Author: Mr O'Brien

Hello again to the JMAC team,

I have posted the school news report for you- your contribution on the Mathematics challenge features prominently.

Well done on your interviewing and reporting. Mr O’Brien

Olympian Efforts in Mathematics

Mathematics prodigies Christopher Corr and Claudia Kawik showed off their outstanding academic skills by taking part in the Senior Mathematics Challenge. While this is an impressive achievement in itself, something makes it even more exceptional. The two stars entered the challenge as juniors but were competing against senior students. The Saint Aidan’s duo, who have not yet sat their National 5 Mathematics exam, were pitting themselves against the best and the brightest from across the whole of Great Britain: competing against students who are currently studying at Higher, A-level and possibly beyond. Our high-flyers went on to ace a test supposedly out of their league.

Claudia Kawik and Christopher Corr are the two fourth year pupils who achieved the gold award for the senior maths challenge. We asked 15 year old Claudia how she felt about being in the top 1000 in the entire UK for the event. She said “It feels great”. Her peer, Chris, added “I feel the same however I was quite shocked.”

Claudia has qualified to participate in the highly prestigious British Mathematical Olympiad which is organised by the UK Mathematics Trust and Christopher will go on to compete in the Senior “Kangaroo” Challenge.

Both pupils have participated in the event for a few years now and both of them told us that they have achieved good awards in the past, so there was no reason not to have a go at the highest level.

Claudia thinks that the maths challenge could possibly help in her exams, because there are “Quite a few problem solving questions”. Chris isn’t sure what career path he wants to follow just yet. However Claudia has definite career plans, she said “I am planning on going into medicine, so that will require mathematics.”

Class teacher of the pair, Mrs. Harrity, was full of praise for the fourth years’ fantastic performance “The pupils excelled because they are naturally bright and they thrive in their studies. This always shows in their classwork and behaviour. They are not easily distracted and despite being young they are able to participate in really advanced work.

Mr. Anthony McDonald, Principal Teacher of Mathematics was equally fulsome in his praise of the young students, “To compete and achieve such a high level of distinction really places our two young people in the company of elite mathematicians. This award is a fabulous reflection of their very real talent. They are young people who have proved to be great problem solvers. The UK Mathematics Trust often looks at areas of mathematics that are not traditionally taught in the school curriculum, so both of our students can really think ‘out of the box’. They are going on to represent North Lanarkshire in the final of the Scottish Mathematics Challenge in the near future, so the very best of luck to them in their next endeavor.”

Head teacher Claire Connelly commented on the pupils. “It was an outstanding achievement for the school and it showcases the great talent of Claudia and Christopher. The school community is very proud.’

Claudia and Christopher are in the centre of the picture and are accompanied by Mr. Callaghan and Mrs. Harrity of the Mathematics Department to the left.  Mrs Connelly, Head Teacher and Mr. McDonald, Principal Teacher of Mathematics are to the right of the frame.

 

Brilliant Panto Visit.

Nearly two hundred first year students and ten lucky members of staff ventured off to the Motherwell Civic Theatre recently to enjoy a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. The trip was organised by Mrs Caroline Mullen, teacher of Drama and English, ably assisted by Principal Teacher of English Miss Fiona McGrogan.

The weather on the day of the trip may have been somewhat dreich but the afternoon’s entertainment was electric. The first years created a crackling atmosphere and launched themselves into some brilliantly raucous audience participation: these young people know how to panto! They are clearly benefitting from the drama lessons that they have participated in and demonstrated that they know how to be a brilliant audience.

Santa Dash

Saint Andrew’s Hospice told us that Santa had to get fit for Christmas so that he could deliver all those presents. To help him out, and to support the Hospice at the same time, our Saint Andrew’s Ambassadors from sixth year along with their Principal Teacher of Guidance, Mrs. Eileen Murray, turned out in force to take part in the annual Santa Dash at Strathclyde part on Sunday 19^th November.  Suitably attired in Santa suits and red noses, our students’ staff “blazed” through the course around the loch.

There was a great turn out for the sponsored event and our students and their families demonstrated their support for the Hospice in the usual generous manner. More details to follow on this when the sponsor money has been collected.

 

 

The Zoolab article and photograph in this week’s Wishaw Press.

Well done to the JMAC team

Mr O’Brien

The Wishaw Press published your collaborative coverage of the Chris’s House Event. Well done!

Hello to the JMAC team. Your work on the Zoolab visit featured prominently in the most recent school press report. Here is a draft copy of it for your perusal…

 

Beyoncé is Back at Saint Aidan’s….

Second year students at St Aidan’s High school had their rainforest topic brought to life by an exciting visit from The Zoolab Company. From the shadowy depths of the rainforest, all the way to Wishaw came Arthur the snail, Beyoncé the tarantula and many more exotic creatures. Eager, brave young students, fuelled by a mixture anticipation and dread were given the opportunity to interact with the creatures.

For the most part, the curiosity overcame the fear and the pupils learned fascinating facts about the miniature beasts such as Lily the millipede from the Congo and her 500 legs.

Zoolab has been running for 20 years and caters to several functions such as birthdays, school visits and public events. The company aims to ‘amaze, educate and inspire’ the public about the lives of animals. The Zoolab rangers care for the exotic creatures at home and show great care about each of their charges. The second year students commented enthusiastically, saying ‘It was a really good experience, which was totally unique and holding the animals was so much fun’.

 

Mental Health Awareness

Over forty parents attended an evening presentation given by Chris’s House that followed on from our presentations to all of our students. As part of our school community’s drive to break the stigma about mental health issues a group of our Student Mental Health Ambassadors have also attended the launch of the “Sound Minds” project in Coatbridge. You can get more information about the school’s progress in raising awareness of these issues on the Saint Aidan’s High Twitter account under the following hashtags: e #mentalhealthawareness #breakthestigma #partnerships #staidansfamily

Football Successes

The Saint Aidan’s High football teams have been enjoying a run of good form with notable victories by the first year boys and a sparkling performance by the fourth year boys against Our Lady’s High School.

The under 14 boys are also looking good in their new strips thanks to the generosity of the Parent Council.

Primary Seven Partnership Evening

Our annual P7 Partnership Evening took place on Tuesday 7^th November and attendance was in excess of 340.

The evaluations completed are incredibly positive but also give a few suggestions as to how we can make it even better. Mrs. Elizabeth Fagan, Depute Head for first and second year commented on the success of the event, “This evening requires lots of planning, preparation but most importantly the willingness and commitment of both staff and pupils. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to every member of staff who came on Tuesday night and made the night such a memorable experience for both parents and pupils alike. The parents were extremely complimentary of our fantastic S2/5/6 helpers and found them to be polite, mannerly and confident. Parents also felt reassured by having the opportunity to meet and talk with many of our fantastic S1 pupils and welcomed the opportunity to speak to staff. Many stated that they felt much more comfortable about their child coming to high school.”

Parents of children about to make the step up to high school next year commented, “This was an amazing night with lots of information that put both my child and my mind at ease.” Another parent evaluation of the evening was very positive about the impact that our current first year students had on them, “Pupils did very well and using present S1 pupils was very helpful for the children.

 

Overall it was a highly successful night and we look forward to seeing the primary seven students as our new first year in 2018.

 

The School Library Becomes Hogwarts for a Day

The S1 Harry Potter Bingo and Spelling Bee which took place recently was good fun and a great success.

Harry Potter Bingo Two games of Harry Potter Bingo were played – the bingo uses images and words from the HP books instead of numbers. Tiernan Donohoe and Mikolaj Matusik won a game of bingo each and received chocolate skeletons and chocolate money as their prize.

 

Harry Potter Spelling Bee

 

A happy and enthusiastic audience of S1 pupils came along to the event to support their friends who were taking part. Molly Kelly and James Walsh were the joint winners of the competition which resulted in a tie breaker. James won the tie breaker with the correct spelling of the word quidditch. His prize was a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The following fourteen good sports took part in the Harry Potter Spelling Bee: Molly Kelly, James Walsh Tiernan Donohoe, Luke Chambers Gabriel Woods, Kaitlyn Grayson, Millie Low, Amy McIntosh

Lauren Fuller, Kerri Anne Templeton, Holly Sweeney, Mikolaj Matusik, Olivia Sneddon and Valentina Joseph.

Saint Andrew’s Hospice Cheque

The school presented representatives from Saint Andrew’s Hospice a cheque for £1801.66. The funds were raised by a magnificent effort by all the students who took part in the 6K fun run in September. A great effort by everyone involved!

 

Halloween Party- Magnificently Spooky

 

Halloween came early for St Aidan’s High School this year, with the annual Halloween disco to raise funds for the Victoria Park Charity. Student journalists Nicolle Muir and Joanne Hamilton went undercover in their spookiest but most glamourous attire to slip in and cover the ghoulish goings on that transpired on that most eldritch of evenings…

The event took place on a chilly night of October 26^th from 7pm until half 10, for both the youngest and the eldest pupils, to allow them to interact and for the seniors to welcome the first years to the fun ways of the school at this festive time. Teachers and students alike both got involved and creative with their spooky and scary costume ideas, leading to once again a massively successful night full of laughter, socialising and dancing.

With £3 to enter and an impressive tuck shop available all night, money for the charity was easily raised. The disco was well attended with over 30 S1 pupils and over 60 S6 students. The money collected from the highly-anticipated night goes towards funding brilliant Christmas presents for the young children of Victoria Park School who visit annually in December for yet another exciting and annual school event.

Mrs. Sandra Devlin, Depute Head for Fifth and Sixth Year, reflected on the success of the evening, pointing out the underlying and ongoing positive message of events like this.  “The entire school would like to thank Mrs McKenna- who doubled as a magnificent Maleficent- and the Victoria Park Committee for their sterling work in organising the event. Special thanks to janitors and the school’s very own DJs, Jamie Kelly and Josh Miller, for providing a great contribution as their alter-egos “Deepcat and Ginger” got busy laying down some great beats.

St Aidan’s High School take pride in their work for Victoria Park and other charities alike. As a student body we believe it is important to support those in need, give back to the community, and have fun doing it!”

 

Contributing Writers

Nicolle Muir and Joanne Hamilton