staffing - mearns academy 14.pdf · it will be good to see him back but thanks must go to mr paul...

Dear Parents / Carers

It does not seem long since the New Year yet already we have passed the move to British Sum-

mer time. The word summer in school terms is often linked to exams but in the changed reality

of today’s education the exams, in fact, will be finished by summer. Indeed, the exam diet be-

gins on Tues 29 April - hence why there is an early end to studies for current S4-S6 pupils/

students. Certainly it has been a rush to complete the teaching of courses for the forthcoming

SQA exams and the new National 4/5 qualifications in particular have necessitated a high work

rate for all concerned.

Study leave for all students (S4-S6) starts from Mon 28 April. As parents of S4 will already

know, for their sons and daughters there will be opportunities for continuing engagement in

school as some pupils will not have any external exams. The return date for those coming back

is Mon 2 June. Even prior to study leave it is essential all S4-S6 candidates prepare thoroughly

and at least part of the Easter holiday should be used for this purpose.

Of course, while our primary purpose is to support learners gain attainment, we continue to of-

fer other contexts for wider achievements to be recognised. This has recently been reflected in

events such as Young Musician of The Year, the application process

for the annual Rotary Leadership Camp, and the start of the selection

process for next session’s prefects. Certainly all of these aspects are

important in the life of the school and equally the re-awarding of

Green Flag status and the recent community litter pick illustrate our

commitment to supporting learners to reflect as well as attain. In this,

as ever, thank you for your support.

FROM THE RECTOR’S DESK

Spring Newsletter - April 2014

Ian Parkin

It is with pleasure that I confirm the following appointments: Mr Alasdair Jappy has joined us in

Chemistry and Science and Mrs Frederique Dunn will be joining us after the holidays as Acting

Principal of Modern Languages (this to cover for Miss Leigh’s imminent maternity leave). Also, I

am very happy to advise you that Mrs Laura Sutherland has been appointed permanently to the

position of School Nurse Assistant.

Joining us after the summer will be Mrs Fiona Shanks as Principal Teacher of Science, this fol-

lowing Mrs Johnson’s decision to retire from her current position after August. Additionally, we (continued over page)

STAFFING

Mearns Academy - Spring Newsletter

are confident that two of our current probationer teachers (Miss Bell, Technical and Miss Jurice-

vic, Modern Languages) will be offered permanent contracts to extend their time here. They, like

all our probationer teachers, have done an excellent job this session. Also returning after Easter

will be Mrs Lynn Irvin in Business Studies - this following her maternity leave.

Sadly, however, leaving us at that time will be Dr Sandra Millar-Wayland who has been with us

for the past year. We thank her for all her efforts and wish her well in her post in Support for

Learning in an Aberdeen City school. Also leaving us is Miss Anne-Marie Curran in ICT support,

who is taking up a post nearer her home. Again, to her thanks and good luck.

Rejoining us in a full-time capacity after Easter will be Mr Graeme Cowie, who returns as full-

time Depute Head here. It will be good to see him back but thanks must go to Mr Paul Cruick-

shank who has very ably pursued the Depute Head role in Mr Cowie’s absence. Indeed, he has

pursued it so well that, not surprisingly, he has been appointed to a similar, permanent position

at Ellon Academy, starting there after the summer. We wish him every success in that role.

Meanwhile, between then and now other staffing changes will occur and I will update you as

soon as I can. To all of our staff, of course, many thanks for all their efforts.

STAFFING (continued)

2

UNIFORM - BLAZER / PE KIT

Following consultation in the school, it is proposed to introduce blazers in the senior school from

next session. Initially, this would be compulsory for all prefects and advisory for others in S5 and

S6. What are your views? Please advise us.

Also, to confirm that as per previous plan we will be moving to all pupils (S1-S6) adopting the

recommended PE kit as this initiative fully rolls out. Please see below for details of this and other

uniform expectation, and again thank you for your support in monitoring standards.

Expected uniform consists of:

White shirt/white polo-shirt

School tie

Black trousers or skirt of a conventional style

Dark blue or black school sweatshirt or jumper

Black shoes or black trainers

Ties are available in the school office.

PE Kit - White T-Shirt / Polo Shirt / vest and House Cotton

Tee Shirt for House Events.

Black shorts / Black track pants or leggings.

School sweatshirts, initialled PE kit and polo shirts are available from:

Mistletoe Embroidery, High Street, Laurencekirk.


Five second year pupils attended a series of lectures from November to March as part of Tech-

fest and Setpoint at the University of Aberdeen and the Robert Gordon University. Learning all

about codes and ciphers to the mathematics used to determine blame or the cause of road acci-

dents were Andrew Benton, Connor Grattan, Connor Jenkins, George Thomson and Camy White.

The interactive lectures took place over 6 Saturday mornings culminating in a show of speed

from a police crash investigator. Luckily for us, the boys were released from police custody and

returned to school where they all created a very informative PowerPoint and presentation to

their class.

MATHS MASTERCLASS

CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE - NEW QUALIFICATIONS

As parents/carers of current S4 pupils will know, the SQA examination diet in 2014 will no longer

see Standard Grades feature. They will be replaced this summer by new National Qualifications

at level 3, 4 and 5. S4 pupils were recently issued with an information booklet on these new

qualifications and a link to this item can be found here:

http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/SQA_CfE_parents_guide.pdf

Meanwhile for details of what knowledge and skills are required for these new qualifications

these links may be helpful:

Course summaries:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/NPF/nationals-in-a-nutshell/ (also available via

www.parentforumscotland.org - then follow Nationals in a Nutshell).

www.sqa.org.uk (the exam board website - follow subject links)

Revision Materials etc

www.brightredpublishing.co.uk (National 5 revision guides)

www.leckieandleckie.co.uk (National 4/5 revision guides)

www.hoddereducation.co.uk (specimen exam papers for National 5 subjects)

3


4

PUPIL ACHIEVEMENTS

I started curling when I was 8 years old, at Forfar Ice Rink and enjoyed it straight away. I love

all aspects of the game, from playing it to meeting lots of different folk. I also enjoy the team

element of the sport which allows us to have a good laugh when we are off the ice and often

means staying away from home in hotels.

I have been fortunate to do quite well so far in curling, having won a few competitions around

Scotland and being runner up twice now at the national under14s, hoping to go one better next

year. One of the best things about curling is the access to the top curlers. Olympians and World

Champions can be on the sheet next to you, or even playing with or against you.

Local curler Greg Drummond had just come home from Sochi with an Olympic Silver medal and

two days later I was round at his house for a chat and to hold the medal. These are the things

that inspire me to keep practising curling to try and achieve success like his.

It would obviously be helpful if Mearns

put curling into their PE programme

(hint hint). I know there are coaches out

there who are willing to help and with

Forfar doing so well at the Scottish

Schools this year maybe we could give

them a run for their money.

This picture was taken with the men’s

Olympic team (minus Skip David Mur-

doch for personal reasons) at a press

conference in Stirling. They wanted a junior on the ice for the photo and asked me.

James Craik, S1

Congratulations to Barnaby Simpkin, S5, for being selected as a baton

bearer for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

SCHOOL EVALUATION

The annual evaluation by parents of the school’s performance is again coming up. Please give

us your views.

This can be done via the link on our website or a paper copy of the evaluation form is available

from reception. Thank you for your participation in this important aspect of school life.

PE


5

MEARNS MASTERCHEF

Our annual Masterchef Competition was another great success. Finalists produced some tasty

and very attractive dishes. The standard was high and made judging very difficult.

Thank you to the judges: Alf Lawrie,

Laurencekirk Rotary, Alan Leith, MacPhie

of Glenbervie and our own

Jackie Urquhart, School Cook.

Thank you also to Laurencekirk & District

Rotary Club for sponsoring the event.

Results are: Junior winner: Aimee McPherson Senior winner: Callum Smith; Overall winner

was Aimee McPherson – well done to all!

6


Mearns Academy has been re-awarded Green Flag status

following last week’s visit. A great deal of work from many

departments and pupils and especially the Eco Club was in-

volved.

The winning Eco Club poster is shown here, designed by

Megan McNicoll in S2.

The Eco Club meets alternate Friday lunchtimes and dis-

cusses various topics. Staff and pupils are involved and new

members are very welcome.

GREEN FLAG - ECO CLUB


PE

7

FAIRTRADE

Pupils and staff are ‘Sticking with Foncho’ this

year to support Fair-Trade. Senior pupils have

been selling Fair-Trade chocolate, bananas and

geo-bars around the school. Petitions to stop

the threatening of farmers’ futures are also be-

ing handed out.

Hopefully, the school has helped to raise awareness

of the issues Fair-Trade is based around.

PE BUSINESS BREAKFAST

Last month Mearns Academy hosted a business breakfast, welcoming representatives from dif-

ferent businesses who have collaborated with the school on work experience. They were given

a unique chance to get a glimpse into modern school life and the prospects and ethos of

Mearns Academy.

Presentations were then given by Mr Parkin and his colleagues, explaining to the prospective

future business associates about the new Mearns Academy Campus and how National Qualifica-

tions work. The dynamics of the new qualifications were met with mixed responses – How do

they compare to older systems? Are students gaining as much out of it? Essentially, fear of the

unknown. In contrast to their doubts, there is a resounding understanding of the importance of

work experience.

“It’s reassuring and inspiring. The ethos of the

pupils and the school puts others to shame. It

would be great for every school to do the

same.”

- Donna Allan, Impact Imaging

It’s clear that the representatives are very will-

ing to provide placements for pupils: it’s a vital

experience and preparation for the work place

is essential. The morning also featured pres-

entations from some fourth year pupils ex-

plaining what they did for work experience and what it meant to them and it proved to be very

touching for the representatives.

“Hearing the comments from the pupils makes it all worthwhile.”

David Dalrymple, Intertek Article By Andreja White

RME AWARD

As part of the new CfE qualifications, pupils in S3 and S4 have been completing a practical action that benefits other people. These are all selected and organised by the pupils themselves, with support from relevant staff. So far this year we have had:

• charity fundraising: car washing, cake baking (many times), sponsored walking, class parties, sweetie guessing and cuddly toy raffling

• campaigns on important issues such as mental health, STIs, education, self-harm and body image. You can see pupil work on display in the RME classroom and around the school

• home-made video presentations • talks in PSE and English • website creation and • taking sports sessions at

Laurencekirk Primary The pupils have shown themselves to be very responsible and excellent at organising the events and a thank you to everyone who has supported the pupils as well as raising money for charities such as Parkinson’s UK, YoungMinds, NSPCC, Cancer Research UK and Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).


8


LIBRARY

Reading Awards and Competitions in the Library The Library has encouraged pupils to participate in a number of reading competitions and events this term. The Stan Lee Excelsior Award for graphic novels is running again this year, and pupils have been asked to read and review a selection of the eight short-listed titles. The books have been displayed in the Library’s literacy area this term with Mrs Donald’s S1 class getting involved and making their views known about the story, artwork, char-acters and dialogue. Further information about the award can be found on a dedicated website: www.excelsioraward.co.uk Various groups of pupils have also been feverishly writing book reviews for Aberdeeenshire Libraries’ Teenage Reading Month. Mr Paterson, the Librarian, was keen for the school to continue its success record in the annual review competition after Paris Lindsay-Murray from the Academy scoped 1st prize last year. The results will be an-nounced in late April so fingers crossed for another Mearns success story. Lunchtime Lectures and Career Talks The programme of lunchtime lectures has continued to grow this term with several career talks from various guest speakers: Lindsey Miller talked about her experiences and career in the arts and theatre world before she embarked on a UK tour as Creative Director of the stage show “Fame”. Derek Atkinson, Active Schools Co-ordinator, spoke with a larger group of pupils about the various options and further or higher education courses for pupils looking to pursue a career in sports coaching Geoff Clark, Partner with Burness Paul, talked pupils through various law related career paths and education routes while most recently while Gemma Mitchell, a Technical Training Advisor with BP, visited to talk about her work in the training and recruitment sector. Kevin Rae from Opito returned again to update S5 pupils on the Technician Training Scheme in the Oil and Gas sector. In addition, with the support of the Speakers4schools organisation, Sir Moir Lockhead vis-ited the Academy in March and talked with all the senior pupils in the school. His talk touched not just on his business experiences, his career and his model for effective leadership but also his love of rugby and support for rugby development in schools.

9

LIBRARY

Prior to the talk Sir Moir enjoyed a tour of the school with Mr Cowie and was introduced to Kieran Mowat and Robbie Crighton, two S1 boys, who play rugby with one of the local teams. Both were lucky enough to be given Scottish Rugby Union pin badges by Sir Moir. Feedback from the seniors after the talk was very positive: “Inspirational!”

“It was good, useful, motiva-

tional.”

“Really good - messages related

to anything you want to do so

very relevant.”

“Encouraging - self-made man.”

“Reinforced that if you work hard

you can do anything.

“Interesting - showed that you

should go for your goals. You can achieve lots but still be doing something you love.”

Cat Clarke As part of Teenage Reading Month, Mr Paterson also arranged an author visit for S3 and S4 pu-

pils with Cat Clarke. Born in Zambia but brought up in Yorkshire and Edinburgh, she writes edgy,

contemporary Young Adult fiction with her fifth book due to be published in April.

The pupils in 3E1 enjoyed listening to Cat

talk about her novels, how she gets her

ideas and had the class undertaking an

extended creative writing piece of work.

The ideas and principles that Cat dis-

cussed can be taken forward next year for

portfolio pieces for pupils’ National 5

qualification. The S4 pupils also enjoyed a

session with Cat where they brainstormed

ideas for novels and roughly plotted out

potential storylines.

The book sale of Cat’s novels was espe-

cially popular, with some of the S4 girls in

particular very keen to have the opportu-

nity to purchase a signed copy of one of

Cat’s books.

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LIBRARY

World Book Day 2014 John and Sandra of Metaphrog returned again to help the S1 pu-pils celebrate World Book Day in early March. Their workshop involving graphic novels is now an important part of the S1 cur-riculum. It assists pupils to design and draw their own graphic novel characters as well as introducing some to a different genre of literature they may not have encountered before. The artwork produced by pupils during the session was of a very high standard again. Here are a few of the comments from pu-pils after the session: “Really good! Read one of the books (Night Salad) countless times to my brother.” “I think next they could take some of the good characters away and make a comic.”

“Not enough drawing time! But all together good!”

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FACULTY OF EXPRESSIVE ARTS

Rock Challenge

This year we decided that we wanted to get our school involved with Rock Challenge: a

dance and drama-orientated competition. We had to choreograph a performance which por-

trayed a chosen theme, along with producing costumes, set and a unique soundtrack. This

required a lot of time and dedication from all involved. We had a massive response from all

year groups and in total had over 80 people involved on the day.

On the 8th of March we had an early start, and travelled to the AECC for our first Rock Chal-

lenge experience. We were all super-excited for what was going to be a fun-filled day. Over

the course of the day we watched other schools rehearse and got everybody’s hair and

makeup ready for the night time performance.

Our performance went really well and we were over the moon with how the girls looked on

stage. It was great to watch all our own choreography on stage and to see everything come

together so professionally. We were presented with two awards of excellence, which were for

soundtrack and concept. The overall experience was something completely new for most of

our team, but I think that we can speak on behalf of all involved that we are already raring to

go next year. A massive thanks and well done is due to Mrs Birse, Miss Wight, Miss Angus

and our whole team for all their time and cooperation.

Megan Baxter and Natalie Gauld (S4)

12

All of our dancers in costume in our final rehearsal

Our student representatives with our awards

13 13

FACULTY OF EXPRESSIVE ARTS


Young Musician 2014

(Left to right: Gina Gallacher, Andrew Clark, Georgina MacDonell Finlayson, Eilidh Watt, Alannah Moar, Matthew Crabb) Winner Runner Up Junior Section: Gina Gallacher Matthew Crabb Intermediate Section: Eilidh Watt Alannah Moar Senior Section: Georgina MacDonell Finlayson Andrew Clark

Overall Young Musician of the Year – Georgina MacDonell Finlayson

1st

428 PTS

CONTACT DETAILS

Mearns Academy Aberdeen Road LAURENCEKIRK AB30 1ZJ Tel: 01561 378817 Fax: 01561 378252

Email:

[email protected]

Web address:

www.mearnsacademy.org.uk

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY HOUSE NEWS


3rd

363 PTS

2nd

381 PTS

S1 LITTERPICK

On Wednesday 26th March all of S1 participated in the annual S1 litterpick organised by Miss Juricevic and the Eco Club. This event was part of the ‘Clean Up Scotland’ Campaign and was a great success, with pupils picking up litter throughout the day in Laurencekirk. On their return the litter was weighed and an incredible 71kg was collected!

4 April 2014 Term Ends

9 June 2014 Occasional Day

16th - 18th June 2014 16th June

P7 visit P7 parents evening

23rd June 2014 Sports Day

1st July 2014 Prizegiving

Wed 2 July 2014 Term Ends

3/4 July 2014 School closed to pupils

18th & 19th August 2014 School closed to pupils

20th August 2014 In-Service

21st August 2014 Term begins

22nd & 23rd May 2014 Activities Days

21 April 2014 Term Begins

5 May 2014 Holiday

5 June 2014 Open Morning

staffing - mearns academy 14.pdf · it will be good to see him back but thanks must go to mr paul...

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