Friday, 14 January 2022

Friday 14 January

With fewer seniors attending classes this past week, school corridors and social spaces have been much quieter. The prelims are running smoothly and, over the coming days, exam scripts will be marked and graded so that students can learn and do even better in their finals in May. Over the past week, it has been pleasing to see so many senior pupils coming in to school to access additional support from staff.  

 The number of pupils testing positive for Covid over the past 7 days was 12.

 

  1. Earlier this week we sent information to all families on how to apply for concessionary bus travel cards which will enable all aged from 5-21 to access free bus travel in Scotland from 31 January. In addition to applying online, applications can also be made via City of Edinburgh Council libraries. It is advised to book an appointment via the following link.
  2. In an effort to promote the benefits of cycling, Students in our Eco and sustainability group would like to invite you to sign their online petition which aims to persuade the City of Edinburgh Council to improve cycling lanes to our school.  The Link to the petition is here:    https://chng.it/RtVtcRgy
  3. 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
  4. Several of our Gaelic pupils are entering short films in this year’s annual prestigious FilmG competition. Please have a look and vote for the JGHS entries!
    1. S1 Pupils https://www.filmg.co.uk/filmichean/caite-bheil-tescos/?lang=en
    2. Sadie Drye (S6)  https://www.filmg.co.uk/filmichean/a-coiseachd-tron-choille/?lang=en
    3. Tony Gallagher (S6) and friends https://www.filmg.co.uk/filmichean/meirlich-an-fainne-aisling/?lang=en
  5. The next Parent Council meeting will be held online on Wednesday 26 January at 7pm. Further details will be circulated next week.  There will be the opportunity on the night to ask questions via the Q&A typed chat facility, but if you want to raise an issue in advance please send it to the PC email jghscouncilcomms@gmail.com and we will try to include it in the updates.  You can find the recording of the last PC meeting at: https://jghsparentcouncil.org/.
  6. Edinburgh Council is holding open meetings for parents in January and February to discuss the impacts of Covid on school communities and parental engagement. The meetings are on Tuesday 11 January, Tuesday 25 January, and Tuesday 22 February (all from 6.15-7.15pm) and parents are welcome to join any of them through this link: Click here to join the meeting. This is an opportunity to let the Council hear from parents about how changes, such as parents not being in schools for school events, are affecting school communities, and the Parent Council encourages parents to attend to raise any issues. For more information contact: Parental.Engagement@edinburgh.gov.uk
  7. Covid-19: information.  
    1. Please ‘phone or email the school to tell if your child tests positive for COVID. Include test date and whether it was a LFD (Home test) or PCR.
    2. Anyone testing positive for a Lateral Flow Test (Home Test) should immediately self-isolate in line with current Government Guidelines.
    3. Taking regular lateral flow tests and getting vaccinated are among our best mitigations to limit the spread of Covid. 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.
    4. Please continue to access the NHS Guidance so that you will know when you should get tested for Covid19.
  8. Teenage booster (Diphtheria/Tetanus & Polio and Meningitis ACWY) – this will be on Wednesday 2 March 2022. This is for all S3s and any S4-6s who didn’t receive the booster in S3. Please return any outstanding forms to us as soon as possible. If your child in S4-6 did not receive a form, this means they already received the booster in S3.
  9. HPV vaccine – this will be on Wednesday and Thursday 6-7 April 2022. Forms will be distributed shortly.
  10. Dates:
    1. 13 January Student Awards Agency of Scotland (SAAS) - online presentation at 6pm
    2. 17 Jan to Fri 21 January - S2 pupils will be given career path and course choice info on during PSE classes
    3. 21 January S2 pupils will be emailed their username and pin-code to access Tools, where they will make their choices
    4. 25 and 27 January S2 Parents’ evenings (Online)
    5. 2 February - closing date for S2 choices
    6. 2 March  Teenage booster (Diphtheria/Tetanus & Polio and Meningitis ACWY)
    7. 6-7 April HPV vaccine
  11. Congratulations to:
    1. Nikolas Katsantonis (1L2) who recently passed his grade 4 piano.
    2. Nora Trew-Rae (S5) who sang with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Junior choir on The BBC programme 'Reflections at the Quay' on Christmas day. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0012z3y/reflections-at-the-quay-christmas-special
    3. Cathryn Gardiner (S2) and Orla Holt (S2) who have been selected to take part in an event hosted by Strathclyde University to promote engineering for S2 girls. They gained 2 out of 150 places available across Scotland on the back of personal statements they wrote outlining the personal qualities and personal ambition they have for an engineering career.
  12. And finally, very best wishes to all students who are involved in taking prelim exams over the next 3 weeks. We recognise and acknowledge that taking any exams is stressful. Please do your best to reassure all that the prelims are a rehearsal for the final exams in May and will provide an excellent opportunity to reflect, to learn and to do even better for the final exams.

 

My quote for the week: “Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.“ (Plato)

 Best wishes to all for a lovely weekend.

Donald

Donald j Macdonald (Headteacher)

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