The annual Maths trip to Disneyland Paris took place earlier this month. Forty pupils greatly enjoyed their visit to Euro Disney – they were given the opportunity to design their own rollercoaster and were very impressed with the results.  They also had a fantastic time visiting the parks and the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Special thanks to the four members of staff who freely gave up their time to provide such an unforgettable experience for the pupils: Mrs Buchanan, Mrs Byrne, Mrs Johnstone, and Mr Leitch.
We were very sad to bid a fond farewell to our janitors, Sheena and Anne, who retired earlier this month. Â They will be sorely missed but we wish them a long and happy retirement.
Dyslexia Awareness Week took place from 4th to 9th November and Calderhead High School marked this with a display in the library of Dyslexia Scotland posters and dyslexia friendly books. Pupils also participated in a competition to find pictures of dyslexic celebrities which were hidden around the school. Congratulations to winners Kieran and Danny, and thank you to Calderhead’s Dyslexia Ambassador, Aiden, for presenting the prize.
Calderhead High School held a talent show in the Assembly Hall on Thursday, 14th November to raise funds for Children in Need. Our School Captains, Kirsty and Brianna, hosted the event and were ‘puntastic’ – they definitely have a career as a comedy double-act!
What a wide breadth of talent we have here at Calderhead: Heather, Logyne, Carly, Lauren, Andrew, and Jennifer all sang beautifully;Â Ellyn and Heather played the piano magnificently; Caitlyn and Nicholas perfomed moving songs accompanied by some excellent guitar playing, and we also enjoyed hearing Caitlyn and Ryley on pipes and drum.
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Special mention must also go to our brave pupils and staff who endured getting their legs waxed to help raise funds.
On 7th November, S6 pupils Jamie Reid and Brianna Shaw travelled with pupils from all over Scotland to visit Auschwitz in Poland. This is part of their work with the Holocaust Memorial Trust and the Lessons from Auschwitz Project. The pupils were offered a unique opportunity to be involved in a four-part course offered by the Holocaust Educational Trust, which consists of two seminars, a one day visit to Poland and a Next Steps project through which students pass on the lessons they have learned to the wider learning community. The Project is a journey of learning and exploration about the history of the Holocaust and about the world we live in. Brianna and Jamie described the whole project as a moving and thought-provoking experience. We are looking forward to hearing Brianna and Jamie share their experience with our learning community at Calderhead High School.
S1 Pupils enjoyed Hallowe’en activities at lunchtime today as part of their Buddies lunchtime club with the senior pupils. As well as carving pumpkins, they had the opportunity to dook for marshmallows! Everyone had a great time.
Meantime, in the library, we took part in a spooky Hallowe’en quiz prepared by S1 pupil, Felix. Everyone got most of the answers correct, including a very detailed description of the location of Transylvania by Jamie! Incidentally, Mary Berry did not write Frankenstein (although that might be a fun book to read – Frankencake?) We won’t name and shame who gave that answer! (The author was of course Mary Shelley.)
Author Alex Scarrow visited Calderhead High School on Friday, 13th September 2019 and spoke to  S1 pupils about his writing and treated them to a reading from the first book in his Time Rider series.Â
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Alex then conducted a workshop with older pupils studying English and Media, and shared a fascinating insight into the structure of films, which can also be used for writing books and stories.
This  visit was part of North Lanarkshire Council’s Read to Succeed initiative, funded by the Scottish Attainment Challenge. This affords every S1 pupil, in all of the North Lanarkshire schools, an opportunity to attend an author event, where they hear about the author’s books and the inspiration behind their writing. Author visits inspire and encourage  pupils to read and to write creatively. Â
Well done to all the pupils and staff from Calderhead High School who participated in the St Andrew’s Hospice Lanarkshire Schools 6km  event at Strathclyde Park event on Sunday, 15th September to help raise funds for the hospice.
Staff and senior pupils recently attended an Outward Bound Leadership course at Loch Eil Centre in the Scottish Highlands. Staff and pupils enjoyed many different experiences including a jog and a dip in the loch, abseiling and hill walking. They even got to try some foraging and sampled some freshly picked wood sorrel!
Outward Bound Trust is a learning charity which equips young people with social and emotional skills through learning and adventure outdoors.  The Centre is situated on the shores of the loch, near Fort William, and is the Trust’s most remote outdoor education centre.  Our staff and pupils had a wonderful time and learned much from the experience.
Congratulations to our pupils who were awarded the Path Skillz Group of the Year Award at a ceremony at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, 10th September after being nominated for their outstanding contribution to making their communities happier and healthier.
Getting Better Together worked with a group of pupils from Calderhead High School on a Path Skillz project to resurface 100m of disused path in Shotts to transform it into a safe and welcoming walking and cycling route.
When improving the path, the group started by using litter pickers to clear up the section where they were working before they started rebuilding. They then worked in ‘squads’ and created a base for the path before laying down the path surface. The pupils (and staff) worked extremely hard despite the horrendous weather and did an excellent job.
The annual Maths trip to Disneyland Paris took place earlier this month. Forty pupils greatly enjoyed their visit to Euro Disney – they were given the opportunity to design their own rollercoaster and were very impressed with the results.  They also had a fantastic time visiting the parks and the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Special thanks to the four members of staff who freely gave up their time to provide such an unforgettable experience for the pupils: Mrs Buchanan, Mrs Byrne, Mrs Johnstone, and Mr Leitch.
We were very sad to bid a fond farewell to our janitors, Sheena and Anne, who retired earlier this month. Â They will be sorely missed but we wish them a long and happy retirement.
On 7th November, S6 pupils Jamie Reid and Brianna Shaw travelled with pupils from all over Scotland to visit Auschwitz in Poland. This is part of their work with the Holocaust Memorial Trust and the Lessons from Auschwitz Project. The pupils were offered a unique opportunity to be involved in a four-part course offered by the Holocaust Educational Trust, which consists of two seminars, a one day visit to Poland and a Next Steps project through which students pass on the lessons they have learned to the wider learning community. The Project is a journey of learning and exploration about the history of the Holocaust and about the world we live in. Brianna and Jamie described the whole project as a moving and thought-provoking experience. We are looking forward to hearing Brianna and Jamie share their experience with our learning community at Calderhead High School.
