessions held in the school. The project, coordinated by Linking Generations Northern Ireland and funded through the Department of Personnel’s GO ON
NI programme, is a great example of how schools can engage with older people in their communities whilst promoting positive
relationships between young and old. Everyone enjoyed the sessions, with each older person working one to one with one of our
students, having a chat and cup of tea whilst learning how to use technology at their own pace, everything from online shopping
to Skype! A big thank you goes out to Barclays Bank Digital Eagles Helen and Marty for their support during the sessions and
Newry and Mourne Senior Citizens Consortium for promoting the opportunity with their members.
Some of the comments from the girls included :
“This was an extremely enjoyable experience. We had an amazing opportunity to communicate with seniors and learn about
some of the issues they may have with technology today. We had lots of fun and learned as much from each other as we did from
the programme. Overall this was a really fun and a worthwhile experience.”
“I really enjoyed the Linking Generations Project. It gave me a chance to socialise with people I wouldn’t normally spend time
with. I felt I was able to pass on skills and even teach myself something about technology. Some accounts we set up would really
help them, such as home delivery on shopping websites. I would have liked more sessions!”
“I enjoyed every moment of the experience, and the feeling of being able to help someone with something that can make such
a difference was great!”
Thank you to all the girls involved:
Aileen McMahon
Niamh Cassidy
Kamile Bagdonaite
Natalia Perdeck
Kerrie McGrath
Bebhionn Quinn
Maria McGauley
Katy Murray
Ciara McGivern
Molly McDermott
Worthwhile experience.
Higher Level
Apprenticeships
Former student Miss Ciara Small completing her
higher level apprenticeship in Accounting.
Ciara is pictured with her employer Mr McKeown,
Mr Farry (Minister for Employment & Learning) and
Mr Doran (SRC).
10
5
Music
Department
The Music Department held their annual Spring
Concert on 20th April. This was a very successful
evening for the music students involved. The Jazz
Band, Senior and Junior orchestras and choirs
all performed on the evening. Both the Junior
and Senior Choir had received first place in their
respective competitions in Newry Feis earlier in the
year.
A total of £2,434.17 was raised on the night. All
proceeds raised were donated to the work of the
Sisters of St. Clare’s Mission in Central America.
Mrs L Turley
QUB Visit
‘All politics is local’
In February, Professor John Barry provided
a Lecture and spoke with the A Level Politics
students about the ‘Rise of Jeremy Corbyn.’
In April, Year 13 Government and Politics
students had the opportunity to meet with local
representatives and asking them pressing
questions ranging from the Irish language to the
record of the Assembly over the past five years.
It was an interesting debate that really engaged the
students who asked some tough and inquisitive questions
to Professor Barry.
6
U-14 Football Team
2016
The season started for us in late January with our
first training session and after several weeks the
panel stabilised at about 24 players.
We trained every week, rain or shine, and played our first
group game on March 16 against Virginia College, Cavan at
St Colman’s College, Newry. Sacred Heart led 1-9 to 2-1 at
half-time and there was still much to do. However, a very good
second half performance saw our team pull away to win on
a scoreline of 2-13 to 2-2. A special mention goes to Grace
McShane whose defensive work was outstanding in terms
of marking, blocking, etc. Our Ulster campaign was up and
running.
Our second and final group game was on April 7th against Our
Lady’s, Castleblayney, also at St Colman’s College. In recent
years we have played Castleblayney on several occasions and
our best result was a draw; they are always difficult opponents.
However, this time Sacred Heart achieved a notable victory
which gave the players confidence going forward.
At half-time we led 2-10 to 3-1; the team started from the throwin with intent and deservedly led by six with the midfielders and
forwards making the most of their chances. During the second
half our defence was immense and Sacred Heart were able to
maintain a good lead right through a low scoring second period.
Final score: Sacred Heart 4-10 Our Lady’s, Castleblayney 4-3.
Our team captain, Caoimhe Loughran, led by example with an
exhibition of tigerish marking and good clearances throughout
the game.
These two wins qualified us for the quarter-finals and on April
27th our opponents were Dean Maguirc, Carrickmore at the
Pearse Og pitch, Armagh. We started really well again, scoring
three goals in the first quarter and didn’t look back afterwards.
We were too strong overall for the opposition and one notable
feature of the team’s play was the number of times players
blocked an opponent’s kick; it happened time and time again.
Final score: Sacred Heart 8-9 Dean Maguirc 1-5. Kayla Woods
caught the eye in this game for her tremendous work-rate and
distribution of the ball.
The semi-final was played on May 11 against Moville of Donegal
at the Tyrone GAA Centre of Excellence in Garvaghey. The
first half was a close affair and at half-time we led 2-5 to 2-2.
However, in the second half the team played some great football
scoring 4-7 and defending as if their lives depended on it to
deservedly go through to the final. Final score: Sacred Heart
6-12 Moville 4-7. The team’s performance was epitomised by
Caoimhe Shannon whose pace, skill and work-rate were often
too much for Moville to cope with.
Our opponents in the Ulster Final were Our Lady’s,
Castleblayney. The game was fixed for May 23 in St.Oliver
Plunkett Pk., Crossmaglen. We knew it was going to be
tough but having overcome them in the group stage we felt
we were in with a decent chance if we could perform to our
best. However, during the first half, and cheered on by their
vocal supporters, Castleblayney simply blew us away to lead
4-8 to 0-3 at half-time. The girls’ confidence drained each
time Castleblayney goaled and at the other end of the pitch
the chances we created were not taken. At half-time the team
mentors and captain tried to rally the players and lift them for
the second half. And the girls did pick up their efforts for the
second period and outscored the opposition which shows the
good character of the team to play to the end even though
the game was beyond them. Final score: Sacred Heart 1-9
Our Lady’s, Castleblayney 6-9. Special mention should go to
Niamh Scullion who was outstanding for Sacred Heart and
this was remarked upon by the competition co-ordinator at the
post-match presentation.
Overall, the team gave their best this year in terms of
commitment to training and during games. Well done to all the
players and they gained good experience this year as well as
developing their football skills.
Team panel: Caoimhe Shannon, Kayla Woods, Julianna
Markey, Amy Lonergan, Niamh Scullion, Rachel Cooper,
Olivia Connolly, Maeve Murdock, Alanna Donnan, Tara
Brown, Johnelle Barr, Grainne Clarke, Shannon Barr,
Mollie Smyth, Maeve Watters, Cliona Brooks, Grace
McShane, Aimee Murtagh, Hannah Duffy, Anna Mulligan,
Caoimhe Loughran, Stephanie Hall, Maeve McCartan,
Grace Cunningham.
Team mentors: Mr D Cotter & Mr J Quinn.
7
Friday the 13th?
Sports Day on Friday 13th May dawned bright sunny & warm, and embraced the ideal of respect, friendship
and perseverance. Our theme this year was the Olympic Games.
The new school council under the guidance of Emer our Sports Captain gave us a thought provoking assembly on what the
spirit of taking part and trying your best really means and how we could incorporate it into our Sports Day. Each year group
represented a country from the Olympic countries. We warmed up with the Year 8 raps, which were of an extremely high standard
and this set Mrs Rankin-Sands, Mrs. Hodgett and Mr. Taggart a tough task to select the winner. Then we moved on to the netball,
basketball, unihoc and fun events for the Year 8 students for the rest of the morning session.
In the afternoon, the athletic events took place. We had many fiercely competitive races and events and lots of outstanding
performances from our students. All were won and lost but always in a true sporting manner. The highlight of the afternoon was
the Staff V Council relay race, which was fiercely contested. This year the staff team were victorious with Miss Hayes, Mr. Mc
Gahan, Mrs. Mc Caffery and Mr. Taggart bringing the staff home
in 1st place. We congratulate all our students in years 8 -11 for
making Sports Day such an enjoyable experience and for their
continued high level of participation.
Mrs M Friel
Golf
On Monday 16th May, seven Year 10 students
competed for the Tavistock Cup in glorious
sunshine at Warrenpoint Golf Club.
Horseriding
SHS student,
Vicky Campbell
pictured receiving
her Reserve
Championship
Rosette at the
NI Dressage
Festival.
They had a wonderful day, and enjoyed playing against
teams from Our Lady’s, Newry, and St. Patrick’s, Keady. I
hope all of the students who expressed an interest in golf
this year take every available opportunity over the summer
to practise their golfing skills, and come back in September
ready to rock the golf course!
Miss Bell
8
SHS Newsletter
YEAR 8 1st 2nd 3rd 100m SPRINT
Codie Morgan
Olivia Hall
Aoife Kavanagh
YEAR 9 1st 2nd 3rd
100m SPRINT
Grace Cunningham
Keely Hannaway
Caitlin Armstrong
YEAR 10 1st 2nd 3rd 100m SPRINT
Caoimhe Shannon
Maeve McCartan
Katie O’Hare &
Olivia Connelly
YEAR 8 1st 2nd 3rd SHOT PUTT
Orlaith McCusker
Lily Glen
Molly Sheppard
YEAR 9 SHOT PUTT
1st Clara McKeever
2nd Tara Brown &
Aimee Burns
3rd Ella Gribben
YEAR 10 1st 2nd 3rd SHOT PUTT
Charlene Lynch
Rachel Acum
Fionnuala O’Carroll &
Paddi Fitzpatrick
YEAR 8 1st 2nd 3rd LONG JUMP
Cody Morgan &
Enya Saul
Mollie Meade
Anna Mullholland
YEAR 9 1st 2nd 3rd YEAR 10 1st 2nd 3rd LONG JUMP
Stephanie Hall
Grace Cunningham
Sascha McEvoy
YEAR 9 1st 2nd 3rd DISCUS
Anna Mulligan
Caitlin Armstrong
Orla Kelly
YEAR 10 1st 2nd 3rd DISCUS
Emma Harper
Eanna Austin
Sarah Crozier &
Fionna Burns
YEAR 8 1st 2nd 3rd 4th RELAY
8D
8A
8C
8B
10
LONG JUMP
Maeve McCartan
Katy O’Hare
Olivia Connelly
YEAR 9 1st 2nd 3rd 4th RELAY
9A
9B
9C
9D
YEAR 10
1st 2nd 3rd 4th RELAY
10D
10A
10C
10B
YEAR 11 1st 2nd 3rd 4th RELAY
11B
11A
11C
11D
YEAR 9 1st 2nd 3rd 4th NETBALL
9D
9A
9C
9B
YEAR 9 1st 2nd 3rd 4th UNIHOC
9C
9B
9D
9A
YEAR 9 1st 2nd 3rd 4th ROUNDERS
9C
9D
9A
9B
YEAR 10 1st 2nd 3rd 4th ROUNDERS
10B
10D
10A
10C
YEAR 10 1st
2nd 3rd 4th
BASKETBALL
10D
10C
10B
10A
YEAR 10 1st 2nd 3rd 4th UNIHOC
10A
10D
10B
10C
YEAR 11 1st
2nd 3rd 4th UNIHOC
11A
11B
11D
11C
YEAR 11 1st 2nd 3rd 4th ROUNDERS
11A
11D
11C
11B
YEAR 11
1st 2nd 3rd 4th BASKETBALL
11C
11D
11B
11A
INDIVIDUAL YEAR GROUP WINNER
100m SPRINT
Codie Morgan 8A
Grace Cunningham 9D
Katie O’Hare 10C
SHOT PUTT
Orlaith McCusker 8A
Aimee Murtagh 9D
Jessica Love 10B
LONG JUMP
Eva Sloan 8D
Grace Cunningham 9D
Caoimhe Shannon 10B &
Maeve McCartan 10D
DISCUS
Aoife Mervin 9D
Shannon Redmond 10D
POC FADA
Year 8 Anna Mulholland
Year 9 Molly Smyth
Year 10 Chloe McConville
Year 11 Eden Casey
LONG KICK
Year 8 Molly Sheppard
Year 9 Anna Mulligan
Year 10 Maeve McCartan
Year 11 Clara Cowan
STAFF Vs COUNCIL AWARD
Staff
SPORTS DAY CHALLENGE AWARD
1st 2nd 3rd 4th A
D
B
C 9
Camogie
Congratulations to our Year 8 Camogie Team on
recently winning the All County Down Blitz. This
was a fantastic achievement and we are very proud
of our girls.
Congratulations to our U14 Camogie team who
were recently crowned the All County Down
Runner’s Up and
who were also
beat in the Ulster
Semi Final.
Year 8 Camogie
Captain, Orlaith
McCusker.
Swimming
Congratulations to the Schools’ Interprovincial
team, recent winners of Swim Ireland Schools’
Interpro Championship 2016 at the NAC in Dublin.
Special congratulations also to Hannah Gilsenan
(Senior Section) who is a member of the team. It
was an exciting day and a fantastic result for all
those involved.
Orienteering
The Year 11 P.E. students have been involved in a
training programme throughout this year as part of
their G.C.S.E. practical module.
They have taken part in a variety of competitions culminating
in the Schools’ Orienteering Championships, which took place
at Palace Stables, Armagh in May. The students competed
strongly on the day and as a result we had four students placed
in winning positions in their overall age group. These students
were Niamh Fitzgerald 2nd and Clara Cowan 4th on Course 1
and Emma Mc Entee 1st and Christina Heaney 4th on Course
2. The students attended an awards presentation at the Navan
Centre and Fort in June. Congratulations to all the winners and
to everyone who took part.
Mrs M Friel
10
SHS Newsletter
Gaelic
Under 16 Ulster Championship
Sacred Heart qualified for the Ulster Championship semi-finals
for the second year in a row. The Ashgrove girls won their
division before Christmas. Unfortunately, the Under 20 squad did
not make it through to the finals stage.
Colaiste Oirial,
Monaghan 3-6 Sacred Heart Newry 6-8
The Ulster semi-final was played at a windswept St Colman’s on
Monday 18th January. First half goals from Eden Casey, Orlaith
McArdle and Cristin Brown helped the Sacred Heart cause. They
were guilty of some very wayward shooting with 8 wides in this
period with the wind. Points from Frances Keenan (2), Orlaith
McArdle (1) and Niamh Reel left the Sacred Heart leading at half
time by 3-4 to 1-3.
The inevidable Colaiste Oirial fight back came in the second
half with the Monaghan School having wind advantage. Heroic
defending from Ciara Byrne, Emma Magee, Sasha Boyle and
Tara Brown baulked some of the attacks. However, it was
goalkeeper, Millie Kinney’s fabulous performance in the 3rd
quarter which stood out, making save after save. Eventually, the
Ashgrove girls began to assert themselves again and the midfield
of Niamh Reel and Frances Keenan drove them forward. Points
from Clara Cowan (1) , Eden Casey (1) Cristin Brown (1) Niamh
Reel (2) and goals from hat trick hero Eden Casey (2) and Cristin
Brown (1) secured a place in the final for the second year in a
row.
Sacred Heart 1-6 Our Lady’s Castleblaney 5-9
Unfortunately, as was the case in 2015, the final proved to be
a step too far for Sacred Heart. Hampered by injuries to ViceCaptain Niamh Whyte and Star Full forward Eden Casey (who
did start), it was always going to be hard against an excellent
Our Lady’s team. The game was played in dreadful conditions
in Crossmaglen and early goals from the ‘Blaney girls put them
in the driving seat. A great goal from Cristin Brown and 3 points
from Niamh Reel (2) and Seana Mulholland (1) brought the girls
back in to it before half time.
However, fighting a serious gale in the second half, it was hard
going for Sacred Heart but in the end Our Lady’s ran out worthy
winners.
It was a disappointing finale for the girls but they can be proud of
achieving another excellent season.
Under 16 Panel:
Niamh Reel (Captain), Mathilda Kinney, Cristin Brown,
Ciara Byrne, Frances Keenan, Clara Cowan, Ciara Morgan,
Niamh Whyte (Vice Captain), Niamh Scullion, Orlagh Burke,
Sasha Boyle, Seana Mulholland, Emma Magee, Eileen Rice,
Niamh Rice, Sarah O’Hanlon, Eden Casey, Cliodhna Byrne,
Niamh Burns, Lauren Power, Cliodhna Shannon,
Bronagh Cassidy, Tiarna Mullen, Tara Brown.
10
Year 8 Ulster Blitz
Sacred Heart took part in the annual Year 8 Ulster Schools’ Blitz
in Derrymacash on Thursday 3rd June 2016. We were able to
field 3 teams in this 7 a side tournament. The girls acquitted
themselves very well in blistering hot conditions on the day.
Team 1 had an excellent day with draws with Our Lady & St.
Patrick’s, Knock, St. Paul’s, Bessbrook, and victories over St.
Patrick’s, Keady and St. Catherine’s, Armagh. They beat St.
Catherine’s in the semi-final before going down to the winners,
Our Lady & St Patrick’s, Knock in the final.
Team 2 also played very well in their competition winning one
match v Lismore and narrowly losing their second group match
before winning a friendly v St. Mary’s. They narrowly missed on
a semi-final place.
Team 3 did very well too in their matches against St. Mary’s, St.
Paul’s and St. Genevieve’s.
Many thanks also to our Year 13 coaches, Roisin Kelly, Niamh
McDonald, and Emer Scullion who helped out on the day.
Year 8 Panel:
Niamh Byrne, Ciara Cosgrove, , Kate Fegan, Eimear
Cunningham, Orlaith McCusker, Eva Donnelly, Caoimhe
McKeown, Una Fearon, Mollie Sheppard, Meagain Fox,
Sophie Hannaway, Olivia Hall, Aoife Kavanagh, Anna
Heaney, Rosie McCann, Orla Lynch, Sarah Rooney, Cadhla
Magennis, Eve Mullen, Leah Carroll, Anna Mulholland, Ella
Fitzpatrick, Ciara O'Hare, Emily Fitzpatrick, Sinead Quinn,
Emma McArdle, Aoife Reel, Katie McConville, Aoife Trainor,
Seafra McKinley,Tiarna Mussen, Eva Price,Katie White.
And finally….
A word of thanks to Mr McKinney (Principal) and Mr Murray
(Head of PE) of St. Colman’s College, for the use of their facilities
this term. Thanks also to Sr. Julie, Mr Eamonn Devlin, Mr Jude
Quinn, Mr Denis Cotter, Mrs Siobhan McCaffery, Miss Eimear
Downey, Miss Ciara Hayes and Mrs Mary Friel for their help and
support.
Also, I’d like to thank our Year 14 players who will be leaving us
this year, Katie Taheny, Jayne Hearty, Dearbhla Keenan, Grace
Ferris and Lydia Leary. Thanks for your loyalty and dedication to
the Sacred Heart cause girls and indeed to all the outgoing Year
14 girls who wore the Sacred Heart jersey from 2009-16.
Mr S Burke
11
Netball
Great Season for Sacred Heart Intermediate and
Senior Netball teams. Sacred Heart intermediate
and senior netball teams created another chapter in
school history when both teams contested the 2016
NI Schools’ league and cup finals.
The league finals were played on Thursday 25th February in
Lisburn Racquets club. Both teams set off with a vocal band of
supporters, which included our ever-loyal receptionist Bronagh,
who had accompanied the same teams on their successful
commonwealth games tour to Glasgow in 2014. It was with
great anticipation that the intermediates took the court against
the South Eastern Champions, Our Lady and St Patrick’s Knock
(OLSPK). Injury to NI national player U17, Frances Keenan,
meant the Sacred Heart girls had to play without their superstar,
however Year 11 student, Sasha Boyle, showed maturity beyond
her years and amazed everyone by holding her nerve to produce
a shooting display worthy of any senior player.
At half time the Sacred Heart team were down by 4 goals and
when OLSPK started the third quarter strongly it looked like the
match was slipping away, but the Isabella Byrne, Niamh Reel and
Nuala O’Neill were not to be outdone, and, by sheer determination
and a never say die attitude, the Sacred Heart girls somehow
levelled the match. A brilliant interception by Goal keeper ,Lauryn
Mckay was skilfully played up the court and Emma Magee’s
super lay-off to shooter, Kayla Burns ,resulted in the goal that
won the game and had the Sacred Heart spectators on their feet.
The tears of joy at the end of the game were a delight to behold
!!! Well done girls! What a game!! An added bonus was Niamh
Reel’s selection as Player of the Match.
The senior team had a bittersweet season, reaching the finals of
both league and cup. Their display in the SELB area finals against
Cookstown High school was probably the best performance from
a Senior Sacred Heart team ever. However, in the NI league final
they left it too late in the game to show their best and only really
started to fire on all cylinders in the last quarter. Nevertheless,
losing by just 4 goals to an experienced OLSPK , who were going
for 5 in a row , is no mean feat, and team captain, Jade Carr,
played the game of her life.
with the school ski trip and six players missed the game. The
intermediates, who, had already won the intermediate cup by
beating Methodist College, had to take the court again. Head
girl, Alex Shortall, and sports captain, Emer Scullion, along with
Niamh, Frances, Kayla, Isabella and Lauryn gave an amazing
display of tenacious, determined and skilful netball but, despite
giving it their all, OLSPK’s experience won through on the day.
Emer Scullion was awarded Player of the Final, which is a great
achievement considering OLSPK have 5 national players on
their squad. It was literally a case
of ‘so near..yet so far..’ reaching the
finals ….most of the team skiing
down Italian Alps……
Both teams with all the trophies /
Gibraltar two
Goodbye to a great team – sincere
thanks for your contribution to
netball in Sacred Heart.
Mrs Mc Caffery will miss you !!!
The seniors had a great Cup campaign and their semi -final win
over St Dominic’s was well earned. The girls were justly proud
to be the first Sacred Heart Senior team to reach the cup final
since 1988. Unfortunately, the date of the Cup final clashed
Congratulations go to our Year 8 Netball Team who came
third in the regional Netball Tournament.
12
SHS Newsletter
Jubilee Year
of Mercy
During the month of June, our Year 8 students
made a pilgrimage to the Cathedral in Newry in
order to partake in the Jubilee Year of Mercy. A
Jubilee Year is a special year called by the Pope to
receive blessing and pardon from God.
After researching and studying the meaning of the Year
of Mercy, our Year 8 students made their pilgrimage to the
Cathedral where we were met by our School Chaplain, Fr.
Colm Murphy. We made our way through the Holy Door,
lit candles and prayed for the needs of our world. May we
continue to take the invitation of Pope Francis to heart and be
‘missionaries of mercy’ in our world today.
Sr Karen Small OSC
Procession
to Marian
Grotto
During the month of May Year 8 students and
their Religion teachers were involved in a May
Procession from the grounds of Sacred Heart to
the Marian Grotto located in the gardens of the St.
Clare’s Convent, opposite the school grounds.
As they processed, students carried candles and sang hymns
associated with Our Lady. Once at the grotto, prayers of the
faithful were prayed and a decade of the rosary was said for
the students’ own intentions.
The Year students thoroughly enjoyed their first experience
of the May Procession, memories of which will last a life time.
Catholic Schools Week
Catholic Schools Week is an all-Ireland annual event that invites Catholic schools to give expression in a
special way to the ethos of Catholic education. It is a celebration of Catholic schools throughout
Ireland, North and South that acknowledges the
tremendous contribution that our Catholic primary and
post-primary schools make not just to Irish society, but
also to the mission of the Church. Catholic Schools
Week 2016 took place from Sunday 31 January to
Saturday 6 February 2016 on the theme “Catholic
Schools: Challenged to Proclaim God’s Mercy”. It is hoped that this theme will help contextualise the
Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by
Pope Francis from 8 December 2015 to 20 November
2016. Some students represented Sacred Heart at a
special Mass held in Newry Cathedral on Wednesday
27th January to mark the occasion.
10
13
Fundraising
Cake Sale in aid of Make a Wish Foundation
Overall this has been a great year for SHS with
regard to Fundraising. We are delighted to announce
that our students have raised £19,810 for various
charities throughout the country. It is marvellous to see the generosity of people in these times of
financial constraints. Thank you so much and a very big thank you to the Year 9 Year
group, pictured below, which was awarded the McCourt Cup for
raising the most funds for charity.
9A Charity Presentation
Lip Sync Battle raises funds for charity.
SHS raises £1272.33 for NI. Cancer fund
for Children
Easter Hamper raffle in aid of Project Zambia
Year 10 Zumba Fundraiser
14
SHS Newsletter
Charity Abseil
Pictured are a group of Year 13 students who
recently participated in a Charity Abseil at the
Europa Hotel, Belfast on behalf of TAG.
Walk In Aid
Of M.S.
Year 8s and their teachers (pictured below) taking
a well deserved break as they participate in a
sponsored walk in aid of MS.
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15
Sacred Heart
Grammar School
launches new App.
Sacred Heart Grammar School opened its doors
wider to the world with the launch of its exciting new
App.
communities, Sr. Julie indicated her delight not only at the high
standard of the App in terms of its content, but also with its
design and functionality:
‘Sacred Heart is continually seeking to take learning further and
to inspire permanent curiosity and yearning for improvement.
With the launch of our App we now have another avenue for
our students to achieve these goals. The exciting interactive
features within the App provide the necessary information
required for those interested in the school and allows them to
connect with us at their own convenience. It is indeed a ‘onestop shop’ for all that is going on in Sacred Heart.’
Sacred Heart is already renowned as a pioneer in the
introduction of beneficial Educational Technology and the latest
example of this has been the school working with software
company (Edtap) to define an innovative Education Technology
(edtech) solution to enhance the school’s communications with
the its parents, students, past-pupils and wider community.
The technology underpinning the solution combines:
▪ mobile App technologies for Apple, Android and Amazon devices
▪ push notification technology from Apple and Google
▪ cloud computing providing high speed access to school materials anywhere and at any time with an ergonomic user interface design that has been carefully crafted for simplicity and convenience of usage.
Speaking at the launch, attended by staff, students, past pupils,
school Governors, local Principals and members of religious
Golden Girls
With 2016 being the Golden Anniversary of their
Graduation from the Sacred Heart Grammar
School, a group of past pupils calling themselves
the ‘Golden Girls’ decided to organise a Golden
Reunion.
On receiving enthusiastic approval from Sr. Julie and a
generous offer of hosting the Celebration in the school they
contacted as many golden past pupils as possible and on May
20th 2016, everyone enjoyed a wonderful evening of nostalgia and memories, as friends and classmates reminisced and relived
the glory days of school! All were very appreciative of Sr. Julie, the staff and pupils for making their Golden Reunion such a heart-warming and memorable
occasion! The event included a tour of the school followed by Mass in the school oratory and a beautiful buffet!
All subscriptions from the past pupils were donated to Sr. Mark's Mission in El Salvador and a cheque for £1,100 was presented
to Sr. Julie for Sr. Mark on the night.
A Fond Farewell…
Best wishes to Mr Gividas Gransbergis who has left Sacred Heart
after five and a half years as our ICT Systems Administrator.
We would like to thank you for your invaluable contribution to school
life and wish you good health, happy memories and every success in
your new post.
16
SHS Newsletter
Newry Feis
Drama News
It was a successful year in the annual (and
competitive) Newry Feis. Year 9 pupils were
awarded best junior play, Year 12 pupils were
awarded best senior play and gained the highest
mark for a group performance winning ‘The
Newry Reporter Cup’.
It has been, as always, a busy year for Drama in
Sacred Heart.
Lila Eccles made the school proud when she picked up the
‘The May Mc Henry Shield’; and Year 10 pupils impressed
when they won ‘The Sean Hollywood Cup’ for choral
speaking.
Throughout the year there have been many theatre trips
both home and away. These have included, ‘Dancing at
Lughnasa’ at the Lyric, Belfast as well as ‘The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ at the Grand Opera
House and ‘The Plough and the Stars’ at the Abbey Theatre,
Dublin.
“To be or not to be, that is the question.”
Our Year 14 pupils were fortunate to travel to Stratford upon
Avon in April, the month that marked the 400th Anniversary of
Shakespeare’s death. It was a most memorable trip. During
their two days away they visited the Bard’s birthplace, ate in
quaint local tearooms and (with some hilarious results) took
part in cow milking and falconry.
Of course it wasn’t all play and no work, they also got to
attend a ground-breaking performance of ‘Hamlet’ featuring
Paapa Essiedu, a once in a lifetime production.
Workshop
In January Sacred Heart was very lucky to host
a two-day workshop with Sean Hollands from
renowned theatre group, Frantic Assembly.
Sean flew from London to work with our Year 13 and 14
pupils, an experience they all enjoyed. Frantic Assembly
is well known for its high quality productions, including the
multi award winning ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time’.
Music certainly was pumping around the Drama Department
in those two days during this incredibly immersive experience.
Pupils learnt new, movement-based skills, including lifts and
being able to fly.
A Date for Your Diary
Sacred Heart Grammar School is delighted to
announce that the school show for this year is the
musical ‘CATS’.
It is planned that the musical will be performed on
20th, 21st, 23rd, 24th and 25th October 2016.
10
17
Decade of Centenaries - 2012 - 2022
Seacht Lá - Seven Days Easter 1916
The period from 1912 to 1922 was one of the most eventful in Ireland’s history. From the campaign for
Home Rule, through World War One and the Easter Rising of 1916 to the foundation of the Free State,
this was a decade of great change.
As part of the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2022, it is important to commemorate each step that took
place during the period 1912-1922. 2016 marked the 100th Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, a
seminal date in the development of the Ireland as a Nation.
This year the History, Drama and Irish Departments collaborated on a project called Seacht Lá – Seven Days – which focused
on the events leading up to, during and the consequences of the Easter Rising of 1916.
This project was led by all the girls of Year 10 who were tasked with creating a Museum that covered the period of the Easter
Rising. They researched and developed all the pieces in both the History rooms creating a fantastic display for the Easter 1916
Museum. Part of the focus of the History Department this year has been on the Role of Women in the 20th Century. As a result, the
role played by Women in Easter Week was a key foci, as many
of these women had campaign for constitutional changes with
regards to Female Suffrage before moving to Revolutionary
means in 1916. On Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd March
both History rooms were opened to the staff and students of
Sacred Heart allowing them to gain an understanding of the
events that took place during that week.
As well as this, the Drama Department put together several
pieces showing the impact of the Easter Week on those
involved. Again this was researched by all the students
involved and they developed their own pieces of Drama.
What a fantastic display by all those involved who performed
their pieces to all the students from Year 8 – 10, letting them
gain an understanding of the impact on the Men, Women and
Children of Dublin during Easter Week. The stunned silence
and the thunderous applause by all those who witnessed each
production is testament to the hard work of the students and
their teachers, Mrs Hodgett and Mrs Rankin-Sands.
The Irish Department, under Mr White, focussed on the role of
New Nationalism and the Irish Language movement Conradh
na Gaelige. The students learned about the important role that
this group played in shaping the direction of a New Ireland and
the role that the Language movement had in influencing many
of those who were involved in Easter Week.
The History Department would like to thank all the staff
and students involved in this collaboration in ensuring an
informative and appropriate commemoration of the events of
Easter Week 1916.
Model United Nations
In June, several Year 11 students took part in a Model
United Nations event hosted by Methodist College
Belfast.
Over the course of the day’s event, the students had to represent the
views of both France and India on global issues such as lowering the
voting age as well as tackling the Zika virus.
One of our groups was awarded the prize for best delegation and
each member was presented with a handmade schoolbag by the
TEN Foundation. It is an NGO that helps give vulnerable children
and adults in the Philippines the opportunity to make and sell these
schoolbags to fund their education.
18
SHS Newsletter
A Level History
Conference - The
Somme Centre
Year 10 History
Trip to The Ulster
Museum
Once again it was a very busy term for the History
students in Sacred Heart Grammar School.
The Year 10s had a day trip to the Ulster Museum
where they took part in a World War One workshop
and viewed the newly openly Easter 1916 gallery.
On Tuesday 8th March the A2 History class attended the
Annual ‘A Level’ History Conference at The Somme Centre.
The students had the opportunity to listen to Dr Russell
Rees, author of the History A Level textbook The Partition
of Ireland 1900-1925, who give advice about the topics they
had studied and, crucially, exam technique.
The class enjoyed the talk and the opportunity to meet Dr
Rees.
The girls and their teacher, Mr Taggart, pictured in the
sunshine outside the Ulster Museum
A2 Level Students pictured below with Dr. Russell Rees.
The girls pictured holding some World War One artefacts
that were used in The Trenches.
Welcome…
A warm welcome is extended to Mr Barry Clarke
who will act as our ICT Systems Administrator.We
hope you enjoy your time with us.
SHS’s Got Talent
Organised by the Mini Company and
supported by the School Bank.
10
Welcome back…
To Sr. Treasa Davey OSC and to Mrs Suzanne
Monroe. It’s good to have you with us.
19
Notre voyage à
Reims /
Our trip to
Reims
Paris Trip
The Paris trip was a trip of a lifetime! We got to
explore the sites of the beautiful city of Paris.
On day one we visited the Arc de Triomphe and
Champs-Elysées, then the spectacular Notre
Dame Cathedrale.
This year we took part in the French exchange at
the end of January. We travelled to Reims to stay
with our French pen pals for 8 days.
At first we were quite terrified at the prospect of having to
speak French 24/7 but by the time we left, we were looking
forward to the time the roles would be reversed and for our
pen pals to come to Ireland.
While we were there, we took part in many activities such
as visiting the local champagne cellar and many different
towns, which we really enjoyed as we could experience the
local culture and were able to speak English.
Most of the time we spent half the day in school going to
classes with our pen pals and it was very different from here.
We had learnt about a French classroom and now we were
able to experience it!
One of the most memorable moments on the exchange
would have to be when all the French and Irish students
went to the bowling alley one night so we all had a chance to
socialise and get to know each other better.
All in all, we would completely recommend the exchange to
anyone who might even just consider it because it definitely
helps you prepare for your GCSE French as it really expands
your vocabulary and gives you an insight in French at A
Level!
Lauryn McKay,
Nuala O’Neill
& Amy Rice
20
We then got a guided tour around Paris, where we were
shown all the famous landmarks and the background
behind them – très intéressant. The next day we went to
Montparnasse tower where we got a panoramic view of the
city not to mention going on the fastest elevator in Europe
which got us up to the 56th floor in 38 seconds!
Then we went to Montmartre right beside the Sacre-Coeur.
We all went for lunch in Montmartre and some of the brave
ones ate l’escargots and the less brave ones ate crepes
avec du nutella.
That night we went on a boat tour along the river Seine –
c’est bon ca! On the Friday we went to… DISNEYLAND! It
was a magical experience for all and we topped the day off
with dinner in Planet Hollywood. After Disneyland we went
to the Eiffel tower where we got lots of pictures beside the
most famous landmark in the world! On the way home Mr
Burke’s tours got the performance of a lifetime, a rap from
MC Kane – on the mic! The final day we said au revoir to
hotel Campanile and headed off to the grand Opera House
– Home to Paris’ famous musical, Phantom of the Opera.
Then we went to one of Europe’s biggest shopping centres,
Val d’Europe, and then it was back to Ireland. What a
fantastic trip!
Rebecca Blaney 10C
SHS Newsletter
Feis an Dúin
Success for Sacred
Heart Grammar
School
The annual Feis an Dúin Irish Language
competitions were held on Saturday 16th April in
Newcastle and a number of Sacred Heart students
were successful in a variety of competitions.
Overall, students from Sacred Heart Grammar School were
awarded scholarships to attend summer courses in the
Gaeltacht to the value of £1,800. A number of students
were also successful in attaining medals for conversation
at various levels. Once again Coiste na Feise are to be
commended for an excellent day which the students enjoyed
and benefited from greatly.
This year, to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising,
the Feis Committee decided to reintroduce after many
years: ‘Cupán na Buaidhe’ which is to be presented on an
annual basis to the best performing Grammar School at
Irish Language speaking competitions. This cup was first
presented to the Feis in its inaugural year – 1902.
We are proud to be the winners of Cupán na Buaidhe in
2016 and privileged to add a new chapter to this award’s
history.
Sacred Heart Students will attend summer courses this year
in Rann na Feirste, Loch an Iúir and Machaire Rabhartaigh.
Maith sibh agus Comhghairdeas libh!
Mr J White
Gaeltacht Trip
to Ranafast
Sacred Heart GCSE & AS Irish students,
accompanied by staff,enjoyed another successful
trip to Ranafast in the Donegal Gaeltacht to
celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge.
Over the 4-day residential programme the students attended
Irish Classes and enjoyed a range of team -building
exercises ranging from Paint balling to participating in a
mud run, while also tasting the rich cultures and traditions
of the local area, including céilí dancing and traditional Irish
music. This was a collaborative event organised by the Irish
Department at Sacred Heart Grammar School in conjunction
with St. Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel, St. Paul’s High
School, Bessbrook, De La Salle College, Belfast, Abbey
Vocational School, Donegal Town and Gaelscoil Chineál
Eoghain, Buncrana.
Mr J White
National Youth
Media Awards 2016
Year 13 Irish students entered The National Youth
Media awards, creating a short video to highlight
the effects of Drug use and to discourage people
from taking drugs.
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in SHS
The results of the competition were announced at the end of
April. With an extremely high standard this year, the Judges
felt compelled to also publish a list of 'Honorable Mentions'
among the winners’ list. These are entries that were not
overall winners or runners-up, but those entries which were
striking and deserving of a mention out of a staggering 950
entries.
Congratulations to the following pupils on their
efforts, who featured on the Honorable Mention
list:
Catherine Clarke
Hannah O’Neill
Brídin Thompson
Tina Maxwell
Daniel Kehoe (Abbey CBS)
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21
Education
Minister Visits
SHS
Education Minister, Peter Weir, recently visited
Sacred Heart Grammar School in order to view
their £1.77m improvement project.
“In addition to the improved provision for the school, such
investment also provides a boost to the local construction
industry.”
Construction work at the school is due for completion in
November 2016.
Sister Julie McGoldrick (Principal) said:
‘We are delighted to welcome The Minister to view the progress
of the building work here at Sacred Heart Grammar School. The
long awaited science facilities will be of great benefit to both
our students and staff. We would like to take this opportunity
to wish Mr Weir every grace and blessing as he embraces the
challenges of his new role as Minister of Education’
The project involves the extension and renovation of the
old science block to provide four new general classrooms
and refurbishment of the remaining five science classrooms
following investment through the School Enhancement
Programme (SEP).
Speaking during the visit, the Minister said:
“I welcome the opportunity to be here today to meet pupils
and school staff and to view progress on the building work.
The £1.77million investment to provide new and refurbished
classrooms for Sacred Heart Grammar School will benefit the
entire school community now and for future generations.
‘Empty
Classroom’ Day
‘Empty Classroom’ Day was on Friday 17th June
2016 and Keep Britain Tidy wanted to get every
pupil in the country outside to learn and play on
the day.
This is a national celebration of the health and learning benefits
that can be gained from the great outdoors, not to mention the
fact that it is also just good old-fashioned fun.
This initiative was in collaboration with Project Dirt and the
Persil “Dirt is good” campaign.
To mark the end of summer examinations the Year 9 group
and their Form Teachers had the opportunity to enjoy the
great outdoors both within the school grounds and in the wider
22
community.
Tasks included litter-pick, identifying areas within school
grounds where chewing gum had been dropped and designing
and creating signs for our newly formed Bug Hotel.
As a reward for all their hard work the Year 9s were served
delicious treats in the school canteen.
A lovely way to mark the beginning of the summer holidays!
SHS Newsletter
Intermediate Maths Challenge
On Thursday 4th February 2016 all the Year 12 pupils took part
in the annual Intermediate Maths Challenge.
The Intermediate Maths Challenge, run by the UK Mathematics Trust, is the
single biggest academic competition in the country with over 200,000 pupils
from across the UK competing.
The Intermediate Maths Challenge encourages mathematical reasoning,
precision of thought and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to
solve interesting problems.
The challenge involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour
and is sat in school under normal exam conditions.
The top 40% of students nationally receive a gold, silver or bronze certificate
(6% Gold, 13% Silver and 21% Bronze).
Twenty six certificates were awarded as follows:
GOLD:
Orla Hughes,
Niamh Whyte,
Niamh Owens
SILVER:
Ciara Mc Ateer,
Aine Tiernan, Aveen Turley,
Kayla Burns, Niamh Goodman,
Niamh Reel
BRONZE:
Orla Crawley, Cliodhna Roe,
Emma Mc Givern, Frances Keenan, Kristina
Hankin, Lauren Murray,
Liath Mc Creesh, Keala Troy,
Holly Buchanan,
Bronach Cassidy, Eleanor Byrne, Emma
Taheny,
Fiana Mc Aloon, JaimeLee Mc Clelland,
Katie Cunningham, Shannon Matthews, Vicky O’ Reilly
Congratulations to all the girls who received certificates and well done to all who took part.
Special congratulations to Orla Hughes who also received the ‘Best in Year’ certificate.
Mrs O Corry
Hound for a Pound Mini Company 2015 - 2016
The transition from Year 12 to Year 13 is academically challenging. However, Year 13 offers a new range
of opportunities, including participating in The Mini Company.
The Mini Company has been one of the best experiences of school life. Being manager has produced a new range of skills,
abilities and friendships for me. Throughout the year we organised a variety of fundraising activities which included creating
personalised school jumpers, a Year 10 Movie Day and Sacred Heart’s Got Talent. They all included the sourcing and pricing of
supplies, organisation and team work. There were some demanding challenges throughout the year, which we had to overcome,
but hard work determined our success.
By donating well over £1000 to charities and giving back 100% dividend to our shareholders we can truly say we did well.
We are all proud of this great success and, more important, we made life-long friends on this journey.
Thanks to Mrs Fleming for her advice and constant support. Thanks to the team for nominating me as their Manager.
I loved the role and felt that I grew as a person.
Orlaith Keen
10
23
Cook of the Year
SHS is delighted
to announce that
Hannah McCann,
finalist in the Young
Cook of the Year
Competition, was
awarded top in the
Key Stage 4 part of
the competition. Non Smoking Day
Competition
Winners of the Non Smoking Day Competition
are pictured with representatives from the Health
Committee.
This is a great
achievement Hannah and
we are very proud of you.
Success of
former Students
Congratulatons to our former students Miss
Aislinn Gribben and Miss Caoimhine Grant on
recently being awarded prizes at the Prize-giving
Ceremony in Queen’s Management School,
Belfast.
Caoimhine was jointly awarded the Acumen Resources
Prize for the best reflection on the placement experience
and Aislinn was jointly awarded the Mercer Prize for the best
performing student in Actuarial Modelling.
24
Shakespeare
Projects
Class 9B and 9C are pictured with their creative
Shakespeare projects, on the 400th anniversary
of his death.
SHS Newsletter
Geography
Starting to work on the Bug Hotel.
Some Year 11 students pictured enjoying fieldwork based
activities on the Yellow Water River.
Adding some finishing touches.
Eco Club members gather
waste and highlight the
problem of chewing gum waste
on Sports Day.
Some of our Junior Eco Club Members getting ready to put the
new bird feeders around the School Garden.
Lauren
Doyle
takes 2nd
Place
at the “Environmental Youth Speak”
competition in February.
A busy day sowing wildflower
seeds in the school’s
Biodiversity area.
A very happy Eco Committee
is pictured as we win our first
Eco Schools’ Green Flag
award for Sacred Heart. Well done to all involved.
Senior and Junior Eco Club members helping to clean up the
school grounds and the local community.
10
25
Exploring IT
Opportunities at
Sacred Heart
ICT Club
IT is the fastest growing and most exciting sector
in Northern Ireland. The IT and Telecoms industry
in Northern Ireland currently employs 28,000
people and is growing rapidly. In fact 2,300 people
are needed each year to fill the jobs available.
To give the girls an insight into the industry - all Year 10’s
were invited to a talk from “Bring IT On” about the IT
opportunities available in ICT globally and in Ireland and
some of the advancements in technology that we can expect
in the future.
Mr J Quinn
The ICT club opened this year for Year 8 and
9 pupils and ran after school each Thursday.
The club was created and overseen by two
Year 13 volunteers, Niamh Cassidy and Kamile
Bagdonaite.
In the club the Year 8 and 9 girls took part in lots
of fun and exciting projects such as
• Image editing in Photoshop
• Animation Creation
• Minecraft
• App Building
The goal of the club was to inspire pupils to build and share
their ideas, whilst learning digital skills along the way. The
pupils gained skills that are useful to them today and in the
future – such as problem solving, planning, designing and
collaboration. Special thanks to Niamh and Kamile who
brought energy, enthusiasm and a sense of humour to all
lessons.
Spectroscopy in a suitcase!
On Tuesday 26th January our AS and A2 Chemistry pupils got
hands-on experience in Spectroscopy – the study of the way light
and matter interact to study the molecular structure of a substance. A team of Post Graduate Chemistry Research students visited from Queen’s
University Belfast. They ran workshops to show our students how to operate the
FTIR spectrometer and UV/vis spectrometer.
Pupils identified an unknown drug by comparing its spectra to those of aspirin,
paracetamol and ibuprofen as well as measuring the levels of aspirin in blood
serum.
The QUB students were also able to give
our pupils an insight into studying Chemistry
at Queen’s and a taster of the variety of
postgraduate opportunities that exist within the
field of Chemistry.
Ms. C. Rooney (Head of Chemistry)
26
Year 8 STEM Club
In Term 2 our Year 8 pupils spent eight weeks having lots of fun at the Year
8 STEM After-School Club with student teacher, Miss. Laura McIntyre. The
students learned all about how circuits and sensors work.
They had the opportunity to make their own electric fans and investigated the use of heat,
light and humidity sensors.
The girls worked in groups to plan, design, create and market their own projects, manipulating
circuits and incorporating them into every-day items.
The final projects, including a Protective Purse, Light Sensor Phone Case and Teaching
Colours Rainbow were presented to the judges.
The winners of the competition won Easter hampers whilst all of the girls
were given Easter Eggs for their fantastic work and participation.
Well done girls!!
Ms. C. Rooney
Biology Department
Miss P Dickson
Northern Ireland Science Festival
As part of the 2016 Northern Ireland Science
Festival, Year 14 Biology students attended a
lecture presented by Professor Louise Cosby
(Head of Virology Branch, Argi-Food and
Biosciences Institute and emeritus Professor,
Queen’s University of Belfast).
The lecture ‘NOT FRANKENSTEIN: Applications of DNA
technology in medicine and agriculture’ provided the students
with a better understanding of methods used in research
laboratories and how they are revolutionising human and
animal medicine as well as food production.
Year 8 Cell Models
In order to celebrate the Northern Ireland Science festival,
Year 8 pupils produced excellent plant and animal cell
models. Some of the models were so detailed they could
have been used in the teaching of A-level Biology!
27
Folgaria 2016
The view of the snowy mountains from the plane
made it feel real. We were actually going skiing. After
a year of planning and torturing Mrs McCaffery with
late deposits and out of date EHIC cards, somehow
we all managed to make it onto the flight.
When we landed in Verona airport, we couldn’t wait to get
10 minutes Wi-Fi, but with 40 girls all trying to connect at the
same time, you had no luck in uploading your story. The look
on Grace Ferris’ face was priceless when the luggage belt
stopped and her case, which matched her outfit for the day,
hadn’t come out yet. We finally got all our cases, got on the
bus and journeyed through the winding, narrow roads of the
mountains up to the Hotel. We dragged out suitcases up the
stairs, pulled on our boots and went to get our skis fitted. The
most important thing was to find a helmet that matched your
ski jacket. When we got back to the hotel, we were all ready for
dinner and filled our plates from the buffet table, not realising
the pasta was only the starter.
On the first morning, as the bus pulled up at the ski resort,
everybody’s mouths dropped at the height the ski lifts go. As
we tried to walk in our ski boots while pulling or skis behind
us we watched the pros ski off as we pulled our skis up to the
nursery slope as toddlers whizzed past us. The first few days
we learnt how to snow plough and when we finally got the hang
of it they took us onto the ‘proper’ slopes. That’s when the real
fun started, with Kathryn managing to bullet down each hill at
record speeds and falling at the bottom each time, which of
course was caught on video; with Kelly Anne going missing
and finding out she took a lift up by herself to the top of a
mountain which, lucky for her, was blue; with Lydia falling off
the edge of the slope into the trees and everyone thinking that
was her gone. It was eventful to say the least. Losing ski poles
on the lifts was a common occurrence and if you saw a rescue
snowmobile it was probably for us. By the end of the week, it
was clear to see how each of us had improved during the race,
even though Kathryn did have to do it twice because she missed
all the poles the
first time.
We would to
thank all the
teachers who
had to put up
with us for a
whole week,
including Sr.
Julie, Mrs
Brown, Dr.
Frame and
a special
mention to Mrs
McCaffery. It
was truly a once
in a lifetime
trip that we will
never forget.
Helen
Monaghan and
Beth McAvoy
28
Sentinus
Success
Sacred
Heart
Grammar
School’s Technology & Design
Department had outstanding
success at this year’s Sentinus
Young Innovator’s competition
held at the University of Ulster.
Year 12 pupil, Gabrielle Feenan, won
the Intermediate section of the N. Ireland
Young Engineers competition with her
project entitled “Chain Reaction”. This
was a visually awe-inspiring moving
model of a cyclist completed as part of
her GCSE project under the theme of
“Shop Window Display”. Year 14 pupil,
Sarah-Jayne Webb, came second in the
Senior section of the N. Ireland Young
Engineers with her project entitled
“Angle Tutor”.
This was a complex technological aid for
teaching primary school children about angles in an interactive
and engaging manner. It included four carefully programmed
modes of operation, from elementary to an advanced quiz
mode that synchronised the movement of a complex motor
with colourful LED number displays. Both pupils also won a
Young Engineers Award to represent N. Ireland at the UK-wide
“Big Bang” Science Fair to be held in Birmingham in March
2017.
Mr P Flanagan
Pictured are some pupils from 8A who are
showing off their wind-powered buggies
made in Technology & Design.
29
Year 9 pupils showing off some of the key
fob torches that they designed using CAD
and were milled out using the school’s
CNC machine.
Year 13 AS
Performances
The AS Theatre Studies class completed their
final performances at the beginning of May.
These included challenging works from Samuel
Beckett, Margaret Atwood and well-known
musical, ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell.
Learning for
Life and Work
Year 8 Your School Your Business
Year 8 Moving On
Year 9 Explore Business
Year 11 Project Business
Year 11 Industry Masterclass
Students were delighted to be taking part in Young Enterprise
programmes designed to provide opportunities to understand
and develop and apply employability competencies that are
highly valuable to employers and further learning providers.
A special word of thanks to Ciara McIlmoyle from Young
Enterprise and guest speakers Catriona Doherty, Nugelato
and Paul Sheenhan, Student Co-ordinator from BOI, Newry.
Mrs P McClelland
Farewell Year 14
On Thursday 4th May Year 14 students and their
parents gathered together in the school assembly
hall for their final Thanksgiving Mass.
This was followed by a farewell celebration in the school
dining hall before embarking on their A Level examinations.
30
Building refurbishment continues
throughout the summer at SHS...
St. Patrick’s Day
An Irish Mass was celebrated for all Year 10-14
Irish students to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in
SHS.
Bon Voyage
Bon Voyage to Mr Paul Taggart as he takes
a sabbatical from Sacred Heart.
Best wishes today and always.
Enjoy your travels.
31
Gloir Lire
Competitiion
Big congratulations to our colleague Miss Kerry
Fearon. Kerry reached the Final of the Gloir
Lire Competitiion. This was a tremendous
achievement and no doubt an invaluable
experience. We are very proud of you Kerry!