Hopeful Minds

Laura and Emma from RISE have been coming into school on Wednesday afternoons to run a workshop for P6/7 called “Hopeful Minds”. This workshop is designed to teach children life skills for creating, maintaining and sustaining hope.

Road Safe NI Quiz - Regional winners!

Today four of our pupils, Evie P7, Jacob P6, Katie P7 and Mark P7 took part in the Road Safety quiz which is run by Road Safe NI Charity. It was held in the Lodge Hotel Coleraine. There were twenty teams in the competition and the children had to answer questions on Road Safety and also General knowledge. We were delighted that Rasharkin Primary School children were winners for the region, with Castleroe Primary 2nd place and Bushvalley Primary School 3rd Place.

Our team now go into the Northern Ireland final on 4th March in Cookstown. Well done everyone!

SNOW FUN

There was a lot of excitement in school today when the snow arrived. The children had great fun making snowmen, snow caterpillars and igloos. It was the perfect snow for rolling massive snowballs.

Shared Education

Click here to visit our Shared Education page to see what we have been learning about together with pupils from St. Patrick’s PS.

Autism Workshops

Please click here for more information regarding Autism Workshops that Bushvalley Primary School are hosting for staff and parents through Middletown Centre for Autism.

Assembly Awards, December 2023

Congratulations to the children pictured below who received certificates for: Being Kind and Caring, Showing Resilience, Accelerated Reader, Reading Eggs and Fast Phonics. Evie and Izabelle shared the Accelerated Reader cup, both who had almost ten times their target. Joy received an award as our first millionaire reader this year.

Christmas Concert, December 2023

Pupils performed two plays to a packed audience.   Well done to all the pupils who put on a great show.  Many thanks to all the staff for their hard work in preparing the children behind the scenes and to Rasharkin Presbyterian Church for the use of their facilities.

Christmas Dinner

We were delighted to be able to host so many grandparents and adults for Christmas lunch, with our pupils in P3-5. Many thanks to Mrs Henry and Mrs Peden who arranged games for everyone to play together and Mrs Logue for all her hard work in the kitchen. It was delightful to be part of the fun and enjoy this opportunity thanks to a grant from Linking Generations NI and the Public Health Agency.

Breakfast Club

We have been delighted to be able to offer parents the opportunity to drop off their child at school from 8.00am. Children can stay in Breakfast Club until school opens and then join their usual class. Children can have a choice of cereal, toast and eggs. After they have finished their breakfast they can play table top games, or football and table tennis for the more energetic.

We have decided to continue running breakfast club in the New Year, as it has been so enjoyable for the children. To book for Breakfast Club, parents should send money and bookings at least 24hours before (to help plan staffing).  Children who come to school on the early bus are also welcome to join Breakfast Club for toast and games (50p).

P3/4 Class Treat- Bring a Toy to school Day

P3/4 have been working very hard to collect enough gems in their class jar to earn their next treat. Today each child brought in a toy from home to play with alongside their friends.

Radio Cracker

This morning the children from P5, P6 and P7 went to the Fairhill Shopping Centre to sing on the Radio Cracker Christmas Radio Station. They sang three songs from their “Christmas with the Aliens” musical.

Thanks to the parents who came along to hear us singing.

Ballymoney High Taster Day

P6/7 enjoyed Drama, Technology, Home Economics and Science during a taster session at Ballymoney.  Many thanks to staff at Ballymoney High for inviting us. 

Football Success Continues!

Well done to our football team who, once again, were unbeaten at the tournament on Wednesday.

Admission for September 2024

Primary 1 Applications for school year beginning September 2024 will open on Tuesday 9 January 2024 at 12 noon. Have a look at our flyer here, or the Admissions tab of our website. We would be delighted to welcome visitors to our school on Wednesday 10th January 2024.

Shaken - Pizza Party

P6 and P7 have been taking part in the ‘Shaken’ Programme where they have been thinking about things they can do to help them, if their lives are ‘shaken’.

Having completed the Shaken Programme, the children had a ‘Pizza Party Celebration’. They were reminded that each of them are unique and decorated their own pizzas to illustrate this. All enjoyed freshly cooked pizzas and then were presented with certificates.

Many thanks to a grant from Northern Area, Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention Model Groups that made this possible.

MADLUG - THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Harvest Offering for ‘MadLug’. We were able to send £150 to Madlug which will go to help fifteen children in care to carry their lives in dignity. Click Link to view letter

'COACHING FOR CHRIST', PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Bethany P5, who was chosen by Keri and Jess from Coaching For Christ, as player of the month for October 2023. Bethany and a pupil from Dunclug were chosen for ‘ showing great attitude and determination throughout their Coaching For Christ Sessions’. Well done Bethany!

BULB PLANTING P1 and P2

Our P1 and P2 children have enjoyed tidying their flower bed. They have now planted different bulbs and are looking forward to see what flowers appear in the springtime.

BEYOND BRICKS P1 - P2

P1 and P2 have also been taking part in the Beyond Bricks Programme. Details of the Programme are in the Beyond Bricks P3-P5 blog. Here are some pictures of P1 and P2 children during their sessions.

BEYOND BRICKS - P3 - P5

We are delighted that we have received funding which has enabled P1 - P5 children to take part in the Beyond Bricks Lego Based Programme. What is Beyond Bricks?

Beyond Bricks is a legacy programme which sees schools fully equipped to deliver a series of interactive workshops aimed to increase the emotional health and wellbeing of Children.

MindWise will work with schools to support the pupils recover and discover new skills to enable them to overcome challenges in their lives, by focusing on the five key aspects of emotional wellbeing as identified by the Education Authority  ‘Emotional Health and Wellbeing Framework.’

  • Coping

  • Self-awareness

  • Motivation

  • Social resilience

  • Self-control

Pupils will take part in a 5 week interactive programme in their school with their own teachers co-facilitating the programme with trained Beyond Bricks Associates. Each pupil will leave with a personalised toolkit to help them cope with all five areas of the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Framework to navigate their future with confidence.

During the sessions, there is always a Lego building section. In groups of three, the children work as a group to complete Lego models - one person looks at the instructions and communicates what pieces are needed, the second lifts out the required lego pieces and the third constructs the lego model. It has been great to watch their confidence grow, week on week as they complete these tasks.

Rachel from Beyond Bricks, and the class teachers and classroom assistants have been helping the children complete their Beyond Bricks workbooks. P3 - P5 have been making Coping Jars.