Contents March 2018

p.1-3 Information and

Notices

p.4 School Events

P.5 Student Success

P.7 Dyslexia Info

P.8 Trips

P9. Drama News

P9 - 11 Sports Update

St Kentigern’s Academy
P12. Study School

P13. Easter Reflection

P.14 Key Dates

Easter Newsletter - 2018

Visit stkentigernsacademy.org or @StKentAc for all the latest news and information

Transition Ceilidh
On January the 25th, St Kentigern’s Academy hosted
it’s annual Transition Ceilidh. This is an fantastic event
where P7 pupils from our feeder primary schools are
invited up to the secondary school for an afternoon of
traditional Scottish country dancing. This was the
biggest event yet with well over two hundred and fifty
future pupils, the games hall was filled to capacity.
The staff at St Kentigern’s were hugely impressed with
the dancing skills and the responsible behaviour
displayed by all of the primary pupils. We would also

like to express a huge thank you to Mrs Benassi for

coordinating the event and all of the P7 teachers who
brought their pupils along. Our senior pupils also
deserve a mention, the sports committee and several
fourth year pupils who were on hand to demonstrate
and help instruct; they all did a fantastic job.
Hopefully the P7s found the ceilidh to be a great
experience.

We look forward to welcoming you back in August.

1
 Information
Message from the Head Teacher
Welcome to this term’s Newsletter.

Winter seems to be taking a while to move on this year and we really appreciate
everyone’s effort to deal with the inclement weather over the past few weeks!
Here’s hoping Spring finally arrives during the holidays.

We are very proud of our Students’ accomplishments this term; for their art and
design achievements and drama success, for their gymnastic golds and charity
fundraising, and for all their academic success and effort. And it was great to be
able to recognise and celebrate our young people’s attainments at our St
Kentigern’s Feast Day Mass earlier this month.

Please take time to read, enjoy and share our newsletter. Thank you to all the staff, parents and other
members of our community who contribute to the life of our school.

I know many of our students and teachers will be working and studying hard during the holidays (check out the
timetable on p.12) but I hope that all families will have time together to enjoy a peaceful and holy Easter.

Andrew Sharkey, Head Teacher

World Book Day - Re-scheduled Show My Homework

Due to the poor weather there were several
cancellations from the school calendar including
World Book Day.
Fear not - this has been rescheduled and will now
take place after the Easter Holidays.
Thanks to Miss Grant and her SfW class, we will now
have a charity World Book Day after the Easter
holidays.
All monies raised will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Don't throw your costumes away - you will need
them at some point in April.
There have been several other
efforts to raise money on behalf of
various charities - see page four.
We encourage all pupils and their parents/carers to
continue accessing the Show My Homework (SMHW)
app. SMHW is a fantastic piece of
software which continues to
facilitate great connections for
pupils learning from school to the
home.
Twitter
The school twitter account, @StKentAc is active and
contains a lot of interesting information about
students achievements, events happening at the
school, and general information of interest to parents
and students.
Follow us and keep up to date with
everything that is happening at the
school.

Read the news as it happens on the school website

2 www.stkentigernsacademy.org
 Notices
Successful Charity Work
Unfortunately due to adverse weather our annual World Book Day charity coffee morning has been postponed.
Other charity work has been ongoing through registration classes and whole school events.

Mary's Meals

The school is continuing to raise funds for Mary's Meals. A cheque was sent to the charity before Christmas to
the value of £939. This donation was doubled to £1878 - equivalent to feeding 135 children for a year in their
place of education.

Monies were raised through Staff Coffee Mornings and individual Staff and Pupil donations.

Thanks to everyone for their continued support.

Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF):

Registration classes 5.3 & 5.4 raised a fantastic £722 for SCIAF through a dress down day that they organised
for the 16th April.

SCIAF boxes are made available to registration teachers who encourage their registration classes to donate.
We are waiting on the final total but the school has made a fantastic start.

For more information about these fantastic causes or how to donate visit their web pages:

www.sciaf.org.uk www.marysmeals.org.uk

Merits
This term has seen the implementation of a merits system.

Each week pupils will be awarded merits by their class teacher. Merits can be given for
three reasons; attainment, effort and wider achievement. The three houses; Columba,
Margaret, and Ninian will total their pupils merits in a friendly competition.

We have already found that pupils are responding extremely positively when they are
awarded a merit and we feel that the recognition for positive achievements will help our
pupils continue to achieve.

Furthermore each faculty is able to award a ‘Golden Merit’ per term. This is for a pupil that
has displayed outstanding achievement. Pupils that receive a ‘Golden Merit’ will be
invited to Alton Towers on a rewards trip.

NEWSFLASH—This terms winning house is NINIAN! Well done all involved.

Make sure your follow @StKentsAc on Twitter. There are also Department twitter pages which
can be found from the school page. 3
 School Events

St. Kentigern’s Feast Day

This year the Feast Day of our St Kentigern was once again celebrated in style. The festivities began early in
the school day with a mass held for pupils and staff. Some Parents and other community guests were also in
attendance. After the mass pupils, staff and other guests sat and ate together to celebrate our great school
community in the name of St Kentigern. Several pupils received awards for attainment, achievement in sport
or contributions to community. We would like to thank Archbishop Cushley, Deacon Ronnie and our Parish
Priests for joining us at the ceremony to celebrate our school community. Photos by L. Spence (S6)

Read the news as it happens on the school website stkentigernsacademy.org

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 Student Success
Schuh-perb Design Skills 10 Schuh Runners up
Top 10 Schuh Finalists
Last year the art department and Sarah Morland
Carly Roberston their S3 pupils worked wonders.
Avanna Milne Eric Coupland
Entering a design competition with
Martyna Potiopa Christopher Campbell
the shoe company ‘Schuh’. Sophie
Caitlin Hadley Iona Moynihan
won the overall competition with her
Erin Campbell Holly Smail
swan design. This year St Kentigern’s
Amelia Hudy Niamh Miller
pupils have once again entered some
Matthew McGinty Martyna Krupa
outstanding designs. Here are the
Abbie Leyden Rory Murray
finalists designs:
Zoe Slater Nina Wright
Kathryn Coyle Well done! Holly Corrigan

Read the news as it happens on the school twitter feed @StKentAc 5

 Celebrating Success

Duke Of Edinburgh - Bronze Award

A Duke of Edinburgh bronze group has been set up in the school. This personal achievement award is
for pupils in third year who wish to challenge themselves in order to build their resilience and
confidence. The group meets in Mrs McDonald’s room every Monday at 1.35pm to train for
expeditions and keep their Duke of Edinburgh accounts up to date.

Follow us on twitter @StKentDukies. Speak to Mrs McWattie, Mrs McDonald or Mr Gallagher if you
want more information.

The expeditions that Duke of Edinburgh candidates undertake are not for the faint hearted. Here is
some of the camping equipment they will be carrying and using.

Studying Abroad
Huge congratulations to David Lightfoot in S6 who has managed to secure himself a place at the prestigious
University of Georgia. He is one of only four other UK candidates who have been able to secure a position.
He will be sponsored in his studies by the Rotary. Congratulations again David and we all hope you enjoy this
American adventure. Work hard!

6 Key dates on page 14

 Dyslexia Information
Dyslexia and Me
So all my life I have been dyslexic. I have always wondered what it’s like to live a life without dyslexia but it’s
almost impossible for me to imagine. Even if I could change it, I definitely wouldn’t! Five years ago I wouldn’t
even admit to being dyslexic as it was embarrassing and assumed people would think I was stupid but I couldn’t
have been more wrong! Did you know Albert Einstein was thought to be dyslexic?

As I grew older and realised I wasn’t alone and there were others like me I became more confident, I started to
admit to being dyslexic. Then when I was studying I picked up on little things here and there that helped me
learn so I began to share them with my teachers. I used to cringe as I put my hand up at the start of each lesson
to see all the faces staring back at me while I would ask for the smart board background to be changed to a light
blue as it made the lesson so much easier as I could actually read what was on the board a lot more accurately.

Personally I hated copying notes as I found it extremely stressful trying to keep up with the rest of the class
scribbling away then holding up the class at the end of each slide while I finished copying notes. So when
possible I’d always ask to have the notes printed or emailed to me as then I would have them and be able to
read over them rather than having messy and unfinished notes. I remember in Biology Mr Smith would have
booklets with a word missing from each sentence, those where perfect as you would be able to read over
everything but still have to fill in small, manageable gaps which always seemed to keep me engaged.

The point I’m trying to make is if something helps you, don’t ever be afraid to ask because as the saying goes if
you don’t ask you don’t get. I have never been denied help when I have genuinely needed it as long as I'm
prepared to put the work in myself. I’d also like to point out that no one should ever use their dyslexia as an
excuse as it doesn’t stop you from doing anything it actually means you can do so much more than someone
who is not dyslexic.

Don't ever let dyslexia hold you back from anything. Use it as your motivation to work harder than anyone you
know then there is nothing to get in the way and the world can be yours for the taking! So what if you can’t
spell - there is spell check and computers these days... so what if you’re a slow reader you have all the time in
the world...so what if you’re a messy writer- you can always type it out. You just need to be the best you that
you can be and never give up! Someone gave me the best advice ever and I want to share it with you. “Be your
own best friend”. So if you need some help I'm sure your friend would tell you to do what is best for yourself.

Lucy Lawson

This article was written by Lucy Lawson who is a former pupil of St Kentigern’s Academy. It provides a
unique insight into school life with dyslexia. It is an extremely powerful piece of writing and potentially
hugely inspiring for current pupils who may find themselves in Lucy’s shoes. Thank you, Lucy, for
sharing your experience. Remember if you are dyslexic using a reader or asking for a change in
coloured paper is not something to be embarrassed about.

Read the news as it happens on the school twitter feed @StKentAc 7

 Trips and Experiences
Science Trip to Herriot Watt University
Five of our S2 girls and Miss Pang had a fantastic trip on the 7th of
March to Herriot Watt University. The course was called ’Headstart’
and took place at Heriot Watt University where the pupils
experienced a taste of the main engineering disciplines. They
experienced engineering as it is taught to undergraduates. The girls
also attended lectures, practical projects and problem solving classes.
There were also encouraged to meet with senior students at the
University and visit local engineering industries. A fantastic learning
experience and an insight into the working world.

Mock Interview Day

Over 100 of our senior pupils were put through their paces with a
mock interview day held here at St Kentigern’s Academy.
Organised by Miss Grant our pupils were given the opportunity to
strut their stuff and prepare for the working world.

Interviewers from 16 varying organisations and business were on

hand to give our pupils pointers and emulate professional
interview situations. What a fantastic experience for our young
people. A huge thankyou to everyone involved.

S2 Fringe Poster Competition

The Edinburgh Fringe Poster Competition takes place every year and is open
to all schools in Scotland with over 5000 students entering. The brief is to
create a poster that captures the fun nature of the fringe festival and the
winning poster is used for advertising and merchandising purposes. 40 S2
pupils from St Kentigern’s Academy were chosen to enter the competition
and had their posters sent to Edinburgh for judging. Some of the designs
were truly breath taking so well done to all who entered. We had no overall
winner but three pupils impressed the judges with their creative styles
enough to be chosen for an exhibition taking place in Dynamic Earth. A huge
achievement!
(The poster pictured is one of the winners from last years competition.)

Parent Council - Next meeting on 12th April at 5.30pm in the School Con-
8 ference room. All Welcome!
 Drama News
We Will Rock You!
The awesome production team at St Kentigern’s Academy have once again agreed to take on the gargantuan
task of producing yet another blockbuster. With Les Miserable being such a success and several key actors/
actresses being in their final years at the school. The team, that consists of several staff from a variety of
departments, have decided to try ‘We Will Rock You’. Mrs Kennedy speaks passionately about why the hard
work that goes into such a huge production is worth it:

‘It’s fantastic to see pupils grow in confidence, not just in a drama

setting but throughout the school. During Les Miserable there were
certain pupils who were hugely encouraged in all of their studies
because of their success in the play. Furthermore the camaraderie that
comes with working so closely with other children across different year
groups is extremely valuable, certain pupils formed really great
friendships.’

Les Miserable - Encore!

Jake Halstead and Finlay Cook (pictured below) are two budding actors who thoroughly enjoyed their roles in
Les Miserable. Jake played Inspector Javert while Finlay was Jean Valjean. Both
boys also attend a Theatre Company in their free
time which runs in Edinburgh. Fortunately for the
two of them, their Company is running a production
of Les Miserable this year. So Jake and Finlay will
once again be able to delve into the world of the
French Revolution. A huge well done to both boys on
pursuing their passion out side of school. Excitingly
the production may be part of this years Fringe
Festival which would be an outstanding experience
for both.

Sports Update
Scottish Schools’ Athletic Association - Cross Country Championships
Many congratulations to Zsa Zsa Kerr Bennie, Kara Moffat, Katie Craig and Courtney Moffat who, just last
weekend, took part in the Scottish Schools’ Cross Country Championships. It was an incredibly tough
competition and all our students performed very well, representing our school with pride in a National
Competition. Well done all of you!

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9
 Sports Update

Gymnastics - West Lothian Schools

A huge well done to our fantastic
Gymnastics teams who on the 8th of
February competed in the West Lothian
Schools Competition. The teams
compete across three levels of varying
difficulty but execution of skills, no
matter what the level is, always
important. All three teams managed to
finish on the podium which is
outstanding. The level one and level
three teams both finished second.
Whereas the level two team managed a
third place. Incredible consistency and a
credit to the school and the hard work
the pupils put in during various lunch
times and break times in order to
perform at such a high level. Well done!

Athletics - Scottish Schools

Well done to all of the athletes who
went to compete at the Scottish School
Indoor meet in Glasgow. It was fantastic
to see such strong representation from
St Kentigern’s at such a high profile
event. Matthew Boules, Dominic Boyle,
Conan Mowbray, Ricky Arthurs, Erin
Cameron, Georgia Fraser, Cara
Mowbray, Charlie Nolan, Eve Alison,
Katie Craig and Courtney Moffat were all
in attendance and all competed in their
chosen event. Eve Alison came away from the day with a bronze medal and a personal best of 1m
60cm in the High jump which is fantastic. (Eve is on the left in the photo above.)

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 Sports Update
S1-3 Netball - West Lothian Schools
Well done to our S1-S3 Netball players at their recent
tournament at St Margaret’s Academy. The girls all
played extremely well showing great skills with one
spectacular shot from Olivia Wilde. The team are
looking forward to the next competition in April. The
teams performance was a testament to Samantha
Wilde and Jane Lindsay who both play for West
Lothian Wildcats. The two S4 girls have been
coaching the team since August, devoting their free
time to help the younger pupils develop their skills.
Both are in the photo below (top left and top right)
sporting their Wildcats jumpers. Any of the girls in
the team below who don’t currently play netball
outside of school should consider joining the club.

Badminton Success - West Lothian Schools

Well Done to Connel Greenhorn, Aaron Stewart and Ciaran Moran for playing brilliantly at the West Lothian
Schools Badminton Championships. Connel came first in the U19 Singles, Ciaran came 3rd in the U16 Singles,
Aaron & Ciaran came 4th in U19 Doubles. Connel has now represented the school at several badminton
competitions but he says that this was his most surprising victory.

Connel said, ’I haven’t played for about four months so going to the competition and winning the senior boys
was really amazing’ . Well done to Connel and the other boys on performing so well.

Chloe Gregor - Scottish Gymnastics Glory

Chloe is a fantastic gymnast, she has represented St Kentigern’s at countless events not only
gymnastics but other sports as well. With gymnastics being her main passion Chloe recently
competed at the Scottish Schools competition. This is an extremely high level competition
and Chloe needed to perform at her absolute best. She managed to go and win gold in the
vault. Chloe executed an outstanding hand spring vault which takes hours
of practice and no small dose of bravery to execute. Well done to Chloe
for the continued commitment and dedication to the sport she loves.
Winning gold at this level really is an incredible achievement. We are all
extremely proud of Chloe.

Read the news as it happens on the school twitter feed @StKentAc 11

 Study School - Easter Holidays
MONDAY 26th March (Social Subjects & Languages
Morning (10:00-12:00) Afternoon (12:30 - 2:30)
Teacher Subject Teacher Subject
Mrs Rennie Higher Spanish Mrs Rennie Nat 5 Spanish
Mrs Gonzalez N5 French
Mr McKenna Higher French Mr McKenna Higher French
Miss McEleney Higher Georgraphy Miss Pfeiffer Higher History
Miss Quigley Nat 5 Geography
Miss Oliver Nat 5 and Higher Mod Studies
Miss Lawlor Nat 5 RMPS
Miss Pfeiffer Nat 5 History

TUESDAY 27th March (Business, Computing & Accounts)

Morning (10:00-12:00) Afternoon (12:30 - 2:30)
Teacher Subject Teacher Subject
Mr Donnelly Nat 5 Business Mr Donnelly Nat 5 Accounts
Mrs Flannagan Nat 5 Computing Science Mrs Flannagan Nat 5 Computing Science
Mrs McKeon Higher Accounts Mrs McKeon Higher Accounts

WEDNESDAY 28th March (Maths & Business)

Morning (10:00-12:00) Afternoon (12:30 - 2:30)
Teacher Subject Teacher Subject
Mrs Weir Nat 5 Maths Mrs Weir Nat 5 Maths
Mr Gallagher Nat 5 Maths Mr Gallagher Nat 5 Maths
Mrs Smith Higher Maths Mrs Smith Higher Maths
Mr Donnelly Nat 5 Business Mr Donnelly Higher Business
Miss Cochrane Adv Higher English (11-2pm)
Mr Brown Nat 5 PE

THURSDAY 29th March (Art, Drama & Others)

Morning (10:00-12:00) Afternoon (12:30 - 2:30)
Teacher Subject Teacher Subject
Miss Hanson Drama Miss Hanson Drama
Miss Snowdon Nat 5 Art and Design Miss Snowdon Nat 5 Art and Design
Mrs Weir Advanced Higher Maths Mrs Weir Advanced Higher Maths
Miss Cochrane Adv Higher English (11-2pm)
Mr Gibson Nat 5 Biology Mr Gibson Higher and Adv biology
Mrs Anderson Higher Business Mrs Anderson Higher Business
Senior students will have the opportunity to attend Easter School on the dates above. This is a crucial time of year
for our students and this support is to enable intensive revision and coursework completion. There may be slight
changes to the date or time of certain subject but registered students will be informed of these.

Read the news as it happens on the school website

12 www.stkentigernsacademy.org
 Easter Reflection
The importance of Easter
Easter marks the most important Christian celebration remembering the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. It is celebrated on Easter Sunday, and marks the end of Holy Week, the end of Lent, the
last day of the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday), and is the
beginning of the Easter season of the liturgical year.

Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope for the future and motivation for the present. The
resurrection should encourage us to seek to relive suffering and redeem sin just like Jesus did.
As we know from the Gospels, Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day following his
crucifixion. His resurrection marks the triumph of good over evil, sin and death. It is the
singular event which proves that those who trust in God and accept Christ will be raised from
the dead.

Message from Pope Francis

Let’s reflect on Pope Francis’ words as we come
to the end our Lenten journey and enter into our
Easter celebration:

“Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of

many will grow cold” (Mt 24: 12)

Pope Francis: “Above all, I urge the members of

the Church to take up the Lenten journey with
enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting and prayer. If, at times, the flame of charity seems
to die in our own hearts, know that this is never the case in the heart of God! He constantly
gives us a chance to begin loving anew. “

Easter Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to earth as a baby so many years ago. Thank
you that He paid the punishment for my sins by dying on the cross. And thank you that He rose
again to prove that death was truly defeated. I place my trust in You to be my Saviour. Guide me
through the dark times of my life and give me courage to live for You. Amen

13
 Calendar
April Key Dates Parent Information
All Resume 9th April
Emergency Contact Details
Spring Concert 17th April
To ensure that we are able to contact parents and
S3 Reports 17th April guardians when required, it is essential that we have
S3 Parents’ Evening 25th April correct contact details for yourself and your emergency
contacts.
S6 Leavers’ Mass 26th April
If you wish to update any details, or simply check existing
information, please contact the school office on 01506
May Key Dates
656404
SQA Exams start 2nd May
May Holiday 7th May
Staff in-service 8th May SQA Exam Transport
All Resume 9th May Students in West Lothian who are entitled to free school
transport and are due to sit National 5, Higher and Advanced
Victoria Day 21st May
Higher Exams this year should note there is a change to the
BGE Sports Days 24th & 25th May process for getting transport on days when they have exams.
S1 Reports 29th May
Full information and the form to register for transport on days
S5 / S6 Induction days 31st May
when transport to and from school would not otherwise be
provided (holidays / in-service days) or exams will finish out
with normal school times is available at https://
June Key Dates www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/25671/Exam-Transport
S5 / S6 Induction days 1st June
Please check this and complete the form as required.
New Timetable 4th June
S1/5/6 Awards 6th June
Medical Key Dates
S2/3/4 Awards 12th June
For GIRLS in S1 and S2 (and any in S3 - 6 that have missed
P7 Information Evening 14th June
it previously. HPV - Human Papilloma Virus - 19th June
Prom 21st June 2018
S1/S2 Activity Days 27th & 28th June School Booster S3 & Catch up immunisation is now 9th of
Last Day of Term 29th June April 2018.

Exams - Study Advice

Many of our young people are preparing for their final exams in May and should have started revising a little every night
already.
We wish to ask for your support in encouraging your children to study for half an hour each evening after school. During
the Easter break we recommend that students make up a study timetable, which should allow regular revision over the
holiday period.
We appreciate everyone needs a rest, so ensure they factor in time for physical activity, regular breaks and a few days off
for spending time with family and friends.

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