St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School

Summer Newsletter 2015

NEWS FROM THE HEAD TEACHER’S DESK

As another very successful and busy session draws to a close I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our parents and carers for their support throughout the year, and especially over the last 6 weeks when I have been in post as Headteacher. During this time I have seen this school community at its most vibrant with the skills and talents of our young people showcased and celebrated through the many events that have taken place. We have seen a wide variety of trips and educational excursions organised, with staff reporting on how well your children have represented you and our great school. Hopefully, this newsletter will give you a taste of what has been happening. You will also read about staffing changes for the coming session, including the retiral of 3 of our most respected and long serving teachers. I would like to thank them for their time in St Andrew’s and St Bride’s who collectively have worked for over 59 years in each of these communities. In preparation for the start of the new term S5 and S6 will have an

opportunity to meet with staff regarding their option choices in light of their

SQA results, which should be available to students from 4 August.

Two sessions have been set aside for this process:

Thursday 6 August between 9.30 am to 12.00pm and 1.00pm to 3.00pm

I would like to wish you and your family a peaceful and enjoyable summer

break and look forward to seeing you in the Autumn Term which begins for

pupils on Monday 17 August 2015 at 08.45.

Best wishes

Mrs Fiona Mullen Headteacher

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

If you change address it is important to notify the office and if necessary to

re-apply for school transport.

MOBILE PHONES

A Reminder

As a school we believe in developing a culture of responsible mobile phone use

by pupils. While there are many benefits to be gained from using such

technology, there are genuine concerns over the potential harm caused to

individuals through their misuse. To minimise the potential risk and

disruption to teaching and learning, the following rules in relation to the use

of mobile phones apply.

Mobile phones must be switched off at all times and remain out of sight within the school buildings.

Use of a mobile phone by pupils within the school buildings (in class, corridors, toilets or social areas) is strictly forbidden.

The photographing, videoing and recording of anyone, without their permission, is prohibited.

In terms of personal safety and emergencies all the Emergency Contact

numbers for pupils will be continually updated. Where it is necessary for

pupils to make emergency contact with parents or carers (or vice versa) this

will be done with the co-operation of the office or pastoral support team.

STAFFING NEWS

RETIRALS

Jim Farquhar Chemistry & Physics

Norah Jardine Art & Design

John McAuley Depute Head Teacher

NEWLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS

Marianne Donnelly History

Kiem Doyle Modern Studies

Kathryn Boyle Chemistry

Laura Muir Drama

NEW STAFF

Laura Kerr Biology

Michael Wilkie English

Mark Patterson Computing

AQUATHON

“Congratulations to our team of 1st years who competed in the 1st Scottish

school Aquathon Championship and completed this event and came home

with medals. Well Done to Georgia Hernon 1C, Angelica Lindsay-Keogh 1B2,

Erin rose Buntain 1C, Euan Calderwood 1G, Harrison Gray 1G, Scott McCarry

1B2 and Darren Rankin 1G. These pupils swam 300 metres then ran outside

for 2k, an amazing challenge!!

CARITAS

Please see the successful candidates for the Caritas Award for 2015. Although

there are fewer presentations than last year, the thoughtful and sincere nature

of their submissions was specifically commented on.

Congratulations to all our pupils who have worked to complete the

programme this year and particular thanks to Mary Glen for all her hard

work and unstinting support of these pupils. Well done, all.

Successful pupils listed below:

Caitlin Boyle, Jason Dickson, Arun Sam Kurian, Shane Laughton, Rebecca

Laurie, Heather Leitch, Darren Anne Luntao, Sinead Lyon, Preethy Mathew,

Jamie McGowan, Brendan Owen, Gerard Seenan.

Scottish Schools' Athletics Congratulations to Aidan Gilbride, S6 who won a bronze medal over 800m in a time of 1:55 in the final of the Scottish Athletics Championships. He was just pipped on the line for the silver.

Pupil Achievement Award Ceremony Monday 8 June 2015

Luke is an S1 pupil in our school. He has an unbelievable aptitude for

Mathematics and recently took part in the annual Junior Maths Challenge

where he scored an incredible 114 points out of 135. To put this score in

context, the best score for our S2 pupils was 72 in the same competition. Luke

is well liked by all his peers and his teacher is astounded by his ability at such

a young age.

In June, Luke is competing with the best pupils from around the United

Kingdom in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad. If he is successful at this

stage, there will be an opportunity to represent the United Kingdom at

international level.

Brendan leaves school this year after 6 successful years. Brendan contributed

heavily to the ethos of our school. He was involved as a pupil representative in

the Pastoral Committee and led a significant amount of the school’s charity

work. His tireless work towards his CARITAS award ensured that he devoted

his spare time towards supporting the extended community in their Catholic

beliefs. Brendan has completed numerous first aid training courses which

have provided him the experience of volunteering at various sporting and

musical events with St Andrew’s First Aid. This has proved vital for our school

too; Brendan is often our first aider at our health days, parents’ evenings and

internal sports events.

Fashion Branding Award Ceremony 13 May 2015

Glasgow Kelvin College

Congratulations to Megan McRitchie (S1) who recently won a highly

acclaimed award at the Glasgow Kelvin College Fashion Branding Award

Ceremony. Students from S1 – S6 in schools across the West of Scotland

competed, with Megan’s winning design made into a real garment and

showcased on the catwalk!! Well done Megan!

FOOTBALL

A huge congratulations goes to Stephen Coupland, Kieran Bell (Both 3E) and

Kian Burns (4E) who were in the winning Lanarkshire Under 15 team who

won the National Trophy last night at Lesser Hampden.

The match was won on penalties against Paisley District.

GOLF

Kirsten Brown (S5) has been selected to be part of the Lanarkshire Ladies golf

team in the West of Scotland Inter County matches against Ayrshire,

Dumbarton and Renfrewshire from 15 – 17 June 2015. She is currently a

member of the Scottish Golf Academy and has represented Scotland at under

16 level.

MODERN LANGUAGES

Congratulations to Lewis Donaldson of S2 who won the new Barcelona top as

a prize for successfully translating 4 Spanish posters placed around the

Modern Languages department. Febi Johnson won a Paris St Germain shirt for

a similar challenge in French.

UDO Street Dance Championships

Congratulations to all of our S1-S3 girls who represented the school at the

UDO Street Dance Championships. It was a lot of hard work and commitment

but it paid off and the girls did an amazing job and the school very proud!

The girls were:

Sophie McLarnon 1A, Kacey O’Raw 1A, Sky Thomson 1A, Eire Rennie 1B,

Helena Gilmour 2D, Mia Hillhouse 2C, Robyn Lee 2C, Katie McLaren 2D,

Lucie Todd 2D, Catherine Whyte 2D, Erin Stevenson 3G, Zoe Wilson 3E

If anyone would like to sign up to audition for next years championships

please see Mrs Murchie in the P.E. Department. Previous dance experience is

not required in order to audition. I hope to see you all there.

Netball The S1 netball team competed in the South Lanarkshire Schools' Netball Tournament which was held in the Alistair McCoist Complex on 21 April. The girls played very well throughout the tournament and finished runners up. Silver medal winners were: Carleen Bredin, Corinna Illes, Katie White, Ellie McLean, Katie McEntegart, Kirstin Kurdell, Emma Duffy, Cara McQuiston, Sophie Hughes, Erinna Muir, Holly Whalin.

SCIAF

The school’s efforts raised £2882. Congratulations to all involved –there were

a number of teams involved, particularly the S6 Charities Committee and The

Talent show. A group of S3 will present the cheque today to Mark Booker of

SCIAF. Thanks to all of you for encouraging them and supporting. The effort is

doubly worthwhile this year since the UK Government will match fund -

£5764 for women farmers in Africa. John(for the Pastoral Team)

NEPAL APPEAL

A huge thank you to all staff and pupils who generously contributed to the

Nepal appeal last week. The total raised was an impressive £1,435.84.

This money will go directly to http://www.tbskathmandu.org/

YOUNG ENTERPRISE

Congratulations to the S6 Young Enterprise Group who came home with 2

trophies from the all-Lanarkshire Board final at the end of last term: ‘Most

Innovative Company’ and ‘Best Quality Product’. This is a wonderful

achievement - especially given that our pupils (who use only their free time)

more than held their own against the other schools, all of which teach

Enterprise 6 sessions a week.

The 2015 Young Enterprise Team

are:

Brian Russell, Luke Houston,

Mathew Meechan, Lisa Stenhouse,

Laura Edison, Meghan Hughes,

Scott Bryan, Greg MacFarlane,

Michael Winetrobe, Paul Gordon

BELGIUM TRIP – MUSIC DEPARTMENT

The music department music groups have just returned from a very successful

Tour of Belgium where the Orchestra, Soul Band and Traditional Group

played three concerts; Blankenberg (where we were based), Ostend and

De Panne.

This is a picture of our recent concert on the newly refurbished bandstand in

sunny Ostend. It was an excellent concert, very well received by the lively

audience. We were even asked for an encore!

As well as playing the three concerts we visited the beautiful historic cities of

Ghent and Bruges and had a day at a theme park.

A great time was had by all!

SCHOOL SHOW

Wizard of Oz

For 3 nights in June over 30 students performed in this years school show, The

Wizard of Oz. This well known story was brought to life through a colourful

extravaganza of acting, singing, dancing and lighting effects, with the

principle characters and members of the chorus, including Toto, otherwise

known as Brodie, the dog, entertaining the audience each night.

The school would like to thank Mr Kernan and his staff for their hard work

and support of our young people over the last few months.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

First Term: Development Day 1 Thursday 13 August 2015

Development Day 2 Friday 14 August 2015

Pupils return Monday 17 August 2015 (8.45am)

September Break: Closed Fri 26 & Mon 29 September 2015

Re-open Tuesday 30 September 2015

October Break: Closed Monday 13 - Friday 17 October 2015

Re-open Monday 20 October 2015

Development Day 3 Monday 9 November 2015

Christmas Break: School Closes Tuesday 22 December 2015(2.30pm close)

Second Term: Re-open Tuesday 5 January 2016

February Break Closed Mon 8 & Tue 9 February 2016

Development Day 4 Wednesday 10 February 2016

Re-open Thursday 12 February 2016

Easter Break: Closed Fri 25 March & Mon 28 Mar 2016

Third Term: Re-open Monday 18 April 2016

May Day Monday 2 May 2016

Development Day 5 Thursday 5 May 2016

Local Holiday Friday 27 May 2016

Local Holiday Monday 30 May 2016

Re-open Tuesday 31 May 2016

School Closes Wednesday 24 June 2016 (1pm close)