\Alloa Academy
\Balfron High
China Meal and Show A group of 10 Balfron High school pupils have been selected to take part in a Chinese language and culture course this summer, and recently, five of the group had the chance to experience some of the Scottish Chinese New Year celebrations, thanks to the Stirling Confucius Hub. To begin the evening, the group went to an oriental restaurant for dinner. After the meal, we made our way to the Albert Halls to watch a show, consisting of an amazing variety of different individual performers. There were singers, dancers, acrobatics, gymnastics, even magic - all of which were incredible. As well as the spectacular talent and showmanship of the performers, essentially the entire show was compared in Mandarin which only added to the experience. Overall the entire evening was a great night, and has reminded the grop of the huge adventure to come. by Lewis Forbes 5L3
\McLaren High
Gymnastics The school’s gymnastic club has been training hard all year, every Tuesday at lunchtime, to compete in the Stirling Schools Gymnastics competition which took place on January 25 at The PEAK. Competitors in Team 1 were Lucy Martin, Lauren Duffy, Flora Duff and Molly Underwood and in Team 2 were Rhona Dillon, Emma Myles, Sadie Eastland and Kitty Messer. After practicing routines and vaults the teams performed our floor routines in front of a judge followed by vaulting. Overall it was a good experience as none of us had been to a gymnastics competition before and we were shocked as Team 1 came fifth and Team 2 were eighth. Thanks to Mr Perman for coaching. Lauren Duffy S2 Giant Heptathlon On Tuesday, January 31, 14 S1 and S2 pupils took part in the Giant Heptathlon event at The PEAK. All seven Stirling Council high schools were represented and McLaren competed in the relay and the seven events: Beanbag Endurance Challenge; Shot Putt; Standing Long Jump; Standing Triple Jump; Bench Steps/Step Up Challenge; Sprint Hurdles and 40m Sprint. The team finished third and qualified for the Regional Championships. Lucy More S2 Rotary Young Chef Competition Niamh King (S4) qualified in the local heats in school against other pupils and took part in the Rotary Young Chef competition at Dundee and Angus College. This is her report: We had to cook a three-course meal in just two hours, costing every ingredient that we used. It had to total less than or equal to £15 as well as being as healthy as possible. I had a lot of help from my granny as she is a good cook, was patient with me and had lots of great tips. I decided on cooking chicken liver pate with melba toast as a starter, citrus marinated spiced pork fillet with wedges and spicy tomato sauce as the main course and pear and apple filo pastry baskets with vanilla custard for dessert. I had the chance to practice the entire menu at The Meadows in Callander, where there is an industrial kitchen so it was good practice for the actual competition and the Head Chef gave me some really good tips and ideas. On the day of the competition everything went well, the judges consisted of cooking professors from the college and some chefs. I scored full marks on the starter and desert and they said the main tasted great. I was placed as a finalist and I really enjoyed the experience even though it was quite stressful. I would like to return another year and give it another go and I would encourage others to do the same. Safer Internet Day Following on from Safer Internet Day on February 7, the McLaren Digital Leader Team are beginning an exciting programme to explore how they can inspire the safe, positive and creative use of technology both in school and in the community. The Digital Leader Team will gain key skills and knowledge, including: e-safety knowledge; communication, presentation and teaching skills; leadership skills; self-efficacy and confidence; and teamwork and planning skills. Inter-House Bruce House maintained their position this week and came first again with a huge total of 15 points. Schaw were in second place with 12 points and Erskine had a poor showing this week with only nine points gained. 1B1 topped the list for weekly co-operation while 1B2 collected the most individual merits for excellent effort. Green Flag Award The school’s Green Flag arrived in school last week and will be flying proudly from the balcony. World Wetlands Day The World Wetlands Day was an enormous success with students inspired by the activities they experienced. Students worked closely with the RSPB and Inner Forth Valley Landscape Initiative to help develop the Black Devon Wetlands, pruning willow in the reserve and planting a willow screen in front of the new wetland hide. Several students were interviewed by Radio2 and gave their views on the wetland experience. Hearing students give one another advice on how best to approach the task of cutting reeds was interesting and the teamwork efforts were great. Scottish Week Thanks to all for taking part in Scottish Week events. Three House Groups (2S2, 1S1 and 2E1) got all the answers to the Burns competition. Mr Robertson read “A man’s a man for a’ that”; Mr Moore read “To a Mountain Daisy”; Miss Nimmo read “Address to the toothache”; Ms Grossart read “To a Mouse” and Mr Black read “Address to the haggis”. Option Choice Interviews Students in S3 and S5 are continuing to have subject choice interviews with their PT Pupil Support. Forms are due back in school by today (Friday). Senior Phase Exams Exams are taking place for all of senior phase students over the next three weeks. The exams have been planned around the week-long holiday to give students the opportunity to learn more about how to study. All have been encouraged to write up a study timetable and tips on how to study have been shared. In-Service Training Please note that the school will be closed to pupils for all of the week beginning Monday, February 13. Staff will be in-school for In-service training on Monday and Tuesday and will be on holiday for the remainder of the week.