AHS Newsletter 54 September 2019

Anderson High School NEWSLETTER September 2019, Issue 54

Parents and pupils enjoy our first Family Learning Event in Anderson High School (see overleaf for full article)

AHS Family Learning Event - Mrs A Scollay, Depute Head Teacher At our recent Family Learning Event in September our parents and children had the opportunity to take part in a range of workshops: Science Workshops; Sign Language; Baking; Cooking; Art; Escape Rooms; Robotics; Couch to 5k; Book Corner.

Our aim was to promote pupils’ health and wellbeing and to engage parents in their child’s learning.

Families were able to engage in activities that focused on a variety of areas:            

Microscopes, skeletons and the human torso Circuits Bunsen burners A Crime Scene Investigation technique British Sign Language (BSL) with finger spelling and signs How to cook the perfect pancake and pizza Robotics - how to make a set of Christmas tree lights switch on and off How to make an origami bird, pagoda or blow up box How to decorate a pebble with a positive comment Recommended fiction and non-fiction for child and adult Finding the clues, solving the codes and unlocking a mystery before the time runs out The first steps to involving yourself in the NHS’s Couch to 5k programme

There was the opportunity to relax with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, a homebake and chat with other families attending the event.

The event was a great success with a really warm, relaxed atmosphere.

There were many positive comments about the event, in particular, how lovely it was for parents to be able to involve themselves in their child’s learning within the school building.

This type of event is certainly something we will look to run again, using feedback from both parents and pupils to help us plan the kinds of activities and workshops we should offer.

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“I’d like to take this activity further.”

“How did you do this?

How did you come up with the ideas?”

(Escape Rooms)

“It was lovely to see the Library in a different light.”

“Thank you we’ve really enjoyed this!

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Anderson High School By-Election Hustings The school was so pleased to welcome 9 of the 10 By-Election candidates and their representatives as part of our By-Election Hustings on Monday 26 August 2019.

A big thank you to Mr Mackenzie, Principal Teacher of RMPS, who hosted the question and answer event very professionally. All pupils in S5 and S6 were invited to attend, with a huge majority of these young people being eligible to vote. Thanks must also go to Miss Taylor and Mr Gomes for their support.

AHS Term Dates: October Holidays

Monday 14 October 2019 - Friday 25 October 2019 inclusive

Term 2

Monday 28 October 2019 - Friday 20 December 2019 inclusive

Christmas Holidays

Monday 23 December 2019 - Friday 03 January 2020 inclusive

Term 3

Monday 06 January - Friday 27 March 2020 inclusive

Spring Holidays

Monday 30 March - Friday 10 April 2020 inclusive

Term 4

Monday 13 April 2020 - Friday 03 July 2020 inclusive

In-Service Closure:

Monday 28 & Tuesday 29 October 2019 Monday 06 & Tuesday 07 January 2020 Thursday 20 February 2020

Occasional holiday dates:

Wednesday 29 January 2020 Friday 21 & Monday 24 February 2020 Monday 13 April 2020 Friday 29 May 2020

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AHS Environmental Forum - Mrs C Simpson, Teacher of Biology There was an excellent turn out at the first meeting of the AHS Environmental Forum. The aim of this Forum is to bring together people with a passion for the environment who will raise awareness of environmental issues and encourage positive behaviour change in individuals, and the school as a whole.

The meeting was very positive with enthusiastic discussions. Information and ideas were shared and it was acknowledged that there are already some great initiatives underway that folk can get involved in.

Three priorities were agreed: 

To get the AHS Canteen and Home Economics department free of single use plastics.



Campaign to get recycling bins at key points throughout the school and launch a campaign to promote their use.



Look at AHS use of paper and try to identify areas where paper could be saved.

The group decided to address these issues, information.

meet regularly to share ideas and

If you would like to join the Environmental Forum listen out for tannoy announcements for the date of the next meeting. Staff and pupils all very welcome to come along!

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S1 Activity Days

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AHS Parent Council Chairperson’s Report 2018-19 The Anderson High School Parent Council works in partnership with school staff, pupils, parents & guardians, and the wider community to engage in activities that support and promote the education and welfare of pupils. It also aims to identify and represent the views of parents and guardians on the education and welfare of pupils.

It has been my pleasure to chair the Parent Council during the 2018-2019 academic year during which the Parent Council met 4 times (September 2018, November 2018, February 2019, May 2019).

The Parent Council is fortunate to receive a Head Teacher’s report at every meeting that highlights what is happening within the school community that term. This has led to discussions on a wide range of school issues over the year including: Staffing and Resources; Achievement and Attainment including SQA results and other routes to employment; School Improvement Plan; Pupil Equity Funding (PEF); AHS Nurture Initiative; Road Safety around the new Anderson; school social events; fundraising; links to the local community and employers. Other issues raised by the Parent Council as a result of discussions with the Parent Forum have included: revision support and study aids for S4-S6; subject choices; work placement; school communication with the Parent Forum (parents & guardians); parents evenings; school bus provision; free school meals and much more.

Staff and pupils delivered presentations on various topics throughout the year, which were well received by the Parent Council. They were very informative and useful for the Parent Council to understand school processes and challenges. Topics have ranged from SQA exam results, the Insight online resource to analyse exam performance, curriculum and timetabling, and pupil mental health and wellbeing.

Parent Council members attended the Shetland Parent Council Bi-annual Meeting (November 2018, May 2019), Education Scotland Readiness for Empowerment Consultation (October 2018), Head Teachers’ Development Day (November 2018), Education Scotland National Thematic Inspection on Empowerment for Parent and Pupil Participation (March 2019), Judging Panel on the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (April 2019) and the Quality Improvement Focus Group (May 2019).

In addition, members have served tea & coffee at Parents’ Evenings throughout the school year.

These meetings have been an invaluable opportunity to speak to parents and guardians informally about their experiences and to find out any issues of concern.

Highlights of the last year include the formal opening of the new High School by John Swinney, MSP, on Monday 24 September 2018 and the Wool Week Maker’s Café on Saturday 29 September 2018. The café was a collaborative effort by staff, Parent Council, students, and other volunteers, which raised nearly £1,700 for the School Fund.

My thanks to my fellow Parent Council members who have devoted their time, enthusiasm and commitment to support the school and Parent Council during the last year. Thank you to our Clerk, Dawn Ratter, for her minute taking and organisational support. A special thank you to Ms Nicolson and all the teaching and support staff for their hard work and commitment throughout the year.

Ayesha Huda Chairperson, AHS Parent Council

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Parent Council Members: Kenny Pottinger Marianne Clark Carrie MacDonald Dawn Ratter Jim Anderson Jerry Edwards Shereen Friedlander Ayesha Huda Gordon Mackay Raluca Mera Barbara Ross Hollie Shaw Hazel Shearer Catriona Waddington Edwin Irvine Shona Taylor Nick McCaffrey AHS Student Reps

Chairperson Vice Chairperson Vice Chairperson Clerk/Treasurer Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Parent Member Staff Representative Staff Representative Halls of Residence Team Leader and Co-opted Member invited to attend

In addition, Ms Valerie Nicolson, Head Teacher, and local Shetland Islands Council Councillors also attend Parent Council meetings in a non voting capacity.

Parent Council Meeting Dates 2019/20 Wednesday 20 November, 6.00 pm Thursday 06 February 2020, 6.00 pm

Wednesday 13 May 2020, 6.00 pm Thursday 17 September 2020 (AGM)

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Secondary Inter-Schools Netball Competition 2019 Miss K Leask, Teacher of PE On Monday 9th September the annual Secondary Inter-Schools Netball Competition took place at Clickimin Leisure Complex. This year saw an increase in teams entered with 10 teams in total from across the isles. This included Aith, two teams from Brae and Whalsay, Sandwick and the North Isles.

Three teams from the Anderson High School entered this year. They were selected from a mixture of S2 to S4 pupils. AHS Aces, AHS Arrows and AHS Atoms. The format of the tournament was a round robin with teams competing for points. 45 games had to be played over the course of four hours, so it was to be a busy day of netball.

All AHS teams started strong showing determined play. The Arrows faced Brae 1 and the Atoms faced Whalsay 1 in the opening games. Both teams winning their games. The AHS Aces were up next against Brae 2 and were also successful in their first game. This was a very positive start to the day. The AHS Atoms then took on the Arrows in the first AHS derby of the day and the game began with end to end play, both teams working really tirelessly to prevent the opposition getting a score on the

board. Atoms were triumphant, closely beating the Arrows by two goals, 5-3, in the final minute.

Aces then faced the Arrows, in the second derby of the day,. Aces settled quickly demonstrating good linking play in the attack, Arrows gained a few interceptions and converted them into goals but it was too late and Aces took the game 9-3.

Arrows had another tough match against Whalsay 2 who were proving to be tough opposition for all the teams. Whalsay 2 took some early points with good movement in the shooting circle and linking well with the mid court. Whalsay 2 took this game 9-3. The final AHS derby of the day was between Aces and Atoms who had both won all of their previous games. The game was hard fought from the outset with both teams marking tight, limiting the opposition’s space. Aces pulled ahead and the match finished 6-3 in their favour. Aces now had the pressure of winning their remaining games to make sure they could get a clean sweep.

AHS Arrows and Whalsay 2 finished on the same points meaning they had to have a play-off for 3/4th place. Whalsay started strong, however, the Arrows settled into their play and took the game 5-3.

AHS ACES

AHS ARROWS

AHS ATOMS

Vhairi Graham Abby Sandison

Ruth Morris Eve Wiseman

Astri Balfour May Young

Kaitlin Leslie (C)

Ellie Bisset (C)

Isla Murphy (C)

Sadie Fox

Niamh Paton

Shaina Douglas

Cameron Johnston

Caitlin Spence

Tahlia Leslie

Sonja Kurtz

Estella Smith

Kayla-Marie Pottinger

Dannika Leask

Kara Grant

Katie Moore

Jess Fraser

Lois Phillips

Ruth Anderson

Jodie Kerfoot

Maddison Reynold

Nisha Leask

Natasha Tulloch

Emma Anderson

Maddie Smith

Tegan Hendren

Eve Fraser

Kristin Grant

Rhea Isbister

Libby Smith

Lijana Kornejeva

The final standings of the competition were:

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1st AHS Aces, 2nd AHS Atoms, 3rd AHS Arrows, 4th Whalsay 2, 5th Whalsay 1, 6th North Isles, 7th Aith, 8th Brae 1, 9th Sandwick, 10th Brae 2

Winning team AHS Aces: Back row (L-R) Cameron Johnston, Sadie Fox, Tegan Hendren, Jess Fraser, Maisie Ramsay Front row (L-R) Dannika Leask, Sonja Kurtz, Kaitlin Leslie, Rhea Isbister, Jodie Kerfoot

Overall an excellent display of netball was on show all day and with an increase in the number of school teams entering this year it just shows how much work goes on behind the scenes. A thank you to all coaches and umpires that helped on the day, and well done to all players for allowing the day, and 45 games, to run seamlessly. Congratulations to AHS Aces on winning the Jean Tait Memorial Cup.

The AHS senior team have their first fixture against Kirkwall Grammar School and Thurso High School on Tuesday 8th October in Kirkwall. The lasses travelling away for that fixtures are: Imogen Teale (S6) Ava Leask (S6) Abby Sandison (S5) Karis Leask (S5) Jodie Walterson (S5) Kaitlin Leslie (S4) Kelsey Tulloch (S6) Ruth Morris (S6) Vhairi Graham (S5) Kirsty Thomson (S5) Rhea Isbister (S4) Astri Balfour (S6)

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AHS Gymnasts attend Islands Games - Mrs J Grant, Coach/AHS Science Technician Six gymnasts from Shetland attended the Inter Island Games competition held in the Isle of Man during the summer holidays. They were the only gymnasts from the whole of Scotland competing.

showed they were just as capable as the gymnasts from the other islands. Unfortunately, Lily had a fall on her final apparatus with her beam dismount on the first day of competition which put her out for the 2nd days event.

Three of the gymnasts attend the Lily Roberts, Eva Smith and Kali Thomson.

In the junior category, Eva and Kali competed alongside Merin Smith (Sandwick) and Loren Robertson (Brae) in the team floor and vault competition as well as individually. The team finished in 5th place after a few mistakes on vault which dropped their score. Individually, Eva Smith placed 19th on bars out of 32 gymnasts which was an amazing feat considering the gymnasts have a lower start score because they haven’t had enough gym time to train all the bar skills required yet. Kali placed 20th on beam out of 32 (recording a fall worth 1.0), Eva 22nd on floor and overall Kali placed 23rd and Eva 25th which was a great result for gymnasts who don’t have the training hours or equipment.

AHS:

L-R: Eva Smith, Merin Smith, Kali Thomson, Loren Robertson, Erin Robertson, Lily Roberts

The gymnasts were competing in their first ever Island Games event (gymnastics wasn’t chosen as one of the main Games sports for 2019) and had two training trips to Dundee and Aberdeen prior to the competition to practise on a sprung floor.

They were competing against gymnasts from Cayman Islands, Ynys Mon, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Gotland and Aaland. All these islands have access to the correct facilities, unlike Shetland who still have to travel to mainland Scotland to train. Lily competed in the senior category along with Erin Robertson from Brae HS, competing as individuals. They both competed new routines with new skills and

They went on to compete in the 2nd competition two days later, adding upgraded bar and floor skills for the first time. Kali placed 17th and Eva 20th on vault out of 32 gymnasts, Eva 17th on bars, Eva 15th on beam and Kali 17th, and on floor Kali 17th and Eva 20th with an upgraded tumble consisting of front somersault walkout straight into a roundoff backflip tuck back somersault. Overall Eva placed 15th and Kali 18th (due to not competing bars). The other two juniors placed 13th (Merin Smith) and 14th (Loren Robertson) overall.

Coach Julie Grant (AHS Science Technician) was extremely proud of how the gymnasts performed and coped with the stressful environment and represented Shetland.

Back row: Julie Grant, GB gymnast Dominic Cunningham, Erica Mikolajczak Front: Loren, Eva, Kali, Merin, Erin, Lily Page 12

S2 Wider Achievement - Volunteering with the Elderly When we were in S2 last term, every week we have a class called Wider Achievement. We chose to work with the elderly at Islesburgh Lunch Club.

We made up a programme of social activities that we thought the Lunch Club would enjoy.

Our first week was a big hit with the Up Helly Aa box from the Lerwick Museum. It included costumes from Up Helly Aa in previous years. It also included old programmes, a helmet and shoes. It was very interesting for us and for the people at the 60+ group. Everyone got along and everyone had a great time with one another. My favourite bit from the day was learning things I might not have known about Up Helly Aa from them and how it was different from now.

On our second visit we showed PowerPoints we had made about our school and photos of old school buildings and school groups from the archives of our local museum. We also showed them photos of our new school and the Anderson High online newsletter. I really enjoyed this as they recognised lots of people in the quizzes we had made.

demonstration on how to do online shopping, to show how many people shop today. It was a really interesting visit. We all really enjoyed learning about shopping in the past.

On our fourth visit our theme was toys, so we borrowed a memory box from the Museum.

Inside it there was a bright, colourful kaleidoscope, cup and ball game, family fortune and playing cards. At the bottom of the box we found a christening robe that they all took interest in. My highlight of the visit was when we tried the cup and ball game because there were very few people who could actually do it and the ones who could had to show us how to do it properly.

Another favourite memory was the wooden block game. The aim was to try and flip the blocks from one side to another. It was difficult to get the hang of and it took a while for everyone to figure it out.

Our fifth visit was a musical one. We sang some of our favourite songs from the 1970’s and 80’s. The Lunch Club members sang along with us and taught us some of their own favourite songs. We all sang the choruses of a few songs from the musicals Sound of Music and Mary Poppins.

Martha’s solo version of I can’t help falling in love with you, with our backing group, was a huge success. We really enjoyed meeting the people at the Lunch Club and we loved the ice cream!

On our third visit we had photos of old shops on Commercial Street over different decades. There were lots of really interesting pictures and it was nice to see how “The Street” has changed over many years. We went around the room and talked to people about what life was like when they were younger. Towards the end of our visit we gave a Page 13

S2 Wider Achievement: John Muir Award - Miss C Watt, Teacher of Geography S2 pupils have started working towards completing their John Muir Explorer Awards.

So far they have completed their “Hill Wild” in June and “Coastal Wild” days in September with Pete Richardson and the Outdoor Education Team. They have also had the opportunity to complete a “Summer Challenge” of their own during the summer holidays.

Pupils will complete their “Tree Wild” adventure in October and their final “Rock Wild” adventure in early 2020.

To be completed in School

To be completed independently

Hill Wild



Summer Challenge

Coast Wild



Autumn Challenge

Tree Wild

Winter Challenge

Rock Wild

Spring Challenge

Peatland Restoration Day

*Voar Redd Up



Mr Smith enjoying the challenge!

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.”

John Muir

The Voar Redd Up can contribute to the conserve element of the award, so any S2 pupil who is involved in this should let Miss Watt know.

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For more information on the John Muir Award: https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/

Free Choice Activities – Mrs M Phillips, Principal Teacher Support for Learning Since the beginning of June, the Support for Learning Department has run a series of free choice activities for pupils on Friday period 5. Activities on offer so far this year have included football, basketball, board games, baking, crafts and chill time. Rosalynn Fraser, owner of RoLo crafts, who is also a Learning Support Worker in Anderson High School, has been working with pupils to make needle felt badges. A group of four students are taking part in the Junior Welcome sessions at the Clickimin Gym, and, in partnership with SIC Sport and Leisure Services and the Council’s ASB Co-ordinator Billy Mycock, a group of pupils are participating in a block of squash training at the Clickimin Complex. This group is also supported by the Council’s Neighbourhood Support Worker Service and it is hoped that further activities will be developed within this particular partnership. Plans are also in place for Christmas Crafts and Baking next term. Watch this space……….

Anderson High School is grateful for the support of their partners in the community for their assistance in delivering these activities, specifically RoLo Crafts, Shetland Recreational Trust, SIC Sport and Leisure Services, Billy Mycock, ASB Co-ordinator, Shetland Islands Council and the SIC Neighbourhood Support Service.

Pictured is the squash group, supported by Billy Mycock, SIC ASB Co-ordinator.

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S2’s Letter to Artist Jack Morrocco - Mrs J Kelly, Teacher of Art & Design Last term my second year classes worked on an Expressive Still Life project inspired by the work of contemporary Scottish Artist Jack Morrocco.

Jack Morrocco was born in Edinburgh in 1953. He comes from an artistic family and studied at Duncan and Jordonstone Art College in Dundee, 1970–74, when his uncle Alberto Morrocco, another famous artist, was the head of the school.

Jack was, selected to study with the renowned Pop artist Peter Blake in the summer of 1973.

As a postgraduate he was awarded the Farquhar Reid Travelling Scholarship, which he used to travel to Paris and Florence. These experiences and influences can be seen in his work today.

After college he set up a design studio as well as painting and exhibiting. In 1997 Jack decided to paint full time and now sells work internationally. Working from his studios in Fife and on the Cote d’ Azur in the South of France.

His still life paintings are ideal inspiration as they contain an eclectic mixture of objects that reference influences from his travels, other cultures, artists or art movements. He often includes a copy of a famous painting in amongst the other objects such as fruit, flowers and musical instruments. Morrocco’s compositions also make excellent use of the visual elements of colour, pattern, shape and line. The patterned 2D backgrounds often create a frame to focus the viewer on the main objects in the centre.

The second year pupils used mixed media to create their own individual responses to Morrocco’s work, using oil pastels on neutral paper to create vibrant patterned backgrounds. The objects where painted separately in water based block paints, finer details were added with colour pencils or pens before being collaged onto the background.

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The pupils were very proud of their final pieces. While taking photos of the work I had the idea of getting the pupils to write to Jack Morrocco, to show him their work and ask questions about his.

Kara Grant and Dannika Leask typed up a letter to Mr Morrocco on behalf of all the second years. I added in photos and emailed it in the hope of a response. We were all amazed and delighted, that within hours, I received a message from Jack Morrocco to say that he would reply properly the following week as he was in Madrid at that point on business.

Below is the S2 letter, followed by the reply we received. We were impressed that, a very busy professional artist took the time and effort to reply to us in person. Giving the pupils a deeper understanding of his inspirations, process and work. If you wish to find out more about Jack Morrocco and his current paintings and range of styles visit his website - http:// jackmorrocco.com/ Dear Mr Morrocco, We are writing to you from the Anderson High School in Shetland. Our secondary two class has been studying your artwork and we have done a project inspired by your still life paintings.

Our paintings have different objects in them like guitars, ouds, fiddles as well as flowers, bottles, a Turkish teapot, Day of the Dead mask and fruit. We used oil pastels for the backgrounds of our compositions. The objects were painted using watercolour block paints and collaged onto the backgrounds.

We love your artwork because it is bright, colourful and very creative. We like your use of pattern and shapes in the background, as they seem to make a boarder or frame the objects.

Do you have favourite objects that you use in your still life paintings? We think that guitars are maybe one of your favourite objects as they appear in lots of your paintings.

Do you play the guitar or a musical instrument?

Do you have a favourite colour or colour scheme? What inspires you the most?

Attached are some images of our work, we hope you like them and have time to answer our questions.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Thank you. Regards, Dannika Leask and Kara Grant on behalf of Mrs J Kelly’s S2 AHS Good morning Jayne and students, Firstly thank you for you kind words about my work – I am most flattered that you have decided to use it as a basis for your studies and hope it has brought out some aspect of your own creativity.

I will answer your questions as best I can however I should just say that there is a “preferred text” for study in Scottish schools in a biography written in 2010 by Roy Macgregor entitled “Jack Morrocco, A Work In Progress”. It covers all areas of my work including method and influences etc. There is also a subsequent publication entitled “Picture Book – Selected Paintings 2011 – 2016”. If you would like to have them for your studies let me know as they can be a little difficult to find now and I have my own supply.

So, favourite items for still life – probably stringed musical instruments and ethnic artefacts, masks, carved wooden animals. I actually have most of these in my studio but for this type of work it is not essential – the internet is a wonderful thing!

I play guitar (both classical and jazz), lute, violin, and piano but not any of them very well. I remember a friend saying recently that at 14 years old I was an incredible guitarist. Well I’m still as good as a 14 year old!

I couldn’t possibly have a favourite colour scheme, that would be like having a favourite child. But I love to experiment with making “chords” of colours which harmonise. The great thing about my still life compositions is that it gives me the opportunity to arrange colours, shapes, objects and patterns in ways that aren’t restricted by what I see in front of me. I often think of painting a traditional representational still life as playing a piece of music, whereas with studio still life I am composing the music as I go along.

Inspirations and influences are many (see book) but have to include all the painters in my family, John Singer Sargent, Picasso, Matisse, Caravaggio, Monet, Larry Rivers, Peter Blake and many others. I just saw Picasso’s “Guernica” and Caravaggio’s “Saint Catherine of Alexandria” in Madrid on my trip and if they don’t inspire you to paint, nothing will!

I think your interpretations of my work are wonderful and show great promise. I hope they have shown you a new way of working and thinking about still life. It doesn’t have to just be about objects on a table – you can incorporate your own life and likes into your work.

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I hope this has been some help to you all. With my best wishes, Jack

Natural Selection Exhibition – Miss R Jamieson, Teacher of Art & Design S1 pupils from Anderson High School visited The Natural Selection Exhibition at the old AHS building. The Art and Design Department met with Jane Matthews from Shetland Arts who introduced us to the exhibits.

The collaborative display of work was created by father and son duo Peter Holden, Ornithologist, and Andy Holden, Sculptor. It took pupils on a journey of building birds’ nests to the collection of eggs and observing bird behaviour.

This was a great opportunity for students to take part in an exhibition of artworks depicting the genres of sculpture, film and animation based on ornithology.

Pupils had a discussion on the social history of egg collecting and viewed an interesting range of different species. They enjoyed seeing the colourful collections of these. The eggs that you see in the exhibition have been handmade and are replicas. These have been recreated from an illegal collection of wild birds’ eggs which were uncovered by RSPB officers in a raid.

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A giant sculptural nest featured as the central focal point in the exhibition. The students enjoyed walking around the sculpture and marvelling at its height, shape and detail. Also on display were arrangements of wood carvings based on sonography which were inspired by birdsong. The front entrance to the building included a wallpaper design in a repeat pattern which cleverly represented a cuckoo’s open beak. Overall all AHS pupils had a great experience at the exhibition.

Photography Workshop with Craig Easton Ms J Armstrong - Teacher of Art & Design Before the summer holidays we were very lucky to be able to offer third year pupils a workshop with the photographer Craig Easton.

Craig’s portfolio of work is enormous and impressive in its range. He works to commission within advertising and journalism and has built up a substantial body of work pursuing his own personal projects. His website contains some stunning examples of his work: https://www.craigeaston.com He is known for his dramatic landscape work and his intimate portraits of real lives. In advertising he brings the same mix of drama and reality to a wide range of international clients. His early career was defined by his work for the ground-breaking Independent newspaper in London and he has since gone on to win numerous awards for both his commissioned work and personal projects. His work is deeply rooted in the documentary tradition often mixing portrait photographs with his clear, graphic depiction of the landscape.

Recent awards include: Winner of FC Barcelona Photo Award 2017 Sony World of Photography Award 2017 Winner of Landscape Portfolio award at World Travel Photographer of the Year 2016/17 Winner of Cutty Sark Award for World Travel Photographer of the Year 2012/13

One of Craig’s current projects is called ‘Sixteen’. Craig is leading this project along with 14 fellow photographers, looking at the experience of sixteen year olds all around the UK.

The idea is to capture not only an image of the individuals but to include a piece of writing in which they tell us something about themselves. This was also the format used in the workshop with Anderson High School pupils.

Initially Craig took us through some of his work, introducing us to a few technical ideas and explaining his interests and ideas. For example, some of his photographs currently on exhibition in Newcastle are around the theme of ‘Fisherwomen’. He has journeyed all around the UK taking photos of women at work in fish factories. His observation was that fundamentally the work is unchanged and he witnessed great camaraderie and humour amongst the workers.

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A day is not long to learn any skill. This is as true of photography as anything. We all ‘take’ photos but perception and observation are skills developed over years. So, we had our work cut out. The pupils went off round the school in pairs and checked in with Craig to discuss progress and consider different ways of looking and setting things up. The photos that were produced were fresh and insightful and a credit to all who took part and to Craig who guided us all so thoughtfully and patiently.

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AHS Barcelona Trip 2019 A group of 39 pupils travelled to Barcelona in May for a school trip. It was a hugely enjoyable trip for us all. Myself, Mr E Mcleman, Miss S Taylor, Miss C Cluness and Mrs Z Galbraith accompanied the superb group of enthusiastic pupils. Kaitlin Leslie (then S3) provides a detailed trip report below; please do read and find out what they got up to! Mr E Irvine (Maths Department) Saturday 18th May Our first day away from Shetland involved a full day of travelling. With an early start, coming off the boat, we caught two flights (Aberdeen - Amsterdam - Barcelona) and finally a bus before reaching Salou. Eventually we arrived!

Sunday 19th May For our first full day in Spain, we visited Montserrat. This was up a huge mountain that was a two-hour drive away from Salou. There is a small town that surrounds the famous monastery, so we got to explore a bit. When finished at Montserrat we got the cable cars back down - they were amazing with great views of the mountain.

We then stopped by Tarragona to see the 2000year-old gladiator arena (known as an amphitheatre) and then headed back to the hotel, where we spent the night.

Gladiator area at Tarragona

Monday 20th May Our second day was spent getting the bus in to Barcelona.

We toured Nou Camp Stadium and Barcelona FC Museum in the morning. Midday came and we arrived in Barcelona’s main street, Las Ramblas. During our time there, we visited the huge food market and bought our lunch. We walked down to the waterfront before we were let loose to go shopping!

After a busy day, we got back to the hotel for dinner and then enjoyed the hotel’s evening entertainment!

Nou Camp Stadium Page 22

Las Ramblas market

Tuesday 21st May In the morning we set off for Reus where we visited a cookie making factory and Font Major Caves! The cookie factory was really interesting as were able to see all of the machinery and the cookie making process. We got a free pack of cookies too. The caves were amazing - we were so far underground! The rest of the day was spent at the hotel, either by the pool or in the pool taking in the sun. Some of us went for a walk at night along a coastal path in Salou.

Wednesday 22nd May This day was spent at the beach. We trekked to one of Salou’s beaches (with a few detours‌) and spent the whole day having fun in the sun, swimming in the sea and eating ice cream. At night, we went 10 pin bowling and things got pretty competitive!

Salou Thursday 23rd May With this being our last full day in sunny Spain, we knew it would be a fun one! We spent the whole day at PortAventura theme park - going on all the rides and having a blast! This day was FANTASTIC! We then returned to the hotel for dinner and the dreaded packing.

Friday 24th May With a 2am wake up call to travel home, we were all knackered. Catching a bus to the airport then two connecting flights to Aberdeen, we finally arrived back in Scotland by 10am. We then had a full day to spend in Aberdeen (shopping!) before the boat at 7pm. Eventually, we got on the boat and after being awake for 22 hours we got some sleep before arriving home the next morning!

Overall, Barcelona was a blast! The trip was filled with so many fun activities that we all enjoyed thoroughly!

The group outside Sagrada Familia

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Kool Katz Disco 2019 Kool Katz Disco was on Thursday 12th September. The disco is part of a health and wellbeing anti-bullying initiative in AHS. This year took a new direction as the SRC (School Representative Committee) and S6 Enterprise all supported the event. There was a photo booth with dressing up props and slushy drinks in addition to the usual tuckshop. The DJ did a great job, playing traditional and disco songs - many thanks to Mr Robertson and all the staff that volunteered to attend the disco.

The event was well attended with over 120 S1 and S2 students.

By Isabelle Moss (S2)

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Peer Support Training for S6 - Mr A Johnson, Principal Teacher of Pupil Support What is MVP? The Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme (MVP) is an approach to gender violence and bullying prevention that was first developed in 1993 in the United States. Within the MVP Programme young people are identified not as victims or perpetrators but as empowered bystanders able to support and even challenge abusive and bullying peers.

Young people are provided with a range of safe options which can prevent situations from escalating.

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Skills Development Scotland Scott Summers, Alicia Hunter, Katie Bristow and Alison Shearer, Careers Advisers

Here at Skills Development Scotland (SDS) we continue to work across all schools in Shetland to support pupils, teachers and parents/carers with a range of Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance services.

We will be working with pupils across all year groups delivering group sessions within classes, offering subject choices one-to-one appointments to those within the Broad General Education, year group and one-to-one careers appointments to those within the Senior Phase, as well as attending Parents Evenings, and other activities and events.

Careers Advisers will be continuing to work with pupils to development their own Career Management Skills and support them to make informed decisions about their future career path and highlight the range of career routes out there .

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Self – knowing who you are – how pupils can understand and reflect on who they are and what they can do, knowing what’s right for them, reflecting on life, work and learning and thinking about their likes/dislikes, interests and motivations.

Strengths – knowing what you are good at – relates to the understanding of skills, knowledge and experience, with pupils reflecting on what they are good at, considering transferable skills and evidencing strengths through examples.

Horizons – knowing what is out there – where pupils think about the options and routes available after school and in the long term throughout their lives, how to make decisions and access opportunities in employment, education and training.

Networks – knowing who can help you – understanding who can help, who pupils can source advice from, who can help with decisions – such as teachers, Pupil Support, Career Coach, employers, training providers, representatives from colleges/universities, family, friends and other contacts.

Pupils and parents/carers are welcome to make a careers appointment at any point and can get in touch by contacting the school’s Pupil Support teacher, by phone, email or by messaging the SDS Shetland Facebook page – details below. Please see below details regarding the senior phase year group lead advisers. Any pupils and parent/carers of Broad General Education (S1-S3), please note that any adviser is happy to support with appointments or queries.

There are several online resources available to support individuals career planning and development of Career Management Skills:

www.myworldofwork.co.uk www.apprenticeships.scot

www.mykidscareer.co.uk www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk

S4 Adviser - Scott Summers, Careers Adviser Email: scott.summers@sds.co.uk

S5 Adviser - Katie Bristow, Careers Adviser Email: katie.bristow@sds.co.uk

S6 Adviser - Alicia Hunter, Careers Adviser Email: Alicia.hunter@sds.co.uk

You can also contact us through our Facebook page:

Supporting Careers Adviser in AHS - Alison Shearer

SDS Facebook: SDS Shetland

Email: AlisonJane.shearer@sds.co.uk

or phone our Lerwick office on 01595 695791 Page 27

Library News - Mrs T Odie, School Librarian 2C Silver Award This class was once again the winner in the race for every pupil in the class to receive their Reading Award, with everybody gaining their Silver Award. Well done Mrs Tylsar and the pupils in last year’s 2C. Plant Donation The library gratefully accepted the donation of another large plant affectionately known as ‘Jenny from D Block’.

This one is a beautiful umbrella plant donated by retired Chemistry teacher Jennifer Thomson when she moved to Malaysia earlier in the year. We are also pleased to report that ‘Roy the Rubber Plant’ is thriving with lots of new shoots appearing.

Activities – Escape Room by Lynn Goodlad For the Activity Days we worked together with the Music Department to provide an Escape Room experience for the pupils. Four teams of six competed against each other to get the fastest time solving puzzles, codes and clues. In the past we have used a ready-made shopbought version to play around the table but this year we thought to do something different.

With the use of the whole Library floor space, a theme and props we made the Library into a walk-into Escape Room – with a twist. It proved to be very popular with lots of pupils wanting to sign up for next year’s Escape Room, which we are already planning, along with be some ‘Breakout Box’ classroom activities.

World Book Day Library staff and English teachers dressed up for ‘World Book Day’. See if you can guess their characters.

Fastest team: Marina Amorgianou, Cailean Johnson, Kieran Cowan, Alex Trifonovs, Lewis Day, David Williamson

Book Reviews by Pupils

L-R: Mrs Tylsar, Mrs Kerr, Mrs Odie, Ms Moncrieff, Mr Dort, Mrs Goodlad, Miss Cluness

We also held a quiz with S1 and 2 classes. Mr Dort’s outfit helped them with the answer to this question.

The best book I’ve read so far is ‘The Word’s Worst Children’ by David Walliams. It is funny, witty and encourages kids not to do bad things.

It contains imaginary people who might be relatable to lots of real people in the world. It is a fun, quick read that always makes you want to read more… It is never ending. There are three volumes so far and still more to come.

Prasheeta Saravanan 1B

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Judging a book by its cover, ‘Moxie’ seems to be an over the top, girly story that will slander men and rave on about girl power for its 300+ pages. Jennifer Mathieu does not do this. Instead, she creates a more quiet, relatable character in Vivian who hates all the sexist things happening at her school but feels powerless to do anything about them. Until she distributes ‘Moxie’ around her school. Then slow but sure changes start to happen in her school. Other girls recognise the injustice being carried out and join the Moxie cause. And by the end of the novel the school has been changed forever, for the better.

Although a feminist novel, it carries with it situations and themes that are common everywhere.

Things such as male sports clubs getting more attention or girls being sick of the way guys oversexualise everything, is what gets Vivian, and many people who read this book, riled up. It teaches the reader the true meaning of feminism and how it shouldn’t be a bad thing to be called a feminist. It should be something to be proud of. It was feminists who gave women better rights for things like voting and abortions and feminists who are pushing to make us all equal in society, so their work is nothing to be ashamed of. A few extremists should not be allowed to ruin the name for the whole community.

Admittedly, I was sceptical before reading this and even had some of the “I want us to be equal but I’m not a feminist” thoughts present throughout the book. Now I realise that Moxie is a novel that all girls can relate to, regardless of age, upbringing or race. Although I still would not classify myself as a feminist, Moxie has helped me to understand the cause better and made me proud of what truly amazing things women have accomplished in the feminist name. Ellie Walterson, 6F Displays One of our most recent displays is a regularly updated ‘Bookflix’ presentation, where pupils can touch the book cover of new and popular titles to launch the blurb. It is also available as a static display on the large pin board in the Library.

Our current display is for ‘Banned Books Week’ and as always, the best way to get young people to read a book is to tell them that they are not allowed to read it.

Great Online Resources to help with Homework Complete Issues Complete Issues is a safe place where young people can easily find interesting articles, reliable statistics, amazing personal accounts and great websites that help them to quickly understand the world around them.

Username: Shetland Password: Library Issues Online Issues Online is an interactive resource containing articles, infographics and information on hundreds of important topics.

Username: AndersonHS Password: 1022 Shetland Library Website http://www.shetlandlibrary.gov.uk/24HourLibraryReferenceTitles.asp Access to great online resources such as Britannica Encyclopaedia, Newspapers and much more.

All this information and more in the Library section of the school website.

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8.30

Arrive at school to find the usual group of pupils waiting for me to open up.

8.30-8.50

Good morning chats with pupils.

Try to print out a pupils homework that she’d completed on an iMac and brought in on a pen drive – involved a phone call to a Computing teacher and asking pupil to come back at interval.

Period 1

S3 English class in to get new books – first half of the period.

6 S4 pupils in to do a practice Maths assessment with a Learning Support Worker.

Pupils in to book out laptops.

Pupils in to use one of the computers .

Lynn arrives – yippee!

Another S3 class in to get books – second half of the period.

Period 2

S1 English class in for their Library period – pupils did a scavenger hunt that took them to all areas of the Library, making sure they know where everything is.

Then pupils read for last 10 minutes, a group of reluctant readers took turns reading a Dr Seuss book – great success!

S6 volunteer in to help.

Email from a Support for Learning teacher about choosing a book for reading to a pupil and emailed her back with the Reading Award certificates we use that her pupil can work towards.

INTERVAL

82 pupils in this interval – a fairly normal amount – some reading, some doing school work, some playing games, some just chatting with friends.

Pupil with printing issue came back to tell me she’d solved it herself so I asked her to come in another day and teach me how to do it – always learning in this job!

A pupil returned a book that had been missing for ages and this made me really happy as there are 5 more pupils waiting for it!

Period 3

Technically a ‘free period’ with no classes booked in so managed to grab a cup of tea Fixed the puzzle pieces from interval a group of boys had been working on and didn’t get finished.

Worked on preparing Library lessons for next term.

Some senior pupils in studying.

Tidied away all books, leaflets etc that were used last night for the ‘Active Healthy Self’ Family Learning Event.

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Period 4

S1 PE class in for a Literacy Lesson on ‘Active Listening’ – this is a really enjoyable lesson, we discuss ways to show we are ‘actively listening’ and then get pupil volunteers to be asked questions by their class. I keep a note of answers and then quiz the team on how well they have been listening to the answers i.e. ‘Who hates broccoli?’ – winning team gets a sweetie.

S1 get out early for lunch so we grab a quick bite to eat before the lunchtime stampede!

LUNCHTIME

Again, upwards of 90 pupils in over lunchtime.

Many games on the go i.e. chess, top trumps puzzles etc. Phones and other devices are banned in the Library during lunchtime as we encourage pupils to read, do work or interact with their friends and peers by playing card, board games, doing crafts etc.

It’s also S2 day for playing the Wii, so a large group involved with that Phone call from a teacher about the class period 5.

Visit from a Deputy Head to discuss last night’s event.

Period 5

Technically a ‘free period’ with no classes booked in.

Phone call from Executive Manager of Library Services.

Ordered an Inter Library Loan for an Advanced Higher Modern Studies pupil.

Lynn leaves at the end of this period – boo!

Period 6

S1 ICT class in for a Literacy Lesson on ‘Proofreading’ – we talk about ways to make sure you’re always handing in your best piece of work first time, looking at strategies to help with proofreading – pupils are then given the opportunity to be the teacher and correct a page with mistakes – using a red pen!

Period 7

S2 English class in for their library period – offered them various worksheets to do i.e. A-Z of fiction where they have to find a title for each letter of the alphabet or the ‘Find a book with…’ challenge where they might have to find a book with a red cover or with the word ‘and’ in the title for example. Then time for reading and changing books.

After School

Tidy up, check timetable for tomorrow to make sure all lessons are organised and head home to drink tea and eat chocolate.

(and some people think we just stamp out books…)

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Music Department News Musical Summer Adventures We have had several pupils out and about this summer involved in a variety of different musical activities. Some pupils share their experiences here: National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland (NYJOS) I’m Attie Black, an S6 pupil at the Anderson High School.

Over the summer break I participated in NYJOS Jazz Summer School in the Isle of Skye, as well as a Jazz Access course in early April. The summer course lasted for 6 days in total. I found out about it by researching the NYOS Summer School with my music teacher. We discovered the Jazz Summer School and decided to apply for it, as we both have a soft spot for playing jazz!

The course opened my eyes to an entirely different side of music. I never knew that there was so much other stuff out there! It has given me a real insight into the minds of jazz musicians and how they think and practice in a completely different way to classical musicians. It has also improved my ability to improvise tenfold. I would absolutely recommend the course. I feel like I’ve got so much out of it; and it has improved my independence, and my ability to communicate and connect with other people. I hope to apply and get accepted again – it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience!

A regular gig!

Some of our pupils have had regular performances at “The String” in the last few months. Daisy Anderson explains about it here……………..

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Four pupils make up “The High Level Hot Club” (myself, Daisy Anderson - guitar, Lulu Johnson – guitar and vocals, Artur Vavilov - guitar and Tabitha Johnson – double bass) and for most of our appearances at “The String” recently we have been joined by George Spence – violin. The style of music that we play is mostly gypsy jazz and swing. I really enjoy this style of music and love performing with the others. As well as being great fun, gigs give us the opportunity to gain more experience and develop our playing style as a band.

Edinburgh Military Tattoo Several of our fiddlers from Anderson High School had the wonderful opportunity of performing as part of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo during August.

Emma Leask explains a bit about the experience: I attended all 4 weeks of the Tattoo performances.

Before we went we had a lot of practising - about 4 hours each week for about 4 months! As well as learning the tunes off by heart, we had to learn our formations and moves, and practising doing both together. Sometimes we had to improvise and use chairs to march around.

The experience of a military performance and how precise everything has to be has encouraged me to expect the same standards of my performance at all times. This year I was also one of the fiddlers to have a microphone and ear piece. This took a while to get used to but was a useful learning experience for future occasions. I would encourage others to take up this opportunity if it comes their way as it is a great way to meet people from all over the world and also gives the opportunity to really focus and develop your own playing.

Workshop with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra On Thursday the 5th & Friday 6th of September, some of our SQA pupils attended a workshop with members from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The workshop demonstrated James MacMillan's compositional journey to create his piece Tryst, and the poem that inspired it. Some of these compositional techniques were then used to create an original piece of music, taken from a selection of music that the pupils were familiar with. It was a very inspiring and worthwhile workshop.

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Introducing…

Mrs Cheryl Mackenzie We are delighted to have Mrs Mackenzie join the Music Department for two days a week, currently Wednesdays and Fridays. We took the opportunity to ask her a few questions to allow our readers get to know her…...

What were your feelings before starting to teach at AHS? When I went coasteering I felt a tug of dread on every jump, I never got used to it – but I did it! Well I felt a bit like that before starting here. That moment before I jumped was how I felt during my summer break – a bit of anxiety about a new workplace for me, new people, new way of working. All pretty normal feelings really. But once I’d jumped, it was pretty exhilarating!

Is it what you expected?

It’s more than I expected. I had an idea of how some things worked as I had visited before but getting used to new routines and where things are is a work in progress for me. I’m learning fast though. Learning really is a lifelong skill!

What do you like best so far about working at AHS? I really enjoy working closely with music teacher colleagues who I can bounce ideas off with, and getting to work with more bright and enthusiastic young minds in the classrooms.

I absolutely love getting to use all the fantastic resources when teaching and it’s all just a bit exciting really.

How does teaching at AHS compare with other places you have taught?

When it comes down to the front line and you’re in front of a class, it’s really pretty similar to anywhere else - you only have different pupils in front of you. The difference I see is the fact this school and its resources are up to date and people feel a whole lot of pride in it, and you can get a real sense of that.

What is your favourite style of music?

It honestly depends on my mood or what I’m doing. I love a good karaoke style sing-a-long to popular hits. I’ll listen to anything from Country, Pop, Dance, Punk Rock, Classic Rock, Funk and Ska. I know you only asked for one but I really can’t answer only one!

What inspires you?

Learning something new inspires me. Knowing that no matter how old I get, I will always find something to learn about and I get a lot of enjoyment out that.

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In the Music Department we are always delighted when former students return to see us! At the start of September, Connor Dickson, was, very kindly, willing to come in and share with current students his own experience of post-school musical education. He is currently studying for a degree in Musical Theatre and explained, having studied music up to Advanced Higher Level at Anderson High School, the route he took to gain a place on his current course. We would like to wish him well in his studies and look forward to seeing his name in lights in the future!

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Support for Learning News - Miss H Jamieson, Support for Learning Worker Faroese Boat Visit SFL department got the chance to go aboard an original Faroese smack (boat). They sailed from Faroe to Shetland to celebrate 100 years of the Faroese flag.

On board pupils noticed that they had saat maet hanging up on the ropes drying out - like what people in Shetland do. Pupils were taught how to fish with old hand lines and discovered how long the fishermen had to stand on deck to get enough of a catch.

SFL Activities Days The SFL department enjoyed their super activities days.

Pupils got to cover a lot of Shetland during the two days. Some pupils went to Whalsay for a day trip, some went on the south end trip including visits to the lighthouse and St Ninian’s isle, some went to Burra to visit Barbara’s croft to see the ponies and some opted to have a ‘stay in town’ day. Fairly enjoyed by all.

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August - October 2019 There are a range of activities on offer throughout the school with access to computer rooms and quiet spaces at lunctimes: Monday

Wednesday



Badminton in the Games Hall



Fierdy Fiddles in the Music department



Latin Club in room 3.12



Football for S1 in the 60/40



Lively at Lunchtime (Support for Learning Pupils) 12.45 - 1.15 pm in the Mini Gym

Thursday



Saxaphone Group 12.50 pm in room 1.06



Duke of Edinburgh Award 12.50 - 1.15 pm in room 2.03



Volleyball 12.40 to 13.10pm in the Games Hall



Football for S4 in the 60/40

Tuesday 

All about Films in room 3.12



Clarinet Group 12.50 pm in room 1.06



Football for S2 in the 60/40

Friday 

Chess in room 1.24



Creative Writing Society in room 3.13



Football for S3 in the 60/40

AHS Library Open plan area for quiet reading and homework/study.

Classroom area for games and crafts.

Maths Support

Quiet Study Room Room 1.34 is available to pupils this term who wish to use a quiet study space.

Maths staff are available to help pupils in any year group during 12.50 - 1.15 pm Monday to Friday.

Instrumental Groups See noticeboards in the Music department for various instrumental activities.

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The SRC has started a new session and had their Induction Day on 5th September. The new members are as follows: S1

Lily Rendall

S2

Dean Law Sofee Coutts

S3

Ryleigh Leask Vaila Crow

S4

Saul Ritchie

S5

S6

Leigha Shearer Kalli Coutts Nova Malcolmson Vaila Wright Anya Johnston Natasha Anderson Shane Painter Ava Leask Imogen Teale Freya Watt Thea Sutherland Bianka Meszaros

Chairs: Ava Leask, Freya Watt, Thea Sutherland Vice Chairs: Shane Painter, Imogen Teale, Vaila Wright Secretaries: Bianka Meszaros, Saul Ritchie

We are 2 young members from the SRC. We joined because we felt we had the skills to contribute to the team. We are both happy that we joined because the SRC feels like one big family. On the 5th of September we had an Induction Day to get to know each other. We interacted with people we didn’t know and people from all year groups. We feel we are going to accomplish great things with our new team. Bigger and better things in the year to come!

Vaila Crown and Sofee Coutts Page 39

Space and Astronomy Tour - Mrs C Reid, Principal Teacher of Sciences Ali Bruce from the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh visited the Anderson High School to help celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the birth of astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth and the 50th Anniversary of the Moon landings.

The talks with AHS pupils involved discussions on: 

 

interactive “Journey to the Moon” demonstrations using a LEGO Saturn V use of infra-red detectors in exploring space, including the design of the James Webb Space Telescope, part of which was done at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh Q&A about studying Physics and Astronomy at university and information about careers in Space Science.

“I really liked the Lego rocket.”

Lewis Scott”

“The talk was informative and engaging.”

Tommy Haddon

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at AHS Mrs C Simpson, Teacher of Biology Shetland Wool Week 2019 is just around the corner and the maakers at AHS are excited to be

involved again this year.

There are various activities taking part in the school during wool week: 

On Wednesday a few of the AHS maakers will be going along to the Knitter’s Hub at the Museum for the afternoon before heading back to the Taak Your Sock night here at Anderson High School. This is an event where knitters are invited along to the school Library for a night of knitting and socialising.



Anderson High School hosted this event last year and had over 72 people attending from all over the world. It was such a success that we decided to do it again this year. There will be a cup of tea and homebakes available to all who attend and donations are accepted for the Anderson High School Fund.

Please come along to this event if you can make it from

6.30 - 8.30pm on Wednesday 2nd October in the Library. 

On Friday it will be Fair Isle Friday in schools across Shetland. Anderson High School will be

taking part and all staff and pupils will be asked to come to school wearing something with a Fair isle pattern and a group photo will be taken which will be shared with SWW organisers. 

The Makers Market is back in AHS again this year on Saturday 5th October from 11.00 - 4.00 pm. As well as lots of stalls selling wool, books, garments and various knitting accessories, there is also the fantastic AHS Café. You can have soup and a bannock and/or a delicious cake. If you are planning to come to the market please give yourself plenty of time as there is so much to see and do. Also most stalls and the café only accept cash payments so

bring plenty of cash with you. Of course it also goes without saying – take your knitting too!!

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We have been delighted to have another member of the team to join us.

Kevin Gillick is the new Youth Development Worker for the school. We have taken the opportunity to ask Kevin a few questions…

What were your feelings before starting to teach at Anderson High School?

I was ecstatic to get the job, although being nervous after being in the school everyone’s so friendly they put me at ease right away I already feel part of the family!

Is it what you expected?

From the outside the school looks amazing it’s even better on the inside and has totally surpassed all of my expectations, it’s a lovely place to work – very relaxed and fun.

What do you like best so far about working at AHS? So far, I have really enjoyed working with young people to help them get the most out of their youth work experience and having some great banter. The school dinners are also amazing - cannae beat a good pudding!

How does being at AHS compare to other places where you have been at?

It is really refreshing to be in a school that embraces youth work and sees the value in it. It’s clear there’s a great partnership between AHS and youth work services. It’s such a bright and friendly place I already feel great and am loving it. I can’t wait to work with everyone to make it even better. My office is in the Support for Learning department near reception if you want to come along and meet me.

What is your favourite style of music?

Well I’m from Glasgow and we have a DJ there who’s called GBX (George Bowie Experience) it’s really good, you should google it and let me know what you think.

What inspires you?

My inspiration often comes from the work we do in making places the best we can for young people and the communities that surround us. It’s great to have such a great team. We get inspiration from each other and our young people – they are all wonderful people.

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As the nights are getting darker, why not have a look at these links to find out about youth clubs in your part of Shetland:

https://www.shetland.gov.uk/ youth_services/youth-clubs-times-fees.asp www.facebook.com/shetlandyouthservices Shetland Islands Council Youth Services will be happy to help you. Phone on 01595 744490 or email youthservices@shetland.gov.uk with any questions.

Aberdeen Schools Football Cup - Mr P Regan, Principal Teacher of Pupil Support Bucksburn Academy 3 - 5 Anderson High School A squad of S3 pupils recently travelled south to participate in the Aberdeen City Schools knockout competition. AHS were drawn against Bucksburn Academy whom they had beaten two years previously and were hoping that history would repeat itself with a favourable result for the Shetland boys. AHS began the game a little nervously and Bucksburn passed up two very good opportunities to score in the first five minutes. The game was quite scrappy at this stage with both teams struggling to get into their rhythm. Gradually AHS began to gain control of the midfield creating some opportunities for the forwards and it was no surprise when Finn Regan opened the scoring after an excellent pass from Jack Simpson had put him through on goal. AHS gained confidence from this and Regan scored a second opportunist goal shortly after to double the advantage. Thomas Calder then scored a third after beating a couple of players and finishing calmly with his left foot. As half time neared, Bucksburn hit back with a fine goal on the counter attack to give them hope for the second period. The Aberdeen side started the second half strongly and reduced the deficit to one when a long range strike went high into the net. AHS created several good openings to restore their advantage but could not make them count and the game was a very physical and nervy affair at this stage with the experienced referee doing well to keep control. Eventually good pressure from AHS told and Finn Regan restored the two goal advantage finishing well after playing a slick one two with Thomas Calder. Harry Simpson then looked to have made the game safe when he beat three defenders and then chipped the ball into the far corner for an excellent individual goal. With only a couple of minutes remaining Bucksburn pulled a goal back when AHS failed to clear a corner. The referee blew for full time and the Shetland boys were delighted to secure the win which sees them through to play Lochside in the next round.

AHS Squad: Logan Baxter, Joe Clubb, Harris Razaq, Brandon Pearson, Isaac Young, Josh Jackson, Harry Simpson, Jack Simpson, Thomas Calder, Finn Regan, Reece Black, Calum Mackay, Ross Young, Harry Sandison, Arnold Thutshini and Joe Johnson.

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by Miss R Inkster, Teacher of Biology

When it comes to Christmas party season I can’t tell you the last time I bought something new, my go to for a ‘new’ dress is selling sites, charity shops, and my friends wardrobes! As a whole we create, consume and use items of clothing at an alarming rate, as though they are ‘single use’. Fast fashion is the creation of quickly made, poor quality clothing that is cheap and readily available. This, however, does come at a cost.

Reports show that the fashion industry creates 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, more than the global total of aviation and maritime pollution combined.

Materials are dyed using thousands of litres of water and toxic chemicals that make their way into our freshwater systems. Clothes are made out of cheap plastic fibres and when washed release half a million tonnes of microfibers into the ocean every year, the equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles. Clothes that contain plastic fibres are oil based meaning they could take hundreds of years to decompose in landfill sites.

Buying clothing made of organic cotton might seem like an ethical choice, however, it can still take more than 18000 litres of water to manufacture a single T-shirt and a pair of jeans. These are just a few of the facts … yes, we need to wear clothes and might want to buy something new but we definitely need to do better – for the sake of our planet - as less than 1% of the clothes we buy are recycled into new ones.

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I loved The Beanfeast as a pupil and I still love it as a teacher! The Wardrobe is an idea

that came to me at last year’s Beanfeast, when it dawned on me that Beanfeast fashion hasn’t really changed – sequins, sparkles and a smart fitting suit are the key staples - yet it is seen as a must to have something new for the occasion! The Wardrobe is a place where pupils can come browse and borrow an entire outfit, wear it for the occasion and then return for someone else to borrow another year. Inevitably, suits, shirts, shoes and dresses bought for growing teenagers won’t fit by the time the next Beanfeast comes around, meaning this item itself would be a victim of single use fashion. As a school by borrowing instead of buying items of clothing we may only wear once we are reducing the impact our Beanfeasts have on the planet.

To make an appointment to visit The Wardrobe please come and see me (Miss Inkster) at any time, it doesn’t even need to be for the Beanfeast, you might have a wedding coming up! The Wardrobe will be run using a deposit system whereby pupils will make a deposit of £10 which they will get back when the item is returned. Listen out for tannoys about The Wardrobe’s ‘open days’ where you can browse the collection and see what it’s all about.

The success of The Wardrobe depends on the generosity of those willing to donate. There are already some amazing pieces of clothing stocked and ready to go but donations of good quality items in a range of sizes such as: dresses, skirts, suits, blazers, shirts, ties, shoes (no stiletto heels) would all be generously received.

For anyone interested in finding out more about how fast fashion impacts our environment I highly recommend ‘Fashions Dirty Secrets’ on BBC iPlayer by Stacey Dooley.

A selection of the dresses available from “The Wardrobe”

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Mr G Dorrat, DofE Leader/ Teacher of Mathematics The summer months are the times when pupils doing D of E concentrate on doing expeditions. This past session saw seven expeditions take place: four Bronze and three Silver. Those starting D of E at Bronze level are accompanied by adults on their first practice expedition and journey as an unaccompanied group for their assessed expedition over two days, one night.

Bronze assessed expedition setting off from Voxter with the aim to identify as many tree species as possible on their route to Voe. A Bronze expedition must have a minimum of six hours of planned activity each day, travelling for at least three hours with the balance fulfilling the group’s aim. L - R: Laurie Morris, Lois Phillips, Lily Roberts, Alisha Tulloch and Nicky Lazarev.

Another Bronze group on their practice expedition photographed above the Hams of Muckle Roe, complete with fishing rods. Their aim was to fish in six lochs per day, and yes they caught a couple of trout which added to their lunch. L - R Josh Painter, Charlie Bristow, Ashvin Scott, Scott Kelly & Inigo Gibson.

Silver expeditions take place over three days, two nights with seven hours of planned activity per day. L - R are Aaiza Rehman, Eldon Wigram, Mohammad Hayyan and Matthew Dorrat starting their Silver assessed expedition around the West side.

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Cooking on stoves is an essential part of all expeditions

An idyllic camp site beside Burga Water

They were also fishing and caught a trout and had it for lunch

Our second Silver group having just successfully finished their assessed expedition in West Burrafirth.

L-R Mark Hutcheon, Jonathan Dorrat, Lewis Nodroum and Adam Tait

Would you like to take part?

September is the time when pupils from S3 to S6 can start doing their D of E. Come along to room 2.03 any Thursday lunchtime or see Mr Dorrat or Mr McGinlay. The Award consists of four sections of which the expedition is just one. There is also Volunteering, Skills and Physical Recreation. Participants choose one activity to do in each section and gain their award in each if they show commitment and improvement.

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Maths Challenge - Mr G Dorrat, Principal Teacher of Mathematics In April each year the UK Mathematical Trust organise the Junior Maths Challenge competition. This is a 1 hour multiple choice paper with puzzles of varying types suitable for the early years of secondary school. Those who do well enough, nationally, receive a bronze, silver or gold certificate. We Last years S2 with their certificates

had one recipient of a gold certificate – David Bradley of last session’s S2.

Well done David (back row, on right).

If you would like to have a go at the puzzles and problems pupils are challenged with, go to www.ukmt.org.uk and follow the links to competitions/ solo/intermediate-mathematicalchallenge/archive to view past papers and solutions.

Last years S2 pupils with their certificates

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Important Dates by Year Group S1 Pupils

Parents’ Evening Monitoring Update School Report

Wednesday 09 October 2019 December 2019 Wednesday 29 April 2020

S2 Pupils

Information Evening School Report Parents’ Evening Monitoring Update

Thursday 16 January 2020 Friday 24 January 2020 Wednesday 05 February 2020 April 2020

S3 Pupils

School Report Parents’ Evening Information Evening Monitoring Update

Thursday 12 December 2019 Tuesday 14 January 2020 Tuesday 11 February 2020 March 2020

S4 Pupils

Monitoring Update Prelims start Prelims end School Report Parents’ Evening S4 into S5 Information Evening

November 2019 Monday 13 January 2020 Tuesday 21 January 2020 Tuesday 11 February 2020 Thursday 13 February 2020 Tuesday 03 March 2020

S5 Pupils

School Report Parents’ Evening Prelims start Prelims end Monitoring Update

Tuesday 12 November 2019 Monday 18 November 2019 Monday 03 February 2020 Friday 14 February 2020 February 2020

S6 Pupils

School Report Parents’ Evening Prelims start Prelims end Monitoring Update

Tuesday 12 November 2019 Wednesday 27 November 2019 Monday 03 February 2020 Friday 14 February 2020 February 2020

Perseverance: We need to have grit and determination, and never give up, so that we can be the best we can be.

Ambition: Each of us must believe in ourselves, always striving to improve, achieve and succeed.

Respect: Each of us must look after ourselves, be considerate to others, and have good manners.

Responsibility: We will take responsibility for our learning, our community and our local environment.

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S1 Activity Days