Languages for Christmas

Geseënde Kersfees en 'n gelukkige nuwe jaar!
Geseënde Kersfees en 'n voorspoedige Nuwe jaar! Feliz Navidad y un prospero Año Nuevo ; Joyeux Noël et une bonne annéé. Il buon Natale ed un anno nuovo Felice! Prettige kerstdagen en een Gelukkig NieuwJaar! Zalig kerstfeest en gelukkig nieuwjaar! : Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo ;: Fröhliches Weihnachten und ein Glückliches Neujahr; Lystig Jul og et Glad Nytt År: Gun Tso Son Tan'Gung Haw Sun; Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan choctav: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito: Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon!

Wonderful Presentation Evening

Another milestone was passed in the development of Shimna Integrated College as, for the first time, an OldScholar, Dana Jaber was the guest speaker at our Presentation Evening. Dana outlined what an Integrated Education had meant to her, and told of her experiences representing the UK at the World Economic Forum pre-session in Dubai. Kevin gave a report on the successes of our students this year, and Dana then presented our students with their GCSE and A level certificates. There then followed the presentation of awards in all sorts of areas of achievement in the life of the college. Newly donated awards this year included the Oliver Tobin Award for Irish, won by Caroline McCann, and the HF Law Centenary Award, a particularly impressive trophy, won by Oliver Elshotz. Music was provided by Niomi O'Rourke singing her own composition, Michael O'Brien and Danny White on "Duelling Banjos" and Jeannine Bradley and Niomi O'Rourke on "Chopsticks Variation". The evening finished off with tea and mince pies, and the raffle of the wonderful Gingerbread House built by the A level ICT class, with money raised going to Cancer Research. The evening was a tribute to our wonderful students, their parents and our staff and friends of the college. None of it would happen without organisation by Deborah McDowell. As always, the very best thing about Presentation Evening was the return of our OldScholars from their first term at university, from their Gap Year, from their new career.

Signing for All

Our British/Irish signing class has been going great guns. We now have an internet mini-course available on the study centre section of our website for anyone else who would like to learn some. Have a go!

Foreign Film Night

A well chosen "Woman on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown" gave us an admittedly dark but very funny close to our Foreign Film season. As ever, the languages committee was on hand to serve up tea, coffee, popcorn, biscuits and sweeties. Look out for the next date, on which we intend to branch out east and go for an Eastern European film. Look out for the consultation fliers for a community cinema in Newcastle. Shimna would be happy to host it in its early days, and the Newcastle 2000 Gateway project has space for a cinema in the plans for the swimming pool and community centre.

International Again

We have just heard that we have passed the first stage of our bid to win the International Schools Award for the second time. Everyone in Shimna contributes to our International Schools work, but Clare Murphy, our wonderful Languages and International Co-ordinator pulls it all together and makes us fit to receive our Award. Thank you Clare.

More First Aid

St John's Ambulance Brigade Cadet Stephen Polson has passed a weekend residential course in leadership; which will allow him to progress to Cadet NCO in the near future, another Cadet from Lagan College also passed this course. Stephen along with Andrew Polson and new Cadet Dylan Russell passed the Young Life Saver Plus course in the last week. It's really good to keep up with this kind of news of student success outside as well as inside school.

NICIE AGM

We went up to Hazelwood Integrated College to attend the AGM of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education. It was an inspiring night, with an address from Ciarnan Helferty, an Old Scholar of Oakgrove Integrated College, who shared his experience of going on to university from an integrated school rather than a segregated one. He made a persuasive case for the value of integrated schools, and pointed out that it is only later, when you realise there are still so many young people in Northern Ireland who never meet anyone from the other community. The second presentation was by Tony McCauley, who has led our training days in Shimna. He presented his very practical plan for bringing down the Peace Walls in Belfast, with community support. As he pointed out, the Peace Walls in Belfast, and all the other divided towns, have survived the Berlin wall. Within the integrated community, Hazelwood Integrated Primary School has ended up with a Peace Wall right through its grounds. An inspiring night.