Balfron Matters
Monday 3 October 2022
Weekly communication for staff
Dear colleagues,
As we approach the end of a busy and successful first term, I would like to thank you for your fantastic and unwavering commitment to our young people and school community. I can see clearly that we are well on our way to recovering our positive and inclusive school ethos of achievement and attainment after the inevitable negative effects of pandemic. As the BM often highlights, our young people have great teaching, amazing opportunities and well intentioned and caring adults to help navigate their education and the challenges of their teenage years. Thank you.
It's Challenge Poverty Week. Led by Modern Studies students, this will be the focus of assemblies throughout the week. We agreed that Friday should not be a non uniform day. The reason for this is that we felt it would undermine the message about the costs of the school day that some young people and their families face. Please join us in encouraging those who can, to bring a donation for Start Up Stirling and the Balfron Larder on Friday.
There is likely to be a bit of disruption on Tuesday as we run the inter-house swimming gala. Many young people are involved. Please bear with us. We are delighted that Ross Murdoch, former pupil and Commonwealth 2014 and 2022 medal winner and 2016 gold European medal winner, will be with us. You will see some new graphics on the swimming pool. We hope that celebrating and highlighting Ross's success will motivate and inspire current and future pupils at balfron High. We are hoping to formally brand our pool, The Ross Murdoch Swimming Pool.
Last week, sixteen S4 pupils participated in and welcomed the opportunities presented in the Columba 1400 Leadership Academy. It was humbling to see them embrace the principles of values based leadership, engage positively and fully with the activities, discsussion and challenges. It reinforced that in the right environment with time set aside, with the support of committed adults, young people can achieve beyond our expectations.
I am very grateful to Andrew and David for joining the group on the trip to Skye. Both were inspiring role models and massive supports throughout. It is hard to describe the particular brand of magic that Columba 1400 offers, but what is clear is guiding principles of warmth of welcome, warmth of hospitality and the warmth of the sense of being on a shared journey are critical factors in creating something very special.
Our Columba graduates have created a plan for a project to address some of the unkindness that we have seen and addressed in school. Watch this space...
As always, thanks for your hard work and professionalism. Have a fantastic holiday when it comes.
Meanwhile, have a great week.
Elaine
This week at Balfron High:
S1 Form Class Leader Interviews
Mon: S1 Assembly
Tues: S2 Assembly
Inter-house Swimming Gala
Wed: S5/6 Assembly
Staff Quiz (Strathendrick)
Thurs: S3 Assembly
Senior Awards Ceremony
Fri: S2/3 Tracking due
S4 Assembly
CfE - Science
Challenge Poverty donation
Challenge Poverty Week
This week is Challenge Poverty Week. The idea of this week is to raise awareness of issues that children in poverty face, as well as informing the students and staff what we at Balfron are currently doing. This will take the form of:
Assemblies, presented by senior Modern Studies students.
A form class discussion task which can be completed at any time during the week. This can be found here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KRrng_LxlHoiX6rlcHl0PLfehb1vfbUVcvifuNbD1Iw/edit#slide=id.g15bd2435a50_0_98
Encourage your form class to bring canned and dried foods on Friday 7th October, for our Balfron Larder and StartUp Stirling. A list of goods needed is on the right.
Last week at Balfron
When people outside your walls know what you are doing, it gives value to those inside.
Here are some pictures from last week. These include a few snaps from Skye, retreival activities in geography, S2 Art Award winners with the President of The Robert Burns Federation (our pupils took the top 3 prizes), a lovely new Chemistry notice board and, Leah and Sian reviewing data from their peer reading feedback.
Thanks to everyone for sharing or tweeting. I've popped these on the parent notice board too.
CLPL Corner
Retrieval Practice weekly input
Twitter steals for some fun and effective end of term retrieval activities
Visual Hexagons
Using images to act as the cue for retrieval
Tetris Tussle
Some quiz based Nintendo fun
Podcast Recommendations
With the holidays approaching and lots of cosy autumn walks ahead, here are some great edupodcast series to pop in your earphones and enjoy a variety of different topics.
Professional Learning Opportunities
In house CLPL
What's on next term?
Upcoming twilight sessions after the October holidays:
Supporting Seniors with studying skills and resourcing
Spot light on: Literacy in your classroom
Developing resilient classrooms - a culture of error
Increasing challenge - tweeks, not changes!
PTPL Pathway to Pastoral Leadership Opportunity
The programme is ideal for anyone who would like to take on a mini-caseload or has targets within their PRD related to pastoral leadership.
Pathway to Pastoral Leadership is being led by Lou Kennedy (DHT Stirling High School) and offered to staff in all Stirling Schools. We hope to have a few staff from Balfron High School on the programme.
This week (likely to be Wednesday) there will be an online information session to share more details with anyone that signs up to be part of the programme. More information will follow.
A few basic details of the programme are...
You will take on a small caseload of pupils. The exact make-up of the caseload will be confirmed in due course.
You will participate in a range of CLPL Sessions - An overview of these sessions is available on the attached document
There is no additional time given to anyone on the programme
You will work on a project/enquiry related to the school improvement plan.
You will be mentored and supported by a member of staff within Balfron High to help you get the most from this opportunity
If this is of interest to you... Please, Click Here to complete a Google Form to express your interest in the programme.
Please complete the Google Form by lunchtime on Monday 3rd October.
Leadership Thoughts & Perspectives
Who do you spend your time with?
Who needs your help?
The best way to care, is to actually care
Calendar 2022-23
wb 3 October S1-3 Behaviour Data out
3 & 4 October Flu Vaccinations for all years
4 October Inter-House Swimming Gala
6 October Senior Awards Ceremony
7 October S2-3 Tracking deadline
10 October Holiday begins
27 October My Old School Screening (fundraiser)
27 October S4 Workshops - Encoding for Everyone
28 October S5 Workshops - Encoding for Everyone
1 November S4 Parents Meeting
3 November Gen Z screening for parents & carers
Health & Wellbeing - Counselling for staff
Did you know counselling is available through Stirling Council?
Employee Counselling is available through our Occupational Health provider, People Asset Management (PAM)
There are a few ways employees can request Counselling.
Stuart Shaw on shaws@stirling.gov.uk
Contact hr@stirling.gov.uk
Call Ann at PAM on 0800 882 4102
If you want some more information about counselling, what to expect or looking for self-help resources then please pop in and see Karin Figliolini or drop her an email.
Useful Links
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