Rector's Newsletter - May 2007

Dear Parents, Former Pupils and Friends of Dollar Academy,

After the deceptively warm and bright beginning to third term, the traditional chill rain of May has appeared, eradicating the media talk of global warming for a spell. There has been a stop/start approach thus to the cricket and tennis seasons, but the grounds are now in excellent condition for the large-scale events later this term.

Nevertheless, Dollar’s innovative drive has continued indoors. In late April, a number of Dollar FPs and parents participated in a new forum involving Governors, staff and senior pupils – Dollar Looking Out. The interaction was of benefit to all, and the Head of World Studies, Mr Neil McFadyean, already has plans for further developments of this nature.

In what has been a busy spell for Dollar’s Governors, other projects have begun. Governors are looking at the creation of a townscape plan which will clarify the aims for the next stages of development of Dollar Academy. Architects are visualising the overall picture of the school’s needs in the context of the wider landscape issues. We aim to involve as many as possible in consultation about the next steps of Dollar’s development; further information will be provided in due course. Throughout the UK, many schools are re-shaping in order to meet changing learning needs. Here, as the strengths in Dollar’s sciences become ever more apparent, the Governors are looking to provide the right accommodation in anticipation of our continuing demand for science, engineering and technology.

While we build on excellent educational practice, we are also conscious of the direct charitable involvement of many members of the Dollar Academy community in links with other environments, and particularly the initiatives in earthquake-devastated north Pakistan. The funds raised by Dollar have enabled a school to be built in Balakot; contacts are carefully maintained with the children for whom this new school is home; and we are delighted that Kathryn Birrell (VI) will be our first representative to teach in the school which was directly created through Dollar’s charitable efforts. The many parents and friends of the Academy who have shown enthusiasm and support for Mr Andrew Morton’s project are once again thanked for their generosity: Dollar’s practical approach to this funding has been invaluable.

Kindest regards,

John Robertson MA
Rector

PUPILS

Ballroom Dancing
The following are congratulated on obtaining their Scottish Award II in the recent ballroom dancing test. They have already completed Bronze, Silver, Gold and Scottish Award I: Elisabeth Allan, Sarah Barcroft, Julie Fergusson, Liam McGee, Roderick McNicoll, James Morrison, Flora Murray, Louise Reid and Angus Sutherland (all VI).

Bulkeley-Evans Scholarships
Dollar’s senior pupils have been very successful for some time in securing prestigious scholarships from the Bulkeley-Evans Fund. These awards, of £400 each, are made to pupils leaving the Academy with a view to taking part in a significant gap year project. This year, Kathryn Birrell and Lachlan Fotheringham (both VI) have been awarded scholarships towards their gap year projects in Pakistan and Namibia respectively. Kathryn will be the first Dollar pupil to go out to the school in Balakot where Dollar’s funding has been of crucial support over the past eighteen months.

Chemistry
The Dollar team of James Foley (II), Emily Thomas and Arsaleem Cheema (both III) and Calum Burt (IV) had a challenging and most interesting spell in London as regional winners of the Top of the Bench Competition. The team, accompanied by Dr Johnson and Mrs Carmichael distinguished itself with its mature focus on the three chemical challenges at Imperial College – and had a most enjoyable visit to Monty Python’s Spamalot in addition. Our young chemists are very keen to take up next year’s challenge already.

Creative Writing
In this year’s writing competition run by the National Galleries of Scotland, the English-Speaking Union and the Scottish Poetry Library, again Dollar pupils met with success.  From 822 entries, James Ross and Jennifer McIntosh (both IV) were both runners-up in the 12-15 age group, Amy Louise Duffus and Catriona Jardine (both III) were highly commended in the 12-15 age group, and  Kirsten Findlay (VI) was highly commended in the 16-18 age group.  The competition was sponsored by SQA supported by The Scotsman.

Crest Awards
Rebecca Chroston (III) has again met with success in the Crest Awards competition. She won in the Silver category with her project on Bird Flu, H5N1 – When, Not If. Hannah Stewart (also Form III), won the Bill Bryce Trophy for her project on Turmeric and Cancer. The judges were very impressed with the standard of projects and with the quality of answers to the questions. In addition to the prizes mentioned above, Ruaraidh Ellison, Emma Donoghue and Sarah Johnson (all III) gained Silver awards, while Beth Hamilton, Christopher Lau, Alasdair Mackie, Louis Stewart and Angus Robertson (all J2) won Bronze awards.

Cricket
The 1st XI this year is captained by Matthew Bremner (V), with Vice-Captain Joe Fitzgibbon (V). The Secretaries are Bill Auld (V) and Andrew Shedden (VI).

Peter Ross (III) and James Ross (IV) played for the Scotland U-15 cricket team in South Africa in March. Both boys contributed fully and very much enjoyed their experience in the southern hemisphere.

Debating
Ruth Cameron (I) and Gavin Woolman (II) are congratulated on their runner-up position in this year’s English-Speaking Union U-15 debate.

Election Hustings
Form VI had the opportunity to hear four of the five prospective councillor candidates in the constituency on Tuesday 1 May. Afterwards, when the voting took place, it is understood that there were no problems with spoiled ballot papers, and the result in the STV system was clear-cut.

Equestrian Events
Sarah Buitelaar (I), who has competed for a long time, took part in a recent showjumping competition in Wales. In the Kilgraston Equestrian Dressage and Showjumping Competition held at Gleneagles, the Senior team of Louise Ritchie (V), Lauren Seath and Lucy Henry (both IV) and Rebecca Walker (II) came second in the Dressage, the Showjumping and overall, with Rebecca gaining the best Dressage score in her class. The Intermediate team of Rosie Keith (I) and Sienna Elles (J2) came third overall, while the Junior team of Stephanie Dick, Sarah Buitelaar (both I) and Charlie Dunn (J1) came fourth overall.

Again the Scottish Equestrian Vaulting team provided the opportunity for Joanne (FP) and Hannah Eccles (IV) to impress. The Scottish team finished in second place overall, but Joanne Eccles went on to take first place in the individual female competition. In the first British selection trial held recently in Wales, the Scottish Equestrian Vaulting team took first place in the Advanced class and in the Intermediate class. Again, Joanne Eccles won the Individual Female section, with Hannah in third place. The consistency of excellence shown by the dedicated members of the Eccles family is quite remarkable.

Football
In the first Independent Schools of Scotland against the English Independent Schools U-18 match ever played, Dollar was represented by Robbie Hay (VI) and Jonny Mallet (V). Jonny scored the only goal for Scotland, from a penalty, and was voted the best Scottish player.

Hockey
Elizabeth Shedden (III) is to be congratulated on her selection for the U-16 Scottish Hockey Squad. She played in Ireland during the spring break, and will play in the English international in June.

Japanese Scholarship
We were delighted to welcome Masaki Matsuzawa who will spend summer term with us in Form VI here in the Academy. Masaki is the first member of Kunohe Village, with whom we have had long-standing links, to spend a term as a student with us. He has settled well in McNabb House, and we value the continuing enthusiasm for Dollar’s linkage with Japan.

Karate
Gail Breslin (P5) was awarded her Blue Belt at a recent Karate grading.

Music
In the Perth Musical Competition Festival, Kate Reynolds (V) won the R W Donaghy Cup for Scottish songs for girls aged 16-17; she then went on to win the Federation of British Industries Cup for the best individual competitor in all vocal classes including over 18s.

Photography Competition
The recent Classics Department visit to Rome had a photography competition as part of the follow-up projects. The results were as follows: Carol Roberts (III) took first and third place and Elisabeth Allan (VI) took second place.

Place Kicking Cup Competition
This year’s winner with five successful attempts from six was Jamie Urquhart, who played for the Form III As. Jamie Smith (Form I Bs) and Angus Tester (1st XV) were placed equal second.

Pipe Band
Again, the pipe band is working very hard in preparation for this year’s competition which will be held at The Mary Erskine School on the afternoon of Sunday 17 June. The band has been committed to a number of engagements, and it was particularly pleasing that the band should perform so well in the grounds of Aberdour Castle on the night when St Fillan’s Church, Aberdour, was presenting a large cheque to the Mercy Ships organisation. The band showed enormous skill as it played in front of Dr George Brown, a former Pipe Major at the Academy, and a former doctor from the Aberdour area. Dr Brown had previously presented his set of bagpipes to the Academy.

Rugby
Murray Semple (J1) and Lewis Hetman (P5) were part of Stirling County’s success at their recent tournament. After winning all of their qualifying matches, and two bouts of extra time in a particularly hard fought final against Stewart’s Melville, the game and the tournament were settled as a draw.

Skiing
James Filsell (IV), the prodigiously successful 15-year-old skier, has just won the British U-18 Combined Skiing Championships in Meribel. The championship combines four disciplines – slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom and downhill.

Tennis
The following members of Form VI are this year’s office bearers: Emily Bain (Captain), Rebecca Shedden (Vice-Captain) and Rachael Brown (Secretary). Sophie Williamson (J1) has been selected to represent the North of Scotland in a high-performance squad tournament.

NEWS

Freedom of Clackmannanshire
Dollar Academy Jazz Orchestra performed very stylishly in Alloa Town Hall during the evening when the former Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Mr George Reid FP, was presented with the Freedom of Clackmannanshire

Care Commission Inspection
At the end of second term, Dollar Academy boarding community experienced the first unannounced Care Commission inspection. The inspection was extremely positive, and the brief report is published on the website. The Care Commission does not issue individual copies to parents.

Easter Trips
A remarkable number of pupils and staff were involved in tours and trips during the Easter break. The combined total on Modern Languages trips was 123 (not counting two late withdrawals) and these trips involved not only languages specialists, but members of the Art, Music, Biology, PE, Maths and boarding house staff. There were 43 pupils in Italy, with 20 on the Classics trip and 23 playing rugby; there were in 43 in Prague and 18 in Morocco. There were 61 on CCF visits. The combined total was 208.

Sports Travel Award
This is very much a last reminder of the information in the last newsletter. Applications are welcome up to the end of May.

Supper and Music in the Marquee
Tickets are available for this year’s Supper and Music in the Marquee on the Saturday of Sports Weekend. The band is Counselled Out, who play 60s and 70s dance music. The food will be delicious, and the atmosphere is expected to be electric. Tickets are selling rapidly, and it would be very helpful if the remaining tickets could be reserved quickly in order to allow final planning to take place. Please see details on the website.

Scottish and English Rugby Cup Final Days 2007
There was significant Dollar involvement during the national rugby cup finals day at Murrayfield. In the Men’s Cup Final, Michael Adamson (FP 2002) played in the winning team for Glasgow Hawks; in the Plate final Jamie Mackinnon (FP 2002) and Mr Ryan Welsh (History/Modern Studies) played for the winning GHK team against Crieff and Strathearn. In the Women’s Cup Final, Ms Gillian McCord (History/Modern Studies) played for Royal High/Corstorphine who went down 8-24. Recently, in the Challenge Cup Final at Twickenham, Rory Lawson (FP 1999), who appeared throughout Scotland’s recent Six Nations campaign, played for Gloucester against Leicester.

FORMER PUPILS

Claire Smillie (FP 2006) will be awarded the national prize for the top student in Biotechnology at the annual meeting of the Institute of Biology at the University of Stirling in June.

Tom Kitchin (FP 1993), who runs The Kitchin in Leith has become the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious Scottish Chef of the Year Award.

Sarah Hardie (FP 2006) painted one of the four winning portraits of Scotland’s political party leaders for the Sunday Herald’s Holyrood election campaign. Sarah, who is a first year MA student at Edinburgh College of Art produced a striking portrait of Jack McConnell.

The Dollar Academy community was deeply saddened by the death of Russell Johnston (FP 2005). His funeral brought together many members of his year group who held him in great affection. Our condolences go to his family at this very sad time.

CHARITIES COMMITTEE AND OTHER NEWS

The Cross-Country Championships 2007 which were designed to attract sponsorship for two hospital units in the Glasgow Western Infirmary and Falkirk Royal Infirmary, led to the extraordinary sum of £12,423.21 being raised, with Mrs Elan Borrowman’s personal contribution through her own run raising almost £4,000 of the total. The arrangements for disbursement of the monies are still to be finalised, but opportunity will be taken to allow those centrally involved in the project to take a significant role in the presentation. Our thanks go to so many members of the school community who willingly ran and even more selflessly went about the process of raising money for these hospital locations.

Edinburgh Moonwalk 2007
The ladies of the school office (aka The Dollar Mixtures) will be participating in the annual Moonwalk in Edinburgh on Saturday 16 June where they will power walk thirteen miles to raise money for Breast Cancer Research and Cancer Care. The walk begins at midnight and all participants wear brightly decorated bras to create what has been described as “the Mardi Gras of Marathons”. Any donations will be greatly appreciated, and further details of the event are available on the school website.

STAFF

We were pleased to welcome back Dr Sharon Fulton (Physics) after her maternity leave. Mr and Mrs Steve Newton (Head of PE) are congratulated on the birth of their daughter Rachel, a sister for Emily. Mrs Heather Moore (English) has begun maternity leave.

At the end of session, we will be saying farewell to a number of colleagues – Mrs Margaret Nesbitt (Prep School), Mr Richard Vanstone (Director of Communications), Mr Dick Carter (Head of Technology), Mrs Alison Thompson (Support for Learning) and Dr Hector Soga (Fortunas), all of whom are retiring. Miss Lizzie Poole (English) moves to St George’s School in Edinburgh to a promoted English position; Mr Marek Kochanowski (English) leaves to undertake a writing project; Mrs Camilla Beesley (Development Office) becomes the Head’s PA at Epsom College and Mrs Alison Smith (Modern Languages) will be retiring from her teaching duties but continuing with the CCF RN section. Mrs Margaret Nesbitt will be involved in Support for Learning work next session.

Mrs Carrie Silvester will join the office team on Monday 21 May; she replaces Mrs Sandra Dewar who left during second term.

Mr Andrew Morton (Head of Biology) is currently in St Vincent, developing examination strategies in Biology.

Mrs Marjorie Smith (Biotechnology) has been awarded a grant from AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust to encourage a more discursive approach to learning and teaching in schools through the further development of science activities. Her project, Let’s Talk – Science and Health, is aimed at 11-14 year olds and supports the Curriculum for Excellence. She will be working closely with the Scottish Executive and with local authorities to trial and implement the materials. A report from the trials held in Fife and Edinburgh schools has just arrived, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from teachers and pupils. Over one hundred teachers had trialled the resources in their schools. At the end of a lesson, one particularly difficult pupil is reported to have said, “Thanks, that’s the best lesson I’ve ever had.” One pupil described his feeling about global warming being like a duck trapped in a pond where he could swim forever but never get out of the pond. The teachers suggested that the discussions held by pupils were of remarkably high quality, and they learned to think and to challenge their pre-conceived ideas.

HELP PLEASE

Once again, many thanks to everyone who has sent in Tesco vouchers. Mr Marchant is delighted to note the impact of the vouchers on our annual IT budget. If you have any further vouchers, please send them to the school office as quickly as possible, as the offer has now closed.

Thrift Shop Opening – 2:30pm – 4:00pm (2nd and 4th Thursday of the month)

Thursday 24 May                     Thursday 14 June

In addition, the thrift shop will be open on the open afternoon for new pupils joining the Prep and Junior School in August being held on Monday 18 June.

MAIN DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Further dates will be found on the website and on the Third Term Calendar Card.

SPORTS WEEKEND 2007