ahs newsletter 38

Anderson High School Newsletter September 2011

Issue 38

Staff vs Pupils, June 2011

Important Dates

Term 1 Monday 15 August 2011 - Friday 07 October 2011 inclusive

October Holidays Monday 10 October 2011 - Friday 21 October 2011 inclusive

Term 2 Monday 24 October 2011 - Wednesday 21 December 2011 inclusive

(Pupils resume on Wednesday 26 October 2011)

Christmas Holidays Thursday 22 December 2011 – Tuesday 03 January 2012 inclusive

Term 3 Wednesday 04 January 2012 - Friday 30 March 2012 inclusive

Spring Holidays Monday 02 April 2012 - Friday 13 April 2012 inclusive

Term 4 Monday 16 April 2012 - Thursday 28 June 2012 inclusive

(Pupils resume on Tuesday 17 April 2012)

IN-SERVICE CLOSURE: OCCASIONAL HOLIDAY CLOSURE:

Monday 24 October 2011 Wednesday 01 February 2012

Tuesday 25 October 2011 Friday 24 February 2012

Monday 16 April 2012 Monday 27 February 2012

Friday 25 May 2012

Monday 28 May 2012

Young Ambassadors 3

Biology Plant Sale 4

HT Comments 5

Road Safety 5

Languages Day 6-7

ASN News 8-10

GAP 10

AH Geography Trip 11

D of E Award 11

Body Workshop 12

Inside this issue:

SRC 13

Barcelona Trip 14-15

Alton Towers Trip 16

Summer School 17

Library News 18-19

Employability Skills 19

S1 Activity Days 20-21

Visit to NHS 22

Maths Competitions 23

Geopark Project 24

Global Classroom 25

Armistice Week 26

Young Enterprise 26-27

MSP Visit 27

Transplant Games 27

Music News 28-29

SDS 30

PE News 31-32

Writing Competition 33

Pupil Support News 34-36

Parent Council 37

Health Week 38-39

Alton Towers Trip 16

We’re on the web: www.anderson.shetland.sch.uk

Anderson High School Lovers Loan

Lerwick Shetland ZE1 0JH

Phone: 01595 808008 Fax: 01595 695688

Email: [email protected]

Anderson High School

AHS Young Ambassadors 2011-12

The Young Ambassador programme is UK wide and delivered in Scotland by the Youth Sport Trust, in partnership with sportscotland, through the Active Schools Network. Anderson High School have nominated 6 pupils to take part in this initiative: Jack Clubb & Megan Keppie (S6) Eoin Leask & Zoey Symington (S4) Hollie King & Sean Graham (S3). The role of the Young Ambassador Central to the Young Ambassador programme is the principle of young people aged 14 -19 years driving opportunity, engagement and change for other young people aged 5 -19 years. The role of a Young Ambassador involves increasing participation, promoting active and healthy lifestyles and spreading the work of the Olympic and Paralympic values. Young Ambassadors have a pivotal role within their school and wider community, they are - advocates, role models and leaders of other young people. The programme aspires that they will:

Young Ambassador role: 6 areas

Live out and promote the Olympic values: Respect Friendship Personal excellence

Live out and promote the Paralympic values: Courage Determination Inspiration Quality

Live out and promote the Olympic values: Respect Friendship Personal excellence

Live out and promote the Paralympic values: Courage Determination Inspiration Quality

Increasing participation and promoting healthy active lifestyles for other young

people

Raising awareness of the Young Ambassador programme,

London 2012 & the Olympic/Paralympic Games

Supporting talented young sports people

Leading, supporting and empowering other young

people

Supporting learning inspired by the Olympic and

Paralympic Games across other subject matters

Impact on local community based sport

The group met with other young ambassadors from across Shetland recently and now have the opportunity to attend a conference in Nairn. During the conference, pupils will have the chance to hear keynote speakers and take part in various group exercises and discussions. They will also get the chance to meet Olympic and Paralympic athletes and other Young Ambassadors from Orkney, Western Isles and Highland region.

L-R: Megan Keppie, Eoin Leask, Sean Graham, Holly King, Zoey Symington. (Missing from picture: Jack Clubb)

Mrs Simpson’s Int1 Biology class have been growing plants since February as part of their course. They grew a wide variety of plants including tomatoes, peppers, sweet chillies, basil and coriander from seed. They also grew Geraniums and various other household plants from cuttings.

Biology Intermediate 1 Plant Sale for CLAN

This year’s class have shown particular flare and dedication for plant growing. They ended up growing so many healthy plants that they decided to hold two plant sales. After some discussion the class decided to donate the money raised from these sales to CLAN.

The first plant sale was held in the staffroom one breaktime in April and the second was held at S1 Parents night in May.

The previous record of money raised by a Biology Plant Sale was £120 and this year’s class were determined to beat this. Given their dedication and hardwork this always looked possible but nobody predicted they would smash this record with a grand total of £300!

John Groat and Janette Budge came visited the class in June with John Coutts to receive the cheque.

A huge well done goes to all the Int1 Biology class for their hard work. Special mention must go to Jodie Scott and Patti Zebrowska who gave up their own time to come in and run the sale at Parents night. Also to Sophie Robertson for all the extra work she put in the greenhouse during study periods.

The class would like to thank Angela Mouat, a Science Technician at the school, who helped the girls at the parents night sale and to all the staff and parents who supported their sale.

Welcome back We started back in August 2011 with a school roll of 905 pupils, almost exactly the same roll as when I became head teacher, nearly nine years ago. In June 2011, we welcomed the new S5 pupils from junior high schools across Shetland, as well as S3 pupils from Scalloway Junior High. In August, we were joined by pupils from S2 and S4 at Scalloway JHS, 156 Class 1 pupils from our associated primary schools, and several new members of staff. In close co-operation with our colleagues in primary and junior high schools, we gave a great deal of thought to making all these transitions as smooth as possible. My sincere thanks go to everyone involved. The school building I was pleased with the level of maintenance undertaken in the school over the summer holiday, including the completion of the new social spaces for S1 and S5. Over the last 3 years, all year groups have now seen their social spaces up-graded. The School Development Plan 2011-12 Please do have a look at our School Development Plan on the website www.anderson.shetland.sch.uk. This year, our key target areas are: 1. Curriculum for Excellence: thinking about how we teach and what we teach; thinking about how best to support

the new S2 pupils, as they are the first group of young people to be presented for National examinations; thinking about how to share information, particularly with the parents of S1 and S2 pupils;

2. Learning and Teaching: supporting teachers to develop how they work in the classroom and use computerised

school systems; looking again at our Code of Conduct, and developing a Home Study Policy (as requested by parents);

3. School-community links: working to make our links with the school community even better eg looking at our

partnerships, thinking about better helping young people as they leave school, and 4. SIC Blueprint for Education: playing our part in delivering the Council’s policy decisions eg working hard to

support young people moving from Scalloway JH School to Anderson High School. The term so far It’s hard to believe we’ve achieved so much this term already. For me, Health Week has been the highlight. From emergency services to healthy food, internet safety to bicycle repairs, there was so much for our pupils to dip into. I served porridge, ate kippers and helped supervise at the S1/2 Anti-bullying disco (where 170 youngsters jumped up and down to Mr Ferrier’s sounds for 3 hours). Former Colleagues and Friends The AHS school community paid its respects to Mr A K Robertson and Miss Nessie Robertson, who both passed away over the summer months. Both these teachers served the Anderson High School for many years and are missed by friends, colleagues and former pupils.

Head Teachers Comments

Road Safety around AHS

Over the last few weeks, I have been repeatedly mentioning road safety to our pupils. Register teachers and Pupil Support teachers have been discussing sensible road use with their classes. I would really appreciate it if families could reinforce these messages at home, whatever age your child is:

• Use the pavements as you walk to and from school. Don’t walk in the path of cars; • Use pedestrian crossings properly. On Tuesday 6th September, SIC Neighbourhood Officers conducted a

survey at Church Road at lunchtime. 485 people (adults and children) crossed at the Queens Hotel. 443 people did not use the pedestrian crossing. Less than 1 in 10 people pushed the button and waited to cross safely;

• Be visible, especially as the days get shorter; • Respect other members of our school community when you are out and about, and • If you are dropped off at the school by a parent, or a taxi, please do not drive up to the front door of the

school. Please drop off at the grassy turning circle at Lovers Loan, or somewhere else around the school campus.

At first the plan was to have a Languages Day, as one of Class 1’s interdisciplinary learning opportunities. The Modern Languages Department asked every area of the school to connect their subject to French and/or German (which are the languages taught to all pupils). At the same time, it was decided to introduce the school to a wider range of languages in their normal languages lessons.

In the end, the event spread beyond one day and beyond Class 1. Some teachers planned complex learning activities, and many helped pupils to make surprising new connections between their subjects and languages. The extra-curricular plans for the week looked like this:

Anderson High School Languages Day 2011

Extra Activities in Lan-guages Week

Monday 14 to Friday 18 March 2011

Monday French dinner menu in Canteen.

Monday-Friday, 10.00 Tannoy announcements by speakers of 10 different languages. Competition to identify the most languages. Answers to boxes in School Office or B3.4.

Monday, 1.00-1.50 French & German Quiz for S1-S3 in ASN Department.

Wednesday, 1.50-11.10 Sale of French crèpes and German cakes made by pupils, in aid of Fatou Diao in Senegal.

Monday, I.00-1.50 Fun activities in Gressy Loan building, on theme of colours. Story-telling in French.

Friday German dinner menu in Canteen.

Monday-Friday Library displays foreign-language and dual-language books. Research quizzes in cooperation with Modern Languages Department.

Monday-Friday French and German notices around the school. “Welcome” sign in the school’s languages.

In addition, a wide range of events took place in normal lessons. Some impression of this comes from the ‘languages diaries’ that Class 1 pupils kept throughout the week. A prize-winning one is shown below.

The last cake (baked by pupils) to be sold in aid of Fatou Diao, our sponsored pupil in French-speaking Senegal.

£75 was raised.

The daily Tannoy messages raised everyone’s awareness of the variety of languages that exist in our own school. Every day two people made short announcements in their mother tongues, and there was a daily competition to identify the languages. The interest this aroused was amazing, and the prizes were won by pupils of all ages and stages. The daily languages were:

Day Speaker Language

Monday Mary Dimitrov S3

Mrs N Hall

Bulgarian

French Tuesday Chapman Cheng S6

Ms A Orheim

Cantonese

Norwegian Wednesday Zuzanna Mikolajczak S3

Laura Kater S6

Polish

Finnish Thursday Nicola Harding 2E

Mrs C Coyne

Thai

Swahili Friday Mr Y Shono

Charles Samek S2

Japanese

Slovak

Here are some samples of what they said:

Original English translation God morgen!

Kan du gjette kor eg er ifra?

Eg kjeme fra et land ikkje langt vekke fra Shetland.

Der eg er i fra lika vi a sta pa ski og vi har mange flotte plassa du kan besoke.

Ha det bra!

(Norwegian)

Good morning!

Can you guess where I’m from? I come from a country that’s not very far from Shetland. Where I’m from we like to ski and we have a lot of beautiful places you can visit. Bye-bye!

Oh, bonjour, pitchounes !

Moi, j’ai en partie grandi dans cette belle region qui s’appelle la Provence.

J’ai appris l’orthographe au collège Marcel Pagnol… et la littérature au Lycée Paul Cézanne à Aix-en-Provence.

Au pays des cigales, on ne mange pas les mots, et on ne parle pas pointu, comme dans le nord!

(French)

Hello bairns !

I grew up partly in that beautiful region called Provence. I learned spelling at the Marcel Pagnol school… and literature at the Paul Cézanne high school in Aix-en-Provence. In cicada country we don’t eat words, and we don’t talk with a northern accent!

Zamani, mimi nilikaa karibu na Dar es Salaam; kule niliku-wa mwalimu wa hisabati, kidato cha tano na sita, Pugu Sekondari. Wanafunzi mia nane wabaki shuleni muhula mzima bila kurudi nyumbani, walisafiri siku nyingi kufika shuleni. Baada ya wakati wakusoma walifanya shughuli zingine: walichunga ng’ombe, walibeba maji toka kisima au walifua nguo. Jioni walisoma tena, bila walimu.

(Kiswahili)

A long time ago I lived close to Dar es Salaam; there I was a maths teacher, class five and six, at Pugu Secondary. Eight hundred pupils stayed at school for the whole term without going home, they travelled for many days to reach school.

After school they did other things: herded the cows, carried water from the well or washed their clothes. In the evening the studied again, without teachers.

(Thai)

Hello everyone.

My mum was born in Nong Khai, and I go on holiday there a lot. I like the weather a lot because in Nong Khai the weather is very hot, and I also like the animals there.

The ASN Department was involved in various activities for Languages Week, including practising French colours, and

story-telling in French.

Life continues to be busy in the ASN Department. At the end of last session, 5 pupils left to go to different destinations, including college in England, adult services following a range of activities such courses at Shetland College and work experience placements. One pupil secured a job at Tescos. We have welcomed new pupils into the ASN Department, to both 1st and 5th year. The first year pupils have all been involved in the activity days with their classes and had a great time with their friends.

Here is our news about some of the events and activities that have involved staff and pupils in the ASN Department over the past 6 months. Royal Wedding Event April 29th 2011 was a very important date in British history! Prince William married Kate Middleton and as with most weddings lots of preparations and excitement took place. Class A in the ASN Department saw this as a great opportunity to complete an all inclusive cross curricular topic on ‘Weddings.’ Why inclusive? Simply because in addition to the pupils, many staff willingly took part in helping create a fabulous display all along the main entrance corridor. This included wedding dresses old and new, bridesmaid’s dresses, many interesting photo albums and memorabilia, a beautiful wedding sari from Nepal and much more. Along the main corridor wall of the ASN Department we created a variety of ‘Quizzes’ – ranging from ‘Identifying engagement rings’ to ‘Identifying the Bride and Groom’ and ‘Bridesmaids/ Pageboys.’ Some photos kept us guessing for quite some time!

Pupils filled in worksheets on the Royal Family and Kate and William’s Engagement/Wedding. They created posters about their own family weddings through the generations, were treated to a talk by Lesley Rosie who married in Norway and had many interesting Norwegian customs to share. Lesley also made a fantastic Wedding Cake with the Union Flag on the top which we ate on the wedding day! On the day we all dressed up in ‘Patterned tights, ties and tiaras’! We watched the wedding in the classroom. We saw this great occasion as an opportunity to fundraise for ‘Shetland to Romania Orphanages Project 2011’ with the quizzes and competitions. Val Farnworth and Barry Derbyshire, ASN auxiliaries working in the department went on the trip to Romania in the summer. In total, with your help, we raised £170.30 to send with them. Thank you. Shetland to Romania Orphanage Project ASN auxiliaries Barry Derbyshire and Val Farnworth, along with 6 other volunteers from the Shetland to Romania Orphanage Project 2011, have recently returned home following a few weeks working in 5 orphanages in and around Brasov in the Transylvanian region of Romania. The volunteers did a wide variety of activities with most of the children, including day trips to the swimming pool complex. For many of the orphans this was the first time they had ever been swimming. Also, there were trips organised to Brasov Castle, the zoo, Mount Tampa (via cable car), tree-top Adventureland, and many more. The volunteers took almost £5,000 with them which was all raised locally in Shetland, and went towards buying a variety of learning materials, games, electrical items, also daily fresh fruit and water. The volunteers were approached by the director of the Sunshine Foundation that ran 4 of the Orphanages, explaining that one of the boys was to be fitted for the first time with a prosthetic arm and leg after he lost them when he was severely

News from the ASN Department

Anthony Nisbet

Dylan McDougall

Tom Blackburn

Wedding displays

Paul Ditchburn and Jennifer Moss “Tights, Ties and Tiaras”

Angus Morrison (now 2E) made ‘royal fairy cakes’ decorated with edible union flag butterflies!!!

There were four teams, Blue, Green, Orange and Red. Mr Smith was in charge of the Blue team, Ms Leask led the Red team, Mr Gifford was in charge of the Green team and Mrs Hogg was the Orange team leader.

We had many exciting games like going obstacle races, through tunnels, a tattie and spoon race, throwing beanbags in hoops and the three-legged race. All the staff and pupils took part together and we had great fun cheering each other on and making sure the adults didn’t cheat! We all had fun at the sport’s day, and I am looking forward for next year’s. A big thank you from us all to the P.E. Department for organising it for us. I wonder if they have planned next year’s costumes yet?

Louise Jackson, 3B Green Crabs, Recycling & Tatties! At the weekend we went fishing at the Sumburgh boating club. We had a really good weekend with brilliant weather too. I luckily caught a fish when I was casting my rod without any bait. I was using a crab net too and we caught lots of green crabs. In the crab net there was a really big crab that didn’t want to be caught. It was grabbing on the side of the net with its pincers and nipping at the other crabs’ claws because it was annoyed. Also in the crab net there was a flat fish. Here’s a picture of my catch.

burned as a baby, and funding was still needed to be found for the fuel and transport costs for the four hour trip. The Shetland volunteers unanimously agreed to donate the full cost of his travel expenses and hope to be kept updated on his progress. On behalf of the volunteers, we would like to thank the generosity of the Shetland community for supporting us, which enabled us to make a difference to the children living in the orphanages, and especially for a little boy's life-changing future.

Boat Trip at Voe During the last week of the summer term Hilary Conabeer’s team were treated to a boat trip from Voe pier – in fact, they we out on 2 boats skippered by Mr Keith Robertson and Mr Lindsay Angus. Out in the voe we visited a floating hut which originally was used to grade mussels but which is now used by a man building an 18’ boat in a 20’ shed!

Then we went along the voe to a mussel farm. A mussel line was lifted out of the water. There were hundreds of mussels to look at. Further along the voe we saw salmon jumping out of the water whilst being fed in the big cages. Everyone had a fantastic time. We were delighted that our new S1 pupil was able to join us for the day – Tom Blackburn (1B). Best of all we were told to come back again for another trip to which everyone cheered a loud, “Yes please!”

The sports day was on in June in the big gym hall. The P.E department organised the sport’s day for the ASN department, and it had the theme of colours and fancy dress. Some of the fancy dress suits were very funny- Mr Smith was dressed up as Superman, and Barry Derbyshire dressed up as a green fairy.

Val Farnworth and Barry Derbyshire, ASN Auxiliaries on their visit to Romania

In the summer term I made some plant boxes and planted some tatties and carrots. The picture shows the huge tatties that grew- I was really pleased they grew so big. There were plenty of them, and I used them to make tattie soup- it was delicious. I also help out emptying all the recycling bins in the school, and on Tuesdays I help the Janitors out after break-time. I am learning about all the jobs that need done around our school.

Hunter Arthur, 3B

Bog Jumping! On August the 18th, Laura Matehwson’s ASN class went Bog Jumping with Pete Richardson at the Brig o Fitch. Some of the class had done this before, and were very excited to do the activity again! For some, the activity was completely new, and everyone was looking forward to the adventure!

When we got there, we all had to walk down the burn, which could be very tricky in places, but we did get to swim along some of it! We then made our way up to the waterfall. Everyone had great fun standing underneath it, and playing in the water! Before lunch, we had fun climbing through a large pipe under the main road, and jumping in the water below it! At the end of the day, the dirtiest, smelliest part of all came! We walked up the hill towards a muddy bog, which we all got into! The thick mud and water came up to our oxsters. To get ourselves cleaned, we all went into the stream. It was very difficult to get all of the mud off of us! On our way back to the sheds to get changed, we stopped at the Breiwick bay to go for a swim in the sea. All of the pupils thoroughly enjoyed swimming around, and jumping into the sea! Everyone had such a good day that some of the pupils did not want it to end! Everyone was tired, but a fantastic day was had by all! Our photographs were taken by our brilliant photographer Shannon ‘Coutts’ Ratter!

John Robert Jamieson and Craig Tilston in the mud!

Shannon Ratter the official photographer

Do you have a gap in your lunch time after you have eaten? Why not fill that gap with GAP!! What is GAP? It stands for Games, Activities & Puzzles and is a lunch time activity which runs on Tuesdays from 1.15pm in A2.6. There is a wide selection of less well known board games and strategy games for pairs, groups and sometimes individuals. The activities on offer include paper and card constructions, making of 3-D shapes and origami. What about puzzles? Can you solve a rubic’s cube, move the Towers of Hanoi, do hexagonal jig-saws or construct a cube from awkward shapes? Everyone in the school is welcome to try out any of these, and more, any Tuesday lunchtime.

GAP

After weeks of preparation, a bake sale and a bag pack, the Advanced Higher Geography class finally set off for Kindrogan Field Studies Centre in rural Perthshire, for a weekend of Geography and polychromatic rendering! Day one included shopping in Aberdeen, a bumpy minibus ride, an afternoon of soil sampling, a quick game of “stuck in the gley soil” (aka mud) and a VERY enthusiastic Geography tutor. Lessons continued after dinner with an hour of statistics until 8:30pm. Later on there was time for a game of hide and seek with our fellow Geographers from Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh. Day two started with a full cooked breakfast to prepare us for an hour long trek up to our river study field sites. We spent the day taking measurements and getting wet!

After collating our data, the brave few jumped off the “Leap of Faith”- an 8 metre high telegraph pole. Day three included another walk to do some rural land use mapping. We had a fantastic morning to view the beautiful landscape that surrounds the field centre. This was followed by another bumpy minibus trip and a ferry journey to get back home to sunny Shetland! A whole weekend of Geography did seem daunting at first but it was a very successful weekend and we managed to cover a whole unit in just 3 days. The weekend was great fun and a good time for the class to bond. A big thank you to all who contributed to our fundraising and to the staff at Kindrogan for all their efforts!

Advanced Higher Geography - Kindrogen, 1st to 4th September 2011 by the Advanced Higher Geography class

(L-R) Back row: Laura Smith, Emma Rochester, Kelly Mackay, Emma Hand, Mairead Dodge Front row: Daniel Aquilina, David Noblett, Andrew Haviland

Do you play a musical instrument? Do you play a sport? If so and you are in S3 or above then you could be half way towards a D. of E. Award! These, and four hundred or so other activities, are available to choose from to make up your own D of E Programme. The award recognises young people’s commitment to and improvement in their individual chosen areas. They choose one activity from each of the three areas of: Skills, Physical Recreation and Volunteering. The fourth activity is an Expedition in which a group plan and go on a camping journey. This is the time of year at which people join in the Award. Meetings are held every Thursday from 1.25pm in A2.3.

Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE)

L-R: Kat Brack, Hayley Godden, Sarah Irvine and Zuzanna Mikolajczak on the first practice expedition in June this year.

Six Advanced Higher budding Biologists ran three short workshops at Sound Primary School on the Human Body. Primary 3 pupils have been studying the body and they invited the Anderson High School Biologists to come and help with their learning. Anya Risk and Kariss Stevenson ran a workshop on bones with the help of Lowrie the Skeleton, Louise Jamieson and Kathryn Moar ran a workshop on digestion with the help of Tommy the Torso and Innes Jarmson and Rebecca Simpson ran a workshop on the amazing organs of the body. The P3 pupils seemed to really enjoy the short workshops! They answered lots of questions and asked even more! For instance, one little boy asked “please can I take this bone home for my dog?” Anya, Kariss, Louise, Kathryn, Innes, Rebecca, Tommy & Lowrie absolutely LOVED the experience, and were very impressed by the Sound Primary Pupils knowledge and enthusiasm, and they would like to THANK Sound School for the invitation!

AHS and Sound Primary - Body Workshop!

The New SRC

This year’s SRC promises to be a good one. With some returning members with previous experience and new faces driven and determined, the SRC are going to make a big difference this year.

Induction Day

All newly elected members took part in an Induction Day in Islesburgh. The first activity of the day got the members thinking about the things they liked about the school and things they would maybe like to change. This helped members realise they all had similar opinions about the school and it gave them some ideas of what to focus on. Members of various years groups then worked together to produce their ideal social area. This allowed students of different ages to work together, listen to one another and share ideas. It was a good opportunity for the members to bond and get to know one another.

S1

Iona Leask

Lewis Smith

Darren Taylor

S2

Cameron Garrick

Joseph Morgan

Natalie Moverely

S3

Shannon Boston

Craig Meheut

S4

Sophie Henderson

Kaylee Mouat

Megan Nicolson

Megan Petursdottir

Kirsty Uttley

S5

John McElhone

Amy Sandison

Morag Smith

S6

Lewis Jamieson

Louise Jamieson

Gillian Morrison

The Year Ahead With multiple fundraising charity events in the works, the SRC have vowed to raise the most money from any previous years before. This will allow the students in Anderson High School to help make a difference. The SRC also aims to try and make improvements to the school, by providing a forum for pupils to voice their opinions with the knowledge that the SRC will listen and try to do something about it.

Departure! Everyone was so excited when we met at the Northlink Ferry Terminal! It was a calm crossing and we all “chillaxed” in our cabins with our ‘munchies’. In the morning everyone was up in a shot, eager to start travelling to Barcelona. We got a bus from Northlink to Aberdeen Airport and then flew to Amsterdam and finally to Barcelona – travelling was good as we got to know other pupils on the trip and met some interesting passengers on the flights. KLM staff praised us all for our excellent behaviour when we stepped off the plane!

Barcelona - May 2011, by Magnus Smith, Sophie Henderson, Megan Nicolson & Nikki Smith

Arriving in Barcelona! The view from the aeroplane above Barcelona was spectacular! There were loads of beaches, blue skies, a lovely harbour with massive cruise liners and the sun was shining! When we were collecting our baggage Robbie Tait opened his suitcase to find the remains of a fine cake that Ailidh Risk baked him especially for his birthday. Seconds later everyone was on the floor munching on the delicious cake – like a bunch of Shetland Scorries! We sang songs on the bus to our lovely hotel, unpacked, had dinner, and got showered and changed ready for our first meeting in Hotel Cap Salou meeting room. The hotel was really nice – it had a swimming pool, jacuzzi, tennis courts, and right outside the hotel was bungee trampolines, shops and local performers.

Day UNO On the first full day in SALOU we were woken up by Mrs Reid’s early morning call, and Mr Spence’s “gentle” taps on the door! We all had a delicious massive breakfast, which included croissants, cheeses, meats, cereals and the best PANCAKES ever! Then we all went down to the pool. Some of us chose to sunbathe, others played tennis, whilst the rest piled upon each others shoulders & did the ‘human cruise liner’. After lunch we’d all agreed to meet the teachers at the beach as it was time to dip in the beautiful warm Spanish sea! The ‘human cruise liner’ had its debut in the ocean. After a day using the hotel’s facilities we got showered, changed, had dinner and spent 40mins walking into to Salou! The banter on the walk in was hilarious so the time went fast. In Salou, everyone got some fabulous ‘dealio’s’ from the local stalls especially Hollywood Sports. Many people bought Barcelona tops for a bargain! Day UNO was a great success.

Day DOS Another sunshine morning and another delicious breakfast of PANCAKES to set us up for the day ahead! A tour bus took us for our 1st day trip to Barcelona with Mrs Reid on the mic as the tour guide! She told us a lot about Gaudi and his work whilst we gazed up at the wonderful Sagrada Famillia, and then she told us some interesting facts about Barcelona as the bus drove us to the town centre called Plaza Catalunya. As a group we walked up Las Ramblas and saw all the market stalls and street performers working in the scorching 34°C! We visited the largest food market in Europe picking up some scrumcious food for our picnic lunch. We took our lunch across the wave bridge to Marimagnum at Barcelona harbour for a cute little picnic. We watched the fancy boats sailing by and we were very generous to our little sea creature pals and gave them some pizza to nibble on. On the bus trip back to the hotel at night, Magnus entertained everyone with his Pavarotti singing impressions! Day DOS was fab.

Day TRES First day excursion to Port Aventura Theme Park run by Universal Studios. The atmosphere was tremendous! The music was blasting at the theme park! Some pupils were really high and excited but unfortunately some pupils were low and upset as they had broken school rules so they were absolutely gutted as they were suspended from the rides. Eventually EVERYONE was allowed to go on the rides late afternoon and everyone was buzzing! A few of the favourite rides included ‘Furios Baco’, the fastest rollercoaster in Europe. ‘Hurikcan Condor’, A 120m vertical drop. ‘Dragon Khan’ A nine looped sensation. And a personal favourite for Magnus Smith – The ponies that move around in VERY slow circles. Mr Spence made a special guest appearance as the Mad Scientist Furios Baco and Mrs Reid, Mr Malcolmson and Miss Watt all looked green when we persuaded them to go on the Dragon Khan! A lot was learnt in Day TRES!

Chillin out in Hotel Cap Salou pool

Sagrade Familia

Port Aventura Theme Park

Day QUATRO Another action packed day at Port Aventura! At lunchtime we went to see a show containing loads of daring and exciting circus stunts. Then we went back on the rides! Lots of us got photos for keepsakes and to remind us of the great fun we had screaming on the rides. After heading back to the hotel we got ready for the fun night ahead - which consisted of KARAOKE! Some mind blowing vocal performances including the fantastic opening act of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ performed by Sophie Henderson & Megan Nicolson, ‘Never say Never’ performed by Magnus Smith and ‘All Right Now’ performed by none other than our very own David Dunn! Mrs Reid and Miss Watt joined the girls and there were some fantastic group performances including Mr Spence, Mr Malcomson and the boys version of ‘I’m too sexy’. Day QUATRO really was something else!

Day CINCO The last amazing day in Barcelona. We started off by going to Nou Camp Football Stadium. This time Mrs Reid passed the mic to Mr Spence who told us about the history of Nou Camp. This was a popular destination for the lads but the ladies also enjoyed it. Then we ventured back to La Ramblas and had some free time to explore the stalls before heading to a fantastic Pizzeria, which was a lovely meal for the last night. We then went to the magical ‘Fountains of Fire’ show which was beautiful but loads of us got completely

Travelling Home! After a long hard day of travelling and shopping, we got the boat home. After we thanked the teachers for the outstanding trip, gave them presents and we all crashed out in our beds. The Barcelona trip 2011 was probably one of the best weeks of most of our lives and we shall all remember it forever. It was such amazing fun and we never wanted it to end. We also all learned valuable life skills that we will never ever forget. The Barcelona connection will remain with us forever. We would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Mrs Reid, Mr Spence, Miss Watt and Mr Malcomson for making the trip happen. Mrs Reid has run the trip for 9 years taking 405 pupils in total to Barcelona. This involves a massive amount of effort and time. THANK YOU ☺ to her and all the teachers.

soaked by the water due to the Spanish winds. After enjoying a wonderful show we got the bus back to Salou. On the way back we tried as hard as we could to sleep but many of us were far too wide awake so singing continued to help us prepare for the night ahead. When we returned to the hotel we freshened up, and then hit the famous ‘Crow’s Nest’ for a wild dance off which Mrs Reid had organised for us. Day CINCO was a really splendid way to end the school trip.

David Dunn - “ The Karaoke King”

Nou Camp Stadium

Rhianne Leask, Nikki Smith and Lynsey Morrison at the Human statues at Las Ramblas

Mr Spence, Mrs Reid, Mr Malcolmson & Miss Watt

After meetings at school, planning and organizing, we were finally about to go on the Northlink ferry for the start of a fantastic trip. On the day we were due to leave the sea was rough. We thought that the trip might be cancelled but luckily we sailed, and went straight to Aberdeen instead of stopping off at Orkney. When we arrived in Aberdeen we got on our bus and drove to Stoke-on-Trent. It was a long drive but we had a few stops, including the Trafford centre in Manchester for some shopping. When we got to The Best Western Hotel in Stoke-on-Trent everyone was tired. We checked in and then had 45 minutes to go and get ready for tea. There was a choice of going to MacDonald’s, Pizza Hut or Frankie and Bennies. After tea we went back to our rooms and just relaxed, and then went to sleep. The next day we all went down for a big breakfast and then got ready to go to Alton Towers. It took about 45 minutes to get there from our hotel, but it was completely worth the drive. It was amazing. There was so much to do and we were just raring to get on the rides. There are some of the best rides in the UK in the park, including Oblivion, the only 150 feet vertical drop! Rita the fastest ride in the UK at 90miles an hour! And Air, the UKs only ride that you do on your belly! We had

about 7 hours in the park, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt so much shorter. That night we went for tea and then to see a movie at the cinema. The choices were Thor, Hanna or Pirates of the Caribbean 4. After that it was back to the hotel and bed (though there wasn’t much sleep as we were all so excited about going to Alton Towers again the next day!) The next day we went to Alton Towers again and it was excellent. Then at night we went to an Italian restaurant called Roberto’s for tea. It was about a fifteen minutes walk from our hotel. After that it was back the hotel for packing all of our stuff. The next day was spent travelling back to Aberdeen. For tea that night there was a choice of Jimmy Chungs, Pizza Hut or Burger King. After tea we went and checked in to the Jury’s Inn Hotel in Union Square. The next morning we had breakfast, then shopping for a few hours. After that we boarded the ferry and got tea. It was a calm sailing! The next morning our parents collected us and we went home. Alton Towers was an amazing trip. We would love to go again as it was just so much fun. If you are thinking to go, you should. You will have a ball.

Alton Towers Trip 2011 - Niamh Coffey and Sally Sandison 2F

For one week of my summer holidays, myself and Chloe Howarth was lucky enough to be chosen to take part in the Science Summer School at Edinburgh Zoo. This involved travelling down from Shetland to Edinburgh to work at the Zoo for a week. I arrived in Edinburgh on the Sunday, which gave me time to settle into my B&B accommodation and have a look around the shops which were both situated very near to the zoo. It was then Monday morning. When Chloe and I got to the zoo, there was a sea of faces that looked just as nervous as we did. We handed our letter into the reception and made our way up to the Education Centre, where we seated in the theatre. Polly Philpot, one of the leading Education Officers introduced us to the week and pointed out the fact that it was the International Year of the Forest and that all the animals which we would be looking into were found in the forest. The first task was to piece together a jigsaw out of a bag and try to find the rest of the missing pieces. We finally found all the five pieces of the jigsaw and produced a picture of a huge emu-like bird, which we were later told was one of the Cassowaries at the zoo. This was my animal for the week! Chloe was in the group for Warty Pigs!

To begin with, I was rather disappointed as the rest of the groups seemed to get monkeys or bears which sounded more interesting than a bird. Little did I know that by learning and observing these birds for a week I

would be fascinated by them and even felt I’d made a connection with them! To find out more about the cassowaries, a meeting was arranged with the keeper, who gave us great depth and detail about the birds and how they could disembowel a human with just one kick. This suddenly made me real-ise how cool this birds really were! Throughout the week, we went out for half an hour sessions to observe their behaviour and made up a hypothesis that the male cassowary (Billy) reacted more with human activity than the female cassowary (Sidney). We eventually collected enough human-related behaviour from Billy to show that he did react to humans than Sidney ever did. This was presented in two graphs, which backed up our hypothesis in our presentation on the Friday. This wasn’t the only thing the zoo had planned for us. Throughout the week, in between the work on our particular animal, we also participated in many other activities. On the Wednesday, the Zoo Vet came into the Education Centre and did a keyhole dissection on a rabbit and full dissection of a trout. This was particularly interesting as the key-hole equipment could show a clear picture of all the organs present in the rabbit. In addition to this, Barry (Education Officer) also took us the animal handling building, where we handled animals such as cockroaches, stick insects, snakes and even rats! Not only did we meet some super people that we’ll always be in contact with, but we got the most amazing opportunity to work with some of the most endangered animals in the world! Overall, Chloe and I were really thankful that we were lucky enough to be given a place on the Science Summer School at the Edinburgh Zoo as there were lots of applicants, and we’d like to thank Mrs Reid and Poly Philpot for organising it for us.

Edinburgh Zoo Summer School - Kathryn Moar S6

Fairly Growing…

Since the last newsletter you’ll see that the Biology Department’s baby African Snails have grown considerably.

Cassowary

Warty Pig

Reading for enjoyment in S1 and S2 One of the library’s most favourite things is encouraging reading for enjoyment for all pupils and staff. Kat and Tanya are always there to offer recommendations, suggest a new genre and speak about the newest and most brilliant books. Here is two ways that the library promotes reading for enjoyment for S1 and S2. Rainbow Reading Award The Rainbow Reading Award encourages S1 classes to read fiction and keep track of their reading in diaries. To promote reading for enjoyment pupils can choose any book they want but are challenged to read a variety of genre and authors. S1 pupils are introduced to reading diaries in the first term and can work through the diaries in their own time. The award begins with the Red Reading Diary. After reading two books and completing the red diary pupils achieve the Red Award for Reading. Pupils then progress through diaries, following the colours of the rainbow from red to blue. After completing the Red Award pupils get a ‘rainbow cloud’ with their name on. Each cloud is added to a wall display in the library and pupils can move their clouds along the display after achieving each award. The primary aim is for pupils to enjoy reading and read a range of different books. From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe…where will reading take you? Pupils and staff have been extending their book choices by reading ‘Around The World’. By reading a book set in a different country or by accompanying a character on a trip you can ‘visit’ the world…explore the Amazon Rainforest, fight in the Russian Revolution, step into the moccasins of a Native American. The possibilities are endless. An essential item when travelling is a passport, pupils can pick up a reading passport that is stamped each time you visit a new country. You can see some of the countries that pupils have travelled to on the map in the library. Pupils each have their own pin that they move around the map as they visit new places. Classes are in competition, with a reward for the class that has the most people travelling.

Library News

“Books and Banter” is the new book club which has been set up for all year groups. At the moment, there are 11 of us in the group ranging from S1-S3. Our aim is to encourage the discussion of the wide range of books that we have all read and enjoyed. We have set up a blog page which anyone can access through the school website: http://booksandbanter.blogspot.com Here, we post reviews and thoughts on books we have read and suggestions for books we think people should really take the time to read. Another of our aims is to follow different book awards that take place throughout the year such as the “Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize” , “Roald Dahl Book Award”, “The Scottish Children's Book Award”, “The Carnegie Medal”, “Redhouse Book Award”, “Costa Book Prize” and the “Blue Peter Book Award”. We plan to read the books which have been shortlisted for the different prizes and write reviews for them or vote which we think is the most deserving to win, posting our thoughts on the relevant web pages. We have the chance to enter competitions connected to the different book awards and maybe even win some prizes! The group have already managed to read and discuss two novels: “Skellig” by David Almond and “White Crow” by Marcus Sedgwick. There was a range of opinions about the two books and how good they were. The group’s thoughts and opinions on the two novels have been posted on their blog page. “Books and Banter”is open to all who wish to join. We meet every Monday at 1.15 in the library.

“Books and Banter” - Maelyn Marriner, Justine Tilston and Mrs Scollay

Employability Skills

As part of the new curriculum in the senior phase of the school, we have been looking for ways to extend our link with outside agencies. Also as our senior pupils prepare to move on to life outside school we are looking for ways to extend their skills into areas such as employability and enterprise. We already have close links with Shetland College through programmes such as Vocational Pathways and social education and the college had established courses in employability Skills and Personal Enterprise. As a result of a liaison meeting we were able to establish a pilot group with college staff coming in to deliver a number of HNC module to senior pupils. While the initial group is small we hope the success of the pilot will see this grow and extend in subsequent years. The programme has been developed by the Deloitte Foundation and staff have undertaken training to deliver the course at Aberdeen university. The course prepares students with the necessary personal skills needed for life in the workplace. Employers today require more than just qualifications. They want to know that you can communicate well and work as part of a team. Also throughout your working life will need to take control of your personal development.

The course will look at how to audit your skill, weaknesses, skills and knowledge to prepare a CV and how to tailor it to match a job vacancy. There will also be a research project exploring an aspect of the modern work environment. As well as the formal qualification at the end of the course students will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to gain a competitive edge in today’s job market. In addition they will have an up to date Cv, ready to circulate to employers, interview skills, a portfolio of evidence to create a personal statement for UCAS and hands on experience of online learning. It is a unique opportunity to experience University learning without leaving school.

L-R Back row: Justine Tilston, Maelyn Marriner, Mrs A Scollay Front row: Sally Sandison, Miss K Brack, Matthew Bokor-Ingram

As part of the S1 Induction programme all pupils in this year group were given the chance to participate on an outdoor education day. The activities were co-ordinated by Pete Richardson and classes were accompanied by their registration and pupil support teachers. The pupils took part in a number of team building exercises at the Gilbertson Park before moving on to try more challenging activities such as climbing peat banks, wading and floating in a burn, jumping into a muddy bog, crawling through a long dark tunnel, canoeing and coasteering. The purpose of the days was to give pupils and staff the chance to get to know each other better, get some exercise and to have fun! The days proved a great success as can be gauged by the comments from a selection of pupils.

“One after another we got the chance to float down the burn on our backs which was great fun. I did it three times.” (Steven Mcleod)

“At first when we went

coasteering I was a bit

scared but I managed to

jump off the highest rock

and I felt really good.”

(Mareel Halcrow)

(Tommy Carroll)

“We found a lovely smelly bog

which we snaked through then

we got the chance to jump in it.

I did three cannonballs which

was great fun even though I

couldn’t see because my face

was covered in mud.”

“We swam to a higher rock

and jumped off and it was

amazing. Then we had to go

back and we were all sad.

We had a brilliant day and I

will definitely go again.”

(Iona Leask)

“Pete told us to hold the rope about three

feet in the air, then Michaela had to climb

up on it and try to walk all the way round

the circle. She had a good technique

using all our heads as props to get

around. Pete said that she completed it

faster than any other class which made

us all feel good.” (Sinead Blance)

S1 Activity Days

In June the Advanced Higher Biology class and some other pupils interested in a career with NHS, attended Montfield for a day. This was a very informative trip with pupils attending a session in the mobile skills unit as well as meeting with various professionals and getting valuable insights into different careers with the NHS. The Mobile Skills Unit has been attending Shetland now for the last couple of years. It is fitted with very modern technology including a life-like interactive mannequin which can be given a pulse, voice, blood pressure and various other features. The condition of this “patient” can be manipulated in order to help healthcare practitioners update their skills in resuscitation, diagnosis and stabilisation. The pupils were given the opportunity to both manipulate the condition of, and help to treat the “patient”. A local paramedic also gave them a lesson in CPR and they each had a go. One pupil said “I’d done some CPR before but it’s always good to get shown again”.

The remainder of the day was spent in workshops with different practitioners. There was the dental technician who discussed dental hygiene and the duties of the job. There were some very shocking facts about how much sugar various common food stuffs contain and how sugar is disguised in ingredients lists. The pupils also enjoyed having a go at mixing acrylic pastes which are used for dental impressions. Not as easy as it looks!

S5/6 Pupils Visit to NHS at Montfield

One pupil commented: “It was quite hard to get all the bubbles out. I’d never thought about being a dental technician before but I think it would be a good job.” There was a very interesting session on infection control. This began with a brief his-tory of how knowledge on various common infections has changed over the years. The pupils were asked to wash their hands as thoroughly as they could before applying a gel and placing their hands under UV light. This special gel shows up the bacteria on the hands that have not been removed by washing. The pupils were shown how to wash their hands properly to remove as much bacteria as possible. The visit to the Occupational Therapy department was very valuable. First pupils had to pretend they had an injury and the OT then took them through their interview process. This gave a valuable insight into the considerations and adaptations you would need to make if for example, you’re leg was in plaster from the hip to toe and you lived in a three storey house!! “I’d have to stay on the bottom floor, move into my brother’s bedroom and get him to make me cups of tea.”... was the conclusion of one interviewee. The pupils were then put in wheelchairs and asked to perform certain everyday tasks using the facilities there. It was amazing to see how much more difficult making a piece of toast or boiling a kettle was when in a wheelchair. One pupil commented on how “a slight slope can feel like a full blown hill when you are having to climb up it with a wheelchair whilst trying to open the fire door at the top”. Several pupils commented on how much more aware they were of the difficulties faced by wheelchair users after this session. All who attended agreed they’d had a thoroughly enjoyable, informative day. Some pupils said that it had really opened their eyes to the various professions which they would consider much more seriously now after the visit. The AHS pupils and staff who attended would like to say a big thank you to Bruce McCulloch and all the other staff members who helped organise and make this worthwhile trip possible.

Maths Competitions

UK Maths Challenge Last term the maths department entered S1 and S2 pupils into the Junior Maths Challenge competition. This consists of a 1 hour multiple choice paper of problem solving questions. Our pupils did really well in this with 26 entrants getting a certificate. They are pictured here in their year groups with their certificates. Senior, Intermediate and Junior competitions will be run again this session.

S1 Pupils S2 Pupils

Team Maths Challenge Last session a team from Anderson High won the Shetland heat of Team Maths Challenge. This is a competition for teams of four S1 & S2 pupils who work together to solve problems, cross number puzzles and a relay where one pair of pupils run with their answer to feed into the next calculation of the other pair. Our school’s team went forward to the north and north east of Scotland regional competition held at Aberdeen University in March. The pupils really enjoyed taking part and came in 4th out of the 14 teams taking part. We intend to run Team Maths Challenges for S1 & S2 pupils again this session.

Scottish Maths Challenge A separate competition is run within Scotland in which pupils hand in written solutions to longer problems. Four pupils received certificates last session. Bronze certificates went to Chloe Pan (S1 last session) in the Junior section and Greg Anderson (S5 last session) in the Senior section. Sarah Irvine and Vaila Irvine each got silver certificates at Middle and Junior levels respectively. Those who gain a silver or gold are invited to a presentation day at Aberdeen University. Sarah (left) and Vaila (right) are pictured at this event held in June.

L-R: Vaila Irvine, Kate Jones, Chloe Pan, Bryony Laurenson

Geopark Project brings AHS and BJHS together again - by Regan Williamson (2F) and Mr K Turner (Geography Department)

Picture shows pupils investigating how geology has an impact on vegetation.

Shetland has had the status of Geopark since 2009. In that time there have been many opportunities for pupils to get involved in educational activities piloted by Geopark Shetland. In May 2010 an S2 class worked with Baltasound Junior High School (BJHS) to discover the volcanic history of Northmavine. In May 2011 Class 1F (now 2F) headed to Unst to work alongside BJHS to piece together the complex geology and subsequent human land uses of the North Isles. Hopefully our links with the Geopark team and with BJHS will continue. Here is a report by one of the pupils, Regan Williamson, who was part of the AHS team that braved the wild weather of Unst back in May! “Between 22nd of May and the 24th of May a class from Anderson High School 1st year met up with the 1st and 2nd year of Baltasound Junior High School to continue the partnership between the two schools which last year saw them go to Eshaness. The aim of the project was to explore the unique geology that is found in Unst. The two groups met on the Sunday night at Norwick beach to get to know each other and enjoy a BBQ. Norwick beach is special and unique as you can see the Oceanic rock and the Continental rock which shouldn’t happen as Oceanic rock is usually 35 kilometers under the sea but they can both be seen side by side in Unst. On the Monday the pupils mixed into groups and staff from Anderson High, Baltasound Junior High and Robina and Rory from the Amenity Trust to go and do field work which included the hill of Saxa Vord, Keen of Hamar, Hagdale Horse Mill and Urgarth. Saxa Vord is continental

rock and an experiment was done to evaluate the water content of the land. Moss was weighed and then the water was squeezed out and the weight reduced by 50%. The Keen of Hamar is the biggest area of serpentine debris in Europe making the plants here very special. Hagdale Horse Mill was the biggest Chromite quarry in United Kingdom in its time and has now been restored, with information showing how it once worked. At Urgarth the wind and rain picked up but the show must go on. Groups looked at two fields on the Oceanic rock and the focus was people and how the land is being used, two fields were being looked at one with cows and one with sheep and how these differed. The field work fits in with the Sheltland Ophiolite trail packs that are now available to the public. The videos and pictures from the days have been uploaded to the Geopark Shetland website. On the final day some pupils worked on creating video’s and told the story of Unst through art in the sand. During the trip we stayed in the 3-star Gardiesfauld hostel. Craig Smith from 1F said “It was educational but sometimes the weather was demoralizing but staying away in a hostel was enjoyable” Geopark Shetland’s Robina Barton said “the geological story in Unst is quite challenging but the pupils have worked well to bring it to life and to show how it is relevant to us today” Work completed by the group can be viewed in the education section of the Geopark Shetland website (www.geoparkshetland.org.uk). It is hoped that the lessons learned from this trip will help to shape some of the materials available to the public via the website.

Global Classroom Trip to Cape Town, South Africa

In July/August 2011, I went to Cape Town, South Africa for 1 month. I travelled there with another girl in my year at school called Emma Hand. When we were there we went to school at the Harold Cressy High and went sightseeing too. During the period we were there we stayed with host families. I’ve never done something like that before and I strongly encourage people to do it. The experience was such an eye opener and I feel I have benefited greatly from it. I am more confident after the trip and have matured in many ways. I feel a completely new person, really grown up. Whilst there I got the chance to visit the South African shops and museums, visit Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and go up Table Mountain. At the school I met a lot of people and made lifelong friends. The people there are extremely polite, friendly and approachable in every way possible. The time I spent there was just remarkable.

This Summer I took part in a Global Classroom trip to Cape Town in South Africa. After leaving Shetland on the 20th July, three flights later (one of which was 13 hours long!); we finally touched down on African soil. I began my stay with the Moses family, who lived in a suburb of Cape Town called Wynberg. The first two weeks were mainly spent at the Harold Cressy High school, taking part in the Grade 12 classes and spending time with my host family. The times I spent in the classes gave me a fantastic insight into different ways of learning. The classes were bigger and the teacher-pupil relationship seemed much more casual than I am used to. They also lacked discipline when it came to homework and schoolwork! After two weeks with the Moses family, we moved into central Cape Town, to the Morton family. This began the site-seeing half of our trip! We visited Canal Walk Africa’s largest Mall, drove up the west coast to see the surfing spots, walked round Kirstenbosch the botanical garden, visited the aquarium and all the museums, spent a day at the world famous Camps Bay beach and climbed Table Mountain! (In a cable car). The time we spent with the Morton family was an amazing culture change, as they are Muslim and were fasting during their month of Ramadan. During this month in South Africa I met some fantastic people, who I will never forget. This trip has given me a great confidence boost and I now feel I can conquer any future challenges!

View of Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain Emma and I with Mr Majeet, a teacher at Harold Cressy

Ashley Manson 6E

Emma Hand 6D

The Gordon Highlanders on the march

The Anderson High School will be holding an Armistice Week which will run from 7th to 11th November. This will involve various activities, including lessons looking at why and how conflict happens, and how we can avoid conflict. Poppy sales will also take place in the school, and the week will culminate around a school ceremony on 11th November. It is also intended that S1 will go to the Museum and Archives to get involved in activities which look at how conflict has had an impact on Shetland. As part of this, they will they will complete investigations and presentations on conflicts which British forces have been involved in over the past 100 years.

Armistice Week

World War One Thiepval

Flare Lighting Young Enterprise Team

This year a group of 11 of us joined a Young Enterprise team where we are to create a business to sell products or services to try and be a successful business. To begin with we had to think of ideas of products which we would be able to sell and we aimed for something which would promote health and safety. We soon thought of an LED bicycle attachment which lights up which makes cyclists more visible when on or near the road and it also appeals to people. These lights can also be fitted to bags, motorbikes, clothing and other vehicles and places which will provide good visibility for everyone in the dark and they will be essential during the winter season. They are unique products which we will bring to Shetland which will be available to buy directly from us or from popular stores which will stock our products. Shortly after we had a name to match the product. Our team became “Flare Lighting” and we had come up with aims for our business. Our mission statement and aims are as follows: to provide roads with a safer and more visible path using innovative lighting. To allow high visibility to decrease both pedestrian and vehicle accidents. To encourage exercise and to promote safety by the use of our products. We will also have a website up and running soon which will be called www.flarelighting.org. Our company is looking forward in helping roads and public areas to become safer and brighter places.

This is a picture of one of the products we will be selling. An LED that lights up when you cycle and creates a pattern.

Members of our group collected whelks to help fundraise for the company. Logo designed by the group

David Stewart, MSP for the Highlands and Islands, travelled from Inverness on Monday 29th August 2011, to share information about road safety and young drivers. Some AHS S6 pupils joined Mr Stewart for a question and answer session, with Mr McDonald, Principal Teacher of Pupil Support.

Visit from David Stewart, MSP

On Sunday 28th August one of the school’s Young Enterprise Teams held a Sunday Tea’s event in the canteen and lower gym hall to raise funds. Some of the activities were; guess how many sweets in the jar, guess the bear’s name and beat the goalie. Overall it was a successful event and just over £400 was raised. The team would like to thank all volunteers and people that helped bake for the event and also Ms Nicolson for allowing us to use the school facilities and the janitor for helping to set everything up.

Young Enterprise Team

Transplant Games 2011 - Zoe Buchanan 4A

At the beginning of August I was lucky enough to be picked to represent Scotland in the British Transplant Games held in Belfast. During the games I took part in five events. Ball throw (like shotputt), 100 meters, table tennis, badminton and the team relay. In these events I won 2 bronze medals, 2 silver medals and a gold in badminton. The transplant games were amazing because for once in my life I was the same as everyone else, which is not something that happens in my everyday life. The games will be held in Medway, Kent next year and I simply cannot wait.

Traditional Music Trip – Ireland 2012 Tunester is a traditional music group of students based at Anderson High School. The group now has an established reputation in Shetland and beyond having played outside the Islands on several occasions. In recent years we have travelled to Ireland and Northumberland establishing exchange links with these areas as well as performing for the Scottish Association for Music Education conference in Stirling last year. Since 2003 the band has formed close links with East Clare, Ireland. Anderson High students have now visited and hosted three times. There is another opportunity to take the group there at the end of June next year. This will be the culmination of a year’s rehearsals and work to fund raise and record a CD. Currently we have a line up of 12 fiddles, 3 accordions, 2 flutes, 3 guitars and kit with band leader, Margaret Scollay on piano. Whilst in Ireland we will share our music and dance cultures with those of the local area in conjunction with students from The Music Room, Tulla taught by Mary MacNamara. For our pupils this is a valuable educational experience as well as forging life time friendships. Tall Ships Shetland 2011 This summer saw many events taking place throughout the County in support of the Cruise in Company ports as well as the main event in Lerwick. Anderson High fiddle quintet, ‘Hansel’, were kept busy in Scalloway and Cullivoe as well as forming part of the much larger group ‘Laldy’ who opened the entertainment at Victoria Pier, Lerwick. Hansel are Mary Dimitrov, Martha Thomson, Liza Fullerton, Ross Jamieson and Danny Garrick with piano from Margaret Scollay. The first performance for Hansel was the opening of the new Scalloway Museum on July 16th. We played a selection of music whilst the invited guests looked around as well as performing part of Jenna Reid’s ‘Shetland Bus Suite’ as part of the opening ceremony. This was particularly fitting, given Scalloways connections to the Shetland Bus movement during the Second World War. We moved on to Cullivoe’s Cruise in Company on Tuesday 19th. Despite the poor weather and sadly the poor number of Tall Ships who had made it to the port, the atmosphere was great with lots to see and do. We played a 30min set which was broadcast on the radio locally in Yell. Then it was time for the main event in Lerwick. ‘Laldy’ is a traditional band formed for the opening ceremony of the Hamefarin’ last year. We were asked to open the entertainment at Victoria Pier on Thursday 21st July. We were very fortunate that the weather stayed bright and dry for our performance which led to a large crowd listening. It was very pleasing to see thirty-seven young people from throughout Shetland playing well known tunes to a very high standard.

The Harris Playfair Big Band Only in its second year, this event run by Shetland Arts is now firmly established as a high point for young musicians in Shetland. Many Anderson High students have the opportunity to rehearse under the guidance of jazz maestro and teacher Harris Playfair for 5 demanding days before headlining a concert for Shetland Arts Fiddle Frenzy summer school. The Big Band is a fusion of traditional tunes with a jazz accompaniment making it very exciting music to be part of. This year we were 17 fiddles, 2 flutes and accordion with accompaniment from 5 saxophones, trumpet, trombone, bass, kit and percussion with Harris on piano. Amongst the music played were compositions from Anderson High pupil Liza Fullerton and ex-pupils Kirsten Hendry and Helen Whitham. The Big Band were ably supported by Anderson High School fiddle quintet Hansel and played to a packed Garrison Theatre before travelling to Ollaberry the following evening to play at another Fiddle Frenzy concert. Harris will be back next year and the opening performance for the Big Band will be Sunday 5th August. Grades for Fiddlers Since 2003 grades have been available for fiddlers under the Trinity Guildhall Joint Assessment Grade (JAG) scheme. This required instrumental fiddle staff to assess three of the seven disciplines internally during a lesson. The remaining four parts were then assessed by a visiting examiner at Islesburgh Community Centre, the two sets of marks joined and a final result given. We learned last year that Trinity Guildhall would be discontinuing the JAG scheme in July this year and feared that this would mean the end of what had become a very successful grade scheme through which students had achieved and enjoyed. Local Trinity Guildhall Representative, Jane Morton with fiddle instructors Pauleen Wiseman and Margaret Scollay began campaigning to save the Grades. Following the appointment of a new chief examiner at Trinity Guildhall last December, we requested that our Traditional Fiddle Grades be taken in line with the more mainstream exams in Classical and Jazz which are fully assessed by a visiting examiner. Fiddlers have always used the technical work, sight reading and aural tests from the violin syllabus with the only difference being the performance pieces. The new appointment, Nicolas Keyworth (who examined our first grades back in 2003) freely granted this. Given our syllabus of tunes had not changed since the birth of exams 8/9 years back, we then asked to write a new syllabus for the new style of grade. Margaret Scollay, in liaison with Pauleen Wiseman, undertook this task. Nine grades worth of music (Initial and 1-8) were sent in for approval just before our summer break. Nicolas Keyworth, who is a violinist, with Janice Gillard, Trinity’s string specialist has worked on the music learning more about the style fiddlers’ play. The new syllabus is now fully approved and there are many students in Shetland working towards grade finals next March. This is of course perfect timing for senior students in Intermediate Music or Higher as their performance finals will be at that time. These grades are fully accredited and from grade 6 -8 can earn students valuable UCAS points for University. We are delighted to be even closer to the regular exam format and hope eventually to appear in the Trinity Guildhall Syllabus for Strings and Harp.

Music News

The final concert of last session took place on May 6th in the music department. This informal concert was well attended with standing room only. The Senior String group conducted by Alan Gifford opened the concert. The Brass Ensemble conducted by Roy Hughson , No Strings Attached and Hansel both conducted by Margaret Scollay and Reeds conducted by Neil Morris also featured on this delightful spring programme. Three awards were given out by Ms. Valerie Nicolson. The Lell Robertson Award was given to Jade St. John Smythe and Ross Jamieson for outstanding progress on fiddle. The Geoff Wood Music Award was given to Johanna Goodlad for outstanding musicianship and commitment to the musical community in Anderson High School over her 6 years as a student.

While a joyous occasion, it was also tinged with sadness as it was the last school concert for Neil Morris who has been teaching woodwind in Shetland Schools for years. He enriched the musical life of Anderson High School and will be much missed. Mr. Morris retired in June and we wish him all the very best in the next stage of his life.

Scottish Opera Workshop

During this term we were lucky enough to have a visit from Scottish Opera. They took groups of S3 – S6 pupils for workshops based on their new version of the opera “Orpheus in the underworld” which will be performed in Shetland in October. Here is what some of our pupils said about the workshops: • “It was very enjoyable and the singer’s voices were incredible.” • “I enjoyed the workshop. It was fun and the people taking it were

friendly. I really enjoyed hearing the singing live. It was good that the opera had been modernised.”

• “I enjoyed the workshop, especially the part where we wrote our own comedy libretto and directed the actors.”

• “I thought the people from the Scottish opera were really nice. I liked reading the script and writing a comedy satire to a tune from the piece.”

• “I really enjoyed the Scottish Opera workshop as it wasn’t too serious and we were able to relax and have fun. The singing was good and very funny. I learned that opera isn’t all boring!!!”

• “I really enjoyed the opera workshop. It opened my eyes to how much fun opera can be. I loved the idea of writing lyrics to the “can-can”. I always thought opera was really long, dull and dramatic but they showed me that the opera can actually be quite funny.”

• “I thought the opera workshop was really beneficial as it gave a true insight into opera and how it can relate to today. The workshop was full of enthusiasm and was a great experience.”

Spring Fling

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) SDS work in school I am Vaila Angus the Careers Adviser for Anderson High School. From August, with the help of others from the SDS careers team, I have been contacting every pupil who left school this summer to check on their progress and complete the School Leaver Destination Report for the Scottish Government. I have been liaising with training providers and the local colleges so that I can inform pupils and leavers of opportunities that may still be available to them. I have also been working to support Winter Leavers through the Bridges Project Over the next few months I will be running interactive sessions with S4,5 and 6 Personal and Social Education classes in which pupils are given the opportunity to request an individual appointment. Personal Adviser Fiona Mercer will be assisting to deliver these sessions. I will do my best to meet with all pupils who have asked to see me. Priority will be given to those who have significant needs or who have more complex career decisions to make. For the last couple of years, the careers team have been involved with Additional Pupil Support and Club XL to help pupils make positive transitions beyond school. The careers team will be building on this over the session. Pupils with Additional Support Needs can expect to meet with an adviser a year prior to leaving school. Parents and carers are also welcome to contact SDS at any time. I look forward to meeting you with your son or daughter at S4,5 & 6 Parents Evenings. To arrange an appointment phone 01595 695791 or call any time at the Careers Centre on the first floor of Charlotte House, Commercial Road, Lerwick. New web-service On 31st August, SDS launched a new interactive web-service, www.myworldofwork.co.uk which replaces the existing Careers Scotland website. Research has shown that people increasingly like to access information using technology at a time and place convenient for them and hopefully this new service will meet this need. My World of Work is user-friendly and has a range of self help tools, including a MyCV, a CV building application, and MyDNA which is a fun visual tool to help users discover their potential. There is a wide range of information for all ages from job profiles to funding and video clips of people talking about their career paths and jobs, including some celebrities. I thoroughly recommend that parents and pupils take a look as there are sections relevant wherever you may be in your own career planning journey. 16+ Learning Event SDS, in partnership with Shetland Island’s Council School Service, are organising a 16+ Learning Event in the Gilbertson Park Games Hall from 6.30-9.00pm on Tuesday 4th October. The event is for 15-19 year olds and their parents/carers, including young people who have recently left school. The event aims to help people find out about the range of learning opportunities available. Representatives from universities, colleges and training providers will be there along with the SDS careers team. I look forward to meeting you there and assisting with your enquiries. Vaila Angus Careers Adviser, SDS (Shetland)

Sports day was a great day! We were blessed with a sunny day which allowed us to have all events outside apart for high jump. All pupils certainly warmed to the occasion and we had a record number of pupils who took part in each event, with the sprints and 2 lap run being particularly successful. Team names were based on the Tall Ships that were due to come to Shetland and some were more easily pronounced than others! Teams were Gloria, Europa, Iskra, Moosk, Swan and Neva. Scores were very close yet again until the final relays with team Moosk coming out the eventual winners so congratulations to them! Special mention to Holly King who broke the S3 girls speed bounce record which has stood since 2007. She managed 82 jumps in 30 seconds – quite an achievement! Winners of events were: 90 metres Speed Bounce S2 Girls: Lori Bulter (13.16secs) S2 Girls: Megan Christie (66) S2 Boys: Liam Thomson (12.72secs) S2 Boys: Luke Smith (69) S3 Girls: Hollie King (12.28secs) S3 Girls: Holly King (82) S3 Boys: Nice Longjamong (11.26secs) S3 Boys: Billy Buggy (73) Wellie Boot Triple Jump S2 Girls: Megan Leask (16.6m) S2 Girls: Eliza Perdu (5.55m) S2 Boys: Robert Leaper (18.2m) S2 Boys: Stuart Copland (6.14m) S3 Girls: Alina Murray (18.5m) S3 Girls: Alesha Devine (5.98m) S3 Boys: Jonathan Hunter (22.5m) S3 Boys: Nice Longjamong (6.86m) High Jump 2 Lap Race (500metres) S2 Girls: Stephanie Riise (1.25m) S2 Girls: Kari Odie (1.53min) S2 Boys: Stuart Copland (1.30m) S2 Boys: Liam Thomson (1.34min) S3 Girls: Amy Goddard (1.30m) S3 Girls: Megan Grant (1.42min) S3 Boys: Charlie Unsworth (1.48m) S3 Boys: Luke Smith (1.29min)

S2/3 Sports Day 2011

Overall Scores: Gloria 437 Europa 498 Iskra 275 Moosk 530 Swan 224 Neva 388 Overall Winnners - Moosk

The annual inter-schools Netball Competition took place on Thursday 1st September at Clickimin. AHS had 3 teams taking part in the competition. AHS 1 where in group 1 and finished in 2nd place and AHS 2 and 3 were in group 2 and finished 1st and 2nd respectively. During first semi finals AHS 1 v AHS 3, AHS 1 pulled ahead winning by 4 goals to earn a place in the final. In the Second Semi AHS 2 played last years winners Sandwick, AHS 2 gained a good lead at the beginning of the match, Sandwick linked really well together but could not seem to make up the deficit, making it an all AHS final. The final was a closely fought game with both AHS teams displaying determina-tion and grit. AHS 1 gained gained an interception in the final seconds of the game and won the game 14-13 to take the trophy. This is the first year an AHS team has won the netball since 2005. Well done to all the girls for taking part in an excellent and exciting day of competitive netball.

Inter-Schools Netball Competiton

(L-R) Back row: Ashleigh Tait, Karri Odie, Lori Smith, Eliza Perdu Front row: Megan Grant, Tiffany Walterson, Jodie Sandison, Heather Marshall, Ashley Symington

Anderson High School P.E. Department were successful in applying and receiving a UK wide BP Schools Link Award. The BP General Educational Trust is a registered charity that was set up some years ago for the advancement of education in its broadest sense. This year the Trust ran an award scheme for all the BP link schools. Schools were asked to assemble a student team to bid for funds of up to £20,000 for their school. The funds will be used for an investment in the school that links sport to the educational process. Projects that stood out are creative, sustainable ones that had obvious and significant student input. The SRC were involved in helping Mr Smith compile the application form and were keen to see the school be successful in the bid. BP is linked to around 200 schools in the UK and has run its Schools Link programme since 1968. The programme is an opportunity for employees to be active in schools local to BP sites, presenting classroom activities, careers talks, mentoring, reading or maths and to be a valuable business link for the school. Anderson High’s P.E. department school entered a project called: ‘Learning through Gymnastics’ and received an award for £17,900. Their project aims to raise the profile of gymnastics for both the schools mainstream and pupils with Additional Support Needs pupils and how sport can be part of the educational process. The award will go towards the purchase of new gymnastic equipment which will enable the school to focus on the four capabilities of responsible citizens, confident individuals, successful learners and effective contributors whilst using gymnastics as the medium for doing so. Representatives from the schools recently attended a celebration dinner in Aberdeen hosted by Trevor Garlick, Regional President BP North Sea and received their award and a commemorative plaque from Roger Black MBE, Olympic Medalist.

Samantha Bulkeley, BP’s UK Schools Education Coordinator who attended the celebration dinner said “The Award scheme received many applications and judging the high standard of applications was very difficult but in the end 39 awards were made to schools up and down the country from the Shetland Isles to Gosport. Pictured receiving their awards are: L-R: Trevor Garlick, Regional President BP North Sea, Kevin Smith and Keith Turner, Teachers at Anderson High School and Roger Black MBE

BP Schools Link Awards for Anderson High School

‘Mindin John Graham wi da best o wirds’

The 2011 competition for the best piece of writing in the Shetland dialect, held in memory of former head teacher John Graham, saw a record number of entries. This year’s judge was Mrs Valerie Watt. A well known local author, she was delighted with the very high standard of work submitted . The winning entry was ‘Iraq’, a thought provoking poem by Jonathan Sandilands . We hope you enjoy reading it.

Record Entry for English Department Writing Competition

Trow watery een… I saa Roondin da trees I saa… A toorni fence A waa o strippit grey, Clingin tae da wire Piercin een, Starin… Pleadin fur help Grinds öpened I saa… Staggerin men, A niffirr‐endin burn o pain Flowwin taewards me Hannds yokkin da air Grespn fur freedim Men gret I saa… Rottin flesh, Diskërdit boadies, Disfiggird faces, Mass graves, Misshapen limbs

Soldiers gasped I saa… Men, tree tae a bunk Squashed Braanded… lik kye Numbered… lik Spare pairts Tinkin back I saa… Sells, Scorries Tammie Norries Da beauty… O Shetland… Shetland, me hem Trow watery een I saa… Da contrast… Whit wis dis… Dis hell on eart? Vee’v agenst da sky I saa Da sign… “BELSEN”

Pupil Support News We welcome Patrick Robertson, Principal Teacher fo Pupil Support, into the Pupil Support Department. We would also like to thank Adam Johnson for his contribution to the department over the last couple of years. Pupil Support teachers are responsible for the following classes: Mr Robin Calder: 1B, 1G, 2B, 3B, 4B, 4F, 5B, 5G and 6B Mr Patrick Robertson: 1E, 2E, 2F, 3E, 4E, 5E, 5H and 6E Ms Maggie Liddle: 1C, 2C, 3C, 4C, 5C, 5F, 6C and 6H Mr Donald McDonald: 1A, 1F, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A and 6F Mr Paul Regan: 1D, 1H, 2D, 3D, 3F, 4D, 5D, 6D and 6G The Pupil Support Department is located in Pupil Support Room 4. If parents have any queries or concerns about their child’s progress or welfare at school they should contact their Pupil Support teacher in the first instance. There is always a member of staff in Pupil Support on duty if a child needs help or assistance urgently. Pupil Support teachers are responsible for their pupils:

• Welfare in school and their pastoral care • Curricular needs – subject choices and transitions • Vocational needs – options and directions post school.

On a day-to-day basis, Pupil Support teachers perform some of the following tasks in school:

• Supporting pupils and dealing with crises than sometimes occur in school • Promoting positive behaviour and anti-bullying • Communicating with parents • Liaising with subject teachers • Teaching Personal and Social Education to all year groups • Monitoring student late coming and attendance • Working with External Agencies to support young people, including Social Work, Educational

Psychologists, Youth Workers and the Shetland Befriending Service. • Setting targets and monitoring pupil progress • Providing information and advising pupils at points of transition within school.

AHS Local Opportunities Event For the last four years, to help support our S4, S5 and S6 pupils into positive destinations beyond school, we have organised a local career event in the Anderson High School on the first Thursday of March. For the last couple of years, S4 pupils from all of the Junior High Schools in Shetland, along with Brae High School, have also attended. Indeed the event is part of the Junior High School visit day to our school, where pupils meet with Senior Management and Pupil Support staff to discuss the move into Anderson High School and receive a tour of the school. The Local Opportunities Event allows the school to showcase local education, training, employment and voluntary opportunities available to our young people. Delegates from around 18 organisations, including Shetland College, Train Shetland, the SIC, Skills Development Scotland, NAFC Marine Centre, TOTAL, Shetland Recreational Trust and Business Gateway advise pupils about further education courses, apprenticeships and job opportunities in various fields, including Health and Social Care, Social Work, Leisure and Recreation, Construction, Engineering, Oil and Gas, Art and Textiles and ICT. There is also information about funding options for prospective college students and advice about local housing. The Local Opportunities Event complements the work of Skills Development Scotland, who organise the larger 16+ Convention in Shetland every October, which has more of a Higher Education theme. We have found our

Event comes at a good time for S5 and S6 pupils in particular, as they attend it on the back of their prelim results, which has given them an insight into where they are at in school and encouraged them to really think carefully about their next steps and future plans. Parents are also encouraged to attend our event, and many do, appreciating the opportunity of speaking to local education and training providers at a time that can be challenging for parents as they support and advise their children at points of transition. Finally, the event would only succeed with the support of the community and the Local Opportunities Event really captures the community spirit in Shetland as professionals from different sectors happily give up valuable time to meet with young people and their parents.

S4 Study Skills All subject teachers encourage pupils to develop good study skills. Work done out of the classroom helps to reinforce and to consolidate work done directly with the teacher. Formal homework set by teachers is one part of the picture but it’s important also that pupils learn to study independently. Study Skills is one of many topics covered by the Personal and Social Education programme for all pupils, taught by teachers of Pupil Support. Last year we piloted a series of lessons called ‘Successful Learners’ with S4 classes and this is continuing this year in the lead-up to the November prelims. Topics include:

• Thinking about ways and styles of learning • Identifying strengths as well as barriers to learning • Setting learning targets and personal goals • Developing key learning skills • Performing well in tests and exams.

In order that facts and information go into the long-term memory and may be recalled in tests and exams, reading and repetition are needed. This can be quite a passive way of learning, so more critical thinking about learning and more active learning is usually recommended. As part of Successful Learners, pupils look at short videos and they work in pairs, small groups or by themselves in various activities. Some of the ideas they explore are:

• How do emotions affect learning? • How does my brain work? • How can I improve my memory? • What are the top tips for studying? • How do I deal with setbacks? • What’s the best way to prepare for tests and exams?

There are many theories about effective Study Skills, but most agree on the following advice:

• Eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of water • Get the recommended 8 – 9 hours of sleep most nights • Take regular exercise • Deal with stress and anxiety • Study actively, to make sure that information goes into your long-term memory. You need to recall information once text-books are shut. • Study in short bursts, no longer than 45 minutes to an hour on one topic, then take a break. • Mix it up: vary study between different topics and different subjects. • Time-management is important. Make a study plan and stick to it.

Learn and use some of the many techniques to help you recall information, including:

• lists • highlighting key words • colour coding • organising notes in a personal way, like a mind-map or spider diagram • mnemonics • visual organisers and visual techniques like the method of loci • testing yourself • studying with a friend or teaching others • practising skills.

Work Experience

All S3 pupils took part in a week of work experience in May 2011. It was a great chance to experience the world of work and to think about what career they might like to do in the future. Our thanks to local employers for their ongoing support in such a valuable initiative.

Robbie Seater

Logan Spence

Daniel Walterson

Drew Hamilton

Over 170 S1 and S2 pupils had a ball at the Kool Katz disco on 14th September. Mr Donnie McDonald, Principal Teacher of Pupil Support, is the school’s anti-bullying co-ordinator. If you have any ideas you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to contact him or any Pupil Support teacher.

Kool Katz Anti-Bullying Disco

Doing the Macarena

Pupil Support News (continued)

Dear Parents/Guardians Since our last newsletter the Parent Council continues to be active on your behalf. We have met three times over the last six months and a parent member attended a joint meeting of the Shetland Parents Councils. We are delighted to have the continued support of local councillors Jonathan Wills and Cecil Smith at our meetings. We also appreciate the attendance of numerous council officials to keep us updated on recent developments. We are disappointed to be losing our clerk Zoe Anderson who has worked tirelessly on your behalf. Hopefully this position will be filled as soon as possible. We are also delighted to welcome four new members to the council, Donna Jack, Cathy Mann, John Fraser and Stuart Polson. The construction of the new AHS has been an ever present item on our agenda. Your Parent Council is anxious to hear about the three options of the new AHS Gateway process:

• Do Nothing • Refurbishment of existing school • New build at Lower Staney Hill

At the time of writing, a new AHS seminar for parents is being organised for Monday 3rd October. Please do come along. You will have the chance to find out about the Gateway process and the implications of these options for our chil-dren. Details will be circulated nearer the time. Our Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Evening was held on 20th September 2011. The Head Teacher has continued to keep the council up to date regarding the integration of Scalloway pupils into the AHS. Thanks to all staff involved who have ensured that this has been a smooth transition. The Parent Council is looking forward to meeting with the newly elected SRC members who do a great job in representing student opinions and ideas. Members of your Parent Council will be in attendance at all forthcoming parent evenings in the school. Please feel free to come and air any concerns, issues etc which you may have over a cup of tea or coffee. Members of your Parent Council are as follows: Ms Catriona Barr Parent Representative 01595690568 Ms Lisa Crooks Parent Representative 01950477413 Ms Joyce Davis Parent Representative 01950431368 Mr Alex Fullerton Chair Parent Representative 01595696634 Mr John Handley Parent Representative 01595808008 Ms Clare McMillan Parent Representative 01595695597 Ms Lise Sinclair Parent Representative 01595760229 Ms Sarah Taylor Vice Chair Parent Representative 01595830267 Ms Patricia Wright Parent Representative 01595692408 Ms Donna Jack Parent Representative Mr John Fraser Parent Representative Ms Cathy Mann Parent Representative Mr Stuart Polson Parent Representative Mr Michael Spence Staff Representative 01595808008 Miss Caroline Watt Staff Representative 01595808008 Mr George McGhee Halls of Residence Manager and co-opted member 01595692422 Miss Emily Shaw Pupil Representative 01595808008 Miss Nicole Mowat Pupil Representative 01595808008 Ms Valerie Nicolson Head Teacher and Adviser 01595808008 Mr Cecil Smith SIC Councillor 01595694875 Mr Jonathan Wills SIC Councillor 07831217042 Please remember that the Parent Council exists to represent your views.

Mr Alex Fullerton AHS Parent Council Chair

AHS Parent Council

Next meeting is our AGM held in the AHS at 19:00hrs on Wed 5th October 2011. All Parent Forum members are welcome.

The reason for this simulation was to emphasise the importance of wearing a seatbelt and of wearing a helmet. The two people acting out this amazing performance were Mr Gifford in P.E. and Ryan Leask from S5. Ryan had to stay very still and act as though he were unconscious or worse – dead! As paramedics checked him over then lifted him with amazing care onto a stretcher and then carried him to the ambulance to the ambulance to check him over. Whilst all of this happened, a firetruck, another ambulance and police car had shown up. The paramedics from the second ambulance rushed to help Mr Gifford but seemed to not be able to help with him being in the car. So as one paramedic entered the car and began checking his pulse a fireman ran to aid the paramedics by taking the car apart bit by bit. Once they succeeded in what seemed like an impossible task, they lifted Mr Gifford onto a stretcher by carrying him over the top of the car to solid ground then they whizzed him off to the ambulance. So the important question is this! Have the pupils at AHS learned anything from this? We hope so but teenagers will always be more likely to choose the hazardous option simply because they don’t think or the danger attracts them like a moth to a flame! Personal Safety Thursday saw porridge on at interval time and visits from Jenny Gilmore (CADSS) who gave advice on drugs and Rachel Stewart from the NHS who conducted a survey into alcohol consumption. The Northern Constabulary were also in school to give advice on the safe use of the internet. All S2 pupils also received a talk on the same topic which covered issues relating to social network sites such as Facebook. The following links were the basis of the talk and are certainly worth a look:

http://ceop.police.uk/ http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

To end the week…. Friday saw the concluding activities of the week with Liz Gordon, our school nurse offering basic first aid advice which included CPR. The Library held a Health themed quiz with prizes. Trays of free fruit were given out to pupils in all social areas, which was very kindly donated by Tesco. The week concluded with the annual Mind Your Head Walk around the Knab and school. All S1 and S2 pupils took part in the walk with a large number of staff. Jill Hood from Mind Your Head introduced the walk and the charity, to the pupils which helped set the tone for the afternoon. On the whole, a very successful week with a lot of time and effort from put in by many people. Thanks must go to all who contributed – you know who you are. Particular thanks to all outside agencies who gave up their time and contributed to the week and to Tesco for their generous donation of free fruit.

Anderson High School’s annual Health Week took place in September with the focus on Community Health and Safety. It followed a similar programme to the one held four years ago and was a similar great success. Activities were varied and had traditional activities that have now become an integral part of the week such as our Mind Your Head Walk for S1 & 2 and Outdoor Activities with Pete Richardson as well as a variety of lunchtime activities, a talk on internet safety for all S2 from the Police, drugs advice, first aid advice, bike maintenance from the Community Bike Project and the usual variety of breakfasts. Throughout the week, the Library had displays and posters offering information to pupils about Emergency Services Careers. Monday kicked off with a promotion on breakfast cereals at interval time. Badminton and dance mats were on at lunchtime with the dance mats featuring the whole week at lunchtime, both of which were very well attended. Tuesday had scrambled eggs on toast at break time, with 12 dozen eggs disappearing in minutes! At lunchtime, the Community Bike Project were in school to offer advice on bike maintenance and how to keep yourself safe while on the road. The school Library also had games and activities for pupils. Wednesday brought kippers to the pupils, which had a mixed reaction to say the least! There was a real contrast in activities at lunchtime with a chill out day in the Library and a mock car accident in the multi court which was covered by our very own Shannon Boston in S3: Fake Car Crash – by Shannon Boston S3 On the 14th of September, AHS preformed a fake car crash in the car park at the back of the school. A huge number of pupils showed up to see the sight and many learned a lesson.

Health Week 2011 - Community Health & Safety

Health Week Mind Your Head Walk

September 2011

ahs newsletter 38

Documents

young ambassador role

young ambassador programme

young enterprise

young ambassador central

principle of young people

talented young sports

inclusive term

olympic values