School News

Here’s what’s been happening in Gracehill

Orchestra Concert

On Tuesday 16th April our school orchestra put on the performance of the year!

They welcomed parents into the assembly hall to listen to some pieces that they had performed. There were full orchestra pieces, ensembles and solos.

We are extremely proud of how the boys and girls got on this week as well as throughout the year as they have practiced and improved in their instrument.

Many thanks must go to Mrs Cousley, Mrs Kernohan and Mrs Rogers.

As part of the BBC’s 100 year celebrations, the BBC’s Geoff Maskell came and spoke to the P7s and our Eco Committee about the life of a weather presenter. He was very impressed with all the questions he was asked. Geoff told us that he spends a lot of time looking out the window – we decided that was a great job to have!

World Book Day 2024

Our pupils had a fantastic day on 8th March to celebrate reading. There were guest readers to every classroom, competitions, a book swap and of course our annual parade. Check out some of our photos below.

A huge thanks to parents and everyone who helped with costumes, the children looked amazing.

Click here to see more videos and photos

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Click here to see more videos and photos 〰️

P7 Hockey Team

Congratulations to the P7 hockey team for representing us so well at the Pearson Cup at Ballymena Academy.

The girls remained unbeaten until the semi final and were defeated by Antrim PS.

Well done girls!

Love for Life Visit

Many thanks to Love for Life who visited our P4-P6 pupils today.

The children learned about internet safety, growing up and relationships.

5-a-side Football

Well done to the 5-a-side football team who made it to a semi-final at the Ballymena Primary Schools competition at Antrim Forum. The boys scored a huge 17 goals across 9 games. They lost to the eventual winners Groggan in the semi final 1-0. They also drew with Camphill and lost to Ballykeel. In the group stages they beat Dunclug 6-0, Portglenone 2-1, The Diamond 1-0, Moorfields 3-1, Broughshane 2-0 and Kirkinriola 2-0.

The school is tremendously proud of your achievements, well done!

Author Visit - Tim Bailie

We were delighted to welcome author Tim Bailie to school on 29th February. Tim has recently released a book called ‘The Proud Parakeet’ illustrated by Jennifer Davison.

Tim took small sessions with our year groups and read his new book to the children. The children enjoyed listening and meeting an author in the run up to World Book Day. Some even got a copy of the book signed as well!

Senior Cup

Our school football team travelled to the new 4G pitch at St. Louis Grammar school to take part in their 9-a-side group stage.

After a frustrating 0-0 start against Broughshane PS, the team then lost 3-0 to Ballykeel.

However, the team gathered themselves and beat St. Brigit’s 2-0 and then St. Colmcilles 2-0 before drawing 0-0 with Carniny.

Congratulations to Ballykeel and Carniny who progressed to the next round.

We look forward to competing in the 5-a-side tournament next Thursday at Antrim Forum and travelling to Buick on 11th March.

Visit from the Dairy Council

Many thanks to Aaron from the Dairy Council for visiting P5 on Thursday 22nd February.

The children heard lots about healthy eating, how to exercise and the main food groups.

Adobe Express Workshops

George from Adobe took workshops with our P4 - P7 classes on how to use this fantastic piece of software.

The children were able to make posters and different publications using the software.

The children were able to use AI to create fonts and generate designs that were appropriate for their topic. Well done everyone!

Ballymoney Hockey Tournament

Our P7 girls took two teams to Ballymoney Leisure Centre for a hockey tournament on Friday 26th January. They won 13 games, lost 2 and drew 1.

A massive well done to all the girls!

Many thanks to Miss Doran, Mrs McCann and Mrs Gordon for all their help with the girls.

Ballymena 7-a-side Finals Day

After winning the group stage at Fourtowns before Christmas, the 7-a-side team travelled to Ballymena Academy for the finals day. They played two very tough games against Camphill and Fourtowns and unfortunately lost both.

The boys still represented our school very well and they are looking forward to the 9-a-side Senior Cup after half term.

Well done boys.

Snow at Gracehill!

Tuesday 16th January

Tuesday saw a white covering of snow fall in Gracehill. Lots of our boys and girls were able to head outside and have fun with their classmates in the beautiful village square and school grounds.

The Daily Mile Santa Run

As you all know, Gracehill pupils love to get their steps in. However, on Friday 1st December things were a little different!

We were part of the ‘Northern Ireland does the Daily Mile Santa Run’ initiative and you might have seen us kitted out in our Christmas regalia walking around the village.

Here we are in action.

Champions!

Well done to our school football team! They came out on top on Thursday 30th November at Fourtowns Primary School.

They drew one game and won the other 4 that they played. An all-round performance was reported by Mr McBurney and Miss Fleck with lots of goals and good football played.

This means that they progress to the 7-a-side finals day with Camphill, Fourtowns and Ballykeel after Christmas.

Very well done boys and girls!

Prayer Spaces in Schools

As part of the RE curriculum, our pupils recently had access to a Prayer Space set up by our local Scripture Union E3 worker Eve Lowry. Eve has been into our school many times to take assemblies, deliver RE lessons and help P7s approach the transition to secondary school well. Our pupils seemed to really enjoy the opportunity and we want to say a massive thank you to Eve and her team.

Football at Fourtowns

The first of 2 weeks of football took place at Fourtowns Primary School on Thursday 16th November.

This week the team played well in their 4 games and came away with one victory against Buick Memorial PS.

The second week will take place on Thursday 30th November.

Thank you to Mr McBurney who took the team on Thursday and to Mrs Marshall and Miss Fleck for coaching the children this term.

Odd Socks Day 2023

To mark the start of anti-bullying week, our wonderful pupils came to school in odd socks! What a reminder to all of our pupils that difference should be celebrated and our classes will be discussing these issues this week.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Smile!

P5 get a visit from the dentist.

A huge thanks to Mrs McKeown who came to visit our Primary 5 classes on Monday.

The children loved hearing from Mrs McKeown as part of their Superhuman theme. The children learnt all about teeth and how to best look after them. They were able to ask questions and see how much sugar was in some common drinks and snacks. Thanks again!