scottish cup basketball champions · 2019-11-12 · s6 leavers day trip to millport – see page 20...

Gryffe High School Old Bridge of Weir Road, Houston, PA6 7EB Tel: 01505 690633 Fax: 01505 690888 e-mail: [email protected] web address: www.gryffehigh.com Head Teacher: Mr Colin H Johnson BSc

Date: 6/05/15 Dear Parents/Carers/Relatives/Pupils I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.

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SCOTTISH CUP BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS

AND.... Renfrewshire and East Schools Basketball Association League and Cup Champions. See page 2 for further detail.

Index Scottish Cup Basketball Champions;

S6 Leavers Day 2 Gryffe High School Senior Basketball Team 3 S2 Speed Networking Event

Mark is selected for Space School 4 Gryffe pupils get involved in Mission Discovery 5 Maths Challenge Regional Finals Success;

Gryffe pupils attend a Multilingual Debate at Heriot- Watt University; Gryffe win best quality award at finals day

6 Observing the Solar Eclipse 7 ‘Mardi Gras’ Primary Visits; Anne represents

Renfrewshire in the FutureChef Competition 8 Fairtrade News 9 Gryffe Eco Focus: The Rag Bag Appeal;

Brightest Star Charity 10 The Youth Philanthropy Initiative 11 PTA News 12 The Duke of Edinburgh Award 13 Craft Club Volunteer for Local Carnival;

World Book Day 14 S3 Art Trip to Kelvingrove; The Easter Service 15 Gryffe High School Spring Concert 16,17 Awards Ceremony 2015 18 Scottish Cross Country Championship Success;

Hockey Team win the Renfrewshire Hockey League

19 Rugby Success; Lee Wishart at the Davis Cup 20 Time to Say Farewell to S6

Upcoming priorities/events

Please feel free to give the codes below a try and tell us what you think via [email protected]

S6 Leavers Day trip to Millport – see page 20 for further detail, or the school website (under the tab MORE – Gallery; S6 Leavers trip to Millport)

Caring • Learning • Achieving www.gryffehigh.com

mailto:[email protected]

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Gryffe High School Senior Basketball Team

This has been a fantastic year for the team and one of the most successful in Gryffe High School history. We played in three tournaments: Renfrewshire and East Schools Basketball Association League and Cup and the Scottish Cup. Over the course of the year we remained undefeated, resulting in us winning all three tournaments. The RESBA Cup final was played against Park Mains High School. This game was a challenge throughout but we ultimately won with a score of 76-57. Our most recent win was in the Scottish Cup, against Stewarton Academy. It was a very exciting and extremely close game, with only a few points separating the teams in all four quarters. There were many supporters cheering our team on, making a brilliant atmosphere. The end score was 90-86. This is only the second time in Gryffe’s history that we have won the Scottish Cup. Coached to success by Mr O’Hare, the team consisted of Mark Armstrong, Iain McLaughlin, Matthew Palmer, Michael Storey, Craig Baird, Calum Ferguson, Colin Jackson, Finlay MacKinnon, Alastair Mathieson, Adam Plater, Callan Low and Christopher Feeney. Article by Callan Low S3


S2 Speed Networking Event A STEMNET (Science, Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics Network) Speed networking event enables students to engage with a range of STEM role models.

The Benefits for students: • Increase their awareness, insight and knowledge of the

diverse range of STEM careers available • Gain first hand exposure to experienced, driven STEM

professionals in order to have their questions and queries answered specifically and directly

• Explore the various routes to different careers • Make more informed decisions and reach their full

potential • Boost their motivation and develop more confidence in

their abilities • Benefit from other peoples’ hindsight! This is what S2 pupil Angus Watt had to say about

the event - ‘On Thursday 19 March we had a STEM event in school, this brought people from different jobs to tell us about what subjects they took in high school and what qualifications they needed to get this job. There was a wide range of people there from an engineer to a Genetic Fly scientist. I was impressed by the Forensic Scientist who worked for an alcohol company. I really enjoyed the event and the school should continue to run it next year.’ Mr A Findlay Acting PT Pupil Support

Mark is selected for Space School S5 pupil, Mark Price is justifiably delighted that he has achieved Space School selection. Scottish Space School 2015 will be held at the University of Strathclyde from 14th to 19th June, with 100 students. There were around 400 applicants this year. The Scottish Space School at Strathclyde aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers by highlighting the career and educational opportunities available to young people with an interest in science, engineering and technology. Gryffe High has developed strong links with the Space School and we are very proud of the 4 pupils who have achieved selection for Space School in Houston (Texas) in the past. As well as experiencing the opportunity of a lifetime, they have all been great ambassadors for their school and Scotland. Mark, who has already attended an information evening, said, ‘On Tuesday 19 April, I went to the information evening at the University of Strathclyde. The evening served to outline the program that we will follow in June. We also got the chance to meet the mentors who will lead the groups throughout the week. I am really looking forward to the week in June and I am really hoping that I get to the final stage of visiting Houston in Texas’ Well done Mark on your achievement and we look forward to hearing all about your adventures at Space School. Article – Mrs P McGeough, Space School Link Teacher


Gryffe Pupils get involved in Mission Discovery Following on from the success of last years Renfrewshire’s ISSET’s Mission Discovery, there will be another session this summer at Paisley Town from Monday 29 June to Friday 30 July. In teams, pupils will propose an idea for their own experiment; the best idea will be sent to the International Space Station and put into practice in space. With help from brilliant NASA role models, astronauts, astronaut trainers, scientists and engineers; pupils will learn about space through a variety of exhilarating hands-on activities. The launch of Mission Discovery this year involved a special lesson for S3 pupils that even included rocket design (and launch!). There was also an assembly where previous pupils took on the role of Ambassadors. Last year S5 pupil Katie Bogan was part of the winning Mission Discovery Launch and she was invited to lunch with the astronauts. This is what Katie had to say, ‘As part of the winning team from Mission Discovery 2014, I was invited to Castlehead High School to attend the re-launch of this summer’s course. We were given an inspiring presentation by Mike Foale, a retired NASA astronaut who shared tales of his life. As an astrophysicist, he applied three times to NASA before being accepted into their astronaut training programme. This persistence paid off in the last interview, when he was asked what he would do if he was again unsuccessful. He replied that if NASA wouldn’t send him to space then he would set up his own commercial space programme. This last application was particularly brave, as it came some 3 months after the Challenger disaster. Over many missions he has spent 373 days in space. During the most challenging mission, on MIR, the station was struck by a supply shuttle and sent into a roll. Without power and instrumentation, and in the dark, Foale made use of his knowledge of Astrophysics to estimate the rate of spin using his thumb held up to the stars he could see in the window. This rough calculation allowed ground control to fire MIR’s engines to counteract the roll. He was then able to tackle the dangerous depressurisation which had resulted from the collision. In 1995, Mike Foale was unexpectedly selected for the NASA-5 mission. New size restrictions for the Soyuz escape capsule seats, meant that two previously scheduled astronauts were no longer suitable for the mission. For a while, the following ‘Three Bears Tale’ was heard around NASA. ‘Scott is too tall, Wendy is too short but Mike is just right’. It would seem that his NASA career evolved around a combination of determination, hard work and study, and the occasional bit of luck. Lessons for us all! Over lunch, we also discussed the future of commercial space flights and his current research in this field. He explained that they are investigating new fuels and ways to power the shuttles and they are also looking at different types of rockets to be used for commercial flights. Mission Discovery provides a great opportunity to gain new skills in STEM subjects and I would recommend it as a fantastic experience. I am looking forward to the results of the micro-gravity experiment which will set off for the ISS this July.’ Katie Bogan S5 – Part of the 2014 Mission Discovery Winning Team

Caring • Learning • Achieving

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Maths Challenge Regional Finals Success A team of First and Second year pupils took part in the regional finals of the UKMT Team Maths Challenge today at UWS (Hamilton campus). After a lot of hard work and much excitement in the Relay round, the team finished in a very creditable 7th position, from the 30 teams taking part. Pupils taking part –

Andrew Norval S1 Hamish MacLaren S1 Jenny Hall S2 Shaun Sweeney S2

Gryffe pupils attend a Multilingual Debate at Heriot- Watt University ‘We left for Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, with high expectations for the day ahead and we certainly were not disappointed. We watched an “Oxford Union” style debate with two sides (for and against) the motion “This house believes that the rise of the machine will end the era of the linguist”. There were seven speakers in total-many speaking their native language (two English, two Spanish, a German, French and a Mandarin). We were able to select an interpreter via headset to follow the debate in our chosen language, French or Spanish. Following a lively debate with excellent points made from both sides the ‘against’ team received the most votes from the audience. Overall it was a fantastic day that highlighted one of the many jobs that languages can lead into.’ Article - Ryan Ferguson S4

GRYFFE WIN BEST QUALITY AWARD AT FINALS DAY

Congratulations to our Young Enterprise company OppARTunity for winning Best Quality Award at Finals Day. Young Enterprise’s mission statement is “to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise.”�Its guiding principle is to do this through “learning by doing”. Gryffe has had another successful year for our enterprising young pupils. The Mission Statement of OppARTunity is “Promoting the work of young artists to develop awareness and opportunities whilst enhancing creativity in our community”.


Gryffe Media Team take part in BBC News School Report Day and report

on the Science Club observing the Solar Eclipse

The Carrick Centre provided the ideal place for the young members of the Media Team to interview locals about the Eclipse (which was happening the next day). The Gryffe Quilters were also meeting at the Carrick Centre and the members were most obliging when asked if they would mind being interviewed for BBC News School Report Day. It was a great experience for the budding journalists and allowed the pupils to recognise weaknesses (and strengths) in their questions and techniques.

The Media Team had been following the hard work of the

Science Club in their preparations for Eclipse day. John Pressly from Coats Observatory had made a special visit to the school (complete with his amazing solar telescope) and shown the pupils how to make special safe solar viewing filters. On Eclipse day, we were very lucky in Houston to catch a very good view of the eclipse and the solar filters made it very easy to see the changing shape of the visible sun. The young scientists also monitored the weather during the period and submitted their findings to Reading University Metereological Dept. There was a significant drop in temperature around near Totality. This AMAZING picture is courtesy of local photographer Andy Stark of ‘The Studio’. Our grateful thanks to the Carrick Centre, the Gryffe Quilters and John Pressly for all of their support in making this venture such a great experience for the pupils. Check out the full report at http://www.gryffehigh.com/media-team.html Mrs P. McGeough - Media Team Mrs Costello and Miss Robinson - Science Club Photographs by the Media Team


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‘Mardi Gras’ Primary Visits The world-renowned festival of 'Mardi Gras' or 'Carnivale' is celebrated in many different countries, most famously in Brazil, New Orleans in the USA and of course, Nice in the south of France where this joyous event originates from. Gryffe's Modern Languages Department visited the Primary Seven pupils in Bridge of Weir and Houston and they certainly got into the spirit of the celebrations this year! They did very well working out the meaning of new French words by making links to English and showed off their great French accents. They also very much enjoyed trying the 'masques' traditionally worn at the Mardi Gras masquerade balls. These type of cultural inputs not only heighten pupil interest and promote cultural awareness but they help pupils to learn to make links between languages at an early stage. This prepares them well for learning French and Spanish when they arrive at Gryffe in S1 and any exposure to two languages in the Primary stage is crucial in the midst of the Scottish Government 1+2 languages initiative. Article - Miss L Tate

Anne represents Renfrewshire in FutureChef competition Anne McKelvie in S4 represented Renfrewshire in the Central and South Scotland Springboard FutureChef regional finals on Monday 23 February in Glasgow. Springboard’s FutureChef was developed in 1999 as a result of research findings into young people’s perceptions of the industry. It revealed that young people regarded chefs such as Brian Turner, Gary Rhodes and James Martin almost as highly as pop or television stars - surprisingly, however, few genuinely considered a career as a chef! The event involves a cook off against the other schools with 12 pupils in total, then a presentation and fund-raising dinner. Anne has been preparing for the competition with the help of Executive Chef Donald McInnes and mentor Scott Blair who is the Head Chef at Ingliston Country Club at Bishopton.

Anne prepared her meal to a really high standard and it was an absolutely fantastic achievement to finish her meal on schedule. Her hard work was rewarded with a meal in the Thistle Hotel. Well done Anne on your amazing achievement. Article - Mrs L C Holligan HF&T


Fairtrade News Community Steering Group On Thursday 19 March Gryffe hosted a meeting of Renfrewshire Council’s the Fairtrade Community Steering Group. This was a fantastic opportunity for the school to showcase some of the events that we had held across Fairtrade Fortnight. We welcomed over 25 guests including other schools, Councillors and local Fairtrade groups. Some of our pupils, Emily Irving, Aaron Mills, Thea Raeburn and Holly Stephen made an excellent presentation and Miss Rowan put together a fabulous video with pictures, music and soundbites. Some of our Fairtrade Fighters, Mya Hewitt and Emily Svenson, also went above and beyond to make some lovely cakes for our guests, including Fairtrade banana pancakes, a swiss roll and cupcakes. Fairtrade Teaching and Learning Network Due to the success of our presentation we were asked if we would like to speak at a Teaching and Learning Network Event hosted by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum on Friday 24 April. This event was attended by teachers across Scotland, members of the SQA and Education Scotland as well as other educational organisations. Thea Raeburn, Aaron Mills, Mya Hewitt, Molly O’Brien and Holly Stephen attended this event along with Miss Rowan and Mrs Stark. Our pupils spoke about the efforts of Gryffe during Fairtrade Fortnight linking this to opportunities to develop the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence: Effective Contributors, Responsible Citizens, Successful Learners and Confident Individuals. They also discussed Fairtrade across the curriculum emphasising that they learn about Fairtrade across the school in various subjects. We received excellent feedback on our presentation and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Article - Miss H Rowan


Gryffe Eco Focus: The Rag Bag Appeal

For the past two years as part of the school’s Eco Focus, Gryffe has been participating within the Rag Bag recycling programme. The Rag Bag appeal is a charity about clothes and recycling. It helps raise awareness about recycling, most specifically fabrics. The school has two large Rag Bag recycling bins (outside the library) where clothes can be put in and then sent to different countries. To make things easier, you can check your closet at the start of every month and see if you have any clothes that are too small or that you do not need or want anymore. How can Gryffe pupils and parents/carers help? What you can begin to do is remind yourself at the beginning of each month to check your closet and put any unwanted items into a plastic bag, pupils then can deposit the bags in the Rag Bag bins. THE RAG BAG BINS ARE LOCATED NEXT TO THE LIBRARY. What goes into the Rag Bag? Any old clothes, shoes, bags, ties or belts can go into the Rag Bag bins, along with house hold linen, e.g. towels, duvet covers and table cloths. A Great Idea! The Rag Bag appeal is a great idea because it gets rid of any unwanted clothes and helps the environment by keeping recyclable things out of landfill sites. The school also receives money for every kg of textiles received- the last collection raised £58.36 - we want to better this total in June! To conclude To conclude, the Rag Bag appeal is a very effective charity as it supports people in some of the poorest developing countries whilst still benefitting our own environment. So clear out your closet, get out your Rag Bag and be Eco! Words by Mirin Thomson (IF) on behalf of the Eco Committee

Brightest Star Charity

Arlene from the Brightest Star Charity visited the school recently to be presented with a cheque. Arlene was overwhelmed by the work and generosity of our S5 pupils who raised £1341.42 for this important cause. This charity aims to provide funds to support bereaved families and families of sick children. It aims to fund larger ambulances which can hold other people other than the patient and to provide parents with vital A & E training in cases of emergency. This would mean that parents are not separated from their child in their time of need. Ordinary ambulances can cope with a medical team but they have little room for families.

The school will continue to raise money for this charity and hopefully our new S5 year group will match or go beyond the amount raised this year. Well done to all of you!

Article - Miss Inglis, Principal Teacher Pupil Support: Guidance Photograph – Charlotte Stuart S2


The Youth Philanthropy Initiative A massive ‘WELL DONE’ to all 8 groups who participated in the YPI School Finals. Pupils identified, researched and delivered excellent presentations on local social issues to a panel of judges, describing the impact of £3000 YPI grant on their worthwhile services in our community. After much deliberation, the overall winners represented Renfrewshire Young Carers. Here is what the pupils had to say, ‘The Young Carers charity was introduced to us during Personal Development Award. Immediately this charity sparked our interest because as young people, we can relate to the carers we learned about. Young Carers are young people who help to care for an adult or sibling within the family. We feel very fortunate to have experienced a childhood, and wanted to give back to the Young Carers who are less privileged. As a group we represented our class and charity to try and win a £3000 YPI grant from the Wood Family Trust. This was achieved through team work, research and competition. We came up against other deserving charities for worthwhile causes in our local community in the school finals but the panel of judges voted in our favour! Renfrewshire Young Carers were awarded the prize, and we felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment for our hard work! This money will help give young people like us a childhood by allowing them to have respite from their stressful lives. We hope this money will have a positive impact on the charity.’ Article from the Winning Team - Jamie Muir, Morgan Kaloheris, Caitlyn Tanner, Kerry MacAngus (all S4) Photographs – Charlotte Stuart S2 In addition we received some very positive feedback from one of the other charities - ‘The fact that they did not win is irrelevant, the pupils did a great presentation and I could see how much they wanted to win (and how gutted they were to lose!) But we both know the value of standing up and presenting like that at that age - they did brilliantly. But what I wanted to flag up was how impressed I was with the maturity and conduct of all the pupils in that room yesterday. Not only was every pupil dressed in shirt and tie, but they sat and listened with a maturity and compassion I would never expect from fourth year pupils. Dealing with issues such as disability and the elderly requires a level of maturity, perspective and empathy beyond that which can be expected of students this age. I was genuinely humbled by the behaviour and conduct of all those in the room. The girls who worked on Finding Your Feet were genuinely lovely, polite and a pleasure to talk to. I think each of them has the potential to go far! The hard work each group had put in to their presentations was also apparent from the moment I arrived - I'm just glad I didn't have the difficult job of sitting on that judging panel! They did themselves and their school proud. It's testament to the teachers so well done! I was very impressed. Thank you again for helping us spread the word about FYF and everything you have done on a personal level. The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) is an active citizenship programme that raises awareness amongst young people about philanthropy and their local community.’ Feedback from Ashley Reid – PR ‘Finding your Feet’ charity. For more information about YPI, please visit ypiscotland.org.uk Article - Ms G Brand Principal Teacher Pupil Support: Guidance


PTA News!

Friday the 13th March turned out to a lucky day indeed for over 100 ladies who attended Gryffe High PTA’s pamper event. The dining hall was transformed into a sea of pink table covers and balloons and the music from Mama Mia resounded as ladies of all ages chatted, shopped and indulged in a variety of beauty treatments. Lots of lovely Mothers Day gifts were available including Benefit makeup, handbags, jewellery and scarves as well as delicious cupcakes. The PTA had a range of stalls selling foldup shoppers, Mothers Day gift bags, a chocolate fountain and of course a fantastic raffle.

Thanks to the outside vendors who donated prizes for the raffle as well as several local businesses including Laura’s Nail & Beauty Lounge & Tranquil both in Bridge of Weir, Divah in Houston, Arlene Mitchell Hair in Kilmacolm and Twisted Willow in Kilbarchan.

Many thanks also to the ladies and younger ladies who supported the event and helped raise the fantastic sum of just over £900 which will go directly towards enhancing the education of the pupils.

Thanks also to the PTA members who set up, manned the tables and cleared away at the end of the evening.

Looking forward to next year!

Article - Mrs S McHarg PTA

PS – Fancy winning a GoPro action camera or other great prizes? Make sure you buy plenty of our Grand Annual Raffle tickets (see advert on the back of the May Letter to parents)


The Duke of Edinburgh award scheme is well up and running this term with over 50 new bronze participants. So far they have taken part in a team building day, gained their all important first aid certificate and successfully been on their first practice day walk expedition. One bronze group in particular braved our notorious Scottish weather where they encountered 4 seasons in one day! All were extremely well kitted out and able to face the conditions head on, well done team! Duke of Edinburgh at Gryffe has also provided the opportunity for some of our current silver participants to become young leaders. This programme allows the participants to further develop their already existing skills gained from the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. At present, Gryffe are proud to announce that we have 7 pupils working towards becoming a young leader. They are S4 pupils (pictured from left to right) Lauren Newlands, Emma Rodgers, Rachel Boyd, Ben Couttie, Emma Fulton, Erin Campbell, Tegan Arnott. They have been heavily involved with the running of the new bronze groups and in particular have supported the teams on their expeditions by providing them with important map readings skills, camp craft safety and general support. This is a great opportunity for the young silver participants to really show their enthusiasm and confidence as a member of the Gryffe Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. Article - Miss Badger

Young Leaders


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Craft Club Volunteer for Local Carnival

Craft Club have been busy making small gift boxes for Houston and Killellan Kirk Carnival. The boxes have been made using card and some advanced folding skills! The boxes will be sold in order to raise money for the church. We are hoping to make some more for selling in school to raise money for a local charity. Article - Miss H Rowan

World Book Day The English department encouraged the whole school to take part in World Book Day with a particular focus on S1 to S3. World Book Day is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The origins of the day we now celebrate in the UK and Ireland come from Catalonia, where roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones on St George's Day – a tradition started over 90 years ago. A main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. Staff displayed a poster of ‘What I am Reading’ and pupils and staff thoroughly enjoyed the last 15 minutes of the day by taking part in ‘The Big Read’.


S3 Art Trip to Kelvingrove

All of the S3 Art pupils had the opportunity to visit Kelvingrove Art Museum in Glasgow. On arrival we were split into two groups. My group went off to do a design project and the other group divided up to pick anything from the entire museum and draw it for a multi-school competition. After the design part of the day, we ate lunch and had some time to explore the museum. We then swapped group activity after lunch. Many people chose to do an animal such as the giraffe or the elephant. I chose to focus on a few of the floating heads. Even although I have visited the museum before, it was fun going with my classmates, comparing designs and sharing ideas. Overall, I enjoyed the day and it opened my eyes to the importance of design and in particular how to draw quickly under a time constraint. Article - Seona Adam S3

The Easter Service

Houston and Killellan Kirk was the venue for the Easter Service for all S1, S2, S6 pupils from Gryffe and P7 pupils from Bridge of Weir Primary on the Thursday before the Easter break. Fortunately, the weather was pleasant enough to allow the pupils to enjoy a nice walk to the church. Rev. Donald Campbell led the Service with pupils helping out with readings. Part of the service was a very modern animation of the story of the Resurrection (which featured Lego!).

The church was packed full and the Jazz Band and Junior Choir excelled themselves with many people commenting on how lovely the music was.


Gryffe High School Spring Concert The recent Gryffe High School Spring Concert provided a musical feast for parents, friends and family in the school theatre. Pupils performed a wonderful range of music. The Orchestra, Jazz Band, String Group, Concert Band and Choir produced lovely tones of a mix of classical and popular music. The Young Musician winners took the opportunity to excel once again in their instrument. There was an S6 duet of vocals and guitar and the night was aptly finished with ‘Time to Say Goodbye’. The many hours and hours of practice throughout the year of the 80+ pupils who took part was all worthwhile. Mr Johnson concluded the evening by thanking the pupils for all of their commitment to putting on a great display of talent and hard work and he thanked the staff (particularly the Music Department) for bringing the concert together.


Awards Ceremony 2015 The Awards Ceremony was brought forward this year to allow more of the S6 pupils to attend. The weather was surprisingly more like summer which seemed to make the packed hall warmer. The Jazz Band played their introduction. Mr Raymond Kane who is a Development Officer in Skills for Learning, Life and Work with Renfrewshire Council was our Principal Guest. After introduction to the top table by Mr Scott Taylor, Rev Donald Campbell opened the ceremony with a prayer. Mr Johnson then gave his detailed Annual Report. A full Annual Report will be available on the website early in the next term. This allows SQA exam results to be included. Mr Johnson warmly congratulated all of the pupils of Gryffe High and in particular those pupils who had achieved an award. Mr Kane gave an interesting and entertaining address before presenting more than 400 awards and prizes. Mrs Skillen had the task of ensuring that the certificates, cups and trophies were all in perfect sequence allowing the smooth and swift running of the Presentations. Prizes included Certificates of Excellence and Merit, Mathematical awards, Young Enterprise and House Token Awards. These were followed by some really impressive achievement in a whole range of sports including almost 20 Scottish Internationalists and even an Internationalist at Great Britain level. Around 25 pupils received Special Category prizes. These highly acclaimed awards merit a range of fabulous silverware and glassware. These include academic excellence in particular subjects as well as outstanding endeavour in various categories. Many of these prizes are sponsored by local companies including the Gryffe Valley Rotary Club who are always represented at the Awards Ceremony and provide support in various ways to pupils. This year a House Cup was awarded to the house with the most points which turned out to be Wallace (much to the delight of Miss Inglis!). A Wallace house pupil from each year group came to collect the cup. The Head Boy and Girl were awarded their prizes and finally the Head Teacher Award went to two S6 pupils for their absolutely outstanding contribution. A lovely point after the award presentation was a performance by the choir and a chance for the audience to reflect on the year with a captioned picture slide show showing many aspects of achievements and the wide range of involvement and opportunity given to the pupils. In keeping with Gryffe tradition, the Head Boy, Tom Lightbody and Head Girl, Gwen Gillham gave the Vote of Thanks. Tom and Gwen achieved a good balance of humour and genuine appreciation for their years in Gryffe. A night filled with great memories. Our congratulations go to the award winners but always with a reminder that they are representatives of ALL of the pupils at Gryffe High who ALL deserve our congratulations in recognition of their hard work and achievements.


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Scottish Cross Country Championship Success ‘This was my first opportunity to take part in the Scottish Cross Country Championships at Callendar Park in Falkirk. As I stood at the start line in the wet and muddy conditions, I felt both nervous and excited. There were over 200 under 13 girls taking part, all hoping to do well and complete the course. I stayed in fourth position for most of the Course, but I really wanted to try for a Podium place. On the home straight about 70 metres from the finishing line, I overtook and finished in third position taking the Bronze medal. I was tired, but felt happy. I am proud to have finished so well, both for myself and for Kilbarchan AAC.’ Alisha Sivell, 1M It so happened that Alisha’s Science teacher Miss Robinson was also at the race watching a relative. Miss Robinson added, ‘The Scottish Cross country championships are organised by the Scottish Athletics and clubs from all over Scotland compete in this annual event. The weather conditions could not have been worse with heavy rain and winds, making the course extremely muddy and slippy for all athletes. The under 13s ran a gruelling course of 2 miles up and down hills, finishing at Callendar House in Falkirk. Alisha ran a fantastic race, staying in the front of a pack of more than 200 under 13 girls. She finished in 3rd position, giving her a Bronze and a place on the podium.’ Other Scottish Cross Country Championship Success for Gryffe came in an Irvine meet – S1 pupil Alisha Sivell (pictured) came FIRST (in her section) S3 pupil Andrew MacAngus came THIRD 'Team Gryffe' Rebecca Craig, Rona Tytler, Emma Fulton (all S4) and S5 pupil Katie Hall came FIRST. Very well done to all of the athletes!

Hockey Team win the Renfrewshire Hockey League

Gryffe's Junior Hockey Team has had an excellent year, working hard to perfect their skills at training and consistently proving their outstanding ability to work together during matches. Sophie Carroll (S3) tells us about their participation in a Development Day.

‘On the 11th of March Gryffe High School attended a hockey development day at Glasgow Green Hockey Centre along with other Renfrewshire schools. Throughout the day some of the top hockey coaches did excellent drills with us and we really developed our hockey skill set. We ended the day by playing games against other schools. Although the weather let us down we had a great day and can't wait for next year!’

It seems as though the Development Day has paid off as on Wednesday 18 March they became the first Gryffe sports team this year to win a Renfrewshire-wide league. With six matches played and no goals scored against Gryffe, they performed superbly and this was an excellent victory for a very dedicated and talented team, well done! Article - Miss L Tate


Rugby News

The rugby team have been doing well. The Under 18's achieved a resounding victory of 22-5 against Garnock Academy at Garnock's Loch Shore pitches. Stand out performers included Tom Colbron of S5 who ran in 4 tries and Kyle Murphy of S4 who scored the other.

Well done to the whole team for what was a comprehensive victory. Gryffe Under 16's rugby team also go from strength to strength with another superb display at the Inverclyde 7's tournament. The A team finished in 1st place undefeated with the B team finishing in 3rd place - Picture is of Team A

Article - Mr C Morris

Lee Wishart at the Davis Cup Great Britain were drawn against USA in the Davis Cup tennis competition with the tie being played from the 6th to the 8th of March at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. Around 30 young tennis players from clubs around the west of Scotland were chosen to be the ball team for the matches and I was lucky enough to be one of them. It was a very enjoyable experience for me and every single one of the ball kids who took part because it was a great chance to watch some great tennis from some of the best tennis players in the world. The tie featured former Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray, world number 20, John Isner, from USA and also the world’s best doubles pairing, the Bryan brothers, also representing USA. As a ball boy you are so close to the action and as a result I have learned a lot from watching the players over the course of the 3 days and it has certainly inspired me to keep playing and having an involvement in the sport. The 5 matches were being broadcasted live on BBC all weekend which added to the pressure but also the excitement at being part of it all. Great Britain came out eventual victors 3 matches to 2 and have been drawn against France in the next round to be played in July. Britain are to play at home but the specific venue has not been decided yet. One thing is for sure is that we are all hoping for a return to Glasgow to witness a repeat of the great tennis and atmosphere generated by the much anticipated event. Article - Lee Wishart S6


Time to Say Farewell to S6

It is always mixed emotions at this time of year when it is time to say farewell to the S6 pupils. The day at Millport was a great success albeit very cold – too cold I think for some of the Disney princesses!

Back at school S6 then had the opportunity to sign shirts, yearbooks and share memories with each other and staff.

Next stop is the Prom on Thursday 4 June at Sherbrooke Castle. This will be our final fling together! We are meeting at the school at 6.00pm that evening for a small reception and an opportunity for parents to take photographs – hopefully you will see them in the next newsletter.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all S6 for their support throughout the year in the many activities and committees they have been involved in and wish them all the best in their forthcoming exams and for their future destinations beyond Gryffe High School.

Mrs A Brown DHT (with responsibility for S6 and S1)

Upcoming priorities/events MAY Mon 4 HOLIDAY Mon 11 My Merit Week Wed 13 School Athletics Championships Thurs 14 S1 Main Reports issued to pupils Mon 18 Activities Residential Tues 19 Activities Week Day 1 Wed 20 Activities Week Day 2 Thurs 21 Activities Week Day 3 Fri 22 HOLIDAY Mon 25 HOLIDAY Tues 26 In-Service Day Wed 27 Pupils return, prompt 8:50 am start New Timetable for S2-S4 JUNE Mon 1 Parent Council AGM; 7:00 pm start New S5 Induction Day

New S6 Induction Morning at Houston and Killellan Church Hall

Tue 2 New S5 start new timetable New S6 Induction Morning Wed 3 New S6 start new timetable

Newsletter uploaded onto website Thurs 4 Old S6 Prom Fri 5 Mon 8 P7 Pupils meet Pupil Support Staff and

Buddies P7 Parents’ Information Evening, 7:00 pm start

Tue 9 P7 NQT Challenge Wed 10 P7 Visit: Induction Day 1 Thurs 11 P7 Visit: Induction Day 2

PTA ANNUAL RAFFLE Fri 12 Eco: Learning for Change Morning Fri 19 Non-Uniform Day UNICEF Day for Change Fri 26 Last Day of Session Mr Colin Johnson Head Teacher Caring • Learning • Achieving

www.gryffehigh.com

scottish cup basketball champions · 2019-11-12 · s6 leavers day trip to millport – see page 20...

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