Bannerman

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BBC Reports fromBannermanChina Week Showcase

Darts AcademyUnveiling

Spring Edition

Dear All,

This has been another busy term for everyone in Bannerman and I hope this edition of ‘The BannermanBuzz’ gives you a flavour of life in school. We always want to celebrate the achievements of our youngpeople in and out of school, so please keep us informed!

The BBC School report was a Bannerman first and I know many of our young people benefited from theirinvolvement as reporters or crew. Our musicians continue to go from strength to strength with the stringensemble gaining third place and the brass ensemble 1�� at the Glasgow Music Festival. Our sports anddance leaders have been honing their skills in our primaries, as well as organising a very successful P7transition event whilst our Fashion and Textiles students have made it to the final of the Junk Kouturecompetition.

Our international links continue and we celebrated Chinese New year with our annual showcase followinga week of curricular activities in S3 classes. Our Malawi Partnership working has been commended forits focus on shared visits, with young people for Malawi and their teachers visiting Scotland. Youngpeople in S2 have contributed to the great work of Mary’s Meals through their contributions to the backpack appeal.

Finally, I must pay tribute to our young people. Their compassion was evident in the tributes they paidto Dylan Thomson and the support they gave to the memorial football match organised by some of hisfriends, raising well over £1000. They were fine examples of upstanding citizens.

As the holiday approaches our young people in the senior phase are working hard towards theirqualifications and we wish them every success.

Thank you for your on-going support.

Ms Purdie

A wordie from ms purdie

Hi!

Welcome back to the third issue of the Bannerman Buzz. This termhas been a busy time for most pupils with NABs, prelims and thefinal push towards finishing up courses before exams begin in April.Despite this pupils have still been as busy as ever with lots and lotsgoing on as usual. This term has seen the opening of the DartsAcademy, the culmination of the hard work of sports and danceleaders, the unveiling of the house points system and so muchmore. Keep on reading to find out about all that’s been happeningand how you can get yourself involved.

Good luck to pupils sitting exams and thank you for reading!

She-Kei Wan (S6)

Editor

A note from the ed…Meet theteam

Looking to take on aleadership role next

year?

Interested in writing, photography or graphic design?

Join the Bannerman Buzz team!

Speak to Mr de Smith (English) or She-Kei Wan (S6) for moreinformation.

Graphics

Abbie Chastey

Heather Marshall

Lorna Morrison

Writers

Emma Burnside

Ryan Gardiner

Christopher Kerr

Orla Kelly

Louise McGeachy

Shannon Miler

Nicola Moore

Toni McVey

Andrew Mulholland

She-Kei Wan

Photography

Cameron Murdoch

Heather Reid

Advertising

Eilidh Colquhoun

Rebecca Hyslop

Kirstyn Lawson

Fraser Mckie

Carli Robertson

See Drama Department For more Information

Become a house captain/year captain for session2015-2016!

Take part in making Bannerman a place where you canhave a say and make change where it matters.Application forms for all positions will be released afterthe Easter Holidays . Please speak to Mr Gardiner inPastoral Care or any of the current S6 House Captainsif you have questions.

House points unveiledThis term, the house captains have brought another addition to the house system

in Bannerman.

Spring is a time for change and new beginningsand this year is no exception with the arrival ofthe house points system. Now you can take abigger role in your house and win points for yourachievements.

The points totals will be updated at the end ofeach term and the overall winner of the yearannounced at the awards ceremony in June.

Points can be won in a wide variety of ways soyou can take part no matter where you are inyour time at school. Each merit you gain winsyour house points!

Participation in sports events, schoolcompetitions and other events in school can alsogive your house a boost.

The house points totals are displayed in variouslocations around the school building so makesure to check on how your house is doing!

The current rankings are as follows:

1. Napier

2. Livingstone

3. Wallace

4. Mackintosh

5. Telford

6. Burns

Exact figures can be found below.

The current total points for each house. Be sure to keep an eye on your house’s progress!

Catering manager ofthe year award

Mrs Currie with her certificate and trophy.

congratulations to Mrs Currie of the fuel zone staff for winning cordia’s 2014 cateringmanager of the year award.

Mrs Currie - better known as Joyce by pupils -was awarded the School Caterer of the Yearawards at the annual Cordia Staff Recognitionand Excellence Awards.

A familiar face to those who frequent the FuelZone, she was presented her award at theceremony in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.Joyce’s award was presented by actress JaneMcCarry (Isa from Still Game!)

A huge well done to Joyce, the Fuel Zone staffand all the award winners for their hard work.

Young people in politicsBannerman boasts its first (and hopefully not last) member of the Scottish Youth

Parliament.

The Scottish Youth Parliament recently held itstwo-yearly elections to elect new MSYPs, oneof the successful candidates was Bannermanpupil Suki Wan (S6).

She is currently representing the area ofGlasgow Shettleston for the Scottish YouthParliament and was elected earlier last month.

Suki told us: “I’m excited to have thisopportunity to represent the views of youngpeople in my area and I really encourageanyone interested in politics to get involved inany way they can.”

You can get involved too by joining the GlasgowYouth Council or the East End Youth Forum. Suki appeared in the Evening Times.

China week showcaseIn celebration of the Chinese new year, bannerman heralded the year of the sheep with

dancing, drama and many other exciting performances

Some of the ribbon dancers posing with atraditional fan.

Two pupils reading Palm of the Hand storieswritten by English classes.

Pupils performing the story of the origins ofChinese New Year.

February this year marked the beginning ofChinese New Year and the Year of the Sheep.Bannerman celebrated this with a fantasticjam-packed showcase of entertainment basedon traditional Chinese stories and art forms.

Pupils worked hard with hours and hours ofpractise to produce an exciting show whichcovered many aspects of the traditions behindChinese New Year.

The acts ranged from readings of Palm of theHand stories written by English classes toChinese ribbon dancing by the S3 Dance team.

The Palm of the Hand stories were based on atraditional form of Chinese story-writing whichfeatures short stories that are short enough tofit onto the palm of your hand - hence the name.English pupils worked hard all week to produceinteresting tales.

There were also performances from theMandarin Rock Band who had recentlyperformed at the Scotland-China EducationNetwork Youth Summit at Gleneagles.

The finale was a dramatic telling of the originsof the celebration of Chinese New Year by atalented group of Drama pupils.

The story was about the fearsome monster Nianwho terrorised villagers in ancient China. Theytold the audience how the villagers scared themonster away by setting off firecrackers andwearing red clothing to ward him off.

This then explains why Chinese New Year iscelebrated by setting off firecrackers, givingchildren red envelopes and traditionally wearingred clothing.

The show was narrated both in English andMandarin Chinese by S4 pupils studying National4 Mandarin.

MUSIC TRIP TOARDENTINNY

Some of the pupils at dinner.

Well done to the Music department forcoming top at a recent music festival. Thebrass group won 1st place and the stringsgroup won 3rd place in their respectivecategories. Congratulations to the youngmusicians!

The Music Department ran their annual trip toArdentinny Outdoor Centre earlier this term forpupils studying Higher Music.

The trip was an intensive rehearsal weekend forpupils to prepare their pieces for their upcomingSQA exams.

The visit to Ardentinny is run every year and haslong been enjoyed by young musicians as anopportunity to practise their skills together andindividually.

Pupils were asked what they enjoyed most abouttheir weekend away and there was a wide rangeof answers.

Some enjoyed being able to get a lot of practisedone and having help with their instrumentsfrom the music teachers.

Others preferred the leisure aspects of the tripof going to the nearby beach, socialising withfriends and classmates and the Movie Night thepupils organised on the last night.

All the pupils had a great time and the MusicDepartment looks forward to running the tripagain next year!

Chilling out after a long day of practising.

The music department took a trip to ardentinny to help pupils prepare for exams

Pupils at a group practise session.

Bbc school report 2015On March 19th, Bannerman Pupils became BBC Reporters for the day as Schools took

part in BBC School Report’s News Day.

BBC School Report saw the BBC come toBannerman on March 19th as we became theScottish base for News Day 2015.

BBC School Report is a programme launched bythe BBC to help young budding journalists aged11-16 gain experience in the world of media andsee their work published online and on TV.

Bannerman has a team of 30 young reporterswho worked hard to produce news bulletins,radio interviews and short films for News Day2015.

Two of those reporters were Gary Watson (S5)and Lee Branki (S5)who produced a short filmabout young people and politics. The film aimedto find out the views of young 16 and 17 yearolds who had voted in the Scottish Referendumin September but will be unable to vote in theupcoming General Election in May.

They independently researched the views ofyoung people and interviewed S6 pupils HaydenAnderson, Ryan Gardiner and Suki Wan who hada range of opinions.

The short film is available to watch on the BBCSchool Report site at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/32035772

The BBC team also came to Bannerman tointerview pupils on their experiences doingSchool Report with well-known presenter SallyMcNair hosting.

Lee and Gary’s film was broadcast on the BBCNews channel with the duo interviewed livealong with Suki Wan.

The young reporters from S1 researched andwrote their own original features on a diverserange of topics from ‘Why do pupils wear makeupin school?’ To ‘Chocolate Wars.’

Read excerpts from their work on the next page.

Gary and Suki being interviewed on TV.

Gary and Lee’s short film featured on TV.

Some of the young reporters.

The move to prevent retailers importing British-madeCadbury chocolate into the US has annoyed someexpats. Some say that the US make Cadbury chocolateis not as good and especially dislike Hershey’s the mostpopular American chocolate.

We decided to put the two kinds of chocolate – Britishand American – to the test.

Here are some of the results from when we tried thechocolate ourselves Dana from S1 said “ the Reeseschocolate its self was tasteless, the peanut butter waslike powder and it overpowered the actual chocolate.”

But when she tried the Cadbury’s chocolate she said,“it was melt in the mouth and not too sweet but justnice.”

Abbie also from S1 said, “The chocolate in the Reeses was soft but tasteless, it melted quite easily but itwas bitter and very gritty.” The Cadbury’s on the other hand she said, “was harder to bite into but it meltsin the mouth and the flavour was much better.” Rachel from S1 and many of the other people we askedhad similar opinions.

CHOCOLATE WARS

The reporters testing chocolate.

By Dana, Abbie, Kirsty and Rachel

Truths and mythsabout bannerman

highThe team made a short film on the misconceptionsyoung people may have coming to Bannerman such as“Do pupils get their heads dunked in the toiletseveryday?”

To help Bannerman pupils-to-be who are joining thisyear, the girls spoke about what the school is really like.

Watch the full video on the Bannermanwebsite under the BBC School Report section

Why do pupils wearmakeup in school?

Another group of young reporters aimed to find out thereasons why pupils liked to wear makeup in school. Theydid this by interviewing fellow pupils asking them: “Do youwear in makeup in school, if so why?”

Find out their answers by watching the video online onthe Bannerman website.

Backpacks for Mary'smeals

As part of S2’s Global Citizenship Programme,pupils took part in Mary’s Meals BackpackInitiative which provides children in poorercountries with materials needed to succeed inschool.

The aims of the Backpack project are to raiseawareness of the work that the Mary’s MealsCharity does in some of the poorest countries inthe world and to provide school materials forchildren aged 4-12 years old in countries likeMalawi and Liberia.

Each backpack contains: a notepad; pens,pencils, crayons; eraser, ruler, sharpener, pencilcase; towel; clothing; flip-flops or sandals; soap,toothbrush, toothpaste and cutlery.

The backpacks have an important impact in thelives of children despite how little it may cost usto put them together. A teacher from Malawisaid of the project: “Can you pass on a messageto the people that donated these backpacks?Please say thank you. They have made thesechildren so happy, they’re now proud kids!”

Each S2 tutor class worked hard for severalweeks to put together backpacks, collectingitems individually or in groups. In total, therewere 50 backpacks prepared and completed. Thebackpacks will be collected by Mary’s Mealssoon and sent off to help children in educationin the poorer parts of the world.

Tutor class 2B1 was the winning class with anamazing 20 backpacks!

The programme in Bannerman was organised byMrs Kelly (Modern Languages) she said thecharity was important because, “lots of smallacts of kindness lead to making a big differencefor some of the poorest children in the world’spoorest countries.”

Mrs Kelly added: “I’d like to thank all of the S2tutor teachers and family and friends of pupilswho helped to make the project a big success.”

Mary’s Meals began in 2002 as a one-off schoolfeeding programme.  Today they provide lifechanging meals everyday to over 989,000 hungrychildren in the poorest countries in the world.

Pupils working hard to pack their backpacks,

2B1 contributed 20 backpacks to the project.

S2 pupils donate backpacks to schoolchildren In Deprived Countries.

Malawi trip 2015 updateWith the 2015 trip to Malawi fast approaching, we found out what the team have been

up to with fundraising and getting prepared to pay Malawi a visit.

The group with Monica from UNICEF.

The third trip to Malawi in June is nearly hereand pupils have been busy fundraising andlearning as much as they can about Malawibefore they take their journey.

From bag-packing, hosting fundraisers to sellingKrispy Kreme donuts, the team have been busywith various activities but perhaps the mostexciting venture was the sponsored abseil earlierthis term.

Ten members of the Malawi team alongside MsMacDonald and Ms Ohldag completed asponsored abseil down the side of a church spireat the Glasgow Climbing Centre.

The dizzying feat raised over £1000 for theMalawi fund! In addition to fundraising, pupils have been

learning about the culture and background ofMalawi. They received a visit from MonicaDzondzi who is a youth ambassador for UNICEFfrom Malawi.

Monica has been involved with working withyouth people in Malawi and with the Scotland-Malawi Partnership for several years, she gavethe pupils insight into the life of young people inMalawi and helped them to understand thedifferences and similarities between our twocountries.

The young ambassador runs a youth club inMalawi to make sure young people in have aplace where they can socialise, pick up additionalskills and have a place to go after school.

She said: “It’s good to give young people theopportunity to learn and gain greater confidenceand self esteem.”

The pupils learned a lot from their Q&A sessionwith Monica and will hopefully put theirnewfound knowledge into good use in Junewhen they see meet their counterparts inMasalani Community Day Secondary School

The team prepared to make the over 40m drop.

A pupil during the scary abseil down thechurch spire.

Cleaning up thecommunity

In collaboration with the Baillieston Area Partnership, Bannerman Pupils have beencampaigning to throw out the litter problem in the local community once and for all.

As well as this pupils have been given theopportunity to play a more visual role in theproject through a poster competition run by thehouse captains. The ‘Keep Bannerman Tidy’competition which has been running for the pasttwo weeks allows S1 pupils to submit posters tobe posted around the school encouraging theirpeers to be more aware of the environment andpick up their litter.

The litter project as a whole aims to informpupils about the cost litter can carry with£100,000s spent by the local authority cleaningit up and the harm it can have on local wildlife.

Though the effects may not be immediatelyvisible, in the long-run the lessons learned willhave an important positive impact on the localenvironment.

The project has only began this year but willhopefully continue to grow under the guidanceof next year’s house captains and year captains.

Bannerman is always looking for opportunitiesto get involved with the local community andrecently the community has reached out to usabout an issue that we can help to fix.

It’s no secret that litter has been a problem in thesurrounding area and pupils have decided to takeinitiative and have been working hard to improvethe situation.

Confident S3 and S4 year captains have beentaking part by delivering presentations to S1-S4registration classes on the issue of litter and howwe can work to improve it. They talked about thesurprising facts of how much litter is dropped ina day and told pupils how they could participatein cleaning up the community themselves.

Alongside the 10 regular litter-picks S1 pupils doevery year, additional litter-picks have beentaking place with young pupils volunteering theirtime to clean up nearby areas after break andlunchtimes.

Two year captains presenting to class.

A group of litterpickers preparing to go out.

From Rubbish torunway

Bannerman takes part in its first Junk Kouture competition.

The Fashion and Textile department enteredthe Junk Kouture 2015 competition which seespupils creating beautiful clothing from itemsyou’d find more commonly in the rubbish heap.

The 20 S3 fashion and textile studentssubmitted 7 pieces in hopes of reaching thefinals. The clothing is “a fusion of junk andcurrent fashion.”

This year’s competition was hosted by Clyde 1presenter Knoxy who paid Bannerman a visit tosee the pieces pupils had made. The well madepieces were even featured in the Evening Timeswhile being modelled by pupils.

The competition originating from NorthernIreland sees its first Scottish version takingplace this year. The competition’s values ofrecycling and ‘upcycling’ ties in with theGlasgow’s 2015 ‘Year of Green’ in promotingsustainability and environmental health.

The ‘Mac’ dress made from fast food wrappers

Knoxy with two pupils modelling the clothing.One of the submitted dresses.

A glimpse into the design process.

Creative writing cornerEach Issue, we aim to showcase the excellent creative writing skills in Bannerman. This

time we bring you a fantastic short story written by Shannon Miiller (S2)

Doppelganger byshannon miiller (S2)

A thick layer of dust dressed the room in tinyspecks. From the silverware that waitedpatiently by the gold lined plates to thediamond spotted chandeliers. The thickmaroon curtains blocked out every ray ofsunshine that tried to force it’s way in from theworld outside. Belle Wesley explored the suffocatinghouse, pulling open every curtain, clearingaway every cobweb. The young girl’s motherworked away in the fine living room which thespiders had claimed as their home. Belle wandered the empty halls with a boxof cheap knick-knacks from across the world,tucked under her arm. A cool breeze dancedthrough an open window at the end of the hall. As she walked down the Persian rugthere was a soft whisper calling her name,calling louder and louder with every step Belletook. She placed the moderately heavy boxdown at her feet and followed the voice. “This way,” it called eerily. Belle continued to walk with the voice, hervibrant green eyes misted over with a verylight grey, near blue cloud that broke off intotiny tuffs of gold only to be replaced by thegrey substance once more. Her lips partedslightly as her hand reached for the brass headof lion shaped door knob. “Where are you going?” her mother’s voicesounded slurred under the now harshwhispers. Belle’s head turned to the side, giving her aview of a grand fireplace made of milky lookingmarble and hand shaped silver. The fireplacewas so grand you would normally only see it inthe movies. Above the fireplace was a portraitof a girl. A girl that looked exactly like Belle.

The girl’s closed mouth opened and spreadinto a devilish grin. Belle mirrored what shesaw and turned back to her mother’s confusedface. She tilted her head, making her sloppybun slip to the side, “out.” “Oh no you’re-“ the same cotton candy fogtook over Ms Wesley’s eyes, “don’t be long.”she murmured before going back to hercleaning. Belle nodded and tripped out the open sideof the double oak doors. The sky outside wasgrey and unforgiving as Belle walked unsteadilyalong the gravel path. The sky opened up,letting thick drops of rain fall. The bloody redroses were weighed down by the sky’s tearsmaking them look as if they were nodding offto sleep. Belle by passed them, she passed theborders of the grounds which were lined with athick cluster of trees. The sort of trees that youwould try to make it all the top of when youclimbed them but never succeeded. Shewalked through thorn filled bushes that cutthrough her honey coloured skin. Her journeysoon came to the end as she reached a willowtree. Under the weeping tree was a single whiterose, it’s stem littered with browning thrones.Belle numbly tripped over to where it lay,careful not to slip on the glistening rocks andpebbles that lined an icy pond that seemed tobe bottomless due to the threateningblackness. As she picked up the rose she pricked herfinger, three drops of blood fell onto theinnocent white petals making them a twin tothe others she had only seen a few minutesprior.

Do you want to see your creative writingskills showcased here? Submit your short

stories or other pieces of original writing toMr De Smith (English).

Senior rugby team win

The Easter concertHere are a few pictures from the Easter Concert where the talented school orchestra

performed after weeks of practise.

The team before they began their match.

The senior rugby team finishes the season with a trophy in their hands.

The senior rugby team played their last fewmatches of the season and came out with leaguetitle.

The team won the Bannerman league cup matchagainst Duncanrig and won the cup for thesecond year in a row.

Player Cameron Murdoch (S6) said:”It was a hardday but very rewarding to take home the cup inthe end.”

In addition to this, the team also reached thefinal of the Duncanrig cup but unfortunately lostthe match.

For the S6 players of the team this will have beentheir last game on the Bannerman team but theywill be going out on a high with the league title

The team are currently looking for new playersso if you are interested in joining the team,please speak to Mr Duguid (PE).

Football game intribute

a charity football match was held in memory of late pupil Dylan Thomson.

The teams made up of Dylan’s friends andclassmates

One of the many banners made by S5 pupilsfor Dylan.

As a touching tribute to S5 pupil Dylan Thomsonwho sadly passed away earlier this year, hisfriends and classmates organised a charityfootball match in his memory.

Inspired by Dylan’s dream to become a footballcoach and the strength he had shown, his friendsrallied together for a match he would have beenproud of.

The game kicked off at 2pm and began with theteam and Dylan’s family releasing balloonsfollowed by a minute’s silence.

The match was attended by around 400 pupilsgathered to remember Dylan and raise money inhis name.

The charity match raised over £700 for cancercharity Clic Sargent through selling tickets andcollecting donations in buckets. Clic Sargentfundraising manager Rachael McLean said: “Weare very touched that pupils from BannermanHigh School have organised this charity footballmatch in memory of Dylan.”

The game showed not only the strength andresolve of his friends but also the incredibleimpact Dylan has left on everyone who knew him. The players in action.

Champion unveils dartsacademy

In a fitting welcome to 2015, Bannerman welcomed the 2015 Darts Champion, Gary Anderson tounveil the Darts Academy.

At a press conference earlier this term, featuringreporters from Sky Sports, the BBC and the PressTeam, the Darts Academy was officially unveiledby Gary Anderson.

The ‘Flying Scotsman’ challenged pupils to agame of darts to celebrate the opening of thenew lunchtime club.

Cameron ‘The Emu’ Murdoch (S6); Andrew ‘TheFridge’ Mulholland (S6); Farhan ‘Pac-man’ Jalil(S6); Kirsty Macintyre (S3) and Mr Duguid alltook up the challenge.

While most of them unfortunately lost to thechampion, in an unexpected turn of events,Farhan Jalil won against Gary Anderson –whichwas a surprise to the both of them!

Farhan was also due to sit his Higher Englishprelim ten minutes after winning the game.Before rushing off for his exam, he told us: “Itwas great preparation for the English prelim.”

All the players described how nervous they wereto be playing a world champion.

Mr Duguid said: “Don’t tell my wife but I wasmore nervous playing Gary than I was on mywedding day.”

The darts games were not the only focus of theday, Mr Anderson was also there to promote theopening of the Darts Academy at Bannerman.The club will begin at lunchtimes and run by MrPattison.

Mr Anderson explained how the club would bean area where pupils could involved andsocialise, he said: “I want to get kids involved indarts, it’s all over the world with schools inHolland already having it in the curriculum – andit’s good for learning maths and problemsolving.”

He encouraged pupils, who had never playeddarts before to give the sport a go, adding: “Ifyou enjoy it you’ll end up sticking with it.”

If you are interested in joining the DartsAcademy, see Mr Pattison for more information.

Gary Anderson and Farhan Jalil after their game.

Gary Anderson demonstrating the new equipmentwith Andrew Mulholland and Cameron Murdoch.

Well done sportsCongratulations to all dance leaders and sports leader who completed their qualifications

fantastic

And dance leadersearlier this term. They eadh led groups of young pupils from primary schools and did ajob.

Contacts

Headteacher: Ms Purdie

S1/6: Miss OhldagS2: Miss BlackS3: Ms McConachieS4:  Miss SmallsS5:  Mrs van de Gevel

Burns: Mrs PeoplesLivingstone: Mrs ShahMackintosh: Ms MortonNapier: Mr GardinerTelford: Mr McGillivrayWallace: Mrs Guile

Glasgow RoadG69 7NS

0141 582 0020

www.bannermanhigh.glasgow.sch.uk @BannermanHigh

@Bhemployability

@BHSLearnsupport

@bhsperform

@foodandtextile

: @bannermansports