AHS Newsletter 46

The New Anderson High School

Anderson High School Newsletter

September 2015, Issue 46

New Anderson High School Foundation Stone was unveiled

by Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for

Education and Life Long Learning, on Thursday 27th

August 2015

Inside this issue:

AHS Improvement Plan 3

Term Dates 4

Library News 6

SRC 8

Skills Development Scotland

10

Inspiring Young Women Conference

12

Paris Trip 13

Health & Wellbeing 14

London Trip 16

ASN News 18

John Muir Award 20

Art & Design News 22

Biology Field Trip 27

Kool Katz Disco 28

Links with Norway 29

Youth Work in AHS 30

Outdoor Learning in

Geography

33

DofE Award 34

Maakin & Yakkin 36

Maths News 38

Music News 40

Battlefield Trip 46

Clothing Grant/FSM 47

SQA News 48

S1 Activity Day 49

French Exchange Trip 50

Young Enterprise 50

PE News 52

Page 2 Anderson High School

New Teachers

At the end of last session, I was sad to see the retirement of four long serving

teachers. Mrs Fiona Christie, Mr John Handley, Mr Forbes Hogg and

Mrs Thelma Robertson had given a great deal to the school over many years

and are well kent in the school community. We gave them a good send off

and then welcomed new faces onto the teaching staff. Miss Holly Alexander

(Probationer Teacher of Art & Design), Mr Michael Arthur (Teacher of

Chemistry), Miss Rona Jamieson (Teacher of Art & Design) and Miss Holly

Nicolson (Teacher of Home Economics) joined the school in August.

A New School

Mr Trevor Smith, SIC Capital Programme Service, noted recently:

“Work began in earnest on the new Anderson High School and Halls of

Residence in July this year. The project is being developed by Shetland

Islands Council in partnership with hub North Scotland, and the main

contractor for the project is Morrison Construction. The site clearance,

earthworks and drainage work is being undertaken by local contractor

Shetland Quality Construction, and is progressing steadily. Work on the

foundations for the new school is also underway. The construction of the

new roundabout on North Lochside, which will form the main access into the

new school and Hall of Residence, is well advanced and should be completed

by the end of October this year.”

Head Teacher’s Comments

August also saw the unveiling

of the foundation stone of the

new Anderson High School.

The school was pleased to

welcome the Cabinet Secretary

for Education and Life Long

Learning, Angela Constance, to

Shetland for the occasion.

Since the ceremony, much has

developed on the site. Every

week sees a change.

Page 3 Issue 46

New Opportunities

The summer saw our 14 Shetland Learning Partnership students undertake their first paid work

experiences in the fields of engineering and health and social care. With the college courses up‐and‐

running, these S5 pupils are completing three subjects at AHS whilst studying twice a week at NAFC and

Shetland College. The Shetland Learning Partnership is now considering how the programme can be

rolled, with the possibility of launching a third academy programme for 2016‐17.

Our Shetland Learning Partnership students, along with SIC and college staff, meet

Ms Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Life Long Learning,

on 27th August 2015.


Anderson High School Improvement Plan 2015‐16 What are our targets for next year?

Curriculum For Excellence To better share pupil information with our primary

schools and develop a new link project;

To improve our Broad General Education (S1 ‐3) through working on Literacy, Numeracy, Health & Well Being;

To develop a school strategy for interdisciplinary learning across the curriculum in S1 ‐ 3;

To make our assessment more manageable in line with the government’s advice on “Tackling Bureaucracy”;

To review and develop our careers education programme in Personal and Social Education;

To develop and teach all the new Highers and new Advanced Highers;

To work with Shetland College to implement the new “Getting Ready for Modern Apprenticeships” course in S4;

To work with NAFC and Shetland College to implement the new Shetland Learning Partnership courses in Engineering and Health & Social Care;

To improve our reporting to parents in S4 ‐6 through using SEEMIS (a school data management programme);

To implement any new curriculum model emerging through the Shetland Learning Partnership.

Insight

To make sure all teachers can access Insight (the government’s on‐line tool to show a school’s progress);

To use Insight to help us improve our attainment and achievement to support all pupils

SIC Priorities To support the following priorities for Shetland Islands Council:

The Nurture Initiative (supporting individual pupils and developing a whole‐school approach to nurture);

Employee Workload Management – as identified in the SIC Viewpoint Survey of Spring 2015;

Shetland Learning Partnership;

School Comparison Project;

New Anderson High School .

Teacher Professional Up‐date

To up‐date our policy and procedures to ensure that all teachers meet the national requirements for professional review and development by July 2015;

To build on our system of collaborative visits to lessons, where teachers work together in the classroom in relation to their personal development targets;

To encourage teachers to visit and teach with colleagues in other subject areas, to increase professional knowledge.

Term 1 Monday 17 August 2015 - Friday 09 October 2015 inclusive (PUPILS resume on Wednesday 19 August 2015) October Holidays: Monday 12 October 2015 – Friday 23 October 2015

inclusive Term 2 Monday 26 October 2015 – Tuesday 22 December 2015 inclusive Christmas Holidays: Wednesday 23 December 2015 – Tuesday 05 January

2016 inclusive Term 3 Wednesday 06 January 2016 - Friday 25 March 2016 inclusive Spring Holidays: Monday 28 March 2016 – Friday 08 April 2016 inclusive Term 4 Monday 11 April 2016 – Friday 01 July 2016 inclusive In Service Closure: Occasional holidays dates for 2015/16:

Monday 26 October 2015 Wednesday 27 January 2016 Tuesday 27 October 2015 Friday 26 February 2016 Monday 11 April 2016 Monday 29 February 2016 Friday 27 May 2016

Monday 30 May 2016

School Term Dates 2015/2016

Page 5 Issue 46

Peer Suppor t Training - Mr A Johnson, PT of Pupil Suppor t In Class 6 pupils have the opportunity to sign up for a number of activities to contribute to the school community and develop their own skillset as well as enhancing their CV. Delivering Peer Support to a group of first year pupil in the winter term is one of the opportunities available. Class 6 pupils find this experience very rewarding and enjoyable. While the new first year pupils are delighted to meet and get to know some of the senior pupils. Many of the Class 6 pupils who took part in the full days training could remember who their S6 peer supporters were and shared their memories with the group. There were two training days and the sessions were introduced by Ms Nicolson and delivered by Pupil Support staff. Class 6 pupils undertook problem solving and role play activities and learnt about group dynamics and management techniques. There were also discussions on Child Protection and the importance of good communication and planning between Peer Supporters.


Summer Reading At the end of last term we received 20 free copies of ‘Stormbreaker’ by Anthony Horowitz from the Scottish Book Trust. This was an initiative to encourage pupils to keep reading over the summer holidays by exploring contemporary teen fiction and to develop their confidence in sharing their opinions on it. The books were quickly snapped up and the Library has had good feedback from the pupils since the new term started. A group got together recently to discuss the book, the film of the book and to look at the graphic novel.

World Book Night

The Library again participated in this annual event. We were lucky this year to get 2 free sets of books to give away on the 23rd April. A crime novel was sent to each department within the school to encourage staff reading and ‘Street cat Bob’ proved to be very popular with pupils with all copies quickly snapped up. It is always nice to be able to give out books that readers are allowed to keep.

Library News - Mrs T Odie, School Librarian

S2 pupils: Carys Nield, Eldon Wigram, Shane Painter and Vaila Laurenson

Page 7 Issue 46

Tak your sock!

In March the schools ‘Maakin and Yakkin’ group held a night with tea and homebakes in the School Library when pupils and their families were invited to come along. There was also a display of items. We had a great night with over 30 people attending and there are plans to hold another event in November.

Visit from Angela Constance, MSP – Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

The Library hosted an event with Angela Constance and a group of 5th year pupils.

The Student Representative Council (SRC) News - Chloe Sinclair & Peter Tomlinson (S5)

The Student Representative Council (SRC) are back for the 2015 – 2016 school year. The SRC have recruited a large team of eager pupils willing to work together to take new ideas forward, in an effort to make the Anderson High School an all-round enhanced environment for all. The SRC had an induction day on Friday the 4th of September where all the voluntary members had a chance to meet and get to know one another, as well as meeting the SRC leaders – Mrs Coyne and Mrs Johnson. It was a great day planned by the SRC leaders with team building exercises and activities in the morning which effectively gave a hand in helping us become familiar with each and every one of the members. The afternoon consisted of assigning roles to certain members. An election took place to elect the Chairs and Vice Chairs, whereby each standing candidate had to write and present a speech with reasons why they deserved to be Chair Person. The outcome was Sally Sandison and Jacob Malcolmson, both S6, elected as Chair Persons, and Sam Malcolmson, Peter Tomlinson and Bryden Priest, all S5, elected as Vice Chairpersons.

From L-R: Bryden Priest; Sam Malcolmson; Jacob Malcolmson; Sally Sandison; Peter Tomlinson


Page 9 Issue 46

Different roles – such as photography roles, journalists, promoters and more were appointed to other certain members. To finish the induction day, the SRC had their first meeting to discuss old and new ideas to take forward for the new school year.

Some of the ideas the SRC discussed during the meeting was: the progression of Anderson High School hoodies, working on providing charity boxes to the cashiers in the canteen at dinner time, working to bring back cereal at lunch time and cups for the water dispensers, organising the annual ‘It’s a Knockout’ event to raise funds for Children in Need, organising the S1-S3 Halloween Disco, developing Anderson High School wa-ter bottles and working on more efficient study classes, as well as aiming to keep Study Leave as an option, among many other ideas. This year because we have a new SRC group we will be trying out some new ideas and approaches. We have 35 members in our SRC group this year and we hope that opinions can be voiced easier from pupils in the school as all year groups are widely represented, which means you most likely know someone who you can feel free to voice your opinions to. Names of all members of the SRC are available on the SRC board in the link.

OUR SRC MEMBERS

Chairpersons Vice Chairpersons Secretaries Treasurers General Help Sally Sandison Bryden Priest Ellie Millar Claire Johnston Lucy Morris

Jacob Malcolmson Sam Malcolmson Dana Watt Rhodri Hawkins Bryden Priest

Peter Tomlinson Gavin Williamson Gavin Williamson Nicola Morrison

Alec Henry Lindsey Sim

Robbie McDougall Sophie Kennerley

Joshua Neicho Jonathan Doratt

Bianka Meszaros Duncan Leslie

Jason Nicol

Bianka Meszaros

Chrissie Hunter

Journalists IT Directors Photographers SRC Promoters

Chloe Sinclair Ceilidh Mercer Jessie‐Flora McKenzie Peter Tomlinson

Keira Thomson Alec Henry Ceilidh Mercer Brodie Lawson

Lucy Morris Joshua Neicho Keira Thomson Bryden Priest

Chelsea Branney Henry Hyndman Chelsea Branney Chloe Sinclair

Peter Tomlinson Shane Painter Iona Leask Sam Malcolmson

Robbie McDougall Nicola Morrison Leanne Spence

Ceileidh Mercer Claire Johnston Sophie Kennerley

Lindsey Sim Ellie Millar Chrissie Hunter

Bianka Meszaros Jonathan Dorrat

Robbie McDougall

Henry Hyndman

Bryden Priest

Chrissie Hunter

Bianka Meszaros

Craig Pottinger

Contact SRC members by emailing the link teachers: [email protected]; [email protected]

Skills Development Scotland Career Coaches Scott Summers and Vaila Angus are currently in school delivering a range of services to pupils. Group work sessions are currently being delivered in all PSE classes in S4, S5 and S6 with a focus on developing lifelong Career Management Skills – the skills pupils can develop which will help with their own career management after their school career and throughout their lives. In the coming months SDS will be working closely with schools to arrange input with younger age groups from P7/S1 through to S3.

Within the Career Management Skills group work sessions, pupils have been participating in interactive activities, aligning to Curriculum for Excellence, focusing on four areas:

Self – knowing who you are – how pupils can understand and reflect on who they are and what they can do, knowing what’s right for them, reflecting on life, work and learning and thinking about their likes/ dislikes, interests and motivations.

Strengths – knowing what you are good at – relates to the understanding of skills, knowledge and experience, with pupils reflecting on what they are good at, considering transferrable skills and evidencing strengths through examples.

Horizons – knowing what is out there – where pupils think about the options and routes available after school and in the long-term throughout their lives, how to make decisions and access opportunities in employment, education and training.

Networks – knowing who can help you – understanding who can help, who pupils can source advice from, who can help with decisions – such as teachers, Pupil Support, Career Coach, employers, training providers, representatives from colleges/universities, family, friends and other contacts.

Pupils can access Skills Development Scotland’s online careers information and advice service My World of Work www.myworldofwork.co.uk which offers a range of self-help tools and can provide useful articles and video clips. Pupils can access the help they need for the career they want by accessing a range of resources including:

· Subject choices – understand your strengths and make better choices about your subject choices and future career.

Skills Development Scotland - Mr S Summers, Career Coach


Page 11 Issue 46

· Leaving school – find a career that interests you and understand the skills you need to get the job you want.

· Exam results – straight into a job or onto further learning? Whatever your grades find help in planning your next steps.

· Preparing for a job – discover Scotland’s industries, search for jobs, build your CV and practice for interviews.

· Modern Apprenticeships – why not earn as you learn. Find out what apprenticeships are available in Scotland and how they work.

· Parents and guardians are also reminded that there is a Parent Zone, with lots of useful information on how to support their child - http://parents.myworldofwork.co.uk/

SDS team and schools staff are currently working together to organise a Learning Through Work event for pupils in S3, which is scheduled for November. Taking place for a second year, this event offers an opportunity for pupils to meet with local employers and training providers and find out more information about Modern Apprenticeships and vocational options.

Pupils can also access one-to-one career coaching sessions, to explore options, get help with employability, discuss ideas, set actions and develop their Career Management Skills in school throughout the year. Drop-in sessions are available to pupils, with times and venues communicated through school tannoy. Pupils and parents are also encouraged to access Skills Development Scotland services throughout holidays by visiting the Skills Development Scotland centre in Charlotte House, Lerwick. Appointments with Career Coaches can be arranged by: E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Telephone: 01595 695791 Pupils can also make appointments by speaking to their Pupil Support Teacher.

The SDS team has recently launched a local SDS Shetland page on Facebook which has lots of useful information and regular updates relevant to pupils and parents and teachers. By ‘liking’ our page, individuals can access information and also contact the team directly with queries and to arrange an appointment.

Four of our pupils were invited to attend the Inspiring Young Women conference at the Scottish Parliament in March last session. Pupils Paige Buggy, Jenny Irvine, Ceileidh Mercer and Karri Odie went to the event, accompanied by Modern Studies teacher Miss Taylor. They joined with other pupils and teachers from schools across Scotland. The event, which was organised by Presiding Officer Rt Hon Trishia Marwick MSP, was designed to encourage young women to develop the confidence and leadership skills needed to help them to recognise their potential and fulfil it.

The girls had the opportunity to attend a number of sessions in the morning run by inspiring women from many different areas of life not just politics. In these

sessions they explored the themes of confidence, leadership and barriers that hold young women back from being the best they can be. The girls listened to the inspiring women tell their stories behind their successes before having the chance to ask each of them questions.

In the afternoon the Presiding Officer chaired a panel session with four MSPs in the Debating Chamber, where key ideas from the morning sessions were discussed and all the girls attending had the opportunity to ask questions.

Inspiring Young Women Conference - Miss S Taylor, Teacher of Modern Studies


“The whole day was very interesting and motivational and I’m really pleased to have been part of such a valuable experience. My favourite part was listening to the talks done by the inspirational women as it showed me that you can do anything you want and can make a difference if you put yourself forward and embrace the challenges you might face along the way.” Ceileidh

Ceileidh Mercer, Karri Odie, Paige Buggy & Jenny Irvine at the Scottish Parliament

Ms Taylor accompanied Karri, Ceileidh, Jenny & Paige

Activit ies Trip to Paris - May 2015

Page 13 Issue 46

Going to Paris on a school trip was such an amazing experience for me. During the trip, we got to go to so many beautiful and interesting places, such as the Flanders’ Field Museum in Ypres, Belgium, the Eiffel Tower (right to the top!) and the Stade de France. Belgium and France were both such interesting places to visit. I would highly recommend going on a school trip as you will be able to see so many new things and learn a lot more about the place itself and it’s many attractions. Eden Wadley, S3

One of our targets on this year’s School Improvement Plan is to promote the importance of Health and Wellbeing in and out of school. The following wheel displays the key areas of focus at AHS. The Health and Wellbeing group will be working with staff and pupils this session to launch our approach to Health and Wellbeing. Watch this space for more details.

Having a whole-school focus on HWB enables our students to: make informed decisions in order to improve their mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing.

· experience challenge and enjoyment

· experience positive aspects of healthy living and activity for themselves

· apply their mental, emotional, social and physical skills to pursue a healthy lifestyle

· make a successful move to the next stage of education or work

· establish a pattern of health and wellbeing which will be sustained into adult life, and which will help to promote the health and wellbeing of the next generation.

Health and Wellbeing across Learning at AHS


AHS will focus on particular key messages across a year:

Pupils will be asked to reflect on these and will record these to show how they progress. Conversations with teachers on these key messages or target areas will occur throughout the session but pupils will be asked to reflect particularly at the time of formal monitoring. We will be meeting with pupils over the coming months to seek their views on this approach before launching this at an assembly in early 2016.

If you have any comments on this please contact Mr B Redman, Depute Head Teacher.

Page 15 Issue 46

A group of 35 pupils travelled to London in May to spend a few days seeing the sights of the City. After a relatively calm overnight journey on the Hjaltland South, the group were tasked with keeping themselves occupied on the train down to London. The range of activities were impressive – from reading to sleeping, knitting to drawing, and trying to work the trains patchy wifi signal to searching for 3G (and in the end resorting to good old fashioned texting). Everyone seemed to be enjoying the journey, particularly as the train had a socket at each table to charge phones. Luckily for Jack Innes’ table, he had his 4-way adaptor with him, and so everyone could charge phones at once. At one point it was mentioned he could charge per the minute for a shot of his adaptor. At the rate the phones were being used, there could have been a lot of money involved!

The first realisation for many that we were fast approaching our destination was the sight of the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club. We soon reached London Kings Cross and made the short journey to our home for the week – London Equity Point in Paddington, followed by a well earned Pizza Hut buffet.

Day 2 started with a light-hearted trip to the London Dungeons. This tour detailed various aspects of London’s history and was both informative and spine shudderingly scary. Thankfully there were exits placed throughout the tour in the event of anyone finding the tour too much, however these were not needed - in fact, oddly enough, everyone seemed to really ‘enjoy’ the experience and last the duration – even Mr Ferrier!

Following the Dungeons, a relaxing trip on the London Eye gave a good opportunity for everyone to get their bearings of the city, with a bird’s eye view of London. From here (not the point of the bird’s eye view, but rather when our feet were back on the ground!) we made the short walk over to Westminster and were given a tour of the Parliament by Mr Carmichael and his aides. A very enjoyable tea was had at the famous Hard Rock Cafe, before making our way back to Westminster for a river cruise down the Thames, giving a different perspective of many famous London landmarks. To end the day, we spent

some time relaxing at Tower Bridge, where Starbucks staff got the fright of their lives as 40 Anderson pupils and staff made an appearance 15 minutes before closing time!

Day 3 was equally as action packed, and this started with the morning at the Warner Brothers Studios where we undertook the Harry Potter tour. This was very well received, even by the non-Harry Potter fans, and Mr Thomason commented that whilst he enjoys his time flying real planes, his life is complete now that he has flown the streets of London on Mr Potters broomstick, the Firebolt.

We then made the short journey to Wembley for the Stadium tour. Whilst there were many hugely impressive aspects of this Stadium tour, many pupils are still trying to come to terms with the fact that there are a world record 2,618 toilets in the stadium. We didn’t quite get round all of them.

Another underground journey saw us travel back into the city centre, and it was time for some shopping on Regent Street. Regent Street sports the impressive world-renowned, multi-storey toy shop, Hamley’s (as well as many, many more stores!) This store is quite impressive to say the least, with the

AHS London Trip - May 2015 - Mr K Gif ford, Trip Leader


Sonny Thomason at Harry Potter

Studios

Calvin Hunter, Harry Naulls, Carys Nield,

Kelsey Tulloch & Saul Fraser at Harry Potter

Studios

Calvin Hunter and Harry Naulls at Wembly

magician still chuckling at Mrs Robertson and Harry’s mesmerised faces during many of his tricks.

Day 2 ended with an evening meal at Planet Hollywood followed by a saunter around Piccadilly Circus to enjoy some of the street entertainment, and to sample some of the delights in the M&M store – we were there anyway, it would have been rude not to!

Day 4, our final day in London, began with a short walk to Madam Tussauds, where we spent the morning looking for all our famous idols. Mrs Spence didn’t expect to get her photo taken with the Queen on this trip to London, but her dream was realised on this tour. The Queen seemed equally delighted, although did not comment on the matter. It was ‘selfies’ galore for the pupils who were fast running out of space on their phones with all the celebrity photos.

Despite our many journeys using the London Underground, the action packed itinerary over the last few days meant for a

lot of miles covered by foot also. The group were therefore happy to wind down the day at the Science Museum followed by some free time in Covent Garden where a variety of performers and shops were on hand to cater everyone’s varied tastes.

We used this opportunity in Covent Garden to make a small presentation to Mrs Thelma Robertson, who was helping to lead her last school trip before retirement. A great staff member on trips, with never a dull moment to be had. Thanks for the memories Thelma!

Day 5 saw an early wake-up call in order to make the journey north again. The train journey was a great opportunity for many a pupil (and staff!) to rest some very weary legs after a busy, but most enjoyable trip. The final leg of the journey was completed aboard the Hjaltland. A special thanks must go to Northlink for their sponsorship of our pupils on this part of the trip. London - watch out, the Anderson is coming again in 2016!

Page 17 Issue 46

Harry Naulls, Einstein, Carys Nield, Kelsey Tulloch in Madame Tussauds

Mr Thomason, Mr Gifford, Mr Ferrier, Mrs Robertson & Mrs Spence at Wembly

On the London Eye

ASN News - Ms M Grant, PT ASN


Friday Afternoons

We have recently introduced two new activities for a number of the pupils in the department; these are our Horticulture group and Practical Craft Skills group.

ASN Teacher, Ms Laura Mathewson leads the Horticulture group. So far they have been tidying up the garden; planting tatties and carrots, and also a variety of bulbs and flowers which we will hopefully see in the spring. The group have also recently started to compost and are taking responsibility for the composting of any appropriate waste we have in the department. Here are two of our S1 pupils, James Sim and Dean Hughson working on a comical project involving old tights and some seeds!

The Practical Craft Skills group is led by Mrs Hilary Conabeer. This group have been practising a variety of craft skills from weaving to card making. Mrs Conabeer has been in touch with a number of local crafters who are going to visit and share their crafts with the group – look forward to the Christmas Coffee Morning where some of our crafts will be on sale!

Developing Rural Skills at the Burra Croft and Shetland Pony Riding School

Pupils continue to participate in learning experiences on Barbara’s croft and the Riding School in Burra. This year we have a number of new pupils accessing the croft and Riding School. Everyone who goes always comments on how peaceful it is there – but pupils (and staff) are always working hard! Here are some photos to show what we get up to.

Page 19 Issue 46

Fundraising for Nepal

Pupils Ellie Lynch, S4 and Jennifer Moss, S6 have been raising money for Nepal following the recent earthquakes in the region as part of their SQA Personal Achievement Award. The girls have been baking fancies and selling them in the ASN department on a Friday morning. So far the girls have raised a massive £88.74.

The John Muir Award is now well embedded into our S2 curriculum. Back in May, last year’s S2 pupils completed their Awards. From a year group of 128 pupils, an amazing 113 pupils gained their John Muir Award! Our Voar Redd Up activities have greatly helped by the funding from the Wrigley’s Litter Free Campaign which allowed us to buy litter-pickers and bag holders.

Our current S2 pupils completed their first adventure back in June by making it to the top of Ronas Hill. Social Subjects also sat the pupils a summer adventure challenge.

At time of writing, the S2 classes are enjoying their coastal adventure days. We have 6 groups heading out for some coasteering and 2 groups opting to stay dry with a coastal walk. As well as working towards their Awards, these adventures also link to our coastal landscapes unit we are currently teaching in Social Subjects.

Since our last newsletter we have also established an S3/4 Conserver Award group. This is a major undertaking for the team of 9 pupils who have chosen to continue their adventures in some of the wildest parts of Shetland! You will be able to read some of the pupils’ experiences in the next newsletter.

Thanks to Pete Richardson and his team for organising our outdoor days and to all the AHS staff who continue to volunteer to accompany groups. A huge well done to all the pupils who are genuinely engaging with the world around them!

You can follow the progress of all our John Muir Award activities through our glow blog at:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/sh/johnmuiraward/

John Muir Award Update - Mr K Turner, Teacher of Geography


Page 21 Issue 46

John Muir Award

Mrs Leslie is now the Head of Art & Design and Music following Mr Hogg’s retirement from this post. We also have two new members of staff, Miss Alexander who is a probationer from Stranraer, and Miss Jamieson a former Anderson High pupil who has moved home to Shetland from Aberdeen .

Q1. What were your feelings about moving to the AHS?

Excited about the challenge of starting a new position and of course coming back to my roots. I am also delighted to be back home working with the pupils and staff in Shetland.

Q2. What do you miss about your last school?

I really miss the pupils and the staff from my last post in Aberdeen. I have some very good memories which I have taken with me of my time at Oldmachar Academy.

Q3. Who are your favourite artists and designers?

I have loads of favourite ones which I could pick. Currently I really like the work of artist Ruth Brownlee and the paintings of her dramatic landscapes of Shetland coastline, Christopher Thompson’s figurative paintings and jewellery designer Sarah Keay who I have worked with as an artist in residence in my previous position.

Q4. What inspires you?

Pretty much everything and anything which captures my imagination. It could be something I see on a walk or in everyday life.

Q6. How are you settling into Island life?

Great, after working in the city for many years it’s really nice to have a change of lifestyle. I am enjoying the different pace of life and the landscapes and dramatic scenery of Shetland and of course being closer to my family and friends on the island.

Q7. What is your specialised area in art and design?

I focused on printed textiles as my specialism for my degree and I combined this with photography. Nowadays I really enjoy working in glass making jewellery and objects such as glass bowls and panels as designs.

News from Ar t & Design Depar tment - Mrs J Kelly, Teacher of Ar t & Design


Interview with Miss Jamieson

By Sophie Williamson

Advanced Higher Art & Design pupil

Page 23 Issue 46

Q1. What were your feelings about moving to Shetland and Anderson High ?

It was quite a shock finding out that I was coming to Shetland but very exciting too. I was glad to have the opportunity to come here to work in a brilliant school. I had heard of Shetland and knew a few bits and pieces about it but had never been here before. I wanted to get away from home and try something new, so my overall feelings were that I was more excited than scared about my move here.

Q2. What is the best part about working here?

The pupils are so nice, the staff are brilliant, everyone is so friendly. There is a great vibe and buzz about the school which creates a very positive working atmosphere.

Q3. What is your favourite style of Art/Design?

I love Art and Design in general and the many different styles because each one has unique and interesting elements. In particular I like expressive work, Minimalistic and Pop Art but I would say that I’m most fond of modern up to date Contemporary Art.

Q4. What kind of artist are you?

A painter, I studied at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen. I’m a very expressive messy painter and use any and everything as a palette literally mixing paint on the floor when I was at Art School!

Q5.What inspires you?

Everything from people to objects, places, stories and languages can be inspiring. Being in a creative job or industry means that you have to be able to be imaginative and try out different approaches, ideas and ways of thinking. I once did a project on “painting an accent” it was difficult but fun.

Q6. How does Anderson compare to other schools you’ve worked in?

Anderson High is the biggest school I’ve worked in so far. I‘m used to working in similar but smaller schools around the area that I come from Stranraer. Anderson’s Art and Design Department is lucky because it has lots of good resources and materials to use with pupils.

Q7. How are you finding Shetland life?

It’s like home from home! Lerwick and Shetland are similar but different to my home town Stranraer. So I’m settling in quickly and well. But I have still got lots of things that I want to see and do which is good.

Q8.What made you want to become a teacher?

At school I was lucky to have inspiring and enthusiastic teachers. I have always loved Art and Design, it was my favourite subject throughout school and I wanted to become a teacher to share my passion for the subject with others.

Interview with Miss Alexander

By Sophie Williamson

Advanced Higher Art & Design pupil

We live in a fast paced rapidly changing world with high speed communication technologies that can connect people at opposite sides of the globe almost instantly. Art and Design is an integral part of this and everyone's everyday life. From the clothes we wear, to the buildings we live and work in, to the products we own and use. All of these items and products are the result of a creative concept or design process.

National 5 - Chloe Keppie National 5 - Melody Duncan

Art and Design in school is not just about drawing, painting or model making, it has always been much more than this. The National, Higher and Advanced Higher courses provide pupils with board learning experiences. These courses include practical work using a variety of materials techniques and processes but also involve critical activities too. That enable pupils to put the work of Artists and Designers they study into social and cultural context. Both of these elements inform pupils work so they can explore, represent and communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings through their own expressive and design work.

Why is Ar t & Design impor tant in the 21st Century - Ms J Kelly, Teacher of Ar t & Design


"Art and Design is a visual language that the whole world can speak!"

National 5 - Amy Laurenson Higher - Elisa Perdu

A report released by the Government in January states that "The UK is a world leader when it comes to the creative industries, which include TV, film, music, fashion, design, crafts, games, tech and advertising which is generating £71.4 billion per year for the U.K. economy."

(www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk January 2015)

Therefore Art and Design is important because it .......

· Nurtures creativity and imagination

· Provides communication, presentation and collaborations skills

· Uses problem solving skills and creates opportunities to take risks and learn resilience

· Promotes focus, self-motivation and perseverance in order to achieve goals

· Creates opportunities for reflection and evaluation

This wide range of transferable skills will equip pupils for the 21st Century world and workplace.

"An estimated 2.55 million people in the UK work in either a creative industry or in a creative role in another industry - that equates to one in every twelve jobs - a larger number than either UK financial services or the National Health Service. (www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk Jan.2015)

Page 25 Issue 46

A selection of examples of this years National 5 and Higher Design work


Higher - Nathan Rosie National 5- Johannes Kerr

National 5 – Abby Wang Higher – Rachel Juel-Beer

National 5- Debbie Henry Higher – Hannah Bloomer

Page 27 Issue 46

Advanced Higher Biology Class at Tingwall

Advanced Higher Biology Field Trip - Teacher of Biology

Tingwall Snails

As part of the new CfE Advanced Higher Biology, pupils must complete a unit on environmental sampling. To help consolidate their learning and discover more about their local environment, pupils headed out with Mrs Simpson and Mrs Regan to Tingwall in June. Quadrats were thrown and transects were set. There was a wide variety of species of flowers, grasses and sedges to identify. Pupils also tried their best to identify all the birds in the area and there was even some snails which were a massive hit with everybody. Pupils really enjoyed the experience with one commenting:

Another pupil commented:

It is hoped this outing has inspired pupils to consider an environmental study for their Advanced Higher project and that more fieldwork will be done in the future with this class.

“I normally would never notice all these different types of flowers and plants but I will be looking out for them in the future.”

“I never knew there were so many species here – I always walk right past them”.

Kool Katz Disco - Mrs L Moss, PT of Pupil Suppor t

S1 and S2 enjoyed the annual Kool Katz disco on Wednesday 16th September. The disco is an Anti-bullying initiative organised by Pupil Support teacher Mrs Moss. DJ Ferrier kept the atmosphere electric with his tunes, ably helped by his wingmen Mr Gifford and Mr Walls.

Volunteer Brodie Lawson gets the party started!

The evening was a great success with over 120 tickets sold. Everyone was grateful for the refreshments (including a popcorn machine) which kept everyone full of energy for the dancing. The tuckshop team volunteers included Mrs Galbraith, Mrs Cran, Hedda Shannon, Bronwyn Miller, Miranda Moss and Leisha Jarrett.

Thank you to volunteers Bethany McCarthy, Irelanne Laurenson, Aiden Nisbet and Owen Anderson who stepped in at the last minute to man the door and help throughout the night.


We are very grateful to Graham Nicolson and Per-Kåre Nybakk from the Shetland-Vågsøy twinning associations for their vision and hard work. Statsraad Lehmkuhl Members of the S3 Norwegian class continue to enjoy the regular visits to Lerwick by the tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl. On 11th September 25 young people, who had travelled on the ship from Bergen for just one day, spent part of the morning at our school with the S3 Norwegian classes.

In just a short time together, they got on really well. Our beginners were able to conduct real conversations in Norwegian to find out about them. They then gave the visitors a tour of the school, before playing the old Scandinavian game of Kubb. This involves throwing sticks to try and knock down the opposing team’s wooden knights and a king. It is not clear whether anyone really understood the rules! Finally, in the evening, the visitors gave everyone a tour of their beautiful ship just before they set sail for Bergen.

Links with Norway - Norwegian Exchange - Mr P Haviland, PT Modern Languages Shetland Islands Council has been officially twinned with Vågsøy in Western Norway for many years. Moves are afoot to revive a pupil exchange between schools in the two communities. A trailblazing visit was made to the Anderson High School in March. The impetus came from the Shetland-Vågsøy Twinning Association. In partnership with teachers, they arranged for six pupils from several small schools in the Vågsøy area to stay for a week with Anderson High School pupils who learn Norwegian. In that week, the young people got to know each other well and discovered a lot about each other’s homes. They experienced school and family life, discovered Scalloway’s links with Norway, visited the NAFC Marine Centre, and much more. They also met Convenor Malcolm Bell at a reception in Lerwick Town Hall. The one thing everyone agreed about was that the week was too short, and all the young people were keen to meet again if it could be arranged. The plan is to make a return visit to Norway in 2016, and to involve all Shetland schools in the longer term.

A mixed-nationality team for Kubb - photo by Craig Meheut

Tea at Frankie’s for friends from Shetland and Vågsøy

“I chose to get involved with Norwegian as I thought it would be a good experience. I got on with my guest very well and we became friends. We have stayed in lots of contact and they might even be coming for Up Helly Aa! I got a new friend and lots of fun experiences out of this exchange.”

Getting to know each other in Norwegian - photo by Craig Meheut

Page 29 Issue 46

Youth Work in the School Update - Mr C Grant

INTRODUCTION

Hello! For those of you haven’t seen me floating around the school clutching a coffee, I’m Chris Grant, the school’s Youth Worker. I’d like to start off with a thanks - I took up this new position in the school back in March and I’ve been made to feel really welcome by staff, pupils and parents.

Secondly, I thought it might be good to explain how I’ve ended up here in Shetland – everyone who moves here has their story, right?! I was brought up in Ardrossan, I came out of school obsessed with skating, playing music and exploring, I studied Music and Computing at Glasgow University, I worked as a cocktail bartender in Glasgow and I discovered Parkour/Freerunning in 2005.

When I left University I found myself using my computing, web design and research skills to launch Scotland’s first ever Parkour and Freerunning Website and company – www.GlasgowParkourCoaching.com

Fast forward around 8 years and I’d made a career of teaching Parkour running Scotland’s largest organisation as well as founding the country’s national body for Parkour which has successfully grown the sport all over the country – including in Shetland. I’ve worked with Schools, National Ballets, Theatres, Architects, Youth Circuses, Media Companies, TV Channels and taught in the US, Europe, the Caribbean, in forests, prisons, army camps and the Clickimin helipad. Along the way, I’ve picked up a lot of ‘best practice’ in working with young people over countless environments and on a

huge variety of educational and artistic work. I’ve had the pleasure of working on national and international projects and been supported by institutions like the British Council, the Commonwealth Cultural Fund and Awards for All. One of the projects I worked on was also recognised as an example of best practice during the development of the Curriculum for Excellence.

After a number of trips to Shetland to support the local Parkour community I was stationed here in Lerwick for 6 months with National Theatre of Scotland to work on the IGNITION Project in 2012/13. That’s when like so many others I was completely sucked in by Shetland. I loved the community, the music, the landscape, the space and most importantly I worked with a lot of the young people. I returned to Glasgow for around a year to hand the majority of my work there to colleagues and moved to Shetland full time last year with my fiancé. I spent some time working in Mareel and I was employed by SIC Youth Services in March. And that’s how I got here.


For me the principles of Parkour and the community projects I have worked on have a real crossover. The work takes place where the young people are and tells their stories in their words; the training tests the character and discipline of all involved; the work allows the young people to take measured risks and step well outside their comfort zone; the work requires each young person to be an active partner in designing their training and makes each individual set their own goals, based on their own aspirations. I’ve come to discover these are also the principles of good Youth Work and the principles that I try to work from. I guess I’m a bit of an ‘ideas’ guy and I enjoy collaborating, making ‘something from nothing’ and constantly being thrown in at the deep end. Now I’m keen to bring all this into my work with the Anderson High School community. I want young people to be able to look towards any future they can imagine and gain the skills to face the challenges along the way. I don’t want them to be afraid of trying things, finding their passions or taking risks. It’s great to be at the centre of their world – in the school.

CLUB XL TRIP TO GLASGOW In May I took the 4th year Club XL group on a visit to Glasgow, which they had spent the previous year raising money for. We explored the cultural history of the City visiting the People’s Palace, The Riverside Museum, Glasgow University and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome where the young people had a personal tour of the venue and heard about Glasgow’s recent Commonwealth Games. The young people learned a lot about the realities of living in the city compared to Shetland and did a lot of walking and exploring to get a sense of what it’s like to live, work and study in Glasgow. The highlight of the trip was a visit to another Club XL group in Hillhead High School in Glasgow’s West End. The groups shared their experiences of rural and urban living and spent the afternoon sharing what they had worked on in XL. Their biggest shock was that most schools other than the Anderson don’t have WiFi! It was a great learning experience for the group to find common ground with other pupils who they may have seen as very different and also put their own lifestyle and rural experience into perspective. I have to thank the ClubXL tutors and supporters – Grace Cran, Vicky Anderson and Brian Spence for doing all the work leading up to the trip – by the time I arrived in March most of the work was done! BUTE VISIT

In May I also took a professional development trip to Rothesay Academy on the Isle of Bute. I had taught Parkour there in the past, the school has had a Youth Worker for over 8 years and has a similar size and demographic to the Anderson. I spent time in the school learning about the Youth Worker’s role and how they have developed over the last 8 years, as well as meeting with the school’s XL group. This has created a potential future link for exchanges and work between the Rothesay group and our XL groups here in the school. During this trip I also spent time in training at the Princes Trust HQ in Glasgow. The Anderson is now part of the pilot scheme of the latest version of the XL model and I’m looking forward to exploring how it all works.

Page 31 Issue 46

JOHN MUIR DAYS I assisted on the 2nd year’s final outdoor day to Eshaness before summer. This was a perfect opportunity for me to meet this year group just before they moved up into 3rd year. It was great to see the confidence and willingness of the groups, even when hanging off of a cliff, and I got to know a few of the students which is very valuable for me in being able to support them moving forward into their crucial school years.

CLUB XL ROOM Working with both the S4 XL group and the new S3s we spent time before summer clearing the XL Room and creating a fresh set up which would promote more active, visual learning styles and give the pupils a good sense of ownership over the room. The pupils helped clear the furniture and old materials before painting two of the walls with blackboard paint. Each year group now has their own workspace that they can using for brainstorming ideas, recording work and visualising their journey through the Club XL Modules. This will work towards their National 4 ‘Personal Development and Employability’ Certificate which they will gain at the end of Club XL.

THIS YEAR In terms of what I’m now doing within the school – I’m supporting the growth of the Princes Trust XL Clubs, I have a group upcycling antique furniture, a group working on the Stewardship Scheme for the Clickimin Broch, I’m advising the new Young Enterprise groups and I’m developing a number of other projects – all of which will develop participant’s skills and confidence and really allow them to explore their potential as young people becoming young adults. The majority will also be accredited in some way, through schemes such as Youth Achievement Awards. In the next newsletter I’ll have a lot more about these projects, and a lot less about me! If anyone would like to come in for a chat I’m based in PS3 in school, or you can email me on [email protected]


Outdoor Learning in Geography - Mr K Turner, Teacher of Geography The new certificate courses in Geography now all include an assignment element. As a result, we are continuing to develop our outdoor learning and field work elements in the department.

National Geography Back in June, the S4 National 4/5 class undertook a day of urban field work around central Lerwick. Pupils gathered data on land use, environmental quality and pedestrian and traffic flow. We were quite surprised at how many vehicles continued to use Commercial Street through the day! In August the pupils then undertook some physical field work at the Dale burn. Although not the best river in Shetland, the burn is accessible and an ideal location for demonstrating techniques of river monitoring. Pupils also tried their hand at traditional field sketching; a skill rarely seen since digital cameras became popular, but a great opportunity to observe and analyse our landscape. Pupils will use these two experiences to complete their N4 assessments and can choose to use the data as the basis for their N5 assignments.

Higher Geography We are trying a new approach with Higher students this year; undertaking weekly field techniques lessons area the school area. We have practiced everything from vegetation surveys and beach analyses to urban studies. Students will be putting these skills to use over the coming weeks as they gather the data that will support their assignments.

Advanced Higher Geography - Kindrogan Weekend AH Geography continues to have the largest field work element; contributing to 50% of their final grade. To help train our students, we undertook a field work techniques weekend at the Field Studies Council centre at Kindrogan, Perthshire. On arriving in Perthshire, our four students teamed up with another four students from Kilgraston School. The Friday afternoon was spent taking soil samples and conducting a vegetation survey along a woodland transect. Returning to the Centre the students prepped their samples for the lab and presented their data graphically, working until 8pm! After a decent breakfast on Saturday we spent the day in the hills south of Glenshee, conducting a river study and practicing our field sketching. A long and enjoyable day outside was rounded off with an evening session of scale-drawings and statistical analysis! Sunday was our final day, with a morning of glacial landscape. Before leaving, our excellent tutor Ben, showed the students some great data presentation tricks using Google Earth and GEgraph software. The AH group would like to thank everyone who has supported their fund raising and also Northlink Ferries for their sponsorship of the trip. Shetland has some amazing geography, but it is so important that our students also get the opportunity to experience different environments too. As we go to press our S3 and S4 Geographers are getting an additional trip away from the classroom to view the climate change exhibition at St Columba's Church. The exhibition has been developed by Mr David Grieve (our very own retired PT of Geography) to raise awareness of this crucial issue in the run-up to the Paris Climate Conference in December. Our thanks to David for organising this event for the Shetland community and for welcoming our pupils.

Page 33 Issue 46


Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Mr G Dorrat, Award Leader

Last Session May through to September is the time when the school’s Duke of Edinburgh Group do expeditions. We have had three expedition groups this season who have chosen to investigate and visit the sites of Second World War plane crashes in Shetland. The practice expeditions involved a circular route in South Yell from the Old Haa Museum which has a lot of information on the Catalina flying boat which crashed in the early morning of 19th January 1942 in Arisdale. The groups planned a route to the crash site and memorial at Willa Mina Hoga, camped nearby, then the following morning retraced the route taken by one of the three survivors down the valley to the safety of the Arisdale croft house. They then visited the Hamnavoe Church where the seven men who died are buried and in which there is more information on the story of the crash, before returning to the Old Haa. For their assessed expeditions the groups will visit the site of the Mosquito aircraft which crashed down over the western slopes of Royl Field, west of Cunningsburgh. Their route will take them from Maywick north up the South Mainland Ridge to the crash site. They will camp up the Blett valley, then visit the Cunningsburgh History Group’s hut to find out more information on the aircraft and its final flight before heading inland again to finish in Wester Quarff.

Outside the now empty house at Arisdale where the first survivor arrived through snow about dawn on a January

morning, 4 hours after the crash, without boots, soaked to the skin and covered in mud.

The grave of the seven casualties in the kirk yard at Hamnavoe,

South Yell.

Two expedition groups at the Catalina

propeller blade outside the Old Haa

Museum in Burravoe

Page 35 Issue 46

This Session Are you in S3 to S6? If so, start thinking of the sports, hobbies and pastimes you do as most could count towards gaining a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award! There are over four hundred activities which can fulfil the requirements of sticking at the task and showing some improvement. For example, pupils who play a musical instrument can count this for their Skills section, and those who take part in a sport or dance or exercise can count this for the Physical Recreation Section. Many pupils are already volunteers in clubs or organisations and this time can count towards a Saltire Award as well as the Volunteering section of D. of E. Indeed many of the challenges done through other youth organisations could also fulfil Duke of Edinburgh Award requirements. The Anderson High School Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Group meet on Thursday lunchtimes at 1.25pm in A2.3 of the school. There will be an open session on Thursday 1st October for anyone in S3‐S6 to come along and find out if the Award could be for them! Also log on to the D of E website at www.dofe.org to find out lots of details.

Extract from a powerpoint presentation on the expedition

http://www.dofe.org

Maakin and Yakkin continues to be very popular at Anderson High School. Up until June the group met every Thursday lunchtime and after school until 4.30pm on Mondays. They took a break for the summer months but will be starting up again on Thursday 17th September at lunchtime. The after school club will start up again after the October holidays. This year for the first time there was also a Maakin and Yakkin trip during activities week. Mrs Yeaman, Mrs Simpson and 12 girls spent a busy two days knitting and visiting various local businesses involved with knitting. The trip started with everybody knitting or starting up new knitting projects. At 11 am they headed out to the Shetland College where they had a very interesting tour of the Textile Department. This showed some really hi-tech computers and knitting machines involved in producing garments for many local companies including Joanna Hunter Knitwear and Neila Nell. The next stop was Shetland Wool Brokers for a talk on Shetland fleeces and how they are processed, before heading out to the Bridge End Outdoor Centre to have lunch and settle in.

Maakin & Yakkin a t AHS - Mrs C Simpson, Teacher of Biology


Thursday morning the group headed to Wilma Malcolmson’s workshop (Shetland Designer) where the pupils were totally inspired by some of her products and swatches. All agreed that her use of colour is truly amazing. Wilma gave some interesting insights into how she puts colour together and left everyone feeling inspired.

After some more knitting the group were off again. This time to Uradale Farm where they saw a Shetland ewe being sheared before heading back to the farm house to see the finished product of organic wool. It was back to Burra for tea before heading to the Pink Hall at Hamnavoe for a “maakin night”. Here the AHS maakers were joined by some of the “peerie makers” from Whalsay along with some of their mums, grannies and friends. There were also a few local Burra ladies who came along. This was a brilliant night with one of the highlights being tea and homebakes. The Anderson High School pupils were very inspired by some of the beautiful knitting being produced by the young Whalsay lasses. Then it was back to the Bridge End Outdoor Centre for hot chocolate and some supper and more maakin before bedtime.

Page 37 Issue 46

Next they were off to Laurence Odie’s factory in Hoswick. Sarah Riley showed us how she designed a garment on the computer. Then down on the ground floor the garment was produced on impressive high-tech knitting machines. The group followed the process through including the washing, drying, brushing, and finishing of the garment before it was put in a bag ready for the buyer. Nobody had realised that a knitwear factory of this scale existed in Shetland and were really impressed to see that Laurence Odie was supplying well known companies such as Jigsaw, Liberty and Ralph Lauren. However most impressive was the fact that Mrs Doubtfire wore two yolked cardigans produced in Sandwick! After a visit to Neilanell’s shop the trip finished off with lunch at the Hoswick visitors centre. After lunch the group stayed at the visitor’s centre and got out their maakin over a cup of tea and some more cake before heading back to the school to catch their buses home.

All agreed that they had had a great time and had learned a lot about knitting in Shetland. One or two of the pupils are now considering doing the textile course at the Shetland College in light of what they learned on their visit. Mrs Yeaman and Mrs Simpson both agreed they had had a super time with an excellent bunch of girls. They were both delighted to receive a gift of a knitted sheep keyring (made by Niamh Hall) as a thank you present. In May all Maakers and Yakkers were very sad to bid farewell and good luck to Sophie Wishart, Hannah Adamson, Freya Abbott and Bronwyn Goodlad who were leaving school, heading for University.

These 6th year lasses have been a real inspiration to the younger lasses at the Maakin and Yakkin. Freya made a lovely pair of pink fair isle gloves and Sophie’s sheep was looking great although she hadn’t got it quite finished when she left. Hannah Adamson’s fair isle garments were absolutely beautiful and showed she had a real flair for colour. Hannah also crocheted a beautiful scarf for both Mrs Yeaman and Mrs Simpson before she left. It is hoped that these girls will keep up their new skill to help them relax during their studies and keep in touch with the group. With the nights now drawing in thoughts are turning back to maakin. The group therefore plan to start meeting up again on Thursday lunchtimes from 17th September. It is hoped that some members may be involved with Wool Week which is in October. There is also another Tak Your Sock night planned in the School Library on Wednesday 25th November and again sometime in February. It is hoped that with some new S1 and S5 pupils in Anderson High School that there may get some new recruits at the Maakin and Yakkin. All staff and pupils are welcome to come along. You can either take your own knitting project or materials will be provided for you. There is also a range of abilities from complete beginners to experts in Fair Isle, Lace and Crocheting. It is a really relaxing way to spend a lunchtime and offers a great chance to learn from others and share ideas. If anybody needs any more info on the group and have a chat with Mrs Simpson or Mrs Yeaman.

Competitions

Team Maths Challenge

If you enjoy solving puzzles and would like to do so in a team there are opportunities for junior (S1 & S2) and senior (S5 & S6) pupils to take part at lunchtimes. There will be competitions later in the session at each of these levels when we will be looking for good teams to represent the school. See your maths teacher for details.

News from Maths Depar tment - Mr G Dorra t, PT of Mathematics

Other Competitions

The Intermediate Maths Challenge is a UK wide problem solving competition in which S3 and S4 pupils

can take part individually. This is in the form of a multiple choice paper. Pictured below are those

members of last session’s S3 and S4 who did well enough to achieve a certificate.

In particular, three of our S4 pupils Bo Anderson, Jack Tait and Fyntan Shaw achieved a gold certificate and entrance to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad. Fyntan received a Merit certificate for his entry and Bo an invitation to a summer school. Well done to these boys who have progressed further through the challenges than anyone in previous years.

Last year’s S3 pupils

Last year’s S4 pupils


Page 39 Issue 46

Assisted Study Sessions These are sessions run after school hours for the benefit of any pupil who wishes to come along. Senior pupils use these to complete their homework, or to work on topics they are unsure of or to catch up after an absence or for help with revision for unit assessments, prelims or SQA exams. Pupils like the security of working on what they most want to work at knowing that they can ask for help at any time during the session. Assisted Study Sessions are run at the following times: Mondays 3.30pm ‐ 5.00pm for Higher with Mr Ferrier in A2.5 Tuesdays 3.30pm ‐ 5.00pm for Higher with Mrs Risk in A2.7 and also for National 5 Maths or National 5 Lifeskills with Miss Hammerton in A2.2b Thursdays 3.30pm ‐ 5.00 pm for Higher with Mr Irvine in A2.7 Night Class on Thursday

The Junior Maths Challenge is a similar competition with problem solving questions suitable for S1 and S2 pupils. Certificate holders at this level are pictured below.

Last year’s S2 pupils Last year’s S1 pupils

How would you get on with these questions? Log on to www.ukmt.org.uk and follow the options to either Team Competitions or Individual Competitions and then choose either Junior, Intermediate or Senior.

http://www.ukmt.org.uk


Twelve (of the many!) Benefits of Music Education - Mrs A Leslie, PT of Music and Ar t & Design

Recently S2 pupils have been considering why Music is included in the Secondary School Curriculum. Below is a summary of our findings:

1. Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. (Findings of statistical research)

2. Development of spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things), a skill critical to solving advanced mathematical problems.

3. Enhances the ability to think creatively.

4. Pupils who study the arts (including Music) are more successful on standardised tests and achieve higher grades.

5. Affords the opportunity to gain a glimpse of other cultures and develops empathy towards the people of these cultures.

6. Establishes an ethos of self-evaluation allowing pupils to judge what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work.

7. Allows students to learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible.

8. Develops teamwork skills, commitment and discipline.

9. Provides a means of self-expression, a by-product of which is self-esteem.

10. Develops workplace skills of flexibility, communication and co-operation. It focuses on “doing,” as opposed to observing, and teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world.

11. Allows opportunities to conquer fear and to take risks, contributing towards each individual’s resilience and positive mental health.

12. An arts education exposes children to the incomparable.

As usual there are a lot of events to look forward to in the coming months in the Music Department!

2 November 2015 Workshops with Seckou Keita, Sengalese Kora player

16 – 20 November 2015 Nat 5/Higher Practical prelims

23/24/25 November 2015 Trinity College Grade Exams – Islesburgh

26/27 November 2015 Associated Board Grade Exams - Islesburgh

2 December 2015 Shetland Youth Wind Band/Anderson High School Christmas concerts

21/22/23 March 2016 Trinity College Grade exams - Islesburgh

24/25 March 2016 Associated Board Grade exams - Islesburgh

Page 41 Issue 46

During the week of the Shetland Schools Music Festival in March, Anderson High School musicians were busy participating in solo, duet and group performances onstage at Mareel. 48 Gold, 45 Silver and 15 Bronze certificates were awarded which demonstrates the high standard of their performances. 8 individual/duet and 2 group trophies were won by AHS pupils, further recognition of their talents. An awards ceremony was held in the school on Tuesday 28 April, when Ms Nicolson was kept busy handing out certificates and trophies to the well-deserving pupils who had represented both themselves and the school so well.

Everyone is welcome to come to the Music Department to see the full photographic display of the awards ceremony.


Lucy Morris, Caitlin Munro and Joanne Tait

David Varga, Connor Morrison & Peter Kay

Senior’s Summer Concert 2015

Connor Dickson getting ready to perform

David Varga performing on the drums with Murray Smith as page turner!

Our Senior’s Summer Concert took place at

St Columba’s Church on the 3rd June 2015. A

very varied, contrasting programme of an

excellent standard was performed.

Page 43 Issue 46

Murray Smith Sarah Keay

Yasmin Hitchin, Jade Cole, Karis Georgeson, Peter Kay

Hannah Adamson and Sophie Wishart

Senior’s Summer Concert 2015


Hjaltibonhoga - Mrs M Scollay, Music Instructor

Following on from the success of last year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the band Hjaltibonhoga made a return to Edinburgh Castle this August. The 68 fiddlers who represented Shetland involved many Anderson High students as well as mature fiddlers from all around the County. Adorned in new costumes designed by Neilanell and produced by Laurence Odie Knitwear, forty fiddlers performed music specially written for the show by Margaret Scollay. The music followed the Tattoo’s theme of ‘East meets West’. Looking to our east the set began with a mazurka in a Scandinavian style for fiddler Nigel Hallett. ‘Ava’s Adventures’ looked to the west with a North American feel before the set returned to Scotland with a pipe jig called ‘The Cross Jig’ and finally back to Shetland with the reel ‘Ruari Stephen Scott’. This was by no means the only music played by the group as they also performed with the Band of the Scots Regiments in ‘Toss the Feathers’ and the theme from Slumdog Millionaire ‘J’ai Ho’. This proved to be difficult to learn but ultimately became a favourite with the band. One of the most moving parts of the show was the slow air ‘Hector the Hero’ written by James Scott Skinner. This featured the fiddlers with soloists as well as the pipes and choir. In addition the fiddlers began the finale,

played for the cast party, the fireworks and the closing tunes including ‘Scotland the Brave’. As the popularity of the band grows the coming months are proving to be busy ones. Hjaltibonhoga will host the Melbourne Scottish Fiddlers on their visit to the Islands over the weekend of 24th-28th September. They will play at two fund raising concerts in October and are invited as guests to the Athol Palace, Pitlochry for the Hogmanay festivities. Next February the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has an outreach event and the fiddlers have been invited. A group of twenty player will join the group of 360 UK participants to travel to Australia and New Zealand. The Etihad Stadium in Melbourne seats 37,000 and is billed for 5 shows. Already there are only 300 tickets left for these performances. The Westpac Stadium in Wellington, holds a mere 27,000 in comparison and is similarly sold out. Representing Shetland as part of Hjaltibonhoga at any of these events is truly an honour. There no doubt that Shetland fiddling is a unique style that must be cherished and preserved at all costs. There is also no doubt that now holds a special place in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Page 45 Issue 46

Calling All Musicians A new opportunity has arisen for musicians of all ages and abilities

Designed to fill the gap left by the very popular Saturday Morning Music club, the Community Training Orchestra will take place on a Saturday Morning 10 am till 12 noon

at the Anderson High School.

The orchestra is open to anyone who plays an orchestral instrument no matter what their age or ability. It will run every Saturday throughout term time, is free to join, and promises to provide a

safe, fun environment for people of all ages to come and make music together.

There will be plenty of performance opportunities throughout the year and a wide and varied selection of music.

With the emphasis on ‘Community’ the orchestra is open to adults and children alike,

no entry requirements and no auditions.

So come along with your instrument and make music together.

First rehearsal will take place on:

Saturday 26th September 2015 10 am Venue: Anderson High School

Community Training Orchestra

Our Battlefield Experience - Mr J Sandison, Teacher of History

On our school trip to Western Front we went to many amazing places all across Belgium and France. The aim of the trip was to remember the Shetlanders lost during WWI but to also put names to graves/ memorials. We were not there solely to remember Shetlanders but also to remember about all the battalions and divisions within the army and even navy. At the 51st Gordon Highlander Memorial in Newfoundland park we were the first school and the first group of Shetlanders that have laid a wreath at the memorial. We held our own ceremony with a minute silence to reflect. Overall our trip to the Battlefields of Belgium and France was a life-changing experience that none of us will forget and hopefully one day, in the future, returning to remember them again once more. Pupils and Staff would like to thank the Royal Bank of Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Rotary Club, and Northlink for their sponsorship. All of this made the trip possible.


The Battlefields Trip was an experience of a lifetime. The most emotional moment for me was at Poekapelle cemetery, there our tour guide, Robin, made us stand in front of unnamed graves. When we were standing in front of them he made us give them an identity and to think about if they were in your family what it would be like to not know where they were- hair colour, eye colour, height, age etc. To think about if they were a member of your family was extremely emotional. Vaila Morrison 4B

The most emotional moment for me was laying the wreath at the 51st Gordon Highlanders Memorial in Newfoundland Park which is in the north of France. It really made you think, how without the soldiers who fought in the Great War we wouldn’t be sitting in our comfy lives we have today when they were lucky to see the whole day through. Alec Henry 4B

CLOTHING GRANT & FREE SCHOOL MEALS/MILK APPLY NOW FOR YOUR 2015/16 AWARD

To apply online please visit our website

www.shetland.gov.uk/education/ClothingGrants.asp

For further information please contact us at

[email protected]

or phone 01595 743845

or call 01595 743845

If your child/children are attending Nursery or School, and you are in receipt of one of the following benefits, you may be entitled to a Clothing Grant and/or Free School Meals/Free School Milk:

Income Support Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance Any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance Universal Credit Help under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 Child Tax Credit and/or Working Tax Credit with an income less than £16,105

Page 47 Issue 46

All pupils in P1 to P3 are now eligible for Free School Meals, however these pupils should

still be included on your application if you wish to apply

for a Clothing Grant/Free School Milk.

SQA News - Mr B Redman, Depute Head

There is an updated leaflet available for parents available at www.sqa.org.uk/cfeforparents entitled New Qualifications - New Opportunities for your Child. The table below shows the current qualifications in operation from SQA in 2015. The leaflet includes information on:

What is different about the new qualifications? What has changed? How the new qualifications work Study, revision and preparation Information on certification Important information on the Results Services

Important information about the Post Results Service There is no longer a system for appeals after the final SQA Exams. The post results service has replaced this from August 2014. This means a school can submit a request to SQA if they have concerns about a candidate’s final result. There is an option to request a clerical check or a markers review. A clerical check will make sure that all the questions have been marked and the marks have been added up correctly. A marking review involves an SQA Senior Examiner reviewing the marks to check that the paper has been marked according to national standards. You will be contacted if your son/daughter meets the criteria for the Post Results Service and you will be asked for written permission for the request to be processed as the result can go up, remain the same or go down. We are expecting to be advised of marking review results by 30th September 2015. Pupils will be informed of the outcome by letter.


Page 49 Issue 46

1C Outdoor Activity Day - A Day Out in Bressay - Mrs V Coyne, Teacher of Languages

I had the pleasure to accompany class 1C with Mrs Spence. We really enjoyed the run across to Bressay and the activities which where organised by Pete Richardson and his team. The pupils participated well and enjoyed a dry sunny day. Climbing and walking on rocks in the afternoon was very much fun. This day out was an opportunity to know the pupils better and above all to have fun - both achieved. Well done to class 1C - the cool ones!

“We went to Bressay with the class. We loved it, we were climbing rocks on cliffs. I accidently push James into the water. Tom cut himself. Lewis walked round on a 1 meter high rope.” Ethan Percival 1C

Young Enterprise Fundraising Weekend, 4th - 6th September 2015 - Amy McAllister & Paul Sansom (S6) As some of you may know this weekend marked the beginning of Young Enterprise 2015 for us in Shetland. This fundraising weekend was the first of many obstacles that we had to overcome to create a successful business model. We are proud to say our Young Enterprise team faced this challenge head on, and all things considered, we think we did fantastic. To start off with we planned to have a fundraising gig on Friday evening, an event never before attempted, I believe, at such short notice. By some miracle we managed to secure four bands to play and find a venue with just 5 days before the gig. Sadly due to our lack of vigilance, the advertisement side of things didn’t run so smoothly. But thanks mainly to the wonders of the internet, and good ol’ fashioned word of mouth, news of our fundraising attempts spread. The music night went forward and was a great night, though numbers were certainly less than hoped. The enthusiasm of the crowd, the bands and our wonderful team never wavered!

Thanks to a generous crowd the night brought in a healthy amount of funding. Special thanks must be given to Joseph Morgan whose knowledge of live music kept us right throughout. Also to Mr Robertson who kindly provided set up and managed the music equipment all night, must be given a huge thank you. The Sunday Teas in Gulberwick and Bixter were definitely a learning experience. It proved we were successful in working as a team. With the help of two adults the Gulberwick Hall was set up and we were all assigned roles. This included making tea and coffee, greeting people and clearing up. There was a lot of support from our families who were the majority of our customers. These Sunday Teas could have been more popular if we had more advertisement opportunities. Communication was also key in having a successful weekend. Overall we all did and tried our best and we will definitely learn from our mistakes and consider what could be done better for our Young Enterprise Group.


French Exchange Trip September 2015 - Ell ie Ar thur, Leyna Johnston, Sandi Bril l (S3)

On Thursday 24th September 2015, 16 AHS pupils along with Madame Coyne and Mr Perdu are going to the south of France for an exchange. We are travelling on the boat to Aberdeen then flying from Aberdeen to Heathrow, then Heathrow to Marseille. We are going for 12 days and the first weekend we get there we will be spending with our host family! We have many exciting activities planned and we are all extremely looking forward to it.

Photo of one of the many sights we will see on our trip.

Photos from the CDT Depar tment

Page 51 Issue 46


Individual Results:

Spor ts Day Results 2015

90 metres

S2 Boys – Lewis Barclay ( 12.22secs)

S2 Girls – Loni Wiseman (13.14 secs)

S3 Boys – Theo Irvine (11.40 secs)

S3 Girls – Hannah Robertson (12.95 secs)

Tennis Ball Throw

S2 Boys – Daniel Henry (27) New Record

S2 Girls – Ava Leask (28) New Record

S3 Boys – Lewis Harkness(32) New Record

S3 Girls – Emma Sandison (31)New Record

High Jump

S2 Boys – Hal Maclennan (1.35m)

S2 Girls – Abbie Galbraith (1.12m)

S3 Boys – Josh Carroll (1.39)

S3 Girls – Hannah Robertson (1.33)

Triple Jump

S2 Boys – Joe Wadley (5.01m)

S2 Girls – Arwen Grieve, Alice Haddon (5.24m)

S3 Boys – Ellis Smith (6.53m)

S3 Girls – Hannah Robertson (6.56) New Record

Target Frisbee

S2 Boys – Harry Goddard

S2 Girls – Loni Wiseman

S3 Boys – Chris Wallace

S3 Girls – Emma Sandison

2 lap Race

S2 Boys – Lewis Barclay (1.31 secs) Equalled Record

S2 Girls – Loni Wiseman (1.52 secs)

S3 Boys – Ellis Smith (1.29 secs)

S3 Girls – Hannah Robertson (1.36 secs)

The PE department held their annual sports day on the 8th of June. Hoping for sunshine, we got it for short periods of time however the warm temperatures didn’t come with it! We did however manage to get the outside events done as planned which was great. Teams were split into register groups with the theme being islands from around Shetland. It was clear from the start that Mousa were a force to be reckoned with, due to a large number of individual winners of events making up their team. It did however take until the last relay race of the day for the winners to be decided. Congratulations to all those who took part, won an event and who managed to break a record. The real success of the day was yet again the level of participation – there were large numbers of pupils taking part in each event.

Team Points

Flugga 415

Linga 429

Mousa 608

Noss 450

Vaila 325

New AHS Netball Strips

Page 53 Issue 46

Back from Left – Caitlin Ward, Anja Kurtz, Katie Bain, Imogen Teale, Alana Smith, Hannah Robertson, Emma Sandison, Orianna Grains, Eden Wadley

Front – Paula Williamson, Cara Leask, Sandi Brill, Tahlia Farmer, Ellie Spence, Danielle Scott and Kayla Manson.

The AHS Scottish Schools Cup team have also acquired lovely new ‘Viper10’ strips. They have entered the draw again this year (2015-2016) and will find out after the October holidays who they will face in the first round of the Netball Scotland competition. Trials will be happening near to the end of the first term so keep your eyes peeled for details.

Here are some players from last year’s team sporting the new strip. From back left: Curstaidh MacKay, Claire Johnston, Sally Sandison, Bethany Anderson

Front from left: Libby Fox, Tahnae MacLennan and Leanne Fullerton


Inter -Schools Netball and Football 2015

The Shetland Schools Secondary Netball tournament took place at Clickimin Leisure Complex, on Thursday 10th September 2015. The competition was very well attended, with 9 Teams from around the Isles taking part. Anderson High School entered two teams into the competition with hopes of retaining the title from the previous competition. The competition was a round-robin format meaning everyone would play each team once. It was also the perfect opportunity for the two AHS teams to wear their brand new ‘Gilbert’ strips which had been bought before summer for the S2-4 AHS netball teams. Both AHS teams, where raring to go on the day both starting strong and winning their first 2 games. They then had to meet each other in the third game. After only playing each other in training it was a test of nerves playing each other in a competitive setting. The game was fast paced, with end to end play. AHS 2 sneaked ahead finishing the game 7-4. For the remainder of the day both teams worked tirelessly against the other opposition. AHS 1 unfortunately lost out to Sandwick team 6-5. With AHS 2 battling hard against a strong Brae 1 side. Brae pulled ahead by 2 points, but AHS 2 dug deep in the closing seconds and managed to secure a 3-3 draw on the final whistle. AHS 1 finished in 3rd place while AHS 2 were victorious picking up the Jean Tait Memorial Trophy, which has been played for by the Shetland School Netball Teams since 1991. Well done to both AHS sides on a great display of Netball Talent!

Winning Netball Team:

L-R Sally Sandison (Coach), Cara Leask, Ellie Spence, Hannah Robertson, Anja Kurtz (Captain), Orianna Grains, Kayla Manson, Alana Smith, Tahlia Farmer, Ava Williams (Coach) and Lori Smith (Coach)

Page 55 Issue 46

Winning Netball and Football Teams

3rd Place Team - AHS1

The annual Shetland School football tournament returned to its September date. In May the AHS had finished 5th after a penalty shoot out win over the Northern Isles. Blessed with dry weather and determined to improve on the performance in May the team of S3 boys began their campaign with a win over Aith. They followed this up with a draw with Sandwick.

They won the next three round robin games to see themselves through to the first place play off against last years runners up Whalsay. Unfortunately midfield enforcer Luca Russell was injured in the round robin phase and the AHS were left with 11 men. Captain Theo Irvine then collected the cup following a 3 -1 win in the final.

New Anderson High School begins…..

New roundabout

Documents

AHS Newsletter 46