Congratulations to Sullivan Upper Chemistry pupils who won the Northern Ireland heat of the Royal Society of Chemistry “Top of the Bench” Competition at Queen’s University. Year 10 pupils Catrina Cunningham and Ollie Butt along with John McNally from Year 11 and Sarah Robinson form Year 12 will now compete in the national competition in Loughborough. Well done!

Sullivan hosts Round 3 of the Northern Ireland Junior Foil Series Eight of the 21 SU fencers at NIJFS R3 SU Under-12 medal winners with Ms Carey The third round of the 2016/17 NI Junior Foil Series was held on Saturday 14th Jan, hosted by Sullivan Upper in the School Sports Hall. A total of 75 junior fencers from all over Ireland attended, with a record number of SU Fencing Club members (21) taking part. Age group results as follows. Under 10s Prep pupil Mia Lewis was Sullivan’s only representative in this category, finishing a creditable 9th in her first competition. U12 Girls Emma Yeaman gave a strong performance in the U12s, making the final, only to lose by a single point 10-9, the lead switching back and forth all the way through the fight. Emma took silver, while Olivia White and Alex Burke both won bronze in joint third. U12 Boys Three Sullivan fencers competed in this age group, Alexander Penny, who finished 9th, along with Patrick Cree and James Griffiths from the Prep Club who were 11th and 12th. U14 Girls Eight SU fencers entered this category, 3 of them winning medals. Anna Vaughan again made the final, but despite some vocal support from the sidelines, she narrowly lost, taking silver. Willow Wolsey and Izzy Evans filled the bronze medal positions, while Angharad King, in her first competition, was just outside the medals in 5th. Rachel McKillen was 9th Ruzi Statham 11th, Tara Millar 12th and Victoria Morris 13th. U14 Boys Cormac Kitchen, Oliver Galbraith, Jonathan Mallon and Benjamin Griffiths represented SU in the boys’ U14s. Jonathan made the quarter finals, only to be knocked out by an on-form Benjamin on his way to his first ever final. In the final Ben lost out to the series leader and took silver, while Jonathan, Oliver and Cormac finished 8th, 10th and 13th. U16 Girls Erin Maginn and Phoebe McPherson represented SU in the U16s, Erin finishing 6th, Phoebe 7th. Well done all SU fencers who attended. David White SUFC Coach

Jasmine Gray 9C who was recently awarded the prestigious ‘Cheerleader of the Year’ Award for Elevate Cheer, Rathgael Gymnastics and Tumbling Club. Elevate were runners up in the Scotcheer National Cheerleading Championships held in Glasgow last April and will be competing again in April. Jasmine received the award for her assistance in the choreography of team and solo routines and her unwavering team/cheer spirit, even travelling to Dublin to cheer on her team in their final competition of the season, with a full leg cast from ankle to hip, the day after she dislocated her knee!

Fencing: Sullivan competing at Round 2 of the N Ireland Junior Foil Series There were 7 SU entrants In the U14 girls’ event. Anna Vaughan took silver in a close fought final, but only after defeating fellow SU fencer Izzy Evans in the semi-final (Izzy taking a bronze medal). Tara Millar, Cece MacMahon and Ruzi Statham all made the quarter-finals, with Victoria Morris and Rachel McKillen finishing just outside the last eight at 9th and 10th respectively. Cormac Kitchen, Michael Hanna and Benjamin Griffiths represented SU in the boys’ U14s. All 3 made it through from the last 16 into the quarters, acquitting themselves well against tough opposition and finishing 5th, 6th and 8th respectively. In the U12 girls’ event Emma Yeaman won silver and Olivia White bronze, the points earned from this, when added to their Round 1 points, taking them to 1st and 2nd in the overall series rankings. Three SU fencers entered the boys’ U12s: Jonah McConnell, Alexander Penny and Patrick Cree from the SU Prep club. Alexander finished 10th, Jonah made it through to the quarters to finish 7th, while Patrick put in a strong performance to reach the semis and take a bronze medal. The U10s had one Sullivan Prep entrant, Ciara Geraghty (Belfast Fencing Club). Ciara, in her first ever competition, finished 11th. Well done all SU fencers who attended. David White SUFC Coach SU Girls U12 Medallists: Emma and Olivia SU Girls U14 medallists: Anna and Izzy SU Prep fencers: Patrick (U12 Bronze) and Ciara Victoria, Ruzi and Michael

Sullivan faced Banbridge in the semi-final of the defence of the McCullough Cup they won last season. The game started at a slow pace with Sullivan controlling the play. The pace suited Banbridge as most of their strength was in defence. After a Sullivan pressure Banbridge broke away and won a penalty corner. With this as Banbridge’s main attack, they converted the penalty corner. The match continued in the same fashion and again Banbridge scored from play after a penalty corner. The second started the same as the first ended – Banbridge winning and then scoring from a penalty corner. Sullivan were guilty of missing a few good chances across the face of the goal. Sullivan then increased the pace of the game and scored via Fergus Gibson. Banbridge immediately attacked and scored. Final score Sullivan 1 (F Gibson) – Banbridge 4

On Sunday 27 November six Year 8 and 9 girls took part in the Milano Schools Gymnastics Competition in Ards Leisure Centre. Martha Todd 9M, Rebecca Thompson 9G, Ruzi Statham 8T, Rachel Wolseley 9A, Sophie McCrossan 9M and Ashton Casey 8G. In the individual floor routine Ashton and Rebecca took gold and Sophie silver. In the vault Ashton took gold and Rachel bronze. The trio of Rachel, Sophie and Ashton won the gold in the overall competition and Martha, Rebecca and Ruzi won the bronze. Rachel, Sophie and Ashton have qualified for the team National Competition in Stoke- on-Trent in March.

Congratulations to Evan Coulter (8T) who participated recently in the Bangor Minors Swimming Gala which took place in Aurora, Bangor. Evan won gold in the 25 metre freestyle, 25 metre backstroke, 100 metre freestyle relay and 100 metre IM relay and silver in the 25 metre breaststroke and butterfly strokes.

Moving Image Arts success! Yasmine Herron has just been awarded joint first prize in Animation at the recent CCEA Moving Image Arts Awards, in association with the Foyle Film Festival, Cinemagic and Northern Ireland Screen. Her A2 Moving Image Arts stop-motion piece, ‘Why Do I like Christmas?’, provided a humourous and charming look at the annual Christmas festivities. It was well received by the cinema audience and impressed the panel judges with its detailed character design and animation of speech. Yasmine, who left Sullivan last year, is currently studying Animation at the University of Ulster.

Well done to Year 9 pupils, Harry Wilson and Robbie Morrow, who represented Club NI 2004, Northern Ireland U13 football squad at the Sunderland FC Academy tournament over the weekend 25-27 November 2016. The squad played matches against Sunderland , Gava Aacademy from Spain and Dublin District Schools Select . Both boys are members of the IFA Elite Player Programme.

140th Anniversary Gala Ball – Saturday 4 February 2017 Following the major legacy bestowed by Robert Sullivan and the foundation of Sullivan School in 1877 – next year the school will celebrate 140 continuous years providing education to the children of Holywood and the surrounding area. ‘Friends of Sullivan’ are proud to be hosting a Gala Ball in Titanic Belfast in February and would love for you to join in celebrating this milestone. All proceeds raised will be going towards the ongoing school enhancement project – Sustaining Sullivan’s Future for the next generations. You can look forward to a Champagne Reception, music by the illustrious Sullivan Jazz Ensemble and further entertainment from Flash Harry. For more information about Friends of Sullivan and news & events please visit www.friendsofsullivan.com.

In October each year the Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland choose their NI Performance Squad for the forthcoming season. James Farrell, Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland’s (RYANI) Performance Manager, is charged with the responsibility of identifying talented young sailors and then nurturing them through the RYA’s “Pathway” to competing at National and International levels. Sam Rutherford (10C) is one of the sailors he has identified with potential within the Laser Radial Class and has picked as a member of the Northern Ireland Squad. This squad is made up of the best 12 Laser Radial Sailors in the province, usually aged 16 to 19. As Sam only turned 14 during the selection process it makes him one of the youngest sailors ever selected on NI laser Radial Squad and with the potential for another 5 years training and competing at this level Sam is perfectly placed to move up the IRL and GBR rankings. With funding from Sport Northern Ireland, Sam will be required to attend and compete at key National Events, practice in his own time and meet fitness testing targets. The objective is to get the sailors into the elite IRL or GBR National Squad.

Following the Interpros at the at the weekend Matthew Crookshanks (14B), Fergus Gibson (13C), Tom Robson (13E) and Harry Morris (12E) have been included for trials for the Ireland U18 team.