Monday 14th - Friday 18th November 2022.

In advance of this week our staff have been looking at resources provided by Safer Schools and the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum, so as to plan and prepare class assembly messages on the topic of bullying. This week is about encouraging children, young people, families and school communities to take positive action to challenge the harm and hurt caused by bullying.

Ofcom 2022 reports that 4/10 children aged 8-17 have experienced bullying, either online or offline. We all know that some acts are harmful and can stay with us for a long time and it is important for our young people to know who the trusted adults are in their lives, people they can turn to and confide in. We all have a part to play in prevention and positive action. This week, class teachers will be discussing various hypothetical scenarios, to help educate and encourage positive behaviour. Through SIMS Parent App we will also be sharing some resources with parents.

We are delighted to announce that our school production 'Mary Poppins' will be held on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th December at 7.30 pm. More details will follow and tickets will be on sale soon.

Our annual Remembrance Assembly was held this morning, both in person and virtually across all classrooms. Our pupils were impeccably respectful and reflected deeply on the sacrifices that were made for our freedom. Thank you to the Music Department staff and the orchestra pupils for playing so beautifully.

Meet our brand new 2022-2023 pupil representative House Captains, who were the successful candidates in a very rigorous application and interview process. The staff House Team Leaders said that the standard of the applicants was exceptionally high and that the decision was very difficult. Watch out for a number of House activities, planned for the near future.

Once again this year, students from Ballyclare Secondary School took part in its annual ‘Think Pink’ fundraiser to raise much needed funds for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland. All week long, boys and girls dressed head to toe in pink, during their PE lessons, to show support for the cause and have a bit of fun along the way. This year the current total stands at £804.75 with some very notable individual fundraising efforts. A super well done to any and all fundraisers! An assembly, presenting the money to the Cancer Focus Northern Ireland charity, will take place in due course.

A total of 46 shoeboxes were collected this year in aid of the Blythswood Care annual shoebox appeal. The shoeboxes will be distributed to Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. A huge thank you to all of our pupils and their families who contributed to this collection.

Pictured here with some of our year 14 prefects (L-R) Sarah Ferguson, Chad Morris, Harry Magill & Rheanna McGlinchey.

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

We were absolutely delighted to host our first ‘Celebration of Success’ afternoon on Wednesday 26th October 2022 at 1pm. It was afternoon for parents, staff (both present and former), special guests and pupils to reflect and celebrate together the achievements of 2021-2022.

A huge well done to our award winners. We congratulate each one of them on their outstanding efforts, growth mindset to improve, perseverance and good old-fashioned hard work! They have much to be proud of, as they achieved a high standard to be recognised for their academic performance or, for their special achievement in a specific area for example sport, music or drama. Striving for excellence is a great thing and, working hard and aiming really high is something to be admired.

We were overwhelmed with the number of people wanting to attend the event, hence, why we had to limit the number of guests to a maximum of 2 per family.

We thank our guest speaker, Mr Liam Perry MBE for presenting the awards and, also for his heartfelt, inspirational speech with key messages for everyone.

Whilst we could not have every pupil winning an award, it is important to recognise that the majority of our pupils do achieve their personal bests and we do acknowledge this. As a school, we take every opportunity to recognise and celebrate the excellence of our pupils across all areas of their achievements. We pride ourselves in adding value to our pupils’ lives, the richness of experience, fostering strengths and growing lifelong skills.

We are a school that is focused on what makes the difference. Clearly, we have a bright future that we are shaping with a healthy admissions number and the announcement of a new school build in years to come.

Please find below a letter containing important information that has been sent out on Sims Parent app.