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Brought to you by PressgangEditor: Leona Anderson
Ellon Academy Community Campus As you will have seen from the roadside, the new Community Campus is progressing well and we are on target for entry, as planned, for the 2015-2016 school session. Currently the large and small pools are being tiled and the community/school reception area is being completed. Many of the upper floor classrooms have been decorated and carpeted and all teaching areas have a ‘learning wall’ which includes an interactive smart board. The Wi-Fi system is almost fully installed, the kitchen and canteen areas are currently under construction whilst the exterior of the building is almost complete.
I am aware, quite rightly, that there is great interest in the community campus facilities. School, Community Learning and Recreation colleagues will be planning a programme of events over the summer to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to see this magnificent facility. Together with our primary colleagues, we are currently planning a ‘walking tour’ to the school and back for current Primary 7 pupils using the designated Safe Routes to School. In so doing, our youngest pupils will be clear on how to conduct themselves and the safest ways to enter and leave the community campus. This process will be repeated for our Academy pupils throughout June.
Further information and pictures are available to view via the school website (www.ellonacademy.org.uk).
Tim McKay, Rector
From the desk of Mr Bain.
Welcome the Spring edition of the Ellon Academy Newsletter, brought to you by Pressgang. As always, the dedicated team of Ellon Academy journalists have been furiously working away over the term, juggling a busy school life, to bring you some of things that have been taking place over the term. As we get closer to the end of the school year, it gives us a chance to look back upon the year that’s been, and begin to look ahead to the future in the form of a brand new school.
This term has seen our senior pupils sit prelims and continue to build their knowledge in the run up to the final exams that are just around the corner. Good luck to those who have exams coming in the weeks that follow the break on behalf of all of us at Pressgang. It is my pleasure to present this newsletter to keep the local and wider community informed of what is taking place in the school, and to celebrate the many varied achievements of pupils in the school. I hope you enjoy this newsletter, thank you for reading.
The team for this edition has been led once again by Leona Anderson of S5. The other members of the team are: Caitlin Walburn (3K2), Molly Donald (3S1), Calena Anderson (2M2), Stephanie Buhler (2M2), Alex McDermott (1M1) and Lauren Thomson (1K2).
Mr Bain
S1 & S2 Easter Egg Challenge
This term, all S1 and S2 classes in the Business Education faculty have been working on an Easter Egg Challenge. Pupils have worked in pairs to develop a new Easter egg product, with different packaging.
Well done to all our S1 & S2 pupils for their excellent attempts! Prizes to the winning pair will also be awarded during the last week of term.
They have also worked on a marketing pitch, which all pupils have participated in during the last week of term. All pupils have worked well and the huge variety of different and creative ideas is wonderfulto see! Some of the finished products are shown below.
Mrs Ewen
Important Dates
Week beginning 25th May: new S4 Work Experience27th – 29th May – Wider Achievement days for S1 and S2.5th June - Induction Day for the new S5 and 6 pupils. 9th June – Sports Day.
Music for Spring
The Ellon Academy Music Department presented our annual “Music for Spring” Concert on Wednesday 1st April in the Assembly Hall (Old Building), starting at 7.30pm. Once again, we expected the evening to sell-out as they are always really popular evenings for those with school connections and in the wider community. The concert featured music prepared by a huge range of young people in our Orchestras, Choirs, Senior Concert Band, Junior Concert Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Group, Guitar Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, vocal soloist and duets. Pupils from all year groups from S1 to S6 took part. The pupils and staff had been working extremely diligently over the last month or two preparing what was an evening to suit all tastes - something for everyone. For many of our Senior pupils, especially those in S6, this was to be their last concert before leaving school. This, of course, was the last Music Department concert in the Assembly Hall before we move to the New Academy. Music Department concerts have been taking place annually since the 1970’s. "Music for Christmas”, “Music for a Summer’s Evening” and “Music for Spring” have become part of the culture of Ellon Academy and the community beyond. So this was a poignant, but joyful occasion.
The night was a resounding success. Thanks to all those who attended, helped or performed to make this special night one to remember.
Mr Birse, PT Creative Arts Faculty.
Special Achievement
For a certain number of our pupils at Ellon Academy, there are so few days left of classes before they head off on Study Leave and prepare for their exams. Pupils in S6 will sit their examinations and then, sadly, finally, their time at Ellon Academy will come to an end.
In this current S6 year group, there is one pupil who has achieved something quite remarkable: she has never missed a single day of school.
Well done Zoe Webster, of 6M! That is some record to have, and one you should be proud of.
Journalists Needed
Get involved in the life of your school by joining Pressgang. It is an excellent opportunity for you to improve your English, as well as giving you a great addition to your CV.
For more information, go and ask Mr Bain (2x7). Mr Bain
Mrs MacDonald, PT Guidance
Important Dates
S4/5/6 Study leave starts: Friday 24th AprilSQA Exams start: Tuesday 28th April.WAP/S3 Enterprise: 27th – 29th MayS5/6 Induction: 5th June Sports Day: 9th JuneEnd of term: 1st July
Sports Day
Sports Day is coming on Tuesday 9th June! It’s an important part of the school calendar and is always a fun occasion where you can try new things and represent your house. Dust off your trainers and get stuck in! Lots of activities for you to try out like last year will be on offer. Bring cash for refreshments too.
S5/6 Induction Day
On Friday 5th of June, the new S5 and 6 induction days will take place. These are fantastic opportunities for senior pupils to work together as a year group with a range of employers and school staff. The S6 “Be All You Can Be” day will take place in school and the S5 “Business Challenge” will take place at the University of Aberdeen (Transport provided). All S5 and S6 pupils must attend these induction days. All pupils should wear school dress for these events. Any questions, please contact your Guidance Teacher. See Summer Newsletter for details of these. Mrs Hall
Evening of Entertainment 2015
Plans are already underway for 2015’s Evening of Entertainment, the hugely popular annual showcase of Ellon Academy pupils and community talents. As this will be the first show in the brand new Ellon Academy, it is guaranteed to be a night to remember as we celebrate its opening. Tickets go on sale in May, so be sure to get yours. For more information, contact the school.
Mrs O’Brien
The Business Club runs each Friday lunchtime in room 308. This club is open to all pupils, S1-S6 who have an interest in running their own business or if they just want to participate in a school business.
Currently, we have The Cake Girls who make and sell the yummiest cakes ever! Staff in the
New Building are always really happy on the last Friday of each month, as that is Cake Friday! Our bakers are Heather, Caitlin, Molly and Ailsa (chief shortbread maker!). The Business Club’s new venture is selling school jumpers. The group have “inherited” a stock of jumpers, hoodies, fleece jackets, in a variety of different sizes – all embroidered in gold with “Ellon Academy”. We are selling these at £10 each, on a first-come, first-served basis. We are hoping that some parents are going to be mega-organised and want to buy these in preparation for next session and starting at our new school. If interested, e-mail Mrs Ewen, PT Business Education at [email protected]. Also, if you have any business ideas then you are most welcome to join the Business Club – we look forward to seeing some new faces with some fabulous new ideas!
On Thursday 19th April, Cathy MacPhail came to visit Ellon Academy. Here is what some participants had to say about it.
“I enjoyed hearing about her books, and where she got her inspiration from. The trailer for her book was really good, and I would like to go and see it at the cinema. I also write stories, when I was a bit younger I won a competition. I really want to write a horror story some day.”
Eve MacNamee, 1C1
“I enjoyed learning about all Cathy MacPhail’s interesting ideas. She was really nice and friendly. I can’t wait for Cathy’s new book to come out so I can buy it. I have started reading Out of the Depths and thought the start was amazing!”
Tyla Pilkington, 1C1
“I enjoyed learning about where she got her ideas from. I thought that the trailer for her new movie Another Me was quite spooky and exciting. It was really cool to meet an author. It was lots of fun.”
Emma Jamieson 1C1
“I really enjoyed the workshop because I though that Cathy was very inspiring as she told us how she gets her inspiration. I liked how we got to do activities and how we learned that by one word, you can get an idea for a story. I would really like to watch the movie Another Me based on her book. She has inspired me to write my own book too!
Abbey Noble, 1C1
Mrs Ewen
Lauren Thomson 1K2
Cathy MacPhail Visits Ellon Academy
On the 19th of March, a group of S1 pupils had a chance to meet best-selling author Catherine MacPhail. Cathy came to Ellon Academy to hold a creative writing workshop with budding S1 writers. At the workshop she explained how to get inspired from signs, graffiti or even buildings. She sticks by a quote from Roald Dahl: “Once you have something written down, you have something to change”. Cathy was celebrating the release of her new book Mosi’s War; it has already won an award and it is about immigrants seeking refuge in the UK.
The pupils were soon set to work writing a blurb using their favourite word. The blurbs varied greatly in topic from a superhero pineapple to a murder in an abandoned school. Cathy read them all aloud, giving each individual feedback and tips. The S1’s learned that Cathy starts her books off with a sentence
which she then develops into a blurb which then becomes the foundation of her story. There was then a brain storming session where she asked every pupil to come up with an idea about what could happen if someone was trapped in the school whilst everyone else was at the new school. Many people chose the horror/thriller route.
Cathy has recently won first place at the Scottish Children’s Book Awards for the third time. Her books have won many awards and are extremely popular with older readers (11+). One of her most well known books, Another Me, has been made into a film. Its cast include Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) and Gregg Sulkin (Wizards of Waverly Place).
It was a great morning for all the S1 pupils who took part, and we all feel we learned some important things to help with our own writing. A special thank you to Catherine MacPhail for coming to our school, and hopefully she will be back again soon.
Cathy MacPhail works with S1 pupils on creating blurbs for their stories
On Friday the 20th March 2015, one of the Earth’s many natural phenomena took place. The solar eclipse, which is when the moon passes in front of the sun, started at around 8:30 am and reached its peak at 9:36 am. In Ellon, it was said to reach about 95% cover. Eclipses are very rarely seen from Europe, so the excitement that surrounded this event was understandable.
Mr Reece, Ellon Academy’s own ‘star enthusiast’ made clear to pupils how unique an experience this was, as the next eclipse isn’t expected to been seen from the UK until 2090! In order to ensure the safety of pupils, Mr McKay purchased a number of special viewing glasses that protected eyes from the powerful and harmful rays of the sun. Luckily, there was a degree of cloud cover and this allowed pupils to get a good, clear view of the sun as the moon slowly moved across.
Many different classes across the school marked the event in different ways. In Humanities, pupils experimented with colanders but, unfortunately the sun was not bright enough to get a clear view of the eclipse’s progress. In English with Mr Bain, pupils got to mark the occasion by expressing their creative side. Pupils chose to either write a poem, a short story, a newspaper article or a letter to the people of the future, explaining how they felt as they watched the eclipse. Everyone who participated in events across the school enjoyed themselves, and learned something new at the same time.
This experience was made even more unique by the occurrence of a ‘super moon’ that was to follow that night. All the pupils of Ellon Academy were overwhelmed by this experience, and even if it was just a fleeting glimpse through the clouds, it is one that pupils will never forget.
Stephanie Buhler 2M2
The eclipse, as seen from the ground on March 20th, 2015
The current campus of Ellon Academy has been in use for many years and countless people have attended the school as youngsters, eager to learn and grow. The memories that are made when at school stay with us as we grow older, and the fondness we feel for our school is as important as the things we learned there. As we move into this exciting new chapter in the history of Ellon Academy by moving to a state of the art new facility, it is also a fitting time to look back into the past. On the 21st of March, Ellon Academy hosted the “Olde Ellon Reunion Tea” – a ticketed event where former pupils, staff and members of the community came together to reminisce and relive the days of youth in familiar surroundings.
A happy reunion of old school friends
Mr McKay welcomes visitors to Ellon Academy
It was a wonderful day for all who attended. A chance to make some new memories whilst reliving the old ones. The event was a sell out and, in total, the school raised a grand total of £900! Mrs Hall would like to say a huge “thank you” to all who were involved in the running and organising of this hugely successful event and helped make this event such a resounding success. For more information, see the Ellon Academy Facebook page
In the library, people gathered to admire collections of old photos and pose next to an old school uniform, kindly donated to Ellon Academy by Brenda Thorley. Elsewhere in the school, former pupils and staff could visit old classrooms, and get a chance to see inside the modern Ellon Academy as well.
Mr Bain
Cross Country Success
Congratulations to the Cross Country team who represented Ellon Academy last Wednesday. There were many fantastic performances and all pupils were a credit to themselves and represented the school in a positive way. The Girls Overall Trophy was retained, building on last year’s success. The girls won the Shield in each of the S2, S3 and S4, 5, 6 age categories. The S2 girls all finished in the top ten of their race, which is an outstanding achievement, and shows the strength of Ellon Academy’s team. Furthermore, the S2 boys also won their Shield. There are also several individual performers of note: Ross Cartney finished first place in the S3 Boys race, Sean Linden came 2nd in the S2 Boys race, and Fraser Cruickshank of S5 finished 3rd. Also, Ellen Stickle (S6), Lois Pettit (S3) and Eve Learmouth (S2) won their respective races. Congratulations again to all those who took part on behalf of Ellon Academy. Mrs Duff
Netball Season
Ellon Academy’s netball teams have had yet another successful term as both the junior and senior teams have been preforming extremely well at competitions. Both the senior and the junior teams competed in the Aberdeen School Junior League. Overall, the junior team, consisting of pupils from S1-3, finished 2nd in their competition, whilst the senior team for ended 4th!
Well done to both teams for their achievements and best of luck for future competitions!
Calena Anderson
