Balfron Matters
Monday 31 October 2022
Weekly communication for staff
Dear colleagues,
Thanks to everyone for your input last week. It was a very busy week with lots of great things happening across the school as the photos below show.
A warm welcome to Conner Heath who took up the permanent post in Physics last week.
Our S5 MVP pupils did a fabulous job delivering PSE to S1 pupils. They showed confidence, skill and empathy in delivering and discussing the sensitive topics associated with violence prevention. Massive thanks to Claire Appelquist, Clair Miller and Lesley Smith for their work in training our seniors. I have no doubt that this project will have a positive impact on school ethos.
The S1-3 Halloween disco was really positive. Young people and colleagues both commented on how great it was to have a relaxed and fun event running again. Massive thanks to all colleagues who planned the disco, helped and attended, dressed up, supervised and tidied up - our young people loved it! It couldn't have happened without you.
Another great success last week was Active Girls Day. It was important to get the message right through input at Form time while giving our girls opportunities to participate and celebrate sport and physical activity. Thanks to Fiona for leading this and all staff for contributing, running activities and supporting the day.
It is with huge pride and thanks that I am able to share that Balfron High School been shortlisted for the Sport Scotland School Sport Award. Getting this far is fantastic and very much down to the hard work of our staff - PE team and colleagues across the school who deliver in and beyond the curriculum along with our partnerships with Active Stirling, Strathendrick Rugby, and many others in our community. It is great to see former pupils Ross Murdoch and Lewis Stewart making the short list in the Moment of the Year and Para Athlete of the year categories. The Awards themselves are on the 7th December so join me in keeping everything crossed for Balfron, former and current!
Thankful Thursday nominations were back last week. I invite staff to make nominations through this link . I will tannoy and invite nominees to the Strathendrick Suite on Thursday morning to join the Head Prefects and me for a hot chocolate or fruit tea.
The Leadership Team are out of school on Monday to take part in a Leading Pedagogy day. The purpose is to draw on the research, reinforce and share understanding of what makes great learning & teaching and to design a toolkit that we as a school can use to promote consistency and improved understanding across the school. Our draft will be shared through teams next week.
It is Dyslexia Awareness week. Thanks to Lynne and the Flexible Learning Team for putting together the slides for form class this week (below & emailed).
If you are doing any online shopping, please link to your shops via the Balfron Easy Fundraising app. A percentage of your purchases comes to the school fund. We have raised just over £2,000 in the time it has been running.
The Lomond House DHT post will be interviewed on Wednesday 9 November with many Lomond colleagues involved. It will be a busy and disruptive day, so thank you in advance for your support and patience. I am meeting each of the five candidates for a walk around between Tuesday 1st and the 8th, so will introduce you if our paths cross.
Thanks again for all that you are doing to rebuild our ethos and give our learners a fantastic experience, in and out of the classroom. Have a great week.
Elaine
This week at Balfron High:
Mon: LT Pedagogy Away Day
Tues: S4 Parents Meeting S2 Build Your Own Future Lomond House Assembly
Wed: Campsie House Assembly
Thurs: Endrick House Assembly Leadership Team Meeting, 3.45 I am Gen Z screening, 7pm
Fri: CfE - Science
Dyslexia Awareness Week
Last week at Balfron
When people outside your walls know what you are doing, it gives value to those inside.
This week we have pictures of the Halloween disco, our new Young Stem Leaders, books delivered by our Reading School Book Ghosts, pictures from Girls in Sport day, our S3 Sports Leaders getting ready to deliver sessions at associated primaries and photoes from various PSE classes of our S5 MVP Mentors delivering their lesson.
Here is the link to our school improvement plan. It is a real, working document that will be updated and amended as we go through the session. Thanks to everyone for input. If there is anything that you would like to add or ask, let me know.
CLPL Corner
Retrieval Practice weekly input
Better practice
Now we have been exploring retrieval practice for a term, it's a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of ensuring knowledge is securely learned in the brain before we start to retrieve.
This short blog post does a great job of explaining the important distinction between rehearsal and retrieval.
With thanks to our Parent Council, we have an exciting new resource to support us on our journey with Science of Learning. Click on the link for a look at Carousel Learning.
Engagement sessions will be rolling out this term - watch this space!
The National Discussion on Education is Live!
Scottish Government is inviting everyone who has an interest in the future of our education system to join the National Discussion.
Have your voice heard and help develop a vision for the future of education in Scotland. What kind of education, skills, knowledge and support do you think young people will need 20 years from now?
Professional Learning Opportunities
In-house CLPL: Supporting Senior Study and Resourcing Tips
Join the Project Leads to share good practice around supporting our seniors
Tuesday 8 Nov Online Session 7pm, or
Thurs 10 Nov 3.45-4.30 Strathendrick Suite
How to navigate the E-Learning offer and get to the best bits FAST
National Supported Study Offer
Supporting Seniors in class - a shared language and whole school approach
Supporting Seniors at home: Power up with Goggle Classroom
Maximising parental support
Senior form class time: maximising its potential
Sharing good practice
Tea & Biscuits
Calendar 2022-23
1 November S4 Parents Meeting
2 November Lomond House Assembly
3 November Campsie House Assembly
Gen Z screening for parents & carers
4 November Endrick House Assembly
10 November S1 Family Learning sessions
14 November S5/6 Parents Meeting
24 November S1 Parents Meeting
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
![](https://www.google.com/images/icons/product/drive-32.png)
![](https://www.google.com/images/icons/product/drive-32.png)