Our ‘Storytelling Project’ is currently being delivered to twenty second-year pupils by storyteller Bea Ferguson and is shaping up to be a fantastic initiative.  Pupils are tasked with finding their own story (perhaps a family story passed down from grandparents or other relatives) or researching a local legend from the Motherwell area (examples would be ghost stories from Dalzell House or the flooded village of Bothwellhaugh).  Bea will then teach the pupils how to write and then “perform” their story to an invited audience of family and friends at a tea party which will take place just before the school Easter holidays.  Pupils also recently enjoyed a field trip to North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre where they learnt more about Motherwell’s mining history and had access to the local studies archives.  It is hoped that the project will have a positive impact on both the creative and personal reflective writing skills of pupils, whilst also building their self-esteem and positivity about their communities.

Great news for the school and in particular its Art and Design department.  Braidhurst pupil, Ellie McGregor, gained 1st Place in the S1 – S6 group in this year’s ‘North Lanarkshire Road Safety Calendar’ competition. Ellie spent a great deal of time producing her poster idea for the competition and it certainly did the trick with the judges, being voted first place in the secondary school category.

This is fantastic news as she gained this place over 2000 other entries and has been presented with an award certificate and a voucher for £30 to spend at Argos.

The aim of the programme is to develop technical, tactical, physical and mental skills as a player as well as promoting positive social skills and increased motivation towards academic progress.   Players are involved in daily coaching sessions for the three years of their school life, so must display a good technical standard to cope with the demand.  The option to study for a qualification in Football in S4 is an option as pupils move into the Senior Phase of their education.

The Girls’ School of Football share the same aims as the standard programme, providing a very similar programme and range of opportunities.

To apply for the School of Football or the Girls’ School of Football please visit the Braidhurst High school website.  https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/Braidhurst/ then follow the link from the ‘Our School’ drop down menu to the ‘Football Programmes’ then to the School of Football and Girls’ School of Football.

The Scottish FA Performance School selection process for August 2018 has officially opened for boys and girls in the current Primary 7 cohort of our primary schools. Please note that the Performance School program is aimed at the most talented individual players therefore is not appropriate for players who only play for recreational purposes.  The aim is to bring together the best young footballers from the area into a four year individual training and support program designed by the Scottish Football Association. High quality specialist Performance Youth coaches (full time employees of the Scottish FA) and additional qualified staff will deliver the program to the selected players. The Performance Manager and the Braidhurst’s Head teacher will have overall responsibility for the direction and organisation of the Performance School, including that pupils achieve the right balance between sport and academic life.

To apply please visit https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/applications/  – this is the only way in which you can apply as paper copies of the application form will not be accepted.  All applications must be submitted online no later than Thursday 1^st February 2018 for recreational players and Thursday 15^th February 2018 for Club Academy Scotland players. Please note all correspondence including decisions will be sent by email so please ensure you type your email address correctly.

Pictured are just some of the pupils who will take part in the regional finals of the Vex Robtics Challenge 2017 /18 “In the zone”. Braidhurst pupils will take part along with other schools from North Lanarkshire in the day long competition to be held at the Motherwell campus of New College Lanarkshire.

The pupils are shown wearing their new club apparel that were purchased from “Myofit”.  The club successfully applied for funds from the pupil equity scheme. All 18 of the club members would like to thank Mrs McKenna one of the two Deputy Heads, who are in charge of the implementation of the Pupil Equity Fund, (PEF).

Next week Braidhurst High School will be putting forward three teams to compete in the regional finals, the teams are called “Energize”, “Kqual-I-T” and Team “Violet”. Some club members will also be showcasing the Vex robotics STEM initiative by demonstrating robotics system that they have made.

The club has been very well supported by North Lanarkshire and includes pupils ranging from S1 to S4. The Club takes part in the Vex Robotics Challenge, the World’s Largest and Fastest-Growing Robotics Competition for High Schools and Colleges. More than 10,000 teams (about 33 thousand participants) from 32 countries playing in over 750 tournaments compete to become the best globally, VEX Robotics Design System, as used by the club to nurture creative advancement in robotics.

This year the Club has beaten off 33 thousand participants around the world to become a “Beta” test site for the new generation of robotics systems that Vex has revealed at the C.E.S, (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. https://www.vexrobotics.com/v5#coding.

The robotics club’s success and awards have been due to the support of the lecturers from New College Lanarkshire, namely Mr Michael McGuire and Lisa Nicholson.  However, without the help of Mr Michael Dolan from NLC, Mrs Arlene Byrne of New college Lanarkshire and the Head teacher of Braidhurst High School, Mrs Rooney it would not be possible for the Robotics club to have flourish and become a centre of excellence in the practice of STEM pedagogy. The Club is totally committed to working in partnership with New College Lanarkshire to meet the aspirations of, a Scotland, to become a global leader in robotics and autonomous technologies.