A group of staff and pupils once again represented the school at the annual St. Andrew’s Hospice Lanarkshire Schools 6K Challenge held at Strathclyde Park recently. Over forty students and staff put on their Taylor ‘capes’ to keep in with this year’s theme of superheroes really getting into the spirit of the day. All involved had a very enjoyable day out with the very worthy cause of raising funds for the Hospice as a goal. Thanks go to Hospice staff team member Lucy Mitchell who organised presentations for our Fourth, Fifth and Sixth year students at assemblies. Thanks also to Acting Principal Teachers of Pupil Support Miss Suzanne Evans and Mr Joe Roy who co-ordinated the Taylor Team for the day. Funds are currently being collected for the charity and we look forward to presenting them with a cheque in the near future. Well done to all who took part!

Congratulations to Fifth Year Student Stephen Newns who will soon travel to Anapa in Russia to represent Scotland in the Junior European Boxing Championships taking place on the 31st October. Stephen will fight in the 60kg weight division and we wish him the very best of luck in this tournament. We are sure he has an extremely bright future ahead of him in this sport! Well done Stephen!

For full details of all of the clubs and activities available to pupils please click on the link below

http://www.taylorhs.org.uk/extra-curricular-activities/

The following tutorials take place on a weekly basis in the department. All students are encouraged to attend them on a regular basis. The tutorials give students the ideal opportunity to consolidate their learning of topics previously covered in class.

Adv Higher  Mr Anderson Thursday 3.40pm — 4.45pm

Higher          Mr Dorris        Tuesday 3.40pm — 4.45pm
Mr Harty         Wednesday 2.50pm — 4.20pm

National 5    Mr Dorris          Thursady  3.40pm — 4.45pm
( S4 only )

All parents, carers and friends of Taylor High are invited to attend a Mass of Thanksgiving on Tuesday 16th September 2014 to mark the decision by North Lanarkshire Council not to proceed with the amalgamation proposal involving Taylor High.

This Mass was originally scheduled as a Welcome Mass for Primary 7 parents with tours of the school included.  This will still be the case and all P7 parents are invited to attend this Mass along with other members of our school community who wish to give thanks for the recent decision.

Mrs Rooney will be offering supported study for S4 students undertaking N5 English on selected Monday afternoons from 3.45 – 4.45pm starting Monday 15th September.  The next session will be Monday 6th October 2014.  Further dates to follow.

Twelve of our Third Year Students will soon participate in the Fire Reach Programme which takes place at Coatbridge Fire Station. This is a programme designed to help young people understand the job the Fire Fighters do on a daily basis, and to highlight the dangers of hoax calls and vandalism of hydrants. Every individual who participates will receive a certificate to acknowledge their effort and participation. Family members and staff will also enjoy the opportunity to attend a presentation afternoon where pupils will show off their new skills and knowledge. Our first six students will attend next week. Good luck to Asra Hashim, Rebecca Johnson, Colleen Hattie, Beth Rankin, Linzi Howson and Kerry Donald. Thanks go to Mrs Helen McStay Principal Teacher of Pupil Support who will be supporting our young people throughout their experience.

Sixth Year students recently attended the annual Taylor Sixth Year Conference which took place on Friday 22 August, in the Xavier Centre, Carfin. The election of this year’s House Captains took place during the conference, where students also participated in a variety of workshops addressing issues concerning the rights and responsibilities of being a Sixth Year student during the session ahead. Various staff also spoke with the students about the vast amount of committee opportunities open to them in their Sixth Year, highlighting the variety of ways in which they can contribute to school life in the year ahead. A very well done to all pupils who were in the running for a House Captain position as a great deal of hard work and enthusiasm had been put into their election speeches in the run up to the event. As part of the election process our candidates were also interviewed by Head Teacher Mr Gerry McCormick and our school Chaplain Father King. Congratulation to this year’s elected House Captains for each year group House as follows; Jenna Hughes for First Year, Dylan Bell for Second Year, Lewis Shields for Third Year, Sophie Daly for Fourth Year, Luke Miller will be working with Fifth Year and finally Ciaran Connelly will collaborate with Sixth Year. Their respective year groups look forward to working with them through school initiatives and events over the year to come. Thanks to Ian MacFarlane our Home School Partnership Officer who spoke to the students about our Buddying Programme, to Mr Martin McMahon and Father King who presented the Caritas Award Initiative and to Mrs Morag Dickson (Classroom Assistant), Mrs Christine McLaughlin (ASN) and Mr David Anderson (Teacher of Maths) who supported staff on the day ensuring the smooth running of the programme. Thanks to Acting Principal Teacher of Pupils Support Miss Suzanne Evans supported by Stage Head Mrs Frances Seggie, who co-ordinated this year’s conference which was, as always, a huge success.

Final details of the day and week pattern for the new session when pupils return on Monday 18^th August 2014. 

The changes to times which will take effect on that date result from the implementation of the 33-period week by North Lanarkshire Council. This was agreed by elected members in 2013.

The following times are the same on all student days commencing 18^th August 2014.

Start time each day:           8.50am

Interval:                                10.30am – 10.45am

Lunchtime:                          12.25pm – 1.10pm

Please note that there is no registration period prior to Period 1.  Any student who is late will miss part of the first lesson of the day. In addition all periods are 50 minutes in duration.

The structure of the 33-period week will include three 7-period days: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and two 6-period days: Wednesdays and Fridays

Their structure is as follows:

7-Period Day

08.50 – 09.40                     Period 1

09.40 – 10.30                      Period 2

10.30 – 10.45                       Interval

10.45 – 11.35                        Period 3

11.35 – 12.25                        Period 4

12.25 – 13.10                        Lunch

13.10 – 14.00                       Period 5

14.00 – 14.50                      Period 6

14.50 – 15.40                      Period 7

6-Period Day

08.50 – 09.40                      Period 1

09.40 – 10.30                      Period 2

10.30 – 10.45                       Interval

10.45 – 11.35                        Period 3

11.35 – 12.25                        Period 4

12.25 – 13.10                        Lunch

13.10 – 14.00                       Period 5

14.00 – 14.50                      Period 6

On 7-period days school will dismiss at 3.40pm. On 6-period days school will dismiss at 2.50pm.

 

When we return in August we will be once again launching the backpack appeal for Mary’s Meals to support the education children in the developing world.  When the bell goes next week don’t bin your old school bag (unless it really is falling apart !)  Any schoolbags &  pencil cases can be handed in to Mrs. Burton or Mr. McMahon.  A full list of items required will be issued in the new term !