Friday 10 May

1.       All in the JGHS community are reminded to be vigilant in regard to looking after personal possessions. Please be aware that neither the Council nor the school has insurance for personal belongings.  

2.       Thank you for your continuing support in ensuring that all pupils come to school on time each day (including Fridays!) with a schoolbag, stocked with the relevant books/jotters for the day and, ideally, a well-stocked pencil case. It is recommended that all carry with them a water bottle which can be refilled at various places across the campus.

3.       Dates:

a.       There are S1 consultation evenings on Tuesday 14 and Thursday 16 May. Both run from 5 – 7 Pm.

b.       On Friday 20 May we will have our annual Founder’s day assembly for S1. The assembly will give me the opportunity to talk about who James Gillespie was and how the school has evolved since it was set up in 1803. I will include reference to recent work carried out by researchers who have looked at links with the abhorrent practices around slavery and the merchants of that era. Our Guest speaker for the morning will be Ann Henderson. Ann is a former pupil of JGHS and is chair of the JG Trust.

c.       On Friday 7 June James Gillespie’s High School S2s will perform an adaptation of ‘The Pied Piper’. This play, performed in Gaelic, encourages audience participation of all their favourite Gaelic nursery songs from earlier years.  Parents and carers are encouraged to sing along too! Guaranteed fun event for all ages! Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh.

4.       Congratulations to Aiden Devlin 2s2 for his recent success in the U16 boys’ Mayfest dance  championships in Glasgow.  

5.       Our Support for Learning Department is currently exploring how we might deploy ‘therapets’ to enhance pupils’ learning.

6.       Best wishes to both the Duke of Edinburgh group that is involved in this weekend’s expedition and to the group of 50+ pupils who are heading to Belgium/France today on our annual ‘Battlefields’ Trip’.

7.       We are currently drawing up dates for the school’s annual calendar. We work broadly on the principle that dates (for prelims, parents’ nights, trips, reports etc.) transfer across from one year to the next. I would welcome feedback on the dates for the various events based on this past year’s experiences.

I take this opportunity of wishing all a wonderful weekend.

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher