Agenda item
Good News
Minutes:
The Convener advised of a number of good news stories as follows:-
· Wee Green Space
The Wee Green Space Project was an improvement being taken forward in Aberdeen using the Early Years Collaborative methodology. The project aimed to encourage the weekly use of local green space by Nursery and Primary 1 classes. Children’s safety and independence has been achieved through the development of micro-routines.
· Rwanda – Global Learning Partnership
Eight City teachers went to Rwanda for four weeks this summer, to work with teacher mentors from the International Education Exchange (IEE), who have many schools in Rwanda. The whole project was organised, and heavily subsidised, by the Wood Foundation.
About 3 years ago, Rwanda changed the language of instruction from French to English. City teachers went out to help with skills in spoken English, as well as sharing teaching methods from Scottish schools including active learning and outdoor learning. A Global Citizenship Quality Mark was to be introduced for teachers/schools to work towards, to ensure the learning is embraced by the whole school community. This partnership is continuing in 2014-15.
· Science
Nineteen of Aberdeen’s primary schools gained PSQM (Primary Science Quality Mark) Awards, at Bronze, Silver and Gold.
1020 pupils gained a P6/7 Science Champions Award, having taught science to Early Years classes.
S6 Science Ambassadors have continued to help deliver science in primary schools. From 2015, they can also gain a Silver Crest Award in Science Communication.
Science Buddies in secondary schools help with science clubs or junior science classes.
The Intertek Primary School Science Fair increased in size again, with 40 outstanding projects being judged by professional scientists. Each project & pupil who made it to the final also gained a Bronze Crest Award.
Secondary schools were also working with Arcola Energy on a hydrogen fuel challenge, to build and race hydrogen powered Lego cars.
· Sport
Amongst the athletes who took part in the Commonwealth Games were local athletes who had been supported by Aberdeen City Councils Sports Grants programme. The three grant recipients representing Team Scotland were Rebecca Bee, Andrew McGovern and Zoey Clark. Rebecca Bee is a rhythmic gymnast, who alongside her team mates placed 7th overall. Andrew McGovern was the fastest Scot in the swimming pool in the 50m backstroke, reaching 5th place in the semi-finals. Zoey Clark and fellow team mates took part in the 4 x 400m relay and narrowly lost out on qualifying for the finals by 0.65 seconds.
As well as a number of local athletes that competed, many officials and volunteers from the city also took part at the games and their contributions were to be recognised at a civic reception later this month.
· Bucksburn Community Sports Hub
The Bucksburn Community Sports Hub was currently supporting a number of events during September which were aimed at young people in the local community. The hub had agreed to support Bucksburn Academy’s first ever extra-curricular fair, which was designed to market the school’s extra-curricular programme. Sports clubs who were members of the hub would be attending the lunchtime fair on 24th September to encourage S1-6 pupils to try sports such as Netball, Squash, Cricket, Volleyball and Basketball. All clubs would then be running taster sessions directly after school to allow pupils to get involved and potentially take up a new sport.
Also this month, the hub would be working in partnership with Active Schools to launch a Leadership Academy based within Bucksburn, aimed at developing leadership skills in 14-18 year olds and enabling them to feel more confident in volunteering and coaching within clubs in the local area. The weekly course was to run between September and February, and participants would then receive a recognised Sports Leaders UK qualification as a result. A similar programme would also be piloted in Aberdeen Grammar School (linked to the Rubislaw Hub) at the end of September.
· Dolphins
The Wild Dolphins project was a huge success for the City of Aberdeen with many visitors to the city and locals enjoying the challenge of the dolphin hunt over the summer period. Around 18,000 people had visited Marischal College quad over the last weekend to see all the Dolphins in one place. The dolphins were auctioned off at an event at the Music Hall where a very substantial amount of money was raised for charity, in the region of half a million pounds. In an attempt to secure one of the dolphins for Aberdeen City Council staff donated over £4,000. This figure was matched by the Council, and after a successful bid the Council was now the proud owners of “Lottie”.
Finally, Councillor Kiddie updated the Committee on the recent Aberdeen International Youth Festival, and stated that it had been one of the best which Aberdeen had seen. He noted that it was a unique festival which brought people together from all over the world. Councillor Kiddie also advised the Committee of the dinner which was to be organised in 2015 by Friends of Aberdeen International Youth Festival. The guest speaker at this event was to be Richard Holloway, the Chair of Sistema.