Belfast Model
School for Girls

Well done to the girls (and two boys) who produced a perfect performance earlier tonight to win overall 1st place in the 2009 Rock Challenge Northern Ireland heat. They now progress to the Northern Open Final in Grimsby, Friday 22nd May, where another victory will take them to the first every national championship to be held at the Sheffield Arena in July.

As well as overall winners the Girls' Model also won Best Drama Skills, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Performance Skills and the coveted performer's choice award (voted for by other schools).

The judges commented that the overall standard of all the schools entered in this years competition was excellent, making the victory all the more sweet for the girls and staff who worked so hard for many months perfecting the routine.

This is a just and deserving reward for the many hours practising after school and at weekends by the pupils and staff. Good luck in Grimsby

Sunday and Monday were covered in my last update you can read it here.

Guggenheim Museum

Tuesday brought another clear blue sky and icy north wind; we got up early and after another brisk walk boarded the Uptown tour bus. The Uptown town tour takes in Central Park, many of the most expensive apartments in American, The Guggenheim Museum (and many others), Madonna's old house, The Projects and many other famous New York sights.

We had a quick bite of lunch in Juniors (just off Times Square) many of us having the most beautiful cheesecake for desert (one between three and it was still too much).

Twin Towers Memorial Centre

We then hopped on the Downtown tour and got off at New York University to attend the conference. Some of the pupils found this very interesting and the others took advantage of the soft seats and warm temperature to briefly close their eyes. After a few lectures we were back on the Downtown Tour to visit the sight of the Twin Towers. We were all very moved by the memorial centre with many of the pupils leaving messages. It was then back on the bus when I eventually remembered where we had got off and continued round the Downtown tour seeing all the sights of the financial district and China town. After a McDonalds for dinner it was off for some late evening shopping on Times Square.

Top of Empire States Building

On our last day it was an early start with some very rushed bag packing and then off to the Empire State Building. We were very glad to have beaten the crowds as there was literally miles of roping for the queues. The views from the top were spectacular and helped us spot our next shopping target, Macy's. By this stage time was running short so we just spent 2 hours here but I for one was glad of an enclosed space to let the girls shop while I had a nice rest in Starbucks. Many of the girls got to design their own lip gloss here and also receive great make up tips from the Macy's staff.

Tiffany & Co

We then headed straight over (via a few shoe stores) to 5th Avenue for the final push towards America's financial recovery. We started about 30th St and made our way right up to the Tiffany & Co and the Apple Store (nerd heaven!!!!!) at 58th St where we all hopped in Taxis and returned to the Hotel to catch the bus to the Airport.

So that's New York covered now the pupils. They were awesome, we couldn't have asked for better behaviour while away. Within 24 hours of landing the airline people, the owner of a Magic/Gift Shop and the staff at TGI Friday had all pulled one of us aside just to say how well behaved the pupils were. Congratulations to all, they represented the Girls Model School so well and made us very proud!!!!

See more photos on the Photos page.

I'm currently visiting New York on an educational trip titled "ICT an American Perspective" with some of the A-Level ICT pupils.

We touched down in New York about 2pm local time and after spending an age getting through customs, we were on our way to the Hotel. The views from the bus on the way in gave us our first sense of just how huge New York is. The buildings are just enormous!

Once settled, the group headed to TGI Fridays for some dinner before heading to the Rockefeller Building. The sight from the top of there is just amazing, you can see for miles in every direction with an excellent view of central Park and the Empire States Building. We were there in the evening and the lights just added to the sense of wonderment we all felt.

This morning we played our part in beating off the recession by heading to the huge Premium Outlet Centre, Woodbury Common, and shopping until we dropped (actually well after I dropped). You wouldn't believe the amount of bags the girls were carrying when they returned to the bus; I think we might need a second plane just to bring the luggage home! After many hours of shopping we returned to the hotel, unloaded and then headed to Planet Hollywood for another 'healthy' American meal. Dinner was partly walked off around Times Square before returning to the hotel (hopefully very soon) for a well deserved sleep.

Tomorrow we are heading to New York University for our conference and we hope to fit in a little more sightseeing throughout the remainder of the day. See you all on Friday when we get home.

I'm updating this by phone so you'll have to wait a few days to see the photos.

Have a nice day!
David (the Webmaster)

Note by Mrs McKeever:
Be impressed everyone - David is actually walking around Times Square sending us this update by phone. Do you think he's missing school or is he just trying to make us all jealous????

Wishing everyone on the trip a great time. Be safe and enjoy yourselves!

Mobile phones are a valuable communication and safety device when used correctly. At the Girl's Model we aware of current issues surrounding the use of mobile phones in schools. Incidents of Cyber Bullying are taken seriously and are thankfully very rare.

To ensure that all our young people can learn in an environment free from the disruption that mobiles can cause, we would like parents to be aware of our Zero Tolerance policy towards mobile phone use in classrooms, corridors and during break and lunch times. Pupils are not permitted to use mobile phones on School premises and they must be switched off and out of view during the school day.

The same policy applies to the use of iPod/MP3 players.

Whilst this may be inconvenient for some, it is a necessary step we have to take to ensure that all our pupils have the opportunity of learning in a safe and settled environment. We would appreciate your support in this matter and if you would like any more advice on Cyber Bullying click here to access the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum leaflet for parents or click here for the Thinkuknow advice on mobiles.

If parents wish to contact their daughters, they can do so through the School Office 028 9039 1768.

Last week the Belfast Model School for Girls were in the press once again, this time for the excellent work done by 6th form pupils in creating the new 6th form magazine in conjunction with other schools in the area. The article appearing in the Irish News on Monday 2 March 2009 read as follows...

Girls from three Belfast schools have co-published a new magazine as part of a scheme designed to build positive relationships between people from different backgrounds. Pupils from Belfast Model School for Girls, Little Flower Girls' School and Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School in north Belfast collaborated on the project. In producing the magazine the girls both wrote articles and sold advertising space. The project was part of the £3.7 million Sharing Education Programme, which is backed by the International Fund for Ireland and Atlantic Philanthropies and administered by Queen's University Belfast, scooped the two top awards in the competition held at Connswater Shopping Centre.

To download a copy of the magazine or to find out more FM6 visit the website fm6.co.uk.

Mr Mercer, Sophie Campbell and Jennifer Glass are currently in Budapest attending the British Council's Challenges in Schools Conference.

On Monday 2nd March Sophie and Jennifer performed the drama they wrote with their year 13 enrichment class (Challenges in Schools) together with Neza (from Slovenia) and Barbara (Barbie from Hungary). It was in front of 20-30 people from all over Europe. The drama was set in 2050 and was about the need for change within the current education system to meet the needs of the future. The whole conference is about envisioning the school of the future. They performed it again in front of a video camera and tomorrow will perform it in front of the international press at a press conference. Sophie also helped to present our cluster groups findings by presenting a PowerPoint to 150 people. What stars they both are!

We rounded the day off with a beautiful cruise and dinner on the river Danube.

Tomorrow Mr Mercer and 3 teachers from his cluster group will perform his drama about change for change sake to provide some light-hearted relief from this very intense conference!

Mr Mercer, Sophie Campbell and Jennifer Glass are currently in Budapest attending the British Council's Challenges in Schools Conference.

The conference is being broadcast live and can be view online.

Photos below from Mr Mercer and the Conference website.