2009 Term 2 Magazine - Hazelwood Integrated College

Term 2: 2008–2009 Issue No. 175

Term 2
Careers events you may be interested in:
The Academy
of Hai & Beauty
will be having an Open Day on
Thursday 12th March
Page 2
For all Engineers
BomBArdier AerospAce, Belfast is
currently advertising for Engineering Apprenticeship.
The positions currently available are Technical
Engineering Trainee Programme and Craft Trainee
Programme. The application is available on line at
www.theflightexperience.com and the closing date is
Friday 20th March. Bombardier are also holding an
‘Open Evening’ to offer more information about the
training programmes on Thursday 12th March 6pm
– 8pm at Interpoint, York Street Belfast.
Anyone interested in any of the above please
speak to Karen.
Belfast Metropolitan College
Are hosting an Information & Advice
Day on Thursday 2nd April 11am – 8pm.

Hazelwood student wins bursary
Lee Stitt, an A2 Moving Image Arts
student at Hazelwood College, has
received one the inaugural Carson
Bursaries through the Integrated Education
Fund. The scheme was set up by Northern
Ireland comedy legend Frank Carson with his
son Tony. It provides young creative talent the
opportunity to demonstrate what integration
means to them.
After receiving a £1,000 bursary, Lee put the
money to good use and bought a MacBook
Pro to help with the editing of his proposed
short film. “The idea is to show how people’s
priorities can become skewed during their life”
Lee explained. “A young girl reflects on a piece
of advice given to her by her mother, through
the analogy of Life In A Jar she is encouraged
to explore themes of acceptance, integration,
consumerism and sharing”.
Lee said. “I am very grateful to the Carson
Bursaries and the IEF for giving me this opportunity.
Getting a MacBook Pro means I can edit
my films at home, I hope this will enable me to
both create better work and to build up a strong
portfolio to help me get into university.”
“The fact that Hazelwood has a specialism in
Digital Arts encouraged me to take Moving Arts
as a subject in the first place. Now I can’t imagine
myself studying anything else at University.
During the past two years I’ve received a lot of
advice in Moving Image Arts on how to come
up with ideas and develop, film and edit them
to create short films.
Since Hazelwood became a specialist school,
you can see that students are now using a lot
more software packages, and at an earlier stage. I
hope that the younger students are able to take
advantage of this opportunity to develop in film
and digital arts in the same way I have”
Jennifer Johnston, Head of Moving Image Arts
Achievement soars as
specialism develops
In 2007–2008 at A’ Level the 100% 1+ passes of the previous
year was maintained, the number of students achieving 2+
passes increased from 85% to 98% and those with 3+ passes
leapt from 47% to 70%. This represents a significant improvement.
Of particular note are the Moving Image Arts results. They were
outstanding again in this only the second year at A2 - 100% pass
rate with all students achieving a grade A or B. This is clear evidence
that our Specialist School status in this field is greatly enhancing the
achievement of students.
High levels of achievement were echoed at AS with examinations
taken by Year 13 students in 16 subjects and all students achieving
at least one A-E grade. Once again the results in Moving Image Arts
were outstanding with all students achieving an A-C grade.
The GCSE results soared once again with the overall % 5 A*- C
grades having risen by 6% from 55% to 61%.
Page 3
Term 2
In terms of students achieving 5A*-C GCSE grades the recent trend
of girls significantly out performing boys was reversed with boys leading
the way this year. This is clear evidence that the work of Glenn
Simpson on Raising Boy’s Achievement as part of our specialism has
without doubt had an impact and we sincerely hope that this progress
continues next year and beyond.
GCSE results information just received last week from Northern
Regional College once again highlights the success of Hazelwood
students. In Year 12 sixteen students are achieving at or beyond grade
C level with just half the course complete. At Year 11 similar results
were achieved with approximately 25% of the course complete.
It is clear that the breadth of curriculum and particularly the development
of courses in the field of Digital and Moving Image Arts is
creating opportunities for everyone to be challenged and experience
success.

Term 2
Hazelwood student wins major award
R
yan Quigley, 13W, was
awarded the Educational
Achiever Award at the
Annual Prince’s Trust Award
Ceremony. This award celebrates
young people who, against all odds,
overcome barriers to develop
educational skills.
Ryan started Hazelwood with
low self esteem and found school a
challenge. He joined the Hazelwood
GCSE xl Programme, and flourished.
The xl Programme involves team
building and life-skills. This ‘hands on’
approach to learning suited Ryan.
In his first year of xl Ryan’s team
organised three fund raising events
for the local community and won
a prestigious Community Impact
Award with the Princes’ Trust.
Now, in Year 13, Ryan is a
leader. He monitors young students
and guides them on the path
to achievement. Ryan has been
asked to work with the Odyssey
Events Management Team to set
up a major event in spring 2009.
Ryan’s success against the odds
makes him a good role model for
our younger students.
Congratulations Ryan
Frances Shannon
Below, Susanne McFarland,
Ryan Quigley,
Debbi Gilmore
and Frances Shannon
with their awards
HRH Prince Charles congratulates Ryan Quigley on his award
Page 4
Photo credit: Colin Grainger

Somme Heritage Centre
As the long month of
January drew to a close,
Year 10 students still had
one thing to look forward to: the annual
Somme Heritage Centre visits.
As part of our History curriculum,
Year 10 students study the outbreak
of World War 1, the early battles and
life in the trenches of the Western
Front. Most importantly they look at
the sacrifices made by young men
responding to Lord Kitchener’s call for
‘citizen armies’ and volunteers.
The Somme Heritage Centre
examines Ireland’s part in the war and,
in particular, the local contribution of
both communities in the Battle of the
Somme in1916. The centre uses a
‘Time Tunnel’ and trained guides take
students back to that time, retracing
the steps of volunteers from the
recruitment office to the battlefield.
This year saw Marcus Mackin and
Shannon Biggerstaf (10H) bluff their
way into the army, with more than
few white lies about their dates of
Year 8 library visits
During November and
December Year 8 classes
had the opportunity to
visit the library in the newly built
£22 million Grove Wellbeing
Centre which opened in May
this year.
The librarian, Diane Lee, gave
the Year 8s a tour around the
library, explained how to become
a member and how to use the
hi-tech self-issuing system for
borrowing books. Students also
participated in various activities
birth, and Kyle Whiteside find out
that it wasn’t as easy to fire a rifle as
he expected. In fact Kyle was nearly
outdone by his left-handed, female
counterpart Jordan McGuckin! Not
all of the girls were as brave a Jordan
however and the tour around the
reconstructed front-line trench and
no man’s land was met with the
usual chorus of screams with the
expectation of trench rats around
every corner!
On a more sombre note, the children
scanned the lists of local dead for
their surnames and frequently found
their own, making the weapons talk
all the more poignant. Many students
went home with questions to ask,
grannies and grandad’s, mums and
dads about their family history.
The History department would
like to thank Year 10 for their excellent
behaviour and participation
at the Somme Centre.
Anna Maltman,
History Department
involving library skills and were
shown around the complex and its
state-of-the-art facilities including
the medical centre, occupational
therapy suite, fitness suite, swimming
pool, adventure play area
and café.
I would like to thank Diane on
behalf of our students for giving
up her time to accommodate our
visits which I hope will encourage
our students to read and to visit
their local library.
Jackie Braun, Librarian
Page 5
Year 10 Tayto Trip
Term 2
We got out of class at 12 o’clock and left school at half past.
It took us forty-five minutes to get to the Tayto factory
in Tandragee.
When we arrived at Tayto, we went through to the seating area
where we met ‘Mr Tayto‘. He had really cool shoes! Mr Tayto waved
at us and some of us got our pictures taken with him, I didn‘t because
he scared me.
In the seating area we learnt facts about Tayto: it began in the 1950s
and only had six workers, Thomas Hutchenson owned the factory
and it produced only plain crisps at first instead of all the flavours
Tayto has today.
We then went through to the potato store, it had tonnes of potatoes
in boxes. Every year Tayto buys 25,000 tonnes of potatoes from
twenty-five different farms in Northern Ireland and the Republic. To
stop the potatoes going green they light the room with an amber
light.
In the main part of the factory the potatoes got turned into crisps.
To turn the potatoes into crisps they slice them and put them in a
deep fat fryer which goes at speeds of 35 mph. We got to taste crisps
before they had any flavouring, it was cool.
The packaging of the crisps is bright and colourful and was newly
designed last year for Mr Tayto‘s birthday. In the early days of Tayto
the crisp packets were stuck together with animal fat, but now they
use melted metal.
When we got back to the seating area we were given six packets
of crisps, we also got to try all the flavours of crisp they make. Then
we got back on the bus back to school.

Term 2
National Poetry Day competition
On the 9th October, the English Department launched a
Poetry Writing Competition for students in both the junior
and senior school. The students had to write a poem on
any subject, no longer than 20 lines long. With such a lot of literary
talent in the school there were obviously a large number of entries
and it was a very difficult job to decide the winners. However, 2
Year 11–14 FirSt Place
Aftermath
i
Hell invokes fire; while pillars of smoke
Blot charred land, disfigured by discord.
The Omniscient knows not what dwells there;
But the echoes do echo, anxious ears burn
To the wisps of flame, which engulf human brains.
ii
Our pinnacle has fallen! Our view thwarted
By smouldering. The serpent has vaporised
The sea. War! Its evil is our warpath.
The high ground lost, heaven’s reaches severed.
The blood will drip forth flame, unto the land of blame.
Our ground has crumbled, so devour theirs,
God’s light shall dissipate the serpent’s smoke.
Heathens! Our purity is their poison,
Vomiting forth scolding enlightenment,
To deepen pits of flame, derived from the worm’s pain.
iii
And so, the sky turns to black, the vapours
Of the land’s familiar turmoil turned to
Absolute hell. But the seabed is trodden;
And the trinity embowers the men,
Left, right and above, but their ground is bare.
by Niall Scott, 13W
Page 6
winners were selected in both categories and here are their poems
for everyone to enjoy.
The English Department would like to thank everyone who entered
the competition, especially 10L who had the largest number of entries
from one class.
Anne McLaughlin
Year 11–14 Second Place
Nightmare (Year 8–10 First Place)
Witches cackle; potions brew; Halloween is creeping close to you!
Wolves howl, zombies groan; You walk the streets all alone.
Lifelike costumes, scary masks; Now Halloween is coming fast.
Trick or treating, parties too; Halloween is grabbing hold of you!
You try to run and you try to hide; but there’s just no one in whom to confide.
Everyone is under the spell; They’re in a real-life Halloween HELL!
You close your eyes; you yell and scream; When you wake up, it’s just a dream.
By Rhiannon Gray, 10L

Young Voices at the odyssey
On 4th December forty five
choir members went to
the Odyssey to perform as
part of a 3,000 strong young people’s
choir for a special Christmas
concert. It was the fourth time that
Hazelwood had participated in
the event and the students
were excited. The event
was organised by Young
Voices, the organisation
responsible for
the Big Sing, a
Guinness Book of
Records record
attempt, that
took place on
27th November
and, yes, Hazelwood participated
in that too.
The students spent many hours
rehearsing the fifteen songs needed
for the concert, a tall order for
our young people. They did well
and on the night I was proud of
them. They were superb ambassadors
for the College.
All of students had brought their
Santa hats and some had torches.
They enjoyed the singing and the
dancing and were
thrilled when young
TV and music stars
appeared on the
large Odyssey stage.
David, the conductor,
was kept busy
keeping order, and
especially keeping the
loud girlie screams to a
minimum, when the acts
came on stage.
Overall the students enjoyed
the evening immensely.
Thanks to Ann Marie, Emma, Chris
and Maria for helping at the event.
Thanks also to the parents their
endless support. Till next year!
Tracy Beare, Head of Music
hAlf-moon (Year 8–10 Second Place)
The lake was a shadow to its power,
The trees bowed low as it came,
The wind died down as it passed by,
Alone, the half-moon, ruler of the night.
It stood on a hill looking down on the world,
The bliss of the light in the dark.
The homes were lit like candles in the breeze,
Alone, the half-moon, the candle of time.
The half-moon looked up and stared at the sky,
It said, “The world is blind to the wonders.
If only I could help them see.”
Alone, the half-moon, believer of hope.
He sent for a rope of ice, and began the trek of his life.
At the top he fell into the sky.
He floated up high, and lit up the night,
Happy at last, the half-moon.
By Thomas Hogg, 9E
Page 7
Term 2
Carol Service 2008
Sophie Henry and Ryan Watt (8B) read the christmas Story
The Carol Service took place on Thursday 18th December. The
drama of the Christmas story centred on two young people
who, when playing in an attic, found an old book that told the
story of the Birth of Christ. They then told the story to the audience.
The College used Digital Technology to bring the old story teller
from the pages of the book to life. Played by Sean Kalarachchi, the
storyteller from the East led the audience through the Christmas story.
More talented student dramatists played the shepherds and wise men
adding a little comedy to the event whenever they could. The stage
set, which was divided into two, one side to represent the modern
children relaying back the old story, and the other the traditional
nativity, added to this novel interpretation of the nativity.
The choir sang a variety of songs ranging from traditional Christmas
carols to modern songs. Soloists included Amy Garner, Lauren Bell,
Courtney Laight, Jenni Tully, Natasha McGaughey, Ashley Sheppard,
Martine Scott and Sarah Martin. Well done to these students who also
performed at the an Old People’s Home on the last day of term.
The audience enjoyed the performance describing it as “The best
Carol Service I have ever seen”. Once again our students had triumphed
and had delivered another success. Thanks to the Drama, Music and
Art teachers, and to Dean and his technical sound and lighting team,
without whom this event would not have been such a success.
On Monday 16th February,
Year 8 and Year 9 students
crowded into the
Assembly Hall to hear the
Jefferson Mandolin Orchestra. The
orchestra performs around the
UK at different times of the year
introducing people to the music
of the mandolin, demonstrating
how this wonderful old instrument
works, and how it can be used in
modern day music.
The musicians in the orchestra,
Tracy Beare – Head of Creative & Expressive faculty
The Jefferson Mandolin Concert
just 8 – 14 years old, amazed the
Hazelwood students with their
talent and in particular their adaptations
of pop songs from Snow
Patrol. They also played their own
compositions and traditional folk
songs. The concert lasted an hour
providing an first rate ending to
another Hazelwood day. We look
forward to hearing the Jefferson
Mandolin Orchestra again in the
future.
Tracy Beare, Head of Music

Term 2
Hazelwood stars set to shine at
Film Festival
Hazelwood college is
to be represented by
not one but two films
at this years Belfast Film Festival.
Both Life in a Jar and Jingle Jangle
have been shortlisted for the short
film competition which is a quite
an achievement as the majority
of films entered are professionally
made films with production
budgets.
The first film to be shown will be
Life in A Jar, written and directed by
A2 student Lee Stitt. The second
film Jingle Jangle by Jennifer Johnston
features the acting talents of several
Hazelwood students. Courtney
Laight (Year 9) plays a young girl
who, on Christmas Eve night, is
transported to a magical realm.
There she meets an enigmatic ringmaster,
played by Sean Kaluarachchi
(Year 14), who becomes her guide
as he leads her towards a mysterious
circus…
Other members of the cast include
Chris Jarvis and Ronnie McQuillan
(Year 12), who show off their
considerable unicycling and juggling
skills. The eagle-eyed among you may
even spot a couple of cameos from
members of the Hazelwood Moving
Image Arts staff.
The films will be shown at the
Queens Film Theatre on Friday 3rd
April and judging them will be a
panel of industry experts.
Colm Hackett
AS Moving Image Arts
student and Film Club
m e m b e r A o d h a n
McGowan has just won an all
expenses trip to London to attend
a special event organized by the
British Film Institute.
Aodhan is a regular attendee
of Hazelwood’s film club, which
screens a wide selection of both
classic and modern day movies
weekly. The Club is a collaborative
project with Cinemagic, the
British Film Institute and LoveFilm.
The project aims to broaden students
cinema experience. Aodhan
admits that this has been very
useful to him when it comes to
giving him inspiration for making
A still from life in a Jar
Bright Sparks his own student film.
Aodhan also reviewed the film
Be Kind Rewind on the BFI’s website
which won him the film review of
the week (as well as a selection of
DVD’s!). As a result of his love of
cinema Aodhan has just been offered
the chance to go to a special
film review writing masterclass at
the South Bank in London. There
will also be a chance to visit the
nearby movie museum and attend
a special film screening.
Aodhan is currently working on
an animated Sci-Fi/Comedy about
two incompetent aliens who crash
land on Earth by mistake.
(Front to back) Courtney Laight, Sean Kaluarachchi,
Chris Jarvis and Ronnie McQuillan in Jingle Jangle
Page 8
Digital Animatio
Every Monday since
October Hazelwood
College has hosted P7
pupils from Hazelwood Primary
School and 12 other neighbouring
Primary Schools in our new
Apple laptop suite. This opportunity
allowed the pupils to
star in their own Stop Frame
animation with the aid of props
and their own creative imaginations,
whilst having the chance
to visit the College and get a
taster of Digital Arts. As part of
the College’s recruitment drive
these Digital Art sessions have
given the Primary School children
the opportunity to get an idea
of their own potential using
creative thinking skills alongside
their newly found knowledge of
what they can achieve using the
College Mac programmes.
Both the Hazelwood College
staff and Primary School teachers
were surprised at how quickly
the pupils became competent
in using the Macs and were delighted
with their original ideas.
The exciting range of animations
produced included the themes
of magic, underwater scapes,
comedy and sport. Well done to
all those who participated! We
hope to see as many as possible
back at the College in 2009 to
further develop your creativity
with us.
Lucy Glover,
Digital Arts Teaching Assistant

n with P7 pupils Digital Arts training
P7 pupils explore animation
opportunities at
Hazelwood College
Courtney from St. James’ Primary School
Leon Godhania
Megan from Kings Park Primary School
Page 9
Term 2
Partner primary and secondary schools, Hazelwood staff and
community groups have benefited from a wide range of training
in Digital Arts programmes over the last several months.
Hazelwood Staff have been instituting digital arts into their classes
with great success. Brian O’Rourke is collaborating with Belfast High
on a Digital Arts project including Comic Life and Garageband, and
the science department have created a range of podcasts using the
Digital Arts facilities.
Members of the Greencastle Community Empowerment Partnership
have attended a personalized introduction to Mac computers and
experimented with some of the more creative applications such
as the editing package iMovie, and the web design package, iWeb.
Subsequently, Greencastle launched their own website to help promote
the Partnership’s activities. In addition, members of their History
society were given rare access to some of Northern Ireland Screen’s
film archive footage at a special screening.
Primary school teachers from our partner schools and Hazelwood
staff have attended a series of introductory trainings in Digital Arts.
The training incorporated video editing in iMovie, the creation of
podcasts and digital music in Garageband. Sessions were also included
on Comic Life for producing comic book pages and I Can Animate
for stop-frame animations. All who attended agreed that technologies
were a fun way to introduce primary school children to a range
of educational concepts as well as exercising the children’s creativity.
Podcasts have been used in Hazelwood in subjects as broad as Art,
Science and Languages to illustrate a wide range of subjects and to
produce evidence of children’s understanding.
Moving Image Arts teachers from Hazelwood College and partner
secondary schools Sullivan Upper and St Malachy’s have attended
advanced level training in After Effects at Hazelwood College. The
training has been supplied by specialist trainers from Studio On, Belfast’s
Creative Learning Centre. Studio On also runs a wide variety of training
for teachers at their site in Crossnacreevy (Details are available on
their website). Hazelwood teachers will also benefit from the training
provided by Studio On at their full day training on the 9th April.

Term 2
Interview Skills Training
On 18th February all Year
12 students participated
in Interview Skills Training
Day. The purpose of this day is to
develop the students’ ability and
confidence in marketing themselves
effectively at interview. The
training is run by Sentinus, and our
trainer for the day was Pat Jamison.
The Year 12 students were required
to treat this day as if they
were attending a real interview;
they had to complete an application
form in preparation and also
had to dress appropriately. A
number of employers attend the
day to act as interviewers.
This morning session encouraged
students to engage in a
number of interactive exercises
to make them more aware of
their personal strengths, abilities
and their communication skills
and how to highlight these to
potential employers. The students
thoroughly enjoyed this morning
session and learnt many new
skills including, creating good first
impressions, marketing themselves,
body language, speaking
clearly and interview preparation.
Feedback form our trainer Pat was
extremely positive in how the students
presented themselves.
During the afternoon session
student were allocated into relevant
groups that matched their
career interests and an employer
was linked with each group. They
then participated in a mock interview
with that employer. This was
an extremely valuable experience
as it demonstrated the type of
questions that may be asked at
interview. The employer also provided
feedback to each individual
on their interview and also on their
application form. Every employer
praised the students on their good
manners and their enthusiasm and
many commented to me that this
was by far the best school they
had attended!!
The event proved to be very
successful; students praised the
programme and delighted in the
new skills that they learnt. The
trainer for the day (Pat) was excellent.
He encouraged the students
and ensured that the event was
not only useful but also interesting
and fun. During the summary of
the day employers spoke about
the students in their group and
they praised the students on their
enthusiasm, presentation, respectfulness
and positive response
to feedback. This event would
not have been possible without
the support of local employers
acting as interviewers, and their
participation in this event was truly
appreciated.
Karen Belton,
Careers Advisor
participating employers
Paul army
alison long Belfast city council
david Humphreys Board of Governors
eion Mccrea Board of Governors
Billy Smith Bombardier
Jeff Wright F3 driver & Mechanic
dave Fitness First
rab Guiney north city training
Gemma Wright nail technician & Sales rep
Pat McKenny Springvale Project
Siobhan Marken the academy Hair & Beauty
cairan McKervey trainee Social Worker
Brendan Mccoy Ulster Bank
Many thanks to all who took part.
Page 10

Term 2
Day – 18th February 2009
Group photos (left, from top)
Gemma Wright, nail technician
Billy Smith from Bombardier aerospace
Jeff Wright, Mechanic
dave from Fitness First
(above) Siobhan Marken from academy Hair &
Beauty with rebecca leckey
(above right) rab Guiney interview Michael Haire
while his group takes notes
(right) ashley Sheppard and Blair elliott (below)
Stephen Sproule and ashley Sheppard and chris
Jarvis (the thinker) (below right) amir Kabir,
neil Graham and austen Kelly check through
application forms.
Page 11

Term 2
YouthBank
Georgian East Bank YouthBank team visits Hazelwood
YouthBank interviews took place in the Bungalow to decide
which applications would receive a grant for their club or event.
There have been a great variety of applications this year, and
it is good to see that some pupils have applied for money for things
that will affect the wider community.
The Hazelwood YouthBank team also played host to the Georgian
East Bank YouthBank group. They came to Northern Ireland to complete
a training course and were brought to Hazelwood to see how
a successful YouthBank team is organised.
The Georgian group stayed for lunch and gave a talk on how they
run YouthBank in their country, and then we had a great discussion
on issues within a school run YouthBank team. It was very interesting
to learn about issues for young people in Georgia, and they felt that
Northern Ireland was somewhere they would like to visit again.
Frances Shannon, Head of Leadership Studies Faculty
Royal Courts of Justice
On 12th and 14th January 2009 the xl students took part in a
visit to the courts as part of their Citizenship module.
The day started with an informal chat and question session
with a Judge, we then got to visit the holding cells and to sit in the public
gallery to watch and observe court and bail hearings.
This was very interesting and gave the young people the opportunity
to learn about how the court operates and what procedures take
place after a criminal is apprehended.
Susanne McFarland
Multi-cultural group
This group of young students, from Years 12 to 14, meet every
Monday after school in the Bungalow. The group have already
produced a Christmas DVD in which they highlighted the
many ways Christmas is celebrated around the world. Their twelve
week programme involves visiting a number of cultural centres around
the Belfast area. They are excited about producing another DVD to
demonstrate everything they have seen and heard.
Susanne McFarland
Page 12
Cross-community Young
Women’s Group
CEP, (Community Empowerment Project) and Hazelwood young
people meet every Wednesday night. They concentrate on
the issues that face them and their communities.
In February this year, they took part in a residential and tackled the
themes of community relations and communication. More recently,
their topics have been concerned with mental health and well-being.
As part of their investigation into these themes, they attended a play
at Ballyearl Theatre on the devastating effects of suicide, sexuality
and self-harm.
Launch of Art Mural
The Your Past, Our Future art mural, was officially launched on
11th December before guests invited from the Youth Service
in BELB and other Education Library Boards around Northern
Ireland. The mural’s title was chosen by Hazelwood students to reflect
the young people's thoughts on the Troubles. It was completed by
young people from all over Northern Ireland at a conference, led by
young people, in Stormont.
Anthony Lundy, Laura Fennell (pictured above) and Thomas Castles
represented Hazelwood at the conference.
Susanne McFarland

Church and Hazelwood Cross-community group
Th e C h u r c h a n d
Hazelwood group has
been meeting for over
a year now. It engages young
people in different activities
designed to cultivate teamwork
and co-operation.
FASA
from the 4 t h
November until 9th
December, Darren from
FASA presented a six-week
project to the Year 12 xl
group. The module centred
on the issues of drugs,
alcohol and smoking. The
course was informal, and
Darren’s approach was
comfortable and relaxed.
As the weeks passed,
the students developed
a greater insight into the
concerns around these
key issues and a greater
appreciation of the harm
that addictive substances
can do. The young people
were presented with
choices they must make
to protect their future
health.
Susanne McFarland
Hype
hype is an organisation
that informs and coaches
young people on Healthy
Relationships and Sexual
Health.
This year, the Year 12 xl
students had the privilege
of taking part in a project
which included meaningful
activities designed to
enrich the lives of the
participants and raise
awareness of their own
sexual health.
Susanne McFarland
In October 2008 the group
visited the Crumlin Road Gaol,
a well known Belfast landmark,
and were told of its fascinating
history and the part it has played
in Northern Ireland’s politics
over the years. This was a great
The Big Idea Competition
Term 2
congrAtulAtions to Thomas Castles,
Catherine Coyle, Trudi Phillips and Claire Newell who won
the Big Idea Competition held in the Baby Opera House
in January. These four students competed against a large
number of schools throughout Northern Ireland during
the day in order to win the competition. The competition
involved the presentation of a Business Plan to a number
of judges. Hazelwood’s presentation examined a Business
Plan with regards introducing 1st Year Students to the
College. The students examined how the plan would be
marketed and financed. They entitled it, A Hitchhikers
Guide to Hazelwood.
Page 13
opportunity and the feedback
was very positive.
Along with lots of other educational
visits, some fun activities
took place in November
and December, including a trip
to Planet Fun.
Sadly, the group will be
breaking up over Easter, but
a residential is being planned
before that.
Susanne McFarland

Term 2
Suzanna Kocon, Aneta Breza and Anna Szajstek with their certificates
Day of Intercultural
Celebration
2008 was designated by the EEC as the year of Intercultural
Dialogue. On December 4th 2008 Hazelwood, along with a
number of other schools, took part in a Day of Intercultural
Celebration organised by the Inclusion and Diversity Service of
Northern Ireland. The Celebration was held at the beautiful Lough
Neagh Discovery Centre near Lurgan,
There was an introductory address by Mary Yarr the Regional
Adviser of the Inclusion and Diversity Service and several other Board
Members. After that the audience was entertained by a number of
Second Language Students performing and singing in their respective
languages.
We from Hazelwood had our own display at the centre. Four of our
Polish students had prepared their own visual presentation recorded
in sound and picture. This was a short story, based on their first impressions
of living in another country, the difficulties they confronted,
the prejudices they dealt with, and the stresses they encountered
It was a very moving, well written, and a very honest story, with a
happy ending of course. Many of the participants congratulated the
girls on their capabilities, their achievement, their courage, in telling
their story. It also inspired a number of other schools to encourage
their students to take up the challenge and tell their own story in
this unique way.
The day ended with the girls being interviewed by a camera crew
hired by the Inclusion and Diversity Service to record the day. Very
shortly we hope to have our own copy of the DVD.
The girls arrived back in school having had a wonderful time and
with the mobile numbers of a number of other students they met
there, with the idea of setting up an interschool help and support line
for other second language students.
Andrea Gibson
NFTE News
on mondAy 20th October the Year 13 Business
students in the College took part in a pilot programme
which NFTE called an Alumni Day. This was provided to the
College on the basis of providing further training to those
students who were the first people to go through the NFTE
programme at Hazelwood. The purpose of the day was to
introduce the students to financial concepts which would
be the main part of their Business examination in May.
In attendance at the event were members of the NFTE
organisation and representatives from the Ulster Bank.
Page 14
JetSet, go!
For the first time Hazelwood
had 35 of its Second
Language Students sitting
the JetSet Examinations, from EDI,
in January of this year The exams
ran over four days with each of
the students enrolled sitting a total
of four examinations each.
The examinations were in
Reading, Writing, Listening and an
English Oral Exam. Each student
performed extremely well.
The JetSet (Junior/Senior English
Tests) have been specifically
designed to encourage a steady
progression of accomplishment
in the English Language. Each
examination is tailored to meet
the individual students need. For
example a student my be able to
sit the reading and writing exam
at level three, but the oral exam
at level two.
Over time, these exams will
give the students a solid working
knowledge of their second
(sometimes their third or fourth)
Language! With regular testing a
real sense of achievement will be
established as they see not only the
certificates they accumulate, but
their participation in the General
Curriculum Exams increase and
flourish and produce the first class
results we have come to appreciate
from our Second Language
Students.
Andrea Gibson
Huge CONGRATULATIONS
to Andrew Jones who achieved an outstanding
result in his A2 GCE Applied ICT. He gained an overall ‘A’
grade in the course and one of the top five marks from
the AQA exam board out of 1623 students in the UK.
I am delighted for Andrew who was a highly motivated
and disciplined student. He worked consistently right from
the beginning of the course in year 13 and even gained
100% in his Unit 12 Publishing assignment. Andrew was
a role model for the other pupils in the class, attending
school every day, always the first to arrive in to the
classroom and somehow knew how to balance his studies
with a social life!
He was a pro-active member of the Student Council
and made a positive contribution to the life of the school,
organising fundraisers and concerts. As his form tutor and
subject teacher I would like to wish Andrew well for the
future.

Christmas Dinner 2009
i tHoUGHt WHen I entered
the room that the decorations
were tremendous. I enjoyed my
turkey, potatoes. I also got two
desserts! The table was decorated
with red and green festive sheets.
The dinner was very nice and I
hope to get another one next
year.
Kealan Salkeld, 8B
MY cHriStMaS dinner was
lovely. The dinner hall was covered
with Christmas decorations, it was
lovely. The Post 16 students must
have put a lot of effort into it.
It was good because I was with
all my class mates at one table. We
had crackers which were really
fun. I got all the treats, hee hee!
I think everyone enjoyed the day
and I hope we will have another
Christmas dinner next year.
Courtney McAuley, 8H
at tHe cHriStMaS dinner
the hall was decorated with nice
Christmas decorations and the
staff all wore Santa hats. The hall
was crowded with people and the
food was great.
I had the best time ever!
Nebin Saji, 8M
MY cHriStMaS dinner was
yummy and it was so much fun with
all my mates. The dinner hall was
so pretty and the crackers were
so funny. The dinner was better
than any of my mum’s food. The
cola was so nice too.
Jodie Barr, 8P
tHiS Year‘S cHriStMaS
Dinner was a great success. The
decorations, food and helpers
all added to the wonderful day
that was had in the Cafeteria
on 17th December 2008. The
tablecloths in particular were a
favourite. The Post 16’s worked
like Trojans wiping and relaying
crackers in between shifts under
the supervision of my good self.
About 690 dinners were served up
by the Cafeteria Staff from 12:00
– 1:40 p.m. Fantastic or what? A
BIG THANK YOU to the Post
16 helpers, Class Tutor’s, Year
Heads for all their assistance and
contribution to the day. What a
Team folks!
Loopy Cath
Update from the Students’ Council
over the last few weeks the Students’ Council has been helping Tracy with the auditions for the Talent
Show that is to be held later on in this term. It is obvious that as with last years Talent Show, there is a lot of
entertainment talent in Hazelwood College! Keep your eyes open for more details about the final show!
The Council has also organised a Blood Transfusion session to be held in school for pupils over seventeen on
20th April. So, if you have put your name down, then get this date into your phone calendar as a reminder!
There is some money left in the Students Council Fund, and the Senior Council has been to Stuart and
the PE Department to see if we can get another coach to take a self defence session. Money has also been
allocated to organise First Aid training session for pupils, and these classes will commence sometime during
this term. It has been hoped to start a Gaelic football club, and money has been given to get training tops
and other materials.
Page 15
Term 2

Term 2
The following table shows what a very giving school
community Hazelwood is.. so well done to everyone.
The Penny to a Pound project is working well, so try
to remember to bring in your change each Friday!. Thanks
to Trudi and Connie, who with their team of collectors get
about £50 each week. Each month a new charity is picked by
an individual member of the school community, so we have a
variety of interest coming through.
Charity is not just about giving money, and pupils in Hazelwood
have different volunteering groups within the xl programme and
Charity update
Page 16
CoPE Level 3 that give time and energy to help local community
groups. Over the past months our community work has been
very much appreciated, including Christmas hampers, collection
of donations for homeless and local hospital, helping in community
centres and local nurseries.
Years 8, 9 and 10 have all run special fund raising events when
they have concentrated on their chosen charity. Congratulations
to all those pupils and staff involved. We sent 50 Christmas
boxes over to Romania, which were collected from Years 8
and Year 13 pupils.
Frances Shannon
month charity who? Amount link group/person
september rniB Year 13 £60 catherine Havlin
october
november
december
January
cancer lifeline all £200 Grainne Mcloughlin
Barnardo’s/Marie curie Year 9 £507.70
Samaritan’s Purse
operation christmas child
Years 8 & 13 50 boxes
Hilary donnan
& Year 9 tutors
Frances Shannon
& catherine Havlin
PdSa all £221.97 trudi Phillips, 14S
children in need individual
pupils
northern ireland Hospice all £235.15
Homeless Shelter all
£154.51 david Bryans, 11F
Heather Gorman, 10H
lisa chestnut, 10J
Marco Blair, 10J
5 boxes/bags
of donations
catherine Johnson
tom Ferguson
9S disco
Year 11 xl group
children’s Hospital all 30 presents Year 12 xl Group
Senior citizen Hampers all 11 hampers Year 11 xl Group
trocraire Year 8 £1,433.26 Year 8 ll&W teachers
non Uniform day (rVH)
Years
8, 9 & 10
£107.99 For Year 12 xl Project
Playing for life — africa all £43.70 Àine McMullan
total raised £2,964.28

Help the Aged
tHanK YoU to Year 11
who collected donations
and made hampers for
Help The Aged. In total,
with all the donations
and help from school and
families, the young people
made twelve hampers,
three of which were given
to three pensioners at the
Christmas Carol Service,
and the rest given to
Help The Aged to give to
pensioners from all over
Belfast. The project was
very rewarding and helped
the young people realise
the importance of helping
others at Christmas time.
Well done to all the
Year 11 for their hard
work.
Page 17
Term 2
Senior Citizens enjoyed the Carol Service followed by tea and Christmas hamper presents
Children’s Hospital
one oF tHe Year 12 xl groups decided to donate to the sick children
in the Royal Hospital over Christmas. They collected lots of presents
for all age’s—for both girls and boys. The young people then delivered
the presents to the hospital where they were gratefully received.
Sponsored Walk
tHe Second Year 12 xl group decided to raise money and
donate to two different charities, Disability Sports NI and Mencap.
The young people decided to do a sponsored walk, however due to
weather conditions it has been rearrange for March due to Christmas
holidays and Mock exams.
Well done to all Year 12 xl students.
Frances Shannon
David Bryans, Leigh Lundy,
Stacey Richie and Annagh
Rafferty deliver parcels to
the Homeless Shelter.
Christmas
Homeless Shelter
one Year 11 claSS this
year collected for the Morning
Star Hostel. For three weeks
before Christmas the young
people worked very hard to
encourage the school community
to donate items such as tinned
food, toiletries, new clothes, hats,
gloves and scarves.
The young people collected lots
of items and then delivered the
donations to the Hostel before
Christmas.
Frances Shannon

Term 2
Adam Ingram wins All-Ireland 880m title
Year 11 Hazelwood student Adam Ingram
successfully defended his All-Ireland
800m indoor title. With an impressive
display of aggressive front running he led from
the gun to the tape, finishing 13 seconds ahead
of the next best athlete in Ireland. This was a
huge margin! His performance demonstrated
amazing maturity, above his age, resulting in a
time which leads the current UK ranking by 3
seconds. Adam is currently the Irish Schools
800m and 1,500m champion.
Winning a place in Europe
Adam’s time in the race positions him to
qualify for the European Youth Championship.
Adam wants to lock horns with the best young
male athletes in Europe and beat them. His goal
is to compete for Great Britain and Northern
Ireland at the European and World Junior
Championships. Adam is out to win.
From Strength to strength
2009 has been no different to any other
year. Adam completed a rare Irish Schools
800m and 1500m track double in the
summer of 2008 smashing the long-standing
Northern Ireland U15 Boys 800m record by
almost two seconds. By the end of the 2008
track season Adam was undefeated in his age
group. He took a well earned break before
embarking on another tough block of strength
endurance training and conditioning.
After three months of intensive strength and
endurance conditioning Adam was stronger
and faster than ever before. This was clear
as he demolished the top Irish athletes in the
Irish Indoor 800m Championships held at the
Odyssey this year. He also ran a new personal
Adam leading
the Stormont
International
Cross Country
Page 18
best and the qualification standard for the European Youth
Championships.
Two weeks later, at the Armagh International Road Race,
Adam stepped up distances to 3000m and competed in a
senior men’s event. The Armagh International is the best
road race in Northern Ireland attracting elite athletes from
all over the world. Adam did what he does best and outkicked
a tough South African in the home-straight winning
the race comfortably with an impressive time.
Adam main aims are focused on the track season were he
hopes to add more Irish titles and remind dominant across
the UK and Ireland over 800m.
Raymond Adams

This year I have had the
opportunity to lead a new
and exciting sports initiative
linking Hazelwood College
with a number of local primary
feeder schools. This initiative,
known as the Belfast Schools
Sports Partnership (BSSP), is a
shared education project, bringing
together children and young
people from schools across North
Belfast. It provides shared excellence
in facilities, coaching and
opportunities, whilst building a
culture of partnership, working
toward a shared future.
The main aim for the partnership
is to develop and enhance
reconciliation through genuine
partnership through the delivery
of high quality Physical Education
and Sport and by improving
co-ordination, links between
primary and secondary schools
and out-of-hours opportunities,
coaching, leadership and sporting
opportunities for the potential
benefit of all children.
My role within this project is to
encourage local primary schools
to make cross-sectoral collaborations
an integral part of school life,
creating enhanced educational
and personal development opportunities
for everyone involved
through offering sporting opportunities
and the delivery of
physical education.
Since November I have recruited
three primary schools
to work in partnership with
Hazelwood College and the
BSSP. The schools involved are
Hazelwood Primary School,
St. James Primary School and
Whitehouse Primary School,
who have all been involved in
a variety of coaching schemes.
An interview with a hazelwood star
the Year 8 football team have started their season, and in the team are many football
stars. So i decided to catch up with one of these football stars and interview him.
name: Paul Martin
class: 8B
age: 11
Football Position: Left Midfield
Goals for the school: 4
team outside school: Ballysillan Under 13
Favourite team: Manchester United
Favourite Player: cristiano ronaldo
Football boot you wear: nike laser
Favourite Food: Pasta
Favourite drink: diet coke
Favourite colour: Blue
Best Friend: Marcus dixon
any Pets: Jack russell (called Max)
Hobbies: Football and rugby
Favourite Subject: Physical education
any other information you would like to share with the school: I am currently having
trials with Northern Ireland school boys under 13’s and hope to make the squad. Last year
I went to Old Trafford to see Manchester Utd which I really enjoyed. My ambition is to
become a professional footballer.
Page 19
The overall aim for each session
is to develop the FUNdamental
movement skills of each sport in
a fun, exciting and cross cultural
environment. To date the schools
have all participated in sports such
as basketball and indoor athletics
with the aim of widening the
choice offering football tag rugby
and Gaelic games. I am currently
in discussion with a number of
other primary schools who are
keen to participate in the project
and their involvement will be
welcomed.
It has been fantastic to see so
many young primary school children
from polarised communities
working together in a variety of
sports and having the chance to try
something new. This programme
has given them the opportunity
to develop new friendships and
shared experiences, and has truly
reflected the ethos of integration
and everything that Hazelwood
College stands for. My vision is
the broaden the programme and
spectrum of sports that I can offer
and expose as many primary
schools in the local area to the
value and importance of the cross
cultural and integrated ethos
Stephen Mc Glennon
Year 10
football
Term 2
On t h u r s d a y
26th February
Hazelwood played
an away game at Ashfield
Boys School.
it was a game of two
halves, playing against the
wind and with our captain
(Patrick Mcnally) out
injured and against one
of the better teams in the
league it was going to be
a tough match.
the game started at a
fast pace with Ashfield
camped in our half, and
if it wasn’t for the cat
like reflexes of ryan
McGuiness it could have
been 5-0 in the first five
minutes. if this had been a
boxing match the referee
would have stopped the
fight. To the boys credit
they continued to play
their football and in the
20th minute, we managed
to get into their half and
chris Braniff found space
to put us 1-0 up.
We held firm up to half
time and held a surprising
1-0 lead at the break.
the second half started
like the first, if ryan
wasn’t making the save
it was the woodwork
that saved us. It finally
arrived from a corner,
when their 6ft plus centre
have out jumped our 5ft
plus keeper and the score
was 1-1.
the boys battled bravely
but the quality of the
opposition came through
and they finally found
their scoring boots. the
final score ended 6-1 to
Ashfield, but the man of
the match was definitely
ryan McGuiness.
Stuart Cole
Head of PE Department

Term 2
Hazelwood completed the final two games of the Belfast
league at Olympia Leisure Centre and the Pressure was
on to win both.
With seven games remaining in the senior section the league title
was very much there to be won.
Hazelwood commenced the day second in the table knowing that
two victories would be enough to secure the league. In their first game
against league contenders Our Lady of Mercy the nervous tension
was obvious with neither team managing to create enough space to
unleash a shot on goal.
A half-time team talk by PE teacher Sabrina Campbell seemed to kick
start the Hazelwood team and within minutes of the restart the impressive
duo of Louise Doherty and Rebecca McConnell had combined
to put the girls in blue on the scoresheet. Minutes later McConnell
grabbed her second and secured victory for Hazelwood.
Dominican College were slowly closing the gap on Hazelwood with
victories against Newtownabbey Community High and Dundonald
High ensuring a final game showdown against Hazelwood. In a fantastic
game of football both teams attacked from the outset with Nicole
Connolly in dominate form for Dominican and McConnell and Doherty
controlling the central midfield area for Hazelwood.
Once again it was the formidable striking force of McConnell
and Doherty that produced the early break through with Doherty
sliding a precise ball between the heart of the Dominican defence
which McConnell clinically finished. Minutes later Doherty added a
second.
Spurred on by the second goal Dominican replied with a fantastic
strike by Emma Dornan and despite piling the pressure on the
Hazelwood defence failed to find the equalizing goal.
PE teacher Sabrina Campbell expressed her delight at her team’s
achievements: “The girls played extremely well today and have been
consistent throughout the league. Captain Louise Doherty and Rebecca
McConnell were particularly outstanding today and they were supported
by solid performances from the rest of the squad.
“I am extremely proud of the girls and the teachers and pupils
at Hazelwood will be thrilled that we are bringing back the league
trophy.”
Rebecca McConnell of Hazelwood College was awarded top goalscorer
in the league with an impressive tally of 10 goals in six games.
IFA Women’s Football Coordinator and organiser of the Dale Farm
Belfast Schoolgirls league spoke after the event and commented: “The
standard of football in this league has improved so much over the
weeks and I am delighted for Hazelwood.
For the Full Story log onto http://www.irishfa.com/the-ifa/news/4495/
hazelwood-and-dominican-win-dale-farm-league/
Girls’ Football
Page 20
hazelwood
college
teAm p w l d pts
6 4 1 1 13
Knockbreda high 6 2 0 4 10
dominican college 6 3 2 1 10
st colms high 6 3 2 1 10
our lady of mercy 6 2 3 1 7
dundonald high 6 0 2 4 4
newtownabbey
community high
6 0 4 2 2
Calling All Year 8 Girls!
The year 8 Girl’s netball club has now recommenced.
Any year 8 girl who is interested in joining the school
netball team should come along to the sports hall every
Wednesday at 3.20 pm. It doesn’t matter if you have never played
netball before as everyone is welcome. The league will be starting
shortly and Hazelwood have been drawn with Grosvenor,
Rockport, Lagan College and Sullivan Upper.
The girls in their
new football kit!
They raised £300 to buy the new kit and were also helped by
Eileen and the Board of Governers to reach the total amount
needed. Rebecca McConnell is currently the top goal scorer
in the league, and you can keep up to date with all their results in the
newsletter and on the PE notice board.
Sabrina Campbell