Kilgraston discusses COVID in Scottish Business Insider magazine
Kilgraston’s Head of Finance, Mrs Moira Mackie, contributes to the latest Independent School supplement in Scottish Business Insider magazine.
In the article, Mrs Mackie discusses how, in spite of the challenges of COVID, Kilgraston has seen an increase in admissions enquiries and our strong pupil sign-up numbers.
You can read more on page of page eight of the latest edition of Scottish Business Insider magazine.
What is the view from your window?
Cityscapes, seaside views, countryside idylls: as you sit at home, learning or working during this latest lockdown, what is the view from your window?
Without the freedom to travel, during lock-down, the view from our own windows may have become monotonous, especially as from some of us, this is the third lock-down since March 2020.
So whilst we cannot be together physically, why not see where others are? With this in mind, we asked our wonderful Kilgraston family to share where they have been learning, teaching and working and these are some of the results (music is by Kilgraston’s Clarsach Group).
Being environmentally aware at Kilgraston
Looking after the planet and being environmentally aware are ongoing drives at Kilgaston with Kilgraston’s Headmistress, Mrs MacGinty leading the campaign. In recent years, Mrs MacGinty has led the staff and pupils to make changes to the school and their daily lives in a bid to do our bit to protect the environment.
These have included a wear it again day to promote the use of vintage fashion against fast fashion and its negative environmental impact. There are also regular assemblies on environmental issues and a no idling policy, which means visitors to the school are required to turn their engines off.
In 2020, Kilgraston’s Headmistress, Mrs MacGinty was a finalist at the i25 Awards. These awards celebrate the best in independent school sector, recognising the leading influencers and innovators. In this video, Mrs MacGinty, members of staff and pupils discuss some of these environmental projects and the impact these have made on Kilgraston.
Kilgraston alumnae presentation - Emily Dark
We always love to hear from Kilgraston alumnae and recently, Kilgraston was delighted to welcome back (virtually), Emily Dark.
Emily graduated from Kilgraston in 2017 and is now studying physics at St Andrews University. She has also played for Scotland and one to keep an eye on for the GB squad in future years.
In her talk to pupils, Emily chartered her hockey career from when she started playing at Kilgraston at the age of eight through to being Scotland’s youngest ever capped female player, to now, when she is training as part of the GB Elite Development Programme (EDP).
Emily, who plays all positions and in 2019 competed at the Senior European Championships in Glasgow 2019 where Scotland won gold and Emily won under 21 player of the tournament, also discussed how she’s dealt with set backs and how she has a mental attitude to never give up.
Thanks to Emily for a wonderful session. You can read more about Emily’s numerous successes here.
Fundraising by Kilgraston pupil
We are so proud of the latest fundraising by Kilgraston pupil, Lower Third’s Delilah.
She recently endured a night in sub zero temperatures, sleeping in a homemade igloo, and raised £1500 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) in the process.
Deliliah’s adventures were reported in local newspaper, The Courier, where her mum Rosie said:
“She said it was the best night’s sleep she has ever had. I had to wake her up at 8.45am, two hours later than usual.
“I think there was a wind chill of -15 degrees C, but she says she was really cosy.
“We checked on her during the night. Staying on a farm, she’s camped out lots before.”
You can still help Delilah with her fundraising, her JustGiving page remains open and we hope she will continue to raise funds for her very worthy cause. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/delilahsigloo
Image: Kenny Smith
Lent 2021 by Kilgraston’s Chaplain
This year, Ash Wednesday falls on 17th February. That means we are not too far away from enjoying our pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and beginning Lent on the Wednesday!
I wonder what you think of when you hear the word, ‘Lent’? Whether you are a Christian or not, a lot of people seem to only associate Lent with giving something up, usually something you enjoy. As such, getting excited about it – like Jeff in the cartoon – may seem a little odd!
Lent is so much more than finding it difficult to give something up! Lent is a special time in the Church’s calendar – a season of preparation and penance – with the intention of drawing closer to God and fully appreciating and celebrating the most important event in the Church’s year: Easter! It is a time to take a step back and look at who we are and how we are doing, and the perfect opportunity to form new life-giving habits and abandon old self-destructive habits.
Mr Allaker
Kilgraston virtual open day February 2021
Kilgraston hosted its third virtual open day at the weekend.
In place of the usual in person open day events, COVID has meant all of our open days have been virtual since March 2020.
The event saw a panel of senior staff, pupils and parents take part with information on the advantages of the Scottish Examination system, boarding and even what the food at Kilgraston is like (delicious was the unanimous pupil response).
With the ease of attendence, virtual open days are proving particularly popular with our international families.
In case you missed it, you can watch the virtual open day session below. You can also watch some of our previous open day videos for information on the Kilgraston experience.
If you would like to find out more about to apply to Kilgraston, please contact [email protected].
Rebecca’s story of lockdown learning
My lockdown learning
When the second lockdown started, everyone resorted to online learning but for some people like me, we were going into school for the key worker hub. I go into school on days when both of my parents are working.
We’ve all got an allocated desk so at first it was strange not moving around for each class but I am now used to it. It was really nice to see everyone at the hub and the rest of my class online. Once we finish our morning of online learning, our year group has lunch together and goes on a nice walk around our lovely campus.
It is nice to see all of the teachers supporting the hub and helping our parents by looking after us. I am really enjoying getting out the house and not looking at the same four walls all the time (even if it is only for two days).
Rebecca
You can also read Talia’s story here.
Kilgraston’s PE challenge - mountain climb challenge
From the Sydney Opera House and Mount Everest to Ben Nevis and Mount Snowdon, Kilgraston pupils have again been busy with their weekly PE challenge.
Recently, we’ve had a Chilli Challenge and the Tour of Scotland so now Mrs Ferry and the PE department asked our pupils to climb as many of the famous buildings and mountains on the challenge list as possible.
For one of our Upper Sixth pupil, this resulted in an outstanding performance on her bike. Lucy hit the trails, roads, and surrounding Perthshire highways and byways to cycle ALL the mountains from our Mountain Climb challenge, including Mount Everest, and all in one week!
Amazing effort, well done Lucy.
Kilgraston’s Junior School - Reception and Lower First virtual visit from the vet
In Kilgraston’s Junior School, Mrs Stewart’s Reception and Upper First are continuing with their ‘People Who Help Us’ class topic.
Recently this saw the pupils get a virtual visit from vet, Nicole, who works at Fair City Veterinary Group in Perth, and her dog, Walter.
Nicole gave a wonderful talk about her job. She showed the class some of the tools of the trade and used her ever patient dog to demonstrate bandaging a paw, listening for a heart beat and giving a vaccine. The children asked her an array of questions and thoroughly enjoyed the stories she told. They wrote about the talk in their diaries and here are a few of them.
Many of the people who help us most in the community are key workers, which is very topical at the moment. The children have each chosen one particular job to study and are busy making a poster which will show pictures and information about it. Many have relatives who are working in one of these fields which includes The Mountain Rescue, several nurses and care workers, farmers and of course, teachers.