Please click HERE to read the Sullvian Upper Fencing Club’s report for 2011-2012

Olympic Torch in Bangor on Sunday 3 June 2012 I am delighted to announce that Victoria Duxbury (Yr 13) will be part of the relay team carrying the Olympic Torch as it comes to Bangor this Sunday (see flyer).  I’m sure that lots of pupils and parents will be present at this once-in-a-lifetime event – if you are there on Sunday morning, don’t forget to give Victoria a big cheer!

80 IN 20 A group of teachers and friends of Sullivan Upper School will be walking 80km in 20 hours to raise money for a number of charities which have a strong Sullivan connection. Some people will be planning to complete the full distance and others will join us for part of the day. This will take place on Saturday 2 June 2012. Starting when the sunrises and hoping to finish before the sun sets.The idea came from reading an article about a woman who walked 80km to seek medical attention for her sick child. This distance resonates with those involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme where the Gold candidates are required to cover that distance in 4 days in wild country. The charities we are hoping to raise a lot of money for are Work of John Turner in Vietnam – (John Turner is a former Technology teacher who along with his wife is working among the street children in Vietnam). UCCI – UCCI is an Indian charity focussed on the provision of schooling for the children of the poorest families of the Andra Pradesh in Eastern India. In addition we will be supporting a number of charities in memory of the following people (former pupils and parents of pupils in school) Rebecca Graham (former pupil) – Cardiomyopathy Association Andrew Drain (former Head Boy) – Leukaemia and Lymphoma research Andrew Campbell (former pupil) – Bright Red Rosi Kirker Millar (parent) – Bowel Cancer UK Malcolm Chisholm (parent) – Tear Fund We would encourage you to give as generously as possible – every donation helps, no matter what size it is. The fund raised will be split equally amongst the listed charities. If you wish to make a donation we have set up a webpage www.justgiving.com/80kin20 or send cash or cheques made payable to Sullivan Upper School in an envelope marked 80 in 20 to be left in at the school office. All money donated including that which is gift-aided will be divided equally between the 7 charities. Paul Whittington

Results from the Ulster Athletics Championships and Irish Qualifiers Congratulations to the following athletes. Those placed 1st-3rd in field events and 1st&2nd on the track now go to the Irish event at Tullamore on the 2 June 2012. Junior Boys Chris Jordan – 1st in 100m Nameer Shahzed – 3rd in 100m Sullivan were 3rd overall as a team. Chris Ball – 2nd in Shot Mark Burton – 5th in High Jump Junior Boys’ Relay – 1st Junior Girls Joanna Kirkwood – 6th High Jump Amy Rothwell – 5th Shot Intermediate Girls Jemma Speers – 1st in Steeplechase Laura Potts – 3rd in Discus Intermediate Boys Conall  Kirk – 1st in 1500m Harry Speers – 1st in Steeplechase Jonathan Hill – 3rd in Triple Jump Senior Girls Beth Wilson – 1st in Shot, 2nd in Discus Senior Boys Adam Hill – 1st in High Jump, 3rd 110m in Hurdles

Congratulations to Victoria Duxbury (Yr 13) who won a Bronze Medal in the Women’s Team Foil at the recent UK School Games held in the London Olympic fencing venue; and to Rachel Philpott (Yr 10) who competed in the U16 Girls’ Foil at the British Youth Championships in Sheffield, finishing just outside the last 16.

A Sullivan GCSE student, Amy McAteer is appearing in the BBC competition “Off by Heart Shakespeare” on Saturday, 19 May 2012 – please click on link below to view the trailer – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00r7nwv She had master classes in the 4 days of preparation before the competition, including voice workshops with Cicely Berry. Amy McAteer won the regional heat before progressing to the UK final. She performed on the stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, to judges and the competition was hosted by Jeremy Paxman (with her family, Mr Peel and Mrs Trainor in attendance).Amy will be on BBC Newsline,  BBC Radio Ulster Evening Extra and Radio Foyle.

Congratulations to Conal Kirk (Year 12) who was selected for the UK School Games held in the Olympic Venue to run for Northern Ireland at 1500 metres, he came fourth. Congratulations to Harry Speers (Year 12) who has been selected for the elite athlete programme in the Irish Junior Squad in Triathlon

List of pupils who qualified for the Ulster Schools Athletics Competition on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 May 2012. ULSTER SCHOOLS QUALIFIERS 2012 SENIOR David Matthews – 400m H (2nd) Adam Hill – 110m H (1st) HJ (1st) Beth Wilson – Discus (1st), Shot (1st) Cydnie McCullough – Jav (3rd) INTER Conall Kirk – 800m (1st), 1500m (1st) Jamie Hardacre – 100m H (3rd) Calum James – 100m H (1st) Harry Speers – 1500m Steeplechase (1st) Jonathan Hill – LJ (3rd), TJ (2nd) Lisa Fulford – Discus (3rd) Laura Potts – Discus (2nd) Jemma Speers – Steeplechase JUNIOR Chris Jordan – 100m (1st) Nameer Shahzad – 100m (3rd) Mark Burton – HJ (3rd) Michael Montgomery – Discus (2nd) Chris Ball – Shot (2nd) Joanna Kirkwood – HJ (3rd) Amy Rothwell – Shot (1st)  Junior Boys Relay (1st) MINI Isobel Meharg – 100m (3rd) Maggie Gillies – HJ (2nd) Mini Girls Relay (3rd)

Congratulations to Rory Hamilton (12C) on being selected to represent Ulster Counties East Smallbore Shooting Association at the forthcoming Junior International Match at Bisley in August 2012.

Sport and Exercise Nutritionist visits Home Economics Department Dr Sharon Madigan, a Registered Sport and Exercise Nutritionist gave pupils an insight in to her colourful career which included her work as a Sports Nutritionist with the Sports Institute for Northern Ireland, the Ulster Rugby Team and the Irish Boxing Team. Pupils also had the opportunity to ask Sharon questions, where many took the chance to receive advice from a professional on how to improve their own sporting performance. Katie Kirk also gave the pupils an insight into the importance of a nutritionist from an athlete’s prospective and her aspirations to study nutrition at university

The Art Club at Sullivan Upper have been enjoying great success in recent weeks with our talented students from years 8 and 9 gaining recognition in Art & Design competitions at a national level! National Final of ERP Junk Kouture In the Autumn term, Art Club entered the ERP Junk Kouture competition in which students from across Ireland are asked to create exciting catwalk fashion pieces using only waste and recycled materials – http://www.junkkouture.com/. Seven groups from Sullivan entered their fantastic eco-friendly creations and of these three were selected to appear live on the catwalk at the Regional Final of the competition, held at the Europa Hotel Belfast in March this year. The models put on a superb show and one group, ‘Kimono Junk’ (designed by Year 9 students Katie Russell, Emily Boyd and Katie Ireland), was chosen to go through to the All Ireland Grand Final held at Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Friday 20th April. The girls were the youngest to appear in the final show and Katie Russell got tremendous support from the crowd as she strutted her stuff on the catwalk! The winner was a Lady Data who appeared live on The Late Late Show that evening. The groups had a fantastic time taking part and are full of inspiration and ideas for next year’s competition! The qualifying groups talk about their designs and ideas below:NATIONAL FINALIST : Kimono Junk – Katie Russell (model), Emily Boyd, Katie Ireland “Inspired by Japanese kimonos, we made the bodice out of old wallpaper which we painted. The skirt is made of woven seat belts and we have also used scrap fabrics and bottle tops. Our piece mixes the old with the new, and urban style with Japanese design. We hope to make people think about reusing materials.” REGIONAL FINALIST : Ginja Ninja – Christian Green (model), Dylan Jones, James Stewart “Our suit is inspired by armour and was made by combining cardboard, scrap paper, old sweet wrappers, tin cans, seat belts and plastic bottles together. We think we have found a creative way to make a life size action hero out of everyday rubbish!” “We gathered up lots of old ties that were going to waste, a colourful selection of waste materials and some imagination to create our recycled outfit.” Maggie Art Club members also submitted original artworks to the prestigious Texaco Children’s Art competition, now in its 58thyear. This competition attracted over 26,000 entries this year and Maggie Gillies in Year 8 did exceptionally well to be selected as a Runner-Up in the 12-13 years category. Her work can be seen on the websitehttp://www.texacochildrensart.com/ and will be exhibited nationally in the touring Texaco Children’s Art exhibition (Ulster Museum Nov 2012-Jan 2013).

GCSE Home Economics Students Launch Tasty Careers Campaign The campaign is designed to educate young people about the wide variety of excellent career opportunities available in the food and drink manufacturing sector. The campaign provides information on the type of courses available, as well as inside information on what the jobs are really like. In a time of great economic uncertainty, the food and drink manufacturing sector provides significant job opportunities in a stable and growing industry, thus making it a pivotal employer within Northern Ireland, and one which should be embraced.