IT'S COMING...

Interviews for 2016 Trip!

Today (Thursday 21st) saw the interviews being held for those applied to go to CapeTown in 2016! 
The candidates were being interviewed by The "Capetoniants" & "Burgendys" teams, who were in CapeTown in 2014, along with several other teachers. 

The process was very informal and allowed pupils to express why they wanted to go to CapeTown and also explain what they would bring to the trip. This gave the interviewers a chance to get to know the candidates and judge on how well they would enjoy the trip to its maximum and what they would gain from it. 

The candidates were judged on a 1 to 4 basis which at the end would be totalled up for each person, with the highest total lot being offered a place. 
The successful candidates should be offered a place on the 2016 trip via a letter sent to their registration class in the next few weeks. 

Every single candidate performed extremely well and should be very proud of themselves. The answers that they gave were very mature and often show how much passion they had for the link and the trip.  We wish them all the very best of luck at this exciting time. 

Craig Stevenson - Team 2014

FIFA WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT

One of the longest played Worlds Cups at 5 months and starting with 38 competitors concluded on Friday afternoon between Luke Watson (Piteadie) and Lewis Currie (Raith) making the finals as Inter Milan against Bayern Munich. Both competitors put up a fantastic fight but ultimately the Fifa Champion For Balwearie 2015 would be Luke Watson.

Luke Watson- Winner

 The competition was organised by Mr Hay in Technology and Mrs Gallagher in Social Subjects as a way of raising funds for The Welcome School in South Africa has raised close to £150 by the final.  They hope to have many more competitions running, with Forza racing time trials (think star in a reasonably priced car from Top Gear) starting soon.  

Audience Gathers for the Final Match

Get Your Head in the Game!- Luke and Lewis in the final few minutes

(Official photographer of the final Craig Stevenson 5P2)

World Book Day

What a great day we had celebrating World Book Day this year. Our theme was Africa and this theme ran throughout the day with various activities. It was also a non-uniform day which raised over £1000 for Welcome School in Cape town.


The day began with all pupils reading a book for Period 1.




We were then entertained by Colin McEwan who is a local storyteller. He regaled us with tales from Africa using pupils as props and then finished with a song on his guitar. S1 and S2 pupils were involved in shouting and joining in and all had a great time.

Another feature of WBD is our brick wall.

Pupils choose their favourite book and write about it on a "brick". The bricks were then put together and created a fabulous wall of reviews.

Lunchtime saw our event in the Information Centre. Pupils were treated to some African food.

The soup was a firm favourite with one pupil having 8 cups! Hope he wan't sick during P5.

We also had a visit from the Music Department who played African drums to accompany pupils while they filled out the answers to the African quiz. The winner was announced yesterday and the lucky pupil received an Easter Egg and two books - one a signed copy.

9 MONTHS TO GO!!!

On Wednesday 4 February the Cape Town 2015 group all met again for the second time to work on our letters to send via email to Welcome Primary School.  We also used the time to get to know each other.  We were all assigned a specific class to send our letters to and some of us emailed our finished letters to the teachers of the classes.  We can’t wait until we get a reply from Welcome Primary School as we realise how big a deal it is for the children in Capetown!!!

This is an example of a letter we wrote to Welcome Primary:

Hi,

My name is Tim Arnstein, I am 15 years old and live in Burntisland, Scotland. I love living in Scotland but the weather isn't always great as I guess South Africa is. I live with my parents and have two brothers, who are both at university. We live in a old Victorian house on the edge of Burntisland with a view towards the sea and Edniburgh. When I'm not at school I love riding my bmx bike. I love most extreme sports such as skiing, surfing and skateboarding aswell as bmx. My eldest brother, Tom, races road bikes and has ridden for Scotland in the past. My other brother, Oscar, rides downhill bikes and is currently studying at Oxford University. My whole family have a love for extreme sports which has cause many hospital visits, the most recent being after I knocked my front teeth out while riding my bike so when you see me I might have dentures!

I currently go to Balwearie High School as you probably know. Some of my favourite subjects are PE and Graphic communication. My PE teacher, Mr Clunie, is going on the trip with us to visit you. He looks about 5 but is a good teacher.

I am really excited to meet you all and come to South Africa as it looks like an absolutely beautiful country. I hope that you enjoy having us there and we have fun with you.  

This is me with my two brothers on holiday to

Portugal in 2013. On the left is my eldest brother Tom who is 20. I am in the middle and on the right is my other brother Oscar who is 18

 This is my dog Bunty

She is a Collie/Pointer cross

 

Woodlands Primary Gift Presented to Dr More

Woodlands Primary was one of the best experiences that we had in our time in Cape Town. This was where the GCU was based and we loved skipping, playing football, baseball and dancing with the amazing kids from Heideveld. We never felt so welcomed by the Headteacher, Mr Meyer, the staff and the simply amazing pupils.

 The hospitality extended to us by the school was extraordinarily generous, with Miss Roslender and Miss Murray in particular loving the cakes and scones, as seen in a rare picture of them eating in South Africa!!! 

One of the stand out memories of the trip was the impromptu flash dance that involved the whole school and saw Mr Meyer pulling some fantastic shapes in front of the enthusiastic crowd.

The school certainly got into the hearts of the pupils and staff on the trip and we look forward to what will be a growing and powerful partnership in years to come. Alex and Leon, on behalf of both trips, presented Dr More with the clock that we received from Woodlands and spoke about how much the had enjoyed there time in Woodlands.

First Meeting Cape Town 15 Group

On Wednesday 21^st January, participants of the 2015 Balwearie High School trip to Cape Town, South Africa, all met together in the same room for the first time.

We introduced ourselves and then started to write personal letters on the school’s laptops. These letters will explain a bit about us as individuals and will have attached many photos. These letters are planned to be sent out to Welcome Primary School in the next few weeks for the pupils there to read. We are all truly excited for this life changing experience in October and are already beginning to think over fundraising ideas!

Francis Allison