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NEWSLETTER

Wednesday 10 March 2010

From the Headmaster

As the later part of the Spring Term draws nearer with about three weeks to go until the Easter holidays all pupils in S4 to S6 will be making sure that they have a carefully constructed revision timetable. The number of weeks until public examinations can now be counted in single figures and the amount of time spent in revision work must therefore rise. There are still plenty of opportunities for all candidates to seek help from their teachers, but in addition a significant increase in the number of hours of homework must now take place to get the best possible results in August.

The programme for examination leave will be put on the website, published to pupils by the end of this week and a copy included in the end of term mailing with the aim being to maximise time in class for all pupils taking examinations. After the summer examinations S5 will have a period of two weeks of work experience surrounding one week on an Outward Bound course. This will, I think, be incredibly rewarding to those who go.

After the Advanced Highers are sat by S6 they will be able to participate in a wide ranging programme under the heading ‘Independent Living.’ This will also be known as the S6 Leavers’ Programme and will  run from 14-29 June. It will involve sessions on finances, health, survival cookery, first aid, plus have sessions on sport, whole year group activities and other opportunities. We look forward to this additional programme.

Meanwhile the Curriculum for Excellence preparations are moving ahead well with the secondary emphasis being on S1 and S2 next year. This preparation has recently been supplemented by the February INSET day and staff attending outside training and joining development panels for the new qualifications. The cross curricular work opportunities are proving exciting for Departments to develop. There is still a period of waiting to see how the new examinations at S4 level, to be known as National 4 or 5, are going to be organised. A summary of Curriculum for Excellence and how it fits in with our provision at Lomond is available on the school website.

There will be minimal adjustments to school uniform for next year in a bid to ensure that team kits can have as long a life as possible. One change that will be made is to introduce a more modern girls’ games skort (a skirt/short combination garment) that is more in keeping with the modern game. The PE Department and School shop are liaising closely here to ensure the transition goes well. Additionally the Junior boys and girls will have a better fitting set of PE shorts ordered. All other items of uniform remain the same which I hope will help.

The recent Charity fundraising Neon discos, for CHAS and Pecanwood College have done well and raised a sum of £600.19 in one short burst. We hope to be able to send a good set of funds to make a difference. I am grateful to the Charities Committee in S6 and Mr Dodson and his staff helpers for making this an excellent event.

Congratulations to …

Jeanna Sallywho has been elected as Helensburgh and Lomond’s new Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament.  She won with 96% of the votes.

Caleigh Bradburysubmitted a piece about “The Book that Changed My Life” for the Scottish Book Trust.  This has been included in an anthology of stories written by well know authors including Michael Rosen and Alexander McCall Smith. Caleigh was invited to the book launch and presented with her own edition of the book.

Well done and our warmest congratulations.

From the Depute

•  S6 subject choices.  In the course of the next few weeks I will be interviewing all current S5 pupils about their plans for next year, especially their proposed subjects of study.  Pupils should use the recently completed prelim marks as an indicator.  As a general rule, it would be unwise to choose an Advanced Higher course unless the pupil is likely to obtain at least 60% (a 'B' award) at Higher level.  The choices made at this stage will help in constructing the timetable for next session.  Needless to say, changes will be able to be made once the Higher results are published in August. 
• Team Photographs will be taken on Friday 12 March.  Clean PE kit should be brought into school on that day. Individual photographs will also be taken for pupils who were not available in September. Full school uniform should be worn for these photographs and a list of the pupils concerned is on the noticeboard and a note will be given to Form Teachers.
• S2, S4 and S5 girls HPV vaccination (3).  This will now take place on Thursday 18 March from 9.30am in Burnbrae.

Primary News

Lunch w/c 15 March– Mon –Sausage casserole with cauliflower cheese and creamed potato, raspberry flan; Tues– Tomato and cheese pasta with French bread, fruit platter;Wed– Cod goujons with mixed vegetables and oven chips, fruit loaf; Thurs – Roast chicken, over roast potato and sprouts, Mars bar cake; Fri– Shepherd’s Pie and peas, empire biscuit.  A selection of fresh fruit and vegetables are available daily.

• At the Transitus Assembly Mr Calder shared an excellent CEOP (Child Exploitation & Online Protection) production aimed at 8 to 10 year olds. This resource, called Jigsaw, talks about how children can keep themselves safe online and how they can report anything they find disconcerting. Sadly the case reported in the news of a conviction in Darlington for an incident of this type within 10 hours of the assembly shows how vital this education is.
• At the Clarendon Assembly on Tuesday Mr Calder discussed the significance of the individual using the example of the Stroma Bell and sheep. Hopefully the children will remember their ‘Stroma Bell’ whenever they are being poorly influenced by others.
• Clarendon parents’ eveningtook place on Tuesday and will take place on Thursday 11 March (7pm-9pm). As well as class teachers, there are appointments available with PE and Additional Support Needs from 7pm – 8pm. Please contact Mrs Ferguson if you still require an appointment.
• Maths Week:Last week in St Bride’s T1, T2 and S1 took part in a Maths week where they were taking a look at the usage of maths and numeracy in everyday life. This included use of the Clarendon garden, liaison with the Art Department and taking part in the World Maths Week Challenge. Mr Calder was particularly impressed by the pizza and cookie he received as part of the financial education element. In Clarendon, Maths week will now take place the week beginning 22 March and the theme will be ‘inside and out’ and will also have an artistic element.
• T2 Edinburgh trip:Just a calendar reminder that the parental information session for the T2 Edinburgh trip will take place in Mrs Brown’s room at 3.30pm on Monday 15 March.
• Cross Country:The next generation of Lomond Cross Country runners is shaping up to be a good one. Unfortunately for the J5 girls they did not hold their title at the Garscube Harriers Meet last week due to Wallis Jamieson having a nasty fall but Kara Bruce ran extremely well to come 5^th in 13.06 minutes with Mackenzie Serpell taking 12^th place in 13.46. The J5 boys ‘A’ team were awarded with trophies for third team place after excellent runs by Charlie Johnston (5^th in 9.58), Tyler Thomas (7^th in 10.49) and Ruairidh Scott-Brown (15^th in 11.42). The boys ‘B’ team also performed well to take 7^th place. They were Jamie Fraser (19th in 12.26), Callum Woodward (27^th in 13.27) and Andrew Macleod (31^st in 14.58). In the T1 race Calum Caskie had a really classy run to come 5^th in 10.15 whilst Tristan Philbey was not far behind him coming 8^th in 10.39.
• Congratulations to Helena Philipswho took part in the 98^th Glasgow Music Festival. She was awarded first place out of 10 for singing in the in the Songs from the Shows category (10-11 year group). Helena is the first Lomond pupil in recent times to have entered this competition and this is an incredible achievement.  Hopefully she will help the choir towards an equally good result next week.
• Tesco Vouchersare now being given out and are once again being collected by Clarendon. Thank you for your continuing support with this initiative.
• Lost property:Alexander Caskie’s named school waterproof jacket, one of the new fleece lined design, has gone missing. Please could you check to see if your child has brought it home in error. Thank you.

Nursery News

• World Book Day~ A very warm thank you to those parents who read to the children. This was a lovely day, it was good to see so many children dressed up and having fun developing their storybook characters through their role play. 
• Nursery Photographs~ The whole group photo will take place on Friday 12 March in St Bride’s at 10.20am. If your child is not usually in Nursery on a Friday, if possible please could you bring him/her to St Bride’s at this time as we would like all children to be included.  If your child  missed the individual photo earlier in the year, or had not yet started Nursery, there will be an opportunity to have this taken at 1.45pm (please note not 2pm as previously stated), but please could you let us know if you will be going  as we need to notify the photographer. All children are asked to please wear their full nursery uniform, including sweatshirt, for the photographs.
• GoggleBox ~ The next Gogglebox session will be after Nursery on Tuesday 16 March. If your child has just started Nursery, this is a great way to get to know other parents while the children let off steam.
• Visit from the Community Police Officer ~ We are in the process of arranging a visit from the Community Police Officer to help the children understand about keeping safe, especially as at this age children may run away from a parent without any concept of possible consequences.
• Superhero role play ~ All parents should have recently received our policy leaflet. Please refer to this if your child is showing an interest or concern about this type of play. This week in Nursery we are focusing on helping children to understand the differences between fantasy and reality - a very difficult concept for children under the age of 6 to comprehend.
  The following web links may be of interest to you:

Superhero
Kidzworld

• Chicken Pox ~ This is doing the rounds - keep an eye out for spots, or if your child is generally unwell ... you are advised to keep your child at home until all the spots have crusted over.
   

 S5 WORK EXPERIENCE

The Careers Advisor is looking for parents who could assist with work experience placements - especially engineering and medical.   Work experience is scheduled for w/c 31 May for one week and w/c 14 June.  If you can help please email j.bbunnage@lomond-school.org

LOMOND SCHOOL MUSIC DEPARTMENT IN CONCERT

 Please join the Music Department on Wednesday 17 March at 7.30pm in St Bride’s Hall.  Tickets are available from the General Office and admission is free.

S1/S2 PARENTS MATHS REFRESHER SESSION

In anticipation of the S1 and S2 Maths Assessments in March, there’ll be another of our occasional Refresher Sessions in school on Saturday 13 March from 11am-12 noon (tea/coffee and biscuits from 10.45!).  Everyone is welcome; we’ll be looking at Angles, Areas and Volumes.  Please email me at a.laceby@lomond-school.org if you would like to attend. (AJL)

SENIOR DRAMA PRODUCTION

New request – we need a very old, dirty and beaten up, but still working BMX type bike for the show. If you can help please contact Mrs McElhill  - c.mcelhill@lomond-school.org  Many thanks.

 PE

Saturday 13 March                        Hockey v St Columba’s School

• 1^st XI meet at Ardencaple for 9am in Full Tracksuits, match at 9.30am, finish 10.30am.  Bring a clean pair of shoes for match teas.
• 2^nd XI meet at Ardencaple for 10am in Full Tracksuits, match at 10.30am, finish 11.30am.  Bring a clean pair of shoes for match teas.
• 1^st Year ‘A’ team and 3^rd XI meet at Sports Hall for 8.20am in Full Tracksuits, to travel to East End Park, Dumbarton.  1^st Year match at 9.30am and finish at 10.30am, 3^rd XI match at 10.20am and finish at 11.15am.  Bus returns to Sports Hall at 12 noon.
• T2 ‘A’ & ‘B’ teams and 3^rd Year ‘B’ team are meeting at Sports Hall for 7.45am to travel to Linwood.  T2 matches start at 9.15am and will finish at 10 am.  Miss Boyd will be driving a minibus to take the dancers back to Helensburgh for 10.30am.  T2 pupils must travel in Full Tracksuits and take their School Uniform to change into after match.  3^rd Yr pupils must travel in School Uniform.  Return to Sports Hall approximately 12.15pm.
• 3^rd Yr ‘A’, 2^nd Yr ‘A’ & ‘B’ teams all meet at Sports Hall for 7.45am to travel to Kilmacolm.  3^rd Years travel in Full Tracksuits with 2^nd Years travelling in School Uniform.  3rd Years playing at 9.15am, 2^nd Yr ‘A’ at 10am, 2^nd Yr ‘B’ at 10.45am.  Return to Sports Hall for approximately 1pm.

Girls’ cancellation number is 0751 843 0319.  Please phone this number after 7am.

Wednesday 10 March

• West District Hockey VIIs away to Glasgow at lunchtime.

2^nd XI Tournament, players leaving at 12.30pm sharp from School.  Change into PE kit at break time.  Return 6.15pm.

• Hutchesons’ Rugby VIIs at Auldhouse, leaving at lunch-time.

Friday 12 March

• 2^nd Year Hockey & Rugby Squads v King’s School, Tynemouth.  Matches starting 2pm at Ardencaple, pupils are being dismissed from there and are hosting the visitors on Friday night and then meeting back on Saturday morning.  More details on letter.

Tuesday 16 March

• West District Under 15 Hockey Trials at Windyedege.  Leaving school at 3.25pm, finish at 6pm.

Wednesday 17 March

• The High School of Glasgow Hockey & Rugby VIIs - Away

Thursday 18 March

• Senior Inter-House Cross Country at 3.25pm. 

Rugby

Friday 12 March

• S2 v King’s School (home) KO 2pm

Saturday 13 March

• Lomond V Coatbridge HS

1^st XV, S3/S4, S2 and S1 (Home) KO 10am, meet at sports hall 9.15am changed, finish by

11.15am.

Boys’ cancellation number is 0751 843 0155. Please phone this number after 7am.

SPORTS HALL ON SATURDAYS

Pupils are invited to use the Sports Hall on Saturday 13 March as follows:

J5 and Transitus                   Basketball and Badminton                  10am -11am

S1 – S6                                    Badminton                                              11am – 12noon

Please arrive changed.

D of E

• Monday 15 March –Silver D of E presentations in St Bride’s Hall at 6.30pm.  The Silver groups from last year will be doing presentations about their expeditions.
• Bronze Training weekend Saturday 20 March9am – Sunday 21 March 6pm approximately.

Pick up letter from D of E tray in General Office.

LOMOND PTA NEWS

• Change to Pre-Order System – Trial Period

To make the Pre-Order System more convenient for senior school parents, orders handed in by Friday morning can be collected from St Bride’s Reception between 8.20am - 8.30am the following Monday directly from either Mrs McPherson or Mrs Lawn. Pre-Orders for junior school pupils will still be available for collection from Mrs Ferguson.

• Lomond PTA Shop

Colquhoun Tartan School Kilts now selling at ONLY £10.

Navy Crested School Jumpers in stock from only £12.

Lovely warm fleece lined waterproof jackets for juniors and seniors start at only £18. Hats and scarves are also available.

The shop is open on Friday afternoons 3.30pm- 4.30pm

• Diary Date

The PTA are pleased to let parents know that we have been in discussions with Loch Lomond Golf Club with a view to developing a relationship with them.  They have recently opened the Spa facilities in the walled garden to the public and are keen to let people know what is available.  To that end, they are holding a Coffee Morning to which all Lomond Parents are invited on Friday 26 March between 9.30am and 11.30am.  During the morning, the Spa will be offering complimentary treatments.  The Spa is a very pleasant environment and we hope that as many parents as possible will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.

LOMOND PTA FAMILY CEILIDH

All parents and children are warmly invited to the PTA Family Ceilidh which is taking place in Larchfield Hall on Saturday 20 March from 7.30pm to 10.30pm.  The band will be Crowded Croft and we will be serving light refreshments at half time.  There will also be a tuck shop and raffle.  Tickets are available from the School Offices and the PTA year reps for a very reasonable £5 for adults and £3 for children.  Do come along for what should be a very enjoyable evening.

HOLIDAY SPORTING ACTIVITIES FOR 5-14 YEAR OLDS AT LOMOND SPORTS HALL

An important strategy for the school is to get the best possible use of our new Sports Hall.  We have been approached by an established service provider ‘SportEcosse’ and they would like to run sports camps during the Easter 2010 school break.

Based on their success at other venues we have agreed to allow them to use our Sports Hall on a trial basis.  If the initiative is successful then we will allow them to continue during the Summer holiday period.  The camp is targeted towards 5 to 14 year old pupils.

Booking forms and leaflets have been sent out via email and are also available from Clarendon and the General Office. I would ask that any parents who are interested in this service should contact ‘SportEcosse’ directly.

SCRIPTURE UNION CAMPS J5 to S6

If anyone is interested in attending a Scripture Union camp this year leaflets are available at Clarendon and the General Office. 

HELENSBURGH MUSIC SOCIETY

The next concert of the Helensburgh Music Society is on Saturday 20 March 2010 at 7.45pm at Victoria Halls, Sinclair Street, Helensburgh 

Sharona Joshua, pianist, accompanies Baritone Thomas Guthrie in Schubert's song cycle Die Schone Mullerin.

 Tickets are £11, £9 (concessions) £5 (students), £1 (u16s) and available from the Membership Secretary 01436 672402, The Pink Gallery, 28 Sinclair Street, Helensburgh 01436 678848 and on door.

70 WILD MILES, GLENCOE - LOCH ETIVE  SATURDAY 5 JUNE 2010

(CLIC Sargent, Scotland – Caring for Childrenwith Cancer)  

70 Wild Miles is a triathlon where competitors cycle 47 miles, canoe 10 miles and run the last 13 miles.

The event needs a large number of people to support due to the large area covered. The Water section especially needs enough Safety cover or cannot go ahead.

If you have some spare time (and a boat) we desperately need your help. Thank you!

For more information please contact ytsrik_1@hotmail.comand visit www.70wildmiles.org