Peterhead Academy Newsletter 20 th December 2016 Dear Parent/Carer Christmas is just around the corner and although it has been a very busy term, it has also been a very rapid one. Senior pupils will be preparing for their January exams and are already well through their National Qualification courses. We are allowing study leave during the two weeks of January and we can review how successful both parents and pupils find it to be. It is important that by the time they reach S4 that they have the self motivation and the will to succeed so we will see if they take this on board over the coming weeks. The Maths faculty have been impressed at the number of pupils attending focused revision sessions and so this is hopefully a sign that our students are taking their exam results very seriously. We want to use the newsletter to showcase many of the opportunities that our pupils take as well as highlight their successes. Please use the e-mail: [email protected] to inform us of the achievements of our young people outwith the school environment and this can feed into future newsletters. Here are some of the successes for you to see from this term: Achievements/Events: Young Enterprise: Two teams from Peterhead have been working hard this year – Just Coastin’ and Simply Framed. You may have seen them selling their products at Parents’ Evenings and they have also been attending a number of Fairs across the North East. Well done to Just Coastin’ who were overall third out of 32 teams that attended the Westhill Young Enterprise event winning best social media, best presented team and People’s Choice. Sales are going well for both groups and we look forward to the finals later in the session. Girls into Energy: The S3 Girls into Energy course is now well underway. This is a National 5 course that is run by NESCol and is sponsored by Shell. All of the girls received a netbook to assist them in their studies (courtesy of Shell) and the course is designed to raise both awareness and interest in engineering and technical based subjects for girls. In November, the girls paid a visit to Shell, Woodbank, where they took part in a recycling, energy saving challenge. Well done to Lauren Cheyne who was part of the winning team. She received a fit bit for her success. In December, the girls headed off to workshops in Altens where they also met with a range of employees who explained how their career paths had led them to be where they are today. In order to do this course, pupils are having to catch up with work they miss from other subjects but they are hard workers and the experiences they are gaining from Girls into Energy is making the extra effort worthwhile. Advanced Higher Modern Studies: Dr Eilidh Whiteford, MP for the Banff and Buchan constituency came to visit the Advanced Higher Modern Studies class on 10 th November. The pupils were grateful for the opportunity and enjoyed speaking to Dr Whiteford. They gained valuable information, her visit being a key part of their research for the dissertations which they are currently writing. Researcher Visits the School: On Monday 12 th December 8 of our senior pupils took part in a research project being undertaken by a postgraduate student from Aberdeen University completing her doctorate. Her topic was looking at how high achieving pupils decide on their university course choices and in particular why they may or may not choose to study Medicine. Our students from across S5 and S6 included a potential Physiotherapist, Pharmacist, Meteorologist, Mathematician, English specialist and three potential doctors. Miss Alexander who conducted the interviews was highly impressed by the responsiveness and participation of our students. Visit from Local Author: We were delighted to welcome Estelle Maskame, author of an international bestselling trilogy, to speak to a number of English classes in Peterhead Academy Library about her writing and how she got published. Estelle is a former pupil of Peterhead Academy and her books have now been published in 12 languages. This was arranged as part of the celebrations for Book Week Scotland. Access to RGU courses: This year, we have 41 pupils who are attending twilight sessions at RGU for a variety of courses including business, law, art, health and engineering. These courses are open to a number of academies across Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City. Congratulations to Matthew Wallace 6C, who has been selected as top student in Access to Law. This has also opened up an opportunity for him to shadow in a law firm. His success will be of great benefit to him in his upcoming UCAS application. Well done. Active Schools: Our Active Schools coordinator, Tracy Siwek has put a number of initiatives in place and pupils are signing up to these opportunities. These involve, Young Ambassadors, Sports Leaders, Champions of Scotland, North Active Schools Cross Country, netball and hockey clubs as well as an indoor rowing programme. Any pupils who wish to take part in these activities and have not already signed up should speak to PE staff. Open Learning Plaza: After some training for staff on the use of the digital technology in this area, classes are now using the facility. With flexible furniture, a set of 30 I Pads and high tech video screens, this is a modern, bright and impressive setting for learning. Initial feedback from pupils is very positive and we will be tracking motivation and engagement to gauge if there is a difference between using such a space and a standard style classroom. European Schools Transnational Meeting: From Wed 16 th until Sat 19 th November, we hosted a number of delegates from across Europe who are part of ESA (The European Schools Association). The group has been in existence for over 20 years and numerous exchanges have been organised over that time. The schools are located in Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and ourselves. It wasn’t all work and the group were Over the past 3 years we have been funded by the exposed to every form of Scottish cuisine. European Commission to promote ‘Entrepreneurship and The highlight of which was a lovely 3 Employability across Europe’. At the meeting, a website course meal cooked and served by our (BEEE) was launched which is for promoting work own S3 pupils. They were amazed and experience and potential internships across the 10 delighted by the quality and amount of schools. Over the next few months our school has to find food provided. Other highlights were the 5 employers who are willing to welcome students from tour of Peterhead Prison, Slains Castle our partner schools for work placements. This would also and the Fiddler’s Rally. allow the firms to advertise across Europe. We were also looking at submitting a new bid for funding in 2017. EXCHANGE TRIP TO DORTMUND – JANUARY At the end of January we have 7 pupils going on an exchange to our partner school in Germany. While there, they will also be meeting a party from Ireland. The last time we visited Dortmund, we sold a Scottish Cook Book translated into both English and German. This time we will be promoting a tourist guide of Peterhead but we would like that interspersed with some small adverts for local businesses. If you are interested please contact us as soon as possible. There is no charge for this as the cost is covered by the grant we receive from the EU. Pupil/Staff Panto: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (or a loose version of) was the panto of choice at school this year. It is an opportunity for pupils and staff to work together outwith the usual classroom environment and our S1s and 2s can enjoy 50 minutes of classic puns and innuendos. Well done to all staff and pupils involved and a special thanks to the drama department who give up so much of their time to produce the show. S4 Work Experience: WORK EXPERIENCE – on Monday 21 st November, over 200 of our pupils went out of school for a week of Work Experience. Feedback from employers has been positive and the pupils also felt that the experience was beneficial. They are now using what they learned to complete an SQA module on Work Experience. Information: The standard of uniform has been slipping lately and we need to get this back on track. S1 to 3 pupils can wear a black or white polo shirt with a black hoodless jumper but S4 to 6 pupils are required to wear shirt and tie. Leggings and black denim are not part of uniform and pupils must also wear black shoes. If you are planning to update any items of school clothing for their return in January, then please ensure that you purchase the correct colour as well as suitable attire. Many pupils will move into jobs where certain items of clothing must be worn and so it is good for them to experience that a specific standard of clothing is required. It also provides pupils with a sense of pride and identity in their school. Ties can be bought for £3 at the school office. Please support the school by ensuring that your child has the correct uniform for the start of 2017. The weather next term can cause some issues. If there is significant snowfall or if roads are particularly icy, please check the Aberdeenshire website updates for news on school closures.