your support can you help us? · 4. mystery skype to sweden 5. a taste of gryffe 6,7 bridge of weir...

Caring • Learning • Achieving www.gryffehigh.com

Gryffe High School

Old Bridge of Weir Road, Houston, PA6 7EB Tel: 01505 690633 Fax: 01505 690888 e-mail: [email protected] web address: www.gryffehigh.com Head Teacher: Mr Colin H Johnson BSc

Date: 3/06/15 Dear Parents/Carers/Relatives/Pupils I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.

Web Site I Phone App Android App

Your support – Can you help us? As part of an ongoing initiative we are trying to establish a database of parents, carers and relatives who would be willing to create and maintain business links with the pupils and staff of Gryffe High School. Could you: Offer work experience (short term or long

term)?

Offer C.V. and job application workshops?

Provide interview experience?

Participate in careers events?

Come into school and give talks (to any sized group you are comfortable with!) about your career?

Participate in and provide expert knowledge and skills in projects with particular subjects?

Provide employment opportunities?

Offer Modern Apprenticeships or work placements for apprenticeships?

Suggest any other contact that would benefit our pupils?

If you are willing and able to participate in any of the above please contact Mrs Darroch (Project Leader for Employability and Skills) via our enquiries email:

[email protected] or drop in a business card and we will contact you. We would be very grateful for your support in this initiative as we strive towards enhancing the educational experience for all our pupils, with the ultimate goal of every pupil achieving a positive destination in their chosen field of interest.

Index Page

1. Your support – Can you help us?

2. Detail on our In-Service Day

Parent Council Meeting

3. Responsibility of All Week

4. Mystery Skype to Sweden

5. A Taste of ‘Gryffe’

6,7 Bridge of Weir Nursery visit Gryffe Science

Department

8. S3 French Apprentice Challenge

9. S2 GeoBus

10. Business Matters in Renfrewshire 2015

11. Junior UK Maths Challenge

12. Gryffe High Skiff Boat

13. School Athletics Championships

14. S1/2 Netball Success

15. What a Catch for Courtney!

SCIAF Fast raises £861.31, giving a donation

of £1722.61 in total

World Challenge

16-19 Activities Week

Upcoming priorities/events

20. The PTA Grand Annual Raffle

Please feel free to give the codes below a try and tell us what you

think via [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




I would like to give you some detail of what has been happening over the past few weeks, out with the SQA examinations: Activities Week – details on pages 16 to 19 Tuesday 26 May, In-Service Day – We started the day with a Cluster Presentation (All staff from Houston Primary, Gryffe High and Bridge of Weir Primary School’s together) on – ‘Who Cares’. The presentation focused on how we can support children, and in particular looked after children. After the Cluster presentation Gryffe High School staff had a presentation regarding Reporting, followed by Faculty discussion on how we could improve our Reporting system and provide more frequent detail, grades and action statements to parents and pupils – including discussion on meaningful Learner Conversations with pupils. We devoted the afternoon of the In-Service Day to working on preparations for our new National Qualifications – National 6 and National 7 (Advanced Higher) Our new timetable for S2-S4 pupils started on Wednesday 27 May. I am happy to state we have managed to maintain the wide range of courses on offer to our pupils, including our S3 course structure where we have a wider choice of 9 courses when there used to be only 8 course choices. I enjoyed welcoming our new S5 pupils arriving back from their exam leave on Monday and into their S5 Conference, and our new S6 pupils who met in Houston and killellen Church Hall for their morning S6 Conferences on Monday and Tuesday. The next few weeks are very lively, with: our P7 Induction Week and our Learning for

Change Eco Event on Friday 12 June Winning House Day Out (Wallace) and the

draw of the PTA raffle on Friday 19 June

the UNICEF Day for Change and non uniform

day on Thursday 25 June

... and finally summer, with a 1:00pm close

on Friday 26 June

Parent Council Meeting on Monday 1 June

As detailed in our calendar, we had our last Parent Council meeting for this session on Monday 1 June, agenda below: 1. Welcome, Sederunt and Apologies 2. Achievements presentation by Miss Inglis 3. Head Teacher’s Report Discussion on Improvement Planning

Presentation of Reporting Updates

4. Election of Office Bearers 5. Chair and Head Teacher Open Question

and Answer Session 6. Date of Next Meeting 7. Close of Meeting

Gryffe High School Improvement Plan At the last Parent Council Meeting Mrs Brown gave an Improvement Planning presentation to the Parent Council, a draft copy of which was uploaded on our school website, under the ‘About us’ section. Please feel free to look at our draft plan and make comment by email and/or phone. Following further amendments, additions and suggestions from Staff and Parents we will discuss the plan at the next Parent Council Meeting, on Monday 24 August, prior to submitting the plan to the local authority.

Parent Council Meetings provide an opportunity to discuss educational issues and, through discussion, help focus on how Gryffe High School develops as a school community. We need more parents to play an active role in the development of the school. Meeting commitment is an hour and a half approximately seven times across the session. The first meeting of the new session will be held on Monday 24 August 2015 at 7:00 pm

Please come along and see what it is involved.


Responsibility of All Week The week beginning 11 May was designated as Responsibility of All week. In this week, all S1 to S3 pupils focused on completing their Responsibility of All profiles. This allowed them to identify links in their lessons (with the help of their teachers) to Literacy, Numeracy, Health and Wellbeing and Skills. This also tied in with S3 pupils building on their My MerIT profile. The week was launched with year group assemblies. Time was set aside during the period to

log exactly what areas each aspect of the lesson covered and this was done across the whole curriculum. Pupils then took time at the end of the week to complete their profiles and evaluate their own realisation of what skill they are strengthening. The week also serves to be enjoyable and raise awareness that skills are transferrable and that e.g. Numeracy is not just confined to Maths. Pupils realise that although the RoA focus is for the week, RoA permeates through almost everything that they undertake at school at all times throughout the year. Their recognition of which skill they are using is always improving.


Mystery Skype to Sweden As part of Gryffe High School’s ‘Responsibility for All’ week, class 1Bn in Social Subjects undertook the challenge of a Mystery Skype. The purpose of this activity was to demonstrate geographical knowledge using Literacy, Numeracy and Health & Wellbeing skills in a new situation. The idea was simple. We were going to Skype a class in a school from a different part of the world. We didn’t know where they were but Miss Iafrate did. Using only questions that required yes/no answers; we were to determine where the class was located in the world, and vice versa for them. At first, many in the class were taken aback and somewhat excited by the exercise, but soon came to grasp the idea of it. Pupils in the class were allocated various jobs such as mapper (to narrow down location possibilities based on the class’ answers), greeter (to greet and give helpful yet unrevealing answers as to where we were located), writer (to create suitable questions for us to ask them) and the questioners themselves (to face the webcam on the computer and ask the other school the questions). Many class members, upon speaking and listening to these pupils, were certain as to their nationality; American. Though, this turned out not to be the case, as we began to ask the questions. Some of these were:

‘Are you near the equator?

‘Are you in North America?’

‘Do you have a relatively warm climate?’

‘Are you near the coastline?’

‘Is your school on an island?’ Naturally, the questions got more and more specific as time went on. After roughly thirty minutes, we had identified their location in Southern Sweden, but were struggling with their exact location. It turned out to be a town about ten miles north of the second-largest city in Sweden, Gothenburg (Gutembörg). After several more minutes of painstaking guesswork, the Swedish school accurately found our location. After this each school began to ask questions about what life was like in each other’s country. Shortly before ending our thirty minute long conversation, we decided to give them a taste of Scottish culture, and sang our national anthem: The Flower o’ Scotland. Overall, our class thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Mystery Skype’. We were unfamiliar to the task and had never done it before, but we soon became confident and demonstrated our Literacy, Numeracy and Health & Wellbeing skills. We felt that the whole exercise was considerably worthwhile and we’d happily do it again. Article - James Fallon and Jack Young (Both 1Bn)


A Taste of ‘Gryffe’ Tuesday 12 & Wednesday 13 May 2015

The HFT Department were delighted to play a part in Houston Primary School’s Health Week again this year. Following a meeting with Mrs Brooker from the primary school, the Health Food & Technology teachers decided to put together a practical lesson to give the sixty-six P6 and ninety P7 pupils, a taste of ‘Gryffe’. Wearing in some cases, floor length aprons - which they’ll soon grow into! - the excited youngsters put together a snack lunch of a chicken wrap with salad and then helped to make a smoothie to wash it down. The boys and girls built on their food preparation experience from the primary school and learned more about food safety, food hygiene and knife skills, which will stand them in good stead for the ‘move’. Feedback for the two days was very complimentary. Mrs Brooker said the children had a wonderful time and that for many it was their favourite event of the week. We look forward to working with Houston Primary School again in the future and to welcoming our new culinary experts after the summer break. Article - Mrs L Holligan Photographs – Charlotte Stuart S2


The Children of Bridge of Weir Nursery Visit the Science Department

On Tuesday 5 May, the science department were delighted to welcome almost 80 young children from Bridge of Weir nursery. There was a morning and afternoon session. The weather was not kind to them but once they had battled through the wind and rain in their high visibility jackets, they seemed happy to arrive in school. Each session was divided between 2 science labs and each child was given a pair of protective glasses to wear. The children were asked to listen carefully and they were given some basic safety information. They were eager for the experiments to start. Firstly, the children were shown what to do with plastic rods, balloons and confetti to provide a fun introduction to Electrostatics. This literally made their hair stand on end! To emphasise that science is often a study of everyday life, the next experiment involved testing several everyday drinks using ‘special dye’ (actually Universal Indicator). This gave the pupils the opportunity to use test tubes and they were then absolutely delighted to see an array of colour once they had finished their experiment. This was then linked to the effects of acid on their teeth and health, as most of the drinks tested were acidic apart from milk and still water. The children then got a wee rest to watch a favourite demonstration of ‘Elephants Toothpaste’. This involves a fairly spectacular chemical reaction which produces a large ‘tube’ of foam. The final experiment involved watching flames change colour with different chemicals and ‘spark’ like fireworks. The young visitors seemed to thoroughly enjoy their first taste of science. Our thanks go to the nursery teachers, carers and helpers who brought the children and looked after them during their visit. A very special word of thanks to our Science Technician Mrs Moira Stark who spent a great deal of time preparing the equipment for the visits and also helped clear everything up afterwards! Article - Mrs M McAleavy - Faculty Head Science Photographs - Molly Speir and Jennifer McDonald (both S2)


S3 French Apprentice Challenge

'Venez à Glasgow-c'est fantastique!'

'Come to Glasgow, it's amazing!' This is the message our S3 French Apprentice Challenge Finalists were trying to win over the judges with! Well done to all the finalists for presenting their work and 'félicitations' to the winning team Euan Huey, Maisie Huey, Fern Adams and Claire Conway! Here is what Euan Huey had to say, ‘On the Friday before activities week, I took part in an apprentice challenge set up by the French department. The task was to market Glasgow as an attractive tourist destination to French speaking tourists across the globe. My group comprised myself, Claire Conway, Fern Adams and my twin sister, Maisie Huey. We started the task with a little bit of hopeless enthusiasm, but mostly a burning desire to win! Fortunately, my group was lucky enough to win and all of our hard work seemed to pay off. Aside from winning, getting to work in a team was not only fun, but a great way for us to learn. May I say, there was never a dull moment. After winning the competition I would like to say thank you to Ms Tate, Ms Naismith, Ms Doherty, Ms Berry and all the other teachers who put in time and commitment in to pulling off a truly successful event that was enjoyed by many in the year. Furthermore, I would like to say thanks to our judges Mr Holsgrove and the two guests, Mrs Hutcheson and Janette Kelso from the Scottish Centre for Languages!’

Article - Miss L Tate


S2 GeoBus

Recently our class received a visit from the Geobus team at St Andrew’s University during our Geography topic on natural disasters. They spoke to our class and another S2 class and let us take part in a workshop to understand more about earthquakes, instruments used to detect them and the measures that can be put in place to limit earthquake damage. Our first activity was very interesting. We were put into pairs and we held a slinky at both sides and we moved it in different directions using our hands showing the ways in which energy released during an earthquake travels. We learned that there are two types of seismic waves P and S waves and they are different in the way that they travel through the Earth from the epicentre of an earthquake. Our second activity involved our whole class having to stand up and jump at different times, when instructed to do so. As we did this, the Geobus seismograph recorded our movements and we were able to see on the overhead projector how the instrument recorded the movements and what different stages of earthquakes recordings on seismographs look like. It was a very energetic activity which everyone seemed to be interested in and we learned a lot from it. On our final task of the session, we were divided into teams and presented with the task of building the strongest possible structure/building with only the materials provided: blue tac and 12 long pieces of k’nex. We had just five minutes to complete this task after which they were put to the test using an earthquake simulator device to see which one could withstand the most pressure and would therefore be most likely to stay intact during an earthquake. Most of the structures were not strong enough; there were just two groups with impressive structures that survived the pressure. Overall it was an excellent workshop enjoyed by all, we learned a lot and everyone was very thankful to the GeoBus team who travelled a very long way to come and visit us. Article - Jack Chambers, John Meehan and Luke Rodgers (all 2F)


B2B Business Matters in Renfrewshire 2015

The school was invited to send a group to the B2B event organised by Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce. S3 Business students, who have chosen to study Business Management in S4, went along to the Lagoon in Paisley on Thursday 14 May. This event brings together a number of different businesses. There were seminars covering eg ‘Innovation in the Workplace - What does the future look like in your business, and are you ready for it?’. This was delivered by Microsoft. There was City Deal – the £1.13Bn initiative and what it means for Renfrewshire. ‘Innovation and creativity in business’ by the University of the West of Scotland and a session packed with practical tips on how to get business from social media by Broadcaster and journalist Colin Kelly. Here is a summary of what the group thought: ‘I found this event useful because I learned a lot about different businesses in Paisley, and also got some ideas for work experience. I also got to write things in my ROA booklet which involved what we we were recording eg ‘literacy skills’ because we learned some new words about business and also ‘communication skills’ when talking to business owners and representatives. Also there were some opportunities for us to volunteer for organisations such as St Vincent’s Hospice and Alzheimer’s Scotland. Even someone who was with me managed to make a contact for work experience from this conference.’ Attending were - Cameron Baird, Amy Cooper, Sarah Fogarty, Emily Jackson, Holly Stephen, Daniel Lockie, Hannah Newlands, and Matthew Waddell (All S3) Article - Mrs M Connor


Junior UK Maths Challenge Success The results have just arrived for the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. There were 10 silver awards and 13 bronze awards in the school. Joint 'Best in School' were Jenny Hall S2 and Chiara Jaconelli S2. Very well done to all of the participants! An example of the standard of question in the paper is:

The question (and solution) is taken from the UKMT 2015 Junior Challenge (which is protected by copyright and therefore acknowledged). See http://www.ukmt-resources.org.uk/JMC15.html for further information.

Article - Mrs M Campbell Check your answer here –

http://www.ukmt-resources.org.uk/JMC15.html


Every day is a changing day with the progress of the Skiff. It is now at the stage where every time you look it has new colours added to it. Pupils in Art came up with colour schemes and a favourite has been chosen, based on the school colours. Resin was applied to the entire outer surface of the skiff to make sure that it is watertight. Prior to the keel and outer stems being attached, pupils have been busy sanding and filling any imperfections on the on the outer surfaces to ensure a nice finish. Once the exterior has been fully painted the boat will be turned the right way up to allow the inside to be fitted with benches and painted. The end is now in sight, but there is still a lot to be done. So…….exciting times ahead for the Skiff! Our pictures show the progress of the boat over the past year. Anyone interested is most welcome to help out on Wednesdays after school. Article - Mr J Dempster


School Athletics Championships

This year's athletics championships changed from the gruelling 8 event 2-day format to another testing one day Pentathlon championships. Over 170 pupils participated over the full day event with every hundredth of a second in each track event and centimetre in the field events crucial to going towards their overall Pentathlon score. All athletes competed very well in this climax to their individual Athletics programme with the following category winners crowned school champion at the following day's assembly: S1 Girls - Alisha Sivell (Mackintosh) S1 Boys - Kai Steele (Wallace) S2 Girls - Hannah Lee (Wallace) S2 Boys - Christopher Feeney (Fleming) S3 Girls - Katie McGinn (Fleming) S3 Boys - Adam Stevenson (Burns) Well done also to Fleming house pupils who had the most entrants competing in the championships! Article - Mr G O’Hare - Faculty Head of Health and Wellbeing Photographs – Rowan Seel S1


S1/2 Netball Success

It has been a busy season for the S1/2 Netball team, who have worked extremely hard in order to experience success. Our most recent achievement has been to qualify for the Inter Authority Games and represent Gryffe High School as one of only two Renfrewshire schools. In order to secure qualification the girls had to battle it out against the top 5 teams in Renfrewshire. Wins against Gleniffer High, Johnstone High and Linwood High guaranteed qualification alongside Castlehead High School. This would see them play off against the top talent from Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Councils. The girls played with great determination and passion, working together as one and finishing in a well deserved 5th place, a great achievement in their debut season! They are now looking forward to finishing their season at the annual summer tournament and returning next year hungry for more success! S1/2 Squad: Eilidh Maule (Vice Captain), Sarah Rasaaq, Eilidh McManus, Abbie Divers (Vice Captain), Eve Grant, Rachel Thomson, Christina Wallace, Danielle Rooney, Kayla Fraser (Vice Captain) and Amber Duncan.

Article - Miss H Holmes


What a Catch for Courtney! S1 pupil Courtney Cameron had a most impressive catch recently. Courtney enjoys fishing as one of her hobbies. She is a keen member of Gryffe Angling Club. She thoroughly enjoyed her May Bank Holiday when she was fishing in the River Gryffe. Courtney was absolutely delighted to catch a salmon weighing in at a massive 8.5 pounds. Did she have it for tea? No, fish is not one of her favourite foods!

SCIAF Fast raises £862.31 On the Friday 27 March over 50 pupils and staff took part in the SCIAF fast raising a total of £861.31. The fantastic amount raised will be match funded by the government, giving a total of £1722.62 This money will be used to assist female farmers in Africa. Sarah White from 2Fm raised the most money at a grand total of £77, while Ms Sharp put the rest of the staff to shame with an excellent total of £155.35. Well done to all pupils and staff who fasted to support this excellent cause! Article - Miss H Rowan

Hujambo (Hello in Swahili) On Saturday 20 June, when many pupils/staff/parents are starting to think of their leisurely summer holidays, two groups of Gryffe High School pupils will be setting off on potentially the greatest challenge of their lives to date. 19 Pupils and 4 brave staff members will embark on a 31 day expedition that will include building and maintaining a local school, embracing a new culture and interacting with local people. They will also attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa which stands at 19,340 feet high, 2/3rds the height of Mount Everest. The hard work started for pupils approximately 18 months ago when the fundraising began. I am sure you will have noticed a number of events that have occurred, both in the school and in the local community. The pupils would like to thank you for your generosity throughout and for assisting them with the opportunity to go on this expedition. If we could ask you to do one more thing, when dreaming of that leisurely summer holiday, that would be to wish them all the best on this life changing experience for not just the members of Gryffe High School but also those people that they help and meet along the way. Many a picture, story and anecdote will be shared on their return in August. Asante (thankyou in Swahili) Article - Mr A Findlay, World Challenge Leader


Activities Week 2015 It has been a long tradition in Gryffe High that all S1, S2 and S3 pupils take part in an activity while the senior pupils are away on exam leave. Pupils have an extensive range of activities to choose from. This year Mrs Bell in the Maths Department looked after organising all of the Activity Leaders. With the help of the Activity Committee, she made sure that almost all S1 to S3 pupils were placed on either their first or second choice of activity. The Activity Committee spent a long time making sure that places were allocated as fairly as possible. Enjoy looking at some of the photos from the activities and there are even more photos in our Gallery on the school website. http://www.gryffehigh.com/activities-week-2015.html The trips on offer this year were Residential Trips to Barcelona Noordwijk Valencia Loopallu – (Craft Activity in Ullapool) UK Adventure – (Auchengillan) Float Your Boat – (Cumbrae Water Sports Centre)

Day Trips included - Can You Handle it – (Castle Semple, Urban Combat and Go Karting and M&Ds) Days Away – (Edinburgh Zoo, Odeon, Bowling, Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel) Fishing Frenzy Scary Scotland

– (Blair Drummond, Ghoulish Glasgow, Edinburgh Dungeons and the Hard Rock Café) Goal – (sportgrounds and stadiums) Creative Crafts Golf Jewellery Gamezone Sporting Games and Movie Club

It may have been warmer in Valencia than it was at the Kelpies and some emergency waterproofs had to be bought at M&Ds, but in general the weather was kind to us and the pupils all had a great variety of experiences. I was delighted to hear about the many adventures undertaken by our pupils, and of their outstanding behaviour. I am very proud, as should all parents be, of the way the pupils have engaged in their activities and of the many excellent reports I have had on their enthusiasm. I must admit now, that should you hear in any national press of a Scottish Head Teacher doing press ups in the middle of Alicante Airport then I stand guilty as charged. I happened to be 1 minute late for a scheduled meeting with the pupils, and as we all know, latecoming has consequences!! Nearly all pupils participated in the Activities Week and I value this week as vital in creating the Caring Learning Achieving ethos that we have in Gryffe - staff and pupils enjoying the range of activities together.

The week of fun, at the end of a hard session, sets us up to return to school refreshed and ready to embark on a new timetable at the end of May.

http://www.gryffehigh.com/activities-week-2015.html


Barcelona

Auchengillan

Scary Scotland

Can you Handle it


Can you Handle it

Can you Handle it

Days Away

Float your boat


Valencia

........... Please tell us more ............. I believe, by now, you will appreciate just how much is ‘going on’ within the school - a hive of energy with, as ever, a focus on Caring, Learning, Achieving. Many parents email me detail about the out of school achievements of their child, which I thoroughly enjoy reading. I would ask any parent/carer to please feel free to send me or email me detail of their child’s out of school achievements. We now have a system to record all such achievements in order to acknowledge the efforts that frequently do not get the recognition that is deserved.

e-mail: [email protected]

Working together we can ensure our children get the very best opportunities to develop and achieve their full potential in all aspects of learning.

Upcoming priorities/events JUNE Mon 1 Parent Council AGM; 7:00 pm start New S5 Induction Day

New S6 Induction Morning at Houston and Killellan Church Hall

Tue 2 New S5 start new timetable New S6 Induction Morning Wed 3 New S6 start new timetable

Newsletter uploaded onto website Thurs 4 Old S6 Prom Fri 5 Mon 8 P7 Pupils meet Pupil Support Staff and

Buddies P7 Parents’ Information Evening, 7:00 pm start

Tue 9 P7 NQT Challenge Wed 10 P7 Visit: Induction Day 1 Thurs 11 P7 Visit: Induction Day 2 Fri 12 Eco: Learning for Change Morning Fri 19 Winning House Day Out - Wallace

PTA ANNUAL RAFFLE Thurs 25 Non-Uniform Day UNICEF Day for Change Fri 26 Last Day of Session,

school closes at 1:00pm

Mr Colin Johnson Head Teacher


your support can you help us? · 4. mystery skype to sweden 5. a taste of gryffe 6,7 bridge of weir...

Documents