August 2000

Carrick Academy

Pupils and staff have returned fully refreshed after a most enjoyable break. Almost all pupils turned up to school wearing the appropriate dress code. My thanks to parents for their continued support in this area.

As the debate about the SQA continues it appears that we have just about sorted all the problems we are aware of. We are awaiting confirmation that the details have been accepted. However, if you are in anyway concerned please do not hesitate to contact us at the school.

This of course has created some uncertainty amongst the pupils returning to senior school and our numbers are a little lower than estimated.

At the start of every session we have new staff joining us and this session is no exception. Joining the staff in English we have Mr Platt who replaces Mrs Boag. In Spanish Mrs Coleman replaces Mrs McDaid. In Physical Education Mr Dunsmuir replaces Mr Alexander who has now retired.

We have also been busy over the holiday period upgrading various parts of the accommodation. The boys’ toilets in the Old Building have been completely renovated. New flooring has been installed in Mr Forrester’s room as well as the technician’s room and Mr Downie’s room has been carpeted.

The fileservers for the National Grid have also been installed which takes us a step nearer to being linked to the Internet.

Parental information booklets are being updated and are nearing completion. They will be issued to pupils in the PSE classes in the very near future so please have a search in the bottom of school bags if you haven’t come across them in the next week.

Staff report that the new S1 pupils appear to be settling in very well to life in the secondary school. It is very pleasing to see them working so well during the senior management visits to S1 classes.

As ever please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns.

R Stewart - Head Teacher

The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Monday 4 September at 7pm in the Community wing. The agenda items include Headteacher’s Report; School Board Elections; Government Money for schools; Library provision.

The annual photo shoot took place on Tuesday 29 August. My thanks to Mr McComiskey for handling all the administration arrangements to allow the event to run so smoothly.

The school has set up a Publicity Team of senior pupils who have opted for this experience within the senior curriculum. They will have the responsibility for revamping the Parental Newsletters and the newspaper articles. The Team have been speaking to the rest of the pupils at assemblies about their ideas. So look out for a new approach in the September issue.

Congratulations to the following former pupils:

Rebekah Victoria Holmes on Graduating from the University of Glasgow - M.A., Second class Div One

Gilly Alexander on Graduating from UMIST - First class Honours - B.Sc. Paper Science with French

Shona Hogg on Graduating from Edinburgh University - First class masters degree in Physics

Allison Lindsay on Graduating from the University of Dundee - BDS with merit in Dentistry

Thor Frette on Graduating from Herriot Watt with a 1^st class honours degree in Chemical Engineering

Valerie Scott on Graduating from the University of Dundee - Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours

Julia Ferguson on Graduating from Glasgow Caledonian - Degree in Chemistry with Information Technology and Instrumentation

Fiona Gill on Graduating from Paisley University - BEd with Honours

Well Done !! - Apologies if we have left anyone out - Please phone and let us know - 01655 882389

S4 Work Experience Week Beginning - 4 September 2000

Pupils in S4 are again being given the opportunity to experience education for work in action, by spending a week working as an employee within a company or organisation of their choice.

As part of their Personal and Social Education Programme pupils have been investigating the range of employment opportunities available to them as well as identifying the skills and qualities that they might offer the employee during their placement. Carrick Academy is fortunate to link with a number of local companies, but is grateful for the support of many companies outwith South Ayrshire.

This project has been designed for a selected group of pupils who will leave school at Christmas 2000. It will provide an introduction to different areas which will make pupils more aware of possible career options. Pupils will attend both Ayr and Kilmarnock College, receive support form the Careers Service and undertake a work experience placement before Christmas, during the programme.