Friday 30 November

1.       Work continues apace on upgrading our school website. Thanks to all who have contributed suggestions on what changes we should make.  We are also looking at how we can utilise the evolving technologies available to us to improve communications with parents and carers.

2.       A number of  S4-S6 pupils attended Edinburgh College Open Days during this past week.  The Edinburgh College comprised of Jewel and Esk, Telford, and Stevenson colleges was formed on 1 October 2012 as part of the merger of Edinburgh's. This Further and Higher education institution has 4 campuses across Edinburgh and Midlothian.

3.       Our Gardening club held a plant sale today in the forum at break time.

4.       A group of pupils involved in studying Business are attending an event at Lloyds Banking Group today.

5.       Congratulations to Rabi Jha (S2) who was awarded a distinction in his Grade 4 ABRSM piano exam.

6.       Congratulations to the following S2 pupils on their recent Tae-kwon Do grading

a.       Catlin Buckley -  blue red stripe

b.       Chirag Shetty - yellow green stripe

c.       Cole Turnbull - yellow green stripe

d.       Eric Marshall - green blue stripe

e.       Jonty Pask - blue red stripe

f.        Josh Tough - blue red stripe

g.       Ryan Buckley - blue red stripe

·         Further congratulations to Cole, Eric and Jonty who are into the Scottish Squad, aiming for the British Championships next year.

7.       Congratulations to: Milenka Zadora, Angus Crawford, Toby Mackintosh, Torin Storkey and Kieran Storkey for ongoing national recognition in Fencing

8.       Well done to Beatrice Lauckner who was selected to join the ORBIT Youth Council. Beatrice is one of eighteen young people aged 16-18 to represent communities from across Scotland. ORBIT is dedicated to amplifying the voice of Scotland’s youth.

9.       This year’s annual (SWIRE sponsored) Mandarin conference will take place at JGHS on Wednesday 4 December. We are expecting around 300 pupils from 7 different schools, including around 50 from JGHS, to attend the event. The development of Mandarin in this part of the City, gathered pace when JGHS became involved in a SWIRE sponsored collaborative project with both Boroughmuir HS and George Watson’s College in 2016.  Generous funding from SWIRE provides staffing to teach Mandarin and exchange opportunities for pupils across the Lothians over a 10 year period.

10.   Best wishes to the following who will represent JGHS in the next round tennis match against George Watson’s College in the Scottish Cup on Tuesday 4^th December in the afternoon.

a.       Robbie Galloway S5

b.       William Belkebir S5

c.       John Dabos-Doukas S5

d.       Sean Gallacher S3

11.   Best wishes to all (50 +) pupils who are participating in this evening’s City – Wide annual fanfare concert in Central Halls.

12.   There is a coursing event for Parents of pupils in S2, S4 and S5 on the evening of Tuesday 4 December.

13.   A group of S5/6 students will be attending a Psychology and Pseudoscience conference at the Assembly Rooms on Wednesday 5 December. In a varied programme, experts in Psychology will share research findings on areas including: the psychology of magic, sleep & dreams, and hypnosis.

14.   The online booking system is now open for the S3 Parents’ evening on 12 December.

15.   Our senior Drama production takes place on the evening of Friday 7 December in the Muriel Spark Theatre. Tickets are available from our music faculty or at the door.

16.   Our annual Christmas concert takes place on the evening of Tuesday 18 December. Tickets are available from the Usher Hall Box office. .

Fundraising

17.   We are currently asking for pupils, staff and parents to donate a selection box, children’s winter woollies or a small toy.   All items must be new. These items will then be given to Children 1^st who will distribute them to children in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Pupils can hand in their donations to their key adult teacher, the office or to Mrs Fallon in SFL (B7, Bruntsfield House).

18.   Thanks to all who continue to support our fundraising efforts towards helping learners in our partner schools in South Africa.  The next related fund raising event will be  a Wine and Cheese tasting  at  Spoon café bistro 6A Nicolson St, Edinburgh EH8 9DH on Sunday 9 of December from 6pm -  8pm. Tickets priced at £10pp. must be bought in advance from Mrs Sinclair (Bruntsfield House, JGHS) by either cash or cheque

19.   Thanks to all who have so generously supported fundraising towards eradicating homelessness in Scotland. The opportunity to contribute will remain open until 24 December. Thus far, following our ‘Sleepout’ on 16 November, we have raised a staggering £12,200+

20.   In addition to supporting ‘external charities our Parent Council also works hard to ensure that as wide and enriching experiences are open to all pupils at JGHS. Recent examples of projects supported by your donations to the Parent Council include: sports strips, extracurricular travel, the breakfast club, the nurture group, photography equipment and the school book club. Anyone wishing to donate to our Parent Council funds can do so by accessing the JGHS ‘ParentPay’ facility.

And finally, a very happy St Andrew’s day to all.

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher

Friday 21 September

1.      We held a very well attended P7 Open Night last night. It was great to see so much interest being taken in our school. We recognise that Edinburgh has many excellent schools and we seek to continue to improve to maintain our strong standing and appeal to families.

2.      We currently have vacancies being advertised for teachers in Gaelic, Social subjects, Support for Pupils, Business Education and Performing Arts.  In the interim we have reorganised classes across the school to try to ensure minimal disruption to learning.

3.      Our annual ‘Musicfest’ takes place on the evening of Thursday 4 October.

4.      Rehearsals are now underway for the Annual Christmas Concert on Tuesday 18 December. As in previous years, this will be staged at the Usher Hall.

5.      The school will be supporting this year’s ‘Show Racism the Red Card - wear red day’ on Friday 5 October. We aim to raise awareness and demonstrate publicly that we celebrate diversity at JGHS. . Staff and pupils are encouraged to participate by wearing something red on that day.

6.      Our senior pupils are organising a Model United Nations (MUN) conference on Friday 5 October. Pupils from across Scotland will be attending.

7.      Best wishes to senior pupils and staff who will be visiting Ireland over the next week as part of their Gaelic studies.

8.      We encourage as many staff and pupils as possible to walk or cycle to school. Cyclists are reminded to use a high quality lock.

9.      All are reminded to mark personal belongings so that ‘lost’ items can more easily be returned to their owners.

10.  We look forward to welcoming pupils from our partner school (Law Ting Pong) in Hong Kong in November. Details will follow on this and plans for our pupils to visit Hong Kong in October 2019.

11.  Arrangements are progressing well for the S6 annual visit to partner schools in South Africa in February 2019.

12.  Pupils in S1-3 have, this morning, had presentations from ‘Social Bite’, the social enterprise set up in 2017 to raise awareness of homelessness.

13.  Well done to:

a.       Kirsty Johnson, 3S1, who came second in the under 14 girl category in the Scottish National Youth Road cycling Race Series 2018. 

b.      Mollaidh Nicholson (S3), who recently took part in the Scottish Seniors Pro-am at Craigielaw Golf Club. Mollaidh finished a very creditable 20th in the Pro-Am event at 8 under par.

c.       Dorin Whitelaw (S4) and helpers who, this morning, ran a bake sale and raised over £100 for Cancer Research.

14.  I was very pleased at how sensibly our pupils conducted themselves during the stormy weather on Wednesday.

I wish all a lovely weekend.

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher

Friday 14 September 2018

1.      Thanks to everyone who attended our Parent Council meeting on Tuesday evening. It was great to see so many coming along and sharing views.

2.      A reminder for those who would like some Maths fun tomorrow: The Edinburgh Maths Circle, organised by the Maths Outreach Team, is a free drop-in session where children aged 5 to 16 and their families can join in with exciting mathematical activities, games and puzzles. The next Maths Circle is on Saturday 15th September, from 13:00 until 16:00, in JCMB 3217 and the Level 3 Café Area. More information, as well as travel directions, can be found at: https://www.maths.ed.ac.uk/school-of-mathematics/outreach/maths-circle

3.      Mr Andrews from our Support for Learning department, is running a homework club with input from S6 and staff helpers on Thursdays in the library after school. Pupils needing help with homework or advice on revision are especially welcome.

4.      In response to feedback from parents, I have reminded staff that homework tasks for S1,2 and 3 should not be scheduled for completion over holidays periods. Neither should assessments be scheduled immediately after holidays for pupils in Years, 1,2 and 3. We would much prefer that pupils read for pleasure and spend quality time with family and friends and get fresh air. We recognise that pupils in S4, 5 and 6 have increased pressures and a heavier workload. They are expected and encouraged to manage their study schedules so as to develop a healthy work/life balance.

5.      We are holding a P7 Open Night from 6-8 Pm on Thursday 20 September from 6 Pm. Our 6 ‘Feeder’ primaries have assisted in contacting the P7 families.

6.      Please continue to share your child’s success stories with us. We share these with staff. It goes without saying that pupils are happier and better placed to learn effectively when, as individuals, they are known and appreciated

And finally, all are reminded that Monday 17 September is a holiday. School resumes from 0830 on Tuesday 18 September.

Donald j Macdonald

Headteacher