The seniors have now completed their first ever Higher Still prelims. Early indications are most encouraging.

We will be formally evaluating the Study Leave relating to these prelims by sampling views from pupils, staff, parents and School Board members, so if you receive details from us please complete and return to the school.

The next set of tests is focussed on S3 and will begin on 20 March.

The school targets relating to Credit level performance are very demanding and this will give us valuable information to help draw up appropriate strategies to support pupils achieve these targets.

Our recent Non Uniform day raised £250 which will go to Ayr Hospital and Yorkhill Hospital. Many thanks to parents, pupils and staff for their contributions. These particular donations were identified by Jillian Cooper from Carrick Academy and my thanks go to Jillian for her thoughtfulness.

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

R Stewart

Headteacher

Congratulations to Dr J Woodland, who was recently appointed to Acting Principal Teacher in the Physics Department at Queen Margaret Academy. The 2 Acting Assistant Principal Teacher of Guidance posts have been appointed as follows:

Mrs Fitzpatrick from Biology who has taken up post and Mr Swan from Belmont Academy. No date has been agreed as yet for Mr Swan to take up his post.

As part of the ongoing Cullen Security measures, the school has received 8 Mobile phones which will be used by Senior Management, Janitors, Physical Education and Behaviour Support staff. These phones will be in operation throughout the day, so these members of staff can either be contacted immediately or can use them immediately in an emergency. The next stage of the Cullen Security measures will be the introduction of new security doors. The main office will have a video entry system whilst other doors in the school will be ‘time locked’ to increase security. I will let you know when work will begin on these new security measures.

The school is to be connected to the National Grid for Learning in April approximately. We will also receive 3 Laptop Computers for Science. These computers can also be booked out by staff to work at home in the evenings. Art is to receive a computer with a 17" screen and the Computing department will receive a class set of 20 computers.

At a recent Headteachers’ meeting with South Ayrshire Council it was confirmed that due to Health and Safety regulations, jewellery must not be worn in Physical Education lessons. I have asked Mrs Baillie, Acting Principal Teacher of Physical Education to reiterate this information to pupils and this will also be followed up by Senior Management at forthcoming assemblies. Your co-operation in this matter is appreciated.

Our new Computing teacher Mr McLean is collecting Tesco vouchers for computers. There is a box in reception for anyone who wants to donate vouchers for this cause.

As part of the national campaign to raise people's awareness of the dangers of smoking and hopefully encourage smokers to stop, all S1/2 pupils will take part in a poster competition during their PSE lesson week beginning 6 March.

There will be a prize for the winning poster in each year group. The posters will incorporate the slogan for this year's campaign - CUT IT OUT!

The school will be running the Charity Shop for the week beginning 20 March. Each pupil is being encouraged to bring in a minimum of ONE Item which could be sold for a minimum of £1. The proceeds will go to pupil excursions during the last two weeks of the session. If you have any items you wish to be collected please let us know and we will arrange for uplift.

I am particularly pleased to say that there will be FOUR prizes, one from each of the Houses for the pupil who collects the most for their House. The Pupil Council is at present deciding how this will work. The prize is a conducted tour of Ibrox Stadium with an opportunity to meet the players. We are indebted to Mr Ken Crawford, Ibrox Stadium Manager for making this opportunity available to the school. Ken is a former pupil of the school and he will also be our Guest Speaker at this year’s Prize Giving.

The next disco is scheduled for 7-10pm on Thursday 2 March in the Town Hall. A special feature is a Stars in Their Eyes Karaoke spot during the evening. Entries should be given to Mr Cannon.

We are investing in Hand Dryers and Air Fresheners for the pupil toilets.

These will be fitted in the near future.

South Ayrshire Council are keen to promote the Award within secondary schools. Carrick Academy has a long tradition of involvement in the Award and at present has around 50 participants at different levels. Several members of staff are already involved to some extent but we can use more help. If you have a skill, interest or idea for a project that the young people could be involved in, we would like to hear from you. It needn't involve giving up a lot of time! If you would like more information, please contact Mrs Bryden.

Paul Knott (centre) of Ayr College visited the school on 22^nd February to demonstrate the art of Stir-fry to S2 pupils. These two dubious looking characters were attracted by the fabulous smell and just had to sample the finished article.

Mr Alexander did enjoy it, although he doesn’t look too happy. Probably because the pupils were busy finishing off the meal while he was dragged away to get this photo taken.