As part of NLC’s Read to Succeed initiative, Airdrie Academy had the pleasure of welcoming writer and illustrator Alex Scarrow.  Alex is best known for his teen science fiction series TimeRiders.

S1 pupils were treated to Alex’s enthusiastic presentation which focused on the books he writes, the inspiration behind his writing and the creative writing process.

Pupils were enthralled by his reading of the opening first two chapters of TimeRiders book one.

After his presentation, Alex kindly stayed on to answer the many questions asked by pupils inspired by his work. Pupils also had the opportunity to purchase a book and have it signed for which there was a large queue!

All pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure and the school library has a large collection of books for pupils to access and enjoy.

Click here for more information on the Read to Succeed initiative and to complete a short survey:

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ASSMO/

We are looking to start a new S1-3 Girls football club after school on a Monday 3.45-4.45pm coached by

If you are interested please speak to the PE department ASAP.

A group of S1 and S3 pupils visited Skye View care home as part of Mrs Crosbie’s ‘Letters to the Elderly’ project yesterday.

They chatted with residents, read them letters, showed them artwork and were a credit to themselves and the school

Well done!

The Art and Design Department were delighted to experience the exhibition ‘Leonardo da Vinci – A Life in Drawing’ and to take part in a series of workshops trying out materials and techniques da Vinci used in his work.

Pupils enjoyed printing  with natural materials such as leaves then making their prints into badges. They also tried map making with pen and ink, clay modelling and using oil paints to create a sfumato painting on canvas. Pupils had the opportunity to enjoy a guided tour of the exhibition where they tried copying da Vincis drawings into little sketchbooks they made themselves followed by a guided tour of the art galleries where they were given the opportunity to handle some artifacts showing how da Vinci would have worked.

This was a fabulous day trip, incredibly well organised and presented by the museum staff, the pupils thorougly enjoyed it, as did the teachers!

Thirteen S5/6 pupils took part in the 21st North Lanarkshire International Conference. Over the past few weeks they have been researching information to participate in two debates about climate change and mass surveillance as a method of tackilng terrorism from the perspective of New Zealand. Today each secondary school in North Lanarkshire (each representing a different country) came together to debate each resolution. Although we did not win the award for best school, the pupils were a credit to Airdrie Academy and represented the school well. Comments were also made about how well they spoke and how good their arguments were in both debates!

The pupils who took part were Olivia McConville, Hayley Marmion, Sophie Landels, Morgan McLeod, Eilidh Montgomery, Cole Ainsworth, Marijus Kringelis, Eilidh Cowan, Chantelle Wallace, Kelsi Smith, Emma Mair, Aiden Gibb and Abbie Scott.

As the summer holidays approach, we are continuing preparations for our trip in September. I met with the students last week to go over our itinerary and plan cabin arrangements. We have three very full days of WW1 sites followed by a much more relaxed day in Bruges. Pupils will require a valid passport and an ehic card to travel.
Can I please ask that all payments are updated by the end of term?

If you think that you may have a relative who died in the Great War and is buried in Belgium (around Passchendaele / Flanders / Ypres) or listed on a memorial you can investigate further using the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. If possible, we would be happy to pay our respects.

There will be a Parents’ Information evening on 17 September at 7pm and we look forward to seeing you all then.

We were delighted to be accepted as a judging panel for The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize. Every year young people from across the UK are invited to pick a winner from a shortlist of six fantastic science books written in the previous year.

The aim is to inspire young people to read about science and promote the writing of excellent, accessible STEM books for under-14s. The prize is unique in that the winner is selected by judging panels made up of young people across the country.

So far we have received the six brilliant books and recruited a judging panel.

Judging has commenced and our panel members, Beth W, Fatimah, Kaitlyn, Beth P, Alicja and Rebecca have been devoting their lunchtimes this week to reviewing each of the books.

Watch this space!

If your child attends a North Lanarkshire school you may be entitled to free school meals and essential clothing grant.

If you gave consent last year but do not currently receive these benefits, or if this is your first application, you will have to apply.

You are able to collect one from the school or download here:

Gen-078-19-Attach1

Early submission of applications are encouraged to ensure clothing grants are made and free school meals are registered for the start of the new session.