Elgin Academy
School Notes Wednesday 13 March 2013
Rugby Success – Congratulations to Elgin Schools U-16 Rugby Team, who, on 12 March 2013, won the SRU Brewin Dolphin Grampian Bowl.
Elgin Schools 55 – Meldrum Academy 5
World Book Day winners - There were some first class imaginary feasts created for the World Book Day competition, ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’. Well done to senior winners Calum Ferguson 5I and Fergus McLean 4G and to the junior winners Lewis Smith 1G and Reka Kovacs 2R, who all received prizes.
Scottish Book Awards - Our book group went to Dundee last week to see the Scottish Children’s Book Award Ceremony at The Caird Hall. We particularly enjoyed the drama performances during the ceremony, which were brilliant and seeing the authors on stage. Barry Hutchison won with ‘The 13th Horseman’ and we were pleased with his well-deserved victory. S3 Book Crusaders
Award-winning author Barry Hutchison will be in Elgin Academy on Wednesday 20 March - We are delighted to welcome the winner of the Scottish Children’s Book Award, Barry Hutchison, to school next week, when he will be talking to all S1. Barry will talk about his best-selling horror series, Invisible Fiends and will read from his latest book, The Book of Doom and his award winning ‘The 13th Horseman’. Books will be available to buy on the day and can be signed by Barry. This visit is supported by Scottish Book Trust.
Chinese Teacher – We are delighted to welcome Mr Xu Zhu, known as Newman, to Elgin Academy during his stay in Moray, as part of the national Confucius Classrooms initiative. Over the next few weeks, Newman will be with us on Tuesday and Thursday mornings , working in a variety of departments, including Modern Languages, History, Modern Studies, PSE, PE, Science and Home Economics.
Elgin Academy does “Strictly Come Dancing” - On Friday 22nd March, at 7pm, the assembly hall will be transformed into a stage once more as staff and S6 pupils don their dancing shoes to raise money for charity. During the evening there will be entertainment from a number of pupils, along with the acts that are competing for the coveted Strictly Come Dancing Glitter-ball trophy. This year, the money raised will go to Comic Relief and will contribute to projects at home, such as SkillForce and Quarriers, and abroad, like the Fairtrade Foundation and the African Women’s Development Fund. Tickets only cost £3 for adults and £2 for children, so please come along for a great evening’s entertainment and to help raise as much money as possible for Comic Relief.
Inverurie Girls’ Rugby Festival - On the 6th of March a group of girls from the Elgin Schools rugby team attended a rugby festival at Inverurie Academy. The event was attended by 47 girls from the Grampian region and was a great opportunity for our girls to meet other players of varying ages and abilities. The girls took part in a skills development workshop before playing in a 7s tournament in mixed teams with girls from other schools. The Huntley team proved to be a dominant force throughout the day but our girls found it really interesting and enjoyable to learn from more experienced players. The day was huge success and our thanks go to Mark Cowie and the rest of the Rugby Development team for their organisation and coaching on the day.
Comic Relief – The school will be doing something funny for money on Friday 15 March by asking everyone to come to the school in odd shoes – the odder the better! The wearing of red noses is encouraged. Pupils will be asked to donate £1 at registration on Friday 15 March. Please note that this is not a non-uniform day, however.
Staff News – Mrs Joyce Maclean, SfL Auxiliary, left on Monday 11 March after 11 years of service to the school, with several more years in the school canteen before that. She leaves with our best wishes for the future.
Scotland’s Commissioner for Young People - An additional assembly was organised to allow Tam Baillie, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, to speak to S3 pupils on Friday 8 March 2013. Our S3 pupils asked Tam several very good questions about the rights and responsibilities of children and young people.
Special Assemblies for S4/5/6: - Year group assemblies were held for S4 on Thursday 7 March and for S5/6 on Friday 8 March. At these assemblies, Mr Ross, PT History, gave a presentation on the theme of resilience and the need to aim high following prelim exams. He used to great effect the story of Jamie Andrew, a climber who lost all his limbs through frostbite, but who has since participated in many sporting activities, including running in the London marathon, skiing, snowboarding, paragliding and caving – as well as returning to rock climbing and mountaineering.