scen + doon academy · a presentation was given by jim scott, member of scen executive committee...

SCEN Meeting 7th March 2014

Blog J.Preston 9 March 2014

SCEN + Doon Academy Scottish Chinese Education Network Meeting at Lasswade High School, Midlothian

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Mrs. P’s Blog, Page �1Spring 2014China Learning at Doon



East Meets West - In More Ways Than One! Blog - Round-Up of the days’ events: !

With a round-trip of over 200 miles, it was always going to be a challenging journey from Dalmellington to Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. On this occasion, it was made more frustrating, due to poor road conditions, hail, sleet and strong winds. But did this dampen our spirits? No! The invitation to attend the Scotland China Education Network meeting at the brand-new Lasswade High School would be a marvellous opportunity for S6’s Lauren Shaw and Annabel McTaggart to present their views, hopes and dreams for their future in the Modern Languages arena. Both pupils are totally focussed on the importance of learning languages and are determined to succeed. In fact, our challenging journey from Dalmellington to the east coast gave all three of us more time to chat and ponder over their future possibilities, their university choices and their concerns with regard to their applications and potential offers; it was great being able to relax and chat in the car, rather than be rushed between lessons!

On arrival at Lasswade, we were all super-impressed with the facilities - an open plan cafe area, modern reception - all light and airy, with a screen display board, welcoming us as SCEN delegates. Almost immediately, I was delighted to be able to introduce Mr. Iain Valentine (RZSS) to the girls; he is responsible for almost everything and anything to do with the giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang at Edinburgh Zoo. Mr. Valentine works very closely with SCEN and hugely interested in Sino-Scottish business relationships - a good contact for the future, perhaps?

As we were a little early, we took the opportunity to have a look around before being warmly welcomed by Colin Mitchell, the Depute, who lead us all into the main dining hall / entrance area and gave us a brief overview of the new




school and their involvement with China. Whilst waiting for the other delegates to arrive, we were invited to look around the school - and most importantly (I jest!) - to view the famous open-plan toilets, which have previously been given a lot of publicity in and around the district! Our young pupils - or that is - “tour guides” were hugely knowledgeable about the school and keen to show off the premises. See more o n L a s s w a d e - a b r i l l i a n t w e b s i t e ! sswadehsc.mgfl.net

We then returned to the dining hall, where I recognised some familiar faces who would be attending the meeting; I was keen to

point out to Lauren and Annabel those faces I knew: There would be the President of SCEN - Rt Hon The Lord Wilson of Tillyorn KT GCMG FRSE; Convenor, Dr. Judith McCLure CBE (Chair); Pamela Semple (Scottish Government) and Dr. Meryl James (Strathclyde University /CISS) who had met both Annabel and Lauren during her visit to Doon Academy for the interactive lesson “Beyond the Panda” given by Ms. Sandie Robb of RZSS; at least the girls had one familiar face!

Both Annabel and Lauren were very nervous about presenting to such an impressive audience and as such,

couldn’t really manage to eat a great deal from the wonderful spread provided by our hosts; perhaps a snack on the way back would be the way forward! (If you see what I mean!)

The meeting commenced at 1:30pm - with Dr. McClure opening the meeting. A presentation was given by Jim Scott, Member of SCEN Executive Committee and SCEN Board, former Headteacher of Perth High School (Confucius Hub, Perth and Kinross) and doctoral researcher at the University of Dundee, on his research on the Governance of Modern Languages. We were very surprised to learn of his findings with regard to the attitudes and trends of Language-learning in Scotland; to say that it was an eye-opener would be an understatement - all very thought-provoking for those involved in Education on both sides of the teacher’s desk! Annabel and Lauren gained a great deal from the presentation, later




prompting them to ask pertinent questions on the future of languages in our schools in the 21st century.

Now, with nerves riding high, it would be our time to present and for the girls to introduce themselves and to speak of their determination to succeed; they were also making a plea to be accepted as part of the SCEN network as future Young Ambassadors! I was exceptionally proud of them both; they spoke eloquently and to the point. At the end, when they requested to be considered by the Board, there was a resounding “YES! YES! YES! YES!” from the Convenor, Dr. Judith McClure. How wonderful! The girls were hugely excited and proud to receive their “Young Ambassador SCEN” badges from Dr. McClure at the end of the meeting (see photo front cover). Well done girls! According to Dr. McCLure, you will be receiving your SCEN Ambassador certificate at the next meeting. Wear your badges with pride! You deserve it!

Of course, the whole point of attending these meetings is to ‘network’. During lunch, we were able to meet Mai, Teacher of Chinese at the MMU (England), and Sue, who had just completed a Masters in Chinese at Hariot-Watt University, Edinburgh. She spoke to Lauren and Annabel at great length, giving them advice and an insight into courses, choices of universities, learning Mandarin and the opportunities she has had over the last few years, having studied and worked with other languages both at home and abroad. This would be exceptionally interesting for Lauren, who shared her hopes with our new acquaintances, stating the Heriot -Watt was one of her choices and that she was very interested to hear of the fabulous reputation this particular university has for Business/Languages degrees. I could sense Lauren’s mixed emotions - excitement as to what the future could hold, but worried…. would she ever get a placement? Annabel shared her hopes of using languages and future plans of joining INTERPOL, which currently boasts 190 member countries worldwide. Everyone was in agreement that having as many languages as possible would be beneficial for this particular personal goal!

My speedy update to the delegates on our project at Doon - eTwinning with Turkey was exactly that: Speedy! Such a huge project but only chance to mention sharing China-Learning with Turkey, the fact that Doon had helped them to adopt the pandas, of our Skyped shared international lesson when the RZSS came to visit and the opportunity to get SCEN known on the other side of Europe. The pupils in our partner school keep on asking to do more “Chinese-y” things! Wonderful that




we have been able to make an impact in this way. They even want to learn Mandarin! Our project is still on-going, as is of course, the focus on China Learning.

By the late afternoon, the girls would now relax and seize the opportunity to be introduced to Lord Wilson, who spoke to them about Languages and how by learning Chinese, it not only helps to develop our own language, but makes sense of it all. He spoke about his time in China and was very keen to know about Doon Academy and its surroundings. He was enchanted to learn that we are on the edge of the Galloway Forest and knew all about the dark skies and the Observatory. Lauren and Annabel spoke about the opportunities that Doon had given to them to be able to visit this well-known destination, so highly regarded by the tourist industry in Scotland. He congratulated the girls on their presentations and wished them every success for the future. (Photo / front cover). Both girls were also introduced to Kate Walker, Head of Education at the British Council, who has invited the girls to remain in touch with her via email in order to learn more about language opportunities whether nationally or internationally.

With group photos taken, it was time to leave. Back to the car for the long journey home, but not without stopping off for that well-earned KFC! Still animated, giggly and highly excited about the days’ events, we happily sat down for our chicken burgers, fries and dips. Then - guess what? Lauren suddenly gasped! “Miss, Miss….I’ve just received a text message from Heriot - Watt…..they’ve offered me a Conditional!!! WOW!” ….What’s the condition? - An ‘A’ in Higher Spanish! (No pressure there then Mrs. Preston!) Given the conversations over lunch that day…I am sure that this had a greater impact than it would have, had conversations not been centred on and around that same university! We were all so excited - we could barely keep it down! Hugs all around! What a marvellous ending to the day! I was going to say that “this was the icing on the cake” - but given our location at the time, it might be more appropriate to say that this news was definitely “the chilli sauce on our chips”..!

A BIG thank you to everyone involved for making this trip possible - to Mr. N. Paton (Lauren’s Mentor) at Doon for his continued support and to SCEN for opening up such marvellous opportunities for our pupils.

The following day, I received this lovely email from Dr. McClure:




“Congratulations on your passionate and inspiring presentation to the SCEN Network meeting yesterday! As ever, you captured your audience in yet another innovative project: the e-twinning with Turkey is amazing and your account of its genesis was amazing. !Please will you give my warmest thanks to Annabel McTaggart and Lauren Shaw for their confident, eloquent presentation on the importance of learning languages? They spoke from the heart. After hearing the research outcomes of Jim Scott, it was incredible to have this wonderful articulation, by Annabel and Lauren, of the student voice. I am very proud that they have become SCEN Ambassadors and I hope we have the chance of hearing from them again”. !Very best wishes, Judith !Dr Judith McClure CBE Convener of the Scotland China Education Network (SCEN) Secretary of the Cross Party Group on China at the Scottish Parliament 12A Ravelston Park Edinburgh EH4 3DX Email: [email protected] Telephone: 00 44 (0)131 315 2885 www.scen.info !

You can learn more about SCEN from http://www.scen.info and official photos of the event will be posted too.

(Photographs taken from the official Lasswade High School Website of the main building and dining hall).


scen + doon academy · a presentation was given by jim scott, member of scen executive committee...

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