Shimna News - August 2025

Dear Parents & Carers,

We look forward to welcoming back all year groups for the first day of the school year on Monday.

On the eve of the new school year,  I am writing  to  update you on developments over the summer and to confirm some arrangements for this term.

New Build: Good progress has been made over the summer. Our new sports hall complex is rising from the ground quickly; the greenhouse is now ready for action; and the top car park has been redesigned to make it safer for the buses to turn. We look forward to the completion of all works early in 2026.

In the meantime, on-site parking remains very limited. I would ask that all drop-offs and collections take place in Donard Park. In the interests of our elderly residents and student safety, please do not drive up to the back gate.

The new and significantly upgraded 3G pitch at Donard Park is now complete and we look forward to using this new facility for PE lessons and fixtures.

As we settled into the new school in February, an issue arose with leather footballs being brought in and kicked against the building at break and lunchtime, causing some damage. Going forward, we will provide balls for use at break and lunchtime.  Please ensure your child does not bring  any leather ball into school.

New timetable: from Monday, we will be operating a new timetable. The start and end times of the school day remain unchanged.

These changes, which were formulated as part of our transition into the new school, include a move from 30-minute to 40-minute lessons to support teaching and learning; a split breaktime to help ease congestion in the canteen; and the introduction of year group PE lessons. Registration will take place at the start of the first lesson, with form time now taking place mid-morning.

You will be able to view the your child’s timetable in the Student Planner, which will be distributed in Form Class on Monday morning.

Curriculum: the new timetable has also facilitated the introduction of a Religious Studies lesson at Key Stage 4, which is a statutory requirement of the Northern Ireland curriculum.

Our Uniform Policy, which can be viewed on the website here, remains unchanged. To confirm, while the new logo features on new items, students can continue to wear uniform bearing the previous logo. We are proud of both.

We are aware there may have been delivery delays of some uniform items. Where we can, we will try to help with items from our own store. Donations of pre-loved uniform and sports kit are very much welcomed. As always, we appreciate your support in ensuring our students  are well presented when coming to school.

Final reminders:

• Please notify us immediately in the event of changes to contact details or medical Information pertaining to your children - https://www.shimnaintegratedcollege.org/copy-of-parents 

• Information on free school meals and home-to-school transport assistance is available on the Education Authority website: https://www.eani.org.uk/parents

Kind regards,

Steve Pagan

Principal