Massive congratulations to both our senior and junior choirs who took part in Ballyclare Festival yesterday afternoon. Both choirs performed to a very high standard, and we are very proud of what they have achieved this year. The senior choir was awarded 1st place and received a bursary for best vocal performance of the day and the junior choir were award joint 2nd place. Well done everyone.

Some amazing photographs from one of our Year 11 pupils, Harry Townsley, on the recent Duke of Edinburgh Silver expedition. Great snaps of what was an arduous but wholly worthwhile adventure.

Well done to our Mathematicians of the week. Brilliant work!

Please find below our Weekly Communication Bulletin for Parents and Carers and other important documents which has been sent out to you via Sims App.

We will be running a Talent show as part of our house competitions. If you have a hidden talent of any kind come and take part!

On week beginning 17^th April auditions will take place with your house captain teacher and pupil house captains. You must sign the sign up sheet and arrange with them when you will complete your audition.

3 acts for each house will be chosen to perform on Friday 5^th May.

If you are a chosen act, you must make your house captain aware of any special requirements and equipment that you may need for the day.

Houses will be ranked 1-4 by our chosen judges, with an overall prize for the winner.

It has been a very busy year for the girls hockey teams. We are so proud of how they have all performed in their respective League and Cup matches. Below is a summary of their year.

U14 Hockey NEBSSA League

Ballyclare Secondary School hosted the u14 NEBSSA hockey tournament. Well done to all the teams! Lots of excellent hockey was played. Joint runners up were Coleraine Grammar and Dalriada. Parkhall Integrated secured second place and Ballyclare first! A special well done to our friends at Parkhall who fought to the end! Gold and silver medallists pictured below.

The U14 Hockey Team was victorious in their league match on Thursday against Parkhall Integrated College, winning 1-0. Player's Player of the match was Lydia Harvey and Ms Oliver's (coach) players of the match were Lydia and Megan Magee. The girls are currently unbeaten all season. Good luck to Parkhall who play in the final of the UH U14 High School's Cup next week.

Unfortunately, Carrick Academy and Slemish College were unavailable to play their fixtures and therefore forfeited the points.

Well done to Year 10 pupil Mia Singleton who made the Ulster U15 Talent Development Panel.

U15 Hockey East Antrim League

U15 Hockey Team travelled to Carrick on Wednesday 11th January to play Carrick Academy in the North East Antrim League. Despite the cold conditions, both teams played extremely well, Ballyclare winning 3-1 at full time. Goal scorers were Chloe Montgomery (2) and Lois Reynolds (1). Players of match were Chloe Montgomery (Captain) and Asha Creighton.

The U15 Hockey squad travelled to the Carrick Amphitheatre to play Ulidia Integrated College in the North-East Antrim League. Another fantastic win for the girls, ending the match 7-0. Goal scorers: Layla Beau McKeever, Faith Thompson x2, Asha Creighton, Chloe Montgomery and Eva Grant x2. Estelle McIlwaine was voted player of the match. Well done!

The U15 Hockey team played their final match of the season on Tuesday 21st March winning 3-0 against Larne. Goal scorers were Faith Thompson x 2 and Lois Reynolds. Well done girls!

U16 Hockey NEBSSA League & UH Cup

The U16 team started their Cup run strong with a 3-0 win over Craigavon Senior High School. Well done to all the girls!

A hard afternoon for the U16 hockey squad losing 6-4 to Dromore High School in the NI High School Cup. The full-time score was 1-1, which led to run ins. Our GK Mia Shingleton was fantastic however Dromore won the toss to step up first, after the 3rd run in for each team it was 4-4. Unfortunately, Dromore scored their 4th run in and Ballyclare were unsuccessful. Coaches' players of the match were Faith Thompson and Megan Magee. Players' player was Mia Singleton. The girls were commended on their excellent standard of hockey and sportsmanship

The U16 squad then played Slemish College in the NEBSSA league. Well done to Ivy McFall, Sienna Moore and Gracie Brown who had their first game playing up with the senior players. The final result was 8-0. Congratulations girls!! Coaches' Players of the Match: Leah Morrison (Captain) and Faith Thompson.

Goal scorers:

Asha Creighton
Chloe Montgomery
Lois Reynolds x2
Eva Grant x2
Faith Thompson x2

Next the u16 hockey team travelled to Magherafelt High School to play in the NEBSSA League. The girls had a fabulous win with a final score of 12-0. Player of the match was Leah Morrison.

Goal scorers:

Leah Morrison 4
Faith Thompson 3
Lois Reynolds 2
Chloe Montgomery 1
Eva Grant 1
Layla Beau McKeever 1

To finish the season the u16 hockey team travelled to Parkhall Integrated to play in the NEBSSA league. Layla Beau McKeever was voted players’ player of the match and Eva Grant & Estelle McIlwaine coaches’ players of the match. The final score was 6-0. Well done to Kaela Clugston who captained her first u16 match.

Goal scorers:

Layla Beau
Faith x2
Lois
Asha
Eva.

Unfortunately, Carrick Academy was unavailable to play the fixture and therefore forfeited the points.

U18 Hockey East Antrim League & McDowell Plate

Ballyclare Secondary’s u18 team won their match against Carrick Academy in the East Antrim League. Goal scorers were Reah Little and Lois Reynolds. Captain Reah was voted Player of the match by her team. Well done!

The U18 squad travelled to Castlederg High School to play in the 2nd round of the McDowell Plate. Unfortunately, after a very one-sided game with limited Castlederg circle entries and GK Mia Shingleton having no goal saving opportunities. The match ended 0-0 with Castlederg down to 10 players due to a green card. Our forwards were very unlucky in the circle winning over 7 penalty corners. Reah Little was exceptionally unlucky hitting the post from an excellent strike. Reah (captain) was voted player of the match by her team. Luck was not on Ballyclare’s side today, loosing 4-3 on run ins. All Ballyclare players should be praised for their unwavering sportspersonship despite the inappropriate behaviour from supporters on the side of the pitch. BSS players rose above, ignoring the poor language and played some excellent hockey. Our GK and each player who stepped up to take a run in, showed outstanding mental toughness and resilience. As a school family we are so proud of you. A special thank you goes to our Year 14 player Janey Clements who played her last Cup match for BSS. We will miss you Janey.

U18 hockey squad had a surprise pizza party this afternoon for Janey (Year 14) and Leah Morrison (Year 12). After eating a lot of delicious pizza and cookies, they played a match and did some shooting challenges. Both Janey and Leah have represented Ballyclare Secondary on the hockey pitch since Year 8. They will be missed by their teammates and coach Ms O. Good luck for next year girls

Well done to our Mathematicians of the week. Brilliant work!

It has been a busy year so far in the Music Department, and we would like to invite you to join us in celebrating our pupils’ achievements in our Spring Showcase on Wednesday 29th March 2023 from 5.00-6.00 pm. Rehearsals are going really well and the pupils are looking forward to performing to a captive audience.

The event will take place in our assembly hall and drinks and refreshments will be available before the start of the event. Tickets for this event will be £5 for adults and £3 for children/concessions and can now be purchased on Parent Pay App. Printed tickets will not be distributed for the event, but names will be ticked off at the door.