Active Schools Focus Newsletter Spring 2019

activeschools focus Issue 3 - Spring 2019

Clydebank Community Sports Hub

WD School Games School in Focus

WD School Games more young people - more active - more often

CONTACT US:

In this issue…

Active Schools West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust

PEOPLE Volunteers In Profile

Alexandria Community Centre Main Street Alexandria G83 0NU Tel: 01389 753 210

Celebrating our fantastic Volunteers!

Young Sports Stars

Celebrating our Young Sports Stars of the Month.

or Skypoint Community Centre Lennox Drive Clydebank G81 5JY Tel: 0141 562 2485 active.schools@westdunbarton.gov.uk

______________ @wdleisure

PROFILE Area updates Clydebank Dumbarton Vale of Leven

School in Focus Kilpatrick School

@activeschoolsWD

PARTICIPATION Clydebank Community Sports Hub Officially opened its doors in after £3.8million investment.

www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/ activeschools

School - Club Links

Glasgow Gaels Gaelic Football Club Titan BMX event

WD School Games Update

Welcome

Welcome to Issue 3 of our Active Schools Focus magazine.

Complimenting our social media feeds this issue takes a look back at the last few months pulling together a number of the highlights and good news stories.

we have seen some very positive outcomes i.e. 762 more sessions and 17,184 more attendances than the same period last year (Aug-Apr). In addition 514 more distinct children/young people have been involved, which is great.

I’m pleased to say that we continue to provide opportunities for children and young people to be more active, more often - and I’m sure you will find many of the examples of this featured in this edition very interesting.

Recent months have been busy with numerous WD School Games festivals & competitions.

We are now planning for the awards night in June when we will unveil the winners in the 3 primary school leagues and the secondary schools winner and Once again I’d like to thank my runner up. It has been another excellent team of Active Schools brilliant year with many inspired Coordinators and all our and inspiring performances in a volunteers and coaches for their wide range of sports. hard work in recent months.

For the academic year to date

We continue to work closely with our partners in local sports clubs

to deliver taster sessions and host festivals and competitions so I would like to express my thanks to all the local clubs who give of their time to help us encourage young people to participate in sport in their local communities, beyond the school gates.

This edition is packed full of good news stories from across West Dunbartonshire and is just a flavour of the work the Active Schools team do - I hope you enjoy reading!

Andrew McKay Active Schools Manager

PEOPLE In this section‌ Volunteers in Profile

Celebrating some of the fantastic people who help us to get children & young people more active!

Young Sports Stars

Celebrating the sporting achievements and commitment of pupils in West Dunbartonshire.

Volunteers In Profile Volunteers are the heart of our Active Schools programme. The hundreds of dedicated and enthusiastic teachers, school staff, students, parents and secondary pupils who make up our volunteer network provide a vast and varied number of opportunities for children and young people to participate in sport across the region.

In addition to delivering or assisting with extra-curricular clubs, many of our volunteers also assist with our competitions and festivals throughout the school year.

Meet some of our fantastic volunteers!...

The Active Schools Volunteers of the Month for September 2018 were Maureen Little and Maureen White from St. Joseph’s Primary School in Clydebank.

Both have had a huge impact on the pupils of St. Joseph’s, with Maureen L helping with reading and breakfast clubs and Maureen W volunteering for an amazing 22 years - running Athletics and Netball Clubs and currently taking a Walk/Jog/Run Club for the children. These opportunities are playing a big role in getting the pupils more active, more often and leading healthier lives.

The ladies explained why they love delivering the clubs:- “It’s great seeing the children challenging themselves, achieving success and having fun.”

The Active Schools Volunteers of the Month for January 2019 were Marie O’Brien, Donna Robb and Tracy McCarry.

Marie, Donna and Tracy are parents at St. Mary’s Primary School in Alexandria and started volunteering back in Spring 2018 as they were keen to create more opportunities for the pupils of the school to take part in sport. So far, they have already delivered several lunchtime “Mini-Movers” clubs for Primary 1-4 pupils in St. Mary’s giving these pupils the opportunity to get more active, more often starting at a young age.

Yvonne Macdonald, Active Schools Coordinator said:-”Marie, Donna and Tracy are fantastic volunteers and their willingness to give up their own time for an hour each week has made a massive difference to the infant pupils of St. Mary’s Primary School. Their enthusiasm to create more opportunities for pupils to participate in sport is great and I hope that they will inspire more parents to get involved!”

Young Sports Stars 2018 was the Scottish Government’s first ever Year of Young People which aimed to inspire all ages through its young people by celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating chances for them to shine on a local & global stage.

To tie in with this programme, we have since been asking WDC schools to nominate “Young Sports Stars” focusing on pupils who have excelled in physical activity and sport over the course of 2018-19. Meet some of our recent winners...

SEPTEMBER 2018 Our Young Sports Star of the Month for September2018 was Ahmad Barghouth from Clydebank High School.

Ahmad was nominated for his commitment to the school football team with Michelle Milton, Curriculum Leader for Health & Wellbeing highlighting his contribution:“Ahmad has a fantastic attitude towards all sport. He is heavily involved in the football team and is very committed to competing in sports day finals, even when fasting during Ramadan. Ahmad is a credit to himself.”

OCTOBER 2018 Rebecca McAllister from Our Lady and St. Patrick’s High School and Rosie McQuillan from St. Peter the Apostle High School were our Young Sports Stars of the Month for October 2018. The girls were selected to play for the Scotland U-17 Girls Football Team, despite being only 15 years old which was an amazing achievement!

The girls initially started playing the sport by attending classes delivered by West Dunbartonshire Leisure Sports Development before going on to play for both their school and club teams.

They travelled with the Scotland squad for UEFA matches against Lithuania, Slovakia and Poland in 2018 which was a fantastic experience.

Young Sports Stars NOVEMBER 2018 Our Active Schools Young Sports Star of the Month for November 2018 was Katie Steel from St. Mary’s Primary School, Duntocher.

When taking part in a West of Scotland Parasport Festival in 2017, Katie tried out a new sport called Boccia. She quickly realised not only that she enjoyed the game but also had a natural talent.

Since then Katie has shown great enthusiasm for the sport and competed in her first Boccia competition – at the West of Scotland Schools event in 2018.

Katie really does demonstrate a growth mindset and positive attitude that is a shining example to others.”

DECEMBER 2018 We were delighted to announce that our Young Sports Stars of the Month for December 2018 was Emily Roberts from St. Kessog’s Primary School!

Emily, aged 11, has been a gymnast since she was 6 years old. Originally a dancer, she decided to try Tumble gymnastics, loved it and is now a member of the Dynamite Gymnastics club in Clydebank.

Emily was 1 of only 2 people in Scotland (in her category, female, National 1, 9-10 years) to qualify for the British Regionals held back in June 2018.

She gained 8th place at this event, qualifying for the British Individual Championships where she came joint 4th out of 8 gymnasts which was a fantastic achievement!

Emily’s dream is to compete in the World Tumble Championships.

Young Sports Stars JANUARY 2019 Fynn Masterson from St. Stephen’s Primary School in Clydebank was our first Young Sports Star of 2019!

Fynn, aged 9, has excelled in his chosen sport of Football over the past year and is a key member of the school football team. He is a very talented and committed pupil who always gives 100% effort.

Victoria Williamson, Principal Teacher at St. Stephen’s Primary School, was delighted that Fynn was selected as our Young Sports Star of the Month for January 2019:“Fynn is a quietly confident boy who does not boast about his football ability and achievements. He should be commended for his effort and transferring his ability to work as part of a team on the pitch within the school setting.”

FEBRUARY 2019 We were delighted to announce that our Active Schools “Young Sports Star” of the Month for February 2019 was Kayleigh Gallagher from Dalreoch Primary School in Dumbarton.

Kayleigh has excelled in the sport of Flyball competing successfully at National Level.

Flyball is a sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from start/finish line.

The Flyball team Kayleigh is a member of is all adults and she has developed an amazing bond with all of the dogs and adults and is always looking to help.

Yvonne Adams, Head Teacher at Dalreoch Primary School, is delighted that Kayleigh has been selected as our Young Sports Star of the Month for February 2019:“Flyball has given Kayleigh a greater confidence and has helped her develop an inner resilience. She is also finding her voice and becoming a more active participant within the whole school community. She is a great girl and it is fabulous watching her blossom.”

PROFILE In this section… Area updates Clydebank Dumbarton Vale of Leven

School in Focus Kilpatrick School

Area Update - Clydebank The first WDSG event of the year was the Sportshall Athletics qualifier which was won by St Mary’s (Duntocher).

The same school also triumphed in the Individual Cross Country Competition in October!

The first ever P3 Sportshall athletics festival all took place with all 14 Clydebank schools represented in this new initiative.

The first WDSG final of the year took place with the P4 Dodgeball (new for 2018/19), with Goldenhill being crowned our inaugural Dodgeball champions!

2019 brought more competitive sporting opportunities for Clydebank pupils, with St. Mary’s winning the P5 Basketball final on goal difference. Gavinburn were also on the podium with a strong 3rd place.

At the end of February the Active Schools team arranged a successful Futsal event with all 14 Clydebank schools participating in the festivals over two days.

The competitions came thick and fast with the P6 Rugby Qualifiers, which took place at the New Clydebank Community Sports Hub in March.

The Clydebank netball leagues are also progressing well with 100% of the fixtures having been completed.

This could prove to be the first year that all fixtures have been fulfilled.

School links in Basketball and Gaelic football continue to be extremely strong across Clydebank, with all schools in the area now receiving input from both sports.

Glasgow Rangers Community department has emerged as a new flourishing partnership. They supported a couple of the Secondary girls football events and were heavily involved in the new futsal festivals that took place in February.

On the back of this excellent relationship every school in Clydebank will be offered a half day football input from Rangers coaches.

Both Clydebank and St Peter the Apostle High Schools, together with the support from the Active School team, have their senior pupil sports leaders out delivering in the primary schools. They have been well received by all participating schools and the pupils from both high schools are enthusiastic and professional within their approach.

The sports leaders at Clydebank High School also organised and managed the WDSG Secondary Badminton competition.

Just before the Christmas break Goldenhill received their sportscotland Gold School Sport Award again through the reaccreditation process. St Joseph’s received their flag back in October 2018 with St Stephen’s receiving their gold flag in January 2019 with an excellent sports council led assembly.

The aim is for many more WDC schools to achieve a School Sport Award by the end of the 2018-19 year.

Area Update - Dumbarton There has been great involvement from all Dumbarton schools in the 2018-19 WDSG Festivals.

2019 tipped off with our P5 Basketball final with St. Patrick’s and Knoxland qualifying to represent the Dumbarton area in the WDC Final in January. Both schools put in fantastic performances at the final, especially St. Patrick’s who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. Our second Netball festival took place in February with more great performances, especially St Peter’s and Aitkenbar who came out on top with 13 points each. Looking ahead to our third and final Netball Festival in May, it is very close with only a few points in it!

The Dumbarton Academy S3 Sports Leaders have also been assisting with our WDSG events and have been a great help with umpiring.

Knoxland and Aitkenbar Primary Schools qualified for the P5 Golf final which is being held next term at the Vale of Leven Golf Club. Let’s see a Dumbarton school bring home the trophy in 2019!

St Peter’s, Aitkenbar and Braehead Primaries took part in Play Leader training and are now ready to run their own football and playground games lunchtime clubs with the support of Active Schools and Learning Assistants. Having Play Leaders in schools contributes hugely to the Active School agenda; getting more kids, more active, more often whilst

developing their own leadership skills and confidence.

Several pupils from the Dumbarton cluster were nominated by their schools and have been selected as Active Schools “Young Sports Stars of the Month” during 2018-19.

Rebecca McAllister from OLSP High School was selected for her achievements in being selected to play for the Scotland U-17 Women's Football Team.

Emily Roberts from St. Kessog’s Primary was recognised for her Gymnastics ability; competing in the British Championships in 2018.

Kayleigh Gallagher from Dalreoch Primary was celebrated for her efforts and achievements in Flyball Where she competes at national level.

It has been fantastic to see so many pupils recognised for their sporting achievements in the Dumbarton area!

Braehead Primary School have now completed the School Sport Award self-assessment and can achieve gold! The school are now in the process of collecting all the evidence required for the application.

Aitkenbar and Knoxland Pimaries have both achieved silver School Sport Awards in 2019 and are now working towards gold using their development plans to guide them.

Area Update - Vale of Leven Vale of Leven area schools continue to be very much involved in the West Dunbartonshire School Games (WDSG) 2018-19.

Christie Park and Renton Primary Schools reached the very first WDSG P4 Dodgeball Final held at Clydebank Leisure Centre in Nov 2018 and were delighted to be involved in such a fantastic event.

St. Martin’s Primary School came overall second place in the WDSG P5 Basketball Final in Jan 2019 - an amazing achievement for the smallest school in West Dunbartonshire!

Gartocharn and Balloch reached the WDSG P6 Rugby Final in March with Gartocharn coming third overall!

Vale of Leven primaries have also had the opportunity to attend Cross-Country, Football, Netball and Sportshall Athletics events as part of the WDSG so far this year.

Vale of Leven Academy continues to place sport at the heart of the school, with Sports Leaders running a variety of lunchtime clubs.

The school has also attended several WDSG Secondary events, with S1-S4 pupils competing in events including Football, Dodgeball, Netball, Rugby and Trampolining.

Many Vale of Leven schools have set up Pupil Sports Committees and are aiming to go for a Gold School Sport Award during June 2019.

In terms of extra-curricular activity, Renton Primary School has seen a massive increase, with the number of participant sessions increasing from 150 to 886 compared to the same period 2017-18 (an increase of 490%).

3 parent volunteers from St. Mary’s Primary School were celebrated as our Volunteers of the Month for February 2019. The 3 mums have been delivering lunchtime “Mini-Movers” clubs for over a year, helping give infant pupils more opportunities to get active.

In partnership with Loch Lomond Rugby Club, Active Schools arranged sessions in all 9 local primary schools, resulting in over 250 P6 pupils getting the chance to try this sport.

Several children from the Vale of Leven area also attended the “Come and try” event organised

by Active Schools and Western Titans BMX in November 2018.

School in Focus Kilpatrick School, Clydebank

Kilpatrick School has been a busy place this year with lots of new activities and opportunities for it’s pupils. Kilpatrick provides education for children with additional support needs and therefore it is extremely important to provide opportunities in a safe and familiar environment.

Kilpatrick was fortunate to benefit from ‘Go Live! Get Active’ funding which has allowed pupils to participate in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities during lunch and after school. These activities have included Boxercise, Dance, Multi-skills, Scooter Club, Wheelchair Basketball, Football, and Walking/Fitness and have proved to be a huge success raising the numbers of pupils attending extra-curricular significantly.

The activities were chosen following a survey sent out by the Pupil Sports Council and so the pupils have had a massive input into the shaping of what is on offer. Boxercise has been a particularly popular activity for both Primary and Secondary pupils and as always Football has dominated throughout the school.

In addition to this, Kilpatrick school along with other pupils with additional support needs throughout WDC enjoyed participating in a Football Festival ran by Renfrewshire Active Schools which was aimed at pupils with a Learning Disability. All pupils also took part in the annual Disability Sports Day which was a huge success and enjoyed by all. Students from Clydebank College helped to deliver this event and did an excellent job.

Children and young people with an additional support need across the whole authority have also had the opportunity to attend a Run, Jump, Draw Club for free. These clubs have taken place on Monday and Friday evenings in Alexandria and Dalmuir and have involved children participating in multi-sports and arts and crafts.

PARTICIPATION In this section…

Clydebank Community Sports Hub Officially open after £3.8million investment.

School– Club Links

Glasgow Gaels Gaelic Football Club Titan BMX event

WD School Games Overview of Term 1 2018-19

Clydebank Community Sports Hub

The Clydebank Community Sports Hub officially opened its doors in November 2018 after a £3.8 million investment. The old playing fields at Dean Street in Whitecrook have been transformed into a world-class sporting facility for Rugby, Gaelic football, Football and a range of other sports and activities. The state-of-the-art hub boasts a full-size, floodlit, all-weather synthetic pitch, two re-developed grass pitches, and renovated indoor sports and social spaces with room for clubs and community groups. The Sports Hall was upgraded from the existing sports pavilion, and extended to include six team changing rooms, a social space with kitchen and bar and the Dojang – a special space for martial arts training.

The project was funded by West Dunbartonshire Council, Scottish Government, sportscotland, the Gaelic Athletic Association, Cashback for Communities, Clydebank Community Sport Hub, Social Investment Scotland, Scottish Rugby, The Robertson Trust and Barr Environmental Limited, through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund.

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: “We are committed to ensuring sporting facilities such as the Clydebank Community Sports Hub are very much part of the fabric of the local community. We are always looking to help strengthen projects that enhance and extend the opportunities available to community users of all ages and abilities. We are delighted to have invested in this world-class sporting facility for Clydebank and look forward to working with our partners to ensure the project delivers a lasting legacy.”

A number of local school children volunteered to be at the event to take part in demonstrations with founding and partner clubs - Clydebank Rugby Football Club, Glaschu Gaels Gaelic Football Club, GTF Taekwon Do Club and Drumchapel Amateurs. Also in attendance was president of the Scottish Rugby Union, Dee Bradbury, and former international Rugby Union player Al Kellock. The Calcutta Cup was on display during the event.

Club Links Glasgow Gaels Gaelic Football Club A key priority for Active Schools Coordinators is to support and develop effective pathways between schools and clubs to improve the transition of children and young people from schools to clubs.

This is highlighted in the sportscotland framework for building a world class sporting system and highlights how important the transition from school to club sport is at engaging children and young people who may experience barriers to participation to support their inclusion in activity.

For the last 4 years the Active Schools team in Clydebank have been working with local Gaelic Football Club, The Glasgow Gaels.

The Gaels are based out of the newly refurbished Clydebank Sports Hub so have fantastic new facilities to make the most of.

Through working with the regional Gaelic Football development Officer – Niall Considine,

Active Schools have established and developed a successful curriculum and festival programme within Clydebank.

Initially the programme included 3 schools situated close to the club but year on year this has grown so that in 2018/19 all 14 main stream Primary Schools in Clydebank take part.

The inclusion of all 14 primary schools means we have 852 pupils from P6 and P7 taking part in Gaelic Football. This expansion has allowed Active Schools to include Gaelic Football in the West Dunbartonshire School Games for the first time with 3 festivals running throughout the year.

This partnership with The Glasgow Gaels is a great example of how sports clubs working with Active Schools can create strong partnerships with local schools and offer pathways to help children and young people participate and progress in sport.

Western Titans BMX event On Saturday 10th November, West Dunbartonshire Leisure’s Active Schools Team, in partnership with Western Titans BMX club and Socialtrack, ran a come and try BMX day at Drumry in Clydebank.

25 pupils from The Vale of Leven, Dumbarton and Clydebank areas participated in this event and received 90 minutes free coaching from the BMX coach from Western Titans.

This was one of 3 separate events that Socialtrack will be delivering on behalf of Scottish Cycling in the West of Scotland during 2018-19. Western Titans & Socialtrack supplied all safety equipment and bikes on the day, allowing all participants the opportunity to ride a race BMX on a race track.

The participants progressed throughout the morning learning both how to control their bike and how to ride the track safely and quickly. At the end of this morning session there were a series of races for all children to experience a race environment on the track.

After the success of this event, Active Schools and Western Titans are now looking to run a further 2 events for West Dunbartonshire children, one at Easter 2019 and one at the start of the summer to tie in with the BMX season.

WD School Games

The WD School Games kicked off this year with a series of football events in early September 2018 and since then there has been a total of 37 events and 3 finals.

P4 DODGEBALL FINAL — SEPTEMBER 2018

The first final of the year was P4 Dodgeball which is new for the WDSG 2018/19 programme. This took place in Clydebank Leisure Centre and involved 70 pupils from 7 different schools. The event was very well received with around 200 spectators attending to cheer on the schools.

These were the top 3 finishers on the night: 1st = Goldenhill Primary School 2nd = Edinbarnet Primary School 3rd = Christie Park Primary School

CROSS-COUNTRY COMPETITON — OCTOBER 2018

The Individual Cross-Country competition had another excellent turn out, with close to 800 pupils taking part on 26th October in Balloch Park on a beautiful autumnal morning. This was the individual event with lots of medals awarded, however the primary event was dominated by St Mary’s Primary School, Duntocher and Dumbarton Academy continued their success from last year in the secondary school category.

P5 BASKETBALL FINAL - JANUARY 2019 The second final of 2018/19 was the climax of the Active Schools P5 Basketball Competitions, which was contested by 7 schools at Clydebank Leisure Centre in January 2019.

This was a very close event with the winning schools in the end only being separated by goal difference!

St Mary’s Primary School (Duntocher) emerged as winners on the night with St. Martin’s Primary School runners up and Gavinburn finishing in third place.

It was a great night with a large turnout of parents and family to cheer the children on which made for a brilliant atmosphere.

P6 RUGBY FINAL - MARCH 2019 The Rugby Final took place at the newly opened Clydebank Community Sports Hub in March 2019 and was attended by Primary 6 pupils from 7 schools across the local authority. The new facility was a fantastic setting for a great evening of competitive rugby with lots of skill and sportsmanship on display!

West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust Alexandria Community Centre Main Street, Alexandria, G83 0NU Tel: 01389 757806 Fax: 01389 751557 email: leisureservicesadmin@west-dunbarton.gov.uk www.wdleisure.net

West Dunbartonshire Leisure is a recognised Scottish Charity: SC 042999; VAT Registered: GB 129 7502; and Company Registered: SC413707