Dear Parent/Carer,
It was a delight to see all pupils and staff returning to school over the course of this past week. Those I spoke with all seemed happy to be back and, in particular, looked forward to interacting with friends and experiencing face-to-face learning alongside peers and school staff. The continuing good news on reducing numbers of infections, the rollout of vaccinations and the Spring sunshine have all added to raising spirits. Here’s hoping that we have everyone back immediately after the Easter break on Tuesday 20 April.
Discussions across the school are progressing well in relation to SQA arrangements for S4,5 and 6. We are considering what form assessments will take in the coming weeks and how we will arrive at gradings for pupils. We recognise that it is essential to make an early decision on this so that pupils and staff have as much time as possible to prepare. We will update parents on our latest thinking at the Parent Council Meeting on Tuesday evening. Following this meeting will share our plans towards the end of next week.
We are currently exploring options to support senior pupils with their preparation for assessments during the Easter break. More on this will follow.
The next Parent Council meeting will be held on Tuesday 23 March at 7pm. As usual, the meeting will be online and a link will be circulated via the school next week. Donald j Macdonald, Head Teacher, will give his report on what is happening at the school at the moment, and we will also hear from Deirdre O’Brien (DHT) and Ashling Dolan (CL Maths) on the results of the survey on remote learning, and from Bob Shankland (DHT) with an update on arrangements for SQA assessments. There will be the opportunity on the night to ask questions via the Q&A typed chat facility, but if you want to raise a question in advance it should be sent by Monday at 2pm to the Parent Council email jghscouncilcomms@gmail.com and we will try to include it in the updates.
The Parent Council is also launching a new website https://jghspc.wordpress.com/ and from next week updates on the PC’s work will only appear here and the previous site will be run down. If you have any comments on the new site, or any views on what else could be included on it, let us know.
It was Young Carers Action Day on 16th March. This is one of several dates throughout the year which aim to raise awareness of what it means to be a young carer. A young carer is a young person aged 5-25 who cares for or is affected by another person at home. The cared for person may be an adult or child and suffer from mental health issues, a disability, chronic ill-health, or drug/alcohol misuse. The Young Carer Coordinator Team at JGHS are working to raise awareness of what it is to be young carer, in the hope of identifying and bringing support to those in the school with a caring role. Please contact Richard Sievwright, Fiona Oatman and Angus Caruthers if you would like further information. https://www.youngcarers.org.uk
Parents will no doubt be aware of the media coverage relating to abuse/violence targeted towards Edinburgh’s buses. Please discuss this with your children and encourage them to do all they can to keep our buses and drivers safe for all to enjoy.
In relation to Planning for S6 Advanced Higher courses 2021-22, we have added an S5 Channel to the S5 Year Group Teams page to share information with S5 students relating to the plans for next year’s Advanced Higher classes. Please could you check that your child is aware of this channel if they are planning to take AH courses in S6. It will be a useful place for them to keep up to date with developments and share their feedback. In addition to the Teams page, we will also use Key Adult classes to share information with S5 students once everyone returns after the Easter holiday.
The HPV Vaccination Programme last year was seriously affected by school closures due to Covid 19, causing some students to miss out on vaccinations. NHS Lothian is embarking on a new vaccination programme in 2021 to capture those students who missed vaccinations last year and to re-start the programme for this year. Consent packs are being delivered to the school and NHS Lothian would like consent forms returned to the school by 31-Mar-21. However the school has not yet received these packs and distribution to eligible students within school time will not be possible in a reasonable timescale due to the current in-class provision. We have therefore made the decision to post the packs to eligible students as soon as those consent packs arrive. We expect the packs to arrive next week, beginning 22-Mar-21, and will post them immediately so please look out for them and we ask that you return the consent forms as quickly as possible and before 31-Mar-21.
Home test kits for Covid-19 are available from reception for staff and pupils. These are Lateral Flow Devices (LFD) and give results within 30 minutes. The other type of test being used (called a PCR test) is administered by the NHS and usually provides a result within 48 hours. Participation in home testing is voluntary and we will only issue home test kits after a Consent form has been received at school reception. Details here. All staff and pupils are strongly encouraged to get involved. In the event that the LFD test is positive the pupil and family should self-isolate until the result is confirmed by the more reliable PCR test available via the NHS. Please note that if the follow up PCR test is negative the earlier LFD test can be disregarded and the family no longer has to self-isolate.
Well done to all who took part in this year’s Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) competition. The winning team won a £3000 cheque to give to Ravelrig Riding for the Disabled and the runners up narrowly missed being able to give the same to the Yard.
Winners = Hannah Treagus and Vivienne Bachmann
Runners Up = Rabi Jaha, Joey Sherlock and Jan Kudla.
My quote for the week: “Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.” (A Krizzan)
Wishing all a lovely weekend.
Donald j Macdonald
Headteacher
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