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HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
Friday 07 March 2025
Friday 07 March 2025
It’s a bit of a bumper edition of the newsletter this week lots to report on sports updates and achievements, as well as a Music competition win. Well done to all pupils who are representing themselves and the Grammar so well in these areas.
I spoke at House assemblies this week about our school value of determination and how important it is to keep trying your best. I know how busy, and potentially stressful, these next few weeks and months are for senior pupils, but it’s important to keep the final goal in mind.
And for S1-S3 pupils, they will be moving up to their next year at the beginning of June so they need to remain focused on making the most of the last few months in their current year.
All the best for the weekend ahead.
Jodie Hannan
Key Dates
Week beginning 3 March: S3 reports distributed to pupils to bring home.
Thursday 13 March: Parent Council 7-9pm in school
Friday 4th April: S6 Leavers Celebration (further information later in the newsletter)
Friday 4 April: Term ends
Tuesday 22 April: Staff and Pupils return
Remember you can find all events on our school calendar, and you can add the calendar to your own too.
Reporting on pupil progress
Reporting dates
There are several reporting stages coming up. Please note reports will be issued to learners at the following times:
Year Report type Issue date week beginning
S3 level and rating only 17th March
S4,5,6 SQA estimate only 31st March
S2 level and rating only 28th April
S1 level. rating and comment 19th May
An explanation sheet for S4/5/6 reports (issued to pupils this week) has been sent to all parents/carers. Please contact the school office if you do not have one at admin@musselburghgrammar.elcschool.org.uk
Parent Council Meeting dates
Thursday 13 Mar: MGS PC full meeting – in person, in school 7-9pm
Tuesday 20 May: MGS PC Online briefing 7-8pm meet.google.com/tkd-rakc-dor
Monday 16 June: MGS PC full meeting – in person, in school 7-8pm
Staffing
Welcome to…
Ms Smith joins our Mathematics team on Monday 10 March to take up Mrs Tudor's full time temporary maternity leave cover until next February. We look forward to her joining the school.
Farewell to…
Mrs Marcos, Teacher of Spanish, leaves us next week for a new post. We thank her for all her hard work during her time with us and wish her the best for the next stage in her career. Mrs Marcos’ classes will be taught by other colleagues in Modern Languages.
Easter revision programme
There are only 4 short weeks until the Easter holidays, and 3 days in school after those holidays before exams start.
I am aware that some senior pupils aren't aware of the school’s study support poster so am including it here again, will email it all pupils on their edubuzz accounts, and re post in year group Google classrooms.
E-sgoil is offering revision classes over Easter- more information and to sign up with a GLOW password e-sgoil.com/senior-phase/e…
SQA Exam Diet
The SQA exam diet now commences on Friday 25 April, not Monday 28 April https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/nq-2025-exam-timetable.pdf
These are the plans for all Senior Phase pupils for the week back after the Easter Holiday:
Monday 21 April: School closed for holiday.
Tuesday 22 April: all pupils return to school.
Wednesday 23 April: all S4-S6 pupils remain in school.
Thursday 24 April: Study leave commences for S4-S6 pupils with Computing and Psychology exams only. All other pupils are expected in school and Computing immersion class will be held.
Friday 25 April:
1st day of SQA exams for Computing & Psychology.
1st day of study leave for all other S4 –S6 pupils.
MGS Revision Resource Poster.pdf
MGS Easter Revision Study Support
The Easter Revision Programme offered by MGS teachers is now available in pupil google classrooms and on our school website, using the student > study support tab: https://sites.google.com/edubuzz.org/musselburgh-grammar-school/home?authuser=0 . Please complete the google form you would like to attend any of the available sessions.
Pupils must note that sessions will run from 10am - 12pm and 1pm to 3pm. Pupils must arrive 10 minutes before the session begins to gain access to the building and they must remain for the duration of the study session. Late admission will not be permitted.
We will review the sign up forms and may withdraw sessions that do not have enough participants.
Last official day for S6
Friday 4th April:
S6 Leavers Celebration
Parents and carers are invited to join us on the morning of Friday 4th April for a celebration for S6 leavers followed by coffee and pastries. Please complete this form to indicate if you are attending so we can plan for the right numbers.
S6 students will be dismissed from school at the end of the event.
Times for the day:
08.45 - 09.00 Students and parents/carers assemble in the hall
09.00 - 10.00 Leaving ceremony
10.00 - 10.30 Coffee and pasties with students, families and staff
10.30 S6 can leave at this stage unless they plan to attend class
Please note that all S6 pupils are expected to return to school after the Easter holidays until study leave begins on 25 April.
Pupil Voice
On Wednesday we held our 5th formal Pupil Voice meeting of the session. We had 39 pupils in attendance - a slight reduction in numbers due to exam preparation season. It was a busy session for us as we welcomed members of the East Lothian Review team and 7 pupils from the Royal High School's Pupil Leadership team to join us. A productive, purposeful and enjoyable experience was had by all. Well done to our School Improvement Group who won the finishing game this time. Knocking off the Learning and Teaching team who were reigning champions.
Edinburgh Music Competition Festival success
On Tuesday 4th March, thirty-one of our woodwind, brass and percussion players from S1 to S6 (and a van load of instruments and music stands!) travelled into St. Cuthbert's Church, Lothian Road, Edinburgh to perform in the 'School-aged Wind and Brass Bands' Class at the Edinburgh Music Competition Festival. We performed two pieces, Michael Story's 'Pioneer Spirit' and Lin Manuel Miranda's 'How Far I'll Go' from Moana.
We had a very enthusiastic audience of parents, carers, festival supporters and other competitors from Fettes College. We were very well received by the adjudicator, Paul Harris, who is a clarinettist and highly esteemed music educator. Mr. Harris was highly impressed by us having so many talented performers from one school and praised our energy and rhythm. Our percussion section also received a special mention and he stressed the importance of sharing the joy of musical performance with others.
We came joint first in our category - a massive well done to all our performers! Miss Marr (Brass specialist), Mr Wilson (Percussion Specialist) and myself, Ms Aspley (Woodwind and Piano specialist) are very proud of all the performers involved.
(unfortunately photos were not permitted)
Pupil Success
Scott Radley in S6 was recently invited to attend the Scottish Apprenticeship Week Parliamentary Reception 2025, an evening dedicated to celebrating the impact of apprenticeships in developing and growing Scotland’s workforce. There were speeches from ministers and business leaders about the importance of the apprenticeship programme to Scotland’s economy.
Scott was joined by other apprentices, past and present from across Scotland to share their achievements with key stakeholders, policymakers, employers and MSPs to showcase the impact of apprenticeships in communities across the country.
The students then had the opportunity to mingle with other FA students (past and present) at a lovely reception, including having a good blether with Cabinet Secretary Jenny Gilruth.
Quite rightly, the students all came away with a great deal of pride and sense of achievement in having participated in the Sci Tech Foundation Apprenticeship. Well done Scott (far left of photo)!
Mr Dickson,
Sci Tech FA coordinator
Food Donations
S4 RME department is still in need of food donations for the East Lothian food bank (based in Tranent). We are helping to bring awareness and support to charities that are helping local residents when they are in need of it.
Musselburgh has the highest percentage of food parcels needed in the whole of East Lothian as 29% were given to Musselburgh, East Lothian Foodbank provided 124,893 meals and there were 262,479 emergency food parcels to the whole of Scotland in 2023/24.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could donate to help support local residents who are in need. Musselburgh Grammar strives for a sense of community and these donations will help create a positive environment.
To donate food please bring to Mrs Craig’s room D1, where donations will be collected.
There are many things that you could possibly donate to food including:
Biscuits, Cereals, Dried pasta, Long-life milk, Pasta sauces, Rice, Tea bags, Tinned fruit, Tinned soup
*Please ensure you do not bring out of date or short shelf life things such as fresh fruit and dairy products as these will most likely expire before the charity can collect them and send them out.
SQA Drama
We will celebrate the success of the SQA Drama pupils by putting on a showcase evening on Tuesday 18th March at 6.00pm in the school hall. Parents, Guardians and peers are all invited!
These performances will showcase the progression from National 5, through Higher and finally the Advanced Higher Drama students. Please come and be entertained, through tears and laughter.
The performances will be from scripted plays which have been rehearsed, performed and assessed as part of the SQA courses.
They are truly fantastic and I am very proud of all involved!
See you all Tuesday evening 6.00 pm for an absolute treat! What a great way to celebrate success!
Mrs J Wood
Active Schools success and updates
Athletics
Tom Ibbs in S1 competed in the 1500m and high jump at the SSAA indoor Track and Field Championships. Tom achieved excellent results in the competition, placing 7th on the 1500m final and achieving a new personal best, shaving 4 seconds off his previous time. In addition to the 1500m, Tom equalled his personal best in the high jump.
Congratulations Tom!
Rugby
Today, our S1 and S2 rugby teams, along with coach Foley, attended today’s Emerging School’s Festival. Both teams played superbly, with the S1 squad winning all their games. Our S2 team played just as well. With their hard work rewarded with a win.
Congratulations from everyone at MGS on your fantastic performances and team work.
Volleyball
It was a busy Tuesday afternoon at the Sports’ Centre with our new Volleyball club starting up. The volleyball club is open to all students who want to play and socialise while taking part in physical activity. From Monday 17 March, two large nets will be set up for more students to play.
Football training
For MGS girls, S1 and S2 boys has been successfully run by Technical Edge Coaching with numbers increasing each week.
Girls’ football
The girls’ smashed it out of the football pitch at a 7s friendly tournament against other ELC secondary schools. There were plenty of wins, firsts, and excellent overall sportswomanship from the MGS squad!
Congratulations to all the players and a big thank you to our team and parents, carers and friends who came along to support.
After this success we will continue to develop our team and provide more girls with the opportunity to play football.
Disability sport sessions
Please use the QR codes to sign up.
SSAA Cross Country Championships
These were held at Hopetoun House on Wednesday. MGS had some great results despite the poor weather conditions. A huge shout out to Tom Ibbs for continued success, coming third in the Boys Group D race. Thank you to Coach Mike for training and preparing the students for this cross country season.
World Book Day
In honour of World Book Day and to celebrate a shared love of reading, we hosted a book stall in the library at lunch today. Pupils and staff were able to browse, enjoy some cake and take any books away for free. It was a great turn out and a lovely opportunity to chat about our favourite reads as well as recommend new ones to one another.
Pancake Day 2025
On Tuesday, it was Pancake Day and I hope lots of you made some yummy pancakes! To celebrate we hosted a Pancake making session after school for staff, with 13 of us making some scrumptious pancakes.
Pupils submitted their pancakes for house points and here are some great ones below:
SQA Assessment and Assignment calendar
Almost all N5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses require pupils to complete an Assignment, Dissertation, practical performance or other assessment before the SQA exam diet.
These assessments must be completed and deadlines cannot be missed.
To help pupils and parents/ carers see what is required over the next few months and plan out study time accordingly, we have collated these in a spreadsheet for all parents and pupils. This can be found on our website under 'Students', also in 'Musselburgh Learns/SQA' and will be posted in the S4, S5 and S6 Google classrooms - so you can't miss it 😀.
Year group attendance
Improving attendance to improve attainment is one of our school improvement priorities this year and we expect pupils’ attendance to be at least 90%. We are tracking pupils’ attendance carefully throughout the session and more information about our attendance strategy will follow. I hope parents and carers find this weekly update on each year group's attendance useful.
S1: 91%
S2: 89%
S3: 90%
S4: 90%
S5: 92%
S6: 91%
School Medical Records
We are updating our school medical records to ensure that we hold the most up to date and accurate information for all our pupils.
If contacted, please return paperwork as soon as possible. In some cases this is vital to ensure access to school medical equipment in the case of an emergency.
If your child has a medical need that the school does not yet know about please contact our admin office mailbox.
Medical
Polio/Dip vaccinations
All S3 Boys and Girls and also some catch ups will have received a polio/dip/meningitis form.
Please return this to school asap.
The vaccines will take place on Thursday 20th March 2025.
HPV VACCINE
All S1 and also some catch ups will take place on Tuesday 3rd June 2025. Please return your
form back to school asap.
MMR VACCINE - Catch ups (only if you received a blue form) will be vaccinated on Tuesday
3rd June 2025
Reminders to parents:
We are in the process of updating our medical records. If we have contacted you to return a form, or to provide information, please do this asap. It will ensure we are able to help your child if necessary. Without the correct form in place, we may not be able to administer emergency medication.
We are unable to hold antihistamines in school, unless your child has had them prescribed.
If your child requires an inhaler, this must be carried with them at all times, and we must have received your asthma consent form.
Infection Control - if your child has had vomiting/diarrhoea, they should not return to school before 48h after the last episode. This helps limit the spread of any bugs - thank you for your co-operation.
ELC Review
Huge thanks to all my colleagues and pupils for engaging so well in this week’s review including classroom visits and focus groups- I am always proud to showcase what we do at the Grammar, and the pupils were a real credit to us.
Thanks also to parents and community partners for being involved in focus groups: the review team enjoyed hearing your views on our school.
The feedback from the review will be shared with staff, pupils, Parent Council and the wider parent body in due course, and will inform our school improvement priorities for next session.
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