Friday 7 January

 It was lovely to welcome everyone back to school yesterday. The periods of lockdown and various restrictions over the past 22 months have highlighted how much we all benefit from getting back into familiar routines and the opportunity to interact with others. Looking ahead, we have so much to look forward to in 2022 as the days continue to lengthen and Spring plants emerge from their wintry domains.  

 All pupils and staff are remined to wear warm clothing to school as windows will be opened to aid ventilation throughout the school.

 At the end of next week, I will return to sharing the numbers of weekly COVID infections in the school community. Please ’phone or email the school if your child tests positive for COVID and let us know:

• The date of the test and
• whether it was a Home (lateral Flow) or a PCR test. 

1. We will be contacting S2 parents in the next few days to share boking details for the online Parent meetings on 25 and 27 January.
2. The school does not have insurance for pupils’ personal belongings. Those that take expensive items such as mobile phones to school should ensure that they have insurance in place to cover breakage, loss etc.
3. Please do all that you can to reinforce the message that no person should ever carry a bladed object with them in a public place. Pupils taking such objects to school will face immediate exclusion and be charged by the Police. I will include this strong message when I make my weekly announcements to the school community on Monday morning.
4. Cycling and traveling to schools in more environmentally friendly ways are strongly encouraged. Cyclists should ensure that a high quality lock is used to secure cycles in our designated cycle park.  
5. Following COP26, the National Poet for Scotland, Kathleen Jamie, has written a poem that you may find thought-provoking and evocative: What the Clyde said, after COP26.What the Clyde said, after COP26 by Kathleen Jamie - Scottish Poetry Library
6. Early next week we will send information to all families on how to apply for bus travel cards which will enable all under the age of 22 to access free bus travel in Scotland.
7. 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.
8. 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
9. In the next 10 days, staff at JGHS will be using council produced learning materials with pupils in S1-3 to encourage reflection on Scotland’s links with slavery and what our next steps could be to address historic racial injustice and stem modern day discrimination in its various forms.
10. 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
11. Covid-19: information.  
1. Please 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.
12. Dates:
1. 10 January Prelim exams for S4,5 and 6
2. 13 January Student Awards Agency of Scotland (SAAS) - online presentation at 6pm
3. 25 and 27 January S2 Parents’ evenings (Online)

 

13. 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: “"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism.“ David M. Burns)

  

Best wishes to all for a lovely weekend.

 

 

Donald j Macdonald (Headteacher)