Fundraising Event - “Pinks Not Silly-Wear It for Tilly”

When the charity committee found out about the local girl Tilly who needed money for treatment, they sprang into action and went all out to have a “Pinks not silly-wear it for Tilly” day. Tilly is a pupil at St. Johns Primary in Ayr, but she has become extremely unwell and needs money to go to America for treatment. To raise money, the committee painted teachers and pupils nails pink and also did face painting. The committee also did a ‘guess how many sweets in the jar’ contest. It was very successful and raised £1,021.71. This is the highest the school has ever raised for a single charity event, and the team are very proud as it was arranged in under a week. The event was a fun day and many the pupils got involved and showed their support. The new charity committee hope to organise more events in the future for charities such as Ayrshire Hospice and Children in Need.

Committee Members and Miss Dunsmuir collecting money for Tilly

Nail and face painting to raise money for Tilly.

Chemistry Department

The Chemistry department have been invited to enter a team for the

Royal Society of Chemistry’s Top of the Bench competition. This will

take place at Strathclyde University on Thursday 24 November.

Teams have to be composed of one pupil from S2, two pupils from

S3 and a pupil from S4. The pupils representing Belmont in this

prestigious competition are Rachel Hart (S4) Charlotte MacDowall

(S3) Abbie Middleton (S3) and Rose Saville (S2). Reserves are Harriet

Mirtle and Lauren Cosgrove. The competition is usually dominated

by the private schools so the Belmont team are hoping to give them

some strong competition.

European Day of Languages

The Modern Languages Department celebrated the European Day of

Languages on the 26th September with quizzes in French, German

and Spanish. Pupils watched the Frozen song “Let it Go” in 25

different languages and learned about languages such as Flemish

and Catalan. Pupils also compared the French and Canadian accents

when speaking French. In addition to this pupils learned about all

the words we use in everyday life in English which come from other

languages (déjà vu, cul-de-sac, leitmotiv, shadenfreude, amigos etc.)

Everyone involved agreed that the day was great fun and that they

had learned a lot about Modern Languages.

University Information Day

On the 30th of August 120 pupils from 5th year went on afternoon trip to the University

of West of Scotland as part of a UCAS information day. This was organised to inform

pupils about future university choices and careers. Our pupils were treated to a range

of stalls from over 20 universities, colleges and organisations; there was something for

everyone. Each stall had an informer who could answer questions about the variety of

courses available and who was able to answer any queries the pupils had. In addition

to this pupils could collect a prospective for next year which gave a more detailed look

into what is available. A clever barcode system meant that if individuals wanted to

receive more information from a certain university or organisation, they simply

scanned their personal barcode and the relevant information would be sent directly to

them. Overall, the pupils left with a great deal of vital information about the large

range of courses they can apply for once they leave school. Many of the pupils

attended agreed that they now feel more confident about their future choices.

Football

Great success from Belmont’s under 15s football team who beat

Cumnock Academy 4-1 at home at the start of the month. This was

followed a week later with an away win against Carrick Academy (3-

1) and a 8-1 victory over Queen Margaret Academy. Well done boys.

Charity

Go Purple Day is coming. On the Friday 7th October, the Charities Community is

asking pupils to wear some form of purple and make a donation to help support

Ayrshire Hospice. However, this has to be added to the standard school uniform,

not replace it entirely.

Great work from the Charities Community, as last month they raised £158.60 from

their bake sale. The money will go towards helping Rebecca Simpson and Amelia

Singh reach their target of £3,400 (each) enabling them to fly out to Africa next

summer as part of African Adventures teaching assistant programme. If successful,

the girls shall spend 6 weeks supporting teachers in a rural Kenyan school. As well

as working in classrooms, Becky and Amelia will be taking part in “home assist”

visits, as well as serving as members of the catering crew within the school.

Home Economics

Belmont Academy S3 Home Economics pupils recently took part in the Café Ginger Challenge. For this

challenge pupils were asked to develop a soup and a sandwich product to go on the Café Ginger menu.

80 pupils developed their ideas and 4 finalists were chosen to go prepare their dishes for Café Ginger

owner Eddy Ecrepont. Mr Ecrepont came to the school on the 7th of September to sample the

finalist’s dishes. After much deliberation he choose Marion Murdoch’s Carrot and Courgette soup and

Shannon Doolan’s Supper Salmon Bagel as the winners. Both pupils received a Café Ginger voucher

and will have their dish placed on the Café Ginger menu for a week in October. Jarred Swan and

Kayleigh Reid were the runners up and each received a £5 voucher. Mr Ecrepont was so impressed by

their dishes that he decided to put them on the menu for a week as well.

Winners and runners up with Café Ginger owner Eddy Ecrepont

News from Campus Police Officer

Pupils who are part of PC Gilmour’s Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award group recently worked together

to build a wooden picnic bench. On completion the bench was donated to Braehead Primary School

and has been placed within their school garden.

Chess Champs

Belmont Academy pupils Sarah and Rachel continue to enjoy huge success playing Chess.

Sarah toured this year with the WSSSO in Tuscancy and both girls represented Scotland in

the Euroyouth Chess championships in Prague. This was in addition to the Glorney, where

both received awards as the highest scoring members of their team. Rachel was the highest

scoring member of the entire Scottish squad this year. Well done to both girls.

In addition to this both girls continue to excel in Music. Sarah recently passed her Grade 8

piano and is now working on her performance diploma. Rachel is also working towards this

and both girls are expected to complete this prior to leaving school.

Rugby

The Belmont Academy S1/2 rugby team has enjoyed a positive start

to the new session with a convincing win over Girvan Academy.

Pre-Prom Event The Parent Council are hosting a pre prom extravaganza for

Belmont’s S6 pupils on the 28th October. The event, which shall be hosted by the school, will kick off with a fashion show at 7:30pm, featuring clothing from: Contessa D, Coast, MacGregor and MacDuff and Highland Kilt Hire. Following the show, pupils and parents will have the opportunity to peruse a range of stalls from local companies; showcasing their products and services-hair, make-up, nails and accessories. The whole evening will run from 7-9pm and will be excellent chance for pupils and parents to access their prom planning in advance.

New York Academy of Science We are delighted to announce that Holly Smith (S5) and Megan

McDowall (S4) have beaten off stiff competition to gain a place on the New York Academy of Science’s STEM programme. The girls will be part of a year-long programme where they will be matched up with female STEM mentors from around the world and potentially resulting in a trip to New York next year for both girls.

Biology Trip-S3 Culzean

On the 22nd and 23rd of September, the Biology Department ran a fieldtrip to Culzean Country Park for all S3 Biology pupils. The aim of this trip was to study shore and woodland ecology which directly relates to pupils coursework and gives them opportunities to experience practical science outside of the classroom. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed themselves with many commenting that it helped their understanding of class work covered so far this year.

Golf

Belmont pupil Ruben Lindsay (S2) has won his first Scotland cap for golf. Last month, Ruben was selected to be part of the Scotland team in a match against France at Craigielaw Golf Club. Ruben is also attending the Scotland team’s golf retreat next month, as well as representing his country, individually, in Dubai at the end of November. Well Done Ruben!