June 2014
August 14 — Page 1
eadteacher’s News
As the end of term rolls round once again, we can look back on another challenging year. While
many of those challenges came within the classroom, especially in the first time through the new
National qualifications in S4, it is pleasing to note that pupils in school were still able to benefit
from an exposure to many wider opportunities. Both this newsletter and its predecessors in
session 2013-14 focus on opportunities where pupils have been able to develop and be successful
in a whole range of experiences and activities. Pupils, in their own words, as you can read in articles which follow feel to have benefited and I am grateful to staff and others who give of their
time to make these opportunities available.
The usual end-of-term traditions are currently in train. Prefect interviews have taken place and
a team of 20 have been identified. Senior pupil officebearers will be appointed at the start of
the new session in August. The Evening of Celebration on 25 June saw the annual recognition of
pupils’ achievements, commitment and effort with prizes this year being handed out by actor, Cal
Macaninch, who also contributed to our Diversity Day in February. It is always good to pay tribute to young people who have contributed positively to the school, whether in terms of academic
achievement, sporting prowess, musical talent or, indeed, to the wider community and I am sure
that parents and friends present were as proud of the prizewinners as I was.
Pride was also an emotion on display on Saturday, 14 June when the school’s nominee as a Queen’s
Batonbearer for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Leon Rendle, completed his leg of the relay
along London Road, cheered on by family, friends and staff from the school. The photograph
accompanying this article shows Leon passing on the baton. I am sure that this would be an unforgettable experience for him and I am pleased to acknowledge this achievement by a young
man who has had to show huge amounts of perseverance in his life thus far, who shows the
school’s motto as a way of life and whose example serves to inspire the rest of us.
: 0131 554 0606
: [email protected]
Useful Contacts
Senior Management Team
Mr J M Simpson - Headteacher
Mr D Peat - DHT
Miss S Cook - DHT
Mrs A Fair - DHT
Ms M Peebles - Business Manager
Pupil Support
House Heads
Mrs F Stevenson (Anderson)
Ms L Lindsay (Barton)
Mrs J Connell (Cowan)
Mr G Hansen (Port)
ASL Manager
We have no retirals from the staff but there are, nonetheless, colleagues who are moving on for
Mrs C Prime
a variety of reasons and I wish them well in whatever they’re doing next. Mr Matthew Wilson is
taking a career break in 2014-15 and will be replaced for the period by Ms Sandra Graham. Mrs
Sarah Gibson will be on maternity leave next session and she will be replaced by a probationer in
Community Programme Manager
English, Ms Anastasia Ntaouli. We say goodbye and good luck to one of our own probationer from
this session, Ms Fiona Ramsay (Computing). Ms Corrie Grant-Forsyth (Science) has been appoint- Mrs C Carstairs
ed to a temporary post here for 2014/15. Ms Julia Liesse has been appointed to a post in Falkirk
and, following her leading a successful trip to Nice earlier this month, has moved on. I should want to thank Mr Ron McKinven for his work
this year in CDT covering for Mr Alastair Burnett who retired in February after a period of ill health and similarly to Mr Alex Hoggan for
filling part of Ms Winning’s timetable after her departure at Easter. Mr Anthony Mayer will also be joining the CDT team from his current
position at Trinity Academy and we wish well to Ms Sandra Boyd who has moved to take up a Home Economics post at Trinity. Support staff
who are moving on are Pupil Support Assistants, Cara Gordon, and clerical assistant, Lorraine Nolan, all of whom go with our good wishes.
Important Dates for Your Diary!
August
05
06
person)
11
12
13
20
21
22
Itadakimasu
SQA results issued to pupils
Adult class enrolments begin (online and in
Staff resume (In-Service Day)
In-Service Day
Pupils resume
S1/S4/Prefects photographs
Sports Fair (S1/S2/S3)
S6 photographs
August 14 — Page 2
LAJS (Leith Academy Japan Society) were the special
guests of Edinburgh’s finest Japanese restaurant
the HARAJUKA KITCHEN this month. Owner Kaori opened
her doors especially for the Society on Tuesday 6th
May. Over 30 pupils along with staff were treated
September
08
02-03
10
11
15
22
22 (w/b)
22 (- 3 Oct)
tbc
October
06 (w/b)
sued
08
08-16
10
13-17
20
22
24-26
to a sample of Japanese cuisine; miso soup, teriyaki
Parent Council (7.00pm)
Higher Education Convention (S6)
S4 Inter-House Sports
Sponsored Walk
AUTUMN HOLIDAY
Adult Classes begin
European Languages Week
Malawi visit
chicken, a variety of sushi and custard pancakes
were all gratefully received and devoured!
The Society members were joined by Sawaii-san from
the Japanese Consulate in Edinburgh and his assistant Julie Anne Robb.
The event was also featured in the Edinburgh Evening
News.
Young Driver 2014 event (S6)
S4-S6 Monitoring & Tracking reports isS1 Parents’ Consultation (4.30-6.30pm)
Modern Languages trip to China
S1 Inter-House sports
HALF-TERM HOLIDAY
In-Service Day
<MONDAY TIMETABLE>
S6 Benmore Weekend
EDINBURGH COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Edinburgh Commonwealth Games was held for senior
pupils from around the council. There was over 600 pupil
competing in a variety of Commonwealth Games activities. This included indoor bowls, netball, rugby, tennis,
table tennis, gymnastics, badminton, and a range of athletic
events. It was also to highlight the Glasgow Commonwealth games that are coming this summer.
Numeracy Competition
The LA pupils were a credit to the school and performed
really well on the day. Notable successes were:
The final of the annual Leith Academy Numeracy Competition will take place on Tuesday the
24th of June. The event will see pupils going head to head testing their addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, fractions and percentage skills to the limit and having a lot of fun at
the same time!
Finn McLean- Tennis Gold
Finn and Lawrie Francey- Silver in the tennis doubles
Zoe Merrilees- Silver shot putt
All of the pupils in Leith Academy from S2 to S4 have taken part in the qualifying rounds of
the competition. Well done to the following pupils who have qualified for the final; Caitlin
Thomson S2, Sefiso Dach S3, Ben Cargill S3, Adam Krizalkovic S4, Michal Twardowski S4, Kerr
MacKenzie S4, Alex Stark S4, Neil Crawford S4, Poppy Scott S4 and Joseph Fergie S4.
The final event of the day was won by our boys in a dramatic 100m relay- Gold James Burt, Ryan McDougall,
Liam Ashworth and Ryan Farrell.
Good Luck to all of the pupils on Tuesday!
Well done to all our pupils who participated so successfully for the school.
(Mr Taylor – Maths Department)
(S Ferrie)
9/11 Survivor tells her story
S3 Modern Studies pupils have been examining the causes of international terrorism as one of their World
Issues topics. So far they have examined why some groups use terror as a means to try to get their own
way. 9/11 is one of the case studies being looked at and pupils were fortunate to have Mrs Dani BruceAugust
— Page
3
Anderson
talk 14
to them
on Thursday
19th June.
Dani was a paramedic serving in Harlem when
she and her partner got the call to respond to an
incident at the World Trade Centre. Dani emotionally recalled her memories of what happened
that day and how the events changed her life forever. Whilst Dani survived with severe injuries
and managed to save the lives of others, her
partner was sadly not so fortunate and he perished as the South Tower collapsed.
To hear someone who was there give such a personal and detailed account of their experience
was both informative and moving.
Nadia Steele
9/11 Survivor: Dani Bruce Adamson
Dani was just having a normal day working as a
paramedic in Harlem, a suburb of New York
about a 15 minute drive from the World Trade
Centre. She and her partner were sitting in a car
park when they got the call to rush to the World
Trade Centre. When they arrived at the scene
they had to wait in their ambulance until the patients were brought to them for help. As they
were waiting a woman with a piece of metal embedded in her head walked passed - she clearly
needed medical assistance. Dani got out and
helped the woman, this was when the South
Tower collapsed. Dani pushed the woman and
another man who was passing by into an archway for shelter. She was unconscious there, under the debris, for 3 hours before the emergency
services dug them out. Once she was pulled out it emerged that a piece of masonry had fallen on Dani and
severed her spinal column.
In the following months Dani spent a long time in hospital before she eventually moved back in with her Mum
and Dad who took care of her. When she moved back in she had to get lots of treatment before she could
walk again. Dani also said she left that she couldn't go back and do any of her paramedic walk again.
911 changed Dani's life in many ways. The first being that she could no longer do anymore paramedic work.
Also when she got out the ambulance to help the woman, her partner was tragically crushed in the falling
rubble from the South Tower's collapse. Her fiancé was also killed as he was in the North Tower at the time.
In the blink of an eye 9/11 changed the course of Dani's life.
Ria Ellison
WIDENING PARTICIPATION
Ten S1 pupils have taken part in the Edinburgh University Widening Participation Project.
Caitlin Thompson, Laura Johnston, Angus Skakle, Adam Evans, Fiona Polson, Claire Hibbert, Dylan
-Starr Adams, Sara Mahmood, Nashwa Eyd, Emma Maciver
Together with pupils from WHEC and Liberton, they gave up nine Friday afternoons to take part
in a series of visits to University Departments and other institution and participated in a series
of workshops and other activities.
They visited the Centre for Sport & Excellence and attempted to beat Mo Farah‘s record in a
relay, the School of Law and the High Court where they learned how much they actually knew
about the Law and Caitlin got to sit in the judge’s seat. Also in their programme were visits to
the Parliament, The Royal College of Surgeons and the School of Art History – all of which you
can read about in Leith Links. Another visit was to the “Dick Vet.” Did you know, for example,
that a horse cannot be sick? They learned about the history of money and the security around it
at the Bank of Scotland Museum on the Mound. On display were a lot of very old notes – including a British Linen banknote (which I actually remember using as a young boy.) In the University
Library they found Leith and the location of the school on maps which were about two hundred
years old. They also had sight of a musical instrument called a Serpent, which eventually became
a saxophone. In the Teviot Row Union they had a session with the Modern Dance Society,
The pupils gained a real insight into University life and the way in which the sessions were run
(involving a lot of praise and recognition of achievement) gave the pupils a lot of confidence and
a feeling that “this is for me, if I want it.
Finally the pupils had to make a speech in front of a large number of adults (parents and academics) at a parents’ evening on Monday 16 June. A potentially terrifying experience for twelve
year olds, but our pupils were unphased and performed brilliantly – a confidence instilled in them
by the experience on the programme.
(Dave Peat)
The Royal College of Surgeons
We really enjoyed our visit to the Royal College of Surgeons and would therefore like to thank
Thomas Elliot and Neil Spiers for making it possible.
On our trip we got to see lots of interesting things. A few of these things were body parts like
the heart, liver and lungs in jars. Also strange pictures of medical misfortunes created by many
famous artists in the past centuries.
During this trip we learnt a lot whilst enjoying ourselves. We learnt the history of surgery and
got to handle equipment that had been used for surgery over 200 years ago such as saws and
knives.
It is unbelievable how much surgery has changed in such a short amount of time. An example of
one of the big changes is that in past times if you had an infection or broken bone in your leg
they would tightly screw a piece of material onto your leg to stop blood circulation.
They would then use a knife to cut through the flesh followed by sawing through the bone. This
process was very painful, as you can imagine.
To make matters worse there were no anaesthetics to stop the pain. This lead to more deaths
due to blood loss and shock.
The life expectancy now is over 30 years longer than
past times. This proves that the equipment and
knowledge of doctors and surgeons has dramatically
improved over the years.
If you want to become a surgeon we think it is important
to study Biology and English. We think it is important to
study biology because you need to know where everything in your body is and how it works. We also think it
is important to study English because you have to be able
to communicate with your patients and colleagues.
(Claire Hibbert and Caitlin Thompson)
eads News Continued
I’m pleased to confirm that,
since Easter, Mrs Alison Fair
August 14 — Page 4
has been appointed as permanent DHT and Ms Laura Lindsay as permanent House Head
for Barton (Mrs Fair’s old job)
and we have welcomed back
from maternity leave, Ms Lorna Macrae to Modern Languages. Other new teaching
staff appointed for next session are Mr Mark Adams
(Computing), Dr Amaia ZulaicaOrozco (Modern Languages)
and Ms Kirsty Dick (CDT); Mr
Alex Kuryluk (Business Education) will be covering Mrs
Shearer’s maternity leave and
Mr Mike Gray (PE), Mrs Millar’s maternity leave. An appointment in Biology is still
outstanding while we anticipate
having a probationer in Mandarin Chinese for the session
while Mr Chun Huang spends
more of the teaching week in
the Broughton cluster.
We have become well-used
across the years to quite a
deal of staffing changes over
the summer holiday period and
will continue to work towards
continuity and consistency for
pupils and parents notwithstanding. I should like to take
this opportunity to wish you all
a relaxing summer holiday period yourselves. The summer
mailshot, containing important
information for the new academic year, should reach you in
the post in August and school
itself starts again for pupils on
Wednesday, 13 August at the
usual time of 8.30am.
Department of Art History at Edinburgh University
First of all, our lecturer, Emily, taught us all about the life of Leonardo da Vinci. He was an artist, a scientist, an inventor, and a mathematician. He painted the most famous painting in the world. The Mona Lisa. The question that puzzled us was “Is she smiling?” We
still haven’t decided that yet!
The next drawing we looked at was the Vitruvian man. He drew this in one of his series of note books. It is a man that is proportioned
August
— Page
5 The Vitruvian proves that your wing span is the same as your height. We tried this ourselves and
perfectly
in a14
square
and a circle.
measured different body parts. We found out that:
Your pinkie is the same length as your ear
Your elbow to your fingertips is the same length as your thigh
The base of your hand to the end of your fingertips is the same size as the length of your face
Leonardo also kept notebooks. In these notebooks he wrote backwards, which is also known as
mirror writing. He kept his drawings and diagrams of inventions, such as helicopters, human
flying machines, tanks and much more. We had a go at making our own inventions for time travel
in a notebook we were given! Another thing he kept in his notebooks were riddles. We also had
a go at making riddles. One that puzzled everyone was………
“What’s greater than God,
More evil than the devil,
The rich want for it,
The poor have it,
If you eat it or drink it, you’ll die.”
Does anyone know the answer?
…….Nothing
The school subjects related to the trip, are English (for riddles and writing), Maths (for diagrams), Science (for inventions), and Art
(for drawings and paintings) and many more.
The majority of us loved the chance to go to University and many of us would like to go to University in the future. We would like to
thank Neil, Edinburgh University and Leith Academy for giving us this opportunity to learn new things for future life.
(Fiona Polson)
The Scottish Parliament
We visited the Scottish Parliament and may we say thank you to Mary Hershaw for taking our group
around the building.
Through this visit we have definitely learned more interesting facts about The Scottish Parliament and
we also have a better knowledge of how the Parliament works and why it would be a great opportunity to
vote when we are older.
Before we could actually learn anything we had to go through security. It only took about two minutes
but our group thought that it was particularly noteworthy as it shows that the parliament are very proud
of their establishment and make sure that the history behind the building is kept safe.
For the first activity we split into two groups, one group learnt about different parliament parties, history and independence while the other
group went on a tour around the building. The first group, which we were in, first learnt about different parties.
We learned lots of interesting facts about political parties through voting pods, it was the first we had seen of this hi-tech equipment. It
took us a while to get into it but when we got started we had some really interesting discussions.
The tour gave us a taste of what it would be like to be an MSP as we went to the debating chamber and saw the mace and admired its beauty.
Through this visit we have learned that you can’t just know one subject to be an MSP, you have to be able to know about lots of subjects.
Some of the subjects we thought of were: Social Subjects, English, R.E. and Maths. We definitely never considered that you would have to
know about R.E. and Maths as when you think about Parliament, you think about Social Subjects. This is such a great thing as it teaches you
not just about your chosen subject/career but it also broadens your mind to other things going on in the world.
All in all we had a great time and would definitely visit again. Also we would like to mention that through this university experience we have a
clearer idea of where we would love to study when older.
(Laura Johnston, Adam Evans, Dylan-Starr Adams)
TACKLING HATE CRIME WITH NATIONAL CONFERENCE AT LEITH ACADEMY
Baroness Doreen Lawrence was the key speaker at a conference on Hate Crime at Leith Academy on 7 May 2014. She
is renowned for her tireless and successful campaigning for legal justice following the unprovoked murder of her son,
Stephen, in 1993.
August 14 — Page 6
The conference was organised by the Scottish Association of Regional Equalities Councils (SAREC) to increase confidence in reporting of hate crime (‘offences aggravated by prejudice’) and supported by the Edinburgh and Lothians’
Regional Equalities Council (ELREC) and the headteacher of Leith Academy, Jack Simpson. Pupils at the school had
the opportunity to perform and to meet Baroness Lawrence and ask questions.
Diana Dodd, Principal Officer Equalities, reported on the event on the event for the Children & Families Bright Futures
blog and below is what she wrote:
“Baroness Doreen Lawrence was the keynote speaker at a conference at Leith Academy on 7 May 2014. It was an honour to be in her presence and to hear her talk of positive ways forward rather than to focus on hate. Doreen Lawrence’s
tireless campaigning brought significant legal changes which continue today to help us all to end injustices and prejudice. It was her first public visit to Edinburgh.
“Jack Simpson, headteacher of Leith Academy, gave a warm welcome and spoke enthusiastically of the diversity of
backgrounds in Leith and the richness that this brings to the school community. Two senior students, Lucy Paterson
and Laura Burns, gave a moving and very professional performance of the song ‘Same Love’ accompanied by the deputy head. This song, originally by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, helps to tackle homophobia in a very positive way.
“Keith Lynch and Ivan Cohen of People First, both of whom have learning difficulties, spoke about hate crime against
disabled people. We know that nationally and locally, adults and young people with learning disabilities are particularly vulnerable to bullying and prejudice.
“After the conference S3 students at the school had the opportunity to meet Baroness Lawrence and ask questions.
There was widespread interest and a buzz around the whole school from this conference.
“In terms of improving reporting of hate crime, it was interesting to hear Superintendent Gavin Phillips from Police
Scotland say that they recognize that many people do not have the trust or confidence to report incidents. They have
targets to increase the number of records they receive. They aim to do this with the help of voluntary sector organizations whom can act as third parties.
“Parents and carers already know that they can speak to their children’s school about any serious issues that happen
there. But would you, as an adult, report being harassed or bullied because of your race, disability, faith or sexual orientation? If not, why not?”
NICE trip June 2014
From Monday 16th to Friday 21st June, 33 S3/S4 pupils from Leith Academy went on a school trip to Nice in the South of France.
The different visits included a vineyard in the countryside of Provence, the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium of Monaco, Antibes, St Tropez and Cannes, amongst others. The pupils, who strolled along the Mediterranean Sea and enjoyed the lovely southern
French weather, were a great asset to the school. Behaviour and enthusiasm were fantastic and Robbie and Mr Mackay greatly
improved their French over the week.
(Miss Liesse, Miss McKay, Mr Mackay and Robbie Huxtable)
August 14 — Page 7
“On the Nice trip this year we have been and visited several landmarks and places in the South of France. We have visited St Tropez,
Chateau de Berne, Monaco, Aqua Splash, Cannes, Grasse, and Antibes. Out of these visits our dorm really enjoyed the trip to Aqua
Splash and Monaco. We really enjoyed Aqua Splash because, well, first off, it is a water park and it possibly involved the funniest
incidents the whole trip, and second of all, we think it is where everyone enjoyed themselves most. We also really enjoyed Monaco
as the cars were amazing and very fancy. Every corner we turned there was a Ferrari or Lamborghini, also it is where we went to
the Aquarium. Over all we think the trip was amazing and we hope that another trip to Nice will be organised in the coming years.
We would also like to say a big thanks to Ms Liesse for organising this trip and wish her good luck.”
(Harry Fisken, Jack Miller, Alasdair Bulloch and Nick Beer)
Throughout the course of the week we have experienced a lot of different French culture, whether it be in Nice, St Tropez, Cannes or
Monaco. The weather has always been beautiful and the scenery has been really amazing everywhere we went. We have used our
skills from French to order things in restaurants/cafés on the day trips. Overall we have really enjoyed our trip and learnt from our
experiences.
(Eilidh Cargill, Anna Brodie, Eve Moloney, Gemma Grieve, Rachel Hardie, Zoe Merrilees, Morven Archibald and Claire Hogg)
#NicewasNice.
It was a great experience. I learned how to say multiple words, including "I'm single", a "Nice" touch. "Nice" weather all the way
through. There were some "Nice" cars. It was a "Nice" trip to "Nice".
(Sadiq Baidani)
Our time in Nice has been amazing! We have experienced a different culture and way of life. We have been to the most beautiful
places France has to offer: Cannes, Monaco, St Tropez, Nice and Grasse. The dorm thought that Aqua Splash was the highlight of
the holiday because of all the great flumes and even the teachers joined in! We have had an unforgettable time in France and we
are all so glad this trip was offered to us.
(Leonne Lomax, Lucy Malone, Kayla Squires, Samantha Thomson, Fiona Thomson, Bethan Reville, Leah Gray and Carly Watson)
We really enjoyed the water park and going to Monaco. The beach was nice and the weather was great! We'd all like to come back
again.
(Taylor McNeill, Hannah Martin, Samantha Hepburn, and Mia Campbell)
On the first day we arrived we walked about Nice and went to a sweet factory and learnt about how the sweets were made. On day
2 we went to a vineyard called "Château de Berne" and looked at how wine is made and the history of the area. During day 3 we
went to Monaco and went to an aquarium. On day 4 we went to Aqua Splash which is a water park. We also went to the beach
and we went to a perfume factory. Our favourite day was day 4 when we went to the water park because it was a warm day and it
was nice to cool down. We all enjoyed the trip very much and it was a great experience.
(Reece Hoskins, Jack Chalmers, Aaron Dunn, Jamie Murphy)
Students weigh up Independence arguments
Higher Modern Studies pupils participated in an independence debate on Friday 20th June at the City Chambers. With less than 100 days until Scotland
decides on her future, pupils from across the city were encouraged to listen
to, and question,those elected representatives who make decision on our behalf.
August 14 — Page 8
A broad range of views were put forward in the 'Question Time' style debate.
Speaking in favour of independence were Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet
Secretary for Justice, Alison Johnstone MSP and Dominic Hinde, journalist
and academic. The Better Together views were expressed by Malcolm
Chisholm MSP, Gavin Brown MSP and Alex Cole-Hamilton, prospective Scottish Parliamentary candidate.
Paul Laird chaired the lively debate and pupils asked a variety of questions on
topics as diverse as monetary union and Trident.
The entry poll which was conducted before the debate, began saw the Better
Together campaign have an advantage of 74 to 36, however the exit poll saw
the Yes campaign win slightly more votes as the final result was 63 in favour
of the status quo and 44 in favour of independence.
As Sharon Muir, QIO for Social Subjects said "it was a fabulous opportunity for the young people to hear truly high quality discussion, an opportunity that many adults will not have leading up to the referendum."
If you have still not registered to vote, and remember you can vote from each 16 in this referendum, then you can get
further details at:
www.aboutmyvote.co.uk
Nadia Steele
Business Management Trip to London
When asked my highlights of the trip to London I can honestly say all of it, I had an amazing
time. On arriving in London we checked into our hotel and visited the Bank of England where we
were let into the ins and outs of bank note safety features and the history of the Bank. We
were told a story of a man who one day, while walking under the streets of London, accidently
discovered loose flooring allowing entrance to the gold bar vault. With our minds filled with the
nuremeros things someone could do with that immense amount of money it was revealed that in
actual fact the man phoned the bank and told them he had been in the safe and suggested they
replace the flooring, leaving with not so much as a single gold bar. The bank ignored the numerous calls believing it was a hoax. However, after his continuous attempts to call the bank they
finally told him to prove it. He did. He gave the bank a time and told them he would be waiting in
the vault to prove himself. To the utter shock of the guards he was sitting in the vault as they
unlocked it. The bank then upped their security and rewarded the man with a sum money
(however, a very small amount comparison to the value of all the gold). In this case it literally did
pay to tell the truth.
Over the next few days we visited many places. We received a tour of the houses of parliament
which was truly amazing, I absolutely loved it. Hearing Big Ben chime was mesmerising however
sort of strange as I expected to be welcome by George Maxwell Alagiah of the BBC News at six.
We also received a tour of the Chelsea Stadium, visiting the changing rooms, stand and press room
while learning about the financial support of the famous football club. Strangely the stand was
smaller than I thought it would be but no less impressive. We visited landmarks such as Trafalgar
Square and Buckingham Palace (where the Royal Standard flew high in the Queens presence) and
even went to the Harry Potter Studios which gave an in depth insight to the making of the extremely popular film series. We also went shopping which included a trip to Harrods and M&Ms World. Overall I had a brilliant time and
didn’t stop smiling throughout the whole trip.
Katie Farmer
August 14 — Page 9
School Wear and Team wear


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School wear & team wear showroom
Machine embroidery & garment printing specialists
Order online at www.interkit.co.uk or visit us at:
EES Logos, Duddingston Yards, Duddingston Park South,
EH13 3NT
S1 – S3 Basketball Champions
At a recent end of season North Neighbourhood S1 – S3 basketball
tournament Leith battled through to be crowned champions. The
tournament was held at the games hall in Leith Academy on Friday
30th May. Other teams involved on the day were Trinity A and B and
Broughton A and B. The tournament was a round robin format with
every team playing against each other. The games were very tight and
highly competitive and in the end Leith came out top on goal difference. Congratulations to the team!
We’re open 9am - 5pm Monday—Friday
Saturday opening on July 12, 19, 26 and August 2,9
Call us on 0131 621 7222
Email [email protected]
Pilmeny Intergenerational Project
Over the last six weeks, ten S2 pupils have been getting to know our neighbours at Hermitage Court better. Anne Munro of the Pilmeny Development
Project approached the school looking to establish
an intergenerational project which would bring
together old and young members of the community.
Since S2 Modern Studies pupils were already
studying the needs of the elderly in class and
many had visited Hermitage Court, thanks to liaison with Ms Susie Connery, it seemed like this
was a natural group to target.
Daniel Norman, India Murray, Fraser Kelsey,
Charlie Park-Long, Andrew Pentony, Corinne
Whitelaw, Morven McKay, Caitlin Munn, Courtney
Cummings and Stephanie Smiles enjoyed six
varied and fun-filled Monday afternoons with a
number of locals who are resident at Hermitage
Court. They tried their hand at indoor curling,
painted ceramic tiles and took a walk down memory lane at the Living Memory
Association. They also participated in a number of health and well-being activities including a visit to a podiatrist and a Chinese medicine practitioner before
finally enjoying a sing-song and a dance to celebrate the end of a successful
project.
Much fun was had by all and several new friendships were made as you can
see.
Nadia Steele
S1 – S2 Triathlon Event
On Wednesday 7th June Fraser Kelsey, Ruari Morrison and Craig Diamond represented Leith Academy in the city wide S1 – S2 triathlon
event at Forrester High School. It was a great event and the boys gave
it their all. The first of the events was the swim, a short sprint distance. After that it was time for a very quick dry and hop on a bike for
the cycling part of the event, they completed the cycle in a very respectable time and finally finished with an 800m run around the running track. It was a great afternoon of sports and the boys were a
credit to Leith Academy with their hard work and enthusiasm they put
into this event.
Advertise Your Company!
Occasionally pupils forget to bring a t shirt to PE or have
lost their PE kit. For those pupils we would like to be able
to offer them a replacement t shirt to borrow for the
period. We are looking for a local business who would wish
to donate a set of t shirts with their company advertised
on the back. If this is something you are interested in
please contact Lorna Dewar (CL of PE) on 0131 554 0606.
Sumdog Mathematics Competition
Pupils in the new S2-4 have been taking part in a nationwide online Maths competition. Pupils access the Sumdog website using their username and password to
play maths games against students from other schools for fun, to help them revise
and to give their brains a good work out. Leith Academy finished 28th out of 144
schools across the nation. Congratulations to the top 10 scorers at Leith Academy
who were Caitlin Thompson (S2), Jake Pugh (S2), Kiera Fitzgerald (S2), Kacper
Suliga (S2), Owen Palfrey (S3), Clare Hibbert (S2), Fiona Polson (S2), Sabrina Zahir
(S2), Dylan-Starr Adams (S2) and Jatin Soni (S3). Caitlin was the champion at Leith
and finished 64th out of 7187 students nationwide, well done Caitlin! Here at Leith
Academy pupils answered a total of 45,615 questions during the week long competition.
If you participated, you can continue using Sumdog by logging onto the website
with your usual username and password (there is also an app for iPads available to
download) and get playing. Keep your eyes and ears open for future competitions
which will be advertised in the pupil bulletin.
Some of the top ten gave their thoughts:
“It was fun and helped me practice my maths skills.” Caitlin Thompson.
“You get quicker as you practice more questions. It was brilliant.” Owen Palfrey.
“It was fun doing it, I enjoyed it a lot.” Jatin Soni.
Well done Leith Academy!
LEITH ACADEMY ADULT EDUCATION
DRAFT PROGRAMME
Enrolling from Wednesday 6th August 2014 at 9.30am - Book online at: www.joininedinburgh.org/leithacademy
Classes start week beginning 22nd September - there will be NO October break
August
14 —
Page
Call us on 0131 553 2810 or Pick up our Community Book from the school
or your
library
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A DRAFT PROGRAMME AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE
DAY COURSES
MON Walkers Club
TUES Drawing Out & About
WED Drawing & Acrylic Painting
WED Art Club
WED Let's Talk Art - Gallery Visits
WED Let's Talk Art - Gallery Visits
WED Walkers - from Hills to the Sea
THU Let's Talk Art - Gallery Visits
FRI
English:SOL - Post Beginner
SAT
Tai Chi Beginners
SAT
Tai Chi Improvers
SUN Mindfulness Beginners
SUN Mindfulness Improvers
TIME & FEE
CODE
1-3pm
1.30-3.30pm
10-12noon
1-3pm
10-12noon
1-3pm
1-3pm
10-12noon
9.30-11.30am
10-11.30am
11.30am-1pm
11-12noon
12.15-1.15pm
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
B
B
C
C
Nursery places available for courses held in school: Mon - Fri
TIME & FEE
TUESDAY 23.9.14 - 25.11.14 CODE
Creative Crochet
6.30-8.30pm
French Beginners* (20wks)
5.30-7pm
French Post Beginners* (20wks) 7.10-8.40pm
Gentle Exercise
6-7pm
Gujarati Cookery
6.30-8.30pm
Hula Hoop Fitness
7-8pm
Italian for Beginners* (20wks)
6.30-8pm
Jewellery: Rings & Earrings
6.30-8.30pm
Millinery: Design Your Own Hat 6.30-8.30pm
Oil Painting
6.30-8.30pm
Spanish Beginners (20wks)
6.30-8.30pm
Tap Dancing Post Beginners
6-7pm
Tap Dancing Beginners
7-8pm
Violin Making
6.30-8.30pm
Yoga for Pregnant Mums*
5.45-6.45pm
Yoga Beginners
7-8.30pm
A
L
L
C
A
C
L
E
A
A
L
C
C
V
B
B
10
MONDAY 22.9.14 - 24.11.14
Badminton
Badminton
Boxercise & Toning
Creative Writing
Dressmaking
Explore Watercolour Techniques
Fitness
Italian Conversation*
Life Drawing
Magic Tricks
Pottery on the Wheel
Resin Jewellery
Yoga Beginners
TIME & FEE
CODE
6.30-8pm
8-9.30pm
7.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6-7.30pm
6.30-8pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
7-9pm
5.30-7pm
B
B
C
A
D
A
B
A
E
A
P
E
B
Yoga Improvers
7-8.30pm
B
WEDNESDAY 24.9.14 - 26.11.14
Circuit Training
Dressmaking
English: SOL - Improvers
Guitar Beginners
Hands On Pottery
Italian Improvers* (20wks)
Pilates Improvers
Pilates Beginners
Script Writing - start 1/10/14
Stained Glass
Swimming Beginners
Swimming Improvers
Upholstery*
TIME & FEE
CODE
6-7.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8pm
6-7pm
7-8pm
6.30-8.30pm
7-9pm
7-8pm
8-9pm
6.30-8.30pm
B
D
A
A
P
L
C
C
A
E
C
C
E
Woodwork
6.30-8.30pm
D
THURSDAY 25.9.14 - 27.11.14
Aquafit
Belly Dancing Beginners
Belly Dancing Improvers
Comic Books
Dress Pattern Cutting
Guitar Improvers
Maths Intermediate 2* (26wks)
Piano Keyboard for Beginners
Spanish Beginners (20wks)
Spanish Post Beginners (20wks)
Spanish Intermediate (20 wks)
Swimming - Women Only
Violin Making
Woodwork
TIME & FEE
CODE
6.30-7.30pm
6-7.30pm
7.30-9pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
7.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
6.30-8.30pm
C
B
B
A
D
A
V
A
L
L
L
C
V
D
ONE DAY COURSES - LIMITED TO 8
PEOPLE
Circus Skills - 11, 18 & 25.10
Photoshop Fundamentals - 11.10
Song Writing - 11.10
Introduction
to Mono
11.10
August
14 —Printing
Page- 11
Clean up Your Laptop - 12.10
Jewellery: Swarovski Elements - 18.10
Drawing & Mindfulness - 18.10
Music Theory - Learn the Basics - 18.10
Intro to Dry Point Etching - 19.10
Make the Most of Your Piano Keyboard19.10
Relaxation & Positivity - 19.10
Book Binding - 25.10
Mosaics - 25.10
Natural Skincare Treats - 25.10
Christmas Card Making - 26.10
Cookery: Japanese - 26.10
Dance Like Michael Jackson - 1.11
Christmas Cake Decorating - 2.11
TIME
1.30pm - 3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
10am-3pm
FEE
£17.50
£25
£17.50
£17.50
£17.50
£17.50
£17.50
£17.50
£17.50
WEEKEND COURSES - LIMITED TO
8 PEOPLE
Take Better Photos: 18 & 19.10
Introduction to Photo Etching: 25 &
26.10
TIME
10am-3pm
FEE
£35
10am-3pm
£35
FEE CODES & PRICES
Code Standard * Student/DLA Senior Citizen Conc
A
57.00
31.00
26.50
13.00
B
46.00
26.50
23.00
13.00
C
35.00
22.00
20.00
13.00
D
65.00
39.00
34.50
21.00
E
73.00
47.00
42.50
29.00
£17.50
L
107.50
55.50
46.50
26.00
£17.50
£17.50
P
85.00
64.00
58.00
41.00
£17.50
V
182.50
115.00
103.50
81.00
£17.50
£17.50
£17.50 *Courses marked with an asterisk will be limited
£17.50 to a maximum of 8 people.
£17.50 Only 2 courses permitted at the concession rate
Happy Holidays from the Community Team
Next term we will be taking online enrolments from 6th August, so you will have the choice of coming into the school to book
a place in the class, or of ringing us and booking by telephone, but also of booking yourself onto a class online. There will be
more information coming out over the summer and in our booklet so let us know if you would like this to be sent out to you.
Classes will start back from Monday 22nd September, whatever the outcome of the Independence Referendum on Thursday
18th September.
We have some exciting new classes to offer including
Keyboards (learn a tune in a day)
Swarovski Crystal Jewellery design and creation of a beautiful pendant or ear rings
Music Theory (pick up the basics in a day so you can understand to how to read simple theory)
Mono Printing
Photo Etching
How to Clean Up Your Computer
Magic Tricks and the secrets behind
Design your own Hat
Maths Intermediate 2
Oil Painting
Life Drawing
Pottery
Tap Dancing
Yoga (and Yoga for Pregnant Women)
Natural Skincare Treats
How to have Fab Abs
Dance Like Michael Jackson
Creative Writing
Comic Books
Script writing
And all our language classes are going to run for 2 terms, to offer enough time to develop your language skills in a small groups
– the classes will only run for an hour and a half, instead of the usual 2 hours, but offer a small group (maximum of 8 people)
so you have an opportunity to really improve your learning to a more in depth level. We have French, Italian and Spanish language classes. They are still very reasonable cost.
Have a very happy holiday and look forward to seeing you next term.
All best from all the Community Team!
LA Speed Careers – March 2014
Student feedback
We got feedback from 27 of the students who participated.
23 of them said it had been 'very useful'.
What did they enjoy?
August 14 — Page 12
'meeting new people'
'learning about different jobs'
'speaking with someone from a career that I'm interested in'
What did they learn?
'do what you're good at'
'there are lots of kinds of social work'
'it's not all about the money'
'be enthusiastic'
'you have to work hard at school to be where you want'
'there are many more jobs than I thought'
'what a radiographer is'
'to be open about your jobs'.
Many students commented that the event would have been improved if there had been 'more
time'.
Adult feedback

The pupils were all really engaged and seemed to be enthusiastic about taking part and only two of them asked what I earned (which
was always the most popular question at my own high school in Clydebank when we ran similar events!!). The format was very relaxed
and I really hope that the pupils got something from it, even if it was just in terms of meeting some new people and having the type of
conversation with working folk that they might not otherwise have had.

I should also say how lucky everyone is to have such a great school to attend. It is miles better in terms of facilities than my old high
school (now closed!). I am sure that many would be envious of Leith Academy.


I'd say having some sort of time limit was good to make things move along, and it forced the students to speak to everyone.

I'd also say that the students who were genuinely interested in your profession could probably have done with a lot more time to chat
things over, and if one of the group was interested and the other two weren't, you ended up just talking to the one who was. So perhaps identifying those students and giving them an extra ten minutes at the end would have been useful? Or else arranging a separate
time with them and the careers advisor? I can't say I've ever done speed-dating, but I suspect the whole point of that is to try to
follow things up afterwards!! Maybe speed-careers should be the same.

I just wanted to say what a privilege it was to take part in this event. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and thought the young people were
great. I would definitely take part again if I were to be asked!

It would be good to have some recent leavers there, but a few 'oldies' are also good to have, to give young people some long term
perspective. As an exercise in getting them to relate to older adults it was also very useful!

It was a great experience and I am very pleased I had a chance to speak to young people and show them a couple of features of My
World of Work website.


I hope that Parent Council will continue organising similar events in the future.
However in most cases it was just a little too short, and as soon as the bell went, some of them jumped up and disappeared while we
were all still mid conversation!
I really enjoyed it - time went quickly both in terms of each 4 minutes and overall.
I guess what I do is fairly "niche" so not sure just how much the kids would have got out of it but then I guess providing them with a
range of options is the point.

Happy to do again - or my wife can talk about IT, which may have a wider reach.
Next Speed Careers Event: November 2014. Do you want to be part of it?
Maths Magic Morning
Well done to all the primary 7 pupils who took part in Leith Academy’s annual Maths Magic Morning on the 16th of
May.
Pupils from Craigentinny, Leith, Lorne, Hermitage Park and St Marys RC
primary schools took part in the event. During the course of the morning
pupils had the opportunity to try a range of activities that tested their mathematical skills. This involved solving various mathematical puzzles, playing
maths board games and trying some maths computer games. The pupils
also had the opportunity to work in groups with pupils from other primary
schools and meet all the maths teachers here at Leith Academy.
A special thanks should also go to the following S3 pupils, Zoe Merrilees, Demi Scorfield, Harry Fisken, Poppy Scott,
Kamal Mahmoud, Natasha Kadir, Laiba Khan, Sumnima Limbu, Hannah Martin, Michal Twardowski, Jamie Flowerdew
and Sam Cronin, who all did an excellent job of helping during the morning!
August 14 — Page 13