Boclair News December 2014

Boclair News
December 2014
Dear Parent / Guardian
Welcome to our December edition of Boclair News. It has been a busy few weeks for our young
people and staff and it is set to get busier over the coming days as we approach the Christmas
holidays. I hope you find the following information helpful and as ever we welcome your
comments and new information which we can share in future newsletters. At the end of this
edition of Boclair News there is also a parental survey which I invite you to complete and return
to the school.
On behalf of the staff of Boclair Academy I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New
Year. I look forward to seeing you all at one of our many events next session.
Douglas Brown
Head Teacher
In October one of our Higher English classes visited the north of
Scotland to develop their understanding of the novel Sunset Song.
During the day we visited The Grassic Gibbon centre in Arbuthnot
before taking a walk through the fictional village of Kinraddie.
Walking in the footsteps of central
character Chris Guthrie helped our
students gain a better understanding of
the novel‟s powerful setting and
reinforced some of the central themes of the novel. Our visit to the
kirkyard and the local church where Chris experienced some of her
most poignant moments was particularly helpful. We also paid our
respects at the final resting place of Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
On a very stormy afternoon we visited another of the novel‟s
important settings – Dunnottar Castle. This was the setting for the
start of Chris‟s courtship with her future husband Ewan Tavendale.
This stunning setting allowed the students to reflect on key themes
of conflict and change – central to understanding the novel.
Throughout the day our students were hardworking, interested and
engaged in the process of bringing learning to life. Well done – and
good luck with the critical essays!
1
Boclair Academy is working
hard to offer opportunities for
Wider Achievement to all
pupils. As a result of this,
all S2 pupils will shortly be
taking part in a project within
their Tutor classes which will
allow them to apply for a coveted Saltire Award. The
Saltire Awards programme, which is being delivered by
East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action, accredits young
people who take part in volunteering and is seen
nationally as a particularly significant accolade.
To achieve their award, each S2 class will be
responsible for running a food bank collection point
within the school foyer for a two week period, and
will be fully responsible for promoting their food
bank to other year groups and staff. Class 2C‟s
foodbank will open on Monday 1st December and
run until Friday 12th December 2014.
The collection point will be open every day between 08:35 –
08:50, during morning interval and for the last 15 minutes of
lunchtime. Pupils and staff from across the school are
encouraged to bring in items to be donated to the project and
the school anticipate a very generous response.
At the end of each class‟ food bank collection campaign,
donated items from across the school community will then be
parcelled and delivered to two local food banks located in
Maryhill and Garscadden respectively. Both of these food banks are delighted to have the support
of Boclair Academy and will ensure the donations will be put to very good use in supporting those
in need.
At the end of October the Boclair
Academy U16 rugby team kicked
off their Brewin Dolphin Bowl
campaign with a great 35-5 win
over
Hyndland
Secondary.
Boclair sits on top of their league
and are looking forward to
moving on in the competition.
2
On Thursday 9th October 47 pupils and 5 members of staff from Boclair Academy set off on their
annual trip to the First World War Battlefields, organised by the school History department. There
was the usual mixture of excitement and nerves for the youngsters, some of whom were travelling
abroad without their parents for the first time.
After the bus journey to Hull and the overnight ferry to Zeebrugge a short hop took the party to the
medieval city of Brugge. The party then crossed over the border into France to spend their first
night at their accommodation near the town of St. Omer.
The first stop on Saturday was the French cemetery of Notre Dame de Lorette. The fiercely proud
French veterans of the Guard of Honour treat this place as sacred ground. The cemetery is built
on a hill to give the optical illusion of graves stretching eternally into the distance. The children
began to appreciate both the scale of the loss and the global nature of the conflict as they looked
at the thousands of headstones of Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists. Most of the dead were
French, but there were many there who came from colonial Africa to contribute to the fight.
The next stop was at a place which for many has come to symbolise all the horrors of the First
World War. The Somme is synonymous with the mud and death. The first day of the battle,
July 1 1916, remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British army - 60,000 casualties
sustained in a few hours. The group were given a guided tour at Beaumont Hamel and the
Canadian guide skilfully recreated the mood of the Battlefield and filled everyone with admiration
for the brave men of Newfoundland who fought here. The memorial to the missing at Thiepval
dominates the landscape and many of the pupils had the names of family connections to seek out
on its imposing walls. The day was rounded off with a visit to Lochnagar crater, where a mine was
detonated under the German lines. Its size demonstrates the huge destructive power which
explosives were put to during the conflict.
The evenings provided the opportunity for reflection, but also for relaxation and pupils could
choose from football, pool and table tennis. Everyone seemed to think it was important to seize
the opportunity to have fun and enjoy the company of friends, a privilege which was denied to so
many because of the conflict.
Sunday saw the Boclair party cross back across the
border to Belgium. The town of Poperinge provided
the tour's most poignant moment as a visit was paid
to the cells where soldiers condemned to die by their
own side spent their last evening. The brilliant white
splendour of Tyne Cot British cemetery stood in
stark contrast to the dark and gloomy German
graveyard at Langemark. The night was closed at
the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing where the
last post ceremony takes place every night and has
done since the 1920s - interrupted only by the Nazi
occupation. Boclair pupils presented a wreath in
memory of the fallen, before the ceremony was
closed by Scott Stephenson piping Loch Rannoch.
L→R: JACOB MILLER - SCOTT STEPHENSON (piper)
ROBYN HYSLOP - SCOTT POLLOCK
By Tuesday afternoon the Boclair party were home. They were free to enjoy the last few days of
the October break and perhaps to be a little more appreciative of the simple things in life.
3
On Friday 8 November S4 History pupils attended
a special screening of The Book Thief. This event,
at the Empire Cinema Clydebank, was part of the
IntoFilm Festival. The film follows the life of a
young girl in Nazi Germany during the Second
World War. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the film and
found it very moving.
During Remembrance Week pupils in S1-5 attended special assemblies led by the
current S4. S4 pupils who recently returned from the First World War Battlefields
shared their thoughts on their experiences and reflected on the importance of
remembering the sacrifices of previous generations. The assemblies also involved
musicians playing the Last Post and piper Donald Morrison closed each event. Last year Donald
played at the Last Post Ceremony in Ypres, Belgium.
At our recent P7 Information Evening parents were given the opportunity to view some of the work
produced as part of the school‟s Inter Disciplinary Project on the First World War. Parents and
Pupils were also given the chance to express their views in a vote on the proposition that
“Conscientious Objectors were Heroes.” Conscientious Objectors were those who refused to fight,
often for religious or political reasons. An “Alternative World War One Commemoration
Committee” has been established to campaign for a permanent memorial to conscientious
objectors in Glasgow. The result was as follows:
Do you agree that conscientious objectors were heroes? Yes 35% No 65%
4
At the invitation of the German Foreign Office, I had
the opportunity to participate in a Professional
Development Tour for British History Teachers in Berlin.
In late October, along with fifteen history teachers from Britain and
Northern Ireland, we began a busy six day programme examining the
History of Germany from 1814 until the present day. A guided tour of
the city revealed stunning architecture, landmark buildings, memorials
and of course, remnants of the Berlin Wall.
Workshops and seminars were held in the German Historical Museum.
It housed a permanent exhibition of 'Weimar, the Nazis and the
Holocaust' - examining German History from 1918 to 1945 in pictures
and artefacts. It was interesting to learn how History from this period is taught in German
schools and the resources on show provided greater depth on how this topic could be taught in
British classrooms.
The 25th Anniversary of German Reunification was a main topic of interest and its historical, social,
political and economic impact was discussed within many institutes including the Federal
Foreign Office, Humboldt University and The European Academy of Berlin.
Amongst the highlights of this Tour; The Stasi Museum, The Reichstag, The Jewish
Museum, Cecilienhof Castle, The Public Broadcasting Station; the most interesting from a
professional and personal point of view was the Federal Archives which house thousands of
articles and documents of great historical interest.
Berlin, its people, its buildings and its history, was a fabulous experience which I aim to build upon
when teaching German History in class. Hopefully in the near future, Boclair Academy pupils will
once again have the opportunity to visit Berlin as part of their studies.
Catherine Conn
Teacher of History
The second year Art classes display of work
created for the recent World War 1 IDL project.
Displayed in the photograph are some examples of
mono printing, collage work, painting and 3D
construction work.
Classes learnt about and
responded to the work of war artists, experimented
with mixed media in their 'diaries from the frontline'
and learnt about the dazzle project as well as
drawing and painting.
!!!!!!!
CONTACT SPORTS
!!!!!!!
Following an accident this session we wanted to bring attention to the health and safety of
young people during contact sports. All pupils in Boclair Academy experience a range of
activities in PE which involve contact and we encourage parents and pupils to consider the
equipments they wish to use. For Hockey and Rugby in particular pupils are allowed to
wear mouth guard protection and your dentist will be able to give you advice on which type
of mouth guard is most appropriate for your child.
5
DIVERBO (PUEBLO INGLES)
Fiona Regan
During the summer of 2014, myself and two friends of mine had the opportunity to take part in a
voluntary course in Spain, an organisation called Diverbo (Pueblo Ingles) which invites native
English speakers to live in Spain for a week or two and help young Spaniards improve their
understanding and speaking of the English language. Upon arrival at our camp in Spain, we were
split into groups, equal parts Anglican and Spaniard, and we met our councillor for the week who
would lead us in a range of strange and wonderful group activities. In our groups we had to earn
points by helping one another or winning a group activity, however groups could also lose points if
the Spaniards in the group ever spoke Spanish.
Throughout the week we shared a room with another Spaniard who most of us quickly decided we
were going to be best friends with. Our days consisted of three hour long one-to-one sessions,
each time with a different Spaniard. These sessions admittedly sound relentlessly awkward, but I
found that the time flew by and getting to know another person and how different their life and
culture is, was interesting and easy. After one-to-one‟s we took part in a group activity that could
be anything, from dressing our councillors up and putting on a performance –my team dressed our
councillor, Enrique, as Conchita Wurst, something he did not thank me for when he couldn‟t
remove the extravagant eyeliner we put on him - to making a music video. Following group
activities there would be a special „fun-to-fun‟ session that was a group one-to-one, where one
English speaker helped a group of Spaniards converse in English. At the end of the day we would
have a camp meeting, where we would present anything we had created in our groups throughout
the day.
A day in camp was very long and action packed, therefore it was rarely boring and the time flew by.
To end our week at camp, we held a group talent show where each group performed a sketch,
song or dance. My personal favourite performance was that of the blue team, who made a sketch
about our time at camp and did hilariously accurate impressions of the councillors and those
people in the camp who had become well known characters. Our last day was very emotional, and
in the end no one could hold back the tears. By this point we had all become a big family, and we
couldn‟t bear to leave the friends we had made. They had come from all over the world, from
Scotland, Ireland, America, Canada and Australia and it was possible we might never see each
other again. That last day was all tear-filled promises to see each other again and ensuring you got
a picture taken with every single person in camp. I can honestly say that the experience I had at
camp was life changing. As well as a broader outlook and knowledge of the world, it gave me
friends from all over the globe that I will always be grateful for.
This club started last month in the Home Economics
department and is designed exclusively for second year
pupils who do not have Home Economics on their
timetable this year. The aim of the club is to allow pupils
to develop and extend their skills, have fun and make
new friends. They meet
every Wednesday from
3.45-5pm and the theme of
the club is to explore foods
from around the world whilst
making delicious dishes. Spaces are still available for this session
and the club will run after Christmas too. Please contact Mrs
Kennedy for details. Here are some their favourite dishes so far…
6
P7/S1 Showcase Event
Thursday 20th November 2014
"The Science Department thoroughly enjoyed welcoming parents and potential
pupils to the department during the Broad General Education Evening. Everyone
enjoyed the hands-on experiments and the chance to collect stars! It was great to see current
pupils get excited about experiments and sharing their knowledge with parents.
Of course, Ant and Dec were there to welcome
everyone at the start and a few cries of "I'm a
p7...Get me into here...." echoed through the 4th
floor!
The U14 football team has
made a flying start to their
league campaign this session.
With a 100% record following
victories over last year‟s league
and cup double winning team
Bishopbriggs
Academy,
St
Ninian‟s High School and
Kirkintilloch
High
School,
confidence is high that this will
be a successful year for what is
a close knit and talented team of
footballers. The team's next
fixture is a home tie against
Lenzie Academy to be held
sometime in January.
7
This all-day event took place at Bearsden Academy on Tuesday
18th November. Six Boclair Academy pupils, accompanied by Mr Reilly from
the Technical department, competed against pupils from Bearsden Academy,
Bishopbriggs Academy, Turnbull High, Lomond School and Lenzie Academy.
The pupils had a fantastic day trying out brand new skills with only a
limited input from the teachers.
This allowed them to work as
independently as possible. The project was to design and make a
beacon device linked with cycling using initial mind mapping, 3D
modelling on the PC and 3D printing of their prototype. Finally the pupils
had to do a full PowerPoint presentation about their project.
Each pupil had to adopt a different role e.g. Project Manager, Design
Engineer and Accountant etc. Each pupil worked fantastically well in
their roles, and more importantly as a team. The Boclair pupils involved
were:
Niklas Arnold 1E Calum Hart 1A
Damelza Hart 1E Andrew Hooper 1A
Shelly Jeffrey 1E Emily Sharpe 1D
Bishopbriggs Academy came first overall, winning
the opportunity to compete against schools from
down south.
Boclair pupils did secure second place which is
an excellent result! Well done to the team!!
As part of this year‟s Duke of Edinburgh selection
procedure a total of 56 pupils, split into two groups of 28,
took part in practice walks in the Campsie Fells.
The purpose of the walks was to give the pupils
an insight into the sort of experience they would
have while undertaking the Expedition phase of
their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh‟s Award and
introduced them to such concepts as navigation
using a compass and map reading. Not to
mention walking a long distance (slightly over
11 miles) with a heavy pack on their back.
The pupils, although extremely tired when they
returned to school, all had a great time and
can‟t wait to do it all again for real, so to speak, when they embark on their practice and qualifying
expeditions next year.
8
A group of our S3 students took part in a Learning through
Work event on Thursday 6th November 2014. This event
focused on raising awareness of Modern Apprenticeships and
helping students to consider their options for post-school
transition. Pupils received information from Ronnie Smith, our
partner from Skills Development Scotland, and were lucky
enough to be visited by Neil Henderson from Killermont
Investments who gave them a real insight into life as a
Modern Apprentice. Pupils enjoyed their morning and we are
now looking to arrange a further event with some other
vocational partners.
Clara Evans from class 3C was very positive about
her experience: 'Some of the interesting things we learned
about included how many modern apprenticeships are available for young people, and how many
companies are willing to offer them. We also learned some useful information about CVs,
interviews and how a good handshake is a positive start and creates a lasting impression. I found
this experience valuable as it explained an option to me that I might take in the future, instead of
only considering Higher Education'.
S3
LEARNING
THROUGH
WORK
EVENT
On Friday 14th November 2014 staff and pupils at Boclair
Academy took part in a number of activities to raise money for
this year‟s BBC Children in Need.
This year the event was organised by the school‟s team of
Support for Learning Assistants.
The various activites
included:







Sale of homebaking - donated by staff, pupils and
the Home Economics department
Raffle – twenty seven prizes were donated by pupils
with the top prize being a Spa break for two at
Seamill Hydro!
Tombola – with prizes donated by staff
Various games in the Assembly Hall
“Guess Pudsey’s Birthday”
A Chocolate Fountain
A Fun Run for S1 and S2 pupils
In addition the school received an extremely generous donation of
£300 towards their final total from the Petrofac FM Thistle Alpha
Platform.
The total amount raised was.....
and a great day was had by
all who took part.
Well done to everyone
for their efforts.
TOTAL
£1590.20
0000005
9
The first Interclass Games of 2014/15 were held on Wednesday 8th October with over 400 pupils
participating in the event. Under pleasant conditions, classes from across S1, S2 and S3 competed
in netball, hockey and football mini-tournaments.
In the games hall, netball matches were fast paced and end-to-end with lots of goals on show. The
level of commitment and energy on show was a real credit to the girls taking part. Boys‟ football
teams competed in 7-a-side matches outside on the grass pitch with high levels of determination
on show. Many of the games were close encounters and the league tables had to be decided by
goal difference as it was impossible to separate the teams by points alone. Meanwhile, on the
Astroturf pitch, boys and girls competed at hockey and there were a number of impressive team
performances.
Senior pupils made an excellent contribution to the event by coaching teams and refereeing
matches, and showed commendable levels of leadership and responsibility in carrying out their
roles. The PE department were delighted not only with the impressive attitudes and levels of skill
displayed by the pupils; but also by the excellent sporting behaviour and team spirit on show from
every pupil who took part. The winning classes who were rewarded with an early lunch for one
week were:
S1 – 1A
S2 – 2C
S3 – 3A
The full results are shown below. The points accumulated for this event and the remaining
Interclass Games this session (including a swimming gala and cross country championships) will
result in one class for each year group being crowned as the Interclass Champions and receiving a
special reward.
2014 / 2015
Interclass Games
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
1st
2nd
3rd
1A
1C & 1E
1D
1B
1F
2C
2D
2F
2B & 2E
2A
3A
3F
3C
3B
3E
10
Twelve S5 Business Management
pupils recently took part in the inter
school stock market challenge.
Pupils worked in pairs and the
young people had to wisely invest
their cash in a portfolio of shares.
As in real life they had to decide
when to purchase or sell their
shares according to external
influences. Our wining team of
Sean McBride and Emeil AlZuherri made a profit of over
£160,000 - well done to all who took part!
The department of Business and
Information Management held
Entrepreneur Week at the
end of November. In total 5 business people came into Boclair to talk to
our young people. Mr Robert Tracey and Mr C Wright held interviews
with S6 Enterprise and Employability pupils. They were extremely
impressed by the answers given by the young people.
Mr Andy McLaughlin of Élan Networks Ltd,
Mr Guy Ramsay of The Griphouse Gym and
Mr Chris Crowe of MXP discussed their businesses with our S3
Business Management pupils. A representative of Mr Tracey's
business also gave a talk on R.T. Consultants Ltd. The young
people then have to prepare a report on one of the businesses as
a task for level 4 of the Broad General Education and National Unit
Assessment. All the entrepreneurs were extremely impressed
by our young people!
On Saturday 29 November our S6 Enterprise pupils took
part in the Dunbartonshire marketing competition at
Clydebank shopping centre. Our young people created a
fabulous stall to entice customers to purchase their
exciting products. Their products centred on goods for
the home hence their brand name of CASA FABULOSA
(frames, aprons and mini blackboards). Our group did
exceedingly well when questioned by the judges. They
are now in the process of creating and printing the annual
Boclair Academy calendar featuring art work from our
brilliant Art department. All their products, including the
calendar, will be on sale at the Christmas concert on 11 December! At that time they will be able
to tell customers their nominated charity for the profits they have made to date. After Christmas
they will be starting to organise the ever popular - BOCLAIR'S GOT TALENT!!
11
Citizenship Foundation – National Bar Mock Trial
High Court in Glasgow
The National Bar Mock Trial Competition gives young people an exciting and innovative insight into
the workings of the legal system. Now in its 24th successful year, it involves over 2,000 students,
300 barristers and advocates and 90 judges from across England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
On Saturday 29th November pupils from Boclair Academy took part in the Scottish Bar Mock Trial
event in Glasgow‟s High Court. Following the success of the team last session we were invited to
enter two teams this session. In all thirty pupils took part in this year‟s competition and each one of
them performed to a high standard throughout.
Over the last four months members of the team
have studied and prepared two criminal
cases. The first case was one of mobbing
and rioting where an accused was alleged to
have taken part in riots in his local town
centre where he threw bottles at a police car.
The second case was one of possession of a
class B drug.
Pupils took on roles of advocates, witnesses
and court staff and both teams took part in
three trials throughout the day. In all of the
six trials Boclair took part in, all members of
the team carried out their roles effectively
and judges throughout the day complimented
the team.
In the final order of the day Boclair‟s Team A
were third and Team B were fourth – a hugely
successful day overall. We now look forward
to winning the competition next year!
Well done to all the pupils involved and a big
thank you to our advocate, Mr John McIlroy,
from the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland for
all his help both on the day and over the
previous four months.
The following pupils made up the two teams
from Boclair Academy
Ross MacKenzie Team Captain
David Stewart
Rachel Tang
Joanna Galbraith
Victoria Mearns
Morgan Rodgers
Rachel Henderson
Samah Nimale
Hannah Lynch
Eilidh Mackay
Adam Nowarah
Ellen Chestnutt
Sophie Ross
Karis Bhattacharyya
Rhona McLaughlin
Nicole Kingsley
Katy McGregor
Hannah McPhail
Matthew McGinty
Louise MacDonald
12
Carly McPhail
Ashleigh Trainer
Sam Barge
Jacob Miller
Eilidh Gordon
Cameron Brisbane
Bethany Dewis
Ryan Spalding
Cameron Horne
Abbie McFarlane
PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION
Lisa Chestnutt and Jess Wood (S2),
Jacob Miller (S4), and Ellen
Chestnutt and Rachel Tang (S5) all
took part in the Annual Rotary Club
of Glasgow Schools Public Speaking
Competition at Glasgow Caledonian
University. Despite very strong
competition, Jacob Miller reached
the final at the end of November.
RIGA EXPERIENCE
Following a successful pen pal project last year
between S1 pupils in Boclair Academy and
pupils in Riga 64 Secondary School in Latvia,
Mr Henderson from the Physics Department
spent part of his October holiday visiting the
Latvian school and teaching lessons about
Scotland. This was an extremely interesting
experience and one which was appreciated by
the Latvian staff and pupils. This built on the
successful project from last session. Full details
of Mr Henderson‟s visit can be found on the school website.
S1 Business and Enterprise are currently in full production of unique, handmade Christmas
products. Each student has their own job title e.g. Managing Director, Sales Manager, Operations
Manager and Finance Manager, and takes responsibility for recording their progress. Each group
has named their own company and they work as a team to fill orders and get them out to
customers.
If you are an S1 parent/carer looking for quality,
unique Christmas Cards or Christmas Tags, look
no further as our S1 Business and Enterprise
companies can provide you with all of your
festive requirements. The profits made
during this enterprise will be donated to a
charity which will be chosen by the pupils
themselves. Merry Christmas.
13
RESPONSIBLE
BIN IT ROADSHOW! - 30 September 2014
We saw a theatre production called the Bin It Roadshow. This was a really funny performance with
a serious anti-litter message. The actors got lots of pupils involved in the performance all helping
us to remember to put rubbish in a bin. We
learned we had to bin rubbish because it was bad
for the environment, we could be fined for litter
dropping and if we learn about this now we have
good habits for when we are older. The actors
taught us it costs a lot of money to clean up litter
and this money comes from the tax payer. If we all
bin our rubbish there would be more money to
spend on schools and our education. We will try
even harder to bin our rubbish from now on and
keep our environment clean.
Khyra Cannon 1D Faisal Al Ghamdi 1D
P7 ENTERPRISE EVENT
We recently hosted our first P7 transition event of the year. Mrs Reid and S4 Business students
recently hosted an exciting P7 Enterprise Event which was attended by pupils from Colquhoun
Park, Killermont, Torrance and Westerton Primaries. The primary pupils were challenged to
design, cost and sell products. For two days our Assembly hall was buzzing with primary pupils
working with our fourth year students. The pupils used all their creative skills to come up with
innovative products to sell at a competitive price. Numeracy skills were stretched to the limit as
pupils tried to balance costs with income to maximise their team‟s profits. The primary pupils were
hugely enthusiastic about this fantastic event and the effort they put into the event as they
developed their entrepreneurial skills was superb. All the P7 pupils were a credit to themselves
and their schools. Thank you to Mrs Reid and the S4 Business students for arranging such a great
event.
M Trainor
P7/S1 OPEN EVENING - 20 November 2014
We hosted our first ever Open Evening for P7/S1 pupils and parents and were delighted to
welcome so many pupils and parents to the school. Over 300 pupils and parents attended. The
evening began with presentations from staff and our Head Boy Ross MacKenzie and our Head Girl
Nicola Harrison. Then it was off to meet our pupils and staff in all the departments. It was an
amazingly busy and diverse evening. There were curricular information displays, displays of pupil
work, a World War 1 Interdisciplinary Learning display and pupils were hard at work in classrooms
making everything from pancakes to spinning tops. Ant and Dec worked very hard to ensure the
“I am a P7 get me into here” activities ran like clockwork. There were opportunities to meet
pupils from many of the school clubs and activities. The feedback from parents and pupils on the
evening was fantastic:
“Excellent experience - my daughter is now looking forward to coming next year thus giving
me peace of mind. I enjoyed the pupils’ input, found it very beneficial to my daughter,
thanks”. “Nice for 1st years and P7s together”. “A fantastic evening”.
Thanks to all the parents and pupils who visited on the evening. A huge thank you to all the staff
and pupils from S1 to S6 for delivering such a successful evening.
14
GIRFEC - GETTING IT RIGHT FOR EVERY CHILD
Families Outside
Staff from Boclair Academy attended a training event hosted by the charity Families Outside.
Families Outside is an independent charity which has been helping prisoners‟ families in Scotland
for over 20 years. They offer support and information to families affected by imprisonment. Anyone
wishing further information can access the details at www.familiesoutside.org.uk or contact
Guidance staff.
Getting It Right for Every Child
Kate Spalding, our Educational Psychologist, held a twilight session for staff; this was a follow up
to the autism training on the last inset day. The training covered social stories and comic strip
conversations which are ways to help young people with autism develop greater social
understanding. Further information on the use and benefits of social stories can be found at
http://www.autism.org.uk/socialstories.
Miss Trainor recently attended East Dunbartonshire's Annual Child Protection Conference. There
were very informative speakers on Internet Safety and academic studies on Child Protection.
Miss Trainor is the school's Child Protection co-ordinator. If you have any concerns about the
safety of a child or young person please contact Miss Trainor.
SAFE, HEALTHY, ACHIEVING, RESPONSIBLE
NATURAL HIGH BY DAVID GRAHAM 23 October 2014
David Graham performed his Natural High Concert for all S1 pupils. We had a great afternoon
watching his concert and taking part in activities. David‟s concert had songs, competitions and
audience participation. We enjoyed winning copies of David‟s CD through taking part in anti-drugs
slogan competitions. We all learned from David that we all have our own talents and that we do
not need to take drugs to get high, but that we can get a natural high by using our talents to have
fun and succeed.
Anni Smith 1F and Rory Bennet 1B
The Poppy Appeal - The Prince‟s Trust group work on the Poppy Appeal as
the basis of their SQA „Self in Community‟ unit. This is one of the four units
making up the SQA Self Awareness qualification. The S3 Prince‟s Trust xl
pupils worked with and were supported by all members of the Boclair
Academy community. A huge thanks to the S6 pupils who worked so hard selling poppies.
Staff Poppy Morning
- The S3 Prince‟s Trust
xl pupils organised a
very successful staff
poppy morning to raise
funds
for
Poppyscotland.
As
well as lots of delicious
treats to eat there was
also a raffle with many lucky winners. Nathan Goody
(3B) very confidently delivered a speech to the
captive audience.
15
Westerton Care Home Poppy Morning - The
residents and staff at Westerton Care Home were
delighted to receive a visit from the S3 Prince‟s Trust
xl pupils group and the S5 music group. The girls from
the S5 music group entertained the residents with a
variety of beautiful songs. The S3 Prince‟s Trust group sold
poppies, raffle tickets and chatted to the residents and staff. All in
all it was a great morning.
Remembrance Sunday – Bearsden Cross
Nathan Goody (3B) along with two pupils from Bearsden
Primary school laid a wreath on behalf of Boclair Academy at
Bearsden Cross on Remembrance Sunday.
The Menin Gate - Belgium
S4 Prince‟s Trust xl pupil Scott Pollock (4C) along with Robyn
Hyslop (4E) and Jacob Millar (4A) laid a poppy wreath at the
Last Post Ceremony in Ypres as part of the Battlefields trip.
Scott Stevenson (4F) played the bagpipes during the
ceremony with a stirring rendition of Loch Rannoch. This was
a most momentous occasion in the centenary year of the
outbreak of WW1 and as such, there was a significant
increase in the number of people who attended the ceremony.
It is estimated that there were 1600 people present at the
ceremony.
Kayaking
The S3/S4 Prince‟s Trust xl
pupils have completed their
eight week kayaking course.
The pupils visited a variety of
locations including Loch Ard,
Wallaby
Island
and
Inchcailloch.
As well as
developing their kayaking skills
the pupils also spent time
exploring the islands of Loch
Lomond.
Saltire Award
The S3 and S4 Prince‟s Trust xl pupils are clocking up their
volunteering hours as part of their Saltire Award. Some pupils
have achieved in excess of 100 hours.
S3 CREST AWARDS
Recently, some of our S3 students completed entries for the Crest Awards as part of their work in
Science Club. Excitingly, two of our students: Cara Birse and Georgia Leitch were both awarded
Bronze Crest Awards for their projects which focused on the
healthiness of crisps. The girls have thoroughly enjoyed the work
which they undertook and had this to say about their experience:
'Recently we were awarded the Bronze Crest Award for our project
on 'Finding the healthiest crisps'. To achieve this award we
attended Senior Science Club. We were able to choose a focus for
our project which interested us and then decided on our own
method of completion. We worked on it all year and carried out a
number of experiments to work out the salt, fat and energy content
of different crisps. We discovered that Walkers were the healthiest
crisps and that some crisps which promote themselves as healthy
are actually not. We really enjoyed completing this award project,
and we feel it has helped us to develop our scientific and
investigatory skills. We hope to go on to work towards achieving
our Silver and Gold awards in the future'.
16
Pupils of our feeder primaries were recently welcomed to
Boclair to take part in the annual Primary Business
Challenge. Once again Mrs Reid, Principal Teacher of
Business and Information Management delivered the Business Challenge. However for the first
time, this event was held in the Assembly Hall at Boclair: this added to the excitement of the event
for the Primary 7 pupils.
The Business Challenge was organised by S4 Administration and IT pupils who cover Events
Management as part of their course. The Primary 7 pupils worked in teams of 6 and all teams
were in competition with one another. As one of the S4 pupils stated “The atmosphere in the hall
is great! – the Primary 7 pupils are having a great time”. The young people learned about running
a business and they all decided on the role they would play e.g. Managing Director. Each team
ran a 'mini enterprise' company purchasing materials, selling hand-made products and recording
the financial transactions in order to calculate the profits made.
At the end of the challenge Mrs Reid and the S4 pupils awarded prizes to the groups with the best
creative products, the highest profit and the best marketing slogan/poster. The Primary 7 pupils all
completed an extremely positive evaluation.
FRIGHT NIGHT
Higher Administration and IT pupils successfully organised
Fright Night for Senior pupils on 29th October. Planning and
organising an event is part of their course and our S5/6 pupils
used the theory which they had already covered in class such as Task and Time management and
Working in Teams to ensure the event ran smoothly. Each pair in the class produced an Action
Plan for the tasks they had to carry out. Well done on a successful evening!
S3 COMPUTING SCIENCE “THE IMITATION GAME”
On Monday the 1st of December the Computing Science department took their S3 classes on a trip
to see “The Imitation Game”, the biopic
of Alan Turing. Turing is regarded as
one of the true pioneers of
Computing Science and the film
deals with his wartime work in
cracking the German Enigma code. It
also gave pupils a key insight into the
development of modern computer
systems and the key field of
encryption and cryptology which are
key aspects of Computing Science.
Everyone had a great day and there
was even an “Alan Turing” chant on
the bus on the way back to school!
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PECHA KUCHA EVENT
The Pecha Kucha event
took place at William
Patrick Library, Kirkintilloch
on Thursday evening of
20th
November.
Katy
McGregor and Matthew
McGinty took part and we will continue to be involved this year
and next in the Tales and Trails project run throughout East
Dunbartonshire.
SCIENCE CENTRE TRIP
To help with their National 5 Physics course,
55 fourth year pupils visited the science
centre. There they enjoyed 'Hidden Universe',
a stunning 3d IMAX film. They were then
treated to a presentation at the planetarium
where they were able to view the Glasgow
night sky without light pollution. To finish, they
were able to explore the exhibits in the
science mall. Much fun was had as well as
more than a little learning.'
Thanks to Mr Newton for organising the visit.'
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THE MERIT SYSTEM
August – October was a very successful start for our new Merit System for S1-3 pupils.
During this time –
ALL S1 pupils were ON TRACK
ALL S2 pupils were ON TRACK
Majority of S3 pupils were ON TRACK
*ON TRACK = 0+Merits
On October 8th, pupils ON TRACK with Merits took part in some exciting reward events.
S1 & S2 ON TRACK pupils attended a concert and karaoke which included wonderful
performances from Boclair‟s very highly talented singers, groups, choirs and dancers. A massive
thanks to the pupils involved and to the Music Department for co-coordinating the acts. Thank you
to Mrs Conn who led by example with a fantastic performance of „Greatest Day‟ by Take That at
the karaoke. There were no shortage of volunteers to showcase their singing talent and it is safe
to say all pupils had a fantastic time.
Special praise also goes to Cameron MacLeod 3B for piping
all our pupils in and out of the event, to Joseph Lynch 5E for
his technical skills and karaoke expertise, Jacob Miller 4A for
his technical help and not forgetting our Head Boy Ross
McKenzie and Head Girl Nicola Harrison for compering the
whole event. S3 pupils were treated to a complimentary hot
chocolate and cookie during BocATime for remaining ON
TRACK during term 1. Thank you to all the staff who helped
and supported the events on the day.
THIS TERM
After the October Holiday all merit/demerit totals returned to ZERO to give everyone a chance to
start fresh and to work hard on remaining ON TRACK.
The conditions for our Christmas Merit Reward –
An incredibly high number of our young people have NO demerits at all – well done!!
Our Christmas Reward, as voted by our pupils, is a cinema trip to see The Hunger Games –
Mockingjay Part 1. We are absolutely delighted to be taking over 400 pupils on the cinema trip for
meeting the merit criteria.
WELL DONE!!!!!
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FUNDRAISING
42 pupil volunteers from S1-3 helped to pack
bags at ASDA, Bearsden on Saturday
15th November 2014 to raise money for Merit
Reward Events across the year.
Pupils were split into morning and afternoon
shifts – 3 hours per shift. All pupils worked
extremely hard and gave up their Saturday to
help raise funds. Pupils looked incredibly
smart in their uniform and were commended by
many of the customers for being helpful, charming and polite. All pupils were an absolute credit to
the school and their families.
Total raised - £928!!!
Our volunteer fundraisers were –
1A - Craig Maxwell. Stuart Kilpatrick
1C - Rhiannon Mitchell, Holly Thomson, Caitlin Chase
1E – Morgan MacDougall, Demelza Hart, Shelly Jeffrey, Carla Trainer, Bilal Khan, Ellie Stirling,
Abby Girvan, Lucy Kilgour, Isma Aziz
1F – Pip Peter, Sophie Yuill, Luke Nisbet, Lewis Davidson, Emily O’Neill, Katie Baxter, Christopher
Hannah
2A – Abby Wood, John Craig, Georgia Stewart, Tanvee Singh
2C - Katie MacDougall
2E – Rahul Hughes, Sally Henry, Emma Arnold, Kelsey Smith, Iona Cairney
2F - Morgan Turner, Adam Abbas, Angus Camplejohn, Daniel Hunter
3E – Brooke Girdwood, Isla Macpherson, Ruby Todd, Lauren Black, Cara Silverstein
A reminder that merits and demerits can be issued within the following categories –
MERITS
Effort
Excellent Work
Behaviour
Homework
Wider Achievement
Pupil has shown effort that exceeds the class
teacher‟s expectation in relation to the pupil‟s
ability.
Pupil has shown work that exceeds the class
teacher‟s expectation in relation to the pupil‟s
ability.
Pupil has shown behaviour that exceeds
expectation through following rules, showing
initiative &/or helping others.
Pupil has produced a piece of homework
greater than the expectation of the class
teacher.
Excellent endeavour and contribution to whole
school ethos and activities out with the
classroom
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DEMERITS
Effort
Resources/equipment
Behaviour
Homework
Detention – failure to attend
Pupil has shown a lack of effort that concerns
the class teacher despite 2 warnings
Pupil does not have correct
equipment/resources after 2 warnings
Pupils has continued to disrupt learning after 2
warnings
•Standard of homework is not acceptable
•Homework has not been handed in after 2
warnings
Pupil failed to turn up for departmental detention
Where appropriate, pupils are given a warning if something has
gone wrong - giving pupils a chance to CHANGE and CORRECT
what has gone wrong.
If the problem persists a second warning will be given and if no
further change occurs then a demerit will be issued.
MACMILLAN CANCER
COFFEE MORNING
Well done to S6 pupils who organised the
Macmillan Cancer Biggest Coffee Morning
for staff raising £232!!!
SWIMMING FOR SUCCESS
Four of our swimmers represented Boclair at
the East Dunbartonshire time trials for the
Scottish Schools Swimming Championships
which take place in January 2015. Pictured
are Angus Camplejohn, Zoe MacDonald,
Andrew Hunter and Grant Smith.
Everyone performed well on the day with a
number of medals being won. Well done to all
and very best of luck to those who qualified for
the finals!
21
HIGHER GEOGRAPHY KINDROGAN TRIP
S5/6 pupils went to Kindrogan Field Studies Centre for 3 days in November. This was a chance to
complete fieldwork for their assignment which is worth 30% of their overall grade. The pupils and
staff had a BRILLIANT 3 days. Pupils were studying the infiltration rates as part of the
Hydrological cycle, studying soils, looking at characteristic changes in different areas and
identifying glaciated features. Pupils were a credit to Boclair Academy and are now working hard
to achieve full marks in their assignments. Well done team!
22
32 pupils are heading off to an Expedition in Norway in June 2015 this will involve trekking,
kayaking and mountain climbing. Pupils will have the opportunity to achieve their Gold Duke of
Edinburgh Award.
The team have a lot of preparing and planning to do beforehand. Firstly fitness tests were
completed as pupils need to improve their fitness before the trek. Pupils will be trekking
unsupported for 5 days through steep terrain. Pupils scored highly so now the task is on to
improve their fitness by February.
Pupils have begun the task of team building, a vital skill they will learn whilst on expedition but also
on the build up to the trip. The teams now meet weekly to discuss fundraising activities over the
next few months. We look forward to seeing what great ideas they come up with.
T
E
A
M
WORLD CHALLENGE – FUNDRAISING
Two world Challenge team members spent a lot of
time and effort home baking as their first fundraising
event. Cakes were very popular and gained lots of
praise – the rocky road and Malteaser cakes in
particular were a hit!
23
S3 Geographers have been studying Climate Change – the Geography Department are very
excited about their new video camera! The S3 classes were the first to try them out. Pupils work
in their home teams to produce a presentation, leaflet and poster all about the causes of Climate
Change. Mrs Bone and Mr Higgins watched both classes to decide on the winners.
The best teams from both classes were:
Cameron MacLeod
Scott Cromar
Robbie Trainer
&
Jamie Bennett
Chloe Stevenson
Leah Graham
Eilidh MacPherson
David Warnock
A massive well done to all S3 Geographers for taking part.
The
Geography
and
Biology
Departments are delighted to welcome
Zoolab to Boclair Academy on Monday
15th December. Pupils will attend “hands
on” workshops where they will have the
opportunity to learn about and handle
some amazing rainforest creatures
including a snake, scorpion and giant
millipede. Pupils are currently working
on an interdisciplinary project in classes where they have been
learning about the rainforest and animal adaptations. They have produced some wonderful work
including rainforest and animal adaptation models. The visit from Zoolab experts is a fantastic
opportunity to enhance their knowledge further and highlight the connections between these two
very important subjects.
24
BOXING SUCCESS
Congratulations to Joe Gibson from 2C for
his achievements in boxing. Joe won the
Scottish
Novice
Championship
on
19th October 2014. He also won his club
competition at Renton ABC on Sunday 7th
December 2014. Joe attends training three
nights
every week totalling five hours of intensive
workouts. We look forward to hearing of his future successes in
the New Year when he enters the Western District Championships.
Several of our Boclair
staff and pupils recently
took part in Movember
2014. Throughout the
month of November,
some of our men grew
moustaches to raise
funds and awareness of
men's cancer.
Well
done to all who took
part and received a
welcome Yorkie reward
on their last day!
Congratulations to Mr McRae who was selected
to represent the Scottish Amateur International
Football team at a recent tournament in
Slovenia.
Mr McRae was outstanding
throughout the tournament and deserved to be
awarded the man of the match award in each
match. Well done Mr McRae.
25
Boclair Academy
Parental Survey
Over the last year we have made significant changes to a number of aspects of Boclair Academy.
These changes have been designed to improve attainment and achievement for pupils, improve
our transitions both into school at P7 stage and out of school towards University, College, Training
and Employment. Our success rate in the above areas has been extremely positive with the
highest attainment rate on record for the school and the best positive destination figures on record.
This has been the result of a great deal of hard work from pupils, parents and staff.
Over this time we have increased the opportunities for pupils to contribute to the direction of the
school through increased leadership positions, a newly launched and successful pupil council and
an increased number of pupil focus groups and questionnaires. We have also developed an
increasingly strong relationship with our Parent Council which has helped shape the decisions
affecting the direction of the school. We have also increased the number of evaluations at the end
of events such as parents evenings and open evenings to ensure your feedback helps us to
improve further.
The new format for our school newsletter is helping us to celebrate the success of more of our
young people and has helped us improve our communication with our parents and partners across
the wider community. We have also launched a twitter feed for the school to keep parents up to
date on a day to day basis.
We are grateful to parents for all their support, comments and observations over the last year and
we welcome further comments throughout this year. However in order for us to measure how you
feel we are supporting your child I would invite you to complete the following questionnaire. We
have used the questions Scottish Government use when Education Scotland visit schools. We
would also welcome any additional comments in the box provided at the end.
To make things easier we have created an electronic version of this questionnaire which you can
access using the following link:
http://www.boclaircomputingscience.com/boclairsurveys/index.php/693839/lang/en/newtest/Y
However, if you would prefer please complete and return the paper copy to the school office.
We would ask you to complete and return the survey by Friday 19th December 2014.
Name of parent
Relationship to pupil
Name of pupil
Registration class
/Contd...
26
Please tick one box for each question
Questions
Strongly
agree
Q1 The school helps my child to be more
confident.
Q2 My child enjoys learning at school.
Q3 My child‟s learning is progressing well.
Q4 My child is encouraged and stretched to work
to the best of their ability.
Q5 The school keeps me well informed about my
child‟s progress.
Q6 My child feels safe at school.
Q7 My child is treated fairly at school.
Q8 I feel staff really know my child as an individual
and support them well.
Q9 My child benefits from school clubs and
activities provided outside the classroom.
Q10 The school asks for my views.
Q11 The school takes my views into account.
Q12 The school is well led.
Q13 Overall, I am happy with the school.
Additional comments
27
Agree
Don’t
know
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
Curriculum for Excellence – Skills for Learning,
Life and Work
Business links through Future Mentor Programme – Boclair Academy
Over the last few years we have worked on developing our links with local employers and business
partners to offer support to pupils at times of transition, or to support the curriculum. Some of our
successful activities include our Business Challenges, our S2 Careers fair, our link with the Faculty
of Advocates and our targeted work experience.
However we are continually looking to expand our support for young people through such
partnerships and we are actively seeking support from parents and members of the local
community who have positions of responsibility in their professional lives or who have successfully
developed their own businesses. Our aim is to recruit Future Mentors from across the Boclair
community who might be able to give up some time to speak with groups of pupils from S4 – S6 at
some point throughout the year. We aim to undertake the following activities:
Business Breakfast
–
overview of the new Future Mentor Programme (January 2015).
meeting with small groups of young people (January 2015).
Business Talks
–
talks to groups of pupils on various career paths (Feb/Mar 2015)
Business Visits
–
potential workplace visits to see real life work contexts May 2015
Work experience
–
in the longer term it might be possible to develop work placements
through this scheme
The first stage of this process is to identify potential partners. We would ask interested employers /
partners to complete and return the attached to the school office. The senior member of staff with
responsibility for this project is Miss Crocket. Once we have enough expressions of interest we will
send more information regarding the next steps.
I would like to support Boclair Academy‟s Future Mentor Programme.
Name
____________________________________________________
Relationship to school
____________________________________________________
Type of employment
____________________________________________________
Name of employer/business ____________________________________________________
Email address
____________________________________________________
Contact phone number
____________________________________________________
Please return to Boclair Academy School Office by Friday 19th December.
28
I would again like to take this opportunity to remind parents not to enter the school car park when
dropping off their children in the morning or when picking them up at the end of the school day.
This is a very busy time with all our young people entering the main gates, buses dropping pupils
off and staff entering the car park. While we understand the frustration on Inveroran Drive in the
mornings and after school, we would appreciate parental support in keeping the school grounds as
safe as we possibly can at these busy times. We would also ask parents not to cover the
driveways of local residents when waiting to pick up their children.
We will continue to use text messages to advise
parents/carers of pupil absence and notification of other
important information. It is therefore vital that we have
an up to date, accurate mobile number for the main pupil
contact.
Please note however that pupil absence from school in
the morning requires a phone call response rather than
a text message response. Our school system is not designed to receive text messages and direct
contact from parents allows us to be sure of the safety of pupils. As always we appreciate your
support in this matter.
We would like to remind parents that school uniform must be
worn every day by all pupils. The school uniform consists of:
 School blazer
 White blouse/shirt
 Black jumper or cardigan
 School tie
 Black trousers/skirt
Please note that hooded tops, coloured tops, leggings and jeans are not part of the school uniform.
We will continue to work with the young people and families on this important area of school life,
and we would ask for your support in ensuring young people dress appropriately for school every
day.
Academy Uniforms currently supply blazers for the school and orders can be placed throughout the
academic year. Please log on to their website: www.academyuniforms.co.uk for further details.
We would ask parents to remind pupils that they should not drop litter in the local community. This
is a problem at lunchtime in particular, when pupils are not under the supervision of the school.
Litter created by several hundred pupils can be a problem for local residents.
29
BOCLAIR ACADEMY IS NOW ON TWITTER.
Follow @BoclairAcademy
for all the latest information and news.
There may be occasions that we would like to use
photographs of pupils on twitter to showcase the activities
and work they are involved in – please contact your
child‟s Guidance Teacher if you do not wish your child‟s
photograph to be used on twitter for school purposes.
CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2014
PLEASE
NOTE
THAT
THE
CHRISTMAS
CONCERT WILL START AT 7.00 PM ON
THURSDAY 11TH DECEMBER.
THIS TIME DIFFERS FROM THAT PROVIDED IN
THE CALENDAR OF EVENTS ISSUED IN
SEPTEMBER TO ALL PARENTS.
Finally – some dates for your diary....
DECEMBER
Mon
8
S1/S2 Christmas Dance (7.00pm-9.00pm)
Wed
10
S3/S4 Christmas Dance (7.30pm-9.30pm)
Thu
11
Christmas Concert (7.00pm–10.00pm)
w/c
15
S4 Reports issued
Tue
16
S5/S6 Christmas Dance (7.30pm-10.00pm)
Fri
19
Christmas services (am)
Fri
19
School closes (2.30 pm)
22 - 2
Christmas & New Year holiday
Mon 5th January School opens at 8.55 am
30