Magic moments

Undoubtedly, my favourite moments in teaching occur through interactions I have with pupils. When I set off on a walk round the school you never really know what's going to happen or who you're going to speak with. I think that's why I consider my job to be so special and magical.

Last week, whilst I was speaking with a parent at our reception, a S1 boy sidled up to me and when he caught my eye he asked me if I could help him. On enquiring further he asked me if I could post a letter for him. I was curious to say the least, as no pupil had ever made this request of me before. Thus, I enquired further. 'John' then explained that he wanted to write to the White House to offer advice on how they should respond to the unfolding events taking place in Syria. I was intrigued.

John explained to me that he had been listening to the news and felt strongly about what was happening and so he felt compelled to write. Reaching in to his well stocked schoolbag John retrieved and shared with me a neatly folded piece of A4 paper.  I unfolded it and read John's letter.

Dear Mr Obama,
I am a first year pupil at James Gillespie's High School and I would like to offer you some advice on how to deal with the Syrian Government. I think the Americans should attack from the East and the British from the west. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss this further.

Yours sincerely,

John


I suggested to John that he should hand his letter in to reception so that Mrs Gordon would make the necessary arrangements.

After break, Mrs Gordon asked me what she should do with the letter. Without hesitation I suggested we enclose a 'With Compliments' slip and post the letter to America. I'll be really interested to see if John gets a response.

Later in the day, as John was departing, he once again came to speak with me and politely enquired if the letter had been posted. I explained that it had. 'Good' he said, I'll have another one tomorrow for Downing Street and Buckingham Palace.

When things are getting too fast in the fast lane ...

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the

students

, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - family,
children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions –
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued,
'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Newsletter Sept 2013

The September Newsletter is now on our school website and can be accessed via the menu bar on the left of our home page.

My introduction is as follows:

Welcome to the first edition of the Newsletter after the summer break. I hope you had a wonderful summer and enjoyed time away from the school routines to spend time relaxing with friends and family over what was an unexpectedly but welcome warm and pleasant summer.

The pupils are back, enthusiastic and refreshed and we look forward to working with them and yourselves towards ensuring that each and every one aims high and that they do the best that they can.

I am delighted to report that this session has started very positively and we are all now settled into a purposeful routine after the summer break.  Pupils and staff who are travelling between both the Darroch and Lauderdale campuses have found the quickest route and with the exception of a few stragglers I am pleased at how smoothly the changeover between classes is working.

This year’s SQA results, particularly at Higher, were excellent so I’d like to congratulate everyone on their achievements. Throughout the session our newsletters and website will share with you the many and varied achievements of our pupils. We continue to be immensely proud of the variety of achievements from the young people in Gillespie’s.

The new S1 have settled in well.  Staff invariably describe our new charges as polite, well-mannered and sensible. Well done to our new S1! The reintroduction of our S1 residential experience has been warmly received by pupils and the first of these involving pupils in Kyi last week at the Broomlee Outdoor centre was an outstanding success.  

It was great to meet so many of our new parents at our social evening on Thursday 29 August. Please contact your child’s guidance teacher if there are any matters that concern you as your child is finding his/her feet at High School. I hope that many parents will come along to our next Parent Council meeting on Tuesday 17 September at 7 Pm.

I am delighted to report that since we resumed in August we have seen a significant improvement in the amount of litter that was being discarded around the school. Thank you to everyone for your support in this.

You may be aware that we have placed a copy of this year’s school improvement plan on our website. This will allow you to view what we are planning to improve. The areas chosen for improvement are based on our ongoing evaluations of how we are doing in tandem with feedback throughout the year from all members of our school community.

Throughout the coming session we will continue to raise money for a variety of worthwhile causes. These will include school based projects and charities at both home and abroad. As has been the tradition over many years, our S6 will lead on fundraising efforts for our link South African schools. A St Andrew’s Day event, run by senior pupils, as well as several events throughout the year, will be organised by our Parents’ events group and JGHS Trust. In addition, there will be occasional fundraisers sprinkled throughout the year as organised by pupil led committees. Please continue to give generously. I look forward with enthusiasm to working with you all in the coming session.

Donald J Macdonald (Headteacher)

New Staff

Over the past few weeks several new staff have joined us.

Computing/Business Studies – Ms N Stevenson

Drama/Media – Ms H Leith

English – Ms K MacSween

English – Ms F Murray

Modern Languages – Ms E Sinclair

Modern Languages – Mr N Ponte

Mathematics – Mr B Lewis (Curriculum Leader)

Mathematics – Ms E Haldane

Chemistry – Dr K Wallace

Senior Science Technician – Ms D Adams

Classroom Assistant – Ms S law

Modern Studies – Ms M Willis

Administration – Ms S McGinnity

A warm welcome to all!

Rock night 2013

We had a brilliant night this evening at the Liquid Room on Victoria street just off the Royal Mile. The pupils involved (and the staff band!) played their socks off and entertained 150+ of us for 2 hours. The music on offer included well known cover versions and some that were new. It was great to see so many of our pupils being original and creative in this tremendous venue.

One parent I spoke to at the end of the evening remarked that 'Gillespie's celebrates  what other schools would barely tolerate'. I think she's right and I feel proud of our uniqueness and how we encourage and develop independence and creativity across our community
.

Spanish exchange

Messrs Irvine and O'Connor and 20 pupils set off today for a 1 week study exchange in Tenerife. Our pupils will stay with Spanish families and attend classes in Tenerife in the same way that our Spanish guests did when they visited Gillespie's earlier this year.  I am delighted that we are, once again, offering exchanges for our pupils. I'm sure that all involved will benefit hugely from this wonderful experience.

S4 Work Experience

During this session we will be changing our approach to how our S4 pupils participate in work experience. Following feedback from pupils, parents and staff, we will no longer have all of our S4 pupils on work experience at the same time. Over the past few years this has happened in the second half of November.

This practice resulted in limited opportunities for some pupils who were slower of the mark in getting their placements organised. Instead, during this current session, S4 pupils will arrange a week's work experience at a time of their choosing throughout the session. Some may choose to work during a holiday in order to avoid missing classes. Teachers are happier with this arrangement as their teaching schedules are not interrupted in November.

Over the years across different schools I have found that pupils benefit hugely from spending time away from school in a work environment. Some find it tough and don't make it through the week. For many it is a wake up call that to earn a living the work they do won't necessarily be glamorous and as highly paid as they would wish it to be. Most return to school energised and much more focused than before. We mustn't lose that opportunity to broaden and enrich our pupils' education.

On Sunday afternoon, I was in the garden with my two daughters enjoying the splendid Autumnal sunshine when, as in previous years, Jenny drew our attention to a sight that has always make me stop what I'm doing and gaze in amazement at the skies above. I was reminded of a blog I wrote a few yers ago.

I am referring to the wonderful and awesome sight that is a skein of geese. Seeing the geese in their familiar 'V' formation reminded me of a lecture delivered by Dr Richard Holloway at the 2008 Summer international conference in Edinburgh on School Leadership, in which he suggested that humans had much to learn from nature as far as good examples of leadership is concerned. 

The first lesson is: work as a team. Geese migrate long distances flying in V-formation. This formation results in reduced wind resistance, which allows the whole flock to add around 70 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. Geese find out quickly that it pays handsomely to be team players. Second, wise leadership: when the leader at the apex of the V gets tired, it is relieved by another goose. Leaders rotate, empower, delegate, and even step down when it's in the best interest of the team. How often do we see this taking place among organisational leaders? Wise leaders ensure that their followers are well trained and developed in order to achieve true empowerment and smooth succession processes. Third, humane behaviour: if a goose drops to the ground when it gets hurt or sick, two of its colleagues go down with it to take care of it until it either gets healthier or dies. In this fast-paced and competitive age, how often do we see managers going out of their way to help colleagues who are in trouble? I am in no doubt that in organisations, morale, productivity, and loyalty increase when employees look after each other and are treated humanely.

S1 residential

Well done to our S1and accompanying staff who spent the first three days of this week at Broomlee outdoor education centre in West Linton. A third of our S1 (Kyi Community) spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday getting to know each other in this beautiful country setting in the conservation village of West Linton. This is the first of three residential experiences that we have organised for our new S1. I spent Monday evening with the group and I was delighted to see how well they were entering into the spirit of the excursion and how much they were enjoying themselves.

As many will know outdoor education was removed from the curriculum in most Edinburgh schools by the early 90s. It's great to now see schools returning to this very exciting and stimulating mode of learning.