Congratulations to Kirsty Morrison on being selected by basketballscotland to represent her country in Barcelona this month.
basketballscotland have teamed up with Erasmus to send 117 players to compete for two weeks in Barcelona. For many, this will not only be the first time representing their country abroad, but also their first time ever getting to put on the Scotland jersey – a moment we know everyone is very excited for.
We wish Kirsty and the rest of the team the best of luck!
Here at Inverness Royal Academy we are a UN Silver Rights Respecting School and pride ourselves on our ethos of care, compassion and respect. On Monday the 6th of June the school will fly the rainbow flag to mark Pride Month. To be able to fly the Pride flag underlines our commitment to inclusivity and support for all within the LGBTQ+ community in our school, the local area and across the country.
The LGBTQ+ community has faced a lot of challenges, hate and discrimination in the past and continues to do so even today. This is why we recognise and celebrate Pride; to stand together and to show that #loveislove
Pride Month is a global event in which LGBTQ+ pride is celebrated. Throughout June we can celebrate the powerful progress of LGBTQ+ awareness, rights and visibility in our school.
Check out the links below to read about Pride month and the important reasons it is celebrated across the world:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52872693
Congratulations to all of our S1 & S2 pupils who received their John Muir awards following their residential @ Outward Bound Loch Eil.
We have now started issuing new replacement chromebooks to pupils starting with new S2. We will continue this tomorrow.
All NEW S2 pupils in the following housegroups should please remember to bring their chromebooks complete with chargers to school tomorrow so they can be issued with a new one.
Pupils in 2N1, 2N2, 2S1, 2S2, 2W1 and 2W2 should come to the office tomorrow during the times advertised in the daily notices (read out during registration) to do the swap.
Please see below information about how we are marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
About the Project
In March, pupils at Inverness Royal Academy took part in an art workshop with local artist Izzy Thomson as part of the River of Hope Project.
The River of Hope is a project run by the Thames Festival Trust, who organise a programme of heritage and education work, including the arts education projects Rivers of the World and The Story of Water, delivered in partnership with the British Council.
This year, the work of The River of Hope project will be part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Local artist Izzy Thomson – based at the WASPS Inverness Creative Academy at Midmills – worked with our pupils, assisting them to create individual pieces of work which formed part of a collaborative artwork that she put together.
The collaborative artwork (attached) was then transferred onto a silk flag, which will be paraded as part of the procession for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in London on June 5th.
Inverness Royal Academy was one of six Highland schools involved in this project.
The theme of all of the artworks is obviously rivers, looking at the life & importance of our rivers and their eco-systems. Within the project there are six key themes: The River of Life, The Polluted River, The Resourceful River, The Working River, The River City and The River Culture. Our pupils worked on the theme The River of Life, in particular creating artworks inspired by the life cycle of fresh water pearl mussels.
This specific topic and the wider topic of the river is potentially one of interest to many subjects across the curriculum, and although it is initially an Arts based project, there is scope for subjects across the curriculum to eventually become involved in developing links with our partner school.
The River of Hope is an international project, there is the opportunity & potential to develop curricular links with the school that we have been partnered with. Inverness Royal Academy has been partnered with Govt. Practicing GHSS, Township Lahore in Pakistan.
About the Flag
The artists working with schools were all given a very specific brief to design a flag with the layout of a stamp design; square, with a ‘perforated edge’ pattern and a profile in the top corner.
Schools were also asked to think of a ‘local celebrity’ or someone with a connection to the school to be the profile to be the profile on their design.
Inverness Royal Academy chose to include the profile of a pupil who had sadly passed away in the early part of 2022 called Sarah Adams.
Guidance staff kindly got in touch with Sarah’s parents to seek their permission; they were very moved & honoured by the suggestion and agreed.
When the artist Izzy sent the school a graphic of the flag design, she included a rather beautiful comment:
“It has been very moving making your flag, especially as your theme was “Life cycle of a pearl mussel”. I kept thinking of Sarah as a beautiful pearl.”
PARENT COUNCIL MEETING TUE 31 MAY
The next Parent Council meeting will take place 7.00-8.30pm on Tue 31st May at the school. This is the first meeting in over 2 years to take place in person, with an online link for anyone who wishes to join remotely. All parents/carers are invited to join and it’s a great opportunity to visit the school building after a long break.
The meeting will include an update from Rector Nigel Engstrand, future priorities for the Parent Council and an opportunity for questions and discussion.
Link to the agenda:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dIiC0yuao4IixHcOshK479wW-yrE9AKv/view?usp=sharing
Teams link to join:
https://teams.live.com/meet/9497970968407
Link to Rector’s report:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FkrKbCjGwsFnHMFLvGHN3p4MVj4VDS1n/view?usp=sharing
Link to Parent Council report:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/151JXoOWOD4W8hGU_NV_5T8YfkzhHp_UX/view?usp=sharing
