Extracurricular Activities: Learning Skills for Life - St Columba's School
Extracurricular Activities: Learning Skills for Life - St Columba's School
Extracurricular Activities: Learning Skills for Life - St Columba's School
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Issue 31 June 2011<br />
The Columban<br />
<strong>Extracurricular</strong> <strong>Activities</strong>:<br />
<strong>Learning</strong> <strong>Skills</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Life</strong><br />
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, page 4<br />
<strong>School</strong> Orchestra, page 8
Rector’s Message<br />
Although we are now heading into the final weeks of the<br />
school year the pace does not appear to have slackened.<br />
The school diary is as busy as ever, with staff and pupils<br />
involved in theatre trips to London, Duke of edinburgh’s<br />
Award hikes, sports days and talent shows. We are<br />
delighted to have secured Mark Beaumont, the BBC<br />
presenter and cyclist, as our guest speaker <strong>for</strong> senior<br />
school Prize Giving. Professor John Wallace, Principal<br />
of the Royal scottish Academy of Music and Drama, will<br />
speak at Junior school Prize Giving. Please refer to the<br />
calendar on the school website <strong>for</strong> details of all events.<br />
I am extremely pleased to note that so many pupils are<br />
involved in extra-curricular activities, such as the Duke of<br />
Edinburgh’s Award. A range of sporting and musical groups<br />
and clubs are also offered, including the Athletic Club and<br />
the <strong>School</strong> Pipe Band. As one of our pupils notes in the article<br />
about the <strong>School</strong> Orchestra, being part of a group is not only<br />
a chance to have fun, but also to acquire important skills and<br />
to boost personal confidence. I would encourage all pupils to<br />
take every opportunity to fully engage in <strong>School</strong> life at<br />
<strong>St</strong> Columba’s.<br />
<strong>St</strong>aff news<br />
Mrs Diane Hecht has been appointed as Principal of the Pre<br />
Preparatory <strong>School</strong> of Highgate <strong>School</strong>, London.<br />
Mrs Alison Duncan has been appointed as Depute Head of<br />
Junior <strong>School</strong> in succession to Mrs Diane Hecht. Mrs Duncan<br />
is an honours graduate in Modern Languages of the University<br />
of <strong>St</strong> Andrews where she also completed her teacher training.<br />
She comes to us from The Mary Erskine & <strong>St</strong>ewart’s Melville<br />
Junior <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Mrs Isobel evans has decided to retire at the end of this<br />
session after many years of dedicated service to the school.<br />
We wish her well in this new phase of her life. Mrs Gill Hall,<br />
BA Cantab, who has covered during Mrs Moore’s long-term<br />
absence, becomes a permanent member of the Junior <strong>School</strong><br />
staff.<br />
Mrs Jane Flinders is also leaving Junior <strong>School</strong> to join her<br />
husband and family in the south.<br />
Miss Catherine Patterson, BEd RSAMD has joined the Music<br />
Department.<br />
Congratulations to Ms sonia Cromarty and Miss sturt (now<br />
Mrs Ingham) on their marriages.<br />
I would also like to take this opportunity to make you aware<br />
of a change of <strong>for</strong>mat to one of our events <strong>for</strong> 2011-2012.<br />
This year a concert, at which pupils from J4 to SVI will display<br />
their many musical talents, will replace the Christmas Carol<br />
Service. The concert will take place in Greenock Town Hall on<br />
Thursday 15th December. Plans <strong>for</strong> the evening are already<br />
fairly advanced and I believe we can look <strong>for</strong>ward to an<br />
excellent programme. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy<br />
the musical excellence of the <strong>School</strong> and I hope that you will<br />
join us. In the meantime, enjoy the many end-of-year activities<br />
and the summer holidays when they finally come.<br />
Mrs emma Corbett has had a little girl, Briony, born in<br />
September.<br />
Mr eric Milligan and wife, Helen, have had a baby boy, Drew.<br />
We are sorry to say goodbye to Mrs Tracey Carlyle (Wright)<br />
and Mrs Gillian Green. Mrs Carlyle and Mrs Green have<br />
decided not to return to <strong>School</strong> after maternity leave.<br />
Mrs Zoe shaw, BA Glasgow Caledonian, who has covered<br />
<strong>for</strong> Mrs Carlyle, becomes a permanent member of staff.<br />
Mrs Laura Robertson and Mrs nicky Gardner will begin<br />
their maternity leave at the end of term. Mrs Lisa shaw,<br />
BSc <strong>St</strong>rathclyde, will cover <strong>for</strong> Mrs Robertson.<br />
Mrs Betty Kidd, who has served with distinction as Vocal<br />
Teacher, will retire at the end of the session.<br />
Ms Laura Wrightson, BEd Edinburgh, a Scotland hockey<br />
internationalist, has been appointed as Senior Hockey Coach<br />
and teacher of PE from August.<br />
Mr Graeme sutherland, who has acted as an additional<br />
member of the Maths Department, will leave the <strong>School</strong> at<br />
the end of the session.<br />
THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 sCHooL neWs | 1<br />
Heather at UK Final of<br />
Young Chef Competition<br />
Heather Fleming (SII) won the Scotland and nE England<br />
regional final of the Young Chef 2011 competition hosted in<br />
Dundee and went through to the UK final in <strong>St</strong>rat<strong>for</strong>d. In just<br />
two hours, Heather, and the other seven finalists from across<br />
the UK, created a three-course dinner which was tasted by five<br />
judges, including Valentine Warner, chef and TV presenter,<br />
Susan Low, editor of Delicious magazine, and Walter Zanré,<br />
Managing Director of Filippo Berio.<br />
Although Heather, who was sponsored by the Rotary<br />
Club of Gryffe Valley, didn’t win, her dessert, dark chocolate<br />
and raspberry truffle torte, was singled out <strong>for</strong> praise as<br />
“worthy of being served in a Michelin starred restaurant”.<br />
Her achievement was all the more impressive because she<br />
was at least two years younger than the other competitors.<br />
<strong>School</strong> Council<br />
Recently <strong>School</strong> Council meetings have been dominated by<br />
discussions relating to various items of uni<strong>for</strong>m. These range<br />
from the possible introduction of a new waistcoat <strong>for</strong> the<br />
senior boys to a replacement <strong>for</strong> the ever-unpopular girls’ PE<br />
shorts. We are very grateful to Mr Keith Wilson of Smiths<br />
of Greenock who agreed to attend one of our meetings. He<br />
explained many important aspects regarding the supply of<br />
uni<strong>for</strong>m and provided valuable advice and support <strong>for</strong> our<br />
discussions. We are continuing to look into issues relating to<br />
items of uni<strong>for</strong>m, but appreciate that this is a long process,<br />
involving discussion with many partners. It is likely that next<br />
year’s Council will continue the research begun this session;<br />
however we can report that, having given the proposed green<br />
waistcoat our full consideration, it was decided not to adopt<br />
this item into the boys’ uni<strong>for</strong>m.<br />
Meeting My Hero<br />
(Glen Fraser)<br />
Sir Jackie <strong>St</strong>ewart is a legend. He has won the F1 World<br />
Championship three times and has also been very successful<br />
in business. Most importantly, he has done all this despite<br />
having dyslexia. I’m a dyslexic myself and was given the task<br />
at school of preparing a talk on a person I admire. I chose<br />
Jackie <strong>St</strong>ewart, having just read his autobiography, ‘Winning<br />
is not Enough’ with my dad. The day after I had done my<br />
presentation a package arrived by post, which had Jackie<br />
<strong>St</strong>ewart collectibles in it and a letter from the man himself<br />
encouraging me with my talk! nobody has yet owned up to<br />
making contact with him on my behalf (!) but since then I’ve<br />
been trading emails with him regularly. Last year I was lucky<br />
enough to have the chance to meet Jackie through Dyslexia<br />
Scotland, of which he is President. I’m involved in kart<br />
racing and love motorsports too, so this was an opportunity<br />
I couldn’t say no to. I had to make my way to Edinburgh by<br />
train and I was very nervous, but when we got to the venue,<br />
Edinburgh Library, I was more relaxed. Sir Jackie was making a<br />
speech about the challenges faced by dyslexics and when the<br />
conference ended I finally got to meet my hero. He was very<br />
polite, although I was so flustered I could hardly speak. It was<br />
a great experience and he asked how my karting was going<br />
and how school was. He seemed genuinely interested in all<br />
I was doing. He also gave me some handy tips on driving and<br />
dealing with dyslexia. I went home very pleased with myself.<br />
Glen with Jackie <strong>St</strong>ewart
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Charity<br />
The past couple of months have been a great success <strong>for</strong><br />
charity events. Events included a Wii Ski Challenge held<br />
by SIV, which allowed many of the pupils to show off their<br />
skiing skills. However, Maxine Muirhead outper<strong>for</strong>med<br />
them all with a winning time of 1min 14seconds. Well done,<br />
Maxine! This event alone raised over £100. The charity total<br />
is now approaching £2000 and will towards the Teenage<br />
Cancer Trust, benefitting many young people as they face the<br />
challenges of a serious illness.<br />
In February members of the Pipe Band, the Junior Choir and<br />
Senior Ensemble per<strong>for</strong>med at City Halls in Glasgow as part of<br />
the Sounds of Scotland Concert, raising money <strong>for</strong> Quarriers.<br />
There was a roaring trade in Fairtrade products, including<br />
chocolate and jewellery in early March, as part of Fairtrade<br />
Fortnight.<br />
Following the devastating earthquake and tsunami which<br />
struck Japan, the children of Junior <strong>School</strong> raised a fantastic<br />
£1180, to be split between Save the Children and the Red<br />
Cross to help towards their ef<strong>for</strong>ts there. Transitus had a sale<br />
of baking and home-made jewellery, while Gavin Findlay and<br />
Jonathan Brad<strong>for</strong>d of Junior 6 got their year group selling<br />
baking and sweets to contribute towards the funds.<br />
How You Can Support<br />
the Work of the<br />
Teenage Cancer Trust<br />
Alastair and Rosalind Lauchland, together with a group of<br />
friends, have embarked on the project of creating a “Calendar<br />
Girls” calendar <strong>for</strong> 2012 based on the theme of “Horse and<br />
Rider” to raise funds <strong>for</strong> The Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity<br />
with a close personal connection to the Lauchland family.<br />
They are now seeking sponsorship to cover the costs of<br />
production, so that 100% of the proceeds of all sales will<br />
go to the charity. They are delighted to have already raised<br />
over £1000 from businesses and individuals, but as you can<br />
imagine, the cost of a quality publication is fairly high.<br />
If you would like to sponsor this project, please contact<br />
alastair.lauchland@btinternet.com<br />
Guidance<br />
SI pupils have been learning about healthy lifestyles,<br />
including diet and alcohol. As part of the <strong>School</strong>’s Eco Week<br />
activities, SI Duchal helped prepare and analyse a lunch<br />
questionnaire. Subject choices and career research have been<br />
the focus <strong>for</strong> SII, IV and V pupils throughout much of the<br />
second term. Camille Anderson (SII) won the inter-house<br />
career poster competition with an innovative and in<strong>for</strong>mative<br />
poster about working as an illustrator. SIV pupils benefitted<br />
from individual interviews with a representative of the<br />
Independent <strong>School</strong>s’ Careers Office and pupils across all three<br />
year groups have had the opportunity to discuss career and<br />
subject choices individually with their Heads of House.<br />
SVI ended their PSE programme with three afternoons<br />
dedicated to a variety of guest speakers. As part of the<br />
Preparation <strong>for</strong> Adult <strong>Life</strong> afternoon, we welcomed back to the<br />
<strong>School</strong> Mrs Tracey Carlyle with her baby son Thomas to speak<br />
about breast-feeding, whilst <strong>for</strong>mer pupil Jane Wylie-Roberts<br />
entertained students on the topic of parenting. <strong>St</strong>udents have<br />
also enjoyed talks on finance, road safety and blood donation<br />
and in February Olivia Giles returned to the <strong>School</strong> to speak<br />
about her charity 500 Miles.<br />
Eco <strong>School</strong><br />
senior school Committee<br />
In anticipation of the Eco <strong>School</strong>s’ inspection, which will take<br />
place in June, the Senior <strong>School</strong> Eco Committee has continued<br />
to work hard towards achieving Green Flag status.<br />
Our second annual Eco Week was held in February and played<br />
host to a variety of events. There was a CD and book swap,<br />
organised by the English Faculty, a sale of Fairtrade products<br />
in the foyer and a sale by Ms Zhang of jewellery made from<br />
recycled magazines. The money raised will help towards the<br />
work of Open Arms, a vocational training charity based in<br />
Uganda. There was also a highly successful inter-house Eco<br />
Quiz involving all year groups. Many thanks to Matthew<br />
Garrett, who wrote all the questions, and to Sean Yacoubian,<br />
who chaired the event. Congratulations to Duchal <strong>for</strong> winning<br />
the quiz. To round off the week, a Healthy Heart Day took<br />
place on the Friday, during which the committee worked<br />
alongside the SVI Scottish Baccalaureate group to promote<br />
healthy living. One of the highlights was the smoothie bike<br />
which enabled pupils – and some staff – to prepare a healthy<br />
drink whilst exercising. In addition, lessons in all faculties<br />
focused on a variety of environmental issues.<br />
Junior school Committee<br />
Junior <strong>School</strong> held its first ever Eco Day. Everyone came to<br />
school out of uni<strong>for</strong>m (but wearing something green!) and we<br />
raised £326 <strong>for</strong> our chosen eco charity, the World Wildlife Fund<br />
(WWF).<br />
The day started with Assembly led by the Eco Warriors. We<br />
watched films of endangered animals like polar bears and<br />
turtles. Polar bears are under threat because climate change<br />
is melting the ice on which they live. We learned that we can<br />
help by saving energy and that simply switching off the lights<br />
when we don’t need them. We also discovered that sea turtles<br />
often mistake plastic bags <strong>for</strong> jellyfish and eating them can<br />
prove fatal. Disposing of our rubbish properly and recycling<br />
is important. Two of our Eco Warriors, Laura Smith (J4) and<br />
Amy Craw<strong>for</strong>d (J6), gave a presentation about WWF’s Earth<br />
Hour 2011. Earth Hour took place on Saturday 26th March at<br />
8.30pm and billions of people across the planet turned off their<br />
lights <strong>for</strong> an hour. Famous landmarks like the Golden Gate<br />
Bridge, the Eiffel Tour and the London Eye fell into darkness.<br />
Laura and Amy helped us to realise that if we all make little<br />
changes in our lives, it will make a huge difference to the<br />
whole planet.<br />
During Eco Day every class took part in a special eco activity.<br />
Two of our priority areas <strong>for</strong> achieving our Green Flag award<br />
are litter and waste minimisation and these were common<br />
themes. Prep learned about litter, organised a litter pick-up and<br />
per<strong>for</strong>med their anti-litter song at Assembly. Junior 1 made sock<br />
puppets out of recycled materials as part of their Toys topic.<br />
Junior 2 created two wonderful dinosaurs out of rubbish.<br />
Junior 3 created slogans to remind us all not to drop litter.<br />
Phoebe Maclean-Bristol (J3) said, “On Eco Day I dressed in<br />
green and we made a big poster which said ‘Put litter in the<br />
bin’. I also liked doing the Eco Assembly.”<br />
Junior 4 taught everyone a song in French about walking to<br />
school. They also worked in groups to create some Healthy<br />
Eating Heroes. “Blueberry Boy” and “Cherry Champ” were<br />
just two of their imaginative creations made entirely out of<br />
recycled materials.<br />
Junior 5 enjoyed a talk about renewable energy from<br />
Mr Cameron Smith and then made their own windmills.<br />
They also collected recyclable materials to create a display<br />
about recycling. Junior 6 made bird feeders out of empty juice<br />
containers. nicola Lambert (J6) said, “I thought Eco Day was<br />
really fun and I’d like to do it again. The assembly really made<br />
me think about the animals and it was great to make bird<br />
feeders.” Our Junior 6 and Transitus Eco Warriors also helped<br />
to run a Fairtrade stall selling a range of goods, including<br />
sweets, chocolate, pencils and small toys. The stall proved<br />
very popular and sold £958 worth of Fairtrade products.<br />
We are hoping to have a dedicated page on the <strong>School</strong> website<br />
very soon which will keep parents and pupils up to date with<br />
our activities both at Junior and Senior <strong>School</strong>.<br />
How you can help us become an eco school?<br />
We hope to offer recipients of The Columban the option of<br />
receiving it as an e-magazine. At the beginning of the next<br />
academic year a letter will be sent out with further details<br />
about this. Please look out <strong>for</strong> it.<br />
If you are a Former Pupil and would like to receive<br />
the newsletter in this <strong>for</strong>mat please email<br />
kzhang@st-columbas.org
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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award<br />
Award Presentations<br />
In late March James McAlpine, Convener of the <strong>School</strong><br />
Governing Board’s Building Committee, attended the Senior<br />
<strong>School</strong> assembly to present Bronze and Silver level Duke of<br />
Edinburgh’s Awards to thirteen pupils. Be<strong>for</strong>e handing over<br />
badges and certificates to the successful participants, he spoke<br />
with great enthusiasm about proposals <strong>for</strong> the development of<br />
the <strong>School</strong>’s facilities. (Please see <strong>School</strong> website <strong>for</strong> details of<br />
our development plans and profiles of all our Governors.)<br />
Bronze Awards<br />
Gavin Craw<strong>for</strong>d Ila Khan<br />
silver Awards<br />
Rachael Baker Jordan McKinstry<br />
Sally Bishop Charlotte Mitchell<br />
Caitlin Findlay Jennifer Pirrie<br />
Peter Hargreaves Joseph Reid<br />
David Johnstone Katie Robins<br />
Rachael McCabe<br />
Introduction to the Dofe Course<br />
Rebecca Grant P J Rankin<br />
Peter Hargreaves Kirsty Rarity<br />
Graeme Mann Katie Wood<br />
So, what does the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award involve?<br />
Participants give us an insight into some of the activities they<br />
have undertaken:<br />
Volunteering (Jordan McKinstry and Katie Robins)<br />
Finding a placement to complete the Silver Level volunteering<br />
section initially proved a challenge, until Mrs Marr (Director<br />
of Outdoor Education) suggested that we paint a mural to be<br />
placed in the children’s garden of Quarrier’s Village. It sounded<br />
like an original idea, so we decided to give it a go. We spent a<br />
great deal of time planning the project and after visiting the<br />
site, we decided upon a wildflower theme. The actual artwork<br />
was carried out in the <strong>School</strong>’s outdoor education centre in our<br />
spare time during term and over the holidays. We were grateful<br />
<strong>for</strong> the help of three other girls in our year group – Amy Brown,<br />
Charlotte Mitchell and Sophie Rankin – who had some hours to<br />
make up to complete their volunteering section at Silver Level.<br />
Once the job was completed and the mural placed in the<br />
garden at Quarriers we were delighted, not only with how<br />
it looked, but also with the appreciation with which it was<br />
received. We all felt that the project was a rewarding and<br />
worthwhile experience.<br />
expedition (sally Bishop and Caitlin Findlay)<br />
Un<strong>for</strong>tunately, owing to a collision of dates, the practice<br />
expedition <strong>for</strong> Silver participants offered in the <strong>School</strong>’s<br />
calendar last session clashed with the week a number of us<br />
were due to spend training with the national Youth Girls’<br />
Choir – Rebecca Ronney and Jennifer Faint being the other<br />
two participants. However, we were determined to undertake<br />
our hike and chose to do it out of school through the Outdoor<br />
Activity Centre at Ardeonaig.<br />
Our practice hike provided a real learning curve. With little<br />
or no hiking experience, the route we planned discounted hill<br />
contours, rivers, marshes and quarries! Fortunately the centre<br />
looked at our plan and helped us tweak it into something<br />
more manageable. However, it was still a challenging hike<br />
and a huge jump from the one we’d undertaken at Bronze<br />
level. The practice hike was also hampered by the extreme<br />
weather conditions – so severe that the centre decided to<br />
end the hike prematurely. When subsequently planning our<br />
actual hike, we took into account a lot of what we’d learned<br />
from our mistakes and tried to stick to the paths, particularly<br />
cycle paths, in the area. Additionally, our knowledge of map<br />
reading had improved and we knew how to use land marks<br />
and geographical features to keep us in the right direction.<br />
In complete contrast to our practice hike, the weather was<br />
beautiful. After initial feelings of anxiety, the mood of our<br />
team soon turned to uplifted and happy when we got out onto<br />
the hills. In fact, there were no problems this time and instead<br />
we really got to appreciate the beautiful scenery. Completing<br />
the expedition section out of school was at first quite<br />
intimidating, but we all gained a real sense of achievement<br />
by completing this section through both our own means and<br />
some really hard work.<br />
Leadership Award (Katie Wood)<br />
This year six SVI pupils took on the challenge of the Duke<br />
of Edinburgh’s Leadership Award. Peter, Graeme, Rebecca,<br />
Kirsty, PJ and myself have thoroughly enjoyed working<br />
with our SIII mentor groups. We have helped out at cookery<br />
sessions, emergency procedures and navigation days as part<br />
of the practical module. The theory of the award has been<br />
particularly interesting and beneficial to our leadership and<br />
communication skills. The award is something that we all<br />
feel will be of great use in later life. We would like to take this<br />
opportunity to thank Mrs Marr <strong>for</strong> all her hard work and all the<br />
time she has given up <strong>for</strong> us.
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Design Faculty Week<br />
Tanya & Ruby<br />
McFarlane Prize <strong>for</strong> Art<br />
Tania Dykes (SIII) has won the McFarlane Prize, which is<br />
presented by the Paisley Art Institute. The theme of the<br />
competition was ‘Light and Shade’. Ruby Gilmour (SIII) also<br />
came third in her category. The prize giving took place at the<br />
Paisley Museum.<br />
Ancient and<br />
Modern Languages<br />
Latin<br />
Matthew Garrett (SI) achieved second place in the <strong>St</strong>andard<br />
Latin Prose section of the Glasgow and the West of Scotland<br />
Prose and Verse Speaking Competition. This prestigious<br />
competition, which was held at Glasgow University, saw<br />
Matthew compete alongside third and fourth year pupils from<br />
a variety of schools in the area. [Pic: Matthew Garrett]<br />
Six pupils from the Higher Latin and Classical <strong>St</strong>udies classes<br />
have taken part in an international Cicero competition at<br />
George Heriot’s <strong>School</strong> in Edinburgh. Melissa Meighan,<br />
Christopher Lambert, Luca Hlaing, Jerome Bailey, Fiona<br />
Ritchie (SV) and Hal Le Thangue (SVI) completed a<br />
Cicero Competition<br />
translation and a civilisation paper on the story of Jason and<br />
the Argonauts. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the day and<br />
are looking <strong>for</strong>ward to finding out how they got on in the<br />
competition.<br />
French<br />
Pupils from the<br />
Advanced Higher<br />
French class<br />
enjoyed a trip to<br />
Paris in February<br />
as part of the<br />
preparations<br />
<strong>for</strong> their final<br />
Speaking exams.<br />
Karen Hamilton,<br />
Alexandra Findlay,<br />
Hannah Edmundson and Douglas Turner spoke French<br />
continuously as part of the language immersion trip and all<br />
coped admirably with the challenges they encountered on<br />
the two-day visit. Although the trip was short, the pupils<br />
managed to see many of the main sights in the city and all<br />
agreed that experiencing life in the country has helped them<br />
to better understand the language.<br />
In January, Karen Hamilton (SVI) took part in the Euroscolar<br />
programme at the European Parliament in <strong>St</strong>rasbourg.<br />
Karen beat strong competition to win a place in the group<br />
representing Scotland in the annual international language<br />
event. Over the course of four days she took part in multilingual<br />
debates in the Parliament’s “hemicycle”, conducted a<br />
questionnaire in the centre of <strong>St</strong>rasbourg in French and found<br />
time <strong>for</strong> a ceilidh with other students from across Europe!
8 | FACuLTy neWs THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31<br />
Inverclyde Music<br />
Festival 2011<br />
We were delighted to see so many of our pupils enjoying<br />
success at the festival this year.<br />
sandy Ritchie<br />
McCaig Quaich <strong>for</strong> Piping<br />
highest mark in designated classes<br />
Mark McGregor<br />
Duncan Brown Memorial Trophy <strong>for</strong> Piping<br />
highest mark in designated classes<br />
Clare eagle<br />
George Parkhill Memorial Trophy<br />
piano solo per<strong>for</strong>mance<br />
Full details of winners can be found on the <strong>School</strong> website<br />
Trinity Guildhall<br />
A list of results <strong>for</strong> the Trinity and Guildhall Music<br />
examinations can be found on the <strong>School</strong> website.<br />
Congratulations to all successful candidates.<br />
nYCoS<br />
Fifteen pupils from <strong>St</strong> Columba’s <strong>School</strong> successfully<br />
auditioned <strong>for</strong> the national Youth Choir of Scotland (nYCoS).<br />
Lucy Bishop, Sally Bishop, Fiona Faint, Caitlin Findlay,<br />
Melissa Meighan, Rebecca Ronney, all SV, were accepted <strong>for</strong><br />
the nYCoS Girls’ Choir, and Archie Morris (SII) <strong>for</strong> the Boys<br />
Choir and Luca Hlaing (SV) <strong>for</strong> the Changed Voices Choir. In<br />
addition, Ciara Ewing, <strong>St</strong>ephanie Blyth, Catriona Love and<br />
Amy Bretherton joined the Training Choir and Gavin Findlay,<br />
Alistair Smith and Marcus Wylie joined the Junior Corps.<br />
They attended a 6-day residential course during the Easter<br />
holidays, during which they received vocal coaching,<br />
musicianship training and also rehearsed <strong>for</strong> a number of<br />
high-profile per<strong>for</strong>mances. Last year Sally, Rebecca, Melissa,<br />
Jennifer and Caitlin had the added honour of being selected<br />
to sing at the Opening Concert of the Edinburgh International<br />
Festival at the Usher Hall.<br />
Director of Music at <strong>St</strong> Columba’s, Ms Yvonne Carey, said,<br />
‘I am delighted that so many of our pupils have successfully<br />
auditioned <strong>for</strong> the national Girls’ Choir/national Boys’ Choir<br />
of Scotland and the Training Choir. I’m particularly pleased<br />
that three of our Junior 6 pupils joined them this year.’<br />
Why Should You Join<br />
the <strong>School</strong> Orchestra?<br />
There are lots of good reasons <strong>for</strong> playing as part of the<br />
orchestra or band. Pupils develop many important skills<br />
through the experience, such as patience, discipline,<br />
organisational skills, as well as learning to work as part of a<br />
team. All members of the orchestra have a role to play. Senior<br />
pupils mentor younger musicians and are given responsibility<br />
<strong>for</strong> a particular section of the orchestra. They ensure that<br />
pupils attend rehearsals regularly and work with them in<br />
smaller groups between rehearsals. Additionally, there is a<br />
huge amount of fun in playing and making music together.<br />
Over the past two years the orchestra has really bonded as<br />
a group. This year they competed in the Inverclyde Music<br />
Festival <strong>for</strong> the first time. Their hard work, dedication<br />
and commitment were reflected in the standard of their<br />
per<strong>for</strong>mance and there was a real sense of achievement.<br />
“I find that playing as part of a group gives me confidence and a<br />
sense of security.” Clare Eagle (violin)<br />
“I’ve been in the orchestra <strong>for</strong> a year. I enjoy the chance to play<br />
a wide repertoire and things that I maybe wouldn’t play on my<br />
own.” Jillian Craig (cello)<br />
THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 FACuLTy neWs | 9<br />
“As the only French Horn in the orchestra it’s sometimes a bit<br />
daunting, but has also given me confidence.” Malcolm Millar<br />
(French horn)<br />
“I’m the eldest in the flute section and I’ve been able to develop<br />
my leadership skills as I’ve moved up through the orchestra.”<br />
Rebecca Anderson (flute)<br />
We are also happy to find new owners <strong>for</strong> unwanted<br />
instruments in good condition, so if you have any used<br />
instruments please let us know. ycarey@st-columbas.org<br />
Maths<br />
World Maths Day<br />
Pupils marked the day by taking part in the international<br />
Maths competition. 1,298,834 students and 22,785 schools<br />
from 212 countries participated. Malaysia won the Maths<br />
World Cup.<br />
uKMT Maths Team Challenge<br />
A team of SI and SII pupils took part in the Regional Final<br />
of the UKMT Junior Team Mathematics Challenge at the<br />
University of the West of Scotland. The team consisted of<br />
Matthew Garrett (S1) Kharis Cunningham (SI) Ewan Davidson<br />
(SII) and Megan McClement (SII). They participated in four<br />
rounds, including: group competition, crossnumber, head-tohead<br />
competition and relay race. All rounds involved problem<br />
solving questions in pairs or groups.<br />
Science<br />
Affairs of the Heart<br />
Eight Science Baccalaureate pupils at <strong>St</strong> Columba’s <strong>School</strong><br />
have been working on a group interdisciplinary project<br />
entitled ‘A Healthy Heart, Physically and Emotionally’.<br />
Rebecca Grant, Karen Hamilton, Hannah Edmundson, Peter<br />
Hargreaves, Christopher Marshall, David Johnstone, Ross<br />
McAlister, and Euan Rae were allocated individual topics to<br />
study, including smoking, sleep, exercise, the cardiovascular<br />
system, nutrition and dental hygiene. As part of their project<br />
they were required to develop not only their own knowledge,<br />
but to educate others. This took the <strong>for</strong>m of a ‘Healthy Heart<br />
Day’ <strong>for</strong> pupils and staff at the school. The event was a huge<br />
success. Sporting bright red British Heart Foundation t-shirts,<br />
the group presented their findings and organised a number of<br />
activities, including blood pressure tests, a smoothie bike and<br />
a Zumba class.<br />
<strong>St</strong>ar Pupils<br />
Two pupils from <strong>St</strong> Columba’s have been selected <strong>for</strong> the<br />
Scottish Space <strong>School</strong>. Melissa Meighan and Charlotte<br />
Mitchell, both SV, will take part in the programme at the<br />
University of <strong>St</strong>rathclyde this June. The Scottish Space <strong>School</strong><br />
is an annual five-day event which aims to “inspire the next<br />
generation of scientists and engineers by highlighting the<br />
career and educational opportunities available to young people<br />
with an interest in science, engineering and technology.”<br />
Mr Iain Weir, Head of Physics, commented, “This year the<br />
organisers have said that competition <strong>for</strong> places was the<br />
fiercest yet and the standard of applications was extremely<br />
high. Although pupils from the <strong>School</strong> have participated<br />
be<strong>for</strong>e, this is the first time that two of our pupils have been<br />
successful. It’s a fantastic achievement. We wish Melissa and<br />
Charlotte well <strong>for</strong> June.”<br />
To find out more about the Space <strong>School</strong> visit:<br />
http://www.strath.ac.uk/eee/undergraduatecourses/<br />
admissionsevents/outreachactivities<strong>for</strong>schoolpupils/
10 | sPoRT AnD PHysICAL eDuCATIon THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 sPoRT AnD PHysICAL JunIoR eDuCATIon sCHooL | 11<br />
Annual Sports Dinner<br />
The annual Sports Dinner <strong>for</strong> the 1st XI, 2nd XI, 1st XV and<br />
SVI was held at The River Inn, Houston this year and proved a<br />
huge success with pupils, staff and guests. We were honoured<br />
to welcome Mr Colin Brown, Captain 2009-2010, of the Royal<br />
and Ancient Golf Club of <strong>St</strong> Andrews as the Guest Speaker. Mr<br />
Brown also presented a number of awards during the evening.<br />
Rugby<br />
Captain’s Plate: Jamie McDonald<br />
The <strong>St</strong>eel Cup <strong>for</strong> Most Improved Player: <strong>St</strong>uart McQueen<br />
Player of the Season: PJ Rankin<br />
Hockey<br />
Captain’s Plate: <strong>St</strong>ephanie Kirkland<br />
Goal Keeper’s Shield: Laurie Kirkland and Catriona Dickson<br />
The Green Cup <strong>for</strong> Most Improved Player: Katie McAlpine<br />
Player of the Season: <strong>St</strong>ephanie Kirkland<br />
SII Hockey Team Win<br />
the Hutchesons’ Trophy<br />
Well done to the SII Hockey Team, who won the Hutchesons’ Hockey Tournament.<br />
1st XI Win South West Cup<br />
Congratulations to the 1st XI who won the South West Cup against Wellington 1-0.<br />
Scotland U16<br />
Hockey<br />
Caitlin Girdwood (SIII) and Laurie<br />
Kirkland (SIV) have been selected <strong>for</strong> the<br />
Scottish U16 squad. Caitlin played <strong>for</strong><br />
the Scotland U16 team against Wales in<br />
April as a centre striker. Laurie will play<br />
in the England match at the end of May.<br />
Caitlin (left)<br />
Interhouse<br />
Cross Country<br />
Transitus<br />
Jamie Eatock <strong>St</strong>rathgryffe<br />
Iona Miller Craigmarloch<br />
sI<br />
Owen Bannatyne Duchal<br />
Olivia Gemmell Duchal<br />
sII<br />
Fraser McIntyre Kilallan<br />
Chloe Hardie <strong>St</strong>rathgryffe<br />
sIII<br />
Greg Cunning Duchal<br />
Kirsty Harper Duchal<br />
sIV<br />
Ian Gillies Craigmarloch<br />
Dakota Hlaing Duchal<br />
sV<br />
Ker Malcolm Kilallan<br />
Katy McAlpine Duchal<br />
Sean and Ker<br />
Play <strong>for</strong> Glasgow<br />
District<br />
Congratulations to Sean Yacoubian and<br />
Ker Malcolm, both SV, who were selected<br />
to play rugby at U17 level <strong>for</strong> Glasgow<br />
District. Their first game was against the<br />
South.
12 | sPoRT AnD PHysICAL eDuCATIon THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31<br />
Rowing<br />
Chloe Lyth (SIV) has taken part in the world’s largest women’s<br />
rowing regatta, the Women’s Eights Head of the River 2011<br />
Tideway. The course is identical to that taken by the famous<br />
Boat Race and covers a distance of 7km. Chloe was part of<br />
a composite crew from Castle Semple Rowing Club and<br />
Glasgow Rowing Club. From a starting position of 277, the<br />
crew finished 249th out of 303 boats and 9th out of 20 in their<br />
racing category in a very respectable time of 22.56.12 minutes.<br />
The race included the GB Olympic crew and was won overall<br />
by The Leander Rowing Club in 18.06.57minutes.<br />
Chloe Lyth (SIV) second from left<br />
Scottish Primary <strong>School</strong>s’<br />
Cross Country<br />
Teams from J6 and Transitus took part in the Scottish Primary<br />
<strong>School</strong>s’ Cross Country Championships at Kirkcaldy. Laura<br />
<strong>St</strong>ark won individual gold and Iona Miller won individual<br />
silver. The Transitus girls’ team won team gold (Laura, Iona,<br />
Emma Devine, Eilidh Love, Catriona Allan). The Transitus<br />
girls’ B team were 9th, (Imogen Davies, Julia Cunning and<br />
Catherine Martin) The J6 girls were 12th (Kathryn Meenan,<br />
Annaliese nixon, Amy Craw<strong>for</strong>d and Alaina Taylor) and<br />
the J6 boys (Cameron Marr, Max nugent, Jonathon Brad<strong>for</strong>d<br />
and Rowan Gibson and Robbie Murdoch) were 10th. Jamie<br />
Eatock and Josh Hendry, both Transitus, were 15th and 39th<br />
respectively.<br />
Scottish <strong>School</strong>s’<br />
Swimming Finals<br />
Two pupils from Transitus qualified <strong>for</strong> the Brodie Scottish<br />
<strong>School</strong>s’ Swimming Championships, held at Tollcross Glasgow<br />
in January. Eilidh Love (Trans) swam in the 50m backstroke<br />
<strong>for</strong> 12 and under girls and Iona Miller (Trans) swam in the<br />
50m freestyle in the same age group. Eilidh was placed 4th<br />
in her heat and progressed to the final where she was 9th<br />
overall. Both girls swam personal best times and enjoyed the<br />
experience of swimming at this prestigious venue, which will<br />
host the 2014 Commonwealth Games swimming events.<br />
Junior <strong>School</strong><br />
Swimming Gala<br />
Junior <strong>School</strong> pupils enjoyed the afternoon at the Johnstone<br />
Baths. Kim Craw<strong>for</strong>d and Calvin Wardell, both J5, were<br />
awarded Swimming Champions <strong>for</strong> 2010-11.<br />
netball<br />
<strong>St</strong> Columba’s A team competed at the Inverclyde netball<br />
Summer Tournament Qualifiers at Greenock Sports Centre in<br />
March. The girls won all of their matches and secured a place<br />
in the finals. Despite some tough competition, <strong>St</strong> Columba’s<br />
managed to win the overall tournament by one point. This is<br />
the second consecutive year the team has won the event and<br />
the girls were delighted.<br />
An apology to Emma Devine (Trans), who was the<br />
third member of the Primary Girls’ winning team at the<br />
Inverclyde Cross Country Championships<br />
THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 senIoR VI | 13<br />
The Role of House Captain<br />
(naill skelton)<br />
Serving as House Captain of Craigmarloch has given me a great opportunity to<br />
develop my cooperation and organisational skills, whether by being involved in the<br />
swimming gala, the inter-house quiz or the monthly House Assemblies. Leading<br />
House Assemblies offers a chance <strong>for</strong> Captains to get to know their House pupils and<br />
set an example. House Assemblies usually consist of an update on how the House<br />
is doing, a presentation of star badges to pupils who have contributed significantly<br />
to the House and a motivational speech in order to spur on the pupils to do their<br />
best. Although the Captains have an important role, they are helped along the<br />
way by their fellow 6th years. It is crucial <strong>for</strong> the House Captain to be enthusiastic<br />
and fun in order to create an atmosphere in which younger pupils feel com<strong>for</strong>table<br />
and relaxed. On a personal level, Captains must make sure they come across as<br />
approachable, so that pupils feel they can discuss any matter with them, especially<br />
if they don’t feel com<strong>for</strong>table speaking to their Head of House about it. As a House<br />
Captain I have benefited immensely: I have learned how to communicate with<br />
different types of people, how to address various situations and how important it is<br />
to be responsible, as I realise that my actions influence others.<br />
SVI Extravaganza<br />
(Heather Brandon)<br />
The Class of 2011 organised a Sixth Year Extravaganza to raise<br />
funds <strong>for</strong> their yearbook. Despite the gruelling rehearsals, we<br />
enjoyed a marvellous show, which featured everything from<br />
Guns ‘n Roses to Grease, Blackadder to the Hangover, and,<br />
of course, the rugby boys dressed in some very questionable<br />
fashion! It was an opportunity to showcase the many<br />
talents possessed by members of the year group, including<br />
piano playing, juggling, singing, dancing and some spot-on<br />
mimicry. Running over two nights, the show was a resounding<br />
success, due to the incredible commitment of staff, the SV<br />
backstage helpers and the SVI per<strong>for</strong>mers. Most importantly,<br />
everyone pulled together and played an important part in<br />
the production. In the end we raised over £2,000 towards the<br />
yearbook. Well done Sixth year, we’re electrifying…
14 | JunIoR sCHooL THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 JunIoR sCHooL | 15<br />
A note from Mrs Cook<br />
I cannot quite believe that we are almost at the end of<br />
another academic year. We have been so busy at Junior<br />
school and it seems to have whizzed by. We have enjoyed<br />
all sorts of activities, events and visits, but perhaps<br />
the endeavour which has really caught the imagination<br />
of our pupils has been our quest <strong>for</strong> Green Flag status.<br />
We enjoyed our first eco Day in February and learned<br />
how to take better care of our environment and that<br />
each one of us can make a difference. For example, I am<br />
delighted to see every class is taking a turn to help keep<br />
our playground free of litter. We also got a fantastic new<br />
notice-board in the link corridor, which our eco Warriors<br />
are very excited about. This is used to display in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
about the many eco initiatives around school.<br />
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the year was the opening of<br />
our new nursery just be<strong>for</strong>e Easter. We are hugely indebted to<br />
the parents who came to help us move in. It is wonderful<br />
to have our little ones finally at the heart of the <strong>School</strong>.<br />
We are also delighted to have recently received a positive<br />
Care Commission report, with very good comments across<br />
the board.<br />
As many of you will be aware, Mrs Diane Hecht, our Deputy<br />
Head at the Junior <strong>School</strong>, is leaving us to take up a new<br />
position as Principal of the Pre Preparatory <strong>School</strong> of Highgate<br />
<strong>School</strong>, London. Highgate is one of the leading schools in<br />
England. Mrs Hecht has been a huge asset to us and Highgate<br />
are very lucky to secure her services. While we are very sad to<br />
say goodbye to her, we are pleased that the move will allow her<br />
to be closer to her family.<br />
Well, after such a busy year I know that pupils, staff and<br />
parents will be looking <strong>for</strong>ward to the Summer holidays. I hope<br />
you have a restful break and I look <strong>for</strong>ward to welcoming most<br />
of you back next year.<br />
Prep and nursery<br />
On Friday 1st April the new Prep and<br />
nursery building was finally ready to<br />
move into. Mrs Campbell and the rest<br />
of the Prep staff are delighted with the<br />
wonderful new facility.<br />
Prep invited parents in <strong>for</strong> their Katie<br />
Morag celebration in February.<br />
The Prep and nursery children also<br />
enjoyed taking part in a workshop by<br />
the Scottish Chamber Orchestra called<br />
“We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.”<br />
Junior 1<br />
J1 has been learning about what happens in a church. We have<br />
had great fun at all the weddings in the Junior 1 church.<br />
As part of the Eco Day activities pupils recycled old socks,<br />
ribbons, buttons and material. They made sock puppets and<br />
introduced their puppets to the boys and girls in nursery.<br />
Junior 2<br />
The J2 children went on a dinosaur dig and discovered what<br />
it is like to be a paleontologist. They set up a dig area in the<br />
resource room and each child carefully excavated a ‘dinosaur<br />
bone’ which had been set in clay. After using real tools (and<br />
wearing safety glasses!) they proceeded to package and label<br />
their fossilised bones <strong>for</strong> safe transportation to a museum.<br />
Junior 3<br />
J3 enjoyed an afternoon of activities about the senses.<br />
Children identified various pleasant and unpleasant odours as<br />
part of the topic.<br />
Pupils planted seed potatoes in several tubs and are now<br />
responsible <strong>for</strong> watering and weeding the tubs until we<br />
can harvest them. Hopefully we’ll have bumper crop and<br />
pupils can each have a sample to cook and taste at the end<br />
of the term.<br />
Junior 4<br />
J4 have quite literally had an ‘exciting time’ with their<br />
enterprise project. As part of their Healthy Eating topic they<br />
created “Fruity Tooty Time Tellers” – CD clocks with colourful<br />
fruit designs. The children designed the clocks, came up<br />
with the name and undertook customer research to identify<br />
demand. They then worked in a production line to build the<br />
clocks, with everyone having a particular job to do, including<br />
assembly and quality control. They also learned about<br />
calculating profits and decided upon a suitable selling price.<br />
Finally they chose a charity to benefit from their hard work.<br />
It was a close vote, but the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation will<br />
receive over £200 as a result of their enterprise.<br />
Junior 5<br />
J5 recently visited the Glasgow Central Mosque to learn more<br />
about the practices of Islam. They have been learning about<br />
the Five Pillars of Islam and the significance of these duties to<br />
Muslims.<br />
The pupils also presented a special assembly about life in the<br />
1960s, which they per<strong>for</strong>med to their parents and the school.<br />
They enjoyed dressing up in the fashion of that time and<br />
learning some well-known songs by the Beatles. The children<br />
demonstrated how convenience foods, which began to appear<br />
at the time, impacted on family life and how toys and games<br />
were very different from today. The children showed the<br />
differences between school life then and now and are relieved<br />
to experience a more relaxed approach to school life!
16 | JunIoR sCHooL THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 FoRMeR PuPILs | 17<br />
Junior 6<br />
In March, J6 visited Burns Cottage; a trip which had been<br />
postponed because of the snow in January. This is the first<br />
time we have visited the site since Historic Scotland took<br />
it over and opened the new Burns Birthplace Museum.<br />
The children had the opportunity to take part in some drama<br />
and dress up in clothes of Burns period. They had already<br />
completed their study of Robert Burns with a Burns Supper in<br />
the hall at Junior <strong>School</strong> by the time of their visit. This Supper<br />
is an annual event <strong>for</strong> the children but this year parents were<br />
invited <strong>for</strong> the first time. The children served their guests with<br />
the traditional haggis, neeps and tatties, along with our ‘other’<br />
national drink – Irn Bru. The parents were then entertained<br />
with poems, speeches and songs.<br />
In April J6 enjoyed the Glasgow Science Centre ‘roadshow’<br />
as part of their topic on the Human Body. The class learned<br />
about the science of sport and the benefits of leading a healthy<br />
lifestyle. The show facilitators also brought lots of exhibits<br />
to demonstrate the power of the body, ranging from testing<br />
reaction times to using the power of brain waves to move<br />
a ball!<br />
Country Dancing Club<br />
The J5/6 Country Dance Club meets every Thursday after<br />
school. This term the children have been learning a range of<br />
country dances from around the UK. The children have also<br />
had the opportunity to create their own dances and teach<br />
them to the rest of the group.<br />
Transitus<br />
Rowan MacKillop, Emily Kellock and Laura <strong>St</strong>ark held a<br />
cake sale to celebrate Red nose Day. The Transitus pupils<br />
thoroughly enjoyed the cup cakes, cookies and chocolate<br />
krispies which the girls had baked. £150 was raised <strong>for</strong><br />
Comic Relief. This was followed a week later by a cake and<br />
jewellery sale organised by Isla Lawrie, Iona Miller, Teresa<br />
Melling, Catriona Allan, Emily Kellock, Eilidh Simpson and<br />
Kirsty Robertson. The jewellery designed by Isla and Kirsty<br />
was in great demand by both pupils and staff and the mouthwatering<br />
baking sold out in no time. The £178.86 raised will go<br />
towards helping the victims of the recent earthquake in Japan.<br />
Hello from the FP Committee<br />
Welcome to the FP section of The Columban. We hope you<br />
all had a wonderful easter break and are looking <strong>for</strong>ward<br />
to the summer.<br />
FPs have had a busy time since the last Columban. February<br />
saw a lovely evening of ‘drinkies in the west end’. It was a<br />
great chance <strong>for</strong> a few of us to catch up in a more accessible<br />
place (<strong>for</strong> some!) – we had great fun and a lot of laughs! Watch<br />
out <strong>for</strong> our next ‘drinks in town or west end’ date on Facebook<br />
and in The Columban.<br />
In March we had the Former Pupils’ AGM in Senior <strong>School</strong> and<br />
then the FP rugby and hockey matches in April. Un<strong>for</strong>tunately<br />
the rugby had to be cancelled due to the pitch conditions, but<br />
the hockey went ahead and was very well attended. Alongside<br />
FP and <strong>School</strong> Matches<br />
Rugby<br />
Due to the terrible weather leading up to the FP matches,<br />
Inverclyde Council deemed Birkmyre Park to be unplayable<br />
which meant that the rugby was postponed. Both matches<br />
– one between two <strong>School</strong> teams, the Captain’s XV versus<br />
the Vice Captain’s XV, and the second between two <strong>for</strong>mer<br />
pupil teams – have now been rescheduled to the afternoon of<br />
Sunday 19th June with a 2pm kick-off.<br />
Hopefully we’ll have a glorious sunny day to help make it a<br />
special afternoon, with the pipe band on show and possibly<br />
a barbeque in place of sausage rolls. Please do come along to<br />
support the teams – everybody is very welcome.<br />
the rugby and hockey matches we had an FP coffee morning in<br />
Junior <strong>School</strong>. The FP rugby match has been postponed until<br />
Sunday 19th June – hope to see you there!<br />
Thank you to everyone who has sent in updates <strong>for</strong> this issue,<br />
it’s great to hear from you. We always welcome news, so<br />
please keep sending in anything of interest – post to the FP<br />
Association at Senior <strong>School</strong>, email fps@st-columbas.org<br />
or post a message on the ‘<strong>St</strong> Columba’s <strong>School</strong>, Kilmacolm’<br />
Facebook page.<br />
Keep in touch and keep us updated.<br />
Kind regards<br />
The FP Committee<br />
Hockey<br />
Luckily all was not lost on match day and the girls still<br />
managed to play hockey at the Astroturf. After a hard-fought<br />
battle the <strong>School</strong> team, captained by <strong>St</strong>ephanie Kirkland,<br />
was victorious in a 3-1 defeat against Hannah Simpson’s FPs.<br />
<strong>St</strong>ephanie was also presented with the Player of the Match<br />
award; FPs Hannah Simpson and Becky Marshall were close<br />
contenders.
18 | FoRMeR PuPILs THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 FoRMeR JunIoR sCHooL PuPILs | 19<br />
Coffee Morning<br />
At the last coffee morning in April, <strong>for</strong>mer pupil June McAuliffe<br />
(Hutcheson) returned to <strong>School</strong>. It was great to hear about her<br />
life post <strong>St</strong> Columba’s, which you can read about in Classnotes.<br />
June thoroughly enjoyed her tour of Junior <strong>School</strong>, along with<br />
Margaret Tindall, and it was fascinating to listen to their<br />
recollections of school days and Shalott.<br />
Former <strong>St</strong>aff Out to Lunch<br />
At the time of going to print, <strong>for</strong>mer staff members were<br />
meeting at the River Inn <strong>for</strong> their annual lunch organised<br />
by Rosemary Hammond. We’ll hear all about it in the next<br />
Columban.<br />
Dates <strong>for</strong> Your Diary<br />
Tue 7th Jun<br />
Silver Tablet Concert, <strong>St</strong> Columba Church, Kilmacolm, 14:00<br />
Former pupils, friends of the school, <strong>for</strong>mer parents and<br />
parents are all welcome. If you would like to attend, please<br />
contact nichola McKay at nmckay@st-columbas.org or call<br />
01505 872238.<br />
sun 19th Jun<br />
Former Pupils/<strong>School</strong> Rugby Matches<br />
Rescheduled rugby matches at Birkmyre Park from 2pm.<br />
Refreshments and prizegiving will follow at Junior <strong>School</strong>.<br />
All very welcome.<br />
Thu 15th Dec<br />
Musical Concert, Greenock Town Hall, evening per<strong>for</strong>mance<br />
This promises to be a wonderful showcase of musical<br />
excellence from pupils in Junior 4 to Senior VI. Former pupils,<br />
<strong>for</strong>mer staff, <strong>for</strong>mer parents, parents, friends and relatives are<br />
all very welcome. Please put the date in your diary and details<br />
will follow next session.<br />
Silver Tablet<br />
Reunions<br />
Would you like to have a reunion?<br />
If you are thinking about organising a reunion or get-together,<br />
whether it is 5, 10, 30 years or more, help is available! In the<br />
first instance please contact nichola at <strong>School</strong> <strong>for</strong> an initial<br />
chat. We can discuss possible dates and event options, <strong>for</strong><br />
example, a tour of <strong>School</strong> and lunch provided by an outside<br />
caterer or move on to a local venue <strong>for</strong> dinner, drinks or<br />
cocktails. I can provide names from the database and help<br />
you to promote the event through a combination of mailings,<br />
The Columban, the school website and Facebook.<br />
Please get in touch – I am very happy to help.<br />
Contact nichola McKay at nmckay@st-columbas.org or call<br />
01505 872238.<br />
30/31-year Reunion<br />
The Class of 1980 held a delayed 30-year reunion at the<br />
Hilton in Glasgow on 16th April 2011. Those present were:<br />
Alison Burns, Jackie Kerr, Jacque Gardiner, Linda Baldi,<br />
Gail Cunningham, Pauline Davidson, Fiona Peattie, Fiona<br />
MacConnacher, Suzie McEwing, Fiona Milne, Alison Smith,<br />
nina Buchan, Maggie Ayre and Caroline Baldwin – all maiden<br />
names.<br />
People brought old school photos going right back to 1968 and<br />
Junior 1, which caused great hilarity; trying to recognise the<br />
faces and ‘admiring’ the fashions being worn at the time by<br />
the teachers. The reunion was a great success and they plan to<br />
arrange another in the future, hopefully managing to contact a<br />
few more people.<br />
50-year Reunion (1960/61)<br />
Morvyn Hood and I look <strong>for</strong>ward to our 50-Year reunion on<br />
17th September. Acceptances are gradually coming in and at<br />
present 21 are hoping to be there. It would be great to meet as<br />
many of you as possible. I attended the last Coffee Morning<br />
at Shalott and was most impressed with the facilities in the<br />
Junior <strong>School</strong> and Sports Hall. Tours will be available.<br />
If you left <strong>School</strong> around 1960-61 please do try and join us on<br />
17th September.<br />
Margaret Tindall (Mcneill), 1961. Contact<br />
margarettindal123@talktalk.net or call 01360 310911.<br />
Classnotes<br />
Margaret Wolfram (Gillan), 1950<br />
After leaving <strong>St</strong> Columba’s boarding school in 1948 I travelled<br />
to Europe several times, then headed west to Toronto, Canada<br />
in 1956. I intended to stay there <strong>for</strong> one year to get a taste of<br />
all seasons. However, I met a young man from Vienna, Austria<br />
and in 1958 we were married. 1960 our first child was born,<br />
then two boys followed and I was still in Canada. now our<br />
lives took an unusual turn: we decided to build an eighteenhole<br />
golf course. After much searching <strong>for</strong> suitable land, we<br />
found the perfect spot just west of Kingston, Ontario. This<br />
was purchased in 1971 and we, the five of us (and at weekends<br />
some friends also helped), tilled the land and picked stones<br />
and laid out our plans <strong>for</strong> this championship course. It took five<br />
years of constant labour, but the first nine holes finally opened<br />
in 1976. The second nine were ready the following year.<br />
now we have a large club house with a restaurant that seats<br />
two hundred people, a fully stocked pro shop and a fleet of<br />
sixty 2011 electric golf carts. The three children are fully<br />
employed: Kevin is a CPGA first class golf professional,<br />
Brian is the restaurant manager and Linda is our accountant.<br />
My husband died in 2008 and I am retired, but still go out now<br />
and then to join in the various activities.<br />
My life in recent years has involved painting and writing<br />
memoirs, but it has really revolved around my mixed breed<br />
hound dog (she came from the humane society). We trained in<br />
obedience, rally-o and agility at which she excelled. Last year<br />
she earned her <strong>Life</strong>time Award with the Agility Association<br />
of Canada and continued to further her abilities in tackling<br />
Challenge courses. Last year she was tenth in Canada <strong>for</strong><br />
having the most qualifying runs. She died of cancer in<br />
February of this year at the age of nine.<br />
When I received a copy of the February issue of The Columban<br />
I was saddened to read the news of Mrs Hood’s death.<br />
This brought back memories of <strong>St</strong> Columba’s in the <strong>for</strong>ties!<br />
I remember Miss McMurtrie who was Headmistress when<br />
I arrived (as the youngest boarder at the age of nine) in 1941.<br />
There were 35 girls at that time in residence at Shalott.<br />
On Sunday afternoons we would sit on the floor, around a lit<br />
fireplace in Miss McMurtrie’s private living room, as she sat<br />
regally, in a plush, wingback chair and read stories to us.<br />
She was replaced by a young Miss Katherine MacArthur who<br />
kept up the story reading, while I was there anyway. I wonder<br />
if this is still being done by the present Head of the <strong>School</strong>?<br />
<strong>School</strong>’s reply: reading is carried out by the class teachers and<br />
teaching assistants. We also have a story club <strong>for</strong> Junior 4, when<br />
they can come and listen to a story of their choice.
20 | FoRMeR PuPILs THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31<br />
Krystyna Kennedy, 2000<br />
Krystyna Kennedy was overjoyed when her partner<br />
Gary Caulfield from Lochwinnoch, proposed on their 4th<br />
anniversary. Thinking she was going <strong>for</strong> a quiet drive in the<br />
country, Krystyna was shocked to find Gary was actually<br />
taking her up in a helicopter. After months of planning<br />
Gary had arranged <strong>for</strong> the helicopter pilot to fly them over<br />
their house, still unsuspecting Krystyna was surprised and<br />
delighted to see a huge banner on their roof saying “marry<br />
me”. All prepared, Gary then presented the ring and Krystyna<br />
accepted. They are due to wed on the 18th August 2012.<br />
Pamela Watson (McHarg), 2001<br />
Pamela graduated from Glasgow University in 2006 and is<br />
now working as a banking and finance solicitor in Edinburgh.<br />
She married Duncan Watson at <strong>St</strong> Michael’s Parish Church,<br />
Linlithgow, on 12th June 2010 with a reception at Dundas<br />
Castle. Former pupil Sarah Kelly was a bridesmaid. The couple<br />
honeymooned in Rome and have since settled into married life<br />
in Edinburgh.<br />
nicola Malcolm, 2005<br />
nicola was delighted to be part of this year’s (A Little Less)<br />
<strong>St</strong>rictly Come Dancing charity event in aid of The Prince and<br />
Princess of Wales Hospice. The event, which took place on<br />
Saturday 2nd April, involved six couples from the world of<br />
celebrity and business each hoping to be crowned champion<br />
with their Scottish professional partners. The line-up<br />
consisted of Scottish event rider nicola Malcolm, actress<br />
Kathleen McDermott Carberry, Clyde 1’s Romeo, Scottish<br />
football hero Gordon Smith, Chief Executive of Scottish<br />
Enterprise Lena Wilson and Hilton Area Manager and Hospice<br />
Ambassador, Craig Gardner.<br />
They danced to the sounds of the Syd Lawrence Orchestra<br />
as the judging panel <strong>for</strong>med their opinions and offered<br />
their scores. nicola and her dance partner, Bobby Cranston,<br />
per<strong>for</strong>med the Jive to ‘Rockin Robin’ and finished in second<br />
place overall.<br />
“It was an amazing experience and I am just gutted that it<br />
is all over! Thank you to anyone who voted, over £5,000 was<br />
made from everyone’s text votes. Overall the event raised<br />
£55,000 <strong>for</strong> the charity,” commented nicola.<br />
You can view nicola’s dance on YouTube by searching ‘nicola<br />
<strong>St</strong>rictly’. nicola’s mother, Fiona, was crowned champion of the<br />
event last year.<br />
sheila evans (simpson), 1996<br />
After graduating from Edinburgh University, I moved<br />
down to nottingham with my (now) husband. I deal with<br />
buildings management <strong>for</strong> a large regional housing association<br />
and we have a little girl, Matilda, who turns four in May.<br />
<strong>Life</strong> is generally very lovely, but I’m not sure it’s particularly<br />
newsworthy! My brother Andrew (2000) was also at<br />
<strong>St</strong> Columba’s.<br />
THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 FoRMeR PuPILs | 21<br />
June McAuliffe (Hutcheson), 1975<br />
From French Teacher to Retail <strong>St</strong>ore Manager… plus ça change!<br />
I was at <strong>St</strong> Columba’s from 1962 -1975 and throughout school<br />
I only ever wanted to be a French teacher. However… joining<br />
C & A Trainee Management Scheme in Edinburgh, little did I<br />
know what lay ahead. A retail career spanning 20 years, taking<br />
me from Edinburgh to Bournemouth, via the Midlands, and<br />
back to Glasgow. I didn’t know that Mr Dickinson (Patricia<br />
and Josephine) was a buyer <strong>for</strong> C & A: we met across a desk in<br />
Guild<strong>for</strong>d in the early 80s. Managing stores and staff in Luton,<br />
<strong>St</strong>evenage, Bournemouth and Poole, I was heading back to<br />
Trongate when C & A started closing out of the UK. Changing<br />
course slightly, I joined Edinburgh Woollen Mill, firstly in<br />
Aberfoyle and then the Moffat Woollen Mill and tackled one<br />
or two troubleshooting roles – Romanes and Paterson and<br />
Inverness Mill. Four years ago the opportunity arose to work<br />
<strong>for</strong> Mohamed al Fayed as General Manager of The Falls of<br />
Shin Visitor Centre, which whilst incredibly challenging,<br />
was also hugely rewarding. Following the sale of Harrods, I<br />
found myself on the move again, most recently as Interim<br />
Retail Manager at Livingston Designer Outlet. I am currently<br />
preparing <strong>for</strong> another Visitor Centre role only 70 minutes from<br />
Glasgow Airport.<br />
Who knows what the future holds? I have relied on my<br />
resilience, resourcefulness and dogged determination to get<br />
me this far – those must be qualities I mastered at school.<br />
no matter what career you choose, always give your best,<br />
and I hope you will find your working life as challenging and<br />
rewarding as I have.<br />
Laura Dunn, 2009<br />
I moved to Edinburgh to study Vet Medicine and received<br />
the Gemmel Award <strong>for</strong> best first year student. now in my<br />
second year, I am thoroughly enjoying the course and have<br />
developed an interest in wildlife and avian medicine. I have<br />
worked in wildlife centres in Scotland and England, including<br />
Tiggywinkles Wildlife Centre which has had its own TV series.<br />
This summer I am going to Bejing to study acupuncture. I will<br />
also be spending time at the Blair Drummond Safari Park in<br />
various animal sections, as well as gaining falconry experience<br />
and some clinical Extra Mural <strong>St</strong>udies (EMS).<br />
In Memoriam<br />
olive Laurie (McKelvie)<br />
Olive, who left <strong>School</strong> in 1940, died peacefully in Sydney<br />
on 1st January 2011. Olive, who was widowed, leaves four<br />
sons and one daughter and was a devoted grandmother and<br />
great grandmother. Her two sisters were also at <strong>School</strong>, Vida,<br />
who died in 1996, and Sheina, who survives her and lives in<br />
Wimbledon.
22 | THe BACK PAGe THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31<br />
senior school<br />
Duchal Road<br />
Kilmacolm PA13 4AU<br />
T 01505 872238 F 01505 873995<br />
e secretary@st-columbas.org<br />
Junior school<br />
Knockbuckle Road<br />
Kilmacolm PA13 4EQ<br />
T 01505 872768 F 01505 874642<br />
e juniorsecretary@st-columbas.org<br />
Rector<br />
David G Girdwood<br />
DL BSc MEd SQH<br />
Head of Junior school<br />
Davida L Cook<br />
DCE ITQ DipAdPr<strong>St</strong> DipEdMan<br />
<strong>St</strong> Columba’s <strong>School</strong> Ltd is a<br />
www.kennethgray.co.uk<br />
registered charity SCO 12598<br />
www.st-columbas.org Design