editor: jono mcdermott 6m brought to you by pressgang

15
Brought to you by Pressgang Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Our fantastic new Community School Campus continues to rise from the ground! The outline of the above picture can now be seen at Cromleybank as the support structure work is almost complete. The focus is now on fitting out classrooms, social areas and community spaces. The build is on schedule and the planned transfer from the existing Academy of August 2015 continues to be our focus date. We will of course be organising tours for parents and members of the community once the build is complete. As you will see later on in this newsletter our pupils are very much at the heart of the development and their input has made a significant difference to the design and content of the Community School. We look forward to next year when we can finally transfer to the stunning new campus! Tim McKay, Rector

Upload: others

Post on 24-May-2022

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

Brought to you by PressgangEditor: Jono McDermott 6M

Our fantastic new Community School Campus continues to rise from the ground! The outlineof the above picture can now be seen at Cromleybank as the support structure work is almostcomplete. The focus is now on fitting out classrooms, social areas and community spaces.The build is on schedule and the planned transfer from the existing Academy of August 2015continues to be our focus date. We will of course be organising tours for parents and membersof the community once the build is complete.

As you will see later on in this newsletter our pupils are very much at the heart of thedevelopment and their input has made a significant difference to the design and content of theCommunity School.

We look forward to next year when we can finally transfer to the stunning new campus!

Tim McKay, Rector

Page 2: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

As always, the Ellon Academy Talent Show was an enormous event,displaying our fantastic musicians, dancers and acrobats from across theschool. The toughest job lies with the judges, who have to choose awinner from our vast array of awesomeness!

This year, the Link Committee, who organise the event each year,decided to link with Stella’s Voice, a charity that provides shelter fororphans in Moldova, where poverty is a horrendous problem. To ourgreat honour, one of the orphans who was helped enormously by Stella’sVoice - Silvia Rosca - and the Director of Development, Mark Morgan,attended the Talent Show as guest judges.

Searching for love: EADC

Once the entertainment was over, the Link Committee continued the excitement, by presenting Markand Silvia with a cheque for £4000, enough money to provide a furnished room for four orphan girls inMoldova! This is a fantastic sum and will make a huge difference to the lives of many.

When the verdicts were declared, The Glass Monkeys won the battle of the bands, taking third place,while Lauren Kyle’s rendition of Bette Midler’s 1988 hit, Wind Beneath My Wings, earned her secondspot. Bethan Illingworth and Stewart Morrison’s stunning performance of Black and Gold earned themthe Talent Show trophy!

The show began with the EllonAcademy Cheerleading Group, settingthe sail for the wondrous surge of talentthat flowed from first year singer, EmilyRoss, to brother and sister Highlanddancing act, Andrew and Nicola Black.This year, we also boasted two brilliantbands, Appeal to Reason and The Glass

entertainment. 2013 winner, Kirsty Fraser, stepped back to become choreographer for the EllonAcademy Dance Group, as well as the S6 and Teachers’ dance, which kept the fun going throughoutthe Interval.

Monkeys, who rocked their respective hearts out for the audience’sPoser: Jono McDermott

To finish the evening, Silvia took to the stage to speak about herexperiences in Moldova and how Stella’s Voice has helped her. Every

face bore a smileas they eventuallyleft the hall, whileevery heart bore anew tender spot.The 2014 TalentShow has beeneternalised onDVD, edited byJono McDermott,released at Easter.

Winners All ‘Round: (left to right) Stewart,Bethan, Silvia, Mark

A fresh appeal:Appeal to Reason

Page 3: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

“How dost thou like this tune?”Kirsty Fraser and Oliver Murray

The players are ready!

A project led by school pupils to create iconic artwork for the new Ellon Academy CommunityCampus is starting to take shape.

School pupils are working towards the design of integrated artworks for the under-constructionschool and community campus in Ellon, and have been involving local residents in the process.In November last year the first artwork design, entitled “River of Words” was unveiled; acollection of handwritten thoughts and phrases from local people, inspired by the River Ythan,which will “flow” through the atrium separating the reception area and swimming pool of the newfacility.

Since then, artist Mary Bourne has been working with Ellon Academy pupils and AberdeenshireCouncil architects to get the design for the second artwork under way. This piece, entitled “Hand toHand”, will focus on the passing of local history through objects handed down from person toperson and will be located around the top floor balcony in the teaching block.

Pupils visited Aberdeenshire Council’s Museum Archives in Mintlaw in December to selectsignificant artefacts with a connection with Ellon or the North-East of Scotland, which had beenhanded down through the generations.

The pupils chose a number of items for inclusion in the latest element of the project, including a, 8-10,000-year-old stone hand axe, a pocket watch, a brooch, a whaling harpoon head and a crucible.They were photographed, while held in pupils’ hands, and a selection will be displayed in the newschool along with a back story. Staff at the archive centre explained the history of each of thechosen artefacts to the pupils, detailing where it had come from, how it may have been used andhow it had passed through the generations. The project aims to make people think about what isvaluable and worth preserving for future generations.

The artworks are a key part of thedevelopment for the new school. TheEllon Academy Community Campus iscurrently under construction and due to becomplete by August 2015.

The next stage of the Hand to Handproject will be to incorporate artefactcontributions from the local community.To facilitate this a public session wasarranged to allow people to bring alongartefacts to be photographed.

Ellon Academy art teacher Tonya McAlister said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for the pupils toview historical artefacts at close range. It was also important that they were able to choose items

which struck a chord with them.”

Leona Anderson, 4M2 and Peter Groat, 1M1

Hand to Hand

Page 4: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

“How dost thou like this tune?”Kirsty Fraser and Oliver Murray

The players are ready!

to the community at Ellon Library on Saturday 15th March. Lead artist Mary Bourne explained,“Working with a group of pupils from the Academy we have been photographing all sorts of objectswhich are significant for the stories they tell about the North East of Scotland and, most of all, thepeople who live here. Each object is photographed in the hands of someone for whom it has aparticular significance, and we record the story they tell about it. A selection of the photographs alongwith their stories will form a part of this artwork in the atria of the new building, and we plan to includeall the objects photographed in a publication to celebrate the opening of the now Community Campus.”So far the group has worked with the Ellon Editors and the Reminiscence Group, as well as visiting theAberdeenshire Museum Archive at Mintlaw and the Special Collection Unit at Aberdeen UniversityLibrary.

Mary says, “Now we are inviting anyone who has a precious object and a story to tell about it to comealong to have their object photographed and record their story. The object can be anything at all, solong as it has a special meaning to you and can be held in your hands to be photographed. So far wehave had things ranging from a signed photograph from Eddie Stobart to a 10,000 year old axe, from aheart shaped pebble to an eighteenth century diary from Kinharrachie: – each with its own story, buttogether adding up to a portrait of the community in this area down the years. I am very much lookingforward to seeing what else might turn up!”

Community groups are also welcome to participate and anyone interested should contact Mary [email protected].

Before the community artefact contributions got underway a group of enthusiastic pupils from EllonAcademy went off to Aberdeen University Library to see if they could find and photograph items thatmet the project’s brief. Ailsa Westmacott explained: ‘In the Hand to Hand project we are taking picturesof items passed down through generations that have sentimental value, to put up in the New School."Upon arrival at the University Library the group were met by Scott Byrne, Sarah Chapman and LynseyMcNab who provided a brief tour of the Gallery before introducing the pupils to the Special CollectionsCentre. Jane Pirie, an Ellon resident, along with the excited pupils then looked through a collection ofold books, before deciding on one to photograph.

After studying each book carefully the group picked the Diaryof Patrick Massie who lived in Walk Mill, Kinharrachie, Ellon.It was written between 1721 - 1746 and Patrick had recordedgrain delivery, (suggesting he was a miller), the weather,Astrology, Palmistry and even fortune telling. The book makesa good choice because of its direct link with Ellon. Anothervery interesting factor is that the diary appears to be written bythe father of William Massie, a former headmaster of theschool. Additionally, Patrick Massie has drawn a hand abovethe words 'Patrick Massie with my hand' fitting in perfectlywith the theme of 'Hand to hand'.

The delighted pupils met the Digitisation Officer - KimDownie who photographed the diary. The project was opened

By Caitlin Walburn 2K2

Page 5: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

Increasing numbers of pupils trying to use our homework club at lunchtime has led to delays in gettinginto the library and disappointment for those who have had to be turned away. Changes had to be madeand now there is now a system to support our homework club. Pupils can now secure their homeworkclub place in advance, booking the day before or at interval on the day if places remain. The maximumhomework club places will be set at thirty per lunchtime with pupils being given a laminated card,which they have to present when they turn up. If a pupil loses or forgets the card, they will be charged30p. This will bring an end to the queuing, the uncertainty and the disappointment of being turnedaway.

Sign-In to Homework Club

Jayde-Lea Ellington, 1M2

On the 24th of January, Ellon Academy held the annualBurns lunch in the STA. For the third year running, wewere pleased to have award winning Doric author,Deborah Leslie, host the event. The canteen staff cooked adelicious lunch of haggis, neeps and tatties which wasenjoyed by all. As is customary, the haggis was piped inbefore being addressed fantastically by Mr Winterbottom.

Burns’ Lunch

Calena Anderson and Stephanie Buhler, 1M2

The Selkirk Grace, read by Lauren Kyle, started the meal off. 6thyear pupil, Jono McDermott, read the Address to the Lassies andMrs McClymont read the Lassies’ Reply. Library Committeemembers, Lauren Kyle and Kiera Stephen, sang Ye Banks andBraes o’ Bonnie Doon and a group of 3rd year pupils read ARed, Red Rose with Deborah Leslie.

On Saturday 8th March, Jono McDermott appeared on SHMU Radio’s Literature Show. PresentersIain Anderson and Rachel Grant interviewed Jono about his novel, -‘Neo-Ninjitsu’ - published in2011, and Jono was asked to read passages for the listeners. Jono also discussed some of his up-and-coming projects before playing some of his own musical compositions live on air .This is a great accomplishment for Jono and provided a superb platform to showcase his talents.

By Caitlin Walburn 2K2

Author on Air

Page 6: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

On 10th March, Ellon Academy hosted a visit fromPoet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Pupils fromFraserburgh and Mintlaw Academies joined theirEllon counterparts to listen to a poem recitalaccompanied by musician, John Sampson.

Ellon Academy’s National 5 pupils have studied sixDuffy poems as part of the National 5 Curriculum, sothe visit provided an excellent opportunity for them tolearn more detail directly from the poet that mighthelp them in their exam.

Carol Anne Duffy read several of her poems andprovided interesting background information while themusician entertained the audience playing a variety ofwood wind instruments during recital breaks.

An invaluable question and answer session at the endenabled the pupils to probe for further gems whichmay appear in forthcoming exam answer papers .

Poet Laureate visits Ellon Academy

By Calena Anderson1M2

Murder Mystery Intrigues S1 PupilsEllon Library staff and able senior pupils recently worked wonders to set up a fantastic Murder Mysteryexperience for S1 pupils. The murder scene - in Room 101 – included a taped off area where the rathergruesome outline of ‘a body’ could be inspected alongside busy ‘forensic experts’. Pupils were providedwith the storyline and were invited to solve the mystery by interviewing and verifying the alibis providedby fifteen teachers or ‘suspects’. Pupils submitted their findings and at the S1 Assembly witnessed thearrival of the Police to arrest the culprit. When the dust settled, pupils Ben Hamilton, Ellis Dempster andFraser Bunkell were pronounced Murder Mystery Event winners. Congratulations super sleuths!

Ellon Academy Network Librarian, MrsMurdoch, told Pressgang: “The pupils madegood use of Risk Skills, online encyclopaediasand the library catalogue. The event was part ofour World Book Day celebrations and proved sopopular we may have to run it again.”

Jayde-Lea Ellington, 1M2

Page 7: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

The Ythan Challenge is a gruelling, multi-terrain obstacle race. Now in its fourteenthyear the event helps raise money for localcauses. This year’s race will take place onSunday, June 15th starting and ending atThe Meadows Sports Complex. The 650entrants make this year’s event the largestever and for the first time, fifteen brave-or is that foolhardy - Ellon Academyteachers will compete in aid of schoolfunds.

Pupils have placed the teachers in groupsof three to represent each of the five schoolhouses with training efforts andperformance accumulating house points.

For the teachers, training is already underway with small groups running 5k circuits during lunch hoursin addition to pounding the streets during the evenings and weekends. The pupils have also had thechance to witness training sessions where teachers have endured the ‘bleep test’ and even an ‘Insanity’extreme exercise workout. In the weeks ahead pupils will see teachers battle further training drillswith an aqua workout and a military exercise drill planned.A facebook page has been opened to enable pupils (past and present) together with parents and others to

follow the teachers’ progress. You can find this at:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellon-Academy-Teachers-Ythan-Challenge-Team/216992238496509?ref=ts&fref=tsAfter the Easter holidays all pupils will be given a donations form which will cover their own challengeson Sports Day in addition to supporting the Teacher’s Ythan Challenge Event. With months of hardword required we’re sure the teachers will be made to earn every penny donated!

Page 8: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

Amidst all of the excitement of the current preparations for this year’s Ythan Challenge the Pressgangteam unearthed an ‘older’ story which warrants retelling. Ten years ago our very own Mr Reece wasone of some 250 participants who battled the seven mile course of crawl nets, straw bales, bogs andsteep inclines. But on the day these obstacles proved no match for Mr Reece, who completed the race inthe highly respectable time of 57min 4 seconds. In fact, so good was that time that it won Mr Reece thetitle of fastest Male Super Veteran. Mr Reece, quite rightly, still has his medal and presentation case as amemento of a fine achievement.The photographs show Mr Reece battling some of the obstacles and serve notice to this year’sparticipants of just what lies ahead.

Ellon Academy’s MSV

Page 9: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

On the 8th of January, 2014 Ellon Academy hosted the openinground of the Rotary Young Chef Competition. Five pupils - AmberSutherland, Katie Emslie, Bethany Wilson, Marcel Homan and EllieHaggath, one representative from each year group, competed for aplace in the next stage of the competition. After a hard foughtcontest Katie Emslie’s dish - a balti fish with rice and mangetoutmain course with a peach crumble and cream desert – was declaredthe winner.

Katie travelled to Dundee in February and competed against otherwinners from across Scotland finishing in 4th spot overall after anexciting competition. Well done Katie!

Young Chef

Calena Anderson, 1M2and Caitlin Walburn, 2M2

Call of Duty, is an exciting video game. Such has beenits popularity that a tournament was established toallow players across Europe to compete in teams. Callof Duty EU qualifiers were held in Glasgow recentlyand Ellon Academy’s Michael Davidson (4M2) – akeen ‘gamer’ - participated. In the face of stiffcompetition, Michael and his team-mates recorded ahard fought fifth place. Congratulations to MichaelDavidson and his team mates for their success!

Call of Duty

Leona Anderson, 4M2

Want to write for the school newsletter?Pressgang are looking for pupils with aninterest in finding and writing about newsand events about our school. It’s a great wayto sharpen up your English! If interested,come along to Room 208 and ask for moredetails!

Pressgang

Jono McDermott 6M

Leona Anderson4M2

On the 12th of March, Ellon Academy’s Creative Arts badges ceremony took place, awarding bronze,silver and gold to pupils who have shown dedication and commitment over the year to the Creative andAesthetic Faculty. The event came about thanks to the commitment of Kirsty Fraser (6M) who pushedfor awards to be given to recognise Creative Arts achievements. Kirsty was awarded a Gold award forDrama and Music. A special guest was in attendance to present the badges to the winners - ex EllonAcademy pupil, Yvie Burnett, the X-factor voice coach. Pupils were presented with bronze, silver, orgold badges by Yvie Burnett who also signed programmes and pupil organisers, and posed for pictures.Food and drinks in the Drama Studio were also available to the winners, their families and friends. Theevening proved a great success in highlighting pupils’ achievements in and out of school.

Creative Arts Badges

Page 10: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

On the 20th February 2014, Ellon Academy Netball Club faced their toughest match against RobertGordon’s College (RGC). Knowing that this was the deciding match of the season, the whole team werevery nervous. Despite this, the girls knew they had to win.

The first quarter saw them off to a brilliant start. Notorious for taking a while to get into the game, theymanaged to break this habit and went into the second quarter leading 9-4. The team were delighted, andfelt confident in their play, but knew there was still hard work ahead. The gap closed slightly to 15-11in the second quarter but Ellon were still winning, slowly heightening our chances of a victory. Goinginto the third quarter the whole team began to feel fatigued, but this was brushed aside by theirdetermination and desire to win. At this point, the girls were positive that, as a team, they had the abilityto stay strong and maintain their lead. The 22-17 score at the end of the third quarter set them upperfectly to finish the game on a high. The final score of 30-22 is one that the team will never forget! Itwas the perfect score to end our season.

The result meant the team remained undefeated for the entire season, and played outstandinglythroughout. The cooperation and consistency of our two main shooters, Natalie Blevins and SarahBurton, has been pivotal to the team’s success. Mid-court players, Katie Blevins, Cara Low, OrlaPettigrew and Lynsey Walker, have also been extremely important, ensuring the team remained incontrol, supporting play for the rest of the team. Without them, the team would not have achieved suchcomfortable winning margins. Jordan Moore and Zoe Webster limited the opposition shooters’opportunities to score, working together in defence to stop the play reaching the goal circle, therebyensuring that the team’s hard fought for leads were not lost. Finally, the team would be incompletewithout their team captain and centre player, Helen Clements. Constant dedication and commitment onher part has been a significant contributing factor in the ‘clean sweep season’. From helping the teamstay calm and composed when ahead, to boosting team morale when they were not at their best, theteam would not have maintained strong winning form without such a leader!

Netball Success

Jordan Moore, 6C

The team and school are delighted with theleague win and are all rightly proud. Ourjunior team narrowly missed out on a win,against RGC juniors, but playedpromisingly, and will hope to retain theSenior League title next year!

The team would like to record their thanksto their coaches, Miss Donna Lyon andMiss Emma Mathers, without whom suchsuccess would not have been possible.They fully commit giving time andenthusiasm to coach the girls to newlevels.

Page 11: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

N.A.S.S.A. Cross Country 2014

CheerleadingThe Junior and Senior Ellon Academy Cheerleading Teams competed at the Aberdeen Cheer & DanceCompetition at the Beach Ballroom, on Sunday 23rd March. The junior team were 3rd and the seniorteam were 7th – fantastic results! We are now working towards our next competition which will be on1st June, in Inverness. NEW MEMBERS are also welcome to come along. Training will be in theassembly hall on Tuesday 3.30-4.30 for S1 and Wednesday 3-4pm for S2-S4.

On Thursday 27th February, Ellon Academy entered S1,S2 and S3 girls and boys teams together with a Seniorgirls’ team in the NASSA Cross Country competition.

On the day all of the teams performed superbly returninga fantastic set of results. The S1 boys won; the S1, S2 andS3 girls won too securing Ellon the Girls Overall TeamTrophy – an award that Ellon Academy hasn’t won since1988.

The following Ellon pupils came first place in theirrespective races:Eve Learmonth – S1 girls Ethan Smith – S1 boysLois Pettit – S2 girls Ross Cartney – S2 boysMatthew Keenan – S3 boys Ellen Stickle – Senior girlsEllen has won her race every time she has representedEllon – this is a great achievement! Congratulations to allwho took part. You all did a fantastic job, well done!

By Caitlin Walburn 2K2

Page 12: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

First Season Final forSenior Girls’ Football team

RME Teacher, Mr McLean, could not hide his delight after theEllon Academy Senior Girls’ won their away Cup Semi-finaltie at Portlethen to reach the Aberdeenshire Soccer World CupFinal in their first season. A brace each from Scotland capsLouise Brown and Hannah Stewart helped the Ellon girls to a4-3 victory in a tie that ebbed and flowed. The Ellon girls tooka two goal lead before being pegged back by a pluckyPortlethen side.

First year pupil Megan Hewison, a member of theCairngorm Ski Club, had never been successful inthe annual fastest down the hill race in her previoustwo attempts. However until now, Megan wore asnow badger costume to represent the legend ofCairngorm. Megan competed in a club race andthere were approximately forty women competingagainst her. Megan (reaching a speedapproximately fifty mph) got first place and won thetitle “fastest woman on the hill”.

Fastest Woman on the Hill

Gregor Reynolds 1S1

However, Ellon got their noses in front again to take a 3-2 lead at the interval. Emma Hosie took overin goals for Ellon in the second half and pulled off a series of great saves but, with just five minutesleft, Portlethen equalised again. With the match heading for extra time, Louise Brown capitalised on adefensive error to restore Ellon’s advantage. Almost out on their feet, the girls had to endure a gruellingthree minutes of injury time before claiming the tie and a spot in their first cup final. Mintlaw await inthe final at a venue and date to be confirmed. Well done Mr McLean and well done girls!

Page 13: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

By the time you get to this stage in your school career you are already well versed in taking exams.Generally, by now, nerves are not going to be a factor that impacts how you perform, but they are stillthere to some extent.

The wooden desk is like an old acquaintance that you haven’t seen for a while. You glance over it andsee if there’s any funny graffiti on it (unfortunately this year I didn’t find anything interesting in any ofmy three Prelims). Then, of course, you go through the routine of filling out the front sheet of the exampaper and making sure you know what time the exam starts and ends.

For any budding new ‘examinees’ reading this, don’t be intimidated by the large room and theinvigilators standing there at the front. Once you start working through your paper, you don’t actuallynotice any of them anyway. Also, don’t be worried about asking for more paper as that is what theinvigilators are partly there for, as well as making sure nobody cheats! I would strongly advise people togo to the toilet beforehand, although you can go during the exam if absolutely necessary it does meanyou waste time, plus you disturb everybody else who is working and was smart enough to gobeforehand!

In sixth year, the importance of exams differs from person to person. By now many have unconditionaloffers and - although it is bad form - some tend to take the foot off the proverbial pedal. Don’t do that! Itmakes you look both extremely lazy and a bit of a ‘quitter’. The other side of the coin is that, for thosewith conditional offers, the exams become even more important than ever. Another reason to stick inwith subjects if you have unconditional offers is that it makes those with conditionals extremely mad ifyou don’t!

One of the hardest things to wrap your head around though this year is the knowledge that once yourexams are finished, you will no longer be an Ellon Academy pupil. University is on the horizon and youhave to begin thinking about how you are going to manage without the support of your parents in termsof food, washing your clothes and paying for whatever random things you need. So you could almostsay that the sixth year exams are the end of an era in your life. One day you are sitting in an exam halland working through an exam, and by the end of it, you are on the four month break in the lead up tobeginning university, college or work.

How I’ll handle it I don’t know. But what I do know is this, despite the exams and the work andeverything else; I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Ellon Academy, and I wish any and all readersthe best of luck in the rest of their school career. Sean Duthie 6K

Prelims, perhaps one of the most daunting of times for S4 pupils, came to an end after a short periodenduring the new National 4 / 5 practice papers. Though the excitement of Prelims is inevitable, thenerves are there, they make you study harder and be more focused: your natural survival instinct takesover. Being the first year to sit the new National 4 / National 5 Prelims merely added to the nerves asthe exams are new and, as such, a relatively unknown quantity. I had eight Prelims over the course of aweek, a lot to deal with I know, but the drive to do well forced me to stay focused and try my best.Looking back, I realise that, though I had to revise hard, it was well worth it as I can now go into mySQA exams in April that bit better prepared. Leona Anderson

4M2

National 4 / National 5

Page 14: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

More News…..SQA Exams - 29 April - 6 June 2014

All pupils in S4, S5 and S6 have now been issued with their uniqueSQA Timetable and have a letter about Study Leave. Please go overthese details with your son/daughter. The timetable takes account ofany additional arrangements eg - separate accommodation , IT,additional time etc.

Please note that the Ellon Academy times will differ from the examtimes on the SQA Website.

A copy of the Ellon Academy master timetable and details aboutStudy Leave have been posted on the school website.

If your son/daughter loses their timetable please get a replacementfrom the office. We would like to wish all pupils sitting exams GOODLUCK, and if returning, we look forward to seeing them back atschool on Friday 6th June. S5 should register at the Station Hotel,Ellon for their “Business Challenge” day and S6 should register in theSTA for their “Be All You Can Be” day.

“Dress As You Please Day” for Macmillan and Marie CurieCancer Charities

Ellon Academy would like to pass on a huge thank you to all ourregister classes and staff who helped to raise the fantastic sum of£808.13 on our Easter "Dress As You Please" day. It will be splitevenly between the Macmillan and Marie Curie charities This willbe appreciated greatly by them.

Page 15: Editor: Jono McDermott 6M Brought to you by Pressgang

Our New StyleSports Day,

Tuesday, 10th JuneOn Sports Day on Tuesday 10th June, in the Deer Park, Ellon, all Ellon Academypupils will undertake a whole school “Military Drill” led by the Royal Marines.This will be part of a series of challenges our pupils will take part in for their rolein our whole school “Challenge Yourself 2014” fund raiser. There will also be allour usual sports day events.

A large team of pupils, teachers, business partners, military services and localcommunity groups have been working hard for several months to organise awide range of challenges for pupils to enjoy on sports day and motivate them tocollect lots of donations for our joint staff Ythan Challenge and pupil MilitaryDrill Challenge events. On the day, we will have everything from inflatablehuman table top football to army commando tasks to refreshments on site.

Parents/carers and close relatives of current pupils are welcome to come down onthe day as spectators. There will be a minimum donation of £1 to gain admissionfor them. Guests will need to stand well clear when pupils are doing the wholeschool “military drill”! All pupils will spend the whole afternoon on the field inorder to meet health and safety regulations. Portaloos will be on site so no pupilneeds to leave the field.

Our target is for each family in Ellon Academy to raise a minimum of £10 for the“Pupil Piggy Bank” . If we achieve that we will achieve £10,000 to pay foradditional pupil transport, induction days, resources etc for another year.

Will you help us?