HT Update: Week Ending 6th January 2023

Friday 6th January 2023

This concise weekly HT Update will be published every Friday afternoon with 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 on Monday afternoons on the school website link. 

Key messages from this week

Happy New Year:  Best wishes for the year ahead to all in our school community.   We hope the festive break was a good one and look forward to working with you again in 2023.

Calendar: Next week’s key events include:  a reminder that the school is closed to all students on Wednesday 11th January due to expected industrial action by the main teachers unions.   As indicated in previous updates the next scheduled date following next Wednesday is Thursday 26th January.  Hopefully there will be a resolution to the dispute before that.  

Staffing Update: Congratulations to Amanda Montague and Jamie McQueen.   Both have secured the posts they have been undertaking recently on a permanent basis.  Ms Montague as PT Quality Improvement- Creative Design and CLPL and Mr McQueen as Melville Head of House.  

Child Protection: For your information Mrs Yule,   following her return to school, has resumed her role as our Designated Member of Staff for Child Protection.   This means she is our main lead on any child protection matters and links in with other staff or agencies as appropriate.     

S2/S3 Course Choice:  Please be aware that S2 course choice begins next week and will run for the month of January. This will be done predominantly through PSE.  This means that as S2 students make their subject choices for S3 they are supported by their Student Support teacher who teaches PSE.   From a parent/carer perspective you should expect information to come home.  Please ask your child and contact the relevant House team if you have any questions or concerns.   The Curriculum section of our website has lots of information on the process.  Please note it is referred to as S3 Course Choice although it involves current S2.   

Midlothian Council:  You may be aware from Midlothian Council’s social media posts that there is a significant gap in the council’s budget over the next 5 years Focusing resources on what matters most | Our budget challenge 2023/24 | Midlothian Council. This is not unique to Midlothian Council but does have significant implications for the delivery of our services. Given the proportion of the budget that goes towards education there could be a significant impact for schools, including our school.  Prior to and during the festive period the council sought views from community members on what is important to them in terms of key services.  The consultation remains open.  Please, if you can, take the time to respond.

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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