Friday 18 December

1. Please remember that whilst you are waiting for the result of a COVID test, all members of your household should self-isolate until the result is known.
2. The Parent Council meeting this week covered changes in arrangements for SQA assessments, with a very informative presentation by Mr Shankland.  You can catch up with it at: https://youtu.be/mtpVkQj0zSA
3. The S6 Group Photo is available to view and order from the Tempest website - http://htmp.st/JamesGillespieHS.  Click on the photo and enter your email address and child’s name. If orders are placed before Friday 8th January 2021 they will be delivered free of charge to the school.  Any orders after that date can be posted to your home address but a £5 postage will be charged.
4. Thanks to all in our School community who are working on gaining School accreditation for ‘Rights Respecting Schools’. https://jghsrrsa.wordpress.com/
5. Thanks to pupils in S1, S2 and S4 who, as part of their Mandarin classes this week, have made bilingual Christmas cards for the homeless in Edinburgh. These cards will be delivered by the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, along with their winter relief packs for the homeless.
6. We are currently involved in fundraising on three fronts. Thanks to all who have contributed to these.
1. Parent Council Fundraising (See previous correspondence)
2. Children 1^st (Shopping vouchers) (Over £1,000 raised)
3. Save the children (Xmas jumpers on Friday 18 December) (£225 and rising!) www.tinyurl.com/jghscjd 

7. Well done to:
1. Reuben Murdoch (S1) who passed his Grade 3 piano this week.
2. Carla Brunelli Bonet (S1) who has been accepted as cellist in the Junior National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and
3. Alberto Brunelli Bonet (S3) who has passed his Grade 8 Violin exam (ABRSM) with distinction.
4. Isaac Murdoch (S3) who achieved his Chief Scout Gold Award in November, after completing many challenge badges and an expedition along the John Muir Way - a remarkable 55 mile journey on foot and bike from South Queensferry to Dunbar in the October holidays.   

8.       Please continue to share stories of pupils’ achievements with us so we can share with our wider school community.

9.       This term will finish at midday on Tuesday 22 December.

10. Police Scotland will be offering a bike marking session at JGHS on Wednesday 3rd February from 7.30am to 8.30am. This is an great chance to get any new bikes marked. Due to social distancing measures staff/pupils will need to book a timeslot in advanced. To book a time and collect a form, please see Ms Dolan in 2.07 or the maths base.
11. As always, do email or phone the school (please speak slowly and clearly if you are leaving a message) if your child is absent and do tell us if your family is waiting to be tested for Covid19. This is recorded differently in the school’s attendance register.
12. Thanks to everyone who has helped prepare pupils for the JGHS Christmas Live Lounge. Staff have thoroughly enjoyed hearing you rehearse and getting a sneak preview of all your wonderful videos! It is lovely to be able to provide a platform to celebrate the work everyone has been doing. Follow this link below to see the full playlist on the school’s YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGOcpQEAoNPsIj3bC-8skjD2NMXTK6pit

 I’d like to wish all of our families a lovely Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year.

 My quote for the week: “And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent … ‘’ (Taylor Caldwell)

 

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher

Friday 11 December

1. Please remember that whilst you are waiting for the result of a COVID test, all members of your household should self-isolate until the result is known.
2. Please remind pupils to bring their own face coverings to school. We have a small supply of spares for those who genuinely forget or lose theirs.
3. A reminder that the next Parent Council meeting will be held online on Tuesday 15^th December at 7pm. It will be focusing in particular on arrangements for assessments for SQA certificated subjects.  A link for the meeting will be circulated via school email at the beginning of next week. Any questions can be sent in advance to the PC at jghscouncilcomms@gmail.com and where possible these will be included in the updates. A recording of the last PC meeting on 18^th November is available at: https://youtu.be/YICdgNAxPTk and the Q&A from the meeting can be found on the PC website at: http://jghscouncil.btck.co.uk/Minutesandfiles.
4. The S6 Group Photo is now available to view and order from the Tempest website - http://htmp.st/JamesGillespieHS.  Click on the photo and enter your email address and child’s name. If orders are placed before Friday 8th January 2021 they will be delivered free of charge to the school.  Any orders after that date can be posted to your home address  but £5 postage will be charged.
5. We are currently involved in fundraising on three fronts:
1. Parent Council Fundraising (See previous correspondence)
2. Children 1^st (Shopping vouchers)
3. Save the children (Xmas jumpers on Friday 18 December)
6. Well done to:
1. Toby Ward (S6), who was runner up in the Nevis Ensemble Christmas Carol Competition where he had to set his own music to the words of 'In the Bleak Midwinter'.  The Nevis Ensemble's vision is music for everyone, everywhere.  He has won a composition masterclass with the composer Stuart MacRae and
2. Rosalind Orr (S6), who has been accepted as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland (Jazz) as a saxophonist. All being well by summer, the orchestra will have a week’s residential at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Skye, before going on tour, probably in the UK.
3. Anna Maria Tomala (S2), who passed her Grade 5 Piano exam (ABRSM) with merit results.
4. Katrina Cochran (S6), Maja Cochran (S6), Felix Hagdorn (S6) and Bronwen Stahl (S6) whose Advanced Higher German work featured in this month’s Napier University's award-winning online magazine. https://issuu.com/edinburgh_napier_languages/docs/wwn6
5.  

7.       Thanks to Kayleigh and Liane of Marchmont Hardware for their efforts in putting this YouTube video together.  This heart-warming alternative replaced the annual community carol singing event round the Christmas Tree.

8.       Please continue to share stories of pupils’ achievements with me so I can share with our wider school community.

9.       This term will finish at midday on Tuesday 22 December.

 

My quote for the week: “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate”

(Albert Schweitzer)

 Wishing all a happy and peaceful weekend.

 Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher

Friday 4 December

1. Please remember that whilst you are waiting for the result of a COVID test, all members of your household should self-isolate until the result is known.
2. Please remind pupils to bring their own face coverings to school. We have a small supply of spares for those who genuinely forget or lose theirs.
3. The next Parent Council meeting will focus on exams and assessments and will be held online on Tuesday 15^th December at 7pm. Any questions ahead of the meeting can be sent to the PC at jghscouncilcomms@gmail.com and where possible these will be included in the updates. If you would like to catch up on the last PC meeting on 18^th November, it’s available to watch at: https://youtu.be/YICdgNAxPTk. The Q&A from the meeting can be found on the PC website at: http://jghscouncil.btck.co.uk/Minutesandfiles.
4. We will be doing a virtual music concert this year – more details to follow.
5. We would like to make parents/carers aware of the new school counselling service that opened in November. Our counsellor, Ana, works Monday to Thursday and is able to offer pupils between 6 and 12 sessions. We want you to know that the support Ana provides is here to help young people who are struggling and feel they would benefit from speaking to someone about this. If you think that your child may benefit from this service, we’d encourage you to talk to them about it and get in touch with their Pupil Support Leader (PSL) to find out more. Pupils can self-refer through the school website  here or through their Pupil Support Leader
6. Horticulture Club news Huge thanks to Amanda Killen (Pupil Support), Joel Hather (S1), Charlie Henderson (s1) and Kirsty Johnson (S5) for helping (last Friday) with the greenhouse clean-up and the clearing of the raised beds in preparation for planting in 2021.
7. The Parent Council is leading a festive fundraising appeal to support its Small Sums Fund.  The Fund is distributed to assist projects run by staff in the school, and to buy extra equipment that improves the educational experience for all pupils.  This money is particularly vital to support the Pupil Equity Fund, nurture groups, and therapy resources. This year, we have not been able to raise income through our usual events and fundraising activities, but many of our pupils have an even greater need of the extra services our funding can support.  We know this is not an easy time for many families, but if you feel in a position to do so, please consider making a donation to the Parent Council this festive season.  You can donate to the Small Sums Fund through the Parent Council Fundraising button on ParentPay.  Your support will be greatly appreciated!
8. We are pleased to announce that two-way video lessons for SQA candidates can now take place with IMS instructors who are unable to be in school due to COVID-19 restrictions.  If your pupil is in S3-6, taking Music as a subject, and has tuition with Ms Melrose (double bass/bass guitar), Mr Anderson (piano) or Mrs Collins (clarsach) then we require you to complete the following form.  Pupils must complete a pupil version which their instructor has issued on Microsoft Teams. Please read all information in the attached document carefully before completing and submit as soon as possible.  Lessons can take place from Tuesday and permission must be given before any two-way video can take place. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=af6sSGo3tUKfacnke7-5xNAzN55ZVE1Lkn_57qKoJ8BUQk4zQVFOSlRUNlFKTzBDRlAwRE1DMFNYRS4u
9.  Orders for S1 & S6 photographs from Tempest Photography have been delivered to the school.  Please ask students to collect from the Classroom Assistants’ Office in Bruntsfield House.

10.   We will be operating classes as ‘normal’ right up till and including the last day. Staff will be asked to maintain seating plans and continue to ensure that registers are accurately recorded. Additionally, I will be asking pupils and staff to not exchange ‘real’ Christmas cards this year.

11.   Well done to Daisy Adams (S3) who started making some jewellery a few years ago to help fund a school trip she was hoping to go on. Daisy is now advertising online and Is keen to hear from anyone who would like to discuss potential Christmas presents! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/divinebydaisya?ref=shop_sugg

12.   Please continue to share stories of pupils’ achievements with me so I can share with our wider school community.

13.   This term will finish at midday on Tuesday 22 December.

 

My quote for the week: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”(Henry Ford)

 

Wishing all a happy and peaceful weekend.

 

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher