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Dingwall Academy would like to wish all pupils, parents and staff good wishes for a successful 2012.

 

16th Jan – 3^rd Feb                        S5/6 Prelims  

Monday 23^rd Jan                          Parent Council Meeting

Friday 27^th Jan                            S4 reports issued

Thursday 9^th Feb                         S4 Contact Evening

13^th – 17^th Feb                            Pupil Holiday

Week beginning 20^th Feb              School Health Week

 

                                                                                                     

S5/6 prelims run from Monday 16^th January until Friday 3^rd February. All pupils have been issued with a prelim timetable and it can also be accessed through the school website. If for any reason a pupil is unable to attend on the day of an exam then the school should be informed as soon as possible.

 

S2 Reports will now be issued on Monday 12^th March and the S2 contact evening will be held on Thursday 22^nd March.

 

Mr Borland, Principal Teacher of CDT, Art and Music retired at the end of term. The school would like to wish Mr Borland good wishes for a long and happy retirement. Mrs K Trimble has been appointed to Acting PT Art & Music and Mrs E Kendall Acting PT CDT. Mr D Macintosh has been appointed Depute Rector and will take up his post on 1^st February.

 

Three very successful Christmas socials took place during the last week of term. At a time when some schools are choosing to no longer hold such events we can be very proud of the behaviour and turnout of all pupils. Thank you to all pupils, parents and staff who contributed to the evenings.

 

The whole school New Year resolution is to reduce the amount of litter in and around the school.   The school is working with Education and Enforcement Officer James Sanderson to help combat the problem. Mr Sanderson has now delivered assemblies to all year groups outlining the environmental, social and economic impact of littering. Mr Sanderson will follow this up with work in S1 and S2 PSE classes. Mr Sanderson also explained that dropping litter is a criminal offence and anyone caught can be issued with a £50 fine. There will be an increase in the number of wardens operating in the school area and we hope that by working together we can reduce the amount of litter around the school.

 

This year the Ski Trip went to Passo Tonale, in the Italian Alps.

 

42 pupils accompanied by Mr Di Carlo, Mr Robertson, Miss Bennie and Mrs Wilson flew from Edinburgh Airport to Milan. The group should have had a 3 hour transfer, however, due to the amount of snow falling this turned into a 6 hour transfer. The group stayed at the Hotel Sciatori, a comfortable hotel close to the slopes.

 

The advantage of the heavy snowfall was magnificent snow for the week and mostly blue skies. All groups managed to ski or board the glacier. Each night there were activities arranged, the highlight of which was the instructors descending the glacier by torchlight, followed by magnificent fireworks to celebrate the epiphany. The group then warmed up with hot chocolate and crepes.

 

All in all, an extremely enjoyable week.

 

On Monday 9^th January Gillian McCauley from the Scottish Blood Transfusion service delivered an assembly to all S6 pupils. Following the assembly pupils were invited to take part in the donor session at Dingwall leisure centre the next day. Freddie Mack describes the experience…

Following an appeal made at the Sixth Year Assembly on Monday, over 60 Sixth Year pupils asked permission to leave class and give a blood donation at the Dingwall Leisure Centre. The turnout was so great, some Pupils had to leave before they got a chance to donate, or else they would miss their buses home.

 

The process for new donors involved filling out a confidential questionnaire, to ensure that taking the blood from the donor and giving it to someone in need would be safe for all parties. Then, a drop of blood is taken from the finger of the donor and checked to make sure the donor has enough iron in their blood. After that, the donor is led to a bed, and a needle is used to draw out a little less than a pint of blood (about one tenth of a person’s full supply). The procedure is easy, more painless than having your ears pierced and extremely gratifying. Plus, donors are welcome to help themselves to tea, juice, cake and biscuits afterwards.

 

Blood donation is so easy, just lying on a bed for five or ten minutes can be enough to save lives, there is no easier way to be a hero. A few teaspoonfuls of blood can save the life of a prematurely born baby; a pint will let an injured car crash victim reach hospital alive; seven pints will let a heart bypass patient have their operation. Hospitals are always looking for donors, but here’s a sobering fact: only five percent of eligible adults will donate in their lifetime.

 

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank those pupils who donated and encourage anyone else interested to sign up to give blood, and follow their example of the generous, kind Dingwall Academy students. After all you get cake!      

 

 

 

In conjunction with the Greenhouse Community shop the school is organising and hosting a fashion show on Tuesday 28^th February at 7.30. Staff and pupils will model outfits chosen by pupils from the Greenhouse. Tickets will be available closer to the event.

 

In conjunction with school catering services, MFR ran an inter school quiz in the Ironworks, Inverness. Dingwall Academy entered a team consisting of Rory Forbes, Will Hoffman, Steven Kellow and Callum MacLennan.

 

After an initial round, the top 4 schools fought it out in a knockout round. Dingwall beat Kingussie in the semi-final and Fortrose in the final winning a trophy and a free gig in the school.

 

The gig took place on 19 December. The artist was Carly Connor (who has been supporting Paolo Nutini on his tour) and she was supported by Megan Blyth from Beauly. S1 pupils were given the opportunity to see this up and coming artist as a reward for their good behaviour and adherence to uniform policy during the month of December. The gig can be viewed on Youtube at the following address www.youtube.com/watch?v=txmlfk1pypw.

 

A large number of items have been handed into lost property since the start of term. Items will be available for pupils to view from the start of next week. Anything not claimed by Friday 27^th January will be taken to a local charity shop. Parents are welcome to come in and look through lost property.