Excerpts from the Boswells Bulletin - Summer 2008

BOSWELLS BULLETIN – SUMMER 2008

Summer holidays are nearly here – by the time you read this we will be involved in Mid Summer Week at St Boswells and raring to go to all the events and activities. Hopefully you didn’t miss all the posters and flyers and you did well in the Hidden Talent Show too!

Our Rocking Reporters this issue have been:-
Erin Laidlaw, Gemma Watson, Alisha Mann, Molly Burns, Caitlin Jackson, Megan Shepherd, Ella Warner, James Ross, Spencer McCann, and Zoe Bruce.

As all our regular readers and contributors know the Boswells Bulletin is sponsored by Agrimart and all monies raised go to help children at the Nserester Orphanage in Uganda. So far, we have been able to send them many bicycles and to help towards paying for a tractor. On Page 21 we have a letter from our lovely friend Atty who has now returned to Nserester.

Have a Happy, Sunny Summer Holidays and enjoy St Boswells Mid Summer Week.
from The Rocking Reporters !

News from St Boswells Primary School

Art Exhibition
by Erin Laidlaw, P6
Mrs Hargreave, who is a curriculum support art teacher, came to our school for a watercolour day. Every pupil painted a picture. We all enjoyed Mrs Hargreave’s visit and hope she will come back to the school soon. Each picture was then framed and displayed at the Parents Evenings. Parents could purchase their child’s watercolour.

Number Olympics
Each year Primary 1,2 and 3 have a Number Olympics – a fun event that helps with maths and number work. Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s games.

Open afternoon
by Gemma Watson, P6
On Thursday 15th May from 1.15 p.m. we had an open afternoon. All parents and friends were welcome. Pupils were able to show friends and family the school and what we have been doing. Every one of us was given a free pottery bowl to celebrate the school’s 50th birthday last year. In the hall there was tea and biscuits available for the adults. There was also a little show performed by P1/2 and 3. It was about Mrs Mople and her large knickers! P3/4 read out some passages and entertained the adults with a few songs. It was definitely a day to remember!

Playground Games
by Erin Laidlaw, P6
Every Thursday the primary sixes go to learn playground games with Derek Napier, our Active Schools Co-ordinator. We are all in groups and each group has two games to learn. When we are finished the block we will teach the games to the Primary 1 / 2 class. At the end of each session we play games which is the best part. We all enjoy the games and can’t wait to teach them to the infants.

School Travel Plan
by Erin Laidlaw, P6
Our school has started a new plan called Walk Once A Week which encourages pupils to walk to school. At the end of each week if you have walked at least once you get a small prize. I think this is a good way of encouraging people not to take the car. There was also a competition for the School Travel Plan front cover which Thomas Fleming in P7 won.
We are grateful to Mrs Alison Reid for judging them.

Primary 7 School Trip to Dukeshouse Wood, near Hexham
by Ella Warner P7

On the 28th April the P7’s set out to Dukeshouse Wood. We went by bus and it took us 2 hours to get there.
When we arrived we met our group leader, Amanda. She was really friendly and gave us a few sweets!! Amanda gave us a tour of the centre and then showed us our rooms. All the girls shared a room which had three bunk beds and a shower room.
We were really excited about doing all the activities which included aeroball, the climbing wall, lazar, Zip line and scrap. There were many more events but these were my favourites. There was lots of mud and it was fun to get really dirty and not worry about it. I took lots of old clothes and my wellies.
Thank you to Mrs Mabon and to Mrs Ballantyne for helping us during the week and joining in and having fun with us. I really enjoyed myself at Dukeshouse Wood and I’m sure my class mates did too.

Golf
This term we learned to play golf with Derek Napier. He taught us how to play golf and was a really good instructor. The first shot he taught us was the chip shot. The second was the drive shot and the third was the putting shot. Joel won the prize money which was £2.50. Golf was really great and we would love to do it again.
By Zoe Bruce and Fraser Henry P5

Hi Folks from the Fairways and Greens of St Boswells Golf Club.

As usual, it’s very busy on the course as the season is now fully under way. We held the qualifying for the Junior Daily Telegraph last week and, after a very close tournament, Craig Jackson lifted the coveted Daily Telegraph shirt for the second time. We held our Under 18s Championship Quarterfinals on Monday and there were some very close games with Craig Jackson, Ian Millar, Cairn Rae and Glen Ross Oxton winning and now playing in the Semis. On to the Under 14s Championship, Martin Dodds, Andrew Robertson, Peter Vint and Cameron Marshall have all made it through to their Semis.
The Morrison Shield was won by Gavin Robertson and the Jubilee Trophy was won by Lyle Oxton.
Away from St Boswells, the Borders Boys Matchplay Championships were recently held at Selkirk Golf Club over 2 days. Glen Ross Oxton was beaten in the Semis on the second day but put up a good fight, well done! It’s now time for the Juniors to play in all the Junior Opens coming up soon which is a very busy time for them, so best of luck. That’s the news so far, I will keep you updated later in the year on how the season finished.
P.S. If there is anyone who would like to join us, 4pm on Mondays is for beginners. You will be made very welcome.
Cheers
Chris Hardie, Junior Convenor, St Boswells Golf Club

Special Sports Day
by Molly Burns, P6
On Friday 9th May I was off school to go to a really special sports day. People who have learning or physical disabilities were welcome to come along. I met many children and tried out many new things including golf, tennis, football, athletics and curling. I really enjoyed it so much and I have to say a big thank you to all the coaches. It was great also that one of the people that helps with the Special Olympics was there too – Jed Renilson. It was a great day and hopefully there will be plenty of young athletes for the future.

New Horse
by Alisha Mann, P6
My mum has a new horse and his name is Dillon. He is 16 hands high and two inches. He is 16 years old.

Visit Local Places – Grave of Lady Lilliard
by Caitlin Jackson and Alisha Mann, P6
If you walk from Maxton to Harestanes – part of the St Cuthberts Way, you will see just beside the path the grave of Lady Lilliard. The story about her is that she is the heroine of the Battle of Ancrum which was in 1545. Her boyfriend was fighting and was killed by the English so Lady Lilliard went out into the battlefield to take her revenge. She was badly wounded but she was so brave she fought on until she died. On the grave there is a poem:-

“Fair maiden Lilliard lies under this stane
Little was her stature, but muckle was her fame;
Upon the English loons she laid mony thumps
And when her legs were cuttit off, she fought upon her stumps.”

If you go on the Dere Street Walk during St Boswells Mid Summer Week (Tuesday evening) you will pass this grave and hear this and other interesting stories from our guide, John Wood.

Primary 1 & 2 Visited the St Andrews Arts Centre
by Zoe Bruce, P5
On the 27th May P1/2 class went to the St Andrews Art Centre in Galashiels. I asked Finlay Warner in Primary 2 what he had done there. First of all they did drama and then some music. They played different instruments. They also made masks which we can see in the school. Everybody enjoyed their day.

School Sports
We have been enjoying new sporting experiences. Primary 6/7 has been involved in tag rugby and they took part in the Johnstone Cup at Melrose and in the New Image Rugby Festival at Netherdale. The team had a photograph taken beside the famous Calcutta Cup! Primary 5 pupils have been enjoying a block of golf coaching with Derek Napier, our Active Schools Co-Ordinator.

Choices For Life, Ingliston
by Ella Warner, P7
On the 21st of May 2008 P7 went to Edinburgh to the Royal Highland Centre. We travelled by bus with another P7 class from Parkside. It only took an hour and when we got there it was really busy and very noisy. Once we had taken our seats the show began about eleven o’clock.
Choices For Life is aimed at helping P7 pupils make important decisions about topics like drugs, alcohol and tobacco. It is about living a healthy lifestyle and includes tips on how to avoid peer pressure.
There was a choir who sang a song about choices for life and then a few bands sang some of their songs. The McDonald Brothers and Keith (from Dalkeith) were among the bands.
After that we watched a section of Paul’s story and also the first part of Stacey’s choice. Both of these were shown on large screens.
There were a couple more bands and then the second part of Paul’s story and Stacey’s choices and there were many other events and it was really fun, I would definitely like to go again.

Our Amazing Jubilee Present
Every child in St Boswells Primary School received a beautiful bowl, made at Smailholm Pottery to celebrate the School’s Jubilee. The bowls were funded by the St Boswells Parents & Friends Partnership and it shows the School name, logo and 1957 – 2007.
Thank you from everyone who received one – they will be treasured.

My New Pet
by Megan Shepherd, P6
On the 9th of May I got a new puppy. She is a brown and white Springer Spaniel called Tilly. There were six puppies in the litter and Tilly was the smallest (and cutest!). She loves to run around but sometimes gets excited and tries to nibble people. I love Tilly to pieces and I am very excited to watch her grow up. I am looking forward to walking her with my friend Ella and her dog Badger. I think that the two dogs will get along well!.

Melrose Rugby Cup Final
by Ella Warner, P7
On Saturday 3rd May 2008 my family went to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh to watch Melrose play Heriots in the Rugby Cup Final. There were lots of Melrose supporters, 10 buses and lots of cars. There was even a piper to play during the match. It was a great atmosphere and everyone was singing, cheering and the pipes were playing in the stand. Melrose played very well and won the match. It was great at the end to be very close to the players when they received the Cup and sprayed champagne on each other. There was a pipe band just outside the ground playing for them and then they played at the Melrose clubhouse when the players came back. We went home after the game but my dad went to the evening celebrations.

Cubs Report
by Molly Burns, P6
At Cubs we were lucky enough to have someone who was born in Africa come and talk to us about his country. He talked about the food, language, education, transport and homes in Africa. We found out much about his homeland and many other good things. We had great fun making African masks. We thank everyone who helped out for making this great night happen.

Summer Holiday Ideas
by Zoe Bruce, P5
Things to do in the summer holidays in your free time:-
1. You could go on holiday. Or you could....
2. Explore around the riverbank. (Take your parents - Be Safe!)
3. Go to Harestanes and play in the adventure playground then have an ice lolly.
4. Go to Floors Castle and play in the park on the Flying Fox.
5. Have a picnic at Smailholm Tower and climb on the rocks round it.
6. Go to Bowhill House near Selkirk and slide down the big slide.

How to Grow Coriander
by James Ross, P6
You will need:
A pot more than 20cm
Some compost
Coriander seeds
A watering can that’s full
A trowel
A 30cm long ruler

Method
First fill the pot with compost and water it with the watering can. Next make 1.5cm (half an inch) deep holes spaced out at least half a centimetre apart. Drop in the seeds. After that cover up seeds with compost. Finally, water regularly. Seedlings will appear within 14-21 days. Plant more seeds every 2-3 weeks, harvest between April and October. Both the leaves and the seeds can be harvested. When harvesting seeds dry and store in an air tight container. Seeds have a spicy aroma.

St Boswells Lunch Club
We enjoy going along to the Lunch Club on Fridays in the Church Hall. There will be a break for the summer, with the last one on 27th June, re-commencing on 22nd August.

Brunch in the Boswells Church Hall
After the joint service on Sunday 27th June there will be a brunch at 11.30am in St Boswells Church Hall in aid of Church Funds. £7.50 per person payable on the day.
Numbers are limited to about 80 so book early, call Shenagh Ellershaw to book on 01835 823445.

A Few Garden Tips from Peter Warner
You will be all ready for summer by the time you read this with vegetables growing and flowers blooming. There are still jobs to do...
June
Stake tall growing perennials; dead head and feed roses; prune clematis Montana if necessary once flowering is over; put out house plants and cool conservatory plants.
Sow French Runner and Broad Beans and try Sweetcorn directly into prepared beds.
Continue with sowing of salad crops to ensure an even supply throughout the season.
July
In dry weather continue to hoe off weed seedlings.
Harvest salad, carrots, potatoes, beets, courgettes; pinch out tomatoes & climbing beans.
Take semi ripe cuttings and propagate hebe, lavender, rosemary.
August
Lift onions garlic and shallots when ready and the necks start to turn brown and papery.
Pick fast maturing vegetables such as cucumbers, runner beans, courgettes and tomatoes.
Finish harvesting second early potatoes, especially if it is wet as this will encourage slugs to become more active.

Newtown St Boswells & District Horticultural Association have their 124th Annual Flower Show in the Community Wing in Newtown St Boswells – Sunday 24th August 2008 Show Opens at 2pm,
Call Shenagh Ellershaw 01835 823445 for more details.

Film Reviews

Bridge to Terabithia
by Erin Laidlaw, P6
This is an amazing film about a boy and girl who become friends and invent a magical land which they name Terabithia. There is a sad part. There is also a bully called Janice who is also in Terabithia but she turns out to be ok. The boy also takes his little sister to Terabithia. I really enjoyed the film and rate it ***** 5 stars.

Horton Hears a Who
by Gemma Watson, P6
I really enjoyed the film Horton Hears a Who. It was really funny and I especially liked the elephant, Horton. The movie is about an elephant who claims there is a world living on a speck. It turns out he was correct! The world is called Whoville and the creatures are the Whos. I don’t like the kangaroo. She was evil but in the end she became good. I rate this film at **** 4 stars.

Book Reviews

Horrible Histories – Rotten Rulers
I recently finished reading a Horrible Histories book by Terry Deary called Rotten Rulers and it was brilliant! It was all about past and present rulers of the world. It told you some really horrible things that rulers have done. For example did you know that Roman Emperor Elagabalus (AD 203-222) ordered a slave to collect 500 kilos of spiders webs. The slave failed and was eaten alive by starving rats! Did you also know that Ivan The Terrible of Russia (1530-1584) loved his new church St Basils so much he rewarded the men who had built it by blinding them! Ivan didn’t want them to build something better! I would recommend that you read this book. I am giving it ***** 5 stars
Claire Bridges, Earlston High School, S2

Rob The Roman Gets Eaten By A Lion (nearly) – by Scoular Anderson
Rob the Roman is a super book to read. It is a funny story with cartoons which makes history fun. I won’t give too much away but it has a super twist in the middle. It might also help you to brush up on your history. I recommend it to all who want a quick funny read and give it ***** 5 stars. Molly Burns, P6

Horrid Henry’s Mega-Mean Time Machine! by Francesca Simon
Horrid Henry is a very naughty child who is always torturing his younger brother, Perfect Peter. In this book he meets an angry bull, travels to the future, and Peter gets his revenge and he eats snails!
A must have for young children, I give this book **** 4 stars.
Molly Burns, P6

Dragonology
Dragonology is one excellent book of the ology series. All based on the magic world with fun puzzle books too. It’s a very interesting series to start and with facts to wow your friends. There are great illustrations to bring the magic to life. If you’re a big fan of the series or you want to start you should go to the Borders Book Festival and book your tickets. Why? Because the new book of the series is on sale at the festival and the author will talk about it. But you could enter the Boswells Bulletin competition and win a pair of tickets. I’m a big fan of the series and I will give the series five stars *****
Molly Burns , P6

Nothing to do in the summer holidays?
Why not make a Scarecrow!!! Then bring him or her to the Green on Saturday 12 July at 1pm for the great
Scarecrow competition
Judging starts at 2pm and you could win a great prize!!!
In conjunction with Scotland’s Gardens scheme, St Boswells is holding a scarecrow competition on the Green. Any enquiries telephone Pooee Pitman 01835823155

St Boswells Primary School Garden

Our Garden
We are studying plants & are making a garden. First we decided as a group what we were going to be putting in the plant beds. Next we refined our ideas to make one big plan. We decided to grow sweet corn, tomatoes, courgettes, carrots, peas, lettuce, strawberries & raspberries. Then we all designed a logo for the company. We voted for the one that we thought was the best. The one that won was by Rowan Cunningham. We wrote to the P.F.P asking for help and we e-mailed the countryside ranger to ask which plants would encourage wildlife and mini-beasts. Finally we look forward to having made a difference to the school grounds. By Anna McGowan, P3/4

Hi I am Rebecca Oliver and our class P3/4 are making a garden. We decided to put vegetables in the garden. These are the things we are putting in courgettes, carrots, lettuce, peas, strawberries, and raspberries. We wrote to the PFP to see if they could help us. We planted some sun-flowers to see what would turn out like to see if we would plant them or not. We e-mailed the countryside ranger asking for help. We designed a badge for our club. The winner of designing the badge was Rowan Cunningham. By Rebecca Oliver, P3/4
THANK YOU

In the St Boswells Primary School garden raised beds for planting and picnic tables and benches have been created for us by the Community Service Team, top soil has been donated by Dylan White and the PFP, Bill Dodds from Buccleuch Plants has donated a HUGE number of plants and the whole school have been busy planting. Mrs Wilson’s P3/4 class have grown plants and vegetables from seed. There have been many helpers including amazing organising from Lynsey White, and hard labour from Dylan White, Peter Warner, Richard Brown, Claire Townsend, Sarah Clark, Jill Brown and Jordan Turnbull (sorry if we have excluded anyone!). An After-School Activity session was organised to make a mosaic sign for the garden and bird boxes. Thank you to everyone involved so far. It is going to be an important part of our School going forward and there is more to do so please help if you can.

Rusty Rackets at St Boswells Tennis Club
Rusty Rackets are going strong on a Monday morning at St Boswells Tennis Club. Come along, whether you have played before or not and hit some balls and have a chat. Every Monday at 9.15am. We have a Professional Coach, Suzanne, on hand to give guidance.
Telephone Lucy - 01835 840389 for further details or just turn up!

St Boswells Junior Cricket
Come along to Junior Cricket on a Tuesday evening from 6pm-7.30pm. All P1 – P7 welcome.
Contact Alan Church for more details.

St Boswells Junior Football Club - Under 8's
The youngsters have enjoyed a very successful second half of the season with some entertaining games in the past few weeks .Congratulations to all the boys and girls who have taken part.....some very encouraging performances which bodes well for the future. Scores are unimportant at this level. To be honest I lost track of the scores on some occasions, but I am sure that if Jamie B and Connor S claimed 50p for every goal scored their fathers pockets are much lighter!! Thanks also to all the parents who came along and helped out - much appreciated.
St Boswells Junior football Club - Annual Presentation day - 14th June at St Boswells Rugby Club - 2pm onwards - BBQ and Fun Day...
All players and family & friends invited to come along.
The club are looking for adults to help in training a number of age groups next season – if you are interested please call me on 01835 822337.
Brian Smith

St. Boswells Curling Club
The Club held its AGM recently at St. Boswells Golf Club. A social evening followed with last season’s prizes being presented. The new President is Robert Forsyth. We are looking for new members to come along and join us. It doesn’t matter if you have never played before. You can learn throughout the season. We play at the Border Ice Rink at Kelso from late September to early March. The number of games in a season varies depending on how many competitions you play. You can also be a reserve for the Club so you can play in just a few games. It’s good fun and helps keep you fit. There are coaching sessions being held at the Ice Rink at the start of next season, so you can give it a try. If you are interested in joining the Curling Club or if you would like more details please contact Isla Forsyth on 01573 460222 or go to http://www.boswellscc.fsnet.co.uk and email us.

REPRESENTATIVE RUGBY
Mark Stewart enjoyed the experience of playing with Borders U16s towards the end of the rugby season, despite being on the wrong end of the results in all except one match. In the Inter District tournament they beat Caledonia, but were defeated by both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Then there was a weekend tour to Yorkshire, which was a great experience, despite the two defeats by a big, strong Yorkshire side and the Scottish Exiles.

ATHLETICS - BORDER GAMES
The Games season got underway at Earlston at the end of May and continues throughout the Borders over the summer. For more info see www.bordersathletics.co.uk
Local contenders will include Neil Vint, Ker Rodgie, Robbie Shirra Gibb, Matthew Richard, Elliot Ruthven, Suzanna Ruthven, Craig Jackson and Arran Jackson. Good running to you all!

News from Earlston High School

We asked two of our former Rocking Reporters how they found their first year at Earlston High School:-

First Year of High School

Hi; I’m a Rocking Reporter from last year, and I have recently become an S2(!). My first year of high school has been scary, but fun. I hope to give some advice to those coming up to high school soon.
I am in class 1F (now 2F), and though settling in and making friends has been difficult, I can guarantee that this year’s first years will have great fun on their two-day visit. My first year has been enjoyable – not all aspects, though (such as some of the teachers!). Also, an unfortunate fact is that all of the rest of the school seem to hate first years! (This is one of my favourite things about moving into second year.)
I remember that on your first few days of school, you were not told which teachers or classrooms you were in, so some new first years may have trouble, though sixth-year guides try to help you for the first week. Being late for classes is not particularly punished in the first month or so, but it is safer to keep in the teachers’ good books.
Going down the street is banned for the first six months, but even after that, there isn’t that much to buy there. I usually stick to the canteen.
I wish the new first-years good luck when they come up! Be confident and interesting.
Elliot Douglas (2F)

I am now in second year at Earlston High School and I am really enjoying it. All the subjects I had in first year are still on my timetable except I have different teachers from first year as well as a new timetable.
The only new subject I have is German. I like German much more than French because the language is quite similar to English. I still enjoy most of the subjects especially English and Science. All my new teachers are really nice and helpful.
Claire Bridges (S2)

EARLSTON HIGH SCHOOL SHOW
The annual summer show is fast approaching and it’s ‘Anything Goes’ this year. There will be many pupils from St Boswells involved in the production and the shows are renowned for their professionalism. You have to be quick to get your ticket from the school office though!

Don’t Be Bored This Summer Holiday
Try "Tubing" at Hillend Ski Centre in Edinburgh. From Age 5 - 12 years old. Sit in a giant donut and slide down the slope. You can go as fast or slow as you like. Great idea for a party or just a group of friends getting together!
By Joe Church, P7

Herbal Medicine: plants and healing
by Claire Banks BSc MNIMH

The Lime Trees lining the Green at St Boswells are familiar to everyone, but did you know that the flowers can help reduce high blood pressure, fight a fever, relieve anxiety and promote good sleep?
Gardeners among you will be more than familiar with dandelions, nettles and sticky willy. While you may think of them as weeds, herbalists value them for their medicinal properties: dandelion leaf is diuretic and the root stimulates digestion, nettles reduce allergic reactions and are a good source of iron, and sticky willy stimulates the lymphatic system. These days it may seem a strange idea to treat illness with medicines made from plants, but plants were the first drugs, and, in fact, many pharmaceuticals are based on plant chemicals.
Aspirin is copied from salicylic acid, a chemical which naturally occurs in Meadowsweet which will soon be flowering along the River Tweed. Just using one chemical however can lead to side effects. A common side effect of aspirin is stomach irritation.
Herbalists believe that using all the chemicals in the whole plant reduces the possibility of side effects and in the case of Meadowsweet, the whole plant actually heals gastric inflammation whether caused by drugs, ulcers or infection.
There are hundreds of medicinal plants and Herbalists use medicines made from native wild plants as well as those from other parts of the world to treat a wide variety of conditions affecting any part of the body and it is suitable for anyone of any age.

Herb Walks: If you would like to learn more about the healing properties of native wild plants, join Claire for a herb walk at Sorrowlessfield Centre near Earlston on Sundays 15th, June, 20th July or 17th August at 2pm. Free of charge, but places are limited so please phone ahead to book. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult, walking shoes are recommended.

St Boswells Brownies
This term some Brownies have moved on to Guides and we currently have 20 Brownies at St Boswells. We have had a very busy term with the girls completing their Road Safety badge. They all received free items from the road safety packs. We are now undertaking a new badge which is the Healthy Heart badge. The girls are learning about what are the right kinds of foods to eat to keep their bodies healthy. This badge will take a couple of weeks to complete as some parts are being done at home. On 27th May we are having a visit from 2nd Melrose Brownies, all 24 of them. They had been away on camp at Netherurd earlier on (which I was lucky enough to attend) and they are coming to share their experiences with our unit. We also hope to get outside and play some games with them. We were visited by our County Registration secretary Kate Dalgliesh who is doing a sterling job. Our Brownies finish for the summer holidays on the 10th of June. That night we will be having a sponsored walk from St Boswells to Melrose in aid of Leukaemia Research. We will hopefully have a picnic on the way and finish with an ice cream in Melrose. Parents are going to be walking with us and others will be at the finish line to transport the children home. We really appreciate all the help that parents give us on these outings.
I must also say a huge thank you to Carol Oliver, (Unit Helper) Amy Osmond and Alison Melrose (both young leaders with the Brownies) who have all helped tremendously this year. We will be welcoming two new Brownies after the summer holidays who have moved here from Melrose. So make sure you all have a good and safe holiday and we look forward to seeing you all after the summer. Doreen Osmond

St Boswells Guides
We have had a busy year of working towards badges, a visit to the swimming pool and dance instruction. We had a lovely barbeque for Ella at the Bruce’s farm, as she is leaving St Boswells School Primary 7 this year. Thank you to everyone involved in organising and helping with that. On June 10th we held a successful sponsored walk from St Boswells Primary School to Melrose Nutwood Park..Well done to all Guides, parents and Guiders who walked that evening in aid of Children with Leukaemia. Guides will recommence on Tuesday 26th August – have a lovely Summer Holidays!
Fiona Taylor and Doreen Osmond.

Mars Bar Cake
6 Mars bars
Tub of margarine
Slab of cooking chocolate
1 litre of rice crispies
Chop the Mars bars into small slices. Melt the Mars bars in a pan. Add 8ozs of margarine. Add the rice crispies. Spread mixture on to a tray. Melt the cooking chocolate and smooth over the top of the tray. Put it in the fridge to set and then cut into squares.
Mathew Henry, P7

Remember, Remember – no, not the 5th of November but the 30th of June, the start of the Summer Holidays
Champions Challenge –
Is a five-day holiday programme, focussing on the events from Jesus’ life based on Luke’s Gospel, and packed with lots of activities for groups, and creative teaching in games, songs and crafts.
We are running a holiday Club for primary age boys and girls from Monday 30th June to Friday 4th July – 10.00am to 12.00 noon in St Boswells Church Hall.
There will be a service of introduction to the week on Sunday 29th June, and an all age participation service on Sunday 6th July in St Boswells Church at 10.30 am. So if you are not on holiday, look out for the registration forms which will be given to your children during this month via the school.
A plea to adults!
Are you available the first week of the school holidays and would like to be part of the ground staff for Champions Challenge? There are many jobs and we need people to fill them: From Grandstand Presenters to Craft Teams. If you are interested – even just curious as to what you could do in Champions Challenge – come along to the planning meetings: Tuesday 27th May, Tuesday 10th June, Thursday 26th June all at 7.30 pm in St Boswells Church Hall.

St Boswells Parents & Friends Partnership (PFP)

After school activity - The after school activity session is almost up and running – we will keep parents posted.
School Garden - Primary 3/4 have been designing layouts for the new garden boxes. The PFP have part funded the garden project. Thanks to Bill Dodds for the generous donation of plants and Pete Warner for his advice and support.
Mid Summer Week - Preparations are well underway for the Mid-Summer week by the PFP and other organisations in the village. A full programme with all the week’s events will be available.
Raffle - As usual the PFP have organised a raffle, there are loads of fantastic prizes. Tickets go on sale early June with the draw taking place on Sunday 22nd. So if you haven’t got your ticket do so now!!
Happy Birthday - All school children should now have their St Boswells Primary School bowl. These were specially commissioned to celebrate the school’s 50th birthday and were funded by the PFP.

Remember parents, grandparents and friends all welcome to PFP meetings. All help, large or small, will be greatly appreciated.

Contacts: Lynne Church (Chair) Tel: 823958 or Linda Ross (Clerk) Tel: 822645

Village Hall Report

St Boswells Village Hall Committee held their AGM on 6th May. It has been a good year for the Hall, with refurbishments made possible by fund raising and lottery funding including the kitchen, new vinyl, carpets and fans in the main hall. The purpose of the fans is to push the heat back down into the hall in winter and to keep us cool in summer. Thank you to everyone who was part of the refurbishments, from fund raising and form filling, to planning and organising to installing and decorating.

We have new members on the Hall Committee this year; we welcome them and thank them for their help and enthusiasm.

Our main fundraising events are held during the Mid Summer Week. We are pleased to host the Car Treasure Hunt on Wednesday evening followed by Soup in the Hall; the Fun Whist, Dominoes and Connect4 on Thursday evening after the Beat the Retreat; and the Family Disco on Saturday evening. The Mid Summer Week is a great week to get together with friends and neighbours and to raise some money for all the groups in the Village – the School, Nursery, playgroup and Toddlers, Junior Football Club and the Village Hall.

We have plans and ideas for the Village Hall for the forthcoming year to improve this fantastic community space. In the meantime, please make use of the Hall for your next meeting or event. To book the Hall - call Jennifer White on 822648.

Our next public meeting will be on Tuesday 5th August 2008 at 6.30pm in the Lesser Hall.

Goodbye to the Hillside Shop
by Megan Shepherd, P6
The Rocking Reporters would like to say “Goodbye and Thank You” to the Hillside Shop. I thought it was a great place to buy bits and bobs that I needed. I also bought rabbit food for a reasonable price. We would like to wish you all the best for the future.

St Boswells Badminton Club
The St Boswells Badminton Junior and Intermediate groups have had a very busy and successful season. After hours of coaching on Thursday nights in the Village Hall the children have improved their skills and abilities. This has enabled them to enter several competitions earlier this year:-
Border Schools Secondary Championships (Singles & Doubles)
on Sunday 27th January 2008.
Under 14 yrs, Galashiels Academy
Elspeth Jackson William Salton
Claire Bridges Murray Bryce
Under 16 yrs, Earlston High School
Lyle Oxton Cairn Rae
Under 18 yrs,
Ben Rodrigooz Glen Oxton
Lee Douglas James Kirkby Organ
Glen Oxton got through to the Singles Quarter Finals.

Border Primary Schools Competition (Singles only)
on Saturday 16th February – Galashiels Academy
Daniel Murdoch
Louis Blacklock
Matthew Henry
Louis Blacklock got through to the Singles Quarter Finals.

Duns Badminton Primary School Competition (Singles and Doubles)
on Saturday 1st March 2008 – Berwickshire High School
Daniel Murdoch
Louis Blacklock
Matthew Henry
Daniel Murdoch got through to the Singles Quarter Finals.

I would like to thank the children for being so enthusiastic and also thank Fiona Jackson, Karen Blacklock and Karen Lawrie for all their coaching support. It has been great to see the kids having fun and achieving so much.

Winners of the St Boswells Badminton Club Ker Cup this year were Audrey Rae and Glen Oxton winning all their games.

The last Junior and Intermediate night was on the 20th March with Senior Badminton Cup Night on the 27th March 2008. Well done!
Audrey Rae, Club Secretary

BRICK FM103 – Community Radio
You will be able to hear this issue on the radio soon as the Rocking Reporters have recorded it for Brick FM 103.
Brick FM are looking for people from St Boswells or Newtown who would like to present their own shows on Brick FM Community Radio. If you are interested or would like to learn how to record your own show please contact Jessie Rae on 01835 823503 or email brickfm@brickfm.co.uk. It is absolutely free!

News from Atty in Nserester, Uganda
Dear all,
On behalf of the Chief Director, Staff and students, I express our overwhelmed gratitude to whoever has stood with Nserester Orphanage in prayer, financial and material support. You have brought hope and smiles to many Orphans and needy children. Everyone here is grateful for your contributions; many lives are continuing to change for the better. Quite a lot of projects are improving; your contributions are of great help. It was lovely to meet and know whoever contributes something to Nserester. We are so thankful for the love and care you hold in your heart for the suffering children; we pray it will forever keep you young!
I wish to thank the Rocking Reporters and their great helpers Hilary and Kate for their commitment of producing a St. Boswells Bulletin that raises funds to make a difference in the lives of our needy students. My lovely friends “Rocking Reporters”, I shared the photographs I am with you with the students you endeavour to help and they are wondering how you who are below their age can report such information and your love for the needy! As you know, everyone here knows that UK is a developed Country and knows that everyone is rich no matter what! I told them that they should also know how determined and how hard you all work to achieve and maintain the development.
It was great joy when I visited the UK I enjoyed the whole of my stay and learnt a lot with the lovely Lee family at Sandystones. This family did a lot for me; I am very much thankful and grateful to them all. I safely returned to Uganda and I am progressing well with my duties at Nserester Orphanage. Many thanks to everyone I met for being so lovely, kind and generous, the joy we shared made my visit so special. I am so glad to have met you; I really do miss every one. I am grateful for the love you all showed me that will never be washed out of my heart and mind. There is a lot that make me remember your kindness and I always offer you a prayer. May we all be richly blessed by God as He works in our minds, energies and lives. Greetings to you all from Nserester students and Staff, they are so thankful for your generosity. Thank you so much for all you do for us. The Lord bless you all abundantly.
Atwiya Nakirijja, Secretary – Nserester Orphanage

ST BOSWELLS NURSERY, PLAYGROUP AND TODDLERS

With only a few weeks left it is hard to believe we are approaching the end of another session. This term the nursery has been looking at the emergency services which included a trip to the BGH and a police visit to the setting.

We have also been using our NHS Borders Food Grant to discover fruit, making smoothies and yoghurts – you may have been lucky enough to have sampled some during their tasting session out in the community. In addition, the children have been getting ready for the step up to school with trips to the playground, lining-up at home time and the weekly school club.

Playgroup has been looking at all things to do with transport: carrying out a traffic survey, making trains out of junk and lots of songs, games and stories about cars, aeroplanes and bicycles. The younger children have also benefitted from a new weekly activity session run by Mini-Kickers involving all different types of balls, for example mini-basketball.

Some of the children made and sold some very tasty Carrot Cake to tie in with our trip the Donkey Sanctuary. It was a cold morning but that didn’t stop a large number of nursery, playgroup and especially toddlers from going to see and feed Donovan (who we have been able to sponsor again this year) and all his friends.

There is still alot to squeeze in before the end of term with our annual summer trip - this year to JedForest Deer Park, sports day - this year including a sponsored obstacle race to help raise funds to complete the play park and our very own end of term graduation lunch.

Thank you to everyone who helped organise or supported our successful Car Boot Sale in May our final fundraiser of the year, although we will be involved in some of the Midsummer Week events. As always, thank you to all our staff especially our relief staff who have been particularly busy this year and step in, often at short notice, to help us out.

And finally, a big thank you to all parents, grandparents, carers and, of course, the children for another fun and successful year. Enjoy the summer holidays.

St Boswells Lawn Tennis Club
The tennis season is well under way with plenty of matches for junior and senior members. The club was runner-up in the Winter League having had a good campaign. Both men and women are fielding two teams in each division of the doubles leagues – with variable success to date.

Juniors have continued with coaching outdoors and have been busy since April on Friday evenings with matches from West Linton to Berwick and most clubs in between. The boys Under 12 team of Daniel Murdoch, William Blair, Thomas Fleming and Matthew Henry and the girls Under 12 team of Francesca Blair, Nicola Bruce, Kitty Webster and Rebecca Bruce have had some cracking matches with some great results. Each team member plays one singles match followed by a doubles so it is a busy night. The confidence levels have risen enormously since the season started which bodes well for the forthcoming Junior Confined and other tournaments during the summer.
Junior members have competed in the Waverley Open in late April, the East of Scotland Open in mid May, the Road to Wimbledon South finals earlier this month and the 14&Under Kelso tournament. The Borders Junior Confined is being held at Kelso in early August.
Rusty Rackets has been ongoing since February, a qualified coach is on hand to guide and encourage, so if you have not tried it yet, give Lucy a call on 01835 840389.

Lynne Bruce

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