Hong Kong visitors

Mr Farren accepts a plaque on behalf of the school

The school hosted a group of 6 trainee teachers from Hong Kong this morning. They are all training to be teachers of English as a foreign language in both primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong and have come to Edinburgh as a compulsory part of their training.
Following a tour of the school and a visit to the English and Modern Language departments they rounded off the morning with a question and answer session about education in Scotland.

Currie swimmers "fly" at the Edinburgh Schools Swimming Championships

On Sunday 28th October, a small team of 5 swimmers from Currie (S2 to S4 ) between them managed to bring home 3 Gold medals, one Silver and one Bronze in the annual Edinburgh Schools championships. This is a tremendous achievement against the best swimmers in the Edinburgh and Midlothian region and against large squads from many of the private and state schools; and is a testament to the dedication, talent and hard work shown by the Currie swimmers on a daily basis throughout the year

The results of these fabulous young people were as follows:

Cameron Finlayson; 100m Butterfly GOLD 200m Butterfly GOLD
Ciara Simms ; 100m Butterfly GOLD 200m Butterfly BRONZE
Andrew Sawkins; 200m Backstroke SILVER
Ross Muego and Caitlin Hamilton finished in the top 5 in all of their events and Ross did a tremendous personal best time in his Freestyle race.

Once again, Currie will be putting forward 3 representatives to the Scottish National Schools finals in January; Cameron Finlayson, Andrew Sawkins and Ciara Simms, and no doubt they will be a credit to the school.

Well done to them all!

Andrew, Ross, Ciara and Cameron - Caitlin had exams!

S1 Art & Design and Music Elective - 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'

For the past nine weeks, a group of S1s have been learning the “Joseph” song 'Any Dream Will Do' in Music, while in Art & Design another group have been creating performance costume brooches. The theme in Art & Design was Ancient Egypt; we considered hieroglyphics, mummies, pyramids and wall paintings as research imagery and we worked with interesting materials such as foil and papyrus whilst trialling techniques such as marbling and chalk resist. A&D learners studied the Bible story, the historical context and the design process. Music pupils also demonstrated research skills with their wall displays and developed singing and performing skills. On the last day of the Elective the musicians displayed their excellent performing skills and wore the eye-catching brooches on stage. The designers, who formed the audience, looked on proudly at their designs. After the show, both groups peer-assessed each others' work. The performance was very well-received and the designs looked very effective on stage; a very successful Expressive Arts event! Well done, S1s!

Currie Christmas Shoe Box Appeal 2012

Over the last few weeks willing volunteers, both pupils and staff, have been sacrificing their lunchtime to come and help with the Currie Christmas Shoe Box Appeal for 2012. The volunteers have gathered in Mrs Mackenzie’s classroom in the Modern Languages department to wrap boxes and fill them with all the donated items. The shoe boxes, filled with everything from warm winter clothes to essential toiletry items, will eventually arrive in countries across Eastern and Southern Europe just in time for Christmas!

Several pupils from class 1L1 were inspired to help out with the Shoe Box Appeal after watching a film about the project at assembly.

CCHS shoebox appeal 2012

Sara Michno said she “really enjoyed seeing all the happy faces” in the film. She was helping out so that “children who are poor can get Christmas presents and enjoy themselves!”

Megan said “they’re happy with just a toothbrush, they appreciate it so much. Some of us get iPads and they don’t get anything.” Megan spent her own free time at the weekend buying bits and pieces to fill the Christmas shoe boxes. “To see a child smile, that’s the main thing.”

Karolina from the same class didn’t mind at all coming to help during lunchtime, “it’s not a sacrifice, it’s fun!” She also admitted that watching the film during the assembly almost brought her to tears. “They get hardly anything and they were so happy”.

One of the most experienced members of the Shoe Box wrapping and packing team is Michael from class 4H3. He has helped out with the appeal every year since S1. “I like taking part to see children everywhere get a decent Christmas”, he told me. “The most important items are toothpaste, toothbrushes and soap, so they can have basic hygiene”.

Mrs Mackenzie organises the group in her classroom at lunchtime and for her it is extra special given Currie’s personal connection with the project – Miss Munro from the Drama and English department delivered the shoe boxes herself when she was in S6. The Shoe Box appeal is important for Mrs Mackenzie because, “for some children, the contents of these shoeboxes will be all they get for Christmas”.

The appeal has had the help of several other members of staff with Mrs Burns and Mrs Braisby giving up their lunchtime to wrap and fill the shoe boxes. They had help from Mrs Reid, who did a lot of present shopping for the boxes during the October holiday, and from Mrs Taylor, who publicised the appeal to the entire school by putting an advert on the television in reception.

The total number of shoe boxes wrapped up and filled to the brim with Christmas goodies was a very impressive 75! A huge thank you to all those involved who make the appeal possible! It is great to know that Currie pupils and staff are making such a difference to children’s lives at Christmas time in the poorest areas of Europe. Well done!

Have you ever played a pbone?

The music dept has been given two brand new instruments this week- two electric blue coloured pbones! These instruments are based on the traditional trombone, but are made of plastic, enabling them to be much lighter and more portable. As a result they are also much cheaper to buy- an ideal instrument for a beginner trombone player.
Watch out for them in future concerts as they make their debut!

Is this for playing the blues...?