February 2012 Newsletter |
| Posted by Rachael (office) on Feb 09 2012 |
FEBRUARY 2012 NEWSLETTER
Dates
Wednesday 8th Feb S3/S4 Disco 7.30pm – 10.00pm
Thursday 9th Feb S4 Parents Evening
Monday 13th Feb Holiday
Tuesday 14th Feb Holiday
Wednesday 15th Feb In-service – school closed to pupils
Thursday 16th Feb In-service – school closed to pupils
Friday 17th Feb In-service – school closed to pupils
Monday 27th Feb Parent Council Meeting 7pm
Tuesday 28th Feb Greenhouse Fashion Show 7pm
Monday 4th June has now been confirmed as a school holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Staffing
Mrs Merrell, PT Pupil Support, is going to be absent for a number of weeks. During her absence the Novar caseload will be handled by Mr Kerr.
We are delighted to welcome Mrs Wilson back to the Art department after maternity leave.
Activity Days
Activity days this year take place on 26th and 27th June. Brochures and instructions will be distributed at assemblies during the week beginning 6th February.
Pupils can choose from 29 different activities, including Creative Willow, Karting, Kayaking, Rollerbowl, Skate and Swim and many others. There are a number of trips abroad; the places on these have already been filled.
Option forms and deposits to be returned after the February break and before 24th February. Balance of payment will be due 17th – 27th April.
A copy of the Brochure is available on the Dingwall Academy Website at www.dingwallacademy.com
Cross Country Champion
Congratulations to Sean Chalmers 5N1 who recently came 1st in the Scottish Inter- district Championships held in Edinburgh. Sean competes for Inverness Harriers and will this week take part in the Scottish school championships.
Rock Challenge
Congratulations to all pupils involved in the Rock Challenge event at Eden Court on Tuesday 7th February. The group finished second and will now compete at the Scottish finals to be held at the Caird Hall in Dundee. Well done to all pupils and their teacher Mrs Magowan.
Health Week
The week beginning 20th February is school health week and a number of activities will be available for staff and pupils. Included in the week will be the opportunity for all S1 pupils to have a breakfast in the school canteen. Pupils will be given a choice of cereal and a fruit smoothie. They will also receive a short talk from Dave Rex, Health Promoting Schools, on the importance of breakfast.
Litter Update
Following on from a litter awareness campaign there has been a significant reduction in the amount of litter at the front of the school. Congratulations to pupils for helping to make the school a tidier place. We now need to keep this going and to consider other areas of the school and town where litter is a problem.
War Horse
The entire second year had the opportunity to see Stephen Spielberg’s new film ‘War Horse’ at two special showings at Eden Court Cinema. The film, based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, is an epic interpretation of what it was like for the horses in the First World War. It focuses on a miraculous horse, Joey, who survives all kinds of terrible situations and is finally reunited with his devoted owner, Albert. The film had some terrible scenes such as when the horse was caught on the barbed wire in No-man’s Land but it also had moments of humour and great happiness. It gave everyone an understanding of the war from both the British and German point of view and many people felt it really opened their eyes to what the conditions were like for the soldiers - as well as for the horses. Kieran Kinnear, Elle Barton and Abbey Cameron S2
Judo Success
A number of Dingwall Academy pupils had a very successful trip to the Midlands Age Band Judo Championships at the end of January. Michael MacLennan 4N1 came home with a bronze medal and Hannah Kerr 2N2 with a silver medal. David Kerr 5N and Callum MacLennan 6N also both fought really well in the Under 20 category. Congratulations to all pupils involved.
Gaelic Film Congratulations to Rachel Kellow S2 who has been commended on her performance in a short Gaelic film her class produced for the annual FILMG competition. Rachel, along with Sarah Kate MacLennan, Anna Hubbard, Rosie Shepherd and Logan McGee scripted, produced and acted in the film entitled, "Air and Stairsich / On the Threshold." This is the second year in a row that a pupil from Dingwall Academy has won a prize for acting in the competition. Megan Dale, now in S3, was commended last year. Rachel will be invited to the FILMG Oscars next month in Glasgow
Computing Trip to Robert Gordon University
In December, the senior computing class went on a trip to Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University for a Christmas lecture on Musical Bytes. It was a great experience and we all learnt a lot. Not only did we have a lecture, we got to see the computing side to the University through a detailed tour. We used new programming software called Alice and it was very interesting.
Parent Council News - LEAFLET COMPETITION
The Parent Council held a competition last term for pupils to design an eye catching leaflet to encourage more parents to get involved. The standard of entries was very high and they are displayed on a board in the school foyer. The winners received fair trade chocolate products. Congratulations to joint first prize winners Kiera Brennan and Daniel MacKay; and to Rachel Urquhart and James Ross whose entries were commended.
Parent Council News - FAIR TRADE
In December the Parent Council held a meeting to raise the awareness of fair trade issues which was attended by 12 pupils & 2 members of staff. We invited Dianne Pallett of "Allspice", a fair trade shop on Hill St, Dingwall, to speak about "Chocolate with a clear conscience". Delicious fair trade chocolate biscuits were available and a raffle of Divine chocolate products was very popular! We were shocked to hear that African children are trafficked to work in the cocoa trade and are cruelly treated in order to provide cheap chocolate products to Europe and elsewhere. In Ghana some of the cocoa farmers and workers are shareholders in Divine Chocolate and uphold fair trade standards. The next event will be a sale of fair trade foods such as rice, chutneys, jams, nuts and coconut milk at the Greenhouse Fashion Show on 28 February.
We are investigating using fair trade cotton in the school uniform and are working towards Dingwall Academy having Fair Trade Status.
Fashion Show Together with the Greenhouse Community shop, the school are organising and hosting a fashion show which will take place in school at 7pm on Tuesday 28th February. A number of outfits will be modelled by staff and pupils! Former pupil Lewis Watson is helping to co-ordinate the event together with the Senior Asdan class. Tickets priced £3 available from the school and the Greenhouse.
Fusion Saturday 4th February
A new Dingwall Fusion record was set on Saturday 4 February when 166 young people turned up to enjoy a night of great activities. Teenagers were able to star in their very own live computer game with nationally renowned adventure company Tazball Paintball. Young people used futuristic laser guns in a laser tag activity to eliminate their opponents and win the game.
Fusion, which is run by Highlife Highland’s youth development team, offers free monthly events to young people aged 12-19. On Saturday 4 Feb, as well as the excitement of Laser Tag, young people also learned how to do a manicure with the expert help of Lindsay from Peppermint Beauty Salon. Charlie Macphee from the Ross County Community Team was on hand to run the ever popular football sessions. If that wasn’t enough, the programme also included Indian head massage, fitness suite, glass painting, cooking, wii, table tennis and time to just hang out with friends.
Fiona Richardson, Youth Development Officer, said, “Fusion is a fantastic opportunity for young people to come together and try out something new. We have now secured additional funding from Cashback for Communities and the Dingwall and Seaforth Ward discretionary budget which enables us to continue through to August this year and also employ a personal trainer to work with the young people on developing their health and fitness. Free transport for those living in the outlying villages is on offer, ensuring that more young people can access the project. Young people are involved at all stages of the planning which means the programme gets bigger and better each month”.
Forthcoming Fusion dates:
All events are held at Dingwall Leisure Centre from 6-9pm
Sat 3 March Sat 14 April Sat 5 May
Sat 2 June Sat 14 July Sat 11 August
Last changed: Feb 09 2012 at 2:51 PM
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