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2009 -
MAYBOLE NEWS FOR THE MONTH OF: |
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Primaries 1,2 and 3 at St Cuthbert’s
PS in Maybole staged their nativity play in Our Lady & St Cuthbert’s
Church last week and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the performance
of “The Sleepy Shepherd”. The young pupils were outstanding as they
told the story of the Baby Jesus being born in Bethlehem and
afterwards acting head teacher Mrs McCrindle and Fr Stephen
McGrattan praised the children and staff who had put so much effort
into the production. Fr McGrattan also paid tribute to Mrs McCrindle
who was now moving on to be acting head at St Ann’s. Two young
pupils then presented her with gifts. Cast Narrator 1 Ben McLaughlin
Narrator 2 Jorja MacNab Sleepy Shepherd PJ McQuillan Sheep Greg
Lawrie, Alex Sallens and Ethan Cloe Shepherd 1 Cole Struthers
Shepherd 2 Reece Mitchell Shepherd 3 Kai Russell Angels Zoe
Campbell, Nina Boron, Eilidh Welsh and Lara Valdrighi Mary Christie
Tomlinson Joseph Kai Russell Kings Adam Collins, Millie Hannah and
Dani Struthers. |
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St. Cuthbert’s Primary stages 4-7
Christmas production this year was “There’s Something Amazing Going
on”. Family and friends of the school were able to enjoy show in the
school’s newly refurbished Gym Hall. It was a great success and
everyone had a wonderful time. |
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Cairn Has Talent! It was Christmas
production time again at Cairn Primary in Maybole. It was fabulous,
the costumes were great, and everyone performed brilliantly! Parents
flocked to see both the afternoon and evening performances of the
Infants’ ‘The Best Gift of All and P4-7’s ‘Christmas Around the
World’ and the children all did them proud. ‘We loved being Stars
and sprinkling stardust over everyone’ said Carmen, Kerry and Nadia
from P2. A great time was had by all! |
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Santa Claus returned to Maybole for
the town's annual Christmas bazaar in the Town Hall recently. He was
a wee bit early and just walked into the hall to the surprise of
stallholders and helpers and quickly took up his traditional seat on
the stage. The bazaar gives local organisations the opportunity to
make some much needed funds and at the same time give residents and
their families the chance to pick up some bargains or unique gifts.
This year pupils at Carrick Academy have created a calendar of
photographs showing scenes about the town. If you did not get one at
the bazaar then you can get one from the school. |
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Young
pupils from Gardenrose Primary entertain residents of Crosne Street
sheltered housing unit with Christmas carols and songs. |
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Members of
Gardenrose Nursery recently visited residents at Crosne Street
sheltered housing to help them make Christmas cards and provided
some musical entertainment |
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Carrick
Stompers at their annual linedancers’ Christmas party. |
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Members of Maybole’s Opportunity in
Retirement group were treated to Christmas dinner last Friday
evening It coincided with Pearl Barton’s birthday and she is
pictured, right, with some of the gifts she received Pearl would
like to thank all of her committee, also in the photo, for their
hard work during the year. |
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At left: Maybole annual united service
in Maybole Town Hall - lessons
and Christmas hymns. Music was provided by the primary schools’
choir and Carrick Academy band.
At Right: Members of St Cuthbert’s
Church youth group enjoyed a formal Christmas dinner in the church
hall. |
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Senior parishioners of Our Lady & St
Cuthbert’s Church in Maybole enjoyed Christmas dinner in the church
hall on Sunday afternoon. Afterwards they were entertained by
younger members of the parish. |
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Maybole says “no” to move to Ayr
Parents and friends of St Cuthbert’s Primary School held a meeting
last Wednesday December 2 to discuss potential plans to close the
school and ship the pupils to a “super-complex” in Ayr. And the
message was clear and simple: “we want our children schooled in
Maybole.” The meeting created much discussion for a proposal –
mooted by South Ayrshire Council’s schools estate – to close St
Cuthbert’s, St Ann’s in Mossblown and St Ninian’s in Prestwick.
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Last Wednesday in Maybole Town Hall,
Senga Fergusson, Brownie Guider was awarded with a long service
award by Janis Meredith, County Commissioner. This award was
presented to Senga for 30 years unbroken service to the Girl Guide
Association in Maybole. Pictured are Mary Guthrie, Assistant County
Commissioner; Janis Meredith, County Commissioner; Senga Fergusson
and Maureen Craig, Assistant Guider. |
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At the recent AGM of
the Maybole Branch of the Royal British Legion office bearers
elected were Col John Dalrymple Hamilton, President; Brian Connolly,
Chairman; George Tevendale, Vice Chairman, George Taylor, Secretary
and Alex Kelly, Treasurer. Other posts filled were Fr Stephen
McGrattan, Branch Padre; John Bounds, Pensions and Welfare Officer;
George Taylor, Area and Conference Delegate; Alex Davidson, Parade
Marshall; David Kiltie, Press Officer. Brian Connolly attributed the
success of the past year to “the valuable team work by all members
of the Branch.” more |
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It’s not often you get the chance to
swim the English Channel, a distance of 22 miles, from the warmth
and comfort of your local swimming pool and have nearly three months
to complete the challenge! Five of the “early bird” swimmers at
Maybole pool swam the equivalent of the English Channel recently in
a sponsored swim for Aspire, a national charity which provides
practical support to people in the UK and Ireland with spinal cord
injuries. The swim of 1416 lengths of the pool took place over the
period from September 14 and had to be completed by December 6. All
five swimmers finished under time and have raised in the region of
£100 each. Taking part were Midge Davidson. Moira Spiers, Janice Mc
Kellar, Margaret Davidson and Heather Sinclair. All agreed they had
enjoyed the challenge and are looking for another charity to sponsor
in the new year. |
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Maybole Amateur Swimming Club Annual
Gala |
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Carrick
Rugby Club has been presented with new warm up tops BAE Systems. The
club would like to thank BAE Systems for sponsoring them.
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This is a picture of the players along
with assistant manager Tam Kerr wearing their new running out tops
supplied by Mike Wade of MJ Motors, Sorn Road Cumnock. Carrick
Amateurs hosted Wallacetoun SC of the Ayrshire Football League in
the 4th round of the Fosters Scottish Amateur Cup. The Carrick men
went down 3 - 2 in a toughly fought game. Wallacetoun, currently top
of the Ayrshire 3rd Division, would not look out of place playing
their football in the 1st Division. Carrick players and committee
wished them continued success in the Scottish and in their league
endeavours. |
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2009 was another successful year for
local footballer Danielle Connolly. The former Troon Ladies player
has a Scottish First Division winner’s medal to show after her
second season with Celtic Ladies. Danni was an ever-present central
defender in the team that allowed a miserly seven goals in the
season in which they finished as undefeated champions and her
playing season finished on a high, scoring three goals in the
crucial final two games to clinch the top spot. Danni’s season was
completed when at the recent award ceremony in the Jock Stein Suite
she was awarded the team’s player of the year. Afterwards she said,
“We had a really great season. We have some great players and a
great team spirit that got us through some really tough close games.
It’s a great honour to play for Celtic and the player of the year
award presented in Parkhead was a real highlight.“ The players are
enjoying a short break before restarting training in preparation for
the inaugural ‘summer’ season that starts in March 2010.
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Jane’s Deli in Maybole have supported
Carrick Academy Rugby to the tune of £400. They organised a raffle
over the past 12 weeks and held a wine tasting evening. The money
raised will go to support the running costs of the school 1st XV.
Janes Deli will also be the major supporters of the 1st XV for next
season. All at Carrick Academy would like to thank Alan and Jane
Martin for all their continued support. |
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Cooking Up Confidence at Carrick Academy Pupils and
teachers from Carrick Academy’s Cluster Primaries climbed aboard a
giant Cooking Bus last week for some hands-on lessons in healthy
cuisine. more |
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The Royal Marines visited Carrick
Academy on Wednesday 09th of December. The Royal Navy run a
programme called ‘Fit For Life’ and the aim is to encourage children
and students to lead a healthier lifestyle by following a balanced
diet and regular exercise. Chefs Stephen Milne and Berti Barker ran
a cooking demonstration for all timetabled classes in the HE dept.
The pupils had a limited time to produce a tasty chicken curry in
pairs. The Royal Navy’s PTI’s Paddy Stephens and Paul Wiggins ran a
physical training demonstration which included team building tasks.
Pupils had an extremely fun day and gained valuable knowledge about
cooking, healthy eating and physical activity. The school would like
to thank the Royal Navy and the staff involved who made this day
such a success. |
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Zoolab Geography
Experience. On 3rd December all S2 pupils from
Carrick Academy and all Standard grade Biology
classes had the pleasure of a visit from Ross from Zoolab and his “friends” arranged by Ms Adam in
Geography. Thanks go to Mr Webster for funding this
Zoolab experience. The zoolab ranger brought three
snakes - all corn snakes and the favourite was a
friendly giant called Gerry. Many pupils were amazed
at how dry and warm the snakes felt and were
fascinated by the forked tongue “tasting” the air
all the time. Most pupils hadn’t had a chance to
touch such a creature before.
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The complete text of the headlines above and more articles follow below. |
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A
fire in the former Maybole Old Church hall caused
the A77 at Cassillis Road to be blocked for some
time on Monday evening, November 30. Barns Terrace
was also closed. Twenty-five Firefighters were
engaged in bringing the blaze under control. Fire
crews from Maybole and Ayr Community Fire Stations
were mobilised to the scene shortly before 9:45 p.m.
On arrival the crews had to contend with a well
developed fire within the rear section of the church
hall roof space. The initial incident commander
committed fire crews, donned in breathing apparatus,
to tackle the blaze and contain the fire within the
immediate area of the traditional stone built
building prior to requesting further supporting
resources to attend the incident.
The fire was brought
under control using a combination of main jets and
employing an aerial monitor from an attending Aerial
Rescue Pump. The incident commander also employed
Positive Pressure Ventilating tactics to ensure that
the fire did not spread beyond the church hall and
involve the adjacent main church building.
Strathclyde Fire & Rescue were assisted by the
police who dealt with traffic management in the
immediate vicinity of the fire and representatives
from Scottish Power who isolated electrical supplies
to the affected buildings. The cause of the fire
will be the subject of a joint Police and Fire
Service investigation. There were, thankfully, no
reported casualties or injuries associated with this
incident.
Maybole says “no” to move to Ayr Parents and friends
of St Cuthbert’s Primary School held a meeting last
Wednesday December 2 to discuss potential plans to close
the school and ship the pupils to a “super-complex” in
Ayr. And the message was clear and simple: “we want our
children schooled in Maybole.” The meeting created much
discussion for a proposal – mooted by South Ayrshire
Council’s schools estate – to close St Cuthbert’s, St
Ann’s in Mossblown and St Ninian’s in Prestwick. Several
important concerns were raised, mainly the impact the
school’s closure would have on the vibrant community and
organisations already operating within the town as well
as fears for young children travelling from Maybole to
Ayr on a weekly basis. The proposal would mean children
– some as young as four years old – travelling by bus
five days a week to and from a newly-constructed
five-to-18 Queen Margaret Academy campus.
Many believed this was too
long a journey for young pupils, a feeling shared by
Councillor Sandra Goldie, who although unable to attend
the meeting, echoed parents’ concerns in a letter of
apology sent to the parent council chair. Councillor
Mairi Low, who attended the meeting in the school
assembly hall, listened attentively and agreed with the
claim that pupils’ involvement within Maybole community
events was crucial and that recent Homecoming events in
Maybole Town Hall showed the depth of young people’s
commitment to their town. It was also claimed that if St
Cuthbert’s was to close and pupils moved to Ayr the
children’s local community would become Ayr and they
would not be part of the Maybole community.”
Although the council’s
proposals are still at an informal phase, parents have
been given the opportunity to comment on two proposals:
a five-to-18 denominational school campus for St John’s
in Ayr and Queen Margaret or a five-to18 campus for
Maybole, Mossblown, Prestwick and Ayr Catholic school
children. Parishioners from Our Lady and St Cuthbert’s
Church are also planning to send their comments on the
SAC proposal and Councillor Low told the meeting the
comments would be collated and suggested a council
response in early 2010. The formal consultation process
for this proposal will not start until 2012 but the
informal discussions have followed representation from
the Diocese of Galloway.
At
the recent AGM of the Maybole Branch of the Royal
British Legion office bearers elected were Col John Dalrymple Hamilton, President; Brian Connolly,
Chairman; George Tevendale, Vice Chairman, George
Taylor, Secretary and Alex Kelly, Treasurer. Other
posts filled were Fr Stephen McGrattan, Branch
Padre; John Bounds, Pensions and Welfare Officer;
George Taylor, Area and Conference Delegate; Alex
Davidson, Parade Marshall; David Kiltie, Press
Officer. Brian Connolly attributed the success of
the past year to “the valuable team work by all
members of the Branch.” He also thanked Billy
Torbett and Evelyn Shields during Billy’s
hospitalisation for making the premises at The
Welltrees Inn available. This year the branch will
be donating £250 to Combat Stress and £250 to the
Ghurkas. The next meeting of the branch will be held
on January 11, 2010 and the annual Holocaust Day is
Wednesday January 27. This day will mark the 65th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is challenging
everyone across the UK to become part of a Legacy of
Hope.
Cooking Up Confidence at Carrick Academy
Pupils and teachers from Carrick Academy’s Cluster
Primaries climbed aboard a giant Cooking Bus last
week for some hands-on lessons in healthy cuisine.
The Focus on Food Cooking Bus rolled into Carrick
Academy to give fun cooking lessons to primary
pupils, teachers and the community. As a School of
Ambition, the school recognises the importance of
supporting youngsters through the transition stage
Lessons were under the expert eye of advisory
teacher Helen Orr and Gillian Hudson, support
teacher, whose planned programme of cooking
activities is tailored to the age of the pupils
aboard the cooking bus.
At each session teachers, support staff and senior
academy pupils helped with supervision and washing
up. The pupils learned how to prepare fruit and
vegetables safely, using the correct holding and
cutting positions and made a variety of healthy
options including twice baked cheesy potato, Mexican
bean salad and smoothies. Each pupil received two
samples of food they had prepared to take home. The
pupils covered many of the outcomes from the Health
and Wellbeing experiences including handling and
tasting a variety of foods, investigating what makes
a healthy diet, food preparation, hygiene routines,
food safety and, of course, a sense of enjoyment and
achievement!
There was also training for teachers and the wider
community so they can continue helping youngsters
cook with confidence long after the bus had driven
away. Carrick Academy has negotiated with Focus on
Food, that on this occasion a COOK-IT kit,
consisting of £750 of cooking equipment, will be
presented to all eight participating primary
schools. The event was seen as high importance to
South Ayrshire Council, and a visit was made by
Harry Garland (Executive Director of Children and
Community), who watched parents and youngsters have
fun preparing healthy food. After spending four days
at Carrick Academy delivering five sessions to
Primary 7 pupils and three sessions to parents,
teachers and other members of the community, the
Cooking Bus drove off to take its hands-on healthy
cooking lessons elsewhere.
Zoolab Geography
Experience. On 3rd December all S2 pupils from
Carrick Academy and all Standard grade Biology
classes had the pleasure of a visit from Ross from Zoolab and his “friends” arranged by Ms Adam in
Geography. Thanks go to Mr Webster for funding this
Zoolab experience. The zoolab ranger brought three
snakes - all corn snakes and the favourite was a
friendly giant called Gerry. Many pupils were amazed
at how dry and warm the snakes felt and were
fascinated by the forked tongue “tasting” the air
all the time. Most pupils hadn’t had a chance to
touch such a creature before. As we have studied the
rainforest Ross also brought a large eyed frog
called Larry and very active toad who tried to
escape a few times when being handled! Pupils also
learned about how these animals survive in the
forest and the fact that many spend all their lives
in the canopy never coming down at all. Ross had a
few surprises too and showed us hissing cockroaches
which could even survive a nuclear blast and a giant
millipede which tickled when it walked over the
pupils’ hands.
The millipede was
chocolate coloured and was called “Yorkie”. He also
brought a tarantula with him called Tallulah but as
she was very fragile she was kept in her case and
just shown to pupils. Most were very glad of this –
especially the teachers! We also welcome many
visitors to Carrick including the whole of Colmonell
Primary School. Carrick pupils will be working with
several primaries in S Ayrshire on a joint project
studying the Geography and experiencing the music of
the rainforest with Ms Gourley. Colmonell enjoyed
their visit and have some lovely photos to put on
our Glow group to remind us of a good day. To make
it slightly different this year Ms Adam linked up
Carrick with several other schools via web
conferencing using Glow Meet and we had an all day
link open to some schools to allow them to watch our
pupils handling the animals. We welcomed via the
webcam Invergarven Primary in Girvan, Marr College
in Troon , St Ninians in East Renfrew and even went
as far afield as Montrose Academy! Technology is
certainly a way to link schools together in many new
ways and Carrick were proud to welcome all others to
out project.
We hope this is the
first of many link ups. We will be continuing the
rainforest theme with S1 making short films on this
topic and the primaries making musical instruments
and performing their rainforest music for us later
this session. The Art department at Marr will be
linking with us designing and printing t-shirts on
the rainforest theme and St Ninians in East Renfrew
will be assessing the work done by Carrick Academy
pupils. We hope we will impress them! As a final
event the whole of S1 will be making a floor game of
snakes and ladders all based round the rainforest
theme and other school pupils will play the game
over the webcam! This project opens up lots of
opportunities for pupils in Carrick all under the
umbrella of Curriculum for Excellence and makes
learning a far more enjoyable experience for all
concerned. To ensure the Senior pupils in Geography
did not feel left out Ms Adam organised a webcam
link to a school in Saltash, Cornwall where an
Asheninkq tribesman was visiting from the
rainforests in Peru and we linked up live to see
Javier Bustamente talk to us all before he continued
on to the Copenhagen Climate Change conference in
Denmark. This was a once in a lifetime chance and
all pupils enjoyed this addition to the Geography
curriculum. Ms Adam would like to thank ICT support
in Carrick – Mr Reilly, and Callum McQueen at SAC
for their help and assistance with these activities.
Val Adam PT Geography
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