D Delaney

A group of thirty Third Year pupils, who study German, recently attended an exhibition at the Goethe Institut in Glasgow. The Goethe Institut is an organistaion which promotes the learning of the German language across the world. The pupils attended an exhibition organised to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Grimm’s Fairytales. The pupils were told about the origin of these stories and then worked in groups on various tasks using German vocabulary associated with fairy tales.

As well as expanding their knowledge of German language and literature, they were also given the opportunity to watch an extract of ‘Dornroschen’, or ‘Sleeping Beauty’, in German. They then worked on various speaking and interactive tasks connected to this story.

The pupils all thoroughly enjoyed their visit and agreed it was very worthwhile . Over the next few weeks the pupils will continue to look at this topic in class.

Just under 70 staff and pupils took part in the recent Fun Run around Strathclyde Park on behalf of St Andrew’s Hospice in Airdrie. The Clyde Valley team looked resplendent in their t-shirts kindly sponsored by Peter Francis & Co, Wholesale Jewellers, Caledonian Road, Wishaw. At the final count, staff and pupils involved raised a fantastic £2040 for the charity. The cheque will be presented to the hospice in the coming weeks.

The Clyde Valley fun- runners gather before the start of the trek around Strathclyde Park.

‘The Wedding Singer’:

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s school show, ‘The Wedding Singer’. The show will run over three nights on Tuesday 9 October, Wednesday 10 October and Thursday 11 October. All tickets are priced £6 each. These are now on sale every lunch time in the Child Care Room, or from Mrs Delany or Mrs MacPhee.

All pupils in S2, and those studying drama and dance in the senior school, enjoyed a very special presentation last week. The Osiligi Warriors, a dance troupe of the Masai tribe from Kenya, performed a series of traditional dance routines. The colourful robes and intricate jewellery added to the drama of the high-energy performance that was very much enjoyed by the enthusiastic audience. The Clyde Valley pupils thoroughly enjoyed the moment when a number of pupils and Mr Sommerville, the Head Teacher, were summoned to the stage to join in one of the dances. An interesting PowerPoint presentation and a lively question and answer session also allowed the Clyde Valley pupils to learn a great deal about Masai village life.

Our picture shows the Osiligi Warriors demonstrating one their traditional tribal dances.

The first leg of this year’s Italian Exchange programme was a resounding success.  A group comprising 2 staff and 9 pupils from the Sismondi and Pacinotti Institute from Pescia in Tuscany spent a week in Scotland enjoying a full programme of visits and trips, often with their Scottish ‘twins’. Over two days, the Italians shadowed their twins to gain experience of life in Clyde Valley. They also enjoyed day trips to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and New Lanark. In the evenings, the pupils visited the home of their Scottish twins and also enjoyed a disco and a ceilidh for all of the 6 participating schools.

Within the space of a week, deep friendships were forged and all of the Scottish twins are now eagerly looking forward to the return visit in February of 2013.

The pupils and teachers from Clyde Valley and the Sismondi and Pacinotti Institute involved in the recent exchange visit.