S1 PSE: Small Group Work During the past term all S1 PSE classes have been split in half and students have been taking part in small group work. This unit of work is designed to allow students to work closer together, get to know their classmates better and to develop team work, communication and social skills. During the 7 week unit students complete a variety of team challenges. Some of these were practical tasks; in week 2 teams built tall towers using only newspaper and tape. In week 4 the teams had to design and build an egg container using paper and straws. The effectiveness of the products were then tested with 'The Great Egg Drop' - dropping the egg container (real egg included) from a height. In this extremely enjoyable task at least two teams dropped their egg containers from the 1st floor into the Atrium - amazingly some of the eggs survived with shells intact! The task in week 3 demanded effective communication and critical thinking skills as teams were asked to consider a post-apocalyptic move to the moon! This was a very popular task with students continuing to discuss which characters should be jettisoned off the spacecraft long after the lesson ended. The unit cumulated in a news report challenge where students created a television news broadcast which was presented to the other half of the class in the final week. Teams were given a set of criteria for what this programme must include; a breaking news story, an outside broadcast, a sports story and a weather report. Teams were encouraged to create exciting scripts and interesting news stories. In the programmes created in December 2014 the following stories were reported: Santa's reindeer all have ‘Tinselitis’ - Exclusive interview with Santa Daniel Murray's pet rabbit, Sniffles, enters the animal Olympics - and wins the javelin! All the teachers have gone on strike, Head Boy Jack and Head Girl Alex take control of the school, including a real interview with Alex and Jack.
National 5 Construction visit local building project The National 5 Construction class visited a new build house project in Danderhall to develop their understanding of construction in a real life setting. The class worked closely with qualified joiners and discussed self employment, health & safety issues and job prospects. The class will be returning later in the year to visit the completed project.
Lasswade High School Newsletter, December 2014
pg 15