December’s Right of the Month:

 Article 30 (children from minority groups): Every child has the right to learn and use the language, customs and religion of their family, whether or not these are shared by the majority of the people in the country where they live.

 Rights fact of the Month:

 Rights are UNIVERSAL. This means that they are for all people (children and adults) everywhere, all of the time. The basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled are stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Children require extra protection and have an additional set of rights. These are set out in the  United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which is an international human rights treaty.

Last year SLT, PTGs, staff, pupils and parents worked with Education Scotland staff to create a Case Study highlighting the excellent practice in the school in Equality, Wellbeing and Inclusion.  This came as a result of the Very Good Rating that we were given by HMIE for this quality indicator in our inspection in 2016.

 The Case Study has been published and can be viewed at the following link:

 https://education.gov.scot/improvement/practice-exemplars/Auchinleck%20Academy%20-%20Developing%20a%20culture%20of%20inclusion%20and%20equality

We require as many parents and pupils as possible to complete the TOK Mental Health Survey, it takes 2 minutes. Can I please ask you to complete it, unless you opted out.

 Here is the link:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2GFM8X3

All parents are invited to attend an important meeting in Auchinleck Academy on Tuesday 4th December at 6pm to discuss curriculum options for the new Robert Burns Academy.

The Art department Creative Showcase will be held on Thursday 6th December from 6pm to 8pm in the Assembly Hall.

Pupils from Auchinleck Academy recently recognised and promoted Dyslexia Awareness Week 2018. The theme of this year’s campaign was ‘Dyslexia: My Wider World’. As part of their leadership course, some senior pupils worked hard to deliver presentations to all pupils during assemblies. They also presented to Principal Teachers at their weekly meeting to highlight Dyslexia across the whole school. Pupils are more aware of what Dyslexia is and how all pupils can be supported in their learning.

Pupils and staff are working together to create inclusion toolboxes which will provide a variety of support aids and will be made available to pupils in every department.  These will provide useful strategies and supports to ensure all pupils’ needs are met.

The work we are doing in Auchinleck Academy to raise awareness of Dyslexia and other Additional Support Needs is another great example of how our young people are taking action in our school to promote children’s rights. During Dyslexia awareness assemblies we focused on Article 29 from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: All children have a right to an education which develops their abilities and talents to the full. We have also been learning about Equity- the fact  that some young people need, and are entitled to, extra support to help them to develop their full potential and have the same opportunities as others.

As part of our Rights Respecting School programme at Auchinleck Academy, there will be a whole school focus on a different right from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child each month. During PLP time, assemblies and in different areas of the curriculum pupils will be involved in a range of activities to help them to learn about that particular right.

November’s right of the month is Article 38: Governments must not allow children under the age of 15 to take part in war or join the armed forces. Governments must do everything they can to protect and care for children affected by war.

We have chosen Article 38 because this month marks the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War One. Pupils will learn more about this during Remembrance assemblies on 9^th November.  Although there has not been a war in Scotland for a long time, we know that unfortunately many children around the world are currently living in countries affected by war, or have had to leave their countries in order to escape war.

In addition to ‘Right of the Month’ there will also be a rights ‘Fact of the Month’ in our daily bulletin. This is to help our pupils to understand more about the nature of the rights that they have. November’s fact of the month is as follows:

Under the terms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children are rights holders and adults are the duty bearers. A duty bearer is responsible for making sure that the rights of the child are met.

To mark the centenary of the end of the First World War our S4 cohort decided to take part in a national project carried out by Historic Scotland. This was called the WWI Commemorative Programme and it was based on conversations with pupils and the community about their knowledge and experiences they learned through family members from the First World War. It has included getting the whole school on board to make and sign poppies which will be displayed on a memorial that the pupils (with the help of the Technical department) have designed and created. The pupils have been out and about in Auchinleck interviewing people in the community.  What the pupils wanted to highlight was that although we remember the men and women who fought and died during the War, in Auchinleck three hundred men and women were awarded a medal for bravery on their return and it’s the families of those warriors that we remember by speaking to the family members who still live in the town today. These families are also remembered on the Auchinleck Memorial to the fallen which will have eleven new names added this year. As a Right’s Respecting School it has been of great importance to highlight to the pupils that under Article 38 no child 15 years or under should ever be made to take part in war. Unfortunately this was a reality for many children then and is still a reality for many children today across the world. The pupils in S4 have been researching this project in their spare time and the effort each pupil has put in has gone beyond our expectations. This is an incredibly proud moment for the pupils of Auchinleck.

On Friday 12^th October the Rights Respecting School Group at Auchinleck Academy organised a series of fundraising events, for the third year in a row, to raise money for our continued sponsorship of Jebbeh Kiazolu school in Liberia. Although our annual sponsored walk through Dumfries House estate had to be cancelled due to poor weather conditions, the majority of pupils took part in a sponsored silence instead, or a sponsored dance or swim, which lasted a full afternoon. S1 pupils also gave a small donation to take part in a French breakfast which was organised by the Modern Languages department with some support from Tesco in Auchinleck, who kindly supplied us with orange juice, and chocolate spread for our croissants. Many pupils and staff also assisted Mary Gladwell, our School/Community Youth Worker, to bake cakes and various treats which were sold over interval and lunch break.

Yet again we have been blown away by the generosity of staff, parents and carers, friends and members of the community who generously offered donations and sponsored our pupils- so far  £3403 has been raised! We are extremely proud of our pupils for completing their challenges and taking action to promote young people’s rights and help the children of Jebbeh Kiazolu to access their entitlement to nutritious food, and to education. It costs just over £13 to feed a child in Liberia for a full year- the money we raised will allow all of the children at Jebbeh Kiazolu school to continue receiving a daily nutritious meal from the Mary’s Meals kitchen which was set up in the school two years ago with our support.

This is a great example of global citizenship from Auchinleck Academy pupils, staff and parents. Our actions are genuinely making a difference to young people’s lives. Well done Auchinleck Academy!

Auchinleck Academy Careers Adviser – Gillian McMahon

I work for Skills Development Scotland* and in close partnership with the school we ensure that every young person will leave confident about their career choices and aware of the career options that are available. I am based in school and throughout the year pupils can access one-to-one coaching sessions to explore options, discuss ideas, set actions and develop their Career Management Skills.

Career Management Skills you tube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDJu8O7Lxr8

There will be Group Sessions and talks on a variety of topics which will not only improve the young person’s Career Management Skills but raise awareness of the labour market and the opportunities available to them.

I welcome appointments with parents/carers where we can discuss issues and your child’s ideas to help them develop their Career Management Skills.

The websites below also provide advice and information

UCAS— https://www.ucas.com/

My World of work— https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/

PlanitPlus— https://www.planitplus.net/

Apprenticeship.scot— https://www.apprenticeships.scot/

Focus point—http://www.focuspoint.org.uk/

SDS—http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/

*Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is Scotland’s national skills body. We contribute to Scotland’s sustainable economic growth by supporting people and businesses to develop and apply their skills. We work with our partners to provide services that deliver the very best outcomes for Scotland’s people, businesses and the economy.

Link to website

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/what-we-do/scotlands-careers-services/our-careers-service-in-schools/