ahs newsletter 23

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Spring Holidays 2004 Monday 29 March – Monday 12 April Term 3 Tuesday 13 April – Friday 2 July inclusive Monday 3 May Holiday Term 1 Tuesday 17 August – Friday 8 October inclusive October Holidays Monday 11 October – Friday 22 October Term 2 Monday 25 October – Tuesday 21 December inclusive Christmas Holidays Wednesday 22 December – Friday 7 January 2005 Term 3 Monday 10 January – Friday 1 April inclusive Spring Holidays Monday 4 April – Friday 15 April Term 4 Monday 18 April – Wednesday 6 July inclusive TEACHERS’ IN SERVICE TRAINING DAYS 2004 – 2005: Monday 16 August 2004 Thursday 11 and Friday 12 November 2004 Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 June 2005 OCCASIONAL HOLIDAYS 2004 – 2005: Wednesday 26 January 2005 Friday 25 and Monday 28 February 2005 Monday 18 April 2005 Monday 2 May 2005

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New AHS 1

School Board 2

Pupil Support 3

ASN News 3

AHS Library 4

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Links with France/Germany 6-7

Music Department 8-9

Young Enterprise 10

Road Safety Education 10

International Interests 11

Global Classroom Links 12

Field Studies Officer for BP Duke of Edinburgh

Duke of Edinburgh

Sports 14

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

mornings, please listen in to Radio Orkney and SIBC for school announcements. We are delighted with the announcement that the former Shetland College building in Gressy Loan is to become the Additional Support Needs department of our school. Over the next 18 months, the building will b e r e f u r b i s h e d t o accommodate the teenagers currently located in the Bells Brae Department. Our new Principal Teacher ASN, Ms Nikki Thomson, is already

December 2003 was a busy month, with the Christmas Coffee Morning, the Winter Concert and three splendid par t ies . The Sen io r Beanfeast saw a return of the dance band and an impressive display of traditional dance from Class 5 and Class 6. On 2nd February, Darren Laurenson 2E and his Junior Jarl’s squad enjoyed their hop. This had been a week of disruption due to the bad weather, repeated two weeks later. On snowy

involved in the planning process. I consider it a great achievement that all teenagers, regardless of their support needs, will be educated on one site, in the future. Finally, good luck to all our Fourth, Fifth and Sixth year pupils in their examinations in May 2004. I know many are working hard, and that those with part-time jobs are considering their priorities – these few weeks ahead will make all the difference to the future. Aim high.

1. Developments on the Anderson High School campus

2. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

3. Citizenship 4. Being a Health

Promoting School 5. Raising Achievement Copies of our plan for 2004-2005 will available from the School Office from 13th April 2004.

By the end of this month, March 2004, the Anderson High School Task Force will know the costs and final details of the proposed new Anderson High. From there, full council will consider the way forward for our site. The Feasibility Study plans suggest a new build, tucked into our existing site, with minimum disruption to the current b u i l d i n g d u r i n g construction. We look forward to opportunities ahead.

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At this time of year, all schools are expected to produce a School Development Plan. This document summarises how we have progressed with our goals for 2003-2004 and outlines our priorities for 2004-2005. In 2004-2005, we will be focusing on the following priorities:

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ISSUE 23 PAGE 2

Observing the daily dropping off and picking up of pupils, from my office window, I feel I have to ask you all to be exceptionally careful when driving around the school. Nearly 1000 people use the main school door every day. The area immediately outside the main doors is the drop off point for special needs pupils, from SIC minibuses. In addition, it is the only delivery point for our food and materials. Please do not drive into this area. Please drop off pupils at the grassy area near Lovers Loan, or else-where around the site, whenever possible. Thank you for your support in this safety matter.

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One of our fourth year pupils did particularly well and has been invited to sit a European competition later this month. The Maths Challenge organisers at the School of Mathematics at the University of Leeds say this year’s intermediate competition was harder than last year’s. This reflects our pupils receiving fewer certificates than previously, but still above the compe-tition average. Similar questions to those attempted in the competitions can be viewed on the UK Maths Challenge web site at: www.ukmt.org.uk

The Maths Department entered classes in the three levels of the UK Maths Challenge Competition this session. In November ten pupils from the advanced higher classes entered the senior challenge and five of them achieved highly enough to gain certificates, two at silver standard and three at bronze. The intermediate challenge was held in February and two classes were entered, one each in S3 and S4. The results have just arrived in the school and out of forty-nine pupils entered twenty-one will receive certificates. There will be two at gold standard, ten silver and nine bronze.

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From August to December 2003, there was lots of organising taking place for the school Christmas Cof-fee Morning. This year many local businesses were contacted and asked if they would like to donate items for the raffle. There was tremendous support and some of the items included were a trip to Faroe on the Norrona (from Smyril line), a trip to Aberdeen (from Northlink) and many more great donations. As well as donations from local businesses, items from pupils, parents, teachers and members of the public came flooding in. The event was advertised on the radio, on posters, fliers handed out and on the school’s tannoy system. In addition, the raffle tickets for the Luxury Christmas Hamper were on sale at the S5/6 Parents night and there was lots of support from parents.

The actual event was held on Saturday 6th December, and it was a great success. Pupils, teachers, parents and members of the community all came and enjoyed coffee and teas, and participating in many of the organised activities. Activities included:- Santa’s grotto, beat the goalie, guess the number of sweets in the jar, guess the name of the cat, guess the birthday of the dog, calendar stall, higher/lower cards, a bottle stall, a German Christmas market stall, a Japanese calligraphy stall, young enterprise stall, and a delicious home bakes stall. This was the second Christmas coffee morning for the Anderson High School and it was great to see how successful this annual event has become. The Fund Rais ing

Committee and the Student Representative Council decided that the organisations that would benefit this year were MS in Shetland, MacMillan Cancer Fund – Shetland, and the school fund. The total raised at the coffee morning plus the proceeds from the Winter Concert meant that which meant that each organisation received a cheque for £650. The Fund Raising Committee would like to give a big thank you to everyone involved, and we are looking forward to seeing you all again at Christmas 2004!

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Dear Parent / Carer It hardly seems six months since Arlene (Clerk to the School Board) was reminding me that I would have to get something to her for the school newsletter !! So here we go . . . . There have been a couple of changes since my last letter and I thought I would share this with you. Firstly, I would like to thank Cathy Stout for her service as a parent member on the Board and was sorry when she decided that she would not stand at the elections in November. Fortunately there was a good response by parents to fill the 4 vacancies so much so that it resulted in an election having to be held. Sandy West and David Gardner were re-elected and I would like to welcome William Spence and James Hutton to the Board. There have

been a couple of meetings since their appointment and they have added greatly to the discussions. Secondly, the proposal for the new Anderson High School seems to be on target and we are hopeful that the members will soon be in a position to make their decision on when the work can commence. Thirdly, I have been asked to join an authority work-ing group looking at safe Internet access for pupils in schools and would appreciate any comments you would care to have me pass on. Finally, may I wish all those pupils about to sit their Standard, Intermediate, Higher Grade and Advanced Higher exams all the best and for those young people leaving this year I hope that they not only succeed in their chosen direction but also will always look back with pleasure at their time in the A.H.S. I

would also like to mention now that the Board are planning a big fund raising event later on in the year and would welcome any suggestions. School Board Membership: George McGhee Co-opted Member (Chairman) Robin Calder Teacher Member David Gardner Parent Member James Hutton Parent Member William Spence Parent Member Pat Thomson Parent Member (Vice Chair) Hazel Tulloch Teacher Member Sandy West Parent Member Layla Sawford Co-opted Member Student Representative Council Arlene Gardner Clerk Cecil Eunson Councillor

ANDERSON H IGH SCHOOL PAGE 3

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group and individual teaching rooms, facilities for speech, physio and occupational therapy, kitchen / dining areas and sensory facilities. Pupils in the ASN Department have been involved in a number of ventures recently; Junior Up Helly Aa For the first year a small squad from the ASN Department took part in the Junior Up Helly Aa. The squad of Christopher Sinclair, Aiden Ward and Sean Robertson braved the weather dressed as Scotland supporters. They thor-oughly enjoyed themselves and have plans for next year. Thanks to all the parents and helpers who made it possible. Sandness Trip In Early March, following the success of the felting workshop pupils Natasha Hunter, Bobbie Watson and Karen Leask went to

The Additional Support Needs (ASN) Department has undergone a few changes recently as Ms Karen Spiers has moved on to work at Sandwick Junior High School. She has been instrumental in guiding the Department through new developments and will be very much missed. I was appointed in February to the new post of PT for ASN and have been finding my way with the help of a very supportive staff. Secondary education is a new venture for me having been primary trained. I have worked in mainstream and special needs primary settings for the past eleven years and am enjoying the challenge that the Anderson High School now gives me. These are exciting times for the ASN Department. The plans for the Gressy Loan refurbishment have been finalised and I now feel I am in the middle of a ‘Grand Designs’ project! The conversion of the building is on schedule to be completed for August 2005 and it will provide an educational facility for young people with complex and profound needs. The plans include

Jamieson’s Spinning Ltd., in Sandness. The mill was huge and it was possible to follow wool through every stage from mucky fleece to finished gansie. Vast quantities of coloured carded wool have now been acquired ready for a ‘Get Together Felting Club’. Pupils interested in learning this skill and helping to produce a large felted Shetland landscape please leave your name with the Additional Support Department, Room PS9. Artist in residence: felt making In January the department had a visit from Shetland Arts Trust’s artist in residence, Olivia Keith. She ran workshops on felt making, which proved so popular it is intended to run lunchtime sessions after Easter for anyone interested. Pupils made a variety of articles, which have been on display in the school, including a Chinese dragon, animals and pictures. Those taking part even got their photos in The Shetland Times.

To implement the McCrone Agreement, the Pupil Support department was established in the school this session through the restructuring of staffing and accommodation of the former Guidance and Learning Support / Additional Support Needs (ASN) departments, with the supportive backing of the local authority. The former Guidance department was replaced by five Principal Teachers of Pupil Support, working on a full-time basis, developing and teaching Personal and Social Education, providing pupils with curricular, vocational and personal support and doing duty at the pupil support base, dealing with attendance, late coming and signing pupils in and out of school. A new department of Additional Pupil Support for pupils who require social, emotional and behavioural support, headed by a P r i n c i p a l T e a c h e r , w a s established. The former Learning Support/Additional Support Needs department was divided into two departments with a Principal Teacher heading each. The Learning Support department provides support for learning to mainstream pupils. The Additional Support Needs department provides support for learning to pupils with individual needs, more of whom the school can now accommodate wi th fu r the r

expansion pending when the Gre s s y L o a n bu i l d ing i s refurbished.

Accommodat ion has been restructured so that the whole Pupil Support department is together in the one corridor from the front door area up to the entrance to the Music department. With Learning Support/ ASN and Additional Pupil Support already there, the two additional rooms needed for the expanding ASN department and for a Pupil Support base were acquired by moving the RE department to two rooms in C1. Refurbishment was completed in time for the new session in August and staff are very pleased with their new working areas. The benefits of the new Pupil Support structure are many. Communication between staff in the department is easy and issues are dealt with quickly and in a co-ordinated way. Communication to and from parents is quick. Monitoring of pupil attendance, late

coming, homework diar ies, attainment targets and behaviour patterns is efficient. Responsibility for both developing and teaching PSE means that resources are continually updated and links maintained with many external agencies. Staff contribute significantly to whole school i n i t i a t i v e s , f o r e x a m p l e , assessment and repor t ing committee, anti-bullying committee, flexibility in the curriculum working group, homework committee, health education and careers working groups. Liaison with associated primary and secondary schools has been extended. Feedback from staff, pupils and parents indicates that the new structure has proved successful and the hard work of all members of the department is to be commended. Finally, you are welcome to make an appointment through the School Office (tel. 692306) to come and visit the department at any time. Principal Teachers: Mr D Riddell, Pupil Support Mrs G Cran, Pupil Support Ms M Liddle, Pupil Support Mr D McDonald, Pupil Support Mr B Redman, Pupil Support Mrs C Carter, Additional Pupil Support Mrs D Nickerson, Learning Support Ms N Thomson, Additional Support Needs

ISSUE 23 PAGE 4

New Librarian In January, Lesley Smales took over as school librarian. Morag Nicolson is now Young People’s Services Librarian. Lesley previously ran a public library in Dundee and is enjoying her new job and life in Shetland. World Book Day The library celebrated World Book Day in style this year with a ‘Dress up as a Book Character’ competition. It attracted a range of entrants and lots of spectators. Photos of everyone who entered are on display in the library, and librarians “Carrie” and “Dracula” are pictured below.

We also ran a ‘Get Caught Reading’ campaign, where lucky pupils spotted reading around the school were given a golden ticket. These tickets were then entered into a prize draw. The campaign was very popular, and will return later in the year. Competitions and Quizzes A special quiz was also included in the World Book Day celebrations, and the library plans to offer at least one quiz or competition per month. This should give everyone a chance to take part. The next to take place is a Mother’s Day card competition and a quiz will follow in April.

Weekly Activities The library has three lunchtime activity days at the moment: Tuesday is games day, with board games and card games. Wednesday is ‘Chatterbooks’, a reading club for first and second year pupils. Friday is homework and reading day, a quiet day for everyone and a chance to get homework out of the way for the weekend. Library Website We hope to have the library web-site available after the Easter hol idays. Pupi ls wi l l be contributing to the design, and providing reviews.

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T h e c u r r e n t S t u d e n t Representative Council session is nearing an end with only one meeting left before the end of the school term. Council members have worked to achieve much within the school and have also been in-vited to be members on various committees out-with the pupil coun-cil. Gavin Emslie, David Smith, Hayley Leask and Hazel Brand are members of the schools Fund-Raising Committee and Jonathan Polson and Steven Sandison are on the Drugs Forum. Andrew Hutton and Thorfin Craigie are members of

SNAG while Layla Sawford is on the School Board in the school. Scott Anderson, Andrew Watt and I were invited to join a taskforce group to give pupil representative on feasibility plans for a new Anderson High School. We have a power-point presentation on what the pupils would like to see in a new school. Much of this information was gained from issues raised by pupils through suggestion boxes and surgeries held by student council members.

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Ful l Bronze awards were presented to Peter Cooper, Andrew Kelly, Jamie McDougall, Craig Nicol, Stephen James Pigott, Erik Smith and Matthew Strmsek.

On 5th January 2004 a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award presentation was held in the Town Hall. A number of Anderson High School pupils, past and present, received certificates recognising their achievements in a diverse range of act ivi t ies f rom kn i t t ing to windsurfing. Most participants join in S3, starting at Bronze level, where they commit to spending 3 – 6 months learning a new skill, undertaking some form of service, taking part in a physical activity and going on camping expeditions. They can then move on to Silver and eventually Gold level although these require rather more commitment. Bronze section certificates were awarded to Ruth Boxall, Liam Drosso, Laurence Goudie , Rosalind Nicol, Paula Pottinger, Martin Summers, Anna Williamson and Tracey Williamson. These people have completed some, but not all, parts of the Bronze level.

Jamie McDougall also received a Silver section certificate. Pupils interested in joining the group should look out for posters advertising meetings for new members in September.

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On 4th September 2003, two field studies officers from BP came to Shetland to talk to pupils about the importance of invertebrates, and brought with them some very interesting creatures! Gordon Farr and Sue Jolly are Entomologists, which means that they are scientists who study insects. They wanted to reinforce the fact all organisms are dependent on one another, and if one species becomes extinct, it can have catastrophic effects on whole food web. In total, nine species a day become extinct due to human destruction. Gordon stated that if spiders were to become extinct then humans would cease to exist after 12 months without spiders! This is due to the fact that spiders eat lots of different invertebrates e.g. blue bottles, which keep them in check and prevent them from affecting human life. As yet, there are no insects that are extinct. This is due to their great powers of reproduction and their excellent ability to adapt to changing environments. Gordon said he classed the human species as greedy compared to many insects. For instance, the muscle-scale bug is a blind, leg-less creature that feeds on sap.

It lays eggs inside its body for safety. The fairy fly, which is a type of wasp, bores a hole in the muscle-scale bug and also lays its eggs there. However, this little fly always ensures that 17% of the space is kept for the muscle-scale bug’s eggs, to ensure that fairy flies are guaranteed survival for future generations. In the world today there are 25 million different species. There are many different survival techniques employed by organisms. Gordon and Sue brought some organisms with them to show us some of these techniques. For instance, they brought a Madagascan Hissing Cockroach. This creature is slow moving but it hides in bushes and if a predator is trying to get to it, it hisses like a snake, which soon makes the predator retreat! Many pupils were afraid of this little cockroach but when Gordon placed it on the desk and they saw it plodding over the desk slowly, then they soon toughened up! Another organism that increases its survival chances by mimicry is the Jungle nymph. This is one of the largest insects in the world and it lives on plants. The pupils that saw this creature took a while to spot where it was on the plant as it has evolved so it is exactly the same shape as a leaf, and is very

camouflaged against the green background. The Land Snail that Gordon and Sue showed the pupils was really big and the pupils were quite taken by the large shell and the life cycle of the organism, which lives in it. There is a parasitic worm, which lives inside this snail, and it causes a small pimple to appear and then disappear quickly, and frequently, on the eyestalks of the snail. This appears like a flashing light, which attracts birds and they then eat the snail. The worm then enters the bird, lives inside it for a time, and then is deposited in the bird’s faeces. The faeces falls on land, where it is eaten by ants. The parasite worms live in the ants until they are again deposited in faeces, and this time the Land Snail gobbles up the deposits and the life cycle starts again! The first to sixth year pupils who listened intently to the talk found it of great interest to find out about different organisms. In addition, the talk related to the school curriculum for Science and Biology where they cover life cycles and food webs. However, Gordon’s talk was far better than any textbook, as pupils actually got to see the organisms rather than just a picture in a book!

ISSUE 23 PAGE 6

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Our school has a wonderful range of overseas links for senior students, but for younger ones we have tried to focus on the countries they learn about in their French or German lessons. These are gradually becoming a more integral part of the modern languages curriculum for all pupils in S1 to S4. There are frequent visits to both France and Germany for Classes 1 to 3, and there are school exchanges with both countries for Classes 2 to 4. These are not just Languages Department trips: they involve teachers of many subjects. These visits have inspired many young people to work hard at learning languages. But, much more than that, we have seen them open new horizons, deepen young people’s views of other countries and of their own home, and create friendships. Activities Trips to France and Germany (Classes 1-3) These are part of the Activities Week programme in May. There is a visit to either France or Germany most years, with the groups staying together in hotels or hostels. For example, Mr Nield and Miss Slimani are organising a trip to the Paris region this year, and last year there was one of a regular series of trips to the German Rhineland. They contain all sorts of activities (e.g. Disneyland Paris, chairlifts across the vineyards), so they are not what you might call ‘study visits’. But they give pupils a strong taste of the real people, the real language, and the places that are part of their ‘modern language’ learning. Every pupil should have the chance to go on one of these continental trips in their first three years at the school. Exchanges (Classes 2-4) A more challenging experience is the school exchange, on which each pupil stays with someone of about their own age, living with the family and being thrown into the everyday life of the other country, its people and its language. That sounds scary for a lot of young people – and their parents! – but

many people have told us that it was a brilliant experience in spite of their fears. Our partner schools in France and Germany are in places we know well and are organised with friends who have been in Shetland themselves. In fact, almost everyone ends up saying that it was worthwhile, and that they have made good new friends. The ‘foreign’ country doesn’t feel so foreign any more; in fact sometimes it is our own home that comes to feel different, as it is seen in a new and interesting light. All pupils should have the opportunity to go on an exchange trip to the country they are learning about, in classes 2, 3 or 4. Of course not everyone does go on these visits, but they are spreading to larger numbers. On exchange, some of the time is spent in school, some in organised visits and activities, and a lot in informal socialising. There is not much danger of participants feeling ‘stuck with one strange boy or girl’, as everyone is keen to meet up in groups. That is when they really discover what the differences are between nations – and what they have in common. All these visits are open to all pupils: you don’t even have to be learning French to go to France, or German to go to Germany. Sometimes pupils who have not learnt the language manage to learn a lot of it while abroad, and the ones who have learnt it are often excellent teachers for those who have not. The whole school benefits Several families have been involved in exchanges more than once. We have even seen the same pupil going twice, to stay with the same family. We are always glad when the effects of visits abroad rub off on the whole school, even on pupils who do not go on the trips themselves. There are now lots of pen-friendships. And when our visitors arrive from France or Germany, whole groups of young people mix with them both in and out of school. The types of link are expanding all the time. Some of our pupils have e-mail contact with various French- or German-speaking schools. Miss Slimani’s class has made a video of our school and sent it to a

school in the French Alps, in return for one that was made there. This session, for the first time, the senior German class is having regular video-conferences with a partner class in Diepholz (see Mr Hay’s article on the Future Teaching and Learning project). Our exchange partner schools (see separate articles on page 7) The Joachim-Mähl-Schule in Reinfeld, Germany, is twenty minutes from the beautiful city of Lübeck on the Baltic coast. Lübeck ’s connect ions wi th Shetland go back at least to the time when it was the ‘capital’ of the Hanseatic League, and thy continue now, as the new Norröna was built there. But Reinfeld itself is a peaceful small town surrounded by woods and fields, and a friendly, close community. Our pupils stay either in the town itself or in one of the surrounding villages. The Collège Pasteur in Montbard, France, is situated near Dijon in the Burgundy area south of Paris. Montbard also has about 7,000 inhabitants and is in a rural area surrounded by f ie lds and woodlands. Our exchange with Montbard resulted from years of preparation by Mrs Coyne, and was launched with financial help from the European Union’s Comenius Fund. Finally, two votes of thanks Firstly, to our Language Assistants. Every year we have native speakers from abroad bringing their culture alive to all our classes. This year, they are Jana Grimm H é l è n e L a g r a n g e , a n d Ronnie Wenninger. Most Scottish schools do not have this privilege, and what they give to our school is invaluable. Secondly, thank you to the many host families of pupils from our partner schools this session, from Montbard last October and from Reinfeld this coming June. You make it all possible and worthwhile.

Au revoir Shetland! Bonjour la France! These are the words we will be saying on Friday 19 March when 15 students accompanied by Mr Thoresen and myself embark on the Northlink, ferry for Aberdeen and travelling onwards to Montbard (in Bourgogne). We are going to stay with our French hosts for two weeks. The French students and two teachers, Mrs Sobota and Mr Gatouillat, came in September 2003 for two weeks and were involved in cultural visits and events. Their stay was a success and the French guests had the experience of a lifetime. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the families, the Modern Languages Department and all those who have helped to make this exchange a success.

In France, our students will take part in local visits, which include the visit of Montbard, a visit to the Abbaye of Fontenay, Dijon (known for its mustard). At the end of our stay, we will spend one day in Paris where we will take a tourist boat on the Seine and do some sightseeing. In other words, an exciting opportunity to improve knowledge of the language and culture. This exchange visit is organised under the Comenius 1 programme (a European funded programme). The outcome of this exchange is to produce a website, which features the pup i l s ’ op in ions and experiences in Shetland and in France. This website will be a joint project as it will be in French and in English. On this, you will read

about the pupils’ daily experiences in school as they go. They will also be writing articles on chosen topics such as family and school life, sports and leisure, citizenship and safety. This challenging project, a first of its kind has required a lot of preparation with series of meetings at school and with parents since October 2003. From January, French classes have been available every Friday for those who wanted to improve their speaking skills. This has been a long journey of preparation and hard work for those who have been involved with the trip and now we look forward to a rewarding visit to France. Alors, en route!

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�&%!#��5%�!�� !��4��.&��each other and we got on really well and had a laugh. She was polite when it came to meal times and she ate up whatever she was given even if I could tell she didn’t like it. She wanted to meet her friends in town every night though and it was a bit annoying. In the end we all started to get on well and it was sad when they went. I’m really looking forward to going. Jack looks back on his French guest’s visit: When Benoît arrived, he was very quiet and tired, only talking to Simon, who we took care of for the morning. After school I showed Benoît around Lerwick. He liked the sea, I think. Especially the wildlife. We often went to the beach to look for seals. I thought that the trips were good for the French students, as it showed them what Shetland was like in the North and South.

Hazel and Ellie look back on their experiences with their French guests: When they (French guests) arrived it was raining. We took them out at the weekend but they didn’t enjoy it. Sometimes they spoke English. We took them to our youth club. They were polite to most people and they smiled. They were a little homesick but by the second week they were better. Kirsty looks back on her French guest’s visit: To begin with we (Kirsty and French guest) didn’t speak very much it was kinda awkward. I didn’t think that we were going to get on very well because we liked different things and she always seemed bored. But after a while we started to kinda understand

Sara and Jillian did not host a French guest, but are taking part to the visit to France. Here are their thoughts prior to the departure: All participants taking part in the exchange appear to be very excited about the trip. Nearly all students have been attending extra French lessons at dinner times. Mrs Coyne has organised many meetings including a Parents Night in preparation for the exchange to France. Whilst in France we hope to take part in many activities such as rock climbing, sight seeing (perhaps Eiffel Tower!) This is the first French exchange that Anderson High has taken part in, we are proud to be a part of it. Mrs Coyne has worked extremely hard for this trip to go ahead and we all hope it is a great success.

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The second exchange trip to our partner school on Reinfeld took place last June, and the return visit is due in June this year. There were the usual trips to Hamburg, the Hansapark theme park, and the popular ‘Eiscafé’. New developments included: • Pupils from Class 2 joined in an

exchange for the first time. Some of them were especially nervous beforehand, but they gained enormously from it and all enjoyed it.

• Several younger brothers or sisters of previous participants were involved.

• Gemma Garriock (Class 6) asked to come along for the second time. Since she knew Reinfeld and lots of people there, she was a great help to us and supported the younger ones.

• Rebecca Arthur and Jon Pulley were interviewed for the local newspaper and coped well in German.

There was also a ‘Shetland/German Evening’ in the school, organised by the young people themselves. The Joachim-Mähl-Schule school band performed songs in English and German, Claire played her fiddle, Ben and James played guitars,

Layla sang, and nearly everyone did the Boston Two-Step and other Shetland dances. The German pupils, parents, and friends from the previous exchange enjoyed being taught by the Anderson High School, but the dancing would not have won any prizes! The Shetland pupils were a credit to their families and school. It is great to have them helping us plan now for the return visit by their friends from Reinfeld from 4th to 14th June. We are still looking for a couple of families to have a girl to stay. If you would like to help, please let us know!

ISSUE 23 PAGE 8

Anderson High School instrumental staff were justifiably proud of their pupils during the week of the recent Schools Music Festival (2nd-5th March). The students did the school proud, winning enough first places overall to earn the Festival Schools’ Shield, which is on display, along with other awards, in the Trophy Cabinet. Many of the entrants were already involved in Standard Grade and Higher Music practical exams, as well as Associated Board theory and practical exams, but this didn’t s e e m t o d a m p e n t h e i r enthusiasm – one player sat her theory exam at AHS at 5pm, finished it at 6.30pm, then dashed across to the Town Hall to compete in the Young Musician of the Year Competition at 7pm! We were especially proud of Marie Goodlad (6th year) who won the coveted titled of Senior Young Musician of the Year. Marie demonstrated enough talent to be invited to compete on the piano as well as the clarinet for the award, and it was the clarinet, which won her the title. The Gala Concert on Friday 5 March went off well, though the audience was fairly modest, and it was felt that more people could have been there to support the

young players. As well as the trophy winners’ performances, Anderson was represented by Alan Gifford’s Senior String Ensemble and by his senior fiddle group, Fiddle Finale. All the instrumental disciplines were represented by the students, i n c l u d i n g b r a s s , s t r i n g s , percussion, woodwind, accordion and piano. This is the first time that AHS has won the Schools’ Shield for many years, and all the pupils must be congratulated on the hard work and commitment they’ve shown to achieve this. Well done to everybody! A list of first places runs as follows: Roesound Cup for Piano: Kathleen Smith (4th Year) Senior Cup for Piano: Marie Goodlad (6th Year) Senior Piano Duet Shield: Calum Leask (1st Year, with J Peterson from Whiteness) Woodwind Duet Trophy Share between: Yvette Coupe and Laura Barclay (5th Year) Marie Goodlad and Rachel Cleminson (6th Year) Brass Solo Cup: Katrina MacIver (4th Year)

Brass Duet Shield Shared between: Claire Thomson and Katrina MacIver (5th and 4th Year) Abby Hayward and Emily Garrick (6th and 5th Year) Henderson Cup: Emily Garrick and Aimee Barclay (5th and 6th Year) String Duet Trophy: Abby Hayward and Emily Garrick (6th and 4th Year) Accordion Solo Shield: Victoria Laurenson (2nd Year) Chamber Ensemble Tro-phy:Anderson High Brass Secondary Ensemble Shield:Anderson High Brass En-semble Josephine McRae Memorial Trophy: Capella (AHS and Sandwick) Festival Cup: Abby Hayward and Emily Garrick (6th and 5th Year) School’s Shield: Anderson High School Senior Young Musician of the Year: Marie Goodlad

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Brae, Sound Primary and AHS, as well as performances at The Accordion and Fiddle Club on the 1st July, Uyeasound on the 2nd July, Cullivoe and Voe on 3rd July, and the final concert in Lerwick’s Town Hall on Sunday 4th July. During this time we will have had days out to Eshaness and Jarlshof. When we visited Ireland in March last year we were overwhelmed by the hospitality, kindness and the honour with which we were received. Now with a newly formed committee of ten parents and players, I truly hope to make the Irish feel as important as we did during our stay in East Clare. By the time this newsletter goes out High Strings will have had two more fundraising concerts in Vidlin and Walls. Our final fundraiser is in the Town Hall on Wednesday 2nd June. Possibly the biggest thing to hap-pen in our fiddle world this session has been the advent of Grades in Scottish Fiddle from Trinity College, London. The grades operate under a fairly recently developed exam format. The Joint Assessment Scheme is part

This year saw the obvious need for a further split in the number of fiddle groups run at Anderson High. ‘High Strings’ were formed in August 1995. At that time all but a few players on the timetable of 27 were in the group. As the timetable grew another group, ‘No Strings Attached’, was formed in the 1997/98 session. By now the timetable exceeds 40 players too many for two groups and the differ-ent levels of ability with in that number. ‘Unreel’ began this ses-sion giving the third and intermedi-ate group. To that end, Unreel and No Strings Attached are going on a ‘day out’ at the end of March. On Friday 26 March, we plan to entertain in North Haven Care Centre in Brae, and then travel to Gulberwick for a concert and dance in the evening. Why not come along and support the two younger groups? High Strings are planning the visit from our Irish friends in June. A party of forty musicians and leaders from East Clare will arrive in Shetland on Wednesday 30 June till Tuesday 6 July. A number of events are planned. These include school concerts in Bells

assessed by the instructor and part by a visiting examiner. There are nine grades in all, an initial grade then grades one to eight. The content of the exam is similar to the mainstream exams run for other instruments. All candidates have had to prepare scales and arpeggios, do an ear test, do sight reading, a viva voce (answer questions on the notation), and play three sets of tunes. The only part of this exam that differs from the mainstream is the record of progress, which runs over a ten-week period. Here pupils are assessed on the amount of home practice they have done earning marks towards their overall total. Of the forty-five original entrants thirty-five sat their final in January this year. Of these, we achieved 12 passes, 12 passes with merit and 9 passes with distinction. Many congratulations must go to all the students who took part in this first run of the exams with special mention to those who did so well. Following these successes another examination period is set for June this year. Well done to you all!!


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Advanced Higher Music Trip to Edinburgh Following the trip to Aberdeen to hear Beethoven's 7th Symphony in November 2002, our first attempt to get to hear a live professional orchestra, the current Advanced Higher Music class headed to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, in November 2003, to hear the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus performing music by Russian composers including Tchaikowsky, and Stravinsky. The class had been dipping into Tchaikowsky's celebrated and well known 1st Piano Concerto for a few months to try to get to know it before reaching Edinburgh and we had caught a glimpse of the virtuoso who would be playing the so lo p iano par t , Chinese wunderkind/ erstwhile child prodigy Lang Lang, from a video recording of him performing at the Proms in the Summer of 2003. Thanks to Scottish Arts Council's subsidy in favour of educational / youth orientated cultural visits, we were able to get the most ex-pensive seats in the house, usually £27.50 (!) for the princely sum of £3.00. Not bad value (referring to the £27.50!) when you consider what this provided - a 70 strong orchestra, 40 strong adult choir, 30 strong junior choir plus a luxurious concert hall. The live orchestral sound cannot be evoked in words, certainly not by this writer, but it was pretty clear that the whole group, most hearing a live orchestra for the first time in their lives, were seduced by the orchestral colours in the first piece which was attractive and fairly brief. This was followed by the Tchaikowsky, which starts with a huge big romantic, rapturous, and Russian melody and thunderous piano chords – making it probably one of the cheesiest moments in all music, ever. Once that was out of the way and Mr Yeaman had wiped the tears away, (note: just his own) it was good fun to listen to all the 'bravura' passages and the many poetic reveries of the Concerto. The final movement, complete with tunes and rhythms drawn from Cossack dance music was exciting and a real toe - tapper. Only one complaint really, while we had a great view of everything, including Lang Lang, what we weren't able to see from our side of the hall was a view of the keyboard and the soloists hands rippling over the keys! Never mind, we reached the interval in good shape and there was lots of reasonably excitable chat, (remember this is 6th year pupils!) about everything we had heard so far.

Following the interval we were thrown in at the deep end, into one of Stravinsky's late, and difficult works – Persephone. As far as we could make out, and that wasn't very far, it was all to do with fertility, ancient Greek mythology, and other clever stuff! What with the additional complexities of a spoken narrative (in French!) it was very challenging for anyone hearing it for the first time ever. Musically speaking, this was senior citizen Stravinsky experimenting with the clinical, cool textures of Classical music, with all the excesses of emotion from the Romantics and the fireworks of Stravinsky's groundbreaking early ballet scores such as the Rite of Spring, Petrushka, and the Firebird but a distant memory (the youthful composer Stravinsky was then aptly labelled the music world's 'enfant terrible'), supplanted by materia l bordering on the Minimalist, and surely resulting in some of the most austere Neo-Classicism any of us is likely to hear. It is fair to say that our collective sense of humour combined with our lack of familiarity with this material contrived to bring the concert to a close with more than a smidgeon of confusion and bewilderment. Clearly a live performance is much better than a pre-recorded one but familiarity and preparation for the music is vital to your enjoyment even with a live band as large as the RSNO! Signif icantly, the trip was subsidised by Shetland Arts Trust without which it would simply not have been affordable, so thanks go to them, and particularly to Christine Simpson. Funding permitted, we anticipate the next trip, will be a return to the Music Hall in Aberdeen in October 2004.

Teachers' Ensemble Some of you may have attended the Teachers' Concert at Lerwick Town Hall in February (the last one of its kind was in 1994). Hopefully you enjoyed it, but certainly this is a good way for music teachers (many of whom contribute to AHS Music Department) who are not accustomed to performing on stage on a regular basis, and who spend

a lot of time preparing pupils for public performances and exam p e r f o r m a n c e s , t o r e m i n d themselves how it feels to have to produce the goods in stressful situations! Winter Concert 2003 Seemingly a lifetime away now, some of the items performed in the school hall on December 9th were surely as memorable as any that have been enjoyed in the past and there was a feeling that the mixture of styles was especially effective with particularly high quality contributions from guitarists such as Steven J Pigott's haunting tribute to Stevie-Ray Vaughan, and Thomas Jones' homage to Brian May. High quality Jazz / Trad Jazz contributions caught the ear and the combination of Ben Deeney on trombone, Anthony Okill on 'moothie' plus a crack line-up including Christopher Storey, Thomas and Steven, plus Trevor Watt on kit in what was loosely billed as a '12-bar frenzy’ was a real winner. How do you top this? The orchestra did us proud with a spirited and lively rendering of B izet's s t i r r i ng Farandole . Contributions from string groups, woodwind groups, and a series of high quality items by a range of fiddle groups completed the picture. Mrs Denvir remains enthusiastic about reinstating an AHS choir, so let’s hope lots of pupils sign up, and sing up, soon. Let's hope for a breakthrough next session and the re-emergence of an AHS choir! Finally, thanks are due to the large number of staff who helped behind the scenes on the night of the concert. Summer Concert – May 2004 Plans are once again firmly in place to present a concert showcasing the work of pupils in the senior school. The concert is on Wednesday 5th May in Lerwick Town Hall and details will be revealed nearer the time in the local media. School Musical - 2005 A group of enthusiastic staff from several school departments of the school are planning to present a school musical next Summer. Mrs Ha ywa rd su re l y has e v e r y o n e 's g r a t i t u d e f o r volunteering to be Musical Director for the show.

ISSUE 23 PAGE 10

In November 2003, the Advanced Higher Art students from the Anderson and Brae High Schools flew to Glasgow over the long weekend. We stayed in the Rennie Mackintosh Hotel next door to the Glasgow School of Art. After some sight-seeing and shop-ping around Glasgow on the first night we visited the Opera. It was fabulously classical and Italian. On the first morning in Glasgow we were shown around the School of Art by including some of the studios where the students were working and the gallery with paintings by former students, including Alison Watt. C’était fab! The best gallery we visited had the themes of Air, Fire, Earth and

Water on every floor. It was good because the pieces in it were actually done in our lifetimes.

We had a bus journey to Edinburgh the next morning. We had a look around the National Gallery of Art. Highly recommended if you are

impressed by oversized ancient pictures. The Edinburgh College of Art was pretty cool looking. We were shown around the college and the studios. We saw a black room, animation studio, fine art painters, textile studies, etc. We were told it is difficult to get into (only 40% of their students get into first year straight from school). Before we went back to Glasgow we watched the play, Slab Boys. It was a comedy about poverty in Glasgow. We thought it was OK and the teachers loved it. Cheers!! To the Arts Trust who s u p p o r t e d o u r t r a v e l , accommodation and entry tickets.

into these selling events has really paid off! Many thanks must go to Jamieson’s Woollen Mill and all involved in supplying us with our products! In addition, our website was recently completed and you can check it out at www.madhatteronline.co.uk - its worth a look to see the range of products that we have on offer! We also recently sat the Young Enterprise exam in which we were encouraged to reflect on our experiences and lessons learned in the group. Although the 90 minute exam was tough we feel it was a

worthwhile thing to do, and look forward to the results at the end of April! As well as this, some of our group recently embarked on a trip to Aberdeen to Young Enterprise event in which they attended a conference in the afternoon about business etc. Despite the fact that the group had to leave early to catch the boat, all involved found it a worthwhile experience. We now must begin the cluing up of our company – in terms of book balancing, report writing and presentation arranging. Although the production and selling effort of our company is coming to an end, the work is not over!

Well, where do we start? In terms of sales we feel we have enjoyed a pretty good year. We have made a considerable profit and we have learnt many lessons in the process from good and bad situations Our hats and scarves were available at many different events including the Aith Regeneration Event, a Farmer’s Market, the Clickimin Craft Fair and many times at the Toll Clock Shopping Centre. We also sold within the school to both pu-pils and teachers at breaktimes and lunchtimes before Christmas. Although hard work, we feel that the amount of time and effort put

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and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign website www.srsc.org.uk . We also cover road safety issues in school, in PSE classes. Some extra time spent at home would help to reinforce this work. There are far too many deaths and serious injuries on our roads. What we are talking about here is saving lives.

www.getinlane.com The S.I.C. Safety Department has asked that every pupil be given a postcard advertising the “getinlane” website, which promotes road safety and caters in particular for those who look forward to learning to drive. The “getinlane” postcard is enclosed with this mailing. Please encourage your child to access the website at home. Other useful websites include www.streetwiseguys.co.uk

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The group has also seen success in its adopted campaign against Guantanamo Bay. The group has many concerns about the American government’s activities there, but was pleased to note the release of 5 British prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. We will continue to campaign for fair trials, proper conditions and the eventual release of all prisoners. It looks like another busy term!

These past few months have seen several successes for the AHS Amnesty International Group on several fronts. Initially we needed to raise funds to cover the group’s cost and it was decided to do this by selling waffles within the school. This event was really successful due to senior pupils’ hard work and the school’s appetite! We raised £42.03 and we hope to hold a similar event soon. There was also considerable success in terms of campaigning. The group took part in the Christmas Snowflake Campaign which involved making and send ing ca rds to peop le imprisoned wrongfully or in dangerous circumstances. One such success was the release of a 16 year old called Lionel Tait from prison and death row in the USA, where he had been wrongfully been convicted of murder. Amnesty has attributed this release and that of several others to the campaigning of its members.

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On the 10th March we organised a Fairtrade staff at break-time. This was part of Fairtrade fortnight. We sold chocolate, cookies, geobars and juice. We got the idea from our Social Subjects class, after working on a topic about development around the world. Some of the class made posters to advertise the sale, some helped to set up the stall and some gave up their break to sell the snacks. We did this so we could make people aware of Fairtrade. Fairtrade is when the people who grow and pick the crop are given a fair price for their work. Supporting Fairtrade is an excellent way of supporting people in the third world. The sale was very successful and altogether we sold £59.80 worth of Fairtrade stock. The class would like to thank everyone who supported Fairtrade fortnight. Hopefully we will be doing this again soon.

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when we visited. One of the memories that everyone in the group will treasure most from the trip, was a visit to a business economics class, crowded with students and desks, where they beautifully sang the national anthem for us. Everyday was full to the brim with activities! We visited the Parliament where the apartheid laws were put in place, a strangely chilling experience to say the least as well as the District Six museum where we were able to experience the harshness of the apartheid government in clearing people out of their homes. The extremely useful visits to the National Library and bookshop were much appreciated, particularly by the Advanced History students with dissertations due in the next few weeks. We also travelled to Cape Point, the most South Westerly tip of Africa, as well as Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and other freedom fighters were imprisoned in terrible conditions for many years. We also planned to tackle Table Mountain on foot, but unfortunately the ‘tablecloth’ of mist prevented this, so we climbed Lion’s Head, a nearby mountain instead. The view from the top, where we could see the whole of Cape Town surrounding us was truly amazing. Al l these experiences were wonderful – educational both

From a cold, wintry Shetlandic February, seven AHS students, from the Advanced Higher History and Higher Modern Studies classes, were catapulted into a completely different culture (and heat!) never experienced before. After an arduous 12 hour flight, we touched down in Cape Town, South Africa. We were immediately captivated by the beautiful scenery as we left the airport, with Table Mountain watching over us at every turn and the Atlantic Ocean stretching for miles in front of us. Our first event, before we had even dropped off our luggage, was to attend one of our two partner schools in Cape Town, South Peninsula High. The students and teachers of SP were uninhibited in welcoming their guests, chatting to us freely, asking us questions etc. and we were formally welcomed, applause and all, where the students all stood in the courtyard in the blistering heat in an assembly arranged especially for us. Four of our students were hosted with SP students, and three were with students from Langa High School, a long-established township school with considerably fewer resources than we are privileged enough to have here. Similarly to South Peninsula, the students and staff were completely open with us

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academically and socially – however the most memorable day trip for me and many others in the group was out ‘tour’ of some of the townships of Cape Town with a teacher from Langa who had lived in the area for years. We saw the true poverty of the people living in the shacks in these areas, and had an unforgettable visit to the Christopher Hani Independent School. The building was constructed from a few shipping containers, and was an opportunity to learn for those who could not afford the school fees present in all schools in South Africa, but the enthusiasm from the staff and pu-pils in such extreme circumstances was something not to be forgotten. The trip to South Africa was indeed the journey of a lifetime. I, and fellow students, learned far more about South African attitudes, the way of the life there and the history of the country than we ever could from books. Video conferencing goes very far in closing the gap between our countries but I feel that nothing can beat experiencing the culture of South Africa in person. The only problem was coming back from 35 degrees to the snow of Shetland!

ISSUE 23 PAGE 12

Anderson High School ‘Men are not born brothers; they have to discover each other’. This opening statement by the South African novelist Nadime Gordimer in an essay entitled ‘1959: What is Apar the id? ’ has un ive rsa l significance and provides the rationale for recent developments in new ways of learning and teaching globally at Anderson High School in Lerwick, Shetland Islands using video conferencing.

AHS V C Room Looking beyond the shores of the islands has long been a way of life in Shetland. During the 1990’s Anderson High School gradually established a partnership of schools known as The Global Classoom. Described in an OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovat ion publ icat ion Innovating Schools (1999) as ‘a model based on senior students in each school using information communication technology to share ideas, visions, ideas informa-tion and materials on themes agreed by students and teachers’ it inspired staff and students to consider how a partnership of schools could develop further as part of the National Education debate in 2000-2001. The outcome was a submission to SEED Future Teaching and Learning project team to share learning and teaching globally using video conferencing in three subject areas with three partner schools located in Germany, Japan and South Africa. Communication between people is the accomplishment at the core of Anderson High School’s global learning and teaching project. To communicate, learn and be taught

globally, to develop globally varied and systematic problem-solving skills, to be global creative thinkers capable of and willing to ‘think differently’ and to encourage students and teachers alike to learn to learn are the project goals. Learning with Germany

From June until September 2003 staff in the three subject areas to launch the global learning and teaching project – Higher/Advanced Higher German, Advanced Higher South African History and Advanced Higher Maths - in consultation with students discussed debated and prepared and agreed what skills and problem solving issues could be taught and learned in a b o r d e r l e s s t r a n s n a t i o n a l classroom. What is to be learnt and taught had to be shrunk to a core of knowledge that would hopefully assist participants negotiate their way across a global community. The first shared learning and teaching session was with partner schools in Cape Town. Advanced Higher History students and teacher (myself) studying 20th Century South African History thanks to the services of University of Cape Town would share learning and teaching with partner learners and teachers in two Cape

Town schools – one located in the city’s oldest township – Langa High School and the other South Peninsula High School. Teachers and students – north and south – discussed debated and eventually agreed that the underlying aim would be to gain insight to and understanding of key aspects of 20th Century South Africa. The first anxious moments waiting for images to appear on the second screen were fraught with nervous tension, uncertainty but what followed was as powerful in terms of learning as the technology enabling it. ‘It was like being in Cape Town ‘ was one comment ‘We never could have had anybody say to us ‘We live the reality of what you – not you guys personally – left us’ was another. Sharing perspectives, appreciating differences and similarities makes learning and teaching using video conferencing a really fascinating way of sharing pasts and shaping futures. Advanced Higher and Higher German students from both Anderson High and Brae High School have been discussing with learners and teachers from Graf Friedrich Schule living learning working and being tourists in each other’s communities. Using electronic white boards for presentation skills learners become teachers and teachers become l e a rn e rs . Ca re fu l s ea t i n g arrangements by both groups have managed to s imulate the atmosphere of one classroom. Prompted and encouraged by taking part in the shared learning and teaching sessions a Graf Friedrich Schule student has been invited to spend the spring term hosted by the families of two of the Shetland Higher German class members. A new frontier is about to be reached when Advanced Higher Maths students in Anderson High join fellow learners and teachers in Na ra W o m e n ’ s u n i ve rs i t y Secondary School in Nara Japan. With time differences of nine hours the least of the difficulties ICT talents in Nara and locally are working continuously to achieve contact using IP(H323). With help from Japan Foundation a dual

language website is a l r e a d y e n a b l i n g students to share very different problem solving strategies in Advanced Higher Maths which shortly can be shared by video linking.

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The school website has had a major facelift recently, making it much easier to keep up-to-date with information of interest to pupils, parents, former pupils, staff and anyone else involved in the school.

To find out what’s happening in the school, the front page contains News Items and the Calendar has dates of forthcoming events – exams, parents’ evenings, various activities, and (of course) holidays!

The Guestbook allows visitors to the school web site to leave their own comments and messages. Ex-pupils have used this extensively, leaving messages telling what they are now up to, and how former school friends can contact them.

Documents including this Newsletter and minutes of both School Board and Student Council meet-

ings are available. These are all in a format that allows them to be viewed as they were origi-

nally created. The Newsletters look even better in colour!

The Photograph gallery has pictures of the school itself, visitors to the school, school exchanges and former class photographs. Examples of Pupils’ Work can be seen – at the moment this includes photographs of the old school, a review of the Bressay Up-Helly-Aa, and several pictures created by first years in Computing.

The website also acts as a launch pad for pupil access to Schoolmaster – the managed email system for schools. All pupils have their own email address that they can use from any Internet computer – wherever they are in the world.

For pupils working in school or at home, the Web Links contain a number of websites used by teachers with their classes. These can be used for revision, homework and writing reports.

If you have items to contribute to the school website, please contact Peter Thoresen.

[email protected]

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College in Aberdeen where I occasionally found some tap or contemporary dance classes to keep myself fit. Shortly after I came to Shetland in 1993, I became involved with the Shetland School of Dancing. Here I taught tap dancing for six years to tappers aged 6 up to 60! Many dancers took exams each year as well as performing in various events including our annual shows in the Garrison. I still have a strong love for all styles of dance and am delighted to have dusted off my dance shoes once more!

The Dance Club began in February although we have missed a few weeks due to snow and staff meetings. The class is free and takes place in the school gym on Thursday’s from 3.45pm until 4.45pm. The class is open to anyone from S1 through to S6

This project is part of the Out of School Hours/School Sports Co-ordinator Programme, funded by the New Opportunities Fund and administered by Sportscotland. The project will run for three years and is of 20 hours duration each year, with the pupils hopefully wo r k i n g t o wa r d s a f i n a l performance. I attended some training last November with Scottish Youth Dance, which I went along to as I was looking for inspiration and ideas to get the school choir moving! Sadly, not enough people were interested in a choir this year but I was instead approached about starting a dance club in the school. My own background in dance began in Orkney at the tender age of three where I started Highland Dancing at my local hall. When I was around eight, I joined the Lyn O’Brien School of Dance and Drama and I absolutely loved it. Here, I continued my Highland Dancing and also began National, Ballet, Tap, Modern Stage and Majorettes. I thoroughly enjoyed attending competitions regularly on the mainland and even enjoyed the continual exams we seemed to have to take. I gave up dancing for a few years until I went to Music

although is mainly aimed at b eg i nne rs - i n te rme d i a te . However, if you’re a little more experienced, you are still welcome to come along and work at your own level. You will still get a good stretch and burn some calories! Each class begins with a good warm up and stretch. The main part of the class is spent on dance moves and we finish with a gentle stretch to ease out all the muscles we’ve used. We have worked on various dance styles to date including some jazz, contemporary and even worked on some ballet positions to improve posture. We are currently working on Creative Dance. This involves working in small groups and creating short sequences using various themes or ideas which are then taught to the other groups before putting them all together into a complete dance routine. I have also had requests for Latin, Hip Hop and Tap so there’s really something for everyone. If you’re interested in getting in shape and want to have some fun at the same time, come along on Thursday’s after school. Just bring some suitable clothes and footwear to change into. See Mrs Denvir in Music for more information.

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game with the Second Years winning 7-2 and were narrowly defeated in the other games.

I am pleased to say, there has been a good r e s p o n s e t o t h e introduction of a girl’s football team in the school. Training takes place in the Games Hall on Monday from 4-5pm and newcomers are always welcome. On 24th November the girls had their first 5-aside game against Sandwick Junior High School. They were victorious in their first

The girls all enjoyed the experience and looked forward to the return match on the 15th March. Unfortunately, we were not so lucky in these matches although we did draw the first game. Another game is to be planned for the near future, where I am sure the girls will give everything to try and even the score.

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s t u d e n t s w h o successfully passed a Level 1 coaching qualification last year. James Moncrieff, Gavin Emslie, Jonjo Reeve-B ra y a n d Da n i e l Anderson have all enthusiastically led these sessions and there is still time to join in before the end of term.

These have been ongoing throughout the year with members of staff and 6th year students volunteering their services. There have been a good variety of activities offered, ranging from the t rad i t iona l Netba l l , Hockey, Football and Rugby to the more unusual ones, such as Handball, Trampolining and Rollerblading. Also, in addition to these there have been sessions after school for those students keen on Basketball. These are sessions coached by four 6th year

Next term, new activities, Squash and Netball will be offered. All suggestions for any more new activities from pupils and staff would be cons idered, so i f anybody would like to do this or even offer their expertise, this would be much appreciated. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has helped this year with the supervising or coaching of all activities.

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The Anderson High School has been very successful so far this year in a number of Inter-school competitions. Pupils in S1, 2, 3 and 4 have all performed very well while competing for the school. Pupils have been very keen to participate and have worked hard at lunchtimes in preparation for each event. Members of staff have also given up their time to help prepare for the competitions. Hockey A team made up of Standard Grade pupils managed to win a hockey tour-nament in November at Brae. This was the first time the school has won the competition for a number of years.

Badminton A team, which consisted of 2 pupils from each year group from S1 – S4 p a r t i c i p a t e d i n a badminton competition, which was held in the Anderson High School, in December. The team managed to play the whole competition without conceding a match.

Volleyball The most recent competition was a volleyball competition at Scalloway. Again a mixture of ages represented the school in 2 teams, with one team coming away with the trophy.

S1 / 2 Basketball James Moncrieff and Gavin Emslie in S6 both assisted in the preparations for the basketball competition by coaching the pupils at lunchtime. Both teams had boys and girls playing and it was unfortunate that they met in the semi-finals of the competition. AHS 2, coached by James, managed to overcome Gavin’s team after a sudden death basket and marched on the winning the competition in the final against Baltasound. Congratulations must go to all pupils who have not only taken part in these competitions but also to those who have worked hard but didn’t quite make the final teams. Lets hope for more success in the summer events next term!

ahs newsletter 23

Documents

school board

school announcements

school office

anderson high school

inclusive christmas

inclusive spring holidays

school development plan

current b u i