ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY Weekly Newsletter

Ben Davis, Acting Headteacher

Grassyards RdKilmarnock KA3 7SL

01563 526144

www.saintjosephsacademy.co.ukTwitter: @StJoAcad

ISSUE 15.3

FEBRUARY 16TH2015

FOR PARENTS, CARERS, FAMILIES & PARISHES

INSPIRE AND TRANSFORM:

NURTURING FAITH-FILLED WORLD CLASS LEARNING

The Episcopal Ordination of

Bishop Nolan

February 14th, 2015

Bishop Nolan’s Ordination

St. Joseph’s was very proud to play a part in the Ordination

of Bishop Nolan that took place at the Grand Hall on Saturday.

The school, in partnership with Mitie, Onsite Catering and East

Ayrshire Leisure Trust, hosted over 800 guests for lunch.

Pupils provided entertainment and welcomed guests to the

school. Several pupils also participated in the Mass itself,

including Sarah Iles who read and Kieran Preston who was one

of the altar servers. It was a wonderful day for Kilmarnock

and a real privilege to be part of. The day was suitably

rounded-off when the newly ordained Bishop visited the school

and spoke with the pupils. Thanks must go to all pupils who

participated and also to Mr. Cowan for overseeing the musical

entertainment and to Miss Woodward for the displays of art

in the street.

Engaged

Learners

Ambitious

Learning

From top left: S6 pupil Sarah Iles reads her explanation of the

history and meaning of the Bishop’s Pectoral Cross; Matthew

Dougan entertains guests; Robbie, James and Keira welcome

guests to the event; Matthew Cowan performs for guests in the

Street.

On this page: Pupils perform for the guests;

artworks on display in the street; guests

enjoying refreshments in the Games Hall; and,

above, the Street before they all arrived on

Saturday morning.

EAST AYRSHIRE ART EXHIBITION

Four of our S6 pupils had their work displayed in

the Easy Ayrshire Schools Art and Design

Exhibition at the Dick Institute. Schools from all

over East Ayrshire are represented and the

standard of work is very high. At the top of this

page you can see the four artists: Tatenda, Declan,

Jennifer and Nadia with their teacher Miss

Woodward. All are currently doing Advanced

Higher Art. Pictured to the left are Jennifer with

her piece, a self-portrait with her grandmother and

below that is Tatenda pictured with both her father

and his portrait. The exhibition is open until March

28th and is well worth a visit.

Examples of great learning from S1 Social Subjects. Pupils were challenged to demonstrate their learning and understanding of

medieval history through comic-book style illustrations.

This week we were delighted to

welcome to the school Sylvian

Diez. Sylvain, originally from

Brassac in France, is an

assistant development officer

at Ayr RFC, as well as being a

first and second XV player. He

previously played for Dumfries

Saints and Castres Olympique

and was part of the team that

won the French Under-21

National Championship. He

presented to the whole of S2

before leading 50 pupils in a

challenging rugby workshop.

General News and Information

Ash Wednesday

All pupils attended Mass or Services to mark Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season. Pupils were encouraged to prepare for Lent and to view it as a time in which they should seek to find the ‘best of themselves.’ At St. Matthew’s Church the parishioners and Fr. Martin made the S5/6 pupils very welcome and Fr. Martin also commissioned our first pupil Eucharistic Ministers. The pupils, who are all undertaking the Caritas Award, then went on to distribute Ashes and Communion at the Mass and at subsequent services in school.

Senior Phase and S2 Parents Information Evening

On Tuesday night we welcomed over 100 parents and carers to the school to begin the first stage of personalisation and choice (or options) as their children move into S3 or into Senior Phase. As well as presentations from staff they also learnt more from Jane Henderson of Ayrshire College and our Careers Adviser from Skills Development Scotland, Kate Faulds. Parents and carers who were unable to attend will shortly be able to access the materials they missed online.

Pupils lead school’s anti-bullying and mental health

Two pupil committees are hard at work developing new materials and approaches for their peers. The first is

charged with developing our school’s interpretation of East Ayrshire’s new Respectful Relationships policy which, amongst other things, sets out ways of tacking bullying. The second is working on developing our whole strategy on mental health and wellbeing and will shortly be planning events for parents and carers and speaking with the Parent Council.

Advent Prayers

As is the case every Lent, Advent prayers take place each morning in the Oratory, led by a member of staff or a pupil. Parents and carers are very welcome to join us and we also ask you to encourage your son or daughter to attend.

S1 and S2 Character and Values Reflections

In Home Room all pupils in S1 and S2 are completing working reflection on the development of character traits, their understanding of the school’s values, their general progress and their health and wellbeing. These will be completed by March 4th and will then be sent home for parents and carers to sign.

Trips and Visits

There are still places on the S1 - S3 trip next week to the comic book workshop, tickets are priced at £4. The S6 Personal Development class are organising an S6 Leavers Dinner, priced at £6 and those pupils in S1 who are going on the Titanic trip must get their money in as quickly as possible.

WEEKLY HOME ROOM REFLECTION: Gentle Servant Leadership At the weekend a number of staff and pupils were lucky enough to attend the Ordination of Bishop Nolan at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock. As the new Bishop of Galloway, Fr. Nolan will be expected to be lead the parishes of the Diocese and provide guidance to priests and parishioners. It is a position that demands great skills and carries enormous responsibility. The Ordination Mass was said by Archbishop Cushley and in his homily the Archbishop reflected on the theme of leadership describing Bishop Nolan as a ‘servant leader’. He also talked about the importance of gentleness and humility, characteristics that, he asserted, are vital for effective leadership. At the end of the Mass the newly ordained Bishop began his speech of thanks with a light-hearted, but well meant, apology to all those who had suffered as a result of his mistakes and decisions over the years. In a society where the image of leadership is often hard, cold-blooded and tough we would do well to listen to the words of these two men and consider how much better our lives might be if we all embraced gentleness and sought leaders who have the courage to be servants. In the media and in public life we are often overwhelmed by voices shouting in outrage for people to be punished and treated harshly – these reactions are often understandable. However, acting with gentleness and understanding requires much more courage and seeks to create better situations and find solutions even when there is conflict and division. Likewise servant leaders are focused on doing their best for others and getting the best out of people, rather than imposing their will and making demands.

Let us pray: We pray for Bishop Nolan as he takes up his new post that he can act with courage and gentleness in the knowledge that he has the support of the people of Galloway. We pray too for all people in positions of responsibility that they are mindful of their role as servants of others and that they set a good example in all their interactions and relationships. Amen.

PARISH MASS TIMES St. Matthew’s: 9.30 am, Fr. Chambers St. Joseph’s: 6.00 pm (vigil), 11.00 am Fr. Latham St. Francis Xavier, Patna: 5.00 pm (vigil)St. John the Evangelist: 10.45 am, Fr. McGrattan Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 9.30 am, Fr. McGhee St. Michael’s: 4.30 pm (vigil)St. Paul’s: 11.30 am, Fr. Chambers Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. McGrattanSt. Sophia’s: 6.00 pm (vigil) Fr. Chambers St. Thomas the Apostle: 9.00 am, Fr. McGrattan

IMPORTANT DATES...................................................................

February 24th 4.00 pm - 6.30 pm

S5/6 Parents’ Evening

March 2nd Parent Council

7 pm

Week beginning February 23rd: Year

group SCIAF assemblies

Week beginning March 2nd: Year Group

assemblies

March 19th Feast of St. Joseph

Character Education

In our newsletters we normally feature pupils’ work.

Here you can see some of the thinking done by staff on

the in-service day last week looking at character traits

and how these can be developed in young people. What

were the top three most important traits amongst the

staff? Honesty, respect and care.