A fine cast of Sullivan student are currently frantically rehearsing a shortened version of  Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. This will be performed in the Shakespeare in Schools Festival at the Belfast Waterfront Studio on Tuesday 8 November 2011. Tickets for the performance are now available at the Waterfront Box Office.

NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOLS CANOE RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS – 4 SEPTEMBER 2011 Congatulations to Michael Cartmill who won the Northern Ireland Schools Canoe Racing Championships – a four mile race on the River Bann.

Sullivan Upper School is delighted to return to the Ulster Hall for its ever-popular Spring Concert. This will offer the opportunity for those both inside and outside the school community to enjoy a varied programme of music, ranging from orchestral pieces to ensemble groups; from the fine voices of The Sullivan Singers to exciting solo performances. Classical, traditional, jazz or popular, there is something in the programme to suit all musical tastes. Last year’s concert was a huge success and booked out quickly.  So, book early to avoid disappointment. We look forward to seeing you there on 21 March 2012.

Congratulations to Katie Kirk (Deputy Head Girl 2011/2012 second from left) on winning a gold medal in the 4 x 400m relay and on coming 5th in the 400m at the recent European Junior Championships.

Rory comes home to Sullivan. The pupils and staff of Sullivan Upper were delighted when former pupil, Rory McIlroy, visited school on Thursday, 30 June 2011.  The BBC’s Mark Simpson quizzed Rory about his school days and many pupils were able to have their photo taken with the US Open Champion. Many thanks Rory! Click on the links below to see the BBC’s news items http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13983230 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13981397

In September 2010, after a rigorous application and interview process the following Year 13 pupils were successful in gaining a place on the Belfast Saphara Team: Kirsten Beg, Kate Doake, Irma Hendry, Chris Jordan and Katherine Kinahan with Miss C Thomson (Teacher in Charge Sullivan). The aim of Saphara is to participate in a ‘journey with purpose’. Saphara is a registered charity which engages young people from all communities in Northern Ireland to work with impoverished children in India. We are part of the Belfast team of sixth form students and will be travelling to India in July 2011 with pupils from Methodist College and Aquinas Grammar. Team Training An important aspect of our year long commitment has been to team building and prepare for our trip to India. In November we had our induction meeting where we met our colleagues in the Belfast team from Methody and Acquinas. February’s team meeting outlined the challenges ahead and developed team morale. In March we attended a residential training weekend at Newcastle Youth Hostel where we explored cultural issues associated with our trip and considered the demands of teaching. By our final twilight meeting in May the theme of ‘The Environment’ had been selected as the focus of our teaching and we are embracing the challenges associated with creative lesson planning. Fundraising One of the most challenging aspects of this commitment has been raising funds to support the educational charity work we will be doing during our trip to India. The financial aspect of this trip involves £650 parental consultation to cover flights and insurance, £500 personal fundraising and £500 (per member) team fundraising. As this is a big financial commitment we have been keen to focus our efforts on some key events. Highlights We would like to thank Miss Martin for facilitating a non uniform collection on behalf of Saphara and to all those pupils who donated so generously. A big thank you to Sullivan Preparatory Department staff and pupils who donated an amazing £1000 – the result of collecting coppers and a toy sale. Their creativity and enthusiasm was a great motivation throughout our fundraising endeavours. In March, we undertook a challenge, not for the faint hearted, to Abseil down the Europa Hotel A great fundraiser which thanks to very generous support from Sullivan staff meant we couldn’t back out!!  Finally to those of you who attended; coffee mornings, wine and cheese evening, Jamie at Home Party, Table Quiz or donated to our used clothing collection – THANK YOU! Our fundraising target was £5000 and we have managed to achieve £10,883.36. All your support has been greatly appreciated and will make a huge difference to the schools Saphara supports in India. Click here to read Saphara Article by Lucy Pollock Click here to look at the Belfast Team July 2010 Click here to look at the Belfast Trip Schedule 2011 You can follow our progress while we are away in India (15-31 July 2011) by reading our ‘blog’ on the Saphara Website: www.saphara.org

MINIOR GIRLS’ WINNERS OF MINOR PLATE Defeated Glenlola Collegiate in the Final Lydia Kelly, Amy Rothwell, Claire McCrory and Emma Hill MINIOR BOYS’ WINNERS OF MINOR PLATE Defeated Banbridge Academy in the Final Joe Heatley, Jacob Robinson, David Cunningham and Sergio Oliva JUNIOR GIRLS’ WINNERS OF ULSTER SCHOOLS’ JUNIOR CUP Defeated Strathearn in the Final Katharine Hill, Amy Allen, Katie Hill, Alexandra Adams

On the 15 May 2011 28 Sullivan pupils set off for an amazing trip to France. The day after arrival we visited the site where the battle of Vimy Ridge took place. We had a great tour of the battle field but had to be careful because there were unexploded mines! During our stay inFrance we visited many graves for the brave soldiers who fought in the wars to pay our respects. Whenever we visited the IrishPeaceTower, a member in the group, Matthew Crilly, actually found details about his great grandfather. During the trip we were able to get a really good feel of what the war was like because in most of the museums they had hundreds of pieces of equipment from the war and normally each had their own trench system. We also took a day excursion to Belgium to do some shopping and visit a museum there. When we visited the museum we were given names of people and we found out their story as we progressed through the museum. We went to a last post ceremony at Menin Gate. Nearly the whole town turned out to pay their respects to the soldiers at that time. On Saturday evening we transferred to the Chanteloup hotel in Paris. We had two days to marvel at the breath taking sights in Parisincluding the Arc de Triomphe, EiffelTower, Pont Alexandre III and others. On the day before we left, we went to Disneyland Paris; this was probably one of the most anticipated activities on the trip. Apart from all the queuing for the rides, it was unbelievable and I think everyone in the group enjoyed it even the teachers! After all the excitement at Disneyland we went on a Seine river tour. The tour took us along the river and showed us the most beautiful places in Paris. On the boat we had a waving competition to see who could get the most waves from people passing by the boat. Everybody waved frantically for about half an hour straight! The trip was amazing and I hope that there are many other trips like it. By Danny Lyttle 9D Year 9 French/History trip to Paris and the World War one sites The French history trip of 2011 was a great success; no one was really sure what it was going to be like, because no one had ever been on it before! On the first day we mainly travelled, so we didn’t get to see any of the interesting things! On the second day, we visited one of the sights of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where all of the Canadian Regiments united and fought alongside some Ulster regiments as well. We went into some of the trenches that they’d dug out, but we couldn’t walk on the grass, as it was riddled with shell holes, and some shells which hadn’t gone off! On the same day, we also went to see two cemeteries, each had about 100 graves or more in it, and helped everyone to understand the magnitude of deaths caused in the 1st World War, and we also went to see a Memorial which was covered in names of soldiers whose bodies weren’t found. On the Third day, we drove all the way to Ypres in Belgium. First we visited the Island of Ireland Peace Memorial, and one of the pupils, Matthew Crilly, was able to find his great grandfathers name in the book! We then went to Hill 62 and Sanctuary Wood. It was a sort of museum of WW1, with loads of stuff like Artillery and uniforms which they had found in the surrounding areas, there were also lots of trenches ion the woods behind the centre, with dugouts and mini subways which they used to move men from the front line to the communication trenches without getting shot! We then drove to a main part of Ypres. After some shopping, we went to a very interesting museum, which had lots of information on the Battle of the Somme and other parts of WW1. Once we had dinner, we were lucky enough to be able attend a Last Post Ceremony. Everyone found it very moving, but were also happy to play a part in the remembrance  of the soldier’s lives. On Saturday, before we went to Paris, we drove to The Ulster Tower Memorial, which looked like a castle from the outside, but was a room with lots of Wreaths and Poppies in it. We then had a guided tour of the trenches, in which a man who was Northern Irish explained to us all of the equipment that the soldiers had to use, and bring with them on to the battlefield. One of our pupils, Peter Baker  was dressed up in the full kit of the Royal Ulster Fusiliers, and posed for pictures! He also showed us different things that they had discovered while they were excavating the wood. Some of these were, a spoon which was used by a man who was shot in the leg, and strangely, the bullet went through the spoon, causing the force of the bullet to be lessened. They’d also discovered a sealed test tube of iodine, which is what soldiers were given as an emergency painkiller in case they were shot on the battlefield and there was no immediate help. Everyone found this very interesting and we were all glad that we did it. After that, we went to a memorial, which had lots of British Regiments on it, and we were even able to find the name of a past Sullivan Pupil, Theopias L. Calwell! By the time we arrived at the second hotel we were all absolutely shattered, so were all happy to go to sleep! On Sunday, we went to the much anticipated Euro Disney, which everyone was looking forward to, with the possible exception of the teachers! After an amazing day in Disneyland, we drove back into Paris to go on a boat trip down the River Seine. It was really interesting, and told us all about the famous buildings as we went past them, there was even a bridge, that as you went under, you were meant to make a wish then kiss your neighbour! On Monday everyone was very excited, as we were visiting the Eiffel Tower! It was amazing and particular memorable for some of the pupils! Went up to the second level, and we were all glad, even looking down from there made everyone dizzy! By the time we all got to the airport, everyone was wishing that we could stay for another week, but unfortunately, we couldn’t, and were greeted at the airport by our parents. The French-History Trip was an amazing experience for everyone, and we would strongly recommend anyone going into Yr. 9 to jump at any opportunity to go on this trip, you won’t regret it! By Margot MacMahon & Sarah Storeng 9H

Defeated Glenlola Collegiate in the Final Lydia Kelly, Amy Rothwell, Claire McCrory and Emma Hill MINIOR BOYS’ WINNERS OF MINOR PLATE Defeated Banbridge Academy in the Final Joe Heatley, Jacob Robinson, David Cunningham and Sergio Oliva JUNIOR GIRLS’ WINNERS OF ULSTER SCHOOLS’ JUNIOR CUP

Congratulations to the following boys on being selected for representative teams as follows: Callum Robson and Thomas Anderson (Year 9) – U13 Inter Pros for NCU John Matchett (Year 9) and Mark Adair (Year 11, Captain) – U15 Inter Pros for NCU John Matchett (Captain) and Thomas Anderson (Year 9) – Lord Travener’s Belfast Squad to play in the National Finals. Ross Adair (Year 13) – to play for Ireland U17 in the European Championships.

Congratulations and well done to the following pupils who participated in the Championships in the Long Tower Youth Centre in Londonderry on 18 June 2011. Max Clarke (10D) won Gold in the under 73 kilo section. Sam Wilson (10D) won Bronze in the under 73 kilo section. Harry Wilson (10D) won Bronze in the under 50 kilo section.

The end of Year Art and Design and Moving Image Arts Showcase Tuesday, 28 June 2011  7.00 pm – 9.00 pm Drama Theatre and Common Room