BOARD OF GOVERNORS’

ANNUAL REPORT

A long established tradition of achievement, success, quality teaching and learning

2008/2009

FOREWORD

The academic year 2008/2009 saw the continued growth and development of St Mary’s in every aspect of its curricular and extra-curricular activities. The Board of Governors’ Report will give you detailed insight into the work and achievement of the school.

The success of St Mary’s is focused in the school’s motto Gloria Deo Soli, a thought which motivates, shapes and rewards all its work.

As always, I wish to pay tribute to the staff of St Mary’s for their continuing dedication; to the pupils who give the school its life and colour and to their parents / guardians for their unfailing support.

Should you wish to discuss any issue arising from the contents of this report, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school (8.30am – 5.00pm) on or before 11 December 2009.

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D A Lambon Principal and Correspondent to the Board of Governors

CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION

I am very pleased indeed to introduce the Board of Governors’ Annual Report for 2008/09.

The detail in the report records the many achievements and successes of the school over the course of a very busy year. Staff, pupils, their parents/guardians and the local and wider community can be assured and confident that St Mary’s continues to be at the cutting edge of educational achievement and development.

You will notice, as you read this report, the number of partnerships which St Mary’s has forged over recent years: for example, in industry, sport and with universities, European schools, theatres, partner schools and travel organisations. All of these partnerships enrich the school experience for our pupils and encourage them to look beyond the school to the societies and communities in which they will live and to which they will continue to contribute throughout their lives.

In this context, I am reminded of Nelson Mandela’s words:

‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’.

On behalf of the Board of Governors, I wish to thank staff, pupils and parents/guardians for their hard work and continuing interest in the school: the success of St Mary’s belongs to each of them.

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Paddy Bradley Chairman, Board of Governors December 2009

Annual Report

CONTACT DETAILS

St Mary’s Grammar School 3 Castledawson Road Name and Address: Magherafelt Co Derry BT45 6AX

Telephone: 028 7963 2320

Fax No: 028 7963 4250

E-Mail: [email protected]

Office Hours: 8.30am – 5.00pm

Principal: Mr D A Lambon

Chairman, Board of Governors: Mr P Bradley

Enrolment: 1070

Admissions No: 153

Age Range: 11-18 years

Voluntary, Co-educational Type of School: Grammar School

St Mary’s Grammar School Annual Report

CONTENTS

ƒ Membership of the Board of Governors 2008/2009 ...... 1

ƒ Subject Choice 2008/2009 ...... 2

ƒ The Curriculum 2008/2009 ...... 3

ƒ Annual Attendance Rates and Leavers’ Destinations ...... 5

ƒ Public Examination Results ...... 6

ƒ Education for Mutual Understanding (EMU) ...... 10

ƒ Activities and Achievements 2008/2009 ...... 11

ƒ Travel ...... 29

ƒ Child Protection ...... 31

ƒ Eco Schools Project ...... 32

ƒ Awards ...... 34

ƒ Sports Review 2008/2009 ...... 36

ƒ Careers Education and Guidance ...... 43

ƒ Staff Development and Training ...... 46

ƒ Specialist School ...... 47

ƒ Magherafelt Learning Partnership ...... 50

ƒ Security ...... 51

ƒ Financial Statement ...... 52

St Mary’s Grammar School Annual Report

MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS 2008/2009

Mr P Bradley 1 Chairman

Monsignor O’Bryne 1 Deputy Chairman

Miss E Bradley 1

Ms M Diamond 1

Mr J McBrien 1

Mrs M Brown 3

Mr J McKee 1

Mr S McNeill 2

Mrs M Carr 4

Principal and Correspondent to Mr D Lambon Board of Governors

1 Appointed by Trustees 2 Appointed by the Department of Education 3 Elected by Parents 4 Elected by the Teaching Staff

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 1 Annual Report SUBJECT CHOICE 2008/2009

GCSE LEVEL Additional Mathematics History Art and Design Home Economics Biology ICT Child Development Irish Chemistry Mathematics Drama Music Economics Physical Education English Physics English Literature Religious Studies French Science – Double Award Geography Spanish German Technology and Design

GCE AS LEVEL Applied Business History Art and Design Home Economics Biology ICT Business Studies Irish Chemistry Mathematics Design and Technology Music Economics Physical Education English Literature Physics French Politics Geography Religious Studies German Spanish Health and Social Care Theatre Studies

GCE A LEVEL Applied Business History Art and Design ICT Biology Irish Business Studies Mathematics Chemistry Music Design and Technology Physical Education Economics Physics English Literature Politics French Religious Studies Further Mathematics Spanish Geography Theatre Studies Health and Social Care

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THE CURRICULUM 2008/2009

KEY STAGE 3 (YEARS 8-10)

YEAR 9 YEAR 8 YEAR 10 NUMBER OF AREAS OF NUMBER OF NUMBER OF SUBJECTS PERIODS STUDY PERIODS PER PERIODS PER PER FORTNIGHT FORTNIGHT FORTNIGHT English English with Library Skills 5 5 6 Drama 1 1 1 Mathematics 7 7 7 Mathematics Financial Capability - - 1 Science 6 6 6 Science and Technology and Design 3 3 3 Technology Information Technology 2 2 - History 4 4 5 Environment Geography 4 4 5 and Society Home Economics 3 3 3 Creative and Physical Education 4 5 4 Expressive Art 2 2 2 Studies Music 3 2 2 Two from: French 5 5 4 Language Irish 4 5 5 Options German 4 5 5 Spanish 4 5 5 Religious Studies 5 4 4 Learning for Life and 2 2 2 Work / PSE

Class Period = 50 minutes

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KEY STAGE 4 (YEARS 11-12)

ALL PUPILS NUMBER OPTIONS NUMBER AREAS OF STUDY SUBJECTS OF PERIODS PER OF PERIODS PER FORTNIGHT FORTNIGHT Year 11 Year 12 Year 11 Year 12 English English 7 8 English Literature Mathematics Mathematics 8 8 or 9 *Additional Mathematics Either: 14 12 Double Award Or: or

Science and Chemistry 7 6 Technology + Physics 7 6 + Biology 7 6 Technology & Design 7 6 ICT 7 6 Child Development 7 6 History 7 6 Environment and Geography 7 6 Society Home Economics 7 6 Economics 7 6 Physical Education 2 Art 7 6 Creative and Expressive Drama 7 6 Studies Music 7 6 Physical Education 7 6 (GCSE)

At least one of:

French 7 6

Or:

Language Irish 7 6 Studies Or: 7 6 German

Or: 7 6 Spanish Religious Studies 6 6 or 7 Learning of Life and 2 3 Work/Careers and PSE

Class Period = 50 minutes *Additional Mathematics = Two groups study Mathematics and Additional Mathematics in the allocated time over the fortnight.

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ANNUAL ATTENDANCE RATES AND LEAVERS’ DESTINATIONS

ANNUAL ATTENDANCE RATES

Annual Attendance Rates Number of possible Number of % Attendance attendance sessions sessions attended 401435 385657 96.1

SCHOOL LEAVERS’ DESTINATIONS

Year 12, 13 and 14

% of leavers going to: Year Number HE FE Another Training/ Employment/ Other/ Of School Apprentice Gap Year Unknown Leavers 12 18 0 33.3 61.1 0 5.6 0

13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

14 144 93.0 0.7 0 0 6.3 0

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PUBLIC EXAMINATION RESULTS

KEY STAGE 3 SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Year No of pupils in Year 10 2008/2009 177

% achieving Level % achieving Level % achieving Level % achieving Level

5 or above 6 or above 7* or above 8 or above

Teacher Eng 100 98.9 74.3 - Assessment

External 100 95.9 45.1 - Test

Teacher Maths 100 100 82.2 33.1 Assessment

External 100 94.3 72.6 24.0 Test

Teacher Science 100 98.2 84.5 29.1 Assessment

External 91.4 52.6 9.7 100 Test

* In the tests in English, Levels 7 and 8 have been combined into a single band ‘Level 7 and above’ A pupil falling into this band is given the result ‘7+’ Key Stage 3 tests in all subjects and Teacher Assessment in Science are now voluntary

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YEAR 12 PUPILS GCSE SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Year No of % % % % No of % % % % % pupils entered entered achieving achieving subject A* A*-A A*-B A*-C achieving in for 5 or for 1-4 grades grades entries no Year more subjects A*-C A*-G grades 12 subjects A*-G 5 or 5 or 1-4 1-4 more more 2009 149 100 0 100 0 100 0 1518 26.2 65.7 92.2 99.3 0

GCSE % Achieving Grades Number A* A B C D E F G U Entered Additional Maths 57 14.0 45.6 28.1 10.5 1.8 - - - - Art and Design 23 60.9 39.1 ------Biology 33 27.3 60.6 9.1 3.0 - - - - - Chemistry 32 46.9 43.8 9.4 ------Child Development 15 13.3 33.3 53.3 ------Chinese 1 100 ------Drama 27 37.0 55.6 7.4 ------Economics 31 22.6 41.9 25.8 9.7 - - - - - English 149 18.8 38.9 34.2 7.4 0.7 - - - - English Literature 148 16.9 35.8 35.8 10.1 1.4 - - - - French 65 33.8 24.6 23.1 16.9 1.5 - - - - Geography 71 19.7 40.8 28.2 11.3 - - - - - History 39 35.9 53.8 7.7 2.6 - - - - - Home Economics 15 26.7 33.3 40.0 ------ICT 87 35.6 62.1 1.1 - - 1.1 - - - Irish 58 29.3 34.5 27.6 8.6 - - - - - Mathematics 148 27.7 35.1 28.4 8.8 - - - - - Music 17 23.5 64.7 5.9 5.9 - - - - - Physical Education 32 56.3 37.5 3.1 3.1 - - - - - Physics 32 43.8 40.6 15.6 ------Religious Studies 147 46.3 29.9 19.0 4.8 - - - - - Science (DA) 230 7.8 34.8 45.2 10.4 1.7 - - - - Spanish 15 60.0 20.0 20.0 ------Technology and Design 46 8.7 60.9 28.3 2.2 - - - - -

GCSE TREND DATA 05/06 06/07 07/08 St Mary’s NI Average St Mary’s NI Average St Mary’s NI Average % Achieving 5+GCSEs 99 96 100 96 97 96 at Grades A*-C %Achieving 7+GCSEs at 97 90 97 91 96 91 Grades A*-C

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YEAR 13 PUPILS GCE AS LEVEL - SUMMARY OF RESULTS

No of % achieving % achieving % achieving No of % % % % % Pupils in 4 or more at 3 or more at 2 or more at entries A A-B A-C A-D A-E Year 13 A-C A-C A-E 2009 139 42.5 91.4 100 482 58.1 85.7 96.5 99.4 100

GCE AS-LEVEL % Achieving Grades Number entered A B C D E U Art & Design 10 70.0 30.0 - - - - Biology 59 49.2 27.1 11.9 8.5 3.4 - Business Studies 13 46.2 38.5 15.4 - - - Business (Voc) 21 61.9 38.1 - - - - Chemistry 33 81.8 12.1 3.0 3.0 - - Design & Technology 13 46.2 30.8 23.1 - - - Economics 19 63.2 21.1 10.5 5.3 - - English Literature 36 27.8 41.7 27.8 2.8 - - German 4 50.0 25.0 25.0 - - - French 5 80.0 20.0 - - - - Further Mathematics 2 50.0 50.0 - - - - Geography 24 45.8 45.8 8.3 - - - Health & Social Care 15 20.0 73.3 6.7 - - - VCE History 25 52.0 36.0 4.0 8.0 - - ICT 55 70.9 14.5 12.7 - 1.8 - Irish 7 42.9 42.9 14.3 - - - Mathematics 53 75.5 18.9 5.7 - - - Music 4 100 - - - - - Physics 37 45.9 27.0 18.9 8.1 - - Politics 7 - 42.9 42.9 14.3 - - Religious Studies 13 76.9 15.4 7.7 - - - Spanish 4 50.0 50.0 - - - - Sport Studies 12 83.3 16.7 - - - - Theatre Studies 11 100 - - - - -

KEY SKILLS No entered at % achieving No entered % achieving Level 3 Level 3 at Level 2 Level 2 Communication 13 100 N/A N/A Information Technology 36 100 N/A N/A Working with others 15 100 N/A N/A

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YEAR 14 PUPILS GCE A LEVEL - SUMMARY OF RESULTS

No of % achieving % achieving % achieving No of % % % % % Pupils in 3 or more at 2 or more at 1 or more at entries A A-B A-C A-D A-E Year 14 A-C A-C A-E 2009 142 91.5 100 100 465 60.7 86.5 97.0 99.6 100

GCE A-LEVEL % Achieving Grades Number entered A B C D E U Art & Design 7 71.4 28.6 - - - - Biology 72 72.2 13.9 11.1 1.4 1.4 - Business (Voc) 22 54.5 31.8 13.6 - - - Business Studies 24 29.2 37.5 25.0 4.2 4.2 - Chemistry 41 80.5 14.6 - 4.9 - - Design & Technology 8 37.5 62.5 - - - - Economics 17 47.1 29.4 17.6 5.9 - - English Literature 20 50.0 45.0 5.0 - - - French 2 50.0 50.0 - - - - Further Mathematics 1 100 - - - - - Geography 24 45.8 33.3 16.7 4.2 - - Health & Social 14 35.7 57.1 7.1 - - - History 27 63.0 18.5 14.8 3.7 - - ICT 36 58.3 25.0 11.1 5.6 - - Irish 18 66.7 22.2 11.1 - - - Mathematics 64 73.4 14.1 10.9 1.6 - - Music 7 71.4 14.3 14.3 - - - Physics 19 52.6 15.8 15.8 10.5 5.3 - Politics 15 26.7 60.0 13.3 - - - Religious Studies 4 75.0 25.0 - - - - Spanish 7 71.4 28.6 - - - - Sport Studies 6 50.0 50.0 - - - - Theatre Studies 11 72.7 27.3 - - - -

GCE Trend Data 05/06 06/07 07/08 St Mary’s NI Average St Mary’s NI Average St Mary’s NI Average % Achieving 3+GCEs 86 73 91 74 90 74 at Grades A-C %Achieving 2+GCEs 100 99 100 99 100 99 at Grades A-E

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EDUCATION FOR MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING (EMU) CROSS COMMUNITY CONTACT

CROSS COMMUNITY LINK WITH BALLYMENA ACADEMY

There has been a long established link between St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt and Ballymena Academy. A range of activities and visits are organised throughout each school year.

In September 2008, Form 8A and a Year 8 class from Ballymena Academy began a History based programme of cross-community contact. In October, students attended a workshop in Ballymena, facilitated by educational co-ordinators from the Ulster Folk Park in Cultra. It focused on Diversity in Northern Ireland and how that has impacted on our lives in the 21st Century.

The pupils also had a This workshop was facilitated As part of their final year as workshop in St Mary’s, by the educational co- participants in the EMU facilitated by members of the ordinators from the Ulster programme, the pupils in 10D History Department on Folk Park in Cultra. attended a workshop in shared images and symbols Subsequently, the pupils Ballymena focusing on the used to define individuals. participated in a workshop in idea that ‘Ignorance is Bliss’. Later, the pupils designed St Mary’s (March 2009) This workshop explored the their own family shield. All where they completed a idea that our society does not the pupils’ hard work in the paired ICT task in which they always face the problems it is workshops during the year investigated ‘Ulster Scots’ experiencing and the was rewarded with a visit to and our shared Scottish importance of education and Water Top Farm, Ballycastle heritage. raising awareness of issues where they enjoyed a range The ‘Ulster Scots’ workshop in our society. In January, of team building games and was facilitated by the History they also completed a paired adventure sports. ICT activity investigating the Department and utilized the Form 9A continued their link impressive skills of our EMU shared symbol of Cu with Ballymena Academy prefects. In late June 2009, Chulainn. Finally, their EMU pupils and invited them to a the two groups enjoyed a day project concluded with a day workshop on ‘Combating of outdoor pursuits in of outdoor activities at Conflict’ on an individual Woodhall Education Centre in Ardclinnis, Cushendall Boat basis and in the community. Kilrea. Club in June.

‘HABITAT FOR HUMANITY’ CROSS extend the programme this year to include a COMMUNITY PROJECT Global Village trip to Guatemala in June/July

St Mary’s role in the Habitat for Humanity 2010. The Global Village Team will include (Northern Ireland) project continues to teachers and students from St Mary’s and Magherafelt High School. evolve. During 2008/09 a small group of students from St Mary’s joined students from SPIRIT OF ENNISKILLEN Magherafelt High School at a workshop Hugh Henry, Year 13, received the Spirit of which prepared them for a one-day site visit Enniskillen award. Hugh spent several in Belfast. In preparation for their day on weeks in Gothengurg, Sweden this summer, site, students from St Mary’s and organising, attending and facilitating Magherafelt High School raised funds for workshops on topics such as sectarianism Habitat in a number of ways including: and global issues such as poverty. He lunchtime DVD sessions, gigs and a joint worked along side young people from abseil. Over the past two years, St Mary’s Oldham in England, Gothenburg and students have helped to raise over £1,600 Northern Ireland. for Habitat for Humanity. It is hoped to

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ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS 2008/2009

GCSE AND A LEVEL TOP CANDIDATES IN NORTHERN IRELAND St Mary’s is pleased to report that CCEA has advised the following top candidates in Northern Ireland:

A LEVEL Ciaran Coney Biology, 3rd Brian Quinn Spanish, 3rd

AS LEVEL Grainne Cassidy Art and Design, full marks Catherine O’Neill Art and Design, full marks Danielle McCrystal Art and Design, full marks

GCSE Kirsty Cotton Art and Design, 1st equal Shauneen Donaghy Art and Design, 1st equal Laurina Donnelly Art and Design, 1st equal Aileen Henry Art and Design, 1st equal Catherine Hurl Art and Design, 1st equal Rachel Kelly Physical Education, joint 3rd Deborah Madden Art and Design, 1st equal Deirdre Maguire Art and Design, 1st equal Eimear McCollum Drama 3rd Peter McLernon Art and Design, 1st equal Amy Molly Art and Design, 1st equal Fionnuala Ward Art and Design, 1st equal Aisling O’Brien Drama 1st Qiushi Xiang Chemistry, joint 3rd

ƒ MLANI (Modern Languages Association, Northern Ireland)

Laoiseach Scullion was awarded the Weil Prize for Excellence in the study of two languages (French and German) at A2 Level. Laioseach received her prize at a special ceremony held in Queen’s University Belfast, December 2008. She was accompanied by her teachers Miss C Donaghue and Miss N MacOscar.

ART AND DESIGN

TEXACO CHILDREN’S ART COMPETITION

Vincent McKenna (Year 13) won two special MERIT Awards in Category B of both the 54th and 55th Texaco Children’s Art Competitions.

Over 33,000 pieces of artwork were submitted to the competition by young artists throughout Ireland.

Vincent was presented with his award at the Texaco Children’s Art Awards Ceremony in Dublin. His exceptional sea-scape painting was selected as one of the twelve months for the 2009 Texaco Calendar.

Sean Ryan (Year 13) was awarded a Certificate of Commendation in the 55th Texaco Children’s Art Competition.

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BUSINESS STUDIES/ECONOMICS DEPT

INDUSTRIAL VISITS

The Business Studies/Economics Dept had Industrial Visits for all Year 12, 13 and 14 classes to various local industries ie F G Wilson, Larne; Tesco, Cookstown; Tayto, Tandragee; Norbrook Newry; Croke Park Dublin; Guinness Breweries, Dublin.

A2 Business Studies students (Applied and A Level) visited the Central Library to access secondary research for their coursework.

STOCK MARKET CHALLENGE Two teams from Year 11 participated in this challenge, organised by FOSEC, Foyle School and Employer Connections. The competition gave pupils the experience and excitement of buying and selling shares on a live trading floor. Each team started with £15,000 in ‘virtual’ cash to invest, by interpreting and analysing information from the Stock Market. The simulated live trading took place over a two hour period and St Mary’s students ended up with a portfolio value of £81,700! The winning team consisted of Michael Wright, Rubymarie Rice, Andrew Mulholland, Niamh Hughes and Martin Robinson, led by their teacher Mr E Conway.

INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS SHADOWING SCHEME Andrew Keenan, Year 13, shadowed Ms Eileen Lavery in the Legal Department of the Equality Commission and Michael Murray, Year 13, shadowed Mr John McAfee, Copelands, Cookstown.

YOUNG ACHIEVERS MINI ENTERPRISE SCHEME A group of Year 13 Business Studies students had a very successful year, accruing £1500 in profit from their various business enterprises. They donated £1400 to Marie Curie and the rest to local charities.

CHEMISTRY

CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD COMPETITION 2009

ƒ Irish Chemistry Olympiad

Ciaran Coney, Year 14, was selected to represent Ireland at the 41st International Chemistry Olympiad in Cambridge in July 2009. Ciaran’s route to selection started in January when he won a silver Medal and Conor Averell, another team member was highly commended, in the 2009 All-Ireland Science Olympiad in Chemistry. This competition is held annually in Dublin City University and is open to all secondary level students from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As a result of Ciaran’s success in the All-Ireland competition, he was selected on to a panel of fourteen students who were given additional training and assignments, including an intensive residential training programme in Dublin City University over the Easter holidays. The fourteen shortlisted students then sat a very demanding practical and theory exam on Saturday 2 May and, based on this, Ciaran and three other students were chosen to represent Ireland at the International Chemistry Olympiad in Cambridge in July. Ciaran, along with the other three members of the Irish team, received a week-long intensive residential training programme in Dublin City University on the International Chemistry Olympiad syllabus, prior to their departure for Cambridge. Students who represent Ireland in this very prestigious competition have the added incentive of the IBM University scholarship scheme which awards €2,500 for an international gold medal, €1,250 for silver and €750 for bronze.

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ƒ British Chemistry Olympiad

Year 14 student Ciaran Coney was highly successful in the first round of British Chemistry Olympiad Competition; he was awarded the Bronze certificate and the students listed below were highly commended for their efforts.

Ciaran Coney: Bronze Matthew McGuckin: Commendation Patrick McAuley: Commendation Grace McKenna: Commendation Ciaran McAuley: Commendation Niall Graham: Commendation Conor Averell: Commendation Eimear McKenna: Commendation Dominic McKenna: Commendation Lauren Laverty: Commendation Odhran Doherty: Commendation Barry Walls: Commendation Cathal McGowan: Commendation Kathryn McGuckian: Commendation Ruairi Devlin: Commendation Ryan Kearney: Commendation Leanne Bradley: Commendation Caoimhe Toner: Commendation Ciara O’Kane: Commendation Lisa O’Neill: Commendation Briege Morren: Commendation

CHEMISTRY AT WORK EXHIBITION

A group of Year 11 Triple Award Chemistry students attended the Chemistry at Work Exhibition organised by QUB and sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry. This exhibition provided the students with the opportunity to meet representatives from local and national chemical companies and to attend their interactive demonstrations of Chemistry in the workplace.

SALTERS’ FESTIVAL OF CHEMISTRY DEMONSTRATION CHEMISTRY AT THE LECTURE & CAREERS PRESENTATION UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER, COLERAINE BY LOUGHREY COLLEGE

Enya Loughlin, Callum Mullan-Young, Sandra Witherspoon and Liz Simpson Ciaran O’Brien and Charlotte O’Kane all presented an interactive and engaging Year 8 pupils who successfully completed demonstration lecture to all Year 11 the practical challenge at the Salters’ students on the role of acids in food. The Festival of Chemistry at the University of students were given an insight into the Ulster, Coleraine. They were presented with number of different career opportunities certificates for their participation in this through studying Food Science/Food event. Technology and various other courses at this College.

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CHEMISTRY DEMONSTRATION LECTURE AND CAREERS PRESENTATION BY QUB Dr Gavin Walker and Dr Marie Migaud presented a most interesting and informative lecture to all Year 12 students. The students were given an insight into a number of different career opportunities through studying Chemistry/Chemical engineering and the requisite entry requirements were presented.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PRESENTATION FROM QUB Professor Ronnie Magee delivered a talk on Chemical Engineering and careers in this field to Year 12 Triple Award Chemistry Students and Year 13 Chemistry students. His presentation focused on the entry requirements, the nature of the course and career opportunities within Chemical Engineering.

DRAMA

INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL THEATRE Year 13 and Year 14 Theatre Studies students visited the Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown for an introduction to technical theatre and for a technical tour of the theatre.

BBC SCOTLAND USER TESTING SESSION Members from BBC Scotland Learning visited St Mary’s to trial new ICT tools with Drama students drawn from Key Stage 3 to A2 level. Representatives from BBC worked with students throughout the day to gauge students’ views on the new interactive tools.

CREATIVE STAGE LIGHTING DESIGN WORKSHOPS St Mary's Grammar School was the venue for a series of Creative Stage Lighting Design workshops between 7-9 October 2008. Organised and hosted by the Drama Department, the workshops provided all Drama and Theatre Studies pupils in St Mary's with a unique insight into the art of stage lighting.

Drama and Performing Arts students from St Pius X College, Rainey Endowed School and Sperrin Integrated College took the opportunity to attend one of these exciting, informative and practical workshops delivered by John Watson of Creative Lighting Design.

John, a member of the Association of Lighting Designers, later facilitated an INSET day for Drama teachers exploring the use of lighting in performance. Teachers from schools within the Magherafelt Learning Partnership and from other schools in the NEELB area benefited greatly from John’s vast knowledge and experience of lighting design.

THEATRE WORKSHOP WITH TINDERBOX THEATRE COMPANY Pupils attending the Tinderbox production of Bruised participated in a theatre workshop exploring the themes and issues raised by the play. The workshop was delivered by facilitators from Tinderbox Theatre Company.

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THEATRE WORKSHOP WITH DAN GORDON The Drama Department of St Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt welcomed actor and director Dan Gordon to the school. Dan, well known for his roles in BBC comedy Give My Head Peace and the Marie Jones play A Night In November, led a workshop for Theatre Studies students exploring the themes and issues of the play Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker. The workshop was related to Dan’s work in Hydebank Prison where he produced and directed Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme by Frank McGuinness using inmates as his cast. The project was filmed as part of the four part BBC documentary Sons of Ulster.

YEAR 9 PHYSICAL WORKSHOPS WITH BRUISER THEATRE COMPANY As part of their study of physical theatre in Drama, Year 9 pupils in St Mary's had the opportunity to work with Lisa May, Artistic Director of Bruiser Theatre Company. Lisa's style of direction focuses on the actors' ability to engage the audience, without relying on elaborate sets, costume and lighting. The actor is the central mechanism of performance and Lisa's work with pupils involved an exploration of the essential dynamics of theatre: the actor, the audience and the space. Pupils worked together throughout each workshop, demonstrating their creativity as they used a range of physical theatre skills and techniques in a variety of activities.

DANCE WORKSHOP WITH ECHO DANCE THEATRE COMPANY

Drama and Theatre Studies students in St Mary's had the opportunity to participate in a dance class facilitated by Echo Dance Theatre Company. During the session, students explored contemporary approaches to dance. Through their work with professional dancers, students gained a valuable insight into this art form and the discipline of movement.

CINEMAGIC ACTING MASTER CLASS Drama and Theatre Studies students from St Mary's had the opportunity to participate in an acting class with Chris Rankin who plays the role of Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter movie series. Chris has appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Order of the Phoenix. At the end of the day, pupils attended a Cinemagic Talent Lab awards ceremony during which Year 14 Theatre Studies student Rebecca Graham received an award from Chris Rankin for the Most Promising Actor. Rebecca was delighted to learn that she had also secured a work placement with BBC.

GCSE AGREEMENT TRIAL SHOWCASE GCSE Drama pupils from St Mary’s were invited to perform their devised drama at a teachers’ meeting in the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn.

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BE STILL AND KNOW: ANNUAL CAROL SERVICE The Music, Drama and Religious Studies Departments of St Mary's Grammar School presented the school's annual carol service, Be Still and Know. Throughout the service, pupils and staff were invited to reflect on the holiness of Christmas through song, prayer, scripture and drama. Our celebration of Christmas was shared with our local community during a visit to Marriot House.

CINEMAGIC STARS MUSICAL MASTER CLASS Drama students from St Mary's were delighted to meet and work with actress and television star Suranne Jones as part of the Cinemagic Stars event. Suranne, famed for her roles in Coronation Street and ITV dramas such as Harley Street, provided pupils with expert guidance and advice throughout an intensive three day programme exploring musical theatre. This was an excellent opportunity for pupils to work alongside industry professionals to develop a range of skills.

DAN GORDAN AUDITION WORKSHOP Following his first visit to the school in November 2008, the Drama Department was delighted to welcome renowned actor and director Dan Gordon back to St Mary's. Dan was invited to attend an audition workshop which was held as part of the casting process for the school's forthcoming production of Juno and the Paycock. Students were thrilled to receive very positive feedback on their work during the workshop, as well as advice from this experienced industry professional. Writing in his column in Sunday Life on 22 February 2009, Dan said of the pupils in the ‘burgeoning’ Drama Department: ‘These Senior School students were superb, and I mean SUPERB.’ He continued: ‘They were so very, very accomplished - some of them far and beyond any of the talent I've seen in my home city.’

BIG TELLY INTERGENERATIONAL DRAMA WORKSHOP Year 11 Drama pupils visited Brennan Court in Magherafelt to participate in an intergenerational drama workshop. Facilitated by Big Telly Theatre Company, the workshop brought together young and older members of the community to share and explore their different experiences and perspectives of life.

EASTER SERVICE In collaboration with the Religious Education and Music Departments, the Drama Department presented the school’s Easter Service.

MT4UTH Claire Burns, a Year 13 student, successfully auditioned for Youth Music Theatre UK, MT4UTH and Standin' Ovation. With so many opportunities offered to her, Claire decided to accept the MT4UTH offer to perform on the stage of the Grand Opera House, Belfast in a production of Godspell.

YEAR 8 DRAMA CLUB During Term Two and Three, a group of Year 8 pupils were involved in the Year 8 Drama Club which was facilitated by past pupils of the school who are currently Drama students at Queen’s University, Belfast. Pupils participated in a range of workshops and presented an original performance entitled Happy Ever After.

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LUNCHTIME THEATRE / PRACTICAL EVENINGS Lunchtime Theatre continued to thrive throughout the year as Drama and Theatre Studies students showcased their performance work. Throughout 2008/2009, audiences were treated to a range of performance work including improvisation, scripted performance, devised work and monologue/duologue presentations. Performances this year included extracts from:

ƒ To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee ƒ The Trojan Women by Euripides ƒ If It Don’t Hurt, It Ain’t Love by John R Carroll ƒ Agnes of God by John Pielmeier ƒ Be My Baby by Amanda Whittington ƒ The Angels of Baatan - a devised performance by Year 14 students ƒ A Pretty Piece of Flesh - an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare ƒ The Cagebirds - an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare ƒ The Four Seasons - a devised performance by Year 12 students ƒ Camp Disney - a devised performance by Year 12 students ƒ Those Lost Years - a devised performance by Year 12 students ƒ Parent Teenage Conflict Throughout The Ages - a devised performance by Year 11 students

THEATRE VISITS

ƒ 8 October 2008 Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey at the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine

ƒ 14 October 2008 Lenny – The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Train in the Braid Arts Centre, Ballymena

ƒ 16 October 2008 Bruised at the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine

ƒ 20 October 2008 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare at the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine

ƒ 5 November 2008 Blue Remembered Hills by Denis Potter in Sperrin Integrated College, Magherafelt

ƒ 4 February 2009 The Crucible by Arthur Miller in St George’s Church, Belfast

ƒ 19 February 2009 The Home Place by Brian Friel in the Grand Opera House, Belfast

ƒ 19 March 2009 Evita at the Millennium Forum Theatre, Derry

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GEOGRAPHY

GEOGRAPHY CLUB MARBLE ARCH CAVES The Geography Club for Years 8 and 9 continued its weekly meetings last year. A variety of activities, designed by the staff of the Department, were enjoyed by the pupils who attended.

LINKS BETWEEN GEOGRAPHY DEPART AND QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, BELFAST Links which had been previously established On Wednesday, 24 September, all with the School of Geography at Queen’s Year 10 students visited the Marble University, Belfast continued. Arch Caves in Co Fermanagh, to observe at first hand this unique limestone environment.

PHOTOGRAPH COMPETITION (Two of the prize-winning entries are shown)

The Geography Department ran a very successful whole school photograph competition which attracted a large number of entries from each Key Stage. Prizes were awarded to winners and runners up in each key stage.

GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION WORLDWISE QUIZ

A team of three Year 12 pupils: Nathan Mulholland, Ryan McKenna and Emer O’Donnell participated in the Geographical Association Worldwise Quiz in Queen’s University, Belfast, in November 2008. The pupils took the runners-up prize and their teachers, Mrs Bradley and Mrs Stevenson, were declared winners in the The WorldWise Quiz Team 2008, Emer, Ryan, Nathan Teachers Section. Their prize of book tokens was used to buy books for the Geography section of the School’s Library!

FIELDWORK IN GEOGRAPHY Sixth Form students had opportunities throughout the year to participate in a variety of fieldwork activities: ƒ In September 2008, all Year 14 Geography students participated in fieldwork on the North Antrim coast to observe coastal features and a variety of coastal management strategies. ƒ Year 13 Geography students completed river fieldwork locally, with thanks to Mr John Tohill, Ronan Valley Golf Course, who kindly allowed access to the river which flows through the golf course.

EARTH: THE POWER OF THE PLANET A group of Year 12 Geography students and their teachers attended a lecture by BBC broadcaster and well-known Earth Scientist, Professor Iain Stewart, in W5, January 2009. Professor Stewart presented the recent BBC Series Earth: The Power of the Planet.

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HOME ECONOMICS AND HEALTH EDUCATION

In 2008-2009, Key Stage 3 Home Economics students took part in a range of activities which included a Breakfast Poster competition and Product Design with Genesis. Year 10 students completed an on-line examination in Food Hygiene and achieved their Level 2 CIEH certificate in Food Hygiene. Year 12 GCSE Food students achieved a Level 2 Certificate in Healthy Diets from Loughry College in December 2008.

SCHOOL NUTRITION ACTION GROUP HEALTHY EATING The SNAG focused on promoting Healthy Eating messages AWARDS / CAFÉ this year by leading poster campaigns to highlight World BORDEAUX Heart Day; Breakfast Deals in Café Bordeaux and In March £135 worth of developing a new healthy muffin. The SNAG group’s ‘Fibre vouchers were distributed to Tastic Muffins’ have been included as a recipe in the Year the students with the highest 9 Home Economics booklet. Healthy Eating Points.

STAFF HEALTH AND WELL BEING ‘A very positive experience and a great way to DAY : 5 JANUARY 2009 start off the New Year.’

All Staff participated in the Staff Health and Well Being Day; the purpose of the day was to increase whole staff awareness of Health and Well Being issues, provide opportunities for sampling some alternative therapies and to give staff time to participate in some exercise or relaxation. Staff had the opportunity to do health checks and get advice from a wide range of organisations. Many staff, as well as trying some of the alternative therapies on offer, availed of the opportunity to go walking, golfing and swimming.

ICT

FIREWORKS ‘The ICT Department encourages pupils to develop and broaden their personal ICT skills and supports them In September and both inside and outside the classroom.’ October 2008 a Year 9 ICT class took part in a VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT collaborative project on In 2008/2009 Lower Sixth students had the Fireworks. The project opportunity to avail of a lecture on a range of involved pupils from the Multimedia Design courses offered by five schools in the University of Ulster, Magee Campus. Sarah Duffy & Joseph McNeill Magherafelt Learning

WEB DESIGNER OF THE YEAR Partnership, working together to produce COMPETITION multimedia presentations on Safety When Year 9 students entered the Belfast Using Fireworks. Telegraph/Value Oils Web Designer of the The project used a VLE platform to facilitate Year, Competition. They designed and collaboration between pupils and other developed their own websites, during experts, including members of PSNI and lunchtime. This provided them with Fire Brigade. They had opportunities to ask opportunities to experience the latest and pose questions through discussion multimedia technologies. forums. Sarah Duffy and Joseph McNeill Y DO IT Year 12 ICT students attended helped to produce the wining presentation: Y do IT, a careers event organised by they attended a presentation ceremony at University of Ulster, Coleraine, in October Hillsborough Castle, where they were each 2008. They obtained information on career presented with a digital camera. opportunities in the ICT sector and the event gave students an insight into the IT industry.

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MATHEMATICS

SENIOR UK MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE All Year 14 pupils, who are studying A Level Mathematics, participated in this competition: seven students gained silver certificates and eighteen students gained bronze certificates.

INTERMEDIATE UK MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE All Year 12 pupils who are studying GCSE Level Mathematics participated in this competition: four students gained a gold certificate and eighteen students gained silver certificates and twenty-seven students gained bronze certificates. Patrick McGuigan was invited to take part in the next stage of the competition, entry to which is by invitation only and reserved for those students who did exceptionally well in the first round. Patrick McGuigan

JUNIOR UK MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE All Year 9 pupils participated in this competition: 62% of students achieved an award which is the highest percentage to date. Ten students gained a gold certificate, twenty-nine students gained silver certificates and fifty-four students gained bronze certificates. Conor McPeake was invited to take part in the next stage of the competition, entry to which is by invitation only and reserved for those students who did exceptionally well in the first round.

YEARS 9 AND 10 NEELB COMPETITION Katie McKee, Bronagh McGuckin (both Year 9), Gavin Tennyson and Peter Maguire (both Year 10) were awarded first place in the problem-solving team competition held by the NEELB in June. It was attended by more than twenty schools in the province.

MUSIC

IRISH TRADITIONAL GROUP

The St Mary’s Irish Traditional Group was chosen to perform in the UK National Festival of Music for Youth held in the Sir Adrian Boult Conservatoire, Birmingham on 10 July 2009. This featured some of the best young musical ensembles in the UK and Coimríu performed in the Traditional and International Music category. After this performance, they were chosen to represent Northern Ireland in the School Proms, which took place in the Royal Albert Hall, London on 10 November 2008.

Coimríu also performed in the Limerick University Concert Hall in the Final of the Siansa Gael Linn U19 Irish Traditional Music Competition on 26 April 2009. They finished in third place (Best Young Traditional Group in Ireland) and received a cheque for £650.

CCEA SCORE CONCERT Hannah McAuley, Year 13, was invited to perform in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast as part of the CCEA Score Concert. This concert featured some of the best and most creative performance from GCSE Music.

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BE STILL AND KNOW AND EASTER SERVICE The Music Department contributed music for the school’s Carol Service and Easter Service featuring the Junior and Senior Choirs, string ensemble and soloists.

ULSTER ORCHESTRA CONCERTS GCSE and A Level pupils attended Ulster Orchestra concerts in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast in October 2008 and April 2009.

EXAMINATIONS

Twenty eight pupils were Thirty three pupils were Claire Burns and Eadaoin successfully prepared for successfully prepared Hegarty both gained the Trinity Guildhall Vocal for Associated Board Trinity Guildhall Musical Examinations in May Examinations in June Theatre Singing Diploma 2009 and all passed with 2009. in June 2009.

merit or distinction.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS Upper Sixth, in association with the Music Department, organized a Battle of the Bands Competition: the winners were A2 Music Crew, who raised over £1000 for their chosen charity.

LITURGIES Throughout the year, the Music Department supported the Faith Life of the school, providing Music for whole school and class liturgies.

PHYSICS

UK PHYSICS CHALLENGE All Year 12 Triple Award pupils took part in the UK Physics Challenge competition. They all prepared for and sat a one hour Physics paper (structured questions) during school time. This was then marked and the students received participation certificates.

UK PHYSICS AS OLYMPIAD All Year 13 Physics students took part in the UK Physics AS Olympiad. Fearghal McGrenaghan (Year 13) received a Bronze Medal Award and the rest of the pupils in AS Physics received Participation Certificates.

UK PHYSICS OLYMPIAD All Year 14 Physics students took part in the Year 14 UK Physics Olympiad. Ciaran McAuley and Brian McKee (Year 14) both received Bronze Medal Awards.

PHYSICS EXHIBITION Year 11 Triple Award students attended a Physics exhibition in St Patrick’s College, Maghera. The exhibition included demonstrations of Physics principles and a talk on Careers in Physics.

ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION A group of FG Wilson employees came into the school and gave a workshop and presentation on Electromagnetic Induction to the Year 12 TA students.

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VISIT TO RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT Year 13 physics students attended the Radiology Department of Antrim Area Hospital in order to see Medical Physics in action.

EDUCATIONAL VISIT: FG WILSON A group of Year 13 Physics and Technology students attended an educational visit to FG Wilson (engineering) plant in Larne on Thursday 23 April 2009. FG Wilson is one of our Specialist Schools industrial partners. They Insert picture here are a global company with over three thousand employees and forty years of experience in the supply of diesel and gas powered generator sets, with headquarters in Northern Ireland. During their visit students took part in a simulated work environment (SWE) and had a tour of the Acoustic Centre situated at the plant.

ARMAGH PLANETARIUM A trip to Armagh Planetarium was arranged for Year 10 pupils on Wednesday 10 June 2009. The pupils had the opportunity to attend a show as well as take part in a workshop.

POLITICS

Year 13 Politics students made their annual visit to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont in November 2008. The itinerary included a guided tour of the building and the opportunity to sit in on a plenary session of the Assembly.

A presentation on the history and processes of the Assembly was followed by a question and answer session with MLAs from the main political parties.

MODERN LANGUAGES

IRISH

September 2008 saw the continuation of the work of the Club Mhuire, the Irish language lunch-time club, which was formed over two years ago. Activities continued throughout the year and included bingo, film- viewings, quizzes etc – all carried out through the medium of Irish. The Christmas quiz, Teachers v Pupils, proved popular once again and we thank the Gaeilgeoirí amongst the staff for the support and participation. Our ever loyal language assistant, Eoin Ó Néill, also made Irish lessons available to staff, parents and past pupils who do not study Irish and this culminated in a presentation ceremony in the lead up to Christmas.

In October 2008, students from Rathmore Grammar, Belfast joined us once again to partake in Cairdeas, an inter-school project between St Mary’s and Rathmore. The venture comprises of immersion into the language and culture of the Donegal Gaeltacht area in Gaoth Dobhair. This year pupils visited and participated in a live recording of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

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In what has now become an annual occasion, students of Irish at A2, had the opportunity of visiting an Cultúrlann MacAdaim Ó Fiaich, Belfast, to watch performances of Máiréad Ní Ghráda’s An Triail. Completely in the medium of Irish, the students both enjoyed and benefited from the performance.

Seachtain na Gaeilge – Irish Language Week – was the focus of attention during the spring and a huge variety of activities and events took place early in March:

ƒ Year 9 pupils visited Croke Park and had an Irish-medium tour of the stadium and GAA Museum ƒ Year 10 pupils enjoyed an Irish language quiz and céilí hosted by Réamonn Ó Ciaráin (Gael Linn) and were presented with Fáinní Airgid in recognition of their growing fluency. ƒ An Céilí Mór, the whole school céilí provided an enjoyable evening for the huge number who attended with the Ó Ceallaigh Céilí Band providing the music and our own Mrs Kearney providing the direction.

ƒ Year 8 pupils were treated to an introduction to céilí dancing one afternoon, again with the combined talents of the Ó Ceallaigh Céilí Band and Fiona Reighill, a representative from the Gaelarás in Derry.

Building on the success of last year, Coimriú, the Senior Traditional Group, once again progressed to the final of Siansa, the Gael Linn traditional music competition which is organised completely through the medium of Irish. This was a tremendous achievement for the combined efforts of the Irish and Music departments and a fantastic experience for all those who witnessed the group achieve third place, in the University of Limerick, this year.

Year 11 pupils visited the Gaeltacht in mid-June, experiencing the wonders of Páirc Náisiúnta Ghleann (Glenveagh National Park) and Ionad Cois Locha, Dún Lúiche (Dunlewey Lakeside Centre).

The extra-curricular remit of the Irish Department drew to a close with the now annual visit of Year 8 pupils to Belfast Zoological Gardens where they enjoy an Irish medium tour of the zoo.

Abair: The Irish Department was delighted to host the prestigious Gael Linn competition in October 2008 which saw Amy Devlin, Olivia McVey and Eadaoin Hegarty achieve success.

FRENCH French Riveria The Sixth Form French students visited the French Riveria in October 2008. They enjoyed exploring the historical and cultural attractions of Nice, Cannes and Eze. The highlight of the trip was a visit to Monaco with the students spending time in Lycée Albert I, with whom a school link agreement was established.

Paris Year 11 French students and their teachers enjoyed a trip to Paris in June 2009. They visited the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the highlight of the trip was the day in Disneyland. Reports agree that pupils and teachers re-acquainted themselves with their favourite Disney characters and many braved the roller coaster rides!

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GERMAN

Klub Deutsch continued every Wednesday at 1.00pm in G1. Pupils across Key Stage 3 attended and enjoyed a range of activities including singing, games, learning poems and tongue twisters, reading stories and researching regions of Germany.

ITALIAN Mrs B Mallon taught lunchtime classes in Italian on Thursday. The six class members successfully completed GOML Level 1:

Mrs M Diamond Kevin McStravock Mrs D Brown Catherine Tennyson Mrs A Kirk Maria Tennyson

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES

On European Day of Languages in September 2008, the Modern Languages Department organised a number of activities designed to promote European cultural awareness and to highlight the links between the Modern Languages Area of Study and other subjects.

A number of Year 12 French students visited Holy Family Primary school, Magherafelt during the day where they introduced Primary 6 and 7 pupils to the French Language.

TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

SEAGATE YOUNG INNOVATORS COMPETITION

Following on from his success in the Seagate Young Innovators competition in Belfast, June 2008, Owen McMeel attended the UK Scientists and Engineers Fair in Westminster, March 2009. He won the Intel International Science and engineering Prize with his A2 project, “Wirewise” which focuses on accurately measuring electrical cable. Owen was also runner-up in the Best CREST Gold Technology Award winning £700 in total: £350 for the school and £350 for himself. He was highly commended in the Technology category where he won an Ipod Touch.

INTEL INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR: MAY 2009

Reno Nevada, USA, welcomed more than 6,000 visitors for the 2009 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The event showcased the work of more than 1,500 exceptional High- School Science students from more than fifty countries who came to Reno to compete for nearly $4 million in scholarships and prizes.

Owen McMeel, with his innovative ‘WireWise’, product won the Grand Award fourth place prize in the Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical Category, and was one of only five competitors who achieved the certificate of outstanding achievement from the China Association for Science and Technology. He attended the China Adolescents Science and Technology Innovation Contest, July 2009.

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YOUNG ENGINEERS FOR BRITAIN NORTHERN IRELAND REGIONAL FINAL: JUNE 2009

A2 Technology and Design pupils, Michael John Lynch and Ryan Storrie, were awarded the Overall Winners prize at the Young Engineer for Britain Regional Final in the Odyssey, Belfast. The boys will represent Northern Ireland at the National Finals ‘Big Bang Competition’ which will be held in Manchester in 2010. In addition to this success, Christopher McNicholl was also a winner achieving 1st place in the Class C category (17-19 years old) Young Engineer, received the ETB Award for Engineering in Society.

Over six hundred pupils from schools throughout Ireland competed at the Sentinus Young Engineers for Britain Regional Finals, which is one of the largest events of its kind in the UK and provides a showcase for students to demonstrate the wealth of creativity and innovation which exists in schools and colleges.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

FAITH LIFE IN ST MARY’S

‘Let your favour be upon us, give success to the work of our hands.’

A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God

One of the aims of St Mary’s, is to ‘develop the Catholic faith’ and the ‘spiritual growth of each child’. Today, in a world challenged by the social, economic and cultural changes, the Religious Studies Department in St Mary’s is very committed to nurturing the faith life of the pupils, not only through the taught curriculum, but also through its extensive extra-curricular programme.

RETREATS

“The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while ... So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.”

(Mark 6: 30-32)

The Religious Studies Department, mindful of Jesus’ words to the Disciples, has been very active in organising retreats for the pupils so that they too ‘come away to rest for a while.’ In October 2008, a group of Upper Sixth Pupils, took part in a Youth Retreat on Lough Derg. This time of prayer and contemplation helped to rekindle and deepen the pupils’ relationship with God leaving them spiritually refreshed and revitalised.

The Lower Sixth pupils took part in a two day Youth Retreat given by the Clonard Retreat team. The purpose of this retreat was to enable pupils to leave behind temporarily usual worldly distractions and re-evaluate God’s place in their lives. Our aim was guided by the words: ‘In the fever and agitation of modern life, the need of meditation and spiritual repose impresses itself on Christian souls who desire to reflect on their eternal destiny, and direct their life in this world towards God.” (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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Year 11 pupils also took part in a half day retreat with the Armagh Youth Council. The pupils spent their time together reflecting, sharing, singing and praying. The pupils’ experience was a positive one and they appreciated that time to think about their image of God and what He meant to them.

Year 10 also enjoyed their retreat with the Dromantine Team. They reflected on current issues in the context of Catholic Church teaching and discussed their image of God and the importance of Him in their lives. It proved to be a very successful day of sharing and an enlightening spiritual experience for them.

PILGRIMAGES

‘Pilgrimages are an important part of spiritual life for many Christians. Christians see life itself as a journey, coming from God and returning to God’ (Catholic Pilgrimages)

In October 2008, the month of the Holy Rosary, the Religious Studies Department organised a pilgrimage to Lourdes for pupils. These pupils and their teachers, as part of the eight million other pilgrims, travelled to France to celebrate the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Lourdes apparitions. In Rome, the Pope prayed for all Lourdes pilgrims who were honouring the Virgin Mary in that jubilee year: "I ask the Virgin Mary to watch-over the inhabitants of Lourdes and I grant all of them, as well as the pilgrims attending the ceremonies, an affectionate apostolic blessing." We wanted to give the pupils, in our care, the opportunity to join in these celebrations and have a share in this apostolic blessing.

In August 2009, a group of St Mary’s pupils and their teachers set off to Medjugorje. They spent their week singing, praying, fasting, and taking part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Despite the early mornings and the physical challenge of climbing the Mount of Apparitions, they returned home renewed and restored by the abundant blessings received.

MASSES

‘Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood … I will live in him’

Fr David Moore, the school Chaplain, celebrates Mass every Wednesday in the school Oratory throughout the school year and during Lent, Mass is celebrated every morning. These Masses are very well attended, evidence that the faith is truly alive and thriving in St Mary’s.

Throughout the year, Masses are also celebrated to mark key events:

ƒ At the beginning of the school year, the students and staff come together to pray for their own intentions and the intentions of each other.

ƒ The Upper Sixth and Year 12 pupils choose to celebrate the end of their academic journey in school with a Year group Mass. Parents are invited to join their children for these joyful occasions, enjoying the music and thoughtful reflections. These celebrations are very important to staff, parents / guardians and pupils, and in the words of one young scholar, “I go to the Eucharist day after day, every day I can, because that is what I am about.”

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The RE Department, in association with the Music and Drama Department, mark key points in the Church calendar, for example Christmas, Easter with appropriate services combining readings, music and drama presentations.

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” James 5: 16. In April 2009, a group of pupils from the local secondary schools came together to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In St Mary’s, we subscribe to the belief that the faith is all about “honesty and honesty leads to confession, and confession leads to change.” (St Pixels web)

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS A group of pupils from St Mary’s and St Pius were also commissioned as Eucharistic Ministers. The young people were reminded about the ‘importance of such a position’ and how they would be “important role models for other young people now that they had decided to become the ‘Hands of Christ’ in giving his body to others.”

The St Mary’s Community continued to show its commitment to local,

national and global charities. The following donations were made:

Year 8 Distress Aid Direct to Africa 3230.00 Year 9 Habitat for Humanity 478.00 Year 10 Trocaire 763.11 Year 11 UNICEF 600.00 Habitat for Humanity 400.00 Year 12 Mount Carmel School in India 400.00 Year 13 NI Cancer Fund for Children 1302.00 Mencap 320.00 Year 14 Make a Wish Foundation 320.00 Total 7813.11

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD SCHEME

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme was founded in 1956, as a programme of personal development for boys between 15-18 years. Within its first year, the lower age limit was reduced to 14 years, where it has remained. A girls’ scheme was launched in 1958 and the two schemes were amalgamated in 1969. The upper age limit has been increased on a number of occasions and is now at twenty five years. Today, the Award is a major international programme, operated in over one hundred and twenty countries. Its basic philosophy is that it offers the opportunity for young people to develop personally and connect with others, through a range of new experiences. It is not a competition but rather a balanced, progressive framework to allow young people to focus on their interests, improve their abilities and try something entirely new.

Each level of the Award – Bronze, Silver and Gold – is assessed across four sections: Physical, Skill, Service and Expedition. In 2008-2009, twenty Year 11 pupils successfully completed the Silver Award and thirteen Year 13 pupils successfully achieved the Gold Award. This is the first cohort of Gold Award winners and these high achievers have declared it to be an exhilarating experience, full of challenge and reward.

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EDUCATIONAL VISITS/WORKSHOPS/SPEAKERS

The following are examples of various events, visits, workshops in which pupils participated throughout the year:

True Colours Best of GCSE and A Level Art exhibition, Omagh, November 2008, attended by GCSE, AS and A2 Art and Design students.

Lough Derg

Two Art and Design students had work Over forty Year 14 students accompanied by displayed in this exhibition: Mrs Higgins and Mr Campbell completed a pilgrimage to Lough Derg, October 2008. It was a ƒ Grainne Cassidy O’Neill (Year 13) day of prayer, discussion and reflection. This ƒ Catherine O’Neill (Year 13) opportunity allowed pupils and staff to experience the sacredness of the Island for a day.

University of Ulster: Open Day for Languages, January 2009 Lower and Upper Sixth Languages students attended this day, participating in lectures conducted in a number of languages.

Helena Pielichaty, Author 10C had the opportunity to attend a talk, attended by a number of schools, by author Helena Pielichaty. The author read extracts of her books, discussed the issues she explores in the texts and the inspiration for her writing. Pupils had the opportunity to ask questions about the process of writing novels and the value of reading.

The Literature of the Troubles Thirty Year 11 students participated in the ‘Literature of the Troubles’ Education Project run by St Mary’s University College, Belfast. The students engaged with a

range of contemporary Irish Literature and completed a Creative Writing Project.

Institute of Directors Shadowing Scheme Andrew Keenan, Year 13, shadowed Ms Eileen Laverty in the Legal Department of the Equality Commission and Michael Murray, Year 13, shadowed Mr John McAfee, Copelands, Cookstown.

Royal Mail Young Writers Competition A number of Year 9 and Year 10 pupils were awarded certificates for their participation in this competition.

Rotary International Young Leaders Competition A number of Lower Sixth students participated in this competition: Kieran Conway, Stephen Sweeney and Siobhan McCrory. Siobhan was awarded a Certificate of Commendation for her performance.

Debating Club The annual Year 10 Debating Club proved very popular again this year. 10E were the winners of the competition and were awarded book tokens as their prizes.

Other Visits

ƒ F G Wilson ƒ Tayto, Tandragee ƒ Armagh Planetarium ƒ Norbrook, Newry ƒ Antrim Area Hospital (Radiology Dept) ƒ Croke Park, Dublin ƒ Physics Exhibition, St Patrick’s College, Maghera ƒ Guinness Breweries, Dublin ƒ Central Library, Belfast ƒ Genesis Bakeries, Magherafelt ƒ Tesco, Cookstown ƒ Year 8 pupils visited Belfast Zoo, June 2009

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TRAVEL

‘Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover’.

Mark Twain

LOURDES: OCTOBER 2008 ‘I ask the Virgin Mary to watch over the inhabitants of Lourdes and I grant all of them, as well as the pilgrims attending the ceremonies, an affectionate apostolic blessing.’ Pope Benedict

The year 2008, marked the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Lourdes apparitions and upwards of eight million pilgrims travelled to Lourdes in the course of the year.

A group of pilgrims from St Mary’s, pupils and staff, together with School Chaplain, Fr D Moore, shared in the celebrations. Highlights of their visit included participating in the Torchlight Procession and Mass at the Grotto.

FRANCE: OCTOBER 2008 The Sixth Form French students visited the French Riveria in October 2008. They enjoyed exploring the historical and cultural attractions of Nice, Cannes and Eze.

The highlight of the trip was a visit to Monaco with the students spending time in Lycée Albert I, with whom a school link agreement was established.

YEAR 9 SKI TRIP The annual Year 9 ski trip went ahead this year under the expert and cool leadership of Mrs E Daly. Forty-five Students and five Teachers went to Lincoln, New Hampshire (Via Boston). They skied in two regions, Loon Mountain and Waterville Valley, and stayed in Woodwards Resort. The students had four hours of ski instruction everyday - and all loved the thrills and spills of the experience. The evenings were equally enjoyable as pupils were taken to such things as a High School Basketball Match costing only $1, the cinema, and an all- important shopping extravaganza at Rockaways Mall. Mrs Daly said, ‘They were a lovely group of children and a splendid time was had by all.’

USA: SKI 2009 In February 2009, Mrs Carr also organised a ski trip to New Hampshire for our senior students. Seventy seven students and nine members of staff travelled to Lincoln, New Hampshire, USA for a week’s skiing. Snow conditions were perfect and the party enjoyed skiing in both Loon and Waterville. The group was able to visit a shopping mall on the last day of the trip and fit in a visit to Quincy Market in Boston before the flight home.

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FRANCE: JUNE 2009

Year 11 French students and their teachers enjoyed a trip to Paris in June 2009. They visited the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the highlight of the trip was the day in Disneyland. Reports agree that pupils and teachers re- acquainted themselves with their favourite Disney characters and many braved the roller coaster rides!

MEDJUGORJE: AUGUST 2009

A group of St Mary’s pupils, and staff together with those from Holy Trinity College, Cookstown, St Patrick’s College, Maghera and St Gemma’s High School. Belfast, participated in the 2009 Medjugorje International Youth Festival (1-6 August 2009).

In all, there were participants from sixty nine countries, representing each of the five continents.

Our pilgrims shared in Masses, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Lectures and Prayer Services, all of which were supported by the International Choir and Orchestra, under the direction of Professor Martin Pero Boras.

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CHILD PROTECTION

St Mary’s is fully committed to the principles of Child Protection outlined in Pastoral Care in School: Child Protection DENI 1999.

‘As well as their statutory responsibilities in relation to pupils’ learning, schools have a pastoral responsibility towards their pupils and should recognise that the children and young people in their charge have a fundamental right to be protected from harm. In particular, schools are expected to do whatever is reasonable, in all circumstances of the case, to safeguard or promote their pupils’ safety and well-being.’

The Designated Teacher for Child Protection is:

†

Mrs S O’Brien

The Deputy Designated Teachers for Child Protection are:

†

Mrs E Lennon Mr F Dunlop

In February 2008, ETI completed a standard Inspection in the School during which the school’s provision for pastoral care, including Child Protection was evaluated. The report found:

‘The quality of the arrangements for pastoral care and child protection in the school is excellent. The school has procedures in place which implement the guidance outlined in the relevant DE Circulars. The governors, staff, parents and pupils are fully aware of the school’s procedures and have had the opportunity to contribute to a range of effective policies which guide the work of the school.’

Throughout 2008/2009, training in Child Protection (Policy and Procedures) was given to all new and Beginning Teachers and newly recruited staff across the school. This was facilitated by Mrs S O’Brien, Designated Teacher for Child Protection.

A detailed Child Protection Policy document is available on request from the school office or can be downloaded from our website www.stmarysmagherafelt.com

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ECO SCHOOLS PROJECT

The St Mary’s Eco School Committee was formed in September 2008 with the aim of working under the guidance of the Eco Schools Project, towards a Green Flag Award. Each Year Group in the school was represented on the Committee. The Committee wasted no time in completing a school-wide Eco-audit and forming an action plan which focused on:

ƒ Recycling

ƒ Energy Efficiency

ƒ Biodiversity St Mary’s Eco School Committee

RECYCLING Aim: to increase recycling within the school community by: ƒ recycling paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, and aluminium cans ƒ placing blues in every room, in corridors and outside the buildings ƒ recycling used computers, mobile phones and empty printer cartridges

In 2008/2009 we produced twenty five blue bins every two weeks CAMARA collected one hundred and eighty computers for refurbishment and have sent these to schools in Africa.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY Aim: to reduce the school’s carbon footprint: ƒ The Carbon footprint for the school = 520 tonnes of Carbon dioxide each year. This is almost 0.5 tonnes per pupil. Action taken ƒ The campaign to switch off lights and computers when not used saved 28,663 units of electricity in 2008/2009. This has resulted in a saving of £4,265. ƒ A computerised system has been installed to give better control of the school’s heating. This has resulted in a 10% reduction in oil and a saving of £3,894.

BIODIVERSITY Aim: to increase habitat diversity in the school grounds by: ƒ wild bird feeding station ƒ twenty nest boxes were put by the Year 9 ƒ compost heap ƒ studying Pond Life and Hedgerows ƒ new pond

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Eco-Code Poster

A competition to design an Eco-Code poster for the school was won by Sinéad Donnelly, Year 11.

Silver Award/Green Flag Award

By end of June 2009, St Mary’s had received the Eco-Schools Silver Award and by June 2010 hope to have achieved the Green Flag Award.

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AWARDS

COMENIUS

‘We are all citizens of one world; we are all of one blood.’

Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670)

The COMENIUS programme is named after Jan Amos Comenius and has two main objectives:

To develop knowledge and understanding among young people and education staff of the diversity of European Cultures and Languages and the value of this diversity.

To help young people to acquire basic life skills and

competencies for their personal development, for future

employment and for active European Citizenship.

In May 2009, St Mary’s applied to Comenius for funding for two members of staff to attend a week-long training activity.

In September 2009, Mrs O’Brien and Miss McAllister attended a week-long training activity (20-26 September, incl) in Berlin, Germany, the focus of which is ‘Migration Learning in European Schools.’

Upon return to school, plans will be developed for a Comenius Project in Key Stage 3.

IRISH NEWS WORKPLACE AND EMPLOYMENT AWARDS

In May 2009, St Mary’s was shortlisted for the Work, Life and Wellbeing Award in The Irish News Workplace and Employment Awards, 2009.

A number of staff attended the Gala Award Evening in the Ramada Hotel, Belfast on 18 June. While St Mary’s did not win an award, we all had a wonderful evening and are encouraged to enter again in 2010.

INVESTOR IN PEOPLE AWARD

St Mary’s has been an Investor in People organisation since June 1999, with successful re-accreditations in 2001, 2004 and 2007. We will be seeking re-accreditation with a focus on work/Life balance in June 2010.

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NATIONAL TRAINING AWARDS National Training Awards recognise outstanding achievement and success through training and skills development and the competition operates throughout the United Kingdom. The Awards focus on the importance which organisations place on the development of their people through a clear commitment to their continuity education and training.

In 2008/09, St Mary’s submitted an entry for a National Training Award entitled: ‘The Play’s the Thing’ (Hamlet). The focus was on the considerable professional training which the school offered to all its staff during the production of Oliver!, Grand Opera House, Belfast, November 2007. The judges made a day-long visit to St Mary’s on 6 July 2009 to confirm the details in the entry and to review major evidence.

Stop Press August 2009: St Mary’s was shortlisted in the ‘Medium Employer’ category and on 15 October 2009, at the National Training Awards prestigious event in the Harbour Commissioners’ Office, St Mary’s won a Northern Ireland Award and a UK Award.

As a UK winner, St Mary’s will now be represented at UK National Training Awards ceremony in the Royal Horticultural Halls in London on Thursday 10 December 2009.

SHARING EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP

The Sharing Education Programme aims to encourage schools to make cross-sectoral collaborations an integral part of school life, creating enhanced educational and personal development opportunities for everyone involved. The Sharing Education Partnership is a £3.6 million, three-year programme.

The programme is funded by the International Fund for Ireland and Atlantic Philanthropies and is managed by the School of Education, Queen’s University, Belfast.

In June 2009, St Mary’s successfully made an outline bid for funding with the focus on a creative project across the Magherafelt Learning Partnership. The final proposal for full funding will be submitted by Mid-December 2009.

EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT (EFQM)

The European Framework for Quality Management is a prestigious international standard against which organisations can benchmark their performance strategies. St Mary’s submitted its application in September 2009. Details of the application’s progress will be given as it becomes available.

ACTION CANCER AND HEALTH ACTION AWARDS 2009

St Mary’s won a 2009 Action Cancer Health Action Award. We were selected as a Silver Award Winner in recognition of our outstanding commitment to promoting healthy activities for pupils and our determination to improve pupils’ lifestyles. An Award ceremony was held on 6 October 2009 at BBC Blackstaff Studios. Stephanie McWilliams & Niamh O’Loughlin pictured with Stepehne Watson

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SPORTS REVIEW 2008/2009

The Physical Education Department in The sports facilities at the St Mary’s aims principally to promote the school include a fully- healthy physical, social and psychological equipped sports hall, a fully development of all pupils. Accordingly, it equipped gymnasium, a offers to every pupil a wide and varied fitness suite, an all-weather range of sporting activities through its pitch, two grass pitches and five tennis curricular and extra curricular programmes. courts. The school also makes regular use of the facilities offered by the local council St Mary’s Physical Education and Sports in particular the swimming pool, squash Staff includes four full-time teachers with courts and fitness suite, driving range, golf other members of staff coaching in course and all weather pitches. specialised areas. The school offers the following range of sports:

ƒ aerobics ƒ cross-country ƒ hurling ƒ squash ƒ athletics ƒ Gaelic football ƒ netball ƒ swimming ƒ badminton ƒ golf ƒ outdoor education ƒ table-tennis ƒ camogie ƒ gymnastics ƒ rounders ƒ tennis ƒ circuit-training ƒ health-related fitness ƒ rugby ƒ volleyball

Throughout the year, individual pupils and teams are entered for Area Board, Regional and Provincial competitions. Successful teams compete regularly at All-Ireland level.

The PE department was proactively involved in the second year of the Specialist Schools initiative, in collaboration with the Science Department. The pupils enjoyed an enhanced range of personal development opportunities, involving a number of outside agencies, and we were able to further develop links to our feeder primary schools and the community in general.

A-LEVEL PHYSICAL EDUCATION ƒ St Mary’s athletes also competed in the USSAA In preparation for the AS and A2 under-14 team examinatons, the PE classes competition held in travelled to the Antrim Board Coleraine. The boys’ Centre for a one day revision team finished in forth course. The chief examiners from a number place with excellent performances by Paddy of the examination boards were present to McElroy and Ruaírí Donaghy among others. ƒ The girls’ team finished third overall with a lecture and to field questions. The AS level st PE class used Open Mind software to notable performance by Clare Kelly (1 shot putt), Eibhlin McAleer (1st High Jump), develop a number of websites which they th Bronagh McGuckin (4 800m) and Luke used for revision. McMullen (4th High Jump). Fifty pupils were

entered for the NEBSSA track and field district ATHLETICS championships in Antrim from Years 8-11.

The team won twenty-four individual medals. Track and Field Paddy McElroy (800m), Clare Kelly (Shot) won

This year proved a very busy year for Track gold medals, Odhran Totten (Long Jump / and Field Athletics. St Mary’s pupils 200m), Ben McLaughlin (1500m), Aoife Hutchinson (Long Jump) and Alice competed at District, Provincial and National McCormack (200m) all won silver medals. level in track and field athletics. Terence O’Brien (Long Jump), Megan ƒ Forty three St Mary’s athletes were entered for Johnston (200m), Eibhlin McAteer (High the Ulster Secondary Schools Athletics Jump), Colleen McErlean (300m) and Roisin Association District Championships held in McCloskey (300m) all won bronze medals. Antrim in May 2009, Odhran Totten and Ben ƒ Seven pupils qualified for the NEBSSA finals, McLaughlin both qualified for the Ulster Track held in Antrim Forum, where they competed and Field finals held in the Antrim Forum. against fifty-four other schools within the Board Odhran was placed fifth in Ulster, in the Junior area. Odhran Totten won the 200m and Ben Boys 100m. McLaughlin was second in the 1500m.

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BASKETBALL BT ULSTER COLLEGES WINNING ƒ As part of the Olympic 2012 project, pupils CAPTAINS 2008 from two of our partner post primary schools: Rainey Endowed and The School was Magherafelt High School visited St Mary’s represented at this in May for a Basketball Induction day. They enjoyed an awards ceremony by afternoon’s coaching in the sport. Aaron Devlin, captain of

ƒ Two Year 10 teams competed in the Maghera Leisure our Ulster title winning Centre Secondary Schools Basketball Competition in Brock Cup team. February. The girls’ A team competed in the final while the boys’ A team competed at the semi final stage.

CAMOGIE

Senior Team Junior Team The Senior Camogie team collected their ninth A tenacious Junior team Ulster Senior ‘A’ Colleges Camogie title competed in the Ulster Junior defeating Cross and Passion, Ballycastle in the ‘A’ Colleges competition final at Casement Park, Belfast. The team reaching the semi-finals progressed to the All-Ireland Semi Finals stage. After drawing with against Connaught Champions, Portumna Cross and Passion, Community College, but conceded narrowly in Ballycastle at home, in a very the final stages of an extremely competitive close and competitive game, match. the team were defeated by a

Captains: Eimear McKenna and Keelin Bradley single point in the replay at Ballycastle.

Captain: Leanne McCrystal ------7-A-Side Team ------The 7-a-side team competed in the Ulster Colleagues 7-a-side tournament in the Year 8 Team Mid Ulster Sports Arena in September. St Mary’s, Magherafelt, The team played at an extremely high hosted the Group 2 section level and were unfortunate to lose their of the Ulster Colleagues match against eventual winners, Year 8 Camogie St Patrick’s College, Maghera in the early Championship. Four teams stages of the competition. St Mary’s finished Runners Up. participated in total with visiting teams from Captain: Mary T Scullion St Benedict’s, Randalstown,

St Mary’s College, Clady and ------St Paul’s Kilrea. Many U-14 Team exciting games were played The U-14 team competed for the second year with some impressive scores in a newly structured Ulster ‘A’ 15-a-side by pupils from all schools. competition. This competition included three The eventual winners of the schools each of whom played twice on a Group competition were League basis and, despite some very close St Mary’s, Magherafelt who encounters, St Patrick’s College, Maghera and Cross and eventually defeated by Passion, Ballycastle progressed to contest the final. St Patrick’s College, Maghera in the Ulster Captain: Aine McAllister Quarter Final.

Captain: Aine Murphy

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Camogie All Stars

St Mary’s were awarded four Ulster College Centra Sponsorship Deal All-Stars Awards this year. Aileen for Senior Football

McCusker (Year 14) received her third All St Mary’s and Centra, Castledawson Road, Star Award, Eimear McKenna (Year 14) embarked on the third year of our four year and Christine McKenna (Year 14) each sponsorship deal. The generous received their second All Star Awards, while contribution from Centra helps in the Rachel Kelly (Year 12) received her first. preparation of our MacRory Cup team. The girls competed in the Inter Provincial Championships in April in Dublin. Internal Camogie Competitions

Three internal camogie competitions were organised to allow every girl in Year 8-10 to experience competitive camogie in school. Each team competed in at least two games resulting in very entertaining and

competitive finals.

COACHING MODULE CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING

Twelve Lower Sixth students attended a six-week coaching The Cross-Country Club enjoyed much module, including both theory success at local, district and provincial and practical sessions, taken by Chris levels during 2008/2009. Some of the most Collins, (Derry Development Officer). All the notable achievements included: pupils were awarded the GAA Foundation ƒ Ben McLaughlin placed third in the Year Level Coaching Award and are qualified to 10 Boy’s NEBBSA Championship coach underage teams. ƒ The Junior Boys’ team (Ben McLaughlin,

As a follow up from the coaching award, all Matthew Devlin, Odhran Totten, Mark participants attended a course on Child Boyle, Fintan Devine and Ruaírí Protection and gained a qualification in this Donaghy) qualified for the Ulster Final area. They also attended a one day course ƒ Ronan Bothwell and Fergal Duffin on teaching the fundamentals of Gaelic (Intermediate Boys) qualified for the Football taken by Ronan Devlin, a past Ulster Final pupil. All these pupils, subsequently had an ƒ Six relay teams (Year 13 pupils) competed in the Belfast Marathon opportunity to coach younger pupils from St Mary’s and Holy Family Primary School, Participation in training on Wednesday and Magherafelt. In addition to this, last year’s Friday afternoons was excellent throughout coaches returned to help the Lower Sixth the year and many of the performances students run the annual Top Link Festival from Year 8 and 9 pupils were very for our feeder primary schools. encouraging.

DANCE

Dance The final ‘dance off’ took place during lunch Competitions time with three hundred pupils in

Year 9 and 10 attendance. Money collected in entry fees enjoyed dance was donated to Habitat for Humanity. competitions within Year 10 Dance Champions their year groups. Orla Hughes, Nicole Hazlett, Aine Doran Each dance group and Fiona McKeever created a dance routine which they then Year 9 Dance Champions performed to music. The inter class Grainne McCloskey, Emma Diamond, Claire competitions took place during the dance Kilpatrick, Lauren Kearns, Chloe Glasgow, area of study. There were six group finalists Mairead Hughes and Martha Coogan. in Year 9 and five group finalists in Year 10.

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GAELIC FOOTBALL

ƒ The Year 8 team competed in the Ulster Colleges blitz hosted by St Mary’s CBS, Belfast in June.

ƒ The internal Year 8 blitz was won by 8B. Conor Small from 8B was selected as ‘Player of the Tournament’.

ƒ The Year 9 team reached the final of the D’alton Cup competition for only the third time in the school’s history. Although defeated by St Patrick’s, Maghera in the final, the boys played exceptionally well in defeating St Macartan’s, Monaghan and St Colman’s, Newry in the quarter and semi finals respectively. Captain: Terence O’Brien

ƒ The Year 9 Blitz was won by 9B after a very competitive final. Player of the tournament was Deaglan McErlean, 9B.

ƒ The Year 10 team competed in the Corn na nOg competition. Captain: John McIvor

ƒ The Year 11 team competed in the Brock Cup competition and was eliminated, after extra time, by St Macartan’s, Monaghan in a group stage play off. This group of players recorded their first ever competition victories for the school with two excellent wins over St Patrick’s, Cavan and St Macartan’s, Monaghan in the group stages. After the impressive progress made this year, this team can now look forward to the Rannafast Cup next year with renewed confidence. Captain: Niall Higgins

ƒ The Year 12 team competed in the Rannafast Cup competition and was defeated in the quarter final, by Abbey CBS, Newry, after a replay. Captain: Fergal Duffin

ƒ The MacRory Cup team was defeated by St Colman’s Newry at the play-off stage of the competition by a single point. Three of the team went on to represent Derry in the Ulster minor championship. The boys were extremely competitive throughout the campaign, our heaviest defeat being a two point loss the Omagh CBS. Captain: Ciaran Conway

Ladies ƒ The Year 8 team progressed to the plate final in the Ulster Colleges blitz narrowly losing to Letterkenny. Captain: Katie McQuillan ƒ The U14 girls drew with St Pius X, Magherafelt in their competition. Captain: Claire Graham ƒ The U16 girls were defeated by St Catherine’s, Armagh in the Ulster Semi-Final. Captain: Elish Kennan

IRISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION NORTH EAST FUTURE CHAMPIONS GRASSROOTS COACHING AWARD SPORTS ACADEMY

Thirty four pupils were nominated by the Twenty two pupils from school for the Northern Bank Future St Mary’s completed Champions Sports Academy events which the Irish Football were held at various venues in the Board Association Grassroots area in February. Our pupils were Coaching Award held nominated in a number of sports including at the school. athletics, squash and camogie and all received expert coaching. Many of the The course, a mixture of practical and pupils progressed through the pathways theory, enables the pupils to coach and reached the elite standard in their underage soccer. chosen sports, some of them representing their region in the Junior Championships.

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NORTH EAST FUTURE CHAMPIONS OLYMPICS PROJECT SPORTS ACADEMY LONDON 2012

Thirty four pupils were nominated by the Twenty-eight Year 8 school for the Northern Bank Future pupils from St Mary’s Champions Sports Academy events which are involved in a were held at various venues in the Board collaborative project area in February. Our pupils were with other local post nominated in a number of sports including primary schools which will culminate in athletics, squash and camogie and all them visiting the Olympic Games in received expert coaching. Many of the London in 2010. In 2008/09 we held two pupils progressed through the pathways induction days, both at St Mary’s, where and reached the elite standard in their the pupils had an opportunity to meet each chosen sports, some of them representing other and participate in a range of Olympic their region in the Junior Championships. activities.

OUTDOOR PURSUITS

As part of their GCSE Physical Education course, forty one students completed an intensive course in orienteering over four full days at the Woodhall Residential Centre, Kilrea.

RUGBY SOCCER

All the Year 12 pupils Despite last year’s impressive experienced a six week block performance in the Northern of rugby taken by the local Ireland final, the boys were Youth Development Officer. defeated in the first round of the The Development Officer from Carnegie Cup (Senior Team) the Ulster Rugby Branch competition, by Holy Cross College, visited the school in November Strabane. After drawing 2-2 in Moneymore, and delivered a workshop to twenty four of the Tyrone school took advantage of playing our pupils. at home and won the replay 3-1. The team, captained by Mark Murchan, contained ten of The outcome of the day was that all these the starting eleven boys from the final last pupils became trained coaches in Tag year but, on the day, they were defeated by a (Leprechaun) Rugby, enabling them to well drilled and disciplined Strabane side. introduce and teach the sport to others. Captain: Mark Murchan

SPORTS DAY

Sports Day 2009 was again a very successful event. The development of the event continued with a wide range of fun activities involving all the pupils. The awards were presented after the event at a special prize ceremony. Mr Gerry McElwee, from the Ulster Cancer Foundation, visited the school on Sports Day and provided us with sachets of sun cream for the pupils to use.

Victor Ludorum: Odhran Totten

Victrix Ludorum: Sinead Comer

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SPORTS HALL ATHLETICS SQUASH

Forty pupils represented the school at A number of pupils participated a series of Sports Hall Athletics in a Mixed Squash Tournament events in January. in April in Magherafelt Leisure

St Mary’s pupils excelled at the Centre County Derry finals, held at Meadowbank Recreation Centre. Forty pupils represented the school winning a range of medals SWIMMING including fourteen gold medals, eight silver medals and twenty two bronze medals. There were many notable performances.

Six pupils were selected for the County Derry team which, after intensive training, participated in the West of Swimmers from St Mary’s Ulster championships held in Omagh on 10 February participated in the Ulster 2009. These pupils were Claire Kelly, Kieran Lynch, Grammar Schools Swimming Kevin Rice, Ruaridh Donaghy, Terence O’Brien and Championships, the Irish Odhran Totten. Ruaridh won a silver medal in the six Schools Swimming Association lap race and gold in the relay; Claire Kelly, a silver in the Championships and the Minor Shot Putt and Odhran Totten, a silver in the Long Jump. Schools’ Championships. Following from this event, four pupils competed in the Ulster finals held at the Meadowbank on Thursday 5 March 2009. They were Ruaridh Donaghy, Terence O’Brien, Conor Chapman and Odhran Totten.

TENNIS

In September, the Physical Education Department offered an intensive three-week long tennis coaching course to our pupils and the pupils from Holy Family Primary School, Magherafelt. Sixteen Year 8 pupils experienced top class tennis coaching during the first week and improved their skill levels as a consequence. During the second week, eighteen Primary 6 and 7 girls benefited from the coaching and during the third week, a similar number of Primary 6 and 7 boys attended the sessions.

TESCO SPORT FOR NORTH EASTERN BOARD SECONDARY SCHOOLS SCHEME SPORTS ASSOCIATION (NEBSSA)

The Physical Education Department re- registered in this scheme at the start of Mr J McElholm continued as a member the school year and once again, the of NEBSSA, a Sports body which pupils managed to collect thousands of organizes up to fifty competitions in a vouchers which will help the department wide range of sports for all post-primary acquire a range of equipment. schools in the North Eastern Board Area.

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TOP LINK

‘Designed to enhance links between schools, TOP Link encourages 14 to 16 year

olds to organise and manage sport or dance festivals in local primary and special

schools.

Part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Step into Sport programme,

TOP Link is connected to existing school leadership work such as the Junior

Sports Leader Award and the Community Sports Leader Award.

As well as developing school links, TOP Link also uses PE and sport to train and

encourage young people to become leaders who can use their skills to benefit

the wider community’.

For the fourth year St Mary’s students became involved in the Top Link Programme. The Year 13 A Level students attended a one day training conference at UUJ while Mr J McElholm attended a Professional Development day at the same venue.

The department organised a Primary School Gaelic football event in June 2009, which was run by our Year 13 and 14 students, all of whom had attained coaching qualifications in Gaelic Football and Child Protection Certificates.

Eight of our larger feeder primary schools took part with a total of one hundred and fifty Primary 7 pupils enjoying a comprehensive coaching programme, lunch and a competitive blitz.

Paul Whitten from the Youth Sport Trust presented the school with a plaque in recognition of our contribution to the Top Link Programme.

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CAREERS EDUCATION AND GUIDANCE

Careers Guidance forms an which they may consider on completion of integral part of all pupils’ their GCSE examinations. studies from Year 10 to Year In Years 13 and 14 pupils have classes in 14. Formal careers classes Careers Education and Interview Skills. As are timetabled one period per well as attending the taught classes, pupils fortnight from Year 10 are encouraged to use the Resources in the upwards. During these classes Careers Library for private research. pupils take part in a taught Individual and group interviews take place programme incorporating with all pupils in Years 13 and 14 to help elements of both Careers guide them towards making suitable Education and Education for choices for third level courses for the world Employability. of work.

Throughout all Year Groups, pupils are All pupils in the school have access to a guided towards being able to make informed purpose built Careers Suite which includes decisions in relation to their future. Specific a well stocked and regularly updated guidance is given on subject choice in Year Careers Library and seven computers which 10 and Year 12. In Year 12, pupils have the have Internet Access and a range of up-to- opportunity to investigate all the options date Computer Packages.

PERSONAL CAREERS PLANNING GUIDANCE INTERVIEWS

All pupils are encouraged to develop their own Personal Guidance Counselling forms a very Career Plans to which they important part of all the work carried out in are introduced in Year 8. By the Careers Department and this is being involved in small group particularly important with pupils in Years interviews with their Careers teacher, as 12, 13 and 14. All Year 12 pupils have the well as having a taught programme of opportunity to be interviewed by a Careers Guidance, they gain confidence representative from the Careers Service in making an informed choice of subjects who visits the school one morning per which they choose to take at GCSE Level. week.

On obtaining GCSE EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYABILITY and ‘A’ Level results, all pupils in Year 12 All Year 8, 9 and 11 pupils took part in a and 14 receive Programme of Education for Employability extensive support and linked to Learning for Life and Work. As guidance. The Head of Careers works well as engaging in taught classes, all closely with Year 14 pupils in August pupils in Year 8 took part in an Activity helping them to secure places in Third Day focusing on Entrepreneurship Level Education. In Year 10, pupils are delivered by ‘Eastwood Business interviewed before making their final Mentoring’, as a conclusion to the subject choices and parents are Programme. Year 9 pupils engaged in a encouraged to meet with their Project Based Assignment which son’s/daughter’s Careers teacher if they concluded with a presentation from have any concerns about their choices. Mr John Murtagh, Magherafelt District Guidance interviews can be arranged at Council. any time for pupils either through referral from any member of the teaching staff or at the specific request of an individual pupil.

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LINKS WITH EXTERNAL AGENCIES

Alongside the All pupils in Year 13 take part in a Work taught programme Shadowing Scheme organised and of Careers monitored by the Careers Department. This Education, there is scheme provides pupils with the opportunity a comprehensive to spend time in some of the largest programme of extra-curricular activities companies and organisations across organised by the Careers Department. The Northern Ireland and beyond. Magherafelt Learning Partnership organises a large Careers Convention on a biennial A programme of Careers Presentations from basis. This brings together representatives invited speakers targeting Year 12, 13 and from business and education from all parts 14 pupils is on-going throughout the year, of Ireland as well as from Scotland and ensuring pupils are kept fully informed of England. new opportunities in both the world of

Employment and Further and Higher The Careers Department has developed Education. close links with many outside agencies and Northern Ireland Companies who visit the All Year 14 students have the opportunity to school regularly to give presentations to the attend Medical and Paramedical Open Days pupils. organised by a number of Health Trusts as well as the Programme of University Open As a conclusion to the programme of Days which take place in early September. classes in Interview Skills, all Year 14 pupils take part in a Mock Interview carried out by Linked to Specialist School for Science panels of professionals from a wide range of status an additional programme of activities career areas as well as representative from was planned by the Careers universities. A detailed assessment of the Department. This included a pupil’s performance in this event helps programme of ‘Lunch-time pupils to identify their strengths and can Lectures’ targeting all pupils also point to areas for improvement. from Years 8-14 and an Specific interview preparation is also additional employability conducted for pupils who are applying to activity day for Year 11. Oxbridge.

THE CARERS EDUCATION PROGRAMME AND EMPLOYABILITY PROGRAMME

The Careers Education Programme and the Employability Programme are delivered alongside a very comprehensive range of activities, which forge links with organisations outside the school.

Careers Service NI There is a very closely structured link with the local Careers Officer, Mrs F Hyndman who supports the work of the Careers Department. She: ƒ gave a class talk to all Year 10 and 12 pupils ƒ helped all Year 12 pupils complete the Occupational Interests Guide ƒ conducted the Year 12 Assessment for interview, as part of Year 12 Induction ƒ carried out individual interviews with Year 12 pupils ƒ attended the Year 12 Parent/Teachers Evening A Service Level Agreement was signed by both the Principal and Head of Careers.

Year 13 Work Shadowing All pupils completed four days’ work shadowing during Easter Week, in a variety of career areas. Pupils were encouraged to broaden their horizons and to consider career areas which might offer slightly different types of opportunity.

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Year 14 Mock Interview Programme All pupils in Year 14 had the opportunity to take part in a Mock Interview carried out by professionals from a wide range of career areas as well as representatives from Northern Ireland Universities. Pupils were assessed on their preparation and performance and were given verbal as well as written feedback.

Oxbridge Interviews A group of highly skilled professionals worked closely with those pupils who applied for Oxford and Cambridge, culminating in a very comprehensive interview, in preparation for their Oxbridge Interview.

Opening Evening Altnagelvin 16 Year 14 pupils attended an open evening in Altnagelvin Hospital for Medicine.

University Open Days Year 14 University Open Days: all Year 14 pupils visited Queen’s University and the Jordonstown Campus of the University of Ulster. A few pupils availed of the opportunity to visit Open days in the Republic of Ireland and UK.

A number of Year 13 pupils attended a talk in St Pius X College, Magherafelt from the Scottish Universities and the Rainey on Oxford University.

Law 15 Year 13 pupils attended a conference in Methodist College, Belfast on careers in Law.

A number of Year 13 pupils attended Open Morning Sessions on Health Related careers eg Speech and Language in Magherafelt Oaktree Centre; a range of health related careers at Altnagelvin Hospital; Mental Health Care at Mountfern Adult Centre in Coleraine.

Additional Organisations: ƒ Sentinus – some of our pupils attended a conference on career opportunities in STEM subjects

ƒ Genesis – representatives from Genesis worked closely with Year 11 pupils on an activity which involved product design

ƒ F G Wilson – some of Year 13 participated in the CPS Simulated Work Environment at the plant in Larne and all Year 11 pupils were given a talk by a representative from F G Wilson on the range of careers within the company.

ƒ Magherafelt District Council – a representative judged Year 9 pupils’ displays on recycling as part of the Employability programme

ƒ Eastwood Mentoring – Jim Eastwood - delivered a session to all Year 14 on interview preparation - presented an assembly to Year 12 on completion of their CV - delivered an Activity day for all year 8 pupils on Enterprise

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 45 Annual Report STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING

Throughout 2008/09, the focus of much Staff Development and Training activity was on:

ƒ Revised Curriculum – Into Year 10 ƒ Specialist School – Into Year 2 ƒ Preparations for Revised Specificatins – AS/A2 (for teaching from September 2009)

In August 2008, all staff participated in a five Members of the office staff successfully day programme of department, pastoral and completed ECDL (European Computer committee development work. Speakers Driving Licence). included Mr John Mulholland, PDQ In December 2008, January and May 2009 Solutions who raised issues surrounding Departments focused on continuing work/life balance and Mrs Catherine preparations for extending the Revised Wegwermer, Principal, St Joseph’s Primary Curriculum into Year 10 and preparing for School, Crumlin who spoke on ‘Emotional the new AS Specifications, for first teaching Intelligence’. Mr David Hodgkinson, in September 2009. Lighthouse Professional Development facilitated a one-day programme on All Heads of Year, in collaboration with Personalised Learning, as part of our Heads of Year across the MLP completed a Specialist School Initiative. one-day course in June 2009, with speakers including Mr S Dunlop and Mr P McGuckin, Staff across the organisation completed Educational Psychology Service, NEELB; training in Fire Prevention; use of Epipen; Mr S Elder, Magherafelt HS; Mrs O’Brien, Health and Safety issues in the Dining St Mary’s; Mrs E Toner, St Pius X; Room and Food Hygiene. Mr J Healy, Rainey Endowed and Mrs B Heron, Sperrin Integrated College.

ICT There were several opportunities throughout the year for staff to develop their competence in ICT. These included:

ƒ European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) Basic Course Non-teaching Staff 4 - 8 August and 11 - 15 August 2008

Teaching Staff / Year 13 students 1 October 2008 – 1 April 2009 (4.00pm – 5.00pm) A number of staff from schools across the Magherafelt Learning Partnership also completed the ECDL qualification.

ƒ Advanced ECDL Non-Teaching Staff 23 & 24 October 2008: Advanced Word 9 & 10 February 2009: Advanced Presentation 6 & 7 July 2009: Advanced Excel 10 & 11 August 2009: Advanced Access

ƒ An Introduction to Computers Canteen and Cleaning Staff 18 February – 8 April 2009

CAFÉ BORDEAUX CHILD PROTECTION The staff of Café Bordeaux completed All staff appointed to St Mary’s throughout training in: 2008/2009 completed Child Protection ƒ Health and Safety training (Policy and Procedures), facilitated ƒ Food Hygiene by Mrs O’Brien, Designated Child Protection ƒ Till duties Officer.

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 46 Annual Report SPECIALIST SCHOOL YEAR 2: 2008/2009

St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt was designated a Specialist School for Science on 31 May 2007. Education Minister, Caitriona Ruane acknowledged the strength of the school’s application and its willingness to ‘engage meaningfully with other education partners and the wider community to enrich the learning experiences and life opportunities of young people and for the benefit of their local community.’

PARTNERS

‘We welcome the opportunity to network with other schools with the aim of raising attainment and access and making relevant connections between the school experience and the world of life and employment.’ St Mary’s Specialist School Application

St Mary’s established close partnerships with a number of local schools and businesses:

Local Schools Businesses ƒ St Pius X College, Magherafelt ƒ FG Wilson ƒ Sperrin Integrated, Magherafelt ƒ Genesis ƒ Holy Family Primary School, Magherafelt ƒ Northgate ƒ New Row Primary School, Castledawson ƒ Bank of Ireland ƒ St Patrick’s Primary School, Loup ƒ Chambers

PERSONALISED LEARNING

‘St Mary’s vision for the future is to create an environment of personalised teaching and learning in order to enhance progress, achievement and participation.’ St Mary’s Specialist School Application

In Year 1, St Mary’s successfully established the foundations for personalised learning of which mentoring was a key focus. Peer mentoring was introduced in Year 8. In a pilot programme, a group of twenty Year 8 students were mentored throughout the year by twenty Lower Sixth students. The end-of-year evaluation was extremely positive and pointed to the many benefits for the Year 8 pupils:

ƒ ‘It has helped my French and I got a higher test result in my French test.’ ƒ ‘I found the Year 13 students really easy to ask questions to.’

The Year 13 students enjoyed the personal development opportunity, responsibility and sense of achievement in having assisted younger pupils.

In Key Stage 3 and 4, Midyis, CM assessments and Yellis and were used to identify underachievers in Science, English, Mathematics. These students were mentored by subject teachers, who assisted them in target setting and revision strategies.

A programme of Revision Days for all GCSE students including English, Mathematics, Science and Religious Studies took place at Easter. Subject mentoring was developed in the Sixth Form to include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, English, Mathematics, Music and Government and Politics. End-of-year evaluations across Key Stage 4 and A Level students indicate strongly the positive impact of mentoring on pupils’ self-esteem and subsequent examination performance.

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 47 Annual Report

ICT

‘St Mary’s is committed to further investment in the school’s ICT infrastructure in order to enrich the teaching and learning experience for teachers, pupils, parents, partner schools and Businesses.’ St Mary’s Specialist School Application

Developments in ICT continued in four main areas: ƒ interactive whiteboard training ƒ use of Open Mind software and developing websites ƒ LNI ƒ Software (purchase)

Interactive White Board Training All teachers in our partner schools have been supported in completing Level 1, Foundation skills (Activ Primary) Promethean Training. A number of teachers from our partner primary schools successfully completed Level 2, Curriculum Developer (Activ Primary) Promethean Training. One member of St Mary’s staff has completed the Level 3 Promethean Training and Resource Developer (Activ Studio) and has subsequently led training for staff.

Use of Open Mind LNI Software and All staff in St Mary’s have continued to Developing develop LNI courses to support the Websites curriculum.

St Mary’s has purchased Matchware/Open Software Mind 2 software for use across the school Licences for Exampro in A Level Sciences and a number of training sessions have have been purchased. This is an electronic been held for St Mary’s staff. Further resource that gives teachers access to a training is to be offered to staff in schools huge question bank of past paper questions. across the Magherafelt Learning Partnership.

COMMUNITY ‘We have links with many employers and businesses in terms of our existing LINKS Careers Education and Guidance and St Mary’s is highly regarded in the local and wider community.’ St Mary’s Specialist School Application

Year 2 saw the strengthening of our community links:

ƒ PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, YEAR 11: All Year 11 students carried out a product development workshop. Mr John McErlain, Technical Manager and Miss Joanne McMullan, Quality Assurance Manager assisted pupils with tasks and delivered a talk on the procedures carried out by Genesis Breads when developing new products. ƒ POSTER COMPETITION, YEAR 8: All Year 8 pupils produced a poster advertising ‘Low Salt Bread.’ Genesis chose the best 6 posters and the winning students have been invited for a ‘Baking Experience’ and a tour of the factory. ƒ APPLIED BUSINESS STUDIES LINK: Genesis provides ongoing updates to assist the completion of Unit 16 Managing Resources. ƒ TRIP TO FG WILSON PLANT IN LARNE: YEAR 13: Year 13 Physics and Technology students participated in the CPS Simulated Work Environment at the Plant in Larne. ƒ CAREERS IN FG WILSON, YEAR 11: All Year 11 were given a talk on the range of careers available within F G Wilson. ƒ GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY LECTURE: Year 12 Triple Award Physics students attended a lecture and demonstrations given by Dr Krishnan Pandiaraj. ƒ INTERNATIONAL AND LANGUAGE ASPECT OF FG WILSON: FG Wilson gave a talk to all Year 11 on the value of languages in industry.

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 48 Annual Report

ƒ FORCES AND ENERGY DAY: A Forces and Energy Day was held in November 2008, involving the three partner primary schools with up to 130 P6 and P7 pupils participating.

ƒ SCIENCE FAIR, APRIL 2009: The three partner primary schools showcased a range of projects. Professor B Woods (formerly UU, Coleraine) and Mr S Burns, Biodiversity Officer for Lower Bann Area judged the entries and complimented the schools on the high standard of achievement.

ƒ BIODIVERSITY DAYS: The three partner primary schools and Holy Trinity Primary School, Cookstown and Creggan Primary School attended these days, with upwards of 250 pupils participating. The focus of the days included: the study of pond life; the study of hedgerows and ICT activities.

ƒ FUNDING: Funding was made available to primary partners to assist in the development of an Eco-Committee and aspects of their action plan.

ƒ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS: St Mary’s hosted Professional Development Days for each partner primary school on the topic of ‘The World Around Us.’

ƒ TEN-WEEK SPANISH COURSE: A member of St Mary’s Spanish Department delivered a ten-week course in Spanish to pupils in Holy Family Primary School, Magherafelt and St Patrick’s Primary School, Loup.

ƒ AS BIOLOGY: The St Mary’s Biology Department has assisted the introduction of AS Biology in Sperrin Integrated. Students from Sperrin and St Pius were invited to attend the AS Biology Revision Courses in St Mary’s, part of which were delivered by a member of St Pius X Biology Department.

ƒ SCIENCE FAIR: Yr 8/9 pupils from St Pius X College, Magherafelt and Sperrin Integrated, Magherafelt were invited to enter projects for the post-primary School Science Fair.

ƒ ULSTER CANCER FOUNDATION: Mr Gerry McElwee, Ulster Cancer Foundation delivered a most informative talk on cancer prevention to Year 12 students.

ƒ W5 DEBATE ON ‘NANNY STATE OF MOTHER NATION’: Twenty Lower Sixth Biology students attended a debate as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences in W5. The motion for the debate was ‘The role of government in promoting public health: Do we need a nanny state or a mother nation?’: The three issues explored were: Alcohol, Food Choices and Weight Management. In preparation for the event, the Lower Sixth students took part in an outreach programme delivered by postgraduate students from the Centre of Excellence for Public Health. This session aimed to engage the students with social and ethical discussions about how the three identified topics impacted on their lives and what their opinions were. They also prepared questions that would be asked during the debate.

ƒ SCIENCE CLUB: In Term 2, a weekly Science club was held for Year 9 students. This was well attended and students carried out a range of fun Science activities.

ƒ SPORTS NUTRITION: Sharon Madigan, Sports Nutritionalist to the Irish Olympic Boxing Squad, visited the school in October 2008. She hosted a session on Sports Nutrition which was attended by all our Talented and Gifted Athletes from our elite teams. In the afternoon, Sharon addressed all the local GCSE Physical Education students (over 100 in total), from four schools, where she related her talk to the GCSE specification.

ƒ HEALTH AND WELLNESS PRESENTATION: Aileen Tohill, the Ulster GAA’s Health and Wellness Co-ordinator delivered a presentation to all of our GCSE students in Year 11 and 12. The lecture covered several aspects of the CCEA specification including diet, nutrition for sport, hydration and the effect of smoking and alcohol on the body.

THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO COMMUNITY LINKS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR: FOR FULL DETAILS PLEASE SEE SPORTS REVIEW PAGES 36 – 42.

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 49 Annual Report

MAGHERAFELT LEARNING PARTNERSHIP

The MLP was established in 2007. It provides a full microcosm of the post-primary sector of Northern Ireland: it includes controlled, grant maintained, integrated, maintained and voluntary grammar, both denominational and non-denominational; only Irish Medium and single sex education is absent. Every school is co- educational, varying in size, type and history. The schools and Northern Regional College also have a long-standing history of working together, both in terms of pupil curricular provision as well as continuing professional development of staff. The MLP vision for the future of our schools and the purpose behind them can be summarised thus:

ƒ Education is central to our future;

ƒ Partnership will look to build community cohesion by ensuring equality of opportunity through the removal of barriers to participation in education and seeking to minimise variation in outcome through the provision of relevant and appropriate curriculae.

Shared activities to date include:

ƒ Leadership: Committees are well established and include Principals, Vice Principals, Pastoral Leaders, Timetablers, Middle Managers. A Common Code of Conduct, a common Handling Complaints Policy, a common timetabling structure and collaborative Professional Development have been achieved this year.

ƒ Curricular: Links have been well established in 2008/09: - A Level Music - St Mary’s (host); Rainey Endowed - A Level French - St Mary’s (host); Sperrin Integrated - A Level Chemistry - Rainey Endowed (host); St Pius X - KS3 History (Revised Curriculum): St Mary’s and Magherafelt HS – collaborative planning of unit in Holocaust and Genocide which was shared with Rainey Endowed. Plans are advanced for continuing curricular links in 2009/2010 across the MLP.

ƒ Professional Development: In 2008/09 St Mary’s Drama Department facilitated Professional Development (lighting) for St Pius X, Sperrin Integrated, and Rainey Endowed. St Pius X and Rainey Endowed have curricular links with Drama and Performing Arts. Pastoral leaders across MLP had a day of professional training on 2 June 2009.

ƒ Key Stage 3 Drama: Professional Development Day took place 22 June 2009 across MLP.

ƒ Specialist School: St Mary’s and St Pius X contributed to a Science Fair held in St Mary’s in April 2009, with a focus on Personal Health and Global issues.

ƒ 2012 Olympics, London: 40 pupils and 6 teachers from Magherafelt High, Rainey Endowed, Sperrin Integrated, St Mary’s and St Pius X are preparing to travel to London in July 2012.

ƒ Charity: St Mary’s and Magherafelt High School have worked together this year (2008- 09) for the Habitat for Humanity Charity. Plans are advanced for pupils from both schools to work for the charity in Guatemala, Summer 2010.

ƒ Sentinus: Kilronan Special School (Host): A one-day road show investigating Science at SLD level, which created valuable opportunity for pupils from partner schools to participate in mentoring.

ƒ Five Schools Project: Kilronan, Magherfelt HS, Rainey Endowed, St Pius X and St Mary’s has been running for many years, the aim of which is to promote better understanding among pupils from different religious, political and cultural backgrounds.

ƒ ICT: The MLP is currently using VLE platforms to facilitate ‘Anytime, Anywhere Access’ to teaching and learning and parental access to information.

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 50 Annual Report

SECURITY

The school continues to monitor and measure the effectiveness of all existing security measures undertaken, and balances personal freedom with the need to provide adequate security for staff, pupils and the school premises.

The school is investing in the fire security and intruder alarm system in the in-coming year.

An extension to the school’s CCTV system has provided greater security in the school site giving added reassurance for the safety of staff, pupils and the school estate.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Financial Statement for the Financial Year Ending March 2009

INCOME £ Department of Education Northern Ireland 4,959,504 Other Income 68,689 TOTAL INCOME 5,028,193

EXPENDITURE £ TOTAL EXPENDITURE 5,025,815 OPERATING SURPLUS 2,378

The operating surplus of £2,378 shows a managed surplus. This balance reflects the objectives in the School Development Plan and the need to balance Income and Expenditure.

St Mary’s Grammar School Page 52

St Mary’s Grammar School 3 Castledawson Road Magherafelt Co Derry BT45 6AX

Tel: (028) 7963 2320 Fax: (028) 7963 4250 Email: [email protected] www.stmarysmagherafelt.com