Parent Newsletter

No63
(March 2006)

HMI Inspection
HM Inspectors will be in school on Wednesday 19th and Tuesday 20th April as well as the whole of the week beginning 24th April. Inspectors will visit and observe teaching and learning in classes, and will talk to pupils, both in class and in small groups. We always expect pupils to be very well behaved in class, in the corridors and in the playground, but particularly so when the school is being inspected. We will be discussing this with pupils in Assemblies immediately after Easter. It is also important that pupils make a determined effort to wear appropriate school wear, and I would be very grateful for your support in this.

Preparation for Examinations
S4, S5 and S6 pupils are getting very close to their examinations, and will appreciate support and encouragement from school and home. Study leave starts for S4 pupils on Tuesday 2nd May and for S5/6 students on Thursday 11th May. The exam timetable will be issued soon, but can be found on our school website if it is lost. It is vitally important that pupils turn up on examination days. This seems obvious, but each year there are pupils who fail to get the certificates they deserve because they fail to show up for the examination. If there is a genuine medical reason for absence from exams, a doctor’s line is required so that we can take steps to make an immediate appeal. Please ensure that your son/daughter is aware of when their particular exams are on, and ensure that they are up on time etc. Again your support is much appreciated.
Mobile Phones and SQA Examinations
It is essential that pupils do not take mobile phones into an SQA examination. This applies to Standard Grade, Higher, Intermediate 2, Intermediate 1, etc. Any pupil found with a phone on them in an exam room will be disqualified from the exam and receive no credit for it. This is due to the potential for cheating in exams using mobile phones and the SQA are adamant that any breach of this rule will lead to an immediate disqualification from the exam. Last year there were three Garnock students who were disqualified because either their phone went off during the exam or they produced the phone in the exam hall during the exam. All three would have passed the particular exam affected, but received no credit because the mobile phone caused them to be disqualified from the exam.
This is extremely important. There will be reminder notices around the exam rooms but please remind your son/daughter about this rule.

Mr McNaught with Head Boy & Girl and Deputes

New Discipline Procedures
A staff group has been working since last May on how to improve our disciplinary procedures for pupils, and bring about a better environment for learning. They have now almost completed the task and we hope to put these new procedures into place on 12th May or thereabouts. You will be given more information about this nearer the time, as will pupils.

The Learning Game
An external study skills provider, the Learning Game, spent two days on 20th and 21st March preparing S4 pupils for their forthcoming exams. The school has used the Learning Game on many previous occasions, and pupils have always rated the experience highly. We hope the experience has highlighted good study skills and techniques to our pupils.

Music Festival Successes
Pupils achieved a high level of success at the recent Ayr Music festival. Some of these are as follows:

The S2 choir won The McCrae Trophy for the best S1/2 school choir.
The Senior Girls Choir won the Sandyford Cup for Burns Songs, The Templeburn Challenge Trophy for the best Senior school choir, the Cooperative Society Trophy for SATB Choirs and the Walker Challenge Trophy for the best female choir under 21.
In the Glasgow Music Festival, the Senior Concert band were winners of the School Concert Band Class, and overall Band Winner of the Glasgow Festival.

Individually, there were many pupil winners of awards with excellent performances. Pupils who performed particularly well were: Stuart Houghton, Kirsty Williamson, Katie Russell, Hannah Kelly, Rosie Mathew, Craig Weir, Siobhan Lennox, Alice Crook, Miriam Scott and James Crook.

Burns Competitions Winners

School Plan
The current school plan can be viewed in its entirety on the school website under “information for parents.” The three main themes of this year’s plan are:

• To increase the % of pupils gaining five or more Standard Grade 3 or 4 level passes, or better, or equivalent by the end of s4, in Summer 2006.
• To improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning by analysis of SQA departmental results in August 2005 and by then adjusting course materials and teaching emphasis suggested by the analysis.
• To develop and improve pupil ethos via citizenship, pupil councils, prefects, house captains, staff-pupil interactions, achievement recognition, etc.

We are now considering items for next session’s school plan. Three areas have been proposed:

• Improving Communication with Parents, particularly regarding progress in subjects,
• Preparing for the Additional Support for Learning requirements introduced by recent legislation,
• Rationalising accommodation in the areas of Art, Technical and Integrated Pupil Support staff.

If you have any thoughts on areas which you think should be considered for inclusion in next session’s plan, please contact Mr McNaught, Rector, at school.

P7 Parents Night
There is a Parents’ Evening planned for parents of pupils currently in P7, on Monday 15th May. This provides parents and pupils the opportunity to look round departments, see examples of pupils’ work and ask any questions they might have about the move to Garnock. We will also again be running “Summer’s Cool” for new S1 pupils in August just before the school restarts. More details will be provided about this nearer the time.

Easter Holiday
School closes at 2.30pm on Friday 31st March and re-opens at 9.00am on Tuesday 18th April. All pupils will attend an Easter Service at St Columba’s Church on Friday 31st March.

I wish all pupils, parents and staff an enjoyable Easter break.

Brian McNaught Rector March 2006

Garnock Academy
School Road
Kilbirnie
KA25 7AX5
Telephone:01505 682685
Email: contactus@garnock.n-ayrshire.sch.uk

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