Staffing (Download this newsletter from here)

We have appointed Mr Andy Margerison as our new PT Pupil Support (Additional Support for Learning) and he takes up post in January. The ASfL team will be losing Mrs Linda Asbery at the end of term. Mrs Asbery is retiring after 15 years of excellent service to the pupils of the Academy and she will be missed greatly. We are also very grateful to Mrs Fullarton for doing such a fine job as Acting PT. Unfortunately, Mr Tinman and Mrs Clark-Kennedy are still absent through illness and Mrs Eddyshaw is on maternity leave. Mr Boyom continues to offer sterling support in Modern Languages as does Ms Taylor in English and we are pleased to have Mrs Nurse help out, also in English. We have advertised a temporary English/ASfL post although the current health issue has highlighted the absence of qualified staff who are available to cover classes.

Swine Flu

The recent infections that hit pupils and staff – ‘flu, heavy colds, stomach upsets and what turned out to be a variant of ‘swine flu’ – made it difficult to maintain normality in school, but, on the advice of the Health Board, we did our best to manage the high absence rate and continue with ‘business as usual’. The fact that the Academy was the first school in the area to be affected meant that accurate information could not be issued until a definite diagnosis of the problem was made. Swabs were taken from pupils by our local GPs on the Tuesday and confirmation of the swine flu virus was issued on Friday. The Health Board made the decision not to close the school or contact parents at that time because the virus appeared to have passed its peak; we sent out a Group Call with what information we had on the Friday morning – within an hour of the phone call from Dr Breen.

We really do appreciate all the support that parents and carers gave us by phoning the school asking for and giving us information and by handling pupil illness in such a sensible manner. Everyone has learned from the experience; hopefully, such situations will be very rare!

Proposed budget cuts

You will see (included below) an announcement from the Council about the method and period of consultation on the recent proposals to make savings. I would urge you to take the time to read these proposals which affect not only education but also several other areas of local and regional provision. With reference to this particular school, I would draw your attention to items:

• 1 (Cuts to secondary school staffing);
• 4 (Cuts to Instrumental Instruction);
• 11 (Reduction of modern language support in primary schools – delivered in some areas by secondary staff);
• 15 (Reduce classroom assistant budget);
  23 (Removal of weekday S1 bus service: Newton Stewart – Kirkcudbright Academy).

Budget Consultation – Have Your Say

Dumfries and Galloway Council is developing its budget for 20010/11 and is looking for your personal views on the options for change that have been proposed. Final figures from the Scottish Government have still to be confirmed, but the Council is estimating that a further £4 million must be added to the savings target of 3.9 million they had been planning for 2010/11. A rolling programme of efficiency projects, initiated over the last two years, together with revised figures for inflation and pay awards leaves a gap of £3.5 million. The options in this survey come to just over £5 million so there is flexibility on where savings can be made and this is why your views are important. Further detailed background information on each proposal is available beside each question in the online survey. You can also get the Freepost survey and information in hard copy from Customer Service Centres, libraries and leisure centres.

NOW PLEASE COMPLETE THE ONLINE SURVEY: http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=7555

PUBLIC MEETINGS, starting at 7.00pm will also be held as follows:

Thursday 26 November – Annan Town Hall

Monday 30 November – Castle Douglas Primary School

Tuesday 1 December – Glenluce Village Hall

Wednesday 2 December – Minerva Hall Dumfries Academy

The consultation ends on 18 December 2009. The information will be reported to Council in January and considered as part of Budget Setting on 11 February 2010

Fund-raising

As a school, we are very fortunate to be able to draw on funds raised by parents and friends in the community and beyond. The series of major events that feature large on the school calendar ensures that we are able to subsidise many of the opportunities offered to pupils, particularly those sporting, theatre and special interest events that involve travel by bus which has become increasingly expensive. Our rural location means that such funds have to be used if we are to give our youngsters the chance to participate in activities that are readily available to pupils in more densely populated areas. In recent years, we have also used funds to help provide improved facilities at the Cochran Hall, including floodlighting for safety and large-screen projector. This year, we find ourselves in fairly urgent need of replacing the high specification electronic ‘Clavinova’ piano in Music at a cost of over £3,000. We are hoping to sell one of two fine grand pianos (please enquire if you are interested), but will need to raise the remaining amount.

The main events in the school calendar this year are:

Shimmers (Ballgown exchange) 8 December (Fund-raising contact: Mrs K Hulatt)

Pantomime 10, 11 and 12 December (Fund-raising contact: Mrs K Sproat)

Adult Candlemas 6 February (Fund-raising contact: Mrs T McDowall)

Half-Marathon 29 May 2010

Showcase – June 2010

We need helpers to join each of the fund-raising teams for these events and you can volunteer by contacting the named person via the School Office. If you cannot be in the team, it would be helpful if you could donate to the raffle prizes. These donations can be dropped off at the school office any time.

Monthly Draw

Another way of helping with fund-raising is to sign up for the Monthly Draw. For only £12 a year, you can enter the Academy Parent Council Prize Draw; a £50 prize is drawn each month. You can download a form from the school website, pick one up at a Parents’ Evening or ask for one at the School Office.

Pupil Absence – October break

As we try continually to keep a close eye on attendance and ensure that our records are accurate, can I ask that the school is kept informed of pupil absence and the reasons for it?

One of the reasons for introducing the extended break in October was to try and reduce the amount of time missed from school by pupils whose parents could not take holidays in the summer or for whom one week was not enough. We are now finding that a significant number of pupils are missing from school on either side of the two week break and this is having a negative impact on learning and teaching. Please try to avoid taking your children out of school during term time; we have very clear instructions from the Council that this should be discouraged.

Young Enterprise

All donations of material for Young Enterprise aprons would be greatly appreciated. We are looking for large pieces of material e.g. curtains. Any materials or pattern. Materials can be given to the school for the attention of Miss Carnegie. Thanks in advance.

WANTED! Duke Of Edinburgh Leaders & Expedition Supervisors

needed to:

• lead Bronze or Silver Duke of Edinburgh participants through their Award,
• co-ordinate first aid training
• co-ordinate expedition training
• supervise expeditions

Whether you would like to lead your own group or help on a small scale your help would be appreciated. If you are interested please contact Mrs Bjerland as soon as possible.