Readathon fun

Message from Mrs Kirkwood who organised a 'Readathon' with our S1 on 13 May: 

'Sponsorship money has now all been handed in and counted and the S1 Readathon has raised a total of £924.85.  This money is going to two charities - Clic Sargent and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s charity, both of which offer help and support for seriously ill  children and young people in the UK. 

Thank you to all of the teachers involved in running this and to all members of staff for putting up with the disruption it caused (and in some cases for providing a fair bit of sponsorship to pupils).  If you get the chance, please congratulate the S1s on taking part and raising so much money'

A fantastic achievement!

Aim high

Each year, at change of timetable, all schools are tasked with trying to find ways of inspiring our young people to be the best they can be. At Gillespie’s over the past year, we have faced increased challenges. This includes working across 3 sites whilst our school is being rebuilt and 'pioneering' the new Curriculum for Excellence and the very first tranche of exams.

To help prepare our new S5 for the rigours and demands of the session ahead we have invited Jamie Andrew in to speak to them on Monday 2 June at 1100.

Jamie Andrew is an incredible Scottish mountaineer who, despite having no hands and feet, has made some amazing ascents all over the world.  As a quadruple amputee, Jamie has also made many other remarkable achievements, raising many thousands of pounds for charity along the way.

My colleague Hazel Kinnear came up with the idea and is organising the event. I'm really looking forward to hearing his story!

Memorial Garden

Well done and thanks to Mr McDougall and his team of pupils helpers who have worked to maintain our Memorial Garden during the past few days. It's looking great!

Fun run

Around 200 staff, parents and pupils from James Gillespie's HS will be having a 'fun-run' around the meadows on Thursday 29 May at 230 pm to promote healthy living. If you're around, come and cheer us on and throw (paper!) money at us. All funds raised go to various charitable causes.

Digital citizenship

Whilst scanning facebook posts from my varied friends this morning I came across this interesting article on developing digital citizenship. In an age when so much of our interaction takes place through social media I think schools have a crucial role in educating our young people about how to use social media to their advantage. I particularly like the phrase 'creating a positive Digital Footprint online'.

Here is the link.

Expectations matter

Earlier today I had a conversation with a colleague about the importance of maintaining high expectations of all pupils. I am convinced that maintaining high expectations of all pupils regardless of background and circumstance is key if all are to realise their potential.

The following story illustrates the importance of getting everyone to aim high and reach for the stars.

Fleas are incredible jumpers. In fact, a flea can jump over 150 times its own size. If a man had the same strength, he could jump over 900 feet high. For some perspective, the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet high from base to the top of the torch. In addition, a flea can jump 30,000 times without taking a break. Imagine if we had that kind of strength and stamina. We could accomplish anything.
But if a FLEA TRAINER puts a flea in a jar with a lid on it, the flea will, of course, begin to jump, but after a while, the flea, tired of banging his head against the lid, will lower his jump. Once they become accustomed to the fact that they cannot escape, you can remove the lid and the flea will only jump as high as where the lid was. He will never escape the jar because his mind has been reprogrammed to only jump so high. The flea limits itself because of conditioning and experiencing the school of hard knocks.
Are you like a flea? Have you been conditioned to jump only so high? Have you hit your head up against life’s situations so many times that you are tired of trying? Have you had the wind taken out of your sails through discouragement, ridicule, and failures?

FLEA FACTS

A flea can pull up to 160,000 times its own weight. A flea can jump over 150 times its own size. When jumping, the flea accelerates 50 times faster than the space shuttle. A flea can jump 30,000 times without a break.
Lift those lids… break those jars and jump as high as your dreams will take you.

Grange Fair on Sunday 11 May

Please share this with friends who are looking for something really interesting to do on Sunday 11 May. Some of our pupils will be helping out and performing.