HT Update: Week-ending Friday 4th October 2024

Friday 4th October 2024

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 on Monday on the school website.  

Key messages from this week  

Calendar:  Significant events next week;  on Monday our Advanced Higher Art & Design students will have the opportunity to hear from an external agency, ACES, about developing their portfolios to support applications for courses and employment;   on Tuesday we have a number of S3 students working with Tree of Knowledge, we’ll also hold Senior Active sessions Tuesday through Thursday;  on Wednesday we have a number of Senior Phase students involved in the Hold Fast Challenge;  on Thursday evening it’s our Academy of Performing Arts Showcase;  on Friday we’ll issue our S3 Report, hold an extended interval for students and staff of 25 minutes, rather than 15, and also break up for the October Holiday. Students should return to school on Tuesday 22nd October. 

Staffing:  On Tuesday Amanda Montague was appointed as PTC Creative Design on a permanent contract.  Miss Montague has been ‘acting’ in the role for a number of months and thoroughly deserves the role on the permanent basis she has now secured. Congratulations also to Suzanne Yule, DHT Student Support, who has been working over the last 18 months towards her Into Headship qualification through Edinburgh University.  She received confirmation today that she has ‘passed’, and with flying colours.   Mrs Yule will graduate in December and this additional qualification means that she has achieved the qualification that is a prerequisite for those seeking to be Head Teachers on a permanent basis.  We are delighted for both of these colleagues and are privileged to have them as leaders in our school.  

S3 Reports:  S3 Reports will be issued to students on Friday 11th October during period 4.  As communicated previously in a HT Update, click here, there is a change to how our reports will be issued this session. Reports will no longer be emailed, they will be printed and sealed with a sticker.  This maintains confidentiality but saves staff time, paper and helps us meet sustainability aims by not using envelopes.  If a student is not in class when the reports are handed out, they can collect their report from Student Reception after the October break.

Parent Council 2: Save the date; our second Parent Council Meeting of the session will be on Tuesday 29th October, in-person at LHS from 7.00pm.  

SQA Appeals: The results of the SQA appeals were released yesterday. In total 23 of our 165 appeals resulted in a change – this amounts to 14% – with all of these students being awarded one grade above that awarded in August.  This is a higher success rate than the national average. 

School Lockers:  All school locker applications have been processed.  For those who missed it, or who have changed their mind and now decided they’d like a locker, please see our website for details, click here.  We’ll continue to process applications.

Battlefields Trip: Please visit our website to access a couple of slides regarding this recent school trip organised by our Humanities Team, click here.

SQA:  A reminder that the SQA is carrying out research about National Qualifications assessment in 2024 and they would like to hear from as many learners as possible. The survey, click here,  will remain open until Friday 11 October.  If your child is in S5 or S6 please encourage them to complete it.  It’s important for SQA to understand how well the assessment process worked and for them to develop an understanding of the views of learners. 

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

Feedback here

Take Care

Campbell Hornell,  Head Teacher

 

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