Braidhurst/Our Lady’s High

Scottish Cup Victory On Thursday, April 27 the school’s under-16 team won the Scottish Cup after a fantastic 2-1 victory against Queen Anne High School from Dunfermline. The Braidhurst boys were worthy champions after a tough campaign which saw them beat teams such as: St Ninian’s High School in the quarter finals (3-2) and Clydeview Academy in the semifinal. Victory was secured with two superb goals from Jordan Moore and Callum Neill. Team captain, Dean Cornelius, said: “Winning the Scottish Cup was a very proud moment and captain and the team would like to send a big thank you to all our parents and friends who supported us.” S6 Leaver’s Assembly A leaver’s assembly took place in the library on Friday, April 28 to mark the graduation of the school’s departing sixth year students. The assembly opened with a welcome speech from head teacher, Mrs Rooney, followed by a valediction from school captains Lauren McKinstry and Adam Sinnet and then concluded with a presentation of leavers certificates, by Depute headteacher for S5-S6 Miss Anderson, whilst a ‘Remember the Gold Old Days’ slideshow chronicled through photographs the journey of pupils from their first day at school to their last. Lauren McKinstry spoke on behalf of all pupils. She said: “The assembly was a lovely sending off for us all and a great opportunity for pupils to say goodbye to staff and to each other. We’re all grateful for the effort everyone has put into organising the assembly”. S1 Girls Football Team A huge congratulations to the school’s S1 Girls football team who recently won the North Lanarkshire Active Schools league championship. This is a fantastic result for all the pupils and staff involved. Robotics Group – Excellence and Equity Award The club has recently picked up yet another award to add to the trophy room being awarded an Excellence and Equity award at North Lanarkshire Learning Festival launch which was held recently at Motherwell Civic Centre. The award was given in the category “successful interventions – going the extra mile”. Robotics is offered as an elective and ensures the school’s broad general education (BGE) offers pupils the chance to personalize their timetable with a course of their choice. Both the elective and the club are organized by Mr Hussain of the science department. Mr Hussain said: “We at Braidhurst are committed to meeting the needs of the individual by being creative and providing them with the opportunity to develop skills they will need in the world of work.” Malawi Findraising The school’s Malawi fundraising team launched its staff car wash. Eager pupils are on hand every Wednesday lunchtime from now until the end of term. Titanic Our Lady’s was delighted to be shortlisted for an Excellence and Equity Awards 2017 in the category of Productive Partnerships - Purposeful Learning for our Titanic Project. Three pupils from last year’s Titanic Crew attended Motherwell Civic Theatre to accept the award. The Titanic Project works with S4 pupils and involves staff from across the school as well as local businesses, voluntary groups and national organisations. All of the pupils involved achieve an SQA qualification in “local investigations”. Staff co-ordinators continue to collect materials, ideas and contacts and look forward to its continuing success long into the future. Congratulations to two former pupils Our Lady’s High School was delighted to hear of the success of two of our former pupils in the recent local elections. Dominic Nolan, a third year economics and international relations student, has been elected as a Scottish Conservative Party member to Fife Council. Since starting at St Andrews in late 2014, Mr Nolan has participated in various local and national political movements. Olivia Carson left from sixth year around seven years ago and tweeted: “Thanks to the world’s best campaign team! Delighted to have been elected as a Labour councillor for Motherwell North.” Speakers Corner Challenge Our Lady’s is delighted to host the ESU Speaker’s Corner Public Speaking Challenge this month. Raymond Ron and Conor Mullen will be representing the school in the junior competition, with Magen McNulty and Grant Mackin speaking for the seniors. S1-S3 speeches are to be based on one of the following quotations: 1. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. 2. “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” - Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Quotations for S4-6 are: “Tis not too late to seek a newer world.” – Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ulysses. “Hatred is so much easier to win than love - and so much harder to get rid of.” - Enid Blyton, Six Cousins Again. Good luck, everyone! Charity Our Lady’s High School has a strong tradition of supporting a wide range of charities. Students have shown a generosity of spirit and a compassion to the needs of others as they have undertaken a range of fund raising activities: S1 pupils raised £200 as part of the school’s Lenten Charity Appeal through the OLHS/Bothwell Park Karaoke Challenge. Students in S2 and S3 have been undertaking the OLHS Silence is Golden Challenge during their RE classes. The school have been involved in supporting an initiative in Malawi called Girls Go For Health. This programme is aimed at helping girls in deprived areas of Malawi gain access to the same educational opportunities as young males. The whole school community has also undertaken a charity drive to support the work of the Cardinal Winning Initiative – which provides practical support to women of all faiths, or of no particular faith, who are facing a crisis pregnancy. Thank you to all who have contributed so generously. Champions League OLHS annual Champions League is taking place on Friday, May 19 at Firpark. Please add your name to the lists in PE if you are interested in taking part. Cycling Tour Series This year the Cycling Tour Series is returning to Motherwell on May 23. Organisers are looking for high schools to come along to get a chance to ride around the official track and participate in a race. They are looking for teams of four of S1-3 pupils to compete. Pupils should all be confident cyclists and have their own bike – which has to be road worthy. Any pupil interested must give their name to the PE department as soon as possible.

Our Lady’s