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Dear Visitor,
Our Summer Term is now underway and another busy and exciting term is in prospect. The past few months have been most industrious with so much taking place in and out of the classroom.
Eco Week - 22-26 March
Monday 22–Friday 26 March saw us all engaged in an extremely interesting and productive Eco Week. We had an excellent presentation on reducing, re-using and recycling from Emily Murphy from East Lothian’s Waste Management Department to begin the week; some very engaging and thought-provoking Eco Drama workshops on Tuesday; and in spite of damp and misty conditions on the Thursday, our classes enjoyed three most interesting expeditions into the woods in the company of East Lothian Ranger Service. There was also the designing and painting of re-usable shopping bags and a competition to design a new bird-table for the School grounds, won by Nicholas (Form 4), whose design will now be brought to life during the coming months.
End Of Season Parents/Children Matches
We concluded the week with that traditional end-of-season Parents v Children Hockey and Rugby matches on Saturday morning. With blue skies and sunshine overhead, conditions were perfect for all participants at Neilson Park and the Aubigny Centre all-weather pitch. The turnout was magnificent with so many parents and children taking part in firstly, some warm-up and practice sessions followed by the matches themselves. In hockey, the U11 girls won 4-1 and the U9s won 2-1 whilst over the road, the Rugby Club boys won 2-1 whilst the Compass Colts drew 4-4 in two engaging and most competitive touch-rugby encounters. Admittedly, the boys did have David Callam of Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland (Scotland’s 999th capped player no less!) playing for them. David was delighted to accept our invitation to join us for the morning and was most impressed by the skill levels on display – in all of the teams which were playing!! It was a great morning and I would like to thank all those who took part and marked the end of two successful hockey and rugby seasons once more.
Inter-School Events Hosted By The Compass
The previous Saturday also saw a festival of sport down at Mill Wynd with boys narrowly losing to Watson’s in an epic match with the final score being 5-6 whilst over the road almost 140 girls from seven different schools were taking part in our annual Inter-School Hockey Tournament. Every one of our girls from Form 5 to 8 who were fit and available to play, took part, with our Under 10 team making it all the way to the Final where they lost narrowly also to George Watson’s, having played some excellent hockey throughout the morning.
This was the third major inter-school event which The Compass School has hosted this term, following our successful Swimming Gala at the Aubigny Centre in January and the Cross-Country Competition at Neilson Park in early March. These events have grown in size and popularity over the years and this year, we have had almost 300 children from independent and local authority schools across the Lothians taking part in our three events. We have received many compliments and letters of appreciation from schools taking part and we look forward to the continuing success of the event during the years to come.
School Swimming Gala
Always a highlight of the School year is our Whole School Swimming Gala and this year’s event which took place on Tuesday 30 March was no exception. A packed gallery of parents enjoyed an exciting competition which unfolded throughout the afternoon with First Place being shared by the Goldfish and Tadpoles who both scored 212pts following all 80 races in Galas 1, 2 & 3! It was magnificent to see how our swimmers have progressed during the year and to see the confidence with which so many took to the water, gave of their best and had fun. Well done to all our swimmers!
The Compass School in York and in London
Form 6 and 7 have recently returned from their respective trips to York and London. Form 7 enjoyed three great days in the Capital (15-17 March) with Mr Macdonald and Mrs Legget. During their time there, they took in the Tower of London; the Imperial War Museum; the Science Museum and its IMAX cinema; experienced a night out in the West End when they attended a performance of ‘Wicked’ at the Apollo Victoria; and finally, enjoyed a walking tour of central London and a visit to Hamley’s.
The Compass School - Form 7 in London
In the same week (17-18 March), Form 6 travelled to York where they enjoyed two glorious sunlit spring days along with Mrs Hepburn and myself, during which we visited the York Castle Museum, the newly-refurbished Jorvik Viking Museum, Clifford’s Tower, York’s historic streets and of course, the magnificent Yorkminster.
The Compass School - Form 6 in York
Both trips once again provided significant opportunities not just derived from the obvious educational benefits, but also in personal and social development too – encouraging independence and developing confidence and self-esteem.
Photographs of both trips will shortly be on display on our ‘Expeditions’ wall on the first floor landing.
Sport Relief
To other successes now and thank you also to all those who donated to the Pupil Council’s Sport Relief collection on 19 March which raised the sum of £210, on a day when a wide array of sports were represented as we dressed in the kit of our favourite sports.
CHAS
We also had a visit to morning assembly from Jayne Forbes from CHAS who took time to explain to the children about CHAS’s work in Scotland and who was also delighted to receive a cheque for £263 from Forms 1, 2 & 3 who raised this fabulous sum following their Enterprise Disco which they organised for themselves over a number of weeks. This lead to the main event on 4 March which was greatly enjoyed by all who attended.
Prep Schools Songfest
On the same afternoon, our Choir took part in the Prep Schools Songfest at Loretto and again produced excellent performances in both the Chapel and the Theatre. We were delighted to hear the adjudicator announce that Lindsay (Form 6) was the winner of the solo performance award, achieving first place in a competition which saw strong performances from all five schools taking part. This was a fabulous achievement by Lindsay and one of which we were extremely proud, particularly in seeing a young singer give such an assured and beautiful performance.
Summer Term
This term has begin brightly and once all our staff and children who were stranded abroad made it back through the volcanic ash cloud, it has been full steam ahead on all fronts!
A team of four Primary Six pupils took second place in the Farr Out Challenge Day at St Mary’s, Melrose on Sat 24 April, in which they undertook a series of practical and problem-solving tasks, working as a team and tackling a range of physical challenges too. Congratulations to all of them!
In May the whole school was involved in our annual Book Week. Various activities were planned for the week including the annual visit of the School Book Fair; special assemblies; story-telling sessions from staff and from parents who had been invited to come to the school and read to their child’s/ren’s class; book competitions; a Readathon; the collaboration by all the classes to produce our own book which can then be published; and a character dressing-up day to end the week.
To begin the week, we were delighted to welcome to school Lari Don, who is a successful writer and storyteller and is the authoress of several children’s books such as ‘First Aid For Fairies And Other Fabled Beasts’ (winner of the Royal Mail award for Children’s Books last year); its sequel ‘Wolf’; and a re-telling of Tam O’Shanter. All classes enjoyed meeting her, listening to her stories and learning more about how she develops her ideas and plans her writing. She also was happy to sign copies of her books.
Our major outdoor and residential experiences which our children enjoy on an annual basis are now underway. Form 8 (Primary Seven) went to Paris (17-20 May); Form 5 & 6 (Primary Four and Five) travelled to the Belmont Centre, Perthshire for a three day outward bound adventure (24-26 May); and Form 4 (Primary Three) were at Netherurd House for a two day expedition (26-27 May). In addition, Form 7 (Primary Six) walked from Bonaly to Flotterstone across the Pentland Hills on 25 May.
Form 7 in the Pentland Hills
Watch this space for more photographs and details of what should once again be amazing and memorable experiences!
With best wishes,
Mark Becher
Headmaster
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