Friday 25 May

1.     Our S3 parents’ consultation evening takes place next Wednesday - 30 May.

2.     Our S1 Sports Day takes place in the Meadows today in glorious sunshine!

3.     Congratulations to Kinli Kwok (1L1) who won Gold Medals in the Scottish Tae Kwan Do Championships, in Motherwell 2 weeks ago and Welsh Championships, Cardiff last weekend.

4.       Congratulations to:

a.       Jasper Harris - 1^st place

b.       Elizabeth Mole – 2^nd place and

c.       Lucy Robertson – 3^rd Place

who won all the prizes for the ‘The Light Beyond the Shadow’ poetry competition run by the Huntingdon’s Disease Scotland Charity. I’m delighted to say JGHS won all three prizes in the under 16 category.

5.       Our Pipe Band are performing alongside the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra on the Saturday 9^th of June  -Tickets are available from Usher Hall.

6.       Well done to Iona Patrick 1L1, her team (Edinburgh schools Kayak club) were placed 2nd in the K4 (4man race) in Nottingham last weekend, a great national achievement for the team!

7.       The next JGHS Parent Council meeting is on Tues 29th @7pm in the Library with updates on the Parent/Carer Survey and a revision of Vision and Values.

8.       A reminder that JGHS PC is hosting a panel event at the JGHS Forum on Wed 6th June 7-9pm to engage with Edinburgh Council and our school community on the issue of capacity and rising rolls.  Our panel will include: Donald Macdonald, HT; Crawford McGhie, Acting Head of Operational Support, Communities & Families, Edinburgh Council; Councillor Ian Perry of Southside/Newington and Convener of the Council's Education, Children and Families Committee and Councillor Alison Dickie of Southside/Newington and Vice Convener of the Council's Education, Children and Families Committee

9.       On Friday 8 June children and young people in the local schools, local residents, and fans of Muriel Spark are invited to join ‘a picnic by the path’ on Bruntsfield Links.  As part of this year’s centenary celebrations for Edinburgh’s internationally acclaimed author Muriel Spark, the path from Whitehouse Loan, near to the old James Gillespie’s’ where Muriel went to school,  to Bruntsfield Terrace is to be named after her. Local nurseries, schools, including James Gillespie’s (where Muriel Sparks went to school) finish at noon and families are being invited to bring a picnic and enjoy an afternoon with friends on the links.  The event is intended to be informal, with a short naming ceremony at 6pm for the adults who were unable to attend the earlier event.

And finally, best wishes to all for a lovely weekend in the most welcome Spring sunshine!

Donald J Macdonald

Headteacher

Friday 18 May 2018

1. Congratulations to Ms Liondsaidh Charnley who has been appointed to the Gaelic (Maternity) vacancy.
2. We will be hosting a Languages Celebration Event for our Feeder School P6s on Tuesday 22 May.
3. Thanks to everyone for the smooth running of the SQA exams.
4. There are ongoing discussions in relation how best we will manage our existing accommodation. Our Parent Council has organised a public meeting to discuss this on 6 June 2018.
5. Well done to our young mathematicians who participated in this year’s Junior Math’s Olympiad challenge. JGHS pupils achieved an unprecedented 12 gold, 14 silver and 7 bronze. 7 have qualified for the next round and the best result in the school was Fedor Cheltsov who qualified to do the Junior Maths Olympiad paper. Continuing success by Fedor may lead to him representing the UK against the best young mathematicians in the world.
6. Well done to Catherine Mole in S2 whose drawing of a hare was published in "Amazing Animals, Brilliant Science Book"
7. Thanks to all the performers and organisers who contributing to the staging of today’s ‘Founder’s Day’ ceremony. Linda Urquhart OBE, former pupil of JGHS was our main speaker. In keeping with tradition, Cllr Joan Griffiths MBE, Deputy Lord Provost, agreed to a day’s holiday for all at James Gillespie’s HS on Monday 21 May.
8. All resume on Tuesday 22 May at 0830.

I wish all a lovely warm long weekend.

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher

My quote of the week: “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” (Malala Yousafzai)

11 May 2018

1. The SQA exams are now in full swing and are running smoothly.
2. The school will be hosting the  Anne Frank Exhibition in the library between Monday 14th May and Friday 25th May. Twenty S2 pupils will be trained as guides, and will subsequently be conducting tours of the exhibition for other Gillespie's pupils, visiting P7 classes and possibly other interested groups from the wider community.
3. Best wishes to all those who are off to Marseilles on Friday morning as part of our annual French exchange. Mrs O’Brien and I will be accompanying the group over the weekend to meet with French colleagues and plan for future partnership working.
4. Best wishes also to those who are going to Madrid next week to take part in our first international PE multi sports excursion.
5. Huge thanks to members of our Parent Council who provided catering and refreshments for staff on the in-service day earlier this week.
6. Please take time to visit our new online platform for sharing information about Modern Languages and 1+2 in the James Gillespie’s High School Cluster with families from across the cluster.
   https://leadinglanguagesinjghscluster.wordpress.com/ The website provides details of a new Transition Event which will take place on Tuesday 22nd May 2018 at James Gillespie's High School for Primary Six pupils in each of the cluster primary schools.
7. Well done to Archie Ellen who enjoyed a challenging and satisfying weekend  of racing in the prestigious Isle of Man Youth Tour, a 3 day cycling stage race that attracts the best riders from across the UK. Archie was delighted to come away as the top ranked Scottish rider by the end of the event.
8. Well done to Milena Zadora (2T1) who was crowned 2018 British Champion in the U14 Girls Foil. Even more impressive is that this is her third year in a row of winning that title.
9. Parents are reminded to ensure that payments are made for the Alternative Timetable activities using our online payment system.
10. I’m delighted to learn that 5 parents have come forward to work with Mrs Vera Norton (Sciences Technician) in developing our gardening allotment over the coming weeks.
11. James Gillespie’s High School Parent Council is hosting an event at the JGHS Forum on Wednesday 6th June 7-9pm to engage with parents and our school community on the issue of capacity and rising rolls. Please come along and find out what is going on.
12. This year’s S1 sports day will take place on Friday 25 May. Fingers crossed for a warm dry day.
13. I’d welcome feedback from parents on the timings of events in last session’s calendar. We are currently building the calendar for session 18/19.

14.   S3 Parents’ Evening is on Wednesday 30 May - online booking will open on 16 May, details to follow next week.

I wish all a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.