Auchinleck Academy
Lessons from Auschwitz Trip Two S6 pupils - Annalise Campbell and Jenna Frew - travelled to Auschwitz as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz programme. This is their account of the experience. “The holocaust is often overlooked by the everyday man as a ‘ tragic event in human history.’ However, very rarely are the true horrors of this genocide recognised. “As human beings we tend to make generalisations, categorise individuals when our minds find it difficult to comprehend every one of the six million Jews, as well as other innocent individuals, who were victimised by the Nazi regime, as individual human beings. “Every single victim was original with a family, hobbies, occupations, and most importantly a life that had been taken so wrongly. This is what makes the holocaust much more than just a part of our history, or something that is taught in school. “The driving forces behind the holocaust were human beings, not monsters, conveying a potent message in our modern world: evil is encouraged by silence. “We both volunteered for the Lessons from Auschwitz which is a four part course, aiming to educate the new generation on the holocaust and the consequences that could arise if prejudice and discrimination are able to flourish in today’s society. “The first part of this course involved us attending an orientation seminar where we spoke to holocaust survivor Eva Clark. Eva’s testimony will remain forever a distinctive lesson that we gained through taking part in this project, not only did it challenge our understanding of the holocaust but it was also extremely successful in rehumanising the victims, as we then were able to experience the impact that the holocaust had on Eva and her family, and then relate to this when we visited Auschwitz. “We both had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz which resurfaced Eva’s testimony and made the tragedies of the holocaust seem more real through visiting a site of genocide. The visit allowed us both to see the truth in the statement that “seeing is not like hearing” and we found it was extremely overwhelming. The most striking aspect of the visit that we both found was that despite Auschwitz being a place with no morality surrounding it, we heard stories of individuals, who should be described as heroes due to their acts of bravery. “The visit allowed us to see the holocaust from a wider perspective and see the heart- breaking capabilities of mankind when feelings of fear drive society, which should be a constant reminder that even today, prejudice and racism can triumph and are very much still relevant. “We then attended a follow up seminar where we shared our personal experiences and the message of the holocaust. The Lessons from Auschwitz project allowed us to gain an understanding, whilst inspiration to spread awareness and remembrance of the holocaust in our local community. For three weeks we had the opportunity to teach third year RE classes about Judaism and the holocaust. “We used active ways to learn so that not only was the message conveyed and remembered, but also ensure that the victims and perpetrators were re- humanised. In addition to this on Holocaust Memorial Day ( January 27) we held a school assembly in remembrance of all those murdered and victimised during the holocaust all over Europe, where we gave random pupils a bal- loon with the name of a victim, which they then released in remembrance of this specific individual, conveying the message of re- humanisation. “We both believe the holocaust is a reminder of where prejudice can lead, and as well as commemorating the victims we should never forget the worrying capabilities of mankind. The holocaust on a large scale conveys how prejudice and discrimination still haunts our society in a number of ways.” An S4 parents evening takes place on Tuesday, February 28, 5- 7.30pm. A special mention to Christie Telfer and Layla Rogerson who were voted Player of Match for their respective games. S3: Ellie Dunlop ( VC); Lia Steel; Charlie Brackenridge; Rachel MacDonald; Christie Telfer; Abbie Forrester ( C); Makayla Snaddon; Ayesha Kemp;; Aimee Pollock; Eilidh Wright; Rhianna Given S2: Aimee Kennedy; Katie Cunningham ( VC); Luci McEwan; Layla Rogerson ( C); Tygan John; Halle White; Melissa Sloan; Rianna Doolan; Ebony Sharkey Visit On 31st January 25 S3 pupils attended an accelerated Learning Programme in association with Glasgow University where they visited the Paisley Campus of UWS along with students from Auchenharvie Academy. The day was very interactive and involved discussions and fun activities based around the journey and routes to attending College or University after they leave Ayr Academy. They found out the way university study works and gained a better understanding of student life. They all attended a Psychology lecture as well as a Guided tour of the Campus and found the day very informative and inspiring towards future careers and courses of study possible. A follow up Ayrshire College visit will take place in March. Accelerated reading We are happy to announce we have our first Word Millionaire! Our second year pupil Liam Farquharson has read over one million words since restarting the Accelerated Reading programme last September. Liam was presented with a certificate and a book token to mark this great achievement. We would like to have more than one word millionaire this year, so could we ask parents of S1 and S2 pupils to encourage their children to bring library books to school every day. In 2016 South Ayrshire campus police officers brought together pupils from 6 Secondary schools to create an innovative short film called ‘ Bright Blue Packet’ aimed at raising awareness around the dangers of New Psychoactive Substances, commonly referred to as ‘ legal highs’. The video featured our very own Sydney Wallace as the main character and was funded by ‘ Choices for Life’ and South Ayrshire Cultural Liaison. The video is aimed at Primary 7 to Secondary 6 and is available on the ‘ Choices for Life’ website and YouTube. The team of officers have subsequently been awarded the ‘ Team of the Year’ award at the annual Scottish Policing Excellence Awards and hope that the resource will continue to be used to support schools curriculums and help young people make healthy and informed choices. Art Piece of the month Patterson of S2. He has created a very colourful is by Josh abstract sculpture. Shapes were taken from Josh’s observation drawings to create the 3D form; Josh has used complementary and harmonious colour combinations on his surface pattern. This project is inspired by the work of British sculptor Anthony Caro, pupils will soon be learning about his work. Senior phase Art & Design pupils have been working hard to complete their final pieces; they have focused on fashion 3D textiles, Millinery, bag and light design. S1 pupils were given the option of participating in a competition following a class project based on packaging design. They were asked to devise a name for a cereal product and design the lettering to coincide with their chosen theme. The judging process was based on lettering technique, colour application and visual impact. Beth McMaster was the overall winner of the competition with runner up prizes going to Jamie McGeachie, Olivia Cosgrove and Zoe Ramage.