We were all saddened by the news of the sudden death of George Sinclair our former Assistant Head Teacher. Many staff attended the funeral and service in Prestwick and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

The SQA examinations are now in full swing and I hope that all the hard work pupils and staff have put in are rewarded appropriately.

A short time ago a rumour was spreading throughout the community that the school was dropping German. Can I take this opportunity to say that there is no truth to this rumour whatsoever. Pupils have been informed of this at registration and during assemblies.

News has just arrived that Tricia Hunter will start with us on Monday as Librarian on a temporary capacity, until the end of June. Can I take the opportunity to thank all the parents who enquired about this post and in particular to Mrs Gamper and Mr Kelly, who volunteered their services to staff the library in the absence of the librarian.

Mr Alexander our Principal Teacher of Physical Education has received his official retirement date as Wednesday 7 June. We would like to offer our thanks to Mr Alexander for all the years he has spent with us and all the hard work he has put into the school since joining us in 1972.

Dr Woodland has completed her Acting Principal Teacher of Physics post at Queen Margaret Academy and rejoined us on 15 May. Thanks are due to Mr McLellan for covering the Physics classes and to Mrs Fitzpatrick who took over her Guidance duties during her absence.

The timetable has changed for the S1/2/3 pupils, after their return from the May holiday on Tuesday 30. May. The seniors change over after the SQA examinations are completed on Monday 12^th June.

This will be swiftly followed by School and House captains interviews which take place on Friday 16 and Monday 19 June.

You may have seen the school featured recently on Newsnight. We were asked to participate by Educational Services. The programme was dealing with South Ayrshire’s Parental Questionnaire. I am delighted to say that during the filming the pupils could not have been better behaved and were a credit to us all.

As ever please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns.

R Stewart
Headteacher

This event is scheduled for Monday 26 June in the Town Hall at 7pm. Guest Speaker this year is Mr Ken Crawford a FORMER Carrick Academy pupil who is now Stadium Facilities manager at Rangers Football Club. The presentation of prizes will be carried out by Miss McCrindle our former Assistant Principal Teacher of Learning Support who retired last session.

A number of staff are offering a variety of end of term excursions for pupils. These range from the Alton Towers visit to a trip to Ireland to the Giant’s Causeway.

We will be saying our goodbyes to our leavers on the afternoon of Friday 9 June.

The directorate have arranged their annual visit to discuss progress with our targets on Friday 2 June.

The development planning process has identified the following areas for future development.

• Development of the 5-14 Curriculum

• Development of the Higher Still Curriculum

• Development of a Pupil Tracking System

• Further development with Parental Consultation

• Development of an Inclusive Education Policy

• Development of a more positive ethos

• Provision of staff training on ICT

• Implementation of the National Grid for Learning

• Improvements in Quality Assurance procedures

Mr McLean of the Computing Department would like to thank all pupils, parents and members of staff for their efforts. The final total of vouchers collected was 6,006. After consultation with Mr Stewart it was decided that the vouchers should be used to purchase a digital camera for the Computing Department. Many pupils in all year groups will use this but in particular senior pupils involved in Publicity Media. Next year we would like to try and double our efforts as 12,000 vouchers would secure a new Multi-media computer for the school.

Parents of S4 Pupils will be aware that the matching process for work experience is well underway. You will shortly be contacted regarding your child’s placement giving you details of the Employer your child will be working with.

If the placement is unsuitable to you, you will be given an opportunity to organise a placement of your choice, subject to Health & Safety vetting. Via P. S. E. classes pupils are being prepared for this purposeful activity in preparation for the world of work or further study.

If your organisation would like to offer work placements to pupils at Carrick Academy please contact the school who will pass your company details to the Ayrshire Education Business Partnerships work experience unit.

E M Wilson
World of Work

Congratulations to Katie Barker of 3B2 (new 4B2) who has been selected for the Under 16's Scottish Schools' Basketball Squad.

We wish her every success in the forthcoming British Championships

Watch this space for more information!

16 x S3 pupils, three members of staff + Charlie the dog are heading for Glen Trool this weekend. Let's hope the weather is kind to them and the midges don't bite too hard. Full report next month.

L Bryden

The Minutes of previous meetings are available in the Library in Maybole High Street, and from the Head Teacher at Carrick Academy, who also has a list of all School Board Members. The next meeting of the School Board will take place on Monday 5 June 2000 at 7. 00pm in the Community Wing, Carrick Academy. Parents and local councillors are welcome to attend these meetings.

Topics discussed at the last meeting of Carrick Academy School Board, held on Monday 3 April 2000 in the Community Wing at 7. 00pm.

• Improving Communication between the School Board, Councillors & Parents.

• Head Teacher’s Report (similar to information in the monthly newsletter).

• Section 28 – disappointing response from parents as only 17 replies were received. The results were : 4 for repeal of Section 28; 4 for revised guidelines & 9 against repeal of Section 28. The results have been sent to the Scottish School Boards Association.

• School Board Training – Those attending had found this informative & worthwhile.

• Dates & venues of various meetings were circulated.

• 6^th Year Driving Instruction – to find out whether this is a possibility at Carrick Academy

At a recent School Board Training night I discovered that several other Boards within South Ayrshire issue one or two "News Letters" throughout the school year, and I thought that this might prove to be a useful exercise for Carrick Academy to copy.

Many of you may not be exactly aware who the members of the Board are, so to avoid any confusion, I will start off by listing all the members:

Lesley Grant             Maybole         Chairperson                              Beverley Wood     Straiton         Parent Member

Andrew Duffin         Kirkmichael     Vice-chair                                 Lynn Bolt                 Ayr              Co-opted Member

Ian Rorison               Maybole         Treasurer                                  Susan Paton             Maybole     Clerk to the Board

Catherine Czerkawska Kirkmichael Parent Member

Councillor Alan Murray of Maybole is the local authority Councillor representative and Rodger Stewart and Val Adam represent the school. Our Clerk can be contacted via the School, and will be happy to advise you of home addresses and telephone numbers if you wish to get in touch with any one of us. If you have any worries or concerns relating to your child at Carrick I would encourage you to write or phone any Board Member to see how we can be of help. Please be assured that any matter raised would be held in the strictest confidence, and at no time need your name, or your child’s, be mentioned if the matter was subsequently raised at a Board meeting.

Every School Board meeting is open to parents/guardians, and I have now arranged for the date of each meeting to appear in the School Newsletter, along with a list of topics covered. I understand that the newsletter also appears on the Maybole Web Page. (www.Maybole.org)

I expect that there may be a vacancy or two next year on the Board and details of this will be sent out by the School in the Autumn. I would encourage you all to consider joining us - we usually meet for a couple of hours on a monthly basis at the School - you never know you might even find our meetings quite enjoyable, and you would have the satisfaction of some positive input into your child’s education.

Lesley A Grant (Mrs)

Chairperson

On Monday 3 April, 43 second year pupils went to Bannockburn. They were accompanied by Mr Allanach and Mr Downie from the History/Modern Studies Department.

On Thursday 11 May, 51 Standard Grade Biology pupils accompanied by teachers went to Culzean for the day. The pupils were taking part in field work which is essential for their Standard Grade Biology Exam.

On the 6^th April, bright and early in the morning, a group of S2 pupils left for Bad Salzig, in Germany. The group visited National Railway museum in York before sailing to Rotterdam. They then visited many of the sights including the race track where the German Grand prix is held; Marksburg Castle and the amusement park Phantasia Land before they arrived home on Thursday 13 April.

On Friday 12 May, S4 S5 and S6 spent their last full day in school before leaving to continue their studying at home. We wish them all good luck in their exams and will see them back in class in mid-June.

The S1 parents' evening took place on Tuesday 16 May. Parents were given the chance to come to the school talk to teachers about their children’s development during their first year in Carrick.

The annual 7 a side Inter House Rugby tournament took place on the afternoon of Wednesday 10 May. The teams points were as follows:

Green 6
Red 4
Yellow 2
Blue 0

Unfortunately the return leg to Saint-Etienne, France has been cancelled due to insufficient pupil interest in the exchange. However, Mr Rusk is looking to organise a residential visit to the North of France which will combine French languages, excursions and adventure activities.

So watch this space !

After last sessions "Sports Activity Day" it was decided to try a new venture as a large number of pupils were not participating in the activities. This session we have put a number of excursions on offer for pupils on the Tuesday prior to the school closing on the Wednesday. Pupils have been given details and costs of these excursions. We hope that a more relaxed and informal day may help further development staff pupil relationships.

This month has seen the completion of the Ayrshire competitions. The S1 boys represented Carrick at the Citadel and played well in the morning pool.

They managed to get into pool 2 in the afternoon session where they found the competition a bit harder. They finished eighth which is the highest position that they have achieved.

The S2 (with some S1) boys played at Prestwick Academy 15 May. Lack of experience meant that the team struggled in most matches although some games were very close. Both teams were a credit to the school and to themselves. Well done!

Mon 5^th Junior Sports Championships Mon 19^th House Captains interviews

Friday 9^th Leavers' Ceremony Wed 21^st P7 visit

Mon 12^th Induction day, SQA exams end Thurs 22^nd P7 visit and P7 Parents' night

Friday 16^th French Exchange leaves, Friday 23^rd & Mon 26^th Peer Helping Training