Feb 2012

Wednesday

Latest News

Year 9 Football Team Win Tournament30th Jan 2012

The drought is over!

It has been a long time since a male Hazelwood football team has produced the goods on the pitch but I am delighted to report that the Year 9 footballers have finally put us back where we belong!

It was with great trepidation that I accepted Carol’s invite to compete in the ‘Battle of the Boards’ tournament at the beginning of September. I had never met the team let alone had a training session with them. My fears were quickly allayed as I realised that this group of players had everything needed to be a competitive football team-hunger, determination, sportsmanship and most importantly bucket loads of talent!

I was now officially excited about this football team and as we drove to Stormont Playing Fields on Monday 24^th October there was a real feeling of destiny on our shoulders.

The tournament consisted of ten schools from all around Northern Ireland. As we got the fixtures it dawned on us all that to win this was not going to be easy. Newtownabbey High, Antrim Grammar, St.Colman’s Newry, Coleraine Inst, Downshire among others stood in our way.

The players knew what they had to do and more importantly listened to their coaches when tactical advice was needed to be taken on board. It quickly became clear to us all that the strongest teams in the competition were Downshire, Newtownabbey and Coleraine and it was no surprise that these three teams along with ourselves made up the semi-final line-up.

We were drawn against Coleraine Inst in the semi final. At the final whistle the score was four a piece so our fate lay in the hands of the dreaded penalty shoot-out. We had every faith in our keeper (Michael Law) and he did not disappoint us by producing two wonderful penalty saves to send the ‘Wood’ through to the final to face a very strong Downshire team.

Downshire had already beaten us 3-2 in the group stages but as was the case for all the games we had missed a plethora of chances (no names Dan Reynolds!!). I informed the boys that if we relax in front of goal then we will bring the cup back to Graymount House. Our skipper (Mark Smith) rallied the boys with a John Terry-esque speech before the kick-off and we were ready-15 minutes to bring the silverware back to North Belfast!

Throughout the tournament we had our weapon of mass destruction…that is Dylan Davison’s left foot. He did not disappoint in the final and was inspirational in leading the boys to a convincing 7-3 victory. The final whistle was greeted with wild celebrations amongst all of the team. We had done it!! The trophy was heading back along the Shore Road and up the Whitewell! Here’s hoping the Crues and the Reds from Solitude take a leaf out of our book and start winning some trophies for this part of Belfast.

Mark Smith hoisted the trophy high above his head and Hazelwood College were crowned ‘Battle of the Boards’ Champions 2011.

Dylan Davison was crowned top goalscorer for the whole tournament.

This team deserve all the credit that will come their way and I hope they go from strength to strength. If they keep the same attitude and commitment I am sure they will have many more successes in the years to come.

The players who were triumphant were as follows Michael Law, Mark Smith, Nathan McAlinden, Stephen McConnell, Dan Reynolds, Ben Fee, Dylan Davison and Matty Beggs.

The team would like to thank Gareth (T.A) for his support at the tournament and Carol for organising our participation in the event.

Pele coined the phrase ‘The Beautiful Game’ and on days like this it truly is……well done boys from all of the students and staff of Hazelwood College.

Peter Thompson

Hazelwood Community ICT Night Class14th Dec 2011

Hazelwood College hosts community ICT night classes

Parents, relatives and members of the community were given the opportunity to improve their ICT skills by attending a 10 week evening ICT course in a relaxed but informative atmosphere. The course ran on Tuesdays from 6:30 – 8:00. It was designed to take those attending from the very basics, through emailing, internet browsing, internet shopping and banking, word processing and digital imagery.

The course was run by Miss Mary O’Boyle at Hazelwood Integrated College. The course concluded with the presentation of certificates.

Hazelwood Integrated College Trampoline Team6th Dec 2011

Hazelwood Integrated College Trampoline Team

The following 12 girls represented the College on Sunday 4^th December at the N.I Regional Schools Trampoline Competition at Ards Leisure Centre.

U13

Rebecca McComiskey

Hannah Rainey

Catriona Wilson

Kristen Mercer

U15

Chantelle Eagleson

Amy Garner

Taylor-Lee McConnell

Jodie Barr

U19

Georgia McDowell

Nikita McDowell

Laurel Stevenson

Alex Walker

All those competing scored very highly and we were particularly delighted for the U13 Team who won their section as well as Hannah Rainey who came first out of 41 girls competing in her group! Hannah and the U13 team of Kristen Mercer, Catriona Wilson and Rebecca McComiskey will go to England now to represent N.Ireland at the Championships in Newcastle.

Hazelwood's Craft Fair 6th Dec 201125th Nov 2011

The following stalls are available so please come along. If you want to add a stall yourself please contact the number above.

Below is a list of all the stalls we currently have

Jewellery
Stained glass gifts
Arts and crafts
Small games
Vintage value
Books
Cake stall
Titanic gifts
Homeless Shelter donations
Chinese lantern workshop
Polish gifts
Fair Trade
NI Hospice

More to come…

The YouthBank Team24th Nov 2011

YouthBank Update

The YouthBank team received a large number of application forms for potential clubs but unfortunately we only have a limited amount of money to give away, which meant that a lot of good clubs didn’t reach the interview stage. Although the lucky few that did, performed very well during their individual interviews, successfully promoting their potential clubs. All and all, the interviews went off without a problem, giving the YouthBank team valuable information regarding each club. We will now hold a meeting to decide which clubs should get funding, and which clubs unfortunately cannot. We will be letting the successful clubs know through an assembly very soon. Until then, good luck to all the clubs that have applied!

Remember if you are successful you will need to keep your receipts, take some photographs and write a short report on your club for the school newsletter.

The Hazelwood YouthBank Team 2011-12

Geography GCSE Fieldwork15th Oct 2011

Yr 12 GEOGRAPHY GCSE FIELDWORK TRIP

On the September 15^th -16^th 2011 we went to Magilligan Field Centre went on a trip to do a river study on the Curly Burn River for our GCSE controlled assessment. The Curly Burn River is a tributary of the River Roe, whose source is found close to Limavady. We left on Thursday morning at 9.30 am and travelled by minibus to the Education and Library Board field centre at Magilligan. There were 15 of us in the class and the teachers with us were Hilda and Trevor. Everyone was really excited about going on the trip. We arrived at the centre at about 11am and the weather was warm and sunny for once! When we arrived we met our group leader at the centre Laurie who was really lovely. We got settled into our rooms, before a quick bite of lunch and some time in the games room. Then it was off to the classroom to find out what we were going to be doing that afternoon at the river.

Laurie gave us a briefing on our fieldwork and the different data collection techniques we were going to be using. She demonstrated the equipment and how to use it correctly. It sounded like it was going to be a real adventure! We were going to be measuring the width, depth and speed of the river and the bedload size at six different sites along the rivers course. After the briefing it was time to get ourselves ready. We gathered all of our equipment and waterproofs. Most people were wearing typical Wellie boots, a helmet and waterproofs. The people who were going to go across the river where it was deepest had to wear waders and a lifejacket!

It took us about 15 minutes to get to the first site in the river’s upper course close to its source. At each site we worked in groups in the river collecting our data, then at the next site we swapped, so that when we had finished all six sites we had each tried all of the different data collection techniques. We also had to do some individual data collection. It was very difficult to get across the river at a lot of the sites as it was so slippy and lots of people were getting soaked! We really had to work together to get our data collected quickly and accurately.

When we had completed the data collection at the six sites we headed back to the centre for tea. Then it was back into the classroom, where we began writing up our controlled assessment. At around 7.30 we finished up and had some free time playing pool and table tennis together, before we watched a DVD. Then it was up to our dorms and lights out! We were all exhausted; it had been a long day!

In the morning we had breakfast together and spent some more time working on our controlled assessment, before packing our bags, saying goodbye to all of the staff at the centre and heading off. We stopped off at Portrush on the way home for lunch and then went onto Whiterocks, where we had a look at some of the coastal features we studied last year. We had a few minutes to enjoy the beach before we had to head back to school. We really enjoyed the trip and, believe it or not, getting into the river was surprisingly good fun!

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StreamVale Farm 201128th Sep 2011

My Day at Streamvale Farm

On Thursday 2^nd June we had a school trip to Streamvale farm, we were going to the farm as we were learning about farming in LLW. We left school at 12.30, just after our lunch. Our bus journey to Streamvale in Dundonald took 25 minutes. When we got there it was a really sunny and warm day. First we were introduced to Judith, she was our tour guide for the day. She took us on a walk through the nature trail. When we got there Judith told us all about badgers and we saw the badger sets, they were very big. I learnt that badgers are nocturnal and are the largest carnivores in Ireland.

On the nature trail we also saw Red Deer, one of them came right over to us and we fed it bread. We also got to stroke the deer. It was really calm, I think it quite enjoyed all of the attention! Judith told us that only the males have antlers and that they loose them in Spring and then they grow back by the Autumn. I learnt that the young deer are called calves. The deer we were stroking was called Prince Edwin!

After visiting Prince Edwin we went to the top of a hill on the farm where all the cows were grazing. Judith told us all about them, she also pointed out where we were. We could see all of Belfast, and as far away as Hollywood. Then it was off to Pets corner, on our way we saw some cute ducks, there was a little one that looked like it had an afro! Judith told us that the male ducks had a curly feather at their tail and the females didn’t.

Finally we got to the pets corner, where they had lots of different animals. First we saw two ponies called snowball and Sophie, beside the ponies there was a cow. We also saw little baby lambs and goats, some of us got to feed the lambs with milk. There was also a highland cow, pigs and a Donkey called Sam. I liked the little baby bunnies, Judith put them in a little basket and let us stroke them.

When we finished at the pets corner we went to a watch a power point about how milk is produced and about life on the farm.

Judith told us lots of new, interesting, information about cows. She told us that at Streamvale farm they try and keep their cow outside during the year as long as possible, because they think it is better for them. In winter they feed them silage which is cut grass from the summer. At Streamvale farm they make their own ice cream from their cows’ milk.

After the power point we had free time to do what we wanted. I first went to see the puppies and kittens. Next I went to get some of their ice cream in the café , it was filled with people because everybody wanted to taste it, it look delicious! Even though I was last in the line I still got to taste the scrumdidiliumches ice cream. I was sad to leave Streamvale farm and head back to school. I really enjoyed this trip because I had lots of fun and learnt new things.

By Bianca Mechirova

Please Click HERE to view images

Drama News1st Sep 2011

Drama News

Hazelwood has certainly played their part. It has been a busy term for the Drama department. Not content with performing a carol service and a Peace Assembly we have also been ‘out n about’. The AS and A2 drama classes have all had the opportunity to see the amazing production of King Lear at the Opera House, 1st March 2011. Sir Derek Jacobi’s interpretation of king Lear did not disappoint. We were lucky to watch the master at work: from the petulant bully at the start of the play, who doesn’t suffer fools gladly; to an aged mad man who rants and rages until his mind has gone. His magnificent portrayal of Lear’s descent into madness was inspiring to say the least. We witnessed him shift from adult to child —from a leader to a lost soul in a matter of minutes. The stark wintry set with ceilings and walls of whitewashed planks stripped of all fancy gimmicks and props paved the way for the work of the ‘bard’ to truly come to life. It was the power of the prose, that painted the scenes. There was certainly a lot to take in, and it will help the students with their examination in June.

The group have written, performed and directed their own unique play called Masquerade. This forms part of their final grade and yet again students excelled in creativity and talent. They devised their own characters based around a central theme of masking their true identity and hiding their true feelings and emotions. It was original, challenging and highly entertaining. A credit to the whole group, who worked collectively on this piece. We also watched the Bruiser Theatre Company’s adaptation of Othello on March 18th at the Waterfront Hall. This was a superb interpretation and display of acting at its best. A complete contrast to Lear it was a fast pacing, energetic and highly physical adaptation of a Shakespearean tragedy. The dramatic set of red Commedia del Arte masks paved the way to the theme: all is not as it seemed—the characters were hiding their true identity. Another powerful performance from the magnificent ‘dark moor’ alongside the twisted, conniving and somewhat Machiavellian, Iago. The production had the audience gripped from the start. The ‘gree eyed monster’ was certainly out in full force. The students thoroughly enjoyed this unique display of how Shakespeare can appeal to a modern audience. They were delighted they attended (even though it was their day off!). The students were able to write at length of their AS coursework and gave the A2 candidates plenty of food for thought for their examination in June. We wish them all the best!