A group of pupils from Braidhurst High School, accompanied by French and German teacher, Miss Lennox, recently attended the 1+2 Modern Languages award ceremony. The pupils were recipients of certificates for showing exceptional talent in their study of Modern Languages along-side other pupils from various schools in Lanarkshire who were receiving similar awards. The ceremony was presided over by Mr Robert Dalzell, Continuous Improvement Officer for North Lanarkshire Council, Nathalie Kormaz from the Alliance Française, Dr.Sabine Schluter from the Goethe Institut, and Xabier San Isidro from the Spanish Education office in Edinburgh.  Braidhurst pupils received certificates as follows: ‘Outstanding Language Learner of the Year in S1’: Nathan Chalmers, Arista Ghai, and Amy McAlonan, ‘Outstanding Language Learner of the Year in S2’: Iona Eldhose, Jay Goode, and Callum Scott, ‘Outstanding Language Learner of the Year in French and German in S3’: Craig Campbell, Cameron May, and Amy-Lee McLaughlin, and ‘Most Improved Language Learner of the Year in S3’: Ellie Brady, Dylan Campbell, and Alex Lowry.  A huge well done to all the pupils.

A highlight of the school calendar for S1 pupils is the Outdoor Classroom project, and this years was no different. On Wednesday 16^th May until Friday 18^th May all S1 pupils were released from their regular school timetable to take part in an inter-disciplinary project delivered by a variety of departments in the school. The theme of the project was all about problem solving skills. The pupils were given the opportunity to take part in 7 different activities across the three days, which took place both in Braidhurst High school and at Strathclyde Park. Departments who gave input at this year’s event were: Technical with Bridge Building, P.E. with Team Building, Art with a Leaf Project, French with a Toure de Parc, Maths with Orienteering, Biology with Habitat Sampling and P.E. with Watersports.

This year’s project will also go towards S1 pupils achieving The John Muir Award. One pupil reported that “they had the best time and learned a lot”. A huge congratulations to all pupils who were involved, particularly for their excellent behaviour and representation of Braidhurst High school.

CLICK HERE for photos from Bridge Building 2018

On Wednesday 18th April the school’s girl football teams were in action at the Soccer Sevens tournament at Hamilton Palace Football Centre.  Both the ‘A’ and the ‘B’ team were successful in qualifying for their regional finals with the ‘A’ team also winning the Lanarkshire Cup.  Well done.

Congratulations to the school’s dance troupe who recently competed at the North Lanarkshire Dance competition where they won two silver medals and a gold medal.  A fantastic effort from all involved.

Senior pupils Emma Ewart and Christopher Duncan have been continuing their fundraising efforts this year for St Andrew’s Hospice and recently sold items, including keyrings, lip balms, pens, torches and jars of sweets, to pupils from the stall they set up in the foyer at lunchtime.  By the Easter holidays they had managed to raise over £200 which is a fantastic effort.  Emma and Christopher are also helping to organise the school’s upcoming Ben Nevis trek to raise more money for the hospice.

The Modern Languages Department held its annual Easter Egg competition and pupils were asked to decorate an egg and label it in a foreign language. The response was excellent and it was difficult to choose winners.  First prize was awarded to 1L pupil Sophie McCallum with her Humpty Dumpty sur le mur’, second prize was given to Rebecca Davidson for  ‘On fête Pâques à la campagne’ and third prize was won by Thomas Hogg of 1L for his egg ‘Madame Magowan’ ( PT Modern Languages).  The most eggs submitted were by Morven House, followed by Lorne, Atholl and Rannoch. All entries gained points for their house. There were also excellent submissions from the Hub group, under the tutelage of Madame Currie and also the Modern Languages for Life and Work class taught by Mrs McKenna.  The department was most impressed by the imagination and commitment of the pupils who entered and would like to wish them all a ‘Frohe Ostern!’

Wednesday, 28^th of March saw the finale of our seven week Storyteller project.  Twenty of our S2 pupils have been involved in this initiative, which has been supported by Pupil Equity Funding, and is part of our drive to improve Literacy levels across the Broad General Education phase of the school.  Pupils have worked with Storyteller, Bea Ferguson, who has led them through the process of creating their own stories and developing their public speaking skills.  At an afternoon tea for friends and family, pupils regaled an audience, which also included Primary 7 pupils from Muir Street Primary and residents from Baillie Court.  Our S5/6 Hospitality class provided home baking and did a fantastic job of ensuring that our guests were well looked after throughout the afternoon.  We are always proud of our pupils, but watching this S2 group rise to the challenge and deliver engaging, original stories was a special end of term treat.