Reflections on 2012

As my first year at Gillespie’s draws to a close I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what has been a most enjoyable, successful and busy year. On taking up office in January I was immediately struck by the strong sense of community and unity of purpose that prevails in the school. Pupils and staff are proud of the school and enjoy working together. Parents are engaged in the life of the school and they are quick to support when their child needs that little bit of extra encouragement to do his/her best.  This united approach will ensure that our school will continue to grow and develop and overcome the challenges that lie in store.

The challenges overcome this year include the implementation of management restructuring and the continuing successful implementation of Curriculum for Excellence.  The teamwork and unity of purpose I referred to earlier contributed significantly to us successfully completing the management restructuring before the summer holiday and ensuring the change of timetable in early June went ahead as scheduled. In June of this year our new S3 were the first to embark on the new Curriculum for Excellence courses that will lead to National 4 and 5 certificates. I am delighted at the progress they are making and am confident that they will be successful in the new exams in the summer of 2014. Our new Curriculum and Pupil Support Leaders have settled in well to their new roles and are working hard to ensure that our school continues to grow and thrive.

Towards the end of the summer we learned that our examination results were, once again, among the best in Scotland.  From what I have witnessed as I visit classrooms across the school and talk to pupils, staff and parents, I am confident that next year’s results will be equally as good, if not better. We will achieve this by continuing to work hard and having the highest expectations of each other.

After the summer we bade farewell to a number of long serving staff and welcomed several new staff to our wider team. As we prepare pupils for a world that continues to change it is essential that we continuously challenge, review and adapt the service that we provide. Throughout the year we have benefitted from the new perspectives and innovative ideas brought to the school by the new staff that have joined us.

Throughout 2012 we have continued to work towards making the necessary arrangements for the building of our new school, which is scheduled to begin on 1 July 2013, with an anticipated completion date towards the end of 2015. We are excited at the prospect of a brand new building with ‘state of the art’ facilities being available to us.

As we prepare to go to press, pupils in S4 are in the midst of their prelims and pupils in S5 and S6 are getting ready for their prelims which begin in the latter half of January.  We wish them every success in these exams.

As a busy and productive term draws to a close we are all looking forward to a restful break over Christmas with our families.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff, pupils and parents for your continued hard work, support and endeavours throughout 2012 and I wish everyone a very happy Christmas and a prosperous and successful new year. (Bliadhna mhath ùr agus Nollaig chridheil dhuibh uile).

Donald J Macdonald (Headteacher)

The Importance Of Being Earnest

On the evening of Friday 7 December the students of James Gillespie's staged this wonderful Oscar Wilde play. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations.

This will be the last play performed on the school stage before it is demolished as part of the new school build. The entire production was organised and executed by students with help from Messrs Hardie and Zulleman from our Dram department.

I was hugely impressed at how professional the entire show was. The voices were clear, the costumes superb and the acting was first class. The 250+ audience enjoyed a superb evening in the company of confident assured senior students, who, should they choose to, have a wonderful future ahead of them on the stage.

Show the world what's important to you

On Wednesday night of this week I was one of around 100+ invited guests at the annual John Byrne awards to witness Cat Macdonald and Leanne Bell from Gillespie's being declared the winners for 2012. I felt so proud!
  
The John Byrne award offers S6 students a stimulus, and then challenges them to communicate the values it inspires in them through a painting, a poem, a play - or any other creative medium of their choosing. This year’s stimulus was The Proclaimers’ song, ‘Letter from America’. In the year of the US election, this stimulus was intended to encourage the students to reflect on the relationship between Scotland and America, encompassing historical themes of displacement and present challenges to identity.

This is the third year of this competition and Gillespies have enjoyed success each year having been commended for their entries in both 2011 and 2010, so it was fantasic to go one better this year. Their winning entry was comprised of a painting by Leanne which depicted a range of characters from various sectors of our diverse Scottish society. Cat complemented this by writing a futuristic political play which, skilfully and insighfully for one so young, weaved these characters together in a way that brought out some of the social injustices and inequalities that occur in Scotland.

Of the winning prize of £7000, £5000 will be used for a community based project (to be decided by Cat and Leanne) and the remaining £2000 will be used by both girls to further their own education.

An added bonus on the night for me was seeing Liberton High School (my previous school) doing so well. Liberton, represented by by Catriona Carter, Kellie Hunter and Laura Fox, was the only school with two entries in the final 8 teams.

Gaining the university place of choice..

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, I was delighted to welcome Dr Helen Wright back to Gillespie's.

Dr Wright was born in Scotland, educated at James Gillespie's High School and went on to Oxford to study Modern and Medieval Languages. After training as a teacher, she experienced a rapid rise in the education world, teaching at co-educational and boys’ schools and was appointed to the headship of her first girls’ school, Heathfield in Ascot, at the age of just 30, making her one of the youngest ever appointed public school heads.Currently, Dr Wright is Head of St Mary’s Calne in Wiltshire, which she has led for nearly a decade. She will shortly be moving to Australia to head Ascham School in Sydney, one of the country’s top girls’ schools, from January 2013.

On Tuesday morning Dr Wright gave an address to around 50 of our S5 and S6 students on 'How to maximise your chances of gaining a place at the university of your choice'.

In the course of her presentation and follow up Q and A session the following key points came through.

• We should all be ambitious
• Choose the best university and not just any university
• Hard work is required to be successful and generates choices
• Be prepared to take risks
• Read widely and explore your thoughts in  a critical forum
• When completing application forms pay attention to detail. (No spelling or grammatical mistakes).
•  Life is a long term project - look to the future
• Aim to be a global citizen
• Remember your wider responsibility and purpose
• Be resilient and relentlessly optimistic
• Gap years must be productive. Some courses, e.g. Maths do not like you to defer entry
• Drop out rates are higher for students who stay at home
• Learning must challenge - don't always play safe
• Universities want more women to study maths and engineering; Maths is one of the best core subjects
• Be prepared to take a loan out to finance your education - think of this as an investment

After the presentation to our senior students Dr Wright was taken on a tour of the school by two of our senior girls. After the tour I had the opportunity to spend an absorbing, informative and stimulating 2 hours with her discussing various educational matters.We talked at length about leadership, values in education, moral leadership, developing our staff, boarding versus day schools and single sex education.  Although the types of school we both lead are quite different it became very clear that we had so much in common. For example, both of our schools are high performing with a culture of high expectations. In both of our schools we enjoy the support of parents. We agreed that the support and engagement of parents is key if our pupils are to achieve their potential.

On Wednesday Dr Wright returned and delivered a presentation to an audience of invited staff from various local schools on 'Inspiring Leadership for the 21 Century'. This was very well received and gave all of us some food for thought as we return to our various schools.

We wish Dr Wright and her family every success and happiness in her new post in Sydney and look forward to welcoming her to Gillespie's again in the not too distant future.

 

St Andrew's day fun

I am delighted that today's St Andrew's day activities raised £447. Huge credit is due to our superb S6 students who worked so hard at making the day such a success.

All the money raised will go towards supporting less well off pupils in going on school excursions.

The photograph of the 100+ tartan clad hardy souls who gathered in the school playground at 10am will appear in the next few days.

Visit from Former Pupil

I recently had the pleasure to welcome John Macleod back to Gillespies. John graduated from JGHS in the 80s and has subsequently become a successful and well known journalist. (John won Scottish Journalist of the Year in 1991). I was intrigued to hear of John's experiences and particularly so the many happy memories he shared with me.

Some days after his visit John wrote to me and shared his reflections on his alma mater. (John kindly agreed for me to add this to my blog).

It was a very moving experience to be back on the premises again after so many years and I was quite emotional afterwards: I am no longer young, and I was very conscious not just of how many staff from my day are now dead but, sadly, several of my own classmates. The school yesterday struck me - despite what are now evidently 'tired' and rather inadequate buildings - as in many ways a far happier environment than it was in the early 1980s. 

That was of course a time of rapid social change in Scotland generally and less than a decade since the sudden conversion from a girls-only Corporation grammar to a co-ed comprehensive, which must have been very traumatic for staff at the time. It was also then socially very divided - there was real poverty in many parts of the catchment-area - and pastoral education, as we would call it now, was very token: we had one period of generally toe-curling, single-sex Social Education a week and you certainly wouldn't have confided in any teacher about problems at home. 

The change in atmosphere is palpable and the glimpse I had yesterday into that gymnastics class (and others) showed a very different and much healthier state of affairs. I was struck generally by the bearing and behaviour of pupils - they seem much more poised, and quieter - and the only jolt I got at all was the real difficulty at times in distinguishing who was teacher and who a senior pupil - children do seem more sophisticated now, and staff dress much less formally.

 As you can see from my own (1983-84) class photograph, uniform was not mandatory in my time, but it was officially 'encouraged' and we were expected to wear it for such photographs and for performance in such events as the annual Carol Concert - in this instance you can see there was quite a bit of stage-management to disguise those who didn't have a blazer.

St Andrew's day at JGHS

On Friday 30 November we will mark our patron saint's day by doing a number of things.

• All staff and pupils are invited to wear tartan to school. (There will be prizes!)
• During period 1 a special message will be read out to all classes to explain who St Andrew was.
• There will be face painting and henna makeovers at break time in the school library.
• Various items of baking (made by S6) will be available for sale in the foyer. 
• Our school pipe band will give an open air performance
• At 10am a group photograph will be taken in the Warrender playground to capture everyone wearing tartan
• S6 pupils from the events committee will visit classrooms throughout the morning to spare change.

All the proceeds from the day will go into the Excursion Grant fund which is used to ensure that all pupils are able to afford to participate in school trips.

Thanks to the S6 events committee (especially Jay and Lewis) for making all of the arrangements.

Carol Concert 2012

On the evening of Tuesday 18 December James Gillespie's HS and associated primary schools are staging our Christmas Carol Concert at the Usher Hall. There will be a wide range of music played and enjoyed during the evening including classical repertoire and ensembles, a FP choir (please contact the school if you are an FP and you would like to be involved!) traditional Scottish music - such as the marvellous school pipe band, clarsach ensemble, accordions and Gaelic choir- as well as some rock and pop, and this wonderful evening is set to end with an impressive 400-strong choir finale! Tickets can be reserved online at the Usher Hal box office.

An event not to be missed!

Achievements at the mod

Congratulations to all JGHS pupils who performed at the recent National Mod in Dunoon.  The following JGHS pupils achieved bronze, silver or gold awards in a variety of competitions. 

• Finlay Cunniffe S4: Silver Award in the Advanced Clarsach solo class

• Sean MacPherson S5: Bronze Award in the Advanced Clarsach solo class

• Simon and Cameron MacDonald S4/S1: Gold Award in the Clarsach Duets over 14yrs

• Romy Byron and Martha Cunniffe S1: Silver Award in the Clarsach Duets under 14yrs
• Jenny Macdonald (S1) and Tuesday Rose McDonough (S1) : Bronze award in the clarsach duets under 14 yrs
• Tuesday Rose McDonough (S1): silver award in clarsach with self accompaniment
• Ann Mackenzie and Catriona Macgregor (both S3) : bronze award in clarsach duets over 13 years
• Finlay Lawson: silver award for intermediate 1 solo clarsach
• Ceitidh McLuskey:  bronze award for intermediate 1 solo clarsach 

Parent Council Meeting

All parents are invited to come along to our Parent Council meeting on Tuesday 19 November at 7pm. I will be sharing updates with parents on:

• New Build Plans
• Consultation on School values
• Curriculum for excellence
• School attainment for session 11/12
• What we are going to do to improve further this session

Please come along and have a say in how the school is run!

Wine Tasting at Gillespies

Thank you to our Events Committee for organising a really enjoyable wine tasting on Thursday evening. It was a great opportunity for staff to meet parents over a glass of wine whilst being entertained and educated by Michael from Peter Green - a local retailer of fine wines. A discount is available on some excellent wines if you visit Peter Green's soon. Make sure you tell them you have a link with Gillespie's!

Mandarin at Gillespies

On Monday 12 November I attended the first Scottish China Education Network (SCEN) China Youth Summit at Gleneagles with Cat Macdonald and Leanne Bell, two of our S6 students. Both Cat and Leanne are two of our seniors who have opted to study Mandarin as part of their sixth year. As their S6 leadership project they have chosen to develop   Chinese Studies at Gillespie's.This is their account of the day.

Although we were a little nervous to be speaking in front of so many people – we later learned there were over two hundred delegates! – we were reassured by listening to the students who spoke first. Fortunately, it turned out that presenting was not so bad after all. We told the audience about our own personal connections to China, and explained the difficulties we had faced in studying Chinese at high school. When we mentioned the problem of finding a teacher, there were many rueful nods among the students in the crowd!

We heard so many interesting stories from other high schools. One presentation was given by students from Crieff High School and Morrison’s Academy, who had travelled together to Hong Kong to run the Wilson Trail, a gruelling and mostly uphill trek across Hong Kong. This trip was organised and partly funded by a former pupil from Morrison’s Academy who is now a successful businessman based in Hong Kong. The students had all loved their trip, and it was fantastic to hear them talking about their new found enthusiasm for learning Chinese.

Of course, Gleneagles Hotel provided an excellent spread at lunchtime, which was lovely. Leanne and I took the chance to get to know some of the students from other schools that were attending the conference. We even met a Scottish student with the same tastes in Chinese music as us! As well as other students, we also talked with the convener of Young Chinese Professionals, who had some good advice for us.

A particular highlight for me personally was the opportunity to meet Lord Wilson, former governor of Hong Kong. He was a very well-respected figure in China, and it was fascinating to hear his insights into the current and future importance of the country. We talked to him about our experiences in China, and he was interested to hear about our plans for introducing Mandarin in our school in the future.

Both Leanne and I really loved attending the conference, and we really learned a lot from listening to various people speaking. We came away with many useful contacts for the future, as well as a list of new ideas to further our goal of introducing Mandarin at Gillespie’s. 

During the conference both Cat and Leanne were rewarded for their efforts in promoting Chinese Studies by being appointed as SCEN ambassadors. Both girls intend to continue with their Mandarin studies when they begin at university in Autumn 2013.

S1 Halloween party

We had a superb halloween party tonight for pupils in S1. Thank you to all the S6 pupils and Guidance staff who teamed up to make it such a fun and entertaining night. My favourite moment of the evening was when a 'scary' S6 pupil leaped out from a darkened recess in Warrender  and screeched in my ear to frighten me. The screech that followed when he switched on his lantern and realised it was me was even louder!

Rumours are rife as to whether our legendary 'Green Lady' joined the festivities. Now that all the children are safely tucked up in bed and it's all quiet again in Bruntsfield House I hope she gets a chance to play the piano in peace and have a restful night.

Sgoinneil

Warmest congratulations to all our pupils who did so well at the National Mod in Dunoon last week. They were outstanding and did us proud! Nach math a rinn iad uile!

Profile of the ideal pupil

According to the 30 pupils in our junior pupil council the ideal pupil would have the following qualities and characteristics:

• Independent
• Organised
• Confident
• Respectful
• Has perfect attendance and is punctual
• Attentive
• Contributes to each class
• Well behaved
• Responsible
• Honest
• Dresses appropriately
• Balances school and social life
• Works to the best of his/her ability
• Participates in Extra curricular
• Asks questions and
• Looks after others

Characteristics of the ideal teacher

Many of us have fond memories of at least one teacher from our schooldays. His/her personality and the way we were made to feel about ourselves and learning stay with us for a long time. What though are the characteristics of the ideal teacher in the eyes of pupils in 2012?  According to S1, 2 and 3 pupils at James Gillespie's HS their ideal teacher has the following characteristics/qualities:

• Enthusiastic
• Fun
• Happy
• Fair
• Does not have favourites
• Promotes active learning
• In control
• Responsible
• Respectful
• Down to Earth
• Positive
• Understanding
• Friendly (but not necessarily a friend)
• Knowledgeable 
• Experienced and
• Never gives up on us.

National Mod

I would like to wish success and enjoyment to all those who are competing at the National Mod in Dunoon next week. Several pupils from Gillespie's HS and from Tollcross PS will be there. I'm really looking forward to spending the week on the Cowal peninsula with my family. Lets hope that the sun shines!

Humanity

International 'Day of the Girl'

I am delighted that our Pupil Council has decided to focus their efforts on raising funds and awareness of the plight of girls in some countries in the world. The Girl Effect is a campaign sponsored by the Nike Foundation and Warren Buffet's NoVo Foundation.

International 'Day of the Girl' took place on 11 October 2012

Pupil Council meeting

I am looking forward immensely to working with the S1-3 members of our pupil council tomorrow. The pupil council is made up of a representative from each tutor class. Each year therefore has 10 representatives.

The day will begin with a short questionnaire on a variety of aspects about the school. I will publish the results on this blog. Following this task we will divide into groups and the pupils will discuss what values we should adopt as a school. (Teaching staff and Office staff were involved in a similar exercise two weeks ago).

After this we will use a 'carousel' approach to allow groups of pupils to answer the following questions:

1. What are the characteristics of the ideal pupil?
2. What are the characteristics of the ideal teacher?
3. How can we make lessons more interesting?
4. How can we get rid of litter?
5. What do we need to change at Gillespie’s
6. What must not change at Gillespie’s?
7. How can we improve behaviour and encourage all pupils to be the best they can be?
8. How can we improve attendance?

I will be intrigued to what see emerges from the discussions! The results will be shared with all staff and pupils.

Parents face jail over kids’ truancy

This rather alarming headline caught my eye at the weekend when I was browsing the various on-line news stories. (Full story at: Evening News) Regardless of what one thinks of using custodial sentences to punish those who offend against society, I welcome the fact that Edinburgh Council is prepared to support children by taking such a tough line with those who are neglecting their responsibilities as parents. I sincerely hope that this 'last resort', won't be necessary. Based on my 30 years experience of working in  a variety of schools, pupils, whose attendance is poor, invariably struggle to secure a positive outcome on leaving school. Performance in Maths is particularly adversely affected when attendance is poor. We also need to bear in mind that erratic or poor attendance has a disruptive impact on other pupils. 

In an increasingly competitive world all of our young people need and deserve the best possible education. Whether that education takes place in school or in an alternative setting doesn't matter as long as pupils turn up on time each day with a desire to learn and better themselves.  At Gillespie's the attendance target for all pupils is 100%.

New qualifications

Scott Murphy from the SQA joined us at the school this evening to talk to parents of pupils in S1,2 and 3 about the changes to Scottish school qualifications. I was delighted to see that our parents turned out in very large numbers and took the opportunity to raise a variety of concerns. I would encourage anyone who has a question they wish to raise about the new qualification to contact either Mr McCallum (DHT) or me. If we don't have the answer we will take advice from the SQA. Parents can also contact Scott Murphy directly at the SQA.

Details of the new qualifications can be found on the SQA website. This evening's presentation will be placed on the school website in the next day or two.

In November we propose to hold a further evening meeting for parents where we will share our latest thinking on how best to prepare our pupils for the new exams.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) evening  we are having an open evening for parents to share our plans for how we will manage classes during the rebuilding of our new school.

Another very busy day

After the excitement of last night's hugely successful African children's choir concert I arrived at school today with a spring in my step and very much looking forward to the day ahead.

My first meeting of the day was with Rev Karen Campbell, the minister at Marchmont St Giles. Our meeting gave us the opportunity to explore how we might work together in the future. Our school has much to gain from further developing partnerships in our local community and beyond. 

Immediately after this meeting I met with headteachers from our neighbouring secondary schools to discuss areas of mutual interest. This included curriculum structures and how each of our schools is progressing with Cfe.

At lunchtime I met with Dr Judith McClure along with Cat and Leanne (both senior pupils) and Mr Irvine (Curriculum Leader for Modern Languages) to explore how we continue to develop Chinese Studies at Gillespies.

In the evening we had a very well supported Open Night where we welcomed P7s and their parents from our local primary schools to visit our school. The evening was very well attended and, based on initial feedback, ran very went smoothly. Mrs Kinnear (DHT) will write to all of our P7 families to get further feedback and offer further opportunity to anyone who wishes to find out more about our school.

Amnesty Group

Well done to our amnesty group who raised £31.46 at a bake sale on Friday. Thanks to John and Mairi for organising this. 

Rock concert at Queen's hall

What a fantastic night out! A variety of bands from our school entertained a sizeable audience at this grand venue on Thursday evening. Well done and thanks to everyone who contributed to making the evening such a success. I particularly enjoyed seeing how comfortable our younger performers were on stage and how supportive the audience was. The staff band (Messrs Alexander, Carson, Mcphail, Adams and Dearsly) were tremendous and gave the younger rockers a run for their money. McPhail, who was an outstanding lead vocal, rolled back the years and shared with us afterwards that, prior to joining the second oldest profession, he sang in a band. We look forward to hearing more from this band as they continue to 'grow old disgracefully' together.

The heart of a child's learning

'Children do better when families support their learning. There are lots of different ways you can get involved - from reading together, spending time talking and listening and finding out about their day through to helping them prepare for exams.

Your involvement makes a world of difference to your child. so do it today. Speak to your school and visit the Parentzone website for practical advice and ideas.' (Source - Education Scotlanf website)

All parents are invited to the first meeting of our Parent Events Group (formerly known as the PTA) on Wednesday 12 September at 7 Pm. Please come along and support us!

Au revoir

The retirement of a special teacher is a watershed event for a generation of students. We all associate favourite teachers with our youth - a care free time when life was vibrant and summers seemed endless. On Friday night one hundred and thirty serving and former staff from Gillespie's attended a retirement function at George Watson's rugby club to say our farewells to a number of staff who have, over the years, made an outstanding contribution to our school. Those whose service to our school was being marked by this special occasion were:

• Mary Ross (English)
• Stuart Robertson (Chemistry)
• Sandra Evans (Modern Studies, Geography and Guidance)
• Sylvia Campbell (Art and Design)
• Kevin Woods (Geography)
• Duncan Macleod (Modern Languages)

Based on what I have seen in my relatively short time at the school and the outpouring of good wishes from so many associated with the school in recent months, I anticipated that this farewell event would be special. And so it was.

The food was great, the company superb and the after dinner speeches were quite outstanding. In just over two hours all those who were leaving shared many fond memories with us. Their well crafted stories, laced with humour, were hugely entertaining and provided a rich insight in to what makes Gillespie's such a special school.  We wish all of our former colleagues a deserved long and happy retirement.

Si Parents' social evening

Thank you to everyone who attended our social evening last night. It was great to see such a large turnout!

It would be terrific to see many new parents coming along to our next Parent Council meeting next Tuesday - 4 September at 7 pm in the school library. As I mentioned last night this is one of the best ways of supporting our school and influencing key changes in the years ahead. Its also a very effective way of finding out what really goes on in school.

A new S1 pupil's perspective

Thank you to Tuesday Rose McDonough for sharing her thoughts on High School after her first week with us.

On the run up to high school I was incredibly nervous. The whole idea of a completely new school with completely new teachers and completely new friends is quite intimidating. I was most worried about finding my way around and not getting hopelessly lost. As I first walked into the school I felt like everyone’s eyes were on me, but soon I was greeted by a couple of my friends, and as the day went on, I started to feel more and more at home. I enjoy the lessons a lot more than the ones we got in primary, especially Science and English, and I think that it’s good to get a variety of classes. 

Before we started, we had a three day transition; I think I would have been a lot more nervous if I hadn’t been to it. It's nice because it means that you don’t go into high school clueless about what awaits you.   The school was one of the most welcoming places I’ve been, and I have made lots of new friends there.

I hope that all of our new charges now feel as settled as Tuesday Rose. If you get lost, need advice or you just want to chat about something that is worrying you then please speak to any of our S6 helpers or any member of staff.

S1 parents' social event

It's now a full week since our pupils returned and in some ways it feels like we've never been away! Staff and pupils are back in their routines and it's great to see how well our new S1 pupils are settling in to the 'Big school'. Our S6 'befrienders' have been superb in supporting our new charges and ensuring that they arrive safely at their intended destinations.

Next Thursday evening (30 August) all parents of S1 are invited to join us at the school from 7-8 pm to meet senior staff and other parents. I hope to see as many there as possible!

Prior to the main event we would like to meet with parents whose children speak more than one language. (details will follow in a letter from Mrs Kinnear). The last survey that was undertaken showed that 47 languages were spoken at Gillespie's. In addition to valuing the diversity that exists at Gillespie's, we also seek to explore how learning can be enhanced by using different languages at home and in school.

History is one for the future

In recent times, learning about History seems to have become very popular and interesting. The TV series entitled 'Horrible Histories' has won various awards and, in our household, it has been compulsive viewing for our two daughters. How then as schools do we follow that?  I am delighted to report that at Gillespie's High School, History is thriving! One example of the wonderful work we do was staged in our assembly hall today when Dave Clarke (a practising teacher of History at Stewart's Melville and a former student at Liberton High School) presented to several enthralled assemblies.  

At the end of the day I set off from my office with the intention of popping into a few classes.  What was to have been a fleeting visit to the hall, as I particularly wished to go and see some of our new S1 classes in action, turned out to be so amazing that I stayed for 45 minutes. Dave Clarke was inspirational and the pupils and staff were transfixed. Amongst other amazing facts we learned about moustaches, polishing buttons, how to use bayonets, Elsie Inglis and the fearsome reputation of the Highland regiments. This was curriculum for excellence at its glorious best.

After a rapturous round of applause several pupils and staff stayed to survey and hold the various items that were utilised during the presentations. A particular favourite of mine was an actual 'dog-tag' from a fallen soldier. As the pupils departed I asked several what they thought of the presentation. Comments included: 'He was amazing - he should be performing at the Fringe' and 'That's how to teach History sir' give an accurate representation of the awe and wonder among the pupils who were there. Many thanks to the History department and Mrs Carruthers in particular for organising such a superb experience.

Back to school

'First day at school. Stomach sinks. Tears well up. Bottom lip trembles - and you're just the parent. First-time parents get more anxious than their little darlings, so let's spare a thought for them and those others new to school this week - the newly qualified teachers.
As with every "ordeal", the waiting is worse. Parents, awake since 6am, look with adoration and apprehension at little darling's new clothes and shiny shoes laid out ready.
Meanwhile, new teacher, shiny of shoe, has been in the school car park since 6am and is desperate for the loo, but the school is not open yet ...' (Source:Guardian newspaper)


 Tomorrow morning (Wednesday 15 August) we will warmly welcome all of our pupils back to school after what I hope has been a fantastic summer holiday. I am delighted that we have a full complement of staff who are all ready and raring to go.  I look forward to congratulating pupils on a superb set of exam results before we roll up our sleeves and continue on our journey to excellence through the new session.

A very large number of new staff (24) have joined us over the summer following the departure of an equally large number of colleagues. I suspect that this very large number of 'new' staff is unprecedented at Gillespie's. Some of  the 'new' staff (3) I refer to are staff returning after a year's break on various adventures including maternity leave and travelling for a year. The past two days has given us time to work with the new staff to prepare for what, I'm sure, will be another busy and wonderful year in the life of James Gillespie's.

The following is a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to the Headmaster of a school in
which his son was studying. It contains advice, which is still relevant today for executives, workers, teachers, parents and students.

A WORD TO TEACHERS

He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just and are not
true. But teach him if you can the wonder of books… but also give
him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.
In school, teach him it is far more honorable to fall than to cheat. 
Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him he is
wrong.
Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.
Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when
everyone is getting on the bandwagon.
Teach him to listen to all men; but teach him also to filter all he
hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes
through.
Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad… Teach him
there is no shame in tears.
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to be aware of too much sweetness.
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to highest bidders, but never
to put a price on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a
howling mob… and stand and fight if thinks he is right.
Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire
makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient. Let him
have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime
faith in himself, because then he will have faith in humankind.
This is a big order, but see what you can do. He is such a fine little
fellow my son!
- Abraham Lincoln

Exam results

From tomorrow (7 August) pupils  in Scotland will receive details of how they have done in their exams. The anxious wait to find out how they have fared comes to an end as the SQA dispatches the results. Fingers crossed for everyone!

The following link (SQA help) provides a number of very useful links for pupils and parents.

Pupils who wish to speak to their Guidance teacher about changing their courses for the new session will be able to do so on either the afternoon of Monday 13 or Tuesday 14 August. Appeals can be discussed with teaching staff when school resumes on Wednesday 15 August. 

Farewell to S6

On the evening of Thursday 28 June around 280 parents joined staff and the outgoing S6 for a champagne reception at the High School. This was a wonderful occasion, and gave me the opportunity to thank the pupils, parents and staff for their contributions over the years. Following  the reception, there was opportunity for photographs to be taken in the evening sunshine after which the S6 were taken by coach to the George Hotel where they enjoyed a sumptuous meal before exhibiting their dancing taelents.

On the morning of Friday 29 June the S6 attended a final assembly (some wearier than others following the exertions of the night before!) along with staff and other senior pupils. The assembly gave us an aooprtunity to reflect on all of the achievements during the past session and concluded with our school pipe band leading the S6 out of the school for the last time.

To all of our outgoing S6 we would wish to extend the school's gratitude for their contributions over the years and our sincere best wishes for the future.

I am confident that our students will continue to make significant positive contributions to our changing world.

'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world'. (Nelson Mandela)

Farewell

On the last day of term staff and pupils bade fond farewells to several staff.  They were:

• Ms Acton (Temp. Librarian)
• Ms Campbell (Art and Design)
• Mr Cunningham (Temp. English)
• Mrs Evans (PT Guidance)
• Ms Mackay (PE)
• Mr MacLeod (Modern language)
• Mr Newberry (Temp. Physics)
• Mr Robertson (Chemistry)
• Mrs Ross (English)
• Mr Woods (PT Geography)

Thanks to all for their various contributions to JGHS.

Edinburgh Schools Film Competition

Well done to the following pupils who won the award for 'Best Picture' at Edinburgh International Film Festival schools' competition, with their beautiful and sensitively tackled short film
'Evanescent', about schizophrenia:

• Lucy Gogoliuk
• Ruairidh Graham
• Samantha Harrison
• Max McLachlan
• Naznin Khan

  They faced stiff competition mainly from S5 & S6s around the city and beyond.

School trips

When we reminisce about our school days few of us remember a particular lesson that inspired us. Instead it is often particular teachers we remember or events such as school trips. Gillespie's has a full and varied programme of trips including several to foreign lands during the past session. Currently there are school trips to New York, Switzerland, Berlin, Southern Ireland and Mongolia. Early reports indicate that they are going well and the pupils are enjoying themselves.

An email from Mr Carruthers on the Ireland trip reads as follows:  

Hallo folks, we had another fantastic day today. Although the weather was no where as good as it was yesterday we had a little bit of drizzle in the morning but we were shown around TG4 the Irish Language TV station at that time which the senior pupils particularly enjoyed. We got goodie bags and a warm welcome. We then had a little tour of Connemara before heading to Pairce an Chnuic where the kids were taken for Gaelic Football and Hurling on CLG Micheal Breathnach's new AstroTurf (main rule, Gaelic to be spoken at all times), Amazing that a small amateur community club can have such a facility in place - on top of a stand and full size pitch. The girls want to start up a Gaelic Football team in the school. Tomorrow we are off to Inis Mor, the largest of the Aran Isles. Sun supposed to reappear tomorrow, we'll keep you updated. Slan!

Dalai Lama visit to Edinburgh

On Friday, a number of our pupils have been invited to meet the Dalai Lama at a function in Edinburgh. One of those attending from Jghs will be Rachel Gray in S6. Earlier today Rachel was the official piper who had been chosen to play as his holiness arrived in Edinburgh. Well done Rachel - Gillespie's is proud of you! Great to see that he acknowledged Rachel as he walked past and that the Scottish weather didn't dampen her fine playing!

P7 visits to High School

Around this time of year thousands of Primary 7 pupils will be visiting their local High School as part of their induction towards becoming high school students from August. In Edinburgh's secondary schools pupils will visit high schools on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. This visit is intended to help reduce the uncertainly and allay any fears that exist as we prepare for the summer holidays.

On Tuesday morning we will welcome 200 P7 boys and girls to Gillespie's for their 3 day visit. In order to keep parents informed we held a 'P7/S1 information evening' tonight in our Assembly Hall. I was delighted at the very high turnout. As I said to parents earlier tonight, I am looking forward to working with all our new pupils and our families in the years ahead. All of our pupils are expected to aim for university level qualifications by the time they leave us in S6. When teachers and parents work closely together we are more effective and successful in supporting our children.

Thanks

I'd like to publicly thank everyone who contributed to making this year's staging of Diversecity such a great success. A huge thanks also to everyone who attended. The money raised will support our continuing links with schools in South Africa. The show highlighted the diversity of talent and culture we have in the school.  We really are privileged to have such wide representation of cultures in our midst.

All 180 who performed were superb. A special thank you to Malcolm Hardie from our Expressive Arts faculty for managing the entire process.

Diversecity

This year's Diversecity performance will take place on Thursday 14, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 June in the school hall, with food available on the Saturday.

Tickets cost £8/£4 concession for Thursday 14 and Friday 15, and £10/£5 conc. for Saturday 16 (this includes food). Performers have all been issued with an advance tickets form - this should have been returned to Cathy Hoskins by Thursday 31 May.  Tickets to performers were issued in the hall on Thursday 7 June.
Tickets went on general sale on Monday 11 June at school. There are still a few left! Proceeds from this wonderful event will go towards supporting our continuing links with South Africa.