St. Joseph's Academy Kilmarnock Weekly Newsletter

Ben Davis, Acting Headteacher Grassyards Rd Kilmarnock KA3 7SL

ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY Weekly Newsletter

01563 526144 www.saintjosephsacademy.co.uk Twitter: @StJoAcad

INSPIRE AND TRANSFORM: NURTURING FAITH-FILLED WORLD CLASS LEARNING

ISSUE 18.3 MARCH 13TH 2015 FOR PARENTS, CARERS, FAMILIES & PARISHES

S3 pupils celebrate the life and achievements of Clarice Shaw

S3 Book Sculptures (front cover pictures)

Daniel heads to Europe (picture below)

Pupils in S3 Art & Design presented their book sculptures at the

Head Boy and S6 pupil Daniel Johnstone was a guest of the European

Dick Institute in Kilmarnock on Friday, March 6th. The sculptures

Parliament in Strasbourg as part of the Euroscola programme.

had been created in response to a challenge from local MP Cathy

Euroscola is a unique event for schools to learn about European

Jamieson to recognise and celebrate the life and achievements of

integration by experiencing it first hand. Students from the 28 EU

Clarice Shaw on International Women’s Day. Clarice Shaw was

Member States are selected to become a Member of the European

Ayrshire’s first Labour Member of Parliament. Schools across

Parliament for one day at the Parliament's premises in Strasbourg. They

East Ayrshire were challenged to encapsulate her life, times and

take the floor in plenary and committee sessions to debate and vote on

experiences, as well as her principles, in these book sculptures. The

resolutions on current affairs, all the while practising their language skills

task has now become part of the Art & Design curriculum at St.

and making friends with fellow students from across Europe. You will be

Joseph’s. The sculptures are on display in the Library.

able to read about Daniel’s experiences in the next issue of redblack.

International Women’s Day Two S5 puils, Laurie Rowan and Toni Barr, met with Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council Fiona Lees to mark International Women’s Day. The girls were able to discuss a number of matters with Mrs. Lees and ask her questions about her career.

We also marked this important international day with special prayers in Home Room and an Assembly for S1 that focused on the development of women’s rights and equality in developing countries and looked at issues such as health and education. The assembly saw a number of pupils participating as performers and information givers.

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Author Visit

Art & Music Sunday School (pictures below)

Last week we welcomed author of The Wall, William Sutcliffe to the

No, this wasn’t a throwback to another time in educational history. Last

school to speak to pupils in S1 - S3. As ever the pupils were

Sunday saw over 20 pupils in Art and Music, along with Miss Woodward

fascinated to hear about the achievement and work process of this

and Mr. Cowan, give up several hours to work on their folio pieces,

acclaimed writer who has been nominated for a Scottish Children’s

portfolios and instrumental pieces for the forthcoming SQA exams.

Book Award and the Carnegie Award.

P7s Visit (picture below right) Primary 7 pupils from St. Andrew’s Primary visited our Science department as part of their transition programme. They learnt about health and safety in the lab and then undertook loads of exciting experiments that cleaned coins and saw the colour of chemicals change . (pictures below)

World Book Day (picture on previous page) Hundreds of pupils packed into the Library last week for the now traditional tea party for World Book day. The theme was Willie Wonka and the centrepiece of the event was a massive cake baked and decorated by Miss Woodward . The cake was raffled for charity and won by Matthew Cameron. More photos about the day to come.

S3 No Smoking Assembly (picture left) We held our annual No Smoking Assembly for S3 this week. This was led by Mrs. Shearer and got the pupils thinking about the myths and facts of smoking. We have seen a reduction in the number of pupils who smoke and hope that this hard-hitting assembly made an impact on the

POSITIVE ASPECTS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Three appointments one after the other – very good Very good appointment schedule Not as busy as evenings, much better Quieter than some other parents’ nights, less stressful Being better informed of progress or lack of progress Everything has been punctual (x5) Got seen at appointed time, teachers knew child well, pupils were pleasant Pupils looked smart Went very well (x2) Well organised (as always!)

Really good night Well attended No queues Teachers know pupils well as detailed feedback was given Very helpful Well organised with map of where teachers were was useful Genuine interest shown by each teacher on pupil – was good to know that child is genuinely cared about and teachers are invested All info was good, progress feedback was appreciated as we don’t often get to hear directly from teachers as reports can be generic and not very thought out Very quick, teacher was to the point yet gave good advice The teacher was very informative, a lot more detailed than written reports Plenty of time in appointment to discuss child, was detailed, seems like teacher is attentive Good feedback, pleasant teachers, positive attitude towards pupils’ learning Punctual appointments, space for an appointment with everyone of child’s teachers All appointments were on time, spent long enough with me Very quick, everyone was available Very informative, appreciated honesty of teachers The teacher was very detailed on what my child could do to improve Really appreciate teachers’ time, seemed genuinely interested in giving constructive feedback on how to help progression/improvement

1. Longer appointment times would be helpful to talk through all my child’s needs Unfortunately we are limited to 5 minutes per appointment, but longer meetings can be arranged.

2. First appointment missed by teacher, could be more punctual Our apologies for this - it is unusual, but should not have occurred.

3. There could be a clock in the hall so that parents and teachers are running at the same time More seats in hall We will attempt to address these issues.

4. Teachers need to keep their time schedules, teachers can take 15mins per appointments Teachers need to keep to appointments, one teacher spent 15mins with the parent before me Over-running is not desirable and teachers are reminded to stick to 5 minutes (please see our first answer above) 5. Stop facing parents towards the soundproof wall – it makes me dizzy when focusing on teacher!

The hall layout is the best for the event. If this makes you dizzy please let us know in advance and we will accommodate this.

6. Clearer departmental signs, difficult to see on side of desks We agree and will try to improve this.

7. Would be handy if there was a clock or if someone could ring a bell every 5mins so that people will change places on time We feel a bell would be intrusive, but will include a clock in future.

8. People who miss their appointment should not be allowed to slot in 2mins before someone else This should not happen - our apologies for this.

9. Earlier start time not great for working parents The start time has seen an increase in overall attendance at these nights. If it is inconvenient we can make separate arrangements.

10. No improvement needed (x22) S5/6 Parents’ Evening Feedback (school response in italics) Here are the comments from parents and carers as gathered by the Parent Council. The attendance was 50%.

IMPORTANT DATES…………………………………………………

March 18th Vigil Mass for the Feast of St.

March 14th Premiership Trip

Joseph, 7 pm (at St. Matthew’s)

March 17th Scottish Youth Parliament elections

March 19th Feast of St. Joseph

March 17th Sir Tom Hunter Challenge workshop

March 19th East Ayrshire Gala Concert March 24th S2 Enspire Day

WEEKLY HOME ROOM REFLECTION: St. John Ogilvie’s 400th Anniversary John Ogilvie, born in Keith, was ordained a Jesuit priest at a time when Catholicism was outlawed in Scotland. He risked his personal safety on many occasions when he tried to support fellow Catholics whose practice of their faith was forbidden. In 1615 he was betrayed, arrested, tortured and executed at Glasgow Cross. Revered in Europe for centuries as a martyr, John Ogilvie was canonised in 1976, becoming Scotland's first saint since Queen Margaret in 1250. This week we celebrate the 400th anniversary of his martyrdom. This is especially important at a time when Christians across the world are experiencing persecution and when the word ‘martyr’ has been adopted by those who do not act out of love, hope and and in the interests of peace. For these reasons, and others, it has become harder for us to understand and identify with someone sacrificing their life for their faith. In fact, it is easy to dismiss it or mock such individuals. However, the courage of people such as John Ogilvie allowed Catholics to continue to worship, albeit in secret. His refusal to allow faith to become a source of prejudice and his resilience in face of great torture show the power and example of someone living their life guided by love and facing death without fear. Today’s world places many obstacles between us and the things that really matter. We are easily distracted by material gain or the pursuit of pleasure, but the life of John Ogilvie and others like him, reminds of us of the power of living a life of Gospel values. Let us pray: We ask that we are inspired by the example of St. John Ogilvie to live lives of courage, faith and love, even in the face of intolerance and injustice. Amen.

PARISH MASS TIMES St. Matthew’s: 9.30 am, Fr. Chambers St. Joseph’s: 6.00 pm (vigil), 11.00 am Fr. Latham St. Francis Xavier, Patna: 5.00 pm (vigil) St. John the Evangelist: 10.45 am, Fr. McGrattan Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 9.30 am, Fr. McGhee St. Michael’s: 4.30 pm (vigil) St. Paul’s: 11.30 am, Fr. Chambers Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. McGrattan St. Sophia’s: 6.00 pm (vigil) Fr. Chambers St. Thomas the Apostle: 9.00 am, Fr. McGrattan