SEPTEMBER NEWS BULLETIN

ALL SAINTS RC SECONDARY SCHOOL Issue no 5

Newsletter Date September 2009

Expectation Reminders

Message From Head Teacher

Staffing Changes 2

School Uniform School Improvement Plan Changes to Out Of School Learning

3

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland Act) 2007 Health Promotion Activities HPV Vaccination

4

Learning To Learn 5

Going Places Community involvement School Trips Games Room

6

Annual School Trade Awards Surfing At St Abbs Caledonian Club S6 Induction Project June 2009

7

S1 Football Team The France Trip Blairvadach

8

Inside this issue:

Learning—Motivation—Success

Did You Know? Points of Contact S1 Information

10

Attendance: Learners attend every day unless too ill to do so. When in doubt, send them to school.

Timekeeping: Please do everything in your power to ensure your son/daughter comes to school on time.

School Bags: This should be brought to school every day. The bag should be big enough to carry everything your child needs including folders and P.E kit.

Welcome to our September newsletter. I‘m sure you will be delighted at the range of activities and achievements that our learners experience and the opportunities that we present to them in the life of our school.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for helping us to make an excellent start to this session. Attendance is high and improving and the standard of school uniform is very high indeed. There are still areas we can improve particularly in wearing black shoes/trainers which are now a part of our school uniform. I have included a uniform reminder for everyone in this newsletter.

This term is a uniquely important one for our school with Her Majesties inspectors coming to inspect our

school in the week beginning 5th October 2009. We go into it with great confidence in our staff, you our parents and carers and our young people.

Thank you again for your support.

G Lyons

Staffing Changes

There have been considerable changes to the staff in the new session.

The following staff have left us for pastures new:

Mr McGuire

Mr Boyce - both retired

Mrs Blair - to teach in Glasgow Academy

Mrs Robertson

Mrs Mackin

Mr Murray –seconded to Employability Officer in Hillhead High School

Mr Topping - seconded to SQA

Mrs Madden – Maternity leave

Mr McCarthy – Acting PT maths in Ross Hall

Mr Dolan - Sabbatical career break

2 members of staff were married:

Miss Agnew now Mrs Wilson

Miss Owen now Mrs Hendry

Ms Campbell and Mrs Richford returned to school after their maternity leave

The following staff have joined our team and we welcome them into our community:

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Mr McKendry Art

Ms Goold Art

Ms Kennedy Biology

Mr Foster English

Mr Threshie English

Ms Dodds Geography

Mr Canning History

Ms Webster IT Comp/Bus Stud

Ms Smith Mathematics

Ms Traynor Mathematics

Ms Callow Music

Mr Rodgers History

Ms Ali Mathematics

Ms Friel Music

Changes to out of school learning

We have made significant changes to our policy on Out Of School Learning

(We used to call this homework, but it is much more than what we traditionally thought of as ―homework!‖)

The important aspect of this change is that:

Every pupil will leave every class with an Extended Learning Activity

We are moving forward with our priorities to improve the school. We have project teams of staff working in:

Improving Outcomes for our learners and systems to help with this

Improving the learning experiences that your children have in the school

Improving all aspects of the activities and experiences we offer our learners in line with Curriculum for Excellence

Developing a way of ensuring that we all share the same expectations.

We will update you on the progress of our plan throughout the year and the impact it is having on our learners.

Junior School

White shirt, blue tie,

Black V – neck, Cardigan or

Pinafore/Tank top

Blue sweat shirt and white polo shirt

No other colour or style of polo shirt to be worn

Senior School

White shirt, silver tie

Black V-neck, Cardigan or

Pinafore/Tank top.

For All Learners:

Black skirt or Black trousers only

Black shoes or trainers

Black jacket only

School Uniform

We have invested substantially in changing the learners Diary/Planners to support this. You can help support your child here by checking their Diary every day and supporting the completion of learning activities. With this newsletter we have enclosed an explanation of the changes we have made to the diaries and a note of all the Extended Learning Activities staff will ask our learners to complete. Please read these and keep them handy at home, as this will allow you to support your child‘s Out of School Learning in a focused way.

School Improvement Plan

Issue no 5 Page 3

As a parent you should see an activity noted in every line of the homework diary each day.

Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland Act) 2007

This Act is now fully operational and places a number of duties on schools:

All schools require to be health promoting (All Saints has had Health promoting status since 2008)

Food in all schools has to comply with nutritional regulations

Schools have the power to provide pupils with healthy snacks

Schools have a duty to promote school lunches and the uptake of school lunches

Schools have a duty to protect the identity of pupils receiving free school meals

Schools have to provide free drinking water

Food should be procured locally if possible

S.1 pupils are currently involved in visits to a local fire station where they receive a tour of the station, an inspection of a fire engine and make their way through a dark, smoke filled room as part of their personal safety programme. Thanks are recorded to the crews of Kilbirnie House Fire Station for making this possible.

Any food served in schools has to meet the nutritional regulations including school lunches, breakfast clubs and tuck shops. The aim of the nutritional regulations is to help to change eating habits. For example All Saints can no longer sell confectionary of any kind, we can no longer sell crisps at lunchtime or offer them as part of a packed lunch. (They can be sold in the tuck shop, but they must meet the nutritional specifications). Fizzy drinks are also out, but there is an assortment of drinks which are available from the Fuelzone such as bottled water, fruit juice and vegetable juice and semi– skimmed or low fat milk.

The act does not cover food and drinks which the pupils bring into school, but we would ask for your support in discouraging your children from bringing fizzy drinks into school, as well as unhealthy food.

If you wish any further information on the Act contact Mrs. O‘Shea or Ms Dempster, Fuelzone catering

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Recently a group of S3 pupils went to watch a drama about having positive mental attitude when faced with difficult circumstances in life. This was followed by a workshop where learners discussed issues raised within the programme.

On the 6th October, S4 pupils will be taking part in their own health day. Presenters will include North Glasgow Alcohol Support Services, Sidekix, who will provide an introduction to coaching as well as a presentation on healthy eating and P.E staff who will demonstrate C.P.R to the pupils.

Senior pupils have been participating in the Scottish Government supported ―Be Safe - Weapons Awareness‖ programme. This six week programme is delivered by Sidekix, one of our partners and includes a presentation from ―Media against Violence‖. All saints is running this as a pilot, and if it is successful, it may be rolled out to other school in the near future.

Health Promotion Activities

HPV Vaccination Programme

This will begin again for girls in S2, S4 and S5 on 2nd October. Our school nurse will speak about the process at assemblies and information will be sent home with the pupils.

There is an excellent year ahead at All Saints for our new S1 learners as they embark on an exciting new course. As we move towards a Curriculum for Excellence, All Saints has introduced a course that has been very successful in many other schools. The name of the course is Learn2Learn and is all about how we develop skills that will last a lifetime.

As learners progress through school from S1 to S6 they acquire a huge amount of information and knowledge, the Learn 2 course is designed to help our young people get more out of their different subjects as they apply the strategies from the Learn 2 class. They will discover how they learn, why they learn and more importantly how to recognize and develop their own skills.

S1 learners will be working through a series of lessons which will challenge them to think, to keep trying even if they find something difficult, to listen to others, to develop a positive attitude to learning, to understand that sometimes they have to learn from their mistakes, to ask questions, to work things out and to take responsibility for their learning.

Finally, and best of all, the course is fun!

We would be delighted to present a flavour of the course to S1 parents, if you would be interested in an information evening simply return the tear –off slip on the back of this newsletter and this will be arranged.

S1 are Learning to Learn!

Issue no 5 Page 5

Going Places

Going Places, a Raising Attainment Initiative within All Saints has been in operation for the past eight years.

Pupils are invited to remain in school for an hour after school to attend the Learning Resource Centre where they can work collaboratively on their homework with members of staff on hand to help where needed.

As term progresses, subject specialists provide extra classes in the run up to prelims and S.Q.A examinations.

Pupils also attend Study Weekends. This involves pupils leaving school on Saturday mornings and returning on Sunday afternoons. This takes place in Aberfoyle Outdoor Centre. During this time, all examination subjects are covered.

Outdoor activities are provided by Centre staff, Mass is celebrated on the Saturday night followed by a Disco.

Pupils also attend Easter Revision classes.

Pupils who attend this programme have over the years achieved excellent examination results.

In addition to the trips to France and Italy, we also provide trips to Alton towers, M & Ds, Time Capsule, and Lightwater Valley, amongst others.

Participation in these trips is linked to our Success Policy. Pupils are awarded points on a daily basis. Pupils with the highest number of points are entitled to participate in these trips.

School Trips

Community Involvement

This is a course for Senior School. At this time of year, pupils have already had their first experience, aside from when they carry out their Work Experience programme in 4th year, to contribute to the world of work.

This year, pupils are attending the following schools on Wednesday mornings and Friday afternoons:

St Catherines

St Philomenas

St Monicas

St Marthas

Milton School

Gadburn School

The pupils really enjoy their chance to be an adult in a position of responsibility and schools are really appreciative of the help they provide.

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Games Room

This is operated on a Daily basis. It caters for first years who prefer somewhere quiet to go at lunchtime. Board games are available and senior pupils help out, not only with supervision but are on hand to discuss any aspect of school life which is proving to be challenging for our first year learners. The Games Room is located in the Technical Dept of All Saints.

In June myself and 2 fellow pupils took part in an exciting project at Caledonian University which gave us the opportunity to experience the activities of a typical TV newsroom. Over the course of the 3 days, we were able to work in pairs, developing skills to work in front of and behind the camera, piece together news stories while faced with deadlines using a range of media equipment, concluding in creating our own TV news bulletin, with the help of media students.

The Teen TV course was a great help in giving me an idea of the work expected from a media course and university as a whole. Deadlines and even equipment available showed the responsibility involved; it made the thought of university exciting. I think working with others outside our ―comfort zone‖ is a big perk as it forced everyone to communicate and mix in a more mature way and helped make us all more confident individuals.

Punam Prasad

Faroz Bina and Sarah McMurtrie where given special recognition in the annual schools trades houses awards from the Trades Houses of Glasgow at the end of June this year. These awards were presented to both pupils for the outstanding work that they carried out on their craft and design course materials. Faroz was recognized for his metalwork and wood project in the construction of a coffee table and Sarah for her course folio work. Both prize winners were up against other learners from many other secondary schools and from across the city and represented the school admirably. Well done to both.

A number of learners from the school have started surf lessons and spent the day in the cold waters of the north sea for the east coast of Scotland at St Abbs. All had a great time and are doing more lessons in mid September.

Annual School Trade Awards

S6 Induction Project, June 2009

All Saints Partnership with the Caledonian Club

Issue no 5 Page 7

Surfing at St Abbs

All S6 pupils who returned to school in June were invited to take part in a 2 –day event to help introduce us to university life. Along with another 4 secondary schools we were divided into teams of 4/5 and with a student as our mentor we were set the task of designing a campaign or a product that supported a healthier Glasgow. We were able to use all of the University's resources to help build our campaign and also took part in a confidence building workshop which was to be a great help when we had to make our presentation to a large audience at the end of the second day.

On the Friday afternoon all teams made their presentation to a panel of experts who then selected the best team from each school who then went head to head in a grand final—and we won! The whole experience was great but especially for me and my 3 team members David O‘Donnell, Stephen McLean and Rahma Jamac as not only did we win our own personalised jumpers but also a year‘s free membership to a gym so that we can ensure that we will help Glasgow become a healthier place.

Colin McNicol

On the first day we went to the place that we were staying, it was really fun because not only did we have a swimming pool it also had a bar and a games room. All the pupils who went to the games room said it was really fun because they had different games such as pool, arcade games and pinball.

When we went up the Eiffel tower it was FANTASTICO! At the first floor it was very high but fun. When people went to the top floor they could not believe how high it really is. We went to the Theme Park, which was even better. There were all types of rides scary and funny.

Later we had to leave the place we were staying at to go to a school, it was even better, and the food was delicious—time for a big nights sleep because we had a long day ahead of us.

The day we went to Disney Land Paris the rides were excellent but unfortunately we had to go home - that was the end of our France Trip with All Saints Secondary.

Andrew McGinty 2G

In this report I will discuss the experience I had at the Blairvadach Outdoor Centre. The aim of the trip was to make new friends, to learn new team work skills, singular skills and also help improve our fitness. The trip lasted five days and offered a number of different experiences.

Blairvadach was a fun learning experience that everyone enjoyed. We were allowed to pick two main activities before we left for the five day trip. There were a number of options ranging from kayaking, sailing, rock climbing and mountain biking. We were grouped together according to our choice of activities. My group chose sailing and climbing.

When we arrived at the centre we had a meeting with the organizers to discuss safety and the schedule for the trip. The activities started straight after lunch so there was no time wasted hanging around.

My group‘s first activity was sailing. The first lesson was all about teaching us how to move the sail to catch the wind and help manoeuvre the boat. We also learned about how to control speed and change direction. The instructor was very good and we were all capable of handling the boat within half an hour.

Blairvadach

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This was a great season for the current S2 Boys a football team who managed to pull off a cup win to bring home ―The Glasgow Schools Cup‖. There were a few great displays in the team and the team bonded well with the help of Mr. Thom. Big Mallaney was slow, strong and leaded footed but had a great season.

Khal and Francis were banging them in up top but I think they were looking for a barn door to run through. Ronnie McKay had a good season too. (Once he understood the position). James Marr what can we say about him, the glare off his dome put off opposition. Captain Courage‘s however made more noise on the pitch than the school tannoy and also had a good season.

The manager was awesome (Mr. Thom) proved that his tactics from the 1930‘s would work when undertaken by a bunch of talented young players. This was a magnificent season and all the boys enjoyed it. Thanks Mr. Thom for all your hard work, we were amazing.

Reece Glackin 2E

S1 Football Team The France Trip

We were enjoying ourselves so much we hadn‘t noticed the time pass. Soon it was time for dinner, some-thing we were all dreading because we didn‘t know what we were going to get.

At dinner we were offered a good variety of tasty food. Although it was only one course you were allowed to ask for extra if you were really hungry.

After dinner we had another activity for us to take part in. For these activities we were grouped together again. These activities took place every night and were great fun. There was the Blairvadach Olympics, the Rope game where you followed the rope blindfolded and orienteering. After the evening activity we had free time to relax and play games like table tennis, snooker and pool.

Before bed we had supper which consisted of a biscuit and a drink. At this time we completed our diaries about the day‘s activities. At the end of the day we had thirty minutes to get ready for bed before lights out.

The facilities at the centre were good. The bedrooms were quite small but they were ok for the time spent in them. The dining hall was fairly big and was kept at a nice temperature. The changing rooms were equipped with everything you needed for the activities. The centre supplied all the special equipment and clothing needed for the stay. This meant that you didn‘t have to buy anything special for the trip.

The five days went really fast because we were kept busy and the activities were so enjoyable. I would recommend this kind of trip to others in the school because it was a fun learning experience. I would also like to recommend that the school do this kind of trip again so that others may experience that fun I had and the new things I got to try.

David McMahon S3.

Issue no 5 Page 9

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All Saints RC Secondary School

299 Ryehill Road

Barmulloch

GLASGOW G21 3EN

Phone: 0141-582-0010

Fax: 0141-582-0011

E-mail : headteacher@

allsaints-sec.glasgow.sch.uk

ALL SAINT’S RC SECONDARY

SCHOOL

‘LEARNING– MOTIVATION—

SUCCESS’

Our school has a total No smoking policy?

No person is allowed to smoke in the building or anywhere near the premises.

We have a ‗No Mobile Phone’ policy for pupils, anywhere in the building / yard. This protects everyone.

Emergency calls should go through the school office.

Chewing Gum is banned in the building. This protects the fabric of

the building, as well as our young people‘s property.

Only Minimal Jewellery is allowed. No large earrings; only 1 ring; no necklaces etc. Essential for Health and Safety.

RE S1 Learning to Learn Information Evening

Yes I would be interested to attend an information evening

CHILDS NAME

PARENT/CARER SIGNED

Finally

As Head teacher of All Saints RC Secondary, please note that I am always available to answer any questions or queries you may have and can be contacted at any of the above.

G. Lyons

DID YOU KNOW ?