This week is the beginning of our Super Twinnings for our Primary Six (P.6) participants!
This event will see participants on their integrated Twinning teams going head to head with teams from other Twinnings. The participants will play in a mini-tournament, in their own Twinning colours and t-shirts to determine who will become the PeacePlayers Super Twinning Champion.
Take a look back at our P.6 Twinning programme from last term!
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Students from Holy Cross Girls' and Wheatfield Primary Schools competed against students from Our Lady's and Victoria Park Primary Schools last spring. The students will reunite with their Twinning partners this term for the P7 Twinning.
Today’s Twinnings between Victoria Park and Our Lady’s Primary Schools this morning, and Holy Cross Girls’ and Wheatfield Primary Schools this afternoon, mark the first Twinnings of the term. The P7 classes that will come together today worked together last autumn as P6 classes, and, coincidentally, competed against each other in the first annual Super Twinnings Tournament in June. The Victoria Park/Our Lady’s Twinning emerged the champion of the tournament, but all of the students are eager and excited to reunite with their cross-community teams. In the first classroom session in each school, students from both Holy Cross Girls’ and Wheatfield shared that they’ve been keeping in touch with their teammates from the other school, even exchanging messages on Facebook in anticipation!
Students from Holy Cross Girls' and Wheatfield participated in team-building activities as P6 students in the Autumn of 2010.
In addition to the two Twinnings that begin today, PPI-NI will host five more Twinnings in Belfast, two in Lurgan, and two in Antrim – 18 primary schools in total! Twinning participants in North Belfast will also be invited to participate in the junior Cross-Community League, which will commence in March, as well as a Cross-Community league for Antrim participants. The P7 Community Relations curriculum will revisit the topics of similarities and differences and will explore the topics of diversity; identity and symbols; stereotypes and prejudice; sectarianism and racism; and how sport can be promote diversity in a positive way. It will be a very busy term, but we’re all excited to get started!
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PPI-NI recently moved their office from a busy university area of Belfast to the busy Lisburn Road area. Like the New Year, this signifies a new beginning for PPI-NI, with a new staff team and lots of exciting ideas for the future, it seems like the new office has refreshed the organization.
On a Tuesday evening, what better to do than play a friendly game of basketball with our good old City Council workers. A new dynamic to our relationship with Belfast City Council, gives us the opportunity to let our hair down, enjoy basketball and show off the skills of our VERY talented staff.
Another exciting partnership established in 2011 was with YENI. A conversation between PPI-NI Managing Director, Gareth Harper and YENI Chief Executive Carol Fitzsimons, has resulted in a successful relationship between the two organizations.
For the first time in PPI-NI history, we ran an all girl Cross Community League (CCL) for our senior girls. Focusing on our girls aged 14-17 allowed CCL to impact 40 participants from the North Belfast area in a five-week programme. The programme was an unbelievable success and we now look forward to running our all boy CCL in February.
Last term we started a new twinning with St. Kevin’s P.S (based in the Falls area of Belfast) and Glenwood P.S (Based in the Shankill area of Belfast).
This is another exciting initiative that PPI-NI has been involved with, and 2011 was the year it all started to take shape. Check out our previous blog entries for more information!
An event where we bring together four schools from two separate Twinning’s, to play in a mini tournament and create a sense of identity amongst the Twinning partners.
This year was the first time in PPI-NI history that we had over 200 participants at our Jingle Ball tournament. A true testament to all the hard work that our staff put into the programme.
Receiving six Mac laptops from the President and First Lady as part of the Royal Charitable Gift Fund was amazing. This gift is a great help to Coordinators and International Fellows in the daily running of the programme.
To be a part of this fund is and honor and to be recognized for all the efforts that PPI-NI puts into its core mission is overwhelming. All staff, board members and friends off PPI-NI are very thankful for contributions like this one, that help develop and improve our programme.
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Jonny showing PeacePlayers pride with the pupils from St Clare’s and Carr’s Glen primary schools at their recent “Super Twinning” tournament.
In this week’s blog, Local Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick interviews coach Jonathan Rooney as we approach his one-year anniversary as a coach within the organization.
Jonny (right of the coach) pictured with Local Coordinator Darryl Petticrew (holding cup) winning the All-Ireland Schools Cup for St Malachy’s College Belfast.
Jonny, tell the World Wide Web a bit about yourself.
My full name is Jonathan James Joseph Rooney. I was born and raised in North Belfast. I attended St. Malachy’s College and first started playing basketball with Star of the Sea, a local basketball club in Belfast, at the age of 9. I am now a student at Queen’s University in Belfast studying medicine going into my 2nd year; I plan on being the next eternal student!
So, how did you first get involved in PeacePlayers?
My first experience of PeacePlayers was back in 2008 when I was asked to help out at Spring Jam. I had coaching experience previously through programs in local Belfast primary schools, but the scale of Spring Jam and the atmosphere blew me away! At the start of last year, PPI-NI appealed for coaches online and I felt it was a great opportunity to once again get involved.
Why do you think PeacePlayers is important in Northern Ireland?
In areas of Northern Ireland, children have instilled into them opinions and perceptions of neighboring communities that creates tension and fear. PeacePlayers helps change these perceptions that the children have and helps them to realize all children have similarities despite their background. The children build lasting cross-community friendships through PeacePlayers’ programs, encouraging them to move past stereotypes and allowing them to educate their friends that the boys and girls ‘round the corner aren’t so different from them.
Jonny at Spring Jam 2011. Former PPI-NI Program Director Harry Morra has said in the past, “You can tell how good a coach is by looking at a photograph: the more kids looking at him in the picture, the better the coach.”
What has been you favorite moment since working for PeacePlayers?
My favorite memory with PeacePlayers was at the Super Twinnings held in Stranmillis. It was the first time this project had been attempted and it was a huge success. My favorite memory was during the final when each twinning partners supported their teammates on court. The noise was deafening, the songs were fantastic and the team t-shirts were being waved like flags. At that time, the kids completely forgot about Catholic or Protestant and became two very passionate basketball teams– it was fantastic to watch!
Finally: if you were a basketball, where in the world would you bounce and why?
With the NBA on lock out at the minute, if I were a basketball I’d say I’d bounce over to the Cameron Stadium, Duke University’s home court. The atmosphere there for home games is arguably the best in the world, with the fans earning the title of the Cameron Crazies. Plus I’d get to meet the next generation of NBA players; I could even teach them to throw the ‘oop just like me 
PPI-NI is looking forward to having Coach Jonny on board for another year! And a big thank you for all your work thus far!
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