Lasswade High School Autumn Newsletter October 2016
Welcome from Mr Hornell, Head Teacher
Welcome to our Autumn 2016 School Newsletter. As the nights start to ‘draw in’ I’m sure you’ll welcome some interesting and stimulating reading. This publication is it, and it’s free! I’m confident you’ll love the range of articles and photographs that showcase the outstanding achievements of our students. In previous editions we confirmed that our school is full of outstanding students. In this respect our Autumn Newsletter is no different. Lasswade students are a credit to the school and their parents. We can truly be proud of them. Our Autumn Newsletter will give you a flavour of the life and work of our school. This ranges from accounts of our ‘long-haul’ trips to China and Swaziland as well as our more recent visits to London and also to the Battlefields of France and Belgium. All these experiences help to embed learning that takes place in the school, both in terms of knowledge as well as the skill development of young people. I’m immensely grateful that so many of our staff support these trips as well as to you as parents that your sons and daughters behave so well. Our students are excellent ambassadors for the school when they travel abroad.
Lasswade High School Newsle
In addition you will also be able to read about some of our extra-curricular provision including our ‘Lasswade Bake Off’ as well as the exciting and innovative work of our Young Engineers Club. Curriculum for Excellence tasks all schools with developing successful learners. This is central to the culture in Lasswade and our aim is to maintain and improve it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading about successes in skiing and ‘Enterprising Maths’ which serve to highlight the range of student achievement. Long may this continue! The Autumn Newsletter also serves as a historical record of our school. It confirms for me that I am privileged to be Head Teacher of Lasswade High School. Finally, I look forward to working with all in our school community over the coming years to allow Lasswade students to achieve their dreams and ambitions. No doubt we’ll read about it in future issues.
Mr C Hornell
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China Bridge Camp 2016 This summer five S6 students, Bryony Eunson, Eilidh Morris, Jerin Mathew, Finlay McIntosh and Lewis Dalgetty travelled with Lasswade maths teacher Miss Edmond to Tianjin & Beijing in China to take part in the Mandarin immersion course, representing the Midlothian Confucius Hub. They travelled from Glasgow with 150 students & staff from the other Confucius Hubs across Scotland. Here they tell us more about their amazing experience… After the long flight to Beijing we had a 3 hour bus journey to our first destination Tianjin, where we would spend 14 days in the Tianjin Foreign Studies University. Our days in Tianjin were action packed with language and cultural lessons everyday. As well as learning & improving our Mandarin we also took part in a variety of cultural activities such as kung fu, Peking opera mask painting, knot tying, round fan making, bronzeware making, calligraphy, paper art, Chinese painting and tai chi. We created lots of beautiful items and the final challenge was to try and pack them to bring home safely!
We also visited some of the well known sites in Tianjin including Tianjin Museum, food markets, Ancient Culture Street and Italian Street. One of the highlights of the visit was the day spent at our partner school, Tianjin No25 Middle School. The morning was spent learning about the students’ life at school, comparing their days to a day in Lasswade High School. We were also treated to sports displays and also joined in with many of the school activities. In the afternoon we visited a local restaurant for the famous Peking duck before travelled back to our host student’s house. This allowed us to get to know our hosts and their families better. As it was a special day in the Chinese calendar we all had the chance to make & eat dumplings.
Lasswade High School Newsle
Before we said goodbye to Tianjin we had to sit our Mandarin exam – which each of the Lasswade students passed! (Well done everyone!) Then it was the closing ceremony. Each class performed or displayed something that they had made or learnt over the 14 days. Lasswade students took part in the kung fu display and also became fashion models showing off their handy work. The end of the ceremony saw all 150 Scottish students & staff on the stage singing Auld Lang Syne - both in Chinese & English. After saying goodbye to our friends in Tianjin we travelled for our 5 day stop in Beijing. After all the hard work at the University in Tianjin it was now time to do some sightseeing and practise our new and improved language skills.
Over the 5 days we enjoyed trips to the ‘Bird’s Nest’ (the 2008 Olympic Stadium) and the beautiful and tranquil Summer Palace. We spent time exploring the Temple of Heaven, the sacred place where the emperors held worship ceremonies. We walked through the Hutongs, toured the Forbidden City and stood in the middle of Tiananmen Square. A visit to the Pearl Market was a chance to practice our Mandarin as we haggled to get the best price for our gifts. It made for a fun afternoon!
The highlight of the days in Beijing was the trip to the Great Wall of China. Walking the wall in 450C heat was worth it for the outstanding views. Throughout the trip we met many Chinese people who were curious about our visit and also desperate to have their photo taken with Scottish students. We made fantastic friends from all over Scotland and in China, had some strange and wonderful food and have memories that we will never forget.
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World Challenge: Swaziland This summer saw 34 senior students and 4 teachers embark on an exciting 2 week volunteering expedition to Swaziland. The 4 teachers were Miss Ludbrook, Miss Lyon, Mr Rhodes and Miss McDonald. The students and staff had worked extremely hard fundraising for two years prior to the trip. Their fundraising efforts were vast and varied from organising bag packs across the Lothians, planning bake sales and charity events to abseiling off the Clydebank Titan Crane! Whilst in Swaziland the groups worked extremely hard to complete their projects in two teams. The teams volunteered at a Neighbourhood Care Point, digging the foundations for a water piper, which would then supply fresh water to the local community. The trip also involved a 3 day trek in the Swazi mountains and a few recreational activities such as jeep and horseback safari and a tree-top zip-wire. You only have to speak to those involved to realise what an amazing time they had: they have incredible memories, made a difference to, and learnt from, an African community and returned more confident, independent individuals.
Want to get involved in a similar project? Our next World Challenge expedition will be to Southern Tanzania in the summer of 2018 for current S4 and S5 students.
Lasswade High School Newsle
Barcelona Food & Culture Trip After a year of planning and a variety of fundraising activities, 36 students flew out to Spain in June on a Home Economics food and culture trip. Students had the opportunity to take part in a number of activities which allowed them to experience Spanish food and culture in the beautiful and sunny city of Barcelona. Parc Guell was our first stop to view Gaudi houses and architecture, in all their organic glory. From Parc Guell we could see our next stop - Gaudi’s distinctive ’Sagrada Familia’. In the late afternoon we visited the Cathedral, and witnessed the glorious colours created by the sunlight through the stained glass windows. The first day was topped off with traditional tapas while watching the passionate and upbeat flamenco dancing. Paella making was one of the highlights of day 2, where the students all joined in making their own lunch. Among the many sites of the gothic parts of Barcelona we had time to do some shopping and absorb the vibrancy of this beautiful city. The last day was down to the Illa Fantasia waterpark, where the group spent the whole day enjoying the pools and flumes in the park.
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London: Social Studies Style
We had a great time during our recent Social Studies trip to London in September for S4-S6 students. Our trip started with a walk along the South Bank towards the London Eye where we had a 30 min turn with the aid of a tour guide who pointed out important historical buildings and geographical patterns around London. We learnt a lot about the River Thames including the river being a habitat for sea horses and seals! On day 2 we had a humbling day at Bletchley Park; the location for the German code breakers during WW2. The ‘Lion King’ theatre production was amazing in the evening and more than a few tears were shed when The Circle of Life was sung and acted! Day 3 started with a very informative Q&A session with the Midlothian MP, Owen Thompson who was more than happy to meet with us before our tour of the Houses of Parliament. In the afternoon we had a tour around the huge Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and many of us were brave enough to slide down the ArcelorMittal Orbit. Our last day consisted of a visit to the wonderful Imperial War Museum focusing on the WW1 and WW2 exhibits and our journey home after a fun, interesting and educational trip.
Lasswade High School Newsle
London: English Style 30 students and 4 members of staff spent the last week of term before the summer holidays enjoying London’s many cultural and literary delights. As this was a trip organised by the English department the trip centred around books and their adaptations - including a screen writing workshop with the City Academy, a trip to the Cambridge Theatre to see Matilda the Musical, a Sherlock Holmes themed walking tour and a day in Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studios! As well these events the group also enjoyed a trip to the London Dungeons, a bus tour, a browse around M&M World and meals at Planet Holywood and the Hard Rock Café. Here are some photos from ‘The Making of Harry Potter’ - a definite trip highlight!
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“It was a lot of fun and it was something different. We saw a lot and it was a great laugh. “ Caitlyn “It was super fun and I loved meeting new people.”
“The trip helped me and I learnt a lot.” Megan “It was a magical experience.” Caitlin
“It was such a pleasure to be part of this trip, my favourite part was Matilda the Musical. All of the students were brilliant and it was great to see everyone having such a good time. .” Kat (LHS Librarian)
European Day of Languages Monday 26th September saw schools around the UK and across Europe celebrate European Day of Languages. In Lasswade we did a number of things to fly the languages flag! First of all the whole of S1 were invited to take part in the “identify the flag” competition: match the flag in the classroom door windows to the correct EU country and learn the word for hello in the language spoken there! Winners to be printed in next term’s newsletter! Next up was a lunch time food stall offering many culinary delights for students to sample; German Stollen, Italian panettone, French croissants, Danish pastries and Dutch bread (to name a few). The lunchtime food stall was run by a group of students. Here they tell us a little bit more about it: Me and my friends Leah and Emily helped at a German & French bake sale. I'm gluten intolerant but the stuff I could eat was so good! We made lots of money and I would gladly do it again." Murron Goodall, S1
"Miss Scott-Larsen asked three people to help her out at the European Day of Languages food stall on Monday the 26th. I put my hand up to help out, not really knowing what to expect. That Monday we went down to the stall. It was really good fun and exciting; we sold lots of German and French food products. It was a big hit and I would happily do it again!" Leah Boynes, S1
Finally, in many Modern Languages lessons that day there were Euro quizzes and teachers gave students a flavour of other languages as they taught the lesson in a different language to the usual one being taught...amongst them Italian, German and Romanian! A great success for students to see a variety of European languages in action in their own school at Lasswade and get a chance to taste something a little different from the continent!
Lasswade High School Newsle
Enterprising Mathematics The Enterprising Mathematics in Lothians 2016 competition took place on Thursday 29th September at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh. The Lasswade team consisted of four excellent S3 and S4 mathematicians: Lewis Cameron, Maia Hollins-Kirk, Anne Morales and Jack Ramage. The Lasswade team were competing against 28 schools from across Edinburgh, East Lothian and Midlothian. The theme this year was “The Mathematics of Flight” and the teams had to design a poster around this theme. As well as the poster competition the teams were asked to design and throw their own paper aeroplane, in which the Lasswade team scored 130 out of a possible 200! As well as the themed activities there are a number of team events designed to challenge logical thinking and mental maths skills. The finale was a relay race that saw 100 children sprinting across the giant games hall answering maths questions (it really was a ‘see it to believe it’ moment).
Roald Dahl Day 100 Roald Dahl Day is an annual event which takes place on 13th September. Roald Dahl Day 2016 was even more special than normal as the world celebrated 100 years since the birth of our favourite story teller. In the library we had a day of Roald Dahl merriment with a lunchtime quiz, an after school pop-up cinema, themed lessons and a big poll to find out Lasswade’s favourite ever Roald Dahl story. 7 teams battled it out in our lunchtime quiz, with three rounds of Roald Dahl trivia, each one more tricky than the last. The winning team scored an amazing 18/18! Among Lasswade staff and students the question ‘which is the best Roald Dahl book?’ always encourages passionate debate. In the library we put it to the vote as students were asked to vote for their favourite. After a week of secret voting we now have the official answer...the best Roald Dahl story is Matilda. (But Kat the library still insists it is Danny, the Champion of the World!) In celebration of our favourite novel the library classroom become a cinema after school and several students joined us for a special screening of the 1996 film.
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The Great Lasswade Bake Off The Home Economics department have once again launched cookery club! We have decided to continue our Bake Off theme as it was very successful last year. The club has proven to be very popular once again as all 40 spaces filled up quickly. Since the club started back we have made cakes, cookies and cheesecakes. In upcoming weeks we have planned to do some Halloween cookery as well as our huge show stopper activity nearer Christmas time.
Young Engineers Club The Lasswade Young Engineers Club has just started for a second year, with several new members joining the familiar faces from our first session. This year we will be exploring mechanisms and structures using software and machinery to create designs and competing in the Rampaging Chariots robot triathlon. We are also aiming to start working on the prestigious F1 in Schools competition which gives students the chance to compete against other teams from all over the world and could even see the members traveling to exotic locations to compete in the world finals (the most recent world final was in Austin, Texas!). To help us start working on this we are currently fundraising for a new machine and will be running a stall at the schools Christmas Fair, where we will be selling products produced by the students at the club.
Lunchtime clubs in the library Between the October break and Christmas the library will have a different club running every lunchtime. Mondays
Creative Writing: for budding writers from all year groups.
Tuesdays
Card Club: for all year groups.
Wednesdays
Student Book Club: a student run book group for quiet reading and book chat for all year groups.
Thursdays
Children’s University: For S1/S2. S1 will learn how to get involved during assembly on Monday 31st October.
Lasswade High School Newsle
Gangsta Granny Theatre Trip As part of its national tour Gangsta Granny: Live on Stage spent four days at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh. The show has been a big hit across the country so we were very excited that a group of S1 and S2 Lasswade students were able to attend a matinee performance on 6th October. The play is based on the best-selling children's book by David Walliams, which is a firm favourite among our students. Following the story of Ben and his granny as they attempt to steal the crown jewels the story has plenty of laughs (and a few tears too). The play included all of our favourite characters and scenes form the story - even the famous granny doing naked yoga scene! The Lasswade group were particularly delighted when, during the second half, two of the actors sat in the audience, immediately in front of our row, and we clapped and cheered along with the cast. The Telegraph described the show as a “hoot.”. Here is what we thought: “It was a great show - it was really well done. They used one set from the whole show because the buildings opened up into new sets. It was so cool. The actors were really talented and I had an awesome time.” Murron
“I thought Gangsta Granny was very good and funny. My favourite bit was when the mum and dad sat in the audience.” Leah
“The show was really good and funny, I didn’t know what to expect but I had a really good time.” Sophie
“I thought the play was great! The actors were really good and it was fun to go and see a play with my friends.” Stuart “I thought the play was very good. It was funny and exciting. I think everyone had a great day out.” Ellie
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Battlefields Trip Article written by Lucy Jones, Katie Skilbeck and Jordan Herron On the 5th of September of this year 35 senior students left Lasswade High School at 10am. We became known as the ‘2nd Lasswade Pals Battalion.’ After a bus trip filled with songs from WW1 and an overnight ferry, the 35 pals found themselves transported back in time to the First World War. The first stop was Hill 60. Whilst expecting to find a massive hill, we were shocked instead to find all that was left of it was a crater, caused by an explosion from many bombs. The next stop was to the Black Watch Corner, a memorial to the members of the Black Watch and to Scottish soldiers that held off the first German attack on Ypres.
The Hooge museum was the next place on the tour; it was here we learnt just how close the German lines were to Ypres. After a brief lunch break, we found ourselves at Sanctuary Wood. This is a perfectly preserved trench, with barely enough space to turn around it was here we began to get an idea of just how bad the conditions for soldiers were.
After an incident involving Mr. McKay and a bat, (don’t ask!) we moved onto Messines church. Messines Church was one of the advanced dressing stations during WWI and the place where a German soldier, after risking his life to retrieve his commanding officer came in search of help. This soldier was Adolf Hitler. Messines Church After a tough first day we travelled along the infamous Menin Road to the Pool of Peace. The Pool of Peace was a crater that was made by the explosion of 19 bombs and, due to natural circumstances a lake was created. It was later turned into a memorial, a quiet peaceful place to remember the soldiers of the First World War. The Lasswade pals then returned to the hostel and after a competitive game of bowling our first day in Belgium was over.
Lasswade High School Newsle
The next day started early with Linda, the tour guide knocking on the door of the students rooms blaring bagpipe music at half past six in the morning! For our second day we found ourselves in France. The first stop of the day was to Newfoundland Park. Linda took us on a walk around the park, telling the tragic story of the Battle of the Somme. She had the entire group walk down the road, picking people off one by one to a separate group, who she later told us were the dead and the wounded. By the end of the road only four people remained ‘alive’. The group then took a walk around the three cemeteries in Newfoundland. One of which contained the relative of one of the group. The next stop on the trip was to Dartmoor cemetery where Linda told the pals two stories, one about a man of 67, the oldest known battle death recorded. He believed that he had to sign up for his country, that it was his duty to his country despite his age. He was persistent and eventually, he was allowed to sign up. The other story was about Robert and George Lee, a father and son who joined up together, and unfortunately died together.
Thiepval Memorial
The Thiepval memorial was next, a memorial dedicated to the 72,000 United Kingdom and South African men who went missing during the Battle of the Somme. The names of some 72,000 men stretched up the walls, almost higher than could be seen from the bottom and around all sides of the pillars. We then made a stop at McCrae’s Battalion Great War memorial, a memorial to the football players who died in McCrae’s Battalion. The football fans got a picture beside the monument and performed a rendition of the Hearts Song. Lochnagar Crater was next, a massive crater again created by bombs and is the biggest man made crater from the First World War. It was so big that, even with thirty five of us standing arms length apart, we didn’t even come close to circling a quarter of the crater. The final visit of the day was to Vimy Ridge, a massive monument to the Canadian’s who fought on Vimy Ridge. The monument towered over everything, with many statues of people carved all the way up the monument in remembrance of those who were lost. The Vimy Ridge brought an end to our day in France.
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The battlefields article continues on the next page
Battlefields Trip cont. On our last full day in Belgium we travelled to Essex Farm where we visited both a cemetery and the advance dressing station where John McCrae composed his infamous ‘In Flanders Fields’ poem. The advance dressing stations were tiny, there was barely enough room to fit three people in standing. It was in the cemetery just next door that we were told the story of V.J Strudwick. A 15 year old boy whose mother sent him out in the morning, expecting him home for dinner. She never saw him again. He signed up for the war, pretending to be 18. He died in battle. It was only later it was brought to light how old he really was. We were then taken to a place called Poelkapelle cemetery. Upon entering we were instructed to go stand beside a head stone, not a particular headstone, just a random headstone. All 35 of us stood beside a random headstone, spread out. Linda then went on to tell us to kneel down if we were standing beside a headstone titled ‘A soldier of the great war’. All but one knelt down. We were standing in a cemetery of around 7,478 graves; over 3/4 of which were unnamed graves. These were soldiers who had probably never had anyone come and visit their grave and families that would never know where their loved one was buried. We laid a poppy at our graves of unknown soldiers to pay our respects to the dead. The sombre group made out way to Passchaendale, where the battle of Passchaendale took place. At the top of the ridge there is a plaque to the Canadian Corps that held the Passchaendale Ridge.
They marched along the road, to take control of it. And it was that same road that we walked along to the bottom singing many different war songs such as ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’. It was there we came across Tyne Cot cemetery. A cemetery with 34,948 identified casualties and hundreds more unidentified, or missing. The Tyne Cot cemetery was built on top of an old German hold. With remains of dugouts still there.
Lasswade High School Newsle
The next stop was at Langemark which is a German cemetery, whilst once there were hundreds dotted around the country after WW2 there are now only three. In contrast to the allied forces cemeteries which had been bright with the pure white headstones the German cemeteries were in complete contrast. The headstones were dark and, whilst the headstones of the allied forces had been upright and contained only one body most of the time, the headstones at the German cemetery were on the ground and showed a mass grave of at least 8 people in each. In some ways it seemed as though the Allied forces were proud of the war, whilst the German’s seemed to be proud of their soldiers and what they were willing to die for rather than the war itself. What made the German cemetery even more upsetting, was the massive square of grass in the centre of the cemetery where almost 25,000 soldiers were buried in a mass grave. A single grave for 25,000 men After leaving Langemark, we arrived at Ypres cemetery where we were told the story of many soldiers who were killed not in battle, but by their own side. All for deserting the war, one they clearly were not made for. Many men lost their lives for the same reason, and they were buried in Ypres cemetery. The final stop was to Menin Gate Ceremony at night. At the Menin Gate a ceremony is held every night by the local Fire Brigade to commemorate the fallen. This ceremony takes place every evening at 8pm and has been done every day since the end of WW1, except during WW2. Ross McKean and Lucy Hanlon laid a wreath on behalf of Lasswade High School and the local communities to commemorate the fallen. It was an incredibly moving and poignant service to be a part of. As a final destination we travelled to the cemetery where Miss McGuire had a relative, and it was here we had our own ceremony. We laid another wreath at the centre of the cemetery. On our final day in Belgium, we took a trip into Bruges. We took a boat trip around the canals of Bruges to learn more about Bruges itself. We has a hilarious boat captain who enjoyed making fun of the English as much as we do! We were then given time to explore the beautiful city and to do some last minute shopping. Before we knew it, our time in Belgium and France had come to an end. After an overnight ferry and a long bus journey home, with singing from ‘McGuire’s choir’, we arrived back home at 5 o’clock on Saturday, with a much better understanding of the events of WWI. ‘We will always remember them’. Well done Mr McKay and the history department for organising such an incredible experience.
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MVP Scotland MVP Scotland - The Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme raises an awareness of bullying and violence in a school setting allowing senior students to act as mentors. The project is based on a ‘bystander’ approach which empowers each mentor to take on an active role in promoting positive relationships in and out of school. Lasswade S6 students shown in the photo above are the first students in Midlothian to complete the training and are now delivering MVP sessions to 1ST year students. Our mentors, who will soon receive their certificates, will attend a special awards ceremony in Glasgow in December. You can find out more about MVP Scotland by visiting their website http://mvpscotland.org.uk/
Lasswade High School Newsle
North Berwick Adventrue: Bass Rock On the Tuesday & Wednesday of the suspended timetable in June two groups headed out for an adventure to the Bass Rock. From North Berwick harbour we set sail in the catamaran first sailing around Craigleith which is home to the ‘SOS puffin project’. Students spotted a few puffins who were playing by diving off the cliffs and swopping down on the choppy waves. The it was full speed ahead to the Bass Rock home to over 150,000 gannets – from a distance the rock looks like it is covered in snow with that number of birds sitting on the rock waiting for the tourists to come by. Sir David Attenborough has described the Bass Rock as ‘one of the wildlife wonders of the world’. The group successfully left the Bass Rock with no presents from the gannets! After leaving the Rock we headed towards the shore and got a unique view of Tantallon Castle perched on the top of the huge sea cliffs. Once we had our land legs again it was time to explore the rocky coast, see the lobster hatchery and explore the rock pools. Then head into the town for a bag of the famous North Berwick chips. It was lovely afternoons to sit on the sea wall enjoy the piping hot chips. Then it was back up to find some ice cream and a walk along the East Beach before returning back to the mini bus.
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Lasswade Rugby We have had a very successful 1st half term at Lasswade Rugby with fixtures against Trinity, Gala, Knox, Berwick, Merchiston, Musselburgh, Melrose and Ross High. This season we have two S1 teams in action most weekends. Curriculum sessions are also in full swing with a large number of players gaining qualifications from Borders College and the National 5 PE qualification through rugby. Olivia Harris, who is currently in 4th year at Lasswade, has been selected as a member of the Scottish Rugby Youth Panel representing young people’s views in the game across Scotland. This is a huge achievement, well done Olivia! After half term we continue our purple conference fixtures against Linlithgow and Boroughmuir. We also have fixtures against Bell Baxter, Loretto, Royal High and Queen Victoria School. A huge thank you must go to all coaches, parents and supporters. Your support this half term has a huge effect on the programme. All teams are working extremely hard and we have over 100 players involved most weekends!
Lasswade High School Newsle
They have celebrated 2 wins in the league against St David’s and Dunbar, with a dramatic 3-3 draw away to Penicuik in between. Special mention to Kurt Robertson who saved a last minute penalty to keep the game at 3-3! It was a very tough process to select the squad as 35 pupils turned up to the trials. Well done to all the boys who turned up for the trials and gave us such a tough decision. We have a few upcoming fixtures so keep your eyes peeled on Twitter for match information. We’re all looking forward to the season ahead, let’s bring some silverware home! @LHSCfootball The squad after the 3-3 draw at Penicuik.
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Lasswade Football - S2 Boys
The S2 football team have had an excellent start to the season, remaining undefeated after 3 games.
Ski Race The School Ski Team, consisting of Aaron Hollins Kirk, Fraser Lyall, Kayleigh Cameron and Louisa McGregor, took part in the Scottish Schools Ski Association Autumn Dual Slalom Series on Monday 26th September. The team did a fantastic job of representing the school, coming away with bronze medals and only narrowly missing out on qualifying for the national final. Last weekend the team also competed in a Scottish Schools competition at Hillend, finishing 3rd. If anyone is interested in race training or in ski lessons then the next block of lessons starts after the October break. This will be the start of a new block of skiing instruction at Hillend and Lasswade High School will hopefully be able to start entering a Novice and Senior race team. If you are interested and want more information please contact Ms Pirie or Ms Scott–Larsen. Thank you to Lindsey McGregor and Midlothian Active Schools for their support.
Lasswade High School Newsle
Lasswade Parent Council The Parent Council has met twice already this term with a real focus on inputting into the School Improvement Plan. 45 minutes of each meeting is now dedicated to helping inform decisions which are being taken in relation to the curriculum and other strategies. Other opportunities are now available for parental views to be taken into account at a series of working groups taking place over the academic year on a Friday afternoon 1- 3pm. The first of these meetings is on 28th October where the curriculum and interventions to “close the attainment gap” are to be discussed in small groups with members of staff. The next meeting is 18 November when student support and curriculum models will be discussed. The final session of this term will be on 2 December when the topics will be behaviour management and family learning/parental engagement. If you would like to take part in any of these groups to make sure the parental view is taken into account please contact Ruth Risien (R.Risien@mgfl.net) in the School Office. The Communication Survey which was issued in September was completed by 145 people which represents about 11% of the parent population. Some interesting comments and views were obtained with 85% agreeing that they would prefer all written communications to be by email. Sadly 40% had never accessed this fantastic newsletter. 93% favoured a web based homework system. There were some helpful comments with lots of ideas and concerns identified. We are meeting to work through the results to try and improve communication further. Facebook was accessed by 38% of those responding and we are now posting weekly on the school Facebook page with updates, information and tips. Please ‘like’ the page to keep up to date with what’s going on. Make sure it’s the Lasswade High School page and not the Lasswade High School Centre page. You can also follow the school on Twitter. Fundraising is a main focus particularly in light of the huge cuts anticipated to the education budget. We are now receiving regular requests from departments for everyday materials such as the Manga High package used by the Maths Department. This used to be free but now costs £1000 a year. Our Christmas Fair is going to be supporting this. This is just one example of the really worthwhile projects we are funding. We currently have about £2000 in our account but this is already earmarked for a science project, the South Africa Committee and the Bake Off competition. We have sought outside sponsorship from The Papermill who are supporting Bake Off and Ozone Sports (Ryze) who provided a significant contribution to our Sports Personality of the Year evening. We are developing links with the Rotary Club. Do you have a local business which could help support the school either by sponsoring an event, providing raffle prizes or a donation? Do you have time to help the Parent Council Fundraising Committee? Can you provide home baking or prizes for the Tombola at the School Fair? If so please contact Lindsey McGregor. (lindseymmcgregor@aol.com) Our next meeting is on 25 October and then 17 November. All are welcome to attend all or part of the meeting which start at 7pm. If you have any matters you would like to raise please contact the Chair, Lindsey McGregor. Looking forward to seeing you at the Christmas Fair on 24 November 2016 - 6-8pm.
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LASSWADE HIGH SCHOOL 24 NOVEMBER 2016 6-8pm Festive stalls, entertainment, photo booth, home baking, tombola, refreshments and much much more. Adults - £3 Entry with refreshments included Children – free
Tickets from school office or on the night proceeds to support MATHS programme – Manga High.
Lasswade High School Autumn Newsletter 2016 The end!