Mr Simpson started by talking of his time at Sullivan and how he left with the aspiration of being a sports journalist but was told that it would not be as interesting as he hoped and that he should go into overall news journalism. We were also shown as short DVD clip of Mark reporting on an event in the North East of England a few years ago and what goes on behind the scene in his job. He then went on to show a slideshow on Stormont, but not before he had embarrassed his two daughters who attend Sullivan but had boycotted his talk by putting up baby photos of them! Mr Simpson went through a number of different slides on words that he would link to Stormont. He started with ‘Stable” saying that “if Stormont collapsed before the next election I would run round the back pitches in my boxers!” He believes that Stormont, through all its flaws has worked effectively to move Northern Ireland forward. The next slide was ‘Tense’ saying that although the leadership at Stormont works well together, there are still issues at grassroots level. Mr Simpson also thought ‘Open’ and ‘Robust’ described Stormont well. He also said Stormont was ‘Media-Friendly’ saying that there is a human side to the politicians up at Stormont who want the media to give a positive view of what happens up there. In Mr Simpson’s opinion Stormont is ‘Overcrowded” saying that 108 MLAs for 1.8 million people far outweighed public representation in any other part of the UK and Ireland. He finished by saying Stormont was ‘Nasty’ and ‘Tedious’ with some of the work being done there was monotonous and sometimes not done in the friendliest of ways. When asked if he thought community relations had improved Mark said that they certainly had and he had seen them get better in his job but the leaders had to do more before Northern Ireland truly moves on. He was also asked what moment in his career stuck out in his mind the most. Mark recalled a live report he did in 2007 during the disappearance of Shannon Matthews in England. During his live report he said Shannon had been arrested rather than her mother and got himself completely confused. He described as “almost career destroying!” Overall, Mr Simpson’s visit provided the society with a very different viewpoint of Northern Irish politics and was extremely interesting. Jamie Woods Chairman of the Politics Society

Sullivan Singers singing with Peter Corry in Music Box Extravaganza at the Theatre in the Mill – Friday 14 December 2012 at 7.30 pm.

Vocal Ensemble singing at the switch on of the Holywood Lights –  Saturday 24 November 2012 3.00 pm-4.30 pm Junior Choir (pupils in Years 8 & 9) carol singing at Bloomfields Shopping Centre –  Monday 10 December 10.30 am-11.30 am Junior Choir ( year 10 pupils only ) carol singing in Victoria Square –  Tuesday 11 December 10.00 am-11.00 am Sullivan Singers singing with Peter Corry in Music Box Extravaganza at the Theatre in the Mill –  Friday 14 December 7.30 pm Jazz Group providing Christmas Entertainment at the Stormont Hotel –  Sunday 16 December 12.00 noon – 2.00 pm School Carol Service in Holywood Parish Church –  Thursday 20 December 7.00 pm

Congratulations to our successful Year 8 team for winning 3rd place in the Northern Ireland heat of the Kids Lit Quiz 2012. Ben Holley 8P, Adam Hale 8D, Matthew Skilling 8D and Adam Rainey 8C all came top of their Year Group to qualify for a place in the Quiz, which is a worldwide competition hosted by the Book Guru Wayne Mills. Our team competed alongside 20 other teams from 15 schools drawn from around Northern Ireland to answer 100 challenging questions all about children’s books.  The team got double points for their best round on Myths and each student got their choice of a book as a reward. Competition was fierce and only the final round separated the winning three teams, with Methodist College Belfast taking 1stplace, Rathmore taking 2nd place and our Sullivan team coming 3rd.  For their hard work, each member of our team won £10 in book vouchers and a chocolate shield.

Northern Ireland Schools’ Trampolining competition: U19 team – 2nd Place: Emer Dobson, Anna Chambers, Niamh Johnston, Sophie Finlay U15 team – 1st Place: Ali Adams, Katie Fisher, Sarah Storeng U15 team – 2nd Place; Megan Mccullough, Shaunna Fulford, Tatum Maxwell, Erin Fisher U13 team – 1st Place: Kathleen Smartt, Orla Hayes, Sophie Todd, Lauren Smyth Ali Adams came 1st in the U15 individual event and Kathleen Smartt came 1st in the U13 individual event.

Visit by Lady Sylvia Hermon MP Lady Hermon began the meeting by denouncing Conservative MP Nadine Dorries’ decision to leave Westminster for the Australian jungle. Lady Hermon also spoke of her surprise when Ms Dorries referred to other MPs as rats, although Lady Hermon assured us that she most certainly was not referring to her! She then went on to tell us that since the 2010 election when she became an independent MP, her blood pressure has gone right down, mainly because she is her own boss and doesn’t have any party leaders telling her what to do. The first question she was asked by pupils was: What were your reasons for leaving the Ulster Unionist Party? Lady Hermon started by saying that she had not left the Ulster Unionists but that they had left her in selecting another candidate for her seat.  She thought that the way the party had treated her was wrong, making us laugh in telling us how she found out about their link – up with the Conservatives. She was doing her shopping one day when see saw a newspaper saying “Unionists to join with Tories”. Lady Hermon said she picked up the paper wondering what Peter Robinson had done only to find out it was her own party! Lady Hermon finished this question by categorically stating she ‘was not a Tory!’ Another question asked was: Have you ever considered doing the Labour Party, or bringing any mainland party to Northern Ireland? Lady Hermon quickly replied “No! Of course not!” She said she would never return to a party for the sake of her health though she did say that since becoming an independent MP she had been invited by Labour and UKIP to join them! Overall, Lady Hermon provided a great insight into how Parliament and party politics works and what she loves about it. Jamie Woods Chairman of the Politics Society

Congratulations to Mark Adair who has been called into the Senior Ireland A cricket squad for the 2013 season.

Congratulations to Zara Malseed who played an important part in the Ulster U16 Hockey Squad who won the recent inter-provincial competition in Dublin. Zara scored a hat-trick in the victory over the South-East and also a goal in Ulster’s victory over Munster.

The Big Debate This week’s meeting of the Politics Society not only saw one of the largest turn outs in the society’s history, but also one of its few debates too. This week saw speakers Conall McDevitt (SDLP), Gordon Dunne (DUP), Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin), Michael Copeland (UUP) and former Sullivan Upper School pupil Chris Lyttle (Alliance), each give their own and their party’s view on issues selected by the committee of the society. These topics were on the recent opening of Northern Ireland’s first abortion clinic, Northern Ireland’s education system, parades and the recent disturbances, and naturally… “Why should we vote for you?”. Each MLA had his own view on each of the topics and certainly was not afraid to speak it. The meeting also saw a pleasing amount of cohesion amongst the MLAs and showed how Northern Irish politics and politicians really have moved on. The MLAs provided their own personal thoughts and “I agree with” was not uncommon during the debate. Overall the insight gained was worthwhile and was a truly exceptional meeting of the Politics Society. Jamie Woods Chairman of the Politics Society

Congratulations to the following pupils who have been selected to the Ulster Age Grade Development Squads: Ulster U19s Development Squad Scott Finlay (Yr 14) Chris Griffiths (Yr 13) Charlie Burrowes (Yr 14) Ulster U18s Development Squad Johnny  Bryans (Yr12) Peter Cooper (Y12) Max Clarke (Yr12) Fergus Jemphrey (Yr12) Zach Bertenshaw (Yr 12) Mark Adair (Yr13) Angus Macartney (Y13)

Congratulations to Ben Martin (Year 11) who has been selected to the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Northern Ireland Junior Squad 2012/13. Ben will be representing Northern Ireland and will be competing at Irish, UK and International events.

Congratulations and best wishes to Zara Malseed (Year 12) who is on the Ulster U16 girls’ Hockey Squad playing in the Inter-provincial tournament in Dublin this weekend (19-21 October 2012).