Sport
Holy Trinity Primary School has a fine tradition of sporting success. Our pupils train extremely hard throughout the year to finely hone their sporting skills and they compete in a wide variety of competitions and leagues. These occasions provide valuable experience in the development of our pupils and we are very fortunate to have a 3G pitch to practice on. When they participate in Sport, pupils learn skills and important qualities such as team spirit and self-discipline. At present, our school is represented by a Hurling team, Camogie team, Gaelic Football team, Girls’ Gaelic Football team and a Basketball team. The wealth of silverware that these teams have accrued is testament to the high level of coaching that they receive. Within school, Mr McCrory, Miss Mc Laughlin, Mr Armstrong and Miss Murphy train the pupils in after-school clubs. Gort na Mona, who have strong links with our school, also provide experienced coaches in Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camogie. This partnership has proved to be extremely successful and has provided our pupils with a solid foundation on which to build their future sporting skills.
Music
Music plays a huge part in the life of Holy Trinity Primary School. Each year, selected classes from KS1 and KS2 participate in a Music Morning that is hosted by the City of Belfast School of Music. These mornings are a highlight in the school’s calendar and the pupils thoroughly enjoy preparing for them and performing on the day for other primary pupils. Within school, there is a choir, Recorder Group and a Brass Ensemble, who provide beautiful musical recitals at many of our school events. Pupils with a musical interest are catered for extremely well in our school. They receive Brass tuition from a specialist from the City of Belfast School of Music. Miss Donnelly and Mrs McKinney our Music Coordinator, also lead the choir and their performances have greatly impressed all audiences that have heard them.
UICT (Using Information and Communications Technology.)
At Holy Trinity Primary School our vision is to create motivated ‘life-long’ learners through the use of ICT to enhance and extend learning and teaching across the whole curriculum. As UICT is continually developing and new technologies emerging, we as a school will strive to give all pupils the skills to prepare them for a digital future in which ICT is an integral part of society. It is our aim that children will enjoy learning and be “confident, competent and independent users of ICT”.
We have interactive whiteboards in every class and the children benefit from the wealth of ICT Resources we have in school. We have a Computer Suite with access to 30 PCs and laptops. Mrs Rooney, our ICT specialist, is based in the Computer Suite where pupils receive a weekly ICT lesson to develop their skills.
We have many exciting tools for use, such as green screen, easi speak microphones, Flip Camcorders, digital cameras, beebots, probots and a variety of exciting software opportunities. The school also subscribes to the ‘Bug Club’ website, which gives our children access to a wide variety of online reading books. Our P5-P7s are involved with the Accelerated Reading Program. We subscribe to ‘Education City’ which provides a wealth of curriculum games and learning opportunities.
In December 2011 we were the first Primary School in the Belfast Education and Library Board to be awarded the prestigious ICT Mark from NAACE. We then went onto achieve the 3rd Millennium Learning Award in June 2012. Both these awards recognised the excellent work going on throughout the school and the way in which ICT is embedded into learning in a fun and engaging manner. These awards last for three years and we were delighted to gain the ICT Mark once more in 2014, 2017 and 2021 . We received the 3rd Millennium Learning Award in December 2016 and 2019 and went on to obtain the Digital Schools Award NI in June 2017. eSafety is a huge part of life at Holy Trinity and we are delighted to be the first school in Northern Ireland to hold the CR-IS (Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety) badge. We are the second Primary School in Northern Ireland to be awarded the 360 Degree Safe Award from the SWGFL.
The school recognises the value of technology and we want to harness the children’s interest through emerging technologies. We were selected as part of an iPad Pilot Scheme for Foundation Stage. This was a very exciting opportunity and our Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3 and Primary 4 classes were involved. The main focus was on how iPads enhance the teaching and learning of Literacy and Numeracy.
We are delighted to have a class set of 18 iPads for every Year Group in the school. Teachers also received an extensive training program on app use and how to enhance and extend learning through the use of iPads.
Charity Fundraising
The generosity of our pupils, parents and members of the Holy Trinity community is made evident every year through the charity fundraising that is carried out within school. Our principal campaign is for Trocaire and through their dedicated and concerted efforts the pupils mange to raise in excess of £6,000 every year. During our Holy Week celebrations we invite a representative from Trocaire to receive the donation and give the pupils a short presentation on how their money will be spent. Another worthwhile charity that is supported by our school is the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children. Every year our pupils from P5 work tirelessly to raise funds for this important cause and they also participate in the sponsored walk through Ormeau Park.
Celebrating Success
In Holy Trinity Primary School we are keen to celebrate all of the achievements of our pupils. Every month we have an assembly for Key Stage One and Key Stage Two. During these assemblies Mrs Boyd presents prizes and certificates to our Pupils of the Week. Once a week a star pupil from each class is selected for hot chocolate with the Principal. In December, we also hold a Prize-giving Ceremony in which we reward the recipients with a certificate, trophy and a book token. This event is organised to showcase the fantastic achievements of a huge number of our pupils during the past year. Prize-winners are selected for academic, musical, ICT and sporting success. It is a fantastic occasion that is shared by the school community and visiting dignitaries and provides many of our pupils with special memories.
Sensory Garden
We have a beautiful Sensory garden here at Holy Trinity. It was opened in March 2008 and Mr Deornellas led the initiative. We now have a sensory garden with ten areas:
A touch garden, A sight garden, A smell garden, A taste garden, A sound garden, A minibeast area, A pond, Raised growing beds, A pond, Raised growing beds, A compost area (wormery) A butterfly garden, A weather station.
The children planted a wide range of herbs, vegetables, bedding plants, fruit trees, shrubs etc. Paths were laid to enable children to walk around the area and benches were situated within the site. KS2 pupils decided on plants etc for their smell, colour texture etc.
Each year group from P3-P7 has been assigned an area to care for.
They will be responsible for picking up litter, removing weeds, pruning, replacing bird food, emptying recycling bins etc.
Classes will visit the area and study growth throughout the different seasons. They will explore the different textures, smells, sounds, colours etc through project work. They will taste the different fruit and vegetables grown- related to Being Healthy project.