Peace Players with KS2 April 2018
Primary 5,6 &7 and Primary 5 &6 from Ballytrea school were lucky enough to have Peace Players International on the 26th and 27th April. Peace Players International uses basketball and other team bonding games to unite, educate and inspire young people to create a more peaceful world.
P.1. Shared Education Jan- Mar 2018
P3 & 4 Shared Education Term 1 2017-18
Year 3 International Peace Day Sept 2017
Year 3 of the Shared Education project 2017-18 got off to a great start with representatives from each of the schools opening up the International Day of Peace concert in the Burnavon in Cookstown with a joint 'Peace Pledge.'
Shared Education
Shared Education Year 2: 2016-17
- Term 1
Shared Staff Developemnt Days with Ballytrea Staff
Day 1: World Around Us Skills training
Day 2: Breakthru Training
Own staff - World Around Us Thematic Planning Update
Mrs Duffy & Mrs McBride forward planning and sharing of good practice
Mrs Duffy & Mrs Glasgow development of set of shared lessons. Resources and transport ordered.
Mrs Hamill & Mrs Swaile: Budget training & CPD conference
ETI visit in November
PUPILS
Performing at International Day of Peace @ Burnavon
Baseline Questionnaire with 30 pupils completed 17/10/2016
Traditional group performing together at Newells Stores
Term 2
Focus this term was Shared lessons for Reception, P1, P2 and P3 children. These took place regularly over the term.
Shared School Council Meeting where pupils voice was the focus.
School Council took part in an evaluation of work to date and made suggestions for next years plans.
Term 3
Final lessons with Mrs Duffy's lessons and Mrs Glasgow's class. Visit to the 'Canoe Steps' local area of interest shared during staff CPD in August 2016.
P6 & 7 experiencing a culture other than their own - African Drums, full day workshop and performance for other school members and Governors of both schools.
Joint Governors informal meeting
Traditional Group performing at local Residential Homes
Shared School Council April 2017
St Mary's Welcome Local Schools Dec 2016
P1 sharing their Learning 2015-16
Shared Education 2015-19
St Mary’s and Ballytrea have enjoyed a long tradition of sharing as partner schools through previous initiatives such as EMU and CRED. The joint school partnership began through EMU and involved joint educational visits off site for all pupils throughout the school. In 2013-14 100% of pupils were involved in cross community learning through Tudor Trust Funding, working with Speedwell. This involved shared learning in each other’s schools, investigating the local area including visiting each others churches and some local historical sites.
Through DE Funding the two schools will now embark on a three year programme where they hope to develop, extend and deepen their partnership. The school staff will emabark on joint professional development sessions for ICT and Literacy. In year 1, P1 children in St Mary's and P1 and 2 children in Ballytrea school will meet together in their own schools and at external places to work and learn together.
Parents will be kept informed through the use of the school website and a termly newsletter dedicated to the activities that the two schools have been involved in.
At the start of year 2 of the programme we have been informed that the Shared Education Signature Project will continue into the 2018 -19 school year.
Year 1 Shared Education 2015-16
Shared Education Documents
Christmas Shoppers Entertained Dec 2016
Traditional Group Dec 2016
Local shoppers were entertained by the pupils from both Ballytrea P.S and St Mary's when they played a range of Christmas tunes.
Building Bridges Jan 2017
Shared Education @ St Mary's Year 1 2015-16
Term 1 2015-16
Mrs McBride's and Mrs Bell's class have been finding out about similarities and differences between the two classes. The pupils have been finding out, naming and talking about their emotions and how they are similar to and also different from others in their class and in their partner school.
This term, children will be able to name their partner school, some of the staff who work there and name two new friends at their partner school.
Term 2 2015-16
The school council from both schools have met and agreed a Shared logo 'Partners Together in Learning'. Parents have been finding out what has been going on through the Shared Education Newsletter and both staff and Principals have got together for a shared Professional Development day in Creative Writing.
The Traditional groups in both schools have met and practiced for their upcoming Residential home visits in March and April and Mrs Bell and Mrs McBride's classes have had a further two opportunities to get together and find out about the Media Initiative characters such as Jim.
A focus group of Pupils whose Parents gave permission completed an online questionnaire for Queens University in Belfast the results of which we look forward to reading.
A fitting way to end the term was listening to the Southern Area Orchestra who entertained both schools with their Spring Concert just before Easter.
Meanwhile behind the scenes the teachers have been updating their Literacy planning and putting into practice the learning from the Professional Development days in Literacy - Writing this year.
Term 3 2015-16
Term three commenced with more staff development where teachers got the opportunity to update their Creative writing planning to reflect the development day in March. Children have experienced some of the strategies that the teachers got to put in practice and one of central noticeboards in school was adorned with the children's writing.
The traditional Group got the chance to entertain the residents from Ashbrook Residential Home. The children from both schools played five different tunes and were rewarded with a great round of applause.
The fifth and sixth (final lesson) takes place in May where Mrs Bell and Mrs McBride's classes come together to review their learning to date and to find out about another of the Media Initiatives characters.
The pupils from P1 and the Focus Group completed evaluations so that Mrs Hamill could gauge their willingness with the shared project to date.
Mrs Swaile and Mrs Hamill attended a training day in April, they will be evaluating the schools' actions to date and developing new targets for the coming year 2016-17... how time flies!
Shared Traditional Group
St. Mary's Primary School, 22 West Street, Stewartstown, Co Tyrone, BT1 5HT
Telephone: (028) 877 383 88 | Email: sdevlin329@c2kni.net