Commercial

Success

T Form were delighted to be able

to contribute to the Macmillan

fundraising by selling their unique

and original artworks. The pastel

on paper masterpieces sold like

hot cakes to proud parents and

grandparents alike.

Inspired by PaolozziThe 2nd Form were particularly inspired

on a visit to the Scottish National Gallery

of Modern Art where they heard the

fascinating story of Eduardo Paolozzi,

viewed his amazing giant sculpture of

‘Vulcan’, the Roman God of the forge,

and then made their own Paolozzi-

inspired paper sculptures.

Boosting CreativityAs well as listening to a wide variety of music to get the creative

juices flowing, on Open Day, pupils were encouraged to wear silly hats and wigs to boost their creative powers – an interesting and highly

effective technique!

BoardingCobweb BlowerFollowing the Remembrance Service, the Prep School boarders headed out for a “Cobweb Blower” to get some fresh air. We travelled to Threipmuir Reservoir in the Pentland

Hills then walked up onto the northern flanks of Hare Hill to a little known memorial to an air crew who lost their lives in the Second World War. Standing on the hillside we read a poem about Remembrance Day whilst enjoying panoramic views over the Forth Valley. Once we had paid our respects, we climbed to the top of Hare Hill to explore the old quarry and then headed briskly down to Threipmuir Reservoir where we viewed a stunning sunset before clambering aboard the minibuses and heading home.

Edinburgh ZooThe younger boarders had the opportunity to head out to Edinburgh Zoo.

Our first stop was to see the penguins and we caught a glimpse of some penguin

chicks hiding under the tummies of their daddies. We then saw the giant pandas.

Less than 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild and Edinburgh Zoo is home to the

United Kingdom’s only giant pandas. When we were visiting, Yang Guang was busy

eating lots of bamboo but Tian Tian was hiding! After watching the giant pandas we went to the monkey house –we saw lots of

different types of monkeys, including lemurs from Madagascar. They had very long

tails! My favourite animals were the meerkats! We also saw the dinosaur exhibition

and were amazed at how real they all looked as they moved and even spat at us!

Roslin Glen

At Roslin, we headed up through

the woods to the old gunpowder

factory and learnt why it was

placed in the woods.

Then we carried on until we came to the ruins

of a water mill. We crossed a bridge and ended

up on a carpet of golden leaves by a river.

We were set the task of trying to build a little

fire so we could toast our own marshmallows.

We all did a great job but it was hard to find

leaves, twigs and sticks that were dry enough

to burn. Daria’s group finally managed to toast

theirs but the rest of us ate ours untoasted!

Summer Sports

To get us in the mood for our

Summer sports, we watched the

last game of Andy Murray winning

Wimbledon and then headed out

to Bigside.

Some groups went swimming while

others played Kwick Cricket or volleyball. We

then swapped round so that we had a go at

everything.

We were all very thirsty and hungry after

that but luckily Mrs Dawson and Nanami had

prepared some summer fruits which we had with

squirty cream and shortbread, and a drink of

squash. It was yummy.

To finish off we had a huge game of rounders.

Gullane Beach

After eating our scrumptious packed

lunches we were able to run around

and we rolled, jumped and ran down

the sand hill, getting covered in sand

during the process!

Some of us changed into our swimming things

and headed for the freezing cold water but, because

we are brave, we dunked our heads in and splashed

about until we warmed up! Others chose to play

on the beach and created some beautiful sand

sculptures.

SurfingHaving finally squeezed into our wetsuits, we raced down to the beach and got the rest of our equipment; hat, gloves and boots.

Then we got into pairs and carried our boards

to the shore. We were then taught how to catch

a wave and we hit the water, full speed ahead!

Some people found it quite easy and others

took more time but with the help of our brilliant

instructors we all began to get the hang of it!

We then went racing and splashing about in the

waves, playing an exhausting game of swim tag.

ARRANOban As we pulled in to Oban with blue skies and sunshine we knew we were in for a great weekend. The campsite was on the sea shore with comfortably

soft ground and beautiful views. After we had set up out tents and eaten supper, Mr Hall pointed out the Milky Way to us and explained how to locate the North Star by following the pointers of the Plough – a few shooting stars and satellites were spotted before we all clambered gratefully into our cosy sleeping bags.

In the morning we were able to watch the sun rise over the surrounding hills while enjoying a hearty breakfast. We then headed off to a narrow gorge just to the North of Oban for a morning of clambering, splashing, swimming and jumping. Navigating our way up the bed of the river we emerged quite chilled into gorgeous midday sunshine which helped us warm up again.

After lunch on the beach we went coasteering, clambering along the rugged shoreline. Every now and then we were presented with jumps into the crystal clear North Atlantic where we were able to see fish swimming and anemones and barnacles encrusting the rocks. We could almost convince ourselves that we were somewhere other than Scotland, though the temperature of the water rather gave the game away!

We finished the trip with a stop off at the Real Food Café in Tyndrum for their world famous fish and chips before arriving back at Arran House, late and weary after a fantastic weekend.

Castle Campbell

Built in the 15th Century, Castle Campbell was

originally known as Castle Gloom and stands above

the junction of the two burns; the Burn of Care and

the Burn of Sorrow, in a well-defended position

above Dollar at the head of Dollar Glen.

We parked in Dollar and walked up the east side of the glen through

the steep sided gorge, with tasty blackberries and waterfalls keeping us

interested as we climbed steadily upwards. It was not until we emerged

at the top of the path that we got our first sighting of the Castle with its

commanding views.

Mr Hall signed us in with the Warden who gave us an introductory

talk before we had our lunch, then set off to explore the castle in smaller

groups. We all climbed up to the top of the original tower and we could

see for miles from the top. As we took in the view we learned of the

various important historical figures that are said to have visited the

castle, such as John Knox and Mary, Queen of Scots.

After a good run around we gathered in the courtyard to see how

well we had done with the quiz questions we had been set. We then

headed back down the opposite side of the Glen to return to our

minibuses and then to school.

It was a great day out and we would like to say a big than you to

Historic Scotland for letting us explore this brilliant Castle and Glen and

to Miss Davies and Miss Stewart for coming along too.

Great Glen

The Arran boys set off on a coach bound

for Loch Ness for this year’s Challenge.

We arrived at the Culachy Estate where

we were welcomed by Euan’s parents, our

hosts for the weekend. There were two

awesome yurts for us to stay in.

We took a walk on the estate and were shown a huge

waterfall and told how the Great Glen was formed millions of

years ago along a fault line that split Scotland in two.

After this we headed back to the campfire for cookies and

some .22 target shooting. This was followed by a BBQ supper

and a huge game of football. We then relaxed by the fire for

the evening before Mrs Scott ushered us off to bed.

In the morning we were told our challenge – to canoe and

kayak a length of the Caledonian Canal between Loch Ness

and Loch Oich. We entered out boats in Fort Augustus to head

west to Loch Oich.

We returned to Culachy for supper of chilli and baked

potatoes with all the trimmings followed by cupcakes. It was

quite a cold night but we survived it, to be greeted with a

spectacular dawn with Loch Ness reflecting the landscape

like a mirror. After a delicious breakfast we reluctantly headed

back to Edinburgh.

This was “the best one ever”! Thank you to Euan’s parents

for being amazing hosts!

PaintballingClambering into the minibuses, we set off with great excitement to the Delta Force Paintballing Centre at Livingston. After being kitted out with full face masks, goggles

and protective suits we had a safety talk from the instructors and were ready to be handed our paintballing guns! We then had the opportunity to practise a few shots in the target area, perfecting our aim before the start of the game.We all really enjoyed having the chance to run

around and it was made even more fun by the recent snow fall on the ground!

Fabulous RefurbishmentThe staff and boys of Arran House returned at the beginning of the Autumn Term to a beautifully refurbished Arran House.

The changes included new bedroom furniture,

new lighting, doors, and painting and decorating

throughout the house. The major work, however,

was the creation of a family style kitchen in the heart

of Arran that we love! As well as having snacks and

Sunday breakfasts in the house, we can bake with

Matron on a regular basis, as can the girls from

Iona House. The fully fitted kitchen includes all the

equipment we need to become little masterchefs!

Iona Adventure

For our adventure, we headed off to Alnwick in

Northumberland. After the struggle of putting our wetsuits on, we got into the water.

It was freezing and took a bit of time to get used to so we did some

activities to warm us up. We jumped off some small rocks and then

tried to see how many people we could fit on one rock. We managed

to fit the whole of house on it without anyone falling off.

Breakfast the next day was amazing and then we left for Alnwick

Castle. Once we arrived we were met by a man in robes called

George who talked to us about medieval times and then taught

us how to make soap. The Dragon Quest was quite scary but very

funny too so there was rather a lot of shrieking. We then learnt about

medieval writing in a scriptorium workshop, and even got to paint our

own illuminations before having lunch.

In the afternoon we walked down to Alnwick Gardens and had

a tour of the poisonous garden. Lily was a bit uneasy as she had

brushed one of the plants with her hand; we don’t know how long

she’s got left!

After shopping and the delicious ice cream that Mr Dawson

kindly bought us, we went back to the hostel. Once we finished our

dinner we went to the park to play rounders. In the morning we went

straight to Barter Books, one of the largest secondhand bookshops in

Britain. It was amazing and those of us who had saved back some

pocket money bought books. Then it was time to make our way back

to Scotland.

IONA

CampingWhen we got to Denholm, some of us were still half asleep from the journey and others were jumping up in excitement. We unloaded everything by forming a human chain; once the trailer was empty, we sorted things into piles and started to put up our tents. At long last the tents were ready and we put our bags inside. The 2nd formers went to hide their clues for the

treasure hunt while the rest of us were occupied with the

unpacking. There were 22 clues in total and the winners

were Amara and Iona. The treasure hunt was followed

by a delicious supper of sweet and sour chicken. After toasting marshmallows for pudding, we lay

down on the canvas and stared at the stars. We were so

excited when we saw a shooting star, for many of us this

was the first one we had ever seen. The other interesting

object in the sky was the satellite that passed us.We had a lovely start to the morning with croissants,

bacon butties, cereal, juice and hot chocolate (Miss

Moodie’s secret recipe) and then got ready to head off

to Innerleithen where we were visiting Robert Smail’s

Printing Works.On arrival we were shown the old printing machines

and had the opportunity to make our own bookmarks. It

was really interesting, especially finding out the origins

of terms such as ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ case letters, which

are literally placed in the upper and lower cases which

hold all the letters, and why it is important to mind your

p’s and q’s. After leaving the printing works we went on to

Traquair House, which has been lived in for over 900

years and is Scotland’s oldest inhabited house. It was

amazing. There was a giant woodland area behind

the house. We saw all of the old Victorian places they

would wash their clothes and the ladies‘ bathing area.

We carried on and we reached the tree planted maze

where we had to find Mr Dawson in the middle; some of

us took longer than others!

Duck RaceWe went to The Water of Leith Visitor Centre for a duck race. We lined up to get our blue ducks, and wrote our duck‘s

number on our hand. While we waited for our race to start we played some duck

themed mini games. Most of us won lollipops and rubber ducks.

Once the race had started we walked down to the finish

line. After that we paddled about in the river and then,

walking further down, we passed some allotments and ate

some blackberries (wild ones!). We came to a bridge and

decided to have a game of Pooh Sticks; Grace won the first

round and Alice the second.We walked back to the Centre and sadly found that

none of us had won the duck race! We then climbed up

to the canal aqueduct and had a great view of some city

buildings from the top.

The Great Tapestry

On Saturday we visited the Great Tapestry of

Scotland. With nearly 1000 volunteer stitchers

involved in creating the 143-metre-long

tapestry, it is one of the biggest community art

projects in the world.

We found out from Ella and Lilly that their granny had helped

sew some of the tapestry and we were then all on a mission to

find the panel that she had worked on. Once we had all found it,

we started noticing many familiar landmarks, including Ruberslaw,

which we climbed last year. Familiar and famous Scots were sewn

into the tapestry, such as Robert Burns and there were aspects of

popular culture too; we all found the image of an Irn Bru can. After

we had seen the tapestry a few of us also went to see a tapestry

being sewn and then we all headed upstairs to the debating

chamber. Mr Dawson told us about the layout and why it was like

that. He also told us about the mace which was attached to the

glass, and when there was a debate in progress the glass would

flip so the mace was on top of the case.

Challenge DayThe morning started when we went to meet Charlotte from the Water of Leith Conservation Trust to help with a litter pick along the river. Once we had listened carefully to the safety instructions from Charlotte we collected our litter pickers and rubber gloves and set off down to the river.We found lots of litter and were very pleased as we saw the

difference we had made along the bank and in the river. The prize for the best find went to Emma who found a very old street cart which weighed so much that five men had to pull it out of the water! Several passers-by thanked us for what we were doing.

We returned from our trip out rather cold and windswept and whilst some of us headed straight into the kitchen to eat our homemade wraps, others went to get warmed up first! After lunch we gathered in the day room to start the second half of the challenge. This was when we discovered that Mrs Dawson’s definition of ‘easy challenge’ was a little bit different to ours! We were making recyclable newspaper baskets for Easter. There were four main stages to this challenge which included rolling, weaving, connecting and finally putting together a basket.

Some of us got the hang of it rather more quickly than others but we all helped each other and got there in the end!The extra twist of the Iona Challenge Day had been that we

were to manage without electrical appliances all day! Apart from making one phone call we had no access to iPads, mobile phones or TV. Instead, we played games, read and chatted.

Tile Making

We went to Honey Pot Ceramics

in Ratho to have a go at making

glass fusion objects.

We were all intrigued as to what this was

and started thinking about what we would

like to make. We were given a demonstration

showing us how to cut glass and pretty soon

we all got the hang of this. Everyone had such

fun choosing colours and cutting glass and we

all made something individual and interesting,

producing both abstract and picture pieces.

Ice SkatingAfter the tricky job of getting our skates, on we were ready to get on the ice and before we knew it we were all whizzing round, with Miss Kidd helping those of us that were a little less experienced. We stopped for a snack and then went back on,

enjoying watching Phoebe who was doing really well.

At the end of the afternoon it was Joanna who was the

most improved skater and we would like to say a big

thank you to Mrs Dawson, Miss Walker and Miss Kidd

for giving up their afternoon and joining us on the ice!

Creative Writing

A House AwakeningThe house snores quietly,Suddenly it shivers awake;Eyes glow at the streets in front,It stomps loudly.

The house gurgles, washing itself;It brushes its teeth quickly,And clears its throat.

It yawns loudly and groans.The house sings a happy song,It crackles and laughs,And waves at the cars going by.

Phoebe

Circus Maximus Really?Is this just it?Are you sure this is it?Are you one hundred percent sure?Really?

ColosseumMassive, Made of hard stone,Many men have died there,After centuries it still stands Aging.

Max

Kate’s CottageKate’s good-for-nothing husband Tam was late again. The fire crackled and popped while her anger filled her like a balloon. He never listened to her and was always up to the same old tricks. The click-click of her knitting needles broke the gloomy silence.

As the windows rattled in their shutters the rocking chair creaked and squealed. ‘Why oh why does he never listen to me?’ she thought.

The clock chimed every hour as it got later and later. He was still not home.

Shadows danced around the dying fire. The thunder and lightning made the old cottage shake. The rain was pelting down like falling crystals. The candle had nearly burnt out all the wax and was flickering madly. The draught was whistling under the door.

The cat was purring softly on the worn out rug beside the fire. Smoke was rushing up the chimney like a twister. She was gripping her knitting needles like weapons. Her anger made her feel like a lion about to pounce.

Suddenly she heard a horse and she reached for her rolling pin.

Tilly

My Magic BoxI will put in my boxThe happy memories of childhood close to my heart;The sweet scent of the first flower opening, signifying spring;Clouds of worries drifting away on a peaceful summer’s day.

I will put in my boxThe splash as me and my dad frolic around in the sea;The fire from my first birthday candleAnd the spark of happiness when I’m with my family.

I will put in the boxThe glimmer from the first star my eyes fall upon;The last note in a piece I play on my cello in a concertAnd the round of applause as I stand up and bow.

I will put into the boxThe flash of light as Hermione zaps her wand at meA hippo with black stripesAnd a tiger with grey skin.

My box is fashioned from fresh dew in the morning And the cleanest rainbows the world has seen.It has a pearl clasp so strong it could withstand a dinosaur stamping on it.

I shall trapeze in my box,Over the waters of Drumsheugh,With my family watching beneath

Clara