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Fortrose Academy Newsletter

Dear Parent/Guardian

Although it is now late January I‘d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We

have had a busy start to the spring term with parents evenings, option choices

and the lead up to prelims. I have commissioned a parents‘ survey, as part of our

self-evaluation; this will be coming home to you via your child or children—it would

be great if you could find the time to complete the survey, which should take

about 10 minutes.

The council have been discussing curriculum structure in Highland schools and

have now issued expectations for coming years. This will affect pupils in S1 and

S2; we will be sending you a special newsletter detailing the changes and parents

of S2 pupils will have an opportunity to discuss this with SMT at the S2 parents

evening.

Please get in touch if you wish to discuss anything.

January 2013

First Stop Golspie, Next Stop Parliament!

On December 17th 2012, a group of S3 pupils along with a team of supporters travelled to Golspie to

participate in a Christmas debate. After some mild confusion with the motion having thought it was: ―This

house cannot afford Christmas‖ the team had to quickly adapt it to ―Christmas has lost its meaning.‖ The

speakers, Hannah Danson, Magnus Henry and Isla Mackay made it through round 1 and into the final along

with Golspie team B. The motion for the final was: ―This house would ban the throwing of snowballs.‖ Against

some tough competition, the team gave its all and finally came home victorious!

Hannah Danson & Isla Mackay S3

FORMER PUPIL RECEIVES OBE

Huge congratulations to former Fortrose Academy pupil Roddy Dennis who re-

ceived an OBE this year. Roddy has had a very exciting year commanding the fly

past for the Royal Wedding and for the Queen‘s birthday. He also gave Sir Chris

Hoy a lift to celebrate his success at the Olympics. Now back at his day job in

Leuchars where 6 Squadron is solely responsible for Quick Reaction Alert (North)

where they have aircraft and personnel on 24 hour alert 365 days of the year.

During his career in the RAF he has seen active service in Kosovo and Iraq and

flown US F15s off aircraft carriers in the Pacific as well as flying in the Northern

Territories, Australia where he had to carry a revolver in his flying suit in case he

landed in a crocodile infested swamp following ejection.

The official commendation reads:

―Wing Commander Roddy Dennis receives an OBE for his work as the Officer

Commanding of 6 Squadron, based in RAF Leuchars in Fife. He has been re-

sponsible for Quick Reaction Alerts in the north of the UK for the last 2 years.

Wing Commander Dennis oversaw the introduction of a new type of Typhoon aircraft to the squadron and led

them on a successful overseas training exercise to Malysia at short notice. Under his leadership 6 Squadron

have taken on the additional role of the RAF Typhoon Display Team.

Roddy, who is 42, was educated at Fortrose Academy and Robert Gordon‘s University in Aberdeen before being

offered a commission at the RAF college at Cranwell.‖

Roddy Dennis OBE

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We have a Lunch Club every 2 weeks in 4A-the learning support room with a kitchen area. We plan, budget

and shop for the ingredients. Monday and Tuesdays, we cook a course and sometimes freeze one.

We invite 8 people to have lunch, once a fortnight and charge £2 to cover the costs, for a delicious two

course lunch e.g. Lentil Soup and homemade beef burgers.

Over the last term we made Pumpkin Soup and homemade bread to sell to teaching staff in Fortrose Acad-

emy before a parent‘s evening. We also made and sold tablet, truffles and muffins and with the profits we

enjoyed going out to the Café India in Dingwall for lunch. Adam Cowan S2

Thanks to all who contributed to our Christmas Hamper draw – we raised £810.10

The Christmas Hamper Prize Winners were:

Karen Tuach Lynn Gill Donald McDiarmid

Brenda May Kathryn Cooper Julie Ferguson

S Falconer Tish Williams Calum Brindle Gordon Mason

GREENLAND TRIP

Planning is now well underway for this exciting new venture for Fortrose Acade-

my. 11 pupils and two members of staff will be spending 3 weeks this summer

trekking around Greenland, a most beautiful and remote part of the world.

The pupils will experience a truly arctic landscape and have the opportunity to partake in scientific studies whilst

out in the field. They will get the chance to come face to face with glaciers and witness how global warming is

dramatically changing this landscape.

They will also get the chance to mix with some young folk who live all year round on Greenland and hear how dif-

ferent (or similar) their lives are.

To round off the exciting trip we plan to have a long weekend in Iceland, the land of ice and fire.

Whilst every effort is being made to keep costs to a minimum we are continually striving to fundraise and wel-

come any ideas or suggestions of funds that we could tap in to. D MacRae, Science Dept

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Date for your Diary Kitchen Range Cookery Demonstration on Wednesday 13th March at 7.30pm to raise funds for Greenland Expedition. More info to follow.

Fortrose Christmas After Party—Contin Community Centre The following letter was received from the Contin Community Trust re the above booking by senior pupils.

We felt that it was worthy of a mention in the Newsletter.

“The Board of Contin Community Trust, the owners of the Contin Hall, would like to tell you that you have a lovely bunch of young people at your school. So often you hear negative stories about the young ones but we really felt we had to write to say that this is not always the case! They came to our hall… and were fabulous. If at any time they would like to come back, they will be more than welcome at Contin Hall.”

It‘s great to get this kind of feedback.

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Library News Teenage section, display and donations

We have added more shelving and books to the teenage section and also have a special display of adventure

and action books. Many thanks to the people who regularly donate books to the library. Although Highlife High-

land Libraries regularly adds new books to the collections here, we always welcome donations of books.

Careers information, study guides and past exam papers

We have just received a new copy of Careers in Scotland: careers, qualifications and full time courses. Pupils

often look at this when in the library at lunch and break times and it is also available on short loan to take

home.

Also recently added is Job Seeking Skills: a guide for young people and their advisers.

This free event takes place on Saturdays at 10.30 for children aged 4 to 7 years. All welcome.

FORTROSE ACADEMY ARCTIC EXCHANGE

It will seem like a while ago with the busy rush since the New Year but in October

2012 a group of sixteen Fortrose Academy pupils went to Goa Haven in the Arctic

on Fortrose Academy‘s second exchange. Although there was three days of travel-

ling to get there I am sure that the whole team agree that it was well worth it.

Just as with any exchange each pupil was given a partner from the other school.

This gave them an opportunity to learn first-hand about Inuit culture. The pupils got to attend school in Goa Haven

and found that although the content of the lessons were not that different to here it was not very strict. Pupils

could chew gum and walk about whenever they wanted.

I spoke to Mr Carcary; a geography teacher who goes with the pupils on the exchange and is involved in the organ-

ising, to find out what sort of things the pupils got involved in when they were there. The team got to make fishing

spears and then try ice fishing. They were also shown how to prepare animal skins and got to try some very unusu-

al food. The pupils got to see a local artist doing carvings, got to try some sports and also were given the opportuni-

ty to meet the village elders to ask them about life in Goa Haven.

Everyone who went on the trip said it was an amazing experience although they slept for hours when they got

home! Kate Henderson S6

Study guides and books of past exam papers are also

available for loan.

Audio and Ebook library loans

Downloads of these are available on the library website.

There are full details and instructions online at http://

www.highland.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/libraries/

Saturday Morning Storytelling

Absence Notes

Pupils have been issued with an up-to-date list of absences for last term. Please ensure that all absences are

accounted for and notes are returned to the box at reception.

Outstanding Achievement in Football

Aidan Hersee has demonstrated an excellent level of performance in representing the North of Scotland boy’s football team. Aidan played a crucial role in setting up both goals in a successful 2-0 win over Fife in the quarter final of the Scottish Cup in January. Mr Windsor, PE Dept

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In June Cal, Sarah and Laura were busy planting in the school garden. On Thursday, 17

January they braved the winter weather to harvest a fine selection of fresh vegetables –

cabbage, carrots, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes, cauliflower and beetroot.

The support of parents with Morrison's Lets‘ Grow vouchers has been a real help in ob-

taining seeds and equipment for the garden. Thank you. Mr Balfour Cal, Sarah and Laura

Eleven Senior pupils interested in a health career got the opportunity on 25th January to attend a Live Surgery

Event, beamed via a link from the United States to Inverness College. A surgeon from Raigmore Hospital attend-

ed also to explain the procedure and to answer questions from pupils from all over Highland. This event, courte-

sy of our Bridge to Employment link, was found to be immensely useful and interesting.

The next ―Exploring Health Careers‖ Event for S4 pupils will be on 27th February. This provides pupils with an ini-

tial opportunity to learn a little about the many varied careers available in the NHS.

UCAS

UCAS Extra is available from late February 2013, and is for applicants who have used all five choices on their ap-

plication but are holding no offers – they may have been unsuccessful or they may have declined their offers.

Extra gives those applicants the chance to maintain their motivation by adding additional choices, one at a time,

before Clearing. Extra is applicant driven and all choices are made through the online Track service

Courses that have places available may be selected from late February 2012 in Course Finder (as a search op-

tion) or in Course Search (where courses with Extra places available are marked with an ‗x‘). Not all courses are

available in Extra and applicants should research availability not only through the UCAS website but also directly

with universities and colleges.

More information for applicants is available at www.ucas.com/students/offers/extra

UCAStv can be found on the student page and shows applicants how to use Extra.

24 March application deadline

This is the application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for art and de-

sign courses except those listed with a 15 January deadline. Please view the im-

portant dates on our website www.ucas.ac.uk/students/importantdates.

Invitation decisions

Senior pupils must reply to any invitation decisions shown on Track. This may be a request to attend an interview

or audition or provide a piece of work. The invitation details are shown on Track by clicking into the course and

applicants must reply with one of the three options: accept, decline or request a new date.

Decisions and reply dates

Many applicants will have received one or more decisions by now but some applicants may be waiting for their

first decision from their universities or colleges.

Parent Guide 2013.

There is a designated parents' section on the main UCAS website at www.ucas.com/parents which includes:

* useful information for parents and guardians of students wherever they are in their journey to higher education

* clear guidelines about the UCAS application process: weighing up the options and top tips on how parents can

help their son or daughter through what can be a very daunting and stressful time.

PHOTO COMPETITION SUCCESS

Congratulations to Emily Cairn's who has won 1st prize for the Youth Photographic Competition which portrays imag-es of the Diocese of Aberdeen. Her image was titled "Autumn Night in Fortrose". Congratulations also go to Paul Hince who won 2nd prize for "The Way Forward". Both pupils were in the Higher Photography class last year and their images were printed in the 2013 calendar for the RC Diocese of Aberdeen. D Green, Art Department

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Interview with Mr Steve Holmes, PT PE

We were all very sad to see Mr Holmes leave us but luckily he will be back! Before

he departed to pastures new we just had to ask some questions about where he

was off to and how he was going to spend his time. Here is our interview:-

Y ou‘ve just started your seconded post as Highland Council‘s PE De-

velopment Officer. Tell us about your new post.

It’s an 18 month secondment to push forward Highland Council’s PE

programme. The main focus of which is the drive for every Primary and Secondary school to deliver 2 hours or

2 sessions of quality PE per week. The Scottish Government’s commitment is for this to be embedded by June

2014. The post is one of support and development and building up the network of PE within Cluster schools

and across the region. Initially, I’ll focus on working with Primary schools and looking to share good practice

and help overcome any problems they may face in achieving the target.

W hy did you apply? Were you looking for a change?

No, not really. I’m more than happy at Fortrose and I’ve said many times that I’ve got the best job

in the Highlands. I n fact, I don’t think I would have applied if it was for a permanent post. But the

2 hours of PE, especially in the primaries is something the department and I feel passionate about. We’ve

been involved delivering PE in the local primaries for the last half dozen years and we see a huge number of

benefits. The opportunity to share this and, maybe, set something up similar, was the attraction about the

post.

W hat are the challenges of the post and what are you hoping to achieve?

This is harder than my interview! You told me, Mrs Ross, that this was just going to be a little chat!

Putting the June 2014 target date to one side for a minute, I would like to see something sustaina-

ble that delivers quality PE long after my post has finished. To do this we need a committed overall structure

that has a supportive network of PE deliverers, between primary class teacher, PE specialist and the secondary

PE specialist within a cluster group of schools.

Have I still got the job?!!

H ow have you found your first week?

Strange. No pupils or staff to get the craic with. I’ve missed school far more than I thought I would.

I’ve enjoyed meeting new people and seeing new ideas, but you forget the support, friendship and

enjoyment that we have in Fortrose with pupils and staff alike.

A nything else to finish off with?

I won’t be able to resist popping in, so I hope to see you all soon.

We wish Mr Holmes the best of luck in his new position.

Success for Fortrose Academy at the Ross-shire swimming Gala in December 2012

Congratulations to the following for their swimming success:-

Dominic Lloyd, Scot Lyon, Finn Lee and Sam Riome successfully won the senior boys’ event.

Rachel Woolley Eilidh McGill Lucy Faulkner and Louise Dunton triumphed in the U14 girls’ event.

Rachel Woolley, Lucy Faulkner, Natalie Dunton and Sarah Woolley won the girls mixed age group relay.

It was an outstanding team performance from all the swimmers involved. M Windsor, PE Department