ACADEMY

LORNSHILL
ACADEMY
Newsletter October 2015
Introduction from Mr Black
Welcome to our first edition of our newsletter for session 2015/16. I hope you find it
useful and informative and it gives you some insight into life at Lornshill Academy.
This session we are looking to build on the successes enjoyed last year and in particular
the strong set of examination results achieved by our pupils. This years results are the
best in the history of our school with many young people achieving more and better
grades than ever before. This was possible through a combination of pupil effort, staff
commitment and parental and carers support. This alongside our enhanced monitoring
and tracking of pupil performance has enabled us to achieve great success and continue
our positive trend of improvement and perform better than the national average and
that of our virtual comparator. The hard work for this session is already well underway and parents/carers will be
receiving information soon about current performance within the senior phase through our new development of
tracking performance and interventions to support all young people sitting examinations this session.
This session also sees the launch of our positive reward scheme where we are looking to recognise, celebrate and
reward all pupils who meet the standards for attendance, behaviour, organisation, uniform and timekeeping. I
look forward to enjoying the afternoon of activities planned for all pupils who achieve the standards.
Further improvement work continues this session and we are encouraging all parents and carers to take an
active interest and support us in continuing to improve our school community. There is strong evidence to show
that parental/carer involvement is critical to improving outcomes for young people and we are keen to support
parents/carers in anyway we can. We also have an active parent council and this session we have a fund-raising
parent group who would welcome any new members and ideas to support our school.
I hope the October break brings some well earned rest and I look forward to welcoming all our young people back
for a very busy and demanding term two.
Introduction from the head boy and girl
We’ve been in the post of Head boy and girl for almost 2 months now and it’s no lie
that we are enjoying every minute of it. From the day we were appointed onto the
Top Team, alongside Adil, Craig, Luissa and Alannah, the main aim for us is to make
this an enjoyable and successful year for every single pupil and member of staff at
Lornshill. On Friday 9th October, we organised our first proper main event, “Friday
Fever”. We hope that all pupils and members of staff had a great time!
As stated before, we want this to be a successful and enjoyable year. We promise
that we will do everything in our power to make sure this happens. We are part of
an amazing team, a team that we will work with to plan future events and to come
up with fresh, new exciting ideas for the school. We will work tirelessly to make sure
we keep our promises.
On a final note, we wish every pupil all the best this year and hope that you have a
great year at Lornshill Academy.
Newsletter edited and designed by Nairn Campbell S6
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 1 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of Design and Technology
A trip to the Queensferry Crossing bridge
Ewan Hughes
The weather couldn’t have been
better as we crossed the Forth
Road Bridge at roughly 9 o’clock
on the morning of the 16th of
September. On our left we could
see the first bridge to be built, the
Forth Rail Bridge and on our right,
the foundations and main struts
for the new Queensferry Crossing.
We then arrived at the information
centre and were taken up to the
main exhibition room where there
was a small model of the three
bridges completed, and many
information slides and posters on
the walls depicting the history and
planned construction stages of the
new bridge.
We were then shown a Powerpoint
presentation with course related
information and facts on the new
bridge including that it would be
207 meters tall when built, which
is 50 meters taller than the Forth
Road Bridge and will be the tallest
of its kind until the completion a
Russian version of the bridge, and
that in total, over 23,000 miles of
cable used, which is almost enough
to stretch around the Earth!
We also learned why the bridge was
needed, which in it’s simplest form,
is due to urgent repairs needed on
the Forth Road Bridge and in order
to complete the repairs the bridge
must be mostly closed, which
would result in a massive detour
costing the Scottish economy more
money than that of the total cost of
the new bridge (which is estimated
at 1.35 billion pounds). We then
participated in solo, small group,
then whole class activities as we
attempted to build a bridge out of
elastic bands and dowelling rod.
With whole class participation and
hard work, our final bridge was a
success, completed within the time
limit, despite our small numbers
compared to previous school
visitors, and is an achievement that
we were all proud of.
It also expanded our knowledge
of bridge structures and gave us
a taste of the kind of activities/
tasks we may be given in later life
when seeking employment in the
engineering industry.
We were then taken outside to
take group pictures of the bridges
before returning to the bus and
heading back to school. I feel that
I speak for the whole group when
I say that it was an enjoyable,
educational trip and a worthwhile
experience which helped greatly
with our knowledge of Engineering
Science and engineering in general.
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 2 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of languages
Using iPads to enhance learning
This session the Languages Faculty
have been fortunate enough to be
chosen to pilot a new scheme that
aims to transform the educational
experience for children in Lornshill
Academy.
The school has invested
significantly in iPad technology
in order to capitalise on the
explosion of technology over
the past few years. Where
once technology in classrooms
consisted of an overhead projector
connected to an old desktop
computer, nowadays pupils are
arriving at school with enough
technology in their pockets
to outperform even the most
powerful school PC. According
to Ashleigh Risk, lead teacher for
the iPad initiative, the ability to
adapt the learning environment is
what makes the iPads so exciting:
“There are so many uses for iPads
in an educational setting that we
are only beginning to scratch the
surface. There are all the things
you would expect, like annotating
All staff in the team will undergo eight
sessions of training delivered by specialist
trainers iTeach.
texts, sharing resources, recording
sound files. Then there are things
that you never imagined existed,
like augmented reality app
Aurasma. The ability to overlay
digital content over the physical
environment is taking learning
beyond what most people would
recognise as a classroom learning
One of our S3 pupils using the ipads to
demonstrate his understanding and
share it with others
environment. We are all really
excited about where this initiative
could take us and the impact it
is going to have on our pupils’
development!”
What is involved?
There are two strands to the
pilot. Firstly, all teachers in the
Languages Team have been
provided with an iPad each and
have had Apple TV installed in
their classroom. This enables a
The training has been very
helpful - there are so many
uses for the iPads in the
classroom, we are ready
for the journey!
Rachael Lyon, Modern Languages
direct link from the iPad to the
whiteboard, opening up huge
possibilities for the teacher to
enhance the learning experience.
The second strand of the pilot
is the investment in a full class
set of iPads, allowing every
pupil in a class access to an iPad
simultaneously. Coupled with
Apple TV and the use of AirPlay,
the possibilities for this type of
educational setup are endless.
English teacher Chris Aldous
found there to be a significant
improvement in pupil
engagement:
“The Ipads are a resource that
has sparked a different way of
approaching the fundamental
elements of the subject. Being a
multi-sensory medium, it allows
pupils to access, literally at their
fingertips, many informative,
creative and holistic ways of
presenting their ideas. My S1 are
currently using iMovie to create
trailers on the class novel. This
allows them to demonstrate their
knowledge of the text but also
means they can be creative and
dynamic in how the present this,
in both audio and visual ways.
They are also working in teams
which fosters responsibility and
accountability. The pupils are
responding well to re-imagining
their learning.”
What’s next?
An S1 student
explores the
vast array of
possibilities
the iPad
brings to his
experience in
the Faculty of
Languages.
For now, staff and pupils are in
the early stages of exploring the
iPads’ full potential. The second
session of the training will be on
6th October and staff are looking
at ways of sharing ideas and
feedback across the team as the
pilot develops.
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 3 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of Enterprise
We have had a very busy term in Enterprise. S1 pupils have settled in well and are coming to the end of their
Internet Safety unit. Other BGE classes are experiencing programming in Computing, developing research
gathering skills in IT and in HE the Magic Gadget unit is almost complete. Senior classes have been fully
engaged in lessons, with the focus this term being on SQA assessments.
Senior Fashion and Textile Technology pupils returned last week from a very successful trip to the Borders. Miss
Howie was delighted with the enthusiasm and focus of the pupils.
At the end of last term, we said our goodbyes to Miss Grattan and Miss Smart from Home Economics.
One of the highlights of this term was the P7 Discovery Evening; it was an ideal opportunity to show our future
pupils around our Faculty.
Our Twitter account (@lornshillenterprise), has nearly 200 followers. This has provided our school Community
with live updates of what is going on across the Enterprise Faculty. Please feel free to follow us.
Fashion trip to Hawick
S5 National 5 pupils went for a trip
to the Borders Textile Towerhouse in
Hawick. They had the opportunity
to look around the Towerhouse
discussing and learning about all the
different Mills in Hawick.
Shaureen our host for the day
showed us how Hawick, known for
its Cashmere and luxury knitwear,
has changed from the early 20th
century where the product
focus was on underwear, to
now being fully fashioned
outerwear for designers such
as Pringle, Chanel and Dior to
name a few.
The pupils saw the process,
both how it is done now and
centuries ago, of the different
wool before manufacturer and how
it was washed and ‘carded’ before
being ready to be spun and woven
into different fabrics and garments, we
also got to look in the archives of what
had happened in the area and where
the influences came from. The girls
got to see mood boards and garments
created by different designers and
lecturers from Herriot Watt university
and got to see a fabric just made
in the mill which will feature
in Chanel collection in spring
summer 2016.
We finished the day with
having the opportunity to
try weaving and felting with
each pupils coming away
with the items they had
made.
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 4 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of Mathematics
Senior Classes
The Higher and National 5 classes in S4-6 will be doing their
SQA Expression and Formulae Assessments in the coming
weeks along with a mini prelim. The classes are all on
Edmodo where the department have uploaded homework
and revision materials so can you please
encourage your son or daughter to keep
checking this. In addition to Edmodo we
also have the faculty webpage on the
school website with course outlines and
timelines for the various courses within
the faculty.
Numeracy
booklets
The Maths department have now
launched the new Numeracy Profiles
for S1.
The pupils have to identify numeracy
links across the curriculum and make
a note of these in their booklets. The
booklets are then checked weekly and
prizes awarded for the best in class.
These winners are then entered into a
monthly draw to win a pair of tickets
for the Vue Cinema in Stirling who
have kindly supported us with this
initiative.
BGE Classes
The new S1 pupils have settled in well and have just completed
their 1st assessment which has allowed us to move the classes
based on ability. Congratulations to the following pupils
who achieved top marks in the assessment: Emma Davies,
Alexander Tibbets, Thomas Nimmo & Kiera Gracie.
The new classes will all be working on the same blocks of work
but at different paces and different levels of depth. There will
be another assessment coming soon after the October holidays
where we may look at further movement.
The S2 and S3 pupils are continuing to work through the BGE
course. The pupils will also be receiving homework on a regular
basis as part of their course revision. It is therefore important
that all pupils are completing their homework on time and to a
good standard. We will also be looking at potential movement
within the S2 classes.
Revision
Supported study is now being run
across the faculty for pupils who feel
they are struggling, require extra
support or who want to do additional
work. During these supported study
sessions pupils can ask questions
related to the work covered in class or
past paper questions. We have found
that attending supported study has a
positive impact on pupils’ attainment
levels which is why we actively
encourage this within the department.
A copy of the supported study timetable
can be found on the faculty webpage.
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 5 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of Social Subjects
Higher trip to Alva Glen
On Monday the 14th of
September we went up the
Alva Glen and carried out
fieldwork for our Geography
assignment. We did a series
of planning activities before
it and organised all the
necessary equipment and
skills needed for our trip. We
had a chain, a meter stick, an
orange (float), measuring tape,
stop watch and a clinometer.
We used this equipment
to measure the channel
width, channel depth, wetter
perimeter, gradient and the
velocity. We also picked up a
rock every time we measured
the depth and then measured
the size with a ruler and
determined the shape by
comparing them to the Power
Scale of Roundness Chart.
The trip was a really fun and
enjoyable experience, except
the fact we all got soaked
despite us wearing wellies.
After we had carried out these processes for all 3 sites, we went
down into Alva and did a Human study of the town. We took note
of the different types of buildings on the Main Street and seen
how they compared at both sides of the street and at either end.
Overall, our field trip to Alva Glen was a very productive day that
has not only resulted in us having necessary data for our Higher
Assignment, but also a good set of skills that will come in handy
for those of us continuing to do Geography after Higher.
Written by Madeline Macleerie and Rhiannon Davis
Social Subjects and RME trip to
Bay of Naples
We are delighted to say that 37 S4 and 5 pupils will be
‘leaving on a jet plane’ at the end of June to go to the Bay
of Naples, Italy. Whilst in Naples we will be visiting Pompeii,
climbing Mount Vesuvius, visiting a shallow volcanic crater
at Pozzuoli and exploring the Island of Naples. This is a great
trip for the pupils. Mrs O’Donnell will be in touch with all
carer/guardians soon about the next payment.
National trip to
Stirling
As part of our National Geography
course we went to Stirling to collect
data for our Added Value Unit and
Assignment. Although the weather was
supposed to be sunny and warm, we
did the fieldwork in foggy and very cold
conditions. The first thing we did was
an environmental survey along the high
street of Stirling and then Springkerse
Industrial Estate. We also completed
another survey where we counted the
number of cars, van, lorries etc. going
in and out of the City centre and the
industrial estate. We are going to use
this data to compare these two places
which will show how different they are.
Written by Shannon Taylor and Lauryn Wishart
World Aids day
For world AIDS day, a group of third years
and senior Geography pupils are working
together to fundraise for the charity. We
are going to be selling ribbons around
the school and doing a stall at our end
of term event, doing ‘guess how many
sweets are in the jar’ and ‘pin the nose
on the clown.’ We are also doing a poster
competition in tutorial/PDS. Our goal is
to raise as much money as possible for
World AIDS Day, but also to gain an all
round set of skills in organisation and
confidence, whilst raising awareness of
this worldwide disease.
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 6 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of Art and design
Art department open night
On Tuesday 6th of
October the Lornshill
Art department held
their annual Advanced
Higher open night which
celebrates the success
of the work made by the
previous years S6 pupils.
The night was well attended
by staff, both current and
former, pupils, families and
specially invited guests.
There was an array of talent
and work on display form
pastel works, ceramics,
models and sculptures to
intricate laser cut exhibits.
The Art department would
like to thank everyone who
attended, without them the
evening would not have
been such a huge success.
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 7 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of Science
South Africa trip
South Africa was an exciting, surreal and eye-opening
experience. Whilst there, we saw herds of animals strong
enough to flip a jeep, dived to the depths of the ocean to
collect shark teeth from the coral reef and learned new and
interesting facts about the world in which we live in.
We made new friends, had fantastic experiences and got
so much more in touch with the beauty of nature.
It was a journey that all of us would recommend to anyone
else - the most fun you can have really is half way around
the world!
Edinburgh Zoo
On Friday 2nd October 33
higher and advanced higher
Biology pupils attended a trip
to Edinburgh zoo. The pupils
completed two educational
workshops.
The first was a primate study
and the second on evolution.
This was a fantastic experience
that has helped to deepen our
understanding and brought to
life some of the concepts and
content that we are studying
in class. An excellent trip all
round!
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 8 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Faculty of Physical Education
Meet the
School of Sport
Why do you like the School
of Sport?
Hanna Rodenburg-Abro
“I love getting to play
football as much as I do in
school and I am looking
forward to playing loads of
matches for the school”
School of Sport
A-B-O-U-T
In August 2015, Lornshill Academy
launched our S1 School of Sport where
60 S1 pupils take part in 3 curricular
sessions and 1 extra curricular session
within either Football, Rugby, or Dance.
The mantra of the School of Sport is
“person first, player second”. This means
that all pupils work on the skills it takes to
be successful at school and life, and then
consider how this makes them better
footballers, rugby players, and dancers.
Throughout the School of Sport, all pupils
will get various opportunities to develop
their leadership and mentoring skills,
and will be instrumental in developing a
growth mindset for the school.
All pupils that are in the School of Sport must adhere to the
following standards:
Courtney Wilson
“I really like that I have
made new friends from the
ones that I had in Primary
school. The School of Sport
is great!“
A- Attendance - above 95% attendance
B- Behaviour - no de-merits or referrals
O- Organisation - have all PE, SoS and school equipment
U - Uniform - wear correct school uniform everyday
T - Timekeeping - be on time - every time!
Upcoming Events
Senior Girls Football @ Denny High
Our senior girls football team will be playing in the Forth Valley
competition at Denny High on Thursday 22nd October. Lets hope
our season is as successful as last season was!
S1 Football Team
Our S1 football team have a number of fixtures in the next few
weeks including visits to Dunblane High on Monday 19th October
and competing in Clackmannanshire Schools Competition on
Monday 2nd November.
PE is Glowing
Over the next few months PE will be using GLOW email to contact
S4-S6 parents/carers as a trial to bring them closer to learning.
Currently Mr Chaplin is emailing out homework on a weekly basis
to enable parents/carers to support their child at home. Over the
next few weeks we will monitor the impact of this project. If your
child is studying PE/Dance or Leadership in S4/5/6 and you would
like to receive an email detailing homework tasks then email Mr
Chaplin at clkchaplin@glow.sch.uk
Why choose Alloa Rugby Club?
Alloa Rugby Club are positive coaching
Scotland ambassadors and use this to
encourage all their all young people to
achieve the best of their ability within
a happy and safe environment. Alloa
Rugby Club are a family friendly club
that are one of our founding member
clubs that joined the hub when we
first started in
2013.
Why not
come down
and give
Rugby a go?
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 9 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk

Lornshill Academy
Active Schools Programme
SPORTS DEVELOPMENT
Mondays
Lunch Clubs
Rugby (S1/2) with Mr Kirk - Pitch
___________________________________
Trampolining (S1-S6) with Mr Chaplin
and Miss Morgan - Dance Studio
___________________________________
Football (S1-S6) with Leaders - Pitch
Tuesdays
Forth Valley School Dance Competition
Practice (Dance Leaders)
___________________________________
Basketball (S1-S6) with Leaders
Wednesdays
ASN Activities with Miss McKay in the
Assembly Hall & ASN Dept.
___________________________________
Forth Valley School Dance Competition
Practice Miss MacDonald- Gym
___________________________________
Trampolining (S2-S6) Mr Chaplin/ Miss
Morgan
Thursdays
Badminton (S1-S6) with Mr Main in
the Games Hall
___________________________________
Football (S1-S6) with Leaders
Fridays
Trampolining (S2-S6) with Miss
Morgan in the Dance Studio
___________________________________
Football (S1-S6) with Leaders
Mondays
Football (S1) with Mr Chaplin 4-5pm -
Astro
___________________________________
Fitness (S1-S2) 4-4.30pm - In the
Fitness Suite
___________________________________
Fitness (S3-S6) 4.30-6pm - In the
Fitness Suite
Tuesdays
Dance - School of Dance (S1) with Miss
MacDonald - 3-4pm in the Gym
___________________________________
Basketball (S1-S6) with Miss
McMahon - 3-4pm in the Games Hall
___________________________________
Fitness (S3-S6) 3-6pm - In the
Fitness Suite
Wednesdays
Rugby - School of Rugby (S1) with Mr
Kirk 4-5pm - Pitch
___________________________________
Cross Country (S1-S6) 4-5pm
___________________________________
Fitness (S1-S2) 4-4:45pm - In the
Fitness Suite
Fitness (S3-S6) 4:45-6pm - In the
Fitness Suite
___________________________________
Athletics (S1-S6) with Miss McKay
4-4:30pm
After School Clubs
Thursdays
Girls Football (S1-S6) with Miss
McMahon and Miss Kirstein - Astro
3-4pm
___________________________________
Rugby (S3-S6) 3-4pm
___________________________________
Dance - Forth Valley Dance Competition
Practice with Miss MacDonald - Gym
and Dance Studio 3-4pm
___________________________________
Badminton (S1-S6) Mr Main - Games
Hall 3-4pm
___________________________________
Fitness (S3-S6) 3-6pm in the Fitness
Suite
Fridays
Fitness (S3-S6) 3-6pm in the Fitness
Suite
Please note that for pupils to use the
Fitness Suite they must be 12 years
old and above
For more information, contact the School P.E. Department or Kerstin McKelvie, kmckelvie@clacks.gov.uk
www.lornshillacademy.org.uk 10 lornshill@edu.clacks.gov.uk