Safer Internet Day 2018

Safer Internet Day 2018 will take place on Tuesday 6th February with the theme ‘Create, Connect and Share Respect: a better internet starts with you.’

Celebrated globally and coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre the campaign sees hundreds of schools and organisations join together to raise awareness of online safety issues and run events and activities right across the UK.

As a result of this collective action Safer Internet Day 2017 reached 3 million children and 2 million parents across the UK.

Join the campaign to make Safer Internet Day 2018 the biggest yet!

Schools, companies, police services, charities and other organisations across the UK are invited to get involved in the campaign to inspire the safe and positive use of technology.

Last year over a thousand organisations supported the day, and you can now register as a Safer Internet Day 2018 supporter to share what you are doing to support the day.

The UK Safer Internet Centre has provided ideas for getting involved and over the coming months will be sharing a range of resources to help you get involved, including educational resources and films.

Right now you can get involved by helping to spread the word to any schools and organisations who could get involved on the day.

Plans for 6th February

On the day, the campaign will create a huge buzz right across the UK and globally!

There will be national youth events, activities in schools across the UK, media coverage, a day of trending on social media, companies will spread the word to customers and employees, as we all aim to reach as many children and families across the UK as possible.

Together we can make a positive difference

As a result of hearing about Safer Internet Day 2017, an evaluation found that the majority of children spoke to their families about staying safe online while 79% felt more confident about what to do about any worries online. As a result of the day, 1 in 4 young people said they spoke up about something that had been worrying them online.

Together we can make #SID2018 the biggest campaign yet and make a real difference to the digital lives of children right across the UK.

Find out more and get involved! www.saferinternetday.org.uk #SID2018

On 21 November a total of 49 pupils made the trip to The Etihad Stadium to watch the Champion’s League group match between Manchester City and Feyenoord Rotterdam. Despite the match only finishing 1-0 to the hosts with a late goal from Raheem Sterling, pupils had an excellent time being close to the action and seeing top stars such as Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne   Alistair Small and Rhys Mallinson were triumphant in the traditional bus quiz, winning a match day programme each.   Alistair also winning a Manchester City top in the bus raffle.   Pupils and Staff had a very enjoyable outing.

Reading is at the heart of academic success and helps to develop a robust mental health amongst young people.  Braidhurst has risen to the challenge of strengthening the literacy skills of our pupils in lower school by inviting them to participate in a ‘Reading Championship’.  This program is run by the school library and delivered as part of the S1-S2 English curriculum.  Pupils have good reason to get engaged with personal reading, as the more books they read will lead to certificates, badges, trophies, and a class rewards afternoon involving pizzas and a movie.  Pupils have admirably risen to challenge with the majority taking their library book home to read in their spare time and visiting the school library on a very regular basis looking for their next book to devour.  Mrs McKenna, Depute Head Teacher in charge of the Pupil Equity fund, remarked that “the ‘Reading Championship’ puts front and centre our belief that literacy goes beyond classroom based activities and assessments and is a skill which enriches our lives on a daily basis.  Promoting reading for pleasure is an essential part of our strategy to raise literacy levels across the Broad General Education phase of the school and we are committed to encouraging our pupils by recognising their efforts in this regard.”

Art and Design pupils are entering this year’s North Lanarkshire road Safety Caldendar competition.   The pupils have worked hard this session, developing their slogans and matching designs to spread the work on all aspects of road safety.   We have been successful in recent years and are hoping that their hard work this year is rewarded.

Braidhurst High School recently celebrated the European Day of Languages in a variety of ways.   In the Modern Languages Department, pupils produced rows of hands and speech balloons with vocabulary and facts from various countries in Europe.   These were displayed in the Modern Languages Corridor.   The pupils also took part in a Europe Quiz and an online ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’? game.  The winners were Morven House, represented by Greg Campbell and Anna Baxter.   First year pupils and Forth Year Modern Languages for Life and Work pupils made German pancakes (Pfannkuchen) in the Home Economics Department with the help of the German exchange teacher, Miss Marie Benzel, Mrs Fox (HE teacher) and Mrs Magowan (PT Modern Languages).   Other activities in the school included pupils playing French Boules with Mr Marshall in the PE Department;  painting in the style of European artists eg Van Gogh, with Miss Galloway in the Art Department;  French palindromes and French words used in English with Mrs Kinnaird in the English Department;  Maths puzzles in French solved by S2 in the Maths Department;  the study of Albert Einstein with Mr Hussain in the Physics Department;  Chemistry lessons conducted in French and German by Dr Gardner;  computer games and quizzes in European languages carried out by Mr O’Toole and Mr Paterson with S2 in the Business Studies Department; Mrs Currie organised French board games and a French breakfast for pupils who attend the school Hub.   In addition, Mrs Reilly will introduce French mime to all pupils in the Drama Department in October.

Pupils thoroughly enjoyed their experiences (as did the staff) and learned a lot about the countries of Europe.   They have been encouraged to extend their learning of European culture beyond the classroom and many will attend the Modern Languages Club, which meets on Wednesday lunchtimes, to engage in more activities.

Our Malawi fundraising team were out in the community once again raising funds for the project.   This time they undertook a very successful tin collection at Fir Park stadium before the Motherwell FC –v- Patrick Thistle football match which managed to raise over £900.  Meanwhile our Malawi ambassadors, pupils John Clark, Katie Kennedy and Luke Biggart, recently accepted a cheque for £300 from the residents of Baillie Court sheltered housing, which will also boost the fundraising total.   A fantastic effort from all involved.

Pupils have voted, the school has deliberated, and finally the school and house captains have been chosen.  The school captains for 2017-18 are;  Hannah Gordon and Joseph Farmer, ably assisted by vice school captains Emma Ewart and Adam Greer.   Whilst the house captains for 2017-18 are: Scott Ingram and Lucy Blackwood for Atholl, Christopher Duncan and Kristy Speirs for Lorne, Zoe Oliphant and Kerry Lyness for Morven and Danielle Sinclair and Kieran McDougall for Rannoch.   Congratulations to our new school and house representatives and good luck for the year ahead.