Thursday 19 January 2012

The joy of 'x'


Whilst driving home this evening I was reflecting on the day's business and found myself thinking about what had sparked my interest in maths when I was a youngster. From a tender age my favourite subject was Maths. I loved solving problems and learning about using maths to solve increasingly complex problems. This love of Maths started at home when my parents would reward me for memorising and reciting my times tables and then continued in primary school when I was fortunate enough to have an excellent teacher. Mr Campbell, who was also the headteacher, was a hard task master but his passion for maths enthused me and helped prepare me for secondary school and beyond.

Earlier today, whilst interviewing excellent candidates for 2 Maths vacancies, I tried to imagine which of the candidates would set the heather on fire for our pupils at Jghs. In addition to having a passion for maths and an ability to communicate with young people I also look for someone who genuinely likes children and is prepared to get involved in the wider life of the school. As we had interviewed so many candidates that fitted the bill, Mr Pennel, Head of Maths, and I, agreed to reconvene on Friday to make the final decision.

After the morning's interview schedule, I had the pleasure this afternoon of meeting with the headteachers of our local primary schools. I had heard so many positive things about Mrs Grierson, Mrs Noble, Mrs Brown etc and their respective schools that I felt I already knew them. Our meeting gave us the opportunity to share a few thoughts on how we will work together in the future in order to ensure that there is continuity and consistency between our schools as pupils move from P7 to s1. In the coming weeks, I look forward with enthusiasm to working closely with our primary colleagues and meeting with the primary school Parent Councils and all the boys and girls from P1 to P7.

2 comments:

  1. Hello Mr MacDonald,

    I was a student at JGHS from 2005-2011 and I must say that Mr Wallace was everything one could hope for in a head teacher. As many people, I was apprehensive of his leave and worried that the school would not be the same now that he was gone.

    I was linked to this blog on a friend's facebook and I have now read it through. Allow me to congratulate you on the job and the splendid narrative. I look forward to keeping up with this blog and the school overall. It's safe to say I am no longer worried about finding a suitable successor for Mr Wallace.

    Kind regards,
    Marta, former K2

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  2. Hi Marta - thanks for sharing your thoughts and also for your endorsement. I have known Mr Wallace for a number of years and, from the first time I heard him speak, was so impressed with his thoughtful and sincere approach to everything that he does. I am delighted to describe him as a friend. He will be an incredibly hard act to follow but I will do my best.

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