WELCOME TO ALL CHILDREN’S INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL WEBSITE

We are proud to have received the following awards and continue to strive towards excellence in all areas of the curriculum….

                                

All Children’s IPS Movie

Click on the video below to watch a 6 minute movie to get a flavour of life at our school.

Integration

Please click on the picture below to learn more about Integrated Education.

Latest News

March 2026

Environmental Youth Speak

Our fantastic P7 pupil Theo is proudly representing our school in the Environmental Youth Speak 2026 competition.

Taking part in Environmental Youth Speak is a huge achievement in itself and we are pleased to announce that Theo has got through to the Finals and will be delivering his speech in front of a panel of judges on 23rd March. It takes confidence, commitment and courage to stand up and speak out and Theo has shown all of that and more. We couldn’t be prouder of the hard work he has put into preparing for this competition and the thoughtful message he is sharing.  We hope you will all join us in wishing Theo the very best of luck!

A lesson in empathy

Like many people all over the world we’ve been touched by the story of Punch the little monkey who after being abandoned by his birth mother sought comfort in a surrogate plush mummy monkey. Our P4 class were so glad to hear that Punch has now been accepted by the other monkeys in his pack and wanted to show him a little more love from across the world. They wrote messages and drew pictures to let Punch know how much we love him, an amazing lesson in empathy. One of our P4s even brought in her version of Punch’s mummy and we were very glad she did as we all needed a cuddle after hearing his story!

First Confession

This month some members of our P3 and P5 class celebrated a very special milestone as they made their First Confession in the school hall. We were delighted to welcome Father Jim, who led a beautiful and meaningful ceremony, along with so many proud family members who joined us for the occasion.  The ceremony was lovely, and we are incredibly proud of all our pupils who behaved so respectfully and represented our school so well.  A heartfelt thank you to Father Jim for his time and guidance, and to Parents’ Council member Heather for the delicious cakes and refreshments they were very much enjoyed by all!

Book Club

In a quiet corner of the playground, some of our P5s have started their very own book club which is open to anyone who enjoys reading.  We’re so proud to see a love of reading growing so organically and even prouder of them for sharing that passion with the rest of the school!

World Book Day

From classic tales like Little Women to modern favourites like Bunny vs Monkey, our pupils celebrated World Book Day in fantastic style! The costumes were amazing, and it was wonderful to see everyone getting involved and enjoying the fun.  Our Drop Everything and Read session was a huge success, with readers snaking all the way from P1 to the hall as everyone settled down with a good book. Seeing the whole school come together to celebrate reading was truly special.  A big well done to all our pupils and staff for making the day so memorable!

 

P5 Swimming Success

Our P5 pupils have really enjoyed their swimming sessions this term and have shown tremendous progress.  All of the children have shown great enthusiasm and have represented the school exceptionally.  The pictured pupils have received certificates for being able to swim up to 25m unaided.  Well done!

Montalto Goose Trail

Montalto Estate will soon be opening their Easter goose trail and have asked All Children’s Integrated to decorate a wooden goose to display along the trail.  Pupils from P2 to P7 decorated a paper goose and the winners have been chosen, pictured above.  Amber-Rose from P6 was our winner and with the help of Mrs Parke her design will be transferred to the wooden goose.  We will share a photo when it’s complete and let you know when you can visit it at Montalto.

February 2026

Valentine’s Disco

What a fantastic time everyone had at our very special Valentine’s Disco, kindly organised by our amazing Parents’ Council! It was a brilliant chance for pupils to cut loose with their friends, enjoy their favourite tunes, and get lots of energetic exercise along the way. The dance floor was full all morning with some impressive, choreographed routines as well as amazing freestyle moves! We might have spotted a few teachers and teaching assistants sneaking in a boogie when they thought no one was watching

Mythical Creatures Come Alive in P5

Our P5 class are a creative bunch, and when Miss Gibney set their latest homework challenge, they jumped into it with enthusiasm and imagination! Over the mid-term break, our talented pupils got busy drawing, gluing, paper-mâchéing, sewing, and building their very own mythical creatures. Inspired by their recent learning about the Ancient Egyptians, the results were nothing short of spectacular!

Buddy teaches us to ‘Speak Out and Stay Safe’

Trish from the NSPCC visited to speak to pupils about the charity’s ‘Speak Out and Stay Safe’ campaign. Accompanied by her mascot, Buddy, she met with P3, P6 and P7 classes to highlight the importance of using their voices to share any worries they may have. Trish spoke about how speaking out can help protect both themselves and others from harm, whether online or in their everyday lives. The children listened attentively throughout the session, and Buddy helped to make the important messages engaging and relatable for everyone.

January 2026

YMCA TBUC Sessions

Our P7 pupils have had an amazing time taking part in the YMCA TBUC sessions alongside pupils from local schools! Throughout the programme, the children got involved in a wide range of activities including sports, drama and art, giving them the chance to work together, try new skills and, most importantly, have fun while building new friendships.

Outdoor learning

P4 swapped the classroom for the coastline, and what a beautiful choice it was! With the mountains standing tall behind us and the sea stretching out ahead, our learning felt extra special. We filled our lungs with fresh sea air, wiggled our sandy toes, and put our adjective skills to the test by describing everything we could see, hear, and feel around us.

We are so lucky to have nature as our classroom, outdoor learning at its very best!

December 2025

Christmas Fayre

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make our Christmas Fayre such a huge success! From the Parents’ Council who organised and ran the event, to the stall holders, the families who came along, our wonderful Santa, and our fabulous staff who gave up their free time we had an amazing night. Our Parents’ Council have crunched the numbers and have raised over £3000 to go towards improving our school! Well done everyone! A massive thank you to the Craig family, one of our longstanding school families, who have created and assembled our magical grotto over the years. As their youngest child is now in their final year, we will soon be saying goodbye to their support. Their kindness, creativity, and contribution to our Christmas events will be fondly remembered.

Choir

Our choir have been kept busy this term with lots of events to attend including Christmas markets and our open night. We have been so impressed with their dedication and their beautiful singing on all occasions. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work and to also thank their parents and carers for transporting them to these events.

Christmas Dinner

Our pupils enjoyed a wonderful school Christmas dinner, and the excitement was truly in the air! From the smell of roast turkey to the sound of laughter echoing through the hall, it was a festive feast to remember. It was all hands-on deck as classroom assistants from every corner of the school came together to help Louise and Elaine serve up plates filled with holiday favourites. Their teamwork, smiles, and festive spirit made the meal even more special for our pupils. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make our Christmas dinner such a joyful occasion. Moments like these remind us what a warm and caring school community we have.

November 2025

Introducing our new Pupil Council

We’re so excited to introduce our brand-new Pupil Council! This enthusiastic group of pupils will represent the voices of their classmates, helping to make our school an even better place to learn and grow. We can’t wait to hear all their brilliant ideas and plans for the year ahead.

Anti-bullying week

P7 led assembly, sharing their learning on bullying, its impact, and how to deal with it. We considered how power is something we can all use for good and how our actions have a personal and collective impact. Kindness is a great resource, weighs nothing, and can be carried anywhere. We hope, with the help of our young people, to see more of it about!

October 2025

Restart a heart

Our primary pupils proudly took part in Restart a Heart Live 2025, joining schools across the country in learning vital, life-saving skills.

P5 Pupils Set Sail on a Lifesaving Adventure!

Our P5 pupils had an exciting and eye-opening visit to the Newcastle RNLI station, where they learned about the valuable work of the RNLI and staying safe in water.

School Improvement Plan Launch Event!

A huge thank you to all the parents and staff who joined us for the launch of our School Improvement Plan. Your support, input, and enthusiasm truly made the event special – we know how busy everyone’s schedules are, so your presence spoke volumes about your commitment to our school community.

All Children’s Integrated Primary School Shines Bright for #HelloYellow Day

Pupils and staff donned bright yellow outfits to raise awareness and show solidarity with young people who may be struggling with their mental health.

Pupils also brought in donations to support mental health initiatives, learning the importance of kindness, empathy, and speaking openly about emotions.

We’re absolutely delighted to announce that, together, we raised an amazing £385!

As part of our #HelloYellow day, our school came together to record the inspiring poem ‘Let No One Steal Your Dreams’ by Paul Cookson – a message of hope, strength, and solidarity for young people everywhere.

Maths Week

Throughout the week, every class has worked hard solving maths problems, exploring how we use maths in everyday life, and getting creative with shapes. Maths is such an important life skill, and it’s been fantastic to see so many of our pupils and staff getting involved with enthusiasm and curiosity.

Our pupils share their favourite reads for Book Week NI!

At our school, we love reading and we make time for it every single day! Whether we’re diving into a book on our own or sharing a story with an adult, we believe every reading moment is important.

This week, to celebrate #BookWeekNI, some of our fantastic readers were asked to share the books they’re currently enjoying and even read out a few lines for us!

Wickedly Good Fun at All Children’s Halloween Disco!

There was plenty of spirit, as the Parents’ Council hosted a fun-filled Halloween Disco and Pumpkin Carving Competition during the school day.

Pupils arrived in spooktacular costumes, there were K-pop Demon hunters, Ghost Dolls, a pigeon (!) and we even saw a Hot Dog roaming the halls. The pumpkin competition showed off incredible creativity too and had everything from cute to straight up petrifying! Congratulations to all our costume and pumpkin winners and to P5 who wowed us all with their winning, spooky lanterns!

September 2025

Forest Days for P4, P5 and P6

Our amazing P4s, P5s and P6s made the most of the glorious weather and our beautiful surroundings by heading to the forest for their World Around Us topics.
They explored the wonders of nature and P4 got creative by building skeletons using only natural materials they found along the way: sticks, stones, leaves, and more!
Hands-on learning at its best!

Reception class are settling in beautifully!

It’s been a joy to see our youngest learners making new friends, playing together, sharing, and beginning their exciting learning journey. The classroom is full of smiles, laughter, and curiosity every day!
One of our lovely Reception pupils even brought in a fantastic rabbit house she made at home! 🐰🏠 We may just have a future architect in our midst!
Well done to all our Reception stars, we’re so proud of you already!

A visit from Declan Carville

Our P3 and P4 classes were absolutely delighted to welcome the renowned children’s author Declan Carville into our school!
Declan, best known for his enchanting stories such as The Magic Harp and Valentine O’Byrne Irish Dancer, captivated the pupils with his tales of the Fairy Glen – a magical place and had everyone hanging on his every word.
With a celebrated career in children’s literature, Declan has brought imagination and creativity to countless young readers across the country. His visit gave pupils a special insight into the life of an author and the power of storytelling.
During the session, pupils were given creative story prompts, and it was wonderful to see their imaginations come alive as they shared ideas and discussed possible plots. It was a fantastic opportunity to spark a love for writing – and who knows, maybe even inspire a few future authors!
A huge thank you to Declan for such an inspiring and interactive visit – it was a truly magical morning for all involved!

June 2025

Sports Day 2025

What a day! The sun beamed down over Donard Park as our Reception to P7 pupils gave it their all on the field. From the first race to the final cheer, the energy was incredible!
It didn’t matter who crossed the finish line first — the spirit of the day was all about fun, teamwork, and cheering each other on. The support from every child, whether they were running, skipping, or hopping, was just amazing to see.
Huge shoutout to our fantastic staff, including Mr. Rodgers who kindly came back to lead the way, for pulling everything together so smoothly, and to the parents for being the best cheer squad around!
There may have been some whispers about a staff race… but we’ll keep that one in the “maybe next year” column once we’ve all had a chance to stretch! 😉😂
What a brilliant day – memories made, smiles shared, and everyone a winner. 🏅❤️

May 2025

Basketball Stars and Wellbeing

We couldn’t be prouder of our P7 basketball stars who hit the court  at the Junior NBA Festival of Fun at the University of Ulster!
It was a full day packed with action — from fast-break drills and shooting challenges to defensive footwork and team relays. Our pupils brought the energy, the effort, and the smiles!
Wellbeing was also on the agenda this month from healthy food in the sunshine to outdoor yoga and even a disco our students were truly feeling the benefits of this Wellbeing Week!

April 2025

WW2 – Learning from our past

The P4 class is really enjoying learning about WW2, and their experience has been further enhanced by the wonderful objects that pupils have shared with the class. It’s amazing how we can bring history to life in this way, helping our pupils imagine what life may have been like for their relatives during the war.

Shared Education

Our P3s had a fantastic day out at Tollymore Forest Park with their friends from St Mary’s Primary School! They tackled some fun Gruffalo-themed puzzles and enjoyed playing together in the sunshine. A lovely picnic made the most of the beautiful weather, and it was a great way for everyone to bond.

P2 House Projects

Our wonderful P2 students have been busy learning all about houses and homes, putting their creativity and imagination to work by designing and building their very own houses to share with the class!

March 2025

World Book Day

The school was absolutely buzzing with excitement as we watched our favorite books spring to life right before our eyes!  The creativity in costumes this year was been nothing short of spectacular, and it was fantastic to see everyone—students, teachers, and teaching assistants alike—fully embracing the spirit of the day!
At All Children’s Integrated Primary School, we’re passionate about promoting reading for pleasure. It’s not just a vital part of our pupils’ educational journey; it significantly enhances their quality of life too. The creativity, imagination, and knowledge that come from reading truly enrich our students’ lives, and seeing them have so much fun while learning is incredibly heartwarming!

First Confession

Congratulations to our P3 pupils who received the sacrament of first confession.

Integrated Education Month

March was integrated education month and this year’s theme was celebrating cultural connections. At All Children’s integrated Primary school we are so proud of our diversity and make sure to celebrate it at all occasions. The school was created with a vision that children could come together to learn not in spite of their differences but embracing their differences. It only seems fitting therefore that P4 put on a play that explores the themes of difference and how when we work together we can live a more fulfilling life.
The P4 assembly was ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’ and was beautifully acted by all of our Smeds and Smoos and the assembled parents and carers were very proud.
The assembly finished with a young smed exclaiming to the audience ‘thank you mums and dads for choosing integrated education.’ and the poignancy of the message resonated with all of us.

February 2025

Valentine’s Disco

Our parents council threw the most fabulous Valentine’s disco, and it was so much fun! Everyone rocked their finest outfits and hit the dance floor with some seriously cool moves. From Baby Shark to breakdancing, even our teachers joined in on the fun and showed off their dance moves!

Confirmation

Congratulations to our P7 pupils who made their confirmation. We are all so proud of how they represented our school and their families

P4s explore The Titanic

Our P4 class has been diving deep into the fascinating world of the Titanic, and they’ve been inspired to create their very own Titanic portholes! Check out the amazing display outside their classroom, thanks to our wonderful classroom assistants who helped showcase their incredible work!
Nolágh from P4 also penned a beautiful Titanic-themed poem, “Tragic but True”!

January 2025

Artic, assemblies, achievements and afterschool activities

It was a busy start to our first month back after Christmas with lots going on in every class!

P1s learned about Polar animals and exploring their habitats. They had great fun playing with icebergs and making igloos out of dough.

Marcella from our drumming class gave everyone a taster session of her club!

This term started off really well with lots of students visiting Mr. Houlahan to receive certificates for their hard work both in and out of school.  Keep up the good work everyone!

Our afterschool clubs also started up again and we were so happy to see so many of our pupils taking part.

December 2024

Christmas Jumper Day

On 11th December we held our annual Christmas jumper day and this year we decided to ask the children to bring in donations for The Pantry Foodbank.

The Pantry is such an important resource in our local area and we were delighted to see such generosity from our school community. Thank you to all who donated!
May be an image of 4 people, christmas tree, gingerbread biscuit and text

P4 Lifesaver

Lewis Toner in P4 was awarded a certificate by the Downpatrick school of Lifesaving.
He was a very brave boy when his grandma became ill. He stayed calm, helped his grandma and alerted family members. We are all so proud of Lewis and are glad to hear that his grandma is doing much better.
May be an image of 5 people, child and text

November 2024

Children in Need

very year we support the children in Need Appeal. This year we had a non-uniform day and children came to school wearing spotty clothes and accessories.
We collected £515.00 for this very worth-while cause.
    L     

Christmas Fayre 2024

On Friday, 30th November we held our annual Christmas Fayre and book fair. It was lovely to see so many parents, carers and children raising money for our school funds.

We are delighted with the amount raised from the book fair as it has provided us with lots of wonderful books for your children’s classrooms.
We would like to thank our amazing parents’ council, staff, stallholders and all who attended for making it such a special event.

                     

October 2024

OUTDOOR CLEAN UP

P7 have been out cleaning up the area around the school lifting Autumn leaves and rubbish….well done on all your hard work!
       

Local Author Visits All Children’s

We were very privileged to have a visit from local children’s author Declan Carville who did Creative Literacy workshops with P4 & P5 which were both informative and enjoyable. Declan has written numerous children’s books which are enjoyed by children all around the globe.

       

Halloween Celebrations

A massive thank you to our Parent Council for hosting, and our entire school community for supporting, our Halloween events on Friday 25th October, the children made a fantastic effort with their costumes and had a brilliant time at the disco.

Maths Week

We celebrated Maths week in school and the children have been doing alot of enjoyable maths activities which have been enhancing their numeracy skills.   

World Mental Health Day

During World Mental Health Day we have been taking time in school to look after ourselves. This included some extra playtime at break!
Have a look at some of our classes amazing activities

September 2024

We have had a fantastic start to the new school year with children producing some excellent work to show to Mr. Lister…

       

P4 Learning

P4 are learning all about their bodies. They learned about the skeleton and created fantastic pictures using cotton buds!
They also visited the forest to make skeletons outdoors. Look at their fantastic creations…

                 

June 2024

Goodbye to Mr. Beattie, Ms Skeffington & Mr Rodgers

It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to 3 members of staff…our Principal of 9 years, Mr Jon Beattie, who is retiring at the end of June. We are also saying Goodbye to two of our longest serving teachers, Ms. Pat Skeffington and Mr Paul Rodgers who are also retiring and have taught in All Children’s for 33 years and 29 years respectively. We held a Retirement Assembly on Thursday 20th June for staff, children and invited guests and the tears shed by the children as they performed was a testament to how much they will be missed and the high regard with which they are held.

We wish you all a long and happy Retirement!

June 2024

All Children’s win Newcastle Schools Tennis Tournament
Congratulations to Levon, Joshua, Jonah and Robbie who took part in the annual Newcastle Tennis Club competition for local primary schools and all came away with gold medals. Great playing guys!

P2 Assembly
P2 did a wonderful assembly sharing all their learning about animals and the farm. They said a lovely poem showing everyone the Makaton signs for each animal. They told us some super animal facts, then acted out their favourite farm story ‘Farmer Duck’! Soon they will go on their school trip to learn even more about the farm. Well done P2!

P7s climb Slieve Donard
A big well done to all our wonderful P7s who climbed Slieve Donard on Friday. This has become a rite of passage for our P7s as they begin to get ready for heading on to their next schools. It was a pleasure spending the day with them in lovely windy, sunny conditions.

Farewell P7s
Earlier this week we said goodbye to our P7 class who delivered an impactful final assembly on climate change and the environment. As an eco-school, protecting the environment is a cause very close to our hearts so it is heartening to see that the P7s chose to bring this cause to light.
Although there were some very serious moments, there was also a lot of laughter as they shared their best memories of their time at the school. We finished up with a rousing rendition of ‘Country Roads’ before we handed over to Mr Beattie for the presentation of their leavers folders and awards.
Every P7 left with their framed copper hand that they had created and designed alongside local artist Trudi Burke.
We’d like to wish all our P7s the best in their future endeavours. They have worked so hard this year and we are so proud to send them off into the world knowing that they are such great representatives of our school’s values!
Goodbye class of 2024!

May 2024

P1s visit to Donard Fold
Our P1s are taking part in an “Intergenerational Programme” working with the residents of Donard Fold. The programme aims to teach respect and understanding of different generations and our children loved spending time with the residents.

P7 Victorian Day
P7 class travelled back in time to experience the school day of a Victorian child. From chimney sweeps and maids to wealthy landlords and distinguished gentlemen they certainly looked the part. Under the tutelage of Mr Houlahan they practised their handwriting and mathematics in the Victorian way, I think they’ll be glad to go back to regular lessons on Monday!

Rec/P1 Assembly
Our Reception and P1s put on a wonderful class assembly teaching us all about the importance of pollinators including bees, bats, birds and insects. They even mentioned photosynthesis!
Our Reception and P1s do much of their learning outdoors using our grounds including our polytunnel as well as Donard Forest to embed much of their topic work. We hope by learning outdoors this will foster a life-long respect for our wonderful local environment and all the creatures that inhabit it.
With fantastic costumes and great singing the children informed their audience of P4s to P7s along with parents & carers all about this important work. Thank you Reception and P1s!

Wellbeing Week
Another successful Wellbeing Week at All Children’s. The children enjoyed a wide range of fun-filled activities, promoting the five areas of wellbeing. From art workshops to drumming circles and yoga workshops to Acti-sport sessions the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The children finished off the week with some treats and a movie…ready for their long weekend ahead. Thanks to everyone who helped make the week such a huge success and we look forward to next year.

April 2024

Cycling Proficiency at All Children’s
Great to see the P7s undertaking their cycling proficiency training with Mr Houlahan. A special thanks as well to one of our dads, Mr Mackin from Mourne Cycles who dropped in to help check the bikes. Much appreciated!

First Holy Communion
Congratulations to all our Primary 4s who celebrated their First Holy Communion this month. You were all fantastic!

Kindness Shines Through at P4 Assembly

Thank you to the P4 staff and the P4 class for putting on a super class assembly this morning. On the theme of Kindness the children did a fantastic job explaining all the different ways in which they can show kindness and the importance of this for themselves and others. They sang, acted, told jokes and even line danced to help deliver this importance message. Thank you to everyone who was able to come along to support the children. Awesome assembly P4!

P7 Leavers’ Hoodies
Thank you to our Parents’ Council from our P7s for the wonderful Leavers’ hoodies which arrived today. This year the P7s chose their own colour and they were delighted with what they received today. The hoodies are paid for from Parents Council funds. Thank you!

March 2024

Integrated Education Month and St. Patrick’s Day Assemblies
Yesterday the boys and girls (and P7 parents & carers) attended a super assembly by the P7s to celebrate Integrated Education Month. The P7s informed everyone about the diverse range of sports they played, the meaning and origins of a range of flags, the lives of famous peace makers and they even created their own flags to celebrate all the traditions found here. Thank you p7!
As well as every class doing a workshop to celebrate the life of St. Patrick, today the whole school also headed over to Shimna IC to enjoy a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day assembly. With dancing, traditional music and a modern day re-telling of the life of St Patrick there was something for everyone. Thank you to Shimna Integrated College for the kind invitation and the warm welcome.

Congratulations Jeyda
Congratulations to Jeyda from Primary 7 who was given a ‘Highly Commended’ at the Acts of Kindness Awards on Saturday night at the La Mon Hotel. The Acts of Kindness Awards, run by local mental health charity Hope 4 Life NI, aim to celebrate amazing acts of kindness that local children and young people have shown to others in their families, friends and communities. There are ten categories and this year there were over three hundred nominations.
Jeyda was nominated in the ‘Above and Beyond’ category by her classmates for raising money for Daisy Lodge by walking twenty miles during her breaktimes and lunchtimes. Through this she raised an amazing £390. Jeyda had a wonderful evening supported by her mum, aunt and our own Mrs Veronica Parke and Mrs Debbie Pascoe.
The photo shows Jeyda with Sarah from Hope 4 Life NI

P6 at Belfast Activity Centre Investigators Programme
Plenty of our classes are out and about at present and this week our P6s thoroughly enjoyed their second of five workshops with Belfast Activity Centre. They headed up to Castlewellan Forest Park to develop teamwork skills, carry out some fun investigations (see flyers) and do some open boating on the lake. Thanks to the instructors for making the morning so enjoyable.

Table Tennis at All Children’s
It’s been great having coach Aleks from Table Tennis Ulster in school introducing all our P4s to P7s to table tennis on Wednesday mornings. Aleks will be here for a few more weeks and it’s obvious from the buzz in the assembly hall that many of the children are really enjoying themselves. Thank you Aleks!

February 2024

P3 Assembly
Congratulations to our P3s (and the P3 staff) who put on a lovely assembly all about their current topic on the planets. The audience enjoyed singing, jokes as well as plenty of interesting facts about our solar system. We hope everyone who was able to come along enjoyed themselves and thanks as ever to our PCC who looked after teas and coffees.

NSPCC Speak Up Stay Safe
Lovely to welcome Trish from the NSPCC into All Children’s this morning. Trish has been helping deliver important safeguarding messages to three classes this morning and all children have attended related assemblies over the last week. The NSPCC mascot ‘Buddy’ has been helping as well!

Confirmation and First Confession
Congratulations to those boys and girls from P7 & P3 who recently celebrated their Confirmation and First Confession.

June 2024

All Children’s win Newcastle Schools Tennis Tournament
Congratulations to Levon, Joshua, Jonah and Robbie who took part in the annual Newcastle Tennis Club competition for local primary schools and all came away with gold medals. Great playing guys!

P2 Assembly
P2 did a wonderful assembly sharing all their learning about animals and the farm. They said a lovely poem showing everyone the Makaton signs for each animal. They told us some super animal facts, then acted out their favourite farm story ‘Farmer Duck’! Soon they will go on their school trip to learn even more about the farm. Well done P2!

P7s climb Slieve Donard
A big well done to all our wonderful P7s who climbed Slieve Donard on Friday. This has become a rite of passage for our P7s as they begin to get ready for heading on to their next schools. It was a pleasure spending the day with them in lovely windy, sunny conditions.

Farewell P7s
Earlier this week we said goodbye to our P7 class who delivered an impactful final assembly on climate change and the environment. As an eco-school, protecting the environment is a cause very close to our hearts so it is heartening to see that the P7s chose to bring this cause to light.
Although there were some very serious moments, there was also a lot of laughter as they shared their best memories of their time at the school. We finished up with a rousing rendition of ‘Country Roads’ before we handed over to Mr Beattie for the presentation of their leavers folders and awards.
Every P7 left with their framed copper hand that they had created and designed alongside local artist Trudi Burke.
We’d like to wish all our P7s the best in their future endeavours. They have worked so hard this year and we are so proud to send them off into the world knowing that they are such great representatives of our school’s values!
Goodbye class of 2024!

May 2024

P1s visit to Donard Fold
Our P1s are taking part in an “Intergenerational Programme” working with the residents of Donard Fold. The programme aims to teach respect and understanding of different generations and our children loved spending time with the residents.

P7 Victorian Day
P7 class travelled back in time to experience the school day of a Victorian child. From chimney sweeps and maids to wealthy landlords and distinguished gentlemen they certainly looked the part. Under the tutelage of Mr Houlahan they practised their handwriting and mathematics in the Victorian way, I think they’ll be glad to go back to regular lessons on Monday!

Rec/P1 Assembly
Our Reception and P1s put on a wonderful class assembly teaching us all about the importance of pollinators including bees, bats, birds and insects. They even mentioned photosynthesis!
Our Reception and P1s do much of their learning outdoors using our grounds including our polytunnel as well as Donard Forest to embed much of their topic work. We hope by learning outdoors this will foster a life-long respect for our wonderful local environment and all the creatures that inhabit it.
With fantastic costumes and great singing the children informed their audience of P4s to P7s along with parents & carers all about this important work. Thank you Reception and P1s!

Wellbeing Week
Another successful Wellbeing Week at All Children’s. The children enjoyed a wide range of fun-filled activities, promoting the five areas of wellbeing. From art workshops to drumming circles and yoga workshops to Acti-sport sessions the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The children finished off the week with some treats and a movie…ready for their long weekend ahead. Thanks to everyone who helped make the week such a huge success and we look forward to next year.

April 2024

Cycling Proficiency at All Children’s
Great to see the P7s undertaking their cycling proficiency training with Mr Houlahan. A special thanks as well to one of our dads, Mr Mackin from Mourne Cycles who dropped in to help check the bikes. Much appreciated!

First Holy Communion
Congratulations to all our Primary 4s who celebrated their First Holy Communion this month. You were all fantastic!

Kindness Shines Through at P4 Assembly

Thank you to the P4 staff and the P4 class for putting on a super class assembly this morning. On the theme of Kindness the children did a fantastic job explaining all the different ways in which they can show kindness and the importance of this for themselves and others. They sang, acted, told jokes and even line danced to help deliver this importance message. Thank you to everyone who was able to come along to support the children. Awesome assembly P4!

P7 Leavers’ Hoodies
Thank you to our Parents’ Council from our P7s for the wonderful Leavers’ hoodies which arrived today. This year the P7s chose their own colour and they were delighted with what they received today. The hoodies are paid for from Parents Council funds. Thank you!

March 2024

Integrated Education Month and St. Patrick’s Day Assemblies
Yesterday the boys and girls (and P7 parents & carers) attended a super assembly by the P7s to celebrate Integrated Education Month. The P7s informed everyone about the diverse range of sports they played, the meaning and origins of a range of flags, the lives of famous peace makers and they even created their own flags to celebrate all the traditions found here. Thank you p7!
As well as every class doing a workshop to celebrate the life of St. Patrick, today the whole school also headed over to Shimna IC to enjoy a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day assembly. With dancing, traditional music and a modern day re-telling of the life of St Patrick there was something for everyone. Thank you to Shimna Integrated College for the kind invitation and the warm welcome.

Congratulations Jeyda
Congratulations to Jeyda from Primary 7 who was given a ‘Highly Commended’ at the Acts of Kindness Awards on Saturday night at the La Mon Hotel. The Acts of Kindness Awards, run by local mental health charity Hope 4 Life NI, aim to celebrate amazing acts of kindness that local children and young people have shown to others in their families, friends and communities. There are ten categories and this year there were over three hundred nominations.
Jeyda was nominated in the ‘Above and Beyond’ category by her classmates for raising money for Daisy Lodge by walking twenty miles during her breaktimes and lunchtimes. Through this she raised an amazing £390. Jeyda had a wonderful evening supported by her mum, aunt and our own Mrs Veronica Parke and Mrs Debbie Pascoe.
The photo shows Jeyda with Sarah from Hope 4 Life NI

P6 at Belfast Activity Centre Investigators Programme
Plenty of our classes are out and about at present and this week our P6s thoroughly enjoyed their second of five workshops with Belfast Activity Centre. They headed up to Castlewellan Forest Park to develop teamwork skills, carry out some fun investigations (see flyers) and do some open boating on the lake. Thanks to the instructors for making the morning so enjoyable.

Table Tennis at All Children’s
It’s been great having coach Aleks from Table Tennis Ulster in school introducing all our P4s to P7s to table tennis on Wednesday mornings. Aleks will be here for a few more weeks and it’s obvious from the buzz in the assembly hall that many of the children are really enjoying themselves. Thank you Aleks!

February 2024

P3 Assembly
Congratulations to our P3s (and the P3 staff) who put on a lovely assembly all about their current topic on the planets. The audience enjoyed singing, jokes as well as plenty of interesting facts about our solar system. We hope everyone who was able to come along enjoyed themselves and thanks as ever to our PCC who looked after teas and coffees.

NSPCC Speak Up Stay Safe
Lovely to welcome Trish from the NSPCC into All Children’s this morning. Trish has been helping deliver important safeguarding messages to three classes this morning and all children have attended related assemblies over the last week. The NSPCC mascot ‘Buddy’ has been helping as well!

Confirmation and First Confession
Congratulations to those boys and girls from P7 & P3 who recently celebrated their Confirmation and First Confession.

January 2024

UEFA Disney Playmakers Soccer Programme for our P2s and P3s

We were delighted to welcome Amy McGivern from the Irish Football Association to All Children’s earlier today. Amy will be running 8 soccer workshops for our P2s and P3s starting at the end of January. The workshops will actually combine Disney stories and football as a way of helping engage everyone. Watch this space for further details in the weeks ahead.

Primary 1 have been finding out about the Weather

Primary 1 have been studying Rainbows and the Weather during January. Incy Wincy Spider has also been making quite a few appearances. The photos show many of the classroom experiences in P1 and how they help develop so many different areas of learning.

Latest WAGOLL winners

Congratulations to the boys and girls whose work was selected as WAGOLL (What a Good One Looks Like) winners. Here they are proudly presenting their certificates and work. Great work everyone!

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December 2023

Choir Christmas Carol Visits

Our Choir made various visits to local care homes and churches to sing Christmas Carols. We were immensely proud of the children both for their brilliant singing and their exemplary behaviour. They are pictured here at Newcastle Methodist Church with Mrs McConnell (our choir co-ordinator)

Christmas Plays

We hope everyone who was able to come along to ‘The Sleepy Shepherd’ and ‘The Inn-Spectors’ had a great time enjoying our wonderful Reception to Primary 4 children perform their nativity plays.

Down Primary Schools Cross Country Race – 6th December

A report from our cross country coach Mr Rodgers!
29 spirited souls descended on a damp and cold Donard Park on Monday morning to participate in the 2nd round of the Down Primary Schools Cross Country League. Four races took place: girls’ and boys’ Fun Runs and girls’ and boys’ main race. Everyone finished strongly and returned to school upbeat to thaw out.
Morning athletics training continues each Wednesday morning at 8.00am for P6 and P7 children and we hope to participate in a ‘parkrun’ event when the warmer days return.
Congratulations to everyone who took part in very testing conditions.

Life in Reception & Primary 1

It’s been another busy few weeks in Reception & P1 with plenty of topic work on ‘People Who Help Us’ and of course getting ready for Christmas. Next week is a big week for many of the children when they perform their nativity play. Hopefully these photos show just how engaged the children continue to be with their learning and development.

October 2023

P7s at Tollymore Outdoor Centre
We are so fortunate to be close to our National Outdoor Centre. This means that our P7s can travel up once per month for a half day workshop helping them foster a wide range of outdoor skills, develop resilience and teamwork skills all in our wonderful local environment. The workshops also help them get ready for a three day residential (at Tollymore NOC) in May. Today the class had a Leave No Trace workshop following trails in Tollymore Forest and enjoying some bushcraft including hot chocolate and marshmallows! We particularly hope that these experiences will help them care for our beautiful local environment. Thank you Tollymore National Outdoor Centre for a great afternoon.

Afterschool Clubs
We are delighted to be able to offer a wide range of after-school clubs here at All Children’s. With two weeks of this term’s programme nearly over we also have lots of photographs to show the Ninja, Irish Dancing, Drumming/Circus Skills, Football, Tennis, Arts & Crafts, Gardening, Mountaineering at Tollymore NOC and Multi-Sports Clubs in action! Thank you to all our coaches and leaders for doing such a great job.

Halloween Disco 
On Friday 27th October our Parents Council ran a Halloween fancy dress disco for the children as well as a Pumpkin competition.
Thank you to everyone who helped the children with their wonderful Halloween/Autumn costumes. Well done as well to Jack from P2 who came in as Tom Cruise from Top Gun and to Jack’s grandad who did such a great job with the plane! We hope the children enjoyed the discos and thank you to our PCC, Mrs Cowan and to Tesco (who donated some of the tuck) for doing such a great job. Below are a some class photos of the children in their fancy dress outfits as well as a few photos of the fantastic pumpkin designs….

September 2023

First Assembly of the new School Year
Thursday Assembly & Pupil of the Week

Each Thursday at our school assembly we love to present small certificates & pencils to one child from each class who has done really well during the week. We like to reward not only good work but also great manners, showing respect to others, showing kindness, a willingness to help others and even offering to help tidy up after art! Well done to our first set of winners! We also make a point throughout the year to ‘catch everyone being good’ to ensure all the children get a chance to be celebrated.

Starting School Resources from CCEA
Photos show our P1s fully engaged in play during lovely weather last week.

P7 Visitors

Primary 7 have had several visitors running workshops today. This morning they welcomed Campbell and Onya from Hope 4 Life NI. Hope4Life is a mental health charity that uses comics to help aid discussions on a range of issues to help promote better wellbeing. Today the workshop focussed on dealing with cyber-bullying as well as the difference between hate speech and free speech. During the year Hope4Life will run a number of these workshops with our P7s.
Then this afternoon we welcomed back Claire Hardy from Tollymore National Outdoor Centre. Claire came into All Children’s to speak to the P7s about the outdoor programme we run for them with Tollymore. Once a month on Thursdays afternoons throughout the year we bring them up to the Centre to develop their mountaineering /teamwork skills, mountain biking and kayaking skills as well as introduce them to climbing either on the climbing wall at Tollymore or outdoors. They also learn about the wonderful variety of habitats in the Mournes and the importance of ‘Leave No Trace’ principles. The club has been a great success in previous years and we are planning to run it again this year.

P7 Three Churches Project

During the school year our P7s visit three local churches in Newcastle including Our Lady of the Assumption (Parish of Maghera D&C), St. John’s Church of Ireland (St John’s Parish Church Newcastle Co Down) and Newcastle Presbyterian (Newcastle Presbyterian Church). They do this as part of their Key Stage 2 (P5-P7) RE programme which also includes workshops on Humanism, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism.
Today the class attended a Beginning of Year Mass for local primary schools and then had a tour of the church. We hope that these visits will help them deepen their understanding of the connections between all the churches and other faiths. Thank you as ever to Our Lady of the Assumption for making them feel so welcome.

June 2023

P7 Leavers
 It is almost time for us to say goodbye to our P7s. They spent the day on Friday working with Trudy Burke from “The Ash Galleries and Studio” making their copper hands. This has been a tradition in All Children’s IPS for many years and the hands are framed and given to the children at their Leavers Assembley on Tuesday (27th). Thank you as always to Trudi for leading this activity.

P7 Donard Trek…from Classroom to Summit
Very well done to our P7s who walked from the school to the summit of Slieve Donard on Wednesday (21st). This is no mean feat for 11 year olds and we were all very impressed with their determination to reach the top. The weather was kind for most of the day and hopefully the children will have some fond memories of their last days in All Children’s. Thank you to Tollymore Outdoor Centre for facilitating the walk.

NI Children’s Hospice
It was super to welcome Michael Nugent from the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice to our assembly to receive a cheque for £1150.00. This amazing amount was raised through our Elmer work which our current and last year’s P1 and Reception were involved. Activities included a Tea Party, making and selling decorative stones, and selling plants. Thank you to everyone who supported this very worthwhile charity throughout the year

YeHa
Last week our P5, P6 & P7 classes put on 3 amazing performances of “YeHa”. The children (and staff) put alot of work into these perfomances and it was a pleasure watching the children enjoy entertaining the audiences. The standard of acting and the children’s attitude towards the play has been superb and they all seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves…they made us laugh and smile everytime. Well done everyone!

Sports Day & Summer Fete
On Friday 9th June we held our annual Sports Day in the morning and this was followed by the Summer Fete. A great day was had by all and the weather was very kind. Thank you to Mr Rodgers for organising Sports Day and to our wonderful Parents Council for organising a very successful Summer Fete.

May 2023

P2 Drumming and Music Workshop
It was wonderful to have one of our P2 parents, Mr Dumangane return to All Children’s today to run an outdoor drumming and music workshop. Mr Dumangane also ran a cookery workshop before Christmas. The P2s were clearly having a fantastic time having brought their own drums and percussion instruments. Thank you Mr Dumangane

Cricket Coaching
Thanks to a grant from the Integrated Education Fund, we are able to offer Cricket coaching to our P4-P7 classes during the summer term. The P6s and P7s have been thoroughly enjoying their coaching sessions with the coaches from Dundrum Cricket Club.

P7 Residential – Tollymore OC

Our P7s enjoyed a great few days on their residential to Tollymore Outdoor Centre. After an unsettled start the weather finally turned and the children had a great day out on Strangford lough where they canoed to Salt Island and back…well done to all. The residential finished on Friday and the kids are back safe and sound with great stories and memories of their time away!

June 2024

All Children’s win Newcastle Schools Tennis Tournament
Congratulations to Levon, Joshua, Jonah and Robbie who took part in the annual Newcastle Tennis Club competition for local primary schools and all came away with gold medals. Great playing guys!

P2 Assembly
P2 did a wonderful assembly sharing all their learning about animals and the farm. They said a lovely poem showing everyone the Makaton signs for each animal. They told us some super animal facts, then acted out their favourite farm story ‘Farmer Duck’! Soon they will go on their school trip to learn even more about the farm. Well done P2!

P7s climb Slieve Donard
A big well done to all our wonderful P7s who climbed Slieve Donard on Friday. This has become a rite of passage for our P7s as they begin to get ready for heading on to their next schools. It was a pleasure spending the day with them in lovely windy, sunny conditions.

Farewell P7s
Earlier this week we said goodbye to our P7 class who delivered an impactful final assembly on climate change and the environment. As an eco-school, protecting the environment is a cause very close to our hearts so it is heartening to see that the P7s chose to bring this cause to light.
Although there were some very serious moments, there was also a lot of laughter as they shared their best memories of their time at the school. We finished up with a rousing rendition of ‘Country Roads’ before we handed over to Mr Beattie for the presentation of their leavers folders and awards.
Every P7 left with their framed copper hand that they had created and designed alongside local artist Trudi Burke.
We’d like to wish all our P7s the best in their future endeavours. They have worked so hard this year and we are so proud to send them off into the world knowing that they are such great representatives of our school’s values!
Goodbye class of 2024!

May 2024

P1s visit to Donard Fold
Our P1s are taking part in an “Intergenerational Programme” working with the residents of Donard Fold. The programme aims to teach respect and understanding of different generations and our children loved spending time with the residents.

P7 Victorian Day
P7 class travelled back in time to experience the school day of a Victorian child. From chimney sweeps and maids to wealthy landlords and distinguished gentlemen they certainly looked the part. Under the tutelage of Mr Houlahan they practised their handwriting and mathematics in the Victorian way, I think they’ll be glad to go back to regular lessons on Monday!

Rec/P1 Assembly
Our Reception and P1s put on a wonderful class assembly teaching us all about the importance of pollinators including bees, bats, birds and insects. They even mentioned photosynthesis!
Our Reception and P1s do much of their learning outdoors using our grounds including our polytunnel as well as Donard Forest to embed much of their topic work. We hope by learning outdoors this will foster a life-long respect for our wonderful local environment and all the creatures that inhabit it.
With fantastic costumes and great singing the children informed their audience of P4s to P7s along with parents & carers all about this important work. Thank you Reception and P1s!

Wellbeing Week
Another successful Wellbeing Week at All Children’s. The children enjoyed a wide range of fun-filled activities, promoting the five areas of wellbeing. From art workshops to drumming circles and yoga workshops to Acti-sport sessions the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The children finished off the week with some treats and a movie…ready for their long weekend ahead. Thanks to everyone who helped make the week such a huge success and we look forward to next year.

April 2024

Cycling Proficiency at All Children’s
Great to see the P7s undertaking their cycling proficiency training with Mr Houlahan. A special thanks as well to one of our dads, Mr Mackin from Mourne Cycles who dropped in to help check the bikes. Much appreciated!

First Holy Communion
Congratulations to all our Primary 4s who celebrated their First Holy Communion this month. You were all fantastic!

Kindness Shines Through at P4 Assembly

Thank you to the P4 staff and the P4 class for putting on a super class assembly this morning. On the theme of Kindness the children did a fantastic job explaining all the different ways in which they can show kindness and the importance of this for themselves and others. They sang, acted, told jokes and even line danced to help deliver this importance message. Thank you to everyone who was able to come along to support the children. Awesome assembly P4!

P7 Leavers’ Hoodies
Thank you to our Parents’ Council from our P7s for the wonderful Leavers’ hoodies which arrived today. This year the P7s chose their own colour and they were delighted with what they received today. The hoodies are paid for from Parents Council funds. Thank you!

March 2024

Integrated Education Month and St. Patrick’s Day Assemblies
Yesterday the boys and girls (and P7 parents & carers) attended a super assembly by the P7s to celebrate Integrated Education Month. The P7s informed everyone about the diverse range of sports they played, the meaning and origins of a range of flags, the lives of famous peace makers and they even created their own flags to celebrate all the traditions found here. Thank you p7!
As well as every class doing a workshop to celebrate the life of St. Patrick, today the whole school also headed over to Shimna IC to enjoy a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day assembly. With dancing, traditional music and a modern day re-telling of the life of St Patrick there was something for everyone. Thank you to Shimna Integrated College for the kind invitation and the warm welcome.

Congratulations Jeyda
Congratulations to Jeyda from Primary 7 who was given a ‘Highly Commended’ at the Acts of Kindness Awards on Saturday night at the La Mon Hotel. The Acts of Kindness Awards, run by local mental health charity Hope 4 Life NI, aim to celebrate amazing acts of kindness that local children and young people have shown to others in their families, friends and communities. There are ten categories and this year there were over three hundred nominations.
Jeyda was nominated in the ‘Above and Beyond’ category by her classmates for raising money for Daisy Lodge by walking twenty miles during her breaktimes and lunchtimes. Through this she raised an amazing £390. Jeyda had a wonderful evening supported by her mum, aunt and our own Mrs Veronica Parke and Mrs Debbie Pascoe.
The photo shows Jeyda with Sarah from Hope 4 Life NI

P6 at Belfast Activity Centre Investigators Programme
Plenty of our classes are out and about at present and this week our P6s thoroughly enjoyed their second of five workshops with Belfast Activity Centre. They headed up to Castlewellan Forest Park to develop teamwork skills, carry out some fun investigations (see flyers) and do some open boating on the lake. Thanks to the instructors for making the morning so enjoyable.

Table Tennis at All Children’s
It’s been great having coach Aleks from Table Tennis Ulster in school introducing all our P4s to P7s to table tennis on Wednesday mornings. Aleks will be here for a few more weeks and it’s obvious from the buzz in the assembly hall that many of the children are really enjoying themselves. Thank you Aleks!

February 2024

P3 Assembly
Congratulations to our P3s (and the P3 staff) who put on a lovely assembly all about their current topic on the planets. The audience enjoyed singing, jokes as well as plenty of interesting facts about our solar system. We hope everyone who was able to come along enjoyed themselves and thanks as ever to our PCC who looked after teas and coffees.

NSPCC Speak Up Stay Safe
Lovely to welcome Trish from the NSPCC into All Children’s this morning. Trish has been helping deliver important safeguarding messages to three classes this morning and all children have attended related assemblies over the last week. The NSPCC mascot ‘Buddy’ has been helping as well!

Confirmation and First Confession
Congratulations to those boys and girls from P7 & P3 who recently celebrated their Confirmation and First Confession.

January 2024

UEFA Disney Playmakers Soccer Programme for our P2s and P3s

We were delighted to welcome Amy McGivern from the Irish Football Association to All Children’s earlier today. Amy will be running 8 soccer workshops for our P2s and P3s starting at the end of January. The workshops will actually combine Disney stories and football as a way of helping engage everyone. Watch this space for further details in the weeks ahead.

Primary 1 have been finding out about the Weather

Primary 1 have been studying Rainbows and the Weather during January. Incy Wincy Spider has also been making quite a few appearances. The photos show many of the classroom experiences in P1 and how they help develop so many different areas of learning.

Latest WAGOLL winners

Congratulations to the boys and girls whose work was selected as WAGOLL (What a Good One Looks Like) winners. Here they are proudly presenting their certificates and work. Great work everyone!

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December 2023

Choir Christmas Carol Visits

Our Choir made various visits to local care homes and churches to sing Christmas Carols. We were immensely proud of the children both for their brilliant singing and their exemplary behaviour. They are pictured here at Newcastle Methodist Church with Mrs McConnell (our choir co-ordinator)

Christmas Plays

We hope everyone who was able to come along to ‘The Sleepy Shepherd’ and ‘The Inn-Spectors’ had a great time enjoying our wonderful Reception to Primary 4 children perform their nativity plays.

Down Primary Schools Cross Country Race – 6th December

A report from our cross country coach Mr Rodgers!
29 spirited souls descended on a damp and cold Donard Park on Monday morning to participate in the 2nd round of the Down Primary Schools Cross Country League. Four races took place: girls’ and boys’ Fun Runs and girls’ and boys’ main race. Everyone finished strongly and returned to school upbeat to thaw out.
Morning athletics training continues each Wednesday morning at 8.00am for P6 and P7 children and we hope to participate in a ‘parkrun’ event when the warmer days return.
Congratulations to everyone who took part in very testing conditions.

Life in Reception & Primary 1

It’s been another busy few weeks in Reception & P1 with plenty of topic work on ‘People Who Help Us’ and of course getting ready for Christmas. Next week is a big week for many of the children when they perform their nativity play. Hopefully these photos show just how engaged the children continue to be with their learning and development.

October 2023

P7s at Tollymore Outdoor Centre
We are so fortunate to be close to our National Outdoor Centre. This means that our P7s can travel up once per month for a half day workshop helping them foster a wide range of outdoor skills, develop resilience and teamwork skills all in our wonderful local environment. The workshops also help them get ready for a three day residential (at Tollymore NOC) in May. Today the class had a Leave No Trace workshop following trails in Tollymore Forest and enjoying some bushcraft including hot chocolate and marshmallows! We particularly hope that these experiences will help them care for our beautiful local environment. Thank you Tollymore National Outdoor Centre for a great afternoon.

Afterschool Clubs
We are delighted to be able to offer a wide range of after-school clubs here at All Children’s. With two weeks of this term’s programme nearly over we also have lots of photographs to show the Ninja, Irish Dancing, Drumming/Circus Skills, Football, Tennis, Arts & Crafts, Gardening, Mountaineering at Tollymore NOC and Multi-Sports Clubs in action! Thank you to all our coaches and leaders for doing such a great job.

Halloween Disco 
On Friday 27th October our Parents Council ran a Halloween fancy dress disco for the children as well as a Pumpkin competition.
Thank you to everyone who helped the children with their wonderful Halloween/Autumn costumes. Well done as well to Jack from P2 who came in as Tom Cruise from Top Gun and to Jack’s grandad who did such a great job with the plane! We hope the children enjoyed the discos and thank you to our PCC, Mrs Cowan and to Tesco (who donated some of the tuck) for doing such a great job. Below are a some class photos of the children in their fancy dress outfits as well as a few photos of the fantastic pumpkin designs….

September 2023

First Assembly of the new School Year
Thursday Assembly & Pupil of the Week

Each Thursday at our school assembly we love to present small certificates & pencils to one child from each class who has done really well during the week. We like to reward not only good work but also great manners, showing respect to others, showing kindness, a willingness to help others and even offering to help tidy up after art! Well done to our first set of winners! We also make a point throughout the year to ‘catch everyone being good’ to ensure all the children get a chance to be celebrated.

Starting School Resources from CCEA
Photos show our P1s fully engaged in play during lovely weather last week.

P7 Visitors

Primary 7 have had several visitors running workshops today. This morning they welcomed Campbell and Onya from Hope 4 Life NI. Hope4Life is a mental health charity that uses comics to help aid discussions on a range of issues to help promote better wellbeing. Today the workshop focussed on dealing with cyber-bullying as well as the difference between hate speech and free speech. During the year Hope4Life will run a number of these workshops with our P7s.
Then this afternoon we welcomed back Claire Hardy from Tollymore National Outdoor Centre. Claire came into All Children’s to speak to the P7s about the outdoor programme we run for them with Tollymore. Once a month on Thursdays afternoons throughout the year we bring them up to the Centre to develop their mountaineering /teamwork skills, mountain biking and kayaking skills as well as introduce them to climbing either on the climbing wall at Tollymore or outdoors. They also learn about the wonderful variety of habitats in the Mournes and the importance of ‘Leave No Trace’ principles. The club has been a great success in previous years and we are planning to run it again this year.

P7 Three Churches Project

During the school year our P7s visit three local churches in Newcastle including Our Lady of the Assumption (Parish of Maghera D&C), St. John’s Church of Ireland (St John’s Parish Church Newcastle Co Down) and Newcastle Presbyterian (Newcastle Presbyterian Church). They do this as part of their Key Stage 2 (P5-P7) RE programme which also includes workshops on Humanism, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism.
Today the class attended a Beginning of Year Mass for local primary schools and then had a tour of the church. We hope that these visits will help them deepen their understanding of the connections between all the churches and other faiths. Thank you as ever to Our Lady of the Assumption for making them feel so welcome.

June 2023

P7 Leavers
 It is almost time for us to say goodbye to our P7s. They spent the day on Friday working with Trudy Burke from “The Ash Galleries and Studio” making their copper hands. This has been a tradition in All Children’s IPS for many years and the hands are framed and given to the children at their Leavers Assembley on Tuesday (27th). Thank you as always to Trudi for leading this activity.

P7 Donard Trek…from Classroom to Summit
Very well done to our P7s who walked from the school to the summit of Slieve Donard on Wednesday (21st). This is no mean feat for 11 year olds and we were all very impressed with their determination to reach the top. The weather was kind for most of the day and hopefully the children will have some fond memories of their last days in All Children’s. Thank you to Tollymore Outdoor Centre for facilitating the walk.

NI Children’s Hospice
It was super to welcome Michael Nugent from the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice to our assembly to receive a cheque for £1150.00. This amazing amount was raised through our Elmer work which our current and last year’s P1 and Reception were involved. Activities included a Tea Party, making and selling decorative stones, and selling plants. Thank you to everyone who supported this very worthwhile charity throughout the year

YeHa
Last week our P5, P6 & P7 classes put on 3 amazing performances of “YeHa”. The children (and staff) put alot of work into these perfomances and it was a pleasure watching the children enjoy entertaining the audiences. The standard of acting and the children’s attitude towards the play has been superb and they all seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves…they made us laugh and smile everytime. Well done everyone!

Sports Day & Summer Fete
On Friday 9th June we held our annual Sports Day in the morning and this was followed by the Summer Fete. A great day was had by all and the weather was very kind. Thank you to Mr Rodgers for organising Sports Day and to our wonderful Parents Council for organising a very successful Summer Fete.

May 2023

P2 Drumming and Music Workshop
It was wonderful to have one of our P2 parents, Mr Dumangane return to All Children’s today to run an outdoor drumming and music workshop. Mr Dumangane also ran a cookery workshop before Christmas. The P2s were clearly having a fantastic time having brought their own drums and percussion instruments. Thank you Mr Dumangane

Cricket Coaching
Thanks to a grant from the Integrated Education Fund, we are able to offer Cricket coaching to our P4-P7 classes during the summer term. The P6s and P7s have been thoroughly enjoying their coaching sessions with the coaches from Dundrum Cricket Club.

P7 Residential – Tollymore OC

Our P7s enjoyed a great few days on their residential to Tollymore Outdoor Centre. After an unsettled start the weather finally turned and the children had a great day out on Strangford lough where they canoed to Salt Island and back…well done to all. The residential finished on Friday and the kids are back safe and sound with great stories and memories of their time away!

April 2023

Happy Easter from All Children’s IPS
Great to be able to bring some of our choir to River House yesterday to sing for the residents and thank you to them for making us so welcome and for all the lovely treats for the children. Easter is almost here and it has been fantastic seeing the Easter art being made around the school. Here are Cara, Tom and Tilly showing off the beautiful work they have produced.

Good Friday Agreement Workshops
With the 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement next week, our older children have been finding out about how it came about and its importance for everyone who lives here.
The small drawings were made by our P3s only last week when they were asked to imagine going to the moon and planting a flag just like Neil Armstrong. Lots of the flags showed off the children’s own designs while others represented the two main communities in Northern Ireland.
As an integrated primary school we feel strongly that everyone’s beliefs and culture should be celebrated and valued to ensure all our pupils grow up to be at ease and interested in the backgrounds of everyone who lives here.

Hope4Life Awards
Fantastic evening last night at the Hope4Life Acts of Kindness Awards at the Stormont Hotel. Hope4Life is a mental health charity working with 28,000 children and young people across Northern Ireland and have been delivering mental health & wellbeing workshops to our P7s for a number of years.
Two of our fabulous P7s, Lucy and Sean were nominated for an award and we were delighted that they both received highly commended prizes for a number of generous deeds and acts of kindness they have shown towards others both in and out of school. Well done to Sean and Lucy; we are very proud of you!
Here they are with Mr Houlahan, enjoying their big night out.

A copy of the Board of Governors Annual report 2022/23 is available from the school office.

Excellence in Integrated Education Award

We are delighted to announce that NICIE (Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education) have awarded All Children’s IPS an Excellence in Integrated Education Award. This award recognises if a school has a highly developed integrated ethos and can demonstrate the essential elements of being a good integrated school including promoting equality, promoting respect for those of different beliefs and none, high levels of parental involvement and promoting social responsibility. Since it began in 2010 there have only been a handful of schools recognised for this prestigious award.

The award comes at the end of a four-year project to ensure all the key areas were developed across the school. A particular thank you to Mrs McConville who has led this work. We will receive a detailed report on our work later in January and there will also be a special presentation ceremony later in the year. Congratulations as well to Shimna IC who were also given the award just before Christmas.

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