The following items have been extracted from the parents newsletters written
by Mr Thewliss four times a year.

October 2008

Malaysia Trip

In June this year 14 pupils took part in a World Challenge expedition to Malaysia.   A brief period trekking in the Cameron Highlands allowed us to acclimatise before starting the hard work of renovating a hostel at the Malaysian Association for the Blind. Working with the blind children in the centre’s school greatly challenged as we saw the poverty and difficulty faced by the children and we were happy to have the opportunity of helping them in a small way.  All the fitness training had prepared us well for our arduous 5 day trek in the Jungle. We had to overcome fears of little beasties including spiders, termites and leeches. Misbah discovered carrying Honey is a hazardous occupation - she was the only one stung by the bees when we passed close to a hive!  A brief conservation project at Deerland with it’s Deer, Sun Bears and Sugar Gliders, was followed by four days on an idyllic tropical island. We were able to relax and enjoy snorkelling with turtles and sharks, sunbathing, and sampling the local cuisine.

Our thanks go to everyone who supported us throughout our project. It was an adventure of a lifetime.  

Siobhan Clark, Jessica Donnelly, Lynsey Ferguson, Zoe Jordan, Rebecca Low, Leanne Milne, Rachael Orchiston, Misbah Ramzan, Esther Robertson, Sarah Sands, Danielle Tasker,  Olivia Walesby, Harris Zaffar.  

March 2007

S2 pupils had the privilege of listening to a talk by Sue Black (professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at Dundee University).  When a disaster happens anywhere in the world (eg Tsunami, London bombings, Kosovo), Sue Black is one of the first people to be phoned and asked for help.  She is a world authority on victim identification.  She gave a fascinating talk on how victims are identified such as dental records, fingerprinting, and DNA analysis.  She  spoke about the practical problems of victim identification after the Tsunami, because bodies were decomposing so quickly, and over 200,000 had to be identified.

Currently S1-S3 Harris pupils are involved with a project led by Professor Black developing software to enable facial recognition for teenagers.  The outcome of this project will assist in the tracing of displaced youngsters worldwide.

December 2006

3^rd Year Biology Class – Eco school venture starting point

This year the Woodlands Trust donated 30 trees to the school.  Mrs McLagan’s 3^rd year biology class have managed to plant them in two separate areas of the school with a view to starting a community woodland.  The trees were Wild Cherry, Rowan and Silver Birch.  In the spring time they hope to plant grasses, flowers and bushes to encourage insects and butterflies.  We also hope to build a couple of bird boxes and add a greenhouse in the future.  This class will also complete a class survey on litter and transportation to go along with their biosphere topic.  Many thanks to the Woodland Trust for their kind donation.