Saintfield High School
The school is delighted to announce the appointment of Prefects for the academic year 2012/2013. Our Head Boy for this forthcoming year is Johnny Burgess of 12EL, and our Head Girl is Lisa Massey of 12JO. Deputy Head Girls are Stephanie Birt and Sara-Jane Hanna of 12JO, and Deputy Head Boys are Jamie Freil of 12JO and Jordan Maxwell of 12HE. The above pupils are ably supported by a team of eager and talented Prefects who have all been awarded individual roles and responsibilities: Stuart Dubois - Prefect Responsible for School Media Benjamin Milliken-Robb - Prefect Responsible for Assisting with Supervision of Leisure Time Jenny Thompson - Prefect to Assist Head of Junior School Hollie Roper - Prefect to Assist Head of Senior School Prefects Acting as Year 8 Mentors - Elena McLaughlin, Joanne Carney, Codie Shankelton, Evelyn Fraser, Tara Henderson, Jonathan Pentland Ms Watt, Miss Hynds and all the teaching staff of Saintfield High School wish our Prefects good luck for the academic year. We are confident that our boys and girls will make great ambassadors for the school.
SHS Newsletter No. 38
Hello Mums and Dads, Girls and Boys, Welcome to the new academic year, especially to our new Year 8 pupils and their parents. I am delighted with how well all pupils have settled into school life at Saintfield High and parents must be thanked for supporting us in the very high standards of uniform. Pupils do take a pride in their uniform – a reflection of their pride in the school. A warm welcome also to Miss S Greene and to Mr D McKenna who join the pupils support team and we wish them every success as they embark upon a career in education. September and October have been extremely eventful months; this particular edition highlights the many successes we have accomplished already this academic year. It is appropriate, at this point, to pay tribute to the teaching and support staff who give so freely of their time and energy in creating wonderful learning opportunities beyond the classroom. One of the highlights of October was a visit from the Minister of Education who had nothing but praise for the school and in particular, our pupils. I hope that you find this edition informative as a means of celebrating our accomplishments. And, of course, I look forward to meeting you all at the various school events throughout the year. V Watt Principal Dates for your diary Half-Term ~ Thursday 25 October to Friday 2 November (inclusive) Prize Day Celebrating Success ~ Thursday 15 November (10.30—12.30) ~ school closes at 12.30pm Year 8 Parents Consultation ~ Thursday 22 November (3.15 – 5.15pm) Year 12 Parents Consultation ~ Thursday 13 December (3.15 – 5.15pm)
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The Minister’s visit was further confirmation that Saintfield High School continues to go from strength to strength in all aspects of educational experiences, maintaining its reputable position in the wider community.
On Tuesday 9th October the STEM MODULE bus was invited to Saintfield High School to help promote the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Technology classes from years 11 and 12, along with a group of year 10 pupils, visited the bus throughout the day and learned how to program CNC routers. The pupils were taught how to use the appropriate software to design a plaque. Their designs were then exported to one of four on -board CNC routers to be engraved. Each pupil successfully designed and manufactured a plaque with their name or a logo to take home as a memento of their day. The school would like to thank Mr Willie McKeown from STEM MODULE for delivering the tutorial and Flanagan Flooring Distributors for the use of their parking space for the bus.
Saintfield High School was delighted and honoured to receive a visit from our Minister of Education, John O’Dowd on Wednesday 11th October 2012. This is the very first time any Minister for Education has visited the school since we opened our doors to the community in September 1958. Mr O’Dowd was treated to a tour of the school building, meeting both staff and pupils, before our dedicated and enthusiastic team of Prefects met with the Minister to discuss a range of issues concerning their education. Our committed prefects are to be highly commended for their passionate debating skills which thoroughly impressed Minister O’Dowd! It was an exciting opportunity for our school community to share all that our pupils and staff have achieved over the last few years, and Minister O’Dowd’s comments throughout his visit were wholly positive. In a press release issued by the Department of Education Northern Ireland (currently available to view at www.deni.gov.uk), Minister O’Dowd commented that, ‘The young people of Saintfield High School are undoubtedly being provided with a very high quality of education’.
The school’s fishing team got off to a great start to the year at the Waterways Ireland, Course Angling competition. The team finished fourth in the contest, held at the River Bann, narrowly missing out on a prize by the finest of margins. Well done to all who took part, especially to Kyle Moore (12EL) and Vinnie Mitchell (9EL), whose catches weighed in at around 2KG each. Thanks also to Mrs Birt for her continued support of Angling at Saintfield High School.
Below: Minister O’Dowd meets with Johnny Burgess, Head Boy of Saintfield High School.
Year 9 pupils had the opportunity on Friday 28th September to attend a careers presentation by Mr Pat Jamison from ‘Sentinus’ During the afternoon Mr Jamison highlighted the type of school lever employers are now looking for and the essential employability skills required. The careers department recognise the importance of starting personal career planning at an early stage and consequently Mr Jamison’s talk helped to encourage that early thought process.
As part of their GCSE Religious Education studies, a group of thirty Year 12 pupils attended the annual LIFE Conference in Downpatrick on Wednesday 17th October. Mrs Derby, Head of the R.E. Department in the School, said “This was an excellent opportunity for pupils to debate moral issues with a range of pupils from other schools – a great educational experience for all.”
Pupils at Saintfield High School participated in a sponsored read organised by mental health charity Praxis Care for a second time. Year 8 and Year 9 pupils were once again asked to read as many books as they could during the month of October in order to raise funds for the local charity. Praxis Care is a major provider of care for adults and children with learning difficulties, mental ill-health, acquired brain injuries and dementia. The charity provides a range of services in the community including day activities, a drop in service and a befriending scheme which aims to reduce isolation and improve the well being of people with mental ill-health. The boys and girls at Saintfield High School saw this as a real opportunity to give something back to the community, as well as brush up on their reading skills. They would like to thank all those who supported them at this time and helped to raise funds for such a worthwhile cause. We look forward to beating last year’s total of £1171.06!
22 English Literature students from Years 11 and 12, accompanied by Miss Hynds, Mr McCracken, Ms. Watt and Miss Mullen, enjoyed a spectacular night at the theatre on Tuesday 23rd October. The group visited the recently re-vamped Lyric Theatre in Belfast for a production of perhaps Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, Macbeth. The play explores such themes as ambition, murder, guilt, insanity and the supernatural. Entirely suitable subjects for this time of year, wouldn't you agree?
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The school’s Badminton Club has returned for another year. The club is attended, every Thursday afternoon (2.45pm—3.30pm), by boys and girls from all Years. If you’d like to hone your technique, learn a new sport, or simply have fun and make some new friends, then perhaps Badminton Club is the place for you?
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Saintfield High School continues to report excellent records of attendance, with an excellent 94.2% for the academic year 2011/2012. The class with the highest record of attendance for 2011/2012 was last year’s 9MY, with pupils achieving an impressive 96.8%. Congratulations to these students and their Form Tutor, Mr Murphy, who celebrated with a well-deserved pizza and DVD afternoon!
Congratulations to all of our Year 8 pupils on completing their first half-term at Saintfield High School! The pupils’ transition from Primary 7 to post-primary education was helped, in no small part, by a “Getting to Know You” trip: each Year 8 class enjoyed a morning of bowling and fun ‘n’ games with their new classmates to help them make new friends and settle into life at Saintfield High. Jack Moore, of 8DY, said “It was brilliant going bowling. Before we went, I was still a bit unsure of some of my classmates’ names, but now I feel like I really know everyone in my class!”.
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Our annual charity Coffee Morning was once again a great success. Members of staff enjoyed a break-time treat of coffee and scones, raising more than £150 for Macmillan Cancer Research in the process.
Saintfield High’s Show Jumpers have begun the year in scintillating fashion, with the Open team achieving a marvellous 3rd place finish at the Inter-schools Championship at Balmoral. The competition featured some 29 teams, so the school’s 3rd place finish is no mean achievement. The school’s Intermediate team also gained a highly respectable 8th place, out of 26 teams, in the same competition. Well done to all involved! Both teams also successfully negotiated the 1st round of the Ulster Championships. The next rounds take place on 20th October, 17th November and 1st December. Mrs Birt, who organises all the school’s Show Jumping teams, said “Our aim for the year is to go as far as possible in all competitions. A top six finish in both categories would be great, as it would mean we could attend the Knockaghview awards dinner in February.” Mrs Birt also thanked all the competitors, and their parents, for their enthusiasm, commitment and willingness to compete.
The School’s various football teams have had a rollercoaster start to the season, playing their part in a number of highly dramatic goal-fests. The school’s u12 team lost an epic battle to Nendrum on Friday 5th October. Despite goals from Samuel Simpson and Luke Martin (x2), and a battling performance from John Hill, the boys went down 4-3 in the end. The u14s have fared better, though. They negotiated a tricky away fixture against Fivemiletown with ease, winning 4-0 thanks to goals from Ryan Graham (x2), Thomas Martin and a 25-yard screamer from Bradley Porter. Special mention should go to Reece Hands too, for a great performance in the middle of the park. The boys followed this victory with a 5-1 demolishing of Newtownbreda . Ryan Graham was the hero, scoring a memorable hat-trick, including another 25 yard smash. He was helped out with goals from Thomas Martin and Sam Davis, who scored his first goal for the school in spectacular fashion: a looping volley from the edge of the box. Finally, our u16 team enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win over Knockbreda . Ross Alexander grabbed all three goals, and Ryan Bradley was the unanimous choice as man-of-thematch. Team manager, Mr Elliott, said “It was a great victory for the lads. Special praise should go to our rock-steady centre-halves, Johnny Burgess and Scott Barr. Aaron Milligan and Bradley Porter deserve special mention too ~ this was their debut for the Senior team, which is a great achievement for Year 10 pupils.”