Active East Lothian

East "Girls on the Go" are Football Crazy!

The Active Schools ‘Girls on the Go’ programme came to a close in the East Region last Wednesday night with a fantastic girls’ football festival.  Twenty young ladies ranging from P5 – P7 came from both the Haddington and Dunbar clusters to take part in 5-a-side matches at Hallhill Healthy Living Centre, Dunbar.  The four teams named ‘Dunbar Devils’, ‘Champions’, ‘LKMAR’ and ‘Rude Dudes’, played every other team twice with the Dunbar Devils coming out on top and winning first place. Every player that took part received a participation certificate and goody bag for their hard work and enthusiasm however Amber from the Haddington cluster who played for the ‘Champions’ team won an extra prize for exceptional sportsmanship shown throughout the entire event.

‘Girls on the Go’ is a programme that specifically targets girls in order to encourage participation in various activities at an important stage in their lives.  Netball, Hip-Hop Dance and Football were the activities offered this year and the Active Schools East Lothian team are looking forward to the start of another successful year after the summer break.

New! Surfing at North Berwick High School

North Berwick High School have been lucky enough to secure a block of surfing lessons with Coast to Coast Surf School at Belhaven Bay, Dunbar for S1-S3.

The lessons will run on 3 Mondays - 26 May, 2 June, 9 June from 4.30-6.30pm.

There is a cost of £50 for the 3 lessons, including minibus transport to and from Belhaven. This represents a fantastic saving, as 3 lessons would normally cost £75!

Please note that there are only 10 places available on this course, so availability is limited.

If you would like (your son/daughter) to take part in this block of surfing, please contact Miss Parry in the PE Department for further details and forms. Tel:01620 89 4661 or email cparry@elcschool.org.uk

Long Way Up

Long Way Up

Primary 6 and 7 pupils from Longniddry and Cockenzie are among the first to tackle the new climbing wall facility at Foresters Park in Tranent.  Guided by instructor Alastair Seagroatt from the Outdoor Education Service they are learning not only how to climb, but how to safely set up the rope/belay system and how to work together in teams of 3 - one climbing, one belaying and a back up person to assist the belayer.  The group have completed 2 sessions so far and have already progressed to tackling some of the more difficult climbs at the facility.  They are now starting to learn and experiment with some of the climbing techniques that will allow them to climb more effectively and try harder routes.  They have put a big effort in and are progressing really well.

Active Schools Experience Quiz Night

Congratulations to the Prestonpans cluster for winning the first ever Active Schools Experience Quiz night.  The quiz took place on the 29^th November and saw Prestonpans take on Musselburgh and Tranent in a Question of Sport.  Throughout October and November, schools from the three areas competed to represent their cluster with the final competition seeing Ormiston Primary take on Musselburgh Burgh and Cockenzie Primary.  The evening was a great success with Cockenzie Primary taking the final honours.  A huge thank you to all those involved including Annette Reid, Jon Doyle, Tina McAvoy, Angie Kinghorn, Evie Tait, Ernie Murray, Kayleigh Cameron and all the Tranent Cheerleaders.  We are all already looking forward to next years event!

Out and About with Total Adventure

The Active Schools Total Adventure programme kicked off in September and so far has involved nearly 100 children from all over the region in a variety of activities.  The activities so far have been Surfing, Kayaking, Beachlife and Orienteering / Team Challenge.  This week sees the beginning of 2 blocks of archery, one based at the Scottish Archery Centre, Fenton Barns and one based at Ross High School, Tranent.

The response from both kids and parents has been very enthusiastic.  We have benefitted from great weather for nearly all the sessions and the programme has also benefitted from the involvement of good quality instructors, willing volunteers and input from Active School Coordinators.  Thaqnks to everyone who has helped out so far.

Having got off to a great start the final planning is being done for activities in Term 2.  Depending on which cluster you are in activities may include: dry slope skiing, rock climbing, archery and mountain biking.  For more information please contact Ali Dreyer 01875 853161 or Ruth Johnson 01620 894817.

P6/7 pupils enjoy early Autumn surf and sunshine

East Lothian To Represent at National LD Swimming Gala

East Lothian will be representing at the Learning Disability Swimming Gala as part of the Lothians squad on the 21st November.  The pupils who competed at Dalkeith Pool for a place on the sqaud will travell to Tollcross, Glasgow to take on the countrys finest.  The swimmers selected for the national Gala were representing sqauds from North Berwick High and Musselburgh Grammar School.  The star swimmers are:

Corey Watt, Callum Dalgleish, Robbie Irvine, Joe Cunningham, Scot Raeburn, Karen Anne-Brown (mgs)

Kirsty Henderson (nb)

Well done and best of luck on the 21st November.

Y Dance

All schools in East Lothian are currently participating in an exciting dance initiative. A partnership between Scottish Youth Dance and Active Schools has enabled young people of all ages to be given the opportunity to participate in 5 weeks of dance, during the school curriculum, delivered by dynamic and experienced instructors from ‘Y Dance’ or Scottish Youth Dance. This national programme has been funded by the Scottish Executive and is currently being rolled out throughout East Lothian schools.

The content of the workshops has been developed to progress young people’s abilities through dance and to support the curriculum and the 5-14 expressive arts document. It is hoped that this programme will increase the popularity of extra-curricular dance sessions offered through Active Schools Programmes in street dance, hip hop, cheerleading and many other disciplines.  In addition to the workshops for the children, teaching staff have been given the opportunity to attend in-service training to provide them with new resources and ideas to allow them to continue dance sessions at their school either during the curriculum or after school. 

The Active Schools Experience!!

Community Development Award for Preston Lodge

Community Development Award for Rugby

The Scottish Rugby Union have rewarded a handful of schools, in which the Scotland Players would like to thanks for the part they have played in getting the players into the World Cup squad for 2008.

One of these schools which were notified for helping the rise of the international players was Preston Lodge High School. This award was given for the development of rugby within the schools and local community.

The players thanked the school for its continual support in which they have received over the years and without the guidance and support of the school they would have found it more difficult to realise the dream of being in a World Cup Squad.

The three representatives of the Preston Lodge High School, Mr  Bennion, Glen Muir and Robbie Gordon firstly enjoyed a welcome lunch in Murrayfield Stadium with members of other schools. After this they were granted access all areas as they got up close and personal to watch the Scotland team prepare for the World Cup. This then lead onto a tour of the stadium and into the changing rooms to meet several players before going out the tunnel onto the pitch to meet more of the players and receive the award which was a piece of training kit signed and framed. After this the pupils got to talk to the internationals before coming back down to earth and heading home.

This was an outstanding day which was well run by the SRU and I am sure all the children that attended loved it as well as the coaches/teachers who were more excited than the children.