Letters from Ex Pupils

Dear Mr Henry,

How have you been since I saw you last? I hope you are well. As it is nearly half term I thought I would write to let you know how I have settled into Ballymena Academy. Despite having been in the school many times before, I was very nervous on my first day. However, we first years were safely cocooned inside our form room until after lunch. When we were released I felt intimidated by the crowds of people that seemed to fill the corridors, yet the whole school was not even in on that first day. The school smelt musty from the many summer days that it had been empty. A riot of noise bombarded my ears: locker doors slammed; girls shrieked with delight and horror; teachers bellowed; busy feet scurried along echoing corridors. In the midst of all this strangeness it was good to have some familiar and friendly faces in my class. The two Carniny Danielles, a friend from my dance school and one from church were there to undertake this adventure with me. Moving from class to class certainly was an adventure; there are times when I felt like a twig being jostled on a stormy sea. We first years gripped our maps and made sure we kept in sight of each other as we rushed from lesson to lesson, class to class, teacher to teacher, fearful of being the last one to arrive or worse not to arrive at all! The lessons we had in the afternoon were old favourites Technology, English and PE. It was reassuring to know that not everything in Ballymena Academy was going to be unfamiliar.

Two short months later and I am beginning to feel like an 'old pro'. The jostling continues but now I jostle back! Having got used to the routine at the Academy I can now begin to enjoy my lessons. My favourite subjects are RE, Library and L.L.W. R.E is enjoyable because of the fun activities we participate in. I look forward to going to the Library because the serene atmosphere there is a haven from my buzzing school life. As for Learning for Life and Work the dilemmas we discuss make me feel both responsible and grown up. Responsibility is an important factor in being a pupil at Ballymena Academy. You have to manage your locker, your keys, your smartcard whilst organising homeworks and extra .curricular activities. You advised us to do our homeworks the day we got them, and that is good advice although I have to honestly say I haven't really stuck to it. As a result there have been times when the build up of homework has been huge and I have regretted leaving things to the last minute. It's something I'm going to keep working on.

As for me, nothing much has changed. I am slightly taller and more organised perhaps! I still enjoy dancing with Kara McCartney and have started piano lessons, which I really relish. I have made many new friends throughout the year group. One of the most interesting things I have learnt is how to multiply the Ancient Egyptian way. So if you ever need someone to multiply on your travels I'm the one to take! I do miss being the oldest in the school as first years are the butt of all sorts of pranks and jokes. At least I wasn't the first year who dropped a tray full of lunch in the canteen to be met by a crescendo of 'woah'.

I just want to thank you for the tremendous effort you put in to helping me receive my ‘A ‘ and enabling me to go this excellent school.

Yours sincerely,

Sophie Nelson

Dear Miss M, (Linda)

Hello how are you doing? I'm just writing to say I'm getting on really well at the Academy and having a great time. The works a bit harder and the homework as well but I'm doing fine.

My first day felt soo weird, putting on tht big, bulky looking uniform, getting driven to the big, huge school with the black, dull looking gates on it. Everyone was so different and also so were the teachers Fortunately Dd and Sophie are in my class. It is so different- the school is so much bigger and I felt like a small mouse between thousands of elephants. Everyone looked so much older and it felt like I was back in P1 all over again.

I am getting on really well in this big, scary school, I am just starting to find my way around. Most of the subjects are fine. My favorite subject has to be R.E and guess what I'm actually starting to like technology now! (It's a miracle). My least favorite subject is French. It's not that I don't like the language It's that I' really bad at it. It is so different, with all the homework, you have to be really organized. I'm finding it a little bit difficult but I get through it.

I'll never forget all the fun, amazing stuff us four and you did in P7. I miss it a lot. Are the P7s doing good in their transfers? I bet you they are, they had a teacher like you in P6. Tell them that they should totally come to the Academy open night and check it out as it is a really good school and the teachers are really nice.

The new people in my class are so different. There are 26 of us in total. I have made loads of new friends from my new class and from other classes. I am In 8B. I also see Jeannie, Jemma, Sarah and am still really good friends with them.

There has been a lot of different (embarrassing) things that have happened but I don't care, I'm happy being here and hope to- see you again soon

Yours sincerely

Danielle McWhirter

P.S miss you loads and hope to see the P7s here next year!

Dear Miss McMullan
Hello, I am just writing to say how I am getting on at Ballymena Academy.

My first day at Ballymena Academy was sort of scary especially when we drove up the long, twisting road and caught the first glimpse of the huge school we were about to start In. Wearing the new uniform and the heavy blazer felt really weird compared to our simple primary school uniform'" When I realized Danielle M and Sophie were in my class I wasn't worried anymore because they were my two best friends. It didn't take me very long to find my way around the school but there was a lot of getting lost on the first day. We have some really nice teachers; some not nice one's too! I love being able to change classes all day and have so many different teachers because the day goes by a lot faster. My favourite subject is RE because it's very interesting but I also enjoy English and technology, which is very different from last year. There are some subjects I do not like as well though, such as French which we have every single day. I've made so many new friends here in and out of my class. I've got a really good class. It's a lot of fun and some. people are really funny, smart or interesting. The thing I miss most about primary school is having such little homework. Here, the home works aren't very big but there are a lot of them so we have no spare time really. It has taken me a while to get organized with all the new classes and home works but I think I finally am. The biggest Improvement here compared to primary school is the food! We have a much wider range and it's good price and so yummy. The thing I like most about here is definitely the lockers! I love having a locker, not for my books but for posters and stickers! It' s a lot of fun.

The after school club I have joined is CU. I really enjoy it and the things we do are a lot of fun. On Monday we got a trip bowling with CU which was really good.

I'm very happy here but I do miss Carniny an awful lot. I will definitely come to visit again and we will have to meet UR during Halloween half term. Wish the P7' s luck in the transfer and let them know how great Ballymena Academy is!

Yours Sincerely,
Danielle [DD]