On Friday our U14 Hockey Team were presented with their NEBSSA tournament gold medals. Well done again, girls.

Today our pupils attended the first day of the Ballyclare Music Festival and we are really proud of those taking part. Great performances all round with Jayden and Oliver taking joint 2nd place.

Massive congratulations to all pupils involved in the East Antrim Schools Cup Finals’ Day on Friday. A special congratulations to our Year 10 and Year 12 teams who were successful in winning both of their matches against Boys Model. The year 10's final score being 3-0 whilst the year 12's 8-0.

On Friday we held a special assembly to say thank you to Sam Hagan who is a past pupil of our school. He joined Ballyclare Secondary School in 1965....58 years ago. Sam has happy memories of his school days, in fact he is quoted as saying, “I loved school”. His favourite subject was mathematics. Sam has been a successful businessman for many years, as Company Director of Hagan Leisure Homes.

We are very privileged that Sam has continued to be a great supporter of the school over the years and one of the things he has done for our school this year is to sponsor our U14 rugby shirts. He was accompanied by Jeffrey Ferris, a fellow past pupil.

Some information on the season for the team.....

Ballyclare started their season with the Ulster High Schools’ Sevens Blitz hosted at Ballyclare Rugby Club. Ballyclare defeated Carrick Academy and Ashfield HS but lost to Sperrin Integrated.

Ballyclare Secondary then started their U14 High Schools’ Shield group fixtures against Carrick Academy at home and won.

We then travelled to Ballymoney High School and lost to a late try 21-19 in another excellent match.

Ballyclare played Sperrin Integrated in their final group match needing to win to progress to the Quarter Finals and played exceptionally well to win 41-0.

Ballyclare progressed to the Quarter Finals of the top competition, the U14 High Schools’ Shield, to face a difficult away trip to Drumglass High School, Dungannon. Ballyclare were losing 14-10 at half-time but produced an excellent second half performance to win 41-19.

Just this week Ballyclare then drew Lurgan Junior High School, who have won the competition quite a number of times, in the semi-final. The game was a very tightly contested affair with Ballyclare scoring first. Lurgan replied with a try just before half time to make it 5-5 at the break. Both sides made efforts to get the crucial second score but both defenses held firm. The game ended 5-5 with Ballyclare Secondary progressing to the final by scoring the first try. Well done to both sides in a terrific game, but in particular well done to our team, I am exceptionally proud. Ballyclare Secondary will meet Ballymoney HS in the final on Tuesday 14th March at Meadowbank Arena, Magherafelt.

Mrs Weir’s 9O ICT class received their Certificates for the successful completion of Course C on Code.org and can demonstrate an understanding of the basic concepts of Computer Science!

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.

From Monday 6th -Friday 10th March our Year 11 pupils will sit Mock Exams in some subjects and their final CAT assessments in others. Please find below their timetable for these assessments and other information to help them prepare.

Mrs Weirs 9A ICT class received their Certificates for the successful completion of Course C on Code.org and can demonstrate an understanding of the basic concepts of Computer Science!

A shout out to Ryan Duncan who was also awarded a Certificate for the successful completion of an ‘Hour of Code’ in Minecraft.

Scripture Union was pleased to welcome Heather (past pupil) and Kathryn (HOPE 365) on 1st March to speak to both junior and senior SU. They brought a message about giving and caring for those less fortunate than ourselves. They gave a presentation on their work in schools in Ethiopia and an interactive activity to educate us about what donations we can give to their shop in Ballyclare.

Next week we are looking forward to having Cat from Barnabas Aid, a charity that works with the persecuted church. Everyone welcome, especially those who haven’t been before.