On May Day we reflect on the legacy of our late supporter and friend Baroness May Blood. We congratulate all recipients of the Baroness May Blood Award for Community Activism this year.
On May Day we reflect on the legacy of our late supporter and friend Baroness May Blood.
“My passion for the past 20 years has been Integrated Education. The work that the community relations people are doing, and the work that the people in Integrated Education are doing – is the vital work. We are building a foundation for a better Northern Ireland. We want to change Northern Ireland and Integrated Education is certainly moving in that direction.” Baroness May Blood, 2021.
To honour this legacy, the Baroness May Blood Award for Community Activism launched last year in Integrated schools across Northern Ireland. The award is to be presented annually to a particular pupil, or group of pupils, to acknowledge their contribution and commitment to Community Activism.
The Award is made possible due to the generosity of our friends Alan and Monah Gettner.
Congratulations to all recipients of the Baroness May Blood Award for Community Activism this year.
Ben and Kara do a lot for their community and make a positive impact. They help with a local foodbank by sorting and distributing items. During the month of February, they slept on the floor to raise money for a number of charities including ‘Stand by Me’. They took part in a community litter pick and helped with the Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Appeal. The brother and sister also sponsor two children in Ethiopia.
As a Sixth Form student, Caitlin established a new Sixth Form Intergenerational Strategy Group in the school, aiming to establish new links with the older members of the community and provide some intergenerational experiences. Caitlin established a funding source through the ABC Council and led the group to reach out to three groups in the community: grandparents, local residents in the village and residents of a local care home. Under Caitlin’s leadership the group organised a wonderful Christmas community lunch followed by workshops in Art and Crafts, supporting emotional health and wellbeing along with ICT skills. This was followed by the establishment of a ‘Knit and Natter’ group which involved the older members of our community coming into school once a week to teach year 8 students how to knit. The group has continued, creating a wonderful legacy which has enabled the school to forge new community links. A great female leader who values the role the wider community can play in our learning. Caitlin has gone on to study Health and Social Care, hoping to pursue a career in the caring profession.
Last year, one of Mr Magee’s Year 11 ICT students, Danielle, put the graphic design skills she had acquired in class to good use, by making an advertisement for a charity fundraiser for her local community centre and an overseas charity.
Danielle was inspired by the memory of her brother, Marty, and his best friend Shane, both of whom tragically lost their lives in a car crash four years ago. As a young man, Marty was very active in supporting charitable and community projects.
Having raised over £2,000, in June Danielle and a group of friends followed in Marty’s footsteps by flying out to Romania to work in a camp for under-privileged children. They delivered food parcels and baby hampers, taught English, provided bible classes, and even participated in singing and drama performances. Danielle found the experience so rewarding that she plans to return next summer.
Danielle is a Youth Leader Volunteer for Riot in Dundrum, and supports a number of local charities, including Friends of the Daisy Lodge Centre, Exodus Southdown and helping to make up food parcels for Ukrainian refugees. Coming from a family with a mixed background, Danielle practises integration through her community work.
The Pupil and Eco Council worked together to organise a book swap for all classes from Nursery to Primary 7 to celebrate World Book Day. All the pupils within the school were invited to bring in any books that they don’t read any longer and would like to change. Both councils were overwhelmed by the response to their request.
The Pupil and Eco Councils organised the books into Early Years/Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, arranging them on tables in the Assembly Hall so everyone could see them clearly. Classes were given a timetable and staff brought the classes to the Assembly Hall to browse through the books and to choose one they would like to read.
Class teachers, classroom assistants and children on the pupil and eco- councils were on hand to help the children make their choices. They were able to steer the children to the right reading level and /or interest area.
Parents donated lots of books. Even though some children were unable to bring in books to swap, there were enough books to enable the whole school to get at least one book each. The Pupil and Eco Councils gathered up the left-over books and examined them to see if they were affiliated to Accelerated Reader. Any book that was linked to AR was given to the relevant class for their class library and the books not linked were given to P7 for their upcoming sale to fund their P7 residential.
Thanks to the Pupil and Eco Council’s book swap all the children from Nursery to P7 were able to sit back, relax and enjoy reading a good book.
Timothy was Deputy Head Boy of @Integrated College Dungannon. He was involved in many voluntary positions and always willing to support members of the school community.
Timothy was instrumental in implementing a ‘Be Collective’ group encouraging students to support the college and wider local community through acts of social responsibility, for example litter picks and charity fundraising.
Timothy joined the Boys Brigade (BB) at a young age and is now a Non-Commissioned Officer. To complete his BB Queen’s Badge Award, Timothy got involved with Willowbank Ltd, a voluntary organisation who support adults with physical disability and/ or sensory impairment. Timothy helped with maintenance, setting up games, activities and chatting to the members. He also participated in horticulture classes to help them plant flowers and plants, which the organisation sells in Dungannon. After the award was attained, he was still happy to return to support the members.
In College Timothy was always willing to support senior staff with school activities and duties, whilst maintaining a high academic standard. Timothy had a terrific awareness of social responsibility and actively sought out opportunities to assist others. In College, he participated in many voluntary activities including delivering assemblies, canteen duties and car park assistance. Timothy has great respect for his College and the position he held in it as an active member of our student body who was always willing to help others.
The Eco Team were awarded the Baroness May Blood Award for Community Activism for leading the school in Good Relations Week and The Fermanagh Big Litter Pick. The team also continues to develop school grounds and involve parents.
Cara has been a great advocate for Forge IPS and for integration. She assists on public events, most recently during a visit by a cross party delegation of MPs at which she spoke eloquently about her experiences of integration and its importance.
