HT Update Week Ending 26th May 2023

Friday 26th May 2023

This concise weekly HT Update is generally published every Friday afternoon.  It’s a simple opportunity for you to also feedback/ask questions via the link at the bottom of each Update.  Feedback received, where appropriate, will be responded to and published by Monday afternoon on the school website link. 

Key messages from this week

Calendar: Key events in school next week: on Monday we move forward our timetable;  on Tuesday we expect to see students return from Study Leave and will hold our final Parent Council Meeting of the session; on Wednesday we’ll work with our new S6 on their Induction and our Art & Design Team are running the third Jupiter Artland Trip for S2; on Thursday we’ll hold our current P7/new S1 Blazer Fitting session;  Friday is our current students Blazer Fitting session

Staffing Update:  No particular news other than on-going recruitment,  with a number of posts about to go live. I mentioned our Business Manager vacancy last week and it is a crucial appointment.  It is a non-traditional school role and as the job title suggests we may appoint someone with a business background not just a school background. My request is that parents with networks, e.g., through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn spread the word.  The advert is posted on MyJobScotland and can be accessed via this link,  click here.  The post closes on Tuesday 6th June. 

National Young Musician of the Year Competition:  Last Sunday Alister Doig, current S4, represented Midlothian in the young musician of the year competition at the Royal Conservatoire Scotland. Thirty-one students from a range of Local Authorities and independent schools took part. Alister played a super programme to a packed Stevenson Hall audience and 5 eminent adjudicators.  Alister gave an outstanding performance that we can all be proud of.  Congratulations to the eventual winner, Emily Barron from St Columba’s School, Kilmacolm.  

Dress Code Expectations:  As indicated last week we have now posted a website story regarding school dress code expectations from next session click here.  The changes agreed apply from August.  Our existing session 2022/23 expectations still apply.  In particular, students should not come to school wearing their PE kit.  That option applies from August.  Thank you for your anticipated support. 

Young Philanthropist Initiative Final: On the afternoon of Thursday 8th June our YPI final will be held in the Assembly Hall supported by our Social Studies staff. All new S3 (current S2) classes will be off timetable to attend this event. Our 8 finalists are aiming to win £3,000 for the local charity they have identified.

New Timetable Update:  On Monday we move our timetable forward into the new academic session. Course choice selections have been shared with students and families along with our S1-3 timetables which were distributed in class yesterday. On Tuesday our Senior Phase students return from Study Leave, their timetables should be collected from their House Teams in the Atrium at the beginning of the day. The exception to this are those sitting their Design & Manufacture exam. Their timetables can be collected from Student Support in room 110/111 after the exam on Tuesday.  If your child has been absent their timetable can be collected from Student Support when they return. 

Recoursing:  All timetables have been created using the course choice sheets submitted by students following the course choice process. No recoursing will take place at this time with the exception of any students who believe there to be an administration error (eg. completely the wrong subject on their timetable). Any recoursing for Senior Phase students following exam results will take place in August with additional details shared in due course.

Parent Council:   Our last Parent Council Meeting of the session will be held on Tuesday 30th May.  The meeting is held in-person from 7.00pm.  Details regarding the meeting are on the website click here. 

If you have any feedback/questions relating to this update please submit them via the link below

Feedback here

Take Care

Campbell Hornell and Ali Mitchell,  Head Teachers

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