OCTOBER2013

COLLEGENEWSLETTERInside this issue:

Mr John O’Dowd Visits......2-3

Inclusion & Diversity.......4-5

Work Experience .....6

Numeracy Corner.............7

Literacy Corner.............8

Gifted and Talented..........9

Gifted Gallery Space..............10

Students look to the future.....11-12

Past and Upcoming Events.....13 & 14

Celebrating Talent..............15

Welcome to October’s edition of “Read All About It!” The first mid-term has been and gone so quickly and we are on a countdown to Christmas now!Read ahead to see all the wonderful things that have happened at New-Bridge over the past month...

Read All About It!

Congratulations to Mrs Joanne McKee, our September winner of 100 draw.

Rebecca hits the target in World Junior Championships in China

Gifted and Talented, New-Bridge student, Rebecca Lennon was chosen to represent Team GB in the World Youth Archery Championships in China earlier this month. Rebecca flew to the City of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province who hosted the thirteenth edition of the Championships. Wuxi is located 200 km north-west of Shanghai and is split by the Taihu Lake, while the Yangtze River borders the north part of the city.

Rebecca said she was honoured to be chosen to represent Team GB in China and had an amazing experience. She attended the opening ceremony with contestants from over 50 countries worldwide.

Rebecca came 25th in the Women’s Cadet individual compound and went on to win bronze in the GB team event against Mexico. Rebecca who was ranked 9th in the European Cup in Romania in July currently holds the U16 British Outdoor target Title and was the first person in Ireland in her category to shoot 1400 out of a maximum of 1440.

Rebecca is currently in training with her home club, Ballyvally Archers and will represent Northern Ireland in the Senior and Junior British Indoor Championships in Birmingham in early December.

Mr John O’Dowd visits New-Bridge

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Mrs Anderson, Principal of New-Bridge Integrated College is absolutely delighted to learn that the College is one of fifty local schools to have their application under the School Enhancement Programme (SEP) for capital investment approved.

This is fantastic news for the College and we look forward with great anticipation to the commencement of the work which will include new sports facilities and additional accommodation.

The announcement follows the visit by the Minister for Education, Mr. John O’Dowd, to the College on Wednesday 16th October 2013.

Mr. O’Dowd was greeted by Mrs Anderson, Principal, Mrs Hasson, Vice Principal, members of the Senior Management Team, Mrs Harbinson, Mr Kane and Mr Tate, Head Boy, David Taylor and Head Girl, Tara Curran and a small cohort of Year 8 students

Good news for New-Bridge...

The College choir greeted Mr. O’ Dowd with a beautiful rendition of an African community song ‘Sinje’. The song was chosen because of the relevance of the lyrics to our integrated ethos. ’We are all part of one community where everyone is welcome regardless of their background or culture and we give thanks for every person here’.

During his visit the Minister was given a tour of the school and met with representatives of the Board of Governors. He also had the opportunity to meet with sixth form students to give them an insight into his role as Education Minister.

Mr John O’Dowd visits New-Bridge

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The Minister said: “It is a pleasure to be in New-Bridge Integrated College today and I thank the Principal, Anne Anderson, for her invitation to the school. “New-Bridge prides itself on being ‘The school for all the family’ and is committed to ensuring that all pupils are provided with the opportunity to achieve their full educational potential. Integrated schools have an important role to play in education and my Department has a statutory duty to encourage and facilitate its development.

New-Bridge Integrated College was recently mentioned as an example of good practice in an Education and Training Inspectorate report. The report highlighted 11 schools with relatively high levels of free school meal entitlement who achieve good results in English and Maths at GCSE level.”Evidence shows there is a demand from parents in the Banbridge area for integrated education and that is why earlier this year I approved a development proposal to increase the enrolment at New-Bridge Integrated College.

Continuing, the Minister said: “As well as learning through the core curriculum and achieving very high academic standards, I am pleased to see that New-Bridge offers a range of extra-curricular clubs and activities. These include homework clubs and a STEM club as well as a range of musical and sporting activities.”

In conclusion, the Minister commended the Principal, teachers and all the staff for their hard work and commitment. He said: “Having met with many of the pupils here today, it is clear that they are thoroughly enjoying their educational experience which is strongly influenced by Mrs Anderson and her team. I wish everyone involved with the school well for the future”.

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Inclusion and Diversity at New-Bridge

Year 8 have been following a four week programme on the theme of Cultural Diversity. The programme has been delivered by the Crosslinks team from Belfast, with the help of Banbridge Youth Initiatives. Crosslinks is a cross-community, cross-cultural, arts-based project that seeks to break down barriers and address misconceptions. Young people are encouraged to explore each others’ beliefs, cultures and traditions in an atmosphere of mutual respect and tolerance.

Year 8 Workshops

New-Bridge Integrated College Welcomes the

Onatti Productions Company To celebrate Inclusion and Diversity, the Modern Languages Department arranged for the Onatti Productions Company to deliver a play called “ Mon pere ne me comprend pas “ which was targeted at KS3 / KS4 French classes.The actors are native French speakers and perform their plays in schools throughout the UK. They know a great deal about producing theatre in foreign languages and were able to incorporate lots of words and phrases which the pupils have come across in class.The Year 9 and Year 11 pupils engaged enthusiastically and surprised themselves with just how much French they actually knew. A special thank you to those pupils who volunteered to join the actors on stage to read out their part of the script in French;Elaine Keegan 9BT and Martin Fitzpatrick 9MD.

Mrs O’Loughlin and Ms Byrne – Modern Languages Department

Languages and Culture AssemblyOn Friday 18 October New-Bridge celebrated Languages and Culture during a special assembly. Bilingual pupils spoke to the audience in their first language. The languages were German, Lithuanian, Spanish, French, Irish, Turkish and Swedish. Year 10 pupil Alanna Mc Court was awarded her OLA Entry 2 Certificate, having achieved the highest mark in Northern Ireland! The assembly also included a Euro quiz, in which the pupils participated with great enthusiasm. The College Prayer was specially presented in French, Spanish and English.

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Inclusion and Diversity at New-Bridge

On Friday 18th October, our Year 11 pupils participated in a Sharing Classrooms / Deepening Learning (SC/DL) Project entitled ‘Mixed Emotions’, a play about mixed marriages.

The project was developed by the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) in partnership with the Northern Ireland Mixed Marriage Association (NIMMA), and included a Drama presentation aimed at helping students discuss issues related to the past and reconciliation today. The play was linked to real-life stories of mixed marriage couples featured in the NIMMA book ‘Mixed Emotions’.

The Drama performance directed by Mrs Andrea Grimson and produced by the ‘Nitty Gritty’ Theatre Company starred two of our former pupils – Ciara McGrath and William Price, and on

lights and sound – our former Principal, Mr Gerry Jones. After the Drama performance, pupils participated in a series of workshops led by Andrea and the cast of the show. The activities included walking debates, freeze frames and discussion work centred around the issue of mixed marriages. The SC/DL Project seeks to create inclusive environments in increasingly diverse classrooms and is funded by the International Fund for Ireland

through its Sharing in Education Programme.

SCDL Project Manager, Bernie Kells, liaised with NIMMA to have its book used by local teachers and said: “We foresee a great Drama with accompanying teacher resources that are explicitly connected to ‘Mixed Emotions’. The play will also feature on a showcase video that we are making about the SC/DL Project, excerpts of which will be used online.”

NIMMA Chairman Ken Dunn said; “This is a major advance for NIMMA and one that allows us to reach one of our target audiences, teenagers.

“NIMMA has a simple, straightforward message of tolerance and reconciliation and the book was written as a vehicle for that message and with an audience of young people specifically in mind.

“We thank the International Fund for Ireland and our partners in NICIE for their faith in the project, their commitment to it and their vision in producing it, and making it so accessible to our young people.”

Mixed Emotions with Year 11...

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Year 12 work experience ran from 14th to 18th of October, with every pupil gaining a placement. On Monday morning, 17 pupils set out for the Army camp in Ballykinler. It was a residential trip so they spent the entire week there. They were up every morning by 6am and completed various army tasks such as physical training. Two pupils spent their week in Belfast working for a PR company, where they got the chance to dress models for Fashion Week in Belfast. The other placements ranged from working in hairdressers to teaching in primary schools, some shadowed nurses in hospitals and another worked with a community midwife. Other pupils worked with solicitors and got to go to Court. Some pupils worked in a Veterinary surgery and got to observe animal surgery-one pupil even got to see a monkey! Overall, it was a fantastic week which was full of exciting and new tasks and some pupils even left their placements with the offer of a part-time job. Check out the gallery on the school website for more photos.

Work Experience

Year 12 pupils go to work...

Numeracy Corner

Entries for puzzles to be given to any Maths teacher. Winner will be drawn and get a prize!

Puzzle of the Month

Junior (Year 8 - 10)

Senior (Year 11-12)

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How many triangles and quadrilaterals are there in this diagram?

Tom asked his Granny how old she was. Rather than giving him a straight answer, she replied:

“I have 6 children, and there are 4 years between each one and the next. I had my first child (your Uncle Peter) when I was 19. Now the youngest one (Your Auntie Jane) is 19 herself. That’s all I’m telling you!”

How old is Tom’s Granny?

Literacy Corner

Book of the MonthI suppose, with it being Halloween, I have to recommend a spooky book, but then the question is, which one? We have lots of books from this genre in the library by authors such as Anthony Horrowitz for junior school pupils, and Kirsten Cast for older pupils.

I have chosen a series of books this month called ‘Spooks’, and this is one instance when you can judge the books by their covers! There are five in the series, written by Joseph Delaney, aimed at junior school pupils. Even though the books are quite thick, don’t let this put you off as they are easy to read. One pupil read three in a weekend! They don’t have to be read in order, just choose the one which interests you the most.

I am a real Tolkien fan, and love how there is so much more to his books than the actual stories- he has maps, languages and a history behind the characters. These books have the same depth with character outlines at the start of each book. To get the most from this series, there is a website you can visit to get maps, pictures, play games and register as a Spooks Apprentice! The author also regularly updates his blog on the site too. I just wish Tolkien would have been able to interact with his readers like this, as there are so many questions I would love to ask him. Tolkien finished writing in 1948 which was also the year another hero of mine, Alan Turing, wrote his first computer programme for playing chess for a computing machine that didn’t even exist! So make the most of this opportunity, read the books and go online to find out as much information as possible, and maybe even have an online chat with the author. If only……..

Mrs Mc Kinstry (Teacher in charge of Library)

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A

lovely bookshelf on the wall."

— Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

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Gifted and Talented Programme at New-Bridge!

New-Bridge U16 attended a Camogie Blitz in Ballyholland on the 3rd October. New-Bridge played Our Lady’s from Newry in the first game. This was a very strong Our Lady’s team, but the New-Bridge girls played extremely well as a team to curtail their main players. Towards the end of the game Our Lady’s broke away, but they had to work very hard for their scores due to the constant pressure and determination from the New-Bridge girls. Next up was St Patrick’s Banbridge, two very evenly matched teams. The game was played at a very fast pace and both teams were throwing everything that they had into every tackle. The New-Bridge girls came out on top in this game and worked very hard to get this victory. Their determination to win and their team work was superb and hopefully this will be built on in the matches to come. Player of the Blitz goes to Amy Wolfe, who showed great leadership carrying the ball forward and determination in the tackle to win the ball back. Keep this up Amy! Mrs Mone

Camogie Blitz

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Miss Gemma Price from Northern Ireland Opera has visited the College to work with Amie Green 14ML in a special master class. As you all know, Amie has an amazing Operatic voice and is applying for specialist Music courses for next year. You will all get a chance to hear Amie sing in this year’s ‘Winter Warmer’ in the Music Department and in our annual Carol Service.

Currently we have 55 pupils learning an instrument in New-Bridge and we are very proud of our 100% pass rate in external examinations last term -80% of these were distinctions! Make sure you check the timetable every week for your lesson time.

Instrumental Tuition up and running in the Music Department.

Amie’s Master Class

Do you enjoy creating your own art work outside as well as inside the classroom?Has your 2B pencil been used so much it’s now only an inch long?Are you constantly doodling, drawing and

daydreaming of being the next Picasso?

Every month the Art Department would like to feature examples of students who are so passionate about art that they spend their spare time creating exciting art work that they’d like to share with the New- Bridge school community.

This month we are featuring Alex Savage 8MAN in the Gifted Gallery Space.

 2B or not 2B pencil ? That is the question…

Artist of the month is awarded to Year 12 GCSE student Maria McArnearney for the beautiful work she created for her course work portfolio on the theme “Vintage Tea-party”. This was the first time Maria had worked with the medium of lino and she impressed Miss Jenkins with her delicate design and the intricate embellishments she used to enhance some of her prints. Well done Maria, an impressive addition to your portfolio.

The Gifted Gallery Space

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Excellent artist Alex has demonstrated a great interest and flair for creativity since joining New-Bridge. Alex is a keen member of Art Club and works independently at home creating wonderful drawings and paintings just like this one entitled “Tailor’s Secrets”. Alex explained that she enjoys all types of Art. Keep on creating such wonderful work Alex!

Please present any work you would like to feature in the Gifted Gallery Space to Mrs McKeown, Miss Jenkins or Miss Guiney.

New-Bridge students look to the future!

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On October 2nd 2013 the AS and A2 art students visited the ‘Analysing Cubism’ exhibition in the F.E.McWilliam Gallery. This exhibition holds the work of a number of Irish artists who travelled to Paris to educate themselves not long after the partition of Ireland and the First World War.

We were given a tour around the gallery and were invited to analyse the paintings by our guide Sarah Mc Bride. Sarah got us to really explore the meaning behind the paintings and she helped us to understand the concepts of the work within the context of the time in history.

The exhibition showed the close relationship between Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Mary Swanzy and May Guinness who were all considered to be the founders of Cubism in Ireland. I was really interested in the fact that these four strong women were working alongside their contemporaries, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, on one of the most important art movements. Overall, I really enjoyed the exhibition and I am sure that seeing the work first hand will influence my own personal work. I know I’ll definitely go back to see it all again!

Vivian Vong Year 14

Art Students analyse Cubism...

New-Bridge students look to the future!

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Year 10 Citizenship Trip to Stormont

Citizenship has changed for year 10 pupils this year. It is now taught during Personal Development lessons by form tutors and we are focusing on the topics of Crime and the Law, and Democracy. To finish off the work, a trip to Parliament Buildings took place on Monday 14th October. Monday is a busy day for our MLAs as it is a day when they are ‘in session’. Whilst we were waiting in the main hall, the Minister for Education, Minister for Arts, Culture and Leisure and Minister for Agriculture all walked past on

the upper level, hurrying to meetings. Gerry Adams also walked through the hall past us and there were cameras and microphones set up for media interviews later in the day.

We were met by two members of the education team who brought us into the committee room and explained how Parliament Buildings operate on a day-to-day basis and also some of the history of the place, for example, how it was used in World War II. We then went to rooms for a presentation on the work of the Assembly and our representatives. The tour finished with a visit to the main debating Chamber where Arlene Foster, Minister for Enterprise, was discussing new laws for Citizens Advice services and copyright laws on the internet.

Of course we headed back to McDonald’s before returning to school! Everyone seemed to have a good appetite, despite six people feeling ill on the journey there after taking a detour to avoid the bomb scare on the M1. Someone, who will remain anonymous, even ate a 20 piece box of McNuggets by himself!!!

Mrs Mc Kinstry

Past Events

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Army visit New-Bridge for STEM workshop with GCSE Technology students...

The Army recently visited New-Bridge to volunteer their time and skills in engineering to help promote Technology & Design as a great STEM subject. They carried out two workshops to cater for our 40 GCSE pupils. They delivered a presentation on how careers in the Army need STEM, followed by an interactive design challenge for the pupils to get involved in. The challenge was to design a battery powered hovercraft that was raced at the end of the session. This created a great deal of healthy competition in the workshop. The pupils worked in teams, listening attentively and following instructions on how to achieve a working model of the hovercraft. The pupils had great fun and were a credit to New-Bridge. The challenge provided them with an excellent opportunity to develop further communication, teamwork, leadership, management, interpersonal, flexibility and adaptability skills in a fun way. These are some of the essential life-long skills the pupils will need for employability and learning for life and work in future years. It was a very enjoyable STEM activity for all involved and helped to reinforce the importance of Technology and Design in school today as a very relevant and essential subject for the future of our economy. A certificate of achievement was received by all the pupils involved, so well done everyone!

New-Bridge Students participate in Safety Night Out Workshop

Students in Year 12 engaged in an informative workshop based around the dangers young people encounter on a night out. Facilitators created a nightclub environment and students were admitted as if it was a normal night out. Some students were refused admission and were left outside alone as friends went in without them. Facilitators talked to students about the possible dangers they may encounter such as spiked drinks, fights, drug and alcohol related incidents and the importance of staying together and travelling home accompanied.

Representatives from the SELB Youth Service, PCSP and PSNI gave advice to students how to behave responsibly and most importantly how to conduct themselves safely. The workshop was interactive and engaging and we were delighted to welcome Mrs Colette Ross, Eimear McCurdie and Fergal Ross, SELB Youth Service, Ciaran McCartan, Youth Support Worker, Helen Coop, Community Safety Warden, Alison Beattie, PCSP and representatives from the Banbridge PSNI.

Mr Kane, Pastoral Co-ordinator commented ‘This Workshop is an important and effective way of encouraging our young people to take care on a night out and to be aware of the dangers they can face on what should be an enjoyable evening with friends. We hope our students will take on board the advice given to them to ensure that they think and act more responsibly and enjoy a safe night out’.

Upcoming Events

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FILM CLUBDo you ever imagine being the next Tim Burton?Film Club started on Thursday 3rd of October.An amazing 24 pupils came along to watch ‘Coraline’.Film Club’s main aim is for pupils to sit back, relax, absorb the film and be a critic.The club will also enable pupils to make their own short films/animations and you will be provided with the chance to enter competitions.Film Club runs every Thursday from 3.20 to 4.20.I look forward to seeing you.

Miss Guiney.

New-Bridge Music Department Presents...“Winter Warmer”

Thursday 12 December 7.30pmA celebration of talent in our school.

If you would like to be involved this year please let Mrs McLean know.

New-Bridge Integrated College Choir 2013-2014New-Bridge Integrated College choir is making quite a reputation for themselves and the prestigious events they are being invited to participate in is testimony to their hard work and the work of Head of Music, Mrs T McLean. The Choir recently performed in the Market Place Theatre, Armagh, sang for the Minister of Education, Mr John O’Dowd and are looking forward to singing in the Waterfront Hall at the Peace Proms in February.

New-Bridge Integrated College Guitar Music Tutor, Mr Michael Murphy is trekking across the Sahara with his guitar on his back of course! All money he raises will go to the Northern Ireland Hospice. Donations are welcome and can be received through the College Office.

Celebrating Talent

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New-Bridge Integrated College 25 Donard View Road

Loughbrickland BT32 3LN

Telephone: (028) 406 25010

Website: www.newbridgeintegrated.org

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