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The wider community

2021-2022

INTERGENERATIONAL EASTER PARTY

Many thanks to Linking Generations Northern Ireland for providing us with a grant to hold an Intergenerational Easter Party. Children in Reception and Primary 1 had a wonderful time with members of the commuunity who were able to join us. Children participated in an Easter egg hunt, enjoyed eating Easter treats and designed beautiful Easter bags to carry their Easter Eggs in. A huge thank you to our friends for coming along to join in the fun with us.

'food for life' intergenerational project

Children in Reception and Primary 1 have received funding for an intergenerational project with members from the Cloughey & District Community Association. They will be getting to know each other and learning about different types of food and also having opportunities to plant and grow. This week they were learning about ‘The Gingerbread Man’ in their Literacy and were very excited to be decorating their own Gingerbread Men, bringing one home to eat and of course tasting them in school together. Lots of fun was had and we cannot wait to meet up with our new friends again next week!

2019-2020

​ve day 75- Friday 08 may 2020

While we couldn't be together to celebrate VE day as a school community, we were delighted to be able to put this beautiful video together how some of our families celebrated such a special occasion. 
We are all missing one another but will meet again soon. Your teachers will be in touch with you again shortly. 
​Stay safe.

bee safe event

P7 children attended the Bee Safe event in Bangor today (Tuesday 03 March 2020). The event is designed to teach children how to stay safe in the 21st century world they inhabit by immersing them in real life scenarios. Our thanks as always are extended to the Ards & North Down Borough Council and the team behind the event for ensuring that our children are prepared for their future lives. 

'one' project (good relations) with kilcooley women's centre

P5, P6 & P7 were joined today by Lauren from the Kilcooley Women's Centre. Children made their own 'Family Tree' using the research they had carried out previously and listened to Carol and Robin (Cloughey District Community Association) recounting some of their experiences of growing up. Afterwards, children used their ICT skills to coach Carol and Robin to get the best out of their own research. 
Our thanks are extended to Lauren, Carol and Robin for joining us and making the experience all the richer for the children. 

Art from trash community project

Children in P3 and P4 are taking part in a great recycling project, using materials that might ordinarily be discarded to create a wonderful piece of art to display in school. Funded by the  County Down Rural Community Network (CDRCN) and organized with the help of the ever helpful and supportive Cloughey and District Community Association, the project has been led by Heather and Sally from the Community Art Project Arts Centre. The project will finish with a final session on Wednesday 11 March 2020.

whole school dog safety visit

We were delighted to be visited by Charlie, the dog, today who popped along to give children safety tips on how to stay safe around other dogs. Charlie's owner, Michelle (Raise the woof) spoke to children about how dogs communicate through body language and how they interpret the body language of others around them. 

Children were given a number of helpful tips when around dogs:
1) Always ask the owner if it's okay to pet the dog
2) Stand in front of the dog (never crouch) and let the dog sniff / lick your hand first
3) Stroke the dog gently under the chin
4) Wash your hands afterwards

Michelle also spoke to children about staying safe when they encounter stray dogs by:
1) Stop any game you're playing and stand still
2) Cross your arms over your chest and tuck your head down

Finally, children learned about picking up dog waste. We looked at 3 different types of bags that can be used to collect dog waste and how learn it would take for them to biodegrade:
1) Standard plastic bag- 1000 years +
2) Biodegradable bag- 4 years or thereabouts
3) Compostable bag - Around 45 days

Children had the opportunity to put the theory into practice by stroking Charlie if they wished. We all learned a lot through this valuable session and are very grateful to Michelle and Charlie for their time. 


intergenerational work

Planting & Nurturing
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Wednesday 04 March 2020
We had our final session at the Peninsula Healthy Living Centre today with children involved in building bird boxes and further planting.
On behalf of our children, on behalf of our staff and behalf of our entire school community, we'd like to thank Sarah and John for their outstanding hospitality and generosity of spirit. Our youngest children in school have really enjoyed being involved in this project and it has really been a talking point around the corridors and in the classroom.
The project would not have been possible without the financial assistance from North Down & Ards Borough Council as part of the #myvoicemyAND project. We are also very grateful for the excellent assistance and support from members of the Cloughey and District Community Association. Today, as every week, we were joined by local people willing to help their local school- your support is very much appreciated.  
More photographs can be viewed on the Foundation Stage class page, below.
Foundation Stage Class Page

Wednesday 05 February 2020
Another brilliant session at the Peninsula Healthy Living Centre with Sarah and John as part of our #myvoicemyAND Intergenerational project on Planting and Nurturing. This week the children were planting cucumbers, tomatoes and pak choi. 
Annie, Susan and Emma from our local Knit & Knatter group accompanied us today. The children spent time at snack time discussing their favourite types of fruit and vegetable! Next week, the children will be making bird feeders!
Thank you once again to Ards & North Down Borough Council, to Sarah and John at the Peninsula Healthy Living Partnership in Kircubbin, and to our wonderful ladies from the Knit & Knatter Group. Together, we are making special memories for our children and encouraging wonderful discussions. 

Wednesday 29 January 2020 
Session 2 at the Peninsula Healthy Living Centre. Joined by Susan and Patricia from our local Knit & Knatter group, this week the children were planting pea, carrot, radish, beetroot and cress seeds! We even returned to school with some samples to grow in the classroom!
Our continued thanks are extended to Sarah and John from Peninsula Healthy Living Centre for creating this wonderful learning experience for our children and treating us all so well. Thank you also to Susan and Patricia. This project is funded through the Ards & North Down Borough Council #myvoicemyAND scheme, helping to provide our children with unique learning opportunities alongside some very special local people. 

See more photographs from this visit by clicking the 'Foundation Stage' link below: ​
Foundation Stage Page

Wednesday 22 January 2020
Photographs from the Reception, P1 and P2 visit to the Peninsula Healthy Living Centre today. Funded by the Ards & North Down Borough Council's participatory budgeting scheme, children will make 3 further visits in the coming weeks. This week our children were joined by Carol and Susan from the Cloughey & District Community Association Knit & Knatter Group. Our thanks are extended to Sarah and John from the Peninsula Healthy Living Centre for their outstanding hospitality, expertise and kindness.

See more photographs from this visit by clicking the 'Foundation Stage' link below: ​
Foundation Stage Page
December 2019
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Following our successful project bid for funding to Ards and North Down Borough Council  through their #myvoicemyAND project, our Intergenerational Workshop for our Reception, Primary 1 and Primary 2 class will now proceed. Working together with the excellent staff at the Peninsula Healthy Living Centre in Kircubbin, our children will, along with members of the local Knit and Knatter group, take part in planting and nurturing sessions. The sessions will commence on Wednesday 22 January 2020 with a total of four sessions planned. 

Our Key Stage 2 children will continue to work with the excellent staff from Kilcooley Women's Centre in Bangor, examining their heritage and helping members of the wider local community perform research regarding their own family heritage on the world wide web. 
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fire safety visit

Children in Primary 5 were visited today (Thursday 23 January 2020) by members of the Fire Safety Outreach Team from Portaferry Fire Station. The children were shown a number of pictures and short videos, discussing the hazards they saw- overloaded sockets, candles, unattended pots on the hob. The children asked great questions about smoke alarms and even about the dangers of carbon monoxide before being given a safety pack to take home. On behalf of school, a big thank you to the team at Portaferry Fire Station for the fantastic work they do in helping to educate our young people.

PSNI Visit

​We were delighted to be visited by PSNI Officers Gary and Sam on Monday 16 September 2019. Both officers spent time discussing online safety with Key Stage 2 children. Children were reminded of the essential ways (using the SMART mnemonic) in which they can keep themselves safe when navigating the world wide web.
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whole school visit to kirkistown castle

We were delighted to be able to take each of our classes on a visit to Kirkistown castle on Tuesday 04 June 2019. Martin Keery and Dr John O’Keefe from the Department of Communities hosted our visit and acted as tour guides for each of the classes during their visit. The visit was arranged with some assistance from Howard Gregory (Cloughey and District Community Association) to whom we extend our thanks. The children had a fantastic time and were interested to hear many tales regarding the development of the site and the value that particular features provided to those seeking to defend it.

The precise date of the construction of Kirkistown Castle has been debated, but it is traditionally believed to have been built by Roland Savage of Ballygalget in 1622, possibly reusing an earlier site.The castle comprises of a three storey tower house within the remains of a bawn (fortified enclosed space) and a later barn. There has been gradual subsidence of the tower house over the centuries as its foundations were not built to accommodate the marshy ground. In the late 19th century buttresses and two iron braces were added to halt movement in the walls. The tower has been subjected to numerous alterations over its history and was extensively remodelled in a neo-gothic style in the early 19th century.
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RNLI Visit

We were thrilled to be joined by Paul Rafferty recently from the RNLI as part of their Drowning Awareness Week. Paul spoke to the children about how to be safe while they are having fun in and around water. I’m sure you’ll agree the importance of this message in the beautiful setting afforded by the Peninsula.  
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first responders visit

We were fortunate to have a visit from one of our local first responders on Wednesday 03 April 2019. Mrs Millar dropped in to work with our P7 pupils demonstrating some life-saving techniques and showing some of the equipment used. The First responders are currently bidding for funding from the National Lottery as part of the People’s Projects. 
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ONE Project Intergenerational Family Tree/ Genealogy Session

We were delighted to have Lauren from the Kilcooley Women’s Centre working with pupils from P5/P6  alongside a local genealogist, Philip, during our summer project on 'Identity'. Philip spoke to the children about ancestors, family trees and the children were invited to ask a series of questions.  Lauren spent two further sessions in school alongside children and members of the Cloughey and District Community Association who utilised school's compting equipment to perform their own reserach. We are very hopeful that the project will continue in the 2019-2020 academic year. 

Sponsored Beach Clean

​We finished our Spring Term with a sponsored beach clean, organised and co-ordinated by Eric Rainey on behalf of the Cloughey & District Community Association, on a very blustery Friday 12 April 2019.

While at first the beach seemed very clean, it wasn’t long before our eagle-eyed children spotted litter along the length of the beach. Assisted by a team of parent helpers, the children were impeccably behaved and very thorough with their duties. The children were very kindly awarded voucher for a free ice-cream from local business, Chip Buddy.

On behalf of school, I would like to thank the local Cloughey and District Community Association for organising the clean and inviting us to participate. Our thanks go also to our parent helpers and our PTFA who assisted. Funds raised from this event and the upcoming Summer Fair will be used to take children on visits. Thank you, as always, for your support. 
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Royal Appointment

We were delighted to be invited- along with our friends at St Patrick’s, Ballygalget- to perform for H.R.H The Duke of Kent at Kirkistown Golf Club on Thursday 28 March 2019. Twenty five children from P3 – P7 attended, performing ‘Love, Peace and Happiness’. The children received the royal seal of approval for their excellent singing and conduct throughout the visit. 

Two of our children were also selected to show their golf skills on the putting green for the Royal visitor. Our thanks go to the team at Kirkistown Golf Club, led by Mrs McDowell for their hard work and kind invite to our children.
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Tales Of Days Gone By- Growing Up In Cloughey, Belfast & Yorkshire

We were delighted to be joined on Monday 25 February 2019 by some local senior citizens from the Cloughey District Community Association’s Knit and Natter group. Four glamorous ladies dropped by to tell children about their experiences of growing up just a few years ago. The children were mesmerised by some of the old toys, photographs and tales that the ladies had to share We would like to thank our special visitors and we look forward to have them return to visit us in the near future.
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War exhibit

We were delighted to have Mr Palmer bring in a number of items to show children, courtesy of his links with the Ulster History Association in the build up to our remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Children thoroughly enjoyed seeing the items and had lots of fantastic questions to ask Mr Palmer. 
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Vision and Values
    • Staff
    • Safeguarding Team
    • Operation Encompass
    • Admissions and Prospectus
    • Curriculum
    • School Development Plan
    • Special Educational Needs
    • Shared Education
    • Health Education
    • Keeping Safe
    • Friendship & Anti-Bullying
    • Activity Based Learning
    • Caring for the environment
    • Policies
  • News & Events
    • Calendar
    • Newsletters
    • Whole School Charity Events
    • The Wider Community
    • Literacy Events
    • Whole School Publications
    • Numeracy Events
    • Music And Drama Productions
    • Sports Day
    • Sports Competitions
    • Other Faiths and Cultures
    • N.I Centenary
    • Platinum Jubilee
  • Parents
    • Term Dates & Holidays
    • Letters
    • Staying Safe Online
    • Free School Meals & Uniform Grants
    • School Meals Menu
    • Healthy Break & Lunch
    • School Uniform
    • Extra Curricular Clubs
    • Music Tuition
    • Residential Visits
    • Parent Surveys
    • PTFA
    • Early Reading & Phonics At Home
    • Comprehension & Spelling At Home
    • Maths At Home
  • Class Pages
    • Reception Class & Primary 1
    • P2 & P3
    • P4 & P5
    • P6 & P7
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    • Road Safety Team
    • Buddies
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  • Governors
    • Introduction to the Governing Board
    • Governors' Annual Report
  • Coronavirus