ARBROATH ACADEMY
Newsletter for Parents & Carers
Summer 2014
Arbroath Academy “Together – With Pride!”
The learning and the achievements of young people are
at the heart of our vision for Arbroath Academy.
Arbroath Academy is a learning community, integrated
into the wider community, where relationships matter.
This learning community has been shaped and continues
to be reshaped by the interactions between young
people, teachers, parents/carers and everyone
connected to the school. This is what makes Arbroath
Academy such a warm, caring and dynamic place. It is
this vision that needs to drive the direction of the school
so that it will become much more fully a learning
community where all young people are supported and
challenged to develop and grow; and where they are
encouraged to be ambitious and successful.
Dear Parents/Carers
I would like to thank all parents/carers for their continued
support. Arbroath Academy continues to grow from
strength to strength. We have focused this year on
improving attainment and all the signs are that this will
be the case. We have also focused on wider
achievements and have a growing number of
opportunities both within school and in the community
for pupils to develop their leadership skills.
Staff have worked extremely hard to deliver the new
National Qualifications and also in preparing for the new
Highers.
An increasing number of pupils are keen to wear school
blazers, so we are making it possible for all pupils to
purchase blazers through the school.
Please note there is an additional In-Service Day from
the Scottish Government, to prepare for the new Highers.
This means that pupils will return to school on Wednesday
13 August 2014 after the Summer holidays.
We continue to value your support in encouraging good
timekeeping, attendance and smart school uniform.
As a school we are keen to hear views on how we can
continue to improve.
This Summer newsletter can also be viewed online
through our website http://www.arbroathacademy.angus.sch.uk)
Wishing you a happy Summer holiday.
Doreen Redfern
Head Teacher
Mon 11 August In-Service Closure Day 1
Tue 12 August Extra In-Service Closure Day
Wed 13 August Pupils return to school
Sat 4 – Sun 19 October Autumn Holiday (pupils return to school Mon 20 October)
Thu 27 November In-Service Closure Day 2
Fri 28 November In-Service Closure Day 3
Mon 1 December St Andrew’s Day Holiday
Tue 23 December Last day of Winter term – school finishes
at 12 noon
Wed 24 Dec – Tue 6 Jan Christmas Holiday (pupils return to school Wed 7 January 2015)
Fri 13 – Mon 16 Feb Mid-Term Holiday
Tue 17 February In-Service Closure Day 4
Fri 3 April Last day of Spring term – school finishes
at 3.40pm
Sat 4 – Sun 19 April Spring Holiday (pupils return to school Mon 20 April)
Mon 4 May May Day Holiday
Mon 25 May In-Service Closure Day 5
Thu 25 June Last day of Summer Term – school finishes
at 12noon
HOLIDAY DATES FOR THE CALENDAR 2014-15
� Mr Scott Brown started with us as Depute Head
Teacher at the beginning of June 2014.
� Mr Gerry Austin joined the Business, Computing and
Technical Education department in May 2014.
� Mrs Audrey Simpson joined the Language &
Communication department in May 2014.
� Mr Garry Reeve has joined the Business, Computing
and Technical Education department to cover Mrs
Russell’s maternity absence.
� Mr Joe McGalliard returned to his post of Principal
Teacher Social Subjects & RME.
� Mrs Diane Smith returned to her teaching post within
Social Subjects & RME.
� Mrs Sheila Anderson moved department to join the
Business, Computing and Technical Education
department to teach Business Studies.
Some members of staff have moved on to pastures new
and we wish them all the best in their new post:
� Mrs Fiona McIntosh has moved to Arbroath High
School.
� Mrs Nancy Croall has moved to Carnoustie High
School.
� Mrs Gillian Cunningham has moved to Buckhaven
High School.
STAFFING UPDATE
A reminder of the school meal prices:
Primary Secondary
Pupils £2.00 Pupils £2.10
Staff £3.00 Staff £3.00
Keep up-to-date on the lastest news from Arbroath
Academy via our Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/ArbroathAcad
Web Site
We continue to work on the Arbroath Academy’s web
page. http://www.arbroathacademy.angus.sch.uk
SCHOOL MEALS FOR 2014-15
ARBROATH ACADEMY COMMUNICATIONS
Thu 19th June P7 Induction Day
Fri 20th June P7 Induction Day
Tue 24th June S1-3 Celebration of Achievement Evening
Wed 25th June S4-6 Celebration of Achievement Evening
Fri 27 June Last day of Summer Term – school finishes
at 12 noon
September 2014 S4-6 reports issued
October 2014 S1-3 reports issued
Tue 4 November S2 Parents’ Evening
Thu 20 November S3 Parents’ Evening
November 2014 S4 reports issued
Thu 4 December S5/6 Parents’ Evening
Tue 13 January 2015 S1 Parents’ Evening
February 2015 S2-3 reports issued
Wed 25 February S4 Parents’ Evening
March 2015 S5-6 reports issued
May 2015 S1 reports issued
Wed 17 June P7 Induction Day
Thu 18 June P7 Induction Day
DATES OF INTEREST 2013-14
DATES OF INTEREST 2014-15
Arbroath Academy’s colours are BLACK and GOLD.
Pupils are expected to wear:
� A white or black blouse/shirt
� Black cardigan, v-neck sweater or plain black
sweatshirt (no hooded tops)
� School tie (available from the school office)
� Black trousers or skirts (no shorts or leggings)
� Black shoes
� Dark coloured jacket (no denim jackets)
All outdoor garments and anything that is not uniform is
to be removed in the classroom.
For P.E. and sports activities in school, pupils are
expected to wear:
� A plain white t-shirt/polo shirt (no football tops)
� Black shorts/tracksuit trousers
� Training shoes or a change of shoes.
In cold weather you might also like to wear a tracksuit or
warm top.
For health and safety reasons pupils will asked to remove
jewellery and piercing in P.E.
OUR UNIFORM
P.E KIT
Easter School
The Science Faculty ran a successful 2 day revision
school during the Easter holidays where a good number
of students came in for extra support and 'fine tuning' in
preparation for their exams.
nPower Scottish Energy Competition
In March, Eilidh Kelly, S4, Ceri Saddington, S4, Connor
Troup, S4, and Aayush Bashyal, S4, represented the
school at the National Museum in Edinburgh, at an
engineering competition which focused on the feasibility
of different options in terms of raising the amount of
electricity which Scotland generates from renewable
energy sources. As well as Physics, Maths and Business
Knowledge being used, the team had to give
presentations and answer field technical questions
about their decisions.
The Academy has pupils working through their Bronze
and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards, along with pupils
from a range of other local schools, who all meet at the
Academy regularly and go on expeditions together.
Duke of Edinburgh is run and coordinated by the Angus
Community Learning Unit, and supported by a small
number of teachers from the participating schools.
SCIENCES
DUKE OF EDINBURGH
Graphic Novels Talk
In a series of visits to Arbroath Academy in May and early
June, local librarian David Robertson introduced S3
pupils to the graphic novel as a storytelling form. Pupils
then had the opportunity to explore comic panels and
storyboarding, creating their own narratives from
scratch. This was an extremely interesting experience,
enjoyed by all S3 pupils. We take this opportunity to give
thanks to David for his inspiring visit. Pupils really
appreciated this introduction to storytelling through a
visual medium.
S3 pupils listening to David Robertson
LANGUAGES & COMMUNICATIONS
Arbroath Academy S1-S3 girls Football Team:
Back row
L-R:
Allana Mason, Sydney Cairns, Sinead Watson,
Demi Dickson, Chloe Guthrie
Front row
L-R:
Chloe Morison, Ellie Cook, Katie Boyd
Arbroath Academy S1-3 Girls football
The S1-3 football team have been successful in two
competitions this term. They competed in the Angus
Schools Festival at Arbroath High School finishing overall
2nd place. In addition, the team also made it through to
the East Regional finals for the 7 a side tournament. The
girls competed against schools in Angus and Dundee
winning 4 games out of 6.
The scores were as follows:
• Arbroath Academy 2 v Monifieth High School 0
(Kirsty Robertson 2)
• Arbroath Academy 3 v Grove Academy 0
(Sydney Cairns 2, Sinead Watson 1)
• Arbroath Academy 1 v Montrose Academy 0
(Chloe Guthrie)
• Arbroath Academy 3 v AHS 0
(Sydney Cairns 2, Sinead Watson 1)
• Arbroath Academy 1 v St Johns 1
(Sydney Cairns)
Unfortunately the final fell on the same day as the school
Sports Day which had a huge effect on their
performance as well as standard of the other teams
being high resulted in the girls being knocked out of the
competition.
Signal Tower Museum Visit
Following on from David’s talk on graphic novels, S3
pupils visited the Arbroath Signal Tower Museum, where
they uncovered the town’s rich and dramatic maritime
heritage. As they received a guided tour of the
museum, pupils took notes and sketches that would later
inspire their own illustrated stories and comic strips.
Everyone really enjoyed this visit, and pupils left the
museum feeling inspired by the maritime history and
folklore of Arbroath. We would like to thank the Signal
Tower Museum staff for taking the time to help us
develop our storytelling ideas while learning more about
our local area.
S3 pupils taking notes at The Signal Tower
Tartan Treasures Competition
Congratulations to Jamie Clarke, S1, whose poem “What
Scotland Means to Me” was Highly Commended in this
year’s Tartan Treasures Poetry Competition. The
competition sets out to discover first class modern day
poets who have been as inspired by Scotland as Robert
Burns himself. Jamie attended a special prizegiving
ceremony at the House of Dun during the Tartan Day
Scotland festival, part of Homecoming Scotland 2014.
Jamie, S1, proudly showing his certificate
S1-S3 pupils enjoying the Annual Athletics competition
Athletics Competition
The annual athletics competition took place in May this
year with pupils from S1- S3 taking part to become the
overall athletics champion for their year.
Pupils could sign up for 1 or all events and every event
they signed up for they got points for their House as well
as extra points if they finished in the top 8 positions. The
pupil with the highest points at the end of the
competition won the overall athletics champion.
It was a very close competition and the PE department
commended all pupils on their effort and behaviour
during the two days. Pupils who excelled in the events
will be asked to be part of the Arbroath Academy
athletics team to compete at the County Sports at Caird
Park in Dundee on the 10th of June.
The results are as follows:
S1 GIRLS S1 BOYS
1st Kirsty Robertson(56)
2nd Chloe Guthrie (39)
3rd Shauna Chisholm
& Lauren Anderson (30)
1st Leon Gibson (55)
2nd Kaysai Richardson (39)
3rd Bruce Donaldson (37)
S2 GIRLS S2 BOYS
1st Rachel Wallace (44)
2nd Taylor Buick (41)
3rd Morgan Spence (34)
1st Adam Caird (45)
2nd Ronan McAllan (38)
3rd Aarambha Bhattarai (36)
S3 GIRLS S3 BOYS
1st Sydney Cairns (59)
2nd Jorge Cullen (45)
3rd Stacey Dell (30)
1st Alex Gibson (46)
2nd Logan Napier (44)
3rd Robbie Greenhill (43)
Dundee Art Society Summer Open Exhibition
Dundee Art Society holds a Summer Open Exhibition in
June at the Roseangle Gallery in Dundee. One of the
aims of this is to encourage young people with a talent
for drawing and painting. The Society invites pupils from
S1-S6 to participate in this exhibition. The entry is limited
to two works per school. The Roseangle Cup is awarded
to the winner plus a gift voucher and certificates for the
runners up. The judging is by a panel of professional
artists who, of course, take into account the ages of the
pupils. This allows for a level play field between pupils
regardless of age and is an opportunity for young talent
to display their work alongside adult professional and
amateur artists.
Our chosen entries this year come from two outstanding
S4 pupils, Erica Low and Rowan Small. The girls were in
our first cohort of pupils to sit the new National 5
qualification in Art & Design this year and have
demonstrated an extremely high level of ability and
creativity in all aspects of their work as well as excellent
observational skill in their drawing. Erica's study of a
cowboy boot titled 'Lone Star' uses dip pen, ink and
wash technique and shows her use of line, pattern and
tone. Rowan's work came under the same mexican
theme and is a study of a tequila bottle titled '3 Amigos'
shows her excellent use of the pointillist technique in fine
line pen.
Both Erica and Rowan have been invited, along with
parents and friends to attend a private viewing at the
Gallery on Friday 6th June when the Roseangle Cup will
be awarded to the winner. I look forward to spending
the evening with them to celebrate their success.
Mrs Brown, PT Expressive & Performing Arts
EXPRESSIVE & PERFORMING ARTS
created by Rowan Small, S4
Royal Scottish Conservatoire
Mike Prokop, S2, has recently being accepted into the
Royal Scottish Conservatoire in April 2014 and has just
recently gained a distinction in his grade 3 clarinet exam
after playing for little more than 9 months.
As Mike is only in 2nd year he will be attending the
conservatoire as a part time student in order to continue
his education at Arbroath Academy.
Basketball Summer League
Arbroath Academy and Arbroath High School pupils
have been participating in a Summer League for
Basketball run by Colin Mcevoy.
The schools were mixed together into teams at the start
of the league and trades have been made each week
to ensure the teams are fair.
The schools compete in competitive games each week
and also a free throw competition. Senior pupils from
Arbroath High School are assigned as coaches to gain
coaching experience as well as the pupils being
scorekeepers and timekeepers.
The league has been very successful in encouraging
pupils to keep playing basketball and has allowed
players from both schools to develop their skills further.
To recognise pupils’ wider achievements the school is
working closely with Volunteer Angus and there are now
over 50 pupils registered to do the Saltire Award.
12 pupils have achieved their Approach Level Saltire
Award (10 or 25 hours) and 7 pupils have achieved their
Ascent Level Award (50 hours and above).
Arbroath Academy would like to say a big well done to
all pupils for their hard work and a big thank you to all
their partners.
Nuffield Placement
The Pupil Care and Support department organised for
Frances Chapman from the Nuffield Placement scheme
to visit the school and speak to all S5/6 pupils.
The Nuffield foundation offers pupils the opportunity to
work with scientists, technologists, engineers or
mathematicians on a research project in one of these
areas. Pupils get hands on experience of a professional
research environment to help them decide if they wish to
follow a career in this area. Once pupils apply they are
interviewed and then, if successful, given a research
place for 4-6 weeks during the summer holidays.
This year, Zoe Killoh, who has just started in S6, has been
successful. She has met with Dundee University and is
looking forward to starting her research project.
Well done Zoe.
PUPIL ACHIEVEMENTS
created by Erica Low, S4
The 3 short-listed titles for this year’s Angus Book Award
were launched to two S2 English classes in March when
the pupils found out a bit about each of the authors and
their nominated book. The books had been part of
rigorous elimination process carried out by secondary
school English teachers, librarians and pupils across
Angus schools culminating in the final three titles: Heroic
by Phil Earle, The Night Sky in my Head by Sarah
Hammond, and The Savages by Matt Whyman.
Following the launch, the pupils read each of the titles
and embarked upon a series of activities such as
designing alternative books covers, writing their own
book blurbs, and animating aspects of their favourite
book. The culmination of participating in the activities
and reading the books was to vote for their favourite
book, experience a visit to the school by one of the
short-listed authors, and the evening ceremony where
the winning author was announced.
Matt Whyman, author of The Savages, visited pupils at
Arbroath Academy in the morning of the 20 May just
hours before his book was revealed as the overall winner
at the evening ceremony held at Monifieth High School.
Matt gave an enjoyable talk on how he spent his time as
a writer and also how he came to develop the ideas for
his novels, including his latest work. In an activity
designed to encourage the pupils’ view on their own
ability to write, Matt also described the 12 steps of any
piece of creative work which had pupils discussing the
similar attributes between film, books and computer
games. The pupils contributed with enthusiasm and
showed their appreciation by giving the author a
preview of the animation they had been involved in
making about Matt’s short listed book.
ANGUS BOOK AWARD
Part of the development of the Leadership Programme
has also included the promotion of the Pupil Councils in
partnership with Community Learning and Development.
The pupil councils have been active in the school and
have been involved in speaking to S1 classes, delivering
assemblies and ascertaining the views of their peers on
certain issues. Based on feedback from their peers, the
pupil council representatives created a wall design to
promote the school values. (pictured below)
Working with Miss Cheryl Parker, Secondary School
Assistant, the reps. painted the design on the wall. They
then supervised their peers putting their handprint within
the design. Assemblies were held the first week in June
to recruit new pupil council representatives for each
form class.
Christine Watkin (Arbroath Speaker’s club) with S3 monitors
Pupils in S3 have also been given the opportunity to
develop their leadership skills through the S3 monitor role.
32 pupils have been appointed as a school monitor and
spent a morning being trained. Part of this training
included working with Christine Watkin from the Arbroath
Speaker’s club to develop their presentation skills. All the
pupils did very well and are looking forward to using
these skills. To recognise the hard work of the monitors,
pupils have been given the opportunity to study for the
SQA Award in Volunteering Skills and 25 pupils are now
working on this on a Friday Form Time with Dr Thomson, PT
Raising Achievement.
At the ceremony, S2 pupil Justyna Butkiewicz was
announced as joint winner in the alternative book covers
competition for her design of Sarah Hammond’s The
Night Sky in my Head. Justyna won a signed copy of
each of the short listed titles.
Justyna Butkiewicz, S2, pictured above
Three Arbroath Academy pupils, Rachael Smith, S6,
Morgan Ann Soutar, S3, and Emily Leslie, S3, attended
the TayPlan Youth Camp on Saturday 26 April at Abertay
University. Twenty One pupils from schools across Tayside
attended the event to look at the future plan for the
development of Tayside.
During the course of the day the pupils split into groups
and each group was given one Main Issue from the plan
to discuss their ideas and have their say. They then had
to prepare a presentation on the Main Issue. Morgan
and Emily worked with pupils from Dundee High and
Monifieth High school to look at the issue of city and
town centres and Rachael worked with pupils from St
Paul’s school in Dundee to look at healthier lives.
All pupils worked hard and demonstrated excellent
presentation skills and team work skills. Well done!
pictured above is Morgan Ann Soutar, Emily Leslie, Mrs Hunter &
Rachael Smith
TAYPLAN
Arbroath Academy has continued to build on the Pupil
Leadership Programme, coordinated by Sara Hunter (PT
PCS), which was put in place in August 2013.
This term, a group of 10 S5/6 pupils trained the rest of
their year group during Lifeskills in the Heartstart course.
71 pupils successfully completed the course and
received certification in Emergency Lifesaving
techniques.
In addition to this, the school has formed a partnership
with Malcolm Finlayson from Radio North Angus and
several pupils have been receiving training in radio
presenting. Lakisha Carnegie, S5, and Frankie Kirkcaldy,
S5, have completed their training and are currently
practicing with a view to commencing programming
within two weeks. Gill Glass, S4, and Ceri Saddington, S4,
have almost completed their training and Aayush
Bashyal, S4, and Jack Masson, S4, are going to start their
training after their exams.
The school is working closely with the community to build
links such as this. Luke Cargill (S2 pupil council
representative), Sarah Ross (S5 pupil council
representative, paired reader and prefect) and Keir
Ritchie (S6 Sports Ambassador and Saltire Ambassador)
visited the Rotary club to speak about their leadership
experiences and the skills they have developed.
PUPIL LEADERSHIP