redblack Issue 2

redblack// THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY, KILMARNOCK ISSUE 2// SPRING 2014

learnin

what is

in this issue// What is learning? Reflections from a school community Is Vinyl Dead?

Fiction, book and film reviews Recreating Sherlock Holmes’ flat Learning about mental health The future of music education Caritas: learning through love Sexism in football Growing up with autism and much more/

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REVISION IN A NUTSHELL: REVISION SUPPORT MATERIALS FOR NEW NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS The National Parent Forum of Scotland (NPFS) has prepared a series of revision support materials for learners who are about to sit the new National 5 Qualifications.

Pointers for Parents and Pupils: pointersforparents These Revision in a Nutshell subject guides supplement learning and revision in class. They are organised alphabetically, by subject, covering 20 of the most popular subjects which have exams and for which the SQA has provided relevant past paper questions. Please check with your teacher to ensure that the guides are relevant to you. The SQA Specimen Paper and the marking instructions are the most important documents to look at – the BBC Bitesize guides are also really helpful and provide different revision materials. Good luck! Feedback on these is very welcome.

View the SQA National 5 Specimen Papers for every subject with an exam here http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/ 69284.html BBC Bitesize revision resources are available in most National 5 subjects here http://www.bbc.co.uk/ education/levels/z6gw2hv PDFs: Biology: N5 Business Management: N5 Chemistry: N5 Drama: N5 Computing Science: N5 Design & Manufacture: N5 Engineering Science: N5 French: N5 Geography: N5 German: N5 Graphic Communication: N5 Health & Food Technology: N5 History: N5 Mathematics: N5 Modern Studies: N5 Physics: N5 Religious, Moral & Philosophical Studies: N5 Spanish: N5

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To assist teachers and parents wishing to print these revision guides for handouts and readable links, we have created versions with embedded and displayed tinyurl links: nutshells_revision_N5_biology_PF nutshells_revision_N5_businessmanagement_PF nutshells_revision_N5_chemistry_PF nutshells_revision_N5_computerscience_PF nutshells_revision_N5_design&manufacture_PF nutshells_revision_N5_drama_PF nutshells_revision_N5_engineeringscience_PF nutshells_revision_N5_french_PF nutshells_revision_N5_german_PF nutshells_revision_N5_geography_PF nutshells_revision_N5_graphiccommunication_PF nutshells_revision_N5_health&foodtechnology_PF nutshells_revision_N5_history_PF nutshells_revision_N5_mathematic_PF nutshells_revision_N5_modernstudies_PF nutshells_revision_N5_physics_PF nutshells_revision_N5_RMPS_PF nutshells_revision_N5_spanish_PF

contents//

Images Cover: Ariadna Sanchis p 35: Courtney Murdoch p 55: Lewis Mackenzie p 58: Aidan Julyan

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What is learning? (and other questions)

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So far this year...

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Introductions

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News Round-up

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Abbie’s Road: getting into engineering

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Ecuador

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East Ayrshire Community Plan: get involved

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LifeSchool 360 & Enterprise

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Elementary, my dear Lucy by Lucy Williamson, S3

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S3 IDL

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Going Swimmingly by Sarah Iles

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Musical Futures, by Mr. Whyte

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Caritas: learning through love by Megan Clannachan

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Personal development: SWOT-ing up by Bethany Hayes

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Capital Letter, the S4 London trip

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Is Vinyl Dead? by Matthew Cowan

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Fiction: Blackbird by Olivia Gater

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Not Playing Fair: sexism in football by Toni Barr

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Fiction: The King Commands by Matthew Pieroni

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Fiction: Blackbird on My Shoulder by Laurie Rowan

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Fiction: Into the Darkness by Caitlin Doogan

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Killie ‘Til I Die by John Morgan

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Book Review: Ghost Game by Kian Woods

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On The Field: sports and PE news

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Learning Community News

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What is learning? Some thoughts

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Learning from a Hard Knock Life

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Learning about young people’s mental health

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Me, my brother and autism by Bethany Dick

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Parent Poetry on Learning

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The Value of Debate

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Fantasy Football

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This session we have deployed over 80 i-pads across the school to enhance learning and teaching. So we asked pupils: what difference does using a mobile technology make to your learning?

The i-pads are really easy to use and speed up the research process and make the lesson fun.

Gabrielle, S1

It makes our school more modern and hi-tech. It makes subjects more fun... It始s a good way to learn instead of just copying things off a board.

what is learning? how do you know you are learning? how can we improve learning?

Abbie, S1

People pay more attention because they can do stuff themselves and you don始t need to be at a computer.

It also gives kids a chance to use an i-pad if they don始t have access to one at home.

Kerri, S1 I have learned to be more efficient and organised.

Megan, S1

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what do you wish you had learnt sooner? what is the value of interdisciplinary learning?

It is having more knowledge as the day goes on and getting more confident in doing presentations, speaking out and helping others.

Help to find out what my skills are and what I am good at. Helps to improve the quality of life.

Natalie, S4

Finding out things you didn始t know before and by concentrating and focusing more you know you are learning. You are more confident in your work.

Kerri, S1 Angel, S1 When I can use things that I have learnt in school outwith school.

Elizabeth, S1

When you start to properly understand things and you can answer questions better and you get quicker at doing things.

When you can use the information you have learned in school in situations out of school.

Lucy, S1

Kerri, S1

By making lessons more interactive and active and doing more activities instead of copying from books.

Megan, S1

That some things take time but in the end good things come from them.

There could be a voting system at the end of every class to say if you think the teacher has done a good job ... if the majority say 驶yes始 then that teacher could have a pay rise. This will encourage the teacher to do a better job. Owen, S1

We can have interactive learning and we could have fun in classes whilst we are learning so that we will remember more easily.

Why your head explodes when you go into space.

To listen to good advice.

Ebony, S1

Natalie, S4 Jai, S1

Kerri, S1

I find it original and a creative subject that no other school has, which also makes our school so individual. And also I really like my teacher who takes the subject.

05 Abbie, S1

LS360 is really good because you learn interesting things and because you始re not just sitting with a pencil writing all the time.

Kacey, S1

It shows us the real problems in life and what we might do to help.

Lucy, S1

so far this year// The last three months at St. Joseph’s in list form. Look at everything we’ve been up to. And there’s more...

Since our last issue just some of the experiences pupils have had include: 32 trips involving 696 participants// S3 SPICE Event// S2 No Knives, Better Lives morning// St. Joseph’s Day// STV Debating Matters success// Braehead Foods cookery workshop// S4 – S6 Voter Registration events// Pi Day// World Book Day// BOCSH Conference// Education Scotland Conference (Outdoor Learning)// SportScotland Conference// Primary Engineer// Primary visits// Baccalaureate progress// P7 Book Group// S1 Personalisation and Choice// Author visits// Spanish Project in S2// New Farm Loch Community Council// Safer Internet Day// Scottish Parliament visits// SCIAF and Ecuador fundraising: street busking// Sporting success// Outward Bound canoeing// Reckless Driving// London trip// Visit to the Scottish Parliament// Ramp Up the Red// S3 Options Evening// House Assemblies// Mountain Bike Club// Word Wizard French Spelling Bee// Visit to Ayrshire College to question Scottish Ministers and Cabinet Secretary// Outward Bound trips// Microtyco// Junior Saltire Awards// Interaction 2 project// Samaritans// S3 IDL & Enspire 2// Prelims (S4 – S6)// Christmas Concert// Christmas Panto// Visit to Citizen’s Theatre// Staff lunch cooked by S5/6 Hospitality class// End of term Ceilidh// Football success// Rich Man, Poor Man lunch// Young Composers’ Workshop// Bake-Off// Leg-waxing// Cake-decorating competition// Supporting the work of the SSPCA// Whitelee Windfarm Visit// Higher Spanish Tapas visit// It’s A Wonderful Life// Don Bosco Youth Event// Garven Court partnership// Bake Sales// Fruit Kebabs// Baton bearers// Dean Castle trip// SQA Masses// and much more besides and much more to come…

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introductions// Three ‘welcomes’ for price of one: from parents, teachers and pupils.

A warm welcome from the Parent Council once again to redblack.

Following on from a successful term last session, we wanted to let you know what we have been up to and what is on our agenda for the coming months.

We have recently donated funds to the school to purchase lockers for our senior pupils. A much needed addition and sincerely welcomed by pupils, these lockers have been partly funded by the money raised from our Christmas raffle as well as our Home Room coin challenge. So huge thanks to all parents, carers, pupils and staff for their generosity and goodwill. We are always looking for new fundraising ideas so if you are able to help, please get in touch.

As you know, the Parent Council has been actively seeking your views and opinions (luring you to our stand with tea and biscuits) on positive aspects of parentsʼ evenings as well as suggestions for improving these events. Our thanks to all who have contributed as we have had a fabulous response with interesting comments and some invaluable ideas. We have passed these on to a very delighted Mr Davis and SMT (they really do thrive on feedback!) and some of their responses can be viewed in the schoolʼs weekly newsletters.

Others we will be discussing at our monthly meetings and we hope to further expand our discussions with you, the Parent Forum – more info to follow.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a South of Scotland conference, hosted right here in St. Josephʼs which focused on learning and support for our youngsters. With over one hundred delegates attending from schools across the country, I can confidently report back that our school is most definitely ʻup thereʼ with the best of them regarding progression and aspiration for positive change.

In addition, this past week or so has seen PC members attending P7 parentsʼ evenings at our learning community primaries, where we have met with some of the prospective S1 pupils and their families. A great opportunity to chat with parents/carers and answer questions from a parentʼs perspective. We have also teamed up with Ayrshire School Wear and are running a raffle which offers the chance to win a brand new St. Josephʼs blazer for £1.

As ever, we are keen to hear from you with regards any aspect of school life.

We are fortunate to have a Senior Management Team who values our opinions and actively seeks our view point, therefore it would be such a shame to disappoint! Chat to us in school or drop us an email at stjosephsacademyparentcouncil@hotmail.co.uk We hope you all have a very happy Easter holiday and would love to hear from you in the new term. Furthermore, I am sure you will join us in wishing all our pupils the very best of luck in their forthcoming exams. Thank you for your continued support.

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Noreen Dunnachie, Chair, Parent Council

introductions// Three ‘welcomes’ for price of one: from parents, teachers and pupils.

We would like to introduce you to this termʼs newsletter by starting with the following quotation by Herbert Spencer: “The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action.”

The theme of this newsletter is learning. During the course of the year and certainly, our six years at St. Josephʼs Academy, we ourselves along with other pupils have taken part in our education.

Our school is one which encourages pupils to get involved.

This is evident through the success of the schoolʼs debating team, the Ecuador group, the eco group, the yearbook committee, the prom committee, the drama club and the countless clubs run by the PE Department.

The final year of our school life is quickly coming to an end and, looking back, it is clear that St. Josephʼs has always been a place of active learning.

We hope you notice the current successes in learning throughout this newsletter and reflect upon the past successes. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our school for maintaining the equal ratio of active learning and passive learning to suit our educational needs and we encourage pupils to get involved in areas around the school.

Blair Welsh, Head Boy Natalie Wallace, Head Girl

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introductions// What is learning? That is the question around which this issue of redblack is based. It happens all around us everyday and there are few places more conscious of the processes and experiences of learning than a school.

Despite this it is a very difficult thing to define, especially when you ask the next question we chose: how do you know you are learning? I am sure you will find the responses to these questions and others from pupils, parents and friends of the school to be insightful and interesting. It may even prompt in you the reflection that our contributors have undertaken to create their pieces for this issue.

The main reason we wanted to explore the above question was because we felt that this magazine would be an ideal way to provide an answer by showcasing the learning that goes on in the school. Curriculum for Excellence identifies four contexts for learning: curricular areas, ethos, outdoor learning and interdisciplinary learning. All are represented in this issue. We also have contributions from staff discussing what they have learnt about mental health and music education; from a former pupil and a prominent educational thinker; from local clergy; and from young people in our learning community primary schools. Together they give a flavour of the sheer range of learning we experience.

In compiling this edition we have placed a particular emphasis on publishing learning by pupils in S4; the first year to sit the new national qualifications. We have also sought to find pieces by pupils that are challenging or that explore the most uncomfortable, but profound, learning of all: selfdiscovery. It is pleasing too to see an essay on learning about faith through the Caritas Award.

Many who read this issue will learn about our very special, vibrant and loving school community. So, with that in mind, please see this magazine as a celebration of the diverse work of a creative Catholic school. Our values run through this magazine and can be seen in the achievements of our young people, made possible by hardworking and dedicated staff.

This has been an especially demanding term, particularly with the new exams, and the staff have worked tirelessly to ensure pupils achieve their very best. For that they deserve great thanks and a holiday.

I hope you enjoy this publication and wish you a peaceful and Holy Easter.

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Ben Davis, Acting Headteacher

news round-up// A summary of the main happenings, achievements and events from the past week or so. Some of these will feature in more detail in the next weekly newsletter

Garven Court Partnership The Higher Personal Development class have been working on a number of community partnerships including one with Garven Court Nursing Home. The residents visited us for lunch on Wednesday and even dressed up in full school uniform whilst here. The pupils served up an excellent meal and a good time was had by all.

mysterious heads in boxes. The trip was organised by Mrs. McDowall.

SQA Masses We held our exam Masses this week dedicated to all those who will be sitting examinations as of April 29th. Father Martin Chambers gave very generously of his time to say these Masses which were greatly enhanced by pupils leading the liturgy. The S4 cohort are pictured below.

Bake Sales and Fruit Kebabs for Ecuador Gymnastics Success Another week, another bake sale! The Ecuador group have been holding monthly bake sales which this week was complemented with the sale of tempting fruit kebabs in the street at morning interval and lunch time.

Two of our pupils have been selected to represent Scotland in the gymnastics squad in May. Please support and congratulate Kacey Raymond (S1) and India Anderson (S2).

Commonwealth Games Batonbearers

Daniel runs for charity

We are delighted to announce that two of our pupils have been selected to be Commonwealth Games Queen’s Relay Batonbearers this summer.

S1 pupil Daniel Mulhern is to be complimented on his excellent efforts for charity. To raise funds for Sport Relief he completed a 15K run in the excellent time of one hour and 45 minutes.

They are Scott Dipiazza (S3) and Dannielle McCloskey (S5). There will be more to follow on this as we become more aware of the arrangements.

Dean Castle visit A group of S1 pupils visited Dean Castle Park on Thursday of this week and returned with tales of

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Top accounting firm A representative from Ernst and Young visited us this week to speak to S5 pupils about the excellent opportunities on offer at their summer school. A number of pupils are now considering applying for this.

abbie’s road// S6 pupil Abbie Robb is undertaking Advanced Higher and Higher courses in a combination that allow her to study for a Scottish Baccalaureate in Science. Part of this course involves her producing an interdisciplinary project. For her this project focused on engineering and the learning experiences of those who opt for a career in this field.

My project ʻThe Benefits of Educating an Engineering Workforceʼ was designed to provoke thought in pupils in the younger years about their future careers. I did this through the example of my preferred industry – engineering.

I interviewed several students working with firms such as BAE systems, Spirit Engineering and Adelphi who have been through college, university or who got into the business through an apprenticeship to gather opinions about how they feel they have done using these skills developed through the use of these programmes.

To contrast with this, I also interviewed employees who went into Engineering with little or no qualifications. With unanimous feedback it was clear that the students entering this firm felt much more comfortable and successful in this working environment opposed to that of the employees who

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werenʼt as rich in their previous knowledge of engineering.

The entire point surrounding my project was to promote that the time is now to make decisions about our later lives. The time is now to choose.

And there is no better time than now for girls – or students in general – to get into the likes of Engineering, as figures show that the number of recruits going into Engineering must double to meet the demands. There is no greater time for us, considering the economic disasters that have happened. So if we all knew exactly what jobs desired of us, we could make much better lifestyles for ourselves than ever imaginable.

The only way to make better lives for ourselves is to have secure job prospects and to study to attain grades that might allow us to successfully hold down these placements in our desired fields of work.

ecuador// The Ecuador group continues to grow and develop. Here, Miss McDaid, provides an update on how our learning is shaping our charity work and our partnership with Sagrada Familia de Nazareth, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Pictured is the S1 Ecuador elective class.

Itʼs a busy time of year for the Ecuador Group!

With many new members from S3 and S4, our time is occupied with fund raising, as ever! On the last Friday of every month, we are holding a bake sale.

Our S3-S6 pupils are very good bakers, with some fantastic creations on sale on the Street at break time. This week our bake sale will be on Thursday as it is end of term on Friday.

Furthermore, on Friday 25th April at 4pm, we are doing another sponsored walk from Whitelees Wind Farm down to St Matthewʼs Church Hall. It was such a success last year that we couldnʼt resist! Many of our members will be raising money for the Ecuador fund, as well as several Caritas pupils raising money for SCIAF. We are always looking for participants, please let us know if you would like to attend!

Thirdly, on Friday 16th May at 7pm, we are holding our annual Race Night in St Matthewʼs Church Hall. At the moment we are looking to have races

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sponsored at £50 per race, to sell horses at £5 per horse and tickets to attend are £5. A buffet will be provided, courtesy of our Ecuador group and their families, and a great night is sure to be had by all.

Last week two of our Ecuador trip veterans, Jade Connell and Heather OʼRourke attended the Loch Farm Community Council meeting. They spoke very well and informed the council of their trip to Ecuador, including the highlights, heart breaking moments, and what we can do to help.

In addition, on Monday evening, Head Boy Blair Welsh and Shannon McGuire attended the Parent Council meeting where they were warmly welcomed and also highlighted the important facts of their trip to Ecuador.

On April 19th, Morgan McKenna (S5), who went to Ecuador in October, will be undertaking a skydive to raise funds in support of the Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust. You can support her online at http://www.justgiving.com/Morgan-Mckenna

Community Plan Review 2014/15 – Help to build a better East Ayrshire.

East Ayrshire Community Plan is the overarching, high level plan for East Ayrshire. It identifies local problems and opportunities, sets out an achievable and long term vision for the future and contains a plan of action to achieve this vision, which is delivered by all Community Planning Partners.

As our Community Plan nears the end of its lifespan in 2015, we need to undertake a comprehensive review to make sure that we put a new Plan in place that will make a difference to those who live and work in East Ayrshire. You can help us to use the Community Plan to build a better East Ayrshire by telling us what is important to you and your community by completing the online Survey, available at: www.eac.eu/ communityplan14.

Alternatively, you can pick up a paper copy of the survey at your local office or library, or from Vibrant Communities Community Work Staff. Staff will be happy to return your completed document to us or it can be posted to the Policy, Planning and Performance Division, East Ayrshire Council Headquarters, London Road, Kilmarnock KA3 7BU. We look forward to hearing your views. The closing date for returns is 30 April 2014.

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These pictures provide an insight into an LS360 assessment project by Lauren Thomson (S1).

Having investigated child labour and sweat shops she opted to demonstrate her understanding and deliver a powerful message by creating this installation.

Inside the seemingly innocuous box is a miniaturised sweat shop peopled with toy people and containing knitted items created by Lauren and her Gran. Projects like this show the power and importance of interdisciplinary learning.

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enterprise & LS360// Pupils enjoy excellent learning experiences through enterprise across the curriculum and through interdisciplinary learning in LifeSchool 360. Here, Mr. Ritson, summarises the highlights.

S1 LS 360 classes are on the home straight this week as they complete their “Global Village Dares”.

The pupils were set a challenge to create a Big Question based on any topic they had covered in Global Village over the past eight weeks. This Big Question was then used as the basis for their personal project. The personal project topics range from Child soldiers, child labour and digital storytelling to global market trading. Watch out for examples of the work appearing on the school website.

S2 LS360 classes have all been working on Health Campaigns, which aim to raise awareness across the school on issues such as skin cancer, smoking, obesity, healthy eating and mental health. The campaigns will be posted on the school website.

Mr Ritsonʼs S3 Enterprise IDL class have been drumming up business by preparing and selling crepes during two lunchtimes. Their pop-up kitchen and catchy tag line, “Has pancake day creped up on you” drew in scores of hungry pupils over a short period of time. They made a healthy profit of £80.56. The group plan to use this profit in order to part fund “Enspire 2 – The next chapter” in June of this year. The pupils not only made cold hard cash but also learned valuable lessons in marketing, advertising, sales and product development.

Downhill MBC are continuing their planning for a mountain bike track within the school grounds.

They hope to have meetings with the relevant departments soon to discuss the next steps. In the mean time they are planning some fundraising events and organising an inter-school mountain bike competition.

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On Wednesday the 3rd of April, senior pupils from Higher Personal Development organised and hosted an event for a group of nine residents from Garven Court Nursing Home in Kilmarnock.

They took the aptly dressed group through a modern Interdisciplinary classroom lesson, before cooking them a hearty lunch. The visit was a showcase for the Intergenerational project which has been ongoing throughout the year. The project gave the pupils the chance to visit Garven Court day centre, for two hours per week. They worked with the group on arts & craft making skills and swapped stories past and present.

You may remember Marc Cope, who was in one of our recent newsletters for reaching the Springboard Future Chef 2014 final in Glasgow. Marc has raised the bar yet again and successfully secured himself employment with Cordia, Scotland's largest provider of facilities management and home care services. Marc will be creating culinary delights for the Athleteʼs Village during the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Well done Marc and see if you can get us some free tickets!!

This month twelve senior pupils were part of the Braehead Foods Road Show. They were mentored by Braehead Foods & Cook School executive chef, Joe Queen. Joe taught the pupils how to prepare a whole chicken, knife skills and about no waste cooking. They then prepared and cooked two fantastic courses throughout the day.

The first dish was a beautiful butter chicken curry, and the second a mouth-watering chocolate fondant. St Josephʼs Academy is indeed fortunate to benefit from the continued support of Braehead Foods and The Cook School Scotland.

sherlock-isbored.tumblr.com Comments from Tumblr on Lucyʼs project: “Wow, impressive!”

“The mirror is perfect”.

“I wish I had the time and the patience to do this”.

“This is adorable”.

“This is the coolest thing ever”.

“This looks so amazing”.

“The cardboard house is very beautiful”.

“Congratulations on your project. Itʼs amazing and wonderful. I really love it.”

“It looks really interesting”.

“What an awesome project!”

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Sheʼs also had re-blogs from around Britain, America, Germany, Finland, Australia and Canada and the project has attracted 3.071 notes and a further 138 followers.

elementary, my dear Lucy

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S3 pupil Lucy Williamson writes about her S3 interdisciplinary project and the impact it has had on her. Pictures on facing page.

This year a new class was introduced to S3 - IDL (Interdisciplinary Learning). The idea of this class is to create your own project on whatever topic you may choose, so immediately I jumped at my chance to do something on Sherlock Holmes. I thought about the things I could do with such a large topic – with ideas such as writing an essay, creating a poster or making a power point. Instead, I thought that I should do something a little bit different. I decided I was going to challenge myself by building a model of Sherlock Holmesʼ and John Watsonʼs flat ʻ221B Baker Streetʼ.

I started my project by gathering information about Sherlock Holmes for a short writing piece to go along with the model. I bought the collection of books, researched it on the internet and I asked people their opinions of the show. I went onto my blog (on the website Tumblr), where fans answered some questions about different aspects of the show, so that I could find some contrasting opinions to base the writing on. I also wanted to find a way to display my progress throughout the last few months, so for every change or addition Iʼve made to the model, I have taken a picture and started to put together a short video of the process.

A way that I have been getting my project noticed is through my twitter and Tumblr accounts. Iʼve tweeted BBC One, Mark Gatiss (Actor and writer), Amanda Abbington (Actress) and Arwel Wyn Jones (Production Designer) the link to a blog post that I put up, asking for their opinions on the model. So far, Amanda Abbington (who plays Mary Morstan) has replied to say that she cannot wait to see the finished product. Iʼm hoping for replies from BBC One and Mark Gatiss in particular, but even having

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a cast member see what I have achieved is absolutely amazing. The post itself has reached over 2,500 notes through either ʻreblogsʼ or ʻlikesʼ and that number is still going up!

The project was constructed over a period of 6 months and is made entirely out of cardboard, paint, double-sided tape and a love for a TV show that has enriched my experience of British television. I am quite sad that the model is nearly complete, but a few small additions are still to be made. Iʼve got two chairs to construct and maybe a couple of bookshelves, if space allows. Iʼm hoping that once the project is finished, the BBC might (eventually) reply to my tweet, and hopefully Amanda Abbington will respond again.

I feel as though Iʼve learnt quite a lot from IDL. I have developed my ability to work independently and it has been great fun to watch the project grow.

It isnʼt often in school that you get the opportunity to create a piece of work on anything you like, and being able to choose something that youʼre passionate about is a great chance to do something exciting and new. Instead of finding a long project a task, it has been something Iʼve been willing to give up free time for, and put in as much effort as possible to achieve what I have. The making of this project has challenged my problem solving skills, especially when the slightest measurements got mixed up or when two supposedly identical objects were actually two different sizes. It has also made me think about the ways in which I can improve every piece of work I do and expand my learning to accommodate new styles of work. IDL has been a fantastic experience and I feel that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy making something that they love their own work.

S3 IDL// This year we introduced an period of interdisciplinary learning for every pupil in S3. This saw them bringing together at least two subject areas and applying their knowledge and skills in new contexts. The results from many pupils have been very impressive. Pictured is Mrs. McDaid being coached by Blair and Jack in the IDL class.

For our IDL project we wanted to do something sports-related and we decided to research, learn and try to experience the differences between Scottish football and Spanish football, write Scott Dipiazza and Blair Gallagher.

At first, we had thought of creating video montages and posters/presentations, however the chance to teach a primary class came up, so we took the opportunity.

We had previously been researching Spanish football drills and videos of them and put them into use. As well as that, we used our own knowledge of Scottish football training. After one or two 40-50 minute lessons it was clear to see they found the Scottish drills more complex and harder to cope with, they didnʼt seem to get the concept of the Spanish drills.

We didnʼt make the P7 pupils do drills that were too hard. The only conclusion we could come to terms with was that Spaniards must be more

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dedicated, focused and trained to physically be able to do more.

The experience was great and the chance to teach the St. Andrewʼs P7 team was also great because it was because of how well we had done with the P4s.

We are very much glad we chose to teach rather than do montages, posters, presentations etc. It was a much better experience than being in a classroom writing for 50 minutes.

In April and May the S3 IDL pupils will be completing their projects and undertaking a final write-up reflecting on their learning and, in particular, their progress in the schoolʼs 10 skills and eight values.

Part of this process will be an exhibition of the pupilʼs learning to which parents and carers will be invited. The IDL project also makes a significant contribution towards each pupilʼs Diploma of Achievement.

going swimmingly// We’re interested in pupils’ achievements and interests outside school and their impact on learning. Sarah Iles (S5) writes here about her experiences as a dedicated and competitive swimmer.

For years now swimming has not just been a sport for me; it has been an escape from the hustle and bustle of my daily life. At swimming, everything else becomes background noise and the pool is the only thing that exists. Exam stress or the usual teenage stresses simply melt away the second I enter the pool. Swimming – and being a member of the Kilmarnock Amateur Swimming Club (KASC) has simply transformed the way I live my life.

Friendships are different at swimming than they are at school. A lot of the self-consciousness tends to disappear and the cliques you normally find yourself shunted into at school are practically nonexistent. My swimming friends are almost polar opposites of my school friends. We are a rag-tag bunch of girls from varying social groups and interests who found camaraderie and solidarity in the murky waters of the Galleon.

Our friendship came around from simply being stuck in a lane together six hours a week, but soon blossomed into one of the strongest – and strangest – bonds I have ever seen. Swimming introduced me to these fantastic girls that I would never have met otherwise and for that I am eternally grateful.

My coach, however, may not be eternally grateful, as occasionally, more laughing is done than actual swimming. The coaches in my club seem to have endless streams of patience. They have put up with my inability to do breaststroke and my down right refusal to do backwards turns (I cannot seem to do them without getting water up my nose. It is an experience I try to avoid.). The coaches are

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surprisingly sympathetic and understanding when exams or Highers keep swimmers away. They do, understandably, demand your best effort if you do turn up, regularly telling us if we canʼt finish the session, donʼt get in the pool. This drive for perfection has pushed me to demand it in other areas of my life and has encouraged me to really knuckle down and study for exams – to try and do my best inside and outside the pool.

One of the best experiences with the swimming club was definitely the week-long swim camp we attended in Mallorca in the October holidays of last year. We trained in an Olympic sized pool (50 metres) at one of the best facilities in the world (at which many Olympians have trained) for four hours a day plus a two hour land session, which, contrary to popular belief, does not mean you are swimming on land. It wasnʼt all work and no play however (though I donʼt know if the sessions can really be called work…). We did go on a couple of trips: one to a shopping centre and another to a fantastic little island that had a small, cute beach which was the site of many water fights.

Being a member of KASC has had a massive impact on my life. It has introduced me to people I cannot imagine my life without, given me a better work ethic and a stronger determination to try my best – with the added benefits to my health.

I honestly cannot imagine what my life would be like without swimming and I desperately hope that I can continue to train when I make the move to university.

I believe the Musical Futures approach has laid foundations for curiosity-led learning... here in St. Joseph's the creative flood-gates have been opened

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musical futures// Staff learning at St. Joseph’s is as important as pupils’. Mr. Whyte in the Music Department has been learning about a new way of engaging young people in Music education.

Did you ever get to work with your friends on the music you are interested in during music lessons?

Over the last three months St Josephʼs Music Department has adopted a new curiosity based approach to music teaching via the Musical Futures Initiative. Specifically this has involved S3 composition and performance classes but for this article I wish to focus on the methods and impact on the two compositional classes which Iʼm currently teaching.

Musical Futures is a new movement in music education designed by teachers for teachers. It aims to bring non-formal teaching and informal learning approaches into the classroom with the purpose of promoting, supporting, and developing innovative high quality teaching and learning.

In this new Musical Futures approach students were first of all engaged by forming bands with their friends. They were then told that they would be given use of practice rooms and that mobile phones and tablets etc would be allowed for research and listening. Behaviour expectations and school rules were firmly reinforced before students were then set the task: "Create your own song as a group or solo artist which can be recorded to CD". The time frame was 8 lessons and students were given support through coaching rather than direct instruction.

With a clear difference from the traditional highly structured teacher lead approach I initially felt very

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concerned. How would they respond to a high level of independence? Would I be able to manage each student doing a different style of composition?

These fears were proven to be unfounded and the level of creativity and self expression that came forward has been inspirational. At the time of writing, one student has written two songs as a solo artist and recorded them to CD. Another pair have created their own moving tribute to a lost friend.

Large groups of students took the project home with them or worked on it during homeroom and returned with an A4 lined page of lyrics covering the full spectrum of human emotion. These students then found a guitar player to perform them with. Another student created a chord sequence to her own song at home and performed it to the class. Another group of students took it upon themselves to bring in their own technology including a macbook just so they could continue working on it after class and at home. These examples are merely the tip of the iceberg.

In giving students this full creative control over their composing I believe the Musical Futures approach has laid foundations for curiosity-led learning. Furthermore judging by the results of the Musical Futures approach across the UK and here in St. Joseph's so far the creative flood-gates have been opened. There is now a recognised approach to teaching that allows students the time and space to explore and create music that is relevant and motivating to them.

learning through love// We are now in our second year of presenting S6 pupils for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland Pope Benedict Caritas Award. This year we expect over 20 pupils to achieve this accolade which recognises service to the school, community and parish motivated by love and Gospel values.

Megan Clannachan tells the moving story of her Caritas journey.

Through my Caritas journey I have learned a lot about myself and what my faith means to me. It has not just been a practical experience but also a very reflective one which has involved a lot of selfdiscovery and self-evaluation. The time I have spent helping others or alone reading over my journal has really helped me focus on what my religion means to me. I slowly began to realise what it meant for me to be part of the Catholic Church and part of its community, but mostly it has given me a better insight into who I am. Before I started this journey I did not see myself as anyone special. I didnʼt take time to appreciate what kind of person I am, what I believe in or even who I can believe in. I could easily get lost in my thoughts and a lot of the time this meant that I could come across as hypocritical or judgemental when I gave opinions. However, by stopping and taking some time to answer the gathering point questions I have been able to clear my mind and refine my thoughts into a greater understanding of my morals but more importantly, a better knowledge of my faith and how it affects me.

Looking over the gathering points in my journal again I can see how much I have matured in my comprehension of my faith and how I can practise it. I am reminded of the key themes and messages of the teachings. One quote which stood out for me was “There is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you.

Search for him, know him and love him, and he will set you free”. This spoke to me as I had forgotten

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to do so. By letting myself become so absorbed in my confusion I missed my opportunity to look to Jesus for answers. Now, keeping this idea firmly in my head and heart I am always looking out for times where I can act on Jesusʼ teachings and find him in these occasions to gain experience which will help me develop my learning.

Another thing which has caught my attention is the idea of “closing our eyes to our neighbour also blinds us to God”. I feel that sometimes I can be guilty of turning away from people I donʼt know for any selfish reason. I now realise, having looked at the parable of the Good Samaritan and discussed it alongside the popeʼs teachings, that this should not be the case. “Neighbour” is constantly referred to which I understand as everyone, no matter who they are or where they are, so ignoring those in need just because I do not know them means I have ignored people who are my neighbours. We are all created the same, in Godʼs image, so when we deny those who are our neighbour, really we are denying God. I have now decided to take an active role in the church in aiding those who are less fortunate and are looking for help in order to assist the people around me.

Similarly, during my time doing Caritas I have participated in many events to raise awareness and money for charities. Some charities are close to home, such as the British Heart Foundation, but others span further away, like S.C.I.A.F and a locally founded Ecuador trust. My neighbours arenʼt always with me physically but I know they (cont/.)

are there in many different cities, countries and continents around the world. I wanted to do

I felt a slight regret because I could hardly remember being their age and making my First

something which would share and spread the love

Communion. I really began to question myself after

towards these people who are less fortunate than I even though I have never met them and probably

one of the kids in my group told me she was writing her prayer to make sure her grandparents were

never will.

being well looked after. When I came home after the day was done I had a long think about what I

I am glad knowing that I could inspire others to share this view and give generously their time or money. I am also glad to know that some benefit will be made from the love so many people have generated.

During the year I took a big decision to work with children too. I have always had some anxiety about working with children so I wanted to get involved with them to see if I could help them but also to see if I could learn anything from them. I have been in primary school classes guiding them through fun, creative activities which explore the meaning of Easter and spring-time, I also had a day in the church with children who were making their sacraments this year. The day was all about preparing them for confirmation but also teaching

had learned that day, not from the priest, but rather from the children who were almost ready to make their First Communion.

There have been a lot of challenges and difficult times throughout my Caritas journey. There were times where I lost patience and felt like giving up.

There were times I got frustrated with myself for not knowing the answer, but this year has honestly been a life-changing experience for me. I kept on going and changed how I look at myself. I can recognise myself as a better person and I now know why I wanted to take part in the Caritas course so deeply. It is not all about what you do, it is more about realising we are good people and we do good things for others each day.

them about Pentecost day and the Holy Spirit. I

I am certainly going to continue helping those who

was able to lead a group and discuss with them the meaning and messages of the day and, after

need me, no matter who they may be, because I want to share with them my love and time.

creating a strong bond with my group, I found it a very profound experience.

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SWOT-ing up// One of the more unusual courses we offer in Senior Phase is Personal Development (up to Higher level) through which pupils learn more about their skills, develop selfawareness and lead community projects. Bethany Hayes (S6) shares her thoughts in an edited extract from her report.

As part of our Personal Development course we have used three personality awareness techniques: A SWOT diagram, Insight Discovery and Myers-Briggs. The SWOT diagram is used to ascertain strengths and weaknesses. Insight Discovery is used to determine who you are and how you interact with others. This links in with the Myers-Briggs and helps discern what type of person you are. They allow you to reflect over the course of the year on whether your weaknesses are improving and/or if youʼve gained any more strengths.

A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis can help identify weaknesses and how to overcome them. The diagram is split into 4 sections: the strengths column shows qualities of the project that give it an advantage over others; the weaknesses column, characteristics that place the project at a disadvantage; the opportunities column displays elements that the project could use to its advantage; and the threats column highlights any risk to the project. SWOT analysis helps us understand what areas to improve. The eventual aim is to turn threats into opportunities and weaknesses to into strengths. The SWOT analysis is a self-assessment and can inform later steps in planning to achieve the objective.

Insight Discovery uses a four colour model to understand an individualʼs unique preferences and to determine personality type. The process involves being given 4 cards of each colour randomly, which you look through and extract any 4 that are the complete opposite of you. Youʼd then see the colour you have more of which reflects your personality. For example, Fiery Red cards indicate a personality which is extroverted

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and high energy; action-oriented and always in motion; has a direct manner and radiates a desire for power and control. Insight Discovery helps you uncover who you are and reveals the way in which you interact with others.

Myers-Briggs has some similarities to Insight Discovery, they both reveal personality type, but Myers-Briggs is an online questionnaire. Questions such as ʻdo you enjoy being in a big group?ʼ prompt responses from ʻstrongly agreeʼ, ʻstrongly disagreeʼ or anywhere in between. The results are based on responses. This shows what kind of person you are, your strengths and weakness, how youʼd react to different job types and gives examples of well-known figures with whom you share traits in common.

The SWOT analysis is reliable and easy to use and has the further benefit that you can change it anytime you want to add to it. However, it depends on the user being aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Insight Discovery - also easy to use - has the advantage that it tells you exactly what type of person you are. Itʼs disadvantage is that is doesnʼt necessarily show your strengths and it may not be 100% accurate. The upside of the Myers-Briggs method is that it can reveal more about who you are as a person. It links with the Insight Discovery cards and if both their results show the same personality traits itʼs likely to be accurate. The downside of this questionnaire is that it involves a lot of reading and is less straightforward, so questions could be misunderstood and thereby affect the result adversely.

Of the three, I prefer the Insight Discovery cards.

They are fun, easy to use and donʼt take too long to complete. I felt surprised to discover things I didnʼt already know about myself.

capital letter// Over the February weekend 60 pupils from S4 forgot about the challenges of N4 and N5 and headed for London led by members of the English department and other staff.

Here Rachel Wallace, Hannah Dougan and Eilidh Cuthbertson write about the trip.

The task of waking up in the morning can be near impossible, but sometimes itʼs worth the hardship; those of us who were lucky to take part in the London trip know this better than most!

However, speaking from a girlʼs perspective, we had it the hardest: most of us woke up at about 2:30am for the (at the time necessary) arduous task of making ourselves presentable, whilst still in a sleepy daze. For the first time in our lives, we were excited to arrive in the school car park, despite the time being 4:00am. After boarding the bus, we began our 8 hour long journey to London; itʼs here where we began to feel sympathetic towards those 5 brave teachers who were stuck with nearly 60 hyper children in the early hours of the morning.

On arrival in London our first stop was the Globe Theatre, where we were treated to a guided tour and an unplanned live performance from Shakespearean actors. Following this, we had a meal at Oxford Streetʼs Pizza Hut to fill our empty stomachs before an “early night”.

The following day (with tired, bleary eyes) we travelled to Covent Garden and Victoria where we could shop at our own free will, before meeting for lunch and then into the Victoria Palace Theatre for a mesmerizing performance of Billy Elliot the Musical. Here, we were shown a fantastic display of humour, singing and inspirational dancing.

Upon leaving the theatre we were taken to Londonʼs Rainforest Café, where we were truly transported into the Amazonian rainforest, with

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unexpected lightning, and realistic animal sound effects. To end the night we prepared to board the capitalʼs famous London Eye, and were lucky enough to see the cityʼs famous landmarks lit up in the night sky.

On the Friday we got the chance to experience some of Londonʼs most famous attractions; such as the terrifying London Dungeons, where we were shown some of Londonʼs most memorable horror stories from across many periods in history, such as the tale of Guy Fawkes, the terrifying story of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett and her “meat” pies and many, many more. Afterwards we travelled down to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in Watford, where we experienced the truly magical world of all 8 Harry Potter movies. We were able to learn behind the scenes information and see memorable sets, costumes and props.

Later that night we had our final meal at Bella Italia, before continuing on to our second West End performance, Matilda. Here, we were amazed by the maturity and immense talent that the young actors portrayed, and we were taken aback by the constantly moving set.

On the Saturday before travelling home we were given a guided tour of Wembley Stadium, where we were told about the origins of the stadium and given a V.I.P tour. Afterwards we began our 8 hour journey home to Scotland and were finally back in the comfort of our own beds, after a truly unforgettable trip.

is vinyl dead?// S4 pupil and multi-talented musician Matthew Cowan explores the changing face of the music industry.

Transport yourself back to the Sixties. The bombs falling on Vietnam, Martin Luther King Jr. being shot, the exploding art culture. All transcribed and translated through a single medium. Vinyl records. Where there was social unrest and tumult, there was music and expression to sooth and excite. All told and translated by the sacred disc.

The music motivated and influenced the people as equally as the people influenced the music: a culture with a beating heart that any artistically aware individual would be scrambling to be associated with. Music, back then, was a sign of individualism, yet still ultimately unifying.

Now snap back to reality. You may be reading this with an MP3 device in your pocket, or a computer at home storing all your favourite pieces. Digital devices leave control of the music to you: you may pause, fast forward and rewind at your leisure. We plug in and zone out. Disregarding not only the world around us, but also the art streaming to our ears. There is no respect to the music: as you walk, talk and network, the music is forgotten.

Along the way we have lost the unifying power of music. In the sixties, music was a loud and crystal clear method of expression. It has now been demoted to fuzzy, background noise.

To listen is to understand, appreciate and relate; surely impossible to do while communicating and surfing the web simultaneously.

If vinyl is so riveting and alluring, then why, the obvious question may be, did it fizzle out and disappear? The tactile era of music is long dead.

Even CDs are seldom bought or played. Vinyl is history.

Or is it?

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Vinyl has never ceased having disciples; there have been those who stood fast against the rise of manufactured, lifeless CDs, but only now with the infectious dominion of digital music spreading, has vinylʼs following truly gained coherence. Sales have been growing by one million units a year, analysts state, and are still rising exponentially.

One does not need to delve deep into the vastness of the Internet to find solid facts and figures for oneself. Forums and educational discussions voice many opinions, old and new. With numerous healthy figures being released by some of the biggest companies around (Amazon reporting an astronomical rise in sales of nearly eight hundred percent since 2008), surely vinyl is being freed from the stigmatic label of ʻHipster cultureʼ. With 2012 being the best-recorded sale year for vinyl in fifteen years, it is obvious that many interesting things are afoot.

A cohort of esteemed musicians are adamant in proclaiming the superiority of vinyl records. Jack White, a leading artist and producer, has established a record company whose specialty is in the art of vinyl. As Record Store Day Ambassador for 2013, he understands the ʻinternet is two-dimensionalʼ and no substitute for true music, and that everyone should experience ʻthe most romantic way to listen to musicʼ. Johnny Marr of The Smiths, whose years of work with vinyl and its subsequent permutations makes him a truly reliable icon to listen to, understands the attention that vinyl deserves: even after CDs have had their time, vinyl sustains an alluring captivity. In place of listening to one song, skipping and shuffling and ultimately losing understanding and respect: you settle down comfortably, create some ambience and atmosphere if required and listen to the full LP from beginning to end. (cont/.)

As the artist intended.

That is the most pressing, and underlying message: all art forms are suffering from an ease of access, which is breeding an age of contempt and lack of attention and passion. Making our generation believe that art is a throw-away medium. If you organize a time to watch a film with your family or venture out to the local cinema to see a film, you are left with fantastic memories.

Binge watching your television shows and films while on Facebook will never be on par with the real experience: it becomes excessively accessible. If enjoyed as rare occasions, you will remember these great moments, relating people you love and memories you will forever cherish to the sounds and sights.

When we begin to let our attention deteriorate, lazy and effortless ʻartʼ infiltrates our lives. Our critical vision is impaired and we know no better. We have no experience with diverse and unique music; we only accept that which is mindlessly manufactured for the uncultured and uninterested.

Critics that ʻnitpickʼ todayʼs music are seen as ʻheartlessʼ when in reality, they only long for the quality they used to know: every artist bringing something new and fresh to the artistic table, mixing it into a thriving, breathing culture.

Vinyl is an integral piece of that quality. Every aspect: the aesthetics of the cover; the smell of the paper; the delicate touch applied; treated with reverence and respect.

As a man would be judged by his book collection, vinyl reflected your personality. If you were a mod, punk, rocker or a hip-hop and house lover, your vinyl reflected that. Now, your personality is blocked by a plain I-Pod. Just like everyone else.

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Interestingly, the crackle has become one of the most prominent selling points for records. Quite controversial in todayʼs market: where all producers and engineers are slaving away for pure clarity and definition in their sound. So what would drive people to hunt and scavenge through dustcaked lofts for (in certain cases) scratched, muddysounding, dusty, dog-eared pieces of history? That would be the answer. History and nostalgia. People who have lived through and understood what vinyl is truly about, wanting to dust off the old player just to hear their past again and relive their good times.

The crackle is the key to vinyl, the intimacy and presence it exudes is unmatched by any over intricate piece of technology. The technologically tampered, pristine sound loses its personality and becomes superficial. Vinyl is imperfect.

Which makes it perfect.

Is vinyl dead? No. Will it surpass digital music?

Probably not. But do not mark it off. Keep vigilant; the one who was left to a noble and heroic death has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. Vinyl will be the catalyst for other styles and fashions to flourish. So find some old records, dust off the turntable and enter a whole new dimension of sound, colour and thoughts. This is only the beginning. This is the beginning of a world wide conscientious appreciation for what music can do.

It oozes warmth and romance, the sonic beauty from vinylʼs grooves are eternal and sacred. It is the carrier of mans one true form of communication. Music. It is no wonder why Carl Sagan chose a record to be put inside the Voyager capsule, to travel to far of galaxies on an epic cosmic journey.

The vinyl record, delegate of the human race.

fiction: blackbird// A short story by Olivia Gater, S4.

Ashley Williams was a good girl. Everyone said

her parents smiled back; relieved and grateful for having such a good girl. Everyone said so.

so. Her parents, her teachers, the ladies at the church on Sunday mornings. At church, she would sing hymns in the choir, usually the coveted lead parts and solos which would be met with appreciative murmurs and nods from the congregation. On more than one occasion, sheʼd hear a harassed parent or judgemental grandmother whisper too-loudly, “Why canʼt you be more like Ashley Williams?”

At school that day, Ashley invited five friends over for a sleepover but like a virus, word spread and by noon, five turned into ten, which soon turned into fifty. The perfect, straight A student was having a house party. By 3pm, the school hummed with excitement.

Her popularity didnʼt end there. At school she was Head Girl, editor of the school newspaper and a good percentage of the trophies in the cabinet outside the staff room were, in no small part, down to Ashley Williams. She was such a good girl.

Everyone said so.

Ashley brushed her sleek, black hair staring into the mirror. She absentmindedly placed her brush on the desk, next to her beloved trinket box. She let her fingertip skim the wooden lid, tracing its design.

The intricate box, with its delicate hand-painted blackbird on top, was a gift from her father after yet another of his business trips. Ashley felt an affinity with blackbirds so it seemed fitting to receive such a beautiful box adorned with them. As a child she would spend hours gazing at the perfect ravenfeathered creatures as if they had something to teach her. At night, she would dream that she was one of them, finally knowing their secrets; their mysteries revealed.

That Friday morning, her parents were going away to visit their friends overnight, returning on Sunday evening. A limit of 5 friends were allowed to sleepover on Saturday they said and as they put their bags in the car, they gave her a cursory list of dos and donʼts.

“Donʼt worry,” she said as she kissed her parents goodbye, “Everything will be fine”. She smiled and

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Ashley didnʼt mind the extra guests, she thought, as she studied the blackbirds from the window seat in her bedroom. Her mother had always taught her to be accommodating and polite. Ashley listened to the birdʼs song. She began to hear voices, distant at first then closer. She could hear the shrill, giggling girls and the booming shouts of the boys, desperately trying to get the girlsʼ attention. She picked up her trinket box, her talisman, and thrust it into her pocket for luck.

Appreciating the delicate, hand-painted portraits of herself from age one to age sixteen, she slowly walked down stairs, full of zeal and enthusiasm.

As Ashley approached her front door, she could see what seemed like a tidal surge of people waiting to come in. She stepped aside and in they all came, with the alcohol they had stolen from their parentsʼ drinks cabinet or managed to convince older siblings to buy. As the party got into full swing, the atmosphere began to strip away the layers of perfection that Ashley had spent so long building up. The loud music vibrated through the floor into her feet, her legs, her entire body seemed to become part of the music and she had no choice but to move. Her surroundings began to smear into coloured lines swirling around her head, the lights became bright, white flashes that would fade as quickly as they brightened. The music seemed to grow louder. The melody was gone and all Ashley could hear was the thundering bass as it resounded through the room and (cont/.)

became an overwhelming thud. Then the music suddenly stopped, the silence like a slap across her face. Then she recognised a word being passed through the crowd like a single flame growing to a fire.

The following Sunday at church, as Ashley Williams

Police.

windows, painting a pretty picture on her

Ashleyʼs heart thudded in her chest. She began to

stood on the altar singing a beautiful hymn about Jesus, her mother thought that she looked like an angel with the sun piercing the stained glass

daughterʼs hair.

shiver as sweat settled like flecks of ice in her

What a dreadful week sheʼs had, thought her

pores. Panic began to soar from the pit of her

mother, and my girl is still standing tall. Not only

stomach, threatening to explode from her throat.

was her party invaded by goodness knows how

She lowered her head. She began to breathe

many strangers, they brought drugs into our home!

deeply, steadying herself as she did so.

Her motherʼs heart quickened at the thought. They

The coloured smears began to smooth out and

hid them in Ashleyʼs special little blackbird box

slowly reformed to show her familiar surroundings.

thinking they could hide them from the police! Poor

Her heart fell back into a normal rhythm as she

Ashley had picked up the box realising someone

exhaled steadily. She raised her eyes as the men

had been in her room and luckily at that moment,

in uniform walked towards her. As she moved

the police came in. Oh thank God for the police!

towards them, her trinket box slipped from her pocket. The dancing must have urged it from her jeans. Ashley tried to catch it, but still a little dazed,

And with that she bowed her head and said a little prayer for the police.

her finger grazed the catch of the lid causing it to

Ashley smiled at her mother. She smiled at the

spring open and empty its contents over the

congregation. She discreetly patted her pocket

varnished, oak floor. The clanking sound of the

where she had a new special trinket box. She

teaspoon as it hit the floor made Ashleyʼs ears hurt.

would be needing it later. The blackbirds began to

The needle didnʼt make much of a sound, the little

sing outside. Ashley smiled to herself: she was a

bag with the brown powder even less so. But her

good girl. Everyone said so.

beloved box had cracked, the fractures fraying with splinters and the blackbird, once beautiful, had split.

The party was over.

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not playing fair// There is still a real challenge around sexist attitudes in football at all levels argues Toni Barr, S4.

Feminists have fought for decades to attain equal rights for women, dreaming of a world where men and women alike are treated with the same respect, attention and understanding, and they have succeeded in achieving this in many areas of life. But will the day of true equality ever come?

Sexism should be non-existent in all areas of life and football is no exception. Although womenʼs football has developed, as a sport and in status, in recent years, it is still nowhere near being on a par with menʼs football due to the prevalence of sexism within society and the media.

Sexism can begin in the simplest of situations. A playground game of football between boys who, when approached by a girl eager to join, either refuse to involve her or magnanimously let her play but donʼt incorporate her in gameplay for the mere fact that she is a girl and, according to the conventional (and sadly unchallenged) wisdom, “girls canʼt play football”. Little do they think that this girl could grow up to represent one of the most renowned teams in the nation or even the national team, achieving more than they had ever dreamt of.

The majority of people naturally assume that a professional football player earns an extravagant amount of money enabling them to purchase a sleek supercar and fund a lifestyle usually reserved for royalty. This assumption would be perfectly correct- in the case of menʼs football.

But the same, sadly, cannot be said about women footballers.

Wages are an area in need of drastic improvement to be anywhere near achieving parity with the male equivalent. A jaw dropping number of female players at national level have to combine

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alternative employment with their footballing profession in order to sustain an adequate income.

Currently, Brazilian striker Marta Vieira da Silva, playing in Sweden, is the highest paid female earning £3,000 a week whereas male premier league players are earning, approximately, an extravagant £135,000 a week.

In addition to their wages being dwarfed in club football this applies in international football too with the English womenʼs national team getting paid £40 per day (World Cup 2007) compared to the English menʼs team of £2,600 per day (World Cup 2006). Additional to wages, club finance is another area severely lacking in support compared to the standard within the menʼs game. Regularly you witness male teams enter administration and receive support to aid them in keeping the club afloat. Portsmouth FC, for example, have gone into administration three times and have been supported by the FA as well as the Football League every single time. In 2008 Charlton Athletic ladies team were forced into liquidation and, as a result, folded without any help being offered even though this was their first time in such a situation. Why should this injustice be reserved for women when the FA wouldnʼt even entertain this for male football?

Womenʼs wages and funding arenʼt the only aspect lagging behind the menʼs game. Exacerbating the initial barrier of stereotyping there is the added lack of media interest and, consequently, crowd turnout.

Sports journalist Georgina Turner investigated The Guardianʼs football archives between 1998 and 2012 and found only 303 articles had been written about womenʼs football compared to 184 articles focussing solely on Sir Alex Ferguson and 388 articles focussing on Coventry City, a third tier League 1 team. (cont/.)

Turner links the marginalisation of womenʼs football in the media with the biased and male dominated

athletic performance but a larger amount criticized her, ludicrously claiming this was an act of sexual

interests of journalists and smaller budgets

offence (although, ironically, many routinely ogle

allocated to womenʼs sports in general.

women in the newspaper who are wearing less than a sports bra but deem it acceptable!) These

The lack of media coverage is somewhat ironic with so many womenʼs national teams achieving greater success than their male counterparts.

articles degraded her from a female footballing legend to an eye candy icon all for celebrating a glorious win in a manner hardly unusual in male

All of the top 10 womenʼs national teams on the

football.

FIFA rankings are ranked higher than, or (with the exception of Germany) equal to their male

Being a female lover of the beautiful game myself, I

counterparts. A further notable difference can be seen at club level in terms of success with the comparison of the recent attainment of trophies between Arsenal Ladies and Arsenal FC. Since Arsenal FC won their last trophy in 2005, Arsenal Ladies have managed to gain 16 major trophies to adorn their cabinet including the impressive feat of winning a quadruple of three domestic cups and the UEFA Womenʼs Cup during the 2006/07 season followed by a domestic treble in the

believe that media coverage should be increased.

The media increase would not only improve crowd turnout, funding and wage rises but give aspiring female footballers more relatable role models. With female participation in football collectively totalling 26 million players across 180 countries and still on the rise every day, the inequalities between womenʼs and menʼs football need to urgently be addressed to give present and future female athletes an even playing field. All athletes

2007/08 season.

relentlessly train till exhaustion. All athletes give heart and soul week in week out. All athletes strive

Conversely, media coverage has at times been a

to improve their own skill so they can perform to a

curse rather than a blessing. In 1991 the USA

higher quality. At the end of the day they are all the same, dedicated athletes living out their dream of

womenʼs national team won their first World Cup against China in a penalty shootout. Brandi Chastain, who struck the winning penalty, removed her shirt during an adrenaline fuelled celebration; a natural reaction and one shared with hundreds of male players. A number of articles praised her

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playing the sport they love, so why should gender determine the significance of their dedication?

The answer?

It shouldnʼt.

fiction: the King commands// ‘The King commands and we obey, over the hills and far away...’ In this centenary year, Matthew Pieroni, S4, has produced a poignant piece about the Great War.

Liege is such a beautiful town: wide open

deployed near Liege, near, what was left of, Hill 13.

countryside; trees scattered everywhere and rolling

Germans and thus began the race to the sea,

fields as far as the eye can see. However, there is

along winding roads, dense forests and newborn

a hill that stands out, passed by thousands of

trenches. Hill 13 was the weakest point to the

people just like you who know nothing of its history.

generals: but to us it was impregnable. It would

This hill is more than a patch of land. To some of us

have been easier to shoot the wings off a fly from a

it represents the worst part of our lives and our

moving train than to take Hill 13. The men that

bitterest memories.

were already there had taken more than a pasting

For months weʼd been trying to out-flank the

from the Germans; we were sent as a relief How well I remember the shouts in the village

company and told to await orders. I remember

streets, the cries of “Warʼs been declared against

marching past the columns of wounded soldiers. It

Germany”. As the young men of the village, it was

was horrific. Here no cheers or calls to duty from

our duty to protect our families and bring about the

the King would console them. Those men went

end of the Kaiserʼs plans for expansion. When I

through Hell. And we were next.

heard the news I rushed to my friendsʼ houses. My friends and I said if war broke out, weʼd be the first

Another battle for Hill 13 loomed. As you looked at

to join up. We ran down to the recruitment office as

that blasted hill, spending every minute of every

fast as our feet would carry us. We were the first

day cursing it (like it could make a difference) it felt

there and we nearly broke the door off its hinges as

like you were being taunted by Death himself.

we burst in. The recruiting sergeant glared at us as

Morning broke with the smell of death and smoke

we said we were here to show Germany what it

choking us. Our artillery had been pounding the

was up against and with a ʻSign hereʼ and a ʻʼDo

German positions for days but it was to no avail.

your country proudʼʼ, we stepped out the door-

There we stood, waiting for the cold piercing

village lads no more; but soldiers of the King.

scream of the officerʼs whistle, rousing us to get up and over the top. After an eternity we heard it and

When war breaks out, administration takes over:

we vanished into the mouth of oblivion. We broke

names are forgotten and replaced by numbers;

out of the trench and began to advance towards

land divided into fronts and sectors. You are like a

the hill. Most men were mowed down before (cont/.)

grain of sand lost amongst a desert. We were

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they could even fire a shot. We five made it to the

nothing to do, and the trench was as lifeless and as

foot of the hill. I looked desperately from side to

cold as a cemetery.

side, searching for an officer or even a corporal but all I saw was smoke and the bodies of the fallen. I mustered my strength and roared to the men to follow me. Within a step, one of my friends fell.

Eventually, all you do is wait; nothing more, nothing less. You wait for orders or death, either one is bound to arrive quicker than the other. Soon one came knocking. Three times death knocked; three

I looked back at his lifeless body lying face down in

shots broke the silence and the mist of war. I was

the mud. He was a shop assistant, barely 17. He

talking to my last and only friend at the time, then in

didnʼt belong there, none of us did. I snapped

the blink of an eye, he was gone. Weʼd just woken

round, I was gripped by thoughts of revenge,

up and he had impulsively stood up to see what the

depression and hate. The four of us ploughed on.

weather was like. He fell back to the earth and I

When vengeance gips you, nothing can stop you,

was the only one with him at his end. His final

not even the fear of Death himself. On and on we

words were, “Itʼs a beautiful day”. Soon after, death

went; our one thought being to conquer the hill. A

came knocking again. Reinforcements arrived for

shell hissed past and landed beside me. Before I

the next battle but I had never felt more alone.

could even reach for them the ground opened up and two of my companions were taken from me. I struggled desperately against the torrent of mud dragging me down but eventually reached firmer

But suddenly I was marching beside my friends again. I smiled at them and as I did, a bullet passed through these very thoughts.

ground to find a welcoming hand, eager to pull me

Hill 13 is passed by now, just like any other hill, but

out. Eerie cries of retreat rang out. There were only

it is where we, the five friends, fought and died.

two of us left and we realised we were on the verge

Like thousands, I became a statistic, known only by

of the German trenches; we could hear them

words etched on stone: “A soldier of the Great

breathing and sighing. We were so close but had to

War”.

retreat, back to our casket of mud and suffering.

When we got back we did nothing, there was

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fiction: blackbird on my shoulder// A short story by Laurie Rowan, S4.

I have a blackbird on my shoulder.

I found him one day, small and shivering, in a ball on the ground. I took him in, fed him, nurtured him, and loved him. For months I cared for him until, one day, he sat on my shoulder, and sang that he would be my friend. Tentatively, I let him hop up, and he would twitter tenderly in my ear. Just an occasional comment. He spoke the truth, so I trusted him.

We became best friends, the bird and I, a friend that no one could see. He said that he was a truth teller, that I should trust him. So everyday, I would spend hours alone with him in my room, regaling him with the stories of my life. I told him everything; gave him all my happiest memories and darkest secrets. He told me he would keep them for safe keeping. He kept them, so I trusted him.

But with every cheerful moment given, and with every dark thought kept, he began to get heavier on my shoulder. “Memories are my sustenance; they make me strong, and the more you give, the longer Iʼll stay,” he told me. I thought he helped, so I trusted him.

Everyday he got stronger. He would talk just that little bit louder; just that little bit more. He would flit around my head and make suggestions; suggestions that seemed like a good idea. He was my friend, so I trusted him.

Slowly, he got bigger. Heavier and heavier; louder and louder; stronger and stronger. His soft twitter turned into a squawk, which turned into a scream.

Suggestions turned into orders, orders that were getting more difficult to disobey. But I was under his spell, so I trusted him.

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He would tell me lies- horrible things. “You are fat,” he would say, “donʼt eat that, you will only get fatter”. “You are stupid,” he would say, “donʼt talk, or everyone will know how stupid you are.” I could not resist him, I was too hypnotised by the allure of his pretty song, the majestic beauty of his feathers.

I trusted him.

I was alone, talking to the blackbird, when a picture fell from a book. It was of a friend, a friend I had not spoken to since blackbird arrived. We were smiling in the picture, this person and I, and I realised how long it had been since I had last laughed. The blackbird flew about my head screaming. He filled my head with his black feathers, each barb razor sharp. They pained me.

He put his feathers down my throat and they suffocated me. He put his feathers in my eyes and they darkened my world. “Am I not enough?” he cried.

I hated that black bird on my shoulder. I realised that he was turning me into an empty shell. I began to rebel against him, I tried to push him off my shoulder, away from my ear. But he was too loud and heavy, and my feeble voice was nothing against his screams. “No,” I would whisper. “YES!” he would scream. He would use my own memories against me, revealing to me the worst parts of my past to get me to do what he needed to survive. I found that there was nothing I could do; I was too late. He was better than me; stronger than me; bigger than me. He was always on my shoulder, and he was pulling me down. Carrying him exhausted me; I could not leave the house. I could not sleep for his constant screeching. He had turned me into a miserable ghost, merely a shell of my former self. His twitters had poisoned my thoughts and I had let them, because I trusted him. $ $ $ $ $ (cont/.)

Then I heard a tapping at my window. Tap tap tap tap.

I saw a bird, small and shivering, curled up in a ball. I took her in, fed her, loved her. All the while blackbird was shrieking around my head.

For months I cared for her, enduring blackbird始s shrieks. Slowly she grew into a gleaming white dove, silent and calm. She made me no promises, she told me no lies. I told her all my stories, but she didn始t judge, and her warm looks filled me with hope and happiness. Blackbird would flap around my head, trying to fill my eyes with his feathers, screaming at me to ignore the dove; but I focused on her serene face and felt her peaceful gaze giving me the strength to ignore his cries.

And all the while, blackbird始s screams turned into squawks, and his squawks turned into twitters.

Slowly, as dove got stronger, blackbird got weaker and at last I could tell him to leave. Finally I could breathe, for no feathers were in my lungs; I could see, for no feathers were in my eyes; and I could finally think, for myself, for no feathers were in my mind.

I felt light, for there is no longer a bird on my shoulder; and I feel free, just like dove, as she flew away.

Pattern by Courtney Murdoch, S4

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fiction: into the darkness// A short story by Caitlin Doogan, S4.

I was seven years old again. My mother was planting calendulas in the garden; covering it in a beautiful blanket of orange and yellow. She'd hum a tune that she heard on the radio that day whilst my older brother, Henry, and I played marbles on the street. The sun was beating down on us and casting vibrant shades of pink and orange across the sky.

That was the happiest day of my life...

I awoke from another dreamless sleep, to see the faces of dozens of other teenagers like myself each of us taken from our homes and our families and cramped in a train with others of our age.

We've been in this carriage for almost a day now and the walls turn a shade darker with every passing second. The sun no longer fills the sky; instead, it has been replaced with an eerie moon which has us trapped in a spell of sinister silence...

A sudden jolt of light as men in brown uniforms start pulling us out the carriage and into the chill of the night air. We form a straight line along the whole length of the train whilst the men stride back and forth, making sure everything is in order...

A few carriages back, there was a boy - he didn't look much older than me - who would not obey the commands of these men and was starting to draw attention to himself. What the officer did next will haunt me until the day I die. He raised his gun to the boy's head and pulled the trigger.

Just like that.

Screams erupted from all around me as the boy's limp body was dragged past us, towards the front of the train and out of sight. I was paralysed;

036

unable to tear my gaze away from the lifeless corpse.

The men were barking at us now; ordering us to march forward. But we were in a daze; unable to comprehend what we had just witnessed. It wasn't until we heard a second gunshot that we began to move. We only walked a few hundred yards but it felt like miles to our exhausted and dehydrated bodies.

I was wondering what Henry would say if he were here. I bet he'd tell me one of his awful jokes; the ones I could never resist laughing at - no matter the circumstance. He always knew how to ease my anxiety and lighten the mood but I was afraid even he wouldn't have the ability to unclench the knots in my stomach. He and my parents had been taken in another carriage. . .

.

The moon beams down, mercilessly mocking my lonesomeness. It has been 37 days since I last saw my family. We were told they'd be arriving soon after us but I am still awaiting their arrival.

I am awoken at 4am everyday to the shouts of men in the brown shirts, calling us to get up for breakfast - bread and coffee. Some days we would get buttered bread, depending on what mood the officer was in. Other times he'd taunt us by throwing our bread in the mud or spilling our coffee.

Next on the agenda is morning roll call. We line up in our rows whilst the men count us - thousands of us. We can't move or speak because they get furious if they have to start again. $

$

$

$

$

(cont/.)

I remember a few weeks ago when the boy standing in front of me collapsed onto the ground.

We had to leave him for almost an hour until roll call was over.

FILM REVIEW: THE BOOK THIEF

By then he was already dead.

Reviewed by Ann McGiffen, S3

Today is my 36th roll call. The sun is beating down on my now shaven head and after having been here for a few hours already, I am feeling very faint.

I didn't have coffee this morning as I was pushed over, causing me to spill it over myself and the ground. I watched helplessly as the black moisture seeped through the cracks on the ground and left me with one piece of bread and a bass drum in my ears.

The officers are almost finished counting us now as they are heading towards the back rows. I can tell that they don't like standing around in the sun either because they have stern scowls on their faces and their usually menacing postures have disintegrated to a lazy slouch. We will be starting to work soon though and they will be able to take shelter and drink all the coffee they want.

All my working hours here have been spent digging. Endless digging. We are surrounded by huge pits now, all of roughly 10m2. They haven't been used for anything yet though. I heard a few of the older men muttering about how they will soon be put to use. I wonder what they will be filled with.

Maybe they'll make wells so we can have clean water while we work.

Roll call is almost finished now. I can hear the men counting us one by one - almost at 100,000.

That's when I saw her. A woman. Her hair was lighter now, with a blanket of grey at the roots. Her face was pale and thin, with creases at the mouth and eyes. I called to her.

"Mother! Mother, wait!"

Everything was silent. 100,000 pairs of eyes turned on me - wide and shocked. My mother ran to me with her arms outstretched.

There was a bang, then a scream and then she fell to the ground. I ran to her but the men were closing in on her. They dragged her away and it was at that moment I realised what the pits were for.

037

A while ago some of our S3 pupils visited the Odeon cinema to see the Oscar-nominated film, The Book Thief.

The plot centres on young Liesl Meming, a girl who is adopted by the Hubermanns, a childless couple.

He new mother is a scold and is always miserable, while her new father is jolly and spends the film winking like his life depend on it. In her new home, Liesl learns to read which offers her an escape from the horrors of war.

The family take in a Jewish fugitive called Max who lives silently in the cellar and encourages Liesl to write as well as read. I would say that this is one of the films of the year. It shows hope in the face of the worst that life serves up and wants you to come back for more.

This was by no means a feel-good movie and I would not recommend letting younger kids see it.

Unlike other films about this time, it focused on the ordinary people of Germany not just the victims of the Holocaust. It shows how their lives were touched by the insanity of the war and how some never lost sight of what it was to care about others.

killie ’til I die// John Morgan, S4, on his love for our local team.

Kilmarnock Football Club (also known as Killie) is a professional football team in the home town of

to be the sport that was mainly featured at Rugby Park.

Key Dates

Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. The football team play in the SPL (Scottish Football League). The team play

•

1813 was a big year for Kilmarnock as this

against other well-known teams such as Celtic,

was when they adopted their home team

Aberdeen, Inverness and another eight. In this

colours. The colours chosen were blue and

report I will be talking about the history, key dates,

white. The away colours would be

famous players, the badge and memorable

changed each season.

matches.

•

1877 - the Ayrshire Cup was initiated.

•

One year later, 1878, was when the club had its first floodlit match, a 5pm kick- off.

History of Kilmarnock Football Club Killiefc.com is an up to date history page on

•

In 1895, Kilmarnock FC were voted into

Kilmarnock Football Club. Killie can be traced all

the Scottish Football League, which would

the way back to 1869. Football was not always the

include 38 league games, and then the 12

sport at the beginning. Cricket was played on

teams would split into 2, so 6 games after

Barbados Green (now itʼs Howard Park). The team

the split. In total, that is 44 games each

decided that they needed something to do in the

season. At the end of each season two

cold season when cricket wasnʼt an option. At this

teams are dropped from the Premiership

time of year the club played near their home

and two teams come up from the

stadium (known as Rugby Park). The stadium got

Championship.

the name because rugby was played in the winter to replace the cricket. According to the Killiefc.com website, in 1873 the Scottish Football Association formed a competitive league and a Scottish Cup (which Killie donated £1 towards the price of the trophy). After the rugby was played, football started

038

Famous players Frank Beattie 1954-1971. He was known as ʻBig Frankʼ and was one of Killieʼs

(cont/.)

longest-serving players. Frank made 422 league

scorer in history. When Kris left Killie, he was due a

match appearances, only bettered by one

payment of £20,000 from the Killie Chairman but

manager ,Alan Robertson. He was the first ever

Boyd insisted that it be passed it on the teamʼs

Kilmarnock player to appear 600 times throughout

under 20 Youth Coach, Alan Robertson to invest in

the first team. Only Robertson beat him by 2 more

the youth development.

appearances than him. Big Frank made 80 appearances in the cup games Killie was in. This

Memorable matches

total amount of appearances has never been

Kilmarnock v Falkirk 24/05/1999, Tennents Scottish

beaten:

Cup –Ibrox Park. For the eighth time Killie reached

•

Played in three cup finals

•

Scottish Cup final in 1960

•

League Cup finals in 1960-61-62-63

•

48 goals in the cup matches for Kilmarnock

Frank was then awarded a testimonial match after his 10 years of great service. Te match was played against Celtic and the final score was 7-2 to Celtic.

Frank scored the only 2 goals for Killie in the match.

Kris Boyd is one of Kilmarnock FCʼs oldest players in the current dressing room and one who younger players look up to. Boyd has had 18 caps for Scotland. Boyd first joined Killie in August 1999 and remained until January 2006. In 2006 Kris transferred to Glasgow Rangers for an estimated £400k. Kris is the Scottish Premiershipʼs top goal

039

the Scottish Cup. They played against Falkirk and managed to secure a 1-0 win.

Badge The Killie badge represents the Boyd family. The badge has the club mascot which is two red squirrels and also the team colours of blue and white and a ball to show itʼs a registered SPFL football team.

book review: Ghost Game Kian Woods, S2, reviews Nigel Hinton’s novel looking at the way a great ghost story is also a believable exploration of grief.

Nigel Hintonʼs magnificent book “Ghost Game” is about the themes of suspense and grief. Grief because Danny and his father have lost Dannyʼs mum and brother in a train crash and because of this have to start anew and move out of their house. Suspense because they rent a “dirt cheap” Victorian house where all hell breaks loose.

Nigel Hinton creates the setting amazingly well in the creepy spine-tingling Victorian house with its dark brown walls, cold temperature and stained glass window. This scares Danny from the start.

But Dannyʼs dad thinks heʼs paranoid when Danny says the house is unlucky because of its house number, 13 (this is a common superstition).

Hinton then also adds a minor character Miss White who is a “batty” old woman who thinks she has “the Sight”. This adds to the creepiness of the neighbourhood. Two days after they move in, Danny starts to hear strange little noises like the wooden stairs creaking and rattling against the windows but dismisses these sounds as “ordinary house noises”. Little does he know things will become much worse. Clearly Danny and his dad have different views. Danny believes in the afterlife. This is shown by him talking to Miss White about his mum and brother. However, his dad doesnʼt. When his son talks about Miss White, he says “she sounds like a nutter.” This shows how different their views are.

As Danny and his dad continue to struggle to cope with their loss, Danny visits Miss White to try to deal with his grief but he drinks to cope with his loss. And things go from bad to worse when the noises get worse. Danny begins to question the

040

noises. For example, when he wakes up in the middle of the night and he hears scraping sounds, he thinks itʼs his dad and then realises it canʼt be because heʼs asleep. When Dannyʼs dad goes to work, Danny goes to the local park and sits on the swing. There he sees a woman pushing her little girl and this triggers him into thinking about his own mum and whether she pushed him like that and what would happen if his dad met someone new.

Danny doesnʼt like the idea of someone trying to replace his mum and this relates back to the idea of him mourning his mum. Dannyʼs dad should really open up to his son but he just goes inside his own bubble and doesnʼt help his son deal with his grief. When Danny starts to talk about Adamʼs ghost being trapped in the house (so Miss White says) this causes Danny and his dad to become even more separated. You can see that because Dannyʼs dad doesnʼt comfort him, he goes instead to Miss White for comfort. Because of Miss White claiming to have seem Adamʼs ghost, Dannyʼs dad goes over there with Danny to confront her for the “liar and fraud” she is. Dannyʼs dad then talks to his son about the ghostly things going on and tells him heʼs “emotionally disturbed” and “hysterical” and itʼs all in his head.

As the plot develops further, the supernatural events become more common with Adamʼs ghost visiting Danny during the night and whispering “Nanight, Dandy” and communicating through Miss White to “play swords”. At first Danny doesnʼt know what this means and thinks Miss White was making it all up on the spot, saying “everything was so general and vague”. But later that evening Danny starts to think about everything in detail and remembers Adamʼs favourite video game “Dark Tower Quest” and quickly (cont/.)

understands why Adam said “play swords”. He has really been telling Danny about the game he loved to play and the game he played the day he died.

The game entails role-playing adventures and strategy. The hero of the game is Prince whose family are murdered by Mefistoe, this demonic villain with folded wings and “slitted” eyes. Prince, filled with anger and rage, seeks vengeance for the loss of his family. But Danny soon finds out that Adam had used up all his lives and on the day of the crash he was “stuck”. Later that evening, Dannyʼs dad confronts him saying he has “wrecked” Adamʼs room. Danny replies with “I TOOK A GAME thatʼs all” but when his dad shows him the room all the emotions that were piling up inside Danny come out and he calls his dad a “bloody drunk”. This results in his dad nearly striking him. Danny now starts to think about the room – if he didnʼt mess it up and his dad hadnʼt either - who did? There was only one answer.

Adam. After that Danny soon realises that there might not just be Adamʼs ghost in the house but a “monstrous demonʼs” too making Adamʼs spirit flee in terror.

Hinton goes on to talk more about death and bereavement. He does this by creating the minor character in the shape of Ryan, the so-called “weirdo”. But Danny soon finds out he isnʼt all that weird. He acts strangely because he has a serious illness and has to use a dialysis machine as he is waiting for a kidney transplant. Danny now remembers when Ryan said “What would you do if you were dying?” At the time Danny didnʼt have a clue what he meant but now he understands that Ryan is scared of potentially dying himself. Ryan is also the only person who plays “Dark Tower Quest” and tells Danny he must have lost fifty fights but shows him a cheat. This time, however, Danny gets fewer lives as Ryan says “lose ten lives and youʼre out…no more cheats.” Dannyʼs dad now complains about Danny playing video games all the time saying “I thought you hated them”. Danny retaliates by asking if his dad “had drunk all that whisky” and asking “why do you drink all the time?” He accuses his dad of not saying that about Adam when he played video games and says he is “always getting

041

pissed and thinking about him.” Dannyʼs dad gets aggressive to him when he talks about Adam; heʼs still in denial about Adamʼs death. This is how Hinton shows the impact that loss can have on peopleʼs lives.

As the plot reaches its grand finale, Ryan is in hospital and Dannyʼs granddad comes over. He helps Danny by giving him support rather than by dismissing his assumptions like Dannyʼs dad.

Danny is invited to a Halloweʼen party which Miss White calls “dangerous” because “itʼs the night when the border between this world and the Other Side is thin.” Later that evening when Danny is at the party in casual clothes, he sees a strange figure – “it was Mefistoe [the gargoyle]” though it is actually his friend in fancy dress. This then triggers Danny into thinking about what Miss White had said about the border being thin and he goes back to 13 Leylyne Road to defeat Mefistoe and save Prince (Adam) while his dad and grandfather are in Crossley Sands to scatter the ashes. Danny and his character, Rusty, reach the Dark Tower but there are lots of distractions: thumping on the walls, tapping, lights flickering. But this doesnʼt stop Danny. Rusty is tricked by Mefistoe and stabbed rapidly but with one last breath he slides the key to Prince, Prince is saved, kills Mefistoe, Adam is free and so is Danny!

The next day Danny travels to Crossley Sands but it isnʼt how he remembers it and he says “it hardly seemed like the same place” the family holidayed at. It is now dull and “grey”. Danny his dad and his grandfather pour the ashes into the dull lifeless sea and Dannyʼs dad says “theyʼre at peace now”.

Even if Danny was hallucinating it all because of his pain in bereavement and grief, we can understand why he struggled and why his dad struggled. It doesnʼt really matter if all the ghostly goings-on werenʼt true – Hinton uses the supernatural events to show what loss can really do to people emotionally and physically.

The story concludes with Dannyʼs dad finally believing that mum and Adam are watching over them, saying “Theyʼre still with us. By our side. And they always will be”. They will finally be moving out of the creepy Victorian house. Hinton does make this a brilliant ghost story but also explores the effects of grief with sensitivity and originality.

on the field// PE teacher Mr. Howson writes about the teams, trophies, trials and tremendous achievements of young people in sport and in the PE and Health and Wellbeing faculty.

As our season draws closer to a finish we, as a school, can look back at what has been a successful season for our young footballers. Our Under-18 team, having tasted trophy success in the League Cup, had their sights set on a second trophy on Wednesday 26th March. Our seniors displayed an incredible performance in the Quarter Finals of the Ayrshire Cup versus Garnock Academy. In a match, blighted by injury, top goalscorer Josh Rodgers swapped scoring goals to stopping them as he replaced injured captain and goalkeeper Jordan Platt for this match.

It started brightly with an incredible through ball from Declan Adam falling kindly at the feet of Joao Luis. Joao, under pressure from Garnockʼs left back, was strong and determined as he drove towards Garnockʼs goal before slotting the ball home with composure. The lead was no more than the team deserved and the players continued to press for more. Unfortunately, a low cross from Garnockʼs left midfielder fell to the feet of their striker, 2 yards from goal, and resulted in an easy finish for the opposition. Under pressure, a defensive lapse gifted Garnock with their second of the night. Half time came and passed with the boys improving on their performance in the first half, missing countless opportunities to equalise until, 5 minutes from the end, playmaker Stephen Campbell brushed aside opposition, 18 yards from goal, to strike the ball into the roof of the net. The final whistle blew at 2-2, with the outcome of the match now to be decided on penalties.

First to take was midfield maestro Patrick Hammill, nervous on his walk up but calmly slotted the ball into the net with his left foot. Second to take,

042

creative attacker Declan Adam sent the ʻkeeper the wrong way to put St Josephs in the driving seat.

However misses from Lee Williamson and Liam Wilson saw Garnock win 4-3 on penalties and progress to the semi-finals. This match proved to be the teamʼs final competitive fixture of the season and the final school match for leaving S6 pupils Jordan Platt, Michael Grant, Jamie Bell, Declan Adam, Declan Lavan and Liam Wilson. All the boys have been a credit to the school team over the years and fantastic performers this season.

To conclude the senior season, we are happy to announce our Award winners selected jointly by Mr Howson and the playing squad. All players deserve huge credit for their contributions. The winners are as follows: Playerʼs Player of the Year: Jamie Bell (S6) Player of the Year: Aidan Julyan (S5) Most Valuable Player: Jordan Platt (S6) Top Goalscorer: Josh Rodgers (S5) Goal of the season: Declan Adam winner versus Auchinleck Academy and Michael Grant equaliser, versus James Hamilton.

Team of the season this year, undoubtedly, has been our Under-16 squad and in a closely fought contest on Thursday 27th March the boys did not disappoint. The team, similar to our Under-18 team, were competing in the Quarter Finals of the Ayrshire Cup away to Greenwood Academy. The squad started the game brightly with a penetrating run from Connor Shearer being halted by a terrible challenge in the opposition box. (cont/.)

However no penalty was awarded and a rightly aggrieved St Josephʼs had to continue to press for an opener. Unfortunately, their efforts were dealt a blow with a wonder strike from Greenwood Academyʼs central midfielder giving the home team the lead. The second half started far better for the 16ʼs with a winding run from Conor McMillan prompting a late challenge and an overdue penalty being awarded to St Josephʼs. This opportunity was no more than the boys deserved given their start to the second half and the responsibility was handed to defensive midfielder Connor Shearer.

Ever confident, Connor stepped up and gave the opposition goalkeeper no hope of stopping the shot, equalising for St Josephʼs. This goal appeared to spur the team on and their hard work was rewarded when a lofty right footed corner 10 minutes later was dealt with poorly by the Greenwood defence and landed at the left foot of Connor Shearer, 18 yards from goal. Connor struck the ball low with power into the opposing net, earning the team a 2-1 lead.

Despite greater possession there was an anxious finish to the match, as a free kick from Greenwood crept under goalkeeper Ciaran McDaid making it 2-2 with less than 10 minutes to play. With a second consecutive night of penalties approaching, St Josephʼs refused to give in, and rightly so, as a perfectly weighted pass from central midfield found the instrumental left foot of Sean Sweeney. Sean found himself in space on the left hand side of the pitch, at a tight angle he managed to strike the ball past the approaching goalkeeper to make it 3-2 on the night. The team now progress to the semi finals and increase the chance of more silverware for St Josephʼs this season.

Sponsorship At St Josephʼs Academy we pride ourselves on providing opportunities for our young people to display their talents and thanks to TSB Bank in Kilmarnock, our football talents and success will be recognised across the community. Richard Merry, Branch Manager of TSB Bank on Kings Road in Kilmarnock has pledged to donate new equipment

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which ensures our young people will be kitted out with new footballs, water bottles and strips for next season. Richard Merry is pictured below with some of our Under 13 and Under 18 team.

Following a successful season we plan to introduce another school team for next year. We will be forming an under 15 team with boys in our current S1 and S2 eligible to play. This team will have a trial match on Wednesday 2nd April away to Grange Academy.

Individual Success At St Josephʼs, we have a number of talented performers who deserve recognition for their accomplishments within and out with school. A perfect example of this comes from S3 pupil Ava Hepburn who now boasts the title of Under 18 National Bowls Champion. Ava produced an excellent paired performance winning all 5 prerequisite matches to qualify for the final. Ava then went on to top this performance with a further 5 wins from 5 matches in the final to be crowned Scottish under 18 Bowls Champion. We are very proud of Avaʼs accomplishment.

We are also extremely proud of the recent performance of S4 Boxer Robert Murray. The powerful S4 fighter has produced excellent displays of late and earned high praise from his peers for his performances in the ring. The Inside boxer, who trains out of New Farm Gym, has won all three of his recent fights with a fourth approaching in late April. All competitors have been older and more experienced than Robert however; his individual style has seen him win his first fight on a unanimous judgeʼs decision, his second by technical knockout (TKO) and his third, again, on a unanimous decision by the judges.

Robertsʼs next fight will take place on the 26th April in the Irvine Volunteer Rooms against a 25 year old fighter from Edinburgh. On his recent run, we have high hopes this unbeaten run will continue.

Robertʼs achievements have not gone unnoticed as he, along with fellow S4 student Toni Barr (cont/.)

Above: the S1 Heptathletes with Kuda Tapatapa (S5), far left.

Below: Richard Merry of Lloyds TSB Bank with U-13 and U-18 players.

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(girlsʼ football), are now our new Sports Ambassadors alongside, Kuda Tapatapa (our schoolʼs Athletics champion) and Michaelah McCluskey (our schoolʼs Gymnastics champion).

Mr Wilson, our Active Schools Co-ordinator, is the lead member of the Sports Ambassadors, an initiative he has set up in recent years to support sport development across all ages and stages in the school. Mr Wilson has handpicked Robert and Toni to replace our departing S6 Ambassadors Abbie Robb and Shannon Martin and their role will be to be a positive example for our younger pupils.

They will be tasked with encouraging participation in sport through organising events within school.

Both Robert and Toni, alongside Kuda and Michaelah will play an active role in supporting all sports and physical activity in St Josephʼs Academy. We would like to say thank you to Abbie and Shannon who have been exemplary Sport Ambassadors.

East Ayrshire Athletics As our Easter break approaches, all learners in the PE department will be completing their final fitness testing of the term and awaiting our Athletic block.

The athletics block is very well received by learners and is sure to be as popular as ever. In preparation for this unit, 14 fortunate boys and girls from S1 and S2 were selected by Mr Howson to take part in East Ayrshireʼs Giant Heptathlon on the 24th of February. Pupils that were selected were Conan Mackin, Lennon Yancouskie, Kudzai Tapatapa, Lewis Hood, James Johnston, Matthew Mottram, Lewis McCabe, Beth Samson, Isla Neilsen, Charley Dodds, Amy Duncan, Lauren Halliday and Niamh Murray. The event involved competing in a range of athletics based activities including sprinting, hurdling, endurance, jumps and throws.

Every participant performed to their best ability to firmly earn St Josephʼs 4th place among 9 competing schools.

Above: Robert Murray (S4) poses for a fight; Ava Hepburn (S3) presents her bowling trophies.

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learning community// Our Learning Community stretches across East Ayrshire.

We run transition events all-year-round for pupils joining us from P7. Here some of those pupils, from St. Andrew’s PS, describe their experience so far.

Fiona Livingston

Holly Druce

Iʼve enjoyed my transition process so far and Iʼm excited for my next visit. Iʼve done numerous activities since the beginning of P7. Iʼm looking forward to the chance when I get to experience being in an actual chemistry class! However, the event that I enjoyed the most was the chance to be in the secondary library, picking out books, having a book group with their various activities. Mrs Kirkwood was funny and the activities I got to do were interesting, including a debate, designing a comic strip and a sponsored read. As a result Iʼm looking forward to picking out different books from the St Josephʼs library when I come up after the summer.

Before my first transition day to St Josephʼs, I felt a bit nervous about the whole moving to secondary school thing, but now itʼs all clicked into place. The transition days allow you to get to know the teachers or make a good first impression, and you know what subjects youʼll have to prepare for. In secondary school the subjects are more advanced and you are trusted with resources and tools you may not have access to in primary school. My favourite subject was tech. The teacher was informative and enjoyable to work with so I am looking forward to all the different aspects of school life at St Josephʼs.

Robbie Gallacher When we got told “youʼre going to a transition day in St Josephʼs”, I got really excited as I like to feel the very different atmosphere and the buzz of the building. I love all the new ways of learning, especially the art work we did when Mrs Gabriel and some of the S3 and S6 pupils came to our classroom. The art work was fun as we all enjoyed being free and just painting lines and shapes wherever our hand moved during the music that was playing. We had a camera filming us so they could put a video of our art lesson up on Education Scotland. In the past I didnʼt really like art as I wasnʼt a confident drawer. I hope we can have more activities like that in the art department where it is simple but effective.

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Connor Finnigan I really liked going to Technical because I enjoy doing a new subject and using the glue gun and the saw. It was fun doing woodwork and working in teams. I love building with Lego and Kʼnex so Iʼm looking forward to Technical at St Josephʼs.

John Grant-Ashbridge French was one of my favourite subjects during the time at St Josephʼs. We learned about the Commonwealth Games and words for different sports and how to say them. I also liked the flags quiz we did in Modern Languages. I am looking forward to going to secondary school because the work will be harder, there will be more freedom of choice and because Iʼll get to study French and Modern Languages.

(what is) learning community?// For this learning-themed issue the P5 - P7 pupils at St. Xavier’s gave us their thoughts on our questions. So did Headteacher Mrs. Heron.

What is learning?

• • • • • • • • •

Something that will help me get a job when I am an adult New things Finding things out Making mistakes Not making the same mistakes Thinking The future New skills Messy, enjoyable, motivating, creative, useful, making mistakes, enquiry, satisfaction, challenge (Mrs. Heron)

How do you know you are learning?

• • • • • • • • •

Seeing an improvement in my work Remembering things like tables facts Good marks in tests Good comments from my teachers ʻGreensʼ on my Personal Learning Plan targets I can explain what I know to others When I understand new things I know how things work Feedback, self-reflection, achieving targets and goals, enjoying challenge, I can do it!

(Mrs. Heron)

How can we improve learning for young people?

• • • • • • •

More outdoor learning Quiet music as we work Give a good example to others More homework Stay at school for longer Let young people show what they know in different ways Use characters from movies and TV shows

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• • • • •

More work experience Use more games Alter the pace of the day Stay in the class Ask, encourage, involve, support, be honest, build relationships (Mrs. Heron)

What do you wish you had learnt sooner?

• • • • • • • • •

More about maths, science and technology That it is really good to read.

To give my suggestions To be more helpful That people arenʼt always what you think they are People are sometimes not themselves If you lie, an adult will always find out How hard life can be To be more questioning and to follow your own dream (Mrs. Heron)

What is the value of interdisciplinary learning?

• • • • • • • • •

Learning in groups means you can help each other It makes learning more interesting and fun It encourages reading It makes learning seem easier It links more to real life Because it links more to how we learn at Primary School You are using lots of skills at once and more like real life You learn different things and it reminds you of primary It links more closely to the primary curriculum and makes transition easier; it allows pupils to apply all their learning and skills; it should improve skills for learning, life and work. (Mrs. Heron)

what is learning? a former pupil’s ideas// Angela Murphy, who left St. Joseph’s in 2002 and, after studying International Product Design at Glasgow School of Art and then Law at Strathclyde University, is now working for a hedgefund company, gives her thoughts on this issue’s theme. Angela was one of the speakers at last June’s Enspire Festival.

What is learning?

I think learning is just being curious in a supportive environment. You donʼt stop learning when all your exams are finished, at any age, if you remain curious. Learning to me doesnʼt mean I can tick a topic off a list or feel Iʼve received a definitive answer. Itʼs a continuous process as I get older asking questions, forming more rounded opinions, and active listening. I donʼt mark intelligence by the number of degrees someone has – real life positive learning is much more of a skill.

How do you know you are learning?

When I find a new strand of things to be curious about arising from a past or current strand of information or experience, I feel I am in the process of learning. The way information joins up like a spider diagram is what interests me. My brain goes off on tangents and when things start to link together to create a bigger body of knowledge, thatʼs when I feel I have learned and am continuing to learn. When I did exams at university I didnʼt feel I had particularly ʻlearnedʼ anything because it was exam-specific information that didnʼt really link to much more than the exam subject.

How can we improve learning for young people?

I feel the way that young people are taught is the key. I personally didnʼt feel that I had learned when I passed exams at school. The methods of learning were more important to me. For instance, my art teacher always had the radio on when we were working and thatʼs something I carried on to uni and adult life. To this day I canʼt concentrate without music blasting in my ear! The idea was that

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we use different parts of the brain to listen to music and to concentrate, so it was a move away from traditional quiet learning in the maths or English room. Finding links between subjects to create more of an ʻopen planʼ learning method could be a way of allowing pupils to find out how they can best learn, and also learn from each other. I also donʼt think that exams are the best way for young people to learn as itʼs a pressurised environment which not everyone is equipped to cope with and it is often more of a memory test than an expansion of intelligence.

What do you wish you had learnt sooner?

I wished I had learned how to form a mind palace like Sherlock Holmes. My memory has and continues to be rubbish and I have spent many, many hours cramming exam information into it at the last minute which is now entirely forgotten.

What is the value of interdisciplinary learning in secondary school?

University and the workplace value interdisciplinary learning more than schools. In the current job market, you need to have extra skills and interests that set you out from the crowd because more and more people are becoming highly educated. To be able to work across subjects and with different groups of people is what employers value and it would be great to see that kind of attitude being developed further at St Josephʼs. But a lot is down to the teachers themselves – they need to be willing and open to the challenge of interdisciplinary learning because kids naturally do it anyway – itʼs a few teachers, and the traditional school system, who put boxes round subjects to contain them and test them more easily.

what is learning? an educationalist’s ideas// David Cameron, who was one of the speakers at last June’s Enspire Festival, is a highly respected education consultant. He is known for not shying away from challenging the status quo in education. What better person to answer our questions in this issue?

It was great to be part of last yearʼs Enspire

one of the worst things that we can do now.

Festival at St Josephʼs Academy. It was a superb day with a remarkable collection of speakers, first class hospitality and very good organisation from the students.

I often use the quote from Hoffer that “in times of change, the learner will inherit the earth, while the learned will remain beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists” and it is absolutely true.

Literacy and numeracy are vital qualities, but we need “learnacy” too!

I loved the ambition of the day, but I think that is typical of St Josephʼs and I think that is reflected in this magazine. Lots of schools have magazines, but most are just records, often excellent ones, of what has been happening in the school. Not many do what this edition does and take a theme and then look for answers to a very interesting set of questions What is learning?

Learning is what we are programmed to do. We start at birth and should never stop. We do it through exploring and experimenting, through watching and imitating, through listening and touching.

Before we even get near a nursery or a school, most of us have learned to walk, to talk, to make our feelings known and get what we want. We learn how to interact with other people and so much more.

Learning is absorbing knowledge and acquiring skills. It is making sense of our world. Ultimately, it is mastering ways of shaping our world and making decisions about our lives.

Learning is not the same as being taught, although teaching is a vital means of learning. As teachers, we kid ourselves if we think that students have learned everything that we think we have taught!

We need to be careful that we donʼt teach too much and make students dependent on us. If we do, we stop them becoming learners and that is

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How do you know you are learning?

I think the simple answer is that you know you are learning when you grow in confidence and can tackle new challenges, when you can do more, make sense of more things, predict what might happen better and explain the world to yourself more clearly. I am sure that there are a lot more indicators that you can add How can we improve learning for young people?

I think that there are lots of things that we can do to improve learning.

We need to be more confident that young people will learn if we stimulate and interest them. We need to use curiosity. We need to build on the strengths of learners and not just focus on weaknesses.

We need to use technology and learn from each other. Teachers are doing exciting and innovative things and we need to share these and make our practice more consistent.

We need to make sure that we have progression, that we look at what students have learned and then build on that. We often see learners have more confidence and independence in their learning at a younger age and that is not good enough. $ $ $ $ (cont/.)

What do you wish you had learnt sooner?

I donʼt tend to look back with regrets. I prefer to focus on what I can yet learn. You canʼt change the past so there is not a lot of point in wishing and it is never too late to learn What is the value of interdisciplinary learning in secondary school?

Learning across subjects helps us to make connections and we need to do that in a modern and complex world. Life doesnʼt come conveniently packaged in subjects so we shouldnʼt always learn as if it did.

Learning can often be motivated by enquiry and enquiries tend to cut across subjects.

A PRIEST’S VIEWPOINT We asked the same questions of Father Latham, Parish Priest of St. Josephʼs Church, Kilmarnock.

What is learning?

I think learning is being changed by new experience, positively or negatively, or even simply being confirmed by new experience in lessons already learned.

How do you know you are learning?

Sometimes we are aware of how we change, of new knowledge or knew understanding or new skills and the development of skills already acquired. At other times it is only with hindsight that we come to understand what we have learned and how we have changed.

How can we improve learning for young people?

The prerequisite for learning is an openness to new experience as well as an openness to being changed by it. It is easier, of course, to be open to new experience when we value the change that may result. One of the many challenges in teaching young people is identifying experiences that help young people grow but also seem relevant to the young people themselves. While many will

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appreciate that they will value, at some point in later life, what they learn now, others will not. The more attractive the experience in itself the more likely young people will be to open themselves to it.

That we are changed by experience means that exposing ourselves to new experience, at some level, involves risk. It is important therefore that the environment in which young people are expected to learn is one in which they feel secure.

What do you wish you had learnt sooner?

The value of physical exercise and the importance of saying “no!”

What is the value of interdisciplinary learning in secondary school?

The most important lesson I think I have learned is the value of learning itself. It is very easy to see school as preparing for exams rather than life.

Interdisciplinary learning helps students and teachers maintain perspective.

And then we asked Father Chambers, our School Chaplain.

What is learning?

Expanding my knowledge and my experience.

How do you know you are learning?

When I am stretching myself. Often it is when I feel challenged.

How can we improve learning for young people?

Listening to their everyday experiences.

What do you wish you had learnt sooner?

How to build community.

What is the value of interdisciplinary learning in secondary school?

At the end of the day you have a rounded education and a fuller experience of life.

Learning is a fundamental part of all of our lives from the day we are born till the day we die, you never stop learning new things.

What do I wish I had learnt sooner? The list is endless!!! (Parent)

learning from a hard knock life// Isla Grant and Niamh Murray, are both in S1 and both recently starred in a production of Annie at the Palace Theatre.

Before I even auditioned for Annie, I had decided that I wanted to be Pepper, the roughest of all the orphans in the orphanage.

rehearsals leading up to this. As the scene was about to start I looked over my shoulder at the other girls and mouthed “Good Luck” as the bright yellow lights began to shine on the stage.

At the audition hall, although I was with my best friends who were also auditioning and I had done many auditions before, I was absolutely terrified.

Every little girl there was auditioning for a main orphan and a lot of them I knew were amazing performers. I didnʼt think I was going to be able to get this part.

Isla Grant

When my name was called, I was taken into a small room with the director, musical director and two other people to help with the casting. As I walked in, the door was closed I started to audition.

I remember doing a dancing show one night and my mum coming into the rehearsal studio and whispering to me “ Well done Pepper!” I had gotten the part!

When I first found out that the show was Annie, I was so delighted as Iʼve always wanted to act in it.

I knew that I needed to get one of the leading roles. When I got the list with all the main roles, I decided that I wanted to be July. I found out that she was quite shy at first, quite small and 13 and I knew I had to go for it because she is so similar to me.

Rehearsals for Annie flew by so quickly and before any of us knew it, we were doing tech runs and costume calls in the Palace Theatre. My costume was a long blue dress with an odd mustardy stain down one side, however every night I looked forward to wearing it. We would back-comb our hair so that it was practically standing up and put it messily in either a ponytail or top-knot.

On the Tuesday night, the opening night of Annie, we all lay in our beds at the start of the show, listening to the overture begin to be played by the band. We were all bruised and tired from

I just love to perform. The experience of Annie was outstanding: from when I first found out that I was in Annie to the day waving goodbye to my friends, wishing to see them again soon.

I auditioned and soon after found out that I was lucky enough to get the part of July. I was so pleased and also when I found out that my friend Isla Grant was another leading role, Pepper. I soon got told that I had to pretend fight with her as she was a bully and was being really mean to the smallest girl, Molly.

For the show, we had to make our hair really messy so Isla and I started fighting in the dressing rooms so we would have messy hair. I absolutely loved starring in the musical Annie and canʼt wait for the next one.

Niamh Murray

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learning about young people’s mental health// We have placed huge emphasis on addressing some of the mental health challenges faced by young people at St. Joseph’s’ Part of this has involved training staff and raising awareness. Here Classroom Assistant, Mrs. Lightfoot, reflects on her experiences.

Last month, I enrolled for a Scotlandʼs Mental Health First Aid training course hoping to get a better understanding of mental health Issues and recognising signs of mental distress in young people.

I have enjoyed the content of the course: however I was quite apprehensive at first. I have learned about different strategies and techniques that can be applied in both crisis and non-crisis situations.

I have gained in confidence in approaching a young person who may be struggling to cope and feel that I might be able to point them in the direction to start the positive process of their recovery.

The ʻALGEEʼ approach has been very easy to understand. It gives you a focus to follow the steps as they are set out, even though you have probably been saying and doing the same steps unconsciously on a daily basis.

Approach: I feel that I have learned to approach a young person with confidence now, whereas before, I might have gone straight to Pupil Support to ask if they could help. Now, I would probably deal with the situation myself in the first instance, whilst at the same time, informing Pupil Support of my intentions.

Listening non-judgmentally: I think the course has encouraged me to ʻhearʼ instead of listening. I am guilty of pigeon-holing people when I meet them for the first time. I think that I might have a different attitude now. I donʼt know what life has thrown at them in their personal lives, therefore I have to be prepared to put my opinions, beliefs and emotions to the side and focus on their problems. I found this part of the course interesting in the way it taught different responses and reactions.

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Give support and understanding: I enjoyed listening to the other participants in the way they dealt with different scenarios in their establishments. Everyone had the same goal and end result, to give the young person the right information and support. The videos that were played were very informative to me as I learned how to support the young person by responding in a way that gave them hope that they will make a positive recovery.

Encourage appropriate professional help: Through the distribution of leaflets and books, I now know a lot more professional bodies that can deliver support and help. I would now also encourage the young person to talk to family, a friend or someone they trust. During the group work, I found other media sites and apps that a young person could access themselves, but only trusted sites.

Encourage other support: Having researched different support websites, I also found many local self-help groups, which I would encourage the young person to go to, either on their own but probably with a friend or family member. I also found that the release of endorphins in the body due to exercise, can cause a ʻfeel goodʼ factor, which can have positive effects on mental and physical wellbeing. This of course would be depending on the nature of the problem and may need a GP referral first.

Overall, I found the course extremely informative, constructive and enjoyable. The trainers made you feel at ease and under no pressure. I feel within myself that I can now recognise the first signs of distress and deal with it appropriately.

me, my brother and autism// In an affecting reflective piece S5 pupil Bethany Dick talks about her brother and her experience of his autism and the impact it has on her family.

Growing up, I would often observe the ʻnormalʼ

pasta. We would play for endless hours acting out

children in the midst of their frivolous fantasies and

stories - it was a dynamic I expected would be

assumed identities: an observation which was often

mimicked on the playground of school. Born the

tinged with jealousy. Their play was unstructured,

year before me, he had already started school by

carefree and required no written invitation: where

the time it was my turn. I would have sought out his

brother, friend and stranger were a distinction without

company at every opportunity if I had the chance.

a difference. I did not engage in this practice of play,

Looking back on it now with fresh perspective, I

for I had an autistic brother. Autism was the solitude

understand why the teachers encouraged me with

my brother found solace in and the tedious tapping,

treasures, treats and games, to play with other

twisting, banging, clenching and clapping which

children, whilst my brother walked the walls with

animated him. As far as other children were

that rigid hunch of his. With time I realise that being

concerned, autism was him - or, that is, all they

alone does not mean that youʼre lonely - he didnʼt

wanted to (or even could) see. Three was a crowd:

have to be alone, it was just what he desired.

Me, my brother and autism. But it was a

Despite their efforts for me to “leave him beʼʼ, and

complementary dynamic, for they wanted nothing to

perhaps a little in the spirit of rebellion, we still

do with him, thus we wanted nothing to do with them.

enjoyed one anotherʼs company.

I never did notice my brother was considered an

I can only hope my children play as well as we

outcast in this world when I was younger - but then

used to play. How I longed for the school bell to

again, I believed that chocolate milk came from brown

sound, signalling it was time for us to go home and

cows until I was almost 9 years old. The knowledge of

play out stories we had conjured during his ʻbreak-

my brotherʼs autism was hastily thrust into my head

time-pondersʼ, which were exclusively for my ears

before I started school - knowledge which at that age

only. Attending school made me particularly aware

was as useful as a chocolate teapot, for my priorities

of the differences between Jonathan and other

then lay in making sure dolly had enough play-doh

children. My brother was easily frustrated, (cont/.)

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isolated by his autism and I had to develop a new

to its full advantage - which was just as well as I

style of play which suited him. I embedded his body

was miserable enough for the both of us.

language and social cues in my memory and learned what the concoction of claps, grunts and taps meant.

A manifestation of anger, frustration or joy? Either way I had to learn if I wanted to be his sister and soon I was a calculator to his problems.

Maybe those cruel children felt a lack of something and resorted to bullying to fill them with a sense of pride and power. Or perhaps I was merely vulnerable to the disease of intolerance to which my brother had built an immunity. Either way, it fills

Growing up with my sibling could be trying at times,

me with great pleasure to know that I

for his rituals and bizarre behaviourisms were not shy

accommodate a greater humility than they will ever

to the public eye, but this I learned to accept for to

possess.

him they are like my morning coffee is for me- if I donʼt have it I donʼt feel right. Watching him set the table with such precision and dedication or witnessing the harrowing howl as the malicious meat dared to come forth and touch the greens, was a conflicting affair.

And there is a sense of guilt which comes with wanting to laugh at the antics which seem comedic to the eye but in reality are a manifestation of his raging anxiety. Perhaps it is this inner guilt, stemming from me not having the condition, which made me retreat into myself as a child, believing my parents had enough on their hands (perhaps especially when he started high school) without the likes of me.

Our childhood was a blessing compared to the minefield that is secondary school. It was a hunting ground; obnoxious teens lurking around corners, armed with their rapier wit, and those teachers who exhibited a “not my problem” attitude that surely must play on their conscience. Ignorance is bliss they say.

And this was certainly something my brother utilised

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Eventually, after six painstaking years, and having conquered those bullies and unsympathetic teachers, my brother finished high school. Now he is leaving for college and I am filled with both joy and apprehension for I know that although he is now armed with the skills to cope, ignorance is not limited to the school world and this is something I canʼt protect him against. Sometimes when I walk past my old primary school I see the children playing happily. I come to the realisation that I am no longer filled with resentment or jealousy, but joy.

Joy because it reminds me of the very vibrant and exceptional childhood I was lucky to share with my special big brother.

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parent poetry on learning// Here three parents offer their lyrical take on learning. We have preserved their anonymity, but we’re sure you’ll be impressed with their poems.

An S2 Parent wrote: What is learning?

Learning is our daily lives, throughout our lives, itʼs stimulating, challenging, enlightening, but can also be tedious and boring, but necessary.

How do you know you are learning?

Sometimes you donʼt know or appreciate that you are learning, then you have that light-bulb moment.

How can we improve learning for young people?

Keep it simple, make it fun, make it relevant, challenge, challenge, challenge!

What do you wish you had learnt sooner?

Social skills, confidence, discipline and common sense, but not necessarily in that order.

What is the value of interdisciplinary learning in secondary school?

Interdisciplinary Learning = ʻapplied learningʼ. It takes learning into real world as opposed to theoretical scenarios. It illustrates why we are learning.

What is the value of interdisciplinary learning in secondary school?

All aspects of life intertwine - so should learning Learning is...

Learning is our daily lives, every dayʼs a test, Learning is for all of us, not only for ʻthe bestʼ, Learning can be boring, a means unto an end, Though learning makes us better, it exercises brains.

We often dismiss learning as English, Maths and French, Though things we learn, that arenʼt taught which lead to our success, Are social skills and confidence and good old common sense, Learning is a lifelong gift, we learn something new each day, We learn from teachers, friend and foe and lots from family, Learning can be challenging, but also lots of fun, Learning is community, itʼs there for everyone.

An S2 and S5 parent offered this: What is learning?

Growing your mind How do you know you are learning?

When you stop for a minute and think "oh yeah" How can we improve learning for young people?

Make it about real life, not text book theory What do you wish you had learnt sooner?

How important good grades really are!

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Learning is a Journey Learning is a journey You can change destination You can change speed You can use different vehicles You can start, stop, get stuck, reverse or crash You can travel alone, be the driver or the passenger You can carry things with you, pick things up or drop things off on route Just when you think youʼve reached your destination, thereʼs always somewhere new to go

the value of debate// As many of you know, our debating team enjoyed huge success recently in the STV Debating Matters Referendum debates. But what did they learn? Here’s what Ramsay Heron-Cunningham, Nik Kolev, Sarah Kelly and Sarah Iles said.

Nik: I have become more politically aware, with a greater understanding of how politics works and of the mechanics of policy.

Ramsay: I learnt a great deal from the experience of public speaking that will help me pursue my chosen ambition in Law. I was also challenged by having to respond to questions from the judges.

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Sarah I: I learnt about the sheer terror of having to stand up in front of TV cameras and know my entire family is going to watch in two weeks!

Sarah K: I learnt a lot from the challenge of having to remember arguments and statistics in the heat of the moment. It also increased my confidence.

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fantasy football// Teacher of Design and Technology, Mr. Docherty, has been running the league this year. This is his report.

The Fantasy Football League is progressing very well with several players breaking the 1000 points mark.

jump several positions in the league and become a possible contender as we come to the business end of the season.

At the top of the table it is very competitive with the likes of the Stakim brothers and Luke Shearer still challenging. Peter McNamara and Declan Lavan have also put their teams in the mix for the league championship with a great run post Christmas.

Furthermore, Mr Docherty and Mr Howson are sitting comfortable in 7th and 8th position and waiting to make their move for the title.

Lavan also picked up the manager of the month award for January.

An unlikely winner of the February manager of the month award, we saw Ross Cameron

As a school we are sitting 280th out of nearly 1000 leagues within the United Kingdom which is a highly respectable effort and hopefully we can improve on this.

Thanks to everyone who has competed in the league this year to make it as successful as it has been. Keep up the good work!

Manager of the Month Oct Dylan Stakim Nov Luke Shearer Dec Conner Stakim Jan Declan Lavan Feb Ross Cameron Mar Apr May

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was invested as House Vice-Captain and, inspired by the example of Christ, St. Andrew and St. Joseph, promised before pupils, teachers, clergy and parents to live out our shared Gospel values, lead and serve others, demonstrate in all things our high standards and expectations and work for the greater good of the school and its community on this day the TWENTY-SEVENTH of SEPTEMBER in the year 2012.

Ben Davis Acting Headteacher

Claire McInally Depute Headteacher

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FIDELIS

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UU

INSPIRE AND

TRANSFORM

JUSTUS PRUDENS

Saint Joseph’s Academy Grassyards Rd Kilmarnock KA3 7SL 01563 526144 www.saintjosephsacademy.co.uk @StJoAcad (Twitter)

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Acting Headteacher: Ben Davis ben.davis@east-ayrshire.gov.uk