Summer 2019 Newsletter.Pdf
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Arbroath Academy Spring Newsletter Summer 2019 Tel: 01241 465200 E-mail: [email protected] Together with Pride! Head Teacher’s Welcome Dear Parents and Carers, Top Stories As we near the end of the 2018-19 session, it is a good time to reflect on Page 6 the many successes that our young people have achieved. Anti-Bullying We have had; Campaign U18’s Basketball team got to the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals Senior Business winning the George Donald Enterprise Challenge Page 7 Most of our S2 pupils achieved a CREST Award. Eco Group—Sky Many more will be recognised at our Annual Celebration of Achievement Ocean Rescue evenings on 25th and 26th June. Event Pages 8—9 In the last few weeks, as a school, we have been focusing on two aspects of accepting responsibility. ASN Sensory Garden Firstly to accept responsibility for your own actions by always giving of your best. Page 11 Secondly to accept responsibility by taking action to help others, in other Tobacco Charter words, showing kindness. The staff continue to work tirelessly to support our young people achieve Page 12 their best. I would like to thank Mrs Goss for leading the school in my ab- Transformation Trust with Dell sence. Pages 14—15 I am delighted to have returned to my position as Head teacher at Arbroath My Language Academy, after a working with many schools across Scotland, sharing the Journey Eve work that we have done here. Page 16 Project I would like to wish all of our leavers - staff and pupils - all the very best for Barracuda the future, and to welcome all our new pupils joining Arbroath Academy Pages 18-19 after the summer holidays. Available Clubs Best wishes Pages 20-21 P7 Transition Day at Monikie Country Park 2 Arbroath Academy News Free School Meals If you are a parent or carer and receive any of the following you may be entitled to receive free school meals for your child: Income Support Income based Job Seeker’s Allowance Any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit, and your income is under £16495 Maximum Child Tax Credit and maximum Working Tax Credit and your income is under £6420 Support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 Universal Credit where the monthly earned income does not exceed £610 Pupils who receive any of these benefits in their own right can also claim free school meals Your child is also entitled to free school lunches if you receive both maxi- mum Child Tax Credit and maximum Working Tax Credit and your income is under £6,420 Entitlement to free school meals is assessed as part of the application process for Housing Benefit/Council Tax Reduction. If you are not in receipt of Housing Benefit/Council Tax Reduction you can claim using the following link: https://www.angus.gov.uk/schools_and_young_people/ early_learning_and_childcare/free_school_meals Secondary pupils will have an allowance of £2.20 per day which can also be used for breakfast service before school or at morning interval. This amount will be credited to the pupil’s cashless catering account on a daily basis. 3 Summer 2019 Exam Updates Now that the 2018-19 SQA exams are over, we’d like to say a big well done to all the students who have worked hard over the past year and put 100% effort into your studies and exams. We are sure all your hard work will pay off when your results come through and we wish you all the best in your future endeavours, whether you are staying with us, moving on to further education or heading out in to the world of work. Also a big thank you to all the teaching and support staff who went above and be- yond for the pupils in both preparation, exam support, readers and scribes, holding grade booster days, revision packages and assisting in making sure the exams ran smoothly. 4 Arbroath Academy News Cut out these holiday pages and stick them to the fridge for Dates to remember! ease of reference! Holiday Dates 2019/20 Please be aware there are two additional In-service Days for 2019-20 Tuesday 13 August In-Service Closure Day 1 (pupils return to school Wednesday 14 August) Friday 4 October In-service Closure (Additional Day 1) Last day of Autumn Term Sat 5 Oct—Sun 20 Oct Autumn Holiday (pupils return to school Mon 21 October) Wednesday 4 December In-Service Closure Day 2 Thursday 5 December In-Service Closure Day 3 Friday 6 December St Andrew’s Day Holiday Friday 20 December Last day of Winter Term Sat 21 Dec—Sun 5 Jan Christmas Holiday (pupils return to school Mon 6 January) Thursday 13 February In-Service Closure Day 4 Fri 14—Mon 17 February Mid-Term Holidays Friday 3 April Last day of Spring Term Sat 4 Apr—Sun 19 Apr Spring Holiday (pupils return to school Mon 20 April) Monday 4 May May Day Holiday Monday 25 May In-Service Closure day 5 Tuesday 26 May In-service Closure Day (Additional 2) Friday 26 June Last day of Summer Term Sat 27 June—Mon 10 Aug Summer Holiday 5 Summer 2019 Dates to remember! Cut out these holiday pages and stick them to the fridge for ease of reference! Parents’ Evenings & Parent Forum Dates Monday 26 August Parent Forum Meeting Tuesday 1 October S5/6 Parent/Carer Evening Wednesday 30 October S4 Parent/Carer Evening Tuesday 12 November Parent Forum Meeting Tuesday 12 November S3 Parent/Carer Evening Thursday 28 November S1 Parent/Carer Evening Thursday 12 December S2 Parent/Carer Evening Wednesday 22 January Parent Forum Meeting Monday 16 March Parent Forum Meeting Tuesday 19 May Parent Forum Meeting 6 Arbroath Academy News Anti-Bullying Campaign Megan Christie and Brodie Williams met with Angus Council’s Education committee on 25th April. Here they, and other Youth Advisory Group members, explained the findings they had uncovered in the course of their research and outlined the plan for the launch of the campaign which will take place before the end of the year. The group then attended an evening event at Links Park in Montrose where they presented the campaign to Head Teachers from all of the Angus secondary schools as well as representatives from Angus Council, the Lord Provost and many other representatives from across the au- thority. Megan and Brodie will also meet the MSP, Graeme Dey, on 10th June where they will explain the purpose behind the campaign and how it is going to be rolled out to all Angus agencies. Both Megan and Brodie have been vital parts of this campaign and will continue to have a vital input until the launch at the end of the year. 7 Summer 2019 Eco Group—Sky Ocean Rescue & STEM Festival On Tuesday 26th March 60 S1 and S2 pupils took part in the Sky Ocean Rescue Chal- lenge in which they had to work in teams to design, create, record, edit and present their own advert to encourage the reduction of the use of single use plastic through the use of the slogan #passonplastic. The pupils gained a huge amount of knowledge from Fallon, the very enthusiastic workshop coordinator, before developing their incredibly creative adverts. Many pupils explained how they really enjoyed their day and the freedom to be creative and that it increased their confidence to work as part of a larger team. A huge congratulations to the Mighty Megladons (our winning team) and the Ninja Turtles and the Sea Saviours (the two runners up). All the stu- dents worked incredibly hard and produced some amazing results and each of them were a credit to Arbroath Academy. 24 of the pupils involved will be heading to the Sky Academy Studios in Livingston, in early June to create their own TV report, short film or video and get a behind the scenes tour of the Sky Studios. The staff and pupils are excited for the trip and share their experience with the rest of the school. As well as the above events, the Eco Group IDL classes and the lunchtime Eco Group have been working hard around the school to improve awareness of environmental issues, reducing the use of single use plastic, increase recycling and reduce littering. The group presented some of their work at the recent STEM Festival which was held in Arbroath Academy. All of this hard work in currently being collated to go towards our Green Flag Resubmission and we will hopefully hear, in the next few months, if we have been successful. 8 Arbroath Academy News News from the Additional Support Needs Group ASN Outdoor Garden Recently at Arbroath Academy the children from the ASN Department have been creating a sensory garden which includes scented plants that attract butterflies and insects; herbs, fruit trees and strawberries to demonstrate the practical use of a garden; a small fountain to promote mental well-being and a summer house where they can practise their mindfulness techniques and take part in other outdoor learning experiences. Curriculum for Excellence offers opportunities for all children and young people to enjoy first-hand experiences outdoors, whether within the school grounds, in urban green spaces or in the countryside. These experiences motivate young people to become successful learners, build positive relationships and encourage lifelong involvement and activity in Scotland’s outdoors. 9 Summer 2019 What an incredible transformation! Well done to all who helped create this new sensory garden! Great use of unused space within the school grounds! 10 Arbroath Academy News News From the Social Subjects Faculty S1 Football A number of young boys successfully represented our school this year in the Angus wide S1 tournament organised by Mr McLeish.