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St Patrick’s College

NEWSLETTERNews • Sport • School Life

Christmas 2018

ST PATRICK'S COLLEGE PRIZEIGIVING p2

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES p4

YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS p5

MATHS TRAIL p8 ROAD OF HOPE p9

HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR p10

UNIVERSITY ROAD SHOW p11

St Patrick’S collegeSchool Formal p6

SPORT p12

Dear Parent/Guardian

Welcome to our end of year 2018 Newsletter.As always, it is a great privilege for me toacknowledge all of the great work going on in theschool. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth athousand words.” I think the pictures presentedthroughout our publication will give you a goodindication of the variety of initiatives our staff andpupils have been involved in throughout the schoolyear.

At the same time, a robust programme of teachingand learning has taken place and pupils have satmodules of formal examinations. At this point, wemust mark Christmas tests and get reports out. Wehope that you will be pleased with the progress yourchild is making as we strive hard to support theirevery need.

So as the year draws to a close, we wish you all avery merry Christmas and a happy and successfulNew Year. May God look down upon the St.Patrick’s College community and guide us throughthe year ahead.Yours faithfully

Martin KnoxPrincipal

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Prize winners with Cllr P Reid,Mrs B Waide, Dr B Best and Dr M Knox, Principal

Prize winners with Mrs B Waide, Dr B Best and Dr M Knox, Principal

Prize winners with Dr Bernadette Best

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Welcome St Patrick's college

Prize-givingPrize-giving St. Patrick’s College 19th October 2018

Friday, October 19th, was one of the most important daysin the school calendar. Dr Knox, in his address reflectedon the significance of the day:

‘Five, or perhaps seven years ago, many of our youngpeople set foot in St. Patrick’s for the first time tocommence their journey through secondary school. Thatwould have been a tenuous and sometimesoverwhelming initial experience. A big school. Manystudents. New faces. Lots of staff. And yet, not only didthey engage whole-heartedly in that journey, but excelledin it.

A journey that brought them here today so that we canreflect on and honour their achievements.

In all, 31 St Patrick’s pupils celebrated seven or moreGCSEs at grades A* to C, with 28 achieving eight or moreat these grades. Students who took the Prince’s TrustProgramme and the Coaching Academy Award allachieved at Grade B. Between them our pupils achieved16 A* grades, 36 A’s and 177 B’s. A tremendous outcomeI’m sure you will agree. In Art, Construction, ICT,Performing Arts, Polish and PE Departments, we saw100% of our students achieve grades at A*-C

73% of the College’s Year 14 students obtained at leastone A grade in their ‘A’ Level results with 43% alsocelebrating at least one A* grade.

Over their years in St. Patrick’s College, the studentshave shown courage, determination, commitment and aselfless regard for others. I hope these attributes serveour students well in the years ahead.’

We were honoured to be joined by our guest of honour,Dr Bernadette Best, Lecturer, Queen’s UniversityBusiness School, former pupil of the school and wife ofone of our esteemed members of the Board of Governors,Mr Colum Best. As she commended the students shespoke warmly of her days at St. Patrick’s and reminiscedabout her teachers and their colourful nicknames!

She also reminded the students of the importance of hardwork and self-discipline. Her many accolades are atestament to her diligence as she has achieved successat every academic level from first steps in St. Patrick’sCollege to her PhD at Queen’s University. The studentsbenefited greatly from meeting this inspiring role-model.


Rhiannon with fellow finalists4 5

languages rotary Youth leadership awards

Dr Knox, R McArdle and Mr T McAuley

Mr McKeen, R McArdle and Mr T McAuley

European Day of Languages wascelebrated in the College on the 26thSeptember

To begin the day, breakfast wasprovided in the French room at 11amwhere the Year 11 and 12 GCSEstudents, dressed in National FrenchCostume, sold pain au chocolat,chocolat chaud and croissants to pupils.A similar stall was set up in the Irishroom where Irish produce such as sodabread, scones and tea were available.

In the English Department the life ofAnne Frank was explored by MrsO’Callaghan and her classes. MrsMcBride read short stories by Guy deMaupassant to Year 11 and MrsMcTaggart read extracts from Zlata’sdiary to her Year 10 classes

The Maths Department studied currencyand conversion focusing on the Euro and theTechnology department made mini models ofthe Eiffel Tower. In the History DepartmentMrs Fitzpatrick focused on famous Europeansand their contribution to the discovery of theNew World. During lunch the staff of theCanteen got into the spirit of the day andoffered Italian lasagne, French pizza,Spanish meatballs and of course Irish stew!

The day ended with a Céilí in the SportsHall for Years 8 and 9, the day was a greatsuccess.

Congratulations to Rhiannon McArdle,who was successful in her Rotary YouthLeadership Awards interview. This wasthe zone final and as a result of herfantastic achievement she will join 23other successful finalists from Ireland ina trip to Strasbourg in February. Aspecial thanks to Mr Willie McKeen, Mr McAuley and Ballymena Rotary Club.

Students enjoying European Languages Day


Mr D Boylan and Mrs N McNamee with the Year 14 Students

Year 14 Students enjoying the Formal

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St Patrick's college Formal

Glitz and glamour were on displaywhen the Year 14 Students celebratedthe College's annual Dinner Dance inTullyglass House in October. Manythanks to the students and staff whohelped to organise this stylish event.


Congratulations to the College students whohelped raise £288.00 to support the Road ofHope Charity which gives Christmas gifts toneedy families in Eastern Europe. Manythanks to all who supported the causeespecially the Year 13 Students completingtheir Pope John Paul Awards who helped toco-ordinate the appeal, motivate the studentsand even packed shoe boxes during theirHalloween holidays. Well Done.

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maths trail atcarnfunnockcountry Park

road of hope appeal

To celebrate ‘Maths Week Ireland’ theMaths Department took 8 Lagan and 9Foyle to complete a Maths Trail inCarnfunnock Country Park, Larne.

An enjoyable day was had by all andthe pupils were enthusiastic aboutusing the skills they had learnt in theclassroom, in an outdoor environment.

Yr 10 Pupils:Eoin Mitchell andFinn Rogers handover a cheque for£288.00 to MrsFiona Kelly, ROH.

Year 8 Students at Carnfunnock

Joan Clail, Cara Esler, Kinga Biernat, Brianne Esler, Chloe McAuley and Niamh Clerkin.

Brackfield Wood Eoin Mitchell, 10 Braid, who attended a ceremony for thecreation of Brackfield Wood, near Derry City, in November.Brackfield Wood is one of four woods being created by theWoodland Trust to mark the centenary of the end of the FirstWorld War. At this event Eoin, whose great-great-grandfatherwas a prisoner-of-war, held by the Germans until after theWar, read his poem ‘The Poppy’.

halloween Spooktacular! University road Show

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This term the Sixth Form Students had the opportunityto experience the University NI Road Show. Studentswere able to speak to representatives from a widerange of universities throughout: Ireland, England,Scotland and Wales. This will help enable them tomake informed decisions about the application processand their future careers.

The Science Department welcomed St. Brigid's and St.Colmcille's P7s for a spooky Halloween forensic challenge.

The students had to use their scientific know how to solve amysterious murder!

Many thanks to all the students and staff who made the dayso enjoyable.

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Year 9 SoccerOur Yr9's have played in the Mid-Antrim leaguethis year and have participated with enthusiasmand tenacity. They have been beaten in twogames by very strong opposition but did manageto score goals and keep the games close until thesecond half. Our game against Parkhall ended ina 2-2 draw and the team were extremely unluckynot to leave the field with a win as a last minutechance brought out a fine save from theopposition's goal keeper. With one game leftbefore Christmas to play against the leaguefavourites, our team will give it their all.

U14 gaelicThe U14 Gaelic Footballers havebeen in impressive form as theseason has progressed.Following a nervous start and anopening game defeat at the handsof Drumragh, they have shown alot of improvement under formerAll Saints player and PE TeacherAidan Walsh to qualify for theUlster U 14 Semi-Final againstGaelcholaiste Dhoire!

#18307 ©IED Print. Tel: (028) 9041 9005

The NEBBSA Cross Country Championships took place atColeraine University Playing Fields on Tuesday 20th November.28 Pupils form the College competed over the one and two-milecourses. Unfortunately, due to a Gaelic Blitz on the same date,some of the school’s top runners didn’t get the chance tocompete. Congratulations to all those runners who took part, inFields of up to 100 competitors, the majority finished in the tophalf. Training will continue for the District Schools Championshipon 30th January.

cross country championships

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