Friday 25 October

1. It was lovely to welcome all the pupils back to school on Wednesday of this week.
2. Thanks to Mr Crosbie who, on Wednesday of this week, arranged for a celebration/education of Caribbean culture to take place at JGHS as part of ‘Black History Month 2019’. In thanking colleagues for arranging the event, one of our senior staff wrote: ‘The workshops, facilitated by members of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association, were engaging, informative, thought-provoking, passionate, fun and from what I saw, were very well received by all of the students.  On a personal level, I can honestly say that I have not smiled and laughed as much in a long time while watching all the students and staff dancing and singing in the Theatre.  It was really special and joyful, but with a clear and important message of inclusion, togetherness and unity.  I also had Bob Marley’s Redemption Song in my head for the rest of the day, which was no bad thing!’
3. After the success of running it last year, we have decided to run the Legal Experts in Schools initiative again for this session. A number of our S2 pupils have signed up to take part and will be involved in 6 x 1 hour long sessions over the next few months. The first of these is on Monday 28th October. The Legal Experts in Schools initiative is a programme which provides opportunities for practising and trainee lawyers to engage students in interactive discussions about legal issues. The legal professionals draw on their expertise to increase young people’s understanding of the law, how it relates to their daily lives, their rights and responsibilities, and support students to develop their legal capability
4. Work has now started in earnest towards getting Darroch Secondary School ready to be used as an annexe for JGHS from August 2021. It is our intention to relocate as much of our Gaelic Medium Education (GME) provision to Darroch from August 2021 in anticipation of GME relocating to a dedicated Gaelic School from August 2024. (The location of this dedicated Gaelic Secondary school has yet to be decided).
5. This week and for the next two weeks we are fortunate to have speakers in school from the Samaritans to run sessions with S6 during Personal and Social Education lessons and also Stewart Ivory Finance who are running sessions to provide financial planning and advice on saving, budgeting and different types of loans.
6. On Fridays during break time, we often have bake sales to raise money for a variety of causes. Today, Eilidh Cargill (S6) organised a bake sale to raise funds for her Project Trust year after summer. She is going to be doing primary teaching in India from the Autumn of 2020.
7. Good luck to our pupils who have been selected to represent JGHS in the U13’s Scottish (Football) Shield against St. Kentigern’s this afternoon.
8. Thanks to all who have already contributed to the school’s Foodbank. The deadline for contributions to our Foodbank is a week today – Friday 1 November. Any items with a reasonable shelf life are welcomed.
9. Well done to:

1. All pupils who took part in last week’s Royal National Mod which was held in Glasgow. Amongst our many winners and performers were: Seona Macdonald (3R1) and Eimear McShea (3L2) won the Comunn na Clarsaich Cup for their Clarsach duet performance (age 13-18). All the 2019 Mod results can be accessed here. Notably and most impressively, as in previous years, JGHS and Bun Sgoil Taobh na Pairce had very strong representation amongst prize-winners for the various Clarsach competitions. (Clarsach is Gaelic for Harp)
2. This year the JGHS Clarsach players were collectively awarded the Tom Mathews Trophy. The Clarsach Society warded us the prize this year to recognise our pupils’  ‘overall demeanour maturity  and musicality’.
3. Kirsty Johnson (s4) who has been invited to join the Great Britain Cycling Team’s Olympic Apprentice Development Programme for 2019-20. 
4. Sean Gallacher (S4) and Mollaidh Nicholson (S4) who continue to achieve tremendous success in Golf. Both continue to impress with a string of winning performances in various competitions in recent months.
10. Dates
1. The S1 Halloween Party will be taking place on Tuesday 29 of October. The party will include a disco, a scare tour and various games and activities with prizes available for the best costume and the best dancer. Tickets will be on sale from the 23rd to the 29th of October in the Forum at break-time and cost £3. Food and drinks will be served throughout the night at no additional cost.
2. Tickets for our annual Christmas Concert at the Usher Hall are now on sale from their box office. Book early to avoid disappointment! http://www.usherhall.co.uk/whats-on/james-gillespies-high-school-christmas-concert-1
3. On Monday 28 and Wednesday 30 October, there are 2 parents’ nights for S1 pupils. Details of how to book meeting times with teachers has been emailed to S1 parents.

 And finally, please remember that the clocks go back one hour this weekend. This will make the mornings lighter for the next few weeks. All are requested to leave plenty of time for travelling to school so that pupils are on campus no later than 0830. Classes start at 840 on the dot!

My quote of the week: "The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice." (B Herbert).

Wishing all a delightful weekend.

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher

Friday 11 October

1. It was encouraging to see so many at the Parent Council AGM on Tuesday evening. Our thanks to Ailsa Macintosh who chairs the Parent Council and has agreed to continue in that role for the coming year.  Details of the Parents Council’s business and activities can be found at:  http://jghscouncil.btck.co.uk/ Thanks also to all of our parents who do so much to support our pupils in a myriad of ways. Ann Henderson (Chair) of the James Gillespie’s Trust also attended the Parent Council meeting to explore how both the Trust and the Parent Council can further coordinate to support the school.
2. Any pupils requiring Cambridge Assessment admissions tests for entry to university next year should have already registered with Mr Warden. https://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/    Any outstanding registrations can be completed but only up until 14th October.  No late entries will be accepted. Please email Mr Warden directly if you have any questions about this or have a last minute registration to make.  Jeff.Warden@jamesgillespies.edin.sch.uk
3. Congratulations to Mrs Laura Stewart who has been appointed to the post of DHT (Rising Rolls), working on planning future accommodation and supporting our current situation.  This 2 days per weeks commitment will enable better planning across the school as our roll continues to grow.
4. Thanks to everyone who contributed to ‘MusicFest’ last evening. An absolutely fantastic effort from all who performed and all the staff who contributed and organised, especially Mrs Shearer.
5. On Wednesday of this week we held a ‘Parent Engagement’ event to allow us to better support learning for a targeted group of pupils. We used assessment data and professional judgement to determine where we could offer the most effective support. The event was led by Modern Languages and our Family Learning working group comprised from staff across the school. Particular thanks to Julie Francis, Craig Watt and Robin Andrews who presented on the night and managed to obtain a host of free resources to support learning at home.

Dates

6. The S1 Halloween Party will be taking place on Tuesday 29 of October. The party will include a disco, a scare tour and various games and activities with prizes available for the best costume and the best dancer. Tickets will be on sale from the 23rd to the 29th of October in the Forum at break-time and cost £3. Food and drinks will be served throughout the night at no additional cost.
7. Tickets for our annual Christmas Concert at the Usher Hall will be on sale from their box office from 10am on 21st October. Book early to avoid disappointment! http://www.usherhall.co.uk/whats-on/james-gillespies-high-school-christmas-concert-1
8. On Monday 28 and Wednesday 30 October, there are 2 parents’ nights for S1 pupils. Details of how to book meeting times with teachers has been emailed to S1 parents.

And finally, I take this opportunity to wish everyone a super October break. Pupils resume on the morning of Wednesday 23 October.

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher

Friday 4 October

1. In the interests of others’ safety, we would request that  unless there are significant mobility issues, car drivers should not enter school grounds to drop off or collect pupils.
2. On Friday 4 October pupils ran a bake-sale at beak, in the Forum, to raise funds for Amnesty International.
3. On Monday 7 October, the author Michel Faber will visit JGHS to talk to Higher Pupils studying his novel ‘Under The Skin’.
4. The JGHS Parent Council would like to invite everyone from our school community to our next PC meeting, which will be our AGM, on Tues 8th Oct @ 7pm in the Library in the Malala building.    Ian Porter, DHT, will be reviewing Key Adult Time and we will have updates on WiFi,  rising rolls and capacity .  Everyone is very welcome but if you can't make that date our minutes will be online at http://jghscouncil.btck.co.uk
5. On Thursday 10 October there will be a bucket shake collection to raise funds and awareness of Young Minds World Mental Health Day.  The theme of this year’s event is suicide prevention.
6. This year's MusicFest (Thursday 10th October) will feature 14 exceptionally talented acts! Our audience will be treated to performances by pupils from S1-S6, who are budding songwriters, singers, or musicians, performing as soloists and in bands. We are lucky to be joined this year by our school Jazz Band, and our amazing headliners CHAOS AND SELENA. The evening will start at 7pm with tickets priced at just £3 (doors from 6.30pm). Tickets will be available to purchase from Monday 7 October in the Performing Arts Base at lunchtimes. Tickets will also be available on the door on the night. Please come along and support our extremely talented pupils as they showcase their exceptional musicality!
7. On Wed Oct 23^rd, to mark Black History Month, we will be hosting Lisa Williams of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and some colleagues from the Caribbean, who will be running music, dance, poetry and cookery workshops throughout the day.  S2 will be a main focus during the day, though other year groups will also be involved. 
8. Food collected in our Foodbank will be picked up on Friday November 1st after school between 13:30-14:00. Donations should be dropped off in the foyer area by Reception where there will be crates for the food.
9. As per last year, between now and Christmas, our lovely S1s will be engaged in little acts of kindness throughout the school as part of our RME curriculum.
10. The deadline is looming for those who wish to apply for an Oxbridge start in 2020. Further details are available from Mr Warden, who coordinates support for students who wish to apply.
11. Thanks to the following S2 pupils who helped out at last week’s S3 parents’ evening:
1. Hoja Gaye
2. Ben Cadger
3. Matthew Dickson
4. Chloe Watson
5. Ella Robertson

Congratulations to

12. Antonina Porsch (S2) who was runner up in last week’s Scottish U13 girls table tennis.
13. Louis Opit (S6) and Robert Lightfoot (S6) who have been successful in applying for a work/research placement with the United Kingdom Astronomy and Technology Centre at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. The placement is for one week beginning on 28th October, 2019.
14. S1 Residential - Thank you to those parents who have already signed their children up for our 2020 excursion. For any children still interested in attending, the £30 deposit must be paid via ParentPay by Friday 11 October.
15. Two teams competed at last week’s Enterprising Maths (Lothians) competition. The team consisting of Fedya Cheltsov (S4), Ruaridh Usher (S4), Chirag Shetty (S3) and Rachel Allan (S3) came 1st and have qualified for the national final. The second team consisting of Josie Reid (S3), Pia Rogers (S3), Alasdair Scott (S3), Andrew Wright (S3) came 11th, despite only having a few days notice to prepare and having no S4s in the team. Abi Hossell (S6) acted as a team supervisor for the day to help enable the smooth running of the event. All 9 pupils had a great day and were a credit to the school in their performance and the way they carried themselves throughout. We won the national final in 2018 so no pressure on the team that will represent us in the final!
16. The October holiday begins at 1255 Pm on Friday 11 October. Pupils resume on Wednesday 23 October.

My quote for the week: “You can’t tell just by looking at someone what they are dealing with inside.”

I hope all have a lovely week.