WEEK ENDED 21st DECEMBER 2007

ASDAN GROUP DONATE TO CHARITY

On Tuesday, the S3 and S4 ASDAN group held a presentation tea party to celebrate their successful enterprise project and to hand over the cheques to their chosen charities. Megan Bilsland welcomed the guests and Jenny Anderson gave an excellent account of how the money had been raised. Over 100 Santa sets were produced and then sold. The very last set was bought by Mrs Fullerton, who had given the group advice about running a business. The group was delighted to present their cheques of £200 each to the SSPCA centre at Mellerstain and to the Borders Donkey Sanctuary. Well done to the pupils for all their hard work and thank you for a lovely afternoon tea – the home baking was delicious!

WELL DONE TO THE U18 RUGBY SQUAD

It was a gallant performance from the U18 rugby team in last week’s quarter final of the Scottish School’s Cup against Heriots. Unfortunately the game went in Heriots favour with a final score of 17 -10. The team was praised by parents of the opponents for their fine efforts and excellent sportsmanship. One parent, in a comment sent to the school said, ‘The players and management were a credit to their school, their community and to Scottish rugby’. Well done!

A VERY FESTIVE CONCERT WITH GREAT PERFORMANCES FROM ALL

The audience at last Tuesday and Wednesday’s concert was given a festive treat. There were some super soloist performances: Chris Farish’s rendition of Nocturne in F minor was simply beautiful and Martin Gladstone’s expert cornet playing was quite magical.

There were also very talented group performances from the S1 junior choir to the windband playing a selection of Christmas songs to get the audience in a festive mood. Another magical moment was when Mrs Brown’s choral group sang Angels. To conclude the first half, the guitar group played Purple haze, Fire and America. Perhaps there is a future Jimmy Hendrix in be found in the group.

The second half had the flair of a full scale musical production, as the senior choir performed their adaptation of the Rock Nativity. With some beautiful solo songs and lively chorus numbers, Mr Jeff Thomson really raised the roof. It was a fabulous performance from everyone. A truly enjoyable show. Elizabeth Maclean S6

CINEMA VISIT

Forty five senior students from Media Studies and English enjoyed a trip to The Pavilion Cinema for an educational screening of “The Golden Compass” on Wednesday 19 th December. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the Media students will be basing some work on the film in the session.

SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS

To raise money for the Mangu school in Ghana, willing members of staff and S6 nominated themselves as Santa’s helpers. Everyone was invited to buy a ticket for a prize draw and to vote for a helper. Posters around the school showed the helpers wearing their Elf hats and trying to look cute and appealing. All the tickets were put into the draw and the winners claimed their ‘helper’ for a couple of periods. Santa’s helpers willingly worked in classes, stood in the lunch queue, carried school bags, wrote Christmas cards and wrapped presents for their winners. Thank you to Santa for releasing his helpers to be in Earlston High and to Mr Kidd, Mr Smart, Miss Wood, Miss McLaren, Mr McKeand, the S6 Head team and members of S6 who all gave their time to a good cause.

CAREERS FAIR

Careers Scotland is running its Jobs Fair at Kelso Showground on Monday 24 th January. The Fair is ideal for students in S4, 5 and 6, who intend to leave school next year and who plan to go into employment, training and further education. Approximately 40 local exhibitors are expected to attend and students will have the opportunity to talk to representatives and take home information. Mrs McDonald is collecting names of students in these year groups who would like to attend the Jobs Fair.

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 14th DECEMBER 2007

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

The photograph shows S1 pupils proudly waving their certificates, which were presented in assembly. S1, S2 and S3 have all celebrated their success this week and there was a good atmosphere in the assembly hall and lots of applause and celebration. Thank you to Michael McLeish (Head Boy), Jack Lowden (Deputy Head Boy) and Michelle Inglis (Deputy Head Girl) for their encouraging speeches and advice.

COMPETITION SUCCESS

Another success to celebrate was for three pupils in the Bilfinger Berger Christmas card competition. It was a closely guarded secret as to whose entry, from the three High Schools under construction, would be the overall winner. It was fantastic to hear that Olivia Hoppe’s card had been selected to be printed and used as Bilfinger Berger’s Christmas card 2007. Olivia’s card will be sent worldwide to the company’s clients, lawyers, business associates etc. Congratulations to Nicole Eliot and Simone Eliot for their winning entries in the other age groups.

STRICTLY COME DANCING

Elegance and sophistication, fun and laughter – these were in abundance at last night’s S1/2 Christmas dance. A real party atmosphere filled the hall and everyone was dancing with amazing skill (thanks to the PE Department for their social dancing lessons). Mr Renwick was the M.C. for the evening and music was provided by our very own Team Disco.

JUNIOR BOOKCLUB

The Junior Bookclub has been running for around a year now, and all the pupils that attend are finding it very enjoyable. It is also a great chance for us to read books we would not normally pick up in a library or bookshop. In the past we have read a variety of books, such as ‘Stormbreaker’ by Anthony Horowitz and ‘Private Peaceful’ by Michael Murpurgo. We are now considering books like ‘The Thief Lord’ by Cornelia Funke, ‘My Family and Other Animals’ by Gerald Durrell and ‘Shades Children’ by Garth Nix. When asked about her opinion on the book group, pupil and excellent contributor to the group – Alice Kirk- told us, ‘It is a good time for learning and meeting other people, and since it is held at lunchtime we don’t need to miss subjects.’ Ellen Kidd and Alice Kirk

CHRISTMAS CAFE

At lunchtime on Wednesday 12 December, the charities committee hosted the annual Christmas Café. Serving all sorts of delicacies, including a chocolate fountain, the committee was kept busy serving its customers. All money raised goes to the usual three charities for this year: Mangu School, Marie Curie and Childline.

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 7th DECEMBER 2007

S6 SOCIAL EDUCATION

As part of the Social Education programme, all pupils in S6 listened to a presentation by PC Kenny Houston from Lothian and Borders Police. PC Houston talked about the effects of alcohol on our bodies and our behaviour. To demonstrate this, video footage showed us how a person’s coordination and judgements are altered after drinking alcohol. The harm caused by binge drinking was another aspect of the presentation and advice was given on how to keep safe. Michael McLeish

SPOTLIGHT ON STAFF

In the spotlight this week is our new Biology teacher, and my register teacher, - Miss McLaren. Although, Miss McLaren in not totally new to Earlston High as she has worked here previously. She says that she became a teacher because she enjoys working with young people. She chose Biology because she enjoyed the subject when she was at school and she always finds it interesting. When asked four quick-fire questions about herself, she said her favourite singer is Elvis; her favourite food is Italian food and her favourite animal has to be one of the big cats, maybe a leopard or cheetah. Miss McLaren doesn’t really like ice-cream, but if she had to chose a particular flavour she would pick apple crumble ice-cream from a shop in Melrose. Miss McLaren gave the following tip for pupils in secondary school: ‘stick in and try your best. It is worth it!!’ Rebecca Casswell

YOUTH LINKS

Youth Links is a group of S1-S5 pupils who meet regularly to discuss how to improve local facilities in Earlston. Just now we are working on how to raise money for a Youth Café in Earlston. The group is organising a band night for early next year to achieve this. We also find out what other pupils in the school think about their local community and have put out a consultation to all pupils to ask their opinions. We have a link with Scottish Borders Council (Norrie Tait) who advises the group on how to go about their tasks and he recently organised a team building weekend. Some of the group are also involved in designing a website to show others our activities. For more information: Ani Heron 5B (Chairperson).

BORDERS SECONDARY SCHOOLS INDOOR TOURNAMENT

1 st X1 indoor team travelled to Queens Centre in Gala to take part in Indoor Tournament against all the other Border Secondary Schools. First up was Peebles. Earlston got off to a strong start with some ‘beautiful’ hockey, final score 3-0 with goals from Laura Scott, Caitlin Tiemessen and Suzanna Ruthven. Next was Jedburgh. Despite several shots on goal both teams were unable to score, after 12 minutes the score 0-0. In order to qualify the girls had to beat Kelso in their last game. The girls stuck to the game plan and played some awesome hockey resulting in goals for Captain Caitlin Tiemessen, Emily Eaton Turner and Suzanna Ruthven. Kelso never gave up, scoring a goal in the last few minutes, final score 3-1. Earlston won their section and played Hawick in the semi-final. Hawick were on fire and scored an early goal. Earlston fought back but couldn’t get the ball in the goal, final score 3-0. Hawick then went on to play Berwickshire in the final, score 2-0 to Berwickshire High.

Well done to all the girls in the team. I was very proud of all your efforts in making it to yet another semi-final! Bring on the Knockout Cup final in February!!!!

S3 REPORTS

Last week, S3 reports were issued to all pupils in third year. There was a full report for each Standard Grade or Intermediate subject. This provides pupils and parents with an indication of the current level of attainment, some general comments on the pupils’ learning and a set of strategies to help them improve their work. Members of the senior management team handed the reports to the pupils during registration and commented on the positive nature of the reports. As part of the Personal Learning Planning process, pupils and parents are asked to discuss the reports with each other and complete a reply slip, which should be returned to the register teacher. Other important dates for S3 are: the parents’ evening on Tuesday 4 March; S3 exams start after the Easter holidays; S3 end of year report will be issued on Friday 23 May 2008

POST PRELIM RELIEF

Phew! Prelims are over at last and pupils are now beginning to think of Christmas, not exams, exams, exams. It has been quite a hectic two weeks for our S4 and, fingers- crossed, the exams all went well and without a hitch.

Here’s what some of them had to say about their first experience of prelims. Alan McLean said, ‘They were all okay, although the most difficult for me was probably Chemistry. It was good to have study leave and I was lucky that my exams were quite well spaced out. Hopefully I was well prepared and my advice to next year’s pupils is to use study leave wisely.’

Jan Baird agreed that study leave was valuable. She also said, ‘It’s good to be able to test yourself and it’ll be a good indication of where I am at with my subjects. I did feel the pressure though as teachers are constantly telling us to revise. My advice is to go to help sessions, such as the maths club after school. It’s also important to plan ahead so you can build up your knowledge.’ Gillian Paterson, like Alan, thought Chemistry was her most difficult exam. On the day of this interview, it was Gillian’s last exam and so she looking forward to Christmas and having a day or so of rest before being back in school.

Other post prelims analysis comes from Lauren Hutchens, Josh Winter and Calum Brien and together they said, ‘Study leave is good although it’s hard to have exams right before Christmas. Prelims are good preparation for the final exams and help you know where you are with your subjects. Always revise more than you think you will need. The school should avoid having exams over interval and lunchtimes because it can get really noisy. Finally, invigilators should be banned from wearing ‘clicking heels’ !!’ Thanks for your comments S4 and enjoy the Christmas holidays to recharge your batteries.

CELEBRATING SUCCESS AND PROGRESS AWARDS

Last year, the school positive behaviour committee introduced a new system to celebrate success and progress. It aimed to recognise and reward the high achievers but also to motivate the hard working in the class. Each first, second and third year teacher can nominate any pupil who is

• Continually working hard
• Making pleasing progress
• Making a positive contribution to class discussion
• Producing good jotter work
• Being helpful
• Showing respect to others
• Behaving well
• Completing homework on time

Other certificates are awarded for good attendance and commitment to extra curricular activities.

These nominations are collated and certificates for Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards will be issued at this week’s Award Ceremony for each year group. At the ceremony the S6 Heads of school will give motivational speeches to pupils on the importance of setting goals, maintaining high standards and next steps.Congratulations and well done to everyone who receives an award this week.

FASHION SHOW

Another date for your diary on behalf of the S6 Charities Committee: 31 st January. The charities committee is busy yet again with its fundraising and is currently preparing for a fashion show of clothing from different local shops. This week, pupils from across the school are nominating themselves for a modelling role at the show. A packed meeting of all aspiring models was held on Wednesday. Was that Mr Clarke and Mr Renwick I saw hovering at the back?

Kirsty Russell

SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Students are preparing short films, no more than 3 minutes long, on the theme of either happiness or sadness. The competition is open to all students at Earlston High School and video recording equipment can be borrowed from Mrs Milligan. Ideas are more important than the camera quality so films recorded on mobile phones are perfectly acceptable. Closing date for entries is Friday 21 st December.

BELL LAWRIE SCOTTISH SCHOOLS UNDER 18 CUP

Earlston High School Senior rugby team beat High School of Glasgow 17 – 10 to reach the quarter finals of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Schools Under 18 Cup.

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 30th NOVEMBER 2007

SHOEBOXES HEADED FOR EASTERN EUROPE

Mrs Stewart Murray and three enthusiastic first years, Elen, Kyle and Jack, have been collecting items to fill shoeboxes as part of the Blythswood Care appeal. Pupils, parents and staff have been fantastic in donating items such as toiletries, gloves, pens and pencils. The team carefully packaged each box with Christmas wrapping paper and filled them with items suitable for adults, teenagers or younger children. Mrs Stewart Murray has run out of storage space and the back of her classroom has a new wall of boxes as she awaits the collection day. Earlston’s boxes will be heading to Eastern Europe as a special Christmas gift. So far, over 80 boxes have been filled. Thank you to everyone who made a donation and a special thank you to Jack’s Mum and her work colleagues for handing in 35 boxes!

SPOTLIGHTING NEW STAFF

Since August, thirteen new members of staff have joined us at Earlston High. In the coming weeks, I’ll spotlight just a few of them and find out a little bit more about ‘life before EHS’. Firstly, it is the turn of Mr John Butcher, Principal Teacher of Behaviour Support. Before coming to Earlston, Mr Butcher was Principal Teacher of Behaviour Support at Hawick High School. His first impression of EHS is the friendliness of the pupils and staff. He says that he enjoys being with children and helping them learn and make progress. If he had not become a teacher, he would like to have been a social worker. In my ‘quick fire’ round of questions about his favourite things he said: favourite subject at school - History; favourite food - fish and chips and chocolate ice-cream; favourite singer – Leona Lewis. Mr Butcher would like to give the following advice to all students sitting their prelim exams at the moment: sleep well, eat well and relax! Rebecca Casswell

VISIT TO DYNAMIC EARTH

On Sunday 18 th November S2 and S3 pupils visited Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth. They travelled back in time to witness the creation of the Universe. They also saw several exhibitions about volcanoes, earthquakes, rainforests and glaciers, as well as learning about various prehistoric creatures.

The trip ended with a visit to the Future Dome where they were able to vote on various issues and see hoe their decisions affected the future.

The trip was a great success and a good day was had by all.
Gillian Howieson S2

U18 RUGBY – MATCH COMMENTARY

After confidently dismissing Hawick High in the 2 nd round of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Cup, Earlston made the long journey through Glasgow to face Hillhead/Jordanhill.

Mr McMillan’s 15 started strong and instantly put points on the board from a Craig Jackson penalty. The pressure on the Glasgow defence continued and a powerful run from centre Joe Helps took the score to 10-0 early on. However, the home side reacted well and after several phases of amounted pressure they were rewarded with a try and an additional penalty, which brought the score to 10-10 approaching the half. Despite having threatening backs, the visitors proved to have too strong a forward pack until the scrum led by Marc Wilkinson and Richard Ferguson forced a penalty opportunity for Earlston. Jackson successfully brought the score to 13-10 at half-time.

Hillhead/Jordanhill opened the second half with a bang and after a long kick receiving game between the two sides, they were rewarded with an equalising penalty. Soon after, due to a shortage of Earlston backs, the home side took the lead for the first time in the match with a try. Despite this, Earlston replied with a determined drive for the line which allowed Gala Wanderers Gavin Robertson to cross the white wash. Going into the last quarter, the match looked to be Hillhead/Jordanhills as they scored a further 5 pointer, when Earlston’s defence once again were caught off guard. However, with his team tiring, McMillan strengthened his side by making a number of substitutes both in the backs and forwards. These changes seemed to have an instant effect: slick hands from the Earlston backs led by Captain Colvine sent winger, Shearer-Gibb, in for a well deserved score. Once again, late in the half, the two sides exchanged tries, including a superb individual effort from full back Arran Jackson, who beat a number of defenders to score under the posts. This allowed his younger brother, Craig, to successfully tie the match with a conversion: 27-27. With only minutes remaining in what can only be described a s a thrilling encounter, it was A. Jackson who once more performed by striking a drop goal which bobbled over to take Earlston into a 30-27 lead and the match to a close.

This impressive result sends Earlston High marching through to the last 16 where they will make a similar journey to face The High School Of Glasgow on Wednesday 28 November. A win will see them into the quarter finals of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Cup.

A YEAR TO BE PROUD OF

Former pupil, Emma Hughes, has recently been awarded a Certificate of Achievement from The Project Trust. Emma left Earlston High in the summer of 2006 and went on to have a successful year overseas as a volunteer worker in Uganda. The Project Trust is one of the longest running gap year organisations and all the volunteers are carefully selected and placed in countries and projects which suit their skills and abilities. There are still places available on the selection courses for the 2008/09 programme, which are held on the Hebridean Isalnd, Coll. Any students considering a gap year, are invited to log onto the project’s website for further information or to speak to Mrs Stewart Murray.

PE TRIPS

After another successful senior hockey tour in October of this year, Mrs Lawrence is planning another adventure: Belgium in October 2008. This opportunity is open to any girls in the current S3, S4 and S5. Mrs Lawrence has an introductory letter outlining the trip for anyone who is interested.

Closer to home and Mr Renwick is organising his usual excursion to see the Scotland rugby team at Murrayfield. Tickets are available for both the Scotland v France game on Sunday 3 February and the Scotland v England game on Saturday 8 March. Pupils can reserve a place for one or both games and the tickets are on a first come first served basis. It looks to be an exciting Six Nations Championship again this year.

QUESTION TIME

At the recent S1 Parents’ Evening, parents were asked to take part in a questionnaire about their impressions of the school and particularly the transition process from primary to secondary. Using a ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ style response box- led by our very own Chris Tarrant (Mr Clarke)-92 parents answered 20 questions. These were instantly put into the computer. Many thanks to everyone who took time to do this and we really value your input.

The results are available on our school website: www.earlstonhigh.scotborders.sch.uk. Also on the website are the results of an earlier questionnaire with S4 parents.

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 23rd NOVEMBER 2007

ENTERPRISING PUPILS

A group of S3 and S4 pupils has been really busy in the last few weeks as part of an Enterprise challenge. They are working towards their Bronze/Silver ASDAN award and have set up their own business selling ‘Santas’. Part of the challenge was to think of an idea for a product, design order forms and posters and then work on the production. The result is a very professional looking product and the group has a strict quality control procedure to ensure customer satisfaction. Their marketing strategies have obviously been very effective because they have been inundated with orders and are frantically working to meet their deadlines. Santas made by the group will be going as far away as Australia! This has been an amazing introduction to the world of business and enterprise. Profits from the challenge will be donated to the group’s nominated charities: SSPCA at Mellerstain and the Donkey Sanctuary in St Boswells. Every member of the group has played a full and active part in the success of the challenge and wish to thank the Technical department, particularly Spike and Mr Woodcock, for assisting them with the production.

LITTER FREE WEEK

Working with representatives from local businesses, the Community Council, Police and local Councillors, we organised a Litter Free Week in Earlston:19-23 November. Each year group had an assembly focusing on social responsibility and the impact of litter on the environment. One part of the assembly was a video-clip produced by members of S6 which highlighted the problems of litter. In a spoof Laurel and Hardy style film, the culprit on the video was shown the error of her litter dropping ways and the film had a ‘happy ending’. 30 million tonnes of litter are collected from our streets every year; 1,3000,000 bits of litter are dropped on roads every weekend; it takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to degrade – being mindful of these statistics will help us to make a difference and hopefully there will be a ‘happy ending’ for the environment too

PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES!

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s Christmas Dances. The S6 Dance committee has organised three dances for the following year groups: S1 and S2 on Wed 12 December; S3 and S4 on Thursday 13 December; S5 and S6 on Thursday 20 December.

UCAS

With only a week or so to go until the school’s deadline for UCAS applications, S6 students are putting the final touches to their personal statements and application forms. There is plenty of support available to students with the application process and David Coxall, our Careers Adviser, is in school each Tuesday and Wednesday. Appointments with David can be made by contacting Miss Fleming. Guidance teachers, class teachers and the senior management team are all willing to offer advice and support. Students are particularly encouraged to liaise with their nominated member of the management team, who will also be their referee. Each year, over half of our students apply to university and wait patiently for their acceptance letters. Already applications have been completed for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science as well as for Oxford and Cambridge universities. All other applications are to be completed by Friday 7 th December. Good luck!

CHILDREN IN NEED

Congratulations to S5 pupils, Leanne, Kirsty, Shelley, Amy and Rebecca, whose cake and candy sale raised £185 on Friday. Their contribution was also noted by the BBC in an ‘official’ email thanking the girls

HOCKEY

Well done to Luana Henderson and Ali Kontothanassis who represented the Under 16 South at a recent Inter-district Hockey tournament. Earlston High school was also well represented in the Under 18 South team with players Erin Bonnar, Emily Eaton-Turner and Suzanna Ruthven. Luana and Suzanna have both been selected by National Coaches to attend Scottish training Camps later this month. Congratulations and the very best of luck.

FOOTBALL BETTER THAN RUGBY?

Five enthusiastic first year debaters took part in their first debate on Tuesday lunchtime. The arguments about whether football was better than rugby were heated, with plenty of contributions from the floor. Congratulations to our two first years who shared the job of chairing. After much discussion, it was decided that, in fact, rugby was superior, although the football contingent may demand a ‘re-match’ soon!

“TOP OF THE BENCH” CHEMISTRY QUIZ

Well done to the team of Kassim Benhaddad, Kate Henney, David Tiemessen and Timmarah Fleming for putting in a valiant performance in this year’s competition involving South-East Scotland schools and held at Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton. Our team only missed proceeding to the regional final by losing out on a tiebreaker question, to George Heriot’s.

SENIOR BOOKGROUP

Since last May, there has been two book groups running in the school. There is a Senior group for S3 upwards, and a Junior group for S1 and S2. Each group meets once a month at lunchtime. This week it was the turn of the Senior group, who met after reading “The Time Traveller’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. It is fair to say that this was a roaring success. In fact, pupils described it as “gripping”, “unforgettable” and “unput-down-able”. The group have chosen “The Righteous Men” by Sam Bourne for our next meeting on Tuesday 11 th December.
The Junior bookgroup are reading “Private Peaceful” by Michael Murpurgo for Friday 23 rd November.

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 16TH NOVEMBER 2007

FRIENDS OF MANGU

In the run up to Christmas don’t forget our twin school in Mangu! Fundraising for the Junior Secondary School is in full swing. We’re now giving you the chance to buy anything from a bag of cement to 10 zinc roofing ridges for the school! Each purchase comes in a card with a ‘Mangu magnet’, which would make the perfect gift for a loved one this Christmas. The gifts vary in price from £1 to £25 so however big or small your purchase you can still make a valuable contribution! Also available are ‘Mangu Calendars’, £1 for a glossy copy and £2 for a magnetic copy. Order forms are available from the school, on the web site or contact C Mitchell for more details. Click here to download Order Form.

A DAY AWAY TRADING DAY ON THE ‘STOCKMARKET’

Nicola and Lauren were our ‘legs’ buying and selling the shares at the trading pit. You had to wave your arms and shout to make yourself heard by the end. Andrew was the Investment Analyst, David was the Finance Manager and Amy was the Media Analyst. During the day we had to analyse information and work as a team to increase our stake. By the end of the ‘week of trading’ we had more than doubled our money to £31,400! Considering we only had 4 ‘days’ trading we did very well, but not well enough to beat the winners who were more than double ahead of everyone else at £141,000! By Nicola Bruce, Lauren Day, Andrew Shafik, Amy Thomson, David Tiemessen (S3)

SAILING SUCCESS

Congratulations to Drew Airlie(S3) and Callum Airlie (S1), who have excelled themselves with sailing this year, achieving British rankings of 85 and 40 respectively. As a result, both have been selected for the Scottish Squad for 2007-8. Drew’s success has also led to an invite to join the Royal Yachting Association’s Development Squad. Both boys train hard at events all over the country and Callum has been invited to join the Association’s British Intermediate Squad. He is one of only three Scots in the squad and trains regularly with his training partner from Lomond School, Helensburgh. Callum has been sailing Optimists (the premier dinghy for teaching the under 16s) since he was 6½. For the last three years, he has sailed competitively and has moved from the tail end of the regatta fleet (the beginners) to the top of the main fleet in Scotland. He is now looking forward to training with the British Intermediate Squad and to the World/European/French team selection trials. Good luck and well done!

IN THE PINK!

A group of EHS staff get together for one lunchtime each week as the Pink Party Committee to raise money for breast cancer charities. On the 26 th October – Breast Cancer Awareness Day- the committee encouraged staff to wear something pink to school and make a donation. Last week, with the support of other members of staff who helped prepare food, the committee organised a successful social evening: two course meal, quiz and other fun and games for 130 ladies. Many thanks to staff and to Willie and Susie Quinn, who helped on the night. The raffle proved to be very popular and again thank you to the many local businesses and friends who donated prizes. The evening raised a fantastic sum of £1950.

DEBATING MATTERS COMPETITION

Jack Bell, Sithu Aye, Martin MacDonald and Fraser Brien represented Earlston High School at the recent Debating Matters competition held at St Thomas’ of Aquins High School in Edinburgh.

Jack and Martin were debating Embryonic Stem Cells and won their heat, putting Fraser and Sithu through to the final, where they argued against Celebrity Involvement in Politics. They put up a very strong performance against an equally verbose St Thomas’ team. This debate was allowed to run over schedule because of the quality of discussion. The judges had a very difficult decision but put St Thomas’ through because of their flamboyant style. A very enjoyable and educational evening was had by all.

A special thanks to Ms Bryden for all her organisational efforts and guidance.

Jack Bell

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 9TH NOVEMBER 2007

A STAR FILLED EVENING

Madonna, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, KT Tunstall and Amy McDonald were just some of the stars in Earlston last night. You’ve guessed, it was that time of year again when the parent Council Subgroup organised ‘Stars In Your Eyes’. Everything went according to plan and the various acts performed in front of a full and enthusiastic audience. Mr Meikle did a great job announcing each act and even helped build the confidence of some of the younger performers.

This year, the ‘stars’ ranged from S1 to S5 with two newcomers: Kirsty MacDonald performing Madonna’s “Material girl” and Rebecca Caswell (me!)with “Concrete Angel” by Martina McBride. Other acts included: “Hopelessly Devoted” sung by Nicola Denholm; “For Good” a song from the new musical “Wicked” which was performed by Katy Reilly and Kayley Henderson and Jenny Anderson and Racquel Mighten sang Aqua’s ‘Dr Jones’.

John Lennon (Will Hoppe) sang Imagine and the audience was convinced it was Lennon! Will’s sister, Olivia, gave us a break from the pop world as Sarah Brightman with ‘Wishing You Were Somewhere Here’. Elspeth Murray had the audience clapping and dancing as Amy McDonald and we all ‘rocked’ along with local band “The Rising”, who performed Nickelback’s “Animals” and also entertained the audience during the interval while the votes were being counted.

The audience was kept in suspense over the interval before Mrs Morton announced the three winning acts: Jonny Magowan and Emma Finnan as Elton John and Kiki Dee; Lauren Mackay as Amy Lee and the final act in the Top 3, and winner of The Best Look-a-Like, was Aimee Hislop’s superbly entertaining performance of Freddie Mercury’s ‘I want to break free’.

Overall it was a superbly enjoyable night, full of entertainment and I would recommend any one who has never seen this ‘star’ event to pop along next year and get a ticket before they sell out. Watch out for who will be in Earlston next year!! Rebecca Casswell

SMILE PLEASE! SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS

Individual photographs of all S1, S3 and S5 pupils were taken in school on Friday, 2 nd November.  These photographs will allow us to update our school records and parents are also given the opportunity to buy copies. All pupils in these year groups have received an order form (including a proof copy of the photo) and envelope from their Register Teacher.  In order to get these orders back and distributed hopefully before Christmas, please can parents ensure that they have returned their orders and payment in the envelope provided before Friday, 16 th November.  After this date all orders received will be sent away altogether.  Parents may, if they wish, still order after this date but any such orders would have to be sent directly to Tempest Photography Ltd.  Details on how to do this, or on how to order on the internet, are given on the order forms.

Individual photographs of all S6 students were also taken along with a whole year group photograph, which will be displayed in a prominent position in the school.  Order forms for these will then be distributed to all S6 students.  It is anticipated that the deadline for these orders will be at a later date and so are unlikely to be back in time for Christmas.

CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGNS DELIGHT THE JUDGES

Congratulations to Nicole Elliot, Olivia Hoppe and Simone Elliott for their success as Earlston’s winners in the recent Bilfinger Berger Christmas Card competition. Bilfinger Berger is an international project management company which is one of the partners building our new school. Among their past projects are the Sydney Opera House and the centennial bridge over the Panama Canal; they have recently been selected to manage the construction of Edinburgh’s tramway system. They decided to run a Christmas card competition for the pupils of Earlston, Duns and Eyemouth. Entries were made in each of three bands – Band 1 for S1/S2, Band 2 for S/S4 and Band 3 for S5/S6. In each school, a winner was chosen from each band to receive a prize of £75. Beyond the prize comes a highly prestigious opportunity for the best designs to be turned into Bilfinger Berger’s actual corporate Christmas card for 2007! It will clearly be a massive boost to any pupil’s CV to say that they designed Bilfinger Berger’s 2007 Christmas card. Schools will also receive a supply of these cards. So far, each school’s winners have been announced – in our case, Nicole from Band 1, Olivia from Band 2 and Simone from Band 3. Well done!

CHRISTIANO RONALDO - EAT YOUR HEART OUT!

The S6 sports committee challenged staff to a 5 a side football competition at lunchtime on Tuesday 6 November. Three teams of S6 were each brave enough to play against the staff team in a five minute game. Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Chiz Buckets and The Committee Cobras led by their S6 team captains -Jack Lowden, Callum Chisholm and Ross McLennan- faced a competitive-looking staff team. Who won? In the first game, Mr Meikle and Mr McNabb showed their shooting skills and the staff team won 2-1. In the next round, despite Mr Butcher’s excellent defence and the goalkeeping expertise of Mr McMillan, The Committee Cobras won 3-0. These two teams met again in the final and again the Cobras were the winners, this time with a 1-0 score. Star players for S6 were Glen-Ross Oxton and Graham Mounsey. ‘Man of the match’ was Joe Helps. Thanks to the sports committee for organising the challenge and to the staff team: Mr Meikle, Mr Butcher, Mr McMillan, Mr McNabb, Mr McGregor and Mr Pritchard. Great fun! When’s the next sporting challenge?

CHARITIES COMMITTEE - BODY SHOP PARTY

Always working hard and thinking of new ways to raise money – the S6 charities committee has arranged a Body Shop Party at the High School on Wednesday 14 November at 7pm. This is open to the general public and the cost is £2, payable at the door. If you are looking for some stocking fillers and ideas for Christmas gifts, then no doubt the demonstration will help you. Refreshments will be available and all proceeds from the evening will go to this year’s nominated charities. Last week’s Halloween events and non uniform day raised a phenomenal £1088.87!

TESCO SPORTS VOUCHERS AND NESTLES 'BOX TOP FOR BOOKS'

The PE department is collecting the Sports equipment vouchers from Tesco and Mr Rae in the Physics department is collecting the tokens from Nestle cereal boxes. Please collect these and hand them in to any member of the PE department for the sports vouchers and place the Nestles tokens into one of the collecting boxes: school office, Lab 6, library.

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 2ND NOVEMBER 2007

EXHIBITION OF ART AND DESIGN

Every year the work of our senior students is showcased in an exhibition.

The work contains Advanced Higher Portfolios by students from last sessions S6, many of whom have now moved on to courses at art college. Also on display are folios of work from our Higher students, and many of them are now in S6 and working towards careers in art and design.

The talents and abilities of the students are obvious. The work is very impressive. It ranges from high quality, highly developed and finished work on a large scale to small, intimate sketchbooks full of creative experiments and quirky ideas.

The students are an inspiration. However, it is not simply talent that produces work at this level It needs determination and commitment and hard work.

	Well done Class of 2007!

S6 VISIT TO GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART OPEN DAY

It’s that time of year when the senior students are looking at UCAS and thinking about their future. To help us make our decision, many of us visit various universities around the UK.

Last Thursday, Miss Thoday took some of her Advanced Higher Art class to visit The Glasgow School of Art. We attended talks about the courses available, were given information about portfolios and then spent some time exploring the campus, Along the way we bumped into some ex-pupils of Earlston High School who had successfully been accepted into this prestigious school.

My first choice for Art College remains Edinburgh College of Art but looking at the work of Glasgow College of Art students was inspiring and made me even more determined to achieve my own ambitions. Kate Bell 6C

Theatre Visits

A group of 37 pupils from S3 to S6 and four members of staff travelled to The Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on Thursday 25 October to see the musical ‘Blood Brothers’. The performance was superb and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

The S6 Junior Activities Committee is busy organising the S1 theatre trip on the 13th December. This year, a real treat is in store for the first years as the committee has organised for them to see ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ at the Edinburgh Playhouse. The production stars Craig Chalmers, one of the popular finalists in the BBC’s series ‘Any dream Will Do’. Staff and pupils are looking forward to hearing Craig sing the hits songs such as ‘Close Ev’ry Door to Me ‘ and ‘Any dream Will Do’.

Stars In Your Eyes

It is likely to be another sell out show at Stars In Your Eyes on Wednesday 7 November. It is a closely guarded secret as to which acts will be performing, but there will be music from the 60’s right through to today, rock groups, opera and solo pop artists. There are twelve acts in total with pupils from S1 to S5 taking part, organising the event and arranging their own rehearsal schedules. Tickets are on sale from Mrs Morton and cost £3.

The Countdown To Prelims

‘3 weeks to prelims’ – was the opening line of Miss Strong’s presentation to the S4 at assembly this week. Pupils were reminded of the importance of prelims and their role in learning and assessment. As well as being practice for the final exam, prelims give pupils a realistic experience, help teachers estimate a pupil’s final grade and are used for appeals. Miss Strong highlighted the need to optimise revision time and plan effectively. She quoted Will Carling, the Former rugby captain: ‘If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail’. All pupils were given a planning sheet to help them organise their revision schedules. The first exam will be on Monday 26 November and the last one will be Friday 7 December. For these two weeks, S4 pupils can apply for study leave and application forms will be issued soon along with the examination timetable.

Halloween Fun Day

The Charities Committee organised a fun day on Halloween with a dress up theme of hippies and ravers. The majority of sixth year posed colourfully for a year group photo. In contrast to the sixth year, members of the senior management team wore school uniform! At lunchtime everyone joined in for games including pumpkin bowling and dooking for apples. A Halloween themed cake and candy also helped to raise money for our chosen charities: Marie Curie Cancer, Childline and Mangu School. The day was a great success. ‘Make love not war’ was the hippy message! At the time of going to press, the non-uniform part of the day had raised a staggering £687.73! Terrific.

1st XI Hockey Tournament

The 1 st X1 took part in the Border Schools Hockey Tournament at Tweedbank on Tuesday. Our first game was against Jedburgh Grammar. Being the first game both teams got off to a slow start. Earlston piled on the pressure in the second half but the Jedburgh goalie kept a clean sheet, final score 0-0. Our second game was against Selkirk. The Earlston girls played with spirit from the start and took an early lead with an excellent strike from the top of the circle at a penalty corner from vice captain Suzanna Ruthven. Despite further pressure throughout the game the final score remained 1-0. The last match of the preliminary rounds was against Kelso High School. The girls again rose to the challenge and played some excellent hockey. Excellent marking by Laura (birthday girl) Scott and strong running through the middle from Annie Hunt, Suzanna Ruthven and Caitlin Tiemessen piled the pressure on the Kelso defence. Another well executed penalty corner from Suzanna Ruthven took the Earlston team into the lead. Despite constant pressure in the circle from Emily Eaton Turner the Kelso defence kept the ball out of the goal for the remainder of the game, final score 1-0. Earlston won their section and played Berwickshire High School in the semi-final. This was a very tight game and both teams played some excellent hockey. Despite a gutsy performance Berwickshire won the game 2-0 and then went on to beat Galashiels Academy in the final in penalty strokes. Well done to the whole squad and a big thank you to Mr Tucker for umpiring all of our games.

Back To Top

WEEK ENDED 26TH OCTOBER 2007

COSMONAUT VISIT

In September, about 100 men and women who have flown in space visited Scotland to attend the Space Explorers’ Planetary Congress in Edinburgh. The event is the major opportunity for discussions among astronauts and cosmonauts and it is the first time that the UK has hosted the event.

Careers Scotland, who employ our Careers Adviser and provide careers advice, arranged that several schools would receive a visit from a space explorer. Earlston High was fortunate to be chosen as one of the lucky schools and we were visited by a Russian cosmonaut, Vladimir Shatalov, who had been in space three times. He became commander of cosmonaut training and director of the cosmonaut training centre until 1991. Despite his having to speak through an interpreter, some 300 students were totally engaged by his tales of what it was like to go into space. He said that although the sky seems endless from down here on Earth it only takes 10 minutes to rush through the atmosphere, and beyond there is nothing. He now sees the atmosphere that gives us our air to breathe and protects us as being very thin. He commented on how dangerous it is for us to pollute and destroy this delicate covering that protects life. The pupils asked him many interesting questions from, “What kind of qualifications do you need to become a cosmonaut?” to “How do you go to the toilet in space?” The photo session was popular with many people wanting their photo taken beside him. Major General Shatalov presented the school with a memento of his visit in the form of a plaque with the face of the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. Mr Weierter thanked him for giving up his time and presented him with a school tie, joking that it was important not to exceed his luggage allowance.

From the Careers Scotland website: “Careers Scotland aims to motivate and inspire young people through a number of career and enterprise education activities. By introducing Scottish pupils to positive role models, we intend to give them the confidence and motivation to reach for their own goals”

Mr Kidd with Major General Shatalov	A Physics class with Major General Shatalov
Major General Shatalov presenting plaque	Major General Shatalov with the science teachers

PRISON - ME? – NO WAY!

For one day, just before the October holiday, second year pupils experienced a day with a difference. Instead of their normal timetable they were taken into custody by the prison officers of the No Way Trust and given a taste of the kind of discipline experienced by the inmates of our prisons. They were marched from one activity to another in a no-nonsense way. Each class went round a series of activities which were designed to make them think about their safety, the safety of others and civic responsibilities.

Behaviour in the Street was based on a stage set of a street where the pupils were asked to act out anti-social behaviour and then they discussed the effect this had on the various dwellers in the street.

British Red Cross carried out Heart Start training where pupils use mannequins to practise resuscitating someone who has collapsed with a heart attack.

In Rachel’s Story the pupils were read a story written by a young person in prison who deeply regrets the position they are in and graphically spells out the feeling of despair. The pupils are then asked to respond and write back to the prisoner.

In the Prison Van they were shown a mock-up of the cramped conditions and lack of privacy experienced in a prison cell.

The Fire Service provided a wreck from a car crash and discussed the irresponsibility of dangerous driving and the effects on the families of the victims.

The Drugs and Alcohol Team from the police gave talks on the dangers of drink and drugs.

The tennis courts were used as an exercise yard where the classes were marched in the highly controlled manner of prisoners exercising, before they were released for lunch.

At the end of the day there was a prize-giving for the “prisoners” who had most impressed the presenters. A commemorative shield was also presented by the No Way Trust for the school to use as an annual trophy for the school’s Citizen of the Year.

S3/4 STUDY SKILLS EVENING

Did you know that we forget 80% of what we learn after one day? Or that our memory is enhanced when we relax? At last week’s Study Skills evening, parents and pupils were given lots of helpful advice and information on how to learn and revise effectively. The evening started with a presentation on how the memory works and the different strategies that can be used. The emphasis was on planned study and how we can optimise our revision time. The remainder of the evening was practical advice from different subject teachers: Maths, Biology, Geography and English. One common tip was the reminder that we all improve with practice and past paper booklets are really helpful. With just 5 weeks until the prelims, let’s hope the S4 are already immersed in their books!

EARLSTON HIGH SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL- PROGRESS SO FAR

From August 2007 the School Board and School Association (PTA) were replaced by the Parent Council. The Parent Council constitution was agreed during the early part of 2007 and it was decided that Earlston High School would have a Parent Council Core group, similar in function to the old School Board, and a Parent Council Sub group, with a fundraising remit similar to the old school Association.

Both groups have met twice this term and things are going well. The Core group consists of 7 parents, 2 co-opted members, 2 pupil representatives and 1 teacher representative. Mrs Susan Sutherland is Chairperson for this session and Mr David Blaszk is vice-chair. The Core group are looking for a clerk, this is a paid post and interested people are asked to contact the school for further details. The Headteacher and Depute attend to report to the group on key matters affecting the school.

Current topics being discussed include progress with the new school, effective consultation with the Parent Forum (all parents are members of the Parent Forum) and involving parents and community members in the wider life of the school. Minutes of the Parent Council Core group will always be available on the school website.

The Parent Council Sub group consists of 19 members and postholders include Dr Sheena MacDonald (Chairperson), Hilary Jackson (Treasurer) and Lynn McCulloch/ Sally Murray (Joint Secretary). The group organised a very successful University life evening at the start of session and are now spending many hours at preparing for Stars in your Eyes on November 7 th. Preparations are also well under way for the Christmas raffle and Burns Supper in January.

HALLOWEEN! RAVE 2 THE GRAVE!

S1 – S3 Disco on Tuesday 30 October, 7.00-10.00pm

S4 – S6 Disco on Wednesday 31 October 7.30 – 10.30pm

CHARITY FUND-RAISERS

‘Get into the groove’ and ‘be cool’ on Wednesday 31 st October by dressing up as a Hippy or Raver. To raise money for their three nominated charities (Childline, Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Mangu School in Ghana), the S6 Charity Committee has organised a non-uniform day. Donations of £1 will be collected at registration. Cake and candy will be on sale at break and the best dressed Hippy will be judged at lunchtime.

THE STUDIO

Students are working on a number of projects including short film for The Studio short film competition. The closing date for entries is Friday 21 December. Studio members are also busy preparing for their Film Fiesta on Thursday 1 November. The purpose of this is to raise funds for a broadcast quality camera. The event will be based around ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘ Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Almost all Fourth Year students went out for a week of Work Experience in the week before the October Holiday. We are fortunate to have a long tradition of a high percentage of our places being self-found by the students themselves which comes from a combination of willing employers and enthusiastic parents. It is heart-warming to read the glowing feedback which most students receive from their employers and the positive comments the students make themselves..

We would like to thank all the employers who keep on supporting us even though insurance costs keep rising and health and safety considerations mean more paperwork. We are very grateful to the hard-working team at Careers Scotland who safety check each and every one of our places. The process is about to start all over again for the current S3, who were introduced to the idea of work experience by Mr Weierter in this week’s assembly.

EARLSTON HIGH SCHOOL – HOCKEY TOUR TO HOLLAND, OCTOBER 2007

With high expectations set from last year’s tour, excited smiles were on everybody’s faces as we boarded Terry’s Tour Bus – our home for the next five days. Our short-ish bus journey was filled with DVD’s, ‘choons’ and the famous ‘Holland banter’, followed by a night on the ferry, full of excitement, boogying on the dance floor and active ‘pond-life’ always close by.

Our first day in the country was spent in the capital Amsterdam. After some sightseeing to take in the local culture we hit the shops for a few hours of retail therapy before heading off to our Hotel in Valkenburg.

Hotel Op de Boud was a lovely welcoming hotel. We were greeted kindly with smiles and a ‘dancing parrot’. Throughout our stay the Staff served with us with delicious dinners and breakfasts and we were able to make up our own lunches to take with us on our travels.

Our first hockey games were played against GHC Rapide. Very challenging, yet friendly games for both squads. The girls gave a gutsy performance but in the end the 1 st X1 lost their game 2-1 and the 2 nd X1 lost their game 6-0. Despite this the girls raised their spirits for their next game against Sjinborn. Very successful games this time producing wins in the first two games with lots of spectacular goals and a scoreless draw in the third game. Everyone was in high spirits as we left to go back to the hotel and dress up for the bowling. Led by the Superheroes, the Baywatch cast, some army girls, cowgirls, Barbies, grannies and gangstas were among the few to take part in a competitive but full of laughs bowling game. As tired as we were the chat still flowed into the early hours that night.

An early start yet again on the Monday as we headed across the border to Germany’s Phantasialand. We all ventured through China, Africa, Mexico and Americas old western, taking our chances on their high-thrilling rides, the hot favourite the Black Mumba (those that were dare devil enough to see it through!!). Other famous rides included 65 ft drop in the castle, high speed log flumes and Knoxy’s favourite the spinning raft ride which resulted in a few laughs and a ‘wet clothes’ competition. After an awesome day the girls boarded the bus and then sang all the way back to the hotel…”I’m loving Terry instead…”, “… drive Terry drive…”, …Terry is the champion of the bus…”. Arriving back at the Hotel we had dinner and then had some free time to explore the town of Valkenburg. That night ‘The Salon’ came to the Hotel, as the teachers were treated to nail manicures, hair straightening, deep tissue massages and of course the famous banter.

The last day of the tour started with one of McLaren’s enthusiastic training sessions, where lots of the girls took part in a fun hockey tournament, showing off their silky skills and tricks. However soon after, we loaded the bus for the last time and then walked down the street to stock up on snacks for the long bus ride home. After a few hours of DVD watching we arrived in Calais where we were given more time to eat and shop! Back on the bus we had a tearful hand out of well deserved awards and thank you speeches and one final DISCO on Terry’s rocking bus. Feeling slightly emotional that the ‘whirlwind tour’ was coming to an end we headed across the deep blue on a rough ferry crossing to Dover. Our heavy heads were homeward bound on the long drive back to Earlston.

So what else can we say? We had an outstanding time on our tour in Holland, experiencing many giggles, thrills and some first class hockey. Thank you very much for such an amazing trip. We all have many awesome memories to treasure …”TERRY TERRY TERRY TERRY… AH A AH A AH AHHHHHH……”

Please find attached a copy of the Senior Hockey Squad from Earlston High School who went to Holland. The girls would like to thank Alison and Walter Scott from Timberlodge Ltd who sponsored the hooded tops that the girls are wearing. Thank you also to Earlston High School Association, Earlston High School Extra-Curricular Fund, Mr and Mrs Smith Reform Kitchens and Continental Tyres, London for their kind donations. Your generosity was very much appreciated by all the girls.

BALLOON DEBATE

Twelve pupils and two intrepid members of staff took part in a celebrity balloon debate on Tuesday 16 th October. Everyone took on a persona, from Paris Hilton to Solom of Athens, while the 30 strong audience voted who should be thrown out and kept in. Dr Who was perhaps surprisingly the first to be thrown out, while the winner was the young Isaac Newton. Congratulations to all who took part.

back to top