Issue 109 October 2015 Newsletter

JUST A FAÇADE

We celebrate another successful term at the Academy by commending the Visiting ensemble ‘The Mahler Players’, pictured here, along with Higher and Advanced Higher Music students. In their recent visit to the Academy, the group performed a selection of pieces from William Walton’s ‘Façade’. This is one of the highlights of 20th-century music, and involves nobody called John-Boy. The students learned about the techniques involved, as well as learning more about the instruments in the ensemble - and the musicians who played them. This has been a busy term as usual, with many and diverse activities in and beyond the classroom. The Sponsored Walk of September 23rd looks set to reach the £10,000 mark shortly, and there is fantastic progress in the New Build, which is definitely more than a façade. Read on!

BREAKING NEWS: Mr. Nigel Engstrand, presently Rector of Speyside High School, has been appointed the new Rector of Inverness Royal Academy.

Naidheachdan Acadamaidh Rìoghail Inbhir Nis Àireamh 109 https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/hi/InvernessRoyalAcademy https://gaidhliginbhirnis.wordpress.com Twitter: @Inverness_Royal @IRACareers October 2015

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Trip to Romania with Blythswood In July a group of senior pupils & staff travelled to work with disadvantaged youngsters in Romania. Our pupils spent 2 weeks getting to know the Romanians and had a lot of fun teaching Scottish culture, as well as numeracy & literacy. For more information about the trip please see our school website.

Business Awareness Conference 2015 - Mr. Ian D. Stewart 25 of our 6th year pupils recently attended a 2-day Business Awareness Seminar. Seven prominent ‘Executives’ from the Private and Third Sector, gave presentations to the students on a range of business topics. Speakers included Brian Weaver, of Highland Social Enterprises, Louise Darnley, Dynam Marketing, Pamela Struth, Empire Human Resources, Jackie Cuddy, Eastgate Centre, Jenny MacPherson, Platform PR, Craig Duncan, McDonalds, and Billy MacLean, MacRae and Dick. Our pupils were described as mature, friendly and focused - a ‘credit to the school’.

The Bake Sale Team after the Sponsored Walk - more great fundraising! October 2015

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Some locals who enjoy the high life pictured recently in the penthouse area of the new school.

Master Chef Round two The momentous second round of Master Chef in the Home Economics department was a tough competition. Emma McBride S3, Angus MacDonald S2 and Sharlene Fraser S2 all took part. They were judged by two chefs and Mr Duncan MacDonald from the Rotary club of Inverness and Culloden. The winner was Sharlene Fraser, she will go onto the next round of the competition and represent the school in the local competition. This is Sharlene’s account: ‘This year I decided to enter the school Master Chef competition. In the first round there were ten competitors of which four advanced to the second round. In this round each competitor had to prepare, cook and serve a two course meal for one person with a budget of £10. After this round I was chosen as one of the four competitors to progress onto the second round. The four of us all had to cook a two course meal this time for two people with the same budget. I was very lucky to get through both rounds.’

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Lucy James on the English/ Gaelic Excursion to ‘The Cleared Coast’, the peninsula of Skye where the community of Suishnish, was cleared in the early 1850s: ‘It’s not called ‘The Misty Isle’ for nothing! Although the weather was not as sunny as we had hoped, we learnt a lot, and enjoyed the walk to the Clearance village. This was a fantastic experience as we learnt how remote the people were, and the horrors they had to endure. Understanding what these people went through is difficult but Sorley MacLean’s poem, ‘Hallaig’, put it in perspective for us. Getting there was a long trek, but those blues were slowed with a chippy at Kyle! Chaidh Lusaidh Seumas, sgoilear sa chlas Beurla aig an àrd-ìre, air turas gu Suidhisnish, baile a dh’ fhuiling buaidh nam fuadaichean anns an t-Eilean Sgitheanach tràth anns na 1850an. “Tha adhbhar ann gur e ‘Eilean a’ Cheo’ a th’ aca air an t-Eilean Sgitheanach! Ged nach robh an aimsir buileach cho math sa bha sinn an dùil, dh’ionnsaich sinn tòrr agus chòrd a’ chuairt dhan bhaile rinn. ’S e cothrom air leth a bh’ ann ionnsachadh mu cho iomallach sa bha na daoine agus mar a dh’ fhuiling iad. Tha e doirbh a thuigsinn cho uabhasach sa bha cùisean dha na daoine ach tha am pìos bàrdachd, ‘Hallaig’, a sgrìobh Somhairle MacGill-Eain ar cuideachadh. Bha againn ri coiseachd astar gu math fada ach bha sinn uile gu math toillichte Caolas Loch Aillse agus bùth nan sliseagan a ruighinn aig a cheann thall!”

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VORSPRUNG DURCH VERSTÄNDIGUNG

Not a take-over of a certain 1930s building over the river by our active Modern Linguists, but another example of the Academy’s polyglot tendencies: GERMAN EXCHANGE VISIT FROM AUGSBURG On Thursday 17th September, a group of S4, S5 and S6 National 5 and Advanced Higher German pupils, accompanied by Miss Munro and Mr Groth, visited Inverness High School to meet with a party of German exchange students and their teachers from the Maria-Theresia-Gymnasium in the Bavarian town of Augsburg. The pupils and staff were given a tour of Inverness High School and its farm, before treating the German visitors to some mid-morning traditional ceilidh dancing and ten-pin bowling at Roller Bowl in the evening. It is hoped that our IRA pupils will keep in contact with their new German friends (and practise their German language skills at the same time!) and we look forward to welcoming them to our new school building in 2016.

Tanzania 2016 Group Christmas Coffee Morning, Green Drive Hall, Saturday 5th December, 10.00 ALL WELCOME

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Basketball Refereeing Course On Friday 21st August, a group of senior pupils took part in a basketballscotland officiating workshop. This involved a 90 minute theory session, followed by a 90-minute practical session to put their game knowledge into action. This included learning the referee’s mechanics, as well as some vital hand signals, which will now enable them to referee school games. Well done to Ananda, Erin, Leanne, Layla, Brooke, Zak, Al, Aeneas, Carson, Finn, Finlay, Joseph and Angus. Also a big thank you to Mariann Miklosik for leading the course! - Sports Reporters: Catriona and Ananda

Sixth year student, Lewis Thomson, has recently completed a selection of fundraising events for Epilepsy Action. Through doing this he has raised a fantastic £252.28 for the charity.

Dates for your Diary: Monday October 26th - School returns from October holidays Monday 10th November – Parent Council meeting Wednesday 18th November - S5/6 Parents’ Evening Monday 23rd November - S4 Prelims begin Thursday 3rd December – Christmas Fayre Saturday 5th December - Tanzania 2016 Group Coffee Morning, Green Drive Hall Tuesday 15th December – Christmas Concert Wednesday 16th December – S1/2 Dance Thursday 17th December – S3/4 Dance Monday 21st December – S5/6 Dance Tuesday 22nd December – Christmas Services, End of Term (School restarts Thursday 7th January 2016) October 2015

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European Day of Languages 2015 Here, pictured alongside the Library’s celebratory Map of Languages used by members of the school community, are Sahan (Turkish); Peter (Gaelic and Hungarian); Emily (Gaelic). The Academy’s varied community grows ever wider, with over 21 different languages being used regularly by pupils!

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." Nelson Mandela. School Library An exciting start to the new school year in the Library; lots going on, including a big welcome to our new S1 pupils, who are all now underway with their Power Readers reading programme for the year: There are always ways in which people can develop a love of reading, in all its various formats, and as Librarians, our job is to discover what works for the individual pupils who come into the library during their English classes. We scored with our European languages book displays. Did you know: There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe. Did you know: The population of at least half the world is bilingual. Several of our regular library volunteers are from other European countries; many others come regularly to us at break and at lunch, and have found a home in the school library. Meanwhile If you would like to know more about how the Library service can support you in learning English, learning to read with your children or how to gain fluency in another language, please get in touch with us at the IRA Library. October 2015

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FRENCH EXCHANGE VISIT TO LA BAULE The return leg of our exchange programme with Collège Éric Tabarly in the French seaside town of La Baule took place from 15th to 22nd September and we were very well received by our French friends and host families. We followed a very busy schedule and the pupils were able to put their French into practice with varying success. For some this was a challenging prospect but by the end of the week all had managed to communicate well and strengthen their friendships. The aims of the trip were always much broader than just using language and there was much to digest in terms of cultural differences and social graces. Two days in school afforded the opportunity to see how English is taught to French pupils and also how the French school system compares to ours, and how much homework our counterparts have to do every night! We had a mixture of weather, but it improved in time for the weekend which we spent at the beach. We visited a number of museums to gain a perspective on such things as the historical wealth created by the salt marshes and the later development of trade through the port of Nantes. This development included a significant amount of slave-trading and this reflects some of the work studied in S3 in our school. I would like to thank the senior management team at Inverness Royal Academy and the Town Twinning committee for their support and also the parents and families of the pupils for their generosity and hospitality which was so appreciated by the French parents and pupils. Peter McArthur S3 Modern Studies Scottish Parliament Visit Thadhal cuideigin bho Parlamaid na h-Alba oirnn Diardaoin 1d Damhair agus rinn iad seisean le S3 Nuadh-eolas. Rinn sinn cuirm-ceist agus bha powerpoints dathach ann. Dh’ionnsaich sinn torr agus bha e gu math inntinneach. Chuidich e gum mor agus bhith sinn ga moladh gu clasaichean eile. It was interesting and we learnt quite a few new things. It was easy to understand and it helped a lot that there were quizzes. Le Kirstyn Howarth agus Meghan O’ Donnell S3

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