Latest news and events from Gracemount High School.
City schools Speaking Competition
Congratulations to the two second year girls Cassie Harris and Claire MacDonald won the second year Edinburgh Public Speaking Competition.
The competition, on the theme of road safety, which was open to all secondary schools in the city, was held in late February at the Lothian Chambers.
The girls were praised by the judges for their interesting and informative presentation on the use of electronic devices whilst crossing the road. Head teacher Mr Cassidy was delighted with the result and has asked Cassie and Claire to give an assembly on the subject to raise awareness of the issue within the school.
The two supporters who accompanied the contestants said of the experience, "The girls were the best and we're delighted for them. It was a really enjoyable morning and we had a great time."
Written by, Holly Henderson and Ailsa MacRury
Charity Bingo and Fashion show
The annual charity Bingo and Fashion show takes place on Thursday 24 April at 7pm in Gracemount High School. The evening consists of bingo and entertainment in the first half, a mini spring fair during the interval with cake and candy, tombola, lucky dip stalls and raffle, followed by the fashion show in the second half. Outfits have been supplied by local stores and will be modelled by pupils from our feeder primary schools, Gracemount High pupils, and school staff. Staff, parents and pupils are invited to make a donation to any of the stalls or raffle via the school office before the event.
Standard Life Student Challenge
Fifth year Ellis McLuckie and Sarah Montgomery recently participated in the Standard Life Student Challenge.
Organisers were very pleased with the hard work, enthusiasm and energy put in by pupils over the two-day event. Participants presented their recommendations for the new Skills for Life material, which will be influential in shaping the way that Standard Life develops their workshops. The photo below shows the group who took part.
From inspiration to aspiration
The book From Inspiration to Aspiration was launched in late March at the Scottish Parliament. It will be widely available and contains inspirational work from some of our pupils - Kara Marriot, Sarah Mitchell, Brogan O'Flaherty, Ahmed Aberkush, Laura Henderson, Liam Brown, Stefana Djokic, Vicky McNeill & Dylan Yardley.
In the book, they express their visions and hopes for the future. They believe that 'another world is possible', that the future does not need to be like the past and that they have a vital role in shaping a more trusting, responsible and sustainable world.
2008: Year of Reading
To celebrate the 2008 Year of Reading we have lots of activities planned. We started off in January with Reading Resolutions.
There will be reading activities each month and throughout the year there will be Author of the Month displays and a Post-it note Review Board. Pupils are encouraged to put their short reviews onto colourful post it notes & add them to the display. It is hoped that these reviews can be developed into a Reading Blog.
Lynne Brown, Librarian
Dance Success
Pupils from Gracemount's Dance Academy were the proud winners of the 2008 Newbattle High School Dance Festival recently. They competed against schools from all over the Lothians, each school entering two dances from different age groups, from first to third year and from fourth to sixth year.
Gracemount won three awards, including the fourth to sixth year category with their routine to the song Candyman. Connor Handren and Kelly Jones won awards for the most outstanding performances, receiving the prize of spending a dance day at Telford College.
Connor Handren & Hannah Fyvie
Diary Dates
April 24 Bingo Night and Fashion Show
April 21 Public Holiday school closed
April 28 SQA Exam Diet begins, Fourth year study leave starts
May 5 Holiday school closed
May 8 Fifth and sixth year exam leave begins
May 19 Holiday school closed except for pupils sitting Standard Grade Home Economics
May 19 In-service day for staff
May 20 Pupils return
