Christmas Carol Service
Take a bow, the children of Derrychrin, with amazing performances at our Matinee and evening shows as we hosted our Christmas Carol Service. It was a special opportunity to celebrate the meaning of Christmas and enjoy the Christmas spirit as a school community experiencing a real family atmosphere in our wonderful school.
Unfortunately, with the poor weather conditions we could not go ahead with the outdoor performance at the Community Hub but the health and safety of everyone is always paramount. We are very fortunate to have a great school hall and a stage with a backdrop beautifully decorated with lights and stars. Siobhan our caretaker had the school looking great as always with many Christmas decorations on display throughout the school and our staff showcasing many wonderful festive displays with the children’s artwork.
The children were fantastic in their practices, rehearsals and what a show they produced in both performances for the Matinee and again last night. The happiness and enjoyment were so evident in their smiling faces throughout the show. As a school community, we are extremely proud of each child, as they showcased their many talents. All we ever want is for our children is to ‘Be the best they can be’! and we have no doubt these experiences will have further developed their self-confidence.
A lot of gratitude and appreciation must go to all the hard working, caring and dedicated teaching staff and non-teaching staff in preparing the children with their wonderful singing, dancing and instrumental music. A special word of thanks to Miss Hughes in leading the provision of music and singing across the school. It was lovely to see our school choir with pupils from P4-P7 take to the stage and sing two wonderful songs. Thank you also to Donal Canavan our Music tutor who continues to share his expertise with the P4-P7 children and the instrumental group weekly.
Several children were unable to perform in both shows due to sickness which was disappointing for them but as a school they were very much in our thoughts, and we hope they are feeling much better soon.
It was great to have our ‘Friends of Derrychrin’ Chairperson Roisin Talbot and the Primary 7 pupils draw the winning tickets from the Christmas Raffle. Thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets especially during these difficult times. We are totally overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of everyone. Congratulations to all the prize winners.
Our Carol Service was very much a team effort and would not have been possible without the support of our school community.
Thank you to members of our student council and P7 pupils in their roles of meeting and greeting our audience with a warm welcome and providing everyone with a programme.
A big thank you to our school secretary Gemma and to Deirdre for managing all the ticket sales, raffle tickets and cash donations.
Our wonderful PTA ‘Friends of Derrychrin’ are always so helpful and supportive towards the school. Like so many occasions before they assisted in many roles and sourced many brilliant prizes for the Christmas Raffle.
A massive thank you to all the local businesses and individuals who contributed towards our Carol Service, the Christmas Raffle and various school community events throughout the school year. We greatly appreciate their generosity and support. In addition to the sponsors who donated raffle prizes, we would also like to thank the following for their cash donations:
Colm Mullan- Bathe N.I.
Flame NI
Kevin McGuckin – CMG Plumbing
James Conway – J.C. Plastering
Patrick Conway- PC Haulage
Roisin Talbot – The Learning Hub
Special mention to Killian Conlan & Ballinderry Community Hub for their help, support and provision of additional seating and thank you to Ronan McGuckin and Jason McGeary for providing the transport of the seating.
Thank you to Michael Glackin who provided the sound and lights for both shows which really added to the occasion.
Special thanks to John O’Neill as always for taking photos on the night and capturing so many cherished memories.
Thank you to Paul Gunning for recording the show on the night which will be made available online very soon.
We have added some photos from both performances, but we will share more in due course along with the video link.
Christmas is always a special time of year for our families, to treasure the joy and happiness of our children. We hope that everyone had a great experience, and we are already looking forward to next year!
