Bellshill Academy Magazine - October

𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝔸𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕔 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤

What’s in the magazine; Interview with Mrs. Lavery LGBTQIA+ Mental Health Scary Story Games Achievements Shoutouts

Interview With Mrs. Lavery.

We asked Mrs Lavery a variety of questions to do with her life at school, her job at Bellshill Academy, and some basic life questions. We will start with Mrs Lavery’s School life (Before she became a teacher.)

Mrs Lavery went to a High school in Glasgow, she went on to study many Highers such as Maths, English, Chemistry, Biology, Geography and Computing Science.

She also mentioned that her RMPS teacher opened her eyes to RMPS and discussed what happened. She told us that after 9/11 her RMPS teacher let her class talk about the impacts, devastation and how 9/11 changed the world. That opened Mrs Lavery’s eyes to the wonderful world of RMPS as it showed her that RMPS is not all about writing, it also includes discussion about what happens in the world and how talking about major world events can open someone’s eyes to the real meaning of life. The importance of the subject, and its relevance today, inspired Mrs Lavery to create an impact on the lives of others. When Mrs Lavery went on to do her Highers, she couldn’t do Higher RMPS. This is due to her school not offering it as a higher when she was there. When Mrs Lavery was at school, it may surprise some that her favourite subject was Art and yes, she did take a higher in Art. Before Mrs Lavery became a teacher, she always wanted to be cabin crew onboard a plane. She explained that she loved to travel to new places and a job within cabin crew would offer that. However, her RMPS teacher opened her eyes to the world of RMPS and inspired her to do the same.

Mrs Lavery when on to study at The University of Glasgow.

Mrs Lavery at Bellshill Academy Mrs Lavery got into teaching to make a difference. In her classroom, she displays cards from young people she has taught, thanking her for all she does for them during their time at school. Mrs Lavery went onto explain that every card on that wall shows the impact, no matter how small, she has had on the lives of a large number of pupils. We asked Mrs Lavery numerous questions about working within Bellshill Academy. Mrs Lavery Started working at Bellshill Academy back on the 9th Of January 2012, meaning she has been at Bellshill Academy for 10 years! During this time Mrs Lavery has reieved help and given help to many people. She told us the biggest guidance she has had at Bellshill Academy is from Mrs Maltby. Over the years, Mrs Lavery has achieved a lot of knowledge and she describes her experience at Bellshill Academy as a rollercoaster, but she has also said her experience has taught her a lot and has shaped Mrs Lavery into the woman we respect today. Mrs Lavery said she likes Bellshill Academy because of how nice, friendly, funny and respectful the

children are. The last question we asked her on her Life at Bellshill Academy is “if you had to pick a department to work in, what department would that be?” she answered with Art, this is because she loved art when she was at school and has a qualification in it.

Mrs Lavery’s Daily Life We found out that Mrs Lavery’s favourite food is anything to do with Italian cuisine, such as Mozza Pizza and I agree with this. We also found out Mrs Lavery’s Favourite Chocolate is the original Lindt Lindor Chocolate! The final question we asked Mrs Lavery was “What are your hobbies?” She replied that she enjoys walking, making scrapbooks and photo albums. She said she started making scrapbooks when she and her husband were first dating, this was to keep all her memories of her life, following in the footsteps of her late Papa, who enjoyed the same hobby.

Interview finished.

We would like to thank Mrs Lavery for taking her time out of the day for doing this interview.

LGTBQIA+ LGBTQIA+ what is it? LGBTQIA+ Stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual.

What do these mean?

Lesbian; Is when a Female is romantically attracted to another Female. (Same-Sex Dating.)

Gay; Is when a Male is romantically Attracted to Another Male. (Same-Sex Dating.)

Bi-Sexual; This Is when A Male or a Female is attracted to both genders.

Transgender; Is when a Male or a Female wants to change gender.

Queer; Is when someone is relating to a sexual or a Gender Identity.

Intersex; Is when someone is born with serval sex characteristics.

Asexual; Is when someone has no romantic attraction to anyone.

What are Pronouns It is important to know what pronouns are and what are they used for.

So what are pronouns used for?

Pronouns are used to describe someone’s gender identity, there are many different sets of pronouns in the world, but the three main ones are; He/Him, She/Her, and They/Them.

Who uses what pronouns?

He/Him; These pronouns are used to describe Males or transgender Men (Female to Male.)

She/Her; These pronouns are used to describe Females or transgender females (Male to Female.)

They/them; These pronouns are one of the many pronouns used to describe people who are Non-binary/ People who feel like they do not fit into a set gender (Male or Female.)

LGBTQIA+ In School Bellshill Academy is an inclusive school, so this means everyone is welcome from all different backgrounds in life. This also means Bellshill Academy has an LGBTQIA+ club which is hosted during future Fridays! This club is run by Mr. Melrose and is located within the Math department. This does not mean you have to be LGBTQIA+ to go up and talk about the matter, you may just be an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, and you may go up and talk about issues relating to the topic that they are discussing that day.

The Flags:

Black History Month Black History Month is a month-long festival that focuses on educating people about the history of Black people and honouring their historical contributions.

This month is celebrated in October within the UK, and February in the USA. The premise behind designating a month to celebrate Black history is that it is crucial to pay particular attention to these stories because they are frequently erased, marginalised, or overlooked due to racism. Also, historically there has been a dominant focus on white culture in history instruction.

The concept of Black History Month, which honours the contribution of Black people to US history, was developed in the USA. It is also observed within other nations, including Canada and the UK, with emphasis on the contribution of Black people to their society.

There have been many famous black people in British history, one of them being Mary Seacole, who was a pioneering nurse, and a Crimean war Heroine. Seacole had to overcome a lot of prejudice in her life, as she was the daughter of a Scottish Soldier and a Jamaican mother. She was denied by The War Office to be drafted to Crimea as a war nurse. Therefore, she established her own way to the field and founded the ‘British Hotel’ near Balaclava to help sick and injured soldiers. Although she had a reputation that was comparable to Florence Nightingale at the time, her significant contributions to nursing were mostly ignored for almost a century after her passing. Her autobiography was the first one written by a black woman in Britain and was released in 1857. Seacole has also recently been recognised and celebrated in the popular historical musical, ‘Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World’, which has recently completed a UK tour, performing in places such as London and The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Pictures: Matin Luther King Junior.

Rosa Parks.

Mental Health Mental health is an important matter, which a lot of people do struggle with.

There are lots of ways to help improve your mental health, within and out with school hours.

In school you could talk to someone you trust, such as a friend or teacher, and you can also talk to Yvonne.

Outside of school, you could talk to a trusted adult such as: a therapist, friend, Samaritans, Childline, and many more.

If you feel stressed about anything you should not keep it to yourself. Instead, you should tell someone. It’s important to speak out about it no matter how small you believe the issue is. Never keep stress bottled up because eventually, it will become too much for you to handle.

Getting help for your mental health is nothing to be ashamed of. If anyone says anything to you about it which is rude and disrespectful, you should turn the other way and ignore them. This may feel difficult, but it is the best thing to do. No one should judge you for getting help with your mental health and if they do, inform someone about it.

“I would say what others have said: It gets better. One day, you’ll find your tribe. You just must trust that people are out there waiting to love you and celebrate you for who you are. In the meantime, the reality is you might have to be your own tribe. You might have to be your own best friend. That’s not something they’re going to teach you in school. So, start the work of loving yourself.” — Wentworth Miller Trusted contacts • • • • • • • •

parents / family Yvonne (her office is in the blue room) Friends Teacher Trusted adult Therapist or doctor Samaritans Childline

Scary Story 911 Killer

Alex was nervously sitting in his room as the wind was violently crashing against his window. Suddenly, Alex heard a loud BANG from the living room downstairs.

He went to check but no one was there… He thought maybe it was his mother coming home. Alex shouted “MOTHER, ARE YOU THERE?” to which no one answered. Alex flicked the lights switch on in the Kitchen and found that all the cupboards were open, the stove was turned on high, and tomato soup was boiling over the pot. Alex called for his mother again. No answer. He was panicking, and flushed, he reckoned his skin was hotter than the soup now covering his kitchen floor. Quickly, he ran over to his phone to call 911. Then a deep voice from behind him breathing “Alex”. Jumping around to meet a body, Alex began to run back upstairs.

“Hello 911 what’s your emergency?”

“Hello my name is Alex I live at…”

The phone disconnects. Alex looked at his phone and yelled “GOD THIS HOUSE HAS NO DAMN SIGNAL.” He went into the next room to try and get a bar of signal. As Alex left the kitchen the lights turned off. Alex sprinted to the closet to hide. As Alex was hiding in the closet, he saw a deep black haunted figure that looked like the Grim Reaper walking by the door. The voice shouted out in a deep tone: “You can run but can’t hide….”

There was a buzzing noise. Buzzzz. Alex looked at his phone and noticed his mother was calling him. He answered it and told his mum in a panicked voice “hurry home please, there is someone in the HOUSE….” Alex’s mom said “what…Alex, what has happened”. Alex’s mum only heard Alex scream and then the phone cut off…

Game Halloween theme word Search.

Word Bank

Halloween Scary Graveyard Pumpkin Witch Spooky Ghost Zombie Skeleton

School Achievements The School Has a wide range of achievements but sadly most of these achievements can only be obtained within the month of June. But what are these achievements? These achievements are known as endeavours and Certificates of Achievement.

How can you be awarded them?

There are hundreds of ways you can win these certificates, but We will list some of the ways to help you win them!

-Have a high attendance -Do all your homework and Classwork -Answer all questions asked by the teacher -Precipitate in school clubs -Be active Merits Merits are the school point system, these “Points” help show pupils who stand out in their work and progress within the school. You can be awarded merits if your class teacher believes you are showing excellent progress within your work, but there are other ways to win Merits, we will list some ways here; - Help others -

Show a good level of work - Be kind and caring - Show progress -

Show respect.

Magazine shout-out’s Caleb and Aimee would like to thank the following people for getting involved;

-Hailie Huggon – S1 - Katie Burns -S1 -Hollie Beattie -S2 -KassiWilkinson -S2 -Grace Mackintosh -S4 Mrs. Lavery – RMPS Teacher Mrs. Barrowmen – Art Teacher Yvonne – School Council worker.

Miss Maguire – Future Friday Head/ P.E Depar MR Alexander – Magazine Overseer Miss Moore – Magazine Overseer

English Department Teachers – Magazine Overseer

Writers Comment Hello reader, we hoped you enjoyed reading the first edition of Bellshill Academic Times, This Magazine was made and produced by a team of 6+ over the last 4 weeks and has been in the making for over 6 weeks. If you have any suggestions for our next edition which will be the Christmas Edition of the magazine, please feel free to speak to Me (Caleb Campbell), Aimee O’Neil, Miss Maguire, or anyone within the English Department! We are also hosting a future Friday club that runs from 13:15 to 3 pm, so if you want to be involved feel free to come along and get involved within Bellshill Academic Times! We hoped you enjoy it.

Best Wishes Caleb C Aimee O'