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

S5 and S6 pupils participated in an excellent Question Time event last week, featuring politicians from all the main political parties – Jamie Greene (Scottish Conservatives), Ross Greer (Scottish Greens), Mark Griffin MSP (Scottish Labour), Katy Gordon (Scottish Liberal Democrats) and Jamie Hepburn MSP (Scottish National Party). The panel was ably chaired by Mrs Carol McPherson, Education Support Officer at North Lanarkshire Council. Pupils chose a number of topical issues to ask questions about, in advance, and were also happy to pose questions from the audience. Our thanks to everyone who gave of their time to support the event – it is greatly appreciated by the school and the young people achieved greater political understanding from the event. Thanks too to Blair Anderson (S6) and his team, for organising the event, as part of the SQA Leadership Award. Well done!

Our second group of S3 pupils enjoyed a great week of challenge and adventure at the Outward Bound Centre, at Loch Eil. The group participated in a wide variety of activities, alongside pupils from other North Lanarkshire schools. Many thanks to Mr Urquhart for accompanying the group.

On Monday 29^th February, there will be an Information Evening for parents of pupils in S2. This will centre on choices of subjects for S3 and implications for National Qualifications in S4. The meeting will be in the school assembly hall, starting at 7.00 p.m.

The Parent Council will meet on Thursday 3^rd March, at 7.00 p.m., in the school and new members are most welcome.

Many thanks to the Rotary Club of Kilsyth, for once again giving up their time and expertise to provide our S4 with mock interviews. The interview and feedback contribute to the evidence for pupils’ ‘Self and Work’ unit and provide a valuable opportunity for the young people to demonstrate their employability skills.

Archie Grant and Ross Quinn have made presentations to both the Pupil Council and Parent Council, outlining their recent experiences with the Holocaust Educational Trust. These included a day-trip to Poland, to visit the former concentration camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau, and the school is looking forward to welcoming two Holocaust survivors to share their experiences with S4 pupils, later this month.

On Monday 29^th February, there will be an Information Evening for parents of pupils in S2. This will centre on choices of subjects for S3 and implications for National Qualifications in S4. The meeting will be in the school assembly hall, starting at 7.00 p.m.

A group of S3 pupils – Kirsty Imrie, Ben McDowall, Jodie Owens and Megan Shaw – attended the North Lanarkshire ‘Speaking Up’ workshop, accompanied by Blair Anderson and Cameron Costiff, who were demonstrating good practice and acting as mentors on the day. It was a very enjoyable day and the pupils now feel better prepared to go forward to the competition phase, in the coming weeks.

Two of our senior pupils, Connie McFarlane and Courtney Forsyth provided musical entertainment for the Kilsyth Senior Citizens group this week, as part of their Burns celebrations. The girls gave excellent performances, as always, and the audience was very appreciative of their contributions. Well done!

Pupils in S1 have been issued with Tracking Reports, together with appointment sheets for the Parents’ Meeting on Thursday 11th February, from 4.15 until 6.45 p.m. We hope that there will be a good turnout of parents, to discuss progress during S1 and set targets for the year ahead.

Our congratulations and best wishes to Mr Paul Dudman, on his appointment to the post of Teacher of Physics at Douglas Academy. Mr Dudman will be taking up his new post after the mid-term holiday and we wish him every success.

The mid-term holiday will be on Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th February and there will also be an in-service day on Wednesday 10th February. The school will therefore be closed to pupils on these three days.

The Parent Council will meet on Thursday 4th February, at 6.00 p.m., in the school.

Kilsyth Academy took part in the 2^nd round of the Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament last week, proposing the very challenging motion “This House believes that compensation should be paid for the injustices committed by past generations.” The school was represented by Blair Anderson and Courtney Forsyth, who spoke extremely well against their opponents, The Glasgow Academy. In the second heat, Blair and Courtney proposed the motion once again, facing St Maurice’s High School, albeit they were only judged on their performance in the first heat. The standard was exceptionally high and the chairman of the Law Society’s panel of judges spoke about the high quality of debating from all three teams, before congratulating St Maurice’s High School on winning the heat and progressing to the next round. Well done!

The S4/S5/S6 prelims are in full swing and parents will receive reports during February, together with recommendations for final presentation levels. Supported Study continues and it is vital that pupils take full advantage of this extra support, which is available at lunchtimes and after school.

S1 Tracking reports will be issued this week, on Thursday 28^th January and the S1 Parents’ Meeting will follow this on Thursday 11^th February, from 4.15 until 6.45 p.m. This is an opportunity for S1 parents to meet class teachers and have more in depth discussions about their child’s progress during the first half of S1.

We have launched a new website and hope that our school community will find it engaging, worthwhile and vibrant. Please take time to check it out www.kilsythacademy.org.uk

We are encouraging all young people who will be aged 16 or over by 5 May 2016 to ensure that they are registered to vote in the forthcoming Holyrood elections. As part of this drive, we will be holding a ‘Register to Vote’ event during March. The closing date for registering to vote in the Scottish Parliament elections is 18^th April.

The mid-term holiday will be on Monday 8^th and Tuesday 9^th February and there will also be an in-service day on Wednesday 11^th February. The school will therefore be closed to pupils on these three days.

The Parent Council will meet on Thursday 4^th February, at 6.00 p.m., in the school.

At the start of this very busy term, pupils in S4, S5 and S6 are getting ready to sit their prelim examinations, in preparation for the final SQA exams in May. Our prelim diet will run from Monday 18^th until Friday 29^th January and all pupils are expected to be in class, when they do not have an examination. Lots of advice about revision is available from class teachers and supported study has been running across many subjects.

The renovations to our cafeteria are now complete, incorporating many of the ideas suggested by the Pupil Council. It’s looking great, with a far more modern feels to it.

The S5/6 Burns Supper will take place on Thursday 4^th February and plans are well in hand, for what promises to be an excellent evening of entertainment.

We are delighted to welcome Mrs Frame back to the English department and Mrs Wewiorski to the Drama department. Mrs Frame will take over the classes of Mrs Coggill, following her move to Brannock High School and Mrs Wewiorski will be coving for the duration of Ms Langan’s maternity leave. We hope they both enjoy their time in Kilsyth Academy.

The Parent Council will meet on Thursday 4^th February, at 6.00 p.m., in the school.

 

Congratulations to so many of our pupils, from S1 to S6, whose numerous achievements were recognised at our Celebration of Success Assembly. These included awards for academic excellence, large numbers of merits, representing the school at various events and awards such as Crest and Reading for Gold. The certificates were presented by our House Captains.

 

Once again we had an excellent Christmas Concert, which played to a packed audience for families and friends. Our many talented musicians, vocalists and dancers confidently entertained the audience with a fantastic range of pieces, in large groups, small groups and as individuals. This was, of course, the culmination of many weeks of rehearsals and our thanks go to Mr Russell, Mr Clarke and our Music Instructors for all their work in preparing the young people. Many thanks too, to all staff and pupils who assisted in making the event such a success.

Pupils in S1 and S2 enjoyed a great afternoon Christmas party, playing games and dancing. All the young people joined in the fun and had a great time. Many thanks to the PE department, other staff and senior pupils, who organised the event.

 

Chanelle Gallagher and Mairi McLean, on behalf of the school, delivered around 1150 items to the Kilsyth Foodbank last week, following the week of collections within the school. This was a great total and was gratefully received by the staff at the Foodbank. Well done to Chanelle, who led the whole project and saw it all through to its conclusion.

 

The inter-House Volleyball tournament took place last week and, at the end of the competition, Antonine was victorious. Dumbreck was second followed by Balmalloch in third and Colzium in last place. The games were played in the truly competitive and friendly spirit. Well done to all participants!

The school will re-open on Wednesday 6^th January, at 8.55 a.m. We hope everyone has a great holiday, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Tickets are still available for our annual Christmas Concert, on the evening of Thursday 17^th December. The price is £5 for adults and £3 for concessions, and tickets can be purchased from the Music department. This is a great way to celebrate Christmas, with friends and family and to enjoy the entertainment provided by our young people.

Thank you to everyone who contributed items for the foodbank collection. These will be delivered to the Kilsyth Foodbank this week.

Plans for Crazy Day and the last day are now in full swing and we are looking forward to plenty fun and celebration, while also raising lots of money for charity. We hope that pupils will all support the end of term events, so we can raise as much as possible.

S4 pupils have been very busy finding out about the work of local charities. This is part of an enterprise initiative, sponsored by the Wood Foundation. In the spring, the pupils will make a pitch for their charity to be awarded a £3000 grant from the Wood Foundation.

Our cafeteria has undergone a refurbishment last weekend, with a few finishing touches to be completed by January. We hope that pupils will greatly enjoy this new-look facility within the school.

The school will close on Tuesday 22^nd December, at 2.20 p.m. and will re-open on Wednesday 6^th January, at 8.55 a.m. We hope everyone has a great holiday, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

Tickets are still available for our annual Christmas Concert, on the evening of Thursday 17^th December. The price is £5 for adults and £3 for concessions, and tickets can be purchased from the Music department. This is a great way to celebrate Christmas, with friends and family and to enjoy the entertainment provided by our young people.

Collections for the Kilsyth Foodbank are well underway and we urge everyone to give generously. In particular, the Foodbank would welcome donations of mince pies, Christmas crackers, chocolates, tuna/salmon, shortbread, fruit juice/Shloer, tinned ham, crackers and cheese. Our last day of collecting will be Friday 11^th December.

The S1/S2 Christmas Party will take place on the afternoon of Monday 14^th December. Pupils have been issued with information about this.

Our three Kilsyth Academy Christmas cards have now been sent to the printers. Congratulations to Holly Shaw, Jake Muir and Olivia Elliott (all S2), who designed the cards.

 

The inter-House football competition took place last week. It was played in good spirits, with some exceptional goals being scored. Antonine House won the overall event, with Dumbreck House coming second, Balmalloch third and Colzium fourth. Well done to all participants and to the PE Department for organising the event.

We also had inter-House Table Tennis tournaments for boys and girls. In the boys’ event, Mike Chebe took 1st place for Colzium, Maciej Jelito was in 2nd place for Balmalloch, Scott Leslie was third for Antonine and Lewis Cameron was fourth, for Dumbreck. In the girls’ competition, Alex Burke took 1st place for Dumbreck, Emily Muir was second for Antonine, Nicola Wilson took 3rd place for Colzium and Connie McFarlane was fourth for Balmalloch. Well done to all!

Crazy Day will take place on Monday 21^st December and, by now, pupils should be paying their £3.00 donation to participate. Lots of morning activities are planned and staff and 6^th year have been rehearsing furiously for the afternoon show. All proceeds will go to the three charities selected by the Pupil Council – Strathcarron Hospice, SAMH and Mary’s Meals. Let’s do them proud!