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redblack//THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY, KILMARNOCK

ISSUE 4// Michaelmas 2014

in this issue//

Opinions from S1 pupilsOutstanding pupil artwork

Mini-monologuesAll the news from sports teams

Caritas and youth leadership

Our Sri Lanka partnership Learning Community news

and much more/

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A Reflection for the Mental Health and Wellbeing

Just as we all have physical health, so we have mental health. However, whilst we might think nothing of seeking treatment for an allergy or a broken bone (in fact it would seem ridiculous not to) many of us still feel ashamed of admitting to having challenges with our mental health. But the facts make fools of us. Each year one in four people experience some kind of mental health problem. This would be fine, if we were not so quick to ignore it. However, because we often do overlook or shy away from issues of mental health the effects are alarming: people with a long term mental health problem are 70% more likely to be unemployed; 90% of prisoners have a mental health disorder; self-harm affects 1 in 8 people under 25 and suicide kills two Scots every day. All because we are frightened or ashamed, rather than proactive in preventing or treating mental ill-health. The example of Jesus should encourage us to reach out to those who are vulnerable, ignored or stigmatised. In fact, it is our duty not just to help, but to prevent others suffering. After all, wasn’t it Christ who touched the lepers without fear, who washed the feet of those no-one else would go near and who said, ‘Whatever you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me’? If we made every effort to look after our own mental health, to talk about the times when we struggle, to share our feelings and to help others, life would be much better for all of us. This year the theme of Mental Health Week is Schizophrenia. This is a very misunderstood condition that some see as ‘split personality’ or others view as a disease that makes people commit crimes. This is a long way from the truth. In fact it affects 26 million people across the world and it is something that people around you live with and you may not even be aware of it. The problem is that they are often undiagnosed or struggling to find appropriate treatment. This mental health week let’s accept others and ourselves as they are, let’s love unconditionally and try to understand that there are many ways of being and more than one way of being ‘normal’. Let us pray:

Tender God, Your gentle and kind-hearted love waits for us in the darkness and shields us from the light when it feels too overwhelming. We remember today all those who struggle with their mental health or that of someone close to them. Continue to cherish us all when we find it so difficult to cherish ourselves. Enable us to discover people of compassion who will walk with us and be a place of rest from the storms of life. We ask this in the name of our brother and friend, Jesus Christ. Amen.

on June 6th we planted our Tree of Hope for Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing //

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contents//S1 Opinions 4

Introductions 7

Mini-monologues 9

Enterprise 11

Oxbridge 12

SCO Masterworks 13

Service through faith 14

On the field 17

Health and wellbeing 20

Connecting with Sri Lanka 22

Senior Awards Ceremony 24

Ocean Youth Trust 27

S1 Outward Bound 28

Art trip to Perth 30

Great Scottish Run 32

Personal Development 34

Cream of Ayrshire Award 38

Learning Community News 40

PUPIL ARTWORK

Cover (below): Lisa Cargillp. 26: Megan Smithp. 35: Shaun Dochertyp. 37: Nadia Kingp. 39: Jennifer OʼRourke (top)p. 39: Hannah Dougan (top)p. 42: Ariadna SanchisBack: Scott Morrison

The magazine contains over 50 separate contributions from pupils, whether through their opinions, their writing or their artwork.

The next issue will be published in December and will focus on Character and Values. If you would like to contribute please contact Mr.

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Brain surgeon

Georgia

Banker or LawyerGabriel

ChefVeronica

Encourage and understand me

Teachers are patient and wonʼt shout if you donʼt ʻget itʼ

They push you and keep trying

Heʼs really clever

Heʼs really interesting

I knew nothing about angles and now I do and Iʼm really enjoying it

Sometimes, but sometimes at lunch the older ones can be mean

I do try to be myself although some people think Iʼm a show off

Very good because of all the subjects you get

Excellent - itʼs fun and I never get bored

Amazing - I like the building and the variety

what do you want to do in the

future?

what do we get right that helps you to

learn?

in what way have your teachers inspired

you?

S1 OPINIONS

so far how would you rate St.

Joseph’s?

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VetSian

TeacherMolly

Footballer or sports writerJohn

Cook or comedianCalvin

A successful vet and black beltStephanie

PilotAndrew

Paediatric doctorRachel

FootballerKyle

ASN TeacherMay

They are always there to help you if you get stuck

Help you get into a good schedule or routine

My teachers go into lots of depth about things

He pushes us to work harder

Sheʼs thorough and makes Maths easier to understand

He never gives up on you

Teachers make things fun and interesting

They provide help, even for the confused like me

Teachers have alternative ways of approaching the same topic

Teachers understand you if you need extra help

My teacher is patient and persistent

If you need help you get it again and again

Sheʼs strict but you want to do your best for her

He tries to help and always encourages you to ask questions

She understands you and is honest with you

He knows when youʼre feeling down and cheers you up

She explains stuff really well

Sheʼs very kind

Yeah. You relax but try your best. Itʼs a nice environment here.

Yeah. Everyoneʼs welcoming and any trouble gets dealt with

Most of the time

Not sure what that means. Iʼm different in front of my parents

Yes - most of my friends like similar things

Everyone is different so you can be yourself

A lot more friendly than I expected it to be

Great

The Best

Very good

Amazing. I like being here and I donʼt usually like school

Itʼs good having specialist teachers

Good because the day goes by so fast

Awesome - a new experience. Itʼs the best of times and the worst of times

Brilliant - Iʼve never liked school this much

Different in a good way

can you be yourself

in school?

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introductions//Three ‘welcomes’ for price of one: from parents, teachers and pupils.

A new school year, a new term, as we welcome some new as well as some old (well, returning) faces to our Parent Council. A warm welcome to our fab school magazine redblack.

The Parent Council has started off this year on a positive note with some of us joining pupils and staff for the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow earlier this month. Ten long kilometres but a fantastic day for a very worthwhile cause. Many thanks to all who sponsored us, as we wait to hear the final total raised for our chosen charities. Some of the money from our fundraising efforts last year paid for the transport to and from the event on both days.

We are very much hoping to keep our fundraising going this year and as always, money raised will be used for the benefit of our pupils. If anyone would like to help in any way with fundraising activities or has any ideas, please let us know. It will soon be time to start organising our annual Christmas raffle, always a success with some great prizes. As ever, donations greatly received – more info to follow.

Over the coming months, we aim to be at school events and would like to hear from you regarding any topics you would like raised at our monthly meetings. Please come and chat to us over a cup of tea at parents’ night and tell us how you found your evening to be.

Your comments and suggestions are extremely important as feedback is always welcomed by our Head Teacher and Senior Management Team. Alternatively, you can contact us by leaving a note in the school office or drop us an email at stjosephsacademyparentcouncil@hotmail.co.uk

Please remember, the Parent Council is here to represent your views, so please do not hesitate to get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you.

Noreen Dunnachie, Chair, Parent Council

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introductions//A reflection on the year so far from our Head Boy and Head Girl.

Since August, a lot has happened. From arranging Prom, to

yearbook, to electing 3 new House Captains and their Vice Captains, and kick starting this year's Prefect rota. We've been busy. This school is entirely unique, in our opinion. It is filled to the brim with talented, selfless and inspirational young people. There is a real desire amongst each and every pupil to give back. Since August, we have raised a substantial amount of money for charities such as SAMH, MacMillan Cancer Support, The British Heart Foundation, The Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust, Young Minds, Cancer Research and SCIAF. It is an absolute honour for us to represent St Joseph's Academy, and we as a Pupil Leadership team are entirely focused on continuing the hard work and dedication that this school is so renowned for.

We have been given this amazing, unique opportunity to not only fashion things according to the pupil body, but to learn about the responsibilities of leadership and committment. If we treat our role as a checklist; yes, we can represent the school; yes, we can organise prom; yes, we can lead Junior and Senior school pupil councils; yes, we can help make St Joseph's a positive learning environment for every single pupil; and yes, we can try to do all this whilst remaining on top of classwork. Can we, however, do this simultaneously?

At a glance, the answer is simply, "probably not". However, it is not a solo mission. In the Pupil Leadership Team there exists a wide range of knowledge and talents; from the arts, to sport, to English, to sciences - we are an extremely diverse group of pupils. Despite this, we are all in agreement about the way in which the school should move forward. Collectively. Moving forward as a strong unit is the only way in which we can harness the potential of each and every pupil of St Joseph's.

That is, ultimately, what it is all about. We as Head Boy and Head Girl and the Pupil Leadership Team will base our success on nothing other than if we helped people in St Joseph's reach their potential. By helping make our school a positive place for each indivual, we can push the message of "you matter" or "you can do anything". We want to bring the talents and passions of all pupils to the surface, and guide them on their endeavours - regardless of what they may be. That's the goal.

Daniel Johnston, Head BoySarah Kelly, Head Girl

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introductions//

Always keen to shake things up a little, I started this

term with a series of assemblies on character. Simple, I thought. What better way to introduce our new programme of character education to pupils than to talk about it. I livened it up with a few first-hand tales of being chased by cows in a Cornish wilderness and threw in a handful of topical references to an exceptional summer of sport. Fortified and feeling invincible I went through the first week of year group assemblies.

It was only on the last day that an S6 pupil approached me and challenged me on something that should have been obvious about my presentation: all my examples of people of good character were men. There wasn’t a woman in sight on my slides. Of course, once she pointed it out it was clear... and embarrassing, especially to a father of two girls. She was quite right to chastise me and to promise to deliver an alternative to my assembly that contained only references to inspirational women. Her insight was also very exciting in that it underlined for me two things about teaching in this school that I find uplifting. The first is the capacity for your pupils to teach you as much as you teach them (perhaps more) and to help you view matters from a different perspective. The second is the openness and honesty of the young people of St. Joseph’s.

You can see both of these qualities in this edition of redblack. It is there in the range and depth of opinions from S1 pupils (and I experience it daily in my discussion groups with our young people). They care about this school, they see its successes and the ways in which things could be better and they are keen to lead its development. You can also read about these qualities in the many articles in here that express young people’s sense of leadership, duty and service to others which is derived from their faith and Gospel values. They are there too in the beautiful art they produce, in their charitable activities and in pupils’ successes in enterprise.

As newsletters this session have already recorded the 2014 diet of exams produced some excellent results and some of our best ever overall statistics - testament to the hard work of dedicated staff, supportive parents and carers and talented pupils. But the Catholic education we offer has to be about more - it has to be about developing character and values first and foremost. I am sure you can see this from this edition of our magazine and I hope you enjoy reading.

Ben Davis, Acting Headteacher

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mini-monologues//

S4 pupils studying the two year Higher English course have been learning about Macbeth. As we reported in the Summer edition of this magazine part of that process was to explore the play through practical drama activities. In addition, they wrote monologues that were entered into a national competition. We are delighted to print below the ones that won the accolade of being published nationally.

Danny MorrisCast…away.

How did I get here? Marooned with an idiot? I ignore his shouting but he persists. Stopped speaking to him but he still talks to me. In a moment of silence I’ve come up with an idea. Chuck could be useful at last. After all, I’ve kept us alive so far. So I spill the beans. Why wouldn’t he help? It was my idea after all. Then it dawns on me. If we get home I’ll be stuck with him forever. I jump for it. His plaintive wail drifts across the ocean. I never knew he cared, and…I miss him.

Lucy WilliamsonFalling for a Friend

I have to say goodbye. I can’t stand on this ledge forever, staring down at John Watson. The pavement so far below is my end. The phone in my hand is cold, as everyone believes my heartto be. I press the button to call him one last time. I’m a fake. The lie tastes bitter on my tongue, but it’s my only way out now. Goodbye, John. I can’t thank him now. I can’t thank him for believing in my

heart. The wind rushes against my face before I hit the ground. I am no longer. I am gone.

Madeleine JessopA Hound’s ‘Tail’

I always smell the strong bitter smoke of him before seeing his dark patterned skin. My ears tend to prickle at the ominous squeak of his leather boots. Instinct tells me to tear him to shreds but hiding under the table seems less frightening. She protected me and now she’s gone. He took her. Or rather the men in bright coats and loud cars did - but it was his fault. I saw everything. I couldn’t stop what he did to her. But who is going to believe me? Or who is even going to understand me? I’m just a dog.

Hannah IlesCatastrophe

I wonder if they’ll still love me? When they find out what I did. Every time I close my eyes, I see his body lying there. It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t come at me. I didn’t mean to make him fall. They’ll never look at me the same way…I could

one person, one point- of-view, one hundred

words

“”

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bury him in the garden. We’re getting the paving re-done. I could say he’s wandered away. I could cover it up. If they find him, my life will be over. They’ll think I’m a murderer. Can you go to jail for killing a cat?

Victoria PartridgeFloating

It’s difficult to describe my surroundings. It’s so bright that it’s almost dark. I’m walkingalthough I’m not sure where to. Everything hurts but I feel numb at the same time. The brakes of a car echo in my ear for a single second but then nothing – always nothing. I suppose I’m not walking anymore so much as floating, which is funny as I started off running. But that was a long time ago. I’m not really sure how long I’ve been here but I don’t think it matters anyway. I hear someone screaming in pain; I think it’s me.

Jamie MurrayJust Breathe

It’s happening. I know the sensation. I haven’t suffered one of these in years, not since mum died. The room spins and I can hear my name being called out but I don’t know who by or where from. Now I feel the tingling in my fingers and try to shake it off but all that does is make me aware of the sweat on my palms. The ringing in my ears gets louder and louder and louder and it hurts to breathe what little air I have. The choking sensation is getting worse and worse until I no longer feel it.

Lucy-Anne FergusonSkeletons in the Closet

I think it’s time. I’m ready. Walking through the door I think of the reaction I’m going to receive: anger, hate,

disappointment, acceptance or pride… I hope for pride. Sitting on the chair I wring my hands. One hour three and counting. I hope time will move slowly; the truth is always hard to hear…it’s even harder to share. 48 minutes I’ve never understood the stories, or the fear. I look at the clock. 15 minutes. I’m not ready for this. Oh no… she’s home. I turn to her when she sits down. Deep breath…”Mum…I’m gay.”

Ronan BoiteuxThe Ringing

Music is the only thing that drowns out the constant ringing in my ear. To be fair, no sound at all would be nice. Today is the first day I’ve been out ‘n’ about in, I dunno, two years. I wish everyone would stop bloody looking! It’s people like that who remind us of how crappy the world really is. I never asked for this. Never asked for them. I was standing up for myself. I mean why should other people decide the quality of life I should have. Consequently – the ringing, the scars, now the laughter and still the hurt.

Keyryn McFadyeanMy Triumph, My Time

77. The number runs constantly through my mind. No tears. Not this time. I know Centre Court is still full, the green grass perfect and still: the long corridor is behind me. I see the court, the net, the umpire’s chair. It all rushes back. Please, I beg, to no-one in particular. The first camera flashes – and the next causing a whirlwind of nerves. It is now or never. ‘Do your best, Andy,’ – mum’s phrase since I was eight runs through me. Surely, please, make this my time, my trophy, my peace of mind, my happiness. This is my time.

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enterprise //Enterprise and business links at St. Joseph’s continue to be an area of success. The seven pupils who participated in the Sir Tom Hunter enterprise competition are well on their way to opening their coffee shop in the school. Part of this enterprise has involved working with Ayr-based coffee roasters Roundsquare who have supported the project. They also learned first hand from Sir Tom himself.

On Tuesday 30th September seven pupils,

Agnes McColligen, Kieran Jones, Haseeb Anwar, Aaron McCaskill, Raymond Houston, Gordon Stirling and Ethan Dunlop attended the second Sir Tom Hunter business plan event at the Hatchery in Dundonald.

The pupils listened to an inspirational talk from Sir Tom and some of his Hatchery chicklets. The day certainly inspired and motivated the pupils. Nothing more so than Sir Tom’s new Ferrari (shown below). Raymond asked Sir Tom for a loan of his keys, Sir Tom politely declined, at which point Raymond reminded him about something which he had said earlier during his dialogue with the audience. He said “never take no for answer”, so the bold Raymond asked again.

The pupils were interviewed by the BBC for an upcoming event on BBC2 which is exploring the economic imbalance in Britain. The pupils spoke with maturity and insight and gave the reporter a run for his money.

The pupils have commented on their experience of the day.

“I learned a lot from all the success stories today and the fact that they never took no for an answer.

It was a great experience to see all the business people and it was a great inspiration.” Kieran Jones

“Sir Tom Hunter and his fellow businessmen and woman shared their experiences, some of their successes and some of their failures. It gave me inspiration and I started thinking about how I would write my success speech.

Josh Littlejohn told us how he gives employment to homeless people, which changed their lives.” Aaron McCaskill.

The E-spark business event opened my eyes to some of the success stories in the local community, people who have made something out of nothing and who help others to do the same. Take Josh Littlejohn who helps people from chaotic backgrounds and helps them to make a living and keep a roof over their heads. He has met with ex-president Bill Clinton and Sir Richard Branson through his organisation of the Scottish Business Awards.

“ I was thoroughly impressed at the stories of everyone involve. I would love the opportunity to go again.” Gordon Stirling

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We went to see the meerkats as they show us how we can work together to help each other.

Meerkats have four toes.

They can run at 37 miles per hour.

They are immune to venom from snakes and scorpions.

The can look directly in to the sun and signal with their tails .

They open or close their ears to keep sand out of them when burrowing and blink often to remove dirt from their eyes.

The eat snakes, spiders, scorpions, lizards, plant eggs and other creepy crawlies.

Mary Young

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oxbridge//During the last summer holiday, Mark McInnes and I were very fortunate to

have had the opportunity to take part in the Oxford and Cambridge Summer School Programmes, writes Nik Kolev (S6). These provided us with experience of our chosen field of studies at university level. As well as working in the campus labs (including the famous Cavendish Lab where, amongst other things, DNA was discovered), we attended lectures given by some of the worldʼs leading professionals in their respective areas of expertise. Outwith this exposure to academic life at the universities, we took the opportunity to socialise with students from around the country who had interests in common with our own.

The experience of participating the Summer School programmes was very enriching and has reinforced our desire to attend university and to pursue careers in Physics (me) and Marine Biology (Mark). As a direct result of our time spent at the Oxbridge institutions we now look forward to beginning our own university journeys and all the potential possibilities they might offer.

we now look forward to beginning our own university journeys and all the potential possibilities they might offer

“”

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SCO Masterworks//As part of the Cumnock Tryst Music Festival pupils from St. Joseph’s went to Cumnock Academy to participate in an orchestral programme.

Arktis! Arktis!

St Joseph’s Academy was delighted to welcome two professional musicians from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to work with S4-S6 Music students on Tuesday 23rd September.

This project was part of the SCO’s Masterworks Project and this year focussed on the piece ‘Arktis! Arktis!’ by Karin Rehnqvist.

As a follow-up, the same group of pupils travelled to Cumnock Academy on Friday 3rd October to hear a full performance of the work as part of James MacMillan’s new music festival – ‘The Cumnock Tryst’

Ruairidh Heron (S4) describes his experience:

Following a workshop where we were introduced to the many compositional methods and techniques which Karin Rehnqvist used to compose her piece ‘Arktis! Arktis!’ we travelled to Cumnock Academy where we were joined by pupils from other East Ayrshire schools and were given a detailed presentation on each of the movements by Paul Rissmann (Music Animateur).

He was able to highlight the important features of the music with short, live examples played by the orchestra. After a short break, we heard the full piece in all its grandeur.

It was much easier to become part of the performance as we had a clearer understanding of how this piece had been constructed and the emotions the composer was trying to highlight.

In retrospect, the sheer power of the all the instruments is what gave the score its most awe-inspiring character.

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service through faith//Mr. Sikora, Principal Teacher of Religious Education, reflects on a number of initiatives that have showcased the leadership, service and character of our young people. This includes the forty four pupils undertaking Caritas and those who continue to support our partnership in Ecuador.

The first pupils to take up the challenge of the

SCIAF Talented Fundraisers pilot programme have really stepped up to the mark.

Based on the parable of the talents pupils have to take money given to the school by SCIAF and used their own talents to raise funds for SCIAF.

Ellis and Leigh Dunnachie took £20 of the £50 given to the school by SCIAF and made tablet and along with Michaelah McCluskey they sold it in the local parish and in the school.

Like the good and faithful servants of the parable they turned their £20 into £110 giving us a clear profit of £90.

This now opens up the opportunity for many other pupils to set up fundraising projects of their own.

Hopefully by Christmas when the pilot scheme comes to a close we will have pushed that total considerably higher.

..................................................................................

Let’s do this next one by the numbers.

360 guests

18 Caritas pupils

10 sponsors

1 very enjoyable night at Celtic Park and…

£17,000 raised for the Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust.

For 5 years now St. Joseph’s Academy has worked extremely closely with the Trust set up by our chaplain, Fr. Martin Chambers, as a legacy of his work in Ecuador. Over those years we have taken two trips to Ecuador and arranged a return visit for students from Ecuador to Scotland.

Last Friday night was just the latest in a long line of collaborative activities between the Trust and the school.

The aim was to raise sufficient funds to allow the completion of a long-delayed first floor classroom in our sister school, Sagrada Familia de Nazaret. It now looks very likely that work will soon be able to start on this vital project.

Friday night’s fundraiser was supported very ably by our S6 Caritas pupils who welcomed guests, escorted them to their tables, helped sell raffle tickets, collected money and generally helped ensure that guests had an enjoyable evening and that everything went smoothly.

Mr. Joseph Sikora our PT of R.E. who is a trustee for Fr. Martin’s charity and also the school’s Caritas coordinator, said: “So many people stopped me to compliment our students and to congratulate them on their conduct, politeness, good humour and helpfulness. They really did the school proud on Friday.

“The pupils gave up their Friday night to help a very worthy cause and they did it extremely well.”

The pupils signed off their evening at the fundraiser by performing the Macarena to the delight of the guests. There can be little doubt that the tremendous generosity of those at the fundraiser

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It was a very joyful event which the young people were delighted to attend...Feedback from students and staff has been nothing short of overwhelming regarding the Caritas Social. The kids appear to have had a ball. Special thanks has to go to St Joseph's for their efforts in organising things and in particular Mr Sikora

“”

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was boosted by the generosity shown by the students of St. Joseph’s. (picture below)

.................................................................................

Over 100 Caritas Award pupils from across the

diocese met at St Joseph’s Academy for the first time last Tuesday.

This was their chance to meet and talk about their Caritas year, exchange ideas and get to know one another.

Students from Queen Margaret Academy, Ayr; St. Joseph’s College, Dumfries; and St. Matthew’s Academy, Saltcoats arrived around 2.00 pm for an afternoon of discussion, followed by a ceilidh.After opening with the Caritas prayer the pupils had a few ice-breaking games to mix things up before settling down to reflect on one of the main Caritas themes ‘Who is my neighbour?’

They listened to the parable of the Good Samaritan and discussed its relevance to their own lives and particularly to their Caritas activities. After that they

exchanged ideas for different things that can be done as part of their 20/20 – 20 hours of school voluntary work and 20 hours of parish and community work.

Next up was the ceilidh in the school games hall. With a bit of tutoring from staff soon all the pupils were up and dancing with people they had met only a hour earlier.

A quick break for some Domino’s Pizza and then back into the hall for another hour of highland workout.

The whole thing was finished off with a few words from Fr. Stephen McGrattan who extended an invitation to all the Caritas pupils to come together again for the annual Youth Forum to be held in November at Queen Margaret Academy, Ayr.Fr. Mark Kelly, the Diocesan R.E. Adviser said: “I was hugely impressed with the participation, energy and enthusiasm at yesterday’s Caritas social”.

And Mrs Kirsty Hayes who had come up from Dumfries with her students e-mailed to say: “Just wanted to say yesterday was great and the kids loved it. Thank you so much.”

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on the field//PE teacher Mr. Howson writes about the teams, trophies, trials and tremendous achievements of young people in sport and in the PE and Health and Wellbeing faculty.

This has been This year we are looking to go

bigger and better by offering even more opportunities for our young people to be involved in extracurricular programmes. After a very successful football campaign last year we now run 3 football teams catering to all ages and stages throughout St Joseph’s Academy. We have introduced a new Under 15 basketball team, an Under 14 netball team as well as inviting all staff and pupils to our increasingly popular multi-sports ‘Wicked Wednesdays’.

FootballTo kick off the season, our Under 18 squad continued with their winning ways away to last year’s Scottish Shield Semi finalists, St Ninian’s High School (Giffnock).

St Joseph’s enforced their dominance on the game early on however with the match at a stalemate for 20 minutes, a long ball from St Ninian’s defence wasn’t dealt with well from our players, landing at the feet of St Ninian’s number 9 before his right footed strike found the bottom corner of Conor Shearer’s goal. The whistle was blown, 1-0 down at half time, most certainly against the run of play.

The players, as so many times before, displayed excellent character and commitment to take the game to their opponents in the second half and with a lofty corner lifted high above the St Ninian’s defence 10 minutes after half time, the ever reliable Luke Shearer found himself in the 18 yard box, adjusting to find space, his strike gave the oppositions ‘keeper no opportunity and brought the result to 1-1, no more than the boy’s deserved at this point. Changes were called from both sides with instrumental striker Josh Rodgers coming off the bench for St Joseph’s Academy to provide a much needed physicality up front. Possession remained with our U18’s, some lovely passes and

excellent team work earning the team high praise from the spectators.

Then, with 15 minutes left play, Josh Rodgers height paid dividends as an accurate cross from Patrick Hamill from the left side found the head of Josh in the 18 yard box making it 2-1 to the Joe’s. A relentless Joe’s sensed the game was there for the taking and with 5 minutes to play a strong run down the left hand side of the pitch drew defenders wide, in doing so it provided prolific number 9 Conner McMillan with the space to open his body to the cut back from Rodgers. He then slotted the ball in to St Ninian’s net.

A 3-1 win against an excellent side was a fantastic way to start the season and set our boys up perfectly for their round 1 of the Scottish Shield match versus Dumfries Academy.

Match 2 of the season came against Dumfries Academy in Round 1 of the Senior Scottish Shield. On a day when our squad was depleted with injuries, the Under 18 team had to battle hard to progress into round 2 of the season’s most prestigious competition.

The match started brightly in what proved to be a very physical test. St Joseph’s laid down their intentions from the off when energetic full back Joao Luis drove strongly down the right hand side of the pitch before unleashing a powerful right footed shot that rifled off the cross bar.

Our squad maintained pressure on Dumfries Academy with Regan Ross, Patrick Hamill, Stephen Campbell and Sean Sweeney dominating the midfield. Plenty of touches on the ball and defence cutting passes finally found the feet of Conner McMillan who took his scoring tally to 2 in 2 games by calmly side footing the ball underneath the ‘keeper. Much of the same continued, hard challenges, some excellent passes and numerous

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chances saw St Joseph’s take the upper hand with goal 2 coming courtesy of number 9 Conner McMillan again, who beat the offside trap and demonstrated composure in front of the goal to make it 2-0. However, with their backs up, Dumfries began to dig in and following a deep corner to our back post, Dumfries central midfielder was clumsily challenged in the box resulting in a penalty, converted confidently by their captain. Following a fast paced first half the result sat at 2-1 St Joseph’s Academy. ..................................................................................

St Joseph’s winning mentality, always an ever present, began to build pressure

..................................................................................

The second half started much like first when Josh Rodgers took his opportunity comfortably in the box making it 3-1, however this lead lasted minutes as Dumfries were awarded their second penalty of the game following a clash with our powerful ‘keeper Conor Shearer. It was converted by their captain, 3-2 the score and the match well and truly up for grabs for both teams.

Nevertheless, St Joseph’s winning mentality, always an ever present, began to build pressure in the box of Dumfries Academy. A tired challenge from the Dumfries defenders provided the Joe’s with the opportunity to extend their lead with a penalty. Central midfielder Regan Ross stepped up and a decisive right footed strike into the bottom corner of the net reinstated the 2 goal advantage before Josh Rodgers doubled his individual tally for the game making it 5-2 to St Joseph’s Academy. The team progress to round 2 of the Scottish Shield versus local rivals Auchinleck Academy.

Mr Wilson led our new Under 16 (S3 & S4) team into their first game of the season. Following two hard fought trials involving 30 boys competing for a place in squad, the team was formed for the match and the game got underway.

The team showed a great deal of potential with striker Ross Cameron scoring twice for the Joe’s along with Blair Gallagher and Grant McIntyre each scoring. The match finished 4-1 with an excellent,

composed performance from Bailey McClung earning him Man of the Match.

The Under 16’s now go into their Scottish Shield Match versus Largs Academy hoping for progression to round 3.

Finally, our Under 14 team (S1 & S2) go into their first match of the season against Grange Academy on Wednesday 8th October. The squad are looking forward to the match and we are hoping for 3 points to kick off their season. News to follow…

Ayrshire Cross Country ChampionshipsIt was that time of year again where the endurance runners of the school got their opportunity to shine. In a competitive cross country block the top 7 performers for each year group, boys and girls were selected based on their times after completing 2, 3 or 4 laps of the playing fields.

The runners selected were then taken to the Magnum leisure centre to compete in the Ayrshire Cross Country Championships. An ever challenging competition saw great runs from the likes of Scott Dipiazza, James Johnson, Blair Gallagher and many more.

The event is attended by all schools from across Ayrshire however it was St Joseph’s who made quite the impression by having the largest competing team of all the schools.

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The level of attendance and effort was exceptional from our athletes and goes to show what hardworking, determined pupils we have here at St Joseph’s

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A total of 69 talented young people volunteered to compete and represent the school, this was the largest attending school. The level of attendance and effort was exceptional from our athletes and

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goes to show what hardworking, determined pupils we have here at St Joseph’s.

Netball and Basketball Teams

We at St Joseph’s have a very talented cohort of basketball players and following their unwavering attendance at last year’s basketball club, an under 15 squad has been formed.

The team who will train every Wednesday are to be led by Mr Howson and Mr Boyle. Their first match will be away to Largs Academy on Thursday 9th October. As the season progresses, the team will have opportunities to attend festivals and various competitions. Watch this space for the progress of the team…

An additional new team to our ever growing range of sporting opportunities is our Under 14 (S1 & S2) Netball team. Mrs Parker will lead the squad for the season with lunch time practice days to be confirmed. Hopefully, this will be a very successful year for St Joseph’s Academy.

Wicked Wednesday

Fancy taking part in something more recreational? Not looking for competition but just a fun space to explore different sporting activities? Then ‘Wicked Wednesday’ is must for our pupils.

After school on Wednesday, 3:30-4:45pm we are experiencing an ever growing attendance at our multi-sports club. We offer Rock Climbing, Dodgeball, Rugby, Basketball, Football, Dance and soon to be Table Tennis, for all staff and pupils. It is an opportunity for our youngsters to join together in a fun and engaging environment where they can experience a range of sports.

However, if sport is not your first choice we also offer a cup cake club led in our Home Economics department.

Active Girls Day

As the buzz for ‘St Joseph’s does Strictly’ intensifies, Friday 3rd October saw 130 girls from S1-S6 attend the PE Departments ‘Active Girls Day’.

The day allowed girls to receive expert dance support on the Jazz, Rhumba, Salsa and Cha Cha. It was certainly a great day for all involved with all the participants learning something new, and Mrs Parker and Mrs Shaw sneaking in an extra dance lesson before the big competition.

Department Twitter

In aid of the busy extra-curricular programmer we offer and the want to improve communication between pupils, parents and staff the Health and Wellbeing Department (PE & HE) has launched its very own departmental Twitter page.

Twitter is an information network made up of 140 character messages called ‘tweets’. Tweets are posted in real time to allow us as quick way to disseminate information to everyone.

To see the tweets access www.twitter.com and search for @StJosephsHWB (no account is required). Due to current mobile phone technology twitter can be viewed from virtually anywhere and if you do sign up for a twitter account and ‘follow’ @St JosephsHWB you will be able to adjust your settings to receive alerts when new tweets are posted.

The Department twitter page will be used for a number of purposes. These include:

Announcements/Reminders for individual classes, year groups, all pupils

Reminders/announcements about Exams, tests and homework

Information regarding issuing of reports

Parents’ nights, information evenings and events

We will be celebrating Successes and Achievements:

Academic

Sporting

Community involvement

We will be notifying pupils about School Trips:

Messages to let parents know of safe arrival

Updates during time away

Accurate arrival time on return

We hope to Enhance Teaching and Learning:

Following and interacting with people/organisations of educational interest to enhance teaching and learning.

Links to websites of educational interest

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health and wellbeing//Our senior phase provision is greatly enhanced this year with the introduction of a challenging and stimulating health and wellbeing class for S5/6 pupils where they can reflect on the issues that really matter. Here we publish two of their recent essays.

Influences and Effects

Shannon Laird

There are many different types of influences and many different people who can influence you, Starting off with the obvious, friends; friends have a big influence in the way you act, speak, dress, what you listen tom how you perceive situations, and many more ways: - these influences can be good or bad but most cases seen and heard of it is bad.

Peer pressure is the main influence in a young person’s life, it could be drinking, smoking, doing drugs or missing school to go hang out at your parents’ house. There’s another influence, parents. Parents are there to encourage young people and guide them through difficult times and help them make the right decisions in life.

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In the end, influence comes with two options: avoid or allow? We have minds of our own

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Depending on how mature and responsible your parents are, some may also be a bad influence, telling their kids to just do as they please because it’s their life.

Media plays a massive role in the influence of any person, despite age: seeing size 0 models, wearing the latest Gucci handbags and Victoria Beckham sunglasses. We strive to be equal, to be portrayed as beautifully as the models who are mere skin and bones. Magazines with celebrities in their not-so-covering swimwear, exposing their toned body with sun kissed skin and flawless facial features. We, the public, are influenced.

Want to be as skinny as this model? Hit the gym! Oh, it isn’t working for you? Insecurity is always an option, want some depression on the side also with those child bearing hips.

None of us can be perfect, everyone has their flaws and no one cane please every human on this planet but we still feel the need to give it a go anyway, despite the fact that we’re hiding our true selves from these people who do nothing but judge others for fun.

In the end, influence comes with two options: avoid or allow? We have minds of our own. Are your friends threatening to leave you if you don’t smoke this cigarette with them? Then let them leave. Are your friends encouraging you to stay on in school and get the best out of life?

Are all the girls in your year size 8’s and going to prom in the nice slim dresses? Wear what you want, what you feel comfortable in and at the end of the day, you’ll always be beautiful to someone, if not yourself.

Have faith in the decisions you make and don’t blame others for their decisions. Live life knowing you won’t regret a single choice you’ve made because everyone makes mistakes, but they’re mistakes you’ve made with your own mind.

Influences and Effects

Sarah Kelly

Many groups and individuals can influence us in the decisions we make and the views we hold. There groups and individuals can range from parents, to friends, teachers, to media outlets. Day-in-day-out, the people around us possess the

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ability to influence our decision making and our perspectives.

Friends are obviously some of the most influential people when it comes to the behaviour of a person and never more so are friends at such a focal point of our lives than when we are teenagers.

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It would be naïve to assume that friends are synonymous with bad behaviour and pushing the boundaries

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Friends can influence us to go out and drink or smoke and take drugs. However, it would be naïve to assume that friends are synonymous with bad behaviour and pushing the boundaries. Friends also help us come out of our shell, be open and be honest. If it weren’t for our friends then who would we be able to turn to, and share experiences with? But why are friends just so influential?

In my opinion these are a range of reasons as to why friends can become such a prominent force in determining who we are. Mostly, I believe it comes down to a teenager’s innate need to fit in.

Teenagers are often struggling to become their own person, so they become everyone else. And although this may seem futile and perhaps dangerous, it subsequently allows for a young person to “belong” or feel secure – something that must never be underestimated or overbooked.

Additionally, parents and carers hold a list of influences over the social and mental development of a young person. Parents, carers or guardians raise us. They teach us how to walk, talk and think.

Speaking from personal experience, I hold similar views on the world of my parents. Many may say this is all down to genetics, but ultimately it must be our environment. If it were not for my parents, I would not study, I would not come to school clean and I would not be able to deal with day to day life.

The negative, of course, of a parent having too much influence is that they may live vicariously through their child, completely eradicating a child’s opportunity even possibly to become their own person.

However, in my opinion, a parent’s influence is almost always (in my experience) positive. Having someone there, who has far more life experience, guiding you in decision making is extremely important.

And finally, the media’s influence over people cannot be underestimated. TV’s, newspapers and social media all hold great power in influencing us. In a positive sense, media allow us to hear facts quickly and allow us to form our own opinions regarding various world lives. However, media can be dangerous,

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The negative, of course, of a parent having too much influence is that they may live vicariously through their child

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Newspaper’s essentially do not care about what they print – they care about money, and subsequently will print radical stories to get people angry or interested. For example, the Daily Mail often has stories about immigration or foreign people. The by-product of this is racial hatred and an increased amount of Islam phobia.

So, although the media has some influence, we must be wary that what we read and believe is there for our benefit, or for the benefit of the Newspaper.

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sri lanka connections//An innovative learning experience for all S2 and S3 pupils will lead to them achieving the John Muir Discovery Award and linking with our British Council partner school in Sri Lanka. Lead teacher Mrs. Fulton from the Social Subjects department explains the project’s progress.

This year pupils in the S2 and the S3 Citizenship class are working with our Connecting Classrooms partner school, Holy Trinity

College, in Sri Lanka on a joint project with the aim of gaining the John Muir Award for pupils in both schools. St Joseph’s pupils started the project in August with lessons on local Scottish birds and flowers but Holy Trinity College were introduced to it during Mrs Fulton’s second visit to their school in September.

Pupils are seen here showing off their Osprey masks that they made during their first lesson on Scottish birds. The Sri Lankan pupils will be studying flowers, birds and wild animals in their local area. They will then identify a wild space to which they can attract birds and wild animals by providing food and habitats for them.

Similarly our pupils have located a wild area at the back of the school where a feeding station has been set up and is maintained (to the left, some of the S3 pupils with the feeding station).

On completion of the project the schools will swap presentations thereby learning about each other’s local wild flora and fauna which will, of course, be very different in the two countries. The Sri Lankan pupils were very excited at the prospect of gaining the same award as pupils from St Joseph’s and were keen to start their project.

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Thank you for your generous gift of a multimedia projector. Your willingness to help makes all the difference to your pupils. Thank you to your pupils and staff for being so thoughtful and kind

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senior awards ceremony//

The impact of Curriculum for Excellence was clear at the first Senior Phase Awards ceremony held on September 11th with guest speaker Mark Bennett, rugby international and former pupil.

In September St. Joseph's Academy celebrated the

considerable achievements of pupils in S4, 5 and 6.  This included the first year group to sit the new National Qualifications (National 3 - 5) and what a night it was.  The evening opened with and introduction and welcome by Head Boy, Daniel Johnston and Head Girl Sarah Kelly which set the tone for the evening - the pupils led the way.  

The guest speaker was former pupil and Glasgow Warriors and Scotland rugby international Mark Bennett who gave an entertaining speech about his time at St. Joseph’s that ranged from recollections about homework completed at the back of the bus to the unexpected value of his French teacher’s instruction. 

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It was touching to hear from the three pupils who looked back on their years at St Joseph’s and talked about the opportunities they had taken

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Thereafter, we heard from a range of musicians and speakers who showcased the range of talent in St. Joseph’s Academy.  It was touching to hear from the three pupils who looked back on their years at St Joseph’s and talked about the opportunities they had taken and the way these and their wider learning and

been influential in developing their skills, values and knowledge. 

As a celebration of the success of Curriculum for Excellence at St. Joseph’s, which has sought to be an innovative and forward-thinking school, it couldn’t have been a better evening.  A record number of S4 pupils received awards for academic excellence and for their effort, character and contribution to the community. 

Amongst the S5 and S6 cohorts there was a celebration of some of the school’s best ever results at all levels, as well as recognition of their service through the Caritas Award and a variety of special awards. 

One of the many highlights of the event was the presentation of five Pride of St. Joseph’s Awards.  These are given each year (for the past three years) to pupils who have made an exceptional contribution to the school having overcome an obstacle or challenge.  Each award was accompanied by a written celebration of the pupil and these were both moving and uplifting. 

The evening was very well attended by parents and carers and captured the full range of successes and talents of the pupils, the dedication of the staff and, most important of all, the values for which the school stands.

Pupils take centre stage

One of the pupils who spoke at the ceremony was Louise Hanlon, S4. Her speech is reprinted below.

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There’s a story that I heard a while back which really spoke to me.

It’s about a young man beginning to start to experience life as an adult and all he wants to do is be successful. He is desperate for success. That’s all he want outs of life. So one day he comes across a very successful businessman, who is very good at his job, he makes a lot of money and has a family of his own and they all live in this huge house that he has clearly worked very hard throughout his life to have and he goes to him. “I want to be on the same level as you are.” And straight away the businessman replies, “You want to be successful? Meet me at the beach tomorrow at 5am.” So the young man’s surprised. He says, “The beach? I want to be successful, I don’t want to swim.” The businessman replies again, “You want to make money you meet me at the beach tomorrow.”

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I thought about how much I wanted to be successful and how badly I wanted to achieve good grades. From then on I put in the most effort I could

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So the next day the young man gets up at 5am and goes to the beach to meet this guy in his best suit thinking, “This is it. This guy will teach me how to be successful.” He meets the business man and he asks him “How badly do you want to be successful?” And the young man replies “I would do anything.” The old man says, “Walk out into the water.” At first he’s thinking, “This guy’s crazy,” but he goes in anyway to about his waist.

The young guy repeats again, “Look I want to make money, I don’t want to swim.” So the old man says, “Come out a little further.” So out he goes and the water’s about up to his shoulders and he’s thinking, “This guy is out of his mind I’m about to go straight back out.” The businessman says, “I thought you wanted to be successful?” He replies, “I do.” So the

old guy tells him to come out further, so he does, he goes out further and the businessman grabs his head underwater and holds it down.

The young man is kicking and scratching, but he still holds him down and just before he is about to pass out he finally lifts him up out of the water. The businessman says, “I’ve got a question for you. When you were underwater, what did you want to do the most?”

The young man says, “I wanted to breathe.”

“When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe then you will be successful.”

When I found this story on a YouTube video it was a few months ago, just at the start of study leave. It was one of those days I just couldn’t be bothered and I believed I had deserved a wee break so I sort of got lost in YouTube, finding every possible reason to procrastinate and I came across the video about the story and about being successful. It literally did make me think. And I kid you not, my attitude towards studying and the 4th year exams completely changed. I shut down the laptop and picked the pen right back up.

I thought about how much I wanted to be successful and how badly I wanted to achieve good grades. From then on I put in the most effort I could, my wall was literally covered from top to bottom in different notes every week. I had my own technique, however every time I went into an exam, I doubted my knowledge, I didn’t believe that I had done enough even though I had prepared all I could, and I’m sure many other of the 4th, 5th and 6th years felt the exact same way and lacked in the ability to believe we had done a good job. After the exams were finished there was slight relief but from that moment until the 5th of August I carried around this bag of anxiety and fear for that envelope, that one piece of paper with its 5 or 6 letters.

Everyone has done exceptionally well in the exams and throughout 4th, 5th and 6th year and its evident in these awards we received and in that piece of paper we were all feart to look at.

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ocean youth trust//

On the 1st of September we headed off to James Watt Dock in

Greenock, writes Ainsleigh Rorison. Seven pupils from this school and one from Auchinleck Academy all went on a sailing trip on Alba Enduvour for five days.

Ainsleigh Rorison, Courtney McDowell, Arryanna O’Neill, Jade Gillingham, Sophie McRobert, Declan Wilson, Justin Murphy and Hamish White all spent an arduous week learning about the mainsail, how to clean a boat, how to steer a boat, how to send in a traffic report to Belfast coastguard and more.

On the sailing trip we cleaned the boat everyday for an hour. We woke up at 7:00am if we were making breakfast and woke up at 7:15am if we didn’t. We went from Greenock to Holy Loch on the first day. On the second day we went from Holy Loch to near Millport where Alba Explorer broke down we ended up at Rothesay . On the third day we went from Rothesay to East Loch Tarbert, where we got to stand on solid ground for the first time since Greenock and we finally got a shower. At East Loch Tarbert we went to the castle and we had played dodgeball with Ian and Callum, our watch leaders. I was in the epic team (red team).

We got split up into two watches, writes Arryanna O’Neill. We were also responsible for cleaning, cooking, helping with sailing and looking-out.

I really enjoyed this trip because I feel that it brought me closer to my friends and helped me make a few new friends. My favourite part of the trip was all the games we played after the boat was parked up for the night, the different games were the jelly game where we had to try to eat a full tub of jelly just with our mouths and the chocolate game where we had to put a small piece of chocolate on our forehead and try and get it into our mouth without touching it even though the chocolate started to melt on our head so by the end our faces were covered in it.

There were a few things that I disliked, but it was still fun. The few things I disliked was that we only had one shower in the 5 days we were with the Ocean Youth Trust crew and that every day we had to get up early and have happy hour where we had to clean the full boat, the deck and the down stairs. We took it in turns to clean the deck and downstairs so one day one group would clean up stairs and the next we would clean the deck.

“”I really enjoyed this trip because I feel that it brought me closer to my friends and helped me make a few new friends

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S1 outward bound//Towards the end of September almost all S1 pupils enjoyed a week of outdoor learning with Outward Bound.

Our trip to the Outward Bound centre was so

fantastic - even the bus trip was great! Everybody was chatting and almost bursting with excitement about rafting. When we arrived I quickly changed my shoes and jumped out of the bus. We gathered on the grass and played team-building games. At first this was quite easy, but it gradually became more difficult as we were not allowed to communicate.

We were divided into teams of 6. Surprisingly, I found it easy to work with people I was unfamiliar with because we all just pulled together to complete each task. Next it was time for the orienteering task, my favourite part of which was sliding down a giant muddy hill! This task involved us being let loose in the woods and told to look for wooden squares with letters on them. My group were able to get all but one of the necessary letters so we decided to trade information with another group and were then able to succeed in the task. Our success meant we were given all the materials to make our raft.

After a quick carry on over lunch, we began to build our raft. It was a great laugh and seeing everyone kitted out in their wetsuits was truly entertaining! Having completed our raft we had to come up with a name for it and finally decided on Titanic (perhaps setting ourselves up to fail?) Sure enough, as the name might suggest, we started to sink, so my team mate got out and started to paddle. The outward bound day was a great experience and has given me many fantastic memories. I would honestly do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Emma Watson

Going on the Outward Bound trip we learned many

skills such as map reading and raft building. But before we could do any of that we had to learn how to work as part of a team.

Working in a team is harder than it looks! We had to concentrate on a ball but at the same time we had to communicate with our team. This process got harder when our team leader, Amanda, added more balls.

Orienteering was a great experience. We divided our team to have a better chance of winning the task. We had to climb up hills to try to find wooden signs with numbers and letters on them. We did this in preparation for the next challenge which was raft building.

Lunch was fun and we had a laugh but then it was time to get building our rafts to see if they would float on the water. we learned how to do a 3D knot. My team was called The Dream Team. We sat on our spaces and went out to the river and raced the rafts.

I loved the whole day and if I had the chance I would go for it again.

Shannon Neilson

Our Outward Bound trip was amazing! Everyone

was so excited. When we arrived we were told what would be involved and then got started on some team-building games before being split into teams of 6, Then we walked to the woods to start our orienteering challenge.

In this challenge we had to find different posts with letters on them. If we didn’t find all the letters then we’d lose parts necessary to build our rafts. Fortunately my team found all their letters!

After having fun over the lunch, we started on building our rafts. The leaders showed us how to tie a certain knot, then we put planks in a square shape and tied them together. Finally, we tied barrels onto the planks to complete our raft.

After getting into our lifejackets and helmets, we got on our rafts and paddled. Before I knew it we were ready to go back to school. It was the best experience and I’d love to do it again.

Katie Howie

“”I would honestly do it all over again in a heartbeat

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art and design trip//

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On the 16th of September a group of excitable, artsy fourth years took the journey of a lifetime: TO PERTH! After an incredibly long bus trip (like, two hours) the still excitable yet groggy teens arrived at the Alison Watt Art Exhibition and were astounded by her skilful use of tone and texture in her paintings.

They then travelled to the magical land of Falkirk where they met the Duke and Barron: the two largest equestrian structures in Europe (otherwise known as ‘The Kelpies’). After a guided tour, pupils had a brief ‘selfie marathon’ with the Kelpies and narrowly missed out on playing on what looked like the most magnificent play park ever. However, we trudged back to the bus where we waited in anticipation for the amazing Mrs Pyott to bring us a much appreciated gift … Kelpie car stickers! The weary travellers then headed home to rest in preparation for school the following day.

Hannah Iles and Madeleine Jessop

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great scottish run//On the weekend of October 4th and 5th pupils, staff and parents from St. Joseph’s Academy joined over 30,000 competitors to participate in the Great Scottish Run.

On the Saturday a group of junior runners participated in the 2.5K race, cheered on the cold and rain by a large crowd and started by Haille Selassie. On the Sunday, over forty of us ran the 10k, some for the first time, others chasing dreams of a personal best.

The fastest teacher was Mr. Brogan, the fastest parent was Mr. Campbell and the fastest pupil was Aidan Tonner. The group was running to raise funds for three charities very close to our hearts: Cancer Research, SAMH and the British Heart Foundation.

It was an excellent and uplifting occasion that showed all that is great about the school. Enjoy the pictures on these pages.

Opposite: the 10k runners before muscles began to seize up and things began to hurt; below, the 2.5k runners fresh from their triumph; left some young supporters cheer us on.

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personal development//Pupils in S6 are currently undertaking a Personal Development course. This is a Higher than encourages them to learn about themselves, reflect on and develop their leadership skills and undertake a variety of challenging projects. Already this session the pupils have organised and ran a day of fundraising activities for younger pupils. Here, two of the pupils showcase their self-analysis.

Nicole Rowney

As part of the personal development course, I have used two techniques to examine my strengths and areas for development. The first technique used was the Johari’s Windows personality test – this is used to learn about yourself with the feedback of others. The second technique used was the Myers Briggs personality test – a survey (that I completed electronically) answering questions to find out about your inner personality.

The Johari Window model was devised by American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955 and is a simple and useful tool for illustrating and improving self-awareness and mutual understanding between individuals within a group. The Johari Window is based on a four-square grid - like a window with four 'panes' and a choice of 56 adjectives. The grid splits into four different categories: “the open box” that features characteristics known to yourself and to others, “the blind box” that features characteristics known to others but not to yourself, “the hidden box” featuring characteristics known to yourself but not to others and finally, “the unknown box” that includes characteristics not know to yourself or to others. I picked 12 adjectives that I felt described me best, and paired up with someone who didn’t know me too well who then picked another 8 words. We then compared the adjectives we had selected, and the words we picked in common were inserted into the open box. The words I had chosen but my partner hadn’t were then inserted into the hidden box. Lastly the words that my partner chose and I did not were inserted into the blind box as these were characteristics other people noticed about me, but I have never noticed about myself. Users of Johari’s Windows will achieve two aspects: understanding yourself, your goals,

intentions, responses and behaviour and understanding others, and their feelings.

The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive themselves and make decisions. The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people's lives. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behaviour is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment.

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The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behaviour is actually quite orderly and consistent

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The best reason to choose the MBTI instrument to discover your personality type is that hundreds of studies over the past 40 years have proven the instrument to be valid and reliable. In other words, it measures what it says it does (validity) and produces the same results when given more than once (reliability). When you want an accurate profile of your personality type, ask if the instrument you plan to use has been validated. It aims to classify how individuals view the world through a questionnaire and categorising people based on four different dichotomies.

Each technique has their advantages and their disadvantages. Johari’s Windows allows a person to

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understand how other people see them, lets others understand how you see yourself and also shows you the areas of yourself that you need to adapt. However, Johari’s Windows can only be successful if you pair up with someone who doesn’t know you too well – this would add problems as you tend to act differently with people you are closer to than you would with someone you barely know or only know in a professional environment – but the person has to know you well enough to actually recognise certain aspects of your personality. An advantage to Myers Briggs is that it allows you to look in depth at your personality and understand yourself more thoroughly than Johari’s Windows allows you to. However, some people might not understand the wording or the concept of the question they are being asked, so may just press any random answer instead of one that actually reflects their personality which is not an accurate representation.

I chose to focus more on Myers Briggs as I didn’t feel Johari’s Windows represented me accurately. I hoped to achieve a thorough understanding of myself by using Myers Briggs and that’s exactly what I achieved as I felt the results I obtained suited my personality perfectly. I ruled out Johari’s Windows as I felt that the answers that returned to me were wrong and didn’t sound like me at all.

Ross Dainert

Two techniques we used to determine your personality are Johari’s Windows and Myers Briggs. These techniques are used to help an individual to understand who they are to a much fuller extent and to identify adjectives that you and others identify yourself with. These techniques are useful as you are able to learn more about yourself and potentially change yourself to become a better person.

The technique that can be used to find out more about yourself as an individual is a method called “Johari’s Windows”. This technique requires you to state a set of adjectives about yourself, and then allow another person – usually a person who knows you well – to list another list of adjectives about you. When completed, the words are placed into different categories. Adjectives that both the user and the person helping chose are placed in the “Open” category – stating that everyone knows these characteristics. The “Hidden” box shows stuff you know but others don’t and then the “Blind” box is used for characteristics that you don’t know and others know. The fourth window, “Unknown” is never filled in, as it states it is for characteristics that

you and others do not know. This technique helps the person identify their flaws in their personality so they can reflect on and rectify those flaws.

Another technique that can be used is the “Myers Briggs” personality test. This requires the user to answer a number of personality questions on a scale from “strongly disagree – strongly agree”. After the user has completed this, 4 letters as an acronym is produced, (such as ENFJ). The Myers Briggs method helps a person to comprehend what kind of personality an individual has at a very descriptive level, further describing how they feel, who they will love, what career path they will take and daily habits in their place of work. This method is highly useful to identify a sound and detailed depiction of yourself and it can also help them to rectify flaws in their personality.

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These techniques are useful as you are able to learn more about yourself and potentially change yourself to become a better person

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The techniques have their strong points and flaws. Johari’s Windows may provide a blunt and straightforward understanding, but its adjectives are rather limited – and the task is only best completed with a person who knows you relatively well, which is mostly not the case. There are also 4 windows, with only being filled in and the “unknown” box becoming irrelevant. Nevertheless, it is a very easy process to complete and the results are simple and easy to comprehend.

The Myers Briggs method is an extremely detailed analysis – but takes longer and is harder to complete. Some of the questions are rather complicated and hard to comprehend, and it is quite hard to decide if you want to strongly agree or not with a particular question. The test gives very good answers however, being very in depth. Although the bigger answers are good, they can be described to be as “rambling” and also very tedious to process. Some information is also very irrelevant and does not really matter to the user.

I personally, chose to use the Myers Briggs method as I felt the information offered a much more detailed perception and better relevance. I enjoyed answering the personal questions as it challenged my mind to conjure up answers that I very rarely asked myself or even considered for that matter.

“”

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mary is cream of ayrshire//

We were very proud of new pupil Mary McInnes (S5) who, just before we broke up for October Week, was crowned Young Entrepreneur at the West FM Cream of Ayrshire Awards. Although a full-time pupil here, her passion is to eventually enter into a career of fashion and design. Being an enthusiastic young woman, Mary put herself forward voluntarily to take part in the tenner challenge which is a nationwide competition to find the next up and coming entrepreneur. Her challenge was to make as much profit as possible from £10 given the time scale of one month. Her achievements can be viewed by visiting http://www.tenner.org.uk/tenner-news/post/the-tenner-wedding-business. Further to the tenner challenge Mary observed a gap in the market. With excited brides to be visiting her workshop along with their little flower girls whom were desperate to be little princesses for the day, Mary took it upon herself to create special princess dresses tailored to their favourite princess. When advertised on the MaryMac Creation Facebook page, orders for specific dresses soon came flooding in and as a result, often hasto close her order book. Mary has continued to grow her business. From having real life princesses deliver the dress, to hosting exceptional and outstanding kid’s parties. Please log on to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Mac-Creations/1474120379467447?fref=ts for further information. As a result Mary is now registered with Companies House, has the relevant public liability insurance, holds a PVG and is first aid trained. More significantly she offers employment opportunities to two family members and six teenagers. Her older sister says: ‘She is an inspiration to all young people and I, at the age of 30 look up to my little sister.’

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learning community news//What’s the most important thing about St. Joseph’s Academy? Easy. It is being a Catholic school. Central to that is our relationship with the primary schools in our learning community.

Our Primary 7 and S1 Mass of Welcome took place at the end of September on the same day as we celebrate the European Day of Languages.

Pupils from all schools in the Learning Community attended Mass at St. Matthewʼs Church, said by Father Chambers. He encouraged the pupils to focus on the theme of community by referring to the mural in the church hall. The Mass was greatly enhanced by music provided by Head Boy Daniel Johnstone and by the bidding prayers offered in eight different languages by pupils from P7 to S6 (pictured below). It was also a nice surprise to see so many former pupils amongst the parishioner who joined us for Mass.

The Mass included a symbolic commitment to the learning community that was shown by the placing of six candles on the altar: one for each school in the community.

Once the Mass was completed the pupils returned to St. Josephʼs for a day of language themed activities that are the first stage in the transition process for the current P7 pupils. This was followed up later by visits to all the primary parentsʼ evenings by members of the St. Josephʼs senior management team and will also be built upon at the S1 Settling-In night to which all P7 parents are invited.

The P7 pupils had an excellent morning and also enjoyed staying for lunch. Highlights included singing the Hokey-Cokey in Gaelic and participating in the Modern Languages treasure hunt.

We are all looking forward to the next instalment of transition activities.

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Life is what you make it. All great achievements

take time. Celebrate success - yours and other

people’s BE OPEN TO INSPIRATION love the things you

learn. love others unconditionally. enjoy peace

and quiet, seek it out from time to time THINK OF

OTHERS Accept yourself as you are. Everything you

do is important. Presume the best in people MAKE A

DIFFERENCE If you want to feel good, do good. We

have diversity in common - embrace it. Everyone is

welcome here MAKE YOUR MARK Ability is nothing

without opportunity. Open your heart, mind and

arms to new things. Seize opportunities. You are

responsible for yourself BE CURIOUS Questions lead

learning so ask good ones. No bird can soar on its

wings alone. Remember that we can all change and

grow INSPIRE AND TRANSFORM A good head and a good

heart are always a formidable combination.

Education is a conversation - so talk AIM HIGH A

change in attitude can save your life. Enjoy what

you do and pass on your passion TAKE PART

Adventure is the very essence of life. Smile -

e v e r y o n e l o o k s b e t t e r w h e n t h e y d o .

THIS IS SAINT JOSEPH’S.

W O R K I N G T O G E T H E R M A K E S G R E A T L E A R N I N G

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Saint Joseph’s AcademyTHIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT

Y Z

was invested as

House Vice-Captain

and, inspired by the example of Christ, St. Andrew and St. Joseph,promised before pupils, teachers, clergy and parents

to live out our shared Gospel values,

lead and serve others, demonstrate in all things our high standards and expectations

and work for the greater good of the school and its community

on this day the TWENTY-SEVENTH of SEPTEMBER in the year 2012.

Ben DavisActing Headteacher

Claire McInallyDepute Headteacher

FIDELIS JUSTUS PRUDENS

UU UUINSPIRE AND TRANSFORM

Saint Joseph’s AcademyGrassyards Rd

KilmarnockKA3 7SL

01563 526144

www.saintjosephsacademy.co.uk@StJoAcad (Twitter)

Acting Headteacher: Ben Davisben.davis@east-ayrshire.gov.uk