James Hamilton
Primary Schools
September 23, 2009 by Active Schools, under James Hamilton.
Hi, I’m Ryan Rodger and I’ve been an Active Schools Coordinator since 2006 with the last few in the James Hamilton area which covers New Farm, Onthank & Silverwood Primaries.
My favourite activities are ice-hockey, running, mountain biking, climbing & skiing.
My background is Recreation Management and I have lived & worked in a few areas around the world, including the United States.
For more information on what’s happening in the James Hamilton Learning Community please see the individual school listings below.
Please use the details below to contact me if you’re interested in volunteering or simply wish to find out more about an activity:
Ryan Rodger
Active Schools Coordinator
James Hamilton LP
Onthank Primary
Meiklewood Rd
Kilmarnock KA3 2ES
Phone: 01563 550714
Email: ryan.rodger@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
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Secondary School
September 24, 2009 by Active Schools, under James Hamilton.
Hi, I’m Gordon Cunningham and I’ve been an Active Schools Coordinator Secondary since March 2009. James Hamilton Academy is one of the schools that I work with.
My favourite activities are football coaching, running & team sports.
My background is a degree in Sports Studies from Paisley University in 2003. I then spent a summer coaching football all over America. In my previous job with East Ayrshire Council’s Leisure Development I was a Health & Activity Motivator for five years, planning, organising and delivering activites to 5 – 12 year olds.
For more information on what’s happening at James Hamilton Academy please click on the link below.
Please use the details below to contact me if you’re interested in volunteering or simply wish to find out more about an activity:
Gordon Cunningham
AS Secondary Coordinator
Crosshouse Communications Centre
Playingfield Rd
Kilmarnock KA2 0JJ
Phone: 01563 524784
Email: gordon.cunningham@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
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James Hamilton News
May 27, 2010 by Active Schools, under James Hamilton.
Click here to download the latest James Hamilton LC Newsletter. 
Recent Events
Summer Activity Programme
P1-3 pupils at Onthank, New Farm & Silverwood Primary Schools enjoyed three days each of fun games & activities during the Summer Break. Aprroximately 130 individual participant sessions were recorded during the 2nd, 3rd & 4th week of the summer holidays with the children enjoyiong various activities from Tig games to rounders and relay races to dodgeball. Feedback from an anonymous parent said “I think it was great…same again next year would be brilliant.” Whilst another parent wrote their child was “Disappointed it’s not on again next week.”
Onthank Victory
Onthank Primary came out on top at this year’s East Ayrshire’s Primary Schools Sportshall Athletics Championships. The final saw the four finalist teams from Onthank, Dalmellington, Hurlford and Catrine Primary Schools competing to be crowned the 2011 Primary Sportshall Champions. 34 teams comprising over 544 primary five pupils competed in local heats for a place in the final which was held at the Galleon Leisure Centre. The heats consisted of indoor throwing, jumping and running events where the young athletes tried to gain as many points as possible in order to win a place for their team in the final.
Only the top four teams from the heats – two from the north and two from the south of East Ayrshire – can qualify for the final. The final proved to be very exciting and each team enjoyed overwhelming support from classmates, family and friends who filled the sports hall with their cheers! All four teams put in an impressive performance but the versatile athletics team from Onthank Primary had the edge over its rivals and stayed in the lead position throughout the final.
Depute Provost John Campbell said: “My congratulations go to Onthank Primary School for winning the championship. It’s a real achievement for the pupils who obviously worked and trained hard during the weeks running up to the competition. There is no doubt that there are young talented sports people in the school and I look forward to watching them compete in the national arena in the future!”
New Farm Stand Tall
The Mini Basketball championship came to an electrifying end recently with four schools battling to be crowned 2011 Primary Seven Mini Basketball League Champions at the Kelvinhall, Glasgow – home of the Glasgow Rocks, Scotland’s only professional basketball team. 190 pupils from 19 schools throughout East Ayrshire had fought hard during the season for a place in the final and the four teams who travelled to Glasgow were New Farm Primary, Mauchline Primary, Fenwick Primary and Dalmellington Primary. The Grand Final saw New Farm edging out Dalmellington Primary in a nail-biting match. With end to end action, this match was an excellent demonstration of how primary school basketball should be played. In the end, New Farm defeated a strong Dalmellington team 2-0.
Scott Russell, Pro Player with the Glasgow Rocks was impressed by the quality of play. He said: “Having seen many primary school finals at Kelvinhall Arena, this definitely ranks as one of the best. Basketball, particularly in East Ayrshire, has been strong for a number of years and hopefully this will continue.”
Councillor Hugh Ross, Spokesperson for Promoting Lifelong Learning said: “Education isn’t just about learning in the classroom it is about giving our young people opportunities and encouraging them to become successful learners and confident individuals. This event is a real inspiration for our young people and I would like to congratulate the teams and of course their teachers on their success.”
LEAD Conference
Four pupils from James Hamilton Academy attended the 2014 LEAD Conference at Strathclyde University recently hoping to learn new skills to aid them in organising and running a Glasgow 2014 activity / sports festival within their schools across East Ayrshire. For more information, please click the NEWS page. Picture above are Fairlie Bolton (Blue), Lauren Sloan (Red), Ross Dunachie (Green) & Dale Fraser (Yellow).
They Feel Like Dancing
Active Schools Coordinators Gordon Cunningham and Ryan Rodger have been running a dance club with a difference at a local primary school. Said Gordon: “It is different from a lot of other after-school clubs in the sense that the two girls who lead the class are James Hamilton Academy senior pupils doing their Community Sports Leadership Award. Dance enthusiasts Fairlie Bolton and Gemma Mackie, both 17, are required to deliver ten hours of lessons to complete their course, yet thesegirls are so dedicated that they have been doing an hour a week every Tuesday at New Farm Primary School with P4 –7 pupils since last September.”
The Community Sports Leadership Award enables candidates to lead groups of people in activities, under indirect supervision.
Visiting the dance club, Councillor Hugh Ross, Spokesperson for Lifelong Learning, said: “The club really is excellent. This is yet another creative, healthy initiative by Active Schools, helping children keep fit and have fun at the same time. I also commend the secondary pupils pursuing their Leadership Awards. It is a worthwhile qualification, which teaches leadership skills such as organisation, communication and teamwork through the medium of sport.”
Gordon Cunningham added: “All the dancers now have t-shirts as rewards for attending each week and are working hard to pull together a number of dance routines for performance to the whole school – which should be well worth seeing!”
2014 Communities Funding Bid Successful
The James Hamilton Learning Community is celebrating another successful bid for the £1000 grant offered by 2014 Communities Fund. This grant was submitted on behalf of Silverwood Primary in Kennedy Drive, Kilmarnock to allow a group of children to attend a taster day of sailing activities at Sport Scotland National Centre for Water sports at Cumbrae. The group of 35 primary 7 pupils will participate in dinghy sailing, wind-surfing and kayaking in mid June on the island of Millport.
This bid comes on the back of a previous successful bid (also to the value of £1000) which allowed approximately 80 children from New Farm Primary School to receive three 2 hour skiing lessons between January-March at Newmilns Snow & Sports Complex.
