ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY Weekly Newsletter

Ben Davis, Acting Headteacher

Grassyards RdKilmarnock KA3 7SL

01563 526144

www.saintjosephsacademy.co.ukTwitter: @StJoAcad

ISSUE 22.3

MAY 22ND2015

FOR PARENTS, CARERS, FAMILIES & PARISHES

INSPIRE AND TRANSFORM:

NURTURING FAITH-FILLED WORLD CLASS LEARNING

Works in Progress

Two fascinating pieces of work from S3. Pupils have been working

in a variety of media on images on inspirational people. The image

on the left really is composed from pencil sharpenings!

Miss Woodward and S6 pupils

raising money with a bake sale

this week.

Visit by Mrs. Passi from Delhi, India

Throughout this week we have hosted Mrs. Sarika Passi, a

teacher from Bal Bharati Public School in Noida, near Delhi.

This has been undertaken as part of an exchange programme,

Connecting Classrooms, run by the British Council. Mrs. Passi

has attended classes throughout the school, working with

young people and getting to know staff. She has also visited

St. Andrew’s Primary School and Early Childhood Centre, St.

Patrick’s Primary School, the Dean Castle as a guest of

Provost Todd and travelled to Loch Lomond, Arran and

Edinburgh. Whilst here she has been keen to impart her

thoughts on mental health and wellbeing, faith and the

differences and similarities between our educational systems.

In addition, she has provided a number of contributions for the

seventh edition of redblack which will be published at the end

of June. Mrs. Passi left us on Wednesday after having

described her time at St. Joseph’s as ‘wonderful’ and ‘life-

changing’. She even threatened to stay and work for free. Her

final assembly, in the Oratory, saw her teaching basic Hindi and

offering pupils advice on starting the day with positivity.

S2 Rugby Workshop with Mark Bennett

It was great to welcome back to the school Scottish rugby

international and former pupil Mark Bennett for an afternoon of rugby

skills workshops with S2. Mark’s career has been watched with great

interest by pupils and staff alike and he was last in the school to give

an address at the Senior School Awards ceremony last September.

This time he was not short of a word or two of advice for pupils as

they worked on tackling skills, running and passing.

S1 Investigate the Great War

As part of our programme of activities to mark the 100th

anniversary of World War 1, pupils from across S1 came together to

investigate the conflict through art, history and modern languages. In

a series of challenges posed by three different teachers, and initiated

through Home Room, the pupils explored some unusual perspectives

on the conflict and found out a wide range of facts that they then

applied to the creation of various pieces. Another great example of

interdisciplinary learning in action.

Boswell Book Festival

Mrs. Kirkwood led a group of keen bibliophiles to the world;s only

dedicated festival of biography last week. They experienced a wide

range of activities exploring the written work and meeting authors all

in the splendid setting of Dumfries House.

Study Leave Activities

Pupils in S4 and S5 have been following a special programme

of study leave activities over the past few weeks. This has

involved a range of work experience opportunities, work on

CVs and employability skills with Yipworld and a trip to the

Outward Bound centre in Loch Eil. This exciting opportunity

saw the pupils undertaking an overnight expedition that tested

the pupils’ team working and communication skills as well as

boosting their resilience and commitment. Pupils have also

enjoyed inputs from various guest speakers including from the

Army and RAF.

New Appointments

We are delighted to report that three new appointments have

been made to the staff. The first is Mrs. Donna Shearer who

after a period as Acting Depute Headteacher has been

appointed as permanent DHT. Also securing a permanent

position as Principal Teacher of Pupil Support is Mrs. Maria

Denheen. In addition, we have appointed a further Principal

Teacher of Pupil Support, Mrs. Jacqueline Glencorse who will

join us in August from Boclair Academy in Bearsden. We are

thrilled with the new appointments and congratulate all.

Artist begins anniversary commission

Just before Easter we commissioned local artist Gemma Coyle

to develop a series of public artworks to be displayed around

the schools. These works will commemorate the school’s 60th

anniversary which begins this August. Prior to its move to

Grassyards Rd the school was known as St. Joseph’s High

School and was located on Elmbank Drive in buildings that

become St. Columba’s Primary School. Our founding

headteacher was James Breen, OBE (1907 - 1999). Gemma’s

work will incorporate old photos, images and stories of the

school and will be co-created with pupils. We are keen to hear

from any former pupils of the school and those who have

been associated with the school so that we can make our

Diamond Jubilee a truly special time.

S1 Visit Belfast

Led by three S6 Higher Personal Development pupils and

accompanied by a number of staff, over 50 pupils from S1

visited the Titanic museum in Belfast last Friday. They

travelled over by ferry and enjoyed a fun-packed day, including

a thought-provoking workshop that examined the reasons

behind the sinking of the famous ship.

Pictures from around the school this week

Above: Mrs. Sarika Passi visits Loch Lomond on a

typically changeable Scottish day. Below: S1 pupils enjoy

the interactive exhibits at the Titanic Museum in Belfast.

Below left: our keen golfers on week five of their

programme at Loudoun Golf Club practice their putting

technique. Left: pupils from S1 and S2 with Mark

Bennett after their afternoon workshop. Above left: S1

pupils at the Titanic museum work on one of the

collaborative challenges.

WEEKLY HOME ROOM REFLECTION: Giving not receiving

In Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, visitors can climb stairs so as to walk around the inside of the great dome, which is 60 metres (200 feet) across. This ledge (or balcony) is called the Whispering Gallery because the sound from someone’s whisper bounces back from the smooth walls of the dome. Even someone whispering on the other side of the dome can be heard if people listen close to the wall. It was whilst on this Whispering Gallery just over a hundred years ago that a poor shoemaker whispered to his girlfriend that he didn’t have enough money to buy leather to make shoes, and so didn’t have enough money for them to get married. On the other side of the dome someone heard the whispering of the couple and decided he would help them. He followed the shoemaker from a distance to find out where he lived, and then he paid for some leather and arranged for it to be sent anonymously to the shoemaker’s shop. Everything went well because the shoemaker was then able to make enough money from his shop, and so the couple were able to marry. It was a few years later that they found out who it was who had helped them. It was the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, and today was the day of his death in 1898.

Let us pray: Lord, most of us will not become well-known or be written about because of great achievements, but we will be known and loved for our character and the smaller ordinary things that we do that make our part of the world a better place. Inspire us, Lord, each day, to find joy in giving as well as in receiving, and lead us to act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.

PARISH MASS TIMES St. Matthew’s: 9.30 am, Fr. Chambers St. Joseph’s: 6.00 pm (vigil), 11.00 am Fr. Latham St. Francis Xavier, Patna: 5.00 pm (vigil)St. John the Evangelist: 10.45 am, Fr. McGrattan Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 9.30 am, Fr. McGhee St. Michael’s: 4.30 pm (vigil)St. Paul’s: 11.30 am, Fr. Chambers Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. McGrattanSt. Sophia’s: 6.00 pm (vigil) Fr. Chambers St. Thomas the Apostle: 9.00 am, Fr. McGrattan

IMPORTANT DATES…………………………………………………

May 26th Planned change of timetable

June 3rd & 4th P7 Induction

June 3rd Caritas Awards Ceremony

June 4th P7 Parents’ Mass and Induction

Evening

June 5th Senior School Induction

June 8th S6 Leavers’ Day event & Mass

SQA Exam Timetable 2015

Friday May 22nd French National 5

French Higher

Monday May 25th Product Design H & AH

Design & Manufacture

N5

Wednesday May 27th Modern Studies N5

Modern Studies H

Thursday May 28th Chemistry N5

Chemistry Higher

Friday May 29th Spanish N5/ H

Art & Design N5/H

Monday June 1st Physical Education H

Tuesday June 2nd Psychology N5/H

SQA Results 2015

Pupils will receive their results from the SQA on August 4th by first

class mail. MySQA is a web service that offers you secure and unique

access to your results. You can choose to have your results sent by

e-mail or text on Tuesday 4 August. You’ll need to sign up to MySQA

by 5pm on Monday 13 July, and then activate your account by 5pm on

Wednesday 15 July. s for you.

Activate your account at www.mysqa.info