Underwater Search Team

We were very pleased and moved to welcome representatives of the Steele and the McAlinden families at our assembly. They came to talk to us about the reasons behind our fundraising day for the underwater search team. It is a brave action to undertake talking to an assembly hall full of students about such a recent and harrowing experience as losing family members by drowning. We really appreciated the visit, and will be forwarding the funds we have raised. Total as soon as I know.

A Suggestion from Sweden

We have just received a lovely email from the Swedish visitors we welcomed last week. They would like to twin with us, and have come up with a really useful suggestion. They have suggested that they could host Shimna students for work experience. Students who study French, German or Spanish will always want to go to a country where the langauge is spoken. However, Sweden, where English is widely spoken could provide a really different destination for students looking for work experience in other subject areas. If we get started on this link now, and students interested start saving from September, a group could be working away in Sweden come next February. Anyone in current year 12 interested, have a word with Alicia, who will be following up the suggestion.

Our Candidate

It's amazing to see an old friend of Shimna, Westminster Education Secretary Alan Johnston, run for Deputy Prime Minister. See below on this blog for a photograph from his last visit, when he was guest speaker at our 2006 Presentation Evening.

Good Luck to the Exam Years

Our wonderful year 12s had their tea party on Thursday, and the first written GCSE exam was today. Equally wonderful year 14 gobbled up their fry today and headed off for A level. The very best of good luck to all, and keep in the closest touch.

Dutch Visitors

We welcomed Dutch visitors to Shimna today. They have connexions with the Kinderhaus in Killough, which has long been involved with reconciliation work. They had a very interesting tale to tell. The business of the Kinderhaus used to be reconciliation of our two main traditions in Northern Ireland. NI groups still use the Kinderhaus, but since our peace process has been underway, the work has become more international. First came groups from other conflict areas such as Bethlehem and Bosnia. In Autumn this year, a group will be coming from Holland itself, from Utrecht. The group will include Dutch young people whose family roots are in Holland and Dutch young people whose roots are in Somalia, Turkey and North Africa. Our visitors have proposed that a Shimna group meets up with the group during their stay. Activities will include a soccer match and a session of Teach my Friend a Language. It turns out that one of our visitors is a Catholic priest, and is very willing to visit assembly and RE classes when he comes over several times a year to the Kinderhaus. It will be great for integration to have this input. Our local Protestant clergy come in often, and we have always known that balance is essential.

Teacher Fellow in Holocaust Education

I am delighted to pass on the news that Chris Skillen, our head of Integrated and Religious Studies, has been appointed to a Teacher Fellowship in Holocaust Education for 2007-08. He will take part in an exciting programme which includes: taking part in a summer institute at the Imperial War Museum in London; working with our students on a Holocaust programme throughout the year; attending an International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem; going on a study tour to sites of the Holocaust in Poland and Lithuania. Appointment to this programme is a fantastic achievement, and a tribute to Chris's work on many faiths, and particularly the work he has invested in promoting our understanding of the Holocaust. Everyone will benefit from this Fellowship. I found Chris's application a fascinating read, and a timely reminder of the quality of our Shimna staff and the breadth of the experience they bring to learning with our students. I'm going to force him to run a Holocaust Education blog so we can keep up with him! Millions of congratulations, Chris.

We've Won a Sheep

We have just received a letter announcing that our very active charity and lobbying group has been awarded a sheep by the charity Send a Cow, which provides livestock for communities in need in developing countries. The sheep was awarded to our group in celebration of their Giving Nation Award diary, which is available to read on this website. Our group has not yet completed a huge number of diary entries, but the sheep was awarded in recognition of the strength of the lobbying work represented by the group's efforts at Presentation Evening in December. The group was not dismayed by the fact that there wasn't time to present their lobby to Education Minister Alan Johnson, but rallied to send a photo of themselves, a giant AIDS ribbon and their lobby letter to him in Westminster. The group has since received a very encouraging reply. Our sheep in Africa will help a family by giving them a reliable income and hope for a better future. Well done our g-nation group.

In Recovery

Now that I have recovered my gastronomical equilibium, I am going to torment the rest of you with the full menu, so that you will know what you missed. Patrice taught us to appreciate: Bordeau Chateau Haut Rocaud; Cotes du Rhone Villages Reserve; Burgundy white Montagny; Blason de Bourgogne. Starters: spring rolls and curry puffs from Malaysia; garlic mussels and oysters from France; Chapche, pork noodles, from Korea; Dolma, vine leaves, and cacik, cucumber, from Turkey. Main courses: tandoori chicken and blackbean and mushroom from India; pilau rice from Uganda; stew from round here; spaghetti from Italy; dahl, lentils, from Mauritius; chicken curry and aloo gobi from Pakistan. Desserts: almond tarts and cookies from Denmark; potato/apple fritters from German. All of this delicious stuff was prepared by Shimna people with roots in these many cultures, and we owe them a huge thank you and sigh of appreciation.

I must also include a tribute to those who provided the raffle prizes: Asda; Tesco; Postively Spiritual; Ahead with Reita; Irwin's Bakery; Slieve Donard Hotel; Kilmorey Arms Hotel; Motor Factors, Ballynahinch.

A Fabulous Evening

Our Parents' Council did the college proud with a fabulous evening of international food and drink - details of what was on offer when I recover sufficiently to sit up straight and find my menu. Patrice Bonnargent set us up for the evening with a spot of sniffing and swirling as we learnt a bit of wine tasting. There followed an amazing menu of starters, including the local oysters and mussels which usually make us panic, alongside stuffed vine leaves and Korean noodles. Then, after a little chatting and soothing strains from Ollie Elsholtz and Niall Greer of 'Ten Pin Blues', we tucked into chicken dishes of various nationalities, lentil dahl from Mauritius, curries and Irish stew. More wine, more music, winning of prizes for the lucky people and we rounded off with delicious almond cake, followed by tea and coffee with Danish cookies. There was more, and more and more. A very special treat came as we gradually realised that the background music wasn't a recorded artist, but out own Niomi O'Rourke playing piano and singing her own songs - a perfect ending to a perfect evening. Remembering all the thankyous makes me as nervous as remembering all the dishes. I just had too good a time: first and foremost, Joy Bonnargent without whose enthusiasm and creative skills the evening would never have happened; all the other parents; our own Anne Carlin for sharing her precious kitchen; our wonderful musicians and singer; all our guests who brought the craic - everyone else, who momentarily escape my curried mind!

Visitors from Sweden

We welcomed seven teachers from Sweden today, who traveled all the way from Dublin on the train and bus to follow up their interest in Shimna. The teachers were all teachers of languages and were keen to visit us as a Specialist Language School. They were equally interested to find out how our education system worked and were amazed to find that parents had had to set up Shimna themselves to have for their children and integrated, all-ability, 11-18 school. It was lovely to be able to show off Newcastle in the sunshine, and hard working students, concentrated on their KS3s, their coursework and their preparation for their orals. A level students, Clare, Riona and Katrine along with Chris Skillen were the lucky ones selected to join the Swedish visitors for posh lunch in the Coffee House and Deli at the harbour (lots of Shimna and Shimna via Lagan connections here) and to further the discussion on integration and languages. A real coincidence emerged. One of the teachers had been involved in piloting the Swedish version of the Montanalingua outdoor education materials, the same materials as our language students piloted in German. Their pilot wasn't so successful, and we suggested we could send some native speakers of English on a trip to Sweden to help out!

Stars in Yer Eyes

Thank you to all our wonderful musicians, singers and dancers for their contribution to a terrific night of music at the Regional Finals. Huge congratulations to: Cormac and band; Johnny and band; Danielle and dancers; Caroline and dancers. It was great to see such a strong turnout of families and friends. Very special thanks to Catherine Henry and Alison Bahadoor for all the hard work of organising and logistics. It was also great to have Shimna's Northern Ireland winners of last year as consultants.I suppose it wouldn't be fair if we swept the boards every year! Congratulations to this year's winners, St Patrick's. Special mention must also go to Margaret Rogan, who danced away through the tail end of a debilitating virus, and to backing singers Emma and Anna, who should themselves consummate professionals by throwing their all into their performance despite realising their microphone simply wasn't doing them justice.