How to survive lockdown without going mad! By Beth Reid

If you are looking for some helpful tips on supporting Mental Health here is a great resource from our school counsellor. It contains 5 simple tips for supporting your Mental Health. 
Remember #KindnessMatters so be kind to yourself 

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Mental Health Awareness Week

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and as a school we are looking to support this campaign and raise awareness for this years theme; Kindness.

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Bulletin – Tuesday 17th March 2020

Lost Property – If you have lost a ring please come to the School Office to collect.

Break and Lunchtime in the Village: Scotmid will be removing the queuing system, that has been in place for the last few weeks, as of Monday 16^th March. This is on a trial basis and we would expect all pupils to be respectful and behave appropriately when in the village and local shops. Should there be poor behaviour then the queuing system will be reintroduced, which is not what anyone wishes. Please be respectful and use the local amenities appropriately.  

S4/5/6 Easter Supported Study: Information on subjects running support study sessions during the Easter break is now available.

S4/5/6 tutors have this information to share with you and parents/carers will have received it by email.

If you are interested in attending any session/s please see the teacher running it/them to sign-up.

Project: Todays class for litter picking is 1.6 with Mr Paterson.

We are like all schools in Edinburgh listening to the advice from the Local Authority, Scottish Government and health professionals around Covid 19, and responding and planning as they advise.

Higher Spanish SQA Performance exams (Additional Candidates) Tuesday, 17 March:

Michelle Becerra 5C2	9.30
Eric Braggins 4M2	9.45
Jorge Kerr 4M1	10.00
Sean Macdonald 5M1	10.25
Yasmin Ortiz 5C1	10.40

Please take a note of the date and times shown and see Mrs Ranson who will tell you where the exam will take place. It is essential that you attend. No-one will be available to collect you this time if you forget.

S2 Scottish Cup netball final: Unfortunately, Netball Scotland have had to postpone all events in the country due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Therefore, the trip will not go ahead as planned on Wednesday. All money paid towards trip will be kept safe and used for when the event is rescheduled. If you would like a refund, please speak to Miss McCaig in the PE department.

World Book Day Quiz: 3 pupils answered all questions correctly –  Merrie MacBeth (2B1), Eve Ryan (2C1) and Sophie Rushworh (2C1). Please come to the LRC to collect your prizes.

Bulletin – Monday 16th March 2020

Break and Lunchtime in the Village: Scotmid will be removing the queuing system, that has been in place for the last few weeks, as of Monday 16^th March. This is on a trial basis and we would expect all pupils to be respectful and behave appropriately when in the village and local shops. Should there be poor behaviour then the queuing system will be reintroduced, which is not what anyone wishes. Please be respectful and use the local amenities appropriately.  

S4/5/6 Easter Supported Study: Information on subjects running support study sessions during the Easter break is now available.

S4/5/6 tutors have this information to share with you and parents/carers will have received it by email.

If you are interested in attending any session/s please see the teacher running it/them to sign-up.

Senior Team and Prefect applications reminder: All applications should be returned to the Main Office by 3.30pm this afternoon.

Project: Todays class for litter picking is 2.6 with Miss Gear.

We are like all schools in Edinburgh listening to the advice from the Local Authority, Scottish Government and health professionals around Covid 19, and responding and planning as they advise.

Higher Spanish SQA Performance exams (Additional Candidates) Tuesday, 17 March:

Michelle Becerra 5C2	9.30
Eric Braggins 4M2	9.45
Jorge Kerr 4M1	10.00
Sean Macdonald 5M1	10.25
Yasmin Ortiz 5C1	10.40

Please take a note of the date and times shown and see Mrs Ranson who will tell you where the exam will take place. It is essential that you attend. No-one will be available to collect you this time if you forget.

Happy (belated) Pi Day!: 3.14 – 14th March

Come along to G02 at lunchtime today and see how many digits of Pi you can remember.

Prizes for top 3.

Scottish Schools Aquathon Friday 24 April: This event takes place in April in Glenrothes and includes individual and team competitions in which competitors complete a swim and a run.

S1/2 – 250m swim and 2km run

S3/4 – 400m swim and 3km run

S5/6 – 500m swim and 4km run

If you are keen to enter the event, please speak to Mr May asap!

Balerno Uniform Crackdown!

 

Balerno School Uniform

Scottish Football (but better!)

Climate Change

Book adaptations on TV!

Tv series adaptations, there are hundreds of tv series across the media some of the earliest tv series were based on books, how far has this expression come? Some of the biggest names in the television business were originally books, this includes game of thrones, sherlock, outlander and the handmaid’s tale each with very popular book counterparts. Throughout the day I interviewed teachers and pupils asking for their points of view.  

Many believe tv series based on books can introduce people into books and encourage people to read the series they enjoy introducing people to new genres and authors. I interviewed a tour guide who is used to taking people around filming locations across Scotland. 

What sort of tv show locations do you take people to? 

Mostly game of thrones and outlander 

What sort of reactions do you get from tourists visiting film sites? 

Some get very excited and take lots of pictures, I’ve even seen some cry! 

 During the interviews I noticed that some of the most popular tv shows were crime and historical drama such as jane Eyre and Agatha Christie novels, these sorts of shows attract a lot of attention as the books have a large following and are regarded as classics and are seen as a good example of television adaptations. 

I asked if people believed changing details from the book was good or bad. The most common response was it can be necessary as long as it is kept close to the original some small details can be changed. There are many variations of characters changed in the tv series a good example of this is pretty little liars which seriously changed character appearance and personality but remains popular among fans of the book.  

I asked around which books do you want turned into tv series? (These were the responses from English and support for learning and pupils) 

 “None, it can go horribly wrong with tv adaptations.” 

“Elanor Oliphant is completely fine” 

“Life after life” 

“The Bloody chamber” 

“Peculiar children” 

“Wuthering heights” 

“Memoirs of a geisha.” 

“the diabolic, in fact I can imagine it becoming a tv show!” 

 

Books have been a part of people’s lives for years, each genre with hundreds of books under its collection. Adaptations have become very popular recently with the release of His dark materials, Nougats and crosses, Good omens, and The war of the worlds all introduced to BBC in the space of a few months between, this is a media form which is going to stick around for a long time. Television adaptations can positively impact both writers and television industries and could encourage people to write continuing the cycle. The pupils I talked to said that These series could help with English exams and prelims helping someone get interested in the book. Many books get forgotten after the release of a film or tv series. many people I interviewed didn’t know some of my examples were books first like lucifer by Neil Gaiman and animals of farthing wood by Colin Dann. finding out more about the series origins can be an interesting journey but one often forgotten.  

Bulletin – Thursday 12th March 2020

Break and Lunchtime in the Village: Scotmid will be removing the queuing system, that has been in place for the last few weeks, as of Monday 16^th March. This is on a trial basis and we would expect all pupils to be respectful and behave appropriately when in the village and local shops. Should there be poor behaviour then the queuing system will be reintroduced, which is not what anyone wishes. Please be respectful and use the local amenities appropriately.  

S5: Please return your senior student and prefect applications to the main office.

The closing date is 3.30pm on Monday 16^th March.

S4/5/6 Easter Supported Study: Information on subjects running support study sessions during the Easter break is now available.

S4/5/6 tutors have this information to share with you and parents/carers will have received it by email.

If you are interested in attending any session/s please see the teacher running it/them to sign-up.

Project: Todays class for litter picking is 4B1 with Mr Ross.

S5 RRSA Group: Could the S5 RRSA group please attend a meeting in Ms Templeton’s room at 1:15   today (Thursday lunch). Any questions or issues please see Mr Russell or Ms Templeton.

LRC use Thursday, 12 March and F40:

Please be aware that the LRC will be out of bounds to pupils all day (including break and lunch) – apart from pupils who are coming to collect a network to use in classes.

S6 Pupils – please use the Riverside café for your study periods.

In addition, F40 will be used for HFT Assignment write ups, so any of Mrs Shiel’s classes will be displaced.

S2 Scottish Cup Final: Please can all pupils who received a letter to attend the S2 Cup final make sure their permission slip and money is returned to Miss McCaig by THIS FRIDAY (13^th). This is because I need to book a bus. If you do not return your form, you cannot go on the trip. Any issues with payment, please come and speak to Miss McCaig.

S6 Pupils:  Please use the Riverside café for your study periods. There will be no access to any computers, laptops or netbooks so make sure you bring work with you which can be done without computers.

Higher Spanish SQA Performance exams (Additional Candidates) Tuesday, 17 March:

Michelle Becerra 5C2	9.30
Eric Braggins 4M2	9.45
Jorge Kerr 4M1	10.00
Sean Macdonald 5M1	10.25
Yasmin Ortiz 5C1	10.40

Please take a note of the date and times shown and see Mrs Ranson who will tell you where the exam will take place. It is essential that you attend. No-one will be available to collect you this time if you forget.

Scottish Schools Aquathon Friday 24 April: This event takes place in April in Glenrothes and includes individual and team competitions in which competitors complete a swim and a run.

S1/2 – 250m swim and 2km run

S3/4 – 400m swim and 3km run

S5/6 – 500m swim and 4km run

If you are keen to enter the event, please speak to Mr May asap!

Reminder for S1 Dodgeball Tournament: A reminder for all S1 pupils that took part in the dodgeball tournament on Monday 9 March that the big finale is taking place on Monday 16 March at lunchtime.  Please attend at 1.10pm.