Congratulations to the girls in 4T who raised for Cancer Research UK by filling their Smartie-like tubes with 20ps.

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1 Summer 2015 Congratulations to the following girls, who have been appointed as Office Bearers for : Head Girl: Rachael Thomas. Deputy Head Girls: Dakota Armour & Rachel Bruce. Games Captain: Gabrielle Park. Deputy Games Captains: Aimée Irwin & Abby Larmour. Chair of School Council: Amy Gilpin. Vice-Chair of School Council: Rosalind Skillen. Barbour House Captain: Katie Mashford. Deputy House Captains: Anieshia Bedford & Hannah Eakin. Boucher House Captain: Florence Ogonda. Deputy House Captains: Erin Larmour & Ella McAllister. McCaughey House Captain: Jill Fergie. Deputy House Captains: Shannon Booth & Alana McVea. Watts House Captain: Lydia Millar. Deputy House Captains: Katy Anderson & Saskia Craig. Best wishes to the Class of 2015 who attended a farewell reception with the staff in Miskelly Deli on Wednesday 6 May. We look forward to seeing them all again at the Sixth Form Prize Giving in September! On Tuesday, 9 June all of Form Two visited the Belfast Synagogue as part of our study of the Jewish faith. Our visit to the synagogue allowed us to see a place of Jewish worship as well as hear a little about Jewish life in Belfast and key Jewish festivals. We were able to see the main features and furnishings of the synagogue and the Jewish Torah Scrolls. This visit was a very enjoyable experience and helped us to further understand what we have been studying. Congratulations to the girls in 4T who raised for Cancer Research UK by filling their Smartie-like tubes with 20ps. The Form One Induction Evening took place on 18 June when we welcomed our new Form One to the school to meet their form teachers and familiarise themselves with their new environment. We look forward to seeing them all again when school resumes in August. After a busy year for the library, we were very pleased to be able to host the Northern Ireland Book Award Grand Finale on Tuesday, 23 June in our new assembly hall. Pupils from schools around the province attended, having read the six shortlisted books and voted for their favourite. The afternoon began with a literary quiz and was followed by the presentation of book trailers compiled by a few of the schools, and an interesting talk with a question and answer session by the guest author, Dan Freedman. It culminated in the announcement of the winner of the award which this year was won by Carter Roy s The Blood Guard, a first novel for the author. Dan Freedman then signed copies of his latest book, which was on sale at a discounted price, and the pupils enjoyed the opportunity to have an informal chat with him. The last meeting of the Form 1 Eco-Committee was on Thursday, 25 June. It was a damp lunchtime, but the girls cheerfully came out to transplant sunflower plants which were put in buckets and placed by the fence in the staff car park to grow over the summer. Hopefully, the weather will be good and we will return to school when the flowers are in all their glory. Many thanks to our groundsmen who will be keeping an eye on them until the end of August. On 20 June, forty-six Form Four History and German pupils and five staff set off for a five-day visit to Berlin. Gute Reise!

2 Rebecca Crymble, 1A, who came first in her region at the Irish Championships for Acrobatic Gymnastics in May. Amelia Kane, 1A, who qualified for the British Summer Swimming Open in July for 200m Butterfly. Amelia also made six Irish squad times. Charlotte Macdonald, 1A, who achieved her Grade Eight in ice skating. Jessica Marks, 3A, who has passed her Grade Four Piano Examination with Distinction. Rebekah Mitchell, Jessica Butters, Jessica More and Bethan Andrews, 3A, who completed Grade Six in their Speech & Drama Examination. Alice Huddleston, 2H, who has been awarded a scholarship for a year at Mrs Conn s Dance Academy. Leah McClements, 2T, who has passed her Level Six in Diving. Erin J McConnell, 3H, who competed in the Irish Nationals and was placed tenth in the 200m Butterfly and ninth in the 1500m Freestyle. 0n 16 June, the Religious Studies Department took all of Form Three to visit three local churches: Strandtown Baptist, Bloomfield Presbyterian and St Colmcille s Catholic Church, Hollywood. In each church a member of the leadership team explained the main features of the building and how the building was used for worship. They also outlined the role of the Church in the local community. It was interesting to compare the simplicity of the Baptist Church with the beauty and symbolism of the Catholic Church. Whilst the churches may have looked and felt very different from one another, it was also clear that they have much in common in terms of their work to help those most vulnerable in our society. For their Form Effort, 2H decided it would be a good idea to make Mr Miotti compete against five relay teams. In the 400 metres charity race, imaginatively named Run, Miotti, Run! students from Forms 1-3 ran against the selfproclaimed Mighty Miotti. Big crowds came out to cheer on their friends and jeer at Mr Miotti, but it was the ageing, veteran teacher that stormed home to victory with a grace and ease that belied his 34 years. Money was raised from the event through blind bids that teams made to enter the race. From this alone, over 230 was raised. Students could then make guesses about the outcome of the race, including finishing order, winning time and time difference between first and last place. From these guesses, a further 50 was raised. After some generous donations from staff, the grand total of 300 was raised; our chosen charity is Cancer Research. Many thanks to all the teams that got involved, the students that made guesses, the spectators who came out to watch the race and, most of all, the members of 2H for their enthusiasm and organisation. Congratulations to Kezia Hobson, Olivia Day and Emily Buchanan, who represented East Belfast Rowing Club on 24 April at the Strathclyde Park Regatta in Scotland. Emily won a gold medal in a Quadruple scull against strong opposition. Olivia and Kezia rowed above their age group and were involved in several close races and the Club was proud of them. The event was run by the Scottish Rowing Union on the 6-lane course which was used for the last Commonwealth Games and the standard was very high. On 29 May, Form Four Business Studies pupils visited the Tayto factory in Tandragee to view the production processes of one of Northern Ireland s most famous brands. On the tour pupils learnt about the application of many of the topics they study at GCSE including: Methods of Production, The Impact of Technology on Production, Health & Safety, Quality Management, Marketing, New Product Development and Stock Control. Pupils also enjoyed sampling the unflavoured crisps immediately after they had been cooked and were still hot. A variety of crisps and corn snacks were also enjoyed after the flavours had been added. Pupils found the experience very beneficial as they got to see a factory employing over 350 people in full production and witnessed the whole production process from the potato store outside to the packaging of the crisps for the various retailers. Our GCSE and A-level artists were able to showcase their talent at this year s Art Exhibition on 29 May. Guests enjoyed viewing the range of beautiful work and many commented on the outstanding quality and variety of work on display. This, as always, was a wonderful opportunity for the girls hard work to be recognised and fully appreciated. Winners of this year s Principal s Art Prize were: Amy Martin and Sophie Pružina (GCSE); Alice Campbell (AS), and Lucy Browne and Anna Campbell (A2). Well done to these girls and to all of our artists for being part of this very successful event. Special thanks to Sophie Pružina for volunteering to play the harp at the exhibition this year: guests very much enjoyed this beautiful musical addition!

3 Season 2015 has been another exciting and extremely successful one for Strathearn. It is with great pride that I announce that our tennis players have achieved a hat-trick of victories winning three out of the four available Ulster Cups. All six tennis teams completed their section match programmes on time. The Junior B Team of Murphy Miller, Maya Savage Newell, Grace Hutchinson and Niamh Meredith had a tough section and lost to both Hunterhouse and Sullivan, but gave a better account of themselves with a win against Grosvenor. The Intermediate B Team of Evanna Maxted, Claire Hunter, Katie Caldwell and Ellen Gilpin finished runners-up in their section, losing narrowly to eventual finalists, Down High School, but winning against both Grosvenor and Victoria College. Meanwhile the Senior Team of Emily Whiteside, Rachael Thomas Jemma Gillan, Saskia Craig and Emma Flannigan made it through to the semi-final against Methodist College, but despite the team s best efforts, lost on a games count, having drawn the match 3 matches each. However, the Year 8 Team of Jemima Thomas, Sarah Craig, Sarah West and Clara Potts had a tremendous first season. Having won their section, the team played Down High School in the quarter-final and won in style, 5 matches to 1. In the semi-final the team played Hunterhouse and again performed to a very high standard to win their place in the final 6-0. Similarly, the Junior A Team of Emma McGugan, Claire Whiteside, Erin Stewart and Chloe Sweet, defeated all the teams in their section and played Methodist College B in the quarter-final. Straight wins in all four singles saw the team win through to the semi-final to play Dalriada. A trip to Muckamore Tennis Club in Antrim was the neutral venue and the team played really well to book their place in the final 5-1. Thursday, 18 June was a fantastic occasion for our Minor and Junior A tennis players when both teams attended Ulster Finals Day. This was held at Bangor Lawn Tennis Club where the very best Minor and Junior players in Ulster, both boys and girls, were on show. The Year 8 Team of Jemima Thomas, Sarah Craig, Sarah West and Clara Potts met Banbridge Academy in the Minor Cup Final and what a great match the team played! Although there were a few nerves to start with, the girls soon settled in to their two doubles matches. Total concentration and smart tactical decisions saw both pairs totally outplay Banbridge, and we were up and running with two match wins, both with 8-1 score lines. The girls still had to play their four singles though, so a lot of tennis had to be played. Again, Banbridge had no answer to Strathearn and there was a clear margin of victory in each of the singles: Jemima, playing at number 1, won 8:love; Sarah Craig at 2, won 8:1; Sarah West at 3, won 8:2 and Clara also won 8:0. So Strathearn won the Ulster Minor Cup in tremendous style! The Junior A Team of Emma McGugan, Claire Whiteside, Erin Stewart and Chloe Sweet, played Methodist College in their final and knew that they had a real battle on their hands. When Erin lost her number 3 singles 8:3, Emma and Claire pulled out all the stops in their doubles to clinch the match 8:2 and level the contest. Despite Emma playing some delightful tennis against her Irish ranked opponent, she was beaten 8:4 in her singles, but once again it was up to Claire to level the match 2-all, with a tremendous 8:1 singles win. Strathearn, edged ahead 3:2 in matches when Erin and Chloe teamed up to win 8:5 in their second doubles. Chloe s singles, which was the last match on court, was not without its pressure, but Chloe, in her first final for Strathearn, played some excellent tennis and won her match 8:3 and in so doing sealed the Junior Cup win for Strathearn! The Intermediate A Team of Jessica Leeman, Megan Chambers, Jessica Moore and Victoria Hamilton have also had great success and defeated Down High School in the Intermediate Cup Final. This match was the best of three sets in both doubles and all four singles matches, but once again, the whole team were totally dominant in their matches and won the Cup in style with straight sets victories in every match. The winning tennis tradition continues in our school, and we congratulate all our players on another outstanding season. May the success continue!! YEAR 8 TEAM FIXTURES and RESULTS 5 May Regent House W May Glenlola W May Sullivan W 4-2 JUNIOR B TEAM FIXTURES and RESULTS 27 Apr Hunterhouse L May Sullivan L May Grosvenor W 6-0 INTERMEDIATE B TEAM FIXTURES and RESULTS 23 Apr Down HS L Apr Grosvenor W May VCB W 6-0 JUNIOR A TEAM FIXTURES and RESULTS 28 April Belfast HS W May Larne GS W May Carrick GS W 6-0 INTERMEDIATE A TEAM FIXTURES and RESULTS 22 Apr BRA B W Apr Rockport W May Hunterhouse WALKOVER SENIOR TEAM FIXTURES and RESULTS 27 Apr Glenlola W Apr Cambridge House WALKOVER Class of 2015 Prize Distribution on Thursday 3 September at 10.30am School resumes on 26 August at 10am

4 The new House Officials have been very busy assisting with a number of Inter-House events while also doing their exams. Well done to them and to all the girls who have taken part and gained points for their House! See below the results of each of the events and a summary of overall points to date. INTER-HOUSE DEBATE - FORMS 1 4 JUNE 2015 PLACE =3rd 2nd =3rd 1st INTER-HOUSE ROUNDERS RESULTS JUNE 2015 POINTS PLACE POINTS 3 PLACE POINTS 6 PLACE POINTS 3 PLACE 8 POINTS FORM 1 2nd 3 4th 1 1st 4 3rd 2 FORM 2 2nd 3 1st 4 4th 1 3rd 2 FORM 3 4th 1 1st 4 3rd 2 2nd 3 FORM 4 2nd 3 3rd 2 4th 1 1st 4 OVERALL 3rd 10 =1st 11 4th 8 =1st 11 INTER-HOUSE TENNIS RESULTS JUNE 2015 FORM 1 1st 4 3rd 2 4th 1 2nd 3 FORM 2 4th 1 2nd 3 1st 4 3rd 2 FORM 3 4th 1 3rd 2 1st 4 2nd 3 FORM 4 3rd 2 2nd 3 1st 4 4th 1 OVERALL 4th 8 2nd 10 1st 13 3rd 9 INTER-HOUSE ATHLETICS RESULTS JUNE 2015 FORM 1 1st 4 4th 1 2nd 3 3rd 2 FORM 2 4th 1 1st 4 2nd 3 3rd 2 FORM 3 4th 1 3rd 2 2nd 3 1st 4 FORM 4 4th 1 3rd 2 2nd 3 1st 4 OVERALL 4th 7 3rd 9 1st 12 2nd 12 points points points points INTER-HOUSE NOVELTY EVENTS RESULTS JUNE 2015 FORM 1 4th 1 3rd 2 1st 4 2nd 3 FORM 2 2nd 3 =3rd 1.5 1st 4 =3rd 1.5 FORM 3 2nd 3 1st 4 4th 1 3rd 2 STAFF 4th 1 3rd 2 2nd 3 1st 4 OVERALL 4th 8 3rd 9.5 1st 12 2nd 10.5 OVERALL POINTS APRIL-JUNE 2015: BARBOUR 36; BOUCHER 45.5; MCCAUGHEY 48; WATTS 50.5

5 Results from the Co Down District Athletics Championships Strathearn had some excellent individual performances at the District Championships on 29 April and 7 May. Congratulations to all the girls who competed and contributed to Strathearn bringing home 4 out of 5 overall team titles Minor, Junior, Intermediate and Senior, with the Mini Team finishing runners-up. Seniors - Overall 1st - CO DOWN CHAMPIONS! Megan Marrs 1st 100m & 1st 100m Hurdles; Isla Lockhart 2nd 100m; Natalie Wallace 2nd Javelin; Chloe Johnston 2nd 400m; Lauren Brooker 2nd High Jump & 3rd 100m Hurdles; Laura Middleton 1st Hammer & 3rd Discus; Hannah Eakin 4th Long Jump & 5th Discus; Shannon Booth 3rd 200m & 6th Triple Jump; Gabrielle Park 3rd Hammer; Aimee Irwin 2nd Long Jump & 4th Triple Jump; Jessica Fairclough 4th 1500m; Amy Hepworth 3rd 3000m; Flo Ogonda 7th Shot; Relay 3rd - Lauren Brooker, Isla Lockhart, Aimee Irwin & Megan Marrs. Intermediates - Overall 1st - CO DOWN CHAMPIONS! Kate Farrelly 1st Triple Jump & 1st 80m Hurdles; Eve Truesdale 1st Long Jump & 4th 100m; Beth Crosbie 1st Hammer & 4th 300m; Natalie McHugh 2nd Javelin & 5th High Jump; Evanna Maxted 2nd Hammer & 10th Shot; Sarah Brown 4th 1500m; Bonnie Ramsay 5th Discus; Lauren Kirkwood 5th 80m Hurdles; Alanna McHugh 8th Triple Jump & 11th Javelin; Charlotte Thomas 9th Long Jump; Kezia Beattie 9th 800m; Alex Reilly 9th 1500m; Frankie Lynn 12th Shot; Niamh Lemon 14th Discus; Relay 2nd - Bonnie Ramsay, Eve Truesdale, Ellen Meredith & Kate Farrelly. Juniors - Overall 1st - CO DOWN CHAMPIONS! The Junior Team consisted of girls from Form 3 and some Form 2 girls in events that are not included in the Minor age group. FORM 3: Zara Wilson 1st Hammer & 1st Discus; Kerry Annett 1st Triple Jump & 4th Long Jump; Olivia Nelson 1st 1500m; Molly Longstaff 2nd Long Jump & 4th 100m; Hannah McCann 2nd Javelin & 20th Shot; Katie Wills 2nd 800m & 10th Javelin; Ruby Baxter 5th 200m & 6th 800m; Arianne Whiteside 6th 75m Hurdles & 8th High Jump; Sophie Neale 8th 100m; Caitlyn Thompson 16th Shot; Relay 2nd - Sophie Neale, Ruby Baxter, Kerry Annett & Molly Longstaff. FORM 2: Anna McKibbin 3rd 75m Hurdles; Harriet Platt 4th Triple Jump; Erin Stewart 4th Hammer; Freya Axten 7th 1500m; Eve Elliot 13th Discus. Special congratulations to Kerry Annett who broke the Co Down Triple Jump record with her winning jump of 10.03m and to Olivia Nelson who broke the 1500m record with a time of min. Minors - Overall 1st - CO DOWN CHAMPIONS! The Minor Team consisted of only Form 2 girls in 5 events: Murphy Miller 1st 800m; Aimee Stitt 2nd 800m; Eve Elliot 3rd Shot; Rhiannon Brady 5th 100m; Leah McClements 6th 100m; Harriet Platt 5th Long Jump; Megan Adair 6th Long Jump; Anna McKibbin 7th High Jump; Freya Axten 16th High Jump; Erin Stewart 20th Shot; Relay 1st - Murphy Miller, Aimee Stitt, Leah McClements & Rhiannon Brady. Special congratulations to Murphy Miller who also broke a Co Down record finishing the 800m in min. Minis - Overall 2nd in Co Down The Mini Team consisted of Form 1 girls in 5 events. Amelia Hopkins 1st High Jump; Amelia Kane 2nd 800m & 7th Long Jump; Eve McKibbin 4th 800m & 9th Long Jump; Sophie Longstaff 4th 100m & 14th Shot; Hannah Meredith 20th High Jump; Sarah West 21st Shot; Relay 4th - Eve McKibbin, Emily Gault, Amelia Hopkins & Sophie Longstaff. Results from the Ulster Schools Championships May 2015 at the Antrim Forum The girls who were placed in the top three at District Level qualified for the Ulster Championships. This has been one of the most successful Ulster Championships ever in Strathearn with many individuals winning medals, but also all athletes points are added together and we were crowned Ulster Champions in the Minor and Junior Age Groups and were runners-up (only narrowly beaten by 4 points) in the overall competition. The Results were as follows: Minis Overall =5th Amelia Hopkins 3rd High Jump & Amelia Kane 3rd 800m. Minors - Overall 1st - ULSTER CHAMPIONS! Murphy Miller 1st 800m (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Aimee Stitt 2nd 800m (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Relay 1st - Murphy Miller, Aimee Stitt (Qualifying for the Irish Championships), Leah McClements & Rhiannon Brady. Juniors - Overall 1st - ULSTER CHAMPIONS! Hannah McCann 1st Javelin (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Olivia Nelson 1st 1500m (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Zara Wilson 2nd Hammer & 3rd Discus (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Kerry Annett 3rd Triple Jump (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Molly Longstaff 4th Long Jump; Katie Wills 10th 800m; Relay 3rd - Sophie Neale, Ruby Baxter, Kerry Annett & Molly Longstaff. Intermediates - Overall 2nd Kate Farrelly 1st 80m Hurdles & 1st Triple Jump (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Eve Truesdale 3rd Long Jump (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Beth Crosbie 3rd Hammer (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Natalie McHugh 6th Javelin; Relay 2nd - Bonnie Ramsay, Eve Truesdale (Qualifying for the Irish Championships), Ellen Meredith & Kate Farrelly. Seniors - Overall 3rd Natalie Wallace 3rd Javelin (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Isla Lockhart 3rd 100m; Emma Watson 3rd 1500m S/C (Qualifying for the Irish Championships); Laura Middleton 3rd Hammer (Qualifying for the Irish Championships) & 7th Discus; Lauren Brooker 3rd High Jump (Qualifying for the Irish Championships) & 3rd 80m Hurdles; Gabrielle Park 5th Hammer; Shannon Booth 6th 200m; Amy Hepworth 6th 3000m; Chloe Johnston 8th 400m; Relay 4th - Lauren Brooker, Shannon Booth, Aimee Irwin & Isla Lockhart. Results of the Irish Schools Athletics Championships From their outstanding performances at Ulster level thirteen individual girls and two relay teams qualified for the Irish Championships which took place in Tullamore, Co Offaly on Saturday, 30 May. The Strathearn athletes stepped out against the best in Ireland and while not all of them won medals or got personal bests, they all did our school proud and did their utmost to compete at this very high level. In the Senior Girls Competition Lauren Brooker was 5th in the 100m Hurdles and 7th in the High Jump. Unfortunately, our other 3 Senior athletes were unable to travel to Tullamore due to exam preparation. In the Intermediate Girls Competition: Kate Farrelly was 3rd in the Triple Jump and 5th in the 80m Hurdles; Beth Crosbie was 9th in the Hammer and Eve Truesdale was 10th in the Long Jump. The Relay Team of Bonnie Ramsay, Eve Truesdale, Ellen Meredith and Kate Farrelly finished 7th. In the Junior Girls Competition Strathearn were 6th overall out of over 70 schools in this age group: Kerry Annett was 3rd in the Triple Jump; Olivia Nelson was 4th in the 1500m; Hannah McCann was 6th in the Javelin; Zara Wilson was 6th in the Hammer and 8th in the Discus. The highlight of the Strathearn performances came from our youngest athletes in the Minor Girls Competition. This is the first year this age group has had an opportunity to compete at the Irish Schools Athletics Competition and Strathearn made sure it will be one to remember. Murphy stormed away and left the stadium in no doubt that she was determined to be crowned the first ever Irish Minor 800m Champion and crossed the line in 1st place. Aimee put up a good fight and finished a very respectable 5th place. These two girls along with Leah McClements and Rhiannon Brady, were in action again at the end of the day in the Minor Girls Relay. The girls ran well with clean baton changes but were up against tough opposition and narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing in 4th place. Overall points are added up in each age group and in the inaugural year of the Minor competition these Strathearn athletes have made history being crowned Overall Minor Irish Champions! This is a phenomenal achievement and comes on the back of winning the Irish Intermediate title last year and this bodes well for the success of Strathearn athletes at national level in the future. It is also a very good example that every competitor s place counts and contributes to the overall points not just those that win medals. Tailteann Irish Schools Interprovincial Championships Kate Farrelly and Olivia Nelson were selected to represent Ulster at the Interprovincial Championships on Friday 19 June in Santry, Dublin. Kate finished 2nd in the Triple Jump with a Personal Best of 11.00m and was also 5th in the 80m Hurdles. Olivia was 4th in the 1500m with a Personal Best of 4 minutes 41 seconds. Well done girls!