Page Content ACADEMY 1 Welcome

2 Charities SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2017 3 SQA Welcome to the final edition of the school newsletter for session 2016-17. It has been a busy and productive year, with great 4 P7 Induction

learning happening within and out with classes. Wonderful inputs 5 Prom 2017 to support the interests of young people have taken place this session including Champions for Scotland, Skillsforce, Digital 6 Prize giving

Photography, Nail Art Tasters and Barista training. The support of 7 DYW partners really helps to bring the curriculum to life. If you have an interest in supporting the delivery of the curriculum or skills 12 development, have some real life experience which would benefit 13 young people as we prepare them for life after school or know of 14 someone who can, please get in touch with us. 14 I would like to thank the school community for giving me the 15 opportunity to work in Ardrossan Academy alongside wonderful 16 young people, families and colleagues. I know that the school will continue to thrive and build upon the fantastic ethos, which is 17

already evident. I will very much miss being part of Ardrossan 18 Academy and wish you all health and happiness for the future. 19

20 Have a wonderful summer! 21 Lisa Chalmers 22 Important Dates

Headteacher

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Mary’s Meals—Can you help? CHARITIES

Ardrossan Academy Charities Committee have been fundraising this year for Mary's Meals, a charity which aims to provide meals and support to the worlds poorest communities. The Backpack Project is a scheme run by Mary's Meals, in which they provide children with a filled backpack equipping them with the learning tools they need to progress in education. At this time of year when people are buying in school uniform and supplies for the new term, the committee would like to ask parents and carers to support this cause in any way they can. Firstly, if your child's schoolbag from this session still has a bit of life in it, then we would be extremely grateful to receive it so that we can fill it with supplies. Alternatively, when you are purchasing new stationery, are you able to buy an extra pencil, pencil case, or any other stationery? If you would like to contribute to this in an even greater way, then you may want to fill a backpack with supplies, ready to be collected by Mary's Meals. Any donation, no matter how big or small, can be handed into the school office and will be greatly received. Many thanks for your continued support of the school Charities Committee.

A recent coffee morning and bake sale raised £202.20 for Mary's Meals. This is enough money to feed 14 children for an entire school year. Thanks to everyone who supported these events.

Nail Art Group

A number of S2 girls have been taking part in a Nail art group each Tuesday morning with Stephanie Lynn from Royalty Salon. They have been working with gel polish, applying colour and allowing the nails to cure under a UV light. They have also been gaining experience in working with a variety of nail art tools such as nail dotters, brushes, glitter and acrylic powder and have been applying their creativity to create beautiful nail art designs. The girls particularly enjoyed creating ombre, marble, holographic and duo chrome designs.

The girls had great fun and learned many new skills. They were able to show off their new found talents by holding a charity fundraiser in support of Ainslie Mitchell. Ainslie is an 18 year old local girl, with an incurable rare sarcoma cancer in her lung. She and her family have been told of other treatments abroad that may help including climavax and stem cell therapy, as her condition is incurable in Britain. This may give Ainslie a better chance and better quality of living.

The charity session took place on Tuesday 13th June 2017 and was very successful with many members of staff coming along, making a donation and 2 enjoying being pampered. In total we raised £47.50 Thank you to all involved, it is much appreciated!

ADVANCE NOTICE

The Ardrossan Academy Winter Fayre will take place on Saturday 25th November 2018.

SQA Examination results will be  Clerical check—which involves Stalls can be hired for issued on Tuesday 8th August. the mark allocation being £20 from Pupils can elect to have their check ed by SQA. Mrs MacPherson of results texted to them, or wait for  Marking review—which the Computing the brown envelope to drop involves the paper being Department. through the door. re-marked. This is always a great Some young people may not Very few changes are made as a achieve what they were hoping for event and very busy! result of Clerical Checks and in this diet but there will be help Marking Reviews and it is on hand on Thursday 10th and therefore important that the Friday 11th August in school. criteria set regarding estimated Depute Headteachers will be in grades and grade boundaries are school on these dates to review adhered to, as results can go down options and give advice as to as well as up. whether the post-results service is Pupils can call the school office available to them. Remember, from 8th August to arrange an there is no longer an appeals appointment with a Depute process. The options available are: Headteacher .

3 P7 Induction Days—May 2017 TOP ATTENDANCE

On the 18th and 19th of May we welcomed 151 P7 pupils for their S1 Induction Days. Over the two days they worked in their practical classes and Haseeb Afzal met several teachers from different departments across the school to get a Nabihah Afzal real sense of what secondary school life is really like. Each year we have a different theme for our P7 pupils and this year the theme was “Food for Freya Barclay Life” in conjunction with The Scottish Soil Association.Each lesson took a subject specific look at this theme. In Science pupils were testing food for Daniel Bell starch, protein and sugar. In the social subjects department the pupils were Hannah Black- learning all about Fair Trade food via RMPS, food poverty and the Foodbank in Modern Studies and rationing and the importance of reducing waste in wood History. In Technical the pupils were making wind turbines out of a variety Joy Brotherhood of materials to promote environmental awareness. The pupils had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed their two day visit. A representative Andrew Buchanan from The Scottish Soil Association joined some of our pupils over the two day induction and was really impressed with our prospective pupils and the Sarah Cannan student leaders who supported them through the school. The pupils Janet Cheung completed their “Food for Life” Passport and were presented with a certificate at the end of their second day. All of the teachers were very Caryn Findlay impressed with how well all the pupils settled over the two days. We are really looking forward to welcoming you all in August. Ross Gentleman

Nicole Giffney

Andrew Jack

Joshua Kilpatrick

Alix Kirkwood

Victoria Lees

Catriona McNairn

Molly Mitchell

Stewart Morgan

Lucy Muir

4 Prom—Class of 2017 TOP ATTENDANCE

On Thursday 8th of June there was a fantastic turnout of family and friends for our S6 pre-prom drinks reception. It was Rebecca Murphy great to see our pupils turned out in all their Gemma Nix finery for their final farewell from Ardrossan Academy. We had a fabulous Dionne Palmer night of dinner, drinks, dancing and good old -fashioned Karaoke to celebrate all of their Louise Ribbeck wonderful achievements at the Burnhouse Ethan To Manor in Beith. We wish them all the best for their future and look forward to hearing Ben Wallace how well they have all done in their examinations. Iona Barclay Aaron Berryman

Danielle Cameron

Stewart Carnachan

Ethan Ferguson

Calum Murphy

Naomi Myers

Christopher Ribbeck

S1-S3 Prize Giving SIR TOM HUNTER CHALLENGE Another great S1-S3 prize giving took place on Tuesday 13th of June. Over 100 awards were issued to our wonderful pupils who have done so well this year. The Sir Tom Hunter Pupils in S1 and S2 pupils received awards for Excellence and Distinction in a Challenge invites number of their classes. Our S3 pupils received Subject awards and we had numerous special prizes for pupils from S1-S6. These prizes were for our School schools across of Sport pupils, Athletic champions and to our pupils who have been Ayrshire to compete contributing so much to our community in so many ways. Our Astra Base for funding, which Buddies were awarded for their contribution to supporting our pupils in the will support Autism Base. A group of our S3 pupils who took part in our Youth Philanthropy entrepreneurial Initiative event, but were unsuccessful, also received the first ever Parent activity. Council Active Citizenship Award. These pupils were so moved by the charity they were working with that, in their own time, decided to go and work in the On Monday 19th garden of the South Beach Care home to try and make it more pleasant for all June, a team of S2 the people who live and work there. Aria Pascual, once again, received the pupils from Colthart trophy for all of her achievements in the world of Karate. Ardrossan Academy The prize-giving was run by our great House Ambassadors and the evening was competed against St. made just perfect by four S3 pupils who performed beautiful musical pieces. Matthew’s Academy, Matthew McGowan played “Nightbook” by Einaudi on Piano, Nina Mitchell played “Wonderwall” by Oasis on Guitar, Hannah Blackwood played “Ripitde” Louden Academy, by Vance Joy on Ukulele and finally Jay Scott played “Somewhere over the Marr Colllege and rainbow” by Harold Arlen. These musicians were truly outstanding. McKenzie more by sharing their Smith played the bag pipes for the event and did a tremendous job. Well done business idea to to all our prize winners, performers and house ambassadors. You’ve once again improve hospital shown Ardrossan Academy has so much talent. beds, allowing patients to keep in touch with the outside world Our young professionals were outstanding and managed to win £2500 to support other young developers in

Ardrossan Academy.

Developing the Young Workforce

A group of 14 students graduated from Skills Academy on the 1st June after four weeks of intensive activities and training. The pupils have engaged with many outside partners including a STEM event with the RAF; team-work and leadership training with the Army; alcohol awareness with Council and fitness training with Maximum Potential Gym. Pupils have also received brilliant training in Heart Start from Mrs Mayes, Mr Clark and Mrs King; Skills for Work training with Mr Carruth and Miss Roberts; and they enjoyed their climb up Conic Hill with Mr Bennett and Mrs Mayes. Pupils have been involved in earning qualifications in Customer Service and Barista from Ayrshire College followed up by visiting the Waterside to learn about applying these

Sir Tom Hunter, Cameron Leibenguth, Abigail Scott, Ellie Davidson, Provost 7 Councillor Ian Clarkson, Matthew Brown, Jordan Young, Megan Roberts, Nabihah Afzal, Councillor McNicol.

Pastoral Support PUPIL EQUITY

FUNDING CHAP Input Senior students experienced learning about Housing and Finance as part of

their Personal and Social Development programme. The Pupil Equity Fund  99% of young people found the sessions useful. (PEF) is an allocation  99% found they had a better understanding of their housing options as a of funding given to result of attending the workshop. schools across Scotland to help  98% said that they felt they also had a better understanding of their responsibilities. tackle the poverty related attainment Some of the comments from young people about what they learned include: gap. "Different housing options" Sadly data shows "Different types of housing available for people when they leave home" that, nationally, "How difficult it can be to move out" children and young "How hard it can be to run a house" people from more "That you need a lot of money and have responsibility" "There is many other ways of finding a house and now know I need affluent backgrounds, plan it out more" perform better in "Learned all the different options for when you decide to leave home school. and the problems you may have"

The Scottish "You should think before moving"

Government has These workshops are an annual part of our programme and are always well awarded a sum of received by students. money to all Local Authorities to be Higher Education Conference distributed directly to schools, based on Fifty S5/6 students attended this event at the University of the West of the levels of Scotland during September. This conference was aimed at students who deprivation facing were thinking about going to university and provided Information on families. possible courses and qualifications. Students from Ardrossan also had an opportunity to speak to staff from a variety of universities throughout It is then up to the Scotland. A similar event is planned for August/September 2017. school community to use this resource to tackle the attainment gap.

Pastoral Support PUPIL EQUITY

Work Experience FUNDING

S4 pupils had the opportunity to attend a Work Experience placement in June, if they had not already gained work experience earlier in the year. In Ardrossan Pupils were able to choose a Work Experience placement from the WorkIt website, or they were able to find their own placement using a Self Found Academy the Placement request form, if preferred. allocation of funding this session is focused Work Experience provides young people with a range of valuable opportunities to enhance their Career Education and develop skills for on: work, out with the school environment. As work experience co-ordinator,  Improving levels it is a pleasure to receive the positive feedback from employers about how of literacy and well our young people have conducted themselves during their work placements. comprehension.  Improving attainment in mathematics.

“Matthew Bauzys worked really  Improving the use well throughout the week. His of digital attitude was consistently good and he tried his best even when technology, tasks were challenging or including creating mundane.” new and innovative Mary Cahill courses. Gosh Creative  Improving our engagement with “Ciara McLachlan played a supporting role in parents/carers, the day-to-day classroom duties e.g. working including sharing with small groups. She assisted in creating classroom resources and helped out in the information on playground. Ciara was also a good help dur- homework. ing our whole school beach visit.” Miss Cruickshank has been appointed to oversee much of this work in session 20179 - Brian Morgan 18. DHT Hayocks Primary

Pastoral Support

John Galloway gained experience as a Validation Engineer working with Health Facilities Scotland. Here’s what his supervisor told us: “John conducted himself very well at Lamlash Hospital, and was a big hit with the staff there. He was keen to get involved in the work being carried out, and eager to find out what and why we were doing too. This was a trip to conduct annual validation tests on two surgical instrument washer- disinfectors at the Dental unit in Lamlash Hospital. The work, conducted over the week, included getting the test equipment into the department, unpacking and setting up of test kit used for the measurement of temperatures within the machines, as well as the actual tests. We were on site by 8am every morning, and John was able to set his alarm, get up and shower, have breakfast and get ready for the day, without prompting. During testing he was asked to verify the calibration of the test equipment against the machines being tested, and demonstrated an understanding of the calibration process and how we transfer this to the tested machines. He recorded information from both the test equipment and the machines, for later use in the Annual report. He photographed test loads to verify they were cleaned properly. And he helped pack up and transport kit to the car afterwards.”

John Galloway, S4

Financial Information for students

John McLeman returned to the school from the Stewart Ivory Foundation and gave several presentations to S5 and S6 students who intend going to university or college. The presentations covered financial education and included: how to save; applying for a loan; how to set up a budget and the best method of borrowing. John will be at the school in the new session to provide similar courses for our senior students.

Pastoral Support

PSE Courses Pastoral Support staff plan, manage and deliver the Personal and Social Education (PSE) courses, ensuring that pupils learn about Health and Wellbeing and develop an awareness of improving their own Health and Wellbeing, in order to have a successful life. Through the courses we address the following areas:  Planning for choices and change  Physical Activity and Health  Substance Misuse  Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood This session, we have been holding focus groups to review and evaluate the PSE course plans, to ensure that lessons are relevant, effective, and engaging for pupils. We have used their valuable feedback to review and improve plans for next year and these plans will be available on the school website for parents and carers to view.

Some comments included: “I like learning about things which will help me make good choices in life.” S1 Pupil

“I like doing the creative tasks and there’s lots of class discussions.” S2 Pupil

“We learned so much from YPI and I worked well with my group to create our presentation.” S3 Pupil

“I like how PSE is different from our other classes.” S2 Pupil

Pastoral Support

Personal Support Review Personal support has been underway in Ardrossan Academy for a full session this is the 10 minutes in the morning where pupils are registered and meet with their allocated tutor teacher. During this time key information is shared with pupils. It is also a time where topical learning takes place. Some examples of activity include the decoration of doors as a book cover to celebrate reading week as well as raising awareness and the discussion of global social issues such as child labour and Holocaust Remembrance. Our pupil focus groups have found that: "we like hearing the school bulletin" , "it is more relaxed than other classes", "it helps me get ready for the day ahead", "I like that I see my tutor every day", "I like the information about charities".

Holocaust Memorial Decorate your doors for reading week

Enhanced Transition

Our programme this year ran from 27 April until 1 June, over 5 sessions. There were 18 young people involved from our feeder Primaries run by Elaine Floyd Area Inclusion Worker. In the programme the pupils were given a tour of the school, taster sessions in 3 subjects. In Science with Mr Bell the pupils learned about magnesium and electricity. In Drama with Miss Cruickshank it was teams building games and in PE with Mr Johnston the pupils played ball rounders. In the last session we had a celebration with certificates awarded and we were joined by parents & carers. The feedback was really positive and all young people had a fun and interactive learning experience.

We can’t wait to see all the new S1’s in August!

Pastoral Support

Crest and Wellbeing Awards S1 Pupils this session have been working towards both their Bronze CREST award and SQA Level 3 Wellbeing Award. Pupils have been highly motivated in creating and building working rollercoasters and have showcased these at S1 parents evening earlier in the year. To achieve the Wellbeing Award pupils had to identify and research an area of their own wellbeing and complete and investigation. We have been focusing on the importance of sleep, healthy diet and exercise throughout this course. 166 pupils have achieved the Bronze CREST award and 148 pupils have achieved the SAQ level 3 Wellbeing award.

Learning about sugar

Building rollercoasters Ayrshire Young Enterprise 2017 (AYE 17) - WINNERS!

Ten first year pupils, who are aiming to start up their own company, have attended several meetings in different locations over the last few months. The meetings have been organised by Gillian Longmuir, of Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, and have concentrated on all aspects of starting up your own business such as branding, supply, marketing and publicity. The pupils decided to call their company ‘The Basic Ones’ and to concentrate their product sales on personalised water bottles relating to Ardrossan Academy and its different subjects. The group had to produce a business plan and on Friday the 16th of June they presented their idea to a ‘Dragon’s Den’ panel at Prestwick Airport. We have now been informed that they have won the funding to carry forward their business idea. A tremendous achievement. Mr Carr would like to thank Patrick Cairns, Rebecca Mackintosh, Eric Paterson, Jonathan Nutt, Joy Gilmour, Molly Mitchell, Hana Hood, Mackenzie Smith, James Gaw and Adam Dickie for their involvement in the group and the enthusiasm that they have shown over the last few weeks. The group would like to thank Molly Sallens who designed their brand logo.

News from the Library As this session comes to an end, I would like to wish all of the leavers good luck and remind you, that if you find any books belonging to the Library, it would be great if you returned them to the School or the local NA library.

So, what’s been going on in the Library since Easter?

Library Development Group – met in May and provided a few suggestions on improvements in the Library. Watch this space for news on these next time!

Primary 7 transition days – classes visited the Library and found out about what’s available in the Library and completed a short quiz finding and then using books to answer the questions and the topic of food sustainability. Very enthusiastic pupils, so I am looking forward to meeting the new S1 in August.

What’s on - a new display are has been created to have events information from school and the local community in one place in the Library.

Horror – a horror section has been created so why not scare yourself next term with a horror book?

Work Experience – it was a pleasure to have Sarah Rose (new S5) for a week of work experience. She was a great help and hopefully enjoyed the experience too!

Foodbank donations – to date 10 very overdue books have been returned so there have been 10 donations to the Foodbank. This is a great start but keep those very overdue books coming back – your local community is benefitting.

Book Club – to finish up the session, Book Club have been having a bit of light hearted fun. First up was randomly selected questions for each other on reading and books. Then working on the new Reading Wall display which will be shown off in the new session. Thanks for attending Club members – your passion has been wonderful!

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Displays have included:

 Autism Awareness  Water Day  Earth Day  Comic Book Day  Dying Matters Awareness Week  British Sandwich Week – with several bad puns!  Goth Day  If you like Michael Morpurgo, then try…  If you like sci fi, then try…

If you are have a clear out over the summer and find any CDs, DVDs or books you no longer want, please pass them to the Library where they will find a good home.

Finally, you can keep up to date with all that’s happening in Ardrossan Academy and the Library by visiting and liking the Library’sFacebook page @ardacadlibrary.

Ace Base celebrations. Photos taken by Ryden Cherry, S3. 15

Health and Wellbeing ACE BASE

Pupils who attend our Athletics were a great success this year. All S1-3 pupils were given the opportunity Ace Base took part in to compete in both track and field events. The overall year group winners were: a celebration on Wednesday 24th  S1—Kyle Bruce and Louise Falconer May. This event was  S2—Cameron Leibenguth and Ellie Davidson attended by a number of pupil’s  S3—Connor Fegan and Payton Lee. parents, Miss Chalmers, Mrs The top pupils for each event qualified and competed at the North Ayrshire Futamata, Miss Schools and Ayrshire Schools competitions. McEvoy, Elaine Floyd, Mrs Green, Miss Bruce and Miss Devlin. The parents who attended were delighted with the progress of their children.

All the pupils participated in the running of the afternoon’s event– they made cakes, served tea and coffee and also welcomed the parents when they arrived at the Ace Base. Mrs Futamata, with Miss McEvoy’s help gave out a certificate to Ardrossan Academy PE department now have a sports council. The sports council each pupil to is a group of pupils from all year groups, who have been selected to represent celebrate their their peers in discussions about sport and Physical Education in the school. The progress. aim is to make PE and sport within the school more inclusive, enjoyable and meet the needs of all pupils. Currently, the sports council are applying for a School Sports Award.

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Health and Wellbeing PLEASE NOTE

Within the PE department there are a variety of different clubs for pupils Calculator apps to get involved in, such as Gymnastics, Football, Trampolining, Badminton on mobile phones and Table Tennis. Ardrossan Academy gymnasts performed at Scottish th should not be Schools Gymfest on the 13 May. Pupils trained weekly and put in a huge amount of effort and time, so they were able to perfect their routine for used in class, as the event. The routine included tumbles, balances and dance. All pupils they can’t be used thoroughly enjoyed this event and are looking forward to next year’s already. All new members are welcomed to join in August, no experience in assessment at required. any stage S1-6 across the school.

Throughout the year the PE Department ran an Inter- House sports competition where pupils were given the opportunity to represent their year group and House. They successfully participated in Cross Country, Basketball, Badminton and Athletics. First place went to Nevis, second place to Annick, third place to Lomond and fourth place to Barra.

A reminder of PE uniform: Black or navy shorts/tracksuit bottoms, White, black or blue t-shirts/polo shirts and Trainers. Pupils who forget kit will be provided with clean kit. If pupils cannot participate for a medical reason they must bring a note and their PE kit as they will still be used within the class to assist. Valuables brought to the PE department are left at the individuals own risk.

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Active Schools Extra-curricular programmes are a vital part of the school curriculum, offering young people the chance to learn new skills or develop existing ones.

Below you will find some information about our sport extra-curricular programme and how it has developed over the last two years. BARCELONA TRIP

We have recently returned home from  Pupil participation in extra-curricular sport has doubled in the last year. an amazing six days in  58% of activity sessions are run on a voluntary basis. Barcelona and Salou. 28 pupils and 5 staff  The biggest uptake of extra-curricular sport is in S1. visited a number of different cathedrals,  Male uptake is significantly higher than female in every year group., in Camp Nou, the fact almost three times as many sessions were attended by boys than Olympic Stadium, the girls. cable car at Montjuic and spent time eating tapas and Sporting activities which have been offered include: exploring the wonderful culture Barcelona had  Badminton to offer. We also enjoyed days at  Basketball PortAventura Theme Park and Costa  Football Caribe Water Park.  Gymnastics This was an amazing trip and we would  Netball like to thank Miss  Rugby Union Higgins, Mr Bennett, Miss Devlin, Mrs  Table Tennis Mauchlen and “Brother Higgins” for  Trampolining making this an unforgettable experience for us. The extra-curricular programme will be reviewed and published early in the new session. It’s a great opportunity to get to know other pupils , develop By Katie Boyd and skills and improve wellbeing. Nicole Turner

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Home Economics

Hospitality pupils from S4 worked alongside Garfield’stapas bar in Ardrossan to plan, prepare and host a staff tapas buffet lunch. Darren Fisher from Garfield’s lent his expertise to help the learners to create a selection of tapas dishes, which they prepared and cooked for around 35 staff members. All proceeds from the event went to the Ayrshire Hospice, who kindly attended the lunch on the day. All staff enjoyed their wide selection of tapas from Garlic Mushrooms to Chorizo, Black Pudding and Goats Cheese. The event in total raised £115 including a raffle.

Food for life club are creating a “seasonal” recipe book which will have a selection of recipes alongside information about what foods are in season. They have gathered favourite recipes from staff and family and have worked alongside the Eco Committee to work out when foods would need to be planted and harvested, and the Art Sarah Rose Cairns and Darren Department and the design and from Garfields Tapas layout of the book. They are aiming to have these ready for publication and sale at the Christmas Fayre.

Home Economics pupils from S3/S4 attended the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh on Friday 23rd June. They got the opportunity to visit various stalls and watch live cookery demonstrations, taste foods, as well as learning about sustainability and food farming/growing.

CHEMISTRY AT WORK How are we doing?

Self-evaluation is an important part of the work we undertake in In June a group of our Ardrossan Academy and it is carried out in a variety of ways, such as: new S5 and S6 chemists attended a  Improvement Planning Chemistry at Work  Standards and Qualities Reports event at the UWS campus in Paisley.  Pupil Surveys The event included  Pupil Focus Groups short talks by speakers from  Parent Surveys industry, providing an insight into their  Parent Focus Groups route to a career in  Staff Focus Groups chemistry. On the day our pupils heard from  Analysis of Data chemists working  Quality Assurance Meetings chemical engineering, forensic science and  Learning Observations chemical manufacturing. Part of the event included This session our evaluation has focused on Learning, Teaching and mini tasks to solve a Assessment. This will also be the main focus next session as we strive to crime scene using chemistry. One of the give our young people a consistently high quality experience across the CSI challenges was school. won by a team

chemistry pupils from Ardrossan Academy. Through our evaluation this session we have identified the following key strengths:

 Quality of relationships and interactions between learners and teachers.

 High order questioning, which is promoting independent thinking.

 Variety of active learning activities to improve engagement of young people in their learning.

Gaby Seaton, Robyn Phillips, and Jack

Blades20

DUKE OF EDINBURGH

We will continue to build on these strengths as we move into the next 38 S3 pupils session and there will be an additional focus on: completed there practice expedition as  The implementation of the Positive Relationships Policy. part of their Bronze  Opening and closing lessons. Dofe. They all completed a 2 day  Pupil leadership of learning. expedition and are now planning their

assessed expedition Next session we will be working with North Ayrshire’s in September. “Professional Learning Academy” to support the Career -Long 14 senior pupils also completed their Professional Learning of all teaching staff. assessed expedition as part of their Silver Dofe in the Aberfoyle Some of the pupil feedback we’ve had includes: Area over 3 days. What are the good things about Ardrossan Academy? Well done to all pupils involved. I enjoy being in school — there are lovely teachers and staff and opportuni- ties to do things. I know my teachers well and there are good relationships. I like it best when my teachers tell me where I am in my learning and where I need to work towards. They are always trying to en- courage you. There is a good variety of subjects to learn and choose from. I failed my prelim but got a B in my exam because the teacher believed in me. I didn't understand anything in my class but now I am helping other pupils because I get it. I have more confidence in my knowledge of the subject. What would make school even better for you? I enjoy learning conversations with teachers and I would like as much of these as possible. Getting even more specific feedback on what I have to do to im- prove.

MATHEMATICS Educational Grants: footwear, clothing and free Support and homework materials will be available North Ayrshire Council can provide free school meals, and/or up to £40 in the Maths section of worth of school footwear and clothing, to children whose parents receive the school website next one of the following benefits below: session. Notification will

be given of any access passwords in August.  Income Support Anyone who is looking for  Income Based Jobseekers Allowance rainy day activities during the holidays could be  Income Related Employment Support Allowance direct ed to spending  Support under Part VI of the Immigration Asylum Act 1999 some time on www.numeracyworkout.c  Child Tax Credit only (with income under £16,105) o.uk or www.mathsworkout.co.u  Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit (with an income under £6,420) k (pupils are aware of the required login and  Working Tax Credit with income under £16,105 (clothing grant only) password).  Council Tax Reduction or Housing Benefit (clothing grant only) It is our expectation that each pupil has their own UNIVERSAL CREDIT Scientific Calculator to use in class and at home. HOW TO APPLY It is essential that pupils are familiar with the Online: model they have in order http://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/resident/education-and- to encourage accurate learning/grants-and-allowances/footwear-clothing-and-free-school- use. Scientific calculators meals.aspx can usually be purchased  Telephone 01294 310000 at a discounted price from any of the big  In person at one of the following Customer Service Centres. Please bring supermarkets before proof of the benefit you have been awarded. returning to school in  Customer Service Centre, Bridgegate House, Irvine August.  Arran Local Office You can follow us on Twitter on  Cumbrae Local Office @ardacadmaths.  Local Office  Local Office Kilbirnie Library (Tuesdays, between 2pm to 4pm, by appointment only. Please call 01294 310000 to arrange.)

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Parent Council

The Ardrossan Academy Parent Council meets regularly to support the work of the school and provide a voice for the Parent Forum. Meetings start at 6.30pm in the school Conference Room and a warm and friendly reception is provided by all. The Headteacher attends to provide a school report about what has been taking place and what is planned. The Parent Council provide useful feedback to help improve the service of the school as well as taking forward initiatives to improve outcomes of young people. Logo designed by Jay Scott, S3. Planned meetings for next session are:

Monday 4th September Monday 9th October Monday 13th November Monday 15th January Monday 5th March Monday 23rd April Monday 4th June (AGM)

This is a great opportunity to shape and support your school community. The council are actively seeking new members.

Chair Mr H Neill Vice Chair Mrs M Gilchrist Contact via school email [email protected]

BBC Schools Report

The BBC School Report took place on Thursday 16th March - giving pupils all over the UK the chance to experience journalism. Second year pupils at Ardrossan Academy took part by: finding news stories; writing articles; filming interviews; and creating a news broadcast. This experience was linked in to their studies in RMPS and English, as well as Developing the Young Workforce through the emphasis on future career possibilities. To read the finished articles see our website at

http://www.ardrossanacademy.co.uk/school-information/departments/ct-menu-item-192/ct-menu- item-202/bbc-school-report and look out for more work from our budding journalists.

Outward Bound

A group of 24 S2 pupils had the exciting opportunity of going to Loch Eil for a week of Outward Bound activities and adventures. These pupils were selected for their leadership potential and gained many valuable skills from this experience. Pupils took part in raft-building, abseiling, camping, rock climbing and many group activities designed to build confidence, resilience and team work.

This was followed up with a presentation ceremony celebrating the work of all the pupils who participated from Ardrossan Academy, , Greenwood Academy and .

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Annie

This year’s production was the simply fantastic “Annie” with Amy Palmer, S1, in the title role. Months of rehearsals took place ensuring the cast and crew were well prepared for the show which ran on 19th and 20th June to packed audiences. We would like to thank Calvin Bruce, who has just left the at the end of S6, for supporting the cast in rehearsals, directing and playing the score. A number of staff supported the rehearsals and running of the show over the two performances as well as the Parent Council who came out to provide ice-cream and soft drinks, which were needed after sitting in a very warm Assembly Hall. Prior to the main shows, pupils from our cluster primaries and residents of South Beach Care Home came to support the final dress rehearsal. A good time was had by all. Congratulations to all the cast and Miss Cruickshank who worked tirelessly to support the young people as they put their hearts and souls into providing wonderful entertainment.

Astra Base

On Friday, March 24 the Astra Base held a Comic Relief Show. Introductions were by Mrs O’ Neill (Acting P.T.) Astra Base and the event was attended by parents, staff and Ace Base pupils.

The first act was Calvin Bruce who sang “Mr Cellophane” and “That's Life”. Calvin sang this with great confidence and projected his voice well. The next act was Mrs Pettigrew, Kirsten McMenemy & Sophie Gribben who performed a fabulous ABBA routine. Ross Cowan played “Ode To Joy” on the keyboard and presented a PowerPoint on the Astra Base, which the audience loved.

S4 pupils, Cameron McMenemy and Aidan Lundy presented a fantastic “Blues Brothers” routine. This had the audience singing along and dancing.

Mrs Gilbert and Mrs Hendrie who are Astra Base Classroom Assistants took photographs and videos of the event.

The total amount raised was £140. We’d like to thank all parents and staff who supported this event. A great time was had by all.

Written by Cameron McMenemy

Rights Respecting Schools

Its been a productive year for our Rights Respecting Schools group who have been working on our school charter and raising awareness of children's rights through assemblies and personal support focus topics. They played an important role in the school's anti-bullying week, held in November, and also lead the Day for Change Fundraising event to support Unicef. Pupils and staff across the school collected spare change for weeks in the run up to the day and we held a dress as you please day to raise extra funds. The total was an impressive £403 to help UNICEF support and help children all over the world. Next year will be an even busier year, with our Rights Respecting Schools Charter being published and our application for Level 1 status being made. We would like to thank the whole school community for their continued support.

Medics Against Violence Talk Consultant Dr Theresa McGrattan visited an S3 PSE class in June to speak to pupils and gave them an insight into treating the victims of violence and knife crime.

ArT & DeSiGn Company

The Art and Design Company would like to thank Mr Eddie Paterson of The Art and Joy (Arti Farti Gallery) for his continual support and hospitality shown during the recent Easter Exhibition. Future plans to host an annual exhibition and possible Christmas showcase of pupils Art and Design work are in early planning stages. The Art and Design Team have been featured in the June Edition of the Ayrshire Magazine well worth a read. The Art and DeSiGn Company recently staged a showcase during Ardrossan Academy’s production of “Annie”. The work was well received with many parents and members of the audience visiting the exhibition in the school library during the performance interval. The Art and Design Company would like to take this opportunity to thank the Parent teacher council and in particular the support given by Ms Chalmers with regards to our start up enterprise and ongoing developments.

S1 Entrepreneurs the “Basic Ones”. Pupil Achievements—Much more in the attached booklet!

Aria Pascual—Karate Michael Morrison—1st Runner Up Supporting the Foodbank Young Rock and Pop Musician

Alexander Orderly—Athletics Kerrie Grier—Athletics Megan Pettigrew—Athletics

Cameron Leibenguth—Rugby Andrew Buchanan—Rugby Owen Philips—Rugby

Medics Against Violence Talk—June Dr Theresa McGrattan with S3 pupil Andrew Toner.

Important dates

Date Event 8th August SQA results to pupils

10th & 11th August Subject re-negotiations and SQA support (appointment required)

16th August In-service. School closed to pupils.

17th August School opens 8.45am.

31st August S1 and S4 Photographs

14th September SQA Prize giving 7pm

19th September S4-6 Tracking Report 1 issued

22nd September S1-6 Sponsored Walk

25th September In-service. School closed to pupils.

28th September P7 Open Evening

5th October SQA Showcase Event. S1-3 Tracking Report 1 issued.

13th October School closes 2.50pm.

23rd October In-service. School closed to pupils.

24th October School opens 8.45am.

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Dress for Excellence

What to wear : What not to wear:

School tie Hoodies White or black shirt Jeans Plain black jumper or cardigan Tracky bottoms Plain black trousers or skirt Leggings Black footwear Brightly coloured footwear Blazer Logos

Uniform plays a vital role in creating an ethos of inclusion and equity. It also helps to maintain safety and order in and around the school. By adhering to uniform, no young people appear to have more or less than others ,which helps to promote a sense of respect and identity. Thank you for supporting us with uniform.