Drumlins

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P4-P7 Sports Day!!

Tuesday 29th May 2018

Well done to everyone for taking part!!

P1 - P3 Sports Day!

At last!

We are finally in a purpose built school building and it was worth the wait! After lots of back breaking work, the new school is open and in action with pupils and staff alike gradually getting used to the space, the light, state of the art whiteboards, an IT suite....When the final external touches have been completed Mrs Marshall and the Board of Governors will be inviting the school community to look around but in the meantime we appreciate your patience.

This week's Tuesday note has LOTS of important information about new routines for the school so please take a minute to read those carefully.

Welcome back to another year at the new improved Drumlins.

Northern Ireland Teacher of the Year Awards

One of the parents recently nominated Mrs Marshall for the NI Teacher of the Year Award and she has made it to the final three! The results will be announced during the summer, so we will keep you informed of the outcome. Congratulations Mrs Marshall and thank you to Callum's mum for the nomination.

****STOP PRESS** Mrs Marshall was the winner! Congratulation on this well deserved recognition of all the hard work Mrs Marshall has put into Drumlins over the years.

First Holy Communion

Some of the children from Primary 4 recently made their first Confession and their First Holy Communion at the local parish church, St Patrick's. As in previous years, Sister Margaret Rose helped to prepare the children for these important sacraments. The rest of their class mates supported their friends and learned a lot about their faith along the way. Following the service, the Primary 4 class put on an assembly in school for parents and pupils, to share their special day. Congratulations to Megan, Max, Eva, Taoiresa, Orin and Leo on taking this important step in your faith.

Dublin Residential Trip

Primary 6 and 7 pupils are currently on a residential trip to Dublin.  Their itinerary includes a Viking Splash tour, a visit to Glasnevin Cemetery, Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin Zoo and Tayto Park as well as various evening activities. Check out the school Facebook page for photos and updates.

Chris Hazzard MLA: Youth Champion

We had a visit today from Chris Hazzard, our local MLA. He talked to the children in assembly about his job before talking part in a question and answer session with the Primary 7 pupils. Chris described his job to the children as meeting the people he represents, listening to them to hear what they need, then doing his best to help them. He said the best part of his job was spending time with the local people in order to find out how he can help them.

At Drumlins we know this to be the case as Mr Hazzard has been closely involved with our efforts to get a permanent school building. He has attended school meetings, listening to the wishes and concerns of parents, he has lobbied on our behalf and has been the lone ear to listen when Mrs Marshall has felt frustrated with the slow pace of bureaucracy!  As such, we were delighted to present him with a Youth Champion award on behalf of the British Youth Council, in recognition of all the work he has done on our behalf and for the good of our children.

Pupils from P6 and P7 recently took part in a Community Sports Event at Lagan Valley Leisureplex. The children had the opportunity to try out lots of different sports from climbing to angling, hurling to tug of war. Some of the children also got to try wheelchair basketball.

New Building

After the children left for the Easter holidays, the staff went to visit the new school building to get an idea of what it will be like. It is fair to say that we were blown away by the facilities, the light and spacious classrooms, the assembly/ PE hall, kitchen....not to mention the staffroom :) It is all coming along extremely well and we are excited to move in and get it ready for the pupils. It is always difficult to convey the true picture but these photos of the playground (rear of the building), a classroom at the front of the building and the view from the front of the building will give you an idea of what we can expect in September! 

Lights, Camera, Action!

Our amazingly talented pupils in Primary 6 & 7 dazzled their fellow pupils, staff and families this week with fabulous performances of the comedy Pirates of the Curry Bean. The children had worked hard to learn their lines, dances, songs and stage directions and on the big day, it all paid off. Audiences were full of praise for the children's performances and they should be very proud of themselves. Many of the adults will be singing "Yo ho, heave ho" for many days to come! 

St Patrick's Day Celebrations

The school turned green in honour of St Patrick today, with pupils and staff wearing green in all sorts of ways from green clothes to hair to crazy hats and headbands. Mr Gibson and the children from Irish Club led an assembly about St Patrick, with Irish dancing from P2 and P3. Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!

Fundraising Day

We have been raising money in school this month in support of Leonard Cheshire Disability, a charity that supports adults with disabilities and in particular helping them towards independent living. On Valentine's Day pupils and staff wore red and brought in donations for the charity. We saw all sorts of red outfits from red hair to face paint to red shorts brrrr! We also held a Dingbats competition with the winner getting a family pass to W5. We raised £410 for the charity - well done everyone.

Vicky McQuoid was in assembley today to be presented with the cheque and to draw the winner of the Dingbats - well done to Hannah Munce in P6, enjoy W5!

Holocaust Memorial Day

The Primary 7 pupils led an assembly to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day today. They did a fantastic job, explaining to Key Stage 2 what happened in the Holocaust and telling the children about more recent genocides. They encouraged the children, staff and parents to commit to Stand up to Hatred by adding their thumb print to a chart in the school hall. They also challenged the classes to complete 100 acts of kindness in the next week to counteract hatred. Check out the P7 Jan/ Feb page for photos of the assembly. 

Action MS Award Ceremony

On 11th January 2017, pupils Leah Lennon (P5) and Alfie Walsh (P2) attended a 'thank you' luncheon and award ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, along with school children from across Northern Ireland. They were the two biggest fundraisers from Drumlins I.P.S. for the sponsored walk at Delamont in May 2016, which raised vital funds for the Action MS charity. Leah and Alfie received 'gold' certificates for their efforts, and accepted another certificate on behalf of Drumlins I.P.S. for raising an amazing £3710.71 in total. Leah and Alfie represented our school so well with their fantastic manners and behaviour. Thank you once again to all our pupils who completed the sponsored walk and to all the people who sponsored them.

Winter Woolies Fund Raising Event

We would like to thank all of our school community for their amazing generosity in support of our fundraising today. Over £1200 was donated to support the Harte family for which they are truly grateful. Thank you so much.

Food Bank

Our school community is always quick to support us in our charity work and our latest endeavour was no exception. This time of year can be particularly difficult and we wanted to offer some support to Ballynahinch Baptist's Food Bank which helps local families. Thank you to everyone for your generosity - your contributions will be greatly appreciated by the recipients.

Christmas Magic

The children in P1, P2 and P3 put on their Nativity play, Born in a Barn, for the rest of the school and then their families today. As usual, it was a triumph with everyone doing their best and kicking off the Christmas season in the best way possible. Well done to all the boys and girls for a super performance and also to the staff for all the hours of rehearsal and preparation. We know the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles will have enjoyed every minute!

VIP Visit

The Minister for Education, Mr Peter Weir, visited the new school site this week to cut the first sod and inspect progress. He was accompanied by Principal Mrs Marshall, VP Miss McQuaid, Head of the Board of Governors Gareth McGrath and Governor David Cole-Baker. The oldest and youngest pupils in the school also attended - Carl and Hannah from P7 and Ewan and Summer from P1.  Afterwards, there was a short reception in the existing school with the Minister, members of the Integrated Education Fund and supporters as well as the design team. The new school building is due to be ready for the new academic year.

Drumlins' Principal speaks in House of Lords

Mrs Marshall recently gave a speech to members and supporters of the Integrated Education Fund, hosted by Baroness Blood at the House of Lords and sponsored heavily by the family of the late Frank Carson. Check out the article on the IEF website:

https://www.ief.org.uk/2016/11/14/drumlins-ips-head-speaks-house-lords/