NORTH BERWICK HIGH SCHOOL
Spring 2011
Spring Newsletter All the staff and pupils at North Berwick High School wish you a Happy Easter NBHS Green Flag Award For many, the highlight of the first half-term at NBHS was the gaining of our Green Flag following a visit from the Ecoschools Scotland inspectors. This is a great honour and we are the first secondary school in East Lothian to gain the award. To apply we first had to submit a huge amount of paperwork detailing the curriculum links to Ecoschools in the classroom through the teaching of issues such as Sustainable Development, Renewable Energies and Biodiversity. This was accompanied by a comprehensive environmental audit carried out by the S6 eco-committee, a detailed eco action plan for the whole school (drawn up by an eco-committee comprising representatives from all year groups) and the latest version of the school eco-code. The inspectors finally arrived in the school on Friday, February 11th and were treated to presentations from pupils showing off all we do that helps to increase our environmental awareness in order to make a better society. An initial tour of the school looking at corridor displays on environmental themes from English, modern languages and other subjects brought the inspectors to the first presentation of the day – an all-singing, all-dancing look at our recent Malawi project. A tour of the school grounds, our bees and the tree planting at the Law was followed by discussions with pupils on Fairtrade, Citizenship and Sports Coaching and with parents and staff on our Fidra Food Days and on health and wellbeing connections within the wider community. Throughout, the inspector was accompanied by pupils keen to answer questions on their commitment to ecoschools activities. The inspector was suitably impressed with all we do in the school and, especially, with the enthusiasm, knowledge and presentation skills of our young people. It was a highly successful day and great credit is due to all those involved. Our momentum must now be maintained in order to keep the flag – details of what we are planning over the coming months and beyond, and how you can support us, will be made available on the school‟s ecoblog.
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Geography Fieldtrip to France On Friday 24th June, 38 Fifth and Sixth Year pupils and 4 members of staff will leave North Berwick on the Geography Fieldtrip to the French Alps. This year we will be staying in Notre Dame de Bellecombe, a pretty Alpine village well known for its winter sports facilities. Our fieldwork programme includes glacial studies on the famous Mer de Glace and on the Trient Glacier in Switzerland. The journey to the Mer de Glace is by the funicular railway to Montenvers. We hope to investigate the importance of tourism to the economy of this area and carry out fieldwork in both Chamonix and Annecy. A Land Use Study and visit to a cheese factory will also feature.
Senior Trip To Benmore Built within the grounds of the spectacular Botanic Gardens - an out-station of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh - and nestled in the spectacular scenery of the west coast of Scotland, the Benmore Centre offers fantastic outdoor activities. A group of North Berwick and Preston Lodge pupils visited Benmore for a weekend in early March and had a brilliant time, taking part in all the activities including: mountain biking, canoeing, caving, rock climbing, abseiling and gorge walking. Overall we had an incredible, action-packed weekend, our enthusiam never dampened by the extreme weather we experienced. Thanks Miss Ritchie! By Lucy Coull
Hopefully, we will also have time for some leisure activities, such as (weather permitting!) a visit to the luge run in Chamonix and the pedaloes in Annecy!
GoMtB During February a number of S3 pupils took part in a new initiative at NBHS – the GoMtB (Go Mountain Bike) award scheme. Designed to improve cycling skills and to give young people a proper grounding in using a mountain bike for serious off-roading, pupils are required to learn some general bike skills – including how to avoid obstacles, climb and descend steep terrain – and to show they can use these skills out on proper mountain bike trails. To test them, we took the young people involved down to Glentress, near Peebles, for a day to use the Forestry Commission‟s purpose -built circuits. During an extremely muddy few hours, bikes were thrown around sharp corners, jumped from heights and raced downhill as fast as (safely) possible. Those involved were then awarded the Level 2 certificate in Riding Skills and Trail Awareness. Following the success of this venture it is hoped we can expand our mountain biking qualifications amongst the pupils and get more involved in this exciting new venture.
PIRATE DAY On Friday 8th April, we will be holding a "Pirate Day" in memory of Niall Anderson. The proceeds will go to Teenage Cancer Trust. For the whole week beginning 4th April, pupils will be able to visit stalls and pay a small amount (20 - 50 pence) to participate in games such as "Name the Parrot" and "Treasure Map", and there will be bake sales to raise money. On 8th April, pupils are encouraged to dress up as pirates and to give a donation. There will be music and entertainment in the Hall at breaktime. Please remind your children to bring a donation for the activities during this week.
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Families across East Lothian ‘Get Going’ with new healthy regime FAMILIES across East Lothian are being urged to „Get Going‟ by kick-starting a healthy regime. The „Get Going‟ programme, which aims to help tackle rising levels of obesity and weight problems in children, is being rolled out across East Lothian from January 2011. It is designed to help improve the health of children by encouraging the whole family to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The programme is offered free of charge to 5 - 18 year olds and their families. To access the scheme, children and young people who are overweight can be referred by their GP, health visitor, school nurse, and parent/carer. Get Going consists of eight sessions, taking place in enjoyleisure sports centres or community venues once a week. It starts with a one-to-one consultation with the family and a specially trained healthy lifestyle coach. This is followed by a series of interactive group sessions. Each week a different topic is covered, from introducing a healthier eating plan, to discussions around physical activity and thinking about the amount of time spent watching television or playing on the computer. Get Going gives parents and carers the chance to share ideas and experiences with other families, while children get the opportunity to make friends and take part in fun, active games. For more information, or to refer your child for the programme contact:The Get Going Administrator on tel 0131 536 0302 or email Get.Going@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
Rotary Young Technologist Competition CDT sent two teams to the Rotary Young Technologist competition at Penicuik High School on 2nd March. The S4 team consisted of Grant Cowe, Kieran Horne, Shaun Gouvea and Callum Lancaster The S2 team consisted of Kieran Carr, Jack Poole, Cameron Robertson and Riccardo Cucchi. They were set a difficult design and build problem. The problem/scenario was to design a crane that could reach a radioactive load spill which was located at the other side of a weak bridge. Both teams made a good attempt at solving the problem but were unable to complete it in the time available. They did enjoy the challenge and will enter again next year with a better insight on how to win. Ian R. Young PT CDT Dept.
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RAG BAG TEXTILE SKIP We have received a textile bank (otherwise known as a skip!) which has been located next to the paper recycling skip in the car park. Parents, pupils and staff can now put textiles in this bank for recycling at any time, as long as it is in a bag. We have bags in the office, or your own plastic bag will suffice. Please refer to the attached website for further information on what is done with the goods. It also helps raise funds for the school! http://www.rag-bag.co.uk/
Citizenship Often within a busy High School it is difficult to focus on the small positive achievements which happen every day. The North Berwick High School Citizenship Group aims to show more recognition for these good deeds and achievements around the school and this year we have been thinking of different ways of doing this. The Citizenship badge system is still in place where teachers and pupils can nominate other pupils for commendable actions. There is also a Quaich for each year for truly exceptional citizenship. This has been very well received and this year we were keen to devise an idea which could be continued throughout the whole academic year. We have created a citizenship box at the top of the history stairs which is there for people to drop in a note about acts of kindness and good citizenship. These will then be displayed on our citizenship wall at the end of every month, as a positive display for everyone to view and feel proud of! We spoke at the year assemblies recently to launch our idea and we have already had a good response. We hope that this scheme can continue after we have left school and that the whole school will engage with the idea. The eco-school inspector said that none of the many schools she had visited had a citizenship scheme and we believe that it is a valuable and unique development which we hope everyone can draw some positivity from. S6 Citizenship group
HELP REQUIRED GARDENING CLASSES As we move into spring, the PSE department will commence work with S1 classes on the various gardening projects, vegetables as well as flowers, around the school grounds. An extra pair of hands is always a bonus so would you be able to help on any of the following days commencing week beginning 4 April? Mondays Tuesdays Wednesdays Thursdays
2.50 – 3.50 9.45 – 10.45 2.50 – 3.50 9.45 – 10.45 1.50 – 2.50 1.50 – 2.50
A teacher will always be present. If you could offer help weekly, once a fortnight, or once a month, then please could you contact either Jane McCormack on jmccormack@northberwickhigh.elcschool.org.uk or Tina Logan on tlogan@northberwickhigh.elcschool.org.uk. In addition, Jane McCormack works on particular projects outwith the above times with smaller groups of pupils on a Wednesday and Thursday – please email her for more information if you think you could help. Many Thanks.
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SPORTING ENTHUSIASTS
Young Ambassador Programme
FUNDING AVAILABLE TO ASSIST WITH GAINING A SPORTING QUALIFICATION NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! NBHS already provides the opportunity for pupils to participate in many sports including golf, mountain biking and sailing and would like to offer its students the chance to participate in more varied and less traditional sports. If you have an interest in, eg archery, shooting, fencing, orienteering (the list is endless!) and you would like to acquire a qualification which you could then offer to pupils, NBHS may be able to help you with the funding. Please contact Claire Parry, Sport and Physical Activity Co-ordinator on cparry@elcschool.org.uk for further details. DO YOU HAVE A QUALIFICATION OR TIME WHICH YOU COULD USE TO BENEFIT NBHS PUPILS? Many teachers, from all departments, give their time after school to allow our children the opportunity to partake in a range of sports. If you already have a qualification in a sport, or even the time to offer to help at the various activities already provided by NBHS, the school could really do with your help. For more information, please contact Claire Parry, Sport and Physical Activity Co-ordinator on cparry@elcschool.org.uk. Vanessa Hutchison Parent Council
Pupil Property We understand that on occasion it is necessary to hand in personal or school property to the office, when a pupil has forgotten something that is required that day. However, we are unable to do this on a regular basis, due to staffing and physical space, and would encourage pupils and parents / carers to ensure that they have everything with them in the mornings. In particular, we are unable to take money to be passed on to a pupil, unless there is no alternative. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Laura Baron, S4, is North Berwick High School's adiStar Young Ambassador for this year. The role of a Young Ambassador involves increasing participation in school sport and PE, spreading the word of the Olympic and Paralympic Values – respect, friendship, personal excellence, courage, determination, inspiration and equality – and promoting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Adidas are working with the Young Ambassadors programme to promote their adiStars initiative. adiStars is an online game which encourages youngsters to do more sport. Aimed at 13–19 year olds it helps them set-up fun sporting challenges with rewards for sustained activity. Laura is hoping to work with a group of S1 pupils and help them to complete the adiStars challenges, and also hopes to go into the primary schools to lead some activity there. If you would like to find out more about the adiStars initiative, log onto www.adistars.com
Basketball This year, the school was represented at four age groups in the Scottish Schools Cup. All teams performed well in the preliminary rounds and represented the school admirably. The S1 boys reached the semi final, the U15 boys reached the last 16, the senior boys reached the quarter final and the U15 girls team were runners up in the Final. We were very proud of their achievements and are delighted to see basketball being supported at all age groups.
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SKI TRIP 2011 The Ski Trip was amazing. We left at at 10:30 on the Saturday morning. There were 3 buses that took around 100 pupils plus teachers and instructors to Italy. We stopped 3 times in the Uk and got to the ferry at 10 pm but one of the buses broke down (which we were on!).The other 2 buses went on the ferry and our bus had to wait for someone to come and fix it. It was about midnight before we got on the ferry, which was a brand new one. After the ferry everyone felt dizzy. Once we were off the ferry we had to try to sleep (which wasn‟t easy). After that we stopped for breakfast when the other buses were just leaving. We ate breakfast then headed on into the Alps. The views were amazing. We went through the Mont Blanc tunnel and in another half an hour we were at La Thuile . We dropped our bags off then went staight to lunch. When we got back we all unpacked and went to get all our ski equipment and to hire skis or snowboards and boots (the proper skiers didn‟t). After that we got time to do what we wanted, then we went to dinner (which wasn‟t the best, to put it nicely). After dinner we went to the welcome meeting where our co-ordinators told us what we were doing for the week. Then we went to bed at 10:30. On Monday morning we were woken up at 7.30 and got ready for skiing and snowboarding. After breakfast we got ready for the lessons. We had to wait a while for the instructors to come. We finally got in our groups and headed off to go skiing and snowboarding. The lessons were good and some of us stayed on for free skiing. After skiing we headed off to our rooms and got changed for the karaoke and dinner, then we all went to the arcade and played on the bucking bronco. Snowboarding was really fun. There were three groups: experienced, sort of experienced and non -experinced. Skiing was even better because there were nine groups and everyone ended up in the right groups. On Tuesday we did the same again during the day. At night one group did tubing which was really fun. There were 2 runs for the tubes. One went straight down with a corner at the end and there was one with lots of twists in it. The other group had pizza night at the restaurant. Then it was back to the arcade. On Wednesday we did the same as we did every morning. That night we went to the disco which was great (but the adults enjoyed it the most!). On Thursday we did the same as usual and in the afternoon we headed to do the tubing and the pizza night again. After that we went back to the arcade as we did most nights. On Friday it had actually snowed for the first time in the week. This meant it was really misty and quite hard so see. After that it was the presentation where everybody got their marks on how they did during the week‟s skiing and nowboarding. Everybody got good marks. All the instructors got their presents.
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The next day was our last day and nobody wanted to leave, but we still got our last day‟s skiing and snowboarding. It was really misty and before some of the groups headed off Graham Bell and Ed Leigh, the presenters of Ski Sunday and High Alttitude, arrived for our last ski. After we handed back the hire equipment, we had dinner then packed and headed for the bus. We headed to the place we had stopped for breakfast about a week before and had a stop there. Then it was straight to Calais for the ferry which we got on without any problems this time! The breakfast queue on the ferry stretched along the whole boat (although it wasn‟t very good). After the ferry ride we stopped at the white cliffs of Dover to fill up on petrol. On the way home, we watched films. One bus got to watch High School Musical 2! We had a stop outside London then it was on the bus until the outskirts of Newcastle where we stopped again. We then made our final part of the journey back to NB. There were a few injuries during the week, but everyone is now fine. We had a great time, and say a very big thank you to all the teachers, helpers and instructors. Finlay Goodlad and John Gardner
A View From The Bridge After much deliberation Mrs Coppola and Mrs Fleming decided that our Higher English class would attend the production of Arthur Miller‟s „A View from the Bridge‟ in the Lyceum Theatre. Our previous visits to productions such as „Macbeth‟ had been a large disappointment and so we did not have high hopes. However, we were pleasantly surprised as it was performed to an extremely high standard. We felt that it was especially beneficial to our learning as it gave us a chance to experience the play first hand rather than just reading it form the pages of a book. Seeing the play brought to life gave us a whole different perspective on the script, especially the relationships between characters and the significance of change of settings. A revolving set played a significant role in showing the audience what occurs behind closed doors. It also enabled us to better understand the main themes of the play such as justice and the disintegration of a tragic hero. Overall, we found the experience highly enjoyable and educational and would most definitely recommend it to future pupils studying the text. We feel it will help us with our critical essays in the forthcoming Higher exam. In particular, our fellow pupil Douglas McMillan described the day to be “very pleasurable and in particular I enjoyed the treat of ice-cream during the interval.” We would like to thank both Mrs Coppola and Mrs Fleming for giving up their time to accompany us on this trip. Kirsty Bullen and Rebecca Seaton
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Pupil Support The Pupil Support Department continue to actively support the activities within the school. On the last day of the Christmas term the young people from the support base enjoyed the school pantomime performed by the sixth year pupils and staff. It was a lovely way to end the term. This made up for the fact that the young people had to cancel their visit to the Brunton Theatre to see the pantomime there due to the adverse weather. Three of our young people have been regularly attending horse riding sessions at Riding for the Disabled Association. They are completing an ASDAN course in horse grooming for which they will receive a certificate at the end of the course. The course is due to finish soon and has been a wonderful experience for our young people. They have gained many skills including caring for and grooming of the horses, along with developing horse riding skills. Other physical activities include a short course in playing squash which is also completed by three of our young people. They attend the Sports Centre with the Active School Co-ordinator, Miss Parry. The boys thoroughly enjoy their squash sessions. The Support Base has been using the kitchen every week to cook healthy snacks, provide breakfast and develop the young people‟s life skills. A „Healthy Eating Day‟ was enjoyed by our young people as they prepared and used in-season fruits to make smoothies. These skills are being further developed by the use of the washing machine funded by the North Berwick Rotary last session. The young people in the Support Base also supported Fair Trade fortnight by making shortbread biscuits dipped in Fair Trade chocolate. These were enjoyed by all staff at the Fair Trade tea/ coffee morning in February. Once again many of the sixth year pupils at the High School have excelled themselves by volunteering to take part in the Paired Reading Programme. Every week 37 seniors give up some of their free time to read with a younger pupil – not only does this make a significant difference to the pupil‟s reading over the course of the session, but the friendship that they develop also helps to improve the young person‟s confidence. The S1 and S2 pupils are very lucky to have such positive and enthusiastic reading role models. We would like to extend a special thank you to those S6 who have managed to continue to read this term despite the pressure of exam preparation. Spring is certainly in the air as the bulbs that were planted by the young people from the Support Base last autumn start to emerge at the entrance to the school. These young people also described their gardening experiences to the Eco School Inspector when she visited in February. This is an excellent example of our young people becoming confident individuals. Our spring term is busy as we finalise assessment arrangements for all our young people who have Additional Support Needs, whether it be those sitting their first major assessments in the form of the S3 tests or the SQA exams in May. We hope our young people have started their revision and wish them the very best in their studies for whatever level of assessment they are sitting. On a final note, the Department has bought a gardening plot located beside the Law. Young people from the Support Base will now be able to grow their own fruit and vegetables to cook in the kitchen. This is a very exciting development and we are all looking forward to its progress, especially during the summer term.
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Moving On – Transitions in Action This year the Pupil Support Department and North Berwick Youth Café have been working together to deliver a new programme aimed at a group of S3 young people and a group of S4/5 young people. The programme embraces the latest curricular guidance and developments and is consistent with the underlying philosophy and aims of the Curriculum for Excellence and Assessment is For Learning (AiFL). The Workbook Learning Programme offers a flexible and adaptable approach to learning that actively engages young people in their own learning, as well as developing knowledge and understanding about the concept of “self”, including their strengths, needs, rights and responsibilities, independence, and their future options. The programme has three broad aims: · · ·
to equip young people with the skills and knowledge to plan and manage their learning and make effective transitions; to increase young people‟s understanding of the concept of “self” and their awareness of their own needs, thus motivating and empowering them to make informed decisions; to stimulate young people in their learning, to gain knowledge and skills that help them to achieve their goals. As part of the programme the S3 group have also attained Mountain Biking Qualifications and this culminated in a very successful trip to Glentress. The S3 group are also presently undertaking the Forest School programme. Both these programmes are being delivered by Mr Rutter, PT geography, assisted by the Youth Café.
Charities This has been a busy term as usual. Mrs Gardiner from North Berwick Music Therapy spoke to all years at assembly about their work. For Comic Relief the committee sold Red Noses. The pupils were allowed to dress down and held a bake sale. We raised £884.50, which will be used for vital work in Africa. Early in the term we contributed £200 to the Pakistan Flood Appeal. Our final event will be the raffle at the Spring Concert on 7 April.
Student Council October 2010 marked the inauguration of North Berwick High School‟s Student Council. Consisting of twelve councillors, every year group is represented by two pupils who are elected by their fellow pupils after participating in democratic campaigns. The Student Council is run exclusively by pupils and is chaired by the Deputy Head Girl and Boy who represent sixth year. The Student Council meets regularly to discuss the many issues pupils have regarding the school, and the representatives of each year group hold regular surgeries to listen to the concerns and ideas of the students which are fed back to the council and discussed. This year the Student Council has raised awareness of the Scottish Youth Parliament elections, created a webpage on the school website and has begun North Berwick High Radio which airs every Wednesday – playing the song requests of students and announcing important information and achievements during the news segment. The council also intends to promote „grab-and-go‟ and renovate the social area to create a more pleasant and usable environment before school resumes after the summer break. Emma Aitken S6
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S1 Take Their Medicine In February, following a successful bid to East Lothian Council and thanks to a generous subsidy from North Berwick Youth Cafe, all of S1 undertook a cross-curricular project, which began with a day trip to Edinburgh. The theme was Scotland‟s contribution to the development of medicine and we visited three venues, including the Royal College of Surgeons‟ Museum. This was an amazing place, with fascinating details about the history and contribution of surgeons and their techniques, right up to the present day. Although some of the exhibits were on the gruesome side, it was a very interesting visit and we were even able to practise key-hole surgery! We were able to borrow a „handling bag‟, containing a selection of instruments including a replica skull, bleeding bowl and forceps, to bring back to school for our own exhibition. We also went on a Mercat Tour of the High Street and underground in the Vaults, where we were told about living conditions and the spread of diseases such as cholera. There were gruesome moments on this tour as well, when the guide demonstrated on Fraser Scott (2F1) the „burking‟ method used by Burke and Hare to dispatch their victims. This tied in well with the visit to the Surgeons‟ museum, where Robert Knox had bought the bodies and where they still have a book covered with Burke‟s skin (allegedly). The final venue was the Connect Gallery in the National Museum of Scotland, where we visited the me2 exhibition to look at Dolly the Sheep and the issue of cloning. We learned that Dolly the sheep was named after Dolly Parton (we leave it to you to work out why!). Having finished this section of work some took advantage of having a go on the racing car and other interactive displays. The weather stayed fine and we had a fantastic time on these visits. Staff at both museums commented on how well behaved NBHS pupils were! Two prizes were awarded for the best work booklet – congratulations to Victoria Nunes and Eilidh McSherry. What would happen if we cloned Stuart? Back at school, S1 continued work to produce an exhibition on Scotland‟s contribution to medicine past and present, including a look at health-related issues for young people today. In History, groups produced displays on major turning points, methods of treatment, Scottish medical heroes and heroines, living conditions, Burke and Hare and the birth of the NHS. Groups chose to „make, say, write or do‟ so there was a real mixture for the exhibition, including models of 19th century tenements, 20th century council houses, timelines, Horrible History books, posters and plays. Modern Studies classes produced posters, graphs and booklets comparing the state of health in different Scottish areas, based on statistics in the NHS Child and Young People‟s Health report for 2010, discovering that East Lothian is a relatively healthy place to live. Meanwhile, in Geography, classes took part in „CSI North Berwick 1832‟. Using information and reports they plotted the spread of cholera across Europe in maps; drew distribution maps to show the incidence of cholera in North Berwick; and produced medical and newspaper reports from 1832, revealing beliefs about what caused and how to treat cholera at the time. In RMPS they looked at Dolly the sheep and the whole issue of cloning, producing posters for the exhibition and asking other S1s to vote to give their opinion. They also made a brilliant flock of sheep, using pipe cleaners and Shetland wool, for the exhibition (you know the thing about cloning is that clones are identical, well .....) Oh no, the leeches are escaping!
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All of S1 were weighed and measured in PSE to work out their BMI and we discovered that the average NBHS boy and girl were within the healthy weight range, with girls being a little taller and heavier than the boys! Each class followed a slightly different but health-related theme as a followup to this. The final subject involved was science. Thinking about how disease can be spread and how vaccines work, classes took part in experiments. Pupils watched the spread of „disease‟, seeing which of them caught the „virtual‟ infection, spread by contact or in the air, and who was protected by the vaccine. All this work culminated in an exhibition, which was visited by S1 so they could see their own displays and the work of other classes, to see how their part fitted in with the whole. Finally there was an exhibition of the exhibition, held in Haddington with a range of other schools taking part. Our work was praised by Don Ledingham, Director of Education, who was impressed by the knowledge and confidence of pupils presenting our displays. (Lewis Chandler, Joe Kowbel, Sam Mason, Chris McLeish). S1 evaluations were extremely positive about the whole experience, their main comment being that they wanted more time on it! Hopefully next year we can involve even more departments in what has been a very stimulating cross-curricular project. Explaining the medicine project to a future pupil (Alas, poor Yorick!)
Cluster Health Project As part of the same round of bids as the medicine project, we were also successful in gaining funds for a Cluster Health project. Resources were purchased to support a whole variety of health-related topics in our Cluster schools - this included healthy eating in North Berwick Nursery School, Heartstart at Law and a mixture of drug and alcohol education and healthy lifestyles at the other primaries. In partnership with North Berwick Youth Strategy group (including the school nursing service, Youth Cafe, Community Centre, local Churches Youth worker and other local members) we held an information evening for P7 parents on „How to keep your child safe and healthy.‟ There was a market place of local clubs and available activities in and out of school so that parents could see what was on offer. Surveys suggest that, when entering the potentially „rocky‟ teenage years, young people are much less likely to „go off the rails‟ if they‟re engaged in healthy activities outside school. PC John Cowan introduced the evening and there was a presentation from Scott Walker of the Youth Cafe to show all the activities on offer there. Following this, parents had an opportunity to chat to each other about some of the issues which concern everyone. The conclusion to the project was to take part in an exhibition in Haddington where all schools which had received funds displayed their projects. It was interesting to see all the other projects and we felt proud of North Berwick Cluster schools and what we had achieved together.
Ben Sayers Factory Rises Again We were pleased to hear that Uprising East Lothian has been successful in securing planning permission for the old Ben Sayers factory. We‟re particularly pleased as it brings many opportunities for NBHS pupils to have work experience and to train in such areas as joinery and hospitality. They‟ll be working alongside Preston Lodge pupils in school time and there are even more opportunities for them outside school hours. We look forward to partnership working with Uprising to deliver a greater variety of training and opportunities for our pupils in an increasingly difficult economic landscape.
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NBHS Hairdressing Salon In February work was finally completed converting a classroom into a fully operational hairdressing salon. This has only been possible by working in partnership with North Berwick Youth Cafe, who have provided funds and a staff member (Lauren Cowie) to assist our tutor (Susan Frame). We are also grateful for financial support from East Lothian Council and the enterprise fund. One of the main questions we have been asked is „why (on earth) have a hairdressing salon in a school?‟ These are times of change in education and one of the key requirements in the senior phase of Curriculum for Excellence is the provision of more skills for work courses at school level. There is a need for pre-vocational courses to complement our traditional academic courses and to provide relevant education for an increasingly diverse group. It is in this context that we have embarked on a really exciting venture by being the first school in East Lothian to have our own hairdressing salon. We visited a similar salon in Peebles High School to see how they operated and were very fortunate to find a qualified tutor, Mrs Susan Frame, to teach Intermediate One initially and eventually Intermediate Two Hairdressing. A group of thirteen pupils have begun the course for four hours a week on Monday and Thursday mornings. They will not only be learning hairdressing, they will also use literacy, communication, and numeracy skills. Units cover salon awareness, working in a salon, employability and creativity. Pupils have begun work on their „heads‟ and are about to develop their „mood boards‟. Uptake for next year is very good, with male and female pupils from S2 to S6 keen to be involved. If you pop in at any time there is a happy, buzzing working atmosphere. Pupils (and staff) are beginning to queue up to have their hair done – you‟d better book your appointment now!
Visit to NBHS by Keith Gray This term saw the visit to the school by popular author Keith Gray who presented two seminars to around 50 pupils on creative writing techniques. The seminars were hugely entertaining as well as informative and helpful to the mostly fourth year pupils who attended. We hope that some of Keith‟s good advice will help pupils develop their own writing style, both as part of the Standard Grade English course‟s assessment and in a wider context. Keith‟s latest novel „Ostrich Boys‟ has been short listed for the Costa Book Awards.
Macbeth Rehearsals continue for the prospective production of „Macbeth‟ which will hopefully take place in June.
We’re on the web! www.northberwickhigh.net Are you going anywhere special tonight madam?
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Commonwealth Reception On 16thMarch, Mrs Casson and four pupils were invited to the Scottish Parliament for a very prestigious event, a Commonwealth Reception. We had been asked to represent NBHS for our involvement in Malawi and the project we launched two years ago. The evening consisted of meeting others who had done work with Malawi as part of the commonwealth organisation and exchanging experiences and feelings about Malawi. Annie Lennox, the guest of the Commonwealth Council, gave her thanks to the commonwealth community that has improved the Scottish Malawi partnership and also commended the work done by Scottish charity “Mary‟s meals”. We were also delighted to meet Jack McConnell who has supported our project from the start ; he gave us encouraging words to continue working as a school community to maintain the links we have with Malawi. We chatted with pupils from other schools in Scotland who have a similar relationship with Malawi and it was interesting to share the different aspects of our projects. The event ties in nicely with the newly-established International Committee that is open to S1-S6 pupils who are interested in learning and connecting with people in other countries. This year our aims are: to build on our relationship with Katunguwiri Community Day Secondary School; and to fundraise for the completion of the school building, as it is unusable in its current state. We plan to include all pupils in NBHS in activities and correspondence that will help us understand and appreciate life in a developing country. Lucy Gibbons, S5
Lucy Gibbons , Joanna Casson, Helen Catleugh and Ruth Dougall with Jack McConnell at the Commonwealth Reception.
S3 Football Team Lose in Quarter Final After an excellent run to the quarters finals of the Scottish Cup, the Under 15 football team lost 2-0 on 25th March to Grange Academy from Kilmarnock. After losing a goal in the opening five minutes, the boys fought their way back into the game to control the midfield and had several decent chances to equalise. However, Grange defended very well and scored from a corner on 70 minutes to deny any chances of a North Berwick comeback. The match was keenly contested and played in an excellent spirit. Friday's Man of the Match was Matthew Cannon, but well done to all the boys who put in so much effort throughout the season. Squad: Finn Donaldson, Rory Mitchell, Jack Fish, James Harley, Danny Darrie, Arran Darrie, Gregor Gray, Riccardo Burrows, Kieran Floyd, Fergus McMahon, Adam Corrie, Matt Cannon, Hamish Law, Nathan Evans Round 5 : Grove Academy 1 North Berwick 4 Round 4: St Mungo's High School 4 North Berwick 5 Round 3: Boroughmuir 1 North Berwick 6
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The Hustings On 7th March, Modern Studies students at North Berwick High School were invited to a real political hustings in light of the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election in May. This hustings, defined as „the activities involved in political campaigning‟, consisted of three Scottish politicians who represent our area answering questions and debating issues raised by students. Those involved were the Conservative list MSP Derek Brownlee representing the south of Scotland, SNP candidate Dave Berry, and East Lothian‟s current MSP Iain Gray. After speaking a bit about themselves, they were asked questions such as their opinions on educations cuts, about the trams, whether they think young people are looked down on by society and even their opinions on Scottish independence. Unsurprisingly all answered the questions very well, but the most outstanding thing for me was that although they clearly differ in their views, the politicians often actually agreed on a number of things. For instance, although Iain Gray placed a greater emphasis on increased budget for education, and Derek Brownlee focused more on improving attainment by improving existing methods, all agreed on the huge importance of education on the whole, and none would wish to scale this back. Also, an important point was raised about the trams fiasco in Edinburgh; instead of defending the project all simply agreed that it was a disaster, and that the important thing now is to focus on where to go next. Indeed, all three politicians agreed that it‟s a very difficult situation now with the trams, as around £400 million has already been invested and so to scrap the plan would be a huge waste. It seems that the scheme has faced difficulties from the outset which it is still suffering from. In fact the general consensus was that the project has been an „organisational disaster.‟ One of the issues that raised disagreement among the politicians was a question right at the end about Scottish independence, which kept them talking until the very last minute. All three seemed to argue their case well. On one side Iain Gray claimed that we benefit hugely from the partnership with England; for instance, when two of Scotland‟s biggest banks needed to be bailed out, without money from England that Scotland simply didn‟t have, they would have gone bust with thousands losing jobs and millions losing savings. On the other hand, Dave Berry pointed out that we have very different views and customs from England, but just because of independence, it does not mean that we cannot co-operate and share resources and trade with the rest of the UK. For instance, Norway used to be a part of Sweden until their independence which was agreed in friendly terms, and the arrangement is now mutually beneficial. From a Modern Studies point of view, the hustings really was interesting to watch, and although we may have strong views on certain issues, it was easy to be see the strength of different sides of arguments proposed by the politicians, and in some cases, be swayed by them. Yet it is still important to note the cooperation that so often occurs between them and that, on the whole, all would want the best for us and the country; they just disagree on the specifics of how to get there. Regardless of what opinions have been swayed and who people feel came across the strongest, I think most would agree that it was a thought-provoking and hugely valuable experience to see and take part in. We all say thank you to the politicians for coming to NBHS and giving us this opportunity to see politics in action.
Email Addresses If you would prefer to be contacted by email, rather than pupil post, letter etc., please ensure that the school has this information. It is a more efficient method of communication, both in terms of cost and speed, and is a resource that the school is continually developing.
ABSENCE LINE When reporting your child absent please phone our dedicated absence line
894716
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Holocaust Memorial Day and Anne Frank Exhibition For two weeks at the beginning of this term, North Berwick High School hosted the Anne Frank Exhibition. Holocaust Survivor Harry Bibring officially opened this inspiring exhibition on Tuesday 25th January. He then gave a talk about his experiences to S6 pupils as well as others who attended the opening ceremony. Twenty S2 pupils were trained as guides to provide tours for all cluster primary pupils, as well as NBHS pupils and members of the public. These guides worked very hard and we were proud to have them as representatives of the school at this exhibition. On Thursday 27th January the school had a series of workshops to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. All in all, we are delighted that we had the privilege of hosting the Exhibition at our school.
PTA Update The Burns‟ Supper this year was a great success, with delicious food, witty speeches, lovely music and a whirl of a ceilidh. The PTA are very grateful to everyone who helped make this such a great success. It took a great deal of hard work from the PTA members, and all who attended agreed that it was a great night, and well worth the effort. The annual Quiz Night took place on Friday 4 March and, while not as well-attended as in previous years, it did raise around £300. It was a very enjoyable evening. The next event is the Spring Concert on Thursday 7 April, when the PTA will be selling wine and nibbles. The PTA members are delighted that they will be able to present a cheque for £3500 to the school at the concert. From this amazing amount, £1500 will be given to the Pupil Council for their Social Area Project. The remaining balance will be spent on homework diaries and other materials which will benefit all of our children in school.
Golden Judo It was an all-North Berwick High School final at the British Schools Judo Championships held at IceSheffield on Saturday 26 March 2011. 450 judo players from as far afield as Inverness, Torquay and Southend met to represent their schools. After winning all their fights in the early rounds of the Years 6 and 7 boys, under 42 kg category, Harry Mustard (1C1) and Francis Millward (1F1) met in an enthralling final. The early part of the contest was evenly matched but then, through some good ground work, Francis got a hold-down for Ippon, and thus gained the Gold medal, with Harry taking Silver. In an earlier contest Harry had thrown one of his opponents quite spectacularly for Ippon. Meanwhile, in the Years 8 and 9 girls, over 70 kg category, Katie Boston (1L) battled her way to a well deserved Silver medal. Katie, Harry and Francis are members of Sportif Judo Club, which draws its players from schools in the Borders, Lothians and Edinburgh area. A very successful day was had by Sportif with members collecting a massive haul of 12 medals (5 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze). Well done to one and all!
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Careers Update Another busy term at North Berwick! S4 have completed their work experience and have had their careers talk which is based on the first destinations of last year‟s leavers. Pupils also look at all the options available when they leave. You can view the presentation on the careers blog. S2 Option Choice has taken place and to support this I attended the parents‟ information and course choice evenings. This is a time when information, advice and guidance are vital and we all play our part in helping young people make well-informed decisions. All S2 have been introduced to the careers library and now know how to access information online. They have spent time on careers-related sites such as Careers Scotland and Planitplus. These sites, my contact details and the careers newsletter are all on the careers blog. On Tuesday 8 March over thirty S4-S6 leavers attended the annual careers convention Opportunities 2011 where they met representatives from employment, education and training and found out about post-school options. We followed this up with a class-based activity on turning this advice into action. The session is available on the careers blog as well. The Skills for Schools, a Parent Council initiative, continues to develop and I was able to contribute to this with a great podcast featuring Kath Thomson talking with senior students on her career as an architect. The Skills for Schools programme will continue to develop more and varied ways to bring the world of work into the classroom and I know offers of support from individuals and organisations are always very welcome. Friday 4 March was our first experience of using our Skills for Schools contacts to support an employability session on interview experience and I have to say we all learned from the session! The main consensus was that our young people need to be well-prepared for interviews and, with the help and support offered by the indivduals involved, this will become a planned S6 programme for the 2011-12 session. I would like to thank all the representatives who made this happen. Mick Burns Careers Adviser mick.burns@sds.co.uk edubuzz.org/blogs/careers
Careers Convention NBHS is holding a Careers Convention on Wednesday 14th September, which will be open to all pupils and their parents. The event is being organised by our Parent Council, who have invited representatives from many different professions to give advice and information. Watch out for details nearer the time.
Fairtrade A staff coffee morning was held recently, organised by our Fairtrade committee. The amazing sum of 15,916 Malawian kwacha was raised for the school‟s Malawi project. (That‟s £65 in sterling!)
COLLECT YOUR TESCO VOUCHERS FOR NBHS!! COLLECT YOUR TESCO VOUCHERS FOR NBHS!! COLLECT YOUR TESCO VOUCHERS FOR NBHS!! Hand them in to your register teacher or school office now!!