Lasswade High School Winter Newsletter December 2016
Message from Mr Hornell Once again our Winter Newsletter showcases the range of experiences available to our students and their outstanding achievements.
This edition includes, amongst a plethora of articles, accounts of trips and links to Asia, our S3 Inspirational Speakers programme, our work within performing arts and our senior students volunteering as mentors to combat violence. All these experiences help to embed learning, both in terms of knowledge as well as the skill development of young people. At this busy time of year a particular thank you to all staff and students for their contributions and to our Editor, Kat Brack. Her coordination of our newsletter is superb. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all members of our school community a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. I look forward to working with all in our school community in 2017 and beyond. It all begins again on Monday 9th January 2017.
CHORUS
CAST
Lauren Innes, Anja French, Ellie Cummings, Emily Chisholm, Niamh Cruikshanks, Larissa Burns, Sarah McDonald, Caitlyn Dick, Adam Steedman, Jessica Smales, Gemma McOwen, Maia Hollins-Kirk, Emma Dickson, Thomas Shanks, Chloe Bryson, Keisha Peters, Lori Donald, Niamh Cooney, Eilidh Babbs
Dotty Trott: Rebekah Lansley Jack Trott: Jack Ramage Jill Trott: Eilidh Murray
BAND
Billy Trott: Conor Wright Buttercup: Amy Wright & Georgia Clark
Keyboards: Jack Whitaker & Anna Blair Guitars: Reece Carr, Jamie McGlone & Fraser Storie Bass Guitar: Robbie Peden Drum Kit: Andrew Murphy Trumpets: Caitlin Denton & Innes Swan Euphonium: Natalie Kane Horn: Lori Clark Clarinet: Ross Munro
Poison Ivy: Susan Hirst Fairy Dust: Erin Bowden Hugh Mongous: Connor Pell Housekeeper: Megan Nicol King Henry of Haymarket: Ewan Gilchrist Princess Henrietta: Sara Convie
LIGHTING/SOUND
Prime Minister: Ben Shanks
TJ Connell, Hamish Misselbrook Aaron Marshall & Ryan Paterson
Patty Cake: Amy Hope Bo Beep: Maisie Jack Golden Harp: Lauren Innes & Anja French
BACKSTAGE
Hen (that lays the golden egg): Chloe Bryson
Emma Lynch & Jamie McLellan
Eeny: Maia Hollins-Kirk Meeny: Emma Dickson Miny: Jessica Smales Mo: Maisie Jack
DANCERS
Choreography: Sharon Jones Amy Wright, Emily Carson, Leisa Duncan, Bethany Simpson, Abbie Kemp, Charlotte Combe, Georgia Clark , Jemma Holland, Annis Wilson, Lucy Spratt, Emily Hutchison, Megan Fallon, Farrah Drummond, Katie Inglis, Abi Scotland, Evie Munro, Kira Urquhart-Smith, Drew Crombie, Carys Smith, Lauren Innes, Elle Pearson, Lexi McWhinnie, Gracie Adam, Lauren Murie, Mia Tracey, Rosie Dyer, Ellie Shuttleworth, Lucy McKinven, Amy Davidson
Hong Kong Raleigh Wilson Trail Challenge Article written by Rachel Fergusson In October 2016, three S6 pupils (Matthew Amer, Rachel Fergusson and Kirsty Robertson) participated in the Raleigh Wilson Trail Challenge in Hong Kong alongside students from two other Scottish schools. The 78 kilometre race stretched from Hong Kong Island to the New Territories, split into legs and completed as a relay event. Despite months of training, the challenge proved tough for all the runners. Running in the heat and humidity was something none of the runners could prepare for, but the team succeeded in completing the race and the incredible views throughout and enormous sense of achievement at the end made the pain all worth it. The race was part of an annual exchange trip and the students spent the rest of the week visiting sites, schools and immersing themselves in all things Chinese. The group were offered interesting tours around hospitals, businesses and even the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the trips to Stanley Beach and The Big Buddha were definitely highlights. The food was the most bizarre aspect of the trip but by the end of the week students were embracing the opportunity to try new things, even if what was on the plate was a complete mystery. Overall the trip was an incredible experience and a perfect mix of challenge, fun and learning opportunities.
Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce There has been a number of events and activities happening this term as part of our Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce programme. In February we are hosting a Business Breakfast with employers from across Edinburgh and the Lothians. Through this we hope to increase business engagement and allow school staff to hear the skills employers are looking for from school leavers. It will also provide an opportunity to update businesses on the changed within Scottish education. Over the last few weeks S3 have been involved in a programme of Inspirational Speakers. At a series of special assemblies students have heard from a variety of individuals from a range of sectors who were invited to Lasswade to discuss their career path and their own route to success. The speakers have included leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson and polar explorer, Craig Mathieson who created and runs the Polar Academy. We know S3 have enjoyed the opportunity to listen to such an impressive range of speakers as they begin to think about their own career goals and aspirations and the subjects they will study in S4. In the new year the school will be working with two businesses as we develop exciting opportunities for our young people. Global company Ernst & Young are piloting a series of employability workshops in preparation for an opportunity where interested and successful school leavers can apply for a place on a 5 year on-the-job training scheme to gain their chartered accountancy qualification. Furthermore Lloyds Banking Group delivered a day focused on employability skills with a number of S4 and S5 students who have demonstrated an interest in banking and financial services.
Remembrance On the 11th of November the school remembered former students of LHS who had lost their lives during WW1. The service took place in the Assembly Hall with all S6 in attendance. Rev Mitchell (Bonnyrigg) led the service. On November 13th Sarah and Thomas our head girl and boy, took part in Bonnyrigg's Memorial Service. Sarah and Thomas laid a wreath on behalf of the staff and students of Lasswade High School.
China Visit October 2016 During the October holiday 11 students, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Mitchell visited China’s three largest cities; Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing First stop was Shanghai, the home of our partner school Tianlin No.3 Middle School. Lasswade and Tianlin have been partner schools since 2004 and this is the fourth trip by students. The students were hosted by families of school students from Tianlin. In Shanghai, the students visited another Middle School (Chang Mei in Qing Pu district), visited the old district of Qi Bao, watched the flag raising ceremony and morning exercise, enjoyed a performance in Tianlin based on work of Tang Xianzu and visited the top of the Shanghai Tower which is the largest viewing platform in the world.
Shanghai
Tianjin Our school group took the “bullet train” from Shanghai to Tianjin, leaving from the airport terminal sized Hongqiao Railway station. In Tianjin the group were met by Ms Bella Hou, former teacher of Mandarin at Lasswade. Students stayed with new host families in Tianjin and the afternoon was spent enjoying a great meal all together. The visit to Tianjin comprised activities on both school campuses in the morning and in the afternoon time was spent at Tianjin tourist attractions including Ancient Street, Italian Style Town, 5 Avenues and a river boat tour.
China Visit continued... Bejing Tianjin had arranged (and paid) for us to spend the final weekend in Beijing. An early farewell at the Tianjin school and we were off to visit the Great Wall. This visit was spectacular with clear, dry weather allowing the group to marvel at the incredible surrounding landscape. After climbing two sections of the wall the group moved to the city and over two days visited the Old Summer Palace, known in Chinese as Yuanming Yuan; Tiananmen (“Gate of Heavenly Peace”) Square; the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. On the final night Mr Li, from Tianjin, travelled from a meeting in another part of China to have dinner with us and we all enjoyed the classic dish “Peking Duck”. In China it is custom that a host will see off guests as they depart. After dinner we travelled to the very modern Terminal 3 to fly back home. An emotional welcome from parents at Edinburgh on Monday morning finished a very enjoyable trip.
Festival of Music, Usher Hall
80 talented musicians from Lasswade took place in this year’s Midlothian School’s Festival of Music which took place in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in November. Students performed in a number of ensembles including orchestra, concert band, rock band, big band and percussion groups. Well done to all of the students involved and a massive thank you to our dedicated music teachers and instructors who motivate and inspire our young people with their hard work and commitment.
Kids’ Lit Quiz The Kids’ Lit Quiz is an international literature quiz for young people. Each year students across the world battle it out for a place in the national and world finals. The East of Scotland heat took place on Monday 31st October at Liberton High School and we were delighted to be able to enter two S1 teams.
The Lasswade quizzers: Niamh Cooney Ellie Cummings Iram Hussain Sarah McDonald Benjamin Mapstone Cameron Okrzeja-Gibbs Emma Robertson Finlay Thornton
Book Week Scotland The Big Book Quiz Book Week Scotland is an annual celebration of books, libraries and reading across Scotland - in Lasswade we celebrated with our second ’Big Book Quiz’ for S1 and S2 students. On Monday 21st November 23 student teams battled it out in 3 rounds of quizzing testing their knowledge of Scotland, books and films. In the lead up to the Big Quiz each of the S1 & S2 English classes competed in a class heat with the winning team going through to the final. The Big Book Quiz was a great chance for students to show off their knowledge and take part in an event outside the classroom. After a tense tie-break question the Big Quiz 2016 winners were Jack Armitage, Charlie Griffiths, Matthew Phillips and Fraser Turnbull. Well done!
Spell Masters 2016: Lasswade bring back the trophy Lasswade are the Midlothian Spell Masters trophy holders once again after an impressive victory at Dalkeith High School in October. Spell Masters is an annual spelling competition where teams of S2 students from each of the Midlothian secondary schools compete in group and individual rounds. Lasswade were the champions in 2013 and 2014. The Lasswade team was made up of Amy Archibald, Holli Boyd, Conner Pell & Nathanael Rogers. They are pictured with the teams from Beeslack, Dalkeith, St David’s and Penicuik High Schools.
Creative Writing Club Christmas Prizes Christmas Prize Winners Louise Hamilton - The Top Prize for her epic poem ‘The Christmas Miracle’ Louise Dickson - The Funny Prize for her hilarious story ’Trip to the North Pole’ Laiba Imran - The Scary Prize for her spooky Christmas Doll story
Eilidh McDonald - The Poetry Prize for her lyrical poem ’The Dark Angel’ Eilidh Mitchell—The Off Topic Prize for her brilliant scary story ‘The Bridge’ Mary-Beth Whyte - The Christmas Prize for her enchanting poem ’The Magic of Christmas’
Throughout December the members of creative writing club have been working on Christmas stories and poems. We celebrated everyone’s success and progress with a lunchtime writing party on the last week of term.
Students could choose to enter a Christmas competition and we shared prizes and certificates at our party. Creative Writing Club meets every Monday lunchtime in the library and is open to all students from S1—S6. Thank you to Miss McLeod and Miss Mitchell who have been supporting the writers since August.
An Audience with Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood is an award winning author with a career spanning four decades. The Advanced Higher English class were lucky enough to attend ‘An Evening with Margaret Atwood’ when she visited the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh in October. Atwood was in Edinburgh to discuss her latest novel, Hag-Seed, which is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Staff Book Club The Lasswade Staff Book Club was formed in January 2016 after many members of staff admitted to Kat (LHS Librarian) that their New Year resolution was to ’read more books’. Reading one novel per term the group have just had their 5th book group lunchtime where staff share their views on the book (often with a good amount of debate) and enjoy some home baking. Need something to read over the holidays? Why not try one of our book club books:
‘A God in Ruins’ by Kate Atkinson ‘Brooklyn’ by Colm Toíbín ‘Our Kind of Traitor’ by John Le Carré ‘The Cutting Room’ by Louise Welsh ‘House of Silk’ by Anthony Horowitz
“A very interesting and enjoyable experience. Thanks to Atwood’s unique outlook on the world it was somewhat unexpectedly insightful.” Conner, S6
Too cold outside to come to the library?
Browse & download free eBooks, eAudiobooks & eMagazines You can access our digital collection by downloading the following apps & logging in with your Midlothian library card number.
OverDrive for eBooks
Borrowbox for eAudio
Zinio for eMagazines
Bronze Award 2016-17 Following the successful development of the Bronze Award at Lasswade High School over the last few years, this year’s Bronze group comprises both S3 and S4 pupils. This will enable the programme to run entirely in S3 for pupils in upcoming years, leaving S4 free to concentrate on the demands of their first big exam year and to open up opportunities for groups to regularly progress to Silver award whilst still at school (with an eye to completing Gold awards in the coming years too!). This year’s cohort of participants numbers around 30 pupils, a clear record for DofE participation numbers at Lasswade High School! After initial outdoor training in the summer, the S4 group led the way with their practice expeditions in the Pentland Hills in October putting some of the skills they’d learnt to the test whilst learning navigation skills in the terrain they’ll be working in during their qualifying expedition. All of the group learnt a great deal over the weekend of their expedition and in a range of ways – many learnt the value of teamwork, others learnt how the landscape relates to the map in a way not possible in the classroom and everyone learnt individual skills to help them keep well-fed and warm through the chilly Autumn weekend. The S3 pupils stepped aside in October to allow S4 to complete their practice before a busy year of assessments and exams really started to kick-in but both year groups have been working together on classroom training on the range of knowledge skills they still need to learn before completing their qualifying expeditions in June. S3 pupils will get the chance to put their learning into practice during their practice expedition which will take place in late spring/early summer 2017 while their S4 counterparts are busily preparing for exams. Both S3 and S4 pupils will complete their qualifying expedition in mid-June, after the SQA exams. Despite perceptions, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is about far more than outdoor expeditions (look out for bedraggled groups of young people from a range of schools and organisations around the local hills throughout May and June!) and, in fact, comprises three other areas that participants have to work in. To qualify for their award participants have to work towards and demonstrate an improvement in both a skill and a physical activity, each for at least 3 months and up to 6 months. In addition, they have to give at least an hour of their time every week for at least 3 months (and up to 6) for volunteering activities. In many ways, participants gain the most from working on a volunteering activity in the community regularly for such a protracted time – it allows them to see and work with people in contexts they wouldn’t normally and to see what a difference their contribution can make to other people’s lives. It is no surprise then that the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is regarded as the world’s leading achievement award for young people!
Mentors in Violence Protection Tramway, Glasgow Students from all over Scotland, who are currently involved in the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Programme, attended a ‘celebration and learning’ event at Glasgow’s Tramway on Tuesday 6 December. They heard from an array of speakers including Michael Matheson (Cabinet Secretary for Justice) and Deputy Chief Constable Johnny Gwynne about the importance of MVP mentors. Two students also gave presentations about important issues - Aaron Allan-Gallacher (LGBT lunchtime group from Shawlands Academy) and Anna Cowan (‘Girls Against Sexual Assault at Music Gigs’). Ten S6 pupils from Lasswade who were trained as Mentors in August and have been running the programme with S1 pupils enjoyed a range of speakers who focussed on the following topics relevant to MVP: leadership, transgender, pornography, activism by young people, mental health and disability. Today young people are faced with a number of challenges, all of which have the potential to be damaging to their relationships with peers and impact on their success at school. The programme in Lasswade High School is a peer mentoring programme and is delivered by S6 pupils to the S1 year group in school. It covers such issues as dating abuse, harassment, bullying, sexting, control and alcohol and consent. The MVP Programme utilises a creative bystander approach to prevent all forms of bullying and gender based violence and seeks to inspire individual leadership from people faced with challenging situations. The aims of the MVP Programme centre upon the behaviours that are acted out within the key training tool - the ‘playbook’ scenarios - and include raising awareness, challenging attitudes, open dialogue and inspiring leadership. After discussing a particular issue the bystander is offered a range of safe and realistic options they could use to prevent an escalation in behaviours. The MVP programme seeks to confirm to young people that, although they experience and consume influences from adverts and the media, their healthy attitudes are the norm.
John Muir Award Six students received their John Muir ‘Discovery’ Award this term. Pictured from left to right are Ryan Wooton, Lewis Docking, Sam Whittaker, Richard Simpson and Todd Wightman. Blair Wilson also received his award. The group will hopefully start working on their ’Explorer’ Award in March. Well done boys!
Lasswade Science Club This term in Science Club we have done ice fishing, DNA keyrings, Chromatography snowflakes, Halloween slime, Microbe felties, Flame tests and methane bubbles and some lovely Endothermic and Exothermic reactions!
Science club will be taking a break after Christmas and I would like to thank ALL pupils and staff that have been involved with Science Club for joining in with so much enthusiasm! Miss Gardner
The last ever Fashion & Textile trip to the Clothes Show, NEC Birmingham took place on the 2nd December! It was a great success with over 30 Fashion & Textile students from S3-S6 enjoying a fun packed day of fashion shows, live music and shopping. The young "fashionistas" were able to get a glimpse into the fashion industry and further education with exhibits from some of the top Fashion colleges in the UK. The show is moving to Liverpool in July 2017...
Enterprising Maths After their success last term the Lasswade team made it to the final of the Enterprising Maths competition in November. The final was held at the Glasgow Science Centre and schools from all over Scotland were invited to compete. There was a range of tasks set for the team, beginning with the ‘team challenge’ which involved questions to be answered as a team, whilst building complex mathematical models (icosahedron, rhombic dodecahedrons etc.). After that was the practical challenge which involved various problem solving/practical activities. Pictured is our team trying to arrange a subway map to go through a set number/order of stations, whilst other tasks included solving a sudocube (a devilish mixture of Sudoku with a Rubik’s cube) and building cubes from foam shapes (imagine 3D tetris). After lunch, which involved exploring the delights of the Glasgow Science Centre, was the final round; the relay race. Seeing around a hundred enthusiastic youngsters running back and forth answering as many maths questions as they could is quite the sight to see (believe me!). All in all it was a great day out, and in return for reaching the final the school was given a trophy. Hopefully the school will be able to put a team forward again next year to similar success.
The Lasswade team were Lewis Cameron, Maia Hollins-Kirk, Anne Morales & Jack Ramage
This year the Home Economics department relaunched cookery club with a new exciting Bake Off theme. Once again, the club has been extremely popular among students and it has been a lot of fun. Our young star bakers have made items such as cakes, pastries, cookies and cheesecake. We have just finished cookery club for the Christmas holidays with a huge show stopper activity where students had to design their own cakes with a winter theme. There was so much hard work and effort put into making and designing the cakes, but special well done to our winners Chloe Bain and Kyle Anderson.
New faces in the Modern Languages Department... Most of our Modern Languages Team are new to our school and they have all been busy getting to know their new classes. Here’s YOUR chance to get to know THEM a little better!
Miss Scott-Larsen Teaches: French Originally from: Glasgow Languages learnt at school: French, German and Latin Best thing about learning languages: Those “ohhh” moments when you make a connection between languages
Miss Friedrichs (Frau F) Teaches: German Originally from: Heidelberg, Germany Languages learnt at school: English, Latin and French Best thing about learning languages: Grammar and getting to know other cultures
First impressions of LHS: The first person I met was Miss Lyon, so my first impression was “everyone is really lovely!”
First impressions of LHS: Large school with lots of teachers and pupils
Best thing about teaching: I’m the only one of my friends who knows what a ’dab’ is. In some ways this is also the worst thing about being a teacher.
Best thing about teaching: To see pupils learning languages and having fun doing the exercises
Reasons for learning a language: Learning a language has been proven to make you more attractive
Reasons for learning a language: You can go and live in different countries
Something no-one else knows about you: Before I was a teacher I used to work in television and make films Favourite word or expression in any language: Min luftpudebåd er fyldt med ål : Danish for ‘My hovercraft is full of eels.’ Languages I would like to be able to speak: Spanish When I’m not marking jotters…I play shinty and I’m a Riding for the Disabled Association instructor.
Something no-one else knows about you: I used to train a children’s handball team
Mr Carmona-Rodriquez Teaches: French Originally from: Almeria, Spain Languages learnt at school: English & French Best thing about learning languages: It can be fun - for example when I lived in France I went to the cinema every week. What a way to improve my listening! First impressions of LHS: I couldn’t believe how big it is. I was also pleasantly surprised with the equipment Best thing about teaching: When students smile at you in the corridor and say ‘Hi, Mr Carmona’ Reasons for learning a language: It opens your mind to new cultures and widens your opportunities in both life and career
Favourite word or expression in any language: ‘It’s not my cup of tea.’
Something no-one else knows about you: I stopped a busy train in Finland due to a misunderstanding over a ticket
Languages I would like to be able to speak: Spanish
Languages I would like to be able to speak: Italian
When I’m not marking jotters... I travel and do lots of sports
When I’m not marking jotters...Like most other Spaniards I will either be cooking or eating
New faces in the Modern Languages Department Miss Yann Teaches: Mandarin Originally from: Tianjin, China
During recent lessons S2 class 2C got a real flavour of French pop and rock, and even reggae music, but the ultimate favourite was an electro style song, “On Danse” by Belgian hit singer Stromae. The class enjoyed a bit of foot tapping and hand jiving to the songs, and that was just from their French teacher, Madame McCardle, with some students re-enacting the cool dance moves at the back of the class. Our Belgian exchange S6 student, Victoria Ruggiu, who volunteers in class to assist students, was on hand to provide us with some new modern hits in French, and Louane, the 19 year old French singer was another favourite.
Languages learnt at school: English and a little bit of French Best thing about learning languages: Being able to communicate with native speakers First impressions of LHS: It’s huge. Every teacher is busy here Best thing about teaching: Being called ‘miss’ Reasons for learning a language: It adds value to you as a person Something no-one else knows about you: I rarely passed a history assessment Favourite word or expression in any language: ‘Ti amo’ Italian for ‘I love you ‘ Languages I would like to be able to speak: French When I’m not marking jotters…I watch films, hang out with my friends and go to the gym
La Musique Française
Stromae
The class had recently watched the film “Les Choristes” and completed a film review about the school where orphaned and neglected boys learn to sing and flourish in a choir organised by the school’s new supervisor in post war 1940’s France. With the media theme, the class have engaged in watching a French language film and music videos in French, which has given a great insight into how the language can be enjoyed from many mediums. I am sure there were some budding singers amongst the group! In the Autumn Newsletter we included an article about the European Day of Languages S1 competition. We are now very proud to announce our three winners:
Nathan Urban Michael Anderson Ian Nicolson
Nos Correspondants Ă Lyon Our Pen pals in Lyon The S4 French class have built in some time in their busy study and lesson schedule, to write to their new pen pals in Morestel, a town just outside Lyon. There have been letters exchanged in French and English, and lots of excitement surrounding what their French counterparts are like, their interests and what they think of having a Scotland based pen friend! Their teacher, Madame Person, visited us in October and spoke about the school, and her class of French students who are taking part in the letter exchange. It would seem they were equally excited about having a link with our S4 French students here at Lasswade. We took a photo of our lovely class to send them. Of course, the French students were delighted to see the class looking smart in their uniform; remember in France they do not wear uniform!
In October, Lasswade High School played host to The Science Alive Gala Day, the culmination and centrepiece of the Midlothian Science Festival activities held throughout Midlothian. The Gala Day saw a huge range of exhibitions and demonstrations from science ganisations from near and far, providing fun, exciting hands-on activities for budding scientists of all ages!
or-
Over 300 visitors to the school atrium were able to enjoy activities ranging from DNA experiments and making DNA jewellery, examining mini-beasts using high power microscopes, examining rocks from the moon and even chocolate taste-testing! Visitors were also treated to the superb dome film experience, “Cell! Cell! Cell!” in which the story of who we are was presented in an immersive, surround experience. With a real focus on STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) at Lasswade High School we are proud to have been involved with, and to have hosted, this cornerstone event since it’s inception.
Pupil Voice
Emma claims Silver Medal Congratulations to Emma Stewart on her medal success in the Scottish Disability Sport Junior Swim Championships. The event took place at the Tollcross International Aquatics Centre, Glasgow on Wednesday 23rd November.
We are very pleased to have launched Pupil Voice in Lasswade this year. Pupil Voice is an excellent way for students to contribute to the life of the school and take action on the issues that matter most to them. The group has been working hard to set their agenda for the coming school year. A sub-group has already met with members of the Midlothian Council Education to discuss the important matter of water fountains in Lasswade. As well as tackling key officials to improve our water fountains Pupil Voice has also chosen to consider issues related to uniform and corridor and staircase management in the New Year.
Pupil Voice is made up of students from S1—S6.
If you want to get involved look out for information on the bulletin or speak to Miss Blake in Social Subjects.
A small selection of our Pupil Voice members
Emma took part in several events including the 50m freestyle back stroke and the 50m freestyle front, winning an impressive Silver Medal in the 25 metres breast stroke.
Emma is a student in the Lasswade vulnerable and complex needs base. Well done Emma!
Lasswade make a splash!
On the 20th November 2016, 16 Lasswade pupils including 3 relay teams took part in the Edinburgh and Midlothian schools swimming championships at Ainsley Park Leisure Centre, Edinburgh. The students were a credit to the school with their professional attitude and performance results. They all did exceptionally well, both in terms of individual personal bests and event placings. Medal Placings Natalie Jones (S1): 12/13 yrs girls 2nd 100m Freestyle and 3rd 200m Freestyle Iona Wilson (S1): 12/13 yrs Girls 3rd 100m Butterfly Ria Colbridge (S2): 14/15 yrs Girls 2nd 200m I.M and 3rd Open Girls 400m Freestyle Jamie Ferguson (S2): 12/13 yrs boys 1st 200m Backstroke and 2nd 100m Backstroke Lewis Thomson (S3): 12/13 yrs boys 3rd 100m Breaststroke Lasswade Girls 12/13 yrs Relay: 3rd Place 1) Iona Wilson (S1) 2) Olivia Muirhead (S2) 3) Ria Colbridge (S2) 4) Natalie Jones (S1)
Lasswade Boys A 12/13 yrs Relay: 3rd Place 1) Lewis Thomson (S3) 2) Fraser Burgess (S1) 3) Jamie Golder (S2) 4) Jamie Ferguson (S2)
A massive congratulations to the Lasswade students who took part in the Lothian Floor and Vault Championships at Broughton High School, Edinburgh on 11th December 2016. 4 teams were entered into the Level 1 competition and 2 individuals in the Level 3 competition. Many of the students were competing for the first time and they all performed exceptionally. Well done! Results Level 1 Team Competition Gold - A Team: Lauryn Hood, S4 Lucy Spratt, S4 Kate Fergusson, S3 and Zoe Adams, S1 Bronze - B Team: Natalie Jones, S1 Kaitlyn Allan, S1 and Sarah MacDonald, S1 Level 3 Individual Competition Kelly Wynne, S1 – Overall Gold, Gold Vault and Silver Floor Niamh Cooney, S1 – Overall Silver and Gold Floor
Gymnastics success
U15 Football
Our season started off superbly with victories in our first three matches - a 3-0 win at home to Boroughmuir, swiftly followed by a 6-0 win at home to Leith and a very exciting 6-3 win over Craigmount. This 3rd game of the match was a brilliant rollercoaster of excitement - at half time we were down 3-1 our half time team talk obviously paid off! In our 3rd match the boys played a tough match against James Young, resulting in a 3-2 defeat. Unfortunately our 4th game of the season was stopped when a Portobello player was injured. We were sitting 2-0 up against Portobello in this match; we are waiting to hear about a rematch. We then met Boroughmuir again in a goal heavy match ending in a 6-4 win. We were pleased with this result but were hoping for a stronger victory as at one point in the match we had been in the lead 5-0. Talking of epic goals in our home match against Queensferry the team scored an incredible 10 ending in a 10 - 0 victory. This was an epic match with goals being scored by players who normally do not score because of their positions on the field such as Lawrie (Benteke) Wilson and a wonderful hat-trick from Matthew Bell. Overall we have played 8 games where 1 was abandoned and we have scored 36 goals, and only conceded 12 goals, we are currently top of the league sitting on 15 points, where the second team, Portobello have 10 points.
There have been some outstanding performances from the players this year. All the boys have played extremely well ang their confidence and attitude is improving with each game. They continue to work hard and never stop trying to improve, even when they are winning! They boys are working really well as a group and have a massive amount of support from parents, teachers, Coaches and the five S2 boys who have stepped in to cover injuries in our team. We have a great series of matches to look forward to and hope to see key players back on the field after their injuries. If they keep working at this level I know we will have some trophies for the cabinet! In the new year the team are going to focus on raising funds, we will run 2 football incentives and we also have bag packing lined up in Easter, once we have some cash in the bag the boys can have a think about how best to use this money - after all their hard work they deserve a treat.
S1 Boys Football
Girls Football T
The S1 Boys football team, captained by Lucas McGarry, have had a strong start to the domestic season with a good showing so far in the league and Scottish Shield.
The U15 and U18 girls football teams had their most successful season ever last season by winning both U15 and U18 Scottish Cup competitions.
The boys have racked up some impressive wins over Newbattle, Musselburgh, Dunbar and Hawick amongst others and have a 4th round cup tie away to Aridrie Academy or St Modan’s. 6 wins in 7 has the team vying with Ross High for the league title with a big tie coming up in the new year at home to their rivals to avenge a 2-4 loss early this December. Thanks to Blair Short (S4) for his help with the team.
This meant both teams completed the season unbeaten and is only the second time any school has ever achieved such success and won both competitions in the same year! The 2016/17 season has started in a similarly successful vain with the U15 team beating Musselburgh 7-1 away and the U18 team beating Boroughmuir 8-0 away. There have been some great individual performances from Charlotte McDougall and Morgan McMillan in the U15 team. Eilidh Morris has taken on the role of U18 captain with confidence and her work rate on the pitch is a great example to others around her. Three girls have made it to the second trial for the U15 Scottish School girls and are awaiting to hear the final team. We wish Mia Smith, Charlotte McDougall and Eilidh McEwan good luck and hope they all make the team! Congratulations to the U18 team who won ‘Senior Team of the Year’ at the 2016 Midlothian Sports Awards. This is now the second time the team have won a Midlothian Sports Award as they won the Junior Team Award after their U15 Scottish Cup success in 2014. Girls’ football hoodies are now available to purchase through Mr Dewar in the PE department #dresstoimpress. Please follow @LHSCfootball for all fixtures, results and success stories.
Lasswade Rugby We have had a very busy and successful 1st term of rugby at Lasswade. We have had fixtures against Loretto, Queen Victoria School, George Watson’s College and Linlithgow in the second half of term. S1 and S2 players are working hard in their Curriculum sessions and S3 and S4 are working through their Borders College and the National 5 PE qualifications. We finished the purple conference in second place by a point to Linlithgow who were eventual winners. After Christmas we continue our fixture list with games against St Columba’s Kilmacolm, North Berwick, Dunbar, Peebles, Preston Lodge, Currie and Stirling County. We are also taking the S2 and U15’s squads on a tour to Leicester in early March. A huge thank you must go to all coaches, parents and supporters. Your support this term has a huge effect on the programme. Have a great Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Parent Council Update
With best wishes for Christmas and New Year
The Parent Council has had a busy two months organising the Christmas Fair and contributing to how the curriculum will be shaped. One of the most important roles we perform is a forum for the school to discuss initiatives so that the parental view is taken on board. We had a really informative presentation from Mr Paris at our November meeting on proposed changes to the curriculum and following discussions in small groups, we fed back our views to him. In December he took the presentation to a curriculum evening and presented to a wider audience which was well attended. Further views were gathered and this will help shape how the curriculum will develop. Our main fund raising event was the Christmas Fair. Bigger and better than ever before with both the Atrium and Assembly Hall filled with stall holders and shoppers, we managed to raise over ÂŁ2500 for school funds and in particular to pay for a new website. Our communication survey showed that the website was a source of dissatisfaction and so we obtained a quote for an improvement. This is now well under way with phase 1 completed. This will be a huge development and will benefit pupils, staff and parents. It could not have been achieved without the commitment of the fundraising team and the 15 parents who helped "run the show" on the night. A huge thank you to all who came and shopped, to the children who performed, to those who donated wine and home baking and other items and to the staff and pupils who took tables and helped promote their departments. A special thank you to Fiona Robertson for masterminding the whole evening and to Dalkeith Ford and LS Productions who generously sponsored the event. Without them we would not have reached our target. Please follow the Lasswade High School Facebook page for information about meetings and events!
Lasswade High School Newsletter, December 2016
The End!