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HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
How lovely to have brighter mornings and lighter evenings and a real feel that spring is on its way.
It’s a bumper edition of the newsletter this week to let you know of everything that’s going on school, while a huge amount of work is going on behind the scenes to start building the timetable for 2024-25.
With best wishes for a sunny weekend.
We're currently working on our new school website and will be communicating with parents about this very soon. Some areas are still 'under construction', but if you want a sneak peek, you can access it via this link for now.
Jodie Hannan
Key Dates
S3 Vaccinations 4th March
Staff
Congratulations to Mr MacGregor, Teacher of Business Education, on his new job in London. He leaves us at the end of this term after 7 years at the Grammar for a complete change of career. Mr MacGregor’s post will be advertised shortly and his classes covered by Business and Admin colleagues until his post is filled....
...Janie McCafferty spoke to all pupils at this week’s House Assemblies about the services the school nurse can provide pupils from S1 to S6.
Careers
If you are a female and interested in a career in the Army, please see Ms Hoffman Rm B16 to secure a place. They will be visiting MGS on 7 March 2024.
College Applications
As the college application deadline is fast approaching, we want to ensure that every pupil who has chosen college as one of their course choices and has not yet applied, they need to apply ASAP.
If you've received an email alerting you to this critical deadline, we are here to support your child every step of the way. We are offering help every Tuesday after lunch in Rm A12.
Skills Development Scotland
We welcomed Shereen Dalton, Careers Adviser with SDS (Skills Development Scotland) to Parent Council last night to talk through the support she can offer young people and parents.
Parents and carers are key influencers over young people’s career ambitions and choices.
SDS work in close partnership with this school to support our young people to make informed career choices and they would value feedback from
parents and carers on their services. You can do this by taking part in a short survey.
All responses are confidential and anonymous, and the results will be used to inform SDS services.
The survey should only take about 10 minutes to complete. Thank you!
Defibrillator Training
PIctured left to right, PC Hughes, School Link Officer, Mrs Doherty, Pupil Support Worker at MGS, Ms Collins, Fire Service
On the 22nd February 2024 a new initiative was launched in East Lothian by PC Hughes working in partnership with Jenni Collins from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
These sessions aimed at providing pupils with the confidence to use a live defibrillator in the unfortunate event of someone suffering from cardiac arrest.
British Heart Foundation statistics provide that there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in the UK each year. The overall survival rate in the UK is less than one in ten.
Every minute without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to ten per cent. Early CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival.
All S1 classes received training that incorporates the British Heart Foundation “Call Push Rescue” platform and culminates in pupils practising using training defibrillators. All pupils applied themselves fully and were a real credit to themselves and the school.
Cost of the school day - What are we doing now at MGS?
This year, the equity group at Musselburgh Grammar School have been collating what we do as a school to reduce the impact of the cost of the school day for young people, parents and carers. Below is an example of some of the things we are doing now to support young people and families.
Health and Wellbeing
There is no cost for young people to cook.
Maths
All stationary and resources (e.g. calculators) are provided and available in every classroom.
Modern Languages
There are no costs for pupils in any of the courses.
All stationary is provided and available at the front of every classroom.
Science
All stationary and resources (e.g. calculators) are provided and available in every classroom.
Humanities
Geography
All materials provided at no cost.
Wherever possible geography fieldwork is completed in the local area to keep costs down and any additional equipment (e.g. wellies, waterproofs etc) can be borrowed from Outdoor Ed. Where there is a cost (e.g. Dynamic Earth trip) pupils unable to contribute are provided for by the school equity fund/hardship fund.
Breakfast bars available (teachers own contribution) during registration for any pupil that has missed breakfast and/or breakfast club
DofE
All equipment can be borrowed if needed from school and/or Outdoor Ed so no requirement to buy any kit.
Costs are kept to minimum (registration and camping costs approx £30/40 for the whole year). There is a hardship fund available for DofE Scotland where we can apply for funds on a pupil by pupil basis.
No staffing costs as staffed by MGS teachers who are fully qualified.
Expressive Arts
Art & Design
No cost for any materials used.
Stationary at the front of the rooms free for all to use.
Materials required for seniors to complete folio work are free/provided depending on students' needs.
Return of coursework is currently paid for by the department to ensure equity.
English and Communication
Materials: books, jotters, paper, pens, pencils, rulers, rubbers, highlighters etc. all provided.
Pupils can access the school library for personal reading books and most of us have a classroom library for even further choice.
Seniors can frequently access a free ring binder from us in the department so there is little or no cost entailed in any course in our faculty.
STEM Technologies
There is no cost for young people making products in CDT.
Retail group are working on how to deliver clothing that all young people have access to through the nearly new stall and working on how we incorporate school uniform into this.
Active Schools
East Lothian kit stop – a sports recycling programme where young people can access equipment/clothing they need to take part in sport and PA free of charge. We also operate as a swap shop, pupils can drop off items that no longer fit and collect the next size they need.
All extra-curricular activities are free of charge to attend.
Reducing Barriers to Sport and PA Access Fund – This can be applied to by teachers, social work, Guidance teachers on behalf of a young person to cover any costs that are preventing a young person to take part in Sport and PA i.e. membership, equipment costs. Each application is considered on a case by case basis.
Other Supports
All classrooms have stationery available freely for all young people at the front of classes and they do not need to ask for it.
Breakfast club available for all young people to access from 8am-8:20am.
Dress down days are now asking for a voluntary donation so that all young people can take part.
We have an equity/hardship fund for young people who need support.
Sanitary products are available for free and easily accessible in school.
We are continuing to work on our school trip policy and hope to share this with families in June. Hopefully this will clarify our position on school trips and what we are doing to minimise the costs for families. It is worth noting that those who are eligible and have registered for Free School Meals will be offered a discount on all school trips so if you haven’t applied yet, now would be a good time.
We are always looking at improving things at Musselburgh Grammar School and we invite all parents and carers to give their views on what we can do to support your family with the cost of the school day. You can give your views by emailing Carrie McLean, Curriculum Leader Inclusion and Nurture on cmclean@edubuzz.org.
Easter Revision
Exam Stress - MYPAS
In addition to the programme detailed above, Ailsa Hill and Emma Locke will be offering sessions to support pupils who may experience stress during the examination period. They hope to be able to offer strategies and practical support as part of their programme.
The sessions are being held during lunch and pupils are asked to bring along a packed lunch if they wish to attend.
The sessions with Emma and Ailsa are as follows:
9th April 2024 - 12-1pm
and
11th April 2024 - 12-1pm
These sessions will be held in the small dining hall / social space and all pupils (S4-6) are welcome to attend.
Recruiting Parent Representatives - Education Appeals
Dear Parent,
We are recruiting parent representatives for this years’ Education Appeals. This would most likely only take up 1 full day around the end of May. There is no specific criteria for a parent rep, you just need to have a child within a school in East Lothian and you will never be asked to make decisions relating to the school your child attends.
If you are interested please contact Megan Scott, Committees Officer directly on mscott1@eastlothian.gov.uk or 01620 827514.
Are you Looking for a New Career?
The Edinburgh Careers Fair will offer candidates from all backgrounds, experience and education levels the opportunity to speak to representatives from an abundance of local employers, all in one place.
Why attend?
By participating in the Edinburgh Careers Fair, you will have the chance to explore a wide variety of organisations and job roles, which can save you a significant amount of time compared to submitting online applications. Instead, you can engage in direct conversations with employers to gain valuable insights into their company culture, benefits, and hiring requirements.
What type of companies usually exhibit?
Exhibitors typically hail from a diverse array of sectors, including finance, education, sales and marketing, motoring, human resources, IT, healthcare, tourism, commercial real estate, biochemistry, electronics, manufacturing, hospitality, social work, events management, retail, job boards, supermarkets, banking, and pharmaceuticals. Contact us to find out exactly who is hiring at this event.
Reserve a place at this event using the following link:
Edinburgh Careers Fair Tickets, Wed 10 Apr 2024 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
College News
Laboratory Science
Two colleagues from Charles River Laboratories kindly gave up their time to visit and chat to our Laboratory Science class. They spoke in depth about all of the different types of practical science happening every day at CRL and all of the excellent job opportunities available. We learned all about how the work they do make it safe for us to eat the food we have or to receive vaccines such as the COVID vaccine. They gave excellent advice to the pupils about work experience, CVs and how to write applications for jobs. Really grateful for their time!
Vaccinations
This will take place on Monday 4th March in the Assembly Hall. All S3 Boys and Girls and some catch ups too.
Thank you C Harvey.
You should only go to the assembly hall if you received a form
empowrU Mentoring Programme
Last night we celebrated our first empowrU mentoring programme hosted at Queen Margaret University. 40 S4 pupils and 15 mentors took part in this scheme to come together and offer students the opportunity to learn more about an area of interest as a potential future career choice. They learned:
Their strengths
Life has lot of choices
To be inquisitive and ask lots of questions
Do what makes you happy
Cv writing skills
Interview tips
The programme ran for 6 weeks and we are incredibly proud of all the pupils and thankful to the founders of empowrU (Claire Cornet, Rochelle Oliver and Jonothan Morrice) who have spent a vast amount of their time on this scheme. The support from the 15 mentors has been incredible as well as Admin assistance from Cameron DeVos and Leanne Beuzelin. Queen Margaret University put on an amazing spread of nibbles and we very much look forward to working in partnership with them again.
3 successful business people also attended the celebration and following the pupils receiving their certificates answered questions from the student and parent body present. The speakers were:
David Dickinson - civil engineer crafting world class sports facilities as well as a FIF referee.
Nicci Wilson - a nutritional therapist with her own business
Alejandro Padro - part of the team building Europe's biggest wave pool in Ratho.
Following the success and exceptional feedback from this programme we look forward to its growth next session. Watch this space….
Newsletter Archive
There's an archive section on the newsletter site with all of the previous newsletters organised by date. It can be viewed by clicking on 'Archive' in the menu or using this link: https://bit.ly/ht-newsletter-archive.
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