A Northern Regional College employee recovering from COVID-19 has led on efforts by her Scout Group to collect nighties and pyjamas, towels and toiletries for Craigavon Area Hospital. Dr Catherine Guy, Learning and Development Manager at the College, tested positively for the virus on 2nd April, necessitating several trips to the dedicated COVID-19 A&E facility at the hospital for scans and treatment required because of an ongoing chronic respiratory condition.
Continue ReadingPortrush man conquers one-man ‘Ironman’ challenge in his garage to raise vital funds for charity
Friday
15th May 2020
A Portrush man has conquered the gruelling Ironman challenge – which he dubbed the inaugural ‘Ironman Portrush’ – in his garage to raise vital funds for the Extern Coronavirus Hardship Appeal. Aaron Ballantyne, who is Head of Science and Service Industries at Northern Regional College, embarked upon his own ‘Hell Freezes Over Tour (For a Good Cause)’, developing and completing his own one-man ‘Ironman Portrush’. In just 10 hours 28 minutes, Aaron completed a 12,000m indoor row, a 112-mile-cycle and a 26.2-mile marathon, with his bike and treadmill linked to the Zwift platform.
Continue ReadingMagherafelt mum continues studies alongside working on the frontline during COVID-19
Tuesday
12th May 2020
A County Derry mother of three who is juggling part-time study at Northern Regional College with her work as a senior care assistant says the support from her lecturers has been excellent. Carol McCready, from Magherafelt has two sons aged 9 and 6 years and a 3 years old daughter. She works as a senior care assistant in a local care home and decided to do a Level 4 in Healthcare Practice to help progress her career. Although she has more than eight years working in a healthcare environment and is an experienced care worker, Carol said the course has really helped in her role as a senior care worker.
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Hundreds of staff at Northern Regional College will be volunteering some of their time and talents to mark COVID-19 Volunteer Day this Thursday 07 May – a bespoke initiative to support local communities and help raise vital funds for charities affected by the pandemic. Members of senior leadership plan to lead by example. They will be stepping out as one of the teams take part in a virtual walking challenge organised by Health and Social Care lecturer, Kate Pegram. Each team has a target of walking a combined total of 79 miles - completed as part of their daily exercise routine - the distance between the College’s campuses in Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballymena, Newtownabbey and Magherafelt.
Continue ReadingVirtual learning enables 100% success rate for Northern Regional College Tour Guiding students
Thursday
30th April 2020
Students studying for the OCN Tour Guiding accredited qualification at Northern Regional College have been able to complete their studies and achieve a 100% success rate this week thanks to the power of technology. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the College put in place a series of measures to ensure that the 13 students at its Newtownabbey campus could complete their accreditation via online learning.
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The Empower Project, which helps families coping with autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia in the Mid Ulster, Antrim and Newtownabbey area, is continuing to offer support by posting resources online. Project Manager Marie Donaghy, is assistant head of Counselling at Northern Regional College, one of Empower’s stakeholders. She explains that Empower, a Lottery funded project, had been running regular skills workshops and social activities to support parents up until last month’s lockdown.
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