Kilsyth Academy, Balmalloch, Kilsyth, G659NF – Tel : 01236 632157

S5/6 Tracking Reports have been issued and reply slips should be returned to period 1 teachers, by Wednesday 12^th October.

Once again, Kilsyth Academy is assisting ‘Kilsyth Supporting Refugees’ and their partners at ‘Glasgow the Caring City’. Together, these organisations have shipments going to help refugees in Serbia, Northern Greece and Iraq in the near future, and have asked for our help to supply clothes and shoes. Clothes and shoes can handed in at the school Reception, between Tuesday 11^th and Tuesday 25^th October.

During Assembly this week, S2 pupils have been told about the opportunity to apply for the school’s annual Leadership Academy, to be held at Kilbowie, from 19^th to 22^nd May 2017. Pupils can collect detailed information from Mr Turnbull, in the Technical Base.

Friday 14^th October will be a non-uniform day, with pupils aiming to raise funds for their three charities, soon to be confirmed by the Pupil Councils. Letters have been issued about this and pupils have been asked to pay £2, if they wish to participate.

The school will close for the October week, on Friday 14^th October, at 2.55 p.m., and will re-open on Monday 24^th October, at 8.55 a.m.

The Parent Council is hosting a Parent Workshop entitled ‘Is Your Child Safe On-Line?’. It will take place on Thursday 6^th October, at 7.00 p.m. and will be led by a member of Police Scotland. We are hoping for a large turnout of parents to hear about this very important issue. During the evening, there will be a short AGM of the Parent Forum. This will also be the next meeting of the Parent Council.

S4 Tracking Reports have been issued, together with invitations to the S4 Parents’ Evening, on Tuesday 11^th October, from 4.15 – 6.45 p.m. (not 4^th October, as stated last week). This will be an opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss targets for the year ahead and jointly support pupils to achieve their potential.

Once again, we were successful in securing places on the Lessons from Auschwitz programme, organised by the Holocaust Education Trust. Last week, Karis Abercrombie and Iona Brownlie, accompanied by Mrs Dunn, spent a day in Poland, visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, in preparation for taking forward a project, within the school. Everyone found the trip to be a very moving experience.

S1 pupils attended a theatre production and workshop, led by the Kickstart Theatre Group, aimed at reinforcing a Smoking Prevention culture, among young people.

Congratulations to six new prefects, who were appointed recently – Adam Boyd, Rhona Boyle, Evan McKillop, Allan McRae, Alanna Paton and Rebecca Stevenson.

Three of our S3 pupils, Alec Gentleman, Carly McLaughlin and Amy Wilson, represented Kilsyth Academy at the first day of this year’s Dragons’ Lair competition, which focuses on Enterprise activities. We wish them every success with their ambitious ideas.

Thanks to our two pipers, Kieran McCann and Luke Shearer, for participating in the opening of the new Greenfaulds High School, in Cumbernauld.

The school will close for the October week, on Friday 14^th October, at 2.55 p.m., and will re-open on Monday 24^th October, at 8.55 a.m. Friday 14^th will also be a non-uniform day, to raise money for the pupils’ chosen charities.

We were delighted to welcome representatives from Scotrail, to provide careers advice to pupils in S4, S5 and S6. This was well received by the young people concerned, who felt that they learned a great deal from the experience.

A group of S3 girls enjoyed a great week at Firereach. This programme is operated by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and provides an insight into the importance of teamwork, challenge and self-belief.

Our sincere thanks go to Professor Kevin O’Gorman, from Heriot-Watt University, for all his work in supporting our senior pupils with personal statements, for entry to university in 2017. Our UCAS Information evening was well attended and provided a wealth of advice for both pupils and parents, regarding applications to Higher Education. Again, many thanks to Professor O’Gorman and to Michael Scott from the Student Award Agency Scotland.

Pupils and staff welcomed one of our new chaplains, Rev Jane Denniston, to S1/2 and S3/4 assemblies, last week. We are delighted that Jane is going to be leading some of our religious observance opportunities, in addition to working with RME classes.

All classes are in the process of voting for class representatives on the Pupil Council. Archie Grant, one of our Vice Captains, is coordinating our Pupil Councils this session, as part of his SQA Leadership Award, and meetings will take place over the next couple of weeks.

We wish our S4 pupils very success as they embark on work experience placements, over the next few weeks. In turn, we are indebted to local employers, and some a bit further afield, who have agreed to provide these opportunities to our young people.

On Monday 6^th March 2017, we propose holding a Careers Fair within the school, during the early evening. This will be an opportunity for pupils and parents to visit a variety of stalls and learn more about post-school pathways. It will also coincide with the time when many pupils are choosing subjects for the following session. We are keen to hear from any business contacts who would be willing to engage with the school either at the Careers Fair or in another way. Please contact Miss Dallas, at the school, if you can help in any way.

We look forward to welcoming seven student teachers to the school, who will be part of our staff team, until December. They are: Alison Duncan, Mark Robertson, Melissa Burke, Claire McAveety, Flora Le Fellic, Frauke Izdebski and Christy Scott. We hope they will enjoy their placements in Kilsyth Academy.

Friday 23^rd and Monday 26^th September will be holidays and the school will be closed both days.

An S1/2 basketball club is starting on Thursdays at lunch time, in the back gym. This club is open to both boys and girls.  Pupils should bring PE kit and a packed lunch for a prompt start at 12.30.

Pupils have started to audition for a Christmas pantomime, Cinderella.

Our UCAS Information evening takes place on Thursday 15^th September, to provide parents of S5/6 pupils with information about the process of applying for university. In the past, parents have found this to be a very informative evening, which will include details about funding, qualifications and the applications process. The evening begins at 7.00 p.m. and we are hoping for a good turnout.

A group of S5/6 pupils visited Whitelee Wind Farm last week, as part of their Environmental Science course. The pupils were first taken into the visitor centre and given the ‘Generation Game’ challenge. The pupils discussed the mechanics and uses of wind turbines, they were then asked to construct a wind turbine using equipment provided in a box. The pupils investigated the effect the length of copper wire in the turbine’s generator had on the power generated. This exercise was followed by a tour of the windfarm and pupils were given the chance to look at how the windfarm effected the biodiversity of the area. They were amazed by the size of the turbines and were very good at communicating their interest to the tour leader. Those who attended found the visit to be very informative and enjoyable.

Congratulations to Rebecca Stevenson, Imogen Fleming and Lauren Miller, who have been selected to participate in the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award. The girls are currently of their Outward Bound residential experience, at Loch Eil, and thereafter will decide on projects for the year ahead.

Congratulations to the two pupils who achieved eight A passes in their National 5 examinations – Catie Gray and Ryan Meechan. Similarly, congratulations to the six pupils who achieved five A passes at Higher, in S5 – Katie Allan, Archie Grant, Holly McArthur, Craig Melvin, Abbie Rankin and Jack Rennie; and to Angus Buck who achieved three Advanced Highers at grade A. These are fantastic achievements from all concerned and are testimony to the hard work that each of these young people put into their studies.

S1, S4, S5 and S6 individual photographs were taken last week and the pupils have been issued with order forms, which should be returned to the school, with full payment, by Friday 2nd September, if you would like to buy copies.

Senior pupils are currently visiting a range of University Open Days, as part of the groundwork to prepare application forms for courses that will begin in the autumn of 2017. Over the next few weeks, the Seniors will be working on Personal Statements, supported by Mrs Kerr, and on Thursday 15^th September, we will be holding a UCAS Information Evening, to provide parents of S5/6 pupils with information about the process of applying for university. In the past, parents have found this to be a very informative evening, which will include details about funding, qualifications and the applications process. The evening begins at 7.00 p.m. and we are hoping for a good turnout.

We were pleased to welcome Lucy, from St Andrew’s Hospice, to last week’s assemblies, for S3 to S6. Lucy spoke to the pupils about the work of the hospice and associated running costs. Pupils were also invited to take part in the annual 6k fun run, scheduled for 18^th September. Completed application forms and entry fees should be returned to Mrs Kerr, by Wednesday 31^st August.

Congratulations to members of the 4Achieve group, who took part in a sponsored cycle to Millport, to raise funds for MacMillan Cancer Care.

Pupils in S1, S5 and S6 attended Road Safety Scotland theatre in education performances last week. The S1 pupils watched ‘Roddy Hogg’ and the seniors watched ‘Friends Disunited’. Everyone involved enjoyed the performances.

Congratulations to Olivia McTiernan upon achieving a Scottish cap for 10-pin bowling. Congratulations also go to Mhairi McFarlane, Kenzi Wise, Hollie Currie and Megan Currie, who recently qualified for the World Championships in Cheerleading and to Jamie Stevenson, double gold medallist in the Scottish Athletics Championships, at 100m and 200m. These are all fantastic achievements – well done!

The Parent Council meets on Thursday 1^st September, at 7.00 p.m., in the school. All welcome.

We are delighted to welcome our new S1 pupils to the Academy and wish them all every success in the years to come. They are all looking extremely smart and have made a very enthusiastic start to High School. Well done to pupils from last session’s S4, S5 and S6 on their excellent achievements in SQA examinations. We are very pleased with the results and it is clear that pupils’ and teachers’ hard work really paid off, once again.

Last year’s leavers are now embarking on either new courses in Further or Higher Education, or on new careers and we wish them every success. We look forward to hearing about their continued achievements, in the years ahead. A number of former pupils also graduated over the summer and our warmest congratulations go to them.

We are pleased to welcome a number of new staff: Mr Corbett (English), Mr P Morton (Biology), Mr H Morton (Technical), Mrs Kerr (Modern Languages), Ms Payne (Art & Design), Miss Young (Music) and Miss Murphy (PE). We hope that they will all greatly enjoy their time in Kilsyth Academy.

Congratulations to Holly McArthur (S6) who was called up to the GB Junior selection for Manchester International Athletics meeting. Holly raced in the 400m Hurdles, in a strong field, which included a number of senior competitors. She gave an excellent performance and came 5^th, behind the seniors.

Congratulations too, to Kieran McCann and Luke Shearer (both S4), members of the North Lanarkshire Schools’ Pipe Band, who were crowned World Novice Juvenile Grade A Champions at the World Pipe Band Championships, held at Glasgow Green on Saturday 13 August. Well done!

The Parent Council meets on Thursday 1^st September, at 7.00 p.m., in the school. All welcome.

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The Senior Social was, once again, a great success. S5, S6 and staff enjoyed the evening at the Marriott Hotel, celebrating the end to a successful session and marking the end of school for all those in S6.

A party of 27 pupils and 4 staff are currently enjoying a five-day trip to Berlin. This is organised jointly between the History and Modern Languages departments and, whilst there, the group will be visiting a range of historical sights, finding out about German culture and trying out their language skills.

End of term trips to M&Ds theme park and Blackpool Pleasure Beach will provide a fun end to the session, for many pupils too.

A group of senior pupils had a great day at Clyde Gateway, celebrating their success with the Urban Plan UK competition.

Pupils have received a Newsletter, which contains important information about end of term and start of session arrangements. Please check school bags!

Our best wishes go to three staff who will be retiring this summer – Mrs Ann Fernie of the Art and Design department, Mrs Anne Mitchell, our Classroom Assistant and Mr Phil Forster, our Attendance Officer. Sincere thanks go to each of them, for all they have contributed to the school and we wish them a great deal of health and happiness in the years ahead.

The school will close for the summer, on Wednesday 29^th June, at 1.00 p.m. SQA results will be published on Tuesday 9^th August and senior staff will be available in school that day, if there are any issues with the receipt of results. Pupils in S5/6, who wish to change some subject options, in the light of results, should make an appointment to meet with Mrs Kerr, on Thursday 11^th August, between 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m.

The school will re-open for pupils on Wednesday 17^th August, at 8.55 a.m. Pupils travelling by school bus can go on any Kilsyth Academy bus that day, pending the issue of bus passes.

Congratulations to pupils in the new S6, who have been elected as Prefects for session 2016-17. They are: Katie Allen, Robbie Brown, Kyle Brown, Courtney Campbell, Laura Cochrane, Grant Douglas, Imogen Fleming, Julia Fountain, Archie Grant, Elli Gregg, Kira Lundy, Lauryn Macniven, Lewis Maloney, Holly McArthur, Kiera Meiklejohn, Craig Melvin, Lauren Miller, Ann Paterson, Ross Quinn, Abbie Rankin, Jack Rennie, Frazer Sherlock, Lewis Sherlock, Rory Smith, Georgia Stevenson, Calum Stewart, Lindsay Sword, Heather Taylor and Murray Wilson.

Award Ceremonies have now been held for all year groups, at which we were delighted to recognise a wide range of achievements from so many young people. At the Senior Awards Ceremony, we were pleased to welcome Gerry Hughes, as our Principal Guest. Gerry is the world’s first deaf yachtsman, to sail single-handed around the world, passing the 5 great capes. It was great to hear his story and the impact he has made upon the education of deaf children. Our Dux for 2015-16 was confirmed as Archie Grant (5C), who richly deserves the accolade, and the Inter-House competition was won by Antonine House.

Our annual Rotary Public Speaking competition took place last week and the speeches were of a very high standard. The winners and speech titles were:

1^st Harry Thomson – Tolerance

2^nd Morgan Waite – The Ocean

3^rd Ross Chalmers – Light Bulb Moments and Jam Side Downers.

Well done!

We also held our first Rotary Debating competition, with the teams debating the motion ‘The UK should remain as part of the EU’. The arguments were well thought out and the pupils performed to a very high standard. The winners were Morgan Waite and Eilidh Stewart (2B). Congratulations! Our thanks go to the Rotary Club of Kilsyth, for sponsoring both events.

A number of Modern Studies pupils attended the NLC International Conference last week, representing Hungary. The pupils had a great day and participated really well in the debate and in the question and answer session.

Thursday 23^rd June will be a staff in-service day, as the school is being used as a polling station, for the EU Referendum.

The school will close for the summer, on Wednesday 29^th June, at 1.00 p.m. and will re-open to pupils on Wednesday 17^th August, at 8.55 a.m.