issue 31 - november 2014

Dressing to imPRESS:Link scoops topnational award!During May we heard that the Larbert Link was shortlisted forthree awards at the imPRESS Scottish Schools Media award -Best Original Photography, Inspirational Teacher (for MissMacGowan) and Scottish Schools Newsletter of the Year.Four of the pupils involved in the creation of the Larbert Link -Kirsty Gardiner, Cody Izatt, Annabelle McLaren and BaileyStewart, along with Mr Dunne and Miss MacGowan, went toDynamic Earth in Edinburgh to the award ceremony. In the endwe scooped the prestigious title of Scottish School’s Newsletter ofthe Year 2014! A big thank you goes out to everyone who hashelped the Link get to this point:Senior Editors – Kirsty Gardiner and Jordan AllanJournalists – Annabelle McLaren, Cody Izatt, Bailey Stewart, IainTannahill, Sarah Dobson, Zahra Javid and Richenda Rae.Photography – Simona Minchella

Issue 31 Nov 2014

LARBERTlink

Welcome to the 31st edition of Larbert Link and a verywarm welcome back to the new session to all of ouryoung people and their families, particularly if you are

joining our school community for the first time. The LarbertLink will keep you informed on all that’s happening withinLarbert High and I’m very grateful to the talented team ofyoung people who produce this publication with the supportof Mr Dunne, it is greatly appreciated.

This session started very positively with some excellent news forall of our young people who were nervously awaiting SQAexam results over the summer. However, there need not havebeen any nerves as the results our young people produced thisyear were superb – maintaining outstanding results from thelast few years and reaching new, record heights in somemeasures. We expect that we will be amongst the top fortyschools in Scotland (from over 400) for our results in S5 and wehave exceeded the local and national figures in all measures.When you couple this with our lowest ever levels of exclusionand some of our highest ever attendance rates, we really are ina good position – young people attending school, behavingwell and achieving first-class results. Thank you to everyonewho helped with this – particularly our parents who providedmuch-needed support at home.

We were very excited to welcome everyone back following theholidays (especially our new S1!) and it was also a greatpleasure to welcome our thirty-one new members of staff. Amixture of permanent appointments, probationers in their firstyear of teaching or staff who are joining our Cluster team forPE and Music (we’re piloting a project in Falkirk to enhance the

delivery of these subjects and aid curriculartransition in our cluster schools), I know they have all beenwarmly welcomed and impressed by what they have seen so farand are really getting involved in the life of the school. I’d alsolike to congratulate David Nairn in our Maths department whohas been promoted to Principal Teacher in another authority.David has made an excellent contribution and will be sorelymissed by all of us.

As always, there is a lot happening and you can see what we’llbe working on in our Improvement Plan (a summary version isavailable on the website). We’re really excited about thelaunch of our Leadership Academy for pupils in S1-6 (our wayof increasing pupil voice and involvement in the school), ourfocus on Health & Wellbeing (promoting mental, emotional,social and physical health in our young people), the 70 extra-curricular clubs and activities on offer this year (our highestever number) and our new Pupil Leadership Team will shortlylaunch this year’s Captains’ Challenge.

Please keep in touch with us. The website (larberthigh.com) isupdated several times a week, follow us on Twitter(@LarbertHigh) or send us an email([email protected]). We’re here to support allof our young people achieve their very best and if somethingisn't right, then we’ll do our best to fix it. Equally, let us knowwhat you’re pleased about so we can further build on it.

In the meantime, enjoy reading this edition of the Link. I lookforward to seeing all of you in the coming weeks and months.Thanks for your support.

Best Wishes

Jon Reid, Rector.

A Message from the Rector

LARBERTlink - Nov 2014

Around the Corridors

MUSIC NOTESThe Associated Board of the RoyalSchools of Music (ABRSM) is anexaminations board and registeredcharity based in London, which provides

music examinations at schools around the

world. ABRSM’s employees are the best

of the best, and together have hundreds

of years of expert musical experience. No

authority has higher expectations that

ABRSM.Not easily intimidated, a group ofLarbert High pupils recently attempted

the notoriously difficult exams – andpassed with flying colours! A massive

congratulations is due to RachelVickerman (S4) who not only passedher Grade 3 examination, but did sowith extra merit. Bethany Duffell (S2)

and Matthew McCulloch (S3) alsopassed their Grade 2 examination.This just goes to show the hard work

and dedication put in by both thepupils and the outstanding staff that

make up Larbert’s music department.

RMPSIn September, a group of pupils studying RMPS at higherlevel got the chance to visit the Samye Ling Buddhist templenear the borders, one of the largest Buddhist temples inWestern Europe. It was an excellent opportunity for pupils tolearn more about Buddhism and to see what real life is likefor a Buddhist. The pupils took a tour of the impressivetemple and its grounds, and also got the chance to trymeditation! They then got the chance to talk to some

Buddhists andmonks who lived at the temple and were given theopportunity to ask questions. This trip seemed to be verypopular amongst the group of pupils who went and allowedthem to develop their knowledge of the Buddhism topic aspart of the higher course. The trip was very successful andmany pupils commented that they were surprised to see aplace as remarkable as Samye Ling right here in Scotland.

SEONAID RAE

Music to theKelpies’ EarsTo some, the Helix Park is just a greatplace to relax, have fun and spend timewith friends. To others it marks just howmuch of an impact we can all make if weset our minds to it – turning a derelictpiece of ground into one of Falkirk’sbusiest attractions. You might even see itas a great project, used to unite sixteensmaller communities around Scotland intoa more close-knit community. Whateveryour view, we can all agree that The Helixhas benefitted the community in a massiveway.At the Link we like to acknowledge thosewho go the extra mile to help their localcommunities in any way they can. That’swhy we would like to acknowledge theviolinists Darcie Izatt (S4) and DanielDickson (S2) as well as the percussionmasters Stuart Jones (former S6) andSophie Livingston (S4) for their trulyamazing efforts in relation to the openingceremony of the Helix Park. The four arean integral part of the working of theHelix orchestra, and are the embodimentof Larbert’s musical excellence.

Jordan Allan

All Shook UpAfter seven weeks of summ

er

holidays, school is back in full swing…

but with some changes.

Apart from the usual marriages, births

and retirements the very structure of

the timetable has changed; Larbert

High is now running on a 33 period

week. As you will no doubt already

know, this involves having three

shorter days and two long days. The

short days feature the usual 6 periods

and the long days have an extra

period, between break and lunch.

These extra periods mean that class

teachers can optimize the time they

have with the class in order to

incorporate the new Curriculum For

Excellence content and exams.

Most pupils love the changes, because

it means that they’re out of class

before even the primary schools. For

the busiest pupils the changes also

give the opportunity to take part in

some after school activities, such as

after school sport clubs, or personal

study.

Ryan Traynor

JewelleryFor the last six we

eks, the first years have been

investigating Scottish identity along

with the jeweller

Peter Chang. Each class interpreted t

he artist and

theme in a different way as they inv

estigated the

theme of what Scotland meant to th

em. They then

began to think about how these fee

lings and ideas

could be conveyed through jewellery

. Along with

jewellery some students opted to de

sign head wear

as well.

Peter Chang is a British jeweller who

is

inspired by the ocean and found

objects. The classes experimented w

ith

these ideas also; bringing in found

objects to burn and melt into pieces

of

jewellery. They experimented with

different shapes, patterns and colour

s as

well as painted metals and wire.

FIONA BURTON

LARBERTlink - Nov 2014 page 3

ARTS WORKSHOPLarbert High pupils have been on the road, taking Arts workshops on a tour of our cluster primaries. After the workshop atKinnaird, the staff were so impressed that the pupils were invited back to lead a Commonwealth ceilidh.

Let’s dance!In Spring 2014, two Larbert High p

upils – Kirsty

Gardiner (S6) and Megan Walker (S5) – took part in the

national dance competition, TalentFest UK. The girls

competed through their dance school, Broadway

School of Performing Arts, in a group of 16 ranging in

ages from 7-17 and reached the National Finals in 6

categories with 9 acts from the school. This means

that the girls have the opportunity to travel to

Blackpool in September to compete, and have the

possibility to meet industry professionals such as Adam

Garcia, Duncan James, Marlon, and, if they win, receive

the awards from Joey Essex!

As well as this, Megan reached the final of the

Pineapple dance studio improvisation section, fighting

for the chance to receive a scholarship to their summer

programme. And on August 1st, Kirsty found heard

she’d been shortlisted as one of only six people in the

UK for the Inspiration Award. This awards people for

using Performing Arts for a charitable purpose. Their

teacher Adele Wallace has also been shortlisted as Best

Teacher. This is a massive achievement with thousands

of competitors entering the competition from all over!

Well done to everyone involved!

Sharlie Gilchrist

Captains 2014-15After the success of last year’s captains and prefects a new set ofleaders have been chosen to follow in their footsteps. The newLeadership Academy System has been formed to allow pupils todevelop the leadership qualities essential for day to day life andto gain responsibility. After a very tough selection processinvolving over one hundred sixth year pupils, Larbert High’s newS6 Leaders, 32 Leadership Captains, 9 House Captains, 2 Vicecaptains and 2 School captains have been chosen.Congratulations to you all!

This year the Captaincy team involves:

Lisa Carlow and Grant Walker – School Captains

Kirsty Gardiner and Fraser Steel – Vice Captains

Hannah Busby, Christopher Inglis and Kerry Logan – Lewis HouseCaptains

Michael Hills,Richenda Rae andClaire Williamson –Harris HouseCaptains

Jamie Macintosh,Abigail Meason andJack Thomson – SkyeHouse Captains

Annabelle McLaren


Not so TrashyThe average human being produces one and a halftonnes of waste every year. Seventy five per cent ofthis is recyclable, but our species only manages toreuse thirty per cent. Often we don’t realise howmuch of an impact our efforts can make – recyclingjust one aluminium can save enough energy to listento a full album on your iPod, and recycling onehundred cans could save enough to light yourbedroom for two weeks.

On Friday the 5th of September S5 and S6 pupilsgathered in the assembly hall for a completelydifferent kind of talk. The pupils were shown thedocumentary, “Trashed” as part of a local Reduce,Reuse, Recycle programme, in an effort to kerb theglobal problems which start right here, at home. Thedocumentary, presented by Hollywood actor JeremyIrons, told the terrifyingly true tale of how all of ouractions are killing our planet. The truly movingdocumentary told the story from beginning to end –encompassing many different issues, such as the costof our lifestyles to potential alternatives and waysforward.

All Larbert pupils have the ability to make adifference; we can start by doing our bit at home,and can continue that during our time at school byrecycling responsibly and also by joining the ecocommittee.

Jordan Allan

Olympic Team TalkOn the 22nd of September, Paralympic gold medalwinner Naomi Riches visited Larbert High School tospeak to senior pupils. In her presentation, sheexplained the difficulties of being visually impairedand how she overcame these to become a worldchampion rower for Great Britain. Drawing on herexperiences from rowing as part of a team of four atthe Beijing and London Paralympics, she inspired andmotivated the pupils to feel as if they could also reachtheir goals. After her main presentation, Naomi held asmall session with the captaincy team to speak aboutteam work and how to plan for success. Naomi, whoalso has a degree in Jewellery and Metalworking andan MBE, has now retired from full time sport tomotivate others after a dedicated career of drivingthe development of Para-Rowing.

Richenda Rae

Commonwealth Gold!On the 17th of September 2014, Larbert High Schoolhad a very special visitor: Eilidh Child

Eilidh Child is a Scottish track and field athlete whospecialises in the 400 metres hurdles. She representedGreat Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in Londonand holds the Scottish record for the 400 metreshurdles with 54.22 sec.

Eilidh came into the school for the day and done somemicro sessions which involved practices involvingrunning and the hurdles with chosen P7’s, EliteAthletes and also people who were chosen from theSchool of Sport for good behaviour.


To See or Not to See?It’s once more that time of year - the ShakespeareSchools Festival is back once again and Larbert High istaking part for the second time.

After the success of the school’s adaptation ofShakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Festival lastyear, the school is aiming for another success this year,this time with ‘The Winter’s Tale’. This time around, theproduction is being headed up by Miss Buckley and MrGibb and consists of a cast of fifteen pupils from S3through to S6.

‘The Winter’s Tale’ tells the story of Leontes, the King ofSicilia, who accuses his wife, Hermione, of having anaffair with, and carrying the child of, the visiting Kingof Bohemia, Polixenes. Hermione is banished from thekingdom and gives birth to a daughter, Perdita, while inexile. Hermione dies and Perdita is left in Bohemia,where she is raised by a shepherd. Sixteen years later,Perdita has fallen in love with Florizel, the son ofPolixenes, but the King forbids the relationship, so thecouple flee to Sicilia, where it is eventually discoveredthat Perdita is actually the daughter of Leontes.

The Festival will take place on the 11th of November inthe Falkirk Town Hall, where Larbert High will performalongside several other schools from the Falkirk area.Tickets will be on sale soon. If interested in buying one,Miss Buckley in the English Department will have all thedetails.

SHARLIE GILCHRIST

S2 pupil Lewis Simpson (SA2) continues his astonishing run ofkarate success, silver in the JKS European Championships inCopenhagen, Bronze in the junior kumite championships atMeadowbank and Gold, Silver and Bronze in team and individualevents in the JKS Ireland Open Championships. He’s been intraining over the summer with world champions in England,Scotland and Belgium, and has been selected to compete in theWorld championships in South Africa next year.

Despite this busy schedule, Lewis also finished the ScottishBikeathon, 26 miles in 2 hours 13 minutes, raising a total of £1680for leukaemia and lymphoma research.

LEWIS POWERS AHEAD

Cycle FriendlySecondary School CampA group of senior pupils applied for a £3000 grant which wouldhelp them take forward a new initiative in school which wouldpromote cycling. The Larbert High group were successful withtheir new concept and will receive the grant of £3000 shortly. Inaddition to this theywere all were invited toa five day residentialcamp during theOctober break. Duringthe camp the pupilsworked with and weresupported by expertsand experienced tutorsfrom Cycling Scotlandto develop their ideasinto an action plan. Thegroup also got a chanceto deliver BikeabilityAwards, Go MTB sessionand participated in acycle maintenancecourse. Havingreturned from the campthe pupils are going tolaunch their newinitiative soon to thewhole school.


On Tuesday 24th June, Larbert High pupils were luckyenough to be a part of a number of celebrationstaking place in the school to mark the passing of theQueen’s baton relay through Larbert. PE teacher, MissMacgowan and former pupils Connor Cloughley andMeghan Plummer were the baton bearers and theygot a big cheer from the crowds as pupils from all thelocal schools lined the route. The baton made its wayfrom Bellsdyke Road to Muirhall Road onto LarbertMain Street then to Kirk Avenue and finally toCarrongrange Road. Celebrations just like took placeall over the UK to prepare for the CommonwealthGames, which, of course, were held in Glasgow thissummer.

After the excitement of the baton passing, moregames and activities were taking place all over theschool. To start with there was music from our DJ’s andthe school band, ‘Rising Pacific’. Karate and Judoshows were also taking place, on the main stage. Theday was jam-packed with shows and activities, withour LHS School of Dance and rugby performing, aswell as a short performance from ex-pupil DionneHickey. The local primary schools also joined in on the

action with dancing and gymnastics being exhibited bypupils from Carronshore, Airth and Stenhousemuirprimaries. Pupils were then lucky enough to be able towatch and join in with performances from NRG danceschool and the cast of Fame.

If pupils fancied a quieter afternoon they were able totake part in many arts and craft activities that weretaking place in the Max. James McInally was workingwith pupils to create ‘one-off’ Commonwealthsculptures using traditional canvas arts techniques.Pupils could then make a puppet of their own withElspeth Murray in a ‘hands on’ workshop that allowedthem to bring their puppet to life. Pupils were alsoable to create their own street art with Chris Young.Face painting was very popular with pupils getting thechance to have their favorite flag painted on their facefor free. Cupcake decorating also went down well andthe queue was right down the Max for this activity allday! Overall the day was a great success and was runsmoothly thanks to help from the new S6 pupils in theLeadership academy.

By Kendall Brown

Biology ChallengeLast year, 29 S3 pupils from Larbert High School took partin the Society of Biology Challenge. The aim of theChallenge is to encourage an interest in Biology beyondthe school curriculum and stimulate curiosity in the naturalworld. This National challenge involves as many pupils aspossible across Scotland, England, Wales and NorthernIreland. Questions were set on the school curriculum butthe Biology Challenge also rewards those students whoseknowledge of the subject has been increased by readingbooks and magazines, watching natural historyprogrammes, taking notice of the news media for items of

biological interest, and are generally aware of our naturalflora and fauna.

5 pupils were recognised by the Society of Biology for theirexcellent achievements within the challenge. RebeccaFerguson achieved a silver award with Emily Henderson,Holly Marshall, Gavin Kane and Isla Slater all achieving abronze certificate. These were presented by the Rector, JonReid at a School Assembly.

Photographs by S4 Photography Pupil Jon Dixon.

BRING ON THE BATON


STAR OF THE SCREENS1 pupil Leah Faulks (SD2) entered the CITV Share a Story competition inApril last year. For the competition she had to submit a storyboard alongsidea single side story.

Leah’s story “The Crocodile Trap” was selected to be one of 8 stories to bemade into a short animation. To complete the animation she got to visit CITVstudios in Manchester to discuss her work with the animators. During the daythey got to see animators work on Compost Corner, watch and present theweather, and do the voice over for their own story with Mark Silk- the voiceof Scooby Doo. As it was decided Leah’s story would be animated withpuppets she had an extra trip to studios in Birmingham where she got to seethe puppets and was shown how the animation was made.

The Health and Wellbeing Faculty have hosted a GiantAfternoon Tea Party and Bake Sale for MacmillanCancer Support raising the handsome sum of £433.

Senior Cupcake Enterprise made boxes of Cupcakes tosell to staff at Halloween. They received a huge 36orders!

MISS J WELSH

SAVING LIVESEVERY DAYOn October 10th, Larbert High School Media pupils workedwith ASDA to create an advert highlighting cycle safetyand the dangers posed by large vehicles, ably assisted bythe LHS cyclingclub. Theadvertisementcampaign isintended toreinforce themessage thatHGVs and bikessafely sharingthe road needscommon senseand care.

DRAMA IN ACTIONLHS Higher Drama pupils attended a performance of ‘KillJohnny Glendenning’ by D.C. Jackson at Glasgow’s CitizensTheatre and thoroughly enjoyed theexperience!

The play is a murderouscomedy of the Glasgowunderworld, taking aim atthe tabloid celebrity andmacho glamour of thegangster life.

After the show there was theopportunity to stay for apost-show talk where pupilsnot only had the chance todirect questions at all actor and director but D.C. Jacksonhimself. Pupils asked extremely insightful question gainingimpressive answers that will help pupils to write theirPerformance Analysis section of the Higher Drama exam.

THE GREAT LARBERT BAKE OFF!

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On the 8th of October, our S3 pupilswere given a verygenerous helping ofhospitality magic whenthey were given the five-star treatment bySpringboard Scotland inpartnership with some ofthe leading names in theHospitality Industryincluding, Marriott, ApexHotels, Premier Inn, BaxtersStory and Chartwells.

Pupils were able to experience how it feels to be both aguest and a hospitality professional in a five-star resort. Theevent not only showcased the industry at its very best butalso linked directly to Curriculum for Excellence and inparticular, Skills for Learning, Life and Work.

Every S3 pupil (nearly 320 in total) was able to participate ina series of skills challenges including Practical Cookery; TableService; Spa Services; Barista skills, Housekeeping andMarketing and HR sessions, to name but a few!

Throughout the day, there were talent spotters on thelookout for some of our most promising future stars andthere were some fantastic prizes on offer! The winners were:

Alyx Thompson who won the Apex Prize for “Marketing Starof the Future”, -- Alyx won a voucher for dinner at theEdinburgh Apex Hotel

There were a number of runner sup in this category, DanielPorter, Rohan McPhee and Robbie Armstrong all won a setof the iconic Apex Hotel Ducks!

Kalib Hannon who won the Compass Prize for “ChefSuperstar” - Kalib won a voucher for Meal for 2 at the Clydebuilt restaurant at the SECC

Paul McKeown who won the Baxters Story prize for “ChefSuperstar” - Paul won Lunch at Gogarburn House

Robbie Snedden who won the Marriott Prize for “Food andBeverage Star” - Robbie won Afternoon tea for 2 at MarriottDalmahoy Edinburgh

Jason Fullerton whowon the top prize fromPremier Inn for“Hospitality star of theFuture” - Jason won AKing Size Hypnos DivanPremier Inn Bed, worthover £1000!

All the Prize Winnersare pictured below.

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LARBERT HIGH SCHOOLHOSPITALITY & TOURISM DAY

Wednesday 8th October 2014

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Congratulations to all the youngcarers who took part in raisingmoney by selling raffle tickets.The pupils raised an excellent £80which will help the young carersgroup going forward this year.The top three sellers were: Robbie SneddenClaire Dickie Hannah Borthwick

The lucky prize winners wereMrs MacKenzieMr MillarMr MeikleMr DunneHannah Borthwick’s gran

Well done to all the young carersand congratulations to the prizewinners. A big thank you to thosewho donated prizes: B+Q,Westend Art Gallery, McDonalds,Megazone and the staff atLarbert High School.

On 27th October the YoungCarers enjoyed an afternoon ofIce Cream and Bowling. A trip tothe Milk Barn for some deliciousice cream was followed by acompetitive game of bowling inwhich there were some greatscores!!

Young CarersGroup: Latest news

issue 31 - november 2014

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