All posts by s. aberdeenshire

Kemnay Academy

Kemnay Cluster – P7 Technology Transition Event

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Kemnay Academy was again the venue for our annual P7 Technology Transition event.

Our four Cluster primary schools, Alehousewells, Kemnay, Kinellar and Kintore brought along their P7 (soon to be the new S1!) pupils for the morning.

The curricular focus is Technology, with the pupils being judged on their knowledge of structures and problem solving skills. With competitors working together with pupils from other schools for the first time, they also displayed their ability to be successful team members and effective contributors.

In groups of 5 they were set the task of designing and building high tech paper aeroplanes. Their structures were  be constructed using only paper, tape and paper clips and required to meet specific performance criteria; greatest distance, most accurate flight and most acrobatic.

S6 pupils together with younger students from the Academy were on hand to lend their support and ideas to the future Academy pupils and a fun but competitive time was had by all!

Kemnay Academy

Ecuador Short Film

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After returning from Ecuador this summer I decided to make a short film documenting Group 2’s experience.  Along with Bethany More and Anna Duncan we made it one evening with the intention for it to be shown at Assemblies.  Outlook Expeditions coincidentally had a Participant Video Competition running nationwide, which decided to enter.  We were very pleased to find out that we had won.  Our short film will now be shown on Outlook Expeditions website.  I also made a longer version which is available for viewing on YouTube along with Group 1’s.

Ruth Bryce, S6 KEC

Kemnay Academy

Global Citizenship – Potential Links with Rwanda

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Kemnay Academy’s exploration of potential links with a school and pupils in Rwanda is progressing as a focus for a sustainable approach to global citizenship. Recently, students from Harlaw Academy in Aberdeen City visited Kemnay Academy to brief S3 and senior students on their experiences in that country. Our S3 students study Rwanda as part of our Social Subjects curriculum. The briefing has fired our imagination and, together with our Charity Committee, we are planning to sponsor 4 Rwandan pupils through their secondary education. Our end of term non-uniform day will be geared to this. The Rwandan school system is quite different from ours and such sponsorship will make a huge difference to those pupils, their careers, their families and development of local community. However, it will also benefit our own pupils’ understanding of global issues and will complement our ethos of good citizenship and our Rights Respecting Schools Award work. We are working with a charity, Rwandan Schools Village Project (RSVP), to take this forward and to make a link directly with a Rwandan school. We hope to create interesting displays in the Academy to keep pupils up to date with our sponsored pupils’ and school’s progress. The charity’s website can be accessed through this link: http://rsvpcharity.org.uk/ We will keep you up to date with our progress via these newsletters, etc and build appropriate links into our website

Turriff Academy

Turriff Academy “Buddy Holly Story” HMT

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On the 1st of October senior music pupils attended the performance of the Buddy Holly Story at HMT in Aberdeen. Rock n roll is a style of music currently being studied by the new National 4/5 music performing and music technology classes and this musical gave pupils an insight not only to the music of this era but also the culture,fashion and way of life for musicians. The pupils enjoyed the performance and say that they particularly enjoyed the fact that the actors were also the musicians for the band.

 

Turriff Academy

Turriff Academy Samba Workshop

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On the 27th September a Samba workshop was held for all S2 music pupils. Mat Clements from the drumming company “wherestheone” came to the school to work with the pupils. World music is currently being studied in S2 and this workshop gave the perfect opportunity for pupils to learn about Samba, giving them hands on experience of performing as part of a Samba band. Senior pupils also attended a workshop in the afternoon where Mat concentrated on more complex rhythmic drumming patterns used in Samba music. It was a great day which was enjoyed by all. A video of the Samba workshop can be viewed on the music department blog. www.turriffacademymusicdept.com. Well done to all involved 🙂

 

 

Peterhead Academy, Peterhead Cluster

Peterhead Academy chosen to showcase their presentation at the YPI National Event in Perth

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Peterhead winning YPI group selected to showcase their presentation at the YPI National Event in Perth on the 19th June 2013.

Through being involved in YPI, a group of S5 pupils from Peterhead Academy won £3,000 for their chosen charity which was the National Autistic Society. YPI encourages groups of pupils to choose a charity and identify a need related to the charity of their choice. The charity which was chosen by the pupils was the National Autistic Society and the need they identified was to support the pupils who attend the Academy who have an ASD. They wished to create a sensory room.

Following numerous meetings with the pupils, and then also with  representatives from NAS, SensationAll and YPI we have now reached a point where the possibility of creating substantial change within the Academy is being discussed re the provision for our pupils with an ASD.

Currently consideration is being given to a supported learning environment room which will give access to the sensory room.

Our targets for session 2014/15 are as follows:

  • Improved learning environment for our ASD pupils in an existing classroom
  • Sensory room where pupils can relax and unwind attached to above classroom
  • Training for interested Senior pupils and Staff via ‘Transitions’

(The National Autistic Society and Inspire have been funded by the Scottish Government to provide a new ‘Transitions’ project which will provide support for young people with Autism and Aspergers syndrome.)

  • Awareness raising presentations at Year Group Assemblies from the YPI group re Autism.
  • Awareness raising presentation during the S5/6 Expectation evening

 Well done Peterhead Academy 🙂

Kemnay Academy

Charity Committee

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The committee rounded off a successful year with the annual Golf Day held at Kemnay Golf Club on 24 June.  Seventeen teams from a wide range of organisations played in a Texas Scramble with the winning teams being Anderson Bain and Kemnay Pupils.  Callum Scott (S3) won the Nearest the Pin competition.  The day raised over £1200.  We were grateful for sponsorship from Arcadion, Jasmine Holdings and Morrison Construction.  There will be a cheque presentation to our three focus charities at the Senior Achievement Ceremony on 4 July.  A small group from the committee were able to show their promotional DVD to new S6 pupils on their induction day.  They are to be congratulated for the time and effort they have put into producing this.  Social responsibility is high on the academy’s agenda and the Charity Committee offers senior pupils the opportunity to develop leadership and public speaking skills and to take ownership of organising a wide range of innovative events and challenges to raise much needed funds for local charities.

A new committee for 2013/2014 has already been formed and the main focus will be funding Emergency Boxes for disaster areas around the world.  This will involve the academy working closely with Kintore Rotary Club.

Well done to all involved 🙂

Kemnay Academy

Poppy Scotland Video Competition

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We entered Poppy Scotlands moving story competition in November 2012. The S3 class worked really hard on ideas about what remembrance meant to them. We came up with a theme first and the idea that we wanted it to be a positive and “joyful” message about our personal freedoms. We then worked on story boards in groups and agreed as a class to include the best ideas from each group. A script was the next job and Max Mackay (our producer/director) got to work on the technical side of things. We then started filming and were very pleased with the final product. We got it posted just before the deadline and hoped for the best.

 

We were thrilled when we heard we had been short listed to the final two – along with Kinlochbervie. This meant we would spend two days with a professional film maker getting to reshoot our film. The pupils really enjoyed this opportunity and were involved with lighting sound and filming as well as interviewing Tom Rooney and Gordon Rae who agreed to take part.

 

Then the public vote started! We waited for nearly three weeks knowing that it was too close to call and then the email came on the 28th June telling us that we had won. We were all very excited, and I was very pleased that the pupil’s hard work and effort had been recognised and rewarded.

 

“Winning the Poppy Scotland Video Competition is a superb achievement for our young people and I’m very proud indeed of the sensitivity and respect for service men and women, past and present, that they’ve shown in it.

Their experience will be a lasting one.  I’m looking forward to using the video to support next year’s poppy appeal and remembrance day.”

 

Dr Hunter, Rector

Kemnay Academy, Uncategorized

Electro-fishing Event

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Kemnay Academy pupils enjoy as the River Don Trust demonstrates electro-fishing.

On Thursday 20 June, Jamie Urquhart and Steve Murphy from the River Don Trust visited the academy to demonstrate to S1 pupils the work they carry out. Pupils headed to the river to watch as the two showed pupils the electro- fishing. The process which temporarily stuns juvenile fish with a small shock is used to calculate river populations and assists with water quality and pollution monitoring.  All captured fish are quickly returned to the river, unharmed.

Jamie Urquhart from the trust said, “Each year we carry out a regular survey at each village along the Don. We cover all 82 miles of the river and aim to enhance bio-diversity. We are a charity organisation based at Cluny Castle. I enjoy my job as I am a fisherman myself.”

 The trust focuses on different points from the start of the river to the finish, especially concentrating on places like sewage pipes. On the day, the pupils saw many types of fish, salmon, trout and lamprey just to name a few. All pupils who took part in the event enjoyed it thoroughly and some said the fish felt ‘smooth’ others saying ‘slimy’.

Mathematics teacher Peter Gibson said, “It was good to see pupils engaging directly with the environment and learning of the contribution that Mathematics and the Sciences make in understanding the natural world to which we belong. Many thanks to Jamie and Steven from the Don Trust, for running the event so well and whose expertise and enthusiasm were wonderful reward for the pupils’ hard work throughout S1.”

Lee Aitken

Well done to all involved 🙂

Kemnay Academy

Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Scotland National Event 2013

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This year’s YPI Final for Kemnay Academy was won by Isobel Thomson and Sarah-Jane Christie from Bennachie House.  Their chosen charity was ‘Riding for the Disabled’ (Gordon Branch). 

Further to their success, the girls and Ms Donaldson were invited to attend the YPI Scotland National Event at Perth Concert Hall on Wednesday 19th June 2013.  The event was held to celebrate the successes of all the winning teams across Scotland, and for those that helped to make it happen.  At present there are over 80 schools participating across all Local Authorities in Scotland. 

The audience were entertained by Aberdeen singer/songwriter Myke Black, with the headline act being Sandi Thom.  The guest speaker was Katherine Grainger, Britain’s most successful female rower, who won Olympic Gold at the London 2012 Olympics.  Ms Grainger was appointed CBE this year for services to rowing, and her Olympic achievements make her the first female British athlete – in any sport – to gain medals in four consecutive Olympic Games.  The girls, and Ms Donaldson, were photographed with Ms Grainger as can be seen in the photographs below. 

 Photograph of the winners and Ms Donaldson with Olympic Gold Medal Winner Katherine Grainger at the YPI Scotland National Event at Perth Concert Hall, June 2013.