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Dear Parents/Carers

I hope you enjoy the March 2017 edition of the School Newsletter. As you will see from the content, the school and our young people have been extremely busy so far this year. You will not be surprised to hear that there has been a clear focus on SQA examinations for pupils in our S4-S6. Following the mock examinations in January, there has also been a focus on targeted intervention, with a range of strategies implemented to support all young people in preparation for their final SQA examinations in May. There has been a number of recent changes to our staffing compliment.

Depute Head Teacher, Mrs Hook has returned from maternity leave and is once again responsible for Pupil Support across the whole school. Mr Boyce and Mrs Murney have since returned to their substantive positions as Principal Teacher of Pupil Support (S5) and Teacher of Biology, respectively. I would like to thank them for the support they have given young people whilst in their acting positions. Mrs Higgins who was temporary Principal Teacher of Maths secured a permanent position at Bearsden Academy and we wish her well in her new role. Mr Adamson is now temporary Principal Teacher of Maths at Dunblane High. Two very experienced colleagues have intimated that they will be taking early retirement at the end of this session, Senior Depute Head Teacher, Mrs Wilkinson and Arts, Health & Wellbeing Principal Teacher, Mrs Domin. We have since recruited Mr Shaw from Kirkintilloch High School. Mr Shaw is currently acting Depute Head Teacher and he will join us in August as a replacement for Mrs Wilkinson. Mr Watson from Balfron High School has been appointed as Principal Teacher of Arts, Health & Wellbeing, he too will commence his post in August. Finally, Mrs Scoles has successfully been recruited to Home Economics and will also join our staff from August. I am now approaching 1 year in post as Head Teacher at Dunblane High School and I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for the support you have given to me and the school over the last 12 months. It is a privilege to be Head Teacher of such a fantastic school and I look forward to the months and years ahead of working together to continue to ensure excellence and equity for all Dunblane High School. I wish you all a happy, healthy and restful Easter break.

S. MacKay, Head Teacher

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SCHOOL EXCURSION

For the first time in many years Dunblane High School entered not just one but two teams in the Young Enterprise Scotland competition. The S6 pupils’ hard work over the session recently culminated in the regional final event held in the Albert Halls in Stirling. This was a great chance for our young people to showcase the time and effort invested in both companies throughout the year by both the pupils, business advisor (Moira Gilfillan) and link teachers (Mr Ross and Mrs Smith).

Team 1 'ScotThread', a 'patriotic clothing company' chaired by Alba Escala were recognised in the finals event by coming second in the 'Best Business in the Community' award and also placed joint 3rd out of the 11 teams with the 'Best Company Report'

Team 2 'ShortCut' a 'life hacks' company, chaired by Rebecca Whieldon and with the slogan 'if you can't crack it, hack it!' won the 'Best Use of ICT' award and were runner up for the 'Best Trade Stand Award'.

In running their companies throughout 2016-17, the pupils have developed a host of 'skills for life and work' which should serve them well when they leave school. Both companies also managed to make a modest profit in their enterprises which is an achievement that many companies in their first year of business do not manage.

Young Enterprise

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Prior to our options evening for S3, S4 & S5 Dunblane High School hosted a Future Pathways Event targeted at those young people embarking on or transitioning through the senior school. 12 providers gave insights and advice about career planning and the variety of pathways available to young people to achieve their

ambition. From innovative tertiary learning providers - Strathclyde University Skills Academy and Scotland's Rural College to business support from the likes of FES and career advice from the Army, parents and young people were able to ask important questions about making choices for the future.

This event is now in its third year and is part of a broader programme of events and curricular innovations to help our young people make more informed choices about their future. In partnership with Discover Dunblane and other community enterprises we are supporting our young people to have the skills required for the world of work. To find out more about career opportunities and information on how to access them follow us on Twitter @DHSOpps or contact the school directly on 01786 823823.

Our S3 pupils have all been involved with the Youth Philanthropy Initiative again this year. The purpose is to research local charities, create a link with the charity and to create a case study as to how this charity would benefit from receiving funding of £3000. Each PSR class will have one group and their charity selected to present their case at the final event in May. The winning presentation in May will receive a cheque for £3000 for their charity.

Future Pathways Evening

Youth Philanthropy Initiative

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Alba Escala is an S6 pupil who was selected and sponsored by Dunblane Rotary to be part of the Euroscola project in Strabourg. We are grateful to Dunblane Rotary for their support. Below Alba is pictured (on the right) in Strasbourg with two other Stirlingshire pupils. Below is her account of her experience.

The Euroscola project began in 1990 and now there are around 20 sessions a year where young people aged between 16 and 18 years old from the 28 member states come together in the European Parliament for one day in Strasbourg. In Scotland the trip is sponsored by rotary clubs ensuring that pupils from all over the country have the opportunity to take part. This year 25 of us from Scotland travelled from Glasgow airport to Strasbourg on the 14th of February where we spent 5 days discovering more about European institutions and values. This particular session was

very interesting due to the situation with Brexit and for me, as a passionate languages student, a chance to truly understand the implications of the decision taken by the UK. We spent two days in the Parliament building itself asking MEP’s questions of specific interest to us and participating in debates about topical issues which for me was the environment. Within our working groups we were given a chance to meet like-minded individuals from all over Europe and begin to understand the decisions made within the EU which effect both our present and our futures. During the rest of our time there we had the opportunity to practice our language skills. By posing questions as part of a survey on the streets of Strasbourg and filming a documentary about the city all in French, I definitely feel that my French has improved as well as my communication skills. We also had the opportunity to present to each other in French about historical areas in the city and enjoyed a ceilidh and quiz night as part of our evenings. The experience taught me a lot about the importance of a strong relationship between our countries and through making friends with young people from all over Europe I feel I understand better the issues that we all face and how together we can combat them.

Our S2 ECO Group proudly showing off the new planters at the front of the Main School Entrance.

The Eco group visited to the global classroom conference at Edinburgh Zoo on Thursday 2nd February. Pupils enjoyed several workshops looking at the importance of Biodiversity and linking human activities to loss of biodiversity.

Eco Schools

Euroscola

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S3 pupils attended the Glasgow Science Centre trip on Friday 27th Jan. Pupils watched the 3D film "Hidden Universe" at the IMAX and attended "Sky's the Limit" show at the planetarium, both linking in to our BGE Space topic. Pupils really enjoyed both activities and the Science centre staff commented on how well behaved the pupils were.

Our Higher Physics pupils were treated to a very informative and relevant

talk on Cosmology, delivered by Dr. Andrew Waddie from Heriot Watt

University. Dr Waddie provided an insightful lecture on topics such as; the big bang, the expanding universe and

black holes. In addition, Dr. Waddie’s links with some of the project teams working in these area afforded the pupils

a direct connection to these quite elusive and intangible subjects. The lecture was offered by the University in

conjunction with the Institute of Physics.

A wonderful Spring Concert was held on Wednesday 29th March in the Murray Hall. Musical excellence was showcased throughout the concert, with a wide range of performances from the Orchestra, Trad Group, Senior Ensemble, windband, choir and fantastic solo pianist performances. Thank you to our fantastic music team for supporting almost 100 young people to perform on the night.

Please see the Dunblane High School twitter feed for pictures and clips of the performances on the night.

S3 Trip to Glasgow Science Centre

Spring Concert

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Eco Schools

S2 Pupils have been exploring the non-fiction text A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. Pupils created models of the Titanic and researched the passengers on board; discussing their social class, the impact of their actions on others and whether or not they survived the tragic events. This was then used to present a persuasive speech on who or what was most responsible for the sinking of the Titanic. Picture: Laura, Ellen, Claire and Dinah with their model.

Stanza S5/6 pupils attend the 2017 Stanza Poetry Event in St Andrews on Friday 3rd March. They attended a poetry cafe hosted by Keith Jarrett and a selection of readings and discussions from the poets Norman Bissell and Kayo Chingonyi. The events were thought provoking and inspiring and many pupils have since looked into the work of these poets.

Last September, all S1 pupils participated in a challenging media unit based on the BBC show Dragon’s Den. Pupils were tasked with designing and creating a product to pitch to the Dunblane dragons. The winners of the year group final recently enjoyed a tour of the BBC Scotland Pacific Quay studios. The group gained behind the scenes access to some of the BBC's most popular programmes and they were also provided with an insight into programme making .

Dragon's Den winners: Abby Sheasby, Lucy McLennan, Mia Reid -Thomas, Hannah Valentine, Emily Forrest.

English

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45 pupils attended a weekend premiership experience trip in England. On Saturday 18th March they had a tour of Manchester United's stadium, Old Trafford and the club museum. They then made their way to Leeds for the evening kick off watching Leeds United beat Brighton 2-0 at Elland Road. On Sunday 19th, pupils enjoyed a training session with Bolton Wanderers youth coaches at the USN Bolton arena. They then visited the pre-match entertainment at Manchester City football academy before taking their seats at the Etihad Stadium to watch Manchester City Vs Liverpool FC in a thrilling 1-1 draw.

The Making a Difference (MAD) Group organised a non-uniform day on Friday 24th March to jointly raise funds for red nose day and the school. Various other events took place during break time and lunch. Above is Niamh Gilhooly and Victoria Perrie, reponsible for the bake sale. A cheque for £824 was sent from the school to comic relief.

Premiership Experience Trip

MAD Group

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Athletics

- Giant Heptathlon | Dunblane HS took the

silver medal in the National Giant Heptathlon

Competition. Squad: Scott Sheriff, Mitchell

Starrs, Cameron Blance, Matthew Meechan,

Stuart Thomson, Harry Wilson, Sandy

Buchanan; Lucy Ritchie, Ellie Boyd, Orla

Proctor, Laura Reid – Kay, Amy Faunce –

Smith, Kyra Gibb, Rosanna Savoury and Laura

Murray.

- Stirling Schools Cross Country | 28 athletes

from Dunblane HS competed in the Stirling

Schools Cross Country Championships at QV.

Special mention to the S1/2 Girls (Orla

Proctor, Amy Faunce – Smith and Kyra Gibb)

who won the team event.

- Forth Valley Cross Country | Congratulations to Kyra Gibb (S2) was crowned regional champion at the

FVXC held at Bo’ness on Wednesday 28th March.

Badminton

- U14 Central Schools Quaich |

Dunblane HS produced a strong

showing to retain their U14 Central

Schools Quaich title; defeating Lornshill

Academy 4-1 in the final. Squad: Grant

Lewis, Finlay Sheriff, Joshua Lewis, Harry Wilson;

Anna Lewis, Beth Elliot, Rebecca Plank, Marnie Thomson.

- U19 Central Schools Quaich | A young Dunblane squad – consisting of 5 S3/4 pupils - were victorious

at U19 level – remaining undefeated on their way to the Regional Quaich title. Squad: Sammy McKinney,

James Dougan, Cameron Murray, Fraser Sheriff; Emma Welsh, Millie Sheridan, Hannah Richards, Carrie

Davidson.

- U13 National Boys Doubles | Grant Lewis and Finlay Sheriff continued their dominance of age group

boys doubles, winning the National U13 title with an outstanding display of badminton at Ravenscraig.

Physical Education & Sport

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Golf

- Dunblane HS ‘A’ topped the Stirling Schools Golf League after the first round of fixtures at Dunblane

New Golf Club.

- The team (Craig Jackman, Bjorn Sandin, Sebastian Sandin and

David Clark) won 3 and drew 1 of their 4 match play ties.

S5 pupil Andrew Stuart won the scratch prize at the Fife Disabled Golf Open. He is pictured below holding the

‘Claret Jug’ he was presented with for winning the competition.

Gymnastics

- Mr. Ritchie’s gymnastics club picked up a record number of

medals at the Stirling Schools Gymnastics competitions –

securing qualification for the National Championships in Perth.

- Sarah Hughes took gold in the individual (Level 2) competition.

Dunblane HS also won silver and bronze in the team (Level 2)

competition.

Hockey

- Mrs. Waller and Ms. Campbell’s Hockey club continues to flourish with high numbers at extracurricular

clubs and regular competition with other schools.

- The Junior and Senior teams have produced impressive displays in

recent tournaments at Wallace HS, McLaren HS, Balfron HS and in

their home tournament here at Dunblane HS.

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Football

- U13’s reached the semi-finals of the League Cup before losing out to Graeme HS. An excellent first season

of schools football from the boys – including an away victory over Scottish Cup quarter-finalists

Grangemouth HS – leaves them with plenty to look forward to going into the 2017/18 season.

- U15’s fantastic run in the Central Schools League Cup ended with a 4-2 defeat to Alva Academy in the final

at Ochilview Stadium. They had recorded victories over Falkirk HS, Bannockburn HS and Grangemouth

HS to reach the final for the first time.

- The U18’s are the last side remaining in school sport competition this year and they faced Wallace HS in the

semi-final of the League Cup on Wed 29th March. After a thrilling and tense encounter Dunblane High

school won the match 1-0. We await to find out who we will face in the final after the Easter break.

Rugby

- Thanks to Mr. Denny who re-started extracurricular rugby

activity within Dunblane HS. Training is on Wednesday

3.45pm – 4.45pm and is open to all.

- The school is entered into the 7s schools competition

programme – in association with Stirling County – and

finished runners up at the recent U18 event. After the

Easter Break, there will be competitive opportunities for

S1, S2, U16 and Girls teams.

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Skating

- Megan Carroll (S2) once again excelled on the international stage

representing Great Britain; securing a 4th place finish in ISU Cup of

Tyrol, Innsbruck.

Swimming

- Outstanding achievement from Rosie Sheridan (S2) who broke a 19 year old Scottish record time on her

way to victory in the 100m breast-stroke at the SDS National Performance Championships. Rosie’s high

level performances and ability to push boundaries saw her named Junior Sports Person of the Year at the

recent FVDS Awards.

- Well done to Shawn Cooper who took home an impressive haul of medals at the Stirling Winter Graded

Meet (3x Bronze, 2x Silver, 1x Gold).

School of Tennis

- Dunblane HS have been awarded ‘School of Tennis’.

- The School of Tennis pilot launched in Edinburgh involving

Firrhill, Liberton and James Gillespie's with the project funded by

the Tennis Foundation and supported by Tennis Scotland and

Active Stirling.

- The aim of the School of Tennis is to revolutionise the way tennis

is delivered in secondary schools; embedding tennis in the

curriculum and getting more pupils playing the game in and out of

school.

The programme focuses on four key themes: teaching and learning, student leadership, facilities and equipment, and community links. Each school will be tasked to develop its own action plan which will detail how it plans to radically change the way tennis is delivered for its pupils. This approach will better link Schools’ into Tennis Scotland's wider participation plans in park venues, traditional clubs or sport centres.

- 8 Tennis Ambassadors have been appointed with the aim of promoting tennis within the school and wider

community: Freya Fleming, Anna Arestis, Euan Donegan, Emily Richards, Anna Lewis, Carrie Davidson,

Fiona Bell and James Forrest.

- Kirsty Humphries, Education lead for Tennis Scotland is delighted with how the programme is developing

this year. She said,

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"We believe education is a fundamental development area to grow our game and that tennis can be used to achieve educational

health and wellbeing outcomes. Embedding tennis in education and better linking school to club environments remains a priority

for Tennis Scotland. We aspire to provide the best educational support package in sport, through traditional and modified

versions of the game and a tailored package of developmental support we are creating the opportunity for all to pick up a racket

and get involved. Our Schools’ of Tennis represent one tier of the secondary school support on offer. Applications were of an

excellent standard and we look forward to working with our 9 schools to grow our game.

Table Tennis

- Scotland internationalist James Forrest (S3) added more silverware to his growing collection with victory in

the Stirlingshire Secondary Schools U16 Championships.

Fencing Dunblane’s Magnificent Seven

Seven young people from Dunblane Fencing Club have been selected for the Scottish team to take part in an event

in Poland.

They will be representing Scotland at the international fencing competition Challenge Wratislavia which takes place

in Wroclaw from 23-27 March. More than 1200 competitors take part from 29 countries.

The Dunblane fencers have taken part in five competitions to qualify for the Scotland team and will be joined in

Wroclaw by their fencing coach Charity McArdle.

McArdle, herself a former GB international and Commonwealth gold medallist, said: “I’m so proud of the kids.

They have done so well, and showed incredible dedication and determination. It’s a pretty phenomenal achievement

that almost a quarter of the Scottish Under 15s team has come from our little club.”

Dunblane Fencing Club is a small, local fencing club dedicated to bringing the sport of fencing to young people in

the community and currently has about 40 members, aged 10-16. It meets three times a week in Dunblane High

School, where the majority of the team are pupils. Head coach McArdle, is assisted by New Zealand épée specialist

Rob Blackburne.

The Dunblane team consists of

Isaac McKerr, 14, épée & foil; Adam Bryson, 14, épée; Keira Papadopoulos, 13, épée & foil ; Cleme Falby, 14, épée

& foil; Emily O’Brien, 14, foil; Xander Taggart, 13, foil; Joe Curtis, 12, epee

For more information on Dunblane Fencing Club, contact Nicki Symington on nicki.symington@gmail.com

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Infographic of extracurricular sporting activity at Dunblane HS from Aug – Dec 2016

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Updates

- Follow the PE Dept twitter account (@DunblaneHS_PE) to keep up to date with news and information

regarding sport and physical activity at Dunblane HS.

- Instagram (@dunblanehspe)

If you have any sports news stories / achievements involving Dunblane HS pupils please send in

to glendinningk@activestirling.org.uk

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Date Event

18 April Pupils return following Easter break

25 April S2 Parents’ Evening, 4.15pm - 6.45pm

28 April Study leave begins 3.04pm

1 May Holiday

2 May SQA Exams Commence

8 May New Timetable

15 May Parent Council AGM, McCarron Room 7pm

19 May S1 Reports Available

1 June P7 Induction Day & Parents’ Evening 7pm

2 June SQA Exams Finish

5 June New S5 Return

7 June New S6 Conference Registration

7 June Ave Atque Vale

Upcoming Dates for your Diary

Remember to follow us on Twitter - @DunblaneHS – for all the most up-to-date information on DHS School Life