Newsletter - January 2005

 

I wish everyone connected with the school – staff, pupils and parents – a happy and prosperous New Year in 2005. A list of the main events this term has been enclosed at the end of the newsletter, drawn from the mailshot issued at the beginning of the year.

End of term 2004

Once again we had a very busy schedule in the final weeks of term. A group of S1 students were taken to the Brunton Theatre to see “Jack and the Beanstalk”. We ran two well-attended dances for S1-3 and S4-6 on Monday and Wednesday of the last full week and I would like to express my thanks to the staff for their attendance at these evening events and to the PTA for providing catering for the senior dance. Miss Moore and a number of other teachers organised a pantomime based on “A Christmas Carol”. We had a performance on Tuesday afternoon when we invited primary school pupils and adults from local old people’s homes to attend. We followed this with an evening performance on the Monday for pupils and parents. Out traditional musical offering, the Christmas Concert, took place on the Thursday evening, ably led by Mr. Paterson of the Music Department, and presented a varied programme of music both contemporary and familiar. Mr. Gallagher of the CDT department was instrumental in organising “Fund the Fight Against Aids”, a charity event held on the final Friday, with the funds raised going to Aids appeal. Our final event of the year was our Christmas Service, led by Reverend Moira McDonald. We had two guests at this ceremony receiving cheques for £620 and £200 for the Teenage Cancer Ward at Edinburgh Sick Children’s Hospital and for the Myasthenia Gravis Trust.

Tsunami Earthquake Disaster

Like many other people, my own Christmas celebrations this year were dampened after the events in Asia involving such tragic loss of life in so many poor countries. Like other schools, we will hold a Non-Uniform Day for staff and pupils on Friday 21^st January to raise funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal Fund and I would encourage everyone to be as generous as possible. Further details will follow in a separate parental letter as we are just beginning to make arrangements. We will explore with the Pupil Council other fund-raising events this coming term. East Lothian Council has donated £5000 already to the Fund and is looking for ways of encouraging local businesses and communities to respond.

School reports and mentoring

S5/6 reports were issued just before the holiday and we will soon be issuing S4 reports which will take account of preliminary examination performance as well as progress in classwork and homework. As ever, we welcome parental comments on the format and content of reports and have a specific page for that purpose at the back of the collated reports.

S5 pupils sitting 3 or more Higher Grades have been allocated mentors once again this session and initial meetings will soon take place. The school recognises the jump in difficulty from Standard Grade to Higher Grade and wishes to offer pupils support in managing their time, managing coursework, and ensuring revision occurs regularly, not in a rush before preliminary examinations and the final national examinations in May. Such support in previous years has been a contributory factor in improved pass rates.

S1 Parental Questionnaire

At the S1 Parents’ Evening in December, our senior pupils distributed questionnaires devised by Mr. MacKinnon. Our thanks to parents who spent time filling in the questionnaire that evening: we are currently collating the responses and I will report back on this in the next newsletter in February.

PPP Update

Work continued in the school until 24^th December with cleaning occurring over the holiday in readiness for staff and pupils returning on 6^th January. Much of the work at present involves reconfiguring existing rooms and offices to new classrooms on A and B Floors, with much of the noisy work occurring outside school hours to minimise disruption.

School website

Since we won Learning and Teaching Scotland’s ICT Enhancement Award, www.mgsonline.org.uk continues to go from strength to strength with over 14,000 visits since last May. Mr. McIntosh of the Modern Languages Department informs me that we now have 19 exchanges with 12 schools across the globe and we will have visitors from France at the end of January as a result of our links. Many parents will have been online to follow our weblogs for school trips abroad, and our visit to Auschwitz has led to links with South Cobb High School in Georgia USA. Reading about our visit stimulated their own interest and led to the production of a CD and a play – we intend to stage a performance of the play ourselves. The website allows pupils to access homework tasks and revision help as well as keeping you informed about the school and I would encourage anyone with internet access to pay us a visit.

School dates for term

S3 Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 26^th January 7.00-9.00

February inset and holiday
Pupils not in school Thursday 10^th till Tuesday 15^th February – resume Wednesday 16^th February

S5/6 Prelims
Start Wednesday 16^th February, end Thursday 3^rd March

S2 Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 9^th March 7.00 – 9.00

End of term
Last day of term -Wednesday 23rd March

School restarts
Monday April 11^th

Yours sincerely,

R I Summers

Head Teacher

Download newsjan05.doc