File - Gryffe High School

Gryffe High School
Old Bridge of Weir Road, Houston, PA6 7EB
Tel: 01505 690633 Fax: 01505 690888
e-mail: enquiries@gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
web address: www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Head Teacher: Mr Colin H Johnson BSc
Date: 6/02/13
Dear Parents/Carers/Relatives/Pupils
I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.
Index
Page
1 S4 Work Experience/Parent Council Meeting
2 S5 Parents’ Meeting Feedback
3 S6 Parents’ Meeting Feedback
4 Burns House changes in staffing
5 S6 Pupils meet Senior diplomat in Fairtrade
visit
6 S1 Pupils take part in BBC Authors Live Event
with Darren Shan
Launch of Science Club
7 Holocaust Assembly
8,9 S3 Skills Conference
10,11 Bridge of Weir Primary Nursery pupils
become Gryffe Scientists for a Day
12 Gryffe Scores Twice at Hampden!
13 Young Musician 2013
14 Renfrewshire Area Schools Swimming
Championships
15 Red Sky at Night is a Gryffe Delight
16 Twitter
Upcoming priorities/events
S4 Work Experience
We had 161 pupils out on Work Experience in the
week beginning Monday 21 January. This was a
valuable opportunity for our pupils and they are in
the process of being interviewed in order to hear
of their experiences.
We would like to thank all the employers who
welcomed our pupils and provided this workbased
learning experience.
Parent Council Meeting
The Parent Council met on Monday 14 January in
order to discuss a variety of topics. As well as the
usual Chairperson’s Report, Correspondence and
Head Teacher’s Report, we had:
• An update from our Pupil Management Group
(including a brief explanation on the Holocaust
assemblies and the content within)
• A presentation from Ms Dhesi on the role of our
Principal Teacher of Attainment and Achievement
• Discussion on our S5/6 Curriculum Structure
In the coming months we will continue to discuss
vital issues in the development of the school and
would welcome any Parents/Carers who would
like to come along and ‘sample before
committing!’
Next meeting is on Monday 4 March.
‘Tweet Tweet’ - Gryffe High School Sports Teams Go
Online
Over the coming months, we will be piloting the benefits of using
social networking site ‘Twitter’ to further improve communication
with pupils and parents at the school.
Further details on page 16
Get following!!!
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
S5 Parents’ Meeting Questionnaire: January 2013
Strongly
agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Don’t
disagree Know
No
Answer
Q1 The school helps my child to be more confident 27%
63%
5%
Q2 My child enjoys learning at school
16%
69%
15%
Q3 My child’s learning is progressing well
16%
79%
5%
32%
68%
21%
74%
Q6 My child receives homework on a regular basis
32%
68%
Q7 My child is treated fairly at school
32%
68%
22%
68%
5%
5%
11%
53%
31%
5%
Q10 The school actively seeks out my views
6%
53%
31%
5%
5%
Q11 The school takes account of my views
11%
47%
16%
21%
5%
11%
58%
26%
21%
74%
5%
11%
47%
37%
Q15 The school is well led
37%
58%
Q16 Overall, I am happy with the school
47%
53%
Q4 My child is encouraged and stretched to work
to the best of his/her ability
Q5 I am kept well informed about my child’s
progress
Q8 I feel staff really know my child as an individual
and support him/her well
Q9 My child benefits from schools and clubs and
activities provided outwith the classroom
Q12 I use the school website for information on a
regular basis
Q13 The school newsletter provides up to date
information on general news and pupil
achievements within the school
Q14 The tracking system in the senior school has
had a positive impact in supporting my child’s
progress.
Q17 The school meets my child’s needs
(including additional support needs)
Q18 My child feels safe at school
21%
79%
58%
42%
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
Some comments and ........ACTION
• Overall our experience at Gryffe has been a happy and successful one. On the few occasions that my child
has struggled with any of his subjects, I have found the staff to be extremely supportive, understanding of
personal circumstances and helpful
• Overall no negative comments and some great support/teacher. Have found nearly all teachers offering to
mark extra papers and give additional support to help my son do well in prelims.
• I would like to express my thanks to my child’s teachers for all their support in after school tuition.
• Although I don’t really understand one or two of your questions I feel really confident with everything my
grandsons achieved in school and agree with everything you have highlighted by your staff.
• My child benefits from attending the HUB
Regarding Question 9.... we are about to introduce a system of tracking pupil uptake on opportunities and their
achievements both in and out of school, with the aim that we offer opportunities that will ensure all pupils are
involved.
Regarding Question 10 ...We feel that we seek parental views however and will try harder to address this.
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
S6 Parents’ Meeting Questionnaire: January 2013
Strongly
agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Don’t
disagree Know
Q1 The school helps my child to be more confident 44%
50%
6%
Q2 My child enjoys learning at school
33%
61%
6%
Q3 My child’s learning is progressing well
Q4 My child is encouraged and stretched to work
to the best of his/her ability
Q5 I am kept well informed about my child’s
progress
Q6 My child receives homework on a regular basis
28%
61%
11%
33%
56%
6%
22%
67%
11%
28%
61%
11%
Q7 My child is treated fairly at school
Q8 I feel staff really know my child as an individual
and support him/her well
Q9 My child benefits from schools and clubs and
activities provided outwith the classroom
Q10 The school actively seeks out my views
44%
44%
6%
39%
50%
11%
39%
44%
6%
6%
5%
22%
56%
11%
6%
5%
Q11 The school takes account of my views
Q12 I use the school website for information on a
regular basis
Q13 The school newsletter provides up to date
information on general news and pupil
achievements within the school
Q14 The tracking system in the senior school has
had a positive impact in supporting my child’s
progress.
Q15 The school is well led
22%
44%
11%
6%
17%
22%
50%
17%
6%
5%
50%
33%
11%
6%
33%
44%
12%
11%
44%
44%
6%
6%
Q16 Overall, I am happy with the school
Q17 The school meets my child’s needs
(including additional support needs)
Q18 My child feels safe at school
44%
56%
33%
61%
50%
50%
No
Answer
5%
6%
6%
Some comments and ........ACTION
•
•
•
•
Gryffe is an excellent school, we could not have made a better choice.
Excellent experience.
I am very happy with the learning journey my daughter has been on since starting at Gryffe High School
Gryffe High School standards are extremely high and provide a safe and healthy environment for the
children to thrive.
• Re Q14, does not have a positive impact on my child, although it is fully discussed and is clear what targets
are............................we will speak to your child and attempt to provide a more positive experience
regarding tracking. We will also reinforce this across targeted pupils.
• My last parents night, we have been very happy with GHS. Great ethos the children all want to do well.
Well pleased.
• My child hasn’t taken up the opportunities the school has to offer but that is no reflection on what we feel
is an excellent school.................. we are about to introduce a system of tracking pupil uptake on
opportunities and their achievements both in and out of school, with the aim that we offer opportunities
that will ensure all pupils are involved.
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Burns House Changes
We are pleased to welcome Mrs Smith to Burns House. She is joining the Pupil Support Team in the role
of Principal Teacher. Mrs Fowler and Mrs Smith will work together to provide pastoral support for Burns
House pupils.
Mrs Fowler will have overall responsibility for pupils in 1B, 2B, 5Bn, 5Br and 6B. Mrs Smith will have
overall responsibility for classes 1Bn, 3B, 4B and 5B. The PSE events for S2, S3 and S4 will continue in the
same way and both Mrs Fowler and Mrs Smith will attend.
Administration procedures for attendance and permission will remain the same. Pupils should continue
to hand in notes to cover absence from school or permission requests to the school office. Pupil’s name
and register class should be clearly noted.
The addition of Mrs Smith to the Pastoral Support team is long term. Pupils and parents should generally
approach their nominated Guidance teacher for support. Mrs Fowler will be in school from Monday to
Wednesday. If an emergency occurs when Mrs Fowler is out of school, pupils or parents can approach
Mrs Smith or their year group head.
Mackintosh House
Due to the absence of Mrs Thomson we have Mr Breslin covering the position of Acting Principal Teacher
of Pupil Support Guidance. Mr Breslin will provide pastoral support for Mackintosh House pupils.
Pupil Support Team
Principal Teachers of Pupil Support - Guidance
Burns House
Mrs Fowler and Acting Mrs Smith
Fleming House
Acting Miss Walker
MacKintosh House
Acting Mr Breslin
Wallace House
Miss Inglis
Principal Teachers of Pupil Support – Support for Learning
Acting Miss Brown
Principal Teachers of Pupil Support – Attainment and Achievement
Ms Dhesi
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
S6 Pupils meet Senior diplomat in Fairtrade
visit
S6 pupils Calum Walker and Struan Grant were part
of a small group of dignitaries who welcomed a
senior diplomat to Paisley. The Just Trading
Scotland business is helping improve the lives of
people in Africa.
Bernard Sande, Malawi’s High Commissioner to the
UK, had requested to make a special visit to
Fairtrade wholesaler Just Trading Scotland.
Fairtrade products are those which guarantee that
producers in the developing world have been given
a fair price for their goods.
Mr Sande was welcomed by Renfrewshire Council
Leader Mark Macmillan and Councillor Brian
Lawson, the Convener and Deputy Convener of
Renfrewshire’s Fairtrade Steering Group along with
pupils from Trinity High in Renfrew and Gryffe High.
The boys can be seen in the picture sharing a joke
with the VIP visitor.
Article – Media Team
Photographs – Mrs M. Stark (Gryffe Fairtrade Staff
Member who accompanied the pupils)
Main Group Picture reproduced with kind
permission of Paisley.org
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
S1 Pupils take part in BBC Authors Live Event with Darren Shan
On Thursday 24 January, all of the S1 pupils
assembled in the theatre to listen to a live author
feed from the BBC studios. They had come to listen
to ‘The Master of Horror’, author Darren Shan.
Darren is the author of a bestselling series of vampire
books and has just brought out a series of zombie
books.
He read extracts from the first book in the series,
‘Zom B’. When asked what age he started writing, he
said at the age of 3, and that even then they were
always horror stories, ‘monsters and being scared
fascinated me even at an early age’. He says: "I was
lucky because my mum was a teacher and showed
me how to read and write. But most importantly she
encouraged me to use my imagination”.
He also spoke of the importance of reading to improve your creative writing, “I don’t know of any writer who
does not also love to read”. The S1 pupils loved listening to the advice a real author had to give them.
Article and Photograph – Mrs C. Kerr – School Librarian
Launch of Science Club
Lunchtimes on a Wednesday will not be the same now that the new Science Club has been launched. Mrs
Robinson and Mr. Owens have extended a warm welcome to S1 pupils who want to learn more about
science and who want to have the opportunity to take part and design experiments of their own. There has
already been a lot of interest from pupils and some S3 pupils, with a strong interest in science have also
agreed to help organise the activities.
S1 pupil Adam Stevenson came along with a few friends for the launch –
Adam says - ‘The science club is an excellent extra curricular activity. The pupils who attend receive the
chance to take part in many fun experiments. So far we have made a hovercraft and a rocket. Mr Owens and
Mrs Robinson run the science club and are willing to answer any questions you may have about science. The
science club takes place on a Wednesday lunch time in lab 5. I strongly advise that you go along but there are
limited spaces so sign up quickly. The clock's ticking!’
Article written with help from Adam Stevenson S1
Photographs – Jennifer Lowson S5
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Holocaust Assembly
The Holocaust assembly was very
moving. This assembly was presented to
every year group. Scott Christian and
Kara McWilliams held the assembly as
they had been chosen to go to
Auschwitz 1 and 2 as part of an
educational trip. This was a once in a
lifetime opportunity and was truly life
changing.
By going to Auschwitz they saw how
horrible it was with horrid conditions
and little space. They said you were
lucky if you were given the job to clean
the toilets which are truly vile and this
shows how bad it really was. They
showed many pictures that they had
taken. They explained some of the
horrific deaths and punishments which
were very upsetting.
It was sad to think about the millions
who were killed during that time. Our
whole year group sat and listened
intently to their experience and it
certainly gave us a lot to be thankful for.
Article - Lauren Newlands S2
Photographs – Jenny Webster S2
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
S3 Skills Conference
On Wednesday 23 January, the third years had
the opportunity to be part of a skills event,
teaching them how to be good employees and
also how to pursue their bright ideas later on in
life. The pupils were given a presentation by
Miss Naismith, making them think about what it
takes to be a good employee in a business, and
what effects this would have on their career.
They were then split into groups where their
ideas and skills were put to the test, by making
up a new product that they feel would be
successful and even worthy of Dragons Den!
Many great ideas were heard like, a watch that
also had a built in phone, boots that could keep
your feet warm or cool during certain
temperatures, and an alarm clock mat that you
would need to stand on to stop the alarm! The
pupils had to present their group ideas to the
class and a vote was cast to choose which one
was the best. Many skills were taken away from
this event like, how to contribute in a group
discussion, how to lead a group, be creative and
also how to make a good impression by watching
some memorable clips from Dragons Den. The
skills conference was very successful and a lot of
positive feedback was gathered from the third
years.
Article – Samantha Dunlop S3
Photographs – John Runcie S1 and Adeel Rasul S2
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Skills Conference Continued
Bridge of Weir Primary Nursery pupils become Gryffe Scientists for a Day
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Bridge of Weir Primary Nursery pupils become Gryffe Scientists for a Day
On Monday 21 January 2013 around 80 children from Bridge of Weir Primary School Nursery came to
Gryffe High School to do some exciting science experiments. When the children arrived they excitedly
took off their coats, hats, scarves and gloves. First of all the science teacher spoke to the children about
being a safe scientist and each child was given a pair of safety goggles to wear.
The first experiment was making some “toothpaste for elephants.” As you might imagine- elephants need
a VERY big toothbrush to put the toothpaste on. The mixture was originally blue but when the last
ingredient was added, the mixture turned yellow and foamed over the glass bottle! The children peered
through their goggles with amazement.
The next experiment was using magnesium which, when you hold over fire, gives out a bright light. The
light is so bright that you cannot actually look at it directly, without hurting your eyes. So the children
were told to only look at the light from the side.
Following on from the bright lights, a Bunsen burner was lit in the classroom behind a protective plastic
shield. A chemical was sprayed onto the flame to change the colour of the flame – making it look a bit like
fireworks. There were lots of different colours, like green, red, pink and blue. All the children were very
excited when the flame changed different colours and many of them shouted out each colour.
The children joined in the next activity. A volunteer was asked to feel some cornflour. When the cornflour
was in a tub it felt cold and hard but when the child lifted the cornflour up in their hands, it turned gooey
and it ran through their fingers. The children loved getting into a mess with the mixture.
Cool homemade traffic lights were next! There is a red liquid in a glass jar. With a shake of the glass flask,
the liquid turned amber and then green. All the nursery children were amazed.
One of my personal favourite experiments was the balloon experiment. The science teacher rubbed a
balloon and then hovered it above one of the nursery children’s hair. The hair floated up, towards the
balloon but did not touch the balloon. So that the children could test the electrostatic force by
themselves, the children worked in pairs to do their own little experiment. Each pair was given small bits
of paper, a plastic rod and a cloth. The children rubbed the cloth against the plastic rod then held the rod
over the paper. The paper jumped off the worktops and stuck to the rod. All of the nursery children were
very excited when the paper jumped off the worktops.
Then there was the arrival of the ‘Genie in the Lamp’. The science teacher said that she had made some
clouds and they were all in the flask. She then said to the class that they would have to shout out a magic
word all together to make the clouds come out. So the whole group of nursery children shouted
“POTIONS!!!” and the clouds came bursting out of the top of the flask!!
The children were delighted with their first taste of science in a real science lab. Many left talking about
the ‘speriments’ that they had seen……..and rumour has it that a few of the children were so excited the
night before their visit that they did not sleep!! I think that they would sleep after all their hard work
today.
Mrs Stark, the science technician who had set up the experiments, cleared up the labs (with help from the
staff) and then got ready to do it all again to the delight of the afternoon children.
Mrs McAleavy, who had organised the visits said ‘ It was a real pleasure for all of us to have the nursery
children visit our department. They were very well behaved and enthusiastic and we look forward to
seeing them again in the future ‘
Article – Shona Ferguson S1
Photographs – Andrew Grant and Jasmine Galvin (both S1)
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Bridge of Weir Primary Nursery pupils become Gryffe Scientists for a Day
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Gryffe Scores Twice at Hampden!
Confused? You may be aware that former Gryffe
pupil Steven Thompson scored St. Mirren’s third goal
in their historic victory against Celtic in the Scottish
Communities League Cup Semi-final at Hampden Park
last Sunday.
However, this was NOT the first goal scored by Gryffe
at that match. S2 pupil and St. Mirren U14 player
Stefan Armstrong scored before Steven.
Stefan took part in the half time 10 second challenge
between St. Mirren U14 and Celtic U14 squads.
Stefan did not let his team down as he managed to
put the ball past the Celtic goalkeeper in front of
almost 25000 fans.
Well done to Stefan (and Steven)!!
Stefan also took part in holding the team flags at the
beginning of the match and as well as his regular
appearance with the U14 team, he is a regular ball
boy at St. Mirren Park.
Our pictures show Stefan preparing to take his
penalty and pictured with his team (back left).
Article – Media Team
Photographs – Media Team and courtesy of Mr
Armstrong
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Young Musician 2013
With the help of the music department, thirteen nervous finalists provided a fine evening of music in the
theatre on 17th January. They knew that their performance would be scrutinised by the thorough
adjudication of Mr. David Murray. Every performer produced outstanding music but at the end of the
night there had to be winners. Particular Congratulations to
Junior Section
1st –
Intermediate Section 1st –
Senior Section
1st –
Bruce Wards
Adam Robertson
Stewart Wards
Prelude and Toccata
Alka Setzer
La Colombe
Piano
Guitar
Piano
….but huge congratulations to ALL of the finalists….
One of our young first year finalists Jasmine Galvin has written her account of her experience.
‘The Young Musician competition is an annual event held at Gryffe High School and involves students
from S1-S6 competing with a wide range of musical instruments. The auditions involved turning up at
the theatre after school and playing for Miss Ritchie and the other teachers in the Music department.
There were a lot of fantastic musicians but only a few got through to the finals. The auditions took place
in December and the results were put up on the notice board in the Music department few days later.
In the lead-up to the final, I had to practice many hours on my one piece, as I’m sure everyone else did.
Final night came and in the theatre, contestants were practicing with their accompanists and the
atmosphere was exciting and tense. Around five minutes after I arrived, the audience started to
file into the theatre. Head teacher Mr Colin Johnson made a speech welcoming everyone, and
welcoming back the adjudicator, Mr David Murray. He then introduced Mrs Brown, who presented the
Junior category. Being a first year, I was in the Junior category and was up first, which was quite a nervewracking experience. But as soon as I started playing, I was too focused on the piece to bother about
anyone. I’m sure everyone else felt that way.
Everyone performed well. At the end of the performances, the adjudicator Mr David Murray gave
feedback and constructive criticism to performers and then announced the results. He gave the
highs and lows of the performance and areas for improvement. The Young Musician competition was a
great experience for me- I got to play in front of a large audience, I met new people and I got honest,
meaningful feedback from the adjudicator.’
Article written with a lot of help from Jasmine Galvin S1
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Renfrewshire Area Schools Swimming Championships
Four Gryffe swimmers competed in this annual event and there was obviously only one colour of medal
they were after! Here’s how they got on . . .
Ross Gale (S4)
100m Freestyle – Gold
200m Freestyle - Gold
Rhiannon Gilkes (S4)
100m Freestyle – Gold
200m Backstroke - Gold
Rebecca Gale (S2)
100m Freestyle - Gold
Lauren Gilkes (S3)
100m Backstroke – Gold
200m Freestyle - Gold
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Red Sky at Night is a Gryffe Delight
Miss Brown, who is Acting Principal Teacher of Pupil Support – Support for Learning, managed to capture
these beautiful pictures of the Gryffe skyline in January. They are a nice reminder of how fortunate we are
to have such lovely surroundings.
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Upcoming priorities/events:
FEBRUARY
Mon 4
Wed 6
S4&S5 Options Evening 7:00 pm start
February Newsletter publication
Mon 11
Tue 12
Wed 13
Thurs 14
Fri 15
HOLIDAY
HOLIDAY
In-Service Day
Pupils start back at school
S2 Main Reports issued to pupils
Tue 19
Wed 20
S4 Option Forms returned
S2 Main Reports issued to pupils
Mon 25
S2/3 Options Evening 7:00 pm start
MARCH
Fri 1
Mon 4
Wed 6
S5/6 Update Reports issued to pupils
Parent Council Meeting 7:00 pm
March Newsletter publication
‘Tweet Tweet’ - Gryffe High School Sports Teams
Go Online
Over the coming months, we will be piloting the
benefits of using social networking site ‘Twitter’ to
further improve communication with pupils and
parents at the school. This Twitter page will be for
information on the various Sports Teams who
compete for the school and will keep ‘followers’
up to date with team meetings, fixtures and
results. To follow us, simply search for ‘Gryffe HS
Sports’ on Twitter and select the icon on the page
and click ‘follow’. This will keep you up to date
with important information on all of our Sports
Teams such as Athletics, Basketball, Football,
Hockey, Netball, Rugby and Tennis. Alternatively,
non ‘Tweeters’ can still keep up to date with these
announcements by visiting
www.twitter.com/gryffehssports
Get following!!!
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk