Tag Archives: news/events

‘Your Youth Your Wellbeing’ Bolster Community x St Joseph’s High School

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On Tuesday, 20th September 2022 Bolster Community brought together local youth organisations to St Joseph’s High School Newry for a full school day filled with motivational speeches, wellness workshops & resilience challenges.

The day was aimed at Year 8, 9 & 10 and aimed to engage boys in Northern Ireland aged 11-13 on wellness, positive mental health and motivation.

Representatives from P.I.Ps Newry & Mourne explained self-care and what this can look like, giving practical and relatable examples as well as coping mechanisms.

Motivational speaker Billy Dixon, CEO of  ‘Challenge, Change & Be Different’ gave a passionate speech on resilience, reflecting on his own heart attack story. Dixon is one of Europe’s leading authorities and commentators on personal projection, communication and team dynamics, so had a lot of information to help the boys on their journeys.

Bolster Community also brought in Pathways who set up an obstacle course and other  fun, practical, immersive outdoor activities reflecting life’s various challenges.

Another workshop was First Aid hosted by a representative from Newry, Mourne & Down District Council.

Bolster Community wishes to recognise The Magnet Centre, Newry who kindly donated 250 hygiene packs for each student to take away. Each included shampoo, shower gel, deodorant, toothpaste and a toothbrush, equipping the boys with practical ways to practice cleanliness & self-care in order to be the best versions of themselves.

Closing up the day, Funk Soul Media brought a creative rap workshop. Some enthusiastic students were invited on stage to have a go at shooting their own rap video with equipment such as Sony cameras, drones as well as microphones. This was a chance to show alternative employment paths for young people in NI. Also featured was a live performance from  (taken from FunkSoulMedia’s Youtube page) Newry/South Armagh born and raised hip hop artist Cú Chulainn of his tribute song “Wee Conor”-  dedicated to the life of his childhood friend Conor Kearns, a young South Armagh man who tragically died of a drugs overdose aged only 23 years old in March 2019.

#youth #wellbeing #mentalhealthmatters #teenage #workshop #mindfulness #resilience #health #Newry #SouthArmagh #media #empowering #choices

 

Southern Area FYI – Edition 89

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Welcome to the 89th edition of our information bulletin, ‘FYI’ (For Your Information).

Download your copy here

(Note: FYI will download directly to your device.  Look out for the pop up box and click on open file when it appears).

Once again, we have a range of opportunities, activities and programmes for children, young people and parents across the Southern Area. These are all led by recognised providers and most are free, so, if you think it may be relevant to you, then sign up! We also encourage all readers to share with colleagues, friends and families.

On Page 41 you will see how you can find out or share any information on upcoming activities and events by attending one (or more!) of our locality planning groups. To find out more about these groups and their purpose, contact Darren at localityplanning@ci-ni.org.uk.

See you in a fortnight!

Joanne Patterson & Darren Curtis, Locality Development Team, Southern Area

Summer Gets Active 2022

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8 Days, 13 Activities, 50 Peer Mentors, 75 Children, 48 Families and 9 Nationalities…

It was another busy summer at Portadown Gets Active, with an excellent team of peer mentors who delivered 7 of the workshops over the 2 weeks. A fantastic family day took place with a visit from Jurassic LOC-down and lots of Jurassic-themed activities ran across the week!

Find out more about the Summer Gets Active 2022 programme and about what participating children, young people and families thought of the experience HERE

Next up, Halloween’s “Monsters Inc Gets Active”…

(The aims of Portadown Gets Active (PGA) are to provide Primary School age children, who are eligible for free school meals, with a healthy breakfast and lunch outside of school term-time, as well as providing opportunities to learn something new, participate in physical activities and most importantly have fun with their peers. Referrals also come through the Craigavon & Banbridge Family Support Hub (FSH) , Community Intercultural Programme, Family Intervention and SHSCT. Children from Portadown, Craigavon, Lurgan and Banbridge attend the Programme. Oasis Youth, PGA’s lead community partner, works in partnership with key agencies and organisation to ensure PGA has run successfully since 2017.)

Derry, Limavady, Strabane & Waterside LPG News – September 2022

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Welcome to the September 2022 edition of the locality news for Derry, Limavady, Strabane and Waterside Locality Planning Groups with lots of the latest information on training, programmes, events and resources across the local area.

Download your copy – Derry, Limavady, Strabane & Waterside LPG News – September 2022

(Note: LPG News will download directly to your device.  Look out for the pop up box and click on open file when it appears).

Southern Area FYI – Edition 88

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Welcome to the 88th edition of our information bulletin, ‘FYI’ (For Your Information).

Download your copy here

As we enter the start of a new school year, some challenges still remain for families in an ever-changing environment. The cost of living crisis is being raised at most LPGs across Northern Ireland. With this in mind, can we draw your attention to some very relevant opportunities for our members, on Pages 4 & 5, which have been organised through CYPSP.

You will see, on Page 3, a final call for LPG members to complete a short survey to help us ensure Locality Planning Groups are effective as they can be. (Thank you to those who have already completed the survey. Your feedback really does matter!)

We also have a wide range of upcoming training workshops, events, resources and activities in this edition of ‘FYI’ which are relevant for our members and the children, young people and families with whom you might work, so please do continue to spread the word…

Joanne Patterson & Darren Curtis, Locality Development Team, Southern Area