christmas newsletter

Miss McDonagh gets Best Teacher award!

December 2012

Volume 13

St. Malachy’s News

Inside this issue:

25th Anniversary 2-3

Christmas Concert 6-7

China Visit 9

Status Quo 11

Old Firm Alliance 12

Urban Sports Park 14

Famine Project 17

Concert photos inside!

A big congratulations goes out to Miss McDonagh who won a Best Teacher Award recently. She was one of 40 teachers

chosen in the competition organised by the Belfast News Group .She attended a ceremony at the Belfast Met Titanic Quarter Campus and received a beautiful plaque. Miss McDonagh,who is

Primary One teacher and Head of Key Stage 1, has taught at St Malachy’s since it opened 25 years ago and previously in The girl’s Convent, Sussex Place. She is a totally devoted teacher who is much loved by her pupils and colleagues alike and is very well deserving of this award.She was nominated by parent Cathy

Jones so thank you Cathy!


25th Anniversary Celebration

We all had a lovely day on 30th October when we

celebrated our 25th Anniversary with a Mass in the Chapel. Afterwards Bishop Farquhar unveiled a plaque in the school

foyer and planted a tree in our school garden. Past

members of staff and associates of the school were invited to view the photographic exhibition in

the hall. Over the following week the

exhibition was open to all parents and members of the local community. A

dvd of the event is available to purchase at a price of £6.50 and has proved very popular.

There are a small number left so if you are

interested please place your order soon.

Above; The Bishop plants a tree and left; The Bishop prepares to unveil the commemoration plaque

Volume 13

Above; The Bishop holds the Belfast crystal we presented him with and is pictured with John Joe and Tia who sang the responsorial psalm. Below; The canteen staff baked a special cake for the day


Christmas Concert Success! Our Christmas concert was a great success this year and we played to a packed house.

The Primary Ones and Twos performed a play called ‘Baby Jesus’ and the P3 play was ‘Shine Star Shine’. The Traditional group, Choir and Djembe Group entertained the parents and Key Stage 2 performed a comedy sketch

entitled ‘Behind the staffroom door’

The choir sing carols

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Christmas Festivities

Our pupils have been very busy getting ready for Christmas recently. We celebrated our

Christmas Mass with P4-7 on 20th December while P1-3 and Nursery had a special prayer service that day instead. Key Stage 1 had a

Christmas Movie Day in the PE Hall on Tuesday 18th watching ‘Santa Paws’. The

teachers are all hoping that their boys and girls will be in bed early on Christmas Eve. We

hope everyone is on Santa’s ‘GOOD’ list and that he visits EVERYONE!!! Happy Christmas

to all at St Malachy’s!


Christmas Concert

P5-7 Drama– Tired Teachers Traditional group

P1/2 sheep P2 musicians

P1/2 Mary and Joseph P1 Wise Men

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P3-Narrators P3 Shepherds

P3-Twin stars! P3– Mary and Joseph

Nursery performers Nursery Santa!


Basketball News This term we decided to start a p.4 basketball team who would train with our p.5 team. There was a huge interest in this and the children really enjoyed taking part and learning a new sport. The p.5 team, and some p.6 girls who only started playing this term, took part in a match against Holy Family in Queens PEC. This was the first time any of the children played in a competitive match and they were playing against an all p.7 team. They lost by 5 baskets but performed very well for a first game, especially in the second half. Well done to Leah White-Bowen who was awarded the MVP (Most Valuable Player)

With the new community centre only months away from completion the future looks bright for Saint Malachy’s basketball!

Back row L-R Caitlin Bowman, Rudransh Tomar, Gerard Flynn, Aditi Bhatt, Natalia Jankowiak, Jessica Sweeney, Leah White Bowen Front Row L-R Naomi McMullan, Jayadeep Mingee, Odhran McKee, Frankie Maguire(c ) Dillon Valliday, Sorcha Conlon, Emer Doherty

Volume 13

Mr White’s visit to China

Mr White recently visited China for a week with a group of other principals and teachers from local schools. He attended a series of seminars and culture awareness events in

Shanghai. The aim was to foster educational links with China and promote Chinese culture

and Mandarin language our schools.


Celebrating Success Congratulations to Primary 6 girls Jessica Sweeney, Naomi

McMullan and Cora Rose McGroarty who recently travelled to Glasgow for an Irish Dancing Competition in which they won lots of trophies and medals. They are very talented indeed

and we are very proud of them!

My name is Ryan Johnston and I am in P6. I box for St George’s ABC. I won an All Ireland medal and lots of trophies.I have beaten boys of ten and eleven years old. I saw

Paddy Barnes up the Antrim Road at a boxing event. I was fighting

against a boy called Michael and I won. I AM THE CHAMP!!!!!

Volume 13

Rockin all over the World...

Status Quo drummer Jeff Rich recently visited our school for a mammoth drumming lesson during which he explained the

whole history of drumming and got literally every

single child and member of staff in the school involved in a huge

percussion session! The result was an amazing sound which would have lifted the roof of the

Odyssey! Mr White was especially pleased as he got to meet and perform

with a member of his favourite band!


Old Firm Alliance

The Primary Fives recently attended an ‘Old Firm Alliance’ event in the Ozone. Shayna from our P5 is pictured with ‘Hoopy’ ( the Celtic FC mascot) and a P5 girl from Blythfield PS is with Broxy ( the Rangers FC mascot). Both girls were presented with goody bags for their classes.

Volume 13

Christmas Festivities

SANTA VISIT Every child in Primary 1, 2 and 3 went to visit Santa in his special grotto in

school on 19th December. Santa said that St.

Malachy’s children were very well behaved and all

deserved a present! (pictured right Eve

McStravick P1 with Santa) Trocaire Gifts

Campaign Each class has been busy raising money to purchase Trocaire gifts for those in

developing countries.We will let you know how much we raised

in the New Year.

Carol Service P7s enjoyed taking part in a School of Music Carol

Service in The Waterfront Hall on 18th December.


P6 Urban Sports Event

Primary Six children visited the urban sports park T13 last month to learn how to ride

skateboards and BMX bikes safely.They all had a go on the ramp and it was a great

experience! Pictured above Caoimhin Pollock shows off his skills.

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Youth Club Building

The new Youth Club Building is well under way now with expected

completion date February 2013. The teachers and Mr White recently visited the hall and were very impressed with the progress.


Belfast Giants

Belfast Giant Steve came to talk to our children about ‘Healthy Living’ last month. He gave children advice on diet and led them in an exercise session which got their pulses going! It was great fun!

Volume 13

Primary 7 Famine Drama

Primary Sevens have been studying the topic of ‘The famine in Ireland’ which took place over 150 years ago. As part of

their project they invited each class from P3-P6 to

watch a drama in their classroom

recently. The P7s made us aware of famines which are taking place in the

world in the present day and of

the link to our Trocaire

fundraising. It was a very informative session for all.

Above; starving children search for food and below the failure of the potato crop was one

of the reasons for ‘The Great Hunger’ in Ireland.


Pupils of the Month for November- Key Stage 1

Pupils of the Month for November– Key Stage 2 Back left to right; Lindsay Jana McGrattan P5 Rudransh Tomar P5 Sorcha Conlon P6 Caitlin Bowman P6 Front; Sree Domireddy P4 John Paul Lagan P4 Kata Koles P4

Transfer Test Pupils Back left to right;

Emma McCavana

Lara McAllister

Hannah Murray

Bronagh McMullan

Aimee McCleave

Tara Nem McKee Front

Nathan Delaunay

John Joe McGrady

Jude Wallace

Anton McGreevy

Back left to right;

Cormac Sweeney

Julia powaszynska

Connor McDermott

Ciaran McDermott

Ridhi Tomar

Front;

Thomas Larkin

Kylan Steele

Eve McStravick

Marcus Fitzsimmons

Cheona Morrison Doherty

Katie-Ann O’Kane

Maria Lewandowska

Laura Casey

Volume 13

Pupils of the Month for December -Key Stage 1

Back left to right; Robert Kolas P5 Dora Kolas P7 Jordanna Hart P7 Caoimhin Duffin P6 Faizan Rakeeb P6 Riannan Timperly P5 Sushmita Ponsailapathy P4 Demi Flynn P4 Oisin McKee P4 Aimee Bowman P4

Pupils of the Month for December– Key Stage 2

Back left-right; Claire Ndhlova

Niamh Carson

Calvin Lin

Annie Green

Jordan White

Kamya Panehagnula

Front;

Conor Duffin

Amie Conlon

Sherwyn Christopher

Jashvita Katta

Joseph Berry

( absent-Cuisle Dobbin)

After School Clubs Traditional Music Group Thursday 12.30-1.00 Bodhran Group Wednesday 3-4pm Djembe Group Monday 3-4pm Basketball Tues 4.30-5.30pm (Girls) Wed 3-4pm (Boys)

Afterschool Games P2-Mon 2.00-2.45pm

P3-Tues 2.00-2.45pm

P4/5-Tues 3.00-4.00pm

P6/7 Thur 3.00-4.00pm

Gaelic Football Mon 3pm-4pm Traditional Group

St Malachy’s PS Eliza Street Belfast

Phone: 02890-327460 Fax: 90242484 E-mail: [email protected]

Don’t Forget...

www.stmalachysps

.belfast.ni.sch.uk

Do you like our newspaper? Did you know you can look at it in colour on the web in your own time? To check this out and lots of other fun activities log on to

www.stmalachysps.belfast.ni.sch.uk .If you have any ideas for this newspaper or would like anything included we would love to hear from you! Please contact Mrs McSorley P6

Nursery News We all sang so well at our Christmas Concert on 14th December. We learned a lovely Christmas Prayer for our Prayer Service. Santa came to visit us this week and he brought us lots of presents! We all posted our letters to Santa and we await his reply! We had a Christmas party on 19th December. We had an Open Day on 18th December for next year’s applicants and there was a great turnout.

The closing date for applications for Nursery

School and Primary 1 next September 2013 is 11th

January at 12 noon.

christmas newsletter

Documents

christmas mass

malachys news basketball

day page

christmas festivities

happy christmas

christmas eve

christmas movie day

belfast news group