December Newsletter 2015

Dear Parent/Carer,

A Message From The Head Teacher

Here we are at the Christmas holidays again! Lots of good things have been happening across the school. The

last week of term will be jam-packed with events! On Monday 14th there was the Talent Show for pupils. The

Christmas Concert was on the evening of Tuesday 15th. We have so many very talented pupils! The staff

pantomime will be performed on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning! On Friday 18th, our favourite school

chaplain, Rev Miller, will be in school for the Christmas Service. The Academy will close for the Christmas

holiday at 2.00pm on Friday 18th December and will reopen at 8.50am on Tuesday January 5th 2016.

Good News - Up For Debate…

VOLA’s prizewinning debaters, Jack Brough and Eve Lyall, were invited to represent West Dunbartonshire in the

English Speaking Union’s St Andrew’s Day Debating Competition at the Scottish Parliament. This was an

excellent opportunity for school pupils to team up with university students and hone their debating skills in a

prestigious national competition. Jack was partnered with a student from Dundee University and took part in

three debates, discussing controversial topics such as Nuclear Disarmament, Should Governments Spy on their

Citizens and the Reintroduction of Grammar Schools. Eve sat on the judging panel for some of the debates and

was encouraged to provide feedback on the quality of the arguments. The ESU judges praised Jack for his

mature delivery and for his rhetorical style. Certainly this proved an accurate description when his team took a

convincing second place in a hard-fought debate with some very adept candidates on the Reintroduction of

Grammar Schools.

Jack and Eve did VOLA proud and both said it was a very worthwhile experience, particularly debating in the

Scottish Parliament with accomplished speakers. Participating in this competition will stand them in good stead

for 2016 when they go forward to the next round of the ESU’s National Seniors’ Mace Competition.

Good News - West Dunbartonshire Area Schools Swimming Championships 2015

Vale of Leven Academy pupils did very well at the recent WDC Schools Swimming Championships. Sam Millar won

the 100m Butterfly and the 200m Individual Medley, with a personal best in the Individual Medley. Isla Walker

won the 50m breast stroke and was second in the 50m Freestyle – both with personal bests. Fraser Boyd

finished first in the 200m Individual Medley for his age group. Murrin Markwick was second in the 100m

Butterfly and the 200m Individual Medley. Well done everybody!!

Carbon Capture Project

Over the past month, the S3 enriched Biology and Physics classes have been working co-operatively on the

Tomorrow's Engineers Energy Quest. The project involved investigating the potential and risks associated with

Carbon Capture. On Thursday 3rd December pupils presented their posters and discussed the work they had

carried out with two representatives from Shell, as well as Jane Martin from the Scottish Council for

Development and Industry. This was a fantastic opportunity for pupils to ask further questions of the industry

specialists and for the industrial team to get some feedback on how the project is being implemented in school.

The pupils did a great job putting across their key findings in a limited timescale and at the end of the session

all pupils were presented with a certificate for completing the project.

COSLA Bronze Award Winners Announced

Vale of Leven Academy has been recognized in the prestigious CoSLA Excellence Awards. The Awards celebrate

innovative projects from across the country that make a difference to their local communities with the top ten

in each category receiving a Bronze Award. Hundreds of entries were received from Councils across Scotland

with a panel of expert assessors identifying the winners.

The Academy won a Bronze Award in the Tackling Inequalities and Improving Health Section. The Vale of Leven

Academy’s pupil-led LGBTI+ Committee was highlighted for its work in transforming the culture of the school to

be inclusive and focused on positive outcomes for all to achieve the school vision of ‘Achieving Together’. All of

the Bronze Award winners will now be considered for a silver of gold award by the judging panel and a short leet

of the top three applications from each category will be announced in January 2016

Good News – Music Department

The WDC Senior Wind Band recently received a Silver Plus Award at the Scottish Concert Band Festival in

Livingston on Sunday 6th December. Congratulations to the pupils who represented the Academy - Samantha

Oliver, Alexis Smith, Bronwyn Stewart,

Emma Ross, Lucy Cowen, Emma Walker, Lauren Patrick

Congratulations also go to our pupils who are in the WDC Senior Wind Band! Many Academy pupils were involved

in the recent West Dunbartonshire Christmas Concert.

The following section of the newsletter lists all the youngsters who are participating in our own Christmas

Concert:

WIND BAND - Patrick Ayton, Leah Harroway, Murrin Markwick, Molly Robertson, Jodie Cook, Chirsty Harkins,

Rowan Murdoch, Emma Ross, Rebecca Cameron, Rebecca Haughay, Ewan Nicol, Abby Shaw, Lucy Cowen, Cara

Kennedy, Morgan Nicol, Laura Shaw, Casey Davis, Kathryn Larkin, Samantha Oliver, Brownyn Stewart, Angeline

Friel, Laura Lavery, Rachel Park, Alexis Smith, Corrine Friel, Alana Lockhart, Lauren Patrick, Beth Stern, Kirsten

Godwin, Amy McColl, Euan Priestley, Emma Walker, Kaye Harris, Andrew McGunnigle, Alice Purdie, Nathan

Williamson, Stewart Harris, Tegan McKay, and Maurvin Quinn.

BRASS ENSEMBLE - Sarah Cameron, Samantha Oliver, Emma Ross, Alexis Smith, Angeline Friel, Rachel Park,

Laura Shaw, Bronwyn Stewart, Corrine Friel, and Lauren Patrick.

STRING GROUP - Kathryn Birnie, George Grundy, Rachel Kelly, Miruna Popescu, Caitlin Fanning, Lachlan Harrris,

Mathew Lees, Mark Wallace, Heather Fanning, Megan Hutchison, Lewis Pennycuick, and Kirsty Young.

WOODWIND ENSEMBLE - Lucy Cowen, Laura Lavery, Rebecca Haughay, Maurvin Quinn, Kathryn Larking, and

Emma Walker.

WOODWIND GROUP - Rebecca Cameron, Amy McColl, Kirstin Godwin, Murrin Markwick, Casey Davis, Ewan

Nicol, Leah Harroway, and Morgan Nicol.

CHOIR - Alix Arnold, Shana Ewing, Emma McWhinney, Miruna Popescu, Jasmine Casey, Leah Harroway, Darrian

McKay, Ellie Robertson, Rebekah Douglas, Hannah Ledgerwood , Lucie MacLean, Victoria Robertson, Nicola

Dunion, Niamh MacEachran, Abby Montague, Alex Robson, Melissa Campbell Stevenson, Chanelle McKell, and

Cody Leigh Black.

GUITARISTS - Lucy Cowen, Callum Longster, Alex Robson, Kirsten Godwin, Ellie Robertson, Ewen Thorpe, and

Zander Campbell Stevenson.

SENIOR VOCALISTS - Jasmine Casey, Shana Ewing, Rebekah Douglas, Niamh MacEacharan and Miruna Popescu

(Pianist).

XYLOPHONE QUARTET - Angeline Friel, Corrine Friel, Samantha Oliver, and Mark Wallace.

PIPER - Andrew McGroggan

I realise this is a lengthy set of lists, but our young musicians put in so much hard work to prepare for the

concerts! Well done to all our musicians!!!

Zero Demerits

I have just sent out 229 zero demerit letters congratulating youngsters for their achievement! This is

equivalent to 24% of our young people. Maintaining zero demerits since August is a very significant achievement!

It is every bit as important for the sixth year as it is for the first year! Growth Mindset tells us that effort is

everything, and doing homework is key to that, so keep working hard and behaving well! Well done everybody! I

know that many youngsters just missed out…but zero demerits is a good target for next term!

Go4 SET Engineering Challenge visit to Aggreko

On Wednesday 9th December the Go 4 SET Engineering Team had the opportunity to visit Aggreko in

Dumbarton. The six S2 pupils (Ben Boyce, Sophie Campbell, Ian Filshill, Jack Hamilton, Bronwyn Stewart, and

Susan Wallace) visited the site where their industrial mentor, Jonny Rabone, works to find out more about the

work Aggreko do in finding energy solutions and how this could help them with their project. The pupils had a

Health and Safety Talk before being kitted up in high visibility jackets, goggles and hard hat / caps for a tour

of the site. During the tour, pupils were able to see lots of different teams that work at the site designing,

purchasing, constructing, testing and researching the power generators and cooling systems that are produced

on site. After the tour, pupils got time to test their team working and organisational skills by discussing their

projects. The pupils were particularly interested in the workshops and test bays at the site and got lots of ideas

for their engineering project.

Keeping Youngsters Safe Online

This article comes from last year’s December newsletter. However I have included it again, because the

information contained is still current…and this year ‘mobile’ devices such as tablets and smart phones are the

number one present for teenagers. These ‘mobile’ devices make our job as parents and teachers even more

difficult! Within the school we spend many hours trying to disentangle youngsters from issues around the

internet and smart phones. We have had to warn you in recent times about possible ’grooming’ of young people in

this area….the papers are full of references to the ‘Dark Web’…and videos of extreme violence and pornography

are circulated. We don’t encourage children to speak to strangers in the real world – so it shouldn’t be any

different online. As a parent or carer, the thought of what your child could potentially be exposed to on the

internet can be overwhelming - particularly if you have limited interest in or understanding of the online world

yourself. With Christmas coming up many youngsters will receive new mobile phones, tablets, laptops and game

consoles – all of these are now able to be connected to the internet. According to recent statistics a quarter of

14-year-old UK children have arranged to meet an online contact face-to-face. Nowadays most youngsters have

their own smart phones from which they can access the internet and it can be difficult to keep an eye on what

your child views online. It's easy for criminals or groomers to set up false profiles and then target and try to

build friendships with young people on social networking sites. A short campaign film raises awareness of the

fact that in the online world, people can easily fool others into thinking they're something they're not. It's

therefore vital that young people think before they post content online - exactly who are they sharing their

information/pictures with? Are they giving too much information away? Without them realising, their content

could end up in the wrong hands and they could make themselves a target for online groomers.

WDC are also working with CEOP (Child Exploitation Online Protection) to ensure you have the information and

the resources you need to keep safe online. Check out some great resources and information on its website:

www.thinkuknow.co.uk . There are short videos you can watch as well as top tips for parents. It really is worth a

look!

Parental Support…The Prelims are Coming!!

The prelims for all National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher pupils will start on Monday 25th January 2016. You

can help your youngsters in a number of ways! One thing which can help with S4/5/6 is to buy revision guides,

success guides, as well as grade booster books. There are a number of companies who produce these. You can

also buy Past Papers. However, you can get these free from the SQA website - www.sqa.org.uk

I am not suggesting that you put them in Santa’s Stocking……but if young people get a book token for Christmas,

then this could be a worthwhile buy! When you talk to your children about studying, it is a form of

encouragement, as it shows your interest in their success!

With two weeks off, there is time to consolidate work done since August. Sorting out notes; identifying gaps;

organising and filing notes away safely; these are all useful activities. Time seems to fly by between January and

the exams, so… a little time spent now will pay off later!

For S4/5/6 pupils, the prelims are only weeks away – preparations need to start now! Enclosed is the Prelim

timetable to help your preparations! It is also available on the school website.

Uniform

Thank you for all your continued support with school uniform. I realise that some items may need replaced over

Christmas and that this can be expensive……but at least the January sales should offer some savings! Please

ensure the school colours are followed – skirts, trousers and shoes should be black! School trousers should be

tailored trousers – not leggings or chinos or black denim! For some young people the types of trousers worn has

lapsed – we will be working on this in the New Year!

Lost Property

We have an amazing array of lost property at the school office – we have jumpers, jackets, blazers, ties, gloves,

scarves, trainers and even jewellery. Some of the items are obviously expensive, particularly some of the

jackets! Parents/Carers are welcome to come into the school to identify missing property.

End of Term Arrangements

Monday 14th December: VOLA’s Got Talent P6 and P7

Tuesday 15th December: Christmas Concert 7.30pm

Thursday 17th December: Staff Panto – Snow White P5 and P6

Friday 18th December: Staff Panto – Snow White P1 and P2 (second performance)

Friday 18th December: Christmas Service P4. The school will close for the Christmas Break at 2.00 pm, when

the buses will be arriving.

Parent Council

The next Parent Council meeting is on Thursday 25th Febuary 2016. The meeting will begin at 7.00pm and take

place in the conference room. Copies of agendas and minutes of all Parent Council meetings are on the school

website. If you are interested in coming along, please contact the school and ask to speak to Mrs Janie McEwan,

who is the clerk to the Parent Council.

Can we also recommend the Scottish Government’s ‘Parentzone’ website: www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk as well

as the school website: www.scottishschools.info/valeoflevenacademy

Important Dates in The Spring Term Tuesday 5th January 2015: School reopens 8.50am

Monday 11th January: S5/6 Parents’ Evening 4.15 – 6.45pm

Monday 25th January: S4/5/6 Prelims begin

Thursday 28th January: Senior Phase Parents’ Information Evening for S3-S5 Parents 6.30pm

Tuesday 2nd February: S3 Parents’ Consultation Evening 7pm

Thursday 4th February: S4/5/6 Prelims end

Friday 5th February: In-Service Day

Friday 5th February – Tuesday 9th February inclusive: Spring Break

Wednesday 10th February: School reopens 8.50am

Thursday 25th February: Parent Council Meeting 7.00pm

On behalf of myself and my staff, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Yours sincerely

Catriona M. Robertson

Enclosure: Prelim Timetable S4/5/6