March 2016
Spring Fayre Tuesday 22nd March 2016 @ 7:30pm
Spring Fayre Thanks
The PTA wishes to thank the students, parents and staff who organised /supported the Spring Fayre on 22nd March. A special word of thanks to the Year 8 & 9 students and their LLW teachers on the spectacular display of entrepreneurial endeavour they showed. It was a very enjoyable evening for all.
Saturday Morning School
As part of our Extended Schools Programme, we are offering an eight week programme on Saturday mornings, beginning on Saturday 5th March from 9:15am - 12:15pm, to help students in their preparations for their AS/A level examinations which begin in May. This will involve an opportunity for quiet study in the Sixth Form Study, supervised by teachers from the school. A member of the college's Leadership Team will also be present and a mid-morning snack of toast/cereal/fruit and tea/milk/juice will be provided for all students attending.
Parents/Carers will be responsible for making transport arrangements to and from this activity. The activity will be offered to all Sixth Form students but since there are a limited number of places available, these will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Our experience of this Programme last year showed clearly that, in addition to the academic benefits, the opportunity to socialise with their peer group helped to develop a spirit of camaraderie among students and increase their motivation towards their studies.
The full dates of the Programme are as follows:
- March 5th, 12th
Not running on 19th due to St Patrick’s Weekend - April 9th, 16th, 23rd
Not running on 30th due to Bank Holiday Weekend - May 7th, 14th, 21st
Aifreann na Féile Pádraig
The annual Irish mass in honour of St. Patrick was held on 16th March 2016. Mass was celebrated by Fr. O’Donnell. The choir, soloist, harpist and pupil readers greatly enhanced this special occasion.
10B Attend Conference on “1916 A Year of Centenariesâ€
10B represented the school at the Maldron Hotel on Wednesday 9th February at an event organised by the Junction. The event brought together six local schools and gave the students the opportunity to discuss the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme. The pupils all worked together to try and get an understanding of the different ideas and perceptions that surround both events. Each group had their own facilitator who chaired the debate and gave the pupils a chance to share their opinions. 10B fully participated in the event and represented the School in an excellent manner.
Italian Exchange Trip 2016
Eighteen Year 13 students took part in a school exchange programme between Lumen Christi College and Collegio Salesiano Astori, Mogliano Italy. The Italian students, who are all studying English, came to the College in February and received a week’s immersion in the language and culture as well as exploring all that Derry has to offer they visited Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, Dunluce Castle, Glenveagh National Park and Grianan Fort.
Our students accompanied by Mrs Mc Nicholl and Dr Ferris, enjoyed five wonderful sunny days in March, soaking up Italian culture with guided tours of Venice, Islands of the Venetian Lagoon and Verona and sampling Italian life and hospitality.
A special word of thanks to all our parents who hosted the Italian students and to the parents and staff of Astori especially Prof Terence Brett and his wife Prof Alberta Brett who made our stay in Italy very enjoyable.
Arrivederci!
Year 13 Attend Let’s Talk
Seven Year 13 History students attended the “Let’s Talk Politics” event hosted by the Holywell Trust on 26th February. The DUP’s Gary Middleton MLA; SDLP’s Gerard Diver MLA; Sinn Fein’s Councillor Mickey Cooper and UKIP’s Steven Parkhill took part in an open panel hosted by local journalist Paul McFadden. The current Speaker in Stormont, Mitchel Mc Laughlin was also in attendance. Each school was given the opportunity to ask questions on a range of topics and were also given keypads to vote on important issues. Our pupils challenged the politicians on issues such as the local economy, the expansion of Magee and lowering the voting age to 16. The girls certainly put the politicians through their paces on the issue of lack of female representatives in the parties. Pupils were also given the chance to participate in a round table discussion and a mock election. This was a great event which the pupils really enjoyed and they proved to be excellent ambassadors for the school.
Charity Glasses Appeal
A level English Students to Feature on an Edition of BBC Arts Show
On Monday 7th March BBC presenter Marie Louise Muir visited the College to record an edition of her Arts programme, celebrating the posthumous publication of a new work by Seamus Heaney, a verse translation of Aeneid: Book VI, to be aired on BBC television on Thursday 24th March.
Three of our A level English students – Andrew Leach, Blaithin Thomasius and Maryann Pierse will feature on the show reading excerpts from the publication.
Congratulations to Blaithin Donnelly 10C
Congratulations to Blaithin Donnelly 10C who was awarded 2nd place in the Foyle Accident and Prevention Society's annual public speaking competition. Blaithin presented her speech on the topic of 'Lift it and lock it'. Well done Blaithin.
BBC School Report
To celebrate World News Day, a group of Year 10 pupils investigated, scripted, filmed and edited a news broadcast using iPad technology. The pupils really enjoyed taking part and are very proud of the video they created. If you would like to share their work with your class, the link is here: http://www.lumenchristicollege.co.uk/life-in-lumen/bbc-news-school-report
Congratulations to our Year 10 News Team and Ms Gallagher. Well done!
Sean Molloy receives Top Recognition Award
We are delighted that one of our colleagues has won the 'Shared Future for All Award' at the inaugural Danske Bank Foyle Blackboard Awards. Mr Sean Molloy who was presented with his Award by Mr Garvan O'Doherty was accompanied on the evening by his wife Shauna. Mr Owens, a close colleague of Mr Molloy, praised and congratulated Sean, stating " Sean is a hard-working, dedicated and talented teacher who is a great role model and richly deserves this Award. He is a pleasure to work with in the Technology Department and is a great asset to our school".
Keava Toland and Charlotte McKeever receiving the Millennium Gold Volunteer Award in the Guildhall
Keava Toland and Charlotte McKeever receiving the Millennium Gold Volunteer Award in the Guildhall. Pictured are Mayor Alisha McCallion, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Mr Stephen Doherty, and Denise Hayward (Volunteer Now).
STEM Quest Quiz
On the 29th January 2016, we entered two Key Stage 3 teams for the STEM Quest Quiz as part of the Northern Ireland Science Festival. The event aimed to find the best STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) quiz team in the country. The two teams consisted of James Douglas and Harvey Ward-Gallagher representing our enthusiastic Year 8s, James Cooke and Edmond Lee carrying the pride of Year 9 and Leo Doherty, Emma-Louise Hogan, Ross O’Donnell and Aidan Timmons providing the backbone of Year 10 talent. The teams competed in the North Western Heat, with 5 regional winners and 3 best runners up going to the final on 22nd February to compete for the title of STEM Quiz Champions. From our two teams, we not only won the regional heat but also claimed the runner up spot as well!
Our winning team of Ross O’Donnell, Aidan Timmons, Edmond Lee and Harvey Ward-Gallagher went on to the grand final in the Titanic Building in Belfast, competing against the other 7 winning teams from across Northern Ireland. In the first round our boys took part in 6 rounds of table quiz questions after which the bottom 4 teams were eliminated.
Team Lumen Christi progressed to the semi-finals. Here they engaged in a University Challenge style buzzer quiz against Omagh Academy and successfully qualified for the final.
In a tense and close-fought final against Brownlow Integrated College, our team were defeated in the final. We are absolutely delighted with the efforts of our two teams and it was a wonderful evening (though not good for the nerves of the watching Mr Smyth).
Italian Exchange Students Trip 2016
Confucius Chinese New Year Celebrations in the MAC Belfast
On Tuesday 16th February 2016 thirteen of our KS3 students attended the Confucius Celebration of the Chinese New Year – “The Year of the Monkey” in the MAC in Belfast. Chinese Consulate General Madam Wang Shuying and Mr Dale Heaney DENI presented six Lumen Christi students – Molly Brown 10C, Aiesha Coyle 9E, Shamaima Orakzai 8A, Morgan Reid 8B, Lisa Mc Laughlin 10C and Caoimhe Lynch 10A were presented with their prizes for winning the Confucius New Year Art Competition. Congratulations to them all! We were also treated to a magnificent performance from a Chinese Opera company.
Chinese New Year Celebrations in Lumen Christi College
On Tuesday 9th February 2016 all our Year 8 students and Mandarin students celebrated the Chinese New Year 2016 – The Year of the Monkey. Everyone had a great time singing, dancing and taking part in martial arts!
Congratulations to our Mandarin teachers Xu Lin and Pi Wenli and their colleague Jiang Ben who visited us from the Confucius Institute in Belfast.
Happy New Year!
Wear It Beat It!
On Friday February 5th 2016, our staff and students wore red for Wear It Beat It, to help raise money for the British Heart Foundation. As a result of the day, we managed to raise over £600 for the charity. This money will help to find treatments that transform the lives of people with heart disease; support over 1,000 pioneering research projects investigating all aspects of heart and circulatory disease; support BHF Heart Nurses to support and care for people. The foundation also helps to fund the Heartstart Programme for Year 9 students. Check out our photographs!