Currie Community High School December 2015 Christmas Newsletter
Introduction Leadership Team: Senior Leadership Team: Phone: 0131 449 2165 As 2015 draws to a close it is worth looking back at Head Teacher - Doreen MacKinnon some of our achievements this year and looking (Year Head S6) forward to even greater success in the future. Website: www.currie.edin.sch.uk Some highlights of 2015: Depute Head Teacher - Percy Farren Admin E-mail Address: Outstanding SQA results including 36% of S6 (Tuesday-Thursday) (Year Head S1— attaining at least 1 Advanced Higher (3rd K2, L1 & L2 & S5) [email protected] equal place in Edinburgh) 98% of leavers moved into Positive Destinations Depute Head Teacher - Clive Walton The news at a glance: (once again top place in Edinburgh) (Monday—Wednesday) · (Year Head S1—H1, H2 & K1 & S4) Introduction Two very successful Celebrations of Wider · Our Vision Statement Achievement · Dates for your diary Depute Head Teacher - · Embedding the school’s vision and values into Alan McKinney (Year Head S2 and S3) Christmas Shoebox Appeal the life and work of the school · Volunteering Skills · Currie Pupils Take Part in Enhanced links with Woodlands Business Manager - Phill Pache
Edinburgh Mini-Trials Some excellent Leadership Development Event 2015 opportunities offered to staff and pupils Pupil Support Leaders: · Currie and Firrhill Looking forward to 2016 and beyond … a selection Advanced Higher Event of our aims: Hermiston - Duncan McBride · Get Energised Kinleith - Hazel Moar Continue to raise attainment for all, continue · £700 Optoelectronics Kitt to promote inclusion and close the attainment Lennox - Louise Paterson (Mon-Wed) for Science! gap - Kerry Ellis (Acting) (Thurs & · Count Down to Space Seeds! Fri) Improve average attendance to above 95% · S3 Project Narnia · S6 Youth and Philanthropy Become a Centre of Excellence in promoting Support for Learning Leader: Initiative Science, Technologies, Engineering & Maths · MVP Foster a Growth Mindset across staff and pupils Amanda Wilson · 2020 Event in all the Currie Cluster Schools (CCHS, · Netball Woodlands, JGPS, CPS and NCPS) Curriculum Leaders: · Zoo Trip From January 2016 I will also be meeting 5 pupils Lesley Muir - English, Media Studies · Experiences in Drama every day on an individual basis to discuss their and Literacy · achievements and their hopes for the future for King’s Theatre Visit themselves, for the school and for their community. Claire Mulvey - Expressive Arts · S3 Trip to Musical Rob Greenaway - Health and Instrument Collection at I am already looking forward to all the new Wellbeing challenges which 2016 will bring. Edinburgh University Kirsti Dower - Maths and Numeracy · Developing the Young Thank you for your continued support of the Catherine Mackenzie - Modern school and I look forward to working with you next Workforce Learning year and beyond. Languages Through Work Event Ian Manderson—Science · School Immunisation I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and David Toal - Social Subjects Peaceful New Year. Programme Clare Braisby - Technologies (Acting) · S3 Christmas Card Doreen MacKinnon Competition Head Teacher School Chaplains: · Princes Trust S3 xl Jim Dewar, Minister, Juniper Green · Christmas Fayre Parish Church · Royal Society Young Easter Smart, Minister, Currie Kirk People’s Book Prize 2015 · News from Chogoria, Kenya · New website for CCHS · Higher Geography fieldtrip · RespectMe 2015 · 50th Birthday Celebration Keep up to date with news through our Daily Bulletin which can be accessed on · S4 ‘Focus Environment’ the website by clicking on “Information” then “Bulletin”. Photography Winner! · Enlightenment Smartphone
Microscope Competition
Page 1 Currie Community High School Newsletter
December 2015
Our Vision Statement:
‘DON’T LIMIT YOUR CHALLENGES, CHALLENGE YOUR LIMITS’. The aims of the school and the key principles underpinning the school’s ethos, its visions and values and, indeed, all aspects of the life and work of the school are: To create an environment within which all young people at Currie Community High School are challenged and supported to: attain qualifications at the highest level possible; to achieve their full potential through a range of opportunities for personal development; to develop skills for learning, life and work and become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens; and move into positive and sustained destinations To promote equality and inclusion; celebrate diversity; and remove barriers to learning To promote Learning for Sustainability (outdoor learning, global citizenship, education for sustainable development) and Social Justice. To journey towards excellence for all and in all areas of the school’s life and work including learning and teaching and the curriculum Our Values:
Confidence To perform to the best of your ability To seize every important opportunity To try something new To accept others and yourself To be enthusiastic and motivated to learn Unity Supportive to others Unified commitment to improvement Appreciating achievements of all kinds Respect Those around you Differences Yourself The Environment Responsible For freedom of expression Being safe and making good choices Your own actions For participating in the life and work of our community Initiative Mistakes are okay as long as you learn from them Achieve your own goals through developing skills for life, learning and work Show determination, resilience and ambition Equality Accept all aspects of social and cultural life regardless of personal belief while developing your own beliefs and values Treat others as you would wish to be treated Show care towards those who may need help
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Dates for your diary Tuesday, 22 December 2015 TERM ENDS 12.00 NOON Wednesday, 6 January 2016 STAFF RESUME Thursday, 7 January 2016 PUPILS RESUME Tuesday, 12 January 2016 S3/S4/S5 Parents’ Information Evening—The Senior Phase 14-26 January 2016 National 5 Prelims (except S5/S6 Nat 5 History) Friday, 22 January 2016 S6 and Team School Photographs (am) Monday, 25 January 2016 Gibson Craig Hall Concert (2.00-3.30 pm) Instrumental Parents’ Evening Wednesday, 27 January 2016—9 February 2016 Higher & Advanced Higher Prelims (& History Nat 5) Wednesday, 27 January 2016 S1 & S2 CfE Parents’ Information Evening Thursday, 4 February 2016 S1 Parents’ Consultation (4.15-6.45 pm) Friday, 5 February 2016 DofE Training Day (10.00 am-4.00 pm) Tuesday, 9 February 2016 Parents in Partnership Meeting (7.00 pm) Friday, 12 February 2016 DofE Training Day (10.00 am—4.00 pm) Friday, 12 February 2016 TERM ENDS Monday, 15 February—Friday, 19 February 2016 MID-TERM HOLIDAY Friday, 19 February 2016 DofE Training Day (10.00 am—4.00 pm) Monday, 22 February 2016 ALL RESUME Friday, 26 February 2016 DofE Training Day (10.00 am—4.00 pm) Sunday, 28 February 2016 Celebration Event—50 Years of Currie Community High School Monday, 29 February 2016 S4 Tracking Reports issued Wednesday, 2 March 2016 S2 Parents’ Consultation (4.15-6.45 pm) Friday, 4 March 2016 DofE Training Day (10.00 am—4.00 pm) Tuesday, 8 March 2016 S4 Parents’ Consultation (4.15-6.45 pm) Friday, 11 March 2016 DofE Training Day (10.00 am—4.00 pm) Thursday, 17 March 2016 Rights Respecting Schools P7 Transition Event at Juniper Green PS (1.15-2.25 pm) Spring Concert Friday, 18 March 2016 S5/S6 Tracking Reports issued Monday, 21-Thursday, 24 March 2016 Resonate Concert, Queen’s Hall Monday, 21 March 2016 S5/S6 Parents’ Consultation (4.15-6.45 pm) Thursday, 24 March 2016 TERM ENDS Friday, 25 March—Friday, 8 April 2016 EASTER HOLIDAY Friday, 25 & Saturday, 26 March 2016 Bronze DofE Practice Expedition Friday, 1 & Saturday, 2 April 2016 Bronze DofE Practice Expedition Friday, 8 & Saturday, 9 April 2016 Bronze DofE Practice Expedition Monday, 11 April 2016 ALL RESUME Wednesday, 13 April 2016 Higher History Extended Essay (p 3 & 4) Friday, 15 & Saturday, 16 April 2016 Bronze DofE Practice Expedition Monday, 18 April 2016 SPRING HOLIDAY—SCHOOL CLOSED Tuesday, 26 April 2016 Celebration of Achievement (7.00 pm) Monday, 2 May 2016 MAY DAY HOLIDAY—SCHOOL CLOSED Tuesday, 3 May 2016 ALL RESUME Thursday, 5 May 2016 In-Service Day Friday, 6 May 2016 ALL RESUME Friday, 13 May 2016 S3 Full Reports & S3 Profiles issued Monday, 23—Friday, 27 May 2016 S3 Work Experience Week Friday, 27 May 2016 Big Voice Competition—S1/S2 (P 1-3) S2 Tracking Reports Issued Monday, 30 May 2016 Change of timetable Thursday, 2 June 2016 Parents in Partnership AGM (7.00 pm) Friday, 3 June 2016 S1 Full Reports Issued S6 Leavers’ Lunch (12.30 pm) Tuesday, 7 June 2016 Area Strings Concert Wednesday, 8 June 2016 P7 Parents’ Meeting (7.00-9.00 pm) Thursday, 9—Sunday, 12 June 2016 Modern Languages Paris Trip Wednesday, 15 June 2016 Awards Ceremony (7.00 pm) Friday, 17 June 2016 S6 Prom, Balmoral Hotel Tuesday, 21 – Thursday, 23 June 2016 P7 3 day visit Thursday, 30 June 2016 TERM ENDS
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December 2015
Christmas Shoebox Appeal
This year the Currie CHS participation in the Christmas Shoebox Appeal has been very encouraging. We are sending 85 fantastic boxes to people in Eastern Europe who may receive our box as their only Christmas gift.
A wonderful team of keen volunteers began wrapping empty shoeboxes in bright Christmas paper as early as October. Mrs Reid went shopping in all the bargain shops, Mrs Mackenzie coped with her classroom as a Christmas workshop and the S5 volunteer group launched the appeal within the school. Pupils, staff and friends of the school donated items for the shoeboxes, knitted little jumpers, hats and scarves and contributed money towards the transportation of the boxes. Mr Watson has kindly offered to deliver our boxes to the Edinburgh collection depot. The Shoebox team would like to thank all who contributed in any way, and especially the pupils and staff who faithfully gave up lunchtimes to join the sorting team. We hope in this way to bring joy and fun to others this Christmas time.
Catherine Mackenzie
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December 2015
Volunteering Skills
Volunteering Skills (S5-6) is well under way with students volunteering within and outwith the school:
Supporting junior classes – including Health and Food Technology, History and Science.
Supporting lunch and extra curricular clubs.
Paired Reading.
Helping teachers with general admin.
Supporting the Xmas Shoe Box Appeal.
Helping the librarian to create a Currie and Balerno News display.
Ravelrig Riding for the Disabled.
Private Nurseries.
Supporting pupils and staff at Woodlands.
General admin work at Nether Currie.
Oxfam Charity Shop.
Helping at Rainbows.
Supporting a baking class in the Community school.
Supporting the local minister with sound equipment.
Gorgie Farm.
The Mill Café at St Joseph’s. The students are gaining invaluable experiences and skills that will support them with life after school as well as gain them an SQA Level 4 qualification and a Saltire Award. If you feel you could offer a one off voluntary placement to a student or a regular commitment, then please get in touch with Ms Amanda Wilson via the school office: 0131 449 2165. Amanda Wilson
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December 2015
Currie Pupils Take Part in Edinburgh Mini-Trials Event 2015 An enthusiastic and committed team of S4, S5 and S6 students, accompanied by Mr Toal, participated in the Mini Trials event at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Chambers Street, on Saturday, 3rd October. The students were given case notes, witness statements and forensic reports relating to two cases – a drugs dealing charge and an assault charge. The students took on the roles of lawyers for the prosecution and defence, crown and defence witnesses, clerk of court and members of the jury. The trials were conducted in real courtrooms, before judges – practicing members of the Faculty of Advocates, along with Lord Kinclaven – a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland. Students had to prepare their case – defending or prosecuting – presenting evidence, calling witnesses, cross-examination of witnesses, and delivering concluding speeches to a jury of students from another school, before the verdict was given. Against a crown prosecution team from Trinity Academy, the Currie defence team presented an excellent case, leading to a unanimous ‘not proven’ verdict leading to acquittal of the accused! In the afternoon, our crown prosecution team presented their case, with the accused this time defended by a team from Boroughmuir High School. The result was once again unanimous, with a guilty verdict read out from the jury spokesperson. Our defence team performed brilliantly though, with an excellent concluding speech to the jury. Students were excellent ambassadors for the school, conducting themselves in court in a professional manner, demonstrating their skills in public speaking, creating an argument, refuting points presented by the opposition legal team, and the ability to select evidence supporting their own arguments/case. The success of our legal teams at this event was down to the hard work and preparation of the students who gave up their free time not only on Saturday for the event, but over the past few weeks, preparing their case notes and speeches. Our thanks to defence lawyer Jonathan Campbell (former CCHS pupil) and crown prosecution lawyer Alison Innes, who gave up their free time to train the teams. The CCHS team demonstrated great sportsmanship, making a point of chatting to, and thanking and congratulating the students from the other schools who had presented cases so well, against our teams during the trials, and for being well prepared, which made the cases fascinating for all. A tour of the holding cells below the court and a free lunch topped off an excellent and successful day for Currie High School legal eagles!
Currie High School Mini Trials Team were:
PANASHE NYADUNDU 5H3 NICOLA ROBERTSON 5L2 MAIRI MITCHELL 4K2 REBECCA DREVER 4H2 MHAIRI COCHRANE 6K1 CONNOR PARSONS 6H3 ADAM MCLAUGHLIN 5K1 FARAZ SHEIKH 6H2 MARSHALL MCDONALD 6L2 Cont /
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December 2015
Currie and Firrhill Advanced Higher event Advanced Higher Chemistry students from Firrhill High School joined Currie’s cohort as we hosted a lecture delivered by Dr. Costen, Associate Professor of Physical Chemistry from Heriot-Watt University. The lecture was titled ‘Why do chemical reactions go?’ and along with providing an opportunity for students to revise work they had covered in class, it provided a unique insight into how this learning could be developed at university level. Dr. Costen described his cutting edge research including how his group investigate the collisions between individual atoms and molecules. For all of us who are used to doing experiments with quantities we can see and touch, this was quite remarkable! In February we plan a return visit to Firrhill where they will be hosting a lecture delivered by Dr Ellis, also of Heriot-Watt, on nuclear magnetic resonance. Findlay Haddow
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December 2015
Get Energised Get Energised is an event at the National Museum of Scotland which encourages pupils to explore, discover and understand renewable energy in Scotland. Twenty of our S3 physics pupils were among those who experienced this excellent opportunity. They worked in small groups to engage with real life challenges which had an emphasis on Scotland’s future energy requirements. The challenges were based around the topics of solar, hydro, wind and wave power. Each challenge involved experimental work, analysis of data and a short presentation of their findings with reasons behind their designs. The groups showed great team work and organisation. Judges’ comments included “excellent justification of their decision” and “good collaboration”. From the four secondary schools in attendance, which made up 18 teams in total, one team from Currie were successful in achieving the award for first place on the day. Congratulations to Joseph Saddler, Lauren Whyte, Kirsten Sanders and Josh Brock! An excellent follow on from our win at the event last year.
Lisa Gray
£700 Optoelectronics Kit for Science! The Science Faculty has successfully applied for £700 of optoelectronics kit from the UK School Photonics Competition. This will be used to purchase 10 new rayzer lightbox kits and will be great for investigating the magic of light, photons, lenses, glasses, lasers, sight defects, optical fibres and more. Irene Somerville
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December 2015
Count down to space seeds! The 15th of December is a special day for British science. Tim Peake will be the 1st British astronaut representing the European Space Agency to board the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS orbits at a height of about 400km and travels at a speed of about 8 kilometres per second (that’s faster than a bullet!) and this will be Tim’s home for more than 5 months. Tim’s Principia mission (https://principia.org.uk/) is one of discovery and he will be involved in an enormous number of experiments. His hope is that this mission will inspire others to follow him: "The legacy I hope is that this will inspire a new generation to look at science, to look at space, as an exciting career path, and to make choices that push them in that direction."
You have the opportunity to be involved in one of the experiments! In September 2015 2kg of seeds were sent to the ISS and they will be returning to earth in March 2016. Along with other schools and groups across the UK, Currie CHS will be receiving a packet of 100 of these seeds along with a control sample of 100 seeds which have not been to space. Our mission is to investigate if the seeds have been affected in any way by their time in space. This is a hugely important experiment – if humans are one day to colonise other planets we need to know if we can successfully transport seeds through space. We will need pupils with a wide range of skills to conduct our experiments. Could you compare seeds under the microscope? Could you be responsible for growing the seeds, measuring the seedlings or monitoring our experiments to ensure they have been done fairly? We also need pupils to gather and process data, document the experiment, share the data with the other schools and to communicate our findings within our school, to the local community and beyond. There will be further information closer to the time for those who are interested in being a part of this experiment. How many people you know have conducted such an important experiment or touched something which has been in space?
Findlay Haddow
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December 2015
S3 Project Narnia Project Narnia was a creative enterprise activity designed to get S3 pupils thinking outside the box. Projects like this have been running in Currie High School for three years now with ‘Project Scrooge’ and project ‘BFG’ before ‘Narnia’. The S3s went on a trip to the lyceum theatre to see a live performance of the play and to try and see how we could incorporate our ideas, as well as the Lyceum’s ideas, into our very own Narnia production. The project lasted three days and consisted of hard and tiring work for pupils, teachers and lyceum staff. Within the three days we had to come up with an idea, develop it, create all the component parts which would be needed… and then, finally, make it! All of this before the Thursday evening deadline when we would be presenting our work to parents and the public. Every group put their own personal twist on the story of Narnia based around the four themes; winter feast, nature’s delights, treasured gifts and starry lights. One group decided to focus upon ‘modern day Narnia’ linking the Narnia theme with the current refugee crisis. Another group focused on using the new iPads the S3’s have been given to capture the Narnia experience and create a film documenting the activities and the process that groups undertook. This film was shown on the night … accompanied by Narnia popcorn! The audience were also treated to musical performances of pupils’ own Narnia inspired compositions, there were winter themed science experiments, tasty Narnia inspired cakes, winter crafts and also a grand tour of the Professor’s library. Much of the school was taken over with wardrobes, artificial snow and all things Narnia! The chaos of the three preparation days turned into a really enjoyable experience for parents and the public to enjoy. All the S3s had a role to play in the production. Throughout the course of the experience we learned many new skills and attributes relating to things we will be able to use beyond school. We learned teamwork skills, organisational skills, the ability to work under deadline conditions and the ability to handle the responsibility, freedom and trust the teachers had given us. It was a great experience showcasing creativity and we have all taken a lot from it. Grace Cochrane & Becky Anderson
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December 2015
S6 Youth and Philanthropy Initiative
Over the past eight weeks, our S6 students have been participating in YPI during their S6 PDT lessons. The students were in small teams and researched social issues they felt passionately about. They then had to research local charities for the social issue, meet and interview the charity and then represent them in the competition with the eventual winning team being awarded £3000, funded by the Wood Foundation, for their chosen charity. There were over 25 different charities represented in the initial stages of the competition with one winning team from each class presenting against one another in the final.
The CCHS whole school final took place on Monday, 7th December. The following charities were represented in the final: Hopscotch Octagon Club SiMBA - Simpson's Memory Box Appeal Young at Heart Edinburgh Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
The students all presented exceptionally well on the night with a very close final between the 5 teams. The winning team on the night were representing Young at Heart, a local club offering gentle exercise and activities for elderly participants. The winning student was Damaris Tan who unfortunately had to present by herself on the evening but did a fantastic job to win the money for her charity. Local MSP Gordon MacDonald kindly agreed to help judge the event and was on hand to present the cheque to the charity representatives. It was a lovely evening and all students were a credit to themselves, the school and to the charities.
Louise Paterson
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December 2015
MVP
Wednesday, 25 November was the ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women’. S5 and 6 students - who are mentors in the ‘Mentors for Violence Prevention’ scheme – helped to raise awareness of this important issue by handing out orange ribbons and information to students from their attractive stall in the foyer. This event was a great success and the student mentors showed the confidence and skills which make them so wonderful in their roles. Sharon Hockaday
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December 2015
MPV Last month a group of pupils from Currie Community High School travelled to Tynecastle High School for the chance to hear Jackson Katz, founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention, discuss gender based violence.
The event was introduced by Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson. He thanked Jackson Katz for the MVP programme as it helped continue "making Scotland the best place to grow up in". Across Scotland the MVP programme has helped to prevent gender based violence and is now being rolled out into secondary schools across the country. An extra £450,000 over the next three years will be given to fund the MVP programme in Scotland; this is so pupils and staff from secondary schools are powered with knowledge, understanding and tools to "maintain the momentum" of the work already being carried out.
Jackson Katz first began developing MVP in 1993, starting in sports culture and expanding into other cultures. Mentors in Violence Prevention is a leadership programme which aims to educate people about inappropriate and violent behaviour towards women and minorities. It is designed to prevent all forms of men’s violence against women. In recent years, the programme has focused on more current issues such as online abuse and the dangers of social media.
Dr Katz spoke to us about the bystander issue. This is the concept in which people watch violence happen and do not do anything about it. Katz described the idea by using an exercise – this entailed closing our eyes and picturing a scenario that he described. First he told us to picture the woman we love most walking down the street, then he told us to picture her being attacked by someone – this was horrible as we sat helplessly as if we were there but couldn’t do anything. Thirdly, Katz told us to imagine someone standing, watching, not doing anything. Emotions were raised as we all felt different feelings bubbling in us – anger, hurt and disappointment. This is a perfect way to describe the effects caused by a by- stander. People then thought ‘But we’ve been told not to intervene if it will cause us danger, how can we not be bystanders?’ – It’s all about helping the situation as safely as possible. MVP is not saying that everyone who sees a fight of some sort has to sweep in like a superhero to save the day; the message is that it is wrong to ignore it. Ways that you could get involved without confrontation is by telling someone with more authority than you, for example the police or a teacher (in school situations). Also you could just shout “HEY, STOP”, this makes the perpetrator aware of you seeing them. The MVP programme is the first large scale attempt to fight violence with education, teaching people from Day 1 that violence is never ok. It is a fantastic initiative to bring into high schools to help to eliminate violence against boys, girls, men and women. Currie Community High School now has four trained members of staff in MVP, and 40 Senior pupils who are trained Mentors. They have been delivering the bystander message to S1-3 this term and have been impressing Pupil Support Leaders with their commitment, communication and leadership skills. So through communicating the message that “THE STANDARD YOU WALK PAST IS THE STANDARD YOU ACCEPT”, our mentors have also been empowering themselves. By Olivia McBride, Ellie Alexander and Ruth Waring S5
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December 2015
2020 Event On Wednesday, 11 November, 9 students from Currie Community High School visited Standard Life Investments for an event organised by Investment 2020 to learn about work in the investment management sector. The event was designed to educate potential school leavers about jobs in investment management, which include roles in human resources and software development, as well as asset management. Throughout the day, we were given various opportunities to talk to human resource managers and trainees from the biggest investment management companies in the world, including BlackRock and Standard Life. We learned about the different routes for employment in the investment management sector and these included pathways for university and college graduates as well as school leavers. We took part in various team building exercises with people from other schools including a spaghetti and marshmallow tower building challenge. This improved our team work and communication, as well as our confidence – skills which would be needed in any job, but especially those in the investment management sector. The event was very enjoyable and definitely increased our knowledge of the investment management sector.
David Kong and Abhi Jayanty (S5) The students who participated were:
Callum McQueen (5H2) David Kong (5K1) Ciara Simms (5H2) Abi Jayanty (5H1) Fin Rutherford (5K1) Annie Nicol (5L2) Samantha Ovenstone (5H2) Jamie Morton (6K1) - missing from photo Jamie Ferry (5K2)
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December 2015
Netball Currie CHS S3 and Open Teams have competed in a series of very challenging games in the first round of the Scottish Schools’ Netball League. This was the first time our girls have played together as a team and for some this was their first time playing competitive netball! They showed great determination against more experienced opposition from Firrhill, Fettes, Boroughmuir and Craigmount. Next term they will progress to the bronze medal playoff. The girls have been working hard on their team tactics and skills in training led by netball coach Catriona Salton. Training takes place every Thursday 3:45-5pm. All new players welcome!
Hazel Moar
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December 2015
Zoo Trip On Wednesday, 25th November, S5 Biology students visited Edinburgh Zoo to learn about the world’s endangered soils and the impact of soil quality on ecosystems and biodiversity. We participated in various workshops and learned many things, including how to test if soils had the right properties for plants to grow and how to make compost for plants. In addition, we participated in team challenges and followed clues around the zoo to find out what different animals used soils for and that allowed us to see all of the amazing animals including the giant pandas, the meerkats and the zebras to name a few.
David Kong On Wednesday, 25th November, we were released from the safety of the biology classroom into the wild planes of – well Edinburgh Zoo. But this was no mere trip to see the pandas. We explored the theme ‘SOS : Save our Soils’ through identifying which type of soil would be best for meerkats to live in, uncovering a secret code to save a (toy) meerkat from suffocation in a locked box, holding cockroaches and much more. Did you know that there are more micro-organisms in a shovelful of soil than there are humans on the planet? This shows just how sensitive soils are, so the addition of harmful chemicals can cause a serious imbalance which directly affects us. We discovered just how important soils are as they are involved in so many aspects of our lives from growing food and other crops eg. cotton to make clothes, to habitats for us to live on along with the other organisms on Earth. So overall, this was a very enjoyable yet informative experience (and some of us did get to see the pandas).
Amina Khaddouri
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December 2015
Experiences in Drama On Friday, 20th November, pupils in S3 Drama went to Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre for a tour of the venue. The Festival Theatre boasts the largest stage in the city and pupils got the chance to stand on that very stage to see and touch professional set and lighting equipment. We were also shown around the auditorium and back stage where we learnt about prop tables and the role of stage manager. Pupils enjoyed learning about the history of the theatre and about the typical running of a performance. The experience pupils have gained will help them when exploring and learning more about theatre production skills in class. Brooke Hall
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December 2015
King’s Theatre Visit On Wednesday, 21 October, a group of National 5 and Higher Drama students went to the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, to watch a Kneehigh production of Daphne du Maurier’s, ‘Rebecca’. The focus of the play is on the newly married Mrs de Winter, as she looks back on an eerie and negative part of her life where she is driven to jealousy by her husband, Mr de Winter’s deceased first wife, Rebecca. It seems Mrs de Winter unravels some secrets she may live to regret. The performance had many interesting characters who engaged the audience for different reasons. One example was Robbie, a young bus boy, who was very entertaining to watch due to his energetic movement and humorous dialogue, which gave some comic relief from the dark storyline. Another character that stood out was the new Mrs de Winter. Her presence on stage captured the audience’s attention, particularly the way she exaggerated every gesture and used fluid movements to tell her story. This grew throughout the performance to highlight the change and development of the character. I would recommend this performance as it is very thrilling and packed with twists which leave you on the edge of your seat. Although, one small disappointment, in my opinion, was the ending, which is potentially confusing to the audience, as the whole performance may be perceived as completely a dream; however, it is actually a flashback. Overall, ‘Rebecca’ is a gripping performance with a grand and gothic set, that explores a dark perception of love and jealousy and is definitely worth visiting the theatre to watch. Rebecca Drever, S4
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December 2015
S3 Trip to Musical Instrument Collection at Edinburgh University A fun morning was spent at the University of Edinburgh on 22nd October where the S3 music class were introduced to some instruments from the Reid Musical Instrument Museum. The main museum has been temporarily closed due to construction work at the McEwan Hall but Museum staff were keen to move some of the instruments to the University Library for us to see and hear. We also learned a lot about the development of instruments as we know them and about the earliest days of recording by way of a very interesting slide show. Our students were also shown how to make their own woodwind instrument – using a straw and scissors! This was very successful and much music was made on the way back to school!
Cheryl McMaster
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December 2015
Developing the Young Workforce Learning Through Work Event On Monday, 16th November a group of 30 pupils attended an event in the school organised by Skills Development Scotland learning about Modern Apprenticeships. Our school Careers Adviser, Ruth Addo, gave an introduction on what a Modern Apprenticeship is and some interesting information on the wide range of opportunities. Also present was Natalie Flannigan from Carousel training which provides modern apprenticeships in the field of childcare. Natalie spoke in general about the advantages of modern apprenticeships as well as specifically about the opportunities provided by Carousel. Finally, we heard from a “real life” modern apprentice, a girl who is currently midway through her course and she spoke enthusiastically about her experiences. For more information on modern apprenticeships, visit the website below and if pupils/parents would like to discuss opportunities, please speak to the relevant Pupil Support Leader to organise an appointment with Ruth. www.myworldofwork.co.uk/ Alan McKinney
School Immunisation Programme Immunisation helps protect our communities from a wide range of illnesses. Thanks to immunisation, diseases such as polio have disappeared in the UK. However, these diseases could come back as they are still seen in many countries throughout the world - which is why it’s so important to get your jabs. The NHS Lothian school nurse team carry out an annual immunisation programme. The vaccinations will be given in spring term 2016. Consent packs are being issued now. Please discuss the consent pack at home and return it to school as soon as you can. The teenage booster to ensure protection from tetanus, diphtheria and polio will be offered to pupils in S3. This completes the programme, begun in infancy, to give life-long protection. In addition this year all S3 – S6 pupils are recommended a meningitis vaccine (ACWY). This is to protect against the W strain of meningitis which is on the increase across the UK.
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December 2015
S1 Christmas Card Competition All S1 pupils designed a Christmas Card in their Art & Design class for our annual Christmas Card Competition. The designs were created after looking at the abstract artwork of Kandinsky and responding to the music of Tchaikovsky (as part of an interdisciplinary project with Music and Drama). We used geometric shape, musical lines, colour theory and Christmas silhouettes. Winning designs were selected by Senior Leadership Team. Our 2015 winners are Millie Addison, Martyna Wreczycha and Katie Marshall. Well done to all of our fantastic S1 designers! Kate Steel
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December 2015
Princes Trust S3 xl On the 22nd of November we had a children’s stall at the Currie High School Christmas Fair. We spent the weeks leading up to the day, planning, organising and creating. The games we organised were very popular. We created games such as: The candy cane game A snowball scavenge Pin the nose on Rudolf On the Thursday, before the Christmas Fair, we baked after school and made lots of tasty treats, for our stall, such as: Mars bar cake Candy cane chocolate crunch Marshmallow top hats Tablet !We raised over £126.83! A big thank you for all your support.
Page 23 Currie Community High School Newsletter
December 2015
Christmas Fayre
Photos taken at the Christmas Fayre held on Sunday, 22 November 2015
On behalf of PiP a huge thank you to every- one who came along and supported the Christmas Fayre. Santa was his usual busy self and the children were delighted to see him. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the PiP stall, all the Tombola items went and we sold all our Christmas Cakes and the Home Baking went down a treat. PiP raised around £800.00 from the Fayre and Christmas Show and all proceeds raised will be fed back into the school Thanks again Shiona Bogle
Page 24 Currie Community High School Newsletter
December 2015
Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2015
During the autumn term a team of three first year pupils Erin, Iona and Gaby and two third year pupils Victoria and Roksana met in the LRC over a few lunch-times to read and review a selection of six brilliant science books. Their goal was to work as a team, discuss the books and select an overall winner . The book review team picked “365 Science Activities” published by Usborne . This title was then sent in to the Royal Society who picked the winning book from all the UK schools who took art. As well as reviewing the books the Currie High team managed to have a lot of fun trying out some of the science experiments in the books! They were ably assisted by Mrs Cumming and Mr Varney in the Science dept. A huge thanks to all the pupils involved and to Mr Varney and Mrs Cumming for all their help and enthusiasm with this project !
A final word from the Royal Society: Dear Judging Panel,
Thanks so much for agreeing to help us judge the Young People's Book prize 2015 - we couldn't do it without you!
Gill Marriott
Page 25 Currie Community High School Newsletter
December 2015
News from Chogoria, Kenya We recently heard news of Winjoy Karendi who was sponsored by Currie High School to undergo her secondary schooling at Chogoria High School. She achieved an A grade, 82 out of 84 marks, for her final KCSE exams at school and has now joined Nairobi university to study medicine. Winjoy would like to express her gratitude to Currie HS community for all the support she received - our support, the teaching at Chogoria HS and all her hard work came to fruition and she now has great opportunities in front of her.
I asked David Mbae, the retired Headteacher of Chogoria Complex Primary School, to write and tell us a little about Christmas in Chogoria. Christmas falls during the long school holiday from mid-November to January for schools in Kenya.
"Christmas is always a very special occasion for almost everybody in Chogoria. Children always look forward towards Christmas with a lot of expectations for some presents by their parents and friends. They usually expect new dresses for Christmas. For grown ups Christmas presents are not common though a friend can sometimes arrange to take his or her friend for a meal out but not at Chogoria since on Christmas Day all shops and hotels in Chogoria are closed. Most people like spending Christmas Day with their families at home. However there is a lot of Merry making on the eve of Christmas day. On 25th Christians go to church in the morning for Christmas service. People eat a lot of meat during Christmas therefore those who have chicken, goats and cows enjoy the market. A few send their friends Christmas cards.
Special food for Christmas mostly consists of chapati, spiced rice, fruit juices and vegetables like cabbages with meat. A few people buy toys for their children. Preserve juices are common and a few buy sodas. Some people buy Christmas cakes and bread.
Those with electricity and are able, decorate their houses with Christmas lights and balloons but these are very few. Almost everybody decorates their homes using branches of local cedar trees.
I usually have a day organised with a few friends before Christmas day to share some food with the needy children around Chogoria.
Christmas is often a time of promises. May be the best promise we can promise to Currie High School fraternity this Christmas is that we shall strive to sustain our friendship."
And we at Currie HS hope that our friendship, shared experience and work together with the community in Chogoria will grow and thrive in the coming year.
Alison Nind
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December 2015
New website for Currie Community High School
The new website for Currie Community High School was launched last month. The new website features a number of innovative features, meets current accessibility guidelines and has been reorganised to make finding important information a lot easier. One of the key features is the ability to subscribe to the website and receive an email whenever new articles are posted. All you need to do is enter your email address on the right hand side of the front page where it says follow us by email. If something is posted you will receive an email towards the end of the day. If nothing is posted, no email. This is an important method of communicating with parents and I would encourage you all to subscribe. We also have a twitter account, @currieCHS, that is also an important method of communication with our parents and students. Please follow us to keep up to date with important school events.
Percy Farren
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December 2015
Higher Geography fieldtrip – Kindrogan, Perthshire 2015
At the end of November a small group of hardy geographers set off for a weekend of fieldwork in Perthshire. Although it was quite rainy when we got there, most of the group got straight into the spirit of things and went outside for a game of football. Much to the amusement of another school group, one of the Currie geographers was wearing shorts…
It was soon time to get down to some proper Geography so out into the woods we went to check out the differences in infiltration rates between coniferous and deciduous woodland. We also tried eating some apple-tasting wood sorrel. Not quite Bear Grylls, but close enough. Friday night was spent (with no complaints) in the classroom graphing and discussing our results (& eating cake!).
Saturday morning was spent investigating the impact of land use on storm hydrographs before heading off for a very rainy urban geography day in Perth. Saturday evening was spent in the classroom, using Google Earth to plot the results of our Perth environmental quality surveys. Our tutor, Ben, deserves a special mention here as he was excellent throughout!
The rain turned to snow early on Saturday evening and Sunday started with high spirits again as crisp, white snow lay across the landscape. A morning spent mapping the evidence of glaciation had its merits but we were all glad to head back to the centre for some heat and hot chocolate before setting off for home.
Unfortunately the weather had something else in mind and we had to spend another day in Perthshire’s snow. Everyone enjoyed the trip thoroughly though and had fun on the extra day making snow slides and socialising with the other students that were there.
A truly memorable geographical experience was had by all!
The geographers: Sophie Cunningham, Lily Elliot, Tanya Fakhoury, Kai Horsburgh, Eilidh Macfarlane, Ali Ridha, Fin Rutherford, Kirsty Smith and Peter Stewart
Page 28 Currie Community High School Newsletter
December 2015
RespectMe 2015 The annual RespectMe anti-bullying event took place on Friday, 27th November and was attended by all of S1 with leading input from Group Tutors, assisted by volunteers from our senior students and senior students from Woodlands. The groups participated in a programme of activities throughout the morning exploring the issues associated with the impact of bullying on the mental and emotional wellbeing of individuals and their families. A huge thank you to all those who gave up their time to make this event a success and congratulations to our winning team EKAR (Ellie Jones, Katie Marshall, Aimee Maloney, Ryan Gutu) who created a fantastic poster showcasing an anti-bullying charity.
Duncan McBride
Page 29 Currie Community High School Newsletter
December 2015
Currie Community High School Parents in Partnership Group Invite you to Celebrate the School’s 50th Birthday!
Where? - Currie Community High School When? - 28th February 2016 from 2.00 pm—5.00 pm
Join us to journey through the decades and share memories on the memory board, laugh at old photographs, tour the school, reminisce with old friends and teachers while listening to the best music and sampling some of the culinary delights from each decade (anyone for Angel Delight and the Bay City Rollers?). What we need from you!
Please bring in any old photos, school uniforms, mementos from your school days with your name and year you attended Currie clearly marked.
Join us on Wednesday, 13 January 2016 at 6.30 pm to help organise the Birthday Party!
Check us out on our Facebook Page: Web: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cchs50th/
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December 2015
S4 ‘Focus Environment’ Photography Winner! All S4 Art & Design students took part in our summer Photography Competition. Our artists were to respond to the titles, ‘My Environment’, Wildlife & Habitats’ and ‘Nature’s Moods’ and produce a quality photograph to fit one or all of these Scottish environment related categories. ‘Focus Environment’ is a nationwide photography competition for Scottish secondary pupils. We are delighted to announce that Sarah Brown, 4H1, was awarded Second Prize in the ‘Wildlife & Habitats’ category with a beautiful A2 framed print and £150 cash prize! Well done, Sarah!
‘The Very Friendly Pheasant’, by Sarah Brown “When out for a summer’s walk, I happened upon this pheasant in the forest. He wasn’t bothered by us at all!” Kate Steel
Page 31 Currie Community High School Newsletter
December 2015
Enlightenment Smartphone Microscope Competition On Wednesday 2nd December, David Kong (S5) was awarded a runner-up prize for his smartphone microscope photograph, “Astounding AMOLED”, in the EnLightenment competition launched by Heriot-Watt University. The prizes were given out at IllumiNations, the Scottish Closing Ceremony of the International Year of Light. The day featured an arts-science exhibition where smartphone microscope images from across the country were displayed and the ways how light can be used to do many things, from identifying the building blocks of DNA to the control of swimming bacteria, were demonstrated. In addition, there was an interesting talk by BBC Presenter Jim Al-Khalili about the discoveries of the properties of light by dominant scientists. The day was very enjoyable. Michael Varney
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