Hand of Friendship

Over 400 students from 16 schools on both sides of the border have participated in the second year of the International Fund for Ireland supported Hand of Friendship project. Pupils from Bellurgan N.S have this year joined together with Markethill Primary School (Armagh), St Malachy;s Camlough (Armagh) and St Nicholas N.S (Dundalk).

The three year Hand of Friendship projects sees students (aged 10/12 years) take part in five modules with their parents and guardians joining them in the sixth and final module.

Students explore topics such as friendship, diversity and sectarianism and how they may resolve conflicts arising throughout their lives. Through working together on hands-on, interactive modules, students form friendships and close bonds with students from across the community and across the border.

Students recently completed the fifth and sixth modules. Working together they designed and planned their own all-inclusive sports event, concluding with a presentation from each group on their ideas.

The final module, “Working it Out”, saw students coming together in a sports through maths event playing darts, basketball, skipping, penalty shoot outs and bowling. They expressed their scores in averages, percentages, fractions, decimals and ratios. Each student was awarded a Certificate, marking their successful completion of the year.