Teacher training

Ever wondered what teachers do on in-service days? - well here is a sneaky look.
Yes it looks like a class - Teachers were sharing ideas on classroom techniques and were trying them out for themselves. The periods were long! but great fun and whether you are a teacher or a pupil learning should be fun - at least some of the time.

Chemical Connections

Science students got a visit from staff of Chemical Connections on 1st December. This is the third time Chemical Connections have visited the High School and their experiments are always well received. Pupils pictured here got a chance to investigate how energy is stored in fruit and vegetables!

High School OU students

Inverness High School was one of the first schools to offer Open University, introductory courses to S6 pupils as a preparation for further education and a way of expanding their curriculum. This year Emily Ross is studying a Medicines, Molecules and Drugs course which is a very useful extension to a Higher Chemistry course. While Garry MacKenzie is studying Web Design where the course requires him to design a website from scratch. Both pupils were recently interviewed by the Times Educational Supplement Scotland (TESS) [the education newspaper] about their impressions of the OU courses. The OU hopes that schools all over Scotland will follow suit and offer these interesting but challenging courses to S6 students.

MP visits Inverness High School

Danny Alexander MP visited Inverness High School to be updated on the school's recent successes in developing its Social Enterprises. He visited the school farm and discussed the recent work of the school with the Rector, Mr Cunningham.

During his visit Mr Alexander took the opportunity to see the damage to the school Assembly Hall and check on the progress with the cleanup.

National Quality Construction Competition

Congratulations goes out to David Macdougall & Emma MacLennan. Their Craft and Design projects (see photos) from last session were entered into a National 'Quality Construction' competition. Both of their projects reached the final (top 8) which was held in Edinburgh on Saturday. David's garden bench ended up in 3rd place overall (won £75 for himself!) and Emma's seat was 4th overall.

Fire in Inverness High School 8/10/08

Fire damaged the Inverness High School Assembly Hall on the evening of Wednesday 8th October. The fire was discovered at around 9.45pm and several fire engines attended. The most severe damage was to the Assembly Hall stage and basement although there was extensive smoke damage to the Assembly Hall and surrounding corridors. The school's new sound and cinema system was destroyed along with the new curtains and stage lighting. Musical instruments stored by the Highland Youth Orchestra and Inverness Wind Band were also destroyed in the fire. The cleanup started in earnest on Monday 13th October and it is expected to have all areas of the school except the Assembly Hall in full working order when pupils return on Wednesday 29th October.

ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS (RYLA)

Inverness winners of the 2008 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) are Emily Dent, Karen Munro and Helen Cromarty (Culloden Academy) and James McPhee (Inverness High School).
Every year Rotary Clubs across Great Britain and Ireland sponsor young people aged between 14 and 30 to attend RYLA courses where they undergo an intensive training programme in leadership development and team working. The courses are a blend of physical outdoor activity and more intellectual challenges of competitions, teambuilding and problem solving, with a series of inspirational talks from leaders and managers who have established track records in business and sporting achievement. Individuals are chosen from candidates identified by their schools as most likely to benefit from this unique learning experience and develop into the leaders of tomorrow.
Emily, Karen and James were sponsored by The Rotary Club of Inverness and they attended a recent lunch time meeting where they gave very polished and confident talks on their experiences at camps held in July. Helen was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Loch Ness.
Picture shows President John Machin presenting James McPhee, Emily Dent and Karen Munro with their RYLA Certificates.