S1 Halloween party

We had a superb halloween party tonight for pupils in S1. Thank you to all the S6 pupils and Guidance staff who teamed up to make it such a fun and entertaining night. My favourite moment of the evening was when a 'scary' S6 pupil leaped out from a darkened recess in Warrender  and screeched in my ear to frighten me. The screech that followed when he switched on his lantern and realised it was me was even louder!

Rumours are rife as to whether our legendary 'Green Lady' joined the festivities. Now that all the children are safely tucked up in bed and it's all quiet again in Bruntsfield House I hope she gets a chance to play the piano in peace and have a restful night.

Sgoinneil

Warmest congratulations to all our pupils who did so well at the National Mod in Dunoon last week. They were outstanding and did us proud! Nach math a rinn iad uile!

Profile of the ideal pupil

According to the 30 pupils in our junior pupil council the ideal pupil would have the following qualities and characteristics:

• Independent
• Organised
• Confident
• Respectful
• Has perfect attendance and is punctual
• Attentive
• Contributes to each class
• Well behaved
• Responsible
• Honest
• Dresses appropriately
• Balances school and social life
• Works to the best of his/her ability
• Participates in Extra curricular
• Asks questions and
• Looks after others

Characteristics of the ideal teacher

Many of us have fond memories of at least one teacher from our schooldays. His/her personality and the way we were made to feel about ourselves and learning stay with us for a long time. What though are the characteristics of the ideal teacher in the eyes of pupils in 2012?  According to S1, 2 and 3 pupils at James Gillespie's HS their ideal teacher has the following characteristics/qualities:

• Enthusiastic
• Fun
• Happy
• Fair
• Does not have favourites
• Promotes active learning
• In control
• Responsible
• Respectful
• Down to Earth
• Positive
• Understanding
• Friendly (but not necessarily a friend)
• Knowledgeable 
• Experienced and
• Never gives up on us.

National Mod

I would like to wish success and enjoyment to all those who are competing at the National Mod in Dunoon next week. Several pupils from Gillespie's HS and from Tollcross PS will be there. I'm really looking forward to spending the week on the Cowal peninsula with my family. Lets hope that the sun shines!

Humanity

International 'Day of the Girl'

I am delighted that our Pupil Council has decided to focus their efforts on raising funds and awareness of the plight of girls in some countries in the world. The Girl Effect is a campaign sponsored by the Nike Foundation and Warren Buffet's NoVo Foundation.

International 'Day of the Girl' took place on 11 October 2012

Pupil Council meeting

I am looking forward immensely to working with the S1-3 members of our pupil council tomorrow. The pupil council is made up of a representative from each tutor class. Each year therefore has 10 representatives.

The day will begin with a short questionnaire on a variety of aspects about the school. I will publish the results on this blog. Following this task we will divide into groups and the pupils will discuss what values we should adopt as a school. (Teaching staff and Office staff were involved in a similar exercise two weeks ago).

After this we will use a 'carousel' approach to allow groups of pupils to answer the following questions:

1. What are the characteristics of the ideal pupil?
2. What are the characteristics of the ideal teacher?
3. How can we make lessons more interesting?
4. How can we get rid of litter?
5. What do we need to change at Gillespie’s
6. What must not change at Gillespie’s?
7. How can we improve behaviour and encourage all pupils to be the best they can be?
8. How can we improve attendance?

I will be intrigued to what see emerges from the discussions! The results will be shared with all staff and pupils.

Parents face jail over kids’ truancy

This rather alarming headline caught my eye at the weekend when I was browsing the various on-line news stories. (Full story at: Evening News) Regardless of what one thinks of using custodial sentences to punish those who offend against society, I welcome the fact that Edinburgh Council is prepared to support children by taking such a tough line with those who are neglecting their responsibilities as parents. I sincerely hope that this 'last resort', won't be necessary. Based on my 30 years experience of working in  a variety of schools, pupils, whose attendance is poor, invariably struggle to secure a positive outcome on leaving school. Performance in Maths is particularly adversely affected when attendance is poor. We also need to bear in mind that erratic or poor attendance has a disruptive impact on other pupils. 

In an increasingly competitive world all of our young people need and deserve the best possible education. Whether that education takes place in school or in an alternative setting doesn't matter as long as pupils turn up on time each day with a desire to learn and better themselves.  At Gillespie's the attendance target for all pupils is 100%.

New qualifications

Scott Murphy from the SQA joined us at the school this evening to talk to parents of pupils in S1,2 and 3 about the changes to Scottish school qualifications. I was delighted to see that our parents turned out in very large numbers and took the opportunity to raise a variety of concerns. I would encourage anyone who has a question they wish to raise about the new qualification to contact either Mr McCallum (DHT) or me. If we don't have the answer we will take advice from the SQA. Parents can also contact Scott Murphy directly at the SQA.

Details of the new qualifications can be found on the SQA website. This evening's presentation will be placed on the school website in the next day or two.

In November we propose to hold a further evening meeting for parents where we will share our latest thinking on how best to prepare our pupils for the new exams.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) evening  we are having an open evening for parents to share our plans for how we will manage classes during the rebuilding of our new school.

Another very busy day

After the excitement of last night's hugely successful African children's choir concert I arrived at school today with a spring in my step and very much looking forward to the day ahead.

My first meeting of the day was with Rev Karen Campbell, the minister at Marchmont St Giles. Our meeting gave us the opportunity to explore how we might work together in the future. Our school has much to gain from further developing partnerships in our local community and beyond. 

Immediately after this meeting I met with headteachers from our neighbouring secondary schools to discuss areas of mutual interest. This included curriculum structures and how each of our schools is progressing with Cfe.

At lunchtime I met with Dr Judith McClure along with Cat and Leanne (both senior pupils) and Mr Irvine (Curriculum Leader for Modern Languages) to explore how we continue to develop Chinese Studies at Gillespies.

In the evening we had a very well supported Open Night where we welcomed P7s and their parents from our local primary schools to visit our school. The evening was very well attended and, based on initial feedback, ran very went smoothly. Mrs Kinnear (DHT) will write to all of our P7 families to get further feedback and offer further opportunity to anyone who wishes to find out more about our school.

Amnesty Group

Well done to our amnesty group who raised £31.46 at a bake sale on Friday. Thanks to John and Mairi for organising this. 

Rock concert at Queen's hall

What a fantastic night out! A variety of bands from our school entertained a sizeable audience at this grand venue on Thursday evening. Well done and thanks to everyone who contributed to making the evening such a success. I particularly enjoyed seeing how comfortable our younger performers were on stage and how supportive the audience was. The staff band (Messrs Alexander, Carson, Mcphail, Adams and Dearsly) were tremendous and gave the younger rockers a run for their money. McPhail, who was an outstanding lead vocal, rolled back the years and shared with us afterwards that, prior to joining the second oldest profession, he sang in a band. We look forward to hearing more from this band as they continue to 'grow old disgracefully' together.

The heart of a child's learning

'Children do better when families support their learning. There are lots of different ways you can get involved - from reading together, spending time talking and listening and finding out about their day through to helping them prepare for exams.

Your involvement makes a world of difference to your child. so do it today. Speak to your school and visit the Parentzone website for practical advice and ideas.' (Source - Education Scotlanf website)

All parents are invited to the first meeting of our Parent Events Group (formerly known as the PTA) on Wednesday 12 September at 7 Pm. Please come along and support us!

Au revoir

The retirement of a special teacher is a watershed event for a generation of students. We all associate favourite teachers with our youth - a care free time when life was vibrant and summers seemed endless. On Friday night one hundred and thirty serving and former staff from Gillespie's attended a retirement function at George Watson's rugby club to say our farewells to a number of staff who have, over the years, made an outstanding contribution to our school. Those whose service to our school was being marked by this special occasion were:

• Mary Ross (English)
• Stuart Robertson (Chemistry)
• Sandra Evans (Modern Studies, Geography and Guidance)
• Sylvia Campbell (Art and Design)
• Kevin Woods (Geography)
• Duncan Macleod (Modern Languages)

Based on what I have seen in my relatively short time at the school and the outpouring of good wishes from so many associated with the school in recent months, I anticipated that this farewell event would be special. And so it was.

The food was great, the company superb and the after dinner speeches were quite outstanding. In just over two hours all those who were leaving shared many fond memories with us. Their well crafted stories, laced with humour, were hugely entertaining and provided a rich insight in to what makes Gillespie's such a special school.  We wish all of our former colleagues a deserved long and happy retirement.

Si Parents' social evening

Thank you to everyone who attended our social evening last night. It was great to see such a large turnout!

It would be terrific to see many new parents coming along to our next Parent Council meeting next Tuesday - 4 September at 7 pm in the school library. As I mentioned last night this is one of the best ways of supporting our school and influencing key changes in the years ahead. Its also a very effective way of finding out what really goes on in school.

A new S1 pupil's perspective

Thank you to Tuesday Rose McDonough for sharing her thoughts on High School after her first week with us.

On the run up to high school I was incredibly nervous. The whole idea of a completely new school with completely new teachers and completely new friends is quite intimidating. I was most worried about finding my way around and not getting hopelessly lost. As I first walked into the school I felt like everyone’s eyes were on me, but soon I was greeted by a couple of my friends, and as the day went on, I started to feel more and more at home. I enjoy the lessons a lot more than the ones we got in primary, especially Science and English, and I think that it’s good to get a variety of classes. 

Before we started, we had a three day transition; I think I would have been a lot more nervous if I hadn’t been to it. It's nice because it means that you don’t go into high school clueless about what awaits you.   The school was one of the most welcoming places I’ve been, and I have made lots of new friends there.

I hope that all of our new charges now feel as settled as Tuesday Rose. If you get lost, need advice or you just want to chat about something that is worrying you then please speak to any of our S6 helpers or any member of staff.

S1 parents' social event

It's now a full week since our pupils returned and in some ways it feels like we've never been away! Staff and pupils are back in their routines and it's great to see how well our new S1 pupils are settling in to the 'Big school'. Our S6 'befrienders' have been superb in supporting our new charges and ensuring that they arrive safely at their intended destinations.

Next Thursday evening (30 August) all parents of S1 are invited to join us at the school from 7-8 pm to meet senior staff and other parents. I hope to see as many there as possible!

Prior to the main event we would like to meet with parents whose children speak more than one language. (details will follow in a letter from Mrs Kinnear). The last survey that was undertaken showed that 47 languages were spoken at Gillespie's. In addition to valuing the diversity that exists at Gillespie's, we also seek to explore how learning can be enhanced by using different languages at home and in school.

History is one for the future

In recent times, learning about History seems to have become very popular and interesting. The TV series entitled 'Horrible Histories' has won various awards and, in our household, it has been compulsive viewing for our two daughters. How then as schools do we follow that?  I am delighted to report that at Gillespie's High School, History is thriving! One example of the wonderful work we do was staged in our assembly hall today when Dave Clarke (a practising teacher of History at Stewart's Melville and a former student at Liberton High School) presented to several enthralled assemblies.  

At the end of the day I set off from my office with the intention of popping into a few classes.  What was to have been a fleeting visit to the hall, as I particularly wished to go and see some of our new S1 classes in action, turned out to be so amazing that I stayed for 45 minutes. Dave Clarke was inspirational and the pupils and staff were transfixed. Amongst other amazing facts we learned about moustaches, polishing buttons, how to use bayonets, Elsie Inglis and the fearsome reputation of the Highland regiments. This was curriculum for excellence at its glorious best.

After a rapturous round of applause several pupils and staff stayed to survey and hold the various items that were utilised during the presentations. A particular favourite of mine was an actual 'dog-tag' from a fallen soldier. As the pupils departed I asked several what they thought of the presentation. Comments included: 'He was amazing - he should be performing at the Fringe' and 'That's how to teach History sir' give an accurate representation of the awe and wonder among the pupils who were there. Many thanks to the History department and Mrs Carruthers in particular for organising such a superb experience.

Back to school

'First day at school. Stomach sinks. Tears well up. Bottom lip trembles - and you're just the parent. First-time parents get more anxious than their little darlings, so let's spare a thought for them and those others new to school this week - the newly qualified teachers.
As with every "ordeal", the waiting is worse. Parents, awake since 6am, look with adoration and apprehension at little darling's new clothes and shiny shoes laid out ready.
Meanwhile, new teacher, shiny of shoe, has been in the school car park since 6am and is desperate for the loo, but the school is not open yet ...' (Source:Guardian newspaper)


 Tomorrow morning (Wednesday 15 August) we will warmly welcome all of our pupils back to school after what I hope has been a fantastic summer holiday. I am delighted that we have a full complement of staff who are all ready and raring to go.  I look forward to congratulating pupils on a superb set of exam results before we roll up our sleeves and continue on our journey to excellence through the new session.

A very large number of new staff (24) have joined us over the summer following the departure of an equally large number of colleagues. I suspect that this very large number of 'new' staff is unprecedented at Gillespie's. Some of  the 'new' staff (3) I refer to are staff returning after a year's break on various adventures including maternity leave and travelling for a year. The past two days has given us time to work with the new staff to prepare for what, I'm sure, will be another busy and wonderful year in the life of James Gillespie's.

The following is a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to the Headmaster of a school in
which his son was studying. It contains advice, which is still relevant today for executives, workers, teachers, parents and students.

A WORD TO TEACHERS

He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just and are not
true. But teach him if you can the wonder of books… but also give
him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.
In school, teach him it is far more honorable to fall than to cheat. 
Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him he is
wrong.
Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.
Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when
everyone is getting on the bandwagon.
Teach him to listen to all men; but teach him also to filter all he
hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes
through.
Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad… Teach him
there is no shame in tears.
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to be aware of too much sweetness.
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to highest bidders, but never
to put a price on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a
howling mob… and stand and fight if thinks he is right.
Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire
makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient. Let him
have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime
faith in himself, because then he will have faith in humankind.
This is a big order, but see what you can do. He is such a fine little
fellow my son!
- Abraham Lincoln

Exam results

From tomorrow (7 August) pupils  in Scotland will receive details of how they have done in their exams. The anxious wait to find out how they have fared comes to an end as the SQA dispatches the results. Fingers crossed for everyone!

The following link (SQA help) provides a number of very useful links for pupils and parents.

Pupils who wish to speak to their Guidance teacher about changing their courses for the new session will be able to do so on either the afternoon of Monday 13 or Tuesday 14 August. Appeals can be discussed with teaching staff when school resumes on Wednesday 15 August. 

Farewell to S6

On the evening of Thursday 28 June around 280 parents joined staff and the outgoing S6 for a champagne reception at the High School. This was a wonderful occasion, and gave me the opportunity to thank the pupils, parents and staff for their contributions over the years. Following  the reception, there was opportunity for photographs to be taken in the evening sunshine after which the S6 were taken by coach to the George Hotel where they enjoyed a sumptuous meal before exhibiting their dancing taelents.

On the morning of Friday 29 June the S6 attended a final assembly (some wearier than others following the exertions of the night before!) along with staff and other senior pupils. The assembly gave us an aooprtunity to reflect on all of the achievements during the past session and concluded with our school pipe band leading the S6 out of the school for the last time.

To all of our outgoing S6 we would wish to extend the school's gratitude for their contributions over the years and our sincere best wishes for the future.

I am confident that our students will continue to make significant positive contributions to our changing world.

'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world'. (Nelson Mandela)

Farewell

On the last day of term staff and pupils bade fond farewells to several staff.  They were:

• Ms Acton (Temp. Librarian)
• Ms Campbell (Art and Design)
• Mr Cunningham (Temp. English)
• Mrs Evans (PT Guidance)
• Ms Mackay (PE)
• Mr MacLeod (Modern language)
• Mr Newberry (Temp. Physics)
• Mr Robertson (Chemistry)
• Mrs Ross (English)
• Mr Woods (PT Geography)

Thanks to all for their various contributions to JGHS.

Edinburgh Schools Film Competition

Well done to the following pupils who won the award for 'Best Picture' at Edinburgh International Film Festival schools' competition, with their beautiful and sensitively tackled short film
'Evanescent', about schizophrenia:

• Lucy Gogoliuk
• Ruairidh Graham
• Samantha Harrison
• Max McLachlan
• Naznin Khan

  They faced stiff competition mainly from S5 & S6s around the city and beyond.