Outwith School – Page 2 – JMAC- The Blog Experience

St. Andrew’s 6K 2019

St.Andrew’s is a charity close to our schools heart. Having raised almost £82,000 we are desperate to make it to the triple figures by doing all we can for the charity this year and beat our biggest competitors, Caldervale high school.

Not including the money raised from our senior pupils Ben Nevis climb this year. Our School also has a huge turnout for the 6k fun run and the Santa dash.

St. Andrew’s is a charity who cares for those living with life limiting illnesses and also their families through either one of their hospices or home visits. The charity is supported through NHS Lanarkshire but that only covers a small fraction of the cost of running the charities services. That’s why they need our help!

the Charity requires £88,000 a week to run. If everyone in NHS Lanarkshire donated two pence a day we would be able to cover the costs of St.Andrew’s services for a whole year! A little goes a long way and the school is really proud of all the fundraising we have taken part in over the year.

We had an outstanding number of pupils,teachers and even dogs attending the 6K last year and we hope to increase that number yet again this year so bring if you want bring your gran’s dog, your dog, your neighbour’s dog and run, walk or skip round the park!

Wildlife Summer School 2019

During the summer break in July, sixth year student Shannon O’Donnell had an amazing opportunity to attend the RZSS Summer Science School at the Highland Wildlife Park in Aviemore which is aimed at young people in S5-S6.

This programme involved an application process in order to be accepted, hundreds applied, eager for a spot on the programme but only 15 applicants were accepted, Shannon being one of those lucky few.

Shannon took part in various activities during her time at the programme. She discussed how her group was given a different animal daily to study, this could range from Wolverines to Arctic Foxes.

She also stated that she learned about the inner workings of the park and was educated on the humanitarian effects that we have on several species of animals and the problem of current animal extinction in society.

Her favourite thing about the programme was the day she got to make different toys for the animals and when she got to watch the animals on night vision cameras, she commented that it was especially interesting to watch the nocturnal animals.

Shannon is considering a career in science possibly involving neuroscience or immunology. This experience will be a great advantage for her to further her interest in the field of science.

Pride Prom 2019

this is nothing to do with within the school but i would like to talk about this amazing LGBTQ+ event i went to at the weekend.

i attend an LGBTQ+ group in Motherwell and this year we were given the opportunity to attend a pride prom at the Radisson Blu hotel in Glasgow.

the same hotel hosted a prom like this last year but it was a lot smaller than this year. a lot of LGBT groups from around north Lanarkshire came to this prom along with LGBT youth who don’t attend a group. with the budget they had this year a lot more tickets where made so that’s probably it was so big.

being able to go to such a wonderful event like this was honestly such a experience, the air was so calm as people talked to one another and made new friends. everyone was dressed in suits and elegant gowns, everyone honestly looked like fresh off the red carpet. everyone enjoyed the acts, there was so much singing, dancing and excitement on the dance floor and it was clear everyone was having a good time.

being able to relax and just enjoy myself for a few hours was so wonderful and i would 100% do it again if i had the opportunity, and i’m sure a lot more people would feel the same as i do.

events like this are so important to people like me, especially the group i attend, if it wasn’t for that group i attend i honestly have no idea where i would be. they really let me feel comfortable with who i am and my identity and i cannot thank them enough.

such a wonderful night, i hope a lot of you can get the same opportunity i did and go to an event like this because it was just such a magical experience.

thank you for reading !!

Daphne’s Top Five Tunes August 2019

I can’t really describe my music taste,so I’ll leave it for you to decide. These are my top five tunes of August 2019.

TIME BY LUCKY FRUIT – a small artist I discovered over Instagram, really chill and amazing vocals. [ I would add a picture but it wont let me :-[ ]

2. SOFTLY BY CLAIRO- I’ve been listening to Clairo’s new album a lot recently because I’m going to see her live in November but this song is so chill and has such lovely vocals that I couldn’t help but share it.

3. CAVORTING BY COURTEENERS- I’m a bit late to the bandwagon with this one but It’s just such a good song to bop away to.

4.DO I MAKE YOU FEEL SHY? BY CONNAN MOCKASIN- I love everything about Connan’s songs but they do take a rather particular taste so give any of his albums a listen and see how you feel. (He’s brilliant live as well)

5. BELLARINE BY ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER- these up and coming Australians have a brilliant first album and I’m so excited to see what else they have up their sleeves. Another feel good tune you can easily sing along to, I’d say.

My Review Of The REACH And Accelerate Law Programmes

During June I spent two very different weeks at two very different universities, University Of Strathclyde and the University Of Glasgow. I attended the accelerate law challenge at Strathclyde University and the REACH Law programme at Glasgow University.

Through these programmes I was able to experience mock court trials, visit the sheriff court, participate in a practice LNAT test, listen to lectures about what the university has to offer and hear about current and former students experiences at the universities and what career path they followed with their law degree whilst also taking part in many different work shops.

I enjoyed both programmes but I felt we worked a lot more independently at Strathclyde and formed a better connection with the current law students as they were our mentors for the week. Glasgow focused a lot more on the academic side of things and the requirements for applying to Glasgow University in the future. At the end of both weeks I had made great friends, explored more of the universities and the surrounding area of Glasgow and I also further cemented my interest in pursuing a Law degree. I would really recommend applying to both programmes as they benefit you in many ways.

Wishaw/Shotts Youth Forum AGM

On Monday 3rd of December, the Wishaw/Shotts Youth Forum had their Annual General Meeting. Three pupils from our school, Christopher Winters, Wiktoria Orlicka and Leo Joseph are all part of the Youth Forum, Christopher being the Chair, Wiktoria being the Vice Chair and Leo being the Social Media representative. The Youth Forum has 8 members, 3 from St Aidans High, 3 from Coltness High and 2 from Clyde Valley High.