I have a dream ...

Earlier this week I chose to talk about dreams to our new S5 at assembly. I spoke about what lies in store for them in the next year and how it is going to be a challenging year. S5 is the year when pupils take their Highers; widely regarded as the 'Jewel in the Crown' of Scottish education. Highers are the main qualifications asked for by Universities recruiting onto their undergraduate programmes from Scottish schools. Highers are difficult and S5 is a particularly challenging year for pupils. I suggested to all that they needed to aim high and to dream of what they might achieve if they worked hard and focused their efforts.  There is disappointment when one falls short but there is no shame. The shame would be in not trying.

I then went on to refer to Dr Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech of 28 August 1963 and how impossible what he dreamt of may have seemed at the time. However, we now have a black president in the White House and equal rights for all is a cornerstone of American society.

I have a dream

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. 

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. 

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. 

I have a dream today! 

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. 

I have a dream today!

 

S1 settling in evening

We had a very good turnout this evening at our S1 social evening. The evening began with a glass of wine served by the S6 students who opted to become befrienders to our new S1. As I remarked in my introduction, it's not often I take an assembly where those in the audience have a glass of wine in their hand!

This was the first opportunity for the new S6 to contribute to a school function and they did us proud. They are a great group of young people and I'm sure they'll have another terrific year.

The evening presented an opportunity to introduce several staff in the school to parents and also gave parents a chance to meet each other. A brief presentation from Mr Ben Lewis, our newly appointed Curriculum Leader of Mathematics, gave an overview of how class groups are formed in S1 and how movement between classes takes place. In maths we will assume that all pupils are highly talented and encourage all to achieve at the highest level.

Mr Jonathon Wallace, our Active Sports Coordinator, shared a short video highlighting some of what happened during last session's health week for S1. This was followed by an overview of our sports membership scheme for the coming session and the arrangements for pupils to travel to and fro from Sports centres.

The meeting concluded with questions from parents on a range of issues including:

• Setting policy in maths
• Class groups in English
• Arrangements for the S1 residentials
• Football clubs
• Music clubs

Overall I was very pleased with the evening. I hope that many of those present choose to become members of our Parent Council or our events group.

Pupil voice

Over the past few days I've spoken to a sizeable number of pupils across various year groups to hear their views on how they are settling in to the new session. At both Darroch and Lauderdale the pupils have responded very sensibly and maturely whilst adapting to their new environments. The main concern raised by senior pupils is the time that they are losing whilst in transit between both campuses. Staff are aware of this concern and will ensure that suitably adapted teaching programmes are implemented. During next week, a more extensive survey of pupils will take place in order to ensure that our school's leadership team knows what the concerns and issues are. We will then work with Curriculum Leaders to plan to ensure learning and teaching opportunities are maximised.

Child development and the teenage brain.

Last Friday afternoon all of our teaching staff attended the first in a series of training sessions designed to give us a better understanding of how humans develop from an early age and the conditions that allow children to grow and flourish. Later sessions will take us through the challenges that teenagers face as they move through adolescence and, in particular, how we can best support children this stage in their lives. An entire session will be dedicated to training staff on supporting our pupils when they are feeling stressed. The training will also be offered to pupils and parents later this session.

At a time when there is so much pressure on young people to aim high and be the best they can be I'm really pleased to be in
volved in this exciting initiative.

Darroch - shaken, not stirred.

Since the beginning of last week, our senior school has 'decanted' to Darroch. Overall, the move has gone well and the pupils and staff are now settling into new routines and adapting well to their new surroundings.

The following information was obtained from the official Darroch website which is maintained by a proud and growing former pupils' association.

 ‘Darroch School was built in 1908 but was originally called Gilmore Place Primary School.  However in 1928 the Education Committee decided to convert the school into a three year secondary school to be named after the late chairman of the committee, Professor Darroch, and was retitled Darroch Intermediate School.  A couple of years later in 1932 it was renamed as Darroch Technical and Commercial School.’

By the 1950’s it was called Darroch Junior Secondary School and when it eventually closed in the early 1970’s the title had been truncated to Darroch Secondary School. In the intervening years Darroch has accommodated a number of other schools whilst they were being rebuilt.

Perhaps Darroch’s most famous FP is Sean Connery.  Most people I know regard Sean as the best ever Bond. As a Bond fan, I’m inclined to agree.

End of first week

We are now at the end of the first completed week for pupils and whilst, all appears to be up and running, we will now need to review our progress and, where we can, make some adjustments. Over the next two days I will be visiting classes at both Lauderdale and Darroch to speak with pupils and staff about the first week. The three questions I will be asking are:
1) What's working well?
2) What's been tricky and
3) What changes should we make.

Armed with this information I will then meet with senior staff and assess which of the current arrangements are causing concern and what changes we will make.

During the past week the pupils and staff have been superb. There have been some glitches but all have been patient and used common sense and initiative to resolve settling in issues.

Parents are invited to drop me a note or contact me by email to share any feedback they have at this stage. I will report on progress on this blog and in the next newsletter which is scheduled to go out in 2 weeks time.

Pupils return

The second full day with pupils is now complete and I am delighted that we are now quickly settling into a very positive and purposeful way of working at both the Darroch site (for S4,5 and 6) and at Lauderdale (for S1,2 and 3). The staff and the pupils have been magnificent in spite of a few teething difficulties, that have limited our capability to communicate both within and outwith the school. Now that our ICT has been repaired we can, once again, access emails and use ICT for teaching, registration etc. As is often the case, one doesn't appreciate the value of something until it is not available. This is very much the case with our ICT. Teachers and pupils now expect to have ready and easy access to the 'World wide web' to enhance all that they do and take advantage of the many benefits that electronic devices present.

All pupils are quickly familiarising themselves with their new classrooms and, in some cases, their new teachers. There is a real buzz around the school as we settle back into our routines and picking up where we left off in June.

New term

Staff have been very busy over the past few days in anticipation of pupils returning to school after the summer holiday. Returning to school this year though is quite different.

From tomorrow, our senior pupils (those in years 4,5 and 6) will be based at Darroch for many of their classes. Pupils in years 1,2 and 3 will have all their classes at the Lauderdale Campus.

I am delighted that both schools are ready for 'business as normal', thanks to the hard work of staff and those who have supported us. We have had some technical difficulties with 'phones and accessing email and I know that this has caused frustration for parents and pupils who have tried to contact us over the summer,and particularly last week when the exam results were received. Sincere apologies to all who have been inconvenienced by this. 'Phones were restored early last week and I am hopeful that our email communication and access to web based resources will be fully restored in the next few days. In the meantime we will endeavour to work through the backlog of email and we'll do our best to respond to all who have contacted us.

I am very pleased with the results overall and especially so in S5 where the percentage success rate for gaining 3 or more Highers is the highest in the past 5 years. Similarly, in S6, we have had record numbers achieving passes in Advanced Highers. Well done to everyone associated with our school community.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will warmly welcome all pupils back to school, especially our 200 new S1s as they embark on their 'Journey to Excellence' with us at the High School. Pupils should view our 'Homepage' for details of where to report for registration on Wednesday 14 August.

'It takes a village to raise a child' (Old African proverb).