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Volume 5, Issue 4

February 2016

18 events in the compe-tition and Lanark pupils won 8 finishing as run-ners-up in 4 where the final was wholly con-tested by Lanark Gram-mar pupils. What an amazing achievement for all of those involved. However their success stems from a great deal of hard work as the squad train at the Lanark Badminton Club held in the YMCA in Lanark on Fridays and at the Gram-mar each week. Such is the reputation of the Lanark Badminton Club that there is currently a waiting list to join. If you

The Lanark Grammar School Badminton Squad are going from strength to strength as the Senior Team has already man-aged to qualify to repre-sent Lanarkshire in the Scottish Schools Quaich Team event in March. The School’s Badminton talent continued to excel as both the Senior and Junior Squad will repre-sent Lanarkshire in the Scottish Schools Quaich in the Individuals event through their recent success at the Lanark-shire Schools Badminton Championships held at the Ravenscraig Sports Complex in Motherwell. Indeed the LGS over-whelmed the opposition completely as there was

Badminton Brilliance 1-2

News from the Head Teacher 3

News in Brief 3

Girls into Physics 4

S2 Enterprise Day 4

Girls Football 5

Holocaust Memorial Day 6

Expressive Arts 7

Spelling Bee 8

ASN Visit 8

Rugby Super-Select 9

Important Dates 9

Inside this issue:

are interested in becom-ing the next LGS Badmin-ton ace then speak to Mr Robson or Mr Kilgour for information as both are involved in supporting the LGS Badminton Squad in their endeav-ours.

E Meechan

Badminton Brilliance

The successful Girls Senior Squad Sarah Kennedy, Georgie French, Lauren Kennedy and Sarah Lowe.

Captain’s Blog

Page 2

played our first few games which we unfortunately lost but the teams we were against have been playing

with each other since 1st year so it’s just given us even more motivation to train harder so that we can get better.

I’m happy to announce that the Lanark Grammar’s Got Talent be-fore Christmas was a great success

with ‘Fourth Legacy’ as our winners. I had the privilege of hosting the show and I was truly impressed by the high standard of performance by all the acts - It certainly gave the judges an extremely hard decision to make. I’d just like to thank every-one who took part in the organising and running of the show, everyone who came along to watch and a big well done to all of our acts who proved that Lanark Grammar really does have talent!

It’s also been great to see everyone in the school really enter into the learning of Makaton and it is greatly appreciated by all the ASN staff and pupils who are enjoying being able to communicate much better with the other pupils in the school. I think everyone is enjoyed the Makaton Christmas Advent Calen-dar too where we are all learning how to sign lots of new words.

Hope you survived the prelims and best of luck for the year ahead!

Robyn Patrick

School Captain

I am honoured to have been se-lected by my fellow pupils and staff to be one of your School Captains this year alongside Billy, Ailie and Jennifer. We all get on so well and will work extremely hard this year to contribute to the school and help achieve as much as we can in our final year here.

Many of you will know me as a swimmer or just sporty person in general so I am really hoping that by leading by example I can en-courage and motivate lots of pu-pils to take up more sporting ac-tivities whether it is within or out with the school.

I have recently started up the Sen-ior Girls Netball Team which has been a club that I have always wanted in the school. It is great to be able to represent the school within a sports team and I am en-joying getting to know the other girls on the team. We train on Tuesdays after school from 4 till 5 so I would encourage any 4th to 6th years to come along. Don’t worry if you haven’t played before as we are all at the learning stage and it is just a bit of fun. We have already

Badminton Brilliance - The Results

The winning results were as follows:

Under 13 Girls Singles- Jessica Robson 1W1

Under 16 Boys Singles- Danny Robson 3J1 (runner-up Calum Strang 3J1)

Under 16 Boys Doubles- Danny Robson and Calum Strang

Under 16 Mixed Doubles- Danny Robson and Jessica Robson

Under 19 Boys Singles - Ben Strang 5B2

Under 19 Boys Doubles- Ben Strang and Owen Robson 5L1

Under 19 Girls Singles- Sarah Kennedy 6J2 (runner-up Lauren Kennedy 6B1 )

Under 19 Girls Doubles- Sarah Kennedy and Lauren Kennedy Photo by O Robson

Social Media

There are many benefits to young people’s use of social me-dia and, in a technologically ad-vancing world, as teachers and parents we have a responsibility to ensure that all pupils maxi-mise their skills and insight into this important aspect of commu-

nication and learning.

Over recent weeks however, particularly among pupils in S1-S3, we have seen an increasing number of incidents where social

media is being used in an inap-propriate fashion both in terms of direct electronic communica-tion among groups of individuals but also, subsequently, in inter-

personal conflict.

Some pupils seem to adopt a different language and context to their online communication which they would not initiate in face-to-face dialogue. A num-ber of parents we have spoken to over recent weeks have been quite concerned by the content of their child’s social media ac-counts. Such communication can often lead to interpersonal difficulties among the individuals involved but this can often be fuelled by other pupils who are on the periphery of the online communication but then take a role in adding to any difficulties which exist rather than adopting a more calming and caring ap-proach to concerns among their

friends and peers.

During recent assemblies, I have spoken to all year groups about the concerns around this area and sought their support. In particular, I have sought the

News from the Head Teacher

Page 3

Head Teacher Mr Mark Sherry

support of our older pupils in looking after younger brothers

and sisters and friends.

I have also spoken to our Parent Council about these concerns and would ask that all parents take an active interest in their children’s use of social media including reviewing the content

and language which is used.

Information on online safety can be found on the school’s website

through the following link:

http://www.lanark.s-lanark.sch.uk/parents-

information/child-protection/

In January 2016, the Scottish Government launched a new online safety campaign called ‘Keeping our children safe’. It can be accessed through the fol-

lowing link:

http://www.lanark.s-lanark.sch.uk/2016/02/keeping-

our-children-safe/

Just to wish our mu-sic teacher Mrs Black a fond fare-well as she travelled with her family to Australia at the end of 2015. She will be

sadly missed and we wish her a fabulous future in the land ’ Down Under’.

J Brown

News in Brief

Andrews Hospice 6k Sponsored Run—The Final Total

£4319.09

This total includes the money gained from Gift Aid (which is why getting that box ticked and details filled in properly is soooo important…).

That’s the LGS Community that we sometimes for-get. Thanks once again to every single solitary soul who took part, raised sponsor money or sponsored someone. Your contribution is invaluable.

M McCrindle

Page 4

Girls into Physics and Engineering

The day closed with a panel session

where some of the workshop pre-

senters answered questions about

their career choices and their cur-

rent roles. It was obvious from the

buzz in the hall, the questions and

Recently Lanark Grammar S3 Girls attended the ‘Girls Into Physics and En-gineering’ event at George Wat-son’s College in

Edinburgh to learn more about the exciting opportunities open to them should they decide to study Physics or Engineering.

The girls, working in groups went to seven workshops over the day. The activities included working with liq-uid nitrogen to make ice cream, constructing model bridges and testing their strength, building and using small hydrogen fuel cells to run model cars, investigating the properties of light, making a model rocket and launching it, using Phys-ics in health monitoring and learn-ing how to work as a team.

the feedback from staff and girls

that this event is very worthwhile

and will encourage girls to consider

this career path.

M. Rabie

S2 Enterprise Day

Our second year pupils recently took part in an Enterprise Day aimed at developing team work, communication and creativity skills.

The challenge was to develop a pop up shop for the Regent Shopping Centre in Hamilton considering;

demographic, unique sell-ing point and costing as well as designing logos, shop layouts, and mascots.

The winning groups from each class had the oppor-tunity to present in front

of the full year group and visiting entrepre-neurs who selected an overall winner.

Congratulations to

Emily Bryce, Neve Bur-

rows, Laura Chekansky

and Harrison Mason

from 2H1 who were

selected as the overall

winning group.

The Enterprise Group are also plan-

ning to hole an Enterprise Day for

S1 pupils before the end of term.

J Lafferty

The winning team of Harrison Mason, Laura Chekansky, Emily Bryce and Neve Burrows.

One of the teams presenting their business ideas.

starting to play football. Special mentions go to our goal scorers Neve Burrows, Chloe Forrest and Zara Higgins and Mr Barr for his refereeing know-how.

Following a suc-cessful trial, Chloe, one of our amazing goal scorers was selected to join the Celtic U15’s squad.

This is a fantastic achievement for Chloe who is just 13 years old! Very well done!

and working really well as a team.

The second half started strong with Lanark looking confident and scor-ing two quick goals. The team talk from Biggar’s coach at half time must have been some inspirational stuff as they had a number of shots on target, with our keeper, Holly Rolls, doing a fantastic job at keep-ing these at bay. A cracker of a goal was scored by Biggar from the half-way line 10 minutes into the second half - things were beginning to heat up! This was followed by a second

Lanark Girls Football Team beat the weather and Big-gar High School

Recently our very own Lanark Grammar School Girls Football Team took on Biggar High School in their first friendly of the year. The scene was set, Biggar had arranged their flight over to Lanark from Big-gar on the Monday afternoon, and we had shiny new boots on (Nike CR7s in case you were wondering) but the weather had threatened to ruin it all. On pitch inspection, a fundamental part of a PE teacher’s life, it was what can only be de-scribed as “soggy”. The weather was closely monitored as the day pro-gressed and by period 5, it was looking somewhat hopeful!

Fast forward to 4pm and the game was in full-flow. Admittedly, both teams were a little tentative to begin with, with ‘sorrys’ when the ball was taken from them and invisible space bubbles around each player that prohibited any nasty tackles. Twenty minutes in and both teams had found their feet. The game was be-ginning to take shape and Lanark had scored their first goal – 1-0. There were many more scoring opportunities for Lanark but the Biggar goalie had brought her A game that day, not much was getting past her. By half time, Lanark were 1-0 up

Lanark Girls Football Team Victorious

Page 5

Girl’s Football, which runs every Tuesday lunchtime, is always looking for new players – so please come along as all wel-come from S1-4!

L Rankine

goal from Biggar that bounced over Holly’s head and no matter how much she stretched, her finger tips could barely brush the ball. 3-2. I’m

getting nervous. With min-utes to go, Biggar were pushing to score an equalis-ing goal however, Lanark did a tremendous job of defending and with the final whistle blown, Lanark were

victorious!

This was a fantastic effort from all of the girls, many of whom are just

On Friday 5th Febru-ary, S5 and S6 pupils met during registra-tion and period 1 to

commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. We were pleased to have two of our local councillors, Catherine McClymont and Ed Archer, in atten-dance, along with Hazel Wishart, Chairperson of the Parent Council, to see the importance our pupils place on Holocaust education.

This year, our S6 Ambassa-dors for the Lessons from Auschwitz pro-gramme were Zach McGinnies and Ailie Sin-clair. Ambassa-dors commit to playing a key role in the Holocaust Educational Trust’s work in educating about the Holocaust and subsequent geno-cides:

“Ambassadors are young people that have shown a commitment to enabling as many people as possible to benefit from what they have learnt. Holocaust Educational Trust Ambassadors have been invested with the responsibility for delivering a powerful message to their peers and wider communities: the impor-tance of challenging prejudice, pro-moting tolerance and never again allowing hatred to gain a foothold in society.”

Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust

The Ambassadors explained their role in Holocaust education in LGS, which has included visits to all S2 RME classes, and shared their

Holocaust Memorial Day 2016

Page 6

Lessons from Auschwitz Ambassadors Zach McGinnies and Ailie Sinclair.

thoughts and feelings on their visit to Poland with the Holocaust Edu-cational Trust. They then intro-duced an emotive presentation, compiled by John Zawadski, of im-ages from World War II and visits to Poland, including one in which many LGS pupils participated. Rev Susan Durham, one of our school chaplains, then led a reflection on this year’s theme for Holocaust Me-morial Day, Don’t Stand By.

The hope of the Am-bassador pro-gramme this year is that pupils will focus on individ-ual acts of kindness

that signify they will not turn a blind eye when those around face preju-dice or victimisation. S2 pupils have learned from the Ambassadors about the ways in which bystanders created cultures in which genocides were able to take place, and about the rescuers and resisters who chal-lenged this. The Assembly encour-aged S5 and S6 pupils to consider the ways in which they can choose not to be bystanders.

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has written powerfully about the im-pact of bystanders:

“I swore never to be silent when-ever and wherever human be-ings endure suffering and hu-miliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the op-pressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

P Kerr

For someone who has visited the camps previously, I found the trip incredibly educational and informa-tive. It was still a shock going for the second time, which was a reaction I expected. The excursion resulted in a day trip to Poland and to the two concentration camps. By becoming involved in this, Zac McGinnies and myself have become “Lessons For Auschwitz” Ambassadors and are responsible for sharing our experi-ence with others. The trip has helped me to fully understand the suffering and cruelty the prisoners were subjected to. It has allowed me to develop an independent opinion regarding discrimination and the important role equality has within our society. I believe that everyone should visit the camps and surrounding areas at least once, if not to learn about what happened there and also to pay respects to those who perished.

Ailie Sinclair LFA Ambassador

Creative and Aesthetic Faculty is hosting this years Expressive Arts Evening on Wednesday 16 March

2016 in the Street area of Lanark Grammar School starting at 7.00 pm. This evening celebrates the creative work of our pu-pils from S1 to S6 and covers the subjects of Music, Art and Drama. This evening is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lan-ark who kindly donate the prize money, trophies and form part of the judging

panel. Pupils will display their skills in a variety of ways including per-forming monologues, singing or performing on a musical instru-ment. There will also be artwork on show in our ‘Gallery of Excel-lence’ and a slideshow of Photogra-phy by our exceptional pupils.

J Brown/E Meechan

Photo J Brown

Lanark Grammar’s Celebration of the Arts

Page 7

Christmas Concert on Wednesday the 10th of December. There were around 170 pupils involved in show-

casing their many talents. Items in the concert included our Samba Band, Junior Wind Band, Choir, Sen-ior Woodwind Ensemble and more. To further entertain the audience of staff, pupils and parents the Drama Club showed off their dramatic skills also. Well done to all of our fantas-tic performers and by way of recog-nising the talent of our pupil and all of the hard work that is done to pro-duce such creative excellence the

Lanark Grammar School Presents

Expressive Arts Awards Evening 2016 7.00pm Wednesday 16th March

Tickets available at the door

Lanark Grammar pupils who are involved in the Arts have enjoyed great success during this academic year and their talents are in great demand as our School Choir and Samba Band were in-volved in perform-ances at the Lanark Lifestyles Christmas Fayre on the 4th of December. They per-formed exceptionally well and created a fan-tastic atmosphere to start off the festive season. A number of our senior pupils were also involved in entertaining the community with a variety of music as pupils were invited to perform as part of a Christmas lunch at New Lanark Mill Hotel to over 100 guests. Pupils per-formed solos and as part of the Sen-ior Woodwind Ensemble. To round off a very successful 2015 for our musicians he Faculty of Creative and Aesthetics held their annual

Young Musician of the Year

Junior Section S1-S3, Senior Section S4-S6

Young Singer of the Year

Junior Section S1-S3, Senior Section S4-S6

Young Actor of the Year - All Years

Young Artist of the Year - All Years

Young Photographer of the Year - All Years

Spelling Bee 2015

Some of the pupils from the ASN department visited Murrayfield rugby stadium in November as part of a class topic. The pupils were given a guided tour of the stadium. They were shown round the direc-tor’s boxes, the BBC sports studios, the changing rooms and the royal box. They then got to show off their new found skills they have been learning in school on the pitch.

When they arrived at Murrayfield,

the pupils were greeted by a mem-

ber of staff who spoke to them and

also used Makaton sign language.

This member of staff then contin-

ued to sign the whole tour and

speak to the children using Maka-

ton. Murrayfield staff had con-

tacted Lanark Grammar prior to the

visit to ask for signs to learn so as

they could communicate with the

pupils. This was excellent for our

pupils and as a result the pupils

thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

D Hughes

On the 24th of November, there was a “buzz” of excitement as the Eng-lish Department at Lanark Grammar School held the third ‘Inter- Primary Schools Spelling Bee.’ Teams at-tended from twelve associated prima-ries.

In round one, teams from Carstairs Junc-tion Primary, Robert Owen Memorial Pri-mary, Rigside Pri-mary, St Mary’s Pri-mary, New Lanark Primary and Lanark Primary competed. Carstairs Junction Primary, Robert Owen Memorial Pri-mary and St Mary’s Primary were the highest scorers in the round and made it to the final.

In round two, teams from Douglas Primary, Carmichael Primary, Car-stairs Primary, Braehead Primary and Underbank Primary competed. The team from Underbank Primary were clear victors in this round and made it through to the final.

In the tense final round, Underbank Primary, Carstairs Junction Primary, Robert Owen Memorial Primary and St Mary’s Primary were put through

their paces. The Spell Master chal-lenged the four teams in the ‘Quick- Fire’ round and ‘Spelling Play- off’ round with words such as ‘spaghetti’, ‘questionnaire’ and ‘mischievous’ – not an easy task. This was a closely fought contest. Carstairs Junction Primary finished in third place with a respectable 22 points. The team from Underbank

Primary were second with a score of 28 but St Mary’s amassed the grand total of 30 points to lift the trophy for the THIRD year in a row!

The winning spell-ers were Molly O’Neil, Elizabeth Salomons, Char-lotte Wilson and Oliver Donald. They did excep-tionally well.

Congratulations to all competitors. They showed they were indeed “successful learn-ers” and “confident indi-viduals”.

The Spelling Bee was enjoyed by all and St.Mary’s will no doubt be back next year to try to win the trophy for an impressive fourth year in a row.

Well done to the competitors from

all the primary schools who partici-

pated.

H MacKenzie

Page 8

ASN pupils enjoying their Murrayfield ex-perience

ASN visit Murrayfield

Page 9

Phone: 01555 667520 Fax: 01555 667521

Important Dates

Lanark Grammar has a

great tradition of pro-

ducing a wealth of

sporting talent. Our

latest Rugby stars are

brothers Lewis and

Matthew Stewart of 4L1

who whilst they have already been

successful in their sporting careers

by making the team at Biggar

Rugby Club have now moved up a

level by making the Glasgow Select

V OL U M E 5 , I S S UE 4

Please find below, information about important dates in the school calendar. I hope that you find it helpful.

Kirklands Road Lanark

ML11 9AJ

Head Teacher : Mr. Mark Sherry

Rugby Union Super-Select

In-service Days are as follows:

Day 5: Thursday 5 May 2016

Information Evenings are as follows:

S1/S2 Course Choices : Tuesday 8 March 7.00-9.00pm

play at the weekends.

Recently both brothers

had the great experience

of playing at Murrayfield

for the select and whilst

they lost to Caledonia 20-

10 Matthew playing cen-

tre managed to get his

name on the score sheet.

Both Lewis and Matthew

are hopeful one day to

become Rugby profes-

sionals or be involved in

sport in some capacity.

Lanark Grammar is very

proud of their achievements , to

date, and no doubt there will be

more to report in the near future.

E Meechan

team. Again hard work over the

years has paid off for these rugby

athletes as they have been involved

in the sport since the age of 8 and

currently train 3 times a week and

Holidays are as follows:

Easter Weekend : Close of school Thursday 24 March returning Tuesday 29 March

Spring Break : Close of school Friday 1 April returning Monday 18 April