On behalf of the parent council

A date for your diary FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9th, the parent council are looking for support to fund raise for the school.

Parents / carers, staff and friends of the school can come along and enjoy this social occasion to play bingo have fun and support the school.

Full details will be issued by the parent council soon.

We really appreciate your support!

Tomorrow in the school we have our merit reward events for pupils in first to third year. We very much believe in recognising all the hard work that our pupils do. Teachers issue pupils with merits for a range of positive choices.

Well done to all of the pupils who made the criteria and will enjoy their reward activity throughout the morning. Keep working hard and aim to be at the Xmas merit event.

Thanks to all of the staff involved in setting up the events tomorrow.

What a great job the parent council did last night with the S1 disco. Good turn out and every single pupil had a great time and behaved impeccably. Thanks to all of the parent council members who came along and gave of their time last night. Thanks to all of the staff and all of  the senior pupils for supporting at the event.

John the DJ was fab! Had the pupils dancing all night.

Well Done!

Today our amazingly talented Drama pupils delivered their  very own production which focussed on Mental Health issues. The production covered a range of 5 sensitive themes. S1 -3 Pupils and staff fully engaged in the short workshop discussions that accompanied each excerpt. Colleagues from NHS Stigma Free Lanarkshire were in attendance at each performance. This interactive and innovative work really was first class – congratulations to everyone involved. Special thanks to Miss McDade for all of her input in the script and throughout today.

Important messages and experiences shared in a very innovative and supportive way. Well Done!

S1 pupils have a disco this evening arranged by the Parent Council. Doors open at 7pm and last dance is 9pm. S1 pupils can still pay at the door. Many thanks to everyone involved in organising this event and in helping out tonight.

Hope everyone has a great time!

On Wednesday and Thursday this week Mrs Carlin has organised a host of activities which all focus on Health and Wellbeing and talking about Mental Health. We have made a commitment in our work this year to train senior pupils as Mental Health Ambassadors. These senior pupils will deliver information in our PHSE classes to younger pupils. Our Drama department have made their very own production which focusses on Mental Health and this will be showcased as part of our commitment to opening up discussions with staff and pupils.

Pictured above is our pledge signed in partnership with Stigma Free Lanarkshire and Airdrieonians F.C. which highlights our working partnership in tackling Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Also pictured above is our Mental Health and Wellbeing icon and slogan for this years 2 day conference.

Fantastic teamwork!

Last week I thoroughly enjoyed my visits to all seven of our associated primary schools. I had a fantastic time meeting all of the pupils in primary 7. We completed a fun quiz and talked about moving to secondary school.

This evening, at our p7 open evening, we say a warm welcome to families who may be new to Airdrie Academy. We also say a warm, welcome back, to families who are working with us now or who have worked with us in the past.

Our p7 open evening starts at 6pm prompt with a short information session in the assembly hall. Staff and the parent council will share information with you and be on hand to answer your questions. Families and p7 pupils will then have a mini timetable to follow. All of our staff are ready to meet you, greet you and showcase aspects of their subject areas.

I and we look forward to meeting you all.

Information just received from Mr Beattie in the Geography department…..

Thank you so much to all who cast their votes for this years’ school charities. It is so important because as a school we selflessly give so much to charities over each academic year, not just our chosen 3 school ones but also the house charities, different events for St Andrew’s Hospice and individually for those close to our own hearts.

The Charity Group is proud to announce the following 3 Charities as this years officially supported organisations:

LOCAL – Lanarkshire Association for Mental Health (LAMH)

Home

NATIONAL – Huntington’s Disease Scotland (Scottish Huntington’s Association)

https://hdscotland.org/

INTERNATIONAL – Water Aid

https://www.wateraid.org/uk/

We look forward to supporting our chosen charities and other organisations throughout this school year – as ever we can’t do this without all of you.

Thanks.

On a regular basis I meet a group of 10 pupils from S1-S6 as chosen by their Depute Headteacher / Pupil support teacher. These meetings are called “Top 10” and this is my way of taking on board the thoughts and opinions of our pupils throughout the year. We focus on 5 main themes;

My Relationships

• Feeling safe in school
• Pupil voice
• Relationships in school / Ethos
• Getting Support
• Equality and Fairness

My School

• Learning and Teaching
• The Curriculum (pathways)
• Resources

My Learning

• Digital resources
• Cost of things / equity
• Opportunities out of the classroom

My Achievements

• Wider achievement opportunities
• Friendships
• Employability opportunities

My Health and Well-being

• Healthy food options
• Support with stress
• Things that would help me

I gather the opinions and thoughts of the pupils involved in these meetings and email the main points to all staff in the school as they happen.

At the end of the year these important conversations are used to help us to plan for the future. Making sure our pupils voices play an active part in our school improvement plan is one of the keys to our success.