Friday 25 June

 

1. As session 2020/21 draws to a close I’d like to pay tribute to all who are part of the amazing community that is JGHS. I’d like to thank many people so forgive me if don’t name individuals; to do so would take forever and a day. I suspect it will be the understatement of the century when I say that this past year has been challenging. Covid-19 has changed how we have had to live our lives; SQA arrangements have dominated how we have had to organise our Learning and Teaching schedules across the entire school. Throughout the past year, we have had to adapt and evolve to ensure that we are safe and others have been cared for. Pleasingly, on a daily basis, I have seen evidence of our school values underpinning how we operate as a school.

a) Respect

b) Kindness

c) Integrity

d) Inclusion

e) High Expectations

2. In alphabetical order I’d like to relay my thanks and pay warm tributes to:
1. Parents – thank you for your support, understanding and encouragement throughout what has been really challenging for you as parents. Working from home and doing your best to ensure that your children engaged with ‘home learning’ was hugely challenging.  Special thanks to our Parent Council who continued to provide support and counsel.  
2. Partner agencies – thank you for working with us and making the difference to so many youngsters who needed a bit of extra tlc. Social workers, youth organisations, counsellors, community police have all contributed towards ensuring that our most vulnerable, in particular, were supported through the toughest of days.
3. Students – thank you for working so hard and staying with us through such unpredictable times. In particular, I salute those in S4, 5 and 6 who, despite what was happening around us, managed to stay focused on school work and prepare for final assessments.  Very best wishes to our outgoing S6. We hope to see you all at the ‘Prom’ on 31 August.
4. Teachers and support staff – thank you for all that you have done to support our students. You always went the extra mile; you were creative, professional, thoughtful and kind. All worked hard to ensure that those who needed extra time and support were nurtured and  looked after.
3. This is a reminder to complete the Parent Survey on your priorities for next year and how you would like Parent Council to meet them. It will only take 5 minutes! Are you interested in putting forward your views?  Would you like to support and diversify our work representing parents and children?  What do you want PC meetings to look like? The survey will close on 2 July.
4. Best wishes to several staff who are finishing with us today. I’ll send an update next week showing all the changes over the past session.
5. Warmest congratulation to all students who received their ‘provisional’ SQA grades on Wednesday evening. For those who have corresponded with us on any aspect of the grades awarded, please be reassured that we will respond to you individually and/or or refer you to the relevant advice from both City of Edinburgh Council and the SQA.
6. Please see below video link which was produced by Nature Scot. It contains important messages and safety measures around acting responsibly when wild camping. Including fire safety, littering and water safety. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eQ_YyV2BII&t=7s
7. Well done to:
1. Reuben Murdoch (S2) who created an animation that was included in the Edinburgh Schools Syncopate concert broadcast on Monday. Using plasticine and stop motion he animated the words in the song ‘parade’ played by the Leith Academy and Trinity High jazz band - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw3SErYUn3Q.
2. Rhys Edwards (S4) who last week won the Scottish Time Trial (Cycling) championships, beating not only the under 16s but also the under 18s as well. Rhys now goes onto the British championships as the Scottish qualifier which will be held in September.
3. Congratulations to pupils who have successfully passed the following music exams this term:

                                                                           i.      Veronika Fenwick - Grade 8 Piano

                                                                         ii.      Toby Ward - Grade 7 Violin

                                                                       iii.      Thomas Brandie - Grade 5 Violin

                                                                       iv.      Sophie Miele - Grade 4 Violin

4. S6 students (Emma Naylor, Charlie Beeston, Ruyuan Yang and Aimee Ma) who have just gained accreditation as Young STEM Leaders at Level 6 after working hard on a sustainability project through lockdown. This is a prestigious award that helps develop leadership and mentoring skills and contributes UCAS points toward university entry.
5. All students  who are involved in our Gardening Club. Lovely to see so many taking an active interest in the plant sale that took place yesterday.

 

My quote of the week: ‘It always seems impossible until it's done’ (Nelson Mandela)

 

Wishing all a safe and wonderful summer.

Donald j Macdonald