inside this issue inside this issue - lagan college...science club continues to meet each wednesday...

Open Day

Principal’s Foreword

2

Spag-Mall Challenge

2

Open Day 3

Year 8 Achievement Assembly

4

Science Club 4

Sixth Form Formal 5

Love Your Heart 6

Eco Update 6

CAS 7-8

Students’ Council 9-10

Beijing Adventure 11

Year 13 Symposium 12-13

Sports Update 13-16

Calendar 16

Please note that our Newsletter can be viewed in colour on our College website: www.lagancollege.com

Science Club Sixth Form Formal

Beijing Adventure Sports Update

Spag-Mall Challenge

Inside this issue

Inside this issue:

P A G E 2 L A G A N C O L L E G E U P D A T E

Principal’s Foreword Welcome to another edition of the Newsletter. Our congratulations go to the PE students and staff on their wonderful achievements to date in Netball, Hockey, Football and Cross Country. The girls showcased their skills in the Integrated Schools Hockey and Netball Championships. We are also extremely proud of Emma McCartney, who has been selected for the GB Taekwondo team. Since Christmas, our students have been involved in many other exciting events and opportunities. Some highlights have been raising £927.30, as part of our ‘Love Your Heart’ campaign, the fabulous Sixth Form Formal evening and participating in

the Spag- Mall Challenge as one of our STEM initiatives. Our Eco-Committee members also participated in the Eco-Schools’ Climate Change Summit and got the chance to meet the, “weather man”, Frank Mitchell. If only Frank could do something about the snow! To close, I would just like to say thank you to all the students and parents who supported the staff on Open Day. It was a positive event and many visitors commented on the confidence, enthusiasm and helpfulness shown by our young people. Amanda Mc Namee

Lagan College Host the Spag-Mall Challenge

On Friday 8th February, fifty Year 10 students from Lagan College took part in the exciting Spaghetti Marshmallow Challenge. The task was organised by the school’s busy Mathematics and Technology departments. Teams of students were challenged to build a structure around 30cm high using uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows. At the completion of the task, pupils waited with baited breath as a weight was placed on top of each structure to test its strength. Miss Murphy and Mr Mooney talked to the students about the many interesting careers available to them involving engineering. Chocolate prizes were awarded for the best constructions. Pupils reported having a fun time!

Open Day

The staff and students of Lagan College welcomed a large number of prospective pupils and their parents to our Open Day on Saturday 19th January, where they sampled the wide range of subjects on offer. The children assisted with experiments in Science, engaged in activities in Home Economics and Music and joined the students performing in the Drama Department. An enjoyable day was had by all!


Photos courtesy of The Ulster Tatler


Year 8 Achievement Assembly

Science Club Constructions

Science Club continues to meet each Wednesday after school in Sc4. This term, we have experimented with bubbles you can bounce, coloured flames and fire writing. We have also had great success with constructing marble runs and, as in the picture, spaghetti towers. Come along and join us for fun and experiments 3.20 – 4.15 each Wednesday.

Following on from their fabulous Year 8 Achievement Assembly, Year 8 top boys and girls from each form class were invited to a Champions’ Lunch in the canteen with Mrs Mills and Ms Bell. Gravy chips seemed to be a favourite option! There was a delightful atmosphere and the pupils were very grateful, especially to Mr Hare, for his beautiful table decoration and poster!

Sixth Form Formal Make-up, spray tans and hairdressing appointments… the day had finally arrived! Friday 15th February saw the Event of the Year take place (the Year 14 Formal, of course!) in the Culloden Hotel. The night was expertly planned and organised by the Formal Committee and was well attended by students and staff; it was a wonderful way to celebrate an unforgettable seven years at Lagan College. The night sparkled with a champagne reception where glamorous guests posed with their respective dates for professional photos. Sincere thanks to the Culloden staff who served up a delicious three course meal which tasted as good as it looked. Conversation and laughter flowed among the candle-lit tables and a photo-booth was a further fantastic addition to the night’s entertainment, allowing students to pose with various entertaining props and have their pictures printed off instantly. The evening ended at midnight for staff but the night simply notched up a gear for students as they boarded buses to ferry them to their after-formal location in Belfast city centre. A not-to-be-forgotten evening created many fabulous memories for conversations still to come. Many thanks to the staff who supported the evening in a variety of ways and to the Formal Committee for their creativity, hard work and tireless dedication.


Students and staff dress to impress at the Sixth Form Formal in the Culloden Hotel.

For more coverage of this event , pleas see the April edition of The Ulster Tatler.

Photos courtesy of The Ulster Tatler

Eco Climate Change at Stormont The Lagan Eco-Committee sent four pupil delegates to this summit where they made a formal presentation on the prob-lems associated with climate change. The Lagan team fo-cused on Australia, with other schools presenting on differ-ent countries from around the world, including the UK. It is a very serious issue that does not seem to be taken as seriously as it should be.

A presentation was also delivered showing, the effects of climate change in Northern Ireland. It highlighted some of the extreme weather we have already been experiencing over the last number of years, with many weather records being broken. The event was hosted by Frank Mitchell of UTV and was a fantastic educational experience for the pupils. Mr JP Patton


The PE Department launched the ‘Love Your Heart’ campaign’ on 14th February and encouraged as many students and staff to buy a packet of Love Hearts for £1. Macro very kindly sold the stock to the College at a greatly reduced price. Much of the money made was pure profit and will to be used to buy our own defi-brillator, as well as to pay for staff training. We have all heard of cases where specialist equipment such as this could have saved young lives in school settings. Approximately £900 was raised, so thank you to everyone who contributed to this very worthy cause!

‘Love Your Heart’Campaign

Extra-Curricular Activities Creativity Action Service

(CAS) At Lagan College, we pride ourselves on the range of extra curricular activities that we offer our pupils. These activities range from Sporting and Fitness to Arts and Drama, all of which serve to develop our pupils into well rounded young adults. To meet with this demand, there is a flourishing programme of activities every day after school. Other clubs and societies meet at lunch time, at weekends or regularly, as required. The current list consists of the following, but is by no means exhaustive. It can be added to as pupil demand requires.

Design Club STEM Club Girls’ Soccer History Club Gaelic Football Wii Club Senior and Junior Basketball Junior Justice Group Shodokan Aikido Geography Field Trip Club Young Enterprise Uni Survival Personal Safety Sign Language First Aid European Studies Science Club Genesis Club Senior Justice Group Revelation Fitness Badminton IT Coursework Club Media Club Litter Duty Recycling Eco Committee Student Council Boys’ Football Tennis Athletics Boys’ Golf Boys’ Cricket Girls Hockey Netball Swim Team Girls Gymnastics Girls’ Dance Rugby Cross Country Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme However, it is worth noting that all these activities are subject to change, as staff commitments vary throughout the year. Any pupil interested in taking part should talk to the teacher in charge first. The College has also hosted several dramatic productions annually, in which a large number of students take part. We have been selected twice to represent Northern Ireland at the National Theatre in London. A wide variety of trips for educational, cultural and sporting reasons are also organised each year within the British Isles and abroad. Visits have been made recently to London, Switzerland, Belgium, Peru, China, Africa, India, the United States and Spain. A timetable of available CAS activities can be found on the next page. Mr L Mathison



CAS

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Students’ Council Chair Persons Luke Withers Eimear Lamb Jim Peacock Sophie McAlorum

Student Council Representatives Student Council Agenda 7th February Location - Ph1, Period2 Agenda 1. Distribute previous minutes • All minutes read and agreed. Jim commented that distribution by email was useful and would save

on paper / printing costs, etc. • The item concerning late buses has been passed to Mr McFadden who is well aware of this. Council members are urged to ensure that any pupils who are being overlooked by a bus ask their parents to write to Translink to voice their concerns. 2. Issues with pupil toilets • Discussion followed on this point with members raising the concern that the issues ranged from

sectarian graffiti to unsanitary conditions. Some pupils seem to be eating their lunch in the male toilets.

• This issue includes the female toilets, with the senior pupils feeling most strongly that it was unacceptable. • It was agreed that prefects on duty need to be more aware of groups going into the toilets and that

the current situation will be eased when the new school is available, as there will be more toilets available for specific year groups. This should also allow year groups to be held more accountable for the toilets that they use.

• The question was raised “Is it permissible for prefects to go into the toilets, while on duty, to prevent pupils congregating there?” – Mr Mathison agreed to raise this with Miss Atkinson. • It was felt that this is as issue of respect and the council noted their thanks for the efforts that the

caretakers, Mr Menagh and Mr Kane, have put into repainting over graffiti.

8BNG Lucy Rice

8EW Buck Groves

9OR Jassmyn Cairns

9OR Scott Wilson

10CD Meadbh O’Grady

10PRV Daire Magee

11MNY David McCartney

11MY Jordan Doree

12BKT Nakiso Bvunzawabaya

12WHT Reagan McConnell 13CW Sophie Bateman

13MGK Michael McNulty

14WLS Louise Cassidy

14WLS Conall Gilmore

P A G E 1 0 L A G A N C O L L E G E U P D A T E

Student Council Meeting Minutes 3. Queuing arrangements for canteen – is it right that those who get free meal tickets should queue separately? • This issue was raised separately by two Year 8 pupils and one Year 12 pupil. On some days, there

seems to be different queuing arrangements in place. In particular, pupils who receive free school meals are being asked to queue separately and it is felt that they are being singled out in this way.

• Given the inclusive nature of our school, this seems unfair as it is essentially two queues separated by socio-economic status. The council debated several alternatives:

1. One single managed queue with the person responsible for handing the free meal cards out either making their way along the queue – pupils could be responsible for attracting her attention to get their ticket.

2. Another idea concerned tickets being given out at a separate time (office or form time) on a daily basis or weekly basis, with a stamp for each day.

It was agreed that the new build will again resolve this issue, but there was strong feeling that a more inclusive interim measure could be put in place. 4. Volunteers to update Council Notice Board • Thanks to Jim and Conall for agreeing to help with this. Mr Mathison will provide materials when

needed. It would be good if any other members of the Council with artistic abilities could offer a banner or title to the notice board.

5. Any Other Business • Pupils who take senior lunch have been commenting that they don’t have a full range of choices,

eg. items from the panini range - as they seem to be sold out very quickly. Possibly this can be looked at.

• Mr Mathison agreed to look into the possibility of the Student Council having a tour of the new school.

• Not all pupils seem to have been given the school magazine. It was agreed to monitor this and follow up after half term.

Proposed future student council dates:

Thursday 7th Feb Period 2 Thursday 14th March Period 2 Thursday 18th April Period 2 Thursday 1st May Period 2 (may have to be moved to accommodate a meeting before study leave) Thursday 16th May Period 2 Thursday 20th June Period 2

Next meeting Thursday 14th March period 2 (Week A) Ph1 Mr L Mathison Student Council Co-Ordinator

Mandarin City:Beijing Adventure Confucius say, “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” What would bring 27 busy teachers away from report writing, exam marking and the excitement of the build up to Christmas to spend 24 hours getting to a freezing and polluted city on the other side of the world? Mrs Harbinson and Miss Bell needed very little persuasion to do just that. We spent five amazing, action packed days in Beijing, to experience first-hand the language and culture of the world’s fasted growing economy. As well as learning enough Chinese to haggle with the hard-nosed traders in Silk Street Market, and a chance to check out their Chinese teaching materials, our hosts took us to the Great Wall of China, the Birds Nest Olympic Stadium, The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. Beijing is mind-blowing: high-rises fight for space amongst concrete fly-overs and carriage-ways. Traffic jams are so much a part of life, you wonder how anyone arrives anywhere. The people have very little leisure time and there is always the awareness of authority in the background.

But we were looked after like VIPs and met with great kindness (and patience) from our young guides. Perhaps when our Chinese teacher arrives next year to introduce some Chinese language and culture to our students, the high cultural and linguistic barriers that exist can start to come down. After her tumble at the Great Wall, Mrs Harbinson may find solace in the great philosopher Confucius’ words: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do”. Miss A Bell


Year 13 Symposium - Are We Tolerant?

On February 27th, Year 13 pupils attended the annual Sixth Form Symposium, which was held at Grosvenor Grammar School. The ‘Question Time’ style event is a joint venture between Lagan College, Grosvenor and Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Knock. The event was once again hosted by the wonderful John Daly and was organized in large part by the Head Boy and Girl from each of the three participating schools. For this year’s topic, the team decided to focus on the theme “Are We Intolerant?” and set about organizing the venue, transport, publicity, and the composition of a varied panel including: Belfast City Mayor, Gavin Robinson; Ex-IRA combatant, Danny Murphy; Alliance MLA, Anna Lo; SDLP MLA, Conall McDevitt and Ex-UDA combatant, Jackie Macdonald. John Daley kicked off proceedings by introducing an unwitting row of OLSPCK boys as ‘One Direction’. After the group had been suitably embarrassed, Daly allowed them to take their seats and moved the focus towards the panel. Each panel member was then given a couple of minutes to introduce themselves and to tell the audience a bit about their background. The response to the first question posed to the panel, “Are We Tolerant?” set the tone for an unpredictable set of answers, as the audience heard DUP member Gavin Robison and Ex-IRA member Danny Murphy ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’. Both men suggested that since the beginning of the Peace Process, Northern Ireland has come a long way and that we often “beat ourselves up” over the bad things that happen now and again. Anna Lo told a harrowing story of being kicked in the street when she first arrived in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, and described how no-one came to her aid after seeing the assault. She went on to say how she does not feel that today’s Northern Ireland is intolerant. When asked, “Is our intolerance preventing investors?” Gavin Robinson effectively preached, ‘Don’t believe the hype!’ and suggested comparisons between Northern Ireland and the recent civil disturbances in Italy and France, which had no effect on foreign investors. As the questions became more focused on the young students gathered in the room, the panel was asked, “Would you encourage young people to stay in NI?” The response was coherent throughout the panel: If you feel the need to go away to work or study elsewhere then do…but please come back after-wards! Conall McDevitt suggested that Stormont has a responsibility to provide “opportunities at home that are at least as good as overseas” in order for young people to return to Northern Ireland. Jackie McDonald made the excellent point that young people going to school in working class areas simply do not have the opportunity to leave Northern Ireland after school and that providing equal opportunity for all young people was essential.


Year 13 Symposium - Are We Tolerant?

Jackie Macdonald put across the most insightful view from the panel when asked, “Does our political system represent everyone?” Whilst the politicians made a point of suggesting that our Proportional Representation system in Stormont does represent everyone, Jackie explained that many of the people who are taking part in the “flag protests” do not vote as they do not feel that there is currently a political party to represent them. Jackie also claimed that a greater level of co-operation would be required on both parts between the political parties and the people. He said that the people often unfairly request their leaders to be “politicians at one time and bigots at another!” The symposium ended on a positive note by asking the panel what they believe are Northern Ireland’s greatest traits. Once again, a consistent message came from the panel, with each member boasting of our excellent public services, beautiful countryside, brilliant schools, and wonderful people! It would seem that no matter what your political stance, it’s difficult not to love our wee corner of the world! Thanks must go to all the people who were involved in making this such an enjoyable and worthwhile event including Miss Atkinson, Mr. Strain, Mr. Elliott and all Year 13 form tutors. Thanks to the students who asked questions and a special thanks to Mr. Mulholland of Lagan College, Mr. Doyle of OLSPCK and Mrs. Fox of Grosvenor, without whom the event would not have been possible. Luke Withers


LAGAN GIRLS’ FOOTBALL TEAM ARE THE CHAMPS! The girls’ football team won the Down District 5-a-side cup and went to the NI finals. Congratulations to Emily Beckett, Rebecca Lynn, Rachel Lynn, Lucy Sheridan, Emma Carville, Michaela Irwin and Jodie Rankin. SIXTH FORM NI Cup Match away to North West Regional College ( a combination of 3 colleges!) Lost 4-1 Goal Ruairi Gilmore Top Men- A great all-round performance by all 11 players. The lads lost one of their top players Aaron Dunlop to a broken leg at his club training. Everyone wishes him well. Well done to Mr Navarette who managed the team in the absence of Mr Gamble. YEAR 8 League Match V Newtownbreda Won 3-1 Goals Jordan McCrainor, Buck Grove and Ross Power Man of the Match James McCarthy YEAR 12 NI Plate Match away to Lismore, Craigavon. Lost 2-0 A superb game played in a great spirit. Lismore scored after 5 mins and with 5 mins to go. Lagan mostly dominated the rest of the game but could not finish the good chances that they created by playing some lovely football. Top Men: Curtis Cowan, Stephen Hare and Ciaran Gillan

Football Update

Year 8 Squad

Taekwondo

Congratulations to Emma McCartney, a GCSE PE pupil in Year 12, who has been selected for the GB team for Taekwondo. Pictured, far right, receiving her bronze medal in the European Championships.


YEAR 10 NI PLATE V FOYLE COLLEGE – L’DERRY Lost 6-1. Goal- Callum McCloskey Man of the Match - Jake McCrea 2 nil at half time and our boys did a mini-comeback before their speedy forward finished the game off! YEAR 10 v Saintfield Away Won 1-0 Goalscorer Sean Phelan Man of the Match - Ryan McSherry YEAR 8 v Da La Salle Downpatrick 0-0 Draw Man of the Match - Caleb Ruddock YEAR 12 v Blackwater Away 1-1 Goal Nathan Rodney Man of the Match Yves Mathieu Year 12 also defeated St Columbanus Bangor 3-1 All 3 goals scored by Man of the Match, hat-trick hero, Nathan Rodney.

Football Update

Year 10 Squad

Year 12 Squad

Netball The U16 X1, U13 X1 and U18 X1 won their semi-final last month in the NI Integrated Cup. This secured all 3 teams a place in the final. All integrated schools in NI play in a knock-out competition during the academic year so this was an excellent achievement over a 7 month period. The U13 X1 and U16 X1 teams won their respective finals today to be crowned the NI Integrated Hockey champions! This is the first time that the U13 X1 has won this title and the U16 X1 managed to retain their title from last year. A perfect finish to the hockey season and in the 40th anniversary of Mrs Gough's School team winning the NI Hockey Schools Cup back when she was a school girl. What a year!! This is an excellent achievement for our school. Please congratulate all of the girls for their hard work and commitment over the year at training sessions and Saturday fixtures. U13 X1 - NI Cup Champions U16 X1 - NI Cup Champions Captain Riley McNeill Captain. Louise Rattray MVP. Michaela Irwin MVP. Megan Spence Goals. Kirsty McCory & Michaela Irwin Goal. Katie Brown U18 X1 - NI Cup Runners-up Captain. Louise Boyle MVP. Louise Boyle and Emma McCartney


Under 13 x 1 NI Cup Champions

Under 16 x 1 NI Cup Champions


Calendar March 2013

Thursday 7th Year 13 Parent Teacher Meetings

Thursday 28th Staff Inset Day (only Staff attend)

April 2013

Monday 8th Summer Term begins

Wednesday 17th Year 11 Parent Teacher Meetings

Monday 18th Holiday

Thursday 28th - Friday 5th April Easter Holidays (inclusive)

Cross Country The Year 10 Cross Country Team came as follows in the North Down Championships. Year 10 Girls 2nd Place – Claire Francis 3rd Place – Kathryn Kirk 8th Place – Rhys Robinson 10th Place – Courtney Bell 11th Place – Laura Magennis As a team, they came in second in the North Down District! Claire Francis and Katherine Kirk have gone on to qualify for the Ulster Championships at the end of February. Well done girls, and good luck!

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