Parent Newsletter

No81
(June 2010)

Parent Newsletter Archive

End of Term events
The annual Prizegiving took place on the evening of Tuesday 8th June, when over 140 pupils received awards for excellence in a wide variety of achievements. Congratulations to all our prizewinners – if they continue this obvious success into their future they will do exceptionally well.

The Next Generation concert took place in the School Hall on Thursday 10th June and was very well attended by parents and friends. Pupils from P5 to S3 took part in a musical evening of singing, solo and group performing. The concert was a pleasure to watch, thanks to the music and instrumental staff who tutored and coached the pupils to performing standard.
Our school show “We Will Rock You” was performed on the evenings of Tuesday 15th, Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th June. It was well received by good audiences each night, and will be well remembered by future years.

 Our S6 Graduation Ceremony (colloquially referred to by pupils as the “chucking oot do”) will take place at 4.30pm on Monday 28th June in the Assembly Hall. This has proven to be one of the most popular activities we have introduced over the past two years, and is very enjoyable for all present.
The school Prom for S5/6 takes place on the evening of Thursday 24th June. A great many seniors and staff again will enjoy the school prom, held in the Gailes Hotel in Irvine.
Various excursions will take place over the last week of term, from visits to Alton Towers, cycling round Cumbrae, trips to Loudon Castle, etc., and a good time will hopefully be had by all participants.

Band Success
In April the School Concert Band took part in the UK National Windband Festival in Birmingham. The band, conducted by Ms A. Muir, performed extremely well, and were delighted to be awarded a “gold” award. This is a great achievement.
                                   

P7 Showcase Evening
On the evening of Monday 17th May, pupils, staff and parents enjoyed a tour around departments to observe pupils taking part in activities within each department. In science, pupils demonstrated dissection of a sheep’s heart, in HE pupils demonstrated making cakes, in Computing pupils demonstrated video editing software, in PE pupils taught parents how to dance, and in music pupils demonstrated their performance skills. All departments were involved, and an interesting, and hopefully enjoyable time was experienced by all present. I would like to make particular thanks to our Parent Council members who devised the idea and assisted in the planning and financing of the night.

Staffing Changes
There are a number of staff retiring or moving on to new opportunities at the summer. Staff retiring are: Mrs Elna Martin (Principal Teacher of Home Economics), Mrs Carol Cairns (Home Economics/Religious Education), Ms Sally Reid (History/Modern Studies), Mr Alex Dempster (Technical) and Mr Ian Brown (Pupil Support).
Staff also leaving at the summer are: Mrs E McGlynn (Home Economics), Ms C Jones (NQT Physical Education), Ms E Corrigan (NQT English), Mrs J Marshall (NQT English), Ms J Goldie (NQT Mathematics), Mr K Blair (NQT Mathematics), Ms C McIvor (NQT Modern Languages) and Mr P Sharp (NQT Religious Education).
In addition Ms D Morrison (English), Ms J Tipping (PT Guidance/English) and Ms J Murray (English) will be on maternity leave after the summer.
(NQTs are “newly qualified teachers” who are placed in schools to complete one year of teaching for final GTC registration purposes.)
Mr C Gillespie took up the post of Principal Teacher (Alternative Curriculum) in March and Mrs D Gardner took up the post of Principal Teacher of Language and Literacy in May.  We welcome both teachers to the school, and hope that they will enjoy their time in Garnock Academy.  
Interviews have been taking place over the past few weeks to replace staff leaving - I will give an update on staffing when the school restarts in August.

School Plan 2010-2011
Items on next session’s school plan will be:

Continue to Develop Curriculum for Excellence by
Implementing and consolidating S1 courses.
Developing Moderation and Assessment resources for these courses.
Planning for Second Year of Programme – S2, literacy & numeracy, assessment, etc.

Raise Attainment (i) by
Developing better homework/ GLOW/ voicemail systems
Continuing to improve tracking and target setting using SEEMIS.

Raise Attainment (ii) by sharing Good Practice
through the school L & T group.
through the Teacher Learning Communities (AiFL).

Review Quality Assurance Procedures (Whole School and Departmental) by
Developing departmental Audit documents.
Developing the use of the 5 PIs used in Inspections (viz Improvement in Performance, Learners’ experiences, Meeting Learning Needs, Curriculum, Improvement through self-evaluation).

Any parent wishing more detail on these planned areas should contact Mr McNaught at school.

SQA Examinations and Results
The SQA period again seemed to flash past very quickly. Results are expected to be published on Wednesday 4th August, but students can avoid delays and access their results on-line if they register with the SQA on-line. To access the SQA website click here. We all hope that students achieve the high level of results they deserve.

Free School Meals / Clothing Grants
Earlier in the term you should have received an application form for free school meals, and incidentally, a clothing and footwear grant application form. If you satisfy the criteria for these, then you are entitled to the benefits. Too many parents each year who do qualify for assistance, for whatever reason, do not apply for the benefits to which their children are entitled. Please consider this carefully. If you have lost your application form and would like another please phone or visit the school office (01505682685) for a replacement form.
For information, the school dining areas have a “healthy eating” programme for pupils to encourage eating for health. This is to be commended. Please try to encourage your son or daughter to participate in this.

Important dates for next session 2010/2011
Pupils return on Tuesday 17th August 2010
Inservice days on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st September (pupil holidays)
October break: Monday 11th October to Friday 15th October
School reopens Monday 18th October
Inservice day on Thursday 11th November (pupil holiday)
School holiday on Friday 12th November and Monday 15th November
School closes for Christmas at 2.30pm on Tuesday 21st December
School reopens on Wednesday 5th January 2011
School holiday on Friday 11th and Monday 14th February
Inservice day on Tuesday 15th February (pupil holiday)
School closes for Spring holiday at 2.30pm on Friday 1st April
School reopens on Monday 18th April
Easter Holiday day on Good Friday 22nd April
Easter Holiday day on Easter Monday 25th April
Inservice day on Friday 29th April (pupil holiday)
School holiday on Monday 2nd May
School holiday on Friday 27th and Monday 30th May (NB SQA exams still on)
School closes on Thursday 30th June at 1.00pm for summer holiday
Pupils return on Wednesday 17th August 2011

I wish all pupils, parents and staff a restful and enjoyable summer break.
Brian McNaught Rector April 2010

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


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