Edinburgh

Christmas
Newsletter 2015
INTERHOUSE 2015
So far this year students have competed in 3 different House competitions. The year started with the Football on the new
2G with Yarrow winning the Girls competition and Tweed winning the Boys competition. During the first week of
October saw the Interhouse Rugby and Hockey with over 150 students taking part. Ettrick took the honours in both the
Rugby and Hockey competitions. The standings in the House Table are as follows – Tweed 8.5 points, Ettrick 8 points,
Yarrow 7.5 points
HOCKEY NEWS…………….
FESTIVE GREETINGS………...
Welcome to our 2015 Christmas newsletter which this
year compliments the Press and PR Committee’s newly
launched digital magazine – The Selkirk Scrapbook –
see below for details.
We hope you enjoy reading about some of the activities
and events that have made the term a busy and very
successful one. Please let us know what you think, or if
you would be keen to get involved in any of our projects
by contacting me at selkirkhs@scotborders.gov.uk .
On behalf of staff and students at Selkirk High School I
wish you a relaxing and peaceful Christmas and a
happy, health new year.
Mrs Burgon, Headteacher
HIGHER GEOGRAPHY TRIP
MOCK INTERVIEWS
Tuesday, 1st December, saw the start of Selkirk
Rotary Clubs Mock Interviews with students from the
High School. This is a yearly initiative, it allows the
students to derive the benefit of the knowledge of
business skills attained and built up by members of
the Club. This year a total 71, 5th year students, have
had to prepare in advance their covering letters/
applications, CV's and personal statements. These are
then read over in advance of the 'mock interview' by
Club members in order to gain an understanding of
each students, qualifications, skills and aspirations.
Mistakes are highlighted and discussed with the
student at the interview.
The 'mock interviews' run from 1st to 11th December
with some nine interviews taking place daily. The
Rotary Club of Selkirk are indebted to Ron Hastings
and his staff at Hastings and Co. Market Place,
Selkirk, for allowing us the use of the premises. The
use of town centre premises takes the students out of
their comfort zone in the school and brings them into a
business environment.
The High School, students and club members alike
find this a very worthwhile exercise.
At the beginning of the season the school hockey team were very lucky to receive sponsorship from Allan Linton’s business AV
Safety Services. This allowed all girls to get brand new kit which is looking great.
Teams have been benefiting from training and playing on the new 2g pitch, and are now proud to host other teams. Thanks to the
fund raising efforts of players and parents, refreshments are available for players and spectators during home games – hot drinks
and home baking are a very welcome addition on cold mornings!
A visit to the High School from ex-student and international player Sarah Robertson inspired younger players who benefitted
from an excellent coaching session delivered by Sarah.
On a similar note, as part of the School of Hockey programme, S1 and S2 students recently enjoyed a trip to Glasgow to support
and watch ex-student Emily Newlands gain her first full international cap for Scotland against Ireland.
Our teams have had some great performances and results in the first half of the season, and are looking forward to the up and
coming tournaments after the Christmas holidays.
In November, the Higher Geography students took a trip
to Edinburgh to complete fieldwork for their Added Value
Unit. The pupils carried out questionnaires and surveys on
well-known streets within the centre of Edinburgh. These
streets included The Royal Mile, George Street and Princes
Street where they surveyed and recorded shop type and
quality and observed environmental quality. The Sphere
of Influence questionnaire they carried out on each street
was meet with some interesting responses! One group of
students interviewed a couple from Hungary who told
them that they visited Edinburgh every year for its history,
beauty, excellent selection of shops but sadly not the
weather. The day we chose to go into Edinburgh was one
of the wettest days in November (true to Edinburgh’s
character!) but the students endured through the weather
(with many coffee breaks) to complete their fieldwork.
They are now using the information they collected in Edinburgh
to write up their individual Added Value project.
Thanks to Catriona Bird, Andrew Haining for choosing to
come out on such a wet day for fieldwork and a special
thanks to Ron Sutherland for coming out of retirement for
the day, the students very much enjoyed seeing him again.
STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS………...
‘Achieving Excellence Together’ – Respect, Rights,
Responsibilities & Relationships - the Selkirk High School
Charter continues to reflect our vision & values - what
underpins behaviour so that all our students will realise
their full potential. The Student Councils continue to raise
the profile of the SHS Charter by organising their annual
poster competition. Each S1 student has demonstrated
newly developed ICT skills by producing a poster
promoting the power of positive relationships.
Winning entries will be picked by Council members and
prizes presented at the Christmas Assembly. The usual
impressive display of all entries will be created in the
canteen early in the new year.
Another hot topic on the Student Council agenda is
improving digital learning opportunities. Any parents or
local businesses who would like to support us in our
efforts, please get in touch.
The SHS Student Councils

CHAMPIONS IN SCHOOL VISIT SKILLS FOR LIFE MUSIC NEWS BIG ISSUES
The S1 pupils took part in a Champions in Schools
Workshop on Tuesday 24 th November. Champions in Schools
is a role-model programme delivered by Winning Scotland
Foundation, which places an athlete in the classroom to
deliver an inspirational workshop. The workshop practically
demonstrated to pupils the merits of working hard,
overcoming setbacks and achieving personal goals. Alison
Howie, Scotland Hockey player, was the athlete who
championed at Selkirk High School. Senior pupils involved in
the Young Coach Programme (Scott Clark and Abbie Linton)
and the two Young Ambassadors (Iona Lunn and Ryan
Nixon) also shared their success through effort and success
after failure stories to the S1s and delivered physical activity
The S3 Skills for Life class have been working towards
the John Muir Discovery Award at The Haining this term..
The class- consisting of 12 pupils together with Miss
Robinson and Miss McPhee -spent Thursday afternoons
exploring the grounds of The Haining, developing team
building skills and learning about conservation in the local
environment. They each achieved their John Muir
Discovery Award, which shows commitment to making
use of our outdoor spaces and preserving them for others.
Everybody involved had a great time with activities such
as building dens and making tools.
In September we were visited by 3 members of
the Scottish Chamber orchestra who gave a
composition workshop to a group of instrumental
pupils from S2 – S6. They provided an approach
to composition that the students could apply to
their own composition and the ideas and
suggestions were useful for course work. A few
days later, the full SCO visited Earlston High
School to perform Brahms Variations on a Theme
by Haydn to an audience of pupils from secondary
schools across the region. The concert was very
well received and Selkirk students enjoyed the
experience greatly.
YOUNG AMBASSADORS
The role of the Young Ambassadors is to encourage
young people to get involved with sport and to enjoy their
experiences. So far we have attended a Regional
Conference about our roles and this was based around the
theme of how to act as positive leaders and the best ways
to promote sport in schools. We were also involved in the
Champions in Schools Programme delivering
presentations and practical sessions on Success. Ryan
Nixon and Iona Lunn
GRIM TALES
Earlier this year, pupils from Mrs McKeown's English
class (1F2) entered a competition to rewrite a fairy tale
with a twist. They could choose any tale they liked but the
challenge was to only use 100 words! The class produced
some fantastic tales and several of these were chosen as
winners by Young Writers who ran the
competition. Extremely creative stories by Jed Bury, Luke
Davidson, Rosalin Scott, Fraser Cullen, Murray McNeill,
Rebecca Fernie, Joe Bell, Georgia Main, Tia Douglas,
Daisy Lockie, Aryeris Koutoupas, Thomas Martin and
Katie Knight were published in the 'Grim Tales' book. The
pupils were presented with their copies in front of the rest
of S2.
CHRISTMAS CAKES
Big Issues day took place on the 26 th of November during
which S5 and S6 students were made to think about and
research issues that are prominent at this moment in time and
how they are affecting us here in the Scottish Borders.
Throughout the day, they researched and debated one of four
issues:
Should GM Crops be grown or used in the UK?
Should we allow the genetic manipulation of embryos?
Should the UK be accepting all refugees?
Should the UK intervene in the war in Syria?
The day was organised by the Big Issues committee, led by S5
and S6 pupils. Students were asked to present on their issue
after finding information from a variety of sources. We also
welcomed a wide range of speakers including: John Lamont,
local MSP; Reverend Campbell, Church of Scotland minister;
Rory Bannerman, Immigration judge; Alastair Cameron,
STEMNET Ambassador; David Scott, campaign director- Nil
by Mouth; Mr P. Lee, biology teacher and current pupil Euan
Nicol.
This year’s winning presentation was chosen by a collective
vote from the committee and the social subjects teachers. The
winning presentation was from the GM Crops topic. However,
the competition was fierce and in a close second place came a
strong Genetic Manipulation of Embryos presentation All
presentations were fantastic and a lot of hard work was put in
over the day.

WINTER WONDERLAND CONCERT PARENT PARTNERSHIP
CHRISTMAS DANCES JOURNEY TO CHANGE
Our Christmas concert this year was a great success. Over
two nights our audiences were entertained by the High
Schools Singers, School Band, Traditional Singers, Guitar
Group, Staff Choir, Ceilidh Band, Clarsach group, Pipers and
Accordions. Thanks must go to all the talented pupils who
gave up their time to rehearse and perform and also the tutors/instructors
who share their enthusiasm and skills.
SHSPP wishes all parents, pupils and staff an enjoyable
and relaxing Christmas. We have continued to work
with the Management team at the school throughout the
year and have been active in supporting the school. We
thought you might like to know that we managed once
again to fund the school diaries for every pupil, and we
were also able to help each department in the school
with some extra equipment and resources following
them all lodging bids which we had asked for.
We have also been able to make a donation to one of
the committees in the school, The Journey for Change,
which is involved in a fantastic initiative to promote
gender equality in education and beyond and will be
funding a trip for two South African students to spend a
week in Selkirk early next year.
The funds for this come from our local authority grant,
which is decreasing every year, and anything we can
raise through fund raising initiatives. Things like the
clothes bank, the 50-50 club and Easyfundraising for
online shopping all help tremendously and we would
encourage you all to support them as much as you are
able. The money raised all goes back into the school to
the benefit of your children who attend so the more we
can raise the better!
Our next meeting is the 22nd February in the
Boardroom at 7pm and new faces are always welcome,
and indeed actively encouraged! Please come along if
you can. We are also looking for some new members
for our fundraising committee, which is meeting on
Tuesday 26th January at 7pm in the County Hotel in
the lounge, so if you feel able to help, please get in
touch!
Best wishes for the festive season,
SHSPP
Journey to Change is a pupil-run committee based both
here in Selkirk High School and Lasswade High School,
in Edinburgh. The committee aims to make beneficial
links between South Africa and Scotland, and raise
awareness to global issues such as gender inequality.
This year, the committee has big plans. We are preparing
for another conference about gender inequality at
Lasswade, and we are taking on the issue of domestic
violence. We also are trying to raise funds to host 2
South African students here for a week, and for a charity
which provides shelter for victims of domestic abuse in
South Africa. Last year, we learned so much, but one day
simply was not enough.
To fundraise for this, we have been active within the
school and the wider community of Selkirk. We have held
bake sales, and dress down days. Pupils have been hugely
supportive of the cause, and are really looking forward to
the visit. We have also held raffles, sold crafts, and
donated old DVDs in exchange for money, which has all
helped us reach our minimum target of £700. In
December, the committee hosted a Quiz Night, and
managed to raise £320 from this event. It was a fantastic
night, and the committee are incredibly grateful to all
those who braved the winter weather to come and support
us. The evening was great fun for all involved, and has
allowed us to meet our fundraising target, however, we
will continue to raise funds into the New Year. The
committee is looking forward to meeting our South
African friends in the New Year.

CHARITIES COMMITTEE S2 SCIENCE TRIP CREATIVE FASHION S2 CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS
The Selkirk High School Charities Committee is supporting
two great causes this year; the Special Care Baby Unit
(SCBU), and Macmillan Cancer Support. SCBU is based at
the Borders General hospital and works relentlessly to care
for newly born babies needing special care. Macmillan
Cancer Support is a national organisation that offers care
and support for those affected by cancer. The committee
has been working extremely hard this term organising four
events: a sponsored leg wax, a raffle and a bake sale at the
recent Christmas concert, as well as a whole school ‘wear
what you want’ day. We’d like to take this opportunity to
thank everyone who has contributed including local
businesses for their kind donations.
Thirty pupils from S2 attended the Scottish
Closing Event for the United Nations International
Year of Light and Light-based Technologies at
Heriot-Watt University Conference Centre on 2nd
December. The International Year of Light is a
global initiative which will highlight to the citizens
of the world the importance of light and optical
technologies in their lives, for their futures, and for
the development of society. It is a unique
opportunity to inspire, educate, and connect on a
global scale. The Heriot-Watt event included a
light Inspired Festival of Knowledge – with
microscopes, lasers, robots and other incredible
technologies - and a lecture by Professor Jim Al-
Khalili, the BBC science communicator and
broadcaster. The day ended with a prize ceremony
where the video made by Fraser Cullen, Bethan
Harold, Daisy Lockie, Callum Macdonald, Sarah
McGhee and Eilidh McMenamin was awarded
runner-up!
On Tuesday the 27 th October 2015 the Creative Fashion
Students from Selkirk High School had a wonderful
experience taking part in a photoshoot at Abbotsford House.
As usual the photoshoot was carried out by award winning
Hawick photographer John Parris. John has supported the
course from the start and his stunning photographs are
always used as a backdrop for the annual Fashion Show.
Katherine Milby, from the Abbotsford Trust, has also been
very supportive in allowing us to use this stunning setting.
CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION
The outfits chosen for this event were tartan and tweed to
reflect our local heritage and most of the fabrics used were
kindly donated by local textile mills. Make up was done and
the hair styled by Emma Jolly. Emma is a former pupil of
the course who went on to study at Duncan of Jordanstone
College of Art and Design and is now working as a
freelance artist.
Get social with Selkirk High School
The annual fashion show, “Sew Sew”, will be held in
Selkirk High School on Wednesday 23 rd March 2016 at
7.30pm. More details will follow in early February.
During the month of September, we had some amazing night
skies over the Borders. Senior pupils were proudly showing
their photos on their phones in Art & Design as the colours
were so vibrant and almost unrealistic. So, when Mrs Burgon
asked if we had any Christmas images, we certainly did.
Like us on Facebook
We selected 5 images from the Selkirk area from pupils from
S4&5. The photographers were, Lara Mills, Shannon Smith,
Ellie Hislop and Todd Patterson.
http://www.facebook.com/SelkirkHighSchool/
Follow us on Twitter @SelkirkHS
I think you'll agree, that we not only have beautiful scenes
around us, but that our pupils have a real flair for
photography. Hopefully this is the first of many projects like
this.

YOUNG CHEF CHALLENGE
Congratulations to all the girls who worked in an organised manner to
produce a healthy two course meal while demonstrating a wide range
of practical skills. Milly Coltherd was the winner, with Catherine
Nicoll the runner up. We wish both girls well at the next round.
S4-S6 PRELIMS
Prelim Season is upon us once again. This session, the prelim
exam diet will fall between Monday 11 th January – Friday 22 nd
January 2016.
Prelims are very important as it helps you gauge where you are in
your learning and what you need to do to improve for the final
exam in May.
On the day of the exam, please ensure you
arrive 10 minutes before the exam starts,
have all the equipment you need eg pens, pencils, calculators
etc.
Please do enjoy the break, but do make time for revision.
The full prelim timetable can be found on the school website
along with arrangements for exam leave.
S4/5/6 Students
Exam Leave:
All S5/6 pupils will be on exam leave between Monday11
th January and Monday 18 th January inclusive.
All S5/6 pupils should return to normal classes from Tuesday
18 th January
There will be pupils who have exams to sit between
18 th and 22 nd January. In this case, pupils are allowed the
day before an exam off in order to prepare.
Pupils should return to classes in the afternoon of an exam
if they do not have an exam the next day.
All S4 pupils will be given the day before an exam off in
order to prepare
Pupils should return to classes in the afternoon of an exam
if they do not have an exam the next day.
All pupils should return to school full time on Monday
25 th January
Selkirk High School has had a PR and Press Committee for a number of years now. This year, the
committee have gone digital and have created http://selkirkscrapbook.com This is a student owned
online magazine allowing the students to write and publish articles on a variety of topics on a regular
basis.
Since the mid November launch of the site, over 850 individuals from all over the world have
viewed content on the site 2300 times! You can expect to read articles about various school committees,
sporting teams, school events as well as commentary and opinion on local and national
news.
The committee is made up of a dedicated team of seven students from a variety of different stages
within the school, ranging from S3 to S6. The PR and Press Committee is made up of
Euan N(S6) – chairperson of the committee
Jack O(S6)
Baird M(S6)
Joseph M(S5)
Catherine N(S3)
Paige G(S3)
Catriona T(S3)
You can receive updates from the Scrapbook by
following the blog via email- just subscribe on
page. Alternatively you can follow the school
Twitter - @SelkirkHS - and/or like us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/
SelkirkHighSchool as all posts made on the
Scrapbook appear on these feeds.
SELKIRK SCRAPBOOK
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on
From all of the PR and Press Committee, we
wish you happy reading. Please do visit, leave a
comment and share http://selkirkscrapbook.com