This Wednesday the John Muir Group visited RSPB Ken Dee. Here we were lucky enough to get up close to and take some great pictures of the birds that frequent the reserve. We now all know a coal tit from a blue tit.
John Muir Award
Congratulations to Danny, Ruben and Reece on achieving their John Muir Discovery Awards. The boys had to explore their local environment, discover new places and get involved with conservation work in the local area.
Many thanks to Carlingwark Outdoor Education, Crystal Maw at RSPB Ken Dee and the Galloway Glens Partnership for helping us achieve the award.
Christmas Party
Many thanks to all pupils and staff who helped end the year on a fun note with our annual secondary dance.
S1-2 Pupils’ Pop-up Café for Staff
Staff at Dalry Secondary were treated to a delicious two-course meal, made and served by S1-2 pupils. The choices were:
Breaded Haggis Balls / Halloumi Fries with Dipping Sauce / Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Brownie with Cream or Ice-cream / Lemon Cheesecake / Apple Crumble with Cream or Ice-cream.
Resident Artists deliver creative workshops
The resident artists for the Energise project Leeming & Paterson and Jason Nelson came into Dalry and worked with students from P3-S3. Visual artist Jason Nelson and photographers Leeming & Paterson delivered a series of creative workshops which enabled the students to consider energy consumption with relation to the Galloway Hydro Scheme.
Dumfries & Galloway College Schools Competition
Well done to all of S3 for being a credit to the school on Friday whilst participating in Dumfries and Galloway College Schools Competition. Special congratulations go to our prizewinners:
Hana and Sarah – 1st Prize Digital Photography
Andrew and Andy – 2nd in Wallpapering Challenge 
Grace and Euan – 3rd in Visual Communications
Author Visit – Martin Stewart
S1-4 pupils enjoyed a fantastic talk on reading and writing by Penguin author Martin Stewart, who read from his new novel and spoke to children about finding inspiration for writing.
Night of Drama and Song
We held a night of Drama and Song which was a great success and a credit to parents and pupils who attended or were involved. Pupils performed “Archie Dobson’s War”, a story of friends and family as history takes them down the path of WW1.
Proceeds from the night all went towards Poppy Scotland’s 2018 Poppy Pledge. Throughout the year we have been holding events to raise money for this cause. On Thursday, we counted everything up and the grand total is…………a whopping £2,295.30, which is fantastic I am sure you will all agree. Poppy Scotland send their thanks personally to everyone and state that the school will receive a certificate in the new year. Next year, Dalry Secondary School will have their name erected with the rest of the ‘Poppy Pledgers’ in the newly refurbished Lady Haig Poppy factory in Edinburgh.
More importantly, the pupils have actively contributed to helping ex-servicemen around Scotland with shelter, PTSD and other issues. They have taken pride in this and worked together to achieve a common goal. Some pupils have challenged themselves and achieved more than they thought possible, and others have shown real leadership and commitment.
Biology and Geography Millport Trip
S4 Biology and Geography students recently enjoyed a two day residential trip to the Scottish Field Studies Centre on the isle of Cumbrae. The students carried out a range of field work activities that allowed them to gather and process their own data. The skills gained will be put to good use in National 5 and Higher assignments.
S4 Mock Interviews
S4 students were put through their paces during their mock interviews. Natural Power recruitment specialist Kelly Innes interviewed the students in a process designed to match the challenges presented by a modern application process. The application and interview experience will form part of the Employability qualification that all of the current S4 are working towards.
