Issue 30 May 2014

LARBERTlink
W
elcome to another packed edition of the Larbert Link.
I hope this finds you all well and trust that you had a
good Easter break.
As usual things kept on moving at a pace in school in the run
up to the holidays and indeed over the holidays themselves.
The Young Americans gave a rousing set of workshops and
performances with our pupils (and we're looking forward to
them returning next year), a visit from our partner school in
Germany, a superb Expressive Arts showcase event, our first
ever Film Festival at the Town Hall (with all films made by our
pupils), and we had very successful trips to Stratford, The
Battlefields and our second Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition
to The Gambia. Coupled with all of that was a very successful
Easter School which provided valuable support to those making
the final preparations for their SQA examinations and our own
Tryst Community Sports Club also ran a hugely successful Easter
Multi-Sports Camp with several of our Senior pupils providing
some of the coaching sessions. My thanks go out to all of the
staff and pupils who made this happen, it really is quite
impressive and does make the difference!
We've also had our young people heavily involved in the
recruitment of our staff for next Session. Prior to the holidays
we recruited for a new Principal Teacher of Science as well as
teachers in History, Food & Consumer Technology, Modern
Languages, English, Computing and Maths and following the
break we will have more interviews for Art, Biology and
Modern Languages. I am delighted to say that both the
number and quality of applicants have both been very high
ensuring our pupils receive the very best both within and out
with the classroom. Our pupils have played very important
roles in providing us with feedback on the observed lessons
delivered by the candidates and as part of the interview panels,
which also gives them a real insight in to the world of work
and what lies ahead. At the same time we also said good bye
to Mr Daly in English and Mrs Roxburgh in Integrated Pupil
Support, who between them gave 62 years of service to the
school. We wish them all the very best for a long, happy and
healthy retirement.
I would like to thank all parents and pupils who took the time
to support our planning application for our Larbert Legacy
Cycle Track. I am delighted to say that planning permission has
been approved and construction of our new 270,000 facility
will soon get under way. This will provide a second-to-none
facility for our young people and the local community and will
become an integral part of our curriculum to further improve
the Health & Wellbeing experience. And as you may have
heard, in connection with cycling, we were very fortunate to
pay host to Sir Chris Hoy during the first week back who spent
some time with those involved in our Captains' Challenge this
year. The Captains' Challenge started with a visit from the
home grown talent of Lachie Stewart (1970 Gold
Commonwealth Champion in Edinburgh) and there can be no
better person to mark the culmination of the event than Sir
Chris himself. The Captains' Challenge, and indeed all that this
year's Seniors have achieved and contributed, has been quite
remarkable and it will be with very heavy hearts that we wave
all of them off when they leave at the end of this Session - but
they will definitely leave their own lasting legacy.
There's much to come in the next couple of months. It goes
without saying that we wish all of those embarking upon SQA
examinations all the very best of luck and are confident that all
of the hard work, from pupils and teachers, will come to
fruition. Our S6 Graduation Ceremony and Senior Prom will be
a very appropriate way to mark the distinguished school
careers of nearly 200 leavers, our Celebration of Achievement
and Prize Giving Ceremonies will recognise the hard work and
talent across all year groups (S1-3: Monday 9 June, S4-6:
Tuesday 10 June) and our Dance Showcase (Friday 6 June) and
School Show, Fame (16-20 June) will be a very fitting end to an
incredibly successful year for which we hope we can count on
your support.
Right, off to see what else is happening! As always, please
keep in touch with us via our website (larberthigh.com), our
Twitter account (@LarbertHigh) or via email.
Kind Regards
Jon Reid, Rector.
A Message
from the Rector
With some help from Councillor Cowan, Doctor Who and the Daleks
recently materialised in the school library.
page 2 LARBERTlink - May 2014
Amnesty International
Our Amnesty International group have entered the Amnesty International Campaigner
competition and some of the senior members of the group have also entered the young
reporter and young songwriter of the year categories. Richenda Rae has made it to the top
three in the Young Reporter of the year competition. There were over 2,700 entries to this
competition, so this is an amazing achievement. She is due to attend an awards ceremony at
The Guardian in London.
Jack Thomson and Richenda Rae are also attending the National
Conference in Edinburgh in early April. Hopefully they will have a great
time and bring back lots of new ideas for the group!
The group have also been very busy campaign wise. The petal petition for
Yorm Bopha at Christmas was a huge success with over 40 petals being
sent from form classes. This was an amazing response and the group want
to thank everyone who added their signatures to this. They made a very
colourful petition as you can see. MRS R. BIRD
Around the Corridors
M
U
SIC N
O
TES
The following pupils gained grades in Piano in the
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
exams on February 8th:
Caitlin Forret (S3) - Grade 3 - Pass (111)
Melissa Morrison (S3) - Grade 5 - Pass (110)
Rebecca Walker (S1) - Grade 1 - Pass (114)
The following
Larbert High pupils
have been
successful in gaining
membership of the
National Girls'
Choir:
Mhairi Sharkey S4
Emily Henderson S3
They will be taking part in a residential course
from 14 - 19 April at Loretto School and will be
singing at the end-of-course concert on 19th
April at St Cuthbert's Church Edinburgh.
DR C. CRADOCK
WIDER ACHIEVEMENTS
Daniel Woods (SB2) has again qualified for the
Pony Club National Triathlon Championships which
will be held in Milton Keynes in March. There will
be around 20 Scottish triathletes travelling south
for this.
Daniel trains with the Scottish Junior Youth
Development squad for pistol shooting. At the
qualifying competition, Daniel shot 1000, the
highest possible score.
Lewis Simpson of (SA2) has yet again been
selected to train at the Japanese Karate
Shotorenmei International Seminar held in Tokyo,
Japan in December 2013; this will be his fourth time
being selected. And will be his fifth visit to Japan.
Lewis represents Scotland at karate internationally
and will compete in Belgium, Dublin, Denmark and
England this year and South Africa next year. This
training opportunity is crucial to his development in
his sport.
IAIN TANNAHILL
YOUNG CARERS
Sincere thanks to Camelon Pro Bowl and Hairwayz Hairdressers of
Larbert, who hosted the latest Young Carers trips, for boys and girls
respectively. These trips have meant a lot for many young people
whose own chances to get out and
about and enjoy themselves are
severely limited by their
responsibilities.
ABBIE MACMORRIS
MEAGHAN
FISHER
A CLASS ACT
The Expressive Arts WAO classes
continue to offer a dazzling
range of opportunities to shine.
The Faculty held an evening of
celebration on March 31st to
showcase the achievements of
the classes across the Faculty, and
left their audience suitably star-
struck! BAILEY STEWART
DUKE OF EDINBURGHS AWARD
The new S4 Silver groups will be taking part in Navigation training
days throughout March at the grounds surrounding Stirling
University. This will involve learning how to use both maps and
compasses in preparation for their upcoming practice expedition
in May/June.
The S5 Silver groups are completing their presentations and online
E-D of E profiles in order to receive their awards.
The S6 Gold group are continuing with their fundraising efforts. In
January they held a successful Tina Turner Tribute night at the
Three Kings Hotel. They raised 1500 from ticket sales and a raffle
on the night. They will also be holding a Games Night at Tryst Golf
Club on Friday 4th April. The group are also required to
undertake a Gold practice expedition and this will be at the end of
March in the Pentland Hills (Edinburgh). CODY IZATT
Cycling Supremo
Sir Chris Hoy
Olympic gold medal cycling supremo Sir Chris Hoy came
to visit Larbert High on April 23rd. His visit was
organised by the Captains as a highlight of the Captains
Challenge programme which has inspired over 1200
pupils to take up a challenge over the course of session
2013-4 and included sports and culture.
Sir Chris spent time with representatives of the various
School of Sport groups before addressing over 300
pupils from Larbert High, Carrongrange and the cluster
primaries. Ticket holders were identified for their
achievement over the session. The event took the form
of a question and answer session which covered
Sir Chriss upbringing in Edinburgh and his
achievements in cycling.
Sir Chris inspected plans for the Pump Track to
be built soon at the school, and vowed he
would be back to cycle on it.
The pupils were overwhelmed by the experience
of meeting Sir Chris and many of them, even
non-cyclists, found his words inspirational and
relevant in their own lives.
BAILEY STEWART
LARBERTlink - May 2014 page 3
CAPTAINS CHALLENGE: THE FIRST YEAR.
The Captains Challenge has achieved some incredible
successes over the first year: so far 6 Scottish athletes have
visited the school and addressed 800 pupils with messages of
motivation and inspiration.
1200 pupils and staff have taken up the Challenge and
fulfilled their own personal goals in sport and culture, and
many have felt encouraged in aspiring to world
championship level.
The Captains have been overwhelmed by the positive
response of pupils and staff. It is noteworthy that the
Captains themselves have organised almost all the events
without relying on the staff. Their motivation has been the
belief that everyone needs to set goals and work hard to
achieve them. It is planned to keep the Captains Challenge
going as a permanent feature.
The Challenge has also helped to put Larbert High on the
map, with four articles in the Falkirk Herald, 500
Facebook views, 300 Twitter followers, 100 Instagram
followers and 500 blog hits. At the General Teaching
Council(Scotland) conference on May 1st the Captains are
having a stall to publicise the Challenge across all of
Scotlands schools, and other athletes are expected to visit
the school as well.
A farewell message from the Captains as they prepare to
move onto the next chapter of their lives:
No challenge you set yourself is out of reach. Think big, and
break it down into short term targets to reach your ultimate
goal.
Fraser Johnston, Marnie McKay, Andrew Lauder, Connor
Cloughley, Christine Kinnon, Ailsa Biggerstaff, Megyn Fraser,
Fraser Malcolm, Andrew Gillespie, Lisa Mitchell and Kirsty
Grant.
Interview with FRASER JOHNSTON by IAIN TANNAHILL
page 4 LARBERTlink - May 2014
This year, Larbert High Schools Science Faculty celebrated
National Science and Engineering week in style! We had a
full programme of events linked to science, technology,
engineering and maths events!
S1 GET ACTIVE
OUTREACH TOUR
All S1 pupils experienced a fantastic Get Active Science Show delivered by scientists
from the Glasgow Science Centre. Pupils find out what happens to their body when
they exercise. Why does it feel different? We had some brave teacher and pupil
volunteers get up and active with the Glasgow Science Centre scientists.
Carrongrange school also joined us for a session!
Workshops
We had a fabulous range of workshops for all to sign up to!!
CSI Biology, Refraction Action, Forensic Chemistry, Renewable
Energy and Building a Cloud Chamber!
LARBERTlink - May 2014 page 5
The hugely successful Trash Fashion Show hit town again on
Thursday March 6th, attracting a sell-out audience at both
performances. Each costume showed startling originality with some
that wouldnt look out of place in Bond Street or 7th Avenue while
others would have made Carnaby Street in the 60s look positively
respectable. Behind it was the serious message that we throw away
far too much material which could instead be used for all kinds of
creative purposes.
S2 Lab in a Lorry!
Lab in a Lorry was parked outside the Max for 3 days and is
an interactive mobile lab staffed by practising
scientists and engineers that gave our S2 pupils a
chance to explore
science through hands-
on experiments. Pupils
enjoyed explored the
science behind
resonance, drilling for
oil and camera optics.
The pinnacle of National Science and Engineering Week was
the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)
careers Fair. Featuring companies and universities from
Scotland this was for all 4th, 5th and 6th years, who were
given a slot to attend. Pupils networked with
representatives from Herriot Watt University, BAE systems,
Helia, Fibre Photonics, University of Edinburghs Biology
Engagement Team and many more! Pupils engaged in
discussion about the skills and qualifications needed to work
in these companies.
Larbert High Schools First ever STEM Careers Fair!
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page 6 LARBERTlink - May 2014
Some hae meat...
The Reading Group with the Librarians Mr Smith and Mrs
McElroy, together with the Reading Coordinator Mrs
Sharkey, celebrated Robert Burns with poetry and song. The
group enjoyed an auspicious setting in the library in the
presence of the Rector Mr Reid and Principal Teacher
Integrated Pupil Support Mrs Disbury. The guest speaker
from the English Faculty Mr Stephen Wilson spoke
eloquently on Burns poem Address to The Toothache. This is
the first time an event of this nature has been hosted at
Larbert High School and due to its success looks like it will
be an annual event in the school calendar. Emily Ferguson
was super as Poosie Nancy delivering the haggis into the
occasion with expertise.
The Selkirk Grace was
delivered with excellence
by Liam McCallum. Liam
also entertained the
company through his
musical delivery of the
Skye Boat Song and Ally
Bally. Mr Smith was
excellent in his brilliant
Toast to the Haggis and
his wonderful
singing of Donald
Wheres your
Troosers. Mrs
McElroy together
with Emily, Jack,
Hannah, Jessica and
Aimee expertly
delivered To A
Mouse. Mhairi
Sharkey in S4 was
excellent with her
lovely delivery of Caledonia. Mrs Sharkey masterminded the
proceedings as Master of Ceremonies and contributed to
proceedings with her singing of Auld Lang Syne (in the
Eddie Reader genre). Thanks must go to the excellent
catering provided by the team with special thanks to Miss
Anderson. Thank you to the Rector ,Mr Reid, for his Vote of
Thanks, and to Mrs Disbury for her support with
photography and Twitter information. This was a first class
Scottish event for all who participated and looks like the
first of many. During March the group will visit Alloway in
Ayrshire to take part in the Tam o Shanter Experience and
Burns Cottage. English teacher Mr Wilson is at present
working with the reading group on an animation of Tam o
Shanter. MRS M. SHARKEY
MONKEY BUSINESS!
On March 28th Larbert Woods, next to Forth Valley
Royal Hospital, played host to over 100 first year
Humanities pupils, learning about the work of the
Forestry Commission and environmental
conservation. The pupils gained practical forestry
experience by planting saplings. The Humanities
Faculty would like to extend thanks to Gordon,
Kenny and Jenny from Forestry Commission
Scotland for making the morning such a success.
IAIN TANNAHILL
Maths is mental S1!!
During the week of Monday 20th January, all
of S1 were involved in Numeracy Passport
week.
This was part of their curriculum and
Numeracy across Learning at Larbert High
School.
Some examples of what they had to do
The students were
awarded stickers for all correct entries and on the 27th
January all the S1 students took part in Passport control.
Having completed Passport control the students were
awarded a pin badge.
Those students who passed Passport control
were entered into a prize draw where they
had the chance to win an Ipad mini. On Friday
the 7th of February the lucky winner was
announced . The winner was Owen Lake.
Congratulations!!! MRS M. THOMSON
LARBERTlink - May 2014 page 7
Read, Debate, Enjoy!
On the 29th of January, the 8th annual Falkirk RED Book
Awards were held in Falkirks Town Hall. This award exists to
promote reading and debating in schools across Falkirk, and
also to bring writing talents to our town. The RED Book
Award is presented to the writer of the novel which Falkirk
district high school pupils have decided is their favourite of
the four short-listed contenders. This years shortlist
featured the horrifyingly brilliant Mister Creecher by Chris
Priestly, the nail-biting Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson,
the hard-hitting Torn by David Massey and the famously
fantastic Slated by Teri Terry.
Link reporter Jordan Allan was able to speak to the authors
before the days activities started. The authors were
particularly enthusiastic in giving tips to any budding
writers. Matt Dickinson believes that the three most
important steps are Plan, plan and plan, and even
admitted that, while writing his shortlisted book he
covered a full wall of his study with post-it notes in an
attempt to tie his plot together. Chris Priestly offered the
advice to always finish what youre writing even if its
rubbish because that is the only way youll learn,
The events began with a series of presentations by each of
the high schools in attendance, everyone with their own
take on one of the novels. Our own S2 pupils, currently
studying English, gave a very dramatic interpretation of
Slated, the sci-fi teen-thriller about a young girl who has
her memories slated from her brain and must find her way
in a very confusing, unfamiliar world.
As well as the local teens, some other children took part in
the awards ceremony too. They were from further-flung
parts, though Kenya, to be
exact. Pupils from the affluent
International School of Kenya
pooled their creative talents
with the far less fortunate
children from Mathare North
School to create short
presentations of Torn and
Slated. The importance of
these award ceremonies was
never more obvious than when
Kenyas richest and poorest
could be seen acting out their
favourite scenes together, their
differences forgotten because of
the stories they all loved equally.
Before the big one, a prize was
awarded to Lewis Mitchell of
Falkirk High, whose review of
Slated won him the Best Review prize.
Anticipation swelled in the room in the moments before Teri
Terrys Slated claimed the 2014 Falkirk RED Book Award.
After her victory, the author spoke of how much it meant to
her than the audience had personally chosen her book as
their favourite, and also expressed her pleasure in being
awarded the winners bowl, hand crafted by Falkirks own
Barbara Davidson.
The day was a fun-filled reminder of the importance of
reading, both in our town and further afield. Future RED
bookers have all of this and more to look forward to in the
coming years of RED, and long may it continue.
By JORDAN ALLAN
Brush Up Your
Shakespeare
There is something rotten in the heart of Stratford, and that
is the absence of a certain group of LHS pupils. April 1st
5th sees the next annual Stratford trip this time with over
eighty pupils attending. However, there is a method to the
madness in the form of Miss Leach and willing English
teachers eager to reach the home of the man himself,
William Shakespeare.
The pupils will be able to visit the birthplace and home of
Shakespeare, his wife Ann Hathaways home and farm, the
world famous Globe Theatre, and the infamous ginger
pigs amongst many other treats, including the indoor
rain which is raved about regularly by Miss Leach whilst
viewing a RSC production, this years being Henry V.
However, not all of the trips preparations were plain sailing.
Two beds or not two beds, that was the question - which
was immediately sorted out.
This trip is definitely a trip to be remembered by all,
especially if all of the stories of previous years are true.
KIRSTY GARDINER
The Road to Safety
All teenagers look forward to passing their driving test. Some only
look at the advantages such as having more friends or getting
places quicker; the other side of the coin is that a car can be a
lethal weapon, with road traffic collisions causing untold grief and
suffering. To hammer home this message all pupils went to the
MacRobert centre at Stirling University to the annual Safe Drive
Stay Alive event, jointly run by the Emergency Services with
support from the insurance industry.
The event featured members of the Police, Ambulance and Fire
Services, together with staff from NHS Forth Valley, describing the
horrific experiences they had in dealing with a horrific road traffic
collision. Their stories were made even more graphic by a video
reconstruction of a real collisions which left one young person
dead and two injured. Perhaps most sobering of all was a talk by a
young man who had been paralysed in a terrible collision. It was
obvious from the silence at the end of the show that all the
audience members had been really shocked by what they saw. It is
hoped that everyone will take the lesson very seriously when the
time comes to take control of a road vehicle.
BAILEY STEWART
Croeso I Gymru
The Cwlwm Celtaidd festival is an annual event
comprising concerts and workshops in Porthcawl,
Wales. John Dick and Blair Faulds (S4) travelled down on the 6th
March as part of the California and
District Pipe Band and arrived back
on the 10th. John played the
bagpipes and Blair the snare drum,
and they thoroughly enjoyed their
experience. On the first day they
delivered a tutorial at a primary
school on how the bagpipes and
snare drums work. Over the course
of the weekend they also opened
concerts, took part in a street
parade and played at a beach
ceilidh. John and Blair have also
played at Hampden Park before
the womens football games as
part of the London 2012
Olympics and have travelled to
France and Switzerland to take
part in further competitions. CODY IZATT
page 8 LARBERTlink - May 2014
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ITS OFF TO WORK WE GO!
On February12th, the Faculty of Technology operated a World
of Work day for the first years. This opportunity was to show
them that they could have a lot more skills than they think. It
also lets them get an insight into other subjects and makes
their course choice a little easier for moving into second year.
The World of Work day happens every year and will continue
to happen for many more. Thanks to Mrs Jones and others for
making it a very enjoyable day for the first years.
BAILEY STEWART
Curriculum for Excellence promotes the aspiration that all
young people will benefit from different approaches to
learning and opportunities to develop learning in different
contexts. This year witnessed the development of an exciting
new programme run in partnership with Falkirk Council and
Forth Valley College aimed at encouraging young people in
the Falkirk area to consider applying to college once they
leave school.
120 S4 pupils from all secondary schools across the Falkirk
area secured a place on the one year School-College
Opportunities to Succeed (SCOTS) Programme, 15 from
Larbert High School. All pupils attended college one
afternoon per week and experienced eight different subjects
including construction; hair and beauty; engineering;
business; administration and tourism; care; fitness, health
and exercise; creative industries and science. In the
forthcoming third term, there will be an opportunity for
pupils to focus on a specific area in the last 8 weeks of the
programme.
Back in Larbert High the pupils involved worked hard to
improve their skills for learning, work and life. By working
towards the SQA Employability Award they were able to
develop skills such as researching for jobs, creating a CV and
preparing for interviews. They also learned more about the
taster courses undertaken within Forth Valley College.
Guest speakers such as Leigh-Anne Bridgeman of Asda and
Terry Anderson of the Scottish Trade Union Congress visited
the school and were able to bring to life lessons on group
interviews and the rights and responsibilities of employees,
respectively.
Pupils in Larbert also had an opportunity to gain experience
of the workplace to further develop their understanding of
the working environment. As well as individual work
placements, pupils also enjoyed a series of group visits to
employers representing a wide range of industries including
visits to Alexander Dennis in Falkirk; Capital Radio in
Glasgow and Falkirk Fire Station.
As a result of their participation on the programme the
pupils were able to find out more about the different types
of courses available at college and the employment
opportunities and progression routes they can lead to.
Indeed, each of the Larbert High School pupils involved have
gained the confidence to apply to either a full-time college
course at Forth Valley and elsewhere, or one of the Skills for
Work courses available in S5.
Well done to all who participated, they have set a challenge
to next years entrants.
MR J. MOONEY
KARATE KID
Larbert High has its very own Sports Personality of the
Year Lewis Simpson.
Competing against over 50
people, Lewis won the Falkirk
Council Sports Personality of
the Year at the Town Hall for
his success at karate. Lewis has
spent 6 years doing karate and
trains in Dunfermline for a
minimum of four days per
week. He is competing in the
Scottish Open in Glasgow on
the 26th April and will be
travelling to Denmark this
summer for the European
Championships. Lewis aspires
to be a karate instructor when
he is older.
CODY IZATT
Larbert High pupils gain an
Opportunity to Succeed!
Dancing the Night Away
This year the next annual dance showcase is said to be
bigger and better than all years before. Many talented
young individuals will take to the stage to show their
talents on the sixth of June. With dancers from the
recent Forth Valley Dance Competition which all went
down a storm, it is sure to be a great night. Details of
tickets to follow.
KIRSTY GARDINER