Over the course of this session, pupils have been involved in a variety of learning experiences and community based activities. In November and December they had the opportunity to participate in a work experience placement kindly offered by Tesco in Auchinleck.  The young people were involved in several departments within the store including bakery, checkouts, dairy, fruit and veg, entertainment and helping collect for the foodbank.  Tesco very kindly donated a Christmas tree to the school – shown in the photo.

More recently, December saw the pupils preparing, packing and delivering Christmas parcels to elderly folk in the community who were very pleased to receive them. One pupil was heard to say, “It’s great to give as well as get,” so this enterprise was a positive experience all round. A big thank you to staff, parents and Tesco for their generous donations which allowed us to make up 20 parcels.

A copy of the School Standards and Quality Report is available in the TAB above.

The Pro’s visit Auchinleck Academy Rugby.

 Mark Bennett and Darcy Rae both Glasgow Warriors and Scotland Internationals were in Auchinleck Academy on Wednesday 9th December to lead sessions for Auchinleck pupils. The afternoon started outside on the astro-grass for Auchinleck S1 School of Rugby pupils. With the wind and rain the session was mainly built around lots of activity and game like practices.

In the second half of the afternoon the session was held inside the games hall. Joining the School of Rugby pupils were over thirty pupils from across the other school teams. The main thrust of the session was skills. There was even a race between S5 pupil John Watt and Mark Bennett which can be seen on our twitter account @EACAuchRugby.

The session was finished with a Q+A session with pupils picking Darcy’s and Mark’s brains on all things rugby. Darcy and Mark then waited back to sign autographs and pose for pictures and selfies. Overall a great afternoon for everyone involved and more evidence of the increase happiness gained from the egg shaped object that is a rugby ball.

Attention all S1 pupils!

For Sale – Personalised Laser Timetables

Would you like your own personalised school timetable cut and engraved using laser technology?

 Each timetable will be made in your school house colour with your name and PLP class.

The must have school accessory for all S1 pupils

Special Xmas introductory offer – £1.50 each

If you would like to purchase one please see your technical teacher who will take your order.

The Auchinleck Art Department are very proud of former S6 Advanced Higher student, Jodie MacPherson, for having her Art and Design folio from last year selected for the SQA Advanced Higher exhibition in Glasgow. This display of work features 80 of the top Advanced Higher folios in the country so we are thrilled to have one of our own included in the selection. Jodie is currently in her first year at Glasgow School of Art studying Architecture. The work is available to view from Sat 12th December till mid January at the Scotland Street School Museum and is free entry. I strongly encourage you to attend and see the fabulous work on display, an excellent day out for young and old…even for the less ‘arty’ of us out there!

We would like to invite you to attend an information evening at Auchinleck Academy on Thursday 10^th December.  This evening will consist of three 25 minute presentations where you will be provided with information and practical advice on a variety of themes that parents have requested some support with.

The programme for the evening will be as follows:

6.30pm: Head teacher Welcome

6.45pm: Options programme or P7 Induction Programme

7.00pm: Presentation 1

7.25pm: Presentation 2

7.50pm: Presentation 3

8.15pm: Tea/ Coffee and Evaluation

We look forward to seeing you on the evening, if there are any themes that you feel you would like more information/ support on, please add them to the bottom of the table and we will try to accommodate this either at this event or a future opportunity.  There will be a second event on Tuesday 14^th June 2016 exclusively for Primary 7 parents to provide information on uniform, curriculum etc and an opportunity to visit departments across the school.

Please contact the school for more information

The boys from this year’s U16 Football team pose for a pre-match photo.  Unfortunately their record is played 3 – lost 3 so far.

Come on boys some improvement needed!!

As part of the RME curriculum, S1 – 3 classes visited a prayer space.

Prayer Spaces in Schools enable young people, of all faiths and none, to explore life questions, spirituality and faith in a safe, creative and interactive way, in accordance with Curriculum for Excellence.

Taking a broadly Christian perspective as a starting point, prayer spaces give young people an opportunity to develop skills of personal reflection and to explore prayer in an open, inclusive and safe environment. The pupils are able to make their own meaning and to draw their own conclusions.

A classroom was transformed for a few days with a range of creative activities that encouraged personal reflection on issues such as forgiveness, injustice, thankfulness, big questions, and stillness.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Paris, it gave pupils an opportunity to express their sadness and their anxieties about these events.

Pupils and staff responded very positively to this experience.

Twenty pupils and staff had an educational residential visit to Dumfries House estate last week.  The purpose of the visit was to enable S4 Business Management pupils to undertake their National 5 coursework assignment.  Wednesday afternoon was spent team building with outdoor instructors.  This took place at the Manoukian centre where Richard and Duncan, the enthusiastic outdoor instructors, put pupils through some physical and mentally challenging tasks.   Wet and exhausted the pupils enjoyed warm showers before tucking into a lovely dinner freshly prepared by the estate chefs.  The chocolate cake was a firm favourite!    The evening programme included people bingo and the business decision game spaghetti challenge.

After a good night’s sleep day 2 involved pupils visiting the Coach House Cafe, the Games Hall, the Lodge Guest House and finding out about Events within Dumfries House where managers of these areas gave pupils business information, tours and answered pupils previously prepared business questions. Pupils were well prepared and asked managers some challenging business questions.  Next pupils took part in some of the daily routine tasks which take place in these areas or were given specific tasks to work on.  It was then back to the Manoukian centre for lunch.  After lunch, pupils conducted market research on the estate, asking visitors to the estate about their expectations and experiences.   As ever, Auchinleck Academy pupils were commended on their excellent behaviour and their willingness to take part and help each other.  Mrs Campbell and Mrs Hammersley would like to thank all of the staff at Dumfries estate for giving their time and making our pupils feel so welcome.  Back at school lots of effort will be put into creating their reports for the SQA exam.

The S3/4 and S5/6 Handball teams made the long (back roads journey) to Motherwell for the Scottish Handball Finals.

The competition gets tougher every year as more schools across Scotland are competing in the event. This year was no exception and saw the best two schools from each region compete for the top prize.

The S3/4 team played Belmont Academy for 5th position and were narrowly beaten by one goal

The S5/6 team played Our Lady’s from Cumbernauld and again were beaten, finishing 6th.

Both teams improved game to game and were a credit to themselves and the school, to finish as the 6th best team in Scotland is a great achievement.

This is even more impressive when you take into account that all the boys had never even heard of handball before this year!

Thanks to Mr McQuad (PE Student) for coming along to assist.