Ardrossan Academy Class Chat for week ending 30th December 2016

Prelims

S4-6 Prelims will take place from 16 – 27th January. Pupils have been issued with timetables.

We expect our pupils to work on their study timetables over the course of the next few

weeks to give them the best possible chance of success in their prelim exams.

News Letter

Our December News Letter can be found on the school website.

YPI

On the 16th and 19th of December we held the semi-final of our Youth Philanthropy

Initiative was the culmination of weeks of research. All S3 pupils have been working in

teams to research a local charity. Our pupils have embraced this opportunity and they have

all met with their charities and presented to their peers. Six groups from the year group will

be selected to go forward to the final on the 2nd of February to win £3000 for a local

charity. More information in the New Year!

Your Future Event

We're looking forward to seeing you all at our annual Your Future careers event will be held

on the 11th January from 4-6.30pm. A range of stalls will be available to help you plan your

own future in the world of work. Employers including EDF, Booth Welsh, SimpsInns, the

Army, RAF, Braehead Foods and more will be available to discuss working within these

sectors. Colleges and Universities to discuss entry requirements for courses as well as tell

you more about studying at these institutions. Teachers will also be available to discuss

progress within subjects as well as the variety of careers which become available by

choosing their subject.

PE Department

Our S1/2 school of sport Basketballers were in action at the inaugural Three Towns

Christmas Tournament at St Matthews yesterday. We entered 2 teams in the competition,

with some real gutsy play and teamwork on display. Our teams came 1st and 3rd place. Well

done.

Pupil Achievement

Congratulations to Chloe Lamberton, S1, who became the Gymnast Club Champion for Floor

& Vault. Bronze medallist for Rhythmic and trophy winner too. Well done!

Aria Pascual, S5, achieved success at the recent JKA Scotland Squad Competition 2016. Aria

won gold in the Female 16 years and older Kumite & the male/female 16 years and older

Kata. Aria was also awarded the prize for Best Scotland Squad female Senior 2016. Well

done to Aria for her continued success in Karate.

Congratulations to former pupil Iain Wilson, who debuted for Kilmarnock F.C recently,

playing 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw v Inverness Caley Thistle.

Art Department

National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher Expressive and Design folios have been returned

from SQA and can be returned for the bargain cost of £5 (would be £11.50 without school

funding cost) Contact Miss Jepson.

Burns Supper and Summer Show (ANNIE)

Burns Supper Any pupils wishing to be involved in the Burns supper should notify Miss

Cruickshank prior to the holidays. The summer production will take place in June this year.

Rehearsals will take place Monday and Wednesday after school beginning Wednesday 1st

February. Any S1-S6 pupils who would like to audition for ANNIE should prepare a song from

the musical and sign up for auditions which will take place lunchtime week beginning 23rd

January. Sign-up sheet will be outside the music department.

Christmas Jumper Day 2016

Pupils and staff raised £249 for Save The Children during our Xmas Jumper Day on Friday

16th December

Ace Base

We had an “ace” Christmas celebration in the Ace Base on Tuesday afternoon. We have 3

groups of young people from S1 to S3 and we were joined by all the parents/carers. We had

a fantastic afternoon where the young people showed off all their hard work and targets.

We were also joined by the Chaplains, Pastoral Support Teachers and the canteen staff. Mrs

Futamata and Miss McEvoy were there and handed out the gifts to the young people.

S1/2 Christmas Party

Christmas Party fun. A big thank you to our S6 Student Leaders and House Captains who

organised the party and contributed to a successful event.

Ardrossan Eco’s Go Organic

The Eco Committee launched their social enterprise ‘Ardrossan Organics’ at the school

Christmas Fayre in November. The group were selling natural handmade cosmetic products

such as lip balm, moisturisers, bath bombs and candles, as well as home grown herbs and

pickled beetroot. A small group of the junior Eco Committee then attended a craft fayre in

the Whitlees Centre the following day, and between both events the group sold £333 worth

of products, £138 of which was profit to spend on their social aim. The group aims to tackle

food poverty in the community by teaching young people about growing their own fruit and

vegetables, using their school allotment plot. They are using the money they’ve raised so far

to pay for seeds and equipment for their plot, and the group hope to be selling their fresh

produce to staff and parents from spring next year.

The manufacture of the products was a joint effort between the Eco Committee and the

Food for Life group, along with junior Science pupils while learning about making products

from plants, and senior Chemistry pupils learning about the properties of fragrances, fats

and oils. The product logo was chosen from entries to a competition run by another school

enterprise group, Ardrossan Art & Design Company. The winning logo was designed by Ana

Campbell in S1.

Christmas Parade

Saturday 3rd of December saw the big switch on for the 2016 Ardrossan Christmas lights.

Niamh Templeton, Nicole Giffney, Holly Gibson, Kayla Topliss, and Kirsten McMenemy

joined Mrs Gilmour to carry the school banner on the Santa parade from Stanley Road to

Glasgow Street. Everyone enjoyed the atmosphere, and the group was joined by several

more Ardrossan Academy pupils on arrival at the Civic Centre.

An end of year update from the Science faculty

Mrs Gilmour -December is an interesting month in the history of Science. The 4th December

marked the 43rd anniversary of the Pioneer 10 probe manoeuvring close enough to Jupiter

to sample the gas giant’s atmosphere. On 7th December 1909 the first man-made

thermosetting plastic Bakelite was patented. Bakelite’s heat resistant properties would see

it being used for many years to come as the plastic of choice for electrical fittings and

appliances. At Ardrossan Academy we’re making our own science history by preparing our

young people to be the scientists and inventors of the future.

S1 have settled in well to their science classes, and have been learning about Sports Science.

There are many promising scientists in the year group, with Ethan To standing out as our top

performer, having achieved 100% in all his check test so far. Lewis Taylor and Jamie Howie

have been working incredibly hard in class, and have shown the greatest improvement since

August. In November Miss Jeffers marked Chemistry Week by presenting some periodic

table challenges and some Whizz Bang demos for S1 that everyone enjoyed.

S2 have been learning about renewable energy and Mrs Gilmour’s classes took part in

Switch off Fortnight in association with EDF Energy. Well done to Jodie Dallas, Jessica Neill,

Abbie Trainer, Paul Cockburn and Dylan Brannigan for their unique efforts to let everyone

know how important energy saving is to the future of our planet.

S3 have moved on to their first discrete Science rotation, having sat their exams in

November. Each class will have 8 weeks on each rotation of Chemistry, Biology and Physics,

to give them a flavour of the individual subjects before they make their subject choices.

Congratulations to Christopher Ribbeck for his Science exam result, which was the highest in

the year group.

S4 pupils are settling into revision for their prelims in January. Pupils should speak to their

class teachers about opportunities for supported study. Mrs Gilmour’s S4 Chemistry class

are showing an excellent attitude towards their homework and revision, and Calum Weir

from Dr Cannon’s Physics class should be noted for his commitment and dedication to the

subject.

In N5 Biology the following pupils are consistently attaining very high marks in check tests

and homework: Callum Murray, Jenna Edmund, Rona McNairn, Erin Sallens, Chloe Frew,

Jack Blades Abby McFarlane, Casey Robertson, Leah McFarlane and Lauren Stevenson.

S5/6 Higher Chemistry pupils have been learning about cosmetic chemistry and have been

extracting terpenes (essential oils) from plants. They have also been making fragrance

molecules, called esters, synthetically. The experiments worked really well, the aroma in the

classroom was really strong and gave us an insight into the manufacture of synthetic and

natural scents. Dr Janet McKay Consultant Cardiac Nurse was in school to talk to Mrs Young

and Mrs Monteith’s Higher Human Biology classes. She gave an excellent presentation to

pupils relating closely to the Higher Human Biology unit Physiology and Health -

Cardiovascular Disease. Higher Human pupils asked some very thought provoking questions

and found the sessions very rewarding. In addition, Dr McKay gave the pupils an overview of

the vast array of careers and career pathways in the NHS and she shared her own career

journey with the pupils. Advanced Higher Chemistry and Biology pupils have begun work

towards their assignments in their respective subjects. Bethany Collins is doing particularly

well in AH Biology, having achieved the highest mark in a recent class test, and her attitude

towards her assignment. Bethany, along with Sophie Gribben, has also made good progress

on the planning for her project for the Scottish Science Baccalaureate.

In Higher Human Biology Ethan Gilmour, Aria Pascual, Emma Brown, Marie-Ann Wales and

Andrew Parker are consistently attaining high marks in assessments.

Dr Cannon - 3.6 have been investigating alternative sources of fuels this week. They have

carried out an experiment to compare fuels produced from fermentation of plants to

determine their efficiency. The results from their experiment will be written up as a report.

3.4 have been learning about wave properties and sound. As part of this topic, they became

sound engineers for the day and produced their own piece of recorded "music". Once the

original sound had been recorded, they modified its frequency and amplitude before

unleashing the more interesting effects. The compositions will be posted on our blog.

Well done to Dr Cannon's National 5 and Higher classes. You have all worked very hard.

Enjoy the Christmas Break, study materials will be posted on Yammer during the holidays.

Supported study will resume on Mondays after school when you return.

Mrs Tatar's classes have been exploring elements and compounds this week. Pupils

investigated what happens to magnesium when it burns, and were very surprised to see the

sparkling end result! A big shout out to '100 percenters' in the Monitoring Health check

tests this week - Andrew McCrindle and Reiss Smith!