\McLaren High
\Balfron High
Trip to Robin House At the beginning of November last year, all of S3 went head to head in a YPI competition to win £3000 for a chosen charity. Our group - 3E1 - were lucky enough to win the project and donate the £3000 to CHAS - specifically Robin House in Balloch. Robin House were kind enough to invite us for a tour last week, as a thank you for donating the money and choosing them as our charity. It was a great experience fulfilled with loads of interesting information about what they aim to do, and how our donation makes such a difference to so many people’s lives. The amount of work that goes into Robin House is incredible, and it was a very emotional trip getting an insight into what so many people have to go through every day. Although people may think that Robin House is a sad place, the workers and volunteers do their best and succeed in making it a happy, cheery, and friendly place. The staff are very loving and excitable and we could see how much they do for their patients, treating them like friends and family. Thanks to Amanda Reid, Jonathan Clegg and Miss Vickers for giving us this fantastic opportunity. Written by: Kate Cottle, Lauren Davies, Mieke Kalmijn and Sophie Swift (3E1)
\Alloa Academy
Inter-House competition Last week featured only S2-S4 so there were only 18 points up for grabs. Schaw were in first place with nine points, Bruce came second with five and Erskine were in third place with four. 2S1 and 3S2 tied for the highest number of weekly co-operation merits and 3E2 had the highest number of excellent pieces of work. At sports days all Houses will be able to gain points. Transition The transition programme is gearing up and all are looking forward to welcoming new S1s to the school for a variety of different activities. CSI Alloa will take place over the next few weeks as will the music and art extravaganza. The P7 Health Challenge will take place for all on Tuesday, May 23 and visits from staff from all subjects to P7 classes will begin in earnest next week. An open evening takes place on Wednesday, June 14 – all will be welcome to visit the school from 4-6pm to see examples of work by students. Exams The SQA exams are proceeding well within the school and attendance and conduct have been excellent. Students should return to full attendance at school on the Monday following their final SQA exam. Film-making Good luck to all of our students who have been instrumental in the making of two films over the last three weeks. One of the films relates to the Devon Wetlands and the other to Alloa as a tourist destination. Both films will be premiered next month. Pupil-led enquiry There has been a huge increase in the number of students taking part in lunchtime and after-school clubs, including table tennis, trampolining, athletics, basketball and girls’ football. The break-dance group continues and the S2 and S3 boys are making great progress with their moves. S4 Prefects Thanks are due to the new group of S4 prefects who will be fulfilling the duties when S5 and S6 students are on study Leave. Arras trip Pupils Kyle Gillespie and Lewis Kinney were recently involved in a moving and memorable Battlefields trip Seventy-two S3 History pupils representing each local authority in Scotland attended a service at Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery in Arras, France to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Arras. The service was conducted by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and many dignitaries attended as well as French schoolchildren after which they placed poppy crosses on the graves of Battle of Arras casualties as pipers played Flowers of the Forest. The Battle of Arras had the highest concentration of Scottish troops fighting in a single battle during World War One. The average daily casualty rate was 4076, which was higher than that at The Somme or the Third Battle of Ypres. Of the approximate total 159,000 casualties, around a third were Scottish and of those Scots injured an estimated 18,000 lost their lives. In the evening the pupils attended a Beating of the Retreat by the Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Place des Héros in Arras. Kyle and Lewis said: “It was a real privilege to have been chosen to represent Clackmannanshire. We found it very moving and the whole trip was a great learning experience. We know much more about not only the Battle of Arras, but WW1 in general. We should never forget the tremendous sacrifice. People as young as us fought and died in this war –we stood at the grave of a 15 year old soldier who had been killed in this war.” CPR Training On Monday, May 8, The Sandpiper Trust visited McLaren Leisure Centre to teach every S1-3 pupil the lifesaving skill of CPR. Paramedics from the trust were accompanied by the Trossachs Search and Rescue Team, Callander Fire and Rescue and a local GP BASICS Responder in this combined effort to empower pupils to help others in emergency situations. More than 300 pupils, staff and parents learned together as they attended sessions led by emergency First Responders – an excellent opportunity for a small, rural community. The Sandpiper Trust works to help save lives in Scotland both through the incredible work they do in fundraising to provide emergency equipment to rural Scottish locations and through educating people in preparation for emergencies. Keri Fickling from Sandpiper said: “CPR is really important because if someone suffers a cardiac arrest, and their heart stops, for every minute that nothing happens their chance of survival decreases by 10 percent, so if we can start early CPR then we can increase peoples’ chance of survival really easily – everybody’s got the tools to do CPR: their own hands”. The drive in emergency response education and provision of equipment like defibrillators and Sandpiper bags by charities like The Sandpiper Trust and Trossachs Search and Rescue is having an outstanding impact on the lives of people living in the area. Stuart Ballantyne from Trossachs Search and Rescue said: “There are now 105 defibrillators out across the area from Stirling to Loch Lomond, 10 have been used by members of the public with a 60 per cent success rate which is quite incredible!” McLaren High School is extremely grateful to The Sandpiper Trust, Trossachs Search and Rescue, Callander Fire and Rescue and Dr Wilson for volunteering their time and expertise. The teams encourage everyone to learn CPR and offer free training. Find out more about both charities at www.sandpipertrust.org and www. trossachs-sar.com. Local mud run The Lanrick Challenge also offers a brilliant experience which raises money for The Sandpiper Trust and Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance and this year’s event takes place on Saturday, August 5. Registration is open.