Welcome Walk - Robyn Taylor

We knew it would be hard to beat the £12,000 raised in the Welcome Walk 2013 but it was a challenge we were prepared to take on. To begin with we worked as a group to come up with good ideas on what could make the walk different and more exciting for all pupils and teacher of Balwearie involved. We decided that we would make the theme of the walk fancy dress and if you didn’t have anything to dress up as then pupils were to wear colours from the South African flag. As a group we decided to dress up as Hawaiian’s to start of the fancy dress theme.

 

On the 8^th of September, the morning of the walk, we all came into school extremely excited for the day ahead. We spent the morning going round the park on golf buggies setting up the designated 5k walk. Each point in the walk had teachers or some sixth year pupils standing at it so we could continue to encourage people during the walk. The walk began with people playing instruments such as the bongo drums and the bagpipes, this was a good way to mix the cultures of both Scotland and South Africa.

After seeing the difference that the great amount of money raised last year, I was truly motivated to try and raise as much as we could again this year. I was so grateful to be able to say that I was a part of it last year but also able to play such a huge part for the second year of the walk. As a class we tried to encourage people to get as many sponsors as they could so they were able to help make a change to Welcome Primary without having to travel to Africa. I really enjoyed the walk this year as I feel after having been to Cape Town the previous year and seeing the impact made first hand really motivated me to get other people more involved, as well as being able to impact Welcome Primary the walk was also a great opportunity to get the whole school together as one to make a positive change.

 

Welcome Walk - Kelsey MacDonald

Being part of a global citizen ship class we all got to help plan the day. We all came together and brain stormed ideas to see what we could do to make the school more excited and motivated to be part of the walk to make a massive difference. We also were trying to think of ways to make the walk a little different from the last time.

 

On the 8^th of September the whole school returned to the park for a second welcome walk to raise money for Welcome primary. We all came together and managed to raise a lot of money and challenged ourselves to another 5K walk. We decided to do this walk again because it had a massive impact on the school and helped them out a lot and we all had a lot of fun. Some of us jumped right into day and even dressed up, I personally dressed up as a Hawaiian person.

 

We started off the day by collecting money and sponsor sheet forms which we then all counted, we then headed out to the park to set up chairs and signs. At the start of the walk we had some pupils playing the bagpipes and the drums before everyone started and then continued playing while the first house left. Some of us even got to drive about on the back of teacher’s golf buggies this was a great laugh.

 

Welcome Walk - Cali Hutchison

      After the success from the previous fundraiser, raising over £12,000 we had around the same time last year, we had lots of enthusiasm towards this event also. The team spirit and energy in the planning stage was great and there were many suggestions on how we could improve aspects. The whole school was so involved and we loved the fact that we could participate in a fun day in order to raise awareness and money for our link with the Welcome Primary School some of us were lucky enough to visit in 2013.

        On the morning of the day a group of us came in a form of fancy dress, we took it upon ourselves to look as interested as we were about the event so we came dresses as Hawaiian people, despite the fact that the money was going to South Africa. Anyway, we arrived to registration to hand in the money we had raised from the sponsor and then headed to the library where we began to count the money the school had collected, this was astonishing to see the large amounts and whilst counting the money we visited classrooms to ensure they had all handed in their donations. It was so exciting to see all the money and effort people had provided to the event and we all felt so pleased.

       When we completed counting the money we set up outside for the walk to begin before going to our stations around the park. Then the whole school and a few local primary’s started off and walked the route with an extremely good attitude which was so brilliant to watch. The efforts some individuals had made into their fancy dress was amazing and to see the motivation within the pupils in each year was awesome to see. This year’s walk was equally successful in the positive attitudes people delivered and in the money we raised. It was so rewarding to see the whole school being involved in something we know that will make such a significant difference.

Welcome Walk - Eilidh McFall

On the 8^th of September, the whole of Balwearie went on our second 5K walk to raise money for our school. When we done the walk 2 years ago we raised £12,000 and the school were aiming to raise around the same amount of money this time round. We knew it was going to be a challenge but we were more than willing to do it all again because it was so much fun the first time and was a great time having the whole school together.

 

In the morning, my Cape Town citizenship class and the Global Citizenship helped Mr McGuckin count the sponsorship money. When all the classes around the school had brought their money down to the library, the piles of money was surreal. It made me feel so grateful that all the speaking about the difference it made to Welcome Primary got through to people and people were willing donate for the walk. After all the money was counted, we went with Mr McGuckin to set out the course in the park and got to drive around on golf buggies with the teachers. When we finished setting up, we made our way back to the school to meet the first house and begin the walk.

 

 

On the walk there were so many people dressed up. Robyn, James, Benjamin, Cali, Kelsey, Nik and I dressed up in Hawaiian outfits! There were also people dressed up as ‘Where’s Wally?’, superheroes and there was even someone dressed up as a hot dog. It was great afternoon and all of the teachers and pupils got really into the activites and made the most of the afternoon. What I really loved was that the whole school was together to continue on our difference made to the school in South Africa and it was also a good way to bring all of our school together.

Welcome Walk - Laura Dow

On Tuesday 8^th September, the whole of Balwearie joined together to take part in a sponsored walk to raise money for Welcome Primary. In the morning my leadership class gathered in the library to count the money which, at that point, was approximately £9000. A group of us dressed up as ‘Where’s Wally’ which included a red and whited striped t-shirt and hat and a pair of round black glasses. We also had South African flags painted on our cheeks by Rachel and Rebecca.

 

After a short break we began turning the park into the perfect route. To make the day easier and fun we used golf buggys to get around the park carrying chairs, tables and pupils. Whilst Amy sat in the front, Rachael and I were hanging on the back of Mr Clunie’s golf buggy.

 

Me, Amy and Rachael were stationed at point D. It was freezing cold and we were shivering. Quickly pupils began making their way round the park. Everyone was happy and having a good time despite being cold. To try and keep us warm we were dancing about our station. Me and Amy were hiding in the crowds of people and behind trees to try and disguise us like in the ‘Where’s Wally’ books. It was really funny and made us laugh a lot. Many people dressed up for the occasion, there was a Scooby-Doo, minions, a hot dog, pirates and Hawaiian hula dancers. 

 

All in all the walk was a successful day in which everyone who took part had fun and a lot of money was raised for Welcome Primary although we will not find out the total until it is announced in assembly

Welcome Walk - Rebecca Thomson

On the 8^th of September 2015, Balwearie took to the Beveridge Park for the Welcome walk for our 2^nd time, and once again it was a big success. Our global citizenship class spend a lot of time organising the walk before the day, so we were all very excited for the day to come around. We asked people to come into school dressed in South African flag colours, but on the day the pupils had went above and beyond with everyone wearing the colours and loads of people wearing fancy dress. I wore my Welcome Primary t-shirt and my Cape Town jumper, as did lots of the other people who went to Welcome last year. In the morning our class all met up in the school library where we got to count the money which people had raised for the school, and the amount which was coming in was amazing, especially knowing the cause it is going to. After being in the school last year really put it into perspective of how much of a difference our fundraising makes, so seeing the money coming in this year was very exciting!

 

After we had counted all the money that had come in that morning, the fun really began to start as we got closer to the walk actually beginning. After me and Rachel painted South African flags on everyone’s faces, we had to then go out and set up the walk. Soon after the walk was about to start and you could feel the excitement around the school as all the different houses headed out to walk around the park. We got to walk around the park first with our classes and then went off to our stations to help the rest of the people get around the park.

 

All in all, it was a really good day and it was great to see everyone having a good time. We are all very excited to see how much we have raised, knowing it’s going to a great cause.

Welcome Walk - Rachael Hamilton

Recently Balwearie hosted another Welcome walk in order to raise funds for Welcome Primary. This took a lot of preparation beforehand and on the day.

The day started by collecting the donations from each class and taken them to the library to be counted. When I arrived it was chaotic as all the money was spread out onto a large table. We each had to start counting the money and put them into piles. Once we were done here myself and a few others transported the money to the office where it was put on the safe.

After this we had a little free time before we had another task so we sat and got our face painted. Most of us got the South African flag painted on our cheeks, which sadly smudged throughout the day. After this we went to the park to set out chairs as they would be the markers in the park. Since the park is very large we were able to use golf buggies to shoot around to the places we were needed. Laura, Amy and I got a shot on one of the golf buggies, unfortunately there wasn’t enough seats in the actual buggy so Laura and I stood on the back as we drove. It was very exciting but with the uneven wait I was worried that we would topple over.

Once the walk finally commenced I started to witness all the different costumes people had dressed up in ranging from a hotdog to Scooby Do. I was at a post with Laura and Amy and as they were both dressed up as where’s Wally they received many comments and jokes. We decided to place them in the crowds as people walked by and took pictures in order to create a where’s Wally picture. By the end of the day they both swore they would never dress up as Wally again as to many people made the same joke. We all met up in the park and took a group photo.  We then decided to head back to school after a very successful day.

 

Welcome Walk - Jennifer Spence

Last Tuesday the 8^th September, the whole school took part in another Welcome Walk – Return to the Park to raise funds for Welcome Primary. The day started with all of the citizenship class collecting sponsorship money from form classes and working together to count it all while trying not to lose any! We then spent one period painting each other’s faces with South African flags and anything that related to the day.

 

We then had to get the park ready for everyone walking in the afternoon. Luckily the rain was holding off and so three golf buggies were able to shoot around the park putting up signs and directions for the walkers. Katie and I got a shot on the back of Mr Curries buggy which was a lot of fun. We then went to our stations around the park ready for the walk to start.

 

Once the walk started we could hear the bagpipes from the start line and were ready to cheer on the walkers. I was at a station with Katie and Craig, Craig brought a blow horn with him and so we were able to blow the horn when people passed with good outfits like minions or a hot dog and to anyone that had great enthusiasm. Everyone who took part in the day, both teachers and pupils had a great time and we raised a lot of money for Welcome Primary. 

Welcome Walk - Lara Paterson

The journey continued as the Welcome Walk happened all over again but this time, even better! Although we didn’t have the sun like on the walk in 2013, all the Balwearie staff and pupils had lots of fun walking around the Beverage Park with loads of preparation that went behind it.

 

The morning of the walk all the S6 pupils who had been to Cape Town and members of the global citizenship classes went round all the registration classes to collect the sponsor money to take it to the library to start counting up all the money which we managed to collect which totalised to £____. It was great to see everyone getting behind the link and supporting Welcome Primary.

 

I sadly missed the walk due to other commitments but I heard it was a great success. I managed to get back in time to help go round on the golf carts to collect all the chairs and tables from around the park. My personal highlight of the day was when Mr Currie, Makayla and I managed to fit four chairs, a table and Mr Booth on the back of the golf cart without anyone falling off. It was great to see everyone having a laugh and seeing everyone having fun together. Once everything was back at the school, Mr Currie, Rhiannon and I raced down one of the large hills in the park against Mr McGuckin and Mrs Murdoch in one golf cart and Callum (aka Stix) and Mr Clunie in another and nearly crashing into each other.

 

I’m really looking forward to coming back to Cape Town in October with Mr McGuckin and the Fifth Year pupils to see how the money we raised this year has benefitted the school.

 

Welcome Walk - Cara Steedman

On Tuesday the 8^th of September we done our second Welcome Walk at Balwearie High School around the local park (Beveridge Park) to raise money for Welcome school. A lot of people dressed up in fancy dress and really enjoyed doing the walk and activities before/after the walk.

 

We had been planning the walk for around 3 weeks before it. So we planned to do fancy dress all over the school and we planned and tried out the walk route. Not a lot of people dressed up but from the people that did dress up they were really good. My 4 friends and I dressed up in a Where’s Wally outfit. Other costumes that I saw were Minions, a Gorilla, Hula Girls, Animals, Batgirl and most people were in fancy onesies. At our station we played out music so that the people walking past could have a bit more fun by dancing, which we were all doing. We also had the photographer at our station with us so a lot of photos were taken of all the pupils enjoying their selves.

 

In the morning we sat in the library counting all the money which was roughly around £11,000. After this we went on the golf buggies setting out all the chairs and sticking the posters down on the seats to show people where to walk. The golf buggies were very fun to stand on the back off. Mr Curry let us stand on the back while he went really fast around the park up and down the hills.

 

Welcome Walk - Callum Stickings

On the 8^th of September our school did a walk around our local park so that we could raise money for Welcome Primary school in South Africa. This year’s Welcome walk took a lot of preparation and organisation. We had work out the route and then make sure that nothing had changed since the last welcome walk in 2013.

 

On the day lots and lots people decided to dress up and some of them were really funny to see. My highlight of the day was when me (Stix) and Mr Clunie were going around in the golf cart. Setting up the course around Beverage Park (The Park). It was a lot of fun because he is such a good teacher and so cool to talk to. It was also quite funny seeing James, Nick, Ben, Eilidh, Robyn and Cali dressed up as Hawaiian people.

 

Another grate to know how much money we raised. Another grate part of the walk was when the 6^th years getting their face painted and when James decided to write in bold letters (STIX) on my four head.

  

Cape Town Walk - Benjamin Simpson

Cape Town Walk

 

Benjamin David Simpson

 

The money raised 2 years ago on the walk was an enormous £12000, we knew that this some was huge and would hard to even get close to again, However due to everybody’s support and high morale I think we may have come close. The day was made so that not just money was raised but people were made aware and were able to have fun in doing the walk.

 

The day was filled with people in fancy dress and crazy men driving golf buggies. The group of 6 people that I was with decided to go in a Hawaiian themed outfits, James had the full outfit, skirt and all. As one of the people who helped with the walk I also helped monitor it and had a station and the Beveridge Park to make sure everyone fallowed the route.

 

I think my favourite part of the day was either when James went to kick a football, missed, and slipped and fell over. It was a fantastic day.

Cape Town Walk By Nick Paton

Some of the people had dressed up, some had dressed up as Hawaiian people with grass skirts and flowery necklaces. There was also quite a lot of people who were wearing their South Africa tops. As we were setting up the course some of the teachers gave us a lift around the park and also a few pupils got to drive the golf buggies (golf buggies are like little cars that go about 10-15mph)

 

For the first part of the day all of the people were helping to set up the course they were all wearing there welcome primary school polo shirts so everyone who was doing the walk knew why they were doing it we raised around 11 to 12 thousand pound we were all split up to stations so people did not try and skip the course. It was not just the pupils who were dressing up some of the teachers did as well.

 

I /Nick and Eilidh both got to drive a golf buggy and we started to free Rome around the park that we were walking around. Some of the pupils who were walking around the park started to run and made it a race to see who could finish first.

Welcome Walk - Amy Murray

We went back to the park on Tuesday 8^th September to take part in the second welcome walk. Between the two global citizenship classes came together and organised this year’s welcome walk. Lots of the school not only just took part in the walk most of us dressed up we had where’s Wally, hula people, Scooby doo, minions and many more. This year we made a welcome walk twitter page so people in the classes before taking part in the walk could see the things that were happening in the park.

 

At lunch time just before the walk the two groups headed out to the park and marked the route for the pupils to walk and we couldn’t do by foot. So this called for Mr. McGukin, Mr. Clunie and Mr. Currie to get out the golf buggies and take us around the park putting out chairs, cone which me and Mr. Currie made a mess of it but oh well also we had to tape signs to the chairs with arrows and number for everyone to walk the right route around the park and back into the school.

 

Once that all was done everyone took to their posts and waited for the bagpipes and the drums to start playing from the schools race track to tell us that the walk has started. I Myself Laura and Rachel had to dance to keep warm throughout the whole walk as it was freezing cold but still it entertained the people who walked past us as two of us were dressed as Wally. We heard a lot of “oh I have found Wally” which got old after a while. The walk raised near to £12,000 for the Welcome school which is amazing and I know it helps as I went to Cape Town last year and what we took over made them smile and now with the money we have just raised they now have computer which is amazing and it just goes to show that doing something so simple as walking can make such a difference to people in other countries and different life styles.

 

 

Welcome Walk - Makayla Bett

On the 8^th September just a few weeks ago, we took part in our second welcome walk for your primary school to raise money for the resources you need. Walking to school that morning was pretty embarrassing for me and my friends as we dressed up as where’s Wally for the walk. As soon as we got to school we headed straight for our Information Centre where then people were sent to collect all the money raised from the trip. I stayed at Information Centre and collected the rest of the money with the rest of my Wally friends. Once all the money was collect we started to count all the money, I was very impressed by all the money that we were given to give to you’s at Welcome Primary School.

 

After we waited for an hour in the Café doing each other’s face paints and raising more money we headed towards the Golf Buggies at the PE Base. I was very excited about going on the golf buggies. Most of us after this head to get chairs and went to the Beveridge Park to set up for the walk in the afternoon. During lunch we had to stay out to watch all the chairs and stick all the stickers onto them so people knew the direction they were going.

 

At about half 1 the walk started and I heard the bag pipes from my station which was station C which was about half way for the 5k walk. I Rhiannon and Cara were all at this station waiting for people to come round so we could encourage them to keep going and to keep them going the right way. As well as being with Rhiannon and Cara, we also had our school photographer at our station who took loads of great photos from the day which we will share some of them with you. After the amazing walk and all the enthusiasm from all the school we started to pack up, this was one of the best parts of the day as Mr Curry one our year heads came to pick us up on the golf buggies, we then drove past our year head who got on the back of the buggy with a table and loads of chairs and as we started to drive he nearly fell off (picture to follow). After being on the buggies we headed back to school were we put all the chairs away and finished up for the day. 

 

Return to the Park

Yesterday, September the 8^{th 2015}, we completed our second Welcome Walk around the Beveridge Park to raise money for the Welcome School in South Africa. All of the pupils at Balwearie High School participated in this walk in order to fund money which will go to a good cause.

Two years ago Balwearie pupils completed their first 5k Welcome Walk around the park and managed to raise an amazing total of £12,000. This was raised by all the pupils donating money so the Welcome School could build a library for their pupils and also pay for teachers. This year’s walk started off by me and many others counting all the donations that had been brought in and also sorting out all the sponsor forms. After a good while doing this we reached £9,000, however this is not our total as more donations are still getting counted. The walk started in the afternoon with many people dressed up in fancy dress holding up banners and flags as they started the walk. The teachers were driving around on golf buggies making the walk much more exciting and fun. As we walked around the park many banners tied to trees were spotted. The banner that my global citizenship class made that was on a tree was one that had ‘We Can Make A Difference’ on it in bright South African colours. The pupils enjoyed the walk and were very enthusiastic about it and also felt proud of what they were doing to help out another school. It shows that we can make a difference for others by organising a walk around a park allowing people to get dressed up, being with friends and just having fun and enjoying what they are doing for a less fortunate school.

Return to the Park - Tegan Malcolm

Yesterday we completed our second Welcome Walk, return to the park. We participated in a 5k walk around the Beveridge Park.

Before the walk began the global citizenship classes sorted through all the sponsor forms and money, within the first twenty minutes we had already counted £9000 and this total is still rising! Which is significantly higher than the first count of two years ago which in the end we raised £12000.

In the morning we painted our faces with South African flags, and raised even more money. Then we started our set up for the walk. We all piled on to three golf buggies carrying chairs to the park and after a few scary moments eventually arrived and begun the set up placing chairs and markers around the park. We then went back to school to have some lunch before the walk commenced.

After arriving back at the park we waited at our stations for the walkers to pass. The first walkers eventually passed and we encouraged them on their way. Soon the walk was all over, and we were freezing so were rescued by a golf buggy and dropped back at school for South African themed classroom activates.

Return to the Park - Craig Stevenson

What a fantastic day yesterday (8/09/2015) was!

Everyone put in SO much effort in creating an amazing atmosphere and raised an incredible amount of money for Welcome Primary.

The outfits were so brilliant that we decided to share the best ones:

As we collected the money from registration classes, we were astounded with how much people had raised and that was only day 1. We are hoping to beat our previous total of £12,000 and we have every hope that we will.

Welcome Primary will receive every penny that we raise and it will help them massively improve their curriculum and fund new resources that they will use in their library and classrooms.

The next group of pupils who will go in this October will be able to see first-hand what difference we are making and will also teach the pupils new skills and experiences.

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Craig Stevenson 

Return to the Park - Rachel Moyes

Return to the Park: Success for the Second Time Round!

As you may already be aware, we, Balwearie High School, went on another 5k walk around the Beveridge Park to raise funds for Welcome Primary School in Heideveld, Cape Town. Following our last walk in 2013, we managed to raise £12,000; this allowed us to pay for a fully stocked library for the school, as well as pay the wages for two librarians for two years. We also paid for sports equipment, a sports coach and a drama teacher for the school.

This dramatically increased the resources that the poor, disadvantaged school had- allowing them to broaden the curriculum for their pupils and give them greater prospects for their future by improving their literacy and perhaps prompting them to further their education instead of lapsing into the poverty cycle.

This year we hope to raise lots more money so that we can offer the children at Welcome even more opportunities; they certainly deserve it. The pupils there are some of the most grateful you will surely ever meet.

The atmosphere on the day of our second walk was very positive, despite the poor weather. Many people made the effort to dress up (there were many onesies, and a few hotdogs…), and those who had been on the 2014 Cape Town trip wore the Welcome School polo tops they had been given as gifts.

There was music, too. Like in 2013, some of the Balwearie pupils played the bagpipes, and this year there was the addition of traditional African-style drumming to accompany in tribute to our linking school in Cape Town.

All in all it was a very successful and positive day full of enthusiasm from the walkers, and a credit to those, specifically Mr McGuckin, who organised it and helped out!

T.I.A.

Rachel Moyes.

Return to the Park - Daniel Campbell

Yesterday, the 8^th of September, saw us Return to the Park which was a massive success. Before we could head out to the park for the walk, we spent the morning counting the money that the pupils and staff had raised from their sponsor forms. Last time we managed to raise £12000 and we are hoping to raise around the same, if not even more. After we headed out to help put the stations up at points in the park and after that it was time for the walk. Each of the helpers stood at their stations watching and cheering on the people doing the walk and even laughing at some of the ridiculous outfits that the pupils AND staff were wearing.

All in all the day was a massive success in raising money for Welcome Primary and as one of the banners said …

 “We can make a difference”

Daniel Campbell

Return to the Park - Katie Haldane

Return to the Park….what a success! Every pupil and teacher at Balwearie High School walked 5k on the 8th of September to raise funds for Welcome Primary School. The citizenship classes, along with a few teachers, spent the morning setting up the course in the Beveridge Park and hanging banners, flags and posters.

We raised an astonishing amount of money on the morning of the walk. Everybody involved in counting the money was blown away! Last time we managed to raise a total of £12000, and this year we hope that total will be matched or exceeded.

 All the love to Welcome Primary.

 Katie Haldane.