Kingussie High School Tel: 01540 661 475

Ruthven Road Email: kingussie.high@highland.gov.uk

KINGUSSIE Web: kingussiehigh.org.uk

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Ollie Bray

Head Teacher

ollie.bray@highland.gov.uk

2014

KINGUSSIE HIGH

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Dear Parent / Carer

November is upon is and the nights are drawing in. This is an important part of the year for all pupils at

Kingussie High School. But most importantly for those pupils who are in S4 – S6 who will be starting to feel

the pressure of course work and internal assessments. Every parent of S4 – S6 should have just received

an interim report outlining their child’s progress to date. Accompanying the report was an extensive list of

lunchtime and after school support , revision and coaching sessions that our staff have so generously given

up their time to provide.

Our Thursday afternoon programme goes from strength to strength with S1 participating in the ScAPPbook

Badenoch Project, S2 about to start the YPI (Youth and Philanthropy Initiative) where they will have a

chance to donate £3000 to a chosen charity and some members of S5 and S6 have been trained up as My

World of Work Careers Advisers as part of a pilot project with Skills Development Scotland.

There is lots of other great stuff going on at the

school at the moment as well.

The senior pupils organised a brilliant Halloween

Disco, we have just supported Children in Need Day

and we are looking forward to our other big events

this term including our Senior School Dance

(Thursday 11th December), Junior School Dance

(Monday 15th December), Christmas Concert

(Wednesday 17th December) and of course our

Festive celebration on the last day which is always

great fun.

Anyway, in this issue you will have a chance to read about lots of things including our ongoing work with St.

Andrews University, a visit from the Geo-Bus and an up-date on our sporting successes.

As always if I can be of any help with your child’s education please do not hesitate to get in touch.

“Some last minute preparation for

assembly the night of the Halloween

Disco (thank goodness he doesn’t

always dress like that….)”

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DECEMBER 2014

Thursday 11 Senior Dance S4—6

Monday 15 Junior Dance S1-3

Wednesday 17 Christmas Concert

Friday 19 School closes for Xmas Holiday

JANUARY 2015

Monday 5 School opens

FEBRUARY 2015

Monday 2 Prelim exams for S4,S5 & S6

Monday 16 School Closes for mid term

Wednesday 18 School opens for staff only

Thursday 19 School opens for pupils

MARCH 2015

Wednesday 11 Parents evening for Feshie & Gynack S4,S6

Wednesday 18 Parents evening for Spey & Tromie S4, S5, S6

Wednesday 25 Parents evening for S3

APRIL 2015

Thursday 2 School closes for Easter holiday

Monday 20 School opens for all

Meeting: Wednesday 19th November, 7pm, School

Meeting Room. All welcome!

Want to be on the mailing list for minutes, news, fund-raising information?

Contact Communications Secretary Merryn Appleby on:

applebytribe@gmail.com

Any issues or concerns you want the PC to deal with?

Contact Chair Kate : katechristie@cairngorms.co.uk

The PC works hard on behalf of all parents to support the school and our chil-

dren's experience there. The more parents that get involved, the more effective

we can be. Do join in!

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As part of our Thursday afternoon flexible curriculum, the new S1 classes have been given the opportunity of

researching the language and culture of the European Union countries. Every year the 26th September is the

day we celebrate Europe’s rich linguistic heritage – the EU’s 23 official languages, the 60 or so regional / minor-

ity languages and the languages spoken by people who have come to Europe from other parts of the world. So

far in S1 we have found out that there are several pupils whose first language is not necessarily English, and at

KHS we can boast of bi-lingual speakers of Polish, Hungarian and German! The pupils have worked in groups

to research the language and culture of a European country, design a poster and then present their findings to

the rest of the class. Here are some photos taken of 1 Sp and 1 Fe.

Children In Need

As part of the run-up to Children in

Need Day, pupils from 1Y were asked

to bring in their teddies to the French

class on Wednesday 11th November.

This was so that pupils could design a

poster on their teddy and describe

them in French, giving details such as

age, where they live and what they

looked like. It was great to see so many

teddies and soft toys in the classroom

and Pudsey made an appearance too.

Lost Something ? Lost property will be out on display between

Monday 24th – Friday 28th November. Any parent is very welcome to come in and see if they

recognise anything that their child might have lost.

After Friday 28th November any outstanding lost property

will be sent to the local clothing bank.

Parents / carers are welcome to come in and search

Access for Rural Communities (ARC) Gemma Harlow, ARC Officer

Access for Rural Communities (ARC) is a project aimed at supporting and enabling young learners on their journey into university. Working with S4 – S6 pupils, the ARC project provides a platform for pupils to explore opportunities in higher education in the local areas of Argyll and Bute, Highlands, the Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney Islands. Over the last year the University of St Andrews has been working with pupils from Kingussie High School to raise aspirations and encourage young people to think about higher education. Since the project launched, a series of talks and workshops for S4, S5 and S6 pupils have taken place. Current students at St Andrews, local to the Highlands have also contributed to these sessions, by sharing their own experiences of Higher Education and the Sutton Trust Summer School. This month sixteen S5 pupils will visit St Andrews University to take part in Student Shadowing. This opportunity is designed to demystifying what is involved in studying at university. During their visit, pupils will be paired with current students and will attend lectures, university skill based workshops and tours of the university’s accommodation and sports facilities. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the University. S5 and S6 pupils will also be invited to take part in a questionnaire this month as part of the research component to the ARC project. Pupils will be asked to answer a series of questions relating to their perceptions of higher education and any barriers and/or facilitators they believe exist. The outcomes of this research will be shared with the Scottish Government with an aim to proposing guiding principles to ensure that young people living in rural communities have equal opportunities to attend highly competitive courses. A further visit from S5 and S6 pupils who will focus on Chemistry based practical is also expected to take place at the beginning of December this year.

GIRLGUIDING BADENOCH & STRATHSPEY URGES MORE PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER

Girlguiding Badenoch & Strathspey is calling on residents of the area to give some time to allow local girls and young women to enjoy a wide range of exciting activities, as well as acquire new skills and experiences themselves. In Badenoch & Strathspey there are currently over 150 girls taking part in Rainbow (5-7 years), Brownie (7-10 years), Guide (10-14 years) and Senior Section (14-25 years) units in Grantown-on-Spey, Aviemore and Kingussie. Girlguiding in Badenoch & Strathspey needs volunteers to give time to support their local groups. There are a huge number of opportunities to get involved in addition to working directly with groups such as administration for units, treasurer, occasional helper, and assistant leaders. Girlguiding has an ongoing campaign to seek out more adult members. The organisation is hugely popular, with more than half a million members and volunteers around the UK. Girlguiding offers a range of flexible volunteering opportunities to enable girls and young women to grow in confidence and discover their full potential in a safe, girl-only space. For further information call 0800 1 69 59 01 or visit www.girlguiding.org.uk.

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Kingussie High S3 get the inside info on Modern Apprenticeships.

On Wednesday 5th November two Bremners coaches delivered the S3 to Inverness

College UHI for an SDS presentation on the career route that is a Modern

Apprenticeships.

A Modern Apprenticeship is a great way to start or develop your career. Not only do you

learn while working, you gain a qualification too.

As well as the College and SDS there were presentations from; ‘Lifescan’ Inverness

also from;

Back in classroom S3’s are checking out the Career website;

http://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/

INVERNESS COLLEGE UHI THANKS TO GILLIAN CLARK FROM SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SCOTLAND FOR HER SUPPORT

Friday 4th November

S1 learn the FUNdamentals of Rocks !!!

Geobus Experience by Lottie Convery 1Spey

S1 were very lucky to get a group of people called Geobus in to teach us all about rocks. When Geo-

bus came, they set out tables of rocks for us to look at. We looked at them with our own special

magnifying glass and we also got a little identifying card. We studied different types of rock such as

igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and used our identifying cards and booklets to figure

out what rock it was. It was interesting to learn about the different rocks, how to identify them and

what their correct names were. Geobus was a fascinating experience and I can highly recommend it

to anyone who is keen to learn more about rocks.

“Yesterday in Geography some geologists came in to teach our class about rocks and

their history. I found this very interesting because I never knew rocks were as special

in their very own ways. The geologists were very interesting when they taught us

bout how to tell the different types of rocks. I enjoyed the experience. “

By Talia Tait Davis 1 Gynack

“I really enjoyed the Geo Bus on Tuesday. I f

elt I learned a lot and thought it

was great fun. The best part was when we had to study the rocks and see w

hat

type they were and I would like to do it a

gain.” By Lewis Thain 1 Gynack

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Well done to the girls football team in their hard fought match against

Dingwall.

The final score was 4-1 to the home side, however the result didn't give a

true reflection of the game. It was a very competitive encounter and all the girls

played very well. Rona Stewart grabbed Kingussie's goal with a great strike from

the edge of the area and man of the match went to Megan Ralph and Leah

Dallas - a very tough decision as it could have gone to anyone of the girls! Well

done to all!

The Under 16s have continued their excellent start to the season with 2 further wins taking them to the top of the league. A 4-0 win over Lochaber was soon followed by a 8-2 win over Grantown. The team have played some excellent football with everyone contributing to the success of the team so far this season. Stuart Mitchell and Craig Johnstone have scored in all 3 of the games this season and each producing a man of the match performance in the process. Jake Reynold Jones has continued his fine goal scoring form last year with 5 goals in 3 games as well as a man of the match performance in the last match. We are hoping the boys continue to show their ability and push on to challenge for the league title this year. Keep up this excellent form boys!!! Goal Scores: Jake Reynold Jones, Stuart Mitchell, Craig Johnstone, Ben Mitchell, Sean Carson

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4th November 2014 , we hosted Inverness Royal Academy to a double header, meaning if we won, we

would get 3 points and advance to the next round of the cup. Our starting line-up was as follows:

We started brightly, with Denman and Porazik causes numerous problems with their great link up play for the IRA backline. With the solid backline of Strachan, Lawson, Smith and Mitchell the IRA had no clear cut opportunities. With Denman still creating chances for Fowler, who was up on his own, we won many corners. As Fowler whipped in a teasing ball, IRA cleared and were on the counter attack, but thankfully to the heroics of Craig Macleod in net who was performing like Germany NO1 Manuel Neuer kept KHS in the game with a great tackle coming of his line. As the first half came to a close, there was little each keeper had to do. The start of the second half began with Kingussie all over the opposition but as the half raged on the IRA boys got their selves back into the game. We found ourselves defending for an awfully long time as IRA gave attack after attack. Around the 70 minute mark, Stewart was replaced by Ben Mitchell who was brought in for his creativeness and range of passing although his free kicks are very poor. As IRA surged on for that crucial goal, Matthew Lawson produced the tackle of the game to stop the opponents getting through on goal. With the game becoming more open in the later stages, Porazik was also replaced and the young and upcoming star of Craig Johnston was brought on to help with the defensive side of the game. As the end approached we were informed that the game would go straight to penalties. We gave one last push as the ball was knocked long for Fowler to chase but he was heavily outnumbered by IRA defenders and the ball was cleared back up to us when the ref blew the final whistle. A valuable point for the league. 5 penalties takers were chosen by Mr Mackay, who went out of his way and came to support us. Johnston, Strachan, Smith, Lawson and B.Mitchell were chosen. We won the toss and chose to go first. As Johnston stepped up he produced a well struck penalty down to the keeper’s right. Unfortunately the keeper came out on top. IRA scored their spot kick, sending Mole the wrong way. As the nerves were getting to us, Strachan stepped up to the mark and confidently struck the penalty high and to the right of the keeper leaving the goalie with no chance of saving it. IRA, again, scored leaving our keeper clueless. Smith then stepped up, hoping to reduce the deficit to a single goal but failed the convert his spot kick as the keeper saved again. To our surprise, mole produced some excellent saves to get us back into the shootout with Lawson next to step up. He struck a solid shot but the keeper read where he was going and saved for a third time. With the shootout coming to a sudden death, IRA converted the penalty as Mole made his only mistake of the game as the ball went through his legs which sent us crashing out of the North of Scotland Cup. A great performance all round from both teams with Ryan Spinks getting the man of the match award for his solid marshalling in the centre of midfield.

We would like to thank Mr Mackintosh for taking time out of his personal time to ref our game and to everyone who came and

supported us. We would especially like to thank Mr Mackay for being there through this rough period! KHS

Fowler

Denman

McBain Porazik

Spinks Stewart

Mitchell Smith Lawson Strachan©

Mole

Emergency Closure Telephone Messaging Service !!!!!!!

0800 564 2272 KHS Pin Number: 04 1120 In the event of a School Closure the tele-phone messaging service provides the most accurate information. Please retain for future reference.

Kingussie High School Sports Dinner

23rd April 2015

MacDonald Resort Aviemore

Ticket prices: 1 Ticket - £30: Family of 4 - £110

Table of 10 for family and friends - £280

Corporate table (Includes wine on the table) - £400

Tickets can be purchased in PE

Come to the evening to support the sporting activities

here at Kingussie High School. We will be celebrating the

success of this school year for school teams, individual

performers and

pupils who are achieving within their own sporting ca-

reers away from school.

This evening is also a fundraiser to support the extra cur-

ricular PE

programme in offering a wide range of activities and sup-

porting teams as they compete in local and national cups

and leagues.

Famous Sports personalities are coming to share their

success stories and inspire current pupils in KHS

On Friday 14

th

November KHS staff

and pupils supported

BBC Children in Need

with a dress down day

and some fun events at

lunchtime (including leg

waxing, custard pies &

a Staff vs Pupil Volley

Ball match). Over £870

raised for this excellent

cause! Here are some

photos of the fun!

BBC Children In Need We raised over £870 !!

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