All posts by Mr Hamilton

School Sports, SFA

MANCHESTER FOOTBALL TRIP

On Tuesday 2nd October, the PE department staff accompanied several Braidhurst pupils from S1-S6 on a trip that would please any football fanatic.  The pupils were treated to a tour of Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium where they were able to see such facilities as the stadium’s state of the art press room and the ultra-modern dressing room which is home to many multi-million-pound players.  Their trip to the stadium of the English Champions also featured an educational sports science presentation and the opportunity to shop in the club’s megastore.  One pupil enjoyed the trip so much, he changed his allegiance from the red side of the city, to the blue!  Speaking of the other side of the city, that was the tour’s next destination as the day was rounded off with a short journey to Old Trafford to watch Manchester United take on Valencia in the Champions League.  Unfortunately for all involved, the match ended in a 0-0.  Overall, a great day for the pupils and staff and one which they will remember for a long time.

Whole School News

PUBLIC SECTOR WORKSHOP

On Monday 1 October, Pauline O’Neil and her team from North Lanarkshire Council hosted a workshop and presentation to S2 pupils on jobs within the Public Sector.  This highlighted to pupils the opportunities available in the public sector. The workshop also provided extra information and encouragement to those who are interested in working in education and health care, as well as industries like gas, oil and electricity.

Languages and Literacy

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES

The Modern Languages Department recently celebrated the European Day of Languages with pupils taking part in a variety of activities as part of their celebrations.

S1 pupils engaged in an inter-house ‘Who Want to Be a Millionaire?’ competition in French, with the winners being Morven House who reached a million euros! S1 also made a wall mural of a sea of hands, each depicting a country with words of its language adorning the fingers.  In addition, they completed a quiz about famous European scientists made up by Biology teacher, Miss Watson.

S2 worked in pairs to create a poster of a European country of their choice They used iPads to research geographical, historical, cultural and culinary facts about the country, as well as some of the language. S3 and S4 pupils had great fun in the Home Economics Department making French pancakes according to a French recipe, and these tasted ‘delicieux’.

Other cross-curricular activities included an S2 French boules championship carried out in the PE Department by Mr Egan; an introduction to French mime delivered by Mrs Reilly in the Drama department; and Mrs Kinnaird of the English department organised a ’French words used in the English language’ group activity with her S1 class and excellent posters made by the pupils were displayed in the corridors.

In addition, the very brave Dr Gardner delivered a lesson in French to his National 5 Chemistry class and PT Science, Mr Campbell, taught a Biology lesson in French to his Higher class. Mrs Ballantyne incorporated German words and phrases into her teaching of the ‘World War 1’ topic with S2 and Mrs Hunter set her pupils a set of Maths challenges. They also played a board game involving translating sums from French to English.

In the IT Department, pupils played the online game ‘Kahoot’ in French and showed themselves to be extremely engaged, enthusiastic and competitive! Under the guidance of Miss Lennox, pupils with English as their second language produced guides to their country of birth and their mother tongue.

Pupils who attend the Hub played French and German games organised by Mrs Currie and were treated to a French breakfast! All pupils, as well as members of staff, across many curricular areas thoroughly enjoyed their experiences and have improved their knowledge of French, German and hopefully other languages in the process!

Technologies

DRAGON’S LAIR

A group of S3 pupils recently attended the ‘Dragon’s Lair’ competition hosted by the Business Gateway at the Atrium Centre in Coatbridge. The pupils were bidding to win the prestigious Dragon’s Lair award for their business innovation, planning and marketing by submitting a business plan on their idea.  Good luck to all the pupils involved.

Health and Wellbeing, Languages and Literacy, Maths and Numeracy

CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL

Braidhurst recently hosted their very first Connections Festival which celebrated Literacy and Health and Wellbeing over three days and involved every young person in S1 to S3. They participated in a range of events, including a series of fun and informative author sessions from novelists Alex Nye, Kirkland Ciccone, and Philip Caveney; selected pupils were participated in workshops which included taster sessions on: slam poetry, comic books, stand-up comedy, storytelling, healthy cookery, yoga, Brazilian drumming, music recording, mindfulness and meditation, football, dance, Internet Safety, Women’s Aid, reading with pets and Young Carers. It was an action-packed few days for pupils and was only made possible by the funding which was gratefully received from the Pupil Equity Fund.

Expressive Arts

DARCI BURNS – NORTH LANARKSHIRE’S SCHOOLS’ PIPE BAND

Braidhurst pupil Darci Burns, who is a member of North Lanarkshire’s Schools’ pipe band, was recently credited with an award at a reception outside the Civic Centre as her band won the ‘Champions of Champions’ title for the best performances across all five major piping championships. The North Lanarkshire’s Schools’ pipe band have also been given the proud honour of marching down 6th Avenue in New York City as part of the annual celebration of Scottish culture in the Big Apple next April. Well done Darci.