File - Gryffe High School

Transcription

Gryffe High School
Old Bridge of Weir Road, Houston, PA6 7EB
Tel: 01505 690633 Fax: 01505 690888
e-mail: gryffehighenquiries@renfrewshire.gov.uk
web address: www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Head Teacher: Mr Colin H Johnson BSc
Date: 5/11/14
Promotion of Achievements
October House Points Total
Dear Parents/Carers/Relatives/Pupils
I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.
Page
1
2
3
4
5
6,7
8,9
10
11
12,13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Index
Achievements; Parent Council Meeting
Feedback from S2 Parents’ Meeting
PTA Christmas Fayre
Global Diversity Month
Healthy Eating
Modern Languages
Visit to Auschwitz
S3 Debating Team Success!
Weakest Link Quiz Charity Event
Senior Pupils enjoy a trip to Hamlet
Geography trip to Yorkshire Dales
Maths Challenge News
Dragons’ Den Update
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Regeneration – S3 trip to the theatre
Education Scotland Conversation Day
Gryffestyles Poetry Competition Winners
3K Fun Run Picture Special
New Minibus for School
Upcoming priorities/events


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Burns – 630 points
Fleming – 585 points
MacKintosh – 585 points
Wallace – 540 points
Well Done __Burns!
Parent Council Meeting
On Monday 3 November the Parent Council held its
monthly meeting. There were presentations on Rights
Respecting School Award/School Charter, by Mrs Davey,
and on Eco Developments, by Mr Clark. This was
followed by updates from myself on:
• School visit from Mr Michael Dewar, Acting Head of
Services
• School STACs visit from the local authority looking
at the 4 main priorities areas detailed in the insight
programme: Improving positive destinations;
Improving attainment in literacy and numeracy;
Improving attainment for all; and closing the
attainment gap.
• Education Scotland Field Visit
• Staff Professional Update
• Leadership across the school
Next meeting is on Monday 8 December 7:00 pm start
PTA CHRISTMAS FAYRE
This year’s Christmas Fayre will take place in the school on Thursday 27 November from 6.30 – 9.00pm. A
real effort has been made to attract stalls which will be selling a wide range of Christmas gifts at a range of
prices. This is a great opportunity not just to support the school but also to get the festive spirit, and
shopping, started. Further detail about the Christmas Fayre can be seen within the poster in this newsletter,
page 3. Tickets will be on sale in the school, and also on the door on the night. Look forward to seeing you
there!
Please feel free to give the codes below a try and tell us what you think via
gryffehighenquiries@renfrewshire.gov.uk
Web Site
I Phone App
Caring • Learning • Achieving
www.gryffehigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Android App
Feedback from S2 Parents’ Meeting Questionnaire: October 2014
Strongly
Strongly Don’t
Agree Disagree
agree
disagree Know
Q1 The school helps my child to be more confident
40%
60%
Q2 My child enjoys learning at school
50%
50%
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
50%
50%
45%
50%
5%
35%
55%
5%
5%
Q6 My child receives homework on a regular basis
40%
40%
15%
5%
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
65%
30%
5%
50%
45%
5%
65%
30%
5%
35%
45%
20%
Q11 The school takes account of my views
25%
35%
10%
Q12 Our school has a positive image within the local community
75%
25%
Q13 As a school we deal with concerns promptly
40%
40%
Q14 I use the school website for information on a regular basis
Q15 The school newsletter provides up to date information on
general news and pupil achievements within the school
Q16 With regard to Curriculum for Excellence the school
provides detail, (via meetings, handouts, CfE section on
school website) explaining how they are taking it forward.
Q17 The school is well led
30%
50%
50%
50%
35%
60%
65%
35%
Q18 Overall, I am happy with the school
Q19 The school meets my child’s needs
(including additional support needs)
Q20 My child feels safe at school
70%
30%
65%
35%
70%
30%
COMMENTS and....... ACTION
30%
20%
15%
5%
5%
• I am a very happy parent and hope the school continues to set the standards in local education.
• Gryffe High has been great for my son, he thoroughly enjoys it.
• My son is achieving well and has great respect for his teachers, in turn they show great respect to him – his report
was excellent and all his teachers spoke very positively about him. I am a happy parent
• Not enough homework provided on a consistent basis........ we have formed a staff working group to look at
Homework
• Very disappointed with activities week options! ........ we have a wider selection than in previous years, as well as
more lower cost options. We are happy to listen to any parental suggestions for improvement.
• The warm welcome we received at Parents’ Evening from the senior pupils tell me that all is well in the learning
environment. Polite, smart efficient and informative young people taking pride in a job well done, Fantastic!
• We believe the school is passive and requires parents to make effort to give views....... Parents are frequently
asked for their views, however if some parents feel that we do not do this enough then that is a concern. I will
state in the December Newsletter when we have asked for opinion of late, and we will contact some of the parents
within this survey, and sample others, in order to seek further views.
Global Diversity Month October 2014
Every October at Gryffe High School we have our annual
celebration of Global Diversity. This involved all departments
across the school and whole school activities at intervals and
lunchtimes. Pupils learn about various cultures, individuals and
groups from across the world that contribute, or have
contributed to the global society, of which we are all a part of.
This year, some of the lessons which pupils engaged in were:
Music from across the world – Jamaican steel drums, Brazilian
samba and African Blues; Geography – India country study, and
diseases affecting developed and developing countries; Health
and Food Technology – cuisine from around the globe; Science –
a variety of topics looking at contributions of scientists from
many different countries. This gives you a small taster of just a
few of the things which happened across the school.
As part of Curriculum for Excellence, Global Citizens and
Citizenship are some of the key contexts which underpin the
framework for learning.
‘The embedding of global citizenship within the totality of all that
is planned in the curriculum will help to ensure that our children
and young people will be able to play a full and active part in
society – politically, socially, economically, environmentally and
culturally, and understand Scotland’s role within the wider
world.’
At Gryffe High school we pride ourselves on our continuing
endeavours to ensure that all pupils are global citizens, and this
is further strengthened by our focus on Global Diversity during
October.
The Rainbow Turtle Fairtrade stall was in school on Friday 24
October at lunchtime selling all sorts of fantastic Fairtrade
goodies – many pupils and staff took the opportunity to get
ahead with some early Christmas shopping.
S2 Africa Assembly, Wednesday 29 October – S2 pupils reinforced their in-class learning from ABC and
Social Subjects by participating in an African Quiz; learning about French-speaking African nations; looking
at African artwork; and hearing some fantastic African music. S2’s will also be asked their opinions on
their African learning experience as part of our ongoing Rights Respecting Schools Award journey – ‘You
have the Right to give your opinion, for adults to listen and take it seriously’ Article 12, United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child.’
You will see some of the Henna tattoos done by our talented S6 pupils. Thank you all who participated –
we raised £43 for our selected Global Diversity Month charities from the tattoos.
Article - Mrs J Davey
Photographs – Mrs J Davey and Charlotte Stuart S2
Health and Food Technology Department promote
‘Healthy Eating’ to all year groups.
In S1 pupils develop their knowledge of the ’Eatwell Plate’; the Government recommended visual aid
which shows how much of each food group we should eat. They learn about sugar content by working
in groups using towers of sugar cubes to guess the content in a variety of savoury as well as sweet
foods. Additionally, they learn a little about the body’s nutrient, water and fibre requirements and
keep a food diary to monitor their own consumption of the different sections of the ‘Eatwell Plate’ At
the end of a week, pupils are expected to be able to use what they know to make suggestions for
improving their own diet.
In S2 continuing from the food studies started with the ‘Eatwell Plate’, the pupils look at the Scottish
diet and why the Government introduced the ‘Scottish Dietary Targets’. They find out about
Scotland’s poor health record, the strain on the National Health Service and the growing number of
people suffering from dietary diseases and dying early because of them. They learn ways of combating
this by reducing sugar, salt and fat in the diet and by increasing Total Complex Carbohydrates – which
include: fruit & vegetables, breakfast cereals and bread, as well as increasing fish consumption and the
number of mothers breast-feeding. They look at the developments in nutritional labelling and learn
ways of adapting recipes and using convenience foods to help meet the Scottish Dietary Targets.
In S3 to Higher pupils are able to build on this foundation and find out more about the effects on
health of dietary diseases such as anaemia, bowel disease, coronary heart disease, hypertension and
dental caries and how these affect different groups of people. This leads to them being able to make
better choices for themselves and their families and to develop their own products which meet a
variety of individual dietary needs.
Article - Mrs Holligan, HFT
European Day of Languages and Modern Languages 1+2
Some pupil feedback on the events –
European Day of Languages Assembly
– Thomas MacMillan 1W
On the day of European Languages there was a special
assembly which all of S1 went to. During the assembly
there was a quiz and a song, “Let It Go”, where we had
to identify the languages used in the lyrics. I think
everyone learned a lot. Thumbs up!
Salsa Dancing-Courtney Thomson 1BN
To celebrate European Day of Languages, the small
gym was taken over by Latin American spirit!
Miss Tate and Mr Pirie lead a salsa session. Salsa
dancing was really fun and I extremely enjoyed it. We
learned new steps and I have to say, salsa dancing
makes you run out of breath very easily!
French Film- By Aaron Mills (1M) and Katie Harrison (1B).
Panique au village
It was very strange watching a film in French and we
would love to see more things like this on offer in
school. We would definitely recommend this film to
everyone. Furthermore the subtitles were a big help.
Why learn a language?
English is a global language but in fact only 6% of the world’s population are native English speakers and an
estimated three quarters do not speak English at all.
The UK has the worst foreign language skills in Europe, and there is a strong argument that limited language
abilities and cultural awareness are affecting our participation in European business, in particular our export
oriented economy.
Pupils who study a Modern Language …
• develop excellent communication skills,
• increase their knowledge of their own
language and enhance their literacy skills
• have a greater empathy and understanding of
the world around them and the cultures that
exist within it.
• are resilient and have the ability to cope with
challenge and unfamiliar situations
• become responsible citizens, effective
contributors, successful learners and
confident individuals
What is the Scottish Government doing to help the situation?
The Scottish Government’s ambitious 1+2 languages policy arrives at a time when globally the demand for
language skills is expanding, and aims to help children and young people develop the international
communication and employability skills they need for their future careers.
What is 1+2?
• Second language learning will start at Primary one
• Third language learning will start no later than Primary 5
• Stronger links will be established between primary and secondary schools to ensure better
progression in language learning (by 2020)
What are we doing to prepare for 1+2 at Gryffe?
Since August 2013 all S1 pupils at Gryffe have had the unique and exciting opportunity to study two
modern languages simultaneously from S1 onwards. Gryffe is the only school in the authority to offer two
languages in this way. Pupils in S2 also enjoyed third language “taster” lessons to help develop basic
language skills in Spanish, topics included “el día de los muertos”, “me gusta la música” and “la comida
española”. Each taster session developed cultural awareness and language skills such as expressing
opinions, likes and dislikes and ordering food and drink.
As a result of these innovative changes to the Modern Languages’ curriculum Gryffe pupils now have the
opportunity to study both French and Spanish throughout their secondary school career.
Past pupils comments on studying two languages
I feel that having the opportunity to learn two languages improved my ability to communicate with others
as well as improving my confidence. I also thoroughly enjoyed the topics we studied and really liked having
many chances to actually speak the languages I was studying. Now being at uni I have a real understanding
of the edge that being multilingual gives you when searching for jobs.
Callum Robertson (former pupil)
Sixth year offered me the chance to learn higher Spanish as well as taking advanced higher French and
looking back I am so pleased for being given this opportunity. I was chosen to represent Scotland at the
annual Euroscola trip funded by the local rotary club. This was as a direct result of learning and loving the
languages of French and Spanish. This exposure to different languages and cultures has greatly improved
my confidence and has encouraged me to continue my language studies along with Geography at Glasgow
University and I am already planning my Erasmus year in France.
Finally I feel that taking 2 languages at school has given me numerous opportunities to travel, to
experience other cultures, to improve my confidence and fulfil my ambition to work abroad.
Heather Boswell (former pupil)
Article – Miss L Tate
Photographs – Molly Speir S2 Jennifer McDonald S2
Visit to Auschwitz
The Holocaust Educational Trusts flagship programme, Lessons from Auschwitz, ran their yearly West of
Scotland project, the aim of which is to spread the word and knowledge of the events that took place
during the Holocaust. Two pupils were nominated by each school to take part in this project. We, Scott
Martin and Georgina Milnes, were selected to represent Gryffe High School. We were accompanied on
the project by Miss Iafrate from the Geography department. Prior to embarking on our trip to Auschwitz
we attended an Orientation seminar in Glasgow where we were given our first insight into what the
Holocaust was and what kind of atrocities it was responsible for. To further our understanding we heard
from Holocaust survivor Zigi Shipper who himself was a prisoner at Auschwitz. He explained to us his
account of the war which was extremely saddening for us as we learned the pain and misery he endured
and how fortunate he was to still be alive. This really brought home the fact that it was people of all ages
and backgrounds that were affected by the war. Zigi himself was only fourteen when war broke out and as
a Polish Jew he was extremely vulnerable during the invasion of Poland and later on as the Nazis began to
spread across central Europe. His story opened our eyes to the fact that his survival was just circumstance
and that in order to stop history repeating itself we need to make people aware of it to try and protect
our future.
The following Wednesday we travelled out to Krakow, Poland for our day trip to the death and labour
camps at Auschwitz. The first thing that we noticed as we approached the first camp (Auschwitz 1) was
the lack of road signs for the town of Auschwitz. This is because Auschwitz was a name given to the area
of Oświeҫim, the town in which the 48 camps were located. As we continued to Auschwitz 1, two factory
chimneys were pointed out to us. We were told that they were all that remained of the work camp at
Auschwitz 3.
As we arrived at Auschwitz 1, the smaller of
the death camps, it was shocking to us to see
how popular a tourist destination it was. The
camp itself had been converted into a museum
full of various exhibits. For us, this was the
most astonishing of the two camps we visited
as it highlighted that these were normal people
who were persecuted because of their personal
background. Each room and corridor brought
us a new horror, windows to rooms full of
confiscated property, even human hair
collected after shaving the prisoners. In the
room we viewed there was a total of two
tonnes of hair. This figure is impossible for
anyone to imagine and it is even more
distressing when we learned that more than
seven tonnes was actually found. One corridor
had walls lined with portrait photos of the men,
women and children held captive, with their
arrival and death dates printed below. This
showed the family connections within the
camp.
Following this, we took the short
journey over to Auschwitz 2 also known
as Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is the
largest of the concentration camps in
the area and the world. Although, after
the war, the majority of this camp was
destroyed in an attempt to cover up the
Nazi’s work, the historic railway tracks
and twenty of the original cabins
remained. As we moved around the
camp there was no doubt that what had
happened there was an atrocity. We
could see the ruins of the several gas
chambers as well as the grounds where
several hundred cabins once stood.
Standing on the platform we saw what
the arriving prisoners would face, either
a point to the left where the camp
stood or a point to the right where the
gas chambers were - such a simple
action to determine a major decision.
Throughout the day we were
surrounded by the reminders of what
occurred in Auschwitz, from the high
barbed wire fences to the gas
chambers. We will never be able to
understand how any human being could
commit such actions towards another.
In total there were six million people
killed in the camps at Auschwitz so, in
order to pay our respects to those who
lost their lives in that horrible place, we
all took part in a remembrance service
led by Rabbi Marcus. At the close of this
ceremony we all lit a candle and placed
them on the railway tracks of Auschwitz
2 as a mark of respect to those who
journeyed in on those rails with hopes
of a new life but all that they received
was brutality and ultimately death.
Article - Georgina Milnes and Scott
Martin (both S6)
S3 Debating Team Success!
Last Wednesday 29 October, a group of
pupils from S3 - Maisie Huey, Euan Huey
and Claire Cassidy - represented Gryffe in
the 2014 ASC (Association of Speakers
Clubs) Youth Speech Contest along with
various schools across the
authority. Presented with a choice of topics
in the lead up to the competition, the
team opted for what they felt to be a very
current topic:
“In the 100th anniversary of the start of the
First World War, how important is it that all
generations remember and are aware of the
sacrifices made by others on their behalf?"
The pupils spent several lunchtimes as well
as days during the October holiday
preparing for their speech and worked
particularly well together. When Sarah
Martin's sore throat prevented her from
participating on the day, Claire Cassidy
stepped in and done a marvellous job - an
example of excellent teamwork.
The competition was tough as the standard
was high but luckily, Gryffe's performance
was enough to secure first place.
Commended by the judges for their
confident delivery as well as their well
structured and thought provoking content,
the pupils were presented with a certificate
as well as a trophy which is on display at the
main entrance for all to see.
The team look forward to the
final competition which will be at the end of
November in the Normandy hotel and we
wish them the very best of luck!
Article and Photographs – Miss J Higgins
Weakest Link Quiz Charity Event
On Friday 10 October the Charities Committee held a
Weakest Link Quiz in the school theatre to raise money
for SmileTrain.
Every year more than 170,000 children are born with
cleft lip and/or palate. Most cannot afford surgery.
Clefts are a major problem in developing countries
where more than one million children are suffering
with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak
properly. They are not allowed to attend school or hold
down a job. The SmileTrain charity provides operations
to help people in developing countries. The good news
is that every single child with a cleft can be helped with
this surgery that costs as little as £150 and takes as
little as 45 minutes.
Pupils paid £1 to watch the Weakest Link Quiz. This was
an interhouse event and each team consisted of both
pupil and teachers. A lot of hard work had gone into the
preparation of the event which proved to be most
enjoyable for both the participants and audience. The
event raised a total of just under £100 for the charity
which will help fund an operation for a person in need.
Louise McMillan S6 (for the Charities Committee)
Photographs – S2 Media Team
Senior Pupils enjoy a trip to Hamlet
Review
Senior students studying Hamlet recently had the wonderful opportunity to see live production of the
play onstage. This vividly brought to life Shakespeare’s characters and language from his most wellknown and possibly his best play.
Hamlet is a Shakespearean tragedy based around corruption, revenge and madness. Hamlet returns
home from university to attend his late father’s funeral, only to find out that it is also a celebration of
his mother’s marriage to her former brother-in-law (her late husband’s brother). Soon after Hamlet is
approached by his father’s ghost, who tells his son that it was his mother’s new husband who murdered
him. Hamlet promises to avenge his father’s death but struggles throughout the play to decide to take
action.
Hamlet at the Citizen’s Theatre was edgy, fascinating and the director, Dominic Hill, managed to put a
refreshingly modern twist on the 16th century play. The Shakespeare play was done in a way that I have
never seen before and particularly the characters of Hamlet and Polonius were given an exciting spin.
The incestuous theme of the play, usually seen in Hamlet and his mother’s relationship, was instead
centred on Ophelia and Polonius – giving an old tradition a refreshing change. I would recommend this
to anyone regardless of whether you are a fan of Shakespeare or not.
Amy Murray
Student comments:
‘I really enjoyed Hamlet...I found certain parts
very moving, especially the scenes with
Ophelia...an excellent balance of humour and
darkness.’
Beth Hanley
‘Watching the soliloquies being performed
was much more chilling and powerful than
just reading them from a book.’
Adele Swordy
‘How do the actors remember that many
lines? In Shakespearean English?!’
Callum Falconer
‘Very beneficial...really helped/improved my
understanding of the play.’
Various
Senior pupil Geography Field Trip to the Yorkshire Dales
After school on Friday 3 October, Higher and Advanced Higher Geography pupils from both Gryffe and Park
Mains met and travelled together by coach to Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. When we arrived in Malham
it was dark, we left our bags in the youth hostel and took a walk as a group around the small village. We
soon found the recreation room in the hostel and everyone from both schools spent the night chatting and
getting to know one another. There were some very enthusiastic geographers from both our schools who
were even talking about their geographical studies at 11pm on the Friday night! After a tiring day of school
and the long journey down it did not take long for us to get to sleep that night.
Saturday started off early with breakfast in the hostel. We then took a walk up to the top of Malham Cove.
The view from the limestone pavement was picturesque. Our walk continued over to Gordale Scar – a
spectacular gorge. In the afternoon we took a short bus journey to White Scar Cave where we spent two
hours on a guided tour looking at the underground limestone features before returning back home on
Saturday night.
“The geography trip to Malham was extremely
worthwhile and was very interesting. We were able
to visit many of the features that we will need to
talk about in our exam. Experiencing the limestone
landscape in person made the information we’d
been taught in class a lot easier to understand.
Crawling through White Scar Cave was a lot more
exciting (and a lot colder) than work in the
classroom.” Michael Storey S6
Article - Miss A Iafrate
Dragons’ Den News
The Dragons’ Den team would like to thank
everybody who came along to the inaugural
showing of Mrs Doubtfire at the end of September.
Maths Challenge News
Five 5th year girls took part in the UKMT Maths
Olympiad for Girls (MOG) at the end of September.
This is a very testing paper, taking 2.5 hours, with
the purpose of encouraging more girls to take an
interest in Maths and Technology.
Thanks to a fantastic and enthusiastic audience,
the team made £200 profit which will help to
making improvements to the Theatre.
The team’s hard work and dedication has been
recognised as “an example of excellence” within
Renfrewshire council and a number of pupils have
been invited to speak to Head Teachers from
within the authority, details of which will be in the
next newsletter.
We are delighted to report that all of the girls will
get a certificate of participation in this very
challenging event.
The girls are:
Katie Bone
Nuala McBrearty Forde
Kimberley Simpson
Katherine Bogan
Nian Liu
You can view the paper that the girls sat here –
http://www.bmoc.maths.org/home/ukmog2014.pdf
In addition, Nian Lui excelled in the paper, gaining a
Distinction.
Nian Lui and Kim Simpson along with S6 pupils
David Bogan and Hannah Pratt are going to
represent the school in a Team Maths Challenge,
organised by UKMT at UWS, Paisley Campus on
Friday 7 November. We wish them good luck and
will tell you how they got on in the December
newsletter.
Be sure to look out for details about our upcoming
showings in December which will have a Christmas
theme to get everyone in the festive spirit.
Article - Mr C Deans, Computing
Mrs M Campbell, Maths
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Friday 3 October marked an annual event on the school calendar where staff
enjoyed a coffee and some home baking all for a very good cause – the
Macmillan nurses.
The morning was organised by the Newly Qualified teaching staff with help
from Mrs McAleavy and other staff from the Science Department. Many lovely
raffle prizes had been collected by staff in previous weeks and this added to the
atmosphere and money raised.
£343 was raised from the Coffee Morning and Raffle.
At lunchtime, Mr Johnson had been persuaded (by science staff!!) to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge
with the money going to Macmillan nurses. Staff and pupils paid to enter a draw with the prize being to
throw a n….ice cold bucket of water over Mr Johnson watched by a lot of pupils! This event was a great
success and raised £175 which was an amazing total.
In all, staff and pupils were able to hand over the sum of £518 for this excellent cause.
Well done to all those involved and a particular thanks to the ladies making the tea and coffee and to Mr
Johnson for being happy to be ‘soaked’.
Photographs – Molly Gibb S1 and Emily Irving S2
Regeneration
– S3 Theatre Visit –
A theatre trip organised by the English and History
Departments as a contribution to inter-disciplinary
learning.
Article:
Recently, third year pupils were given the
opportunity to go and see ‘Regeneration’, the play
based on the novel by the award-winning author,
Pat Barker, in Edinburgh's Kings Theatre.
The play is set at Craiglockhart Hospital in
Edinburgh during the First World War and it follows
real life war poets - and soldiers- Siegfried Sassoon
and Wilfred Owens, as they receive treatment
there. It also features fictional characters who too
were suffering from the effects of war.
Education Scotland Conversation Day
– Friday 31 October 2014
Six pupils represented Gryffe High School and
Renfrewshire Council at Education Scotland’s
‘Conversation Day’ at Dumfries House.
Hannah Bottone (S6), Calum Russell (S5), Rachel
Boyd (S4), Andrew Grant (S3), Sarah Fairlie (S2) and
Will Hobbs (S1) embraced the occasion, willing to
share their thoughts and opinions confidently on
‘Transforming Lives through Learning’ by fully
engaging in individual/group tasks with other
pupils from across Scotland.
It was an excellent opportunity for pupils to unite
with their peers from various backgrounds and
education stages, establishing learning pathways
designed to meet the skills development needs of
each individual. From curriculum structure and
subject choices to Work Experience and alternative
career paths – we talked about it all!!
The pupils were also able to speak to professionals
from a variety of organisations such as The
University of the West of Scotland, The Institution
of Engineering and Technology and Prince’s Trust.
The information and advice given about
appropriate career options for them was
invaluable. It certainly opened their eyes to the
World of Work and what the future may hold......
Parents are encouraged to visit the website below
for more information.
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/parentzone
/index.asp
The play was a great opportunity for all pupils
involved, giving us the chance to learn about the
emotional, physical and mental impact of war on
soldiers. It was great to see the audience of the
theatre was packed with young individuals, like me,
showing a keen interest in this topic and has
certainly reminded us of the importance of
continuing to remember those who made huge
sacrifices in the name of war.
Article - Euan Huey, S3
Gryffestyles Poetry Competition Winners and 3k Picture Special
Enjoy our gallery from the 3k fun run which took place just as last month’s newsletter was going to print.
The results are also now in from the judging of the S1 Gryffestyles Poetry Competition from the English
Department.
The standard of entry was extremely high. As well as OVERALL CLASS WINNERS, many other pupils have
achieved MERIT AWARDS for their efforts (this could be content, presentation or both).
Overall Class Winners :Lewis Da Silva
Rowan Johnson
Nicola Armstrong Cervantes
Ryan Sims
Marc Sermanni
Nairn McKeon
Merit Awards
Hannah Wilson, Amy Frew, Kirsten MacKinnon, Dylan Muir, Hamish McLaren, Lee Robertson, Andrew
Norval, Nicole Hagen, Emma Ross, Alisha Sivell, Eoghan Small, Kristin Bowden, Shannon Howard, Rachel
Adams, Bryony Maule and Jack Young
Very well done to all of these pupils!!
Mrs K Anderson PT English
St. Mirren’s
centre
forward
Steven
Thomson
starts the 3k
Fun Run
3k FUN RUN
Kane and Jay
dressed to
kill..... their
usual party
gear!
New Minibus for School
The school has taken delivery of a new minibus
which we have been planning for over the past
few years. This will allow more flexibility for the
school in terms of both small curricular and extra
curricular groups going out of school. Previously
the school has had to hire transport externally
which was proving to be very expensive. We see
this as a very sound investment for the school.
Mr Scott Taylor
Education Support Manager
Gryffe High School
Photographs – Lucy Cameron S1
Upcoming priorities/events
NOVEMBER
Mon 3
Wed 5
Thurs 6
Fri 7
Start of Remembrance Assemblies Week
Parent Council Meeting, 7:00 pm start
Newsletter uploaded onto website
MAD Event
Non-uniform Day –Foodbank contributio
Wear something red day
Tue 11
Thurs 13
S1 Interim Reports issued
S1 Parents’ Meeting, 4:30pm start
Mon 17
Thurs 20
Fri 21
Anti-Bullying Week
National 5 Exams start – Practical
Xmas Child Shoebox appeal final
– shoe day
Mon 24
Thurs 27
RRSA Steering Group Meeting
Big Questions Conference
PTA Christmas Fayre
St Andrew’s Day Events
Fri 28
DECEMBER
Mon 1
Tue 2
Wed 3
Thurs 4
Fri 5
HOLIDAY – St Andrew’s Day
Start of National 5 Prelim Examinations
Newsletter uploaded onto website
Young Enterprise semi finals at Soar
S3 PSE Event
S5/6 Main Reports issued to pupils
Mr Colin Johnson
Head Teacher

File - Gryffe High School

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