2017

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Christmas Newsletter December

2017

Largs Academy 2017

A Message from

the Head Teacher

Largs Academy is an excellent school with a proud academic record. That was my opening statement

in my interview for head teacher in 2012 and it was also my opening statement to Her Majesty’s

Inspectors when they visited the school in January this year. As the fourth head teacher of Largs

Academy I am conscious of our proud academic record and the outstanding reputation of the school.

Mr Inglis, Mr Maxwell and Mr Jones devoted years of service to the school, continually striving for

improvement and making the key decisions necessary to ensure the very best for all our young

people. ...and they didn’t do it all on their own! Over the last five decades hundreds of highly

committed senior management teams, principal teachers, class teachers, teaching assistants,

technicians, clerical staff, cooks, janitors and cleaners have been part of team Largs Academy, all

contributing to the school in order to provide the best outcomes for everyone. Today’s staff are just

as committed to excellence and we are very proud to continue that tradition when we move into the

new campus in March 2018.

I joined the staff as Depute Head in January 2008 and took over from Arthur Jones in August 2012,

conscious of the magnitude of the task I was taking on, but confident that I was inheriting a school

which had been in safe hands and was in good shape. I am very proud of our school and feel

privileged to be leading it, especially at this time of new opportunities and fresh challenges.

We have seen the school go through many changes and challenges since 1975. There have been some

very sad times and some tough times, but the response from the school community has always been

the same. We remain a resilient community and have always pulled together, emerging stronger than

before and continuing to work hard to meet the needs of all our pupils. The support of parents and

other school partners and friends is also a strength of this school, but the real key to our success has

always been the young people who come here to learn and achieve. They are the school. That’s the

message we give to our First Years when they arrive here from primary and I’m confident all pupils

can tell you what this school stands for, what our school values are and how we demonstrate these

values in all we do.

At Largs Academy we strive to maintain high standards and improve on those areas where we are

developing our practice. I want to ensure effective learning and teaching is happening for every pupil,

every day, in every classroom, and will work hard to ensure that this is the reality at Largs Academy.

All staff work hard to maintain a strong partnership with parents, outside agencies and community

groups because we believe these partnerships are essential to the success of the school and I would

like to thank you for your continued support.

On behalf of the staff and pupils at Largs Academy I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a good

New Year!

Mrs Heather Burns Head Teacher

Christmas

Countdown

Fri 8 Dec

S1 Pantomime Trip

Wed 13 Dec

S5/6 Parents’

Evening, 4pm-6pm.

Fri 15 Dec

Christmas Jumper

Day

Christmas Lunch

Tues 19 Dec

Christmas Concert

7.30pm

Thurs 21 Dec

Christmas Services

Fri 22 Dec

Yule love it!

Christmas Countdown

Friday 8 December

Pantomime Trip - S1 pupils are off to see Sleeping Beauty at the King’s Theatre in

Glasgow…oh yes they are!

Wednesday 13 December

S5/6 Parents’ Evening, 4pm-6pm.

Friday 15 December

Christmas Jumper Day - Pupils and staff are encouraged to don their best sparkly

jumpers today in return for a £1.00 donation to our Malawi Fund.

Christmas Lunch for all pupils - It’s also the Christmas lunch for pupils today,

served in the junior and senior dining halls.

Tuesday 19 December

Christmas Concert – Please join us for the annual Christmas Concert, 7.30pm in

the Assembly Hall. Tickets will be available at the door.

Wednesday 20 December

Christmas Lunch for Staff – all staff are invited to the Senior Dining Hall for a

special Christmas Lunch today. It will be the last Christmas Lunch served in this

building!

Thursday 21 December

Christmas Services - Our Chaplains are leading the closing services today [Period

5, S1-S3 and Period 6, S4-S6].

Friday 22 December

Organised Joy

This is a casual dress day and we are asking for £1.00 donation for School Funds.

A variety of festive activities are on offer, plus the annual Christmas Bag Pack at

Morrison’s supermarket run by the PTA.

School closes at 2.30pm for the Christmas holiday.

We return on Monday 8 January at 9am.

New Largs

Campus

We continue to provide regular

aerial photographs of the new

Largs Campus via twitter and

the school website and are

delighted to report that work

remains on schedule, opening

in early March 2018. The

campus will house the existing

Largs Academy, two primary

schools and an Early Years

Centre. Brisbane and Kelburn

Primaries have merged to form

the new Largs Primary, sharing

the primary area with St

Mary’s Primary School. This is

an exciting and challenging

project, providing a 21st

Century educational resource

for the young people of this

community and we are all very

excited at the prospect of

moving there next March.

School Holidays, Session 2017-18

December and January

School closes at 2.30pm on Friday 22 December for Christmas.

We return on Monday 8 January at 9am.

February

Holiday Friday 9, Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 February.

In-Service Day – Wednesday 14 February.

March and April

Easter Holiday - School closes at 3.20pm on Wednesday 28 March and

re-opens on Wednesday 18 April at 9am.Please note, we move to the

new campus at Easter. The school re-opens in the new campus on

Alexander Avenue on Wednesday 18 April, 9am.

Exceptional Closure Days – Thursday 29 March, Monday 16 April and

Tuesday 17 April.

May

The school is closed on Monday 7 May and Friday 25 May.

In-Service Day - Monday 28 May.

June

The school closes on Friday 29 June at 1pm.

Teachers return –Thursday 16 and 17 August (In-Service Days)

Pupils return Monday 20 August 2018

Parent Council

& PTA

Meetings January – June 2018

Thursday, 25th January

*SMT Surgery 4pm-6pm

Thursday, 22nd February

Thursday, 26th April

Thursday, 24th May

*SMT Surgery 4pm-6pm

PTA meetings are held in the

Head Teacher’s Office at 6pm.

Parent Council meetings are held

in the school library at 7pm.

*January and May meeting are

preceded by an SMT Surgery,

4pm-6pm. This is an informal

drop-in, open to all parents who

wish to speak to a member of the

Senior Management Team.

Please note: April and May

meetings will take place in the

new Largs Campus.

Sixth Year Executive Leadership Team

This session we broke with tradition and appointed a

Leadership Team to replace our Head Boy/Girl and Depute

Head Boy/Girl. The team consists of Ross Cormack, Lewis Duff,

Jason Kerr, Keava Lowe, Heather Maxwell, Millie McClure, Lyle

McDonald, Mhairi MacMillan, Natasha Moore, Aidan Philips,

Ewan Randall, Kathryn Reid and Sam Templeton.

Staffing News Our roll at the September census was 1063 which

allows us a staffing entitlement of 80 full time

equivalent teachers, including 3 DHTs, 10 Faculty

Leaders and 5 Principal Teachers of Guidance. Mrs

Anderson, DHT and year head for S2 and S5 left us

in November to take up her headship in Ardrossan

Academy. Mrs Anderson joined the staff in August

2013 and has been a very popular and effective

member of the management team. We wish her

every success in her new role as head teacher.

Interviews for her replacement took place at the

end of November and Mr Barry Wilson will be

joining us on Monday 29 January as our new DHT. Barry is a local man and former pupil at

Largs Academy. Mr Frew has taken on the Acting DHT role in the meantime and will remain

in this role to support the school until we move to the new campus. Mrs Rice left the Home

Economics Department this term and Ms Tatar joined the Biology staff. Mrs Cozens and Mrs

Clark interviewed successfully for the PT Raising Attainment posts in the school, replacing

Mrs Carter and Mrs Sayce who left in the summer to take up promoted posts in in Ardrossan

Academy and Queen Margaret Academy respectively. We are also very lucky to have Mr

Harris as our probationer teacher in the Geography department and Mrs Gray who joined us

as classroom assistant in Pupil Support. We are also very grateful to our supply teachers,

and in particular would like to thank Miss Nimmo, Mr Kelley, Mr McLellan, Mr Syme, Mr

McLaren and Mrs McCrone for all their support this session.

Prelim Exams

S4, S5 and S6 pupils will undergo timetabled

National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher

prelim exams which are scheduled from

Thursday 11 January to Wednesday 24

January. Full details of support are outlined in

the Senior Phase Support Guide, issued at the

recent S4 and S5/6 parents’ evenings. There is

a range of supported study classes, PALs

sessions, school and SQA Study Guides,

Scholar and other study resources such as BBC

Bitesize, and Glow, plus many other innovative

ideas and suggestions to help all pupils achieve

success. Full details can be found on the school

website. Please encourage your son or

daughter to take advantage of the support on

offer.

In line with North Ayrshire Council policy,

study leave will not be available for the prelim

diet. National 4 courses do not have a final

examination, but pupils who are completing

National 4 courses will be given the

opportunity to complete elements of

coursework in some of their subjects during

this period. All pupils are expected to attend

classes when they do not have an exam.

SQA Exams 2018

In line with North Ayrshire

Council policy, S4, S5 and S6

students have permission to study at home during the final

SQA exams. We are planning to offer Masterclass Revision

Days in May to support our pupils and there will be a second

programme of supported study in February and March, plus

an Easter Revision School. Peer Assisted Learning sessions

will also run again during February and March. For those

pupils in S4 who have no exams we will be running a May

Achievers Programme to allow time to complete all

coursework, plus gain valuable experience whilst developing

skills and gaining additional qualifications.

This building will be demolished next year and staff and

pupils will move to our new campus in Alexander

Avenue. We are very excited at the prospect of a brand

new building with state of the art technology, attractive

social spaces for pupils and a creatively designed

learning environment where early years, primary and

secondary pupils will be learning together, providing

greater opportunities for collaboration and improving

outcomes for all the young people from the local

community. We certainly do have a great deal to look

forward to.

The school officially became known as Largs Academy

on the 1st of April 1975, when for the first time pupils

were able to complete their secondary education here.

During our recent Legacy Evening pupils shared some of

that history, along with presentations from Mr Connor

and Mrs Newton, both former pupils and current

members of staff, and Mr Provan, who recently retired

from his post as Faculty Leader of Pupil Support, a post

he held for over 30 years. All of our speakers did

remarkably well, although for everyone who was there

on the night I’m sure Mr Connor’s memorable tales of

his time here as a pupil proved the real highlight

…there’s definitely a future career on the stage for Chris

and he’d give many of our current stand-up comedians

a run for their money!

Classroom doors were thrown open and there were

demonstrations, presentations and exhibitions

throughout the East and West buildings, as well as a

stop off for ice cream on the way to the ICT building.

The ladies in the kitchen served tea, coffee and some

rather special LA tray bakes in the junior canteen and

there were freshly baked scones in Mrs Lyon’s

hospitality classroom, as well as our very own Barista

serving coffee – for everyone who is confident they

know their macchiatos from their half fat, decaf

cappuccinos! A really popular and highly anticipated

event was the performance from current and former

pupils (and staff) who sang a medley of the best known

songs from our world famous school shows. As visitors

walked through the corridors (with no

heed for the one way system!) I hope

they remembered the good times, either

as a pupil or a member of staff, and

enjoyed speaking to some of our current

staff and pupils, sharing stories about

school days at Largs Academy.

A huge vote of thanks goes to Mrs Scott

and her Legacy Committee who put

together a very memorable evening on

15 November. Gillian is faculty leader of

social subjects and has been a teacher

here for 21 years. She worked with a

team of volunteers inviting former staff

and friends of Largs Academy for an open

evening of entertainment, nostalgia and

fun. There were lots of exhibitions of

pupils’ work and photographs from past

events, as well as the musical

performances and home baking. With

over 1,000 visitors in attendance the

evening was a huge success and a fitting

tribute to Largs Academy. I am sure we

all enjoyed the evening, aware of the

legacy we are passing on to the young

people of Largs, reminding them that

they are what makes this school unique.

When we move to our new campus they

will still be the key to the school’s

success! We certainly enjoyed reliving

our memories of this school - Largs

Academy, a school which continues to be

at the heart of the community.

Legacy Evening

Largs Academy

Follow us on Twitter

@largsacademy

The school week

Monday and Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

09.00-09.50 Period 1 09.00-09.50 Period 1

09.50-10.40 Period 2 09.50-10.40 Period 2

10.40-11.30 Period 3 10.40-10.58 Interval

11.30-11.45 Interval 10.58-11.15 Tutor Period

11.45-12.35 Period 4 11.15-12.05 Period 3

12.35-13.25 Period 5 12.05-12.55 Period 4

13.25-14.10 Lunch 12.55-13.40 Lunch

14.10-15.00 Period 6 13.40-14.30 Period 5

15.00-15.50 Period 7 14.30-15.20 Period 6

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the pupils and staff of Largs Academy

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is

too low and we reach it.” Michelangelo

AMBITION

This morning we welcomed North

Ayrshire Secondary Schools to our

Broaden your Horzions with

Languages event in partnership with

SCILT. Pupils heard from a variety of

speakers about the importance of

learning foreign languages!

S3 Largs Academy pupils have arrived

at Prestwick Airport for the DYW

Languages Event. Looking forward to a

great day!

Our Advanced Higher Biologists enjoying

their day at Strathclyde University!

Good luck to S3 Eleanor Jones,

Lauren Hyde, Caitlin Castelvecchi &

Joanna Lewis who are competing in

the Girl's STEM Challenge on

Tuesday!

Our WOSPEG team were in

action yesterday. They

narrowly lost to Dunblane

HS & Jordanhill School.

Well done to our team and

to our competitors!

N5 & Higher Modern Studies pupils visiting the Scottish Parliament on St Andrew's Day

We continue to celebrate the work of the school using Twitter. Follow us @LargsAcademy for regular updates

on everything that is happening in Largs Academy. We live by our values of Ambition, Achievement, Respect,

Responsibility and Community and are proud to share our achievements, events and successes with you.

See the latest

views of our

ambitious new

campus!

“Your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how

you handle disappointment along the way.” Anon

ACHIEVEMENT

Congratulation to Largs Academy Wind Band who were awarded

a Gold Plus award at the Scottish Concert Band Festival today!

Bring on the finals in March!

Team Largs at the National Enterprising

Maths Competition at the Science

Centre!

Nat 5 Fashion and Textiles students enjoyed felt making. Thanks to Claire Phillips for

the great workshop and resources.

Cake craft students make a great job of

clowning around! #workandlearn

Well done to all S1 pupils who took

part in the Bake Off yesterday after

school. The event was a great

success!

Congratulations to pupils working on qualifications in Barista and

Nail Technology. Huge thanks to Walter Smith and the Prince's Trust

too.

Largs Academy pupils collect award in recognition of vocational

projects at Prince's Trust Enterprise Awards! #Congratulations!

Congratulations Holly

Honeyman, winner of

the Largs Academy

Maths Week Scotland

Sumdog Competition.

Holly answered 1000

questions! Amazing!

Congratulations to S6 Sara Thane who

completed the Nuffield Summer School.

Sara will be sharing her experience with

S5 science classes!

“Treat people the way you want to be treated. Talk to people the way you want to be talked to.

Respect is earned, not given.” Hussein Nishah

RESPECT

Well done to the Malawi

Partnership group for hosting the

afternoon tea event and to the

Barista group for the excellent

service.

A successful 'Afternoon Tea' was

held to thank members of the local

community who gave donations

towards our Malawi partnership.

Wishing S6 pupils Alice Murdoch & Heather

Maxwell well on their trip to Poland as part of

the Lessons from Auschwitz programme this

week.

Thank you to Home Economics staff for the fantastic

MacMillan Coffee Morning on Friday raising £350 for this

worthwhile cause! @macmillancancer

S3 Pupils from the Amnesty group

leading a S1 lesson on Freedom

for National Poetry Day 2017.

Happy European Day of Languages.

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends

until we die, and the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

RESPONSIBILITY

S1 and S2 pupils enjoyed a performance this

afternoon from pop group Single By Sunday.

Key message: Keep yourself safe online.

Meet our new S6 Leadership Team!

Our @YouthSportTrust Young Ambassadors at

the National Conference in Hampden today.

Well done Naimh and Glen

Beesan Jumah 2K, Eilidh Robinson 2K & Willow Allan

2B presented WRAP to children's mental health

conference today. Really impressive work!

Well done to all who contributed to this year's

shoebox appeal. We sent 60 boxes and donated £50

to the Blythswood Trust and the boxes are now on

their way to help children in Albania. #shoeboxappeal

“It is the efforts of individuals that create the ripples that can move mountains.”

Anon

COMMUNITY

Congratulations on a high quality

final full of passion and strong cases

for a variety of charities. Well done

to the winners, Largs Boys Brigade!

YPI Scotland added,

Largs Academy @LargsAcademy

Our YPI winners 2017! Largs Boys

Brigade! Huge congratulations to all

who took part and to our winners!

@ypi_scotland

What a fantastic turnout at the Legacy Evening, with

over 1,700 visitors. Thank you for supporting us!

#ActiveGirls day tomorrow. All girls in S1-S3

need their PE kit tomorrow.

RMPS S4 enjoyed

their visit from

Father Daniel

today.

Pupils enjoying the Junk Kouture club with Miss

Shaw #talented #creative @junkkouture

Peer Assisted Learning goes from strength to strength in the

school! This has been led by members of our S6 Leadership

Team this year! Congratulations to all involved!

S1

Halloscream

Fun!