All posts by : Elaine Scott

The Senior cadets enjoyed a sunny Tuesday training session learning about Expeditions both for the CCF and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme as Laurelhill CCF do both.

The cadets studied in the Youth Center how to pack a Rucksack, what types of footwear are suitable for expeditions etc, before going outside after break to look at Triangia Stoves, practice putting them together as well as being shown how to light one in preparation for next weeks “Expeditions Food Prepping.” The also had a go at erecting a Force Ten Classic Standard Mk 4  – 2 Person Tent – the original canvas type A frame….

brought back memories for the CFAV of their own DofE expeditions ahem a few years ago….

If you are interested in doing something similar why not join the Cadets and do your own DofE Award Scheme.

Get an application form from Adele, Colin, or David in school or call on a Tuesday after school 3:15 – 5:30 to see what it is all about.

Junior Cadets attended their Weapon Handling course on Saturday in school. Whilst many pupils were laying in bed or playing video games etc,    
Cdt Francey, 

Cdt Pressley, 

Cdt Kavolynas 

and

Cdt Gowdy 

were attending lessons on the Air Rifle, the safe practices for handling and firing the Air Rifle. All 4 cadets then did their Weapon Handling Test, which they all passed. This was followed by a few hours shooting on the range in the afternoon before heading home.

They were presented in their relevant school assemblies with their badges for shooting on the range with the Air Rifle, which can now be worn proudly on their arm when in uniform.

This week several cadets achieved awards which were recognised in the relevant school assemblies.

Dominikos Afangsenkov

2 Star ACS,

Ethan Fleming

2 Star ACS and Shooting Marksman,

Lilly Cree

2 Star ACS and Shooting Marksman,

Nikodem Cytryna

2 Star ACS and Shooting Pass,

Chloe Boyd

2 Star ACS and Shooting Pass,

Ethan Robinson

2 Star ACS and Shooting Pass and

Chloe Morgan

4 Star ACS and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award – these are the highest the CCF can award and Chloe is in the top 5% of CCF Nationally, who achieve both of these awards.

The CCF offers life changing experiences that no other extra-curricular activity can match. Joining the CCF provides so many opportunities to challenge yourself, develop your skills and work as part of a team.

The DofE is run by Laurelhill CCF.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme is open to any young person aged 14-24. Each young person builds their own DofE programmes – picking their own activities and choosing which cause to volunteer for – in order to achieve a Bronze, Silver, or Gold DofE Award.

Achieving a Gold Award is a big deal so, its only right you get a proper celebration of your outstanding achievements.

Every young person who achieves their Gold Award is invited to attend a Gold Award celebration event at a Royal Palace attended by a Member of The Royal Family. Chloe heads to London next week for her Celebration Event.

Practice Makes Perfect…

Today the cadets at Laurelhill CCF got some more shooting practice in and some completed “Classification Shoots” to go towards their badges and awards through the CCF Syllabus. Everyone had a chance to shoot, brushing up on their skills in preparation for “summer camp” in July. 

Adele ran the Range assisted by Linda and Colin, whilst David provided First Aid cover (which thankfully wasn’t needed).

There was a shoot off for “best shot” which was won by Ethan Fleming.  Nikodem Cytryna shot a grouping of 9 shots almost all in the one hole.

The cadets enjoyed tuck-shop, some pool and table tennis in the Youth Centre, before the end of the session. The Easter break will see no cadet meeting for 2 weeks, returning on Tuesday  29th April at 3:15.

If you would be interested in joining cadets, come along on a Tuesday afternoon to have a taste, get an application form and experience the fun for yourself.

On Target…CCF volunteers, Adele, Linda and David attended an Archery GB Instructor Award course over the weekend. All three passed with flying colours. This means the CCF will be able to run Archery sessions more often with qualified instructors to teach the cadets and put them through their paces, helping the cadets attain their badges and qualifications.
David also attended his First Aid at Work Level 3 Award (RQF) the weekend before.
Congratulations to all three and we look forward to seeing their skills put to good use in Laurelhill CCF.

Year 8 Basketball Ulster Cup and Shield

The year 8 basketball Ulster Cup and Shield was held before Christmas at Lisburn Racquets club. Laurelhill girls competed in a very difficult Cup competition against Rathmore, St Dominic’s and St. Genevieve’s.

The girls played brilliantly and gave maximum effort in every game with this being the first time many of the girls had ever played basketball. Unfortunately, the other schools were too strong for our girls as we finish 4^th in the pool stages. Player of the tournament for the girls was Abbi A-B who’s rebounding and defence was excellent!

The boys competed in the Ulster Shield competition and came against Aquinas, St. John’s The Baptist, Forthill and St. Ciaran’s. The boys secured a narrow win 8-6 in their opening game against an experienced Aquinas side with many players associated with top clubs in Northern Ireland. Oskar P and Liam R-R stood out with impressive performances. Next up was St. Ciaran’s. The boys ran out comprehensive winners 22-8, with captain Liam R-R leading the way with 16 points! Daryl McK was colossal in defence, securing multiple defensive rebounds. Malek gave an inspired performance that would be similar to the Duracell bunny, he was everywhere on defence. The boys then faced St. John The Baptist in what would turn out to be a preview of the final. St. John’s won 14-10 scoring two baskets in the last minute of the game, St. John’s were excellent throughout the game and benefitted from their significant size advantage.

It’s always a must win game when any Laurelhill team take on a local rival but the Year 8 boys needed no reminders. They raced into an 8-0 lead with Archie R and Logan R finding their scoring touch. Forthill battled back to bring it a 4 point game but captain Liam stepped up to the mark and dug deep to hit three unanswered layups. Huge credit should go to Kai I whose athleticism was dominant throughout the game. Final score Laurelhill 18 – 12 Forthill.

With 4 wins and 1 defeat the boys progressed to the final where they met St. John The Baptists for the second time. It’s not the size of the man but the size of his heart that matters, that was certainly the case for the boys in the final. The 1^st quarter was an even contest with both sides trading scores through Liam R-R and Archie. Kai was superb at both ends of the floor, with Eddie M providing some excellent assists for Liam. With the sides level going into the final quarter, Laurelhill found another gear to move into. An excellent defensive stop and dish from Daryl allowed Liam to dribble past two players and drive into the key. With St. John’s protecting the basket, Liam cleverly stopped and found Oskar P who knocked down a huge jump-shot to put Laurelhill in front. In the last minute of the game, Kai I leaped above his man to secure an important defensive rebound, in a carbon copy of the play a minute ago, Liam drove into the key and dished the ball back to Oskar who was wide open to drop another long jump-shot. It put Laurelhill up by four which was too much for St. John’s to claw back. Final score Laurelhill 10 – 6 St. John The Baptist.

Year 8 Boys:

Play of the Tournament: Liam R-R

Most Improved Player: Oskar P

Year 8 Girls

Player of the tournament: Abbi A-B

Most Improved Player: Rutendo B

Mr Smyth and Chloe

Our Year 8 netball team put in a fantastic performance in their first competitive fixture of the season, finishing 4th in a highly competitive Netball Blitz tournament.

The girls showed great determination and teamwork throughout the tournament, demonstrating strong defensive play and quick attacking movement. Each match was a hard-fought contest, with the players improving their communication and team tactics as the tournament progressed.

Despite facing some tough opposition, the team secured some impressive results and worked tirelessly to earn their 4th place finish, narrowly missing out on 3rd place by 1 point! This was a great achievement for their first outing of the season, and the experience will only help them grow in confidence and skill. 

Player of the tournament for Laurelhill: Tegan C. 

Match results: 

Lagan: Won 2-0

Hunterhouse: Drew 0-0

Lisnagarvey: Lost 2-0

Friends: Lost 4-0

Fort Hill: Drew 0-0

St. Colm’s: Won 2-0

Wallace: Lost 4-1

Well done to all the players for their effort and sportsmanship. A promising start to the season – we look forward to seeing what they can achieve in the matches ahead! 

Mrs McCready. 

You can’t win them all.

Laurelhill U16s crashed out of the Belfast Cup Quarter Final in heartbreaking fashion to Rathmore.

Rathmore came flying out of the blocks and got off to the perfect start finding the back of the net in the first minute of the game. The goal did not serve as a wakeup call as Rathmore doubled their lead 10 minutes later.

It took a while for the boys to settle and get into a rhythm, on the 20 minute mark, Billy N finished off an excellent move down the left following brilliant link up play by Noah and Harry. Billy N confidently slotted the ball home to get Laurelhill back into the game.

Unfortunately a lapse in concentration, saw Rathmore add a third 2 minutes after Laurelhill scored.

Half time 3-1.

Again Rathmore started very brightly and ran into a 4-1 lead. However, Laurelhill finally started to raise their game. Shortly after the fourth Rathmore goal, Harry D got his first of the game with an excellent finish following great build up play by Jay B, Billy N and Max, 4-2. Five minutes later Laurelhill pulled another goal back, an excellent move that consisted of just five passes, resulted in Jay B playing a defence splitting ball through to Max, who smashed the ball across goal into the bottom corner, 4-3.

With the adrenaline following, Laurelhill were now first to every ball, the fight, passion and desire was clear to see. With 10 minutes left, Harry smashed the ball into the roof of the net after Rathmore failed to deal with an excellent delivery from winger James H.

Full time 4-4, a remarkable comeback!

Extra-time found the momentum with Laurelhill, chances for James H, Max and Jay all resulted in good saves from the Rathmore keeper. Rathmore had chances of their own and were constantly a threat from set pieces. A corner which was headed towards goal from two yards out seemed destined to find the net, somehow Laurelhill goalkeeper Charlie C pulled off an incredible save to push the ball round the post for another corner.

Injury to centre back Joel M, saw a delay in the corner, the delay caused some defensive confusion and with penalties just two minutes away, the corner was headed home from Rathmore. With 30 seconds left Laurelhill won a corner, with virtually everyone forward, Rathmore managed to clear the ball and counter with a sixth goal.

Unfortunately there will be no back to back Belfast Cup win for Laurelhill’s U16s but the effort, character and desire from the boys to come from 4-1 to bring the game to extra was remarkable and a fantastic example to all players at the college to never give up!

Thank you as always to all parents/guardians for their support.

We now focus our attention to our final competition of the year, the NI Plate, where we play Castlederg at the Bluebell on Wednesday 19^th Feb.

Final Score AET:

Rathmore 6-4 Laurelhill

Goal scorers:

Harry D x2,

Max

Billy N

MOTM: Harry D.

Mr Smyth

Laurelhill V Edmund Rice 

The winning streak continues for our U13 girls with a 5-1 win on Wednesday afternoon. 

A nervous team took to the pitch on Wednesday afternoon, the girls had already faced this team last year and knew what they were up against. The first half saw Laurelhill dominate the game with a 2-0 lead and Tilly C securing both goals.  Edmund Rice put pressure on the girls especially on the wing with some fast play keeping Miley Mc and Myliee M on their toes.

Edmund Rice attacked back with two great chances however Chloe M was on her toes and saved both from going into the back of the net. Our defence were the stars of the show Lacey S, Mia W, Niamh P and Lucia E making sure that our back line was strong.

Tilly C went on to score a third goal with Charley L  and Kaci M securing goals for a Laurelhill win.

Laurelhill are now into the quarter final of the NI Cup.

Goals

Tilly C x3

Charley L x1

Kaci M x1 

POM Niamh P

Well done girls!

Ms Beattie and Ellie 

What a fantastic day Year 8 had at the NSPCC Beetle Drive on Thursday 6^th February it was a great success! The competition was on 😊 It was brilliant to see the interaction of pupils and the laughs being had. Pupils had great respect for each other and had great fun playing the Beetle Drive. Watch out for our top Competitors, prizes will be handed out in Assembly. I am so proud of how Year 8 behaved 😊

Mrs Majury