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HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
Friday 17th May 2024
Friday 17th May 2024
Our Extended Leadership Team met yesterday afternoon for the first of three review and planning sessions in May focused on school improvement for 2024-25. There was a great deal of quality discussion around how to improve pupil attendance, potential changes to tracking, reporting and course choice processes, and quality assuring our work, all to continue to raise the attainment of all our young people.
Thank you to all staff, parents/ carers and students who completed our recent surveys as this valuable information is contributing to our improvement work, and the School Improvement Plan (SIP) for 2024-25 will be published in June.
We are also all looking forward to Monday’s Inset day where staff’s key professional learning focus is on our core business of Learning and Teaching: reviewing what teaching techniques we have been working on all year and the impact upon pupils’ learning.
I’m sure pupils will enjoy the day off school!
Have a lovely weekend.
Jodie Hannan
Key Dates
Monday 20 May: Inset Day for staff only, w/c 20.05 S1 reports will be issued.
Tuesday 21 May: all pupils return to school, and Parent Council meeting 7-9pm in school.
Thursday 30 May: Parents’ Information session for new S5, S5 and S6, 6-7pm in school
Monday 3 June: new timetable for S2-S6 begins.
Wednesday 5 June: P7 (new S1) Parents’ Information session 6-7pm in school.
Thursday 13 June: Summer dance for new S2 and S3 pupils 6-8pm.
Friday 14 June: S6 Prom.
Friday 14, Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 June: P7 Transition Days.
Tuesday 18 June: Sports Award ceremony 7-9 pm. This date has changed from Wednesday 19 June due to a clash with a Euro match.
Thursday 20 June: Parent Council briefing online 7-8pm https://meet.google.com/oxm-dtdh-rsz?hs=224
Thursday 27 June: Sports’ Day 9am-1pm.
Friday 28 June: term ends for summer holidays.
Teacher training with GeoBus!
Geography teachers from across East Lothian were invited to a teacher training event at Preston Lodge High School, delivered by the GeoBus Team. GeoBus is an outreach project for schools developed and run by the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews.
The team delivered and demonstrated interactive workshops that included generating hydrographs using storm simulators, using practical activities to explore the impacts of climate change and making soil profiles to learn about infiltration rates.
We had a really exciting day being the ‘pupils’ for a change and trying out all the experiments and can’t wait to introduce these ideas to our lessons next session. Huge thank you to Mrs Mitchell at PL for organising the event.
Mrs Dias & Mrs Orsi
Visit to Care Home
On Friday May 3rd I took four of my talented MGS piano students to perform to residents at Harbour House Care Home. Julia Scott and Libby Henderson are both in S2 and are currently preparing for ABRSM piano exams and Emelia Duffy and Isaah Majid are both S6 pupils who have been preparing for their Advanced Higher Music practical exams.
Harbour House has a beautiful electric grand piano in the foyer and Councillor Forrest had been in touch with Jonathan Gawn (East Lothian Instrumental Music Service Team Manager) to suggest using it as a performance opportunity for our young learners. We were delighted to be received by a very welcoming, full and enthusiastic audience and both students, staff and residents enjoyed a lunchtime concert of classical piano solos from our young soloists. Mr Gawn and Councillor Forrest were also able to attend the event alongside me.
We are very much looking forward to returning to Harbour House soon with some of our brass and woodwind soloists and hope to make this a regular event.
Mrs Aspley
Instrumental Music Instructor of Piano and Woodwind, Musselburgh Cluster
S2 Growth Sector Business Day
Wednesday 22nd May
All S2 pupils will spend the day rotating around 7 different growth sector organisations. They will be participating in fun activity sessions which will highlight the importance of meta skills in the world of work today.
Pupils will rotate in practical sets and will be given a timetable on Wednesday morning at registration as to the sessions they are attending and room numbers.
We look forward to sharing their experiences with you next week.
School Leavers
If your young person is intending to leave school at the end of this term, please remind them they must come to the office to collect a leaver's form. They can do this any time from now on, and the form needs to be returned by May 31st.
EMPLOYABILITY PATHWAY 2024
Please be informed that if parental consents have not been returned, pupils will regrettably not be allowed to participate in scheduled off site events during May due to Health & Safety reasons.
As there are no classes timetabled for May, pupils will be sent home if they are not taking part in the programme.
It is with great disappointment I had to cancel several agencies due to the lack of engagement and attendance, I have combined all the groups into one itinerary for the last week.
- Pupils must bring their Young Scot card when travelling by public transport
- Pupils must enter by the rear door due to examinations
- Please appreciate pupils are sitting exams, keep the noise to a minimum
- All pupils to meet in the rear social area to be registered
TheChat: survey for parents and carers
We wanted to let you know about the national survey for parents and carers from theChat.
TheChat is a research project finding out from parents and carers about where, what, when, why and how children and young people learn about relationships, sexual health and parenthood.
Part one of theChat focused on meetings with groups of parents and carers across the country, both in-person and online. The group Chats have led to the development of the national survey,
The national survey for parents and carers is now open.
The childhood and teenage years are important in how we support our children to become the kind of young adults we want them to be. When it comes to learning about relationships, their bodies, or issues like consent or sexual health, what do you want your child to know or understand or be able to do?
The survey is open from May 1st to May 31st to all parents and carers in Scotland: https://thechat.scot/
Pathway to work in Leisure
Senior Phase Parents’ Information evening Thursday 30 May.
Ms Craigie, DHT, and I will be holding an information session for all parents and carers of new S4, S5 and S6 parents on Thursday 30 May 6-7pm in school in advance of the new timetable commencing on Monday 3 June. Pupils are very welcome to attend with their parents and carers.
P7 Parents’ Information evening Wednesday 5 June.
Mr Scott, DHT Pupil Support, and I will be holding an information session for all parents and carers of our new S1 pupils on Wednesday 5 June 6-7pm in advance of the primary transition days on Friday 14th, Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th June. Pupils are very welcome to attend with their parents and carers.
Immersion May Timetable
Don't forget we are running the Immersion May program please attend where possible, pupils in previous years have found them invaluable for the exams. Subjects, dates and times can be found here.
Exam Stress
Feeling Stressed about Exams?
Have a wee look at the Mental Health Youth Work’s site on Exam Stress here :Mental Health & Wellbeing - Exam Stress (google.com)
Or listen to their podcast on stress here: Mental Health & Wellbeing - Podcasts (google.com)
East Lothian Council Arts Service
East Lothian Council Arts Service is delighted to offer a selection of taster sessions at the Bridge Centre (Haddington) on Saturday 25 and Sun 26 May, with MGS’ very own Scene One performing in the Battle of the Bands on Sunday afternoon!
These sessions form part of the wider Haddstock festival, and will run alongside the Newcomer Stage and ELJam's Battle of the Bands competition.
No previous experience will be required but places are limited and you will need to book online. (Pay what you can afford)
We will be offering:
Family samba drumming
Community singing
Introduction to drama
Musical Theatre
If listening is more your thing, we have a Newcomers Showcase at the Haddington Corn Exchange (12-4pm), which features youth acts from Haddington and around East Lothian:
Woodwind warriors
Dance network
Knox guitar ensemble
String quartet
Knox jazz band
Jell
Room 5
The watts
Gaslight
Room 27
Human renegade
On Sunday 26th you are also very welcome to come along to the Battle of the Bands competition to hear 12 bands from 6 local high schools perform:
12pm-1.30pm:
Oddsocks (Knox A)
The Watts (Dunbar GS)
Sixteen Again (Ross HS)
Cryptid (Knox)
Girls of Stone (DGS)
Room 5 (RHS)
2.30pm-4pm:
High Speed Real Estate (North Berwick HS)
Black Diamonds (Prestonlodge)
Scene One (Musselburgh GS)
Title of Your Mixtape (NBHS)
Sofia’s Choice (PL)
About ’08 (MGS).
We hope to see you there. It’s going to be a fabulous weekend of local talent on display!
Families Together East Lothian
Families Together East Lothian has a survey online at the moment to seek views on the challenges families face just now and family supports that exist in East Lothian. Participants can be in with a chance to win a £50 shopping voucher when they complete the short survey.
Win a £50 shopping voucher
There are all sorts of reasons that families can feel pressured. Our Families Together East Lothian Team is out and about in the county speaking with families about the challenges they face and what helps them to thrive.
Share your views on what works for your family and how you feel about your local area by completing a short online survey. Your views will help shape support for families in East Lothian and you could even win a £50 shopping voucher!
Find out more about Families Together East Lothian and how they could support you, and complete the survey: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/families-together
The survey closes on 21 June.
Wellbeing
For all young people.
If you’re in need of a bit of support for general health and wellbeing. Our NHS school nurse will be in our wellbeing room on Wednesdays from 9-12. For more information come to your Pupil Support Leader.
Medical
MMR Vaccine will be given to pupils on Monday 10th June 2024. You will only be vaccinated if you received a form. This will take place in the training room, see me if you have any questions.
If you have Asthma please carry an inhaler with you at all times. Thank you C Harvey
Now’s a good time to check your child is protected against measles
Cases of measles are on the rise. With the summer break just around the corner and the school term nearing an end, now is a good time to check if your child is fully vaccinated against measles.
We know that an infectious disease such as measles can spread easily in education settings, especially for those pupils who are moving school or planning on going to university or college, when they’ll be mixing with lots of new students.
The MMR vaccine is offered free by NHSScotland and is over 95% effective in protecting against measles. Measles can lead to serious and potentially life-threatening complications. This is why it’s important to check your child has had two doses of the MMR vaccine. They should have had doses when they were a baby and before they started primary school but it’s never too late to catch up if they missed a dose.
It’s also important that your child is vaccinated against measles before you go on holiday this summer as cases of measles in some other parts of the UK and abroad are higher than they are in Scotland. You can find out how to check your child is fully protected at nhsinform.scot/MMRagainstmeasles
It’s also important to check that your child has received all vaccines they’re eligible for before they leave school, especially if they’re going to college or university. The MenACWY vaccine helps protect against meningitis and the HPV vaccine protects against cancers caused by HPV. Both of these vaccines would have been offered to your child from S1/S3 but it’s not too late to catch up if they missed out. Visit www.nhsinform.scot/chatsignprotect for more information.
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