Friday 17 December 2021

Friday 17 December

 I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in our school community for all of your support in ensuring that the school continued to function as best it could over the past year. As students and staff prepare for the Xmas holidays, there is uncertainty as to what extent the latest Omicron variant will impact our lives when students are scheduled to resume on Thursday 6 January 2022. I will continue to keep all informed.

 It is clear that following the rules, taking regular lateral flow tests, and getting vaccinated are our best allies to beat the virus. You can find out where to get lateral flow and PCR tests on the NHS website. The vaccination booster programme has expanded, so you may now be eligible to book yours. But, again, the NHS website has the information you’ll need.

 The number of Covid cases in our school community during the past 7 days was 20. This is 4 more than last week.

 

  1. We are delighted to announce that šŸŽ„ šŸŽ ❄️ JGHS Online Christmas Concert 2021 ❄️ šŸŽ šŸŽ„ is now available to view online! Huge thanks to musicians, media and technical teams, sound and visual engineers and our wonderful instrumental instructors and Performing Arts staff for making this fantastic collaboration happen. We are thrilled that the show has been able to go on! Wishing you all a wonderful festive season from all in Performing Arts. 
  2. Over the past 2 weeks, S1 pupils at James Gillespie’s High School have been taking part in Vintage Vibes Edinburgh Christmas card campaign as part of their Kindness Project. Just a week after hearing about the project, classes in the RME (and English) department have managed to create over 300 Christmas cards for 200+ isolated elderly people in Edinburgh. We were incredibly sad to hear that one study found that Edinburgh’s elderly are the loneliest in the UK and our pupils were very motivated to help.
  3. Active Schools are organising Bikeability Scotland Instructor (BSI) training courses in the New Year, which are FREE to staff and parent volunteers. There is also funding to provide cover staff to release teachers to attend the course. Please contact Eliot.Ambrose@ea.edin.sch.uk if you are interested.
  4. The Parent Council is leading a festive fundraising appeal for its Small Sums Fund, which supports projects run by staff to improve the educational experience for pupils at the school.  This year, we have not been able to raise income through our usual events and fundraising activities, but there is still a need for the support our funding can supply. If you are able to do so, please make a donation to the Parent Council through Parent Pay this festive season. For further information: https://jghsparentcouncil.org/fundraising/festive-fundraiser-2021/
  5. We were very disappointed to have to cancel the coach trip to the Etihad stadium on Saturday 11 December to see Manchester City play Wolves. Full refunds are being processed via the ParentPay system. Please contact us at Admin@jamesgillespies.edin.sch.uk if you have any queries. Sincere thanks to Ms Crosbie who had worked hard to arrange for this trip to take place and here’s hoping that when it is safe to do so we can arrange for such a trip to take place.
  6. Digital Update JGHS is in Phase 2 for the Empowered Learning city-wide device distribution. We were able to secure devices ahead of schedule for S5-6 due to the Covid related delays to our extension at Darroch which was fortunate.  The S6 devices will be collected back in, reset and passed onto the new S5 after around June. If you have an S5 or 6 child who is planning on leaving school ahead of this please remind them to return their device, plug and charger to the classroom assistants office in Bruntsfield House. To ensure the Council’s preparatory work is complete, the device distribution for Phase 2, which includes our new S1-4 devices, has been moved to September 2022.  We are investigating the possibility of bringing forward the date for the new S4 devices to allow us to plan digitally for the entire senior phase and will update you if there is any movement here. 
  7. Targeted Support During the prelims we will be organising support sessions for students who, for any reason, are at risk of missing out on qualifications. We will offer subject specific tutoring sessions to help them achieve their full potential this year. This means that during specific periods each week, attendance during prelim leave will be requested for targeted students. Further communication will come out to families following the Christmas holidays to share details with those involved.
  8. Student Awards Agency of Scotland (SAAS) - online presentation - Thursday 13th January 2022 at 6pm SAAS is an executive agency of the Scottish Government. It supports eligible students by paying their tuition fees as well as offering bursaries and supplementary grants. It also assesses students applying for loans. We have arranged for SAAS to deliver an online presentation about applications for funding for those students applying for HNC, HND and degree courses. This will provide important information about applying and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. The event is for students and parents/carers if they wish to join. We will send everyone a lint to access the meeting after we resume in January.
  9. A reminder that the public consultation phase of the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review  is still live and is open till 19 January 2022. As James Gillespie (whose bequest led to the founding of our School)  was a merchant who made his fortune from the sale of tobacco products, this consultation has added significance for our school community. The online survey can be found here: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/slaverycolonialism  Background information to the Review is being hosted on the Council’s website here: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/edinburghslaverycolonialism
  10. Covid-19: information.  
    1. Please continue to access the NHS Guidance so that you will know when you should get tested for Covid19.
    2. Anyone testing positive for a Lateral Flow Test (Home Test) should immediately self-isolate and arrange for a free PCR test
  11. Dates:
    1. 17 December Term ends at midday.
    2. 5 January Staff resume
    3. 6 January Students resume
    4. 13 January Student Awards Agency of Scotland (SAAS) - online presentation at 6pm
  12. Congratulations to:
    1. James Gillespie's Netball Club who got off to a flying start in Netball Scotland Schools Scottish Cup this year. Our S2 and S3 teams currently sit undefeated within their group and only have 1 match still to play. We are hopeful they will go through to represent the east in the next stage. Our two senior and S1 teams have also been training hard and performing well. All involved have been a credit to the school and represented themselves brilliantly. Looking forward to seeing what they can do in the new year!
    2. Jonathan Steel (S6) & Rayan Mohammed (S5) who have been selected to join the Scottish Schools FA U18 International Squad. This is a massive achievement. The selectors for the Under 18 Squad watched Scottish Cup matches and held numerous area trials. They will represent the Scottish Schools FA in the Centenary Shield Competition, which will take place in 2022.
    3. Evie Strong (S3) who received a distinction for her Grade 2 piano exam
    4. Amy Wignall (S3) - Grade 3 pass with Merit in violin
    5. Kaishin Yao (S3) - Grade 3 pass with Distinction in violin
    6. Flora Mitchell (S4) - Grade 4 pass in violin
    7. Elsa Mercadante-Wilson (S4) - Grade 4 pass in Violin
    8. Ben Smith (S5)  – Grade 8 pass with merit in Cello
    9. Anjalie Khan (S1) who has successfully auditioned to become a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland's (NYOS) junior orchestra.
  13. Very best wishes to the following staff who are leaving JGHS today:
    1. Mr Jeff  Warden who is the new Headteacher at Lanark Grammar School
    2. Ms Eilidh Grant who is taking up a similar Maths post closer to her home.

 

 

My quote for the week: “"May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve."(Source unknown)

 

 

Best wishes to all for a joyous festive season and a very happy New Year.

 

 

Donald j Macdonald (Headteacher)

No comments:

Post a Comment