September 15 parent news 2013

ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY Weekly Newsletter

ISSUE 3.2 See back page for a special reflection on peace from our pupils

SEPTEMBER 15TH

2013 FOR PARENTS, CARERS, FAMILIES & PARISHES

Ben Davis, Acting Headteacher Grassyards Rd Kilmarnock KA3 7SL 01563 526144 www.saintjosephsacademy.co.uk Twitter: @StJoAcad

INSPIRE AND TRANSFORM: Art Exhibition opens this week (work pictured by Christian Kerr, S4)

St. Joseph’s hosts its first Art Exhibition this week We are gearing up for what promises to be another wonderful week at St. Joseph’s. On Wednesday night the doors open on our first art exhibition as the work of senior pupils in Art and Design and Photography goes on display in the Assembly Hall and Drama Studio.

All are welcome to come and view the work, some of which will be on sale, and to partake in refreshments prepared by our pupils. The exhibition has been organised in-part by pupils from the S3 Enterprise class.

Sri Lankan Visitors make an impact Sri Lankan teacher Mrs Geethi Warapathipaya joined us for most of last week, visiting classes, working closely with Social Subjects teacher Mrs. Fulton and attending a special Home Room assembly. As well as experiencing the school, Mrs. Warapathipaya also took in some of Scotland’s best tourist experiences and was presented with art work and a recipe book by pupils. The Home Room assembly was entertained by some outstanding musical performances and by a short presentation by Mrs. Fulton on her recent trip to Sri Lanka.

Senior School Awards Ceremony The ceremony took place last week and over 96 awards were given out. Picture below with more next week.

Some of our award winners from Thursday night.

Student priest Cameron Ferguson pictured with S6 pupils (story on next page).

LA MUSICA PARA ECUADOR, AUGUST 31ST Thank you to all pupils, staff, parents, carers and friends of the school who attended or helped out at the evening of Music for Ecuador two weeks ago.

Renowned Scottish tenor Martin Aelred, performed a wonderful set of songs accompanied by guitar. His performance took in songs from across the world. from different times and a variety of different styles from classic ballads to Spanish romances to operatic standards. He was joined onstage by S5 pupils Paul Murray and Jade Connell who performed an acoustic version of Hallelujah. Then all the pupils who are going to Ecuador and several who have assisted in the fundraising participated in a singsong led by Fr. Martin Chambers. Martin Aelred’s finale, Nessun Dorma, was a rousing and moving conclusion to the evening.

The concert raised over £1000 which will do to benefit the pupils and parishioners in Nueva Prosperina. Pupils from St. Joseph’s fly out to Ecuador on October 11th.

(Pictures courtesy of Mr. Murray, parent of Paul)

Cyber Security Challenge UK In August Mr Maclean from the Business Studies and ICT Department introduced S1-S6 Pupils to the Cyber Security Challenge UK. The Challenge is aimed to give young people and teachers an idea of the kinds of problems modern Security professionals face and some of the skills young people need to join them and help to protect the UK from Cyber threats.

The Cyber Security Challenge UK Ltd. aims to bring more talented people into the Cyber Security Profession and is backed by Founding Sponsors including the UK Government Cabinet Office of Cyber Security & Information Assurance (OCSIA), which supports the minister for the Cabinet Office, the Rt Hon Francis Maude MP and the National Security Council in determining priorities in relation to securing cyberspace.

Saint Joseph’s pupils took part in the Schools Taster Challenge, and Mr Maclean downloaded 5 ciphers for the pupils to crack! This was an enjoyable challenge for all involved, and tied in with pupils interests in James Bond Movies and the BBC Drama Spooks. Saint Joseph’s pupils will be able to take part in this again next session!

Global Market French classes went to the Global Market on Friday, September 13th (writes Shania Wilson, S3) and tried out many delicious varieties of foods and also learned a little taster of the German, Spanish and Italian language.

We enjoyed the Bratwurst, the kangaroo burgers, the strawberries and brownies covered in chocolate, the Churros, Spanish Paella. These were just a few of the tasty treats we stuffed our faces with.

We met many wonderful people from around the world and about learned about their local foods. Despite the cold weather, it was a warm, vibrant and happy attitude all round and we had a fantastic afternoon.

Merci! Danke! Grazie! Gracias! to Miss Blacklock, Miss Northcote and Mrs Miller for taking us.

Pictures next week.

Higher Spanish UN Survey The Higher Spanish class took part in the global online survey on the United Nations website, in Spanish of course.

The aim of the survey is to find out the priorities of young people in making a better world, and the results will be shared with world leaders to work on a new agenda for development.

They had to choose six priorities from statements such as a good education; measures to combat climate change; political freedom and an honest and receptive government.

Seminarian Visits St. Joseph’s Cameron Ferguson, former pupil of St. Joseph’s College in Dumfries, recently visited several senior school RE classes to talk about his life and work in Rome and the experiences that have led to him choosing to become a priest. his fascinating presentation was very well received by the pupils.

Year Heads 2013 - 14 S1 & S6 Mrs. McInally S2 & S4 Mrs Shearer S3 & S5 Mr. McGinn Homework Diaries All pupils should by now have received their planners. These should be used everyday to record homework. They are regularly checked by staff and we ask for the support of parents and carers in this.

Please ask your son or daughter about their homework each night. if you have concerns about this please contact their Pupil Support Teacher.

Pupil Leadership Team The following S6 pupils were appointed last week: Head Boy: Blair Welsh Head Girl: Natalie Wallace Deputy Head Boy: Sam Barbour Deputy Head Girls: Denise Custodio and Mahrukh Mirza Their Mass of Investiture takes place on Tuesday, September 17th at 7 pm.

Home Room Weekly Reflection: International Day of Peace (September 21st) Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by resolution 36/67 of the United Nations General Assembly to coincide with its opening session, which was held annually on the third Tuesday of September. The first Peace Day was observed in September 1982. In 2001, the General Assembly by unanimous vote adopted resolution 55/282, which established 21 September as an annual day of nonviolence and cease-fire. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace. This year a number of our pupils have entered a writing competition inspired by International Peace Day. Over the next few days, into next week, we will be sharing short extracts from some of the pieces entered by our pupils as part of the programme of Home Room prayer and reflection.

S3 pupil Eve Hammill writes: “Peace looks like... Not a single dove, but a gathering of species, Both prey and predator, Sharing the waterhole in the sun; Peace looks like... No more verbal abuse hurled at one another, But respect and understanding, Of differences by the tonne; Peace looks like... No more jealousy over others’ belonging, But sharing each others’ time and objects, With no more need to beg or gloat.”

PARISH MASS TIMES St. Matthewʼs: 10.00 am, Fr. Chambers ! !

St. Michaelʼs: 12.00 noon, Fr. McGhee ! !

St. Paulʼs: 9.30 am, Fr. Lawson ! ! !

St. Sophiaʼs: 11.30 am Fr. Lawson ! !

Our Lady & St. John: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. Chambers

St. Josephʼs: 6.00 pm (vigil), 11.00 am Fr. Latham Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 9.00 am, Fr. McGhee Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. McGrattan St. Thomas the Apostle: 9.00 am, Fr. McGrattan !St. John the Evangelist: 10.45 am, Fr. McGrattan