Update from NLC:

ALL North Lanarkshire schools will be CLOSED today (Wed 28th Feb). Amber Met Office warning for snow remains in place – please avoid travel. If you do travel be prepared for severe disruption.

NLC winter schools

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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.

On Thursday 21^st December Braidhurst’s most infamous inter-house event took place, the annual Line Dancing competition.  Our competitors gathered in the assembly hall, dressed in their house colour,  and gave their all as they line danced to tunes such as ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ and ‘The Slosh’.  A team of judges watched the house competitors very closely and in the end announced Morven house as the event winners.  Well done to all who participated.

Over 200 pupils from all year groups enjoyed our annual Christmas dance on Wednesday 20^th December.  Pupils participated in the traditional social dancing of the ‘Gay Gordons’ and the ‘Canadian Barn Dance whilst also showing off their dance moves to more up-to-date tunes.  Thanks to the staff who supported this event, producing a buffet and managing the dance hall.