In S6 pupils are given a variety of opportunities to develop their leadership skills and engage with the school, local and global community. One of the longest running successful community engagement activities has been the S6 community engagement programme.

S6 pupils who choose to volunteer in this way must commit a double period of their individual school study time to helping others in a variety of different placements. Pupils have volunteered in local nurseries, primary schools, Campsie View school, sheltered housing, Citizens Advice Bureau, Barnardos & Cancer Research charity shops, Cats Protection League each week from October to December and again from February to March.

Saltire Award hours are accumulated, and pupils can achieve an SQA unit in Developing Essential Skills by individually working on and evaluating their development of skills required for future professions. However, most pupils believe it is the personal impact of the experience itself that cannot be underestimated. “Having the opportunity to give something back to their community” is how many S6 pupils describe their community placement. It teaches them a lot about themselves and the value people have for what they can do.

S5 pupils have the opportunity to be involved in an intergenerational volunteering project through the Spring Term Elective option.

East Dunbartonshire has an increasingly aging population with over a quarter of Lenzie and Kirkintilloch South residents being aged over 65 years in the 2011 census. It is therefore important that when Lenzie Academy engages with the local community the pupils are aware of issues that may face their neighbours.

Two of the key challenges for the Lenzie Community are the challenges of living with a dementia diagnosis and loneliness and isolation. These do not just affect older people but are keenly felt by many residents in this group.

The S5 Intergenerational elective focuses on these themes and looks at ways that young people can help to improve community living. Working closely with East Dunbartonshire Dementia Network, Edva and Ceartas Advocacy the pupils are trained to become officially “dementia informed” and then working with the “Come and Sing” group at Lenzie old Parish Church they can develop their befriending skills and create an intergenerational community that will promote positivity and shared values.

In 2018 as part of the celebration of the Year of Young People ,the volunteers will take ownership of the traditional Spring Fling afternoon tea and music festival by ensuring it is a truly intergenerational dementia friendly pupil led event on Tuesday March 20th They will have to utilise pupil skills not just in singing but also bakery, hospitality and administration skills and work with East Dunbartonshire’s Generations working together committee and our Tesco community Champion.

Saltire Awards can be gained from the age of 12 -25 years and celebrate the number of hours a young person has been helping others voluntarily in their own time.

At Lenzie Academy, pupils work on all three levels of the Saltire awards whilst at school. For some the volunteering they do with LACE will only be a fraction of the hours they accumulate over their 6 years as a pupil but together with East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action we record their progress and are able to present them with their award certificates to recognise their individual achievement.

Most pupils should be able to achieve The Approach level of Saltire Awards before they leave school but any hours gained are stored on a national database and can be added to with more volunteering up to the age of 25.

THE APPROACH: Ready to give volunteering a go? The Approach gives you the recognition for the regular volunteering you undertake whether it be in the community, with a charity, at school or part of a youth group. You choose the project and fit it around your needs. You’ll discover more about your skills and strengths and receive certificates after 10 and 25 hours of volunteering.

THE ASCENT: Taking volunteering to the next level. Develop your skills and strengths through placements and make a longer commitment to volunteering. You can record your achievements, training, new skills and certificates in your personal online journal, keeping them handy for any university, college or work applications. You can get certificates of 50, 100, 200 and 500 hours.

THE SUMMIT: Volunteering above and beyond expectations! This Award is for an outstanding contribution to volunteering. It is awarded to those who have completed at least 200hrs and have exceeded expectations. A volunteer is nominated for this level of Award (e.g. by the organisation they volunteer for, their school, college or local volunteer development worker).

About the Saltire Awards on their website

The Social Enterprise group has been running for many years sourcing different ways to support their chosen charity Mary’s Meals. It is a club open to all years which meets with Mrs Clark in A2 every Wednesday lunchtime to plan and work on their fundraising campaign.

In 2017 the group used the theme of St Andrews Day to find supplies of Scottish food and drink that they could sell to their peers in order to raise money for their cause and a firm favourite was the homemade tablet. Before the end of the year they supplemented this money with a Christmas fayre where a variety of homemade cards, tree decorations and gifts were sold. Using Mary’s Meals theme #doublethelove the Social Enterprise Group were able to pledge £500 to the Christmas meal appeal.

In 2018 the group intend to encourage members of the school to assist them in the “backpack appeal”. They already have some old school bags and a little stationary left over from last year’s very successful campaign but require more of these plus essential school clothing for the children Mary’s Meals supports.

The Social Enterprise Group encourage new recruits especially from younger pupils as many of the current group will be leaving school in May. Mary’s Meals is one of the Christian Charities studied by S2 pupils in their Christian Moral Principals in Action unit and for some pupils this would give them an opportunity to make a difference to the children whose lives they have studied (or S1 pupils who may study the charity in the future).

The Diana Award is a national award given to young people who have shown significant and long-lasting contributions to improving the lives of others. LACE is willing to nominate any of our pupils who meets this criteria through voluntary work done in school and/or in the wider community.

In November 2017 LACE received confirmation that two Lenzie Academy pupils had achieved a Diana Award and representatives from different aspects of LACE, the award winners and their parents travelled to The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh to attend Scotland’s Diana Award ceremony.

S6 Emma Mahon has contributed to many aspects of sports development both in Lenzie Academy, East Dunbartonshire and latterly in Scotland by being a youth representative on Sports Scotland. In everything Emma does she puts the needs of young people first and has encouraged individuals to participate in a variety of sport in Lenzie Academy, primary schools, sports clubs and in her S6 Community Placement at Campsie View School. Katie Clucas Lenzie’s Active School’s co-ordinator proposed Emma’s nomination and LACE were more than happy to forward her nomination.

S5 Iona Smith is also a keen ambassador for sports but combines that with her active role in developing Lenzie Academy’s Rights Respecting Schools accreditation. Being proactive in her quest to see young people’s rights being placed at the heart of education and government she independently became one of the first Scotland’s Year of Young People’s Ambassadors. These have been selected to represent the views and speak up for the rights of their peers.  Ms Fordyce as the lead teacher for Lenzie Academy’s Rights Respecting Schools working group nominated Iona and LACE forwarded her nomination.

LACE is interested in hearing about any other unsung heroes who have been making a difference in other people’s lives and who could potentially be nominated for a Diana Award. For more details please read http://diana-award.org.uk/nominate/

The pupils of S3 are encouraged to become aware of the role of philanthropy in reducing suffering in people’s lives. Having studied what philanthropy means pupils are encouraged to interact with a variety of local grassroots charities and Scottish charities which have a particular meaning for them.

Last year 33 different charities attended the Charity Speed Date event and 29 of them were chosen by different groups of pupils as the charity they were going to represent and make a pitch on their behalf for a cheque for £3000 donated from The Wood Foundation

Five of these group presentations go through to the Grand Final held in school in front of an invited audience including local dignitaries, the charities, presenters families, friends and staff. The final is compered by some of the previous year’s winners and the Jury consists of The Head of S3, a previous winner and representatives from business and the community.

In 2017 the winning charity was Indepen-dance and they have since begun a plan to involve Lenzie Academy pupils in a dance event together with pupils with additional support needs in Campsie View school.

The remaining four charities Creative Care Scotland, Bi Polar Scotland , Glasgow Panthers Wheelchair Rugbyand G.R.A.C.E have been adopted as the House Charities for 2017-2018.

Any charities registered with the OSCR who wish to join the 2018 charity speed date at the beginning of May 2018 please contact Mrs Davidson on mdavidson@lenzieacademy.e-dunbarton.sch.uk

As it was World Cancer Day on 4 February 2018 we chose to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust. During the week commencing 5 February pupils from S6 visited classes to sell wristbands and pins.  We also held a staff coffee morning during the interval on 9 February. 

Many thanks for supporting Teenage Cancer Trust.  Through your generosity and support we have managed to raise £394.50.  Thank you to all of the pupils who were involved in selling wristbands and pins and helping set up and contribute to the staff coffee morning. Thanks again!