DecemberDecember 19 19 Page 1 Issue:Issue: 9 9
The Buckie High Blether
The Buckie High
Blether A newsletter covering the events of Buckie Community High School
Welcome to the 9th edition of the Buckie High Blether, our school newsletter to keep you informed of events, news and activities from Buckie High School. The newsletter has been put together by Buckie High pupils, who will be responsible for its
production throughout the year. Enjoy!
Rector’s Reflection most subjects to aid study at home. These
have already been sent out to families – and This is always a busy term – made even more departments will be directing young people to so by a visit from Education Scotland in mid- even more of them. I would encourage November . We await their report but I would families to help young people to plan their like to thank everyone who gave up their time time to provide a balance of rest, fun and to help the Inspectors get a real feel for the study across the next few weeks so that they school. During the week we ran over 20 focus go into the Prelims refreshed and confident groups – many of them involving parents and that they will do their best. partners who work with us to improve the range of experiences available to young Neil Johnson, Rector people at Buckie High.
Although we are all looking forward to the rest that the holiday will bring, I would
expect that senior pupils will be using some of this time to prepare themselves for Prelim
Examinations – which start on Thursday 9th January - through to Friday 24th January. These exams are vital to helping young people do as well as possible in the final exams in May – but also to ensure that the subject choices being made in January/February for courses in school and
beyond are appropriate. Many of these courses have expectations based on performance at Prelim – and so doing as well as you poss ibly can at Prelim can make all of Need a study or revision guide? Head to the the difference in terms of getting in to the library and borrow one of our Higher and course you want. As well as notes and texts Advanced Higher revision guides. The from classes there are a wide range of online library is open Wednesday to Friday 8.30 am
materials available in – 4.10 pm.
December 19 Page 2 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Skills for Work Interaction Programme
In October, five pupils from the Travel & Tourism course had a great opportunity to take part in the Skills for Work Interaction Programme over the course of three Friday’s at Johnstons Woollen Mill in Elgin. Each Friday was different; on the first week we learned about the history of Johnstons of Elgin and then got a wonderful insight into the factory. We were shown how their products are made and found out where they source the cashmere from. Each pupil was astonished at how much hard work and dedication every worker puts into the products from famous brands such as Burberry, Channel and Hermes. Along with us were pupils from the Gordon School in Huntly. We were grouped with them to improve our communication skills and to get to know each other. On the second Friday we spent time in a sector of our choice. Pupils went to PR and Marketing, Weaving, Customer Service and the Dye house. While at these areas we had to ask the workers questions about their job and get an understanding of what they do. On our final Friday we had a mock interview to prepare us for when we get jobs in the world of work. It showed us the expectations required for an interview and applying for a job. We received feedback and a certificate which will look wonderful on our CVs.
By Lucy and Sophie.
Stories for a Winters Day
Top North East Storyteller Jackie Ross visited Buckie High School on 17th December, to share stories with the SED library group. Gathering in the library, Jackie shared a selection of stories with
the group about monsters, polar bears, and a silly man named Jack! The group thoroughly enjoyed the stories! They also had to select one of them to work with Mr Leitch in the New Year to turn into an animated tale. The group agreed on ‘The Monster Under the Bridge Over the Spey’.
December 19 Page 3 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Medical Duo at BHS
In November two medical students visited the school on a placement which was part of a Health Studies option they were following as part of the third year of their course at Aberdeen University. The students are Emma Mair and Laura Smith. Both have local connections. Although Emma grew up in Glasgow, her dad is a Portknockie loon and Laura’s grandfather is Dr Hossack a resident of Macduff who formerly practised in Banff.
They were here for two weeks and while in the school they taught lessons in several departments including medical imaging in Physics, bacterial resistance to antibiotics in Biology, ethics of stem cells in RMPS and drugs and sexual health in PSE. Laura and Emma led stimulating and thought provoking lessons in which pupils were fully engaged.
They also had discussions and gave advice to pupils considering careers in medicine. This included informing them of Aberdeen University’s Gateway to Medicine programme. This is designed to provide an alternative route to a medical degree for pupils who would struggle to attain the very demanding grades at Higher required to follow the conventional route.
This visit of the medical students is an annual event now and pupils and staff look forward to the next group coming in 2020.
St. Andrew’s Day Quiz
Well done to Team Lennox for winning the St. Andrew's Day Inter-House
Scottish Quiz in the library at lunchtime on 28th November 2019. It was a close run quiz with only one point separating the top two teams! Well done to all who took part and
represented their House. All teams gained House points for the Inter-House point’s competitions. December 19 Page 4 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Musicians Reach The Right Note
The Buckie High Schoo Young Musician of the Year took place on Wednesday 27th December to a packed audience in Highfield Hall. The competition, kindly sponsored by the Buckie Rotary Club, gave students from across the school the opportunity to display their talents as an instrumentalist or vocalist. The panel responsible for judging the students performances were Tish Tindell (Lossiemouth Entertainment Academy), Anna Mulford (Music Teacher, Lossiemouth High School), Grant Smith (English Teacher, BHS) and Moyra Hendry (Buckie Rotary Club). They had to select a winner for the Junior and Senior Vocalist and Instrumentalist categories, before selecting an overall winner for the evening. Overall 18 pupils dazzled the judges and audience with their performances, while some of the school musical groups – The Vocal, the String Quartet, NC Dance and Davidson & Bell, all provided entertainment for the audience while the judges deliberated and came to their conclusions. After much debate, the judges returned to Highfield Hall with their decisions:
Junior Vocalist: Brogan Ferguson Junior Instrumentalist: Finlay Wood (Euphonium) Senior Vocalist: Deia McAllister Senior Instrumentalist: Abbie Nye (Violin)
With the anticipation building in the hall, the over winner of the BHS 2019 Young Musician of the Year was announced with Abbie Nye being awarded the title! Well done to Abbie and all the musicians for taking part in this year’s BHS Young Musician of the Year.
Finlay Wood, Junior Instrumentalist winner Brogan Ferguson, Junior Vocalist winner
Deia McAllister, Senior Vocalist winner Abbie Nye , Senior Instrumentalist winner and overall winner December 19 Page 5 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Safe Drive Stay Alive
On the 6th of November, the S5 pupils of Buckie High School went on two separate buses to head to the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen for the Safe Drive Stay Alive event. The buses were divided into Lennox and Cluny, and Seafield and Rathburn. The other schools there were Elgin High, Elgin Academy, Lossiemouth High, Keith Grammar School, Forres Academy and Speyside High. This event happened so the students of S5 would know about the dangers of driving, as they would be getting to the age of nearly being able to drive. This was an important, yet emotional talk about driving safely. It reminded me of the advert where the grannies told their sons to drive smart. The event lasted around 2 hours, and the structure of the event was that there was dancing and music at the start. This was to make people believe that it was fun to drive.
Most of the presentation was given through a short film, broken up by brief talks from someone related to a crash, including a police officer, a paramedic, the mother of someone who was in a crash, someone who was in a crash, and a doctor.
The film had a pretty simple story (which was based on a harrowing true story): four friends set each other up as dates for a prom, then they got drunk, and then they crashed on the way back. After the crash was the first talk: a police officer who was first on the scene. He told us that it never got any easier to see things like that, that he never forgot any crash, and warned us to drive safely, for everyone’s sake.
As the video progressed, we learned the fates of the three passengers and driver. A man in medical uniform appeared on stage, looking sombre. He informed the audience that he had treated the teenagers but unfortunately one did not survive, and the others were badly injured. He also mentioned the statistics of young people involved in Road Traffic Collisions, and the risks of dangerous driving. The video then continued and we learned that the driver had to serve time in prison. After the clip ended, a woman began to speak. She had lost her only son in a Road Traffic Collision nearly a decade ago, and has had the courage to share her heart-breaking story. Finally, we listened to another man involved in a car accident, who described the massive impact someone’s dangerous driving had had on his life. Thanks to the time and effort of the many people involved in the event, Buckie High School pupils are acutely aware of the immense risks driving can have. Bethany McMillian, an S5 pupil said, “The day was very beneficial and hopefully it will make the roads of Moray safer.” We are grateful for Safe Drive Stay Alive and hope it will continue for years to come.
This newsletter has been
produced by the BHS
students: Abigail Brown,
Euan Berstan, Mannix Healy
and Lily Farquhar along with
Mr Leitch, Librarian December 19 Page 6 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Mosaics
The younger students of the school have been creating Scottish themed mosaics in Art to decorate planters outside of the school. They have used tiles and smashed them to use to assemble the mosaics. The mosaics feature Scottish things like Irn Bru, highland cows and haggis.
Halloween
During the week of Halloween the school had some oddly realistic looking cuts, scars and bullet holes being made in art.
All classes were participating in creating the shocking looks, the students used a blend of Vaseline, flour and foundation makeup. To top off the scary look students used fake blood to create the look that the scars were gushing with blood.
How to make Take the same amount of flour (any kind) and Vaseline and mix until it forms a paste. Use foundation makeup in your shade and mix a small drop in to the paste. Blend together and use the paste to create a scar like shape on your arm. Add fake blood and finish your gruesome creation. December 19 Page 7 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Lari Don Visit
Top Scottish author and storyteller Lari Don visited Buckie High School on Monday 9th December as part of a tour of Moray High Schools. Lari, talking to the whole S1 year group, spoke about her job as an author, the books that she has written and the writing process. Working with the pupils Lari also created the start of a story with them, showing the pupils how easy it can be to create your own story. (In this case the pupils came up with the Victoria Bridge as the setting, which was haunted by a ghost, who in a former life had been a Detective and was now trying to work out who had killed him).
After reading part of her novel ‘The Beginners Guide to Curses’ from her Spellchasers Trilogy, Lari went on to share a Viking myth with the audience – Helgi and Kara, which enraptured the whole hall as they were drawn in to the story! You really could have heard a pin drop in the hall at the climax of the story! Lari also took time to answer a range of questions for the pupils. Lari said “I’ve been very impressed with the pupils here at Buckie High School, their creativity and questions, and I look forward to coming back.” Organiser of the visit Librarian Mr Leitch said “Lari has provided the pupils with an inspiring and entertaining talk, highlighting her novels and also how to get ideas to write our own stories, and the response from the pupils has been very positive indeed”.
Keith Grammar School, Buckie High School, Milne’s High School and Forres Academy were the schools visited by Lari on her Moray tour, organised by Moray school librarians, with funding from Scottish Book Trust making the visits possible. You can find out more about Lari Don and her work at her website: www.laridon.co.uk or follow Lari on Twitter @LariDonWriter
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Travel and Tourism
In Travel and Tourism we have been learning about the North East 250. Firstly we found out about different road trips, including the north coast 500. We then worked in groups to research local tourist attractions, e.g. Craigmin Bridge, Portsoy Ice Cream and the Bow Fiddle Rock. We had visitors to talk to us from Mayne’s Coaches, Chivas and the Dolphin Centre. We went on a class trip to Spey Bay Dolphin Centre to find out what there is for tourists to see. We learned about the historical ice house and the dolphins.
Our groups made poster presentations that were judged by Lorna Hall from the Spey Bay Dolphin centre and Sarah Baxter from DYW. After this we were inspired by a local couple who made a travel blog called `Faramagan,` meaning ‘where am I going’ in Doric, to write a travel blog. We had to pretend we were tourists going on a tour around the NE 250. We had success criteria including having a name and logo, a personal twist, great photos and many more. We wrote about the best places to see in the in the area including: Cullen beach, the Bow Fiddle Rock and the fairies at Drybridge. We had fun doing this and we also found out that it’s a great job opportunity.
Quotes from our Travel Blogs:
‘I had a fantastic walk along Portknockie Beach to see a beautiful natural feature, Bow Fiddle Rock. I had a really calming evening hearing the swoosh of the sea and the maybe not so calming racket of the seagulls squawking. The Bow Fiddle Rock looks best when the sun is rising or setting.’
‘I loved every step of the way on my little trip across the NE250. It was an incredible experience and I would recommend it to anyone I see anywhere. Would you take an adventure and visit the North East of Scotland?’
Keira and Rebecca
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An Enterprising Time
The SED Enterprise Group has been busy this term making and selling edible goodies in the library during Thursday break times. Sales have included the ever popular Bacon Butty Thursday, Chocolate Crispie Cakes, S’mores and Bonfire cakes. The group is led by Youth Worker Barbara Leitch and the activities organised form part of their Personal Achievement Award the pupils are working towards. With the enterprise section of the award now finished, the group now have to research and decide upon a charity they would like to donate their profits to.
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The Buckie High Blether
M:ADE are seeking 10 young people aged 11-16 from Buckie to take part in a short creative project after the New Year!
Learn new skills in storyboarding & content production. You will work with professional artists to create a short film inspired by your local area and local people – this could be a news type piece,
documentary or fictional story…The film will be screened locally later in the year. Supported by staff from the Moray Council Engagement Team and M:ADE.
th st 2-4.30pm on Friday the 24 and Friday the 31 January 9-4pm on Friday the 7th and Monday the 10th February
@ Buckie High School /Out and about in Buckie
FREE but limited spaces, closing date for interest is December 20th – text/email Stacey to book:
07495581961/[email protected] Or contact Barbara Leitch for more information
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Wider Achievement Wednesdays
Most 5th Year students at Buckie High School take part in a Wider Achievement course on a Wednesday if they don’t go to college. The options available are wide and varied and below are summaries of what students are doing.
Buddying Wider Achievement Digital Learning
The most popular Wider Achievement choice for One of the Wider Achievement options for Buckie High School pupils – especially 5th Years this year was for students to develop their – is buddying. It is a fantastic experience which digital learning skills by completing the allows our Seniors to gain valuable skills, such ECDL, or European Computer Driving as cooperation, patience, and how to teach Licence. ECDL is a course teaching others. Skills learned in Buddying will help computer literacy which gives the students prepare students for future experiences and the a recognised qualification in computing at world of work. In a nutshell, Buddying consists the end of the course. As a lead into the of our older pupils helping first and second year ECDL programme students have classes in a subject of their choice. They will undertaken the The Duke Of York spend one or two periods a week engaging with Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA) the pupils in the class. Buddying is not only which is an international programme that beneficial for the Buddies themselves, but also helps learners develop their digital, for the younger students of the class, as they enterprise and employability skills. often find it easier to ask for help from a fellow Learners can achieve Bronze, Silver and pupil rather than the teacher. Having a Senior Gold level awards with this course. buddy in a class is also useful as there is only one teacher available, with a buddy on hand the Wider Achievement Health and class can reach their full potential. One S5 pupil; Jorja Ralph, said that buddying “develops your Wellbeing group understanding of the topic you teach” and “it is especially useful for people who want to go into In the Wellbeing Award the pupils teaching.” Overall, the students at Buckie High complete two SQA units. These are find Buddying a brilliant part of Wider Improving Wellbeing and Exploring Achievement. Wellbeing. The pupils have chosen to look at fitness, sleep, relationships and diet as their topics this year. The pupils have 1 period a week to research their topics and Buckie Blether Newsletter 1 period of physical activity.
The newsletter is a small wider achievement Health and Wellbeing pupil Scott group where students interview people, create Stevenson said “I’m really enjoying the articles and take pictures. We meet every week course. It’s nice to have time to work out to discuss the news in the school and events and improve our physical fitness and going on. Each of us is set roles which we explore different wellbeing topics. I have complete in our wider achievement periods. We recently learned how long it takes to burn interview many people who are of interest to us off a Subway meal. “ or the school. Our main tasks are to interview, produce articles, inform and educate parents, students or anyone involved with the school. December 19 Page 12 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Christmas Party Nights at Buckie High
Latin Prize
Logan Montgomery (above) proudly displaying his award for Best in Latin from the BHS Latin Club. Logan attends the BHS
Latin Club which meets every Wednesday after school and is led by Ms Rowley. New members are welcome.
Christmas Jumper Day
Hundreds of pupils at Buckie High th turned up to School on Friday 13 wearing a Christmas jumper, to help raise money for Save the Children. The event raised £180 for the charity.
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Mr Cunningham Q and A
Here at Buckie high we have had a recent addition to our SLT staff. Mr Cunningham will be taking over the position of Depute Rector, having recently moved here from Milnes High School. We sat down with him for a Q and A.
What are your aims as Depute Rector? To integrate within school life To get involved in the Community To make a difference Reporting and making tracking more relevant To focus on learning, teaching, and tracking
Where have you come from? Milne’s High School as a Principal Teacher Previously the Principal Teacher of Technical at Elgin Academy Worked as an Electronic Engineer in Ireland before getting into Education
What are your first impressions of Buckie High? It is full of energy and drive It has a great community feel It is lovely to be here
Any Hobbies/ Interests? Loves mountain biking as it is a great way to unwind and relax Likes DIY and at the moment is building a shed
Is there anything you want parents to know about you and your role? Will be organising focus groups to get pupil opinions on the quality of teaching Wants to make sure Buckie High improves and becomes one of the best schools in the area
How can people contact you? Through reception as they have email address and phone number Twitter - @edu_ian Also happy to meet after school
Do you have any plans to start clubs or activity groups in the school? May start a club focusing on Engineering in the New Year A Christmas decorations project
And finally, how will you be spending the Christmas holidays? Visiting family and friends December 19 Page 14 Issue: 9
The Buckie High Blether
Christmas Open Day
The BHS Special Education Department (SED) held their annual Christmas Open Day on Wednesday 11th December, welcoming parents, teachers and staff to the department. The open day was an opportunity for people to find out more about the work of the department and see some of the work produced by the pupils. A large crowd was present as SED PT Mrs Aitkin welcomed everyone to the event, and took the time to introduce the new staff and children who have joined them this year. Also present was recently retired Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire, Lady Claire Russell, who, during her time as Lord Lieutenant has become a real friend of the department. Mrs Aitkin thanked her for all the support she has given the department and pupils from SED presented a beautiful basket of flowers to Lady Claire. The Mad Hatters Tea Party Fundraisers were also present, and made a donation to the department of £9254 from their fundraising efforts throughout the year. Mrs Aitkin thanked them and said the money would go towards furnishing the soon to be extended sensory room. After a Makaton sign-a-long led by Madison to ‘I’m Dreaming of A White Christmas’, refreshments were served.
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Maths Sumdog Competitions
This term in Maths our S1 and S2 pupils have been working hard in a Moray and a National Competition on Sumdog.
We had great results with the Moray Competition where 43 of our pupils came in the top 100. All 43 gained a certificate from the department. Arwen Mitchell (2LS), Shaun Hendry (2LS) and Samuel McLean (2LR) came 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively by completing all 1000 questions gaining the most correct answers in Moray. 2LS won the competition overall gaining a new subscription as a prize for the school.
Although fewer pupils were actively involved with the National competition we still had some superstars attempt all 1000 questions across the timeframe of a week. Out of 16,562 pupils across Scotland who attempted the competition, from Buckie High School Bethany Hendry (1LS) came 165th, Rachel Donaldson (2SC) came 84th, Lucas Wood (1RS) came 41st, Finlay Wood (2LS) came 18th and Arwen Mitchell (2LS) came 7th.
Well done to all pupils who took part across the term in both competitions. The next competition takes place in February. Be sure to check the school Twitter and App for updates.
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