Return to school
We are pleased to report a very smooth start to the beginning of session, with a slight increase in expected pupil numbers.

S4 examination results met our expectations but we were particularly pleased with the Higher results.

East Ayrshire average Kilmarnock Academy

3 passes at Higher 8.6% 20.4%

5 passes at Higher 7.7% 9.3%

We wish to congratulate hard working pupils and supportive parents for this very good set of results.

Staffing
The start of term has seen some changes to school staffing. We are pleased to welcome the following new staff.

Mrs H Christie and Ms H Rintoul Biology Department,

Miss S Irvine Modern Languages Department,

Mr T Campbell and Mr S McGougan Technical Department,

Mr A Lang Geography Department

Mrs S Lindsay Classroom assistant.

Mr John Kirkland has joined the staff as Principal Teacher of Technical Education.

Mr Darren Ramsay is Acting Depute Head Teacher in charge of S3 pupils and

Mr Hugh Robertson is Acting Principal Teacher of Music.

Head Boy and Head Girl
Congratulations to the following senior pupils who have been appointed to these posts in school.

Head Boy Liam Baillie Head Girl Lesley Roy

Depute Head Boy David McIlwraith Depute Head Girl Beth Wilson

Library and Resource Centre
Dr Neilson, school librarian, has started an LRC blog at the following address

www.kalibrary.blogspot.com

You can follow the daily life of the library at this site.

Many thanks to Dr Neilson, and Ms Fullarton, for organising the annual trip to the Edinburgh Book Festival in August.

European Day of Languages
On Wednesday 26 September Kilmarnock Academy will be celebrating the European Day of Languages. There will be a distinctly continental atmosphere in the school with croissants and crepes for sale at break and lunch time, and lots of European decorations in the Assembly Hall and in the Modern Languages Department

There will be fun activities for juniors and the seniors will have the opportunity to take part in a Euroquiz and foreign language with some of our very talented pupils singing in French! Adding to the European flavour, pupils can also take part in a European Fancy Dress costume competition again with prizes for both junior and senior pupils. By celebrating European culture we hope to encourage and motivate all our pupils to take an interest in learning a modern foreign language.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Louise Mitchell whose artwork for Higher Art and Design has been selected for possible inclusion in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland. This is a truly impressive achievement by Louise.

Book return
Each year we lose a number of textbooks which are not returned by pupils. Please check around and see if there are any textbooks at home which could be returned to school. New books cost anything from £10 to £20 each so we cannot afford not to have them returned. You help with this would be very much appreciated.

Charity
Each year the school raises money for a number of charities chosen by the pupil council. Last year we surpassed ourselves with a massive £7000 for Yorkhill Hospital , Schiehallion Ward. However, we also collected old pairs of glasses to send to Malawi and have received these photographs to show how useful our contribution was. Many thanks to everyone who sent glasses in.

UCAS applications
A reminder to the parents of senior pupils of the deadlines for university applications.

Deadline – 15 October 2007

Oxford University

Cambridge University

Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine or Veterinary Science at all universities.

Deadline – Mid November

All other applications.

Applications are made online. Each pupil has been issued with a username, password, buzzword and a comprehensive instruction booklet. You can help with this at home, and you can track the progress of applications once they have been sent.

Jazz band
Following the jazz band's success at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall earlier this year, they have been invited to perform at a business event in Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomond . There is no truth in the rumour that Mr Ramsay is on 20% commission as their booking agent!

Website
The school website carries a great deal of useful information for pupils and former pupils.

Mr Neil McIlvanney maintains the website to a very high standard. If you have not already done so, take a look at www.kilmarnockacademy.co.uk

Parent council
The new Kilmarnock Academy Parent Council has had its first meeting. The members of the council are

Mrs Adrain Howard Chair

Mrs Annette Donnelly Vicechair

Mrs Anna Brown

Ms Gwen Sinclair

Mrs Fiona McCallum

Mrs Janice Gemmell

Mrs Carole Ford Head Teacher, Advisor to the council

Mr Ian Fyfe P.T. Chemistry, co-opted member

Mr Ian Murdoch Mathematics teacher, co-opted member

Ms Lois Cairney Secretary

Parents are still welcome to join the council. If you wish to do so please contact Ms Cairney at the school number (01563 525509). The next meeting will be on Tuesday 2 October at 7.30pm in the school conference room.

The constitution for the parent council is on the school website.

School chaplains
Mr Joe Adrain has retired from the chaplaincy team after several years of taking morning assemblies. We wish to thank him for his excellent work with pupils. We have two new members of the team who will work together with S1 pupils. They are David Gooding and Burt Garrick and we are very pleased to welcome them.

The team this session is therefore

S1 D Gooding and B Garrick S3 Rev J McNaughtan

S2 Very Rev Dr D Lacy S4 J Bircham

S5/6 Rev J Taylor

The Reverend J McNaughtan will also take our formal Christmas and Easter assemblies.

Parents are reminded that if they do not want sons or daughters to participate in religious observance they should contact the Head Teacher. Alternative arrangements at assembly times will be made.

Face piercings
Facial piercings are banned in school for health and safety reasons. All jewellery must be removed for PE classes and it is not hygienic for such piercings to be removed and re-inserted in a crowded changing room. In addition, in crowded corridors it is unsafe to have peircings which may be knocked or dislodged. Pupils with face piercings will be sent home or to the school behaviour unit. In particular, please do not allow a piercing to be made during the school session – we cannot allow pupils to wear an item for the necessary 3/4 week period while the hole heals.

As a cautionary note, we have had to deal with a number of cases of sceptic piercings. This practice should not be encouraged.

Dates for the Diary
Full dates for the diary are available on the school website

Another very busy term has rounded off the session. Once again the SQA exams ran very smoothly, thanks to the efforts of Mr Stewart, SQA co-ordinator, Mrs Chudleigh, Chief Invigilator, and her team of invigilators. We now await the results in August.

A number of events took place during May and June. Our incoming P7 pupils visited the school for two days and took part in a team building event at the sports fields on a third day. This year we enlisted the help of the Royal Navy and their personnel organised a range of team activities for the pupils. It gave everyone a chance to get to know each other, and to get used to mixing with pupils from other schools. The weather was kind and the whole event was a resounding success.

There were a number of residential trips this year. S1 pupils went to an outdoor centre in Lochgoilhead – the weather could have been better for this but since several of the activities incorporated water anyway, including sliding down a wet plastic sheet, it didn't seem to matter. The Art Department organised a very successful trip to Barcelona , concentrating their attention on the works of Picasso, Dali and Gaudi. The annual trip to the war cemeteries in Belgium was also a success. Pupils took with them a wreath to lay on behalf of the school, and individual tokens of respect to lay on specific graves.

On Activity Day pupils made the annual pilgrimage to Alton Towers , and it was indeed much wetter in England than it was in Scotland . Other venues for fun and games included Loudoun Castle , Laserquest in Edinburgh and even a fishing expedition.

The senior prom at the Lochside Hotel in Cumnock went well. For those of you with daughters in the junior school, start saving for the frock now! The prizegiving was a very happy event, celebrating the success of many pupils. This year two speakers addressed the audience of parents and pupils, Mrs Jan Cunningham, retiring Head Teacher of Loanhead Primary School and Mrs Grace Scott, retiring Quality Improvement Officer with East Ayrshire. Both ladies are former pupils of Kilmarnock Academy . This year's winner of the Stuart McDonald Memorial Shield was Nicola Browning, who has contributed to many school events throughout the year.

The highlight of the term, however, indeed of the year, was the school show We Will Rock You . For those of you lucky enough to get tickets you will know just what an outstanding show this was. Our advice is, get your tickets early for the next one!

Many, many thanks to all staff who gave of their time to make it such a successful show and particularly to Mr Ramsay in the Music Department and to Mrs Dunsmuir, who directed it. Very well done to the performers, who did a truly excellent job.

 Staffing
A number of staff are leaving us this session. Mr Deane Monachan is leaving as Principal Teacher of Technical to take up a new post as Head of Design in Hamilton Grammar. We wish him all the best in his new position and thank him for everything he has contributed to Kilmarnock Academy .

Mr Paul Crankshaw is retiring as Principal Teacher of Business Studies. We send him all good wishes for a happy retirement and thank him very much indeed for his long years of sterling service.

Mr Alan Stewart is retiring as Depute Head Teacher, formerly Principal Teacher of Guidance. He has contributed enthusiastically to many areas of school life and will be missed. Good wishes to him too for a happy retirement – and keep your mobile switched on, Alan, in case we cannot find anything!

A number of probationer teachers, with us for one year only, are now embarking on their careers elsewhere. Thank you very much and good luck to – Mr James Carrigan in Mathematics, Mr Alistair McDougall in Modern Studies, Mr Chris Kilpatrick in Modern Languages, Mrs Rhona James and Mrs Amanda Walton in Biology.

Enterprise Success
Right at the end of session Kilmarnock Academy was a finalist in the Scottish Education Awards in the enterprise category. Mr Stewart and Mr O'Brien devised a course for S4 pupils called “ Enterprise through Craft” which has been most successful. Of 287 entries in this category, Kilmarnock Academy made it to the final three. This is an excellent achievement – very well done to everyone involved.

Kilmarnock Academy wishes all its readers a happy summer holiday!

Staffing
This term there have been relatively few changes to staffing. Mr Derek O'Brien left the Technical Department to take up a post in Fife and Mr Jim Craig has replaced him until June. Mrs Denise Thomson has returned from her maternity leave. We are very grateful to Mrs Sandra Bryden who replaced Mrs Thomson in her absence.

Eco friendly school
As previously reported, the school has achieved a Bronze award in the Eco School programme. We are also pleased to report that month by month we have been exceeding our gas and electricity targets. Many thanks to the janitorial staff who have been monitoring this carefully, and to all staff who are switching things off at every opportunity.

Visitors to Kilmarnock Academy
We hosted a Swedish student for one week at the end of February. Maria Schürer von Waldheim enjoyed her week with us so much that she indicated she would rather teach in Scotland than in Sweden ! In addition, four educators from Sorbia will be with us right at the end of term, to look at the use of smartboards. Sorbia is an area of Germany very close to the border with the Czech Republic .

Mobile phones and electronic gadgets
You may have been aware of recent publicity attached to the use of mobile phones in schools. The incidents which occurred elsewhere have re-inforced the need for our current policy in this area, which remains unchanged.

The use of a phone or any piece of electronic equipment, iPod or MP3 player, is banned inside the school building. A pupil who is seen with a phone or other gadget will have it confiscated and will be obliged to collect it at 3.30pm from either Mrs Ford or Mr Partridge. If any one pupil persists in flaunting this rule, the item will be kept for longer.

Phones in particular may be used to disturb classes, to send or receive inappropriate material, or even to promote indiscipline so that it can be photographed. We are therefore vigilant in enforcing our policy and we welcome your support on this issue.

Easter Concert
The Easter Concert will be held on Monday 26 th March at 7.30pm . Tickets cost £3 or £2 for concessions. This is always a most entertaining evening – please come along and enjoy the concert.

Kilmarnock Academy will rock you!
Cast and staff are already hard at work on the school's summer production. This year we're presenting “We Will Rock You”. This is a lively, exciting show featuring the music of Queen.

The story is set in the future. Musical instruments and composers are forbidden and rock music is banned. However, one small band of “Bohemians” struggle to restore live music and have Rhapsody! Come along and hear all your Queen favourites: One Vision , Another One Bits the Dust, Killer Queen, A Kind of Magic – and many more.

We Will Rock You
In the school Assembly Hall on Monday 11 th , Tuesday 12 th and Wednesday 13 th June.

Be there!

Don't miss this one!

Parent Council
In August the School Board will be replaced with a Parent Council. Please look at the draft constitution for the council on the school website and pass any relevant comment to Mrs Ford. Website address is www.kilmarnockacademy.co.uk . Paper copies are being distributed with this newsletter.

Easter Study School
As in previous years we are running an extensive revision programme for senior pupils during the Easter holidays. All pupils sitting examinations in May and June should be revising during the holidays, and coming to the school sessions will be helpful. A timetable is included with the newsletter – please encourage your son/daughter to come along.

Enterprise in English
The English department is in the early stages of creating an anthology of pupils' writing from S1 to S5/6. This project is being run by small teams of pupils from each year group, who are working on contributing, collating, selecting and organising the pieces of writing from their year group to go into the anthology; and on publishing, marketing and selling the finished product. Associated primary schools are also being invited to contribute to the anthology.

This project is aimed at showing parents and pupils the quality of pupils' writing in Kilmarnock Academy and also the high standards that are expected of pupils' work. We hope that the project will be completed before the end of term, and we will let you know by letter when the anthologies are available for purchase . Watch this space for more details – could we have the next Rabbie Burns or Jane Austen in our midst?

Physical Education issues
Parents are reminded that all jewellery must be removed for PE lessons. This is an absolute health and safety requirement. We would discourage all pupils from wearing jewellery to school, particularly expensive items for which we cannot be responsible.

The wearing of football tops is banned in schools. There has been a short grace period to allow the small minority of pupils using football tops as PE kit to make other arrangements but this has now come to an end. Please ensure that your son/daughter does not wear or bring a football top to school. We are grateful for parental support on this.

Extra-curricular sport
On Thursdays from 3.30 – 5pm the PE Department runs a Sports Club which is open to all pupils – any age, any level of ability. They participate in a variety of activities - currently the most popular are basketball and badminton. Please encourage your son/daughter to take part.

The Monday lunchtime badminton club is looking for more members – another opportunity to participate.

Kilmarnock Learning Partnership Art Exhibition
The nursery and primary schools in the partnership joined with us to produce an art exhibition Transitions. Art work by nursery, P1, P7, S1, and S6 pupils was on display on Tuesday 20 March, showing the wealth of talent of pupils at the transition stages of their educational careers.

Homework seminar
East Ayrshire recently ran a Saturday morning seminar for parents on the issue of homework. Kilmarnock Academy contributed a workshop to this event, which ran three times for different groups of parents. Thank you to Mr Monachan, Principal Teacher of Technology, who demonstrated the high tech approach to this topic.

Charity events
Following our major effort last term, raising £7000 for Yorkhill, we have taken a more low key approach this term.

Class 3W1 has been saving their loose change and sending it to World Vision Gift Aid. So far they have purchased 4 chickens and 20 chicks for a third world country.

The school community was invited to collect old pairs of glasses which are to be taken to Malawi for re-use. We collected over 70 pairs which was excellent.

For Comic Relief on 16 March we ran two karaoke events in the afternoon, we wore red during the day and a number of stalwart individuals had themselves sponsored for keeping silent or having their legs waxed. We raised an amazing £1500 with very little disruption to normal timetable. Many thanks to all staff who supported the activities, particularly to

Miss Templeton, Mrs James, and Mrs Walton, and to pupils and staff who donated so generously.

Royal Concert Hall
The Kilmarnock Academy Jazz Band was invited to play at the Royal Concert Hall in March. On Saturday 10 March the band played in the foyer while the audience gathered for two Children's Classic Concerts. They performed for forty minutes on both occasions to a most appreciative audience of children and parents. The management of the concert hall was very impressed and wish to invite them back to do this again. Very well done to the Jazz Band and to Mr Ramsay, the band leader.

World Book Day
Dr Neilson in the Library Resource Centre has been very active in supporting World Book Day on 1 March.

• Every pupil was given a £1 book token
• Pupils participated in the Spring Read book festival with some attending St Joseph 's and James Hamilton Academies to listen to the authors Cathy Cassidy and Michael Kerins, while pupils from other schools travelled here to listen to the author Jonathon Meres.
• The second round of the East Ayrshire Reader's Cup was held to find the winning S1 and S2 teams.

In addition Dr Neilson continues to train S6 pupils in more sophisticated aspects of internet research, and contributes to information and internet skills for S3 pupils.

Very importantly, the annual Easter Egg trail is now underway.

French for Families
Are you a parent or carer of a pupil in S1 or S2 at Kilmarnock Academy ? Would you like to brush up on your French or perhaps even learn the basics for the first time? Are you taking the family to France on holiday this year? Would you like to speak a little of the lingo with the locals? If your answer is ‘Yes' to any of the above – read on!

Kilmarnock Learning Partnership is rerunning it's popular ‘French for Families' course. This course gives you the opportunity, free of charge, to attend an interesting and interactive conversational French class geared towards adults.

The course will run in Kilmarnock Academy from Thursday 26 th April between 1.15 and 3pm and will run for 6 weeks. The course is only open to adults and will be held in the group work room (H1). Please contact Pauline Donnelly, Community Link Worker, on 525509 if you are interested in joining. Places are limited so book soon.

Recent achievements

• All S6 pupils attended a Reckless Driving Wrecks Lives event at the Odeon in Ayr .

• Ten pupils have been selected to take part in a golf coaching programme, funded by the National Playing Fields Association and the Rotary Club. They will receive 8 lessons from a golf professional and, so far, have had a wonderful time. Tiger Woods watch out!

• In the Kilmarnock area Mock Interview programme, two Kilmarnock Academy pupils took first and second places. Well done to Laura Cowan and Gregor Muir.

• Successful Burns Supper and Ceilidh on 25 January. Many thanks to Mrs Dunsmuir and Miss Templeton for their organisation of this event.

• Staff weekend trip to Bergamo , Italy . We counted them all out on a Friday evening, and back again on Monday morning. Benissimo!

• Successful ski weekend trip to Aviemore. Thank you to Mrs Devlin, Miss Cairns and Mr Bryden for contributing their time and energies to this.

• Holocaust Memorial Day commemorated in the LRC on 26 January.

• Valentine's Disco held on Thursday 15 February. Many thanks to Mr Kerr for his work in organising these events.

•  Two successful Health Days held for S4 male and female pupils. Well done to

Mr Howie and Mrs Sinclair.

• National No Smoking Day S1 Quiz. Congratulations to 1S and 1B1, winners of £5 WH Smith tokens.

• All S3 pupils attended an anti-sectarian play at the Palace Theatre.

• A very industrious Industrial Awareness Day for all S3 pupils. Thank you to

Mrs Hamilton and Mrs Armstrong for the organisation of this very worthwhile event.

• Open evening for P7 pupils and parents on Tuesday 20 March.

Kilmarnock Academy wishes all its readers 

Happy Easter!

Dates for the Diary

October to December 2006

The session so far has been very busy and productive. The volume of activity in school is a testament to the hard work and commitment of staff, and to the energy and co-operation of pupils. Participation levels in all areas are very high, against a back drop of sustained effort in classes. Everyone will deserve a holiday when it comes!

Staffing
There have been a number of changes this session so far. Mrs Morag Ranton has joined the Home Economics Department on a permanent basis, Mrs Pauline Donnelly has rejoined the support team as Community Link Worker and Ms Iona Neilson-Bell has joined us as teacher of Religious and Moral Education. In addition, Mr Patrick Hughes has joined us for the session in the English and Learning Support Departments. We have had, and will continue to have, a high number of student teachers, including two from Zurich .

European Day of Languages
In September the Modern Languages Department launched a full day of events and activities to promote the learning of foreign languages. This included a European quiz in the evening for pupils from Hillhead, Kirkstyle and Loanhead Primary Schools , and Kilmarnock Academy .

Music Department
The Music Department continues to contribute an enormous amount to the school as a whole and to the educational and social development of many individual pupils. This year's level of activity is particularly outstanding.

• S3/4 pupils have been involved in a Scottish Opera project based on Die Fledermaus
• S5/6 pupils participated in a workshop with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra
• The senior choir has performed in Prince's Square, and the Grand Hall, and will be performing around Kilmarnock during the festive season
• Senior pupils have made a recording for West Sound Radio which will be broadcast on Sunday 24 December at 11pm .
• The Almost Famous team of William Graham, Ross Leighton, Marc Strain and

Greg Walkinshaw organised a Battle of the Bands concert, featuring five Kilmarnock Academy Bands, as part of an enterprise project.

• The Jazz Band, Senior Choir and Energy, one of the bands mentioned above, performed at our Celebrating Success! event on St Andrew's Day.
• Upcoming performances include the Christmas Concert and school assemblies at the end of term.
  

Standards and Quality Report
The annual report is available for parents, in paper format from Reception or on the school website at www.kilmarnockacademy.co.uk

Last session saw the introduction of broad banding in S1 and further refinements of our support systems for more vulnerable pupils. We began our environmental programme and are delighted to have achieved the Bronze Award in the Eco School Programme. Our joint Brass Band with St Joseph 's Academy won national recognition as an example of good practice.

For the coming session we will further refine the S1 curriculum, implement fully the Additional Support Needs legislation, seek Health Promoting School status, and take forward A Curriculum for Excellence initiatives.

Sponsored Walk
Last session one of our pupils became very ill indeed and had to spend many weeks in Yorkhill Hospital . To show our support for her, and our gratitude to Yorkhill, the school participated in a sponsored walk to raise funds for Schiehallion Ward. Every pupil walked laps around the Kay Park, on one of the wettest days in September and we are utterly delighted to report that we raised £7000 for Yorkhill. This is an outstanding achievement for a school of this size and a tribute to the pupils of Kilmarnock Academy . Even better, the pupil concerned is now back in school and on the road to recovery.

Many thanks to all pupils who participated in the walk, and to the generous sponsors.

Other Charity Events
In the light of the huge amount raised by the sponsored walk, Children in Need was a relatively low key event this year. Nevertheless, we raised around £1200 with a non-uniform day, daily cake sales by the Home Economics Department and a sponsored silence.

The staff held its annual Macmillan Coffee Morning, raising £120 for the charity.

The pupil council continues to organise the can collections, currently for Médecins san Frontieres in Darfur .

We sold poppies for the Earl Haig fund in November.

The Prince's Trust xl club are currently organising the annual Christmas parcel appeal.

Fund Raising for the School
As if all the charitable events aren't enough, we also raised money for our own coffers, mostly to susidise the cost of curricular visits or trips. Mrs Lesley Hamilton organised a four hour bag packing session in Asda on Hallowe'en. A staggering 144 pupils volunteered for this, organised in pairs on a rota, no mean feat in itself, and we raised over £1100 in four hours. Many thanks to all staff and pupils who participated, particularly those in costume, and particularly to Mrs Hamilton. Her appearance as Moses almost made it worthwhile in itself!

Remembrance
The school has always marked Remembrance Day with a short wreath leaying service at the war memorial in the Old Academy hall. This year was no exception to this. Also, we were invited to be represented at the town's Remembrance service at the war memorial in Dick Road . Denise Rodger, Amanda McGuffog, Lynsey Weadon and Graeme Sharpe represented the school, with Denise laying a wreath on behalf of all East Ayrshire school children.

Enterprise
In common with all schools, Kilmarnock Academy is implementing a programme to develop enterprising attitudes and approaches amongst all pupils. We are tackling this in a number of ways – free standing events such as Industrial Awareness Days or Who Wants to be an Entrepreneur? seminars, work experience and mock interviews, inclusion of enterprise activities in our PSE programme and a stronger emphasis on this in curricular areas – but have also developed a new course for a small group of S4 pupils. Called Enterprise through Craft, the course is the brainchild of the Technology Department, particularly Mr Alan Stewart and Mr Derek O'Brien. The class has been involved in a number of projects including flower planter sales, bird boxes and feeders, jigsaws, instant photos at events, car washing and Christmas tree decorations. If it can be made, they will and then they will sell it! It is to Mr Stewart's and Mr O'Brien's credit the amount of time, energy and creativity which has gone into developing this course.

Travel Plan
The school travel plan has been updated and our annual letter to the roads department regarding congestion in Elmbank Drive and Dick Road sent. We have received assurances that this area is under review and the situation should be improved in future. In the meantime, can we again ask that pupils are dropped off or picked up at a location other than right outside the school? Given the fact that there are two primary and one secondary school so close to one another, it would be helpful if pupils walked the last few hundred yards to school. We would in fact encourage them to walk, cycle or take public transport, the whole way to school not just to releave the congestion, but also as a gesture towards environmental issues.

Replacement of School Board
As you will have seen from information posted to you recently, school boards disappear from August 2007, to be replaced by a Parent Council if a majority of parents wish one. A small number of parents responded to our referendum on this, with a majority in favour of forming a council.

A group of parents agreed at our meeting on 29 November to use the next School Board meeting to begin the process of determining the Parent Council constitution. Accordingly, all parents are invited to come along on Wednesday 7 February at 7.30pm to Kilmarnock Academy conference room to discuss this. The meeting will be informal, tea and coffee provided, so please consider joining the working group.

Celebrate Success!
Schools were invited by Peter Peacock, our very recently ex-Minister for Education, to celebrate success in some way on St Andrew's Day. We decided to hold a tea party for supporters of the school – staff, former staff, industrial advisors, prize giving donors and so on – and to make a series of awards to staff and pupils for efforts and achievements above and beyond the call! We included some musical entertainment and a display of photographs from school projects and events. The range of awards went from perfect attendance with no credits lost to knitting the alimentary tract as a visual aid in Biology. The afternoon culminated in the handing over of the £7000 cheque to a representative from Yorkhill Hospital .

Recent achievements

• Kilmarnock Academy won the East Ayrshire Enterprising Mathematics competition with the team of Dawn Carrol, Scott Jenkinson, Casey McDaid and Scott Crawford. Many thanks to Miss Lesley Cairns for her work with the team.

• The mini trials team won both cases at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court – again! The team consisted of Lana McKenna, Danielle Rankin, Sylvia Matheson, Heather Welsh, Alison Cochrane, Amanda McGuffog, Kirsty McLardy, Louise Boyde, Lesley Duffy and Stacey Young. Thanks to Mr Chris Cowan and Mr Alistair McDougall for their efforts.

• School awarded the Bronze Award in the Eco School Programme.

• S2 pupils attended a play “My Dark Sky” on the topic of the Holocaust.

• The author Catherine MacPhail ran a workshop with S2 pupils.

• Ailie McKnight won the East Ayrshire Christmas card competition. Her card will be the official EA Christmas card this session.

• Successful Higher French trip to Paris . Snails and oysters were the order of the day.

• Chelsea Donaldson won the East Ayrshire Child Protection logo competition.

• P7 pupils enjoyed a quiz and paper aeroplane making competition as their first introduction to Kilmarnock Academy .

• Lesley Roy has participated in a number of Partners in Excellence events including producing French podcasts for the 2006 SETT conference in Glasgow .

• S6 pupils attended a Big World conference in Troon, under the auspices of Strathclyde Police.
  

S4 Study Leave
S4 pupils are off timetable from Thursday 7 December until Wednesday 20 December. They may study in school if they prefer and are encouraged to come in for help if required.

Kilmarnock Academy wishes all its readers

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Dates for the Diary

New session
The new session has begun well not least because the exterior refurbishments are largely completed. Over the summer the window replacement programme continued in the dining hall and kitchens, and the P.E. buildings. The school looks very smart indeed. There is a photographic display in the entrance foyer comparing the old Kilmarnock Academy to the new – hard to imagine how scruffy the building used to be! We are awaiting only one final alteration which is the construction of a door out on to a small enclosed roof area next to the Biology Department. The intention is, when funds permit, to build a small greenhouse up there. This will be of huge benefit to the Biology Department, and will be both safe and very convenient.

Staffing
There have been a number of changes to staffing this session.

Miss Karen Anderson joins us as Principal Teacher of Learning Support and Mr Jim Reid as Principal Teacher of Guidance in charge of Fleming house, with a responsibility for enterprise.

Miss Lesley Cairns has joined the Mathematics Department, Mr William Mackay the Modern Studies and Miss Sarah Purdie the History.

Joining us for the year as newly qualified staff are Mrs Amanda Walton and Mrs Rhona James in Biology, Mr James Carrigan in Mathematics, Mr Christopher Kilpatrick in Modern Languages,

Mr Alan McDougall in Modern Studies and Miss Lynsey Templeton in English.

We welcome all new staff to the school and wish them all the best for a successful session.

Two members of staff have left this term. Miss Lindsay Findlay has gone to teach in Airdrie and Mr Gordon Stevenson, has gone to Phoenix , USA , to become the musical director at the basilica. We send them our good wishes for the future.

Two members of staff got married during the summer: Mr Darren Ramsay, Principal Teacher of Music, and Miss Lorna Paton, teacher in the Technical Department, who will be known as Mrs Snodgrass. Mr Ramsay has decided to keep his own name.

Finally, with us for a few weeks are Ricarda Fahrencamp and Martina Werner, student teachers from Switzerland .

Head Boy and Head Girl
Many congratulations to the four S6 pupils elected to these important posts.

Depute Head Girl Head Boy Head Girl Depute Head Boy

Amanda McGuffog Graeme Sharpe Lynsay Weadon Ross Jarvie

Pupil photographs
This is a reminder to parents that we do use photographs on our website and in other publications. In the near future, photographs of the brass band will feature in a Scottish Executive Education Department document. If you have concerns about the use of a photograph of your son or daughter please let the school know. Thank you.

Litter
There will be another anti-litter campaign in Kilmarnock during the autumn and winter. Please remind your sons and daughters that they can be fined £50 for dropping litter. Two pupils were caught and fined last session.

Football strips
Football strips are totally banned in all East Ayrshire schools, including the in use for PE activities. Please do not allow your son or daughter to wear or bring with them a football top. If they do so they will be removed from class and sent home if we can make contact with a parent.

European Day of Languages
The Modern Languages Department are organising a major event to celebrate the European Day of Languages on Tuesday 26 September. At break and lunch time Europeans foods will be on sale and there will be free entertainment in various foreign languages at lunchtime. All French classes on that day will be held in the hall where pupils will take part in various activities such as party games in French or a Euroquiz for prizes!

A Euroquiz will be held on the evening of 26 th September. Teams will be made up of pupils from our primary feeder schools and from Kilmarnock Academy and the teams will be playing for some wonderful prizes. Parents and guests of those pupils involved will be invited to join our celebration of all things European.

Art and Design Department
Senior pupils will be talking part in two workshops in October.

Jeanette Sendlar – Hat maker

Gilly Langton – Jeweller

Jeanette was partly funded by East Ayrshire Council as a pilot scheme. Both workshops will aid the Higher design project.

S2 art pupils are currently involved in a project about where we live now, titled “Picture This ---“. They have been involved in a pinhole photography workshop and exhibition in the Dick Institute and in drama workshops.

Charity events

  

The whole school will participate in a sponsored walk around the Kay Park on Thursday 13 September in aid of Schiehallion Ward at Yorkhill Hospital . One of our pupils has been very ill in Yorkhill Hospital for some time, although thankfully now on the road to recovery, and she has chosen this cancer ward for children to be the beneficiary of our efforts. We hope to raise as much money as possible for this very good cause.

Margaret Jamieson- MSP, Cathie Jamieson MSP and Minister for Justice, and Des Browne MP and Defence Minister
These illustrious persons had the honour of visiting Kilmarnock Academy at the end of August. An “Ask Cathie Ayrshire” event was held in the school in the evening and we were delighted to welcome all three. Senior pupils participated in asking questions and fielding the microphones. Particular thanks to Graeme Sharpe who played the piano at the beginning of the event. Much positive comment was passed on Graeme's playing, the excellent state of the school and the demeanour of our senior pupils.

S5/S6 Parents' information evening
As the result of consultation with parents in the spring, this session we will introduce a number of short information sessions for parents. The first of these will be on Thursday 21 September from

7 to 8pm, for parents of senior pupils. The purpose of the session is to promote relevant information on the examination system and factors which contribute to success. Further information sessions will be added on to the regular parents' evenings.

Phone system
We have been trying very hard to improve our incoming call system which has been problematic for years. Now that parents are expected to phone in with details of pupil absence each day, and we phone all parents who have not contacted us, this is putting an enormous burden on the system. We think we have secured a better technical system but please do bear with us when phoning in. The phone may ring out, indicating that reception staff are not responding, when in fact the lines are merely clogged up but you do not get the busy signal. It should be better now but please do have patience. Thank you.

Useful website

www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk

Thank you
Many thanks to Mrs Janette Weadon who has donated 24 cricket bats and balls to the school. Mrs Weadon is a former pupil and has had two daughters attend Kilmarnock Academy . Her donation is much appreciated by the PE department.

Fundraising

Recent achievements
•  Former pupil of Kilmarnock Academy , Evelyn Innes received an MBE in the most recent honour's list for services to health. In her school incarnation she was known as Evelyn Stewart. Congratulations to Evelyn.

•  Mrs Aileen Hollywood DHT won the £50 staff World Cup Sweep. The sweep was part of a charity event and £237.50 was sent to the hospice.

•  Grant Taylor S6 and Ryan Gilmour S6 have been awarded places on the Mark Scott Leadership for Life programme.

•  Sophie O'Neill finished second in the Prestwick ratings tennis tournament.

•  Staff walk up Goatfell in memory of Stuart McDonald.

•  Johnny Miller and Steven Gibson have been selected for work experience with Strathclyde Police.

Dates for the Diary

Summer term

As ever, the last term in school has been extremely busy. The SQA examinations went very smoothly and we hope this is an omen for the results in August. Our thanks go to Mrs E Chudleigh, our senior invigilator, and her team of fellow invigilators for such a slick operation.

The number of events and trips seems to grow each year. Traditional events which we hold every year went well. The summer concert was based largely on the repertoire of the brass band, about which more later in the newsletter, and the senior prom was held at the Savoy Park in Ayr . We were lucky to have a beautiful evening for this, and access to the gardens made the event particularly special.

The prizegiving was another very happy occasion. Mr Graham Short, the new Executive Director of Educational and Social Services, gave the address and, in doing so, gave hope to many of us who find exercise a chore. He commented on his dislike of sport at school but he has since gone on to become a regular marathon runner, including running a marathon in the Antarctic! A new award was presented for the first time by Mrs Hazel McDonald, wife of Mr Stuart McDonald DHT, who died just before Christmas last year. In his memory, Mrs McDonald presented a shield to Alistair McMurray for his outstanding contribution to the school during the session. Alistair has been a willing, co-operative and cheerful pupil throughout his career in Kilmarnock Academy , and this session excelled himself in his organisation of the Children in Need charity appeal. One other particularly notable prizewinner was Karina Ryan, who has had perfect attendance for 6 years!

Aside from the annual events the summer term was full of activity. S1 pupils went to Lochgoilhead for a residential outdoor experience, getting even more wet than usual because of the poor weather. A great time had by all, nevertheless. The Biology Department decamped en masse to Loch Lomond for the day, we are assured for educational reasons but the barbeque seemed to loom large in the description of the event. The Geography Department, in the shape of Mrs Lyon, organised trips to Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh , and a field trip on urban development in Glasgow , including a short boat ride on the Clyde . Advanced Higher English pupils went to Borders in Glasgow, again we are assured for educational reasons and not just to purchase Mrs Dunsmuir's and

Mrs Lightbown's holiday reading. The Mathematic Department took pupils to the Science Centre.

In the final days of term the buses set off to Strathclyde Park and Alton Towers for some serious roller coastering.


Kilmarnock Academy and St Joseph 's Academy Brass Band

The joint brass band has had a particularly full and interesting summer term. In May the band was invited to play at the end of a Scottish Executive anti-sectarian seminar in Dunblane Hydro. The band performed extremely well and a number of participants at the seminar took the time and trouble to send their extremely positive comment to the school.

The summer concert was largely based on the band's repertoire this year. As the band was scheduled to begin a tour of Lake Garda at the end of June, the concert gave family and friends an opportunity to hear the pieces the band have been practising.

The band set off for Lake Garda on the last Friday of term. At the time of writing we hear that everything is going well. We are sure the Italians, lovers of music as they are, will appreciate the playing, and singing, of the members.

Staffing

There will be some changes to staffing next session, with a number of new staff joining us in August. Two members of staff retired this June. M Ben Muldoon retired from the Mathematics Department. Mr Muldoon began his career as a teacher of Latin and Greek. He became Principal Teacher of Classics and continued in that role until the teaching of classical subjects declined sharply. He retrained as a Mathematics teacher and has been a member of the Mathematics Department for the last twelve years. We thank him very much for his work for the school and wish him all the best for a long and happy retirement.

Mrs Jean Kulma has also retired, as a teacher of History and as Principal Teacher of Guidance.

Mrs Kulma has been a stalwart member of both teams of staff, and has been a source of support and advice for many pupils. We are very grateful for everything she has done for the school and wish her many years of fun and freedom.


Recent achievements

• Sophie O'Neill S2 represented Ayrshire at the Tennis County Championships in Solihill.
• Fiona Grant S5 was 3rd in the vocal section at the World Burns Federation National Competition; a superb achievement.
• Gregor Keachie S1 won first prize as part of the duet in the Brass Duets Competition at the Ayrshire Music Festival
• Fraser Kerr S2 is now a member of the U14 Ayrshire Golf squad and a member of the Scottish Golf Academy U16 squad.
• Lewis Gallacher S2 is a member of the U15 Ayrshire badminton squad.
• Stuart Gallacher is a member of the U16 Scottish Basketball squad and has represented Scotland in Barcelona . He is also going to Andorra .
• Kilmarnock Academy U14 football team won the Kilmarnock and District Cup.
• John Shaw, former pupil, has qualified for the title of Chess Grandmaster, only the fifth Scot ever to do so.
• Sophie Mulholland won the Gold Medal at the summer competition in Acrobatic gymnastics in a mixed pair.

Kilmarnock Academy wishes all its readers a happy summer holiday!

                                                   Dates for the Diary

Absence from school

Following the introduction of a new East Ayrshire policy on this, can we remind parents of the following?

• Please phone the school to indicate if your son/daughter will be absent from school, and for how long.

• If we do not receive a message from you we will phone to enquire about each unexplained absence.

• An absence note is required for every absence from school regardless of phone calls.

Thank you to all parents for co-operating with this policy. It is designed to maximise pupil security.

No smoking

In line with national policy the school is now a totally smoke free zone, including the playground and immediate surroundings. Please respect the new law when on or near school premises.

Staffing

We have had a number of visitors to the school this session and anticipate two more. Two students from Liège, Alexander Kohnen and Romain Ferri, spent two weeks in the Modern Languages Department, and Juan Jesus Encinas is a visiting Spanish teacher who is working in the History Department. Soon to join him will be another Spanish teacher, this time for the Science Department, and a Swiss teacher for Social Subjects. We welcome the experience these people bring to the school and we are sure it offers them an extra dimension to their teaching in future.

Events

There have been a number of very successful events this term. The list below highlights some of the major ones.

• Mr O'Brien ran a very successful ski weekend to Aviemore, choosing the best weekend of the year for snow! Over 40 pupils disported themselves on the slopes for two days.

• Dr Neilson organised a Holocaust Memorial Day event in the library. This attracted local interest, appearing as the headline in the Extra.

• Another successful Burns Supper and Ceilidh was organised by Mr Stevenson. This event was attended by Mrs Helen Sayles, our Entrepreneur in Residence and former pupil. Helen now lives and works in Boston and had not attended a Burns Supper since the one she attended as a senior pupil herself at Kilmarnock Academy .

• S2 pupils attended a Make it in Scotland roadshow and S3 pupils participated in an Industrial Awareness Day.

• Staff visited Stockholm for a weekend trip, courtesy of Ryanair.

• The pupil v teacher football match was a roaring success, resulting in a score line of 35–15 for the staff. Had the score been reversed this item might not have made it into the newsletter. The power of editorial control!

• The Art Department hosted an Art evening for local teachers and artists. Davy Brown, now one of Scotland 's foremost working artists and former pupil and teacher of Kilmarnock Academy , gave a talk on his own career in art and that of Robert Colquhon. He brought works from his own collection, including drawings Robert Colquhon produced while a pupil in Kilmarnock Academy . A very interesting evening.

• The P7 Parents' Evening on 20 March was a great success particularly as it incorporated a jewellery fashion show with music composed by senior pupils. The jewellery was made under the guidance of our artist in residence, Gilly Langton, who has contributed hugely to the work of pupils over the course of this year.

• On World Book Day each pupil was given a £1 book token. Dr Neilson organised a “Guess the Author” competition for staff and pupils.

• S1 and S2 pupils took part in the East Ayrshire Readers' Cup, with teams from each class competing for book tokens.

• Easter Egg hunt is now taking place in the Library and Resource Centre. Pupils must follow clues involving reading and information skills to find the egg.
  
  
  

Recent achievements

• Amanda Conway S3 has been selected for the Scottish Schools' Squad Coaching Day following a very successful performance at the Scottish Schools' Athletics championship in Glasgow .

• Ross Leighton S2 took a first place at the Ayrshire Music Festival, playing the double bass.

• Alex Gibson has been selected to train with the Ayrshire U13 Cricket Squad.

• Graeme Sharpe and Iain Hendry have been offered places in the West of Scotland Schools Concert Band.

• Fiona Grant and Ross Leighton have been offered places in the West of Scotland Schools Orchestra.

• Blair McMillan has been invited to join the Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra.

• Ross Mackie has had a composition selected by the Scottish Music Centre. You can hear this by visiting www.scottishmusiccentre.com .

• Sophie Mulholland competed in the Scottish Championships in Acrobatic Gymnastics.

• Guy O'Neill and Rachael Miller represented South West District in U18 tennis.

• Sophie O'Neill represented Ayrshire at U14 tennis.

• Congratulations to Fiona Grant who was awarded 1 st place in S5/S6 singing at the Burns Federation Schools Competition.

Kilmarnock Academy wishes all its readers, visitors and surfers

December in Kilmarnock Academy

 Every time of year is a busy time of year, but December borders on frenetic! At all levels pupils are completing tests and assessments, and S4 pupils are in the final few days of prelim examinations. Simultaneously, we are organising Christmas events such as the concert, assemblies, disco, ceilidh, cinema visit, singing in Prince's Square. The list seems endless but fortunately it isn't. Everything will end at 2.30pm on Friday 23rd December.

Many thanks to all staff who have worked so hard this term to make it such a productive one. Well done to pupils who have also worked hard and achieved so much both in and out of the classroom.

Mr Stuart McDonald

 It is with great sadness we announce the death of Mr Stuart McDonald, former Depute Head Teacher who retired in June. Stuart has been ill for two years and has fought his illness with all the determination and bravery which marked his life both in and out of school. His contribution to the pupils and staff of Kilmarnock Academy has been second to none. He gave more to the school than anyone could ever have asked for, and provided unending support to staff and pupils alike. We have missed him badly since he left and we feel great sorrow at his death. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Hazel, and children Louise and Craig.

Fabulous new website

We are absolutely delighted to announce the launch of our super duper, spiffy new website at www.kilmarnockacademy.co.uk . This is a school website second to none and we hope you enjoy its many features. We will keep the site up to date with relevant school information, particularly the weekly pupil bulletin – you will be able to check on dates, times and other details of events. Please note that, as outlined to you in our summer mailing, we do use pupil photographs on the website. If you do not want your son or daughter to appear on the site please let me know and we will ensure no photograph is posted. Many thanks to Mr Neil McIlvanney who constructed the website for us and is now responsible for keeping it up to date. Special thanks also to Eric Gordon who provided invaluable input, technical expertise and a whole lot of his own time. If you have any ideas for inclusions on the site please get in touch. Happy surfing!

Staffing

 We have a number of staff changes to report this term.

Mrs Moira Devlin has been promoted to Principal Teacher of Guidance and Mrs Lesley Hamilton to Principal Teacher of Vocational Education. Mrs Lynn McDowall is now Acting Principal Teacher of Learning Support in place of Mrs Jacqui Hoy who has moved to Williamwood High school . We thank Mrs Hoy very much for her work on behalf of the school.

Mr Gary Bryden will join the Physical Education Department in January.

Many thanks to Mr Jim Reid for his excellent work as Acting Principal Teacher of Guidance both this session and last session.

Healthy lifestyles

As a health promoting school we place an emphasis on healthy eating. This October all S1 pupils attended a Junk Food Road Show organised by the Home Economics Department. A qualified chef demonstrated how to make a mass produced commercial burger, including cow's heart, in a similar fashion to Jamie Oliver's demonstration of the actual content of chicken nuggets. Following this, pupils enjoyed sampling healthy homemade pizza!

S4 girls and boys participated in a Young Women's and Young Men's Health Day respectively. These events dealt with specific health issues which are relevant as pupils develop.

S6 pupils attended the Big World Conference in Troon, orgainised by Strathclyde Police. This event is designed to provide necessary information for senior pupils to make sensible lifestyle choices and conduct themselves safely when they leave school.

Information to impending law students

A reminder to senior pupils applying to study law at the University of Glasgow . All potential students must complete a two-hour test before 15 January 2006. All necessary information, including sample tests, can be found at www.lnat.ac.uk . Guidance staff have full detail on this.

Charity

This term we raised a large sum of money for Children in Need, largely under the auspices of Alistair McMurray and his band of willing S6 helpers. We enjoyed a ceilidh, a slave for the day auction, a staff v pupil football match, car washing, a media sale, a talent show, a raffle and a week long tuck shop. We raised over £3000 which is a tremendous sum of money for a school of this size, given that this was all done, apart from last period on the Friday afternoon, outwith class time. Very well done indeed to Alistair and his team, and thank you to all pupils who participated or contributed.

In the Home Economics Department, S3 Hospitality pupils killed two birds with one stone, undertaking an enterprise activity which also raised money for charity. The pupils baked and sold cakes to staff and pupils, raising £52 for Child Line Scotland . Very well done indeed!

The Senior Choir sang in Prince's Square in Glasgow , in aid of Hansel Village . They raised £130 for Hansel while entertaining the Christmas shoppers. Thank you to the staff of the Music Department for their efforts in organising this annual event.

The staff Macmillan Coffee Morning raised £153.

Kilmarnock Academy does the double!

We are delighted to report that Kilmarnock Academy won two major events this term. A team of budding mathematicians - Grant Moffat 3F2, Chloe Scott 3B, Johanna Tudhope 4B1, Graeme Trinder 4F and reserve Sophie Marshall 4B2 - under the guidance of Mrs Shona Moodie and Miss Lesley Cairns won the Enterprising Mathematics Competition, competing against all the secondary schools in East and South Ayrshire. An excellent achievement.

Still reeling from our success, the team of Amy Parnaby, Greg Walkinshaw, Grant Moffat and

Lesley Roy won the Kilmarnock Round Table Inter-School Quiz, hosted by Loudoun Academy .

Very well done to the team members and thanks to Mr Gus Kerr for organising our participation.

Recent achievements

• Senior pupils participated in the Mini Trials event in Kilmarnock Sheriff Court , winning both cases. Our Head Boy is innocent!

• Successful trip to Paris by senior pupils studying French. Good old Ryanair.

• Success at the Ayrshire Schools Gala:

Gregor Muir 3S – 100m Breast Stroke – Gold

100m Butterfly – Silver

Simone Hoy 6W – 100m Freestyle – Gold

100m Backstroke – Gold

Karina Ryan 6W – 100m Butterfly – Gold

100m Freestyle – Bronze

Many congratulations also to fellow competitor Johnny Miller.

• Jemma Taylor has been selected to perform with Scottish Ballet in “Cendrillon” in January and February.

• Two pupils had artwork chosen for the East Ayrshire calendar:

George Thomson and Fiona Adrain

• Reading for Gold awards

Gold – Jonathan Lawson, Sharmaine Miller

Silver – Emma Farquhar, Carrie-Ann Lewis, Gillian Mason, Paul Summers, Victoria Wilkinson

Bronze – Claire McLardy, Ross Menzies, Alison Shedden, Jessica McGlynn, Jennifer Thomson, Alison Walkinshaw, Melissa Watt.

• Gareth Nisbet-Baldwin, Quinton Campbell and John Nutt won the award for best Video Advert at the Student Business Week in Kilmarnock College , and were identified as the most diligent students taking part.

Dates for the Diary

Kilmarnock Academy wishes all its readers

The new session has got off to a good start with all staff vacancies filled on either a permanent or temporary basis. It has not been easy to achieve this but we are pleased to be in this position at the start of term. The school roll has increased slightly this year and should be around 820.

Staffing

There have been a large number of changes to staffing this year, and we begin the session with many new names and faces. We welcome them all to Kilmarnock Academy .

Mrs Aileen Hollywood and Mr Gus Kerr have joined the Senior Management Team. Mrs Hollywood is the depute head teacher in charge of S2 pupils and Mr Kerr the depute head teacher in charge of S3. He is also the Children's Service Co-ordinator for the Kilmarnock Learning Partnership.

Joining the staff permanently are Miss Kirsty McKee in Art and Design, Mrs Bernie Nicolson in Modern Languages, Miss Lorna Paton and Mr Derek O'Brien in Technical, and

Mrs Noreen Lyon in Geography.

Newly qualified staff with us for the probationary year are Mr David Cornyn in English,

Miss Lesley Cairns in Mathematics, Mr David Burns and Miss Marlies Wallace in Modern Languages, Miss Sarah Purdie in History and Mr Barry Kerr in Modern Studies.

As last session, we are hosting a Swiss student teacher for a few weeks. Christoph Bucher is assisting with classes in Music, History and Geography.

Results

 This summer's results were pretty similar to expectations. The results at Higher level were slightly up on last year, and the results at Foundation level in Standard grade were improved. At Credit level, results dipped a little but not across the board – girls did well and the boys' results deteriorated. We will be focusing attention particularly on boys' attainment and would welcome parental support for this.

Please insist on homework being completed and on proper revision before tests and examinations. It is both attitude and effort which make the difference for pupil results.

Travel to school

 We have recently completed a school travel plan which outlines safer and more environmentally friendly means of travel to school. We would urge all pupils to walk, cycle or use public transport.

If you do bring your child to school by car please consider dropping him/her off in London Road or Old Mill Road , and allowing him/her to walk the last few yards to school. Traffic around Kilmarnock Academy , St Columba's Primary School and Loanhead Primary School is very congested and quite unsafe at times. Please do not drive into Dick Road , Elmbank Drive or Rennie Street if you can avoid it.

Head Girl and Head Boy

 The prefects and staff have elected the following pupils to these prestigious posts:

Depute Head Girl - Linzi Kidd  
Head Girl - Gillian Walkinshaw
Head Boy - Blair McMillan
Depute Head Boy - Andrew Ross

Congratulations to them all and we wish them all the best with their responsibilities this year

University Open Days

 Trips to Glasgow, Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian universities were organised for senior pupils this month. However, it is felt that the benefits of the open days do not outweigh the lost teaching time so in future years we will not organise daytime visits. The open days last well into the evenings and we will encourage pupils to attend then instead.

Artist in residence

 Kilmarnock Academy has been successful in its bid to host a professional artist one day a week, to work with staff and pupils from now until June. Gilly Langton is a contemporary jewellery designer and was selected to work with the Elements of Change programme, an East and North Ayrshire initiative. She exhibits widely, including the prestigious Dazzle show, and is a visiting lecturer in several colleges of art. We look forward to a very successful year with her.

You can see her work at www.2-37am.co.uk/gillylangton/

Library and Resource Centre

 The LRC continues to provide an excellent resource for staff and pupils. Dr Neilson, school librarian, is running an information skills course for senior pupils again this session. On her behalf, can we make a plea that all items borrowed from the library are returned promptly? Pupils may lose Triple ‘P' credits if they fail to do so.

Blackpool

 Senior pupils enjoyed a day trip to Blackpool as a reward for good attendance and effort since the change of timetable in June. The weather was not very good, the windscreen wipers didn't work on the bus and Mr Kerr's rendition of “Flower of Scotland” was really terrible – but we had a great time nevertheless.

Sport for pupils

 We offer a wide range of extra-curricular sporting opportunities for pupils. Currently on offer at lunchtimes or after school are football, badminton, netball, hockey and gymnastics. Please encourage your son or daughter to get involved – the health and social benefits are well known.

Recent achievements

 •  Very successful music trip to hear the RSNO at the Glasgow Concert Hall

•  Senior art pupils spent the day at Glasgow 's Gallery of Modern Art. They participated in a painting workshop led by Lee Stewart.

•  Steven McEwan won the Scottish Boys Stroke Play Championship and represented Scotland in home imitational against England , Ireland and Wales . He also reached the quarter finals of the British Boys Championships. Well done to Steven – a name to watch out for in the future?

•  Morgan Robb, Karina Ryan and Claire Hislop volunteered their services at the British Special Olympics in Glasgow this summer. They also helped at the Scottish Athletic Championships for Athletics with a learning disability.

Yearbook

The school yearbook is now available from Reception.

At £10 it is a real bargain – an excellent memento of session 2004/2005.

University and College applications

A useful website for senior pupils applying to college or university is listed below. It provides information about courses. www.TQI.AC.UK

Dates for the Diary

End of session

The end of session has been a very busy one and I wish to thank all staff who have worked so hard on the many and varied activities.

As soon as the SQA examinations finished we embarked on the new timetable, with all year groups moving up onto next year's timetable. This ensures that time is not wasted in June and we get off to a smooth start in August.

End of session events included:

•  Junior school visit to Strathclyde Park

•  S3 visit to Alton Towers

•  Annual prize giving, a most enjoyable event

•  School sports championships

•  Senior prom

•  Spelling bee

•  East Ayrshire Readers' Cup

•  James Bond trail in the Library Resource Centre

Staffing

 Next session will see a large number of changes to staffing in Kilmarnock Academy . At the end of June four staff left to take up posts elsewhere. We send our best wishes to

Mrs J Leslie, Miss H Wilson, Miss L McGuire and Mrs E McWhinnie.

In addition, nine members of staff are retiring. Mr A Watt from the Technical Department, Mr R McGarry and Mr P Kleboe from the Art Department, Mrs M Wilson and Mr D McMeekin from Modern Languages, Mr G Dick as Principal Teacher of History, Mr A Lindsay and Mr S McDonald as Depute Head Teachers, and Mrs J Farquhar as Receptionist.

We wish to thank all the retirees for their years of effort on behalf of Kilmarnock Academy , and wish them all the best for a long and happy retirement. In particular, we do not want to receive post cards from foreign parts during term time!

We are delighted to report that we will be welcoming Mrs C Stewart back to the Art Department in August, following a serious illness. We are also pleased to report that

Mrs M Devlin has successfully undergone major surgery and will be back with us in September. Mrs Devlin and her family were featured in a BBC documentary on organ transplantation in early July.

Examples of good practice

 Scotsman readers may have noticed an article about the school on 29 th June. The article centred on the Burns Festival we held in February, but also mentioned our success in the Scottish Education Awards last year. The Burns Festival was highly successful and we will be repeating it next session. Tickets will be at a premium!

The Scottish Executive has expressed interest in one of our transition activities.

Mrs P Donnelly, community link worker, runs a small nurture group initiative over the summer holidays, to help particularly vulnerable pupils adjust more readily to secondary school. Her group will be visited this summer by a representative from the Scottish Executive.

Mrs Donnelly does a truly excellent job in supporting pupils in Kilmarnock Academy and our associated primary and nursery schools. We wish to thank her for the work she does throughout the Kilmarnock Learning Partnership.

Rome

 A party of pupils and staff ended the session with a three day visit to Rome . Flying from Prestwick , they spent a very hot three days seeing the sights and consuming large quantities of ice-cream in an effort to stay cool! Many thanks to Mr J Reid for organising the trip.

Change of subjects

 Pupils entering S5/S6 in August who wish to change subjects in the light of examination results, should see Mr Partridge between the hours of 11.00am and 1.30pm on Tuesday 16 August.

Dux prizes

 Congratulations to the dux prize winners for session 2004/2005:

First Year Dux of First Year Helen Currie/Martin Stewart

Second Year Dux of Second Year Grant Moffat

Third Year Dux of Third Year Johanna Tudhope

Fourth Year Dux of Fourth Year Lynsey Weadon

Fifth Year Dux of Fifth Year Linzi Kidd

Parentzone

 A reminder of the Scottish Executive website which caters for parents:

www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk

Health warning

 We have been asked to pass on a health warning to parents regarding the use of trampolines.

The guidelines are as follows:

•  Only one person on a trampoline at a time

•  Supervise play whenever possible

•  Ensure the padded mat at the edge of the trampoline is in good condition

•  Do not place the trampoline on hard ground

•  Follow the trampoline's safety instructions.

Thank you

 Many thanks to parents for supporting the work of the school. Each pupil's education depends on a large number of factors, school being just one of them. It is only by pulling together that pupils can achieve their full potential. We look forward to another successful session for all pupils in Kilmarnock Academy .

Start of term for pupils

 Wednesday 17 August at 8.55am.

Happy holidays!

Staffing

This term has again seen a number of staff changes. Mr Gus Kerr is Acting Depute Head Teacher in the absence of Mr Stuart McDonald, and Mr Jim Reid is Acting Principal Teacher of Guidance in charge of Wallace House.

Mrs Pat Young, Principal Teacher of Modern Languages, left Kilmarnock Academy to begin a freelance career in staff development. We wish her all the very best in her new venture and thank her for her excellent work in school over several years. A replacement for Mrs Young will be selected shortly.

Mr Deane Monachan has taken up post as Principal Teacher of Technical Education.

Mrs Zehada Ali has left to take up a post as Home Economics teacher in Glasgow , although she is very kindly continuing to help out in Home Economics until a replacement teacher may be appointed.

Mrs Gill McLintock has joined the Chemistry Department on a permanent basis.

We continue to experience serious difficulties in recruiting staff and in covering for absent teachers. This is a problem across Scotland and we hope that increased numbers of student teachers will solve this problem in future.

Metro

We have introduced a swipecard system in the Metro (a.k.a. school dining hall). This is designed to speed up the system and to guarantee anonymity to pupils in receipt of free meals. The system has got under way with a remarkably low level of difficulties and we hope it will provide a better service for pupils.

School board

 The schoolboard now as an email address.

This is kilmarnockschoolboard@yahoo.co.uk .

Queries, comments, lavish praise - all welcome.

Science Roadshow

 Recently we hosted a Science Roadshow from the University of Edinburgh for S2 pupils. This was a highly enjoyable and educational event, designed to encourage motivation in science subjects.

Eco-school

 Kilmarnock Academy has registered with the eco-school programme and will be introducing a number of measures to make the school a more environmentally friendly place. Parents with suggestions or comments should feel free to send them in.

We are beginning with the perennial problem of litter. We have increased the number of bins and alerted pupils, again, to the problem and advised them always to use bins for litter. In particular, they have been reminded that all food and drink seen in corridors will be confiscated. This is the only way to keep litter in corridors to a minimum.

We are going to participate in the East Ayrshire Spring Clean campaign by organising a litter pick-up, using long handled pickers and rubber gloves, in the area around the school.

Library and Resource Centre

 This continues to play a very active role in the life of the school.

On January 27 th we marked Holocaust Remembrance Day in the library, with a series of readings. The school's involvement in this was highlighted on SAGA radio. Head Girl and Depute Head Girl, Samantha Stephen and Sara Jackson, and Dr Neilson, school librarian, were interviewed by a radio journalist.

On March 3 rd , World Book Day, all pupils were given a £1 book token to be used towards the cost of any book.

Pupils in S1 and S2 are participating in the East Ayrshire Readers' Cup, under the auspices of the LRC and the English Department. This event is designed to encourage reading and takes the form of a quiz about literature. Following in-school competition rounds, a school team will go forward to the East Ayrshire final.

Burns Festival

 For the first time we held a Burns Festival in February. This proved to be an excellent evening. Held in the Old Academy hall, suitably decorated by the Art and Design Department, pupils sang, played and recited while the audience sipped a glass of wine or fruit juice and nibbled on Dunlop cheese and Arran oatcakes. It was a true celebration of Robert Burns in a highly appropriate setting and ambience. Pupils performed very well indeed and the displays of Burns artwork were excellent. A most enjoyable evening and one worth repeating.

Building modifications

 The outer wall of the link corridor between the Old Academy and the main building is in serious need of repair. At the time of printing, work is underway to replace this and we should have a much smarter, and warmer, link corridor as a result.

Recent achievements

 •  Craig Moffat, 6F, won both individual and team gold medals at the British Shotokai Karate Championships. He has represented Scotland in London and in Greece . Very well done to Craig.

•  Kim Donaldson, 3W, won the school competition “Show Racism the Red Card” with a poem, an extract of which is printed below:

The world is made up of many races

Many colours, many faces

Come on now, it's not hard

Show Racism the Red Card

•  Claire McMillan, 3B2, came third in the Scottish Schools Prize Essay Competition run by the University of Paisley . This is an excellent achievement given that schools from all across Scotland were competing.

•  The collection of Tesco vouchers resulted in the acquisition of the following software:

Granny's Garden (problem solving), Maths Circus 3 (mathematical problem solving), Spark Island Literacy Adventures and Dorling Kindersley Children's Dictionary. Many thanks to Mrs Barraclough for co-ordinating the collection.

•  £700 raised for the Tsunami appeal

Spring term events (not exhaustive, but possibly exhausting!)

•  Burns Supper and Ceilidh

•  Burns Festival

•  Valentine Disco

•  Who wants to be an Entrepreneur? (S5/6)

•  Project business (S3)

•  Industrial Awareness Day (S3)

•  Science Roadshow (2)

•  Activity afternoon (S1/2/3)

•  Easter assemblies

•  Easter concert

•  No Smoking Day events

•  Red Nose Day

Events in December
There is no sign, if there ever was, of schools winding down in December. On the contrary, we manage to hold a number of events which mark the festive season, and continue with the normal work of the school.

This term we have planned

•  Christmas Concert on Monday 20 December

•  Christmas Disco on Tuesday 21 December

•  Ceilidh for S1/S2 pupils, on the afternoon of Tuesday 21 December

•  Junior and senior Christmas Assemblies

The Princes' Trust xl Club are in charge of our Christmas parcel appeal. For many years, staff and pupils in the academy have donated non-perishable foods which are distributed in parcels to the elderly and housebound in the locality. Thank you very much to everyone who has donated to this appeal.

Charities
We have been active again this term in collecting and donating to charity. Staff held a Macmillan Coffee morning during a morning interval, raising just over £100 for Macmillan nurses. Pupils and staff participated in a sponsored hill walk up Ben Lomond under the leadership of Mrs Devlin, and a concert in Riccarton Church , under the leadership of Mr Stevenson. Their combined efforts raised over £3000 for the renal unit at the Southern General Hospital. Many congratulations to Mrs Devlin and Mr Stevenson for their enthusiasm and hard work in achieving this.

For Children in Need, a non-uniform day, a lunchtime concert, a book sale and a cake sale raised over £900. This was particularly impressive as none of these activities infringed in any way on class time.

Enterprising Mathematics
Kilmarnock Academy was delighted to win the East and South Ayrshire Enterprising Mathematics Competition. The team of Lynsey Weadon, Neil Hamilton, Ross Seton and Johanna Tudhope did extremely well to beat the stiff competition from the other secondary schools. They also competed in the national final in Glasgow , finishing fifth equal. Well done to all concerned, including Mrs Moodie and Mr Murdoch from the Mathematics Department, who trained the team.

Staffing
There have been a number of changes to staffing this term.

We welcome:

Mrs Stephanie Lightbown as Principal Teacher of Art and Design

Mr Ian Fyfe as permanent Principal Teacher of Chemistry

Mrs Margaret Traynor as Support Assistant to the Kilmarnock Learning Partnership

Mr Alex Reidford as Principal Teacher of Social Subjects and RME.

Many thanks to Mr Robert McGarry who has done an excellent job as Acting P.T. Art and Design in the interim.

Mr John Harris
Mr Harris retires as Principal Teacher of Technology at Christmas. He has worked for 29 years in Kilmarnock Academy . He has delivered high quality teaching to literally thousands of pupils in his time in education, and we wish him all the very best for a long and happy retirement. We will miss his occasional “bon mot”, his commitment to pupils and to quality education. Au revoir et merci beaucoup, John!

•  Mini-trial event in Kilmarnock Sheriff Court . Once again we fielded a strong team of prosecutors, defenders, accused and witnesses. We were relieved to have our Head Boy, Jonathan Patrick, acquitted on a serious assault charge, despite his very obvious guilt! The positive impact of a smart suit was noted.

•  Senior pupils participated in an Othello workshop in school and then travelled to the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh to watch a performance.

•  Impact Theatre performed a play for S4 pupils, designed to encourage them to stay in education. This was very well received, as it always is, and we will stage this event again in the future.

•  Senior pupils participated in a Business Dynamics conference, hosted by Diageo.

•  Our Entrepreneur in Residence, Helen Sayles, visited us from Boston to speak to senior pupils about choices and opportunities post-school. She is again sponsoring a prize for enterprise activity this session.

•  Higher French pupils made the annual trip to Paris , courtesy of Ryanair. Many thanks to Mrs Stables and husband (!) for organising this.

•  Two teachers from Singapore spent a few days in the English and Science Departments, looking at Scottish education. They left us a lovely watercolour painting, and this will be framed and hung shortly.

•  Primary 7 pupils from Kirkstyle, Loanhead and Hillhead Primary Schools joined us for a morning, to participate in a general knowledge quiz. This is a fun introduction to Kilmarnock Academy and the beginning of the transition programme for primary pupils.

•  S4 pupils experienced a Young Men's or Young Women's Health Day as part of our continuing programme on health. Many thanks to Mr Howie and Mrs Sinclair for organising this event.

Recent achievements
•  S2 Art for All workshop. Excellent full day workshop for S2 pupils.

•  David McIlwraith 3B2 won the Library and Resource Centre Autumn competition.

•  Ayrshire Schools Cross Country Championships:

S3 Girls – Amy Milliken 2nd

S3 Boys – Alistair Love 4th

Senior Boys – Robert Love 4th , Tony Glover 5th

S3 Girls Team – Kilmarnock Academy 2nd

(Amy Milliken, Elizabeth Ann Dorrans, Samantha Robb, Karen Gray)

Senior Boys Team – Kilmarnock Academy 2nd

(Robert Love, Tony Glover, Gordon Stewart, Jonathan Patrick)

•  Reading Game Scheme

First level award – Chloe Scott, Natalie Sharpe.

Second level award – Leigh Mills

•  Reading for Gold

Silver – Rhys Hamilton, Connor Campbell, David Don.

Bronze – Christopher McCreadie, Lewis Campbell.

The autumn term has opened very positively this session, with a slight increase in roll as a result of an increased number of placing requests. The new S1 pupils have settled in well and staff are reporting that they are a hard working, pleasant group. That is very good news for all parents of S1 pupils as this bodes well for the working atmosphere in classes.

Results too were good, with an increase in the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more credit passes in S4, and an increase in those achieving 3 or more Higher passes in S5. Congratulations to all pupils who worked hard to achieve good results, and to staff who supported them so well.

Sponsored walk
As both a fundraising event and as part of our health programme, we are running a sponsored walk for S1/S2 pupils on the afternoon of Thursday 16 th September. The walk will begin around 2.00pm in the Kay Park and pupils will be dismissed directly from the park, from 3.00pm onwards, as they complete their laps. All parents are invited to spectate or participate. You may even get yourself sponsored if you wish - sponsor sheets are available from Reception. To add to the general glee, fancy dress is optional and there will be prizes for the best fancy dress and for the most money raised by individuals and classes.

This is a Kilmarnock Learning Partnership event, and pupils in our associated primary schools and pre-five establishments will also be walking.

In the event of seriously inclement weather, the walk will be held on Friday 24 th September instead.

Staffing
There are a number of charges to staffing this session. At the end of the summer term Mr Shaun Crooks, P.T. English, and Mr Neil Andrew, Teacher of R.M.E. retired, and Mrs Anne Sutherland, teacher of English, left also. We wish them all the very best for the future.

Joining us on a permanent basis are Mrs Elaine Dunsmuir as Principal Teacher of English, and Mrs Agnes Heriaud, teacher of Biology.

Newly qualified teachers, with us for the year, are Miss Lynn McGuire (Geography), Miss Julie Leslie (English), Miss Hazel Wilson (Computing) and Mr Gordon Stevenson (RME). Mrs Sheila Forsythe joins us on a part-time basis as Sports

Co-ordinator and Mrs Anne Bacchus, joins the Modern Studies Department.

We wish them a warm welcome to Kilmarnock Academy

We will be hosting a Swiss teacher, Ms Laila Schläfli, for several weeks during September and October. Ms Schäfli is from Zurich and is completing the English requirement of her teacher training.

We also welcome to the school two new support staff, Mrs Annette Ainsworth and Mrs Sheila Fyffe.

Our school social worker, Catherine Finlayson, has left to work in East Renfrewshire . We will miss her services greatly but look forward to the appointment of a replacement.

School clubs and activities
There is an enormous range of activity open to pupils at lunchtimes and after school, from chess to sport. Details of activities are advertised to pupils via the weekly bulletin. Please encourage your son or daughter to come along and participate. All they need is enthusiasm!

Senior activity day
Senior pupils who have met our Triple ‘P' criteria on attendance, uniform, latecoming and behaviour have the opportunity to participate in a senior activity day on Friday 24 th September. Last year the seniors chose to go to Edinburgh . This year, at the time of publication of this newsletter, they are about to vote on Blackpool, Alton Towers , Arran or Belfast . Please note that pupils who choose not to go on the trip, or do not qualify to go, must attend classes as usual. Anyone not in school without valid reason will be subject to school discipline procedures.

School Board
There is currently one parent vacancy on the school board, and there will shortly be another, when Mrs Janette White, chair, leaves in October. Mrs White has served on the school board for many years and we are very grateful to her for her support and work for the school.

Anyone interested in joining the board may telephone Mrs Ford (01563 525509) to discuss what it involves.

Office bearers
We are pleased to report the following pupils have been elected to senior pupil positions:

Head Girl - Samantha Steven                                             Head Boy - Jonathan Patrick

Depute Head Girl - Sara Jackson                                         Depute Head Boy - Scott Wilson

Many congratulations to them all and we look forward to many hours of work from them!

Thank you
Many thanks to ISP Alginates (UK) Ltd who have donated a quantity of sodium alginate to the Biology Department. This will expand the range of experiments pupils can undertake, and we are very appreciative of the gift. Many thanks.

P.S. Donations, in kind or otherwise, are always gratefully received!