This week, lead Coach Rory O’Neil writes about the unique twinning of Glengormley Integrated Primary School and Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School. The two P6 classes just completed their fourth session together and are having a great time! Enjoy the video of one of their most recent twinnings this past Monday. The energy level that these kids bring to the table is unmistakable from the beginning!
PPI-NI is smack-dab in the middle of its Fall Twinning season. Of the 16 schools that PeacePlayers is working with this term, perhaps one of its more unique twinning pairings is that of Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School and Glengormley Integrated Primary School. Holy Cross Boys’ is an all-boys Catholic primary school in the Ardoyne neighborhood of North Belfast, while Glengormley Integrated is just outside the city in Newtonabbey. It’s worth noting that Holy Cross Boys’ is the only all-boys primary school that participates in PPI-NI’s Twinning program. Whenever PPI-NI coaches walk the halls of Holy Cross Boys’, it is a rarity that the teachers of the school do not offer them a cup of tea and biscuits. It’s also a rarity that they do not receive a plethora of high-fives and fist bumps from the pupils and from students that don’t even participate in the PeacePlayers program – yet!
Glengormley Integrated’s Principal, Nigel Arnold, continues to be one the biggest supporters of PPI-NI’s program, as well as Integrated Education in general. Glengormley Integrated Primary School is one of the few academic institutions in Northern Ireland where the Union Flag of the United Kingdom and the Tri-Color of the Republic of Ireland fly side-by-side in the opening hallway. Flags from the United States, Turkey and Serbia also line the hallway, further illustrating the diverse make-up of Glengormley’s student body.
