​As part of our winter charity appeal, we are focussing on Article 27: Children and young people have the right to food, clothing and safe place to live. 
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Our chosen charity for our winter charity appeal is Nightstop – based in Glasgow. Nightstop work with young people aged 16-25 at risk of becoming homeless. The charity partner with host homes who welcome these young people to stay for 1 night. When they arrive, it could be with nothing so hosts have packs on hand to give out to them. We will put together packs to be given to these people in their time of need.

This also links with our community charity event for the ‘Wee Sleepout’ on Saturday 7th December, where pupils, staff and community members will be experiencing what it is like to sleep ‘rough’ for one night, braving the elements.

Being homeless means not having a safe place to call home. We know thousands of young people sleep rough every night, but there are thousands more sleeping on sofas, floors, night buses or with strangers – these are the “hidden homeless”.

We have chosen homelessness as our focus because the risk of assault and theft are high. The weather can do real damage to your health and the stress of survival living takes a huge toll on your mental and physical health. The estimated life expectancy of a rough sleeper is 43, pretty much half that of the general population.

On Friday 1st of November we were lucky enough to secure a visit from Mike Haines OBE to hear about his inspirational work of promoting tolerance and kindness to overcome hatred. You can read his thoughts about Gryffe High on his blog at the link below:

October was Global Diversity Awareness Month. We live in a multicultural society, and embracing the values of various cultures only strengthens our understanding and appreciation of the world.

Citizenship have used this opportunity to raise attention to the diversity within the school while it might not always be so explicit. As a committee we included the school as a whole in this as much as possible. You will have heard us speak at the October House assemblies, to reach out to pupils of all years.

On Wednesday the 23rd and Wednesday the 30th of October we ran Henna Hand Art in the library at lunch, this has been a popular event in the past and was a success again this year. All the money that raised will be donated to Refuweegee. Thank you to our keen artists for their skills and also thanks to everyone who came along to participate

A world map was in the canteen on Wednesday the 23rd and 30th as well. As pupils and teachers passed by they were asked to mark, with a sticker, any country abroad that had either lived themselves or where family lived. This was interesting to watch as the map got busier and busier and highlighted that Gryffe High School has many links to other parts of the world and is a multicultural society. The definition of this we also discussed as part of our presentation to the House assemblies. The map will be up on display soon.

Flags from countries all over the world were displayed as bunting across the canteen in support of Global Diversity Awareness Month, as well as information slides displayed on the screens around the school to reinforce the importance of diversity in our school and our society.

Thanks for all your support and look out for upcoming events - November sees our Remembrance activities; World Kindness Day and St Andrew's Day.

Rowan and Aaron

Heads of Citizenship

Welcome back to all pupils and staff for session 2019-20. We are raring to get started with our events and activities this year! Our Committee meetings will be taking place on Monday lunchtimes from 1.30 in SS3 - please feel free to bring your lunch with you. We look forward to welcoming any new members and seeing returning faces, of course!

Our Heads of Citizenship and Rights this year and Aaron Mills and Rowan Johnson (both of whom have already prompted Mrs Davey for a meeting and a discussion of our year calendar!). We are lucky to have such driven and dedicated pupils heading up our efforts and we know it is going to be fantastic year ahead full of opportunities and events for us all to be 'responsible citizens'.

Three S3 pupils, met local MPs Mhairi Black and Gavin Newlands to discuss Fairtrade. The pupils were able to exhibit that Gryffe supports Fairtrade and also explain some of the Fairtrade events that have taken place this year, along with future events. The pupils also asked the MPs questions based on the Sustainable Development Goals. Shaun asked how we hold UK companies accountable for their riches abroad. Charlotte asked how we can encourage UK businesses to sell and stock Fairtrade products and Mhairi was put on the spot by Eve who asked her how she was going to use her influence to promote Fairtrade. 
It was an enjoyable afternoon and hopefully raised the profile of Fairtrade with all of those present. Our pupils were recorded and you can listen to this discussion on Rainbow Turtle’s podcast.
Mhairi Black also tweeted this photo about our visit

After a fantastic Fairtrade Fortnight we have a lot of people to congratulate and thank! First of all, thank you to all staff and pupils for getting involved in the variety of events. A special thank you to all our 'Fairtrade Fighters' from S1 to S6 who helped run the activities - we literally couldn't do it without you.

From our Great Gryffe Fairtrade Bake off, Fairtrade smoothie and banana split stalls we managed to raise a whopping £335! This will be match funded by the UK government - so it will be doubled to £670. We think this is a massive achievement and couldn't be prouder of the Gryffe High School community.

Above are some pictures from across the Fortnight, including our Bake off winners, banana splits, Fairtrade trail, Fairtrade wrapper competition and the Renfrewshire Council Local Authority Fairtrade Steering Group meeting which was hosted by Gryffe on Thursday 19th March.

The Bake off winners were: Codi Carswell, Thea Raeburn, Hannah Brummitt and Nicole Hagen. The girls were then finalists at the Renfrewshire Council Bake off the next day - well done girls for getting on so well! Our school winners were Lucy Cameron, Laura James, Emily Svensson, Logan McBride, Laura James and Emma Ross (not pictured). Their cakes and bakes included a fantastic Victoria sponge, chocolate brownies, banana muffins, to name but a few. Well done!

The Fairtrade smoothie and banana split storm went down very well with staff and pupils alike. Our 6th Citizenship Committee members did an excellent job at promoting the goodies and ofcourse contributed greatly to the overall amount raised.

The S1/2 Fairtrade wrapper compeition was a close call, but Burns house won out in the end and Blair Tate from 1Bn claimed the Fairtrade Easter egg prize for collecting 23 wrappers in total - well done, Blair!

Megan Lovett of 1M won the S1 Fairtrade Trail competition. She correctly identified the number of Fairtrade sugar producers worldwide by going around the school and hunting down the posters. This was a sneaky numeracy task as pupils had to add up all the numbers from 15 different posters to get the right number of producers! Well done, Megan!

Renfrewshire Council Local Authority Fairtrade Steering Group meeting which was hosted by Gryffe on Thursday 19th March. This was a fantastic opportunity for the school to showcase some of the events that we had done across the Fortnight. We welcomed over 25 guests including other schools, Councillors and local Fairtrade groups. Some of our pupils did an excellent presentation and Miss Rowan put together a fabulous video with pictures, music and soundbites. Some of our Fairtrade Fighters also went above and beyond to make some lovely cakes for our guests, include Fairtrade banana pancakes, swiss roll and cupcakes.

As ever, we are continuing our efforts throughout the year to ensure that we remain a FairAchiever School. We look forward to more opportunities to include Fairtrade events, activities and lessons for the remainder of the session.

Friday 27th February was a busy day marking the middle of Fairtrade Fortnight. The day started with a presentation in the theatre from visitor Ismael who is a Producer (of Honey) in Guatemala.

Pupils and staff were also encouraged to show off their Fairtrade label.

Mrs Davey and Miss Rowan organised the day which included a Great Gryffe Fairtrade Bake Off. There was a competition for Pupils and Staff. The enthusiasm from both pupils and staff was amazing.

Mr Gibb in Biology proved a Staff winner with his Lime and Courgette cake baked using Fairtrade sugar. Staff enjoyed this at the Big Brew at interval, along with a great range of baking from other staff, including a personalised entry from the ABC department.

First year pupils responded really well to the Great Bake Off Opportunity. Four first year pupils Codi Carswell, Nicole Hagen, Hannah Brummitt and Thea Raeburn were winners with their superb cakes. Their cakes were so attractive that the pupils have been invited to Renfrewshire Council’s Big Brew event on Saturday 28th February.

Other winners from the competition included Lucy Cameron, Laura James, Emma Ross, Logan McBride and Emily Svensson - all from S1 - Well done to you all!

Thank you to all who supported a great Fairtrade day!

At Gryffe High School we pride ourselves on our contributions that we make to Fairtrade, not just during Fairtrade Fortnight but throughout the year. 2015 is no different and we are excited to offer a range of events and activities during Fairtrade Fortnight to encourage our staff and pupils to fully participate in making conscious choices that can make a difference in the world.

Since the first Fairtrade Fortnight in 1995, the Foundation have been educating the public on why to choose Fairtrade and increasing sales on Fairtrade terms for marginalised producers. Over the past 20 years the Fairtrade mark is now the biggest and best known ethical label in the UK.

Fairtrade was launched this year at our monthly year-group assemblies, linking into our Rights Respecting Schools Award, with a focus on the Right: ‘You have the right to protection from work that harms you, and is bad for your health and education. If you work, you have the right to be safe and paid properly.’ Article 32, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Our pupils learned that if a child is born in another country where they have to work on their family’s farm just to make enough to provide food, then it may be that this Right, which all children have, is not met. By thinking about how Fairtrade can make a difference to children and their families across the world, we are furthering our efforts to be effective global citizens.

Fairtrade Fortnight has a key focus every year and this time it is on ‘core commodities’ such as sugar, cocoa and tea – products we all have in our cupboards at home and use almost every day. The price of raw cane sugar has been driven down by almost 30% in recent times by big brands such as soft drinks companies. This of course has a dramatic effect on the price that farmers are paid for their produce, and in many cases it does not give them enough money to feed, clothe and educate their children. As consumers, we can opt to make a difference by buying Fairtrade products.

To promote the use of Fairtrade sugar, we are holding our Great Gryffe Fairtrade Bake Off on Friday 27th February. All pupils and staff have been asked to participate by bringing in sweet treats which will then be judged and sold throughout the day. We are also delighted to welcome Ismael – a Fairtrade honey producer from Guatemala, as our guest judge! He will be accompanied by other VIPs – members of our local community Fairtrade groups.

We hope that everyone in the school gets involved this Fairtrade Fortnight in some of the events highlighted below:

•      S1/2 Fairtrade wrapper competition – across the Fortnight, collection point in the library – prize for the person with the most wrappers!
•      S1 Fairtrade trail – seek out the posters around the school and hand in entry forms by Wednesday 4th March – black tokens for all entries, and prize for the winner drawn from correct entries.
•      Rainbow Turtle Chocolate stall – buy Fairtrade goodies on Tuesday and Thursdays at interval in the canteen
•      Show your label day – Friday 27th February – wear an item of FT clothing with your uniform
•      Great Gryffe Bake Off – Friday 27th February
•      Smoothie stall – Friday 6th March at lunchtime in the canteen
•      Fairtrade banana splits – Friday 6th March at lunchtime in the canteen

As part of our journey to becoming a Rights Respecting School we are required to put together a School Charter – this is a document that is made by pupils that will inform the actions of everyone within the school, pupils and staff. At its core are the Rights that pupils have chosen which best suit school life. These are taken from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Back in October, we consulted all pupils during year group assemblies on the Rights that they thought were most important and what actions need to be carried out to ensure that these Rights are met. We had a very positive response and the following Rights were highlighted as integral to creating a Rights based school:  

81% - Article 12 ‘You have the right to give your opinion, and for adults to listen and take it seriously.’

73% – Article 28 ‘You have the right to a good quality education. You should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level you can’

67% – Article 19 ‘You have the right to be protected from violence, from being hurt and mistreated, in body or mind.’

57% – Article 3 ‘All adults should do what is best for you. When adults make decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children.’

Following this consultation, members of the pupil council and RRSA steering group were invited to two afternoon sessions in the Church Halls where the content of our Charter would be decided. This involved looking at the results from the pupil consultation – pairing Rights with actions; considering our school aims and values, and how these could link to our Charter; as well as deciding on how our Charter would look. The pupils involved were all very enthusiastic and came up with some super ideas! These have then been translated into our final School Charter, which is shown below.

The Charter has since been approved by the Parent Council and school staff – as this is an agreement that must be formed between everyone in the school and the school community.

The Charter will now be launched at the assemblies in February and all pupils will be given a sticky copy to put into their homework diary. What we need now is for everyone to use the Charter on a daily basis. It should:

•      Be displayed around the school and in all classrooms
•      Inform how we act towards one another (pupils and staff) in all situations
•      Indicate what must be done to ensure these Rights are upheld. Young people have all of these Rights highlighted – pupils and staff must follow these actions to ensure an individual’s Rights and those of others are met. This is everyone’s REPONSIBILITY.

We hope to work towards our assessment for the Rights Respecting Schools Award in the coming months. We will continue to survey pupil opinion to ensure that we are on track and promoting the Rights of everyone.

On Thursday 22nd of January two members of staff and two S2 pupils, Georgia Black and Emily Irvine, attended the Renfrewshire Fairtrade Steering Group. The meeting was attended by council representatives, local councillors and members of the community from local Fairtrade groups. Gryffe were the only school in attendance and were given a warm welcome by the committee!

The meeting focused on various Fairtrade issues from integrating Fairtrade into the curriculum to the possibility of introducing a Renfrewshire Secondary School Fairtrade Trophy.

The majority of the meeting was spent discussing the upcoming Fairtrade fortnight. We had the opportunity to share what Gryffe are doing to support this event. We were also able to hear what other members of the community have planned for this fortnight. The councils focus this year is a Bake Off event which they are hosting on Saturday 28th February. Members of the community are encouraged to show off their baking skills by whipping up some delicious treats using fairtrade products.

Gryffe will be hosting its own Bake off in school. Hopefully our winners will be able to represent the school at the councils event. Emily Irvine, S2, said attending the meeting ‘was a great experience’.

As part of the 70th anniversary of Auschwitz being liberated (27th January 2015) Scott Martin and Georgina Milnes, the schools two S6 ambassadors for the Holocaust Educational Trust held assemblies for every year group to share our experience of Auschwitz.

These assemblies were aimed to help us remember those who were persecuted during World War 2 and to prevent a horrific act such as the Holocaust from happening again. However despite our attempts, such acts of genocide still do occur today.

As part of our assemblies we shared a poem read to us at Auschwitz, which brought home the horrors of the camp and the atrocities of the war in which the Nazis carried out several terrible acts of war crimes.  

Extermination by Charlotte Delbo

Five by five they walk down the street of Arrivals.

It is the street of Departures but they don’t know. It is a one-way street.

They proceed in orderly fashion -

so as not to be faulted for anything.

They reach a building and heave a sigh.

They have reached their destination at last.

And when the soldiers bark their orders,

shouting for the women to strip,

they undress the children first,

cautiously not to wake them all at once.

After days and nights of travel the little

ones are edgy and cranky

And then the women undress in front

Of the children, nothing to be done

And when each is handed a towel they worry whether the shower will be warm because the children could catch cold.

And when the men enter the shower room through another door, naked too,

the women hide the children against their bodies.

And perhaps at that moment they all understand.

Over the course of the war the Nazis actions grew in severity, they started by making people wear badges to show their religion and destroying their businesses and finished by cremating these same people. These actions can be summarised by a quote taken long before the war in 1823 from Henrich Heine:  

“Them that begin by burning books end  by burning men.” 

By Scott Martin and Georgina Milnes

On Thursday 13th November, 20 pupils from each year group got the opportunity to visit the Reflections Room which took place in the Conference Room.

The Reflection Room was set up by members of staff and members of the local community to show pupils the importance of the effects of World War One and the reasons behind Remembrance Day.

In the Reflection Room there were many different stations filled with stories of soldiers, games and War poems. The first station we came across was a game with cards laid out in a circle, and the aim of the activity was to see how easy it is to forgive somebody no matter what the situation may be. As we progressed through the game, we started to realise that it becomes hard to forgive and forget when the situation is as ­­­agonizing as World War One.

The second station that we approached was the story of a young soldier who fought for his country on the front line. The story of the young soldier tells us what the conditions were like in the trenches. Then we were informed that each soldier owned a small box and which they filled with letters they had received from family and friends back home. Every soldier was given a pocket sized bible which a lot of them kept on them at all times during the War. As a gift from Princess Anne, all soldiers received a brass engraved tin which contained tobacco and cigarettes for the older soldiers, the younger soldiers received sweets in their tin and all the nurses on the frontline received a tin of chocolates.

When reading the letters it put it into perspective that World War One did actually occur. Some letters were filled with light hearted jokes and others were filled with sad but loving words from the families back home. As we read through some more letters we both began to realise how important family and friends are in every day life and we shouldn’t take them for granted because we never know when we are going to lose them.  As we progressed through the stations we came across a map of old Bridge of Weir, it was filled with black dots which represented the soldiers who died as a result of World War One. When looking at the dots we soon reslised that there was more than one dot on some of the houses. This signified that in a household there could of been more than one family member who fought for this country.

The last station we reached was a chance where you could write your own prayer/message to the troops that have fought and to the troops that are still fighting today. When reading many of the prayers and messages that some people had left it showed us how people still care about the fallen soldiers and will continue to care for wars that still take place today.

In conclusion, we really enjoyed the experience we were given and grateful for this opportunity. The Reflection Room was a great way to get the community involved with the school and with the pupils. We had a very informative afternoon but yet still very enjoyable.
Article - Honor Campbell & Fern Adams S3; Photographs - Matthew Dickie S6

Welcome to our shiny, new Gryffe High School Citizenship and Rights Respecting School blog! Here you will find information about what we have been up to recently - whether that is promoting the Rights of young people or whole school Citizenship events.

Citizenship is a main focus for Gryffe High School as Curriculum for Excellence promotes understanding and awareness of becoming a Global Citizen. CfE requires Glbal Citizenship to be embedded across the curriculum through the core values of wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity.

We hope you find the information here useful and interesting. Should you have any suggestions about how we make our site better, please get in touch.