PUPIL PROFILES AND ACHIEVEMENTS AT PRIORY INTEGRATED COLLEGE

ECO WARRIORS CLEAN UP THE COAST

On Monday 1st June the 19 members of the Eco Warrior Club left school to help Tidy Northern Ireland ‘Clean up the Coast’.

We started at the Coastguard Avenue entrance of Helen’s Bay and slowly made our way past Greys Point through Helen’s Bay and around the coast to Crawfordsburn.  With litter pickers and black bin bags we made a great job of clearing up the litter after a busy weekend of beach goers.

The most common litter was:

cigarette butts, cotton buds, glass bottles, straws, plastic bags and crisp packets.

Lunch was enjoyed at the Visitors Centre and after an explore of the beach where we found star and jellyfish the bus took us home.  We made sure we took all our litter with us.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD SCHEME AT PRIORY INTEGRATED COLLEGE

This is the second year that Bronze level Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme has been offered at Priory Integrated College. To date it has over thirty pupils participating in it. The pupils undertake 12weeks in a chosen SKILL, SERVICE  and PHYSICAL RECREATION area (one of these areas must be completed for 24 weeks). The pupils involved have taken part in activities as varied as horse riding, basketball, working in a charity shop, and volunteering at a local vets. They have been encouraged to learn new skills useful in their everyday lives like first aid and helping the elderly. The school has also worked closely with Northern Ireland Fire Service to provide a Fire Safety course at Knock Fire Station.

There is also EXPEDITION training delivered by Mrs Stronge and Mr Moffett one afternoon a week. This consists of health and safety, camp craft, map reading and country code education. The Qualifying Expeditions take place in the spring months, but prior to this the groups get a chance to practise their walking at Cavehill Country Park among other places.

For any further information on the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme click here. http://www.dofe.org/

YEAR 13 PUPILS ATTEND MASTERCLASS THROUGH CINEMAGIC

We are three Year 13 students who attended a magazine publishing master class on the 29th and 30th at Belfast Metropolitan College organised by Cinemagic, along with Barry McIlheny and Duncan.  We spent a two day course brain storming and designing a magazine cover dedicated to men. 

During the two day course we learnt various aspects about the production and designing of different magazines, such as what went in to magazines, how publishers decided on a price and what design schemes they will use.

With help from both Barry and Duncan, we succeeded in completing our men’s weekly magazine cover.  After Barry, Duncan and the editor of the Heat Magazine website viewed our magazine cover, they made a decision and our group won.

We were all very pleased with our efforts and were very glad that we attended this two day course.

Colin Kenny, Alison Frazer, Rachel McNeilly

PACESETTERS INVITED TO INTERVIEW VIPs AT PUBLICATION LAUNCH

Our Pacesetters were invited by NICIE to attend the launch of a publication at W5. Pacesetters were set the task of interviewing individual members of the guest list, which included MLA's, School/University Leaders, and numerous other VIPs.

The interviews took place during lunch and asked questions to make people think about their job and a number of positively worded questions. The results were collated and presented to an audiance in the Lecture Theatre by some Pacesetters.

PUPIL AWARDED YOUTH SERVICES NORTHERN IRELAND AWARD

Congratulations to ZOE STOCK who has been awarded with the Youth Services Northern Ireland Award.

Zoe was given this award for her extensive work at the Redburn Community Centre, Holywood. This included organising and running an after schools club two afternoons a week with primary school children. Zoe is also completing a youth leaders Award which will enable her to continue with youth work.


PRIORY INTEGRATED COLLEGE PACESETTERS

Consultancy group make a difference to Holywood school

QUESTIONS of Difference (QOD) have worked with BT, Merseyside police and the Cabinet Office.  Now, the London-based consultancy group are brining their unique approach to change into the classrooms of Northern Ireland.

The group, who normally work with major businesses and organisations, approached the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) with a project aimed at empowering young people here to make positive changes.

A pilot programme has now been launched partnering two local schools, Priory Integrated College Holywood and Oakgrove Integrated College, L’Derry.

Forty pupils and six members of staff from Priory Integrated College in Holywood met with QOD at Lorne Guide Centre recently with the purpose of becoming a ‘Pacesetters’ team.

Led by director Charlie Irvine – described on the QOD website as a ‘dynamic African visionary’ – they were introduced to a revolutionary approach known as Affirmative Questioning.

“Affirmative Questioning is a powerful approach for transforming individuals, business and community,” Mr Irvine said.  “Affirmative Questioning supports people to open up possibilities and achieve amazing things by offering practical tools that help them to become curious and understand how others engage in different ways.”

Following the programme, the Pacesetters team took their new-found skills back to school, delivering a whole-school programme that everyone could benefit from.

Students and staff who had been trained by QOD facilitated 20 two-hour workshops in the college, designed to allow all school members the chance to celebrate school successes.

This culminated in every member of the school community adding a comment or picture to a ‘Wall of Greatness’ constructed in the school assembly hall.

Pupils, teachers, cleaners, caretakers and office personnel each contributed their own paper ‘brick’ representing something that had gone well for them throughout the past year.  Acting Principal of Priory Integrated College, Peter McCreadie said: “Not only have QOD given our whole school community the means to end the school year on a fantastically positive note, but this is also a wonderful opportunity for our young people and staff to attempt to understand what is working well in our school.

“We will use this understanding and apply it to areas for development.  This is a process that will actively engage our young people and place them at the centre of future school planning.”

Mr McCreadie also pointed that what pupils and staff had learned from QOD could be extended into the wider community, to empower individuals to be at the centre of positive change in their communities.