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HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
Friday 19 April 2024
Friday 19 April 2024
SQA exams start on Monday 22 April and for all our senior pupils sitting National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams it's an incredibly busy and anxious time of year. I know from experience that exam stress can affect the whole household so I hope that study timetables have been drawn up, including dates for Immersion classes and using the study revision resources sent out before Easter. Please remember to get plenty of sleep, plan in rest breaks and eat well.
I know it may seem strange, but I’m not going to wish you luck in exams. Not because I don't want you to do well, I want you all to excel!......but because success isn't down to luck. Luck is passive. Success is the result of active preparation, hard work and the determination to do your best.
All staff at the Grammar hope that you are all preparing for your exams to feel as confident as possible and send you our best wishes for success.
To all S4 and S5 pupils returning for S5 and S6, we look forward to seeing you on Monday 3rd June for your new timetables.
To our S6, S5 and S4 leavers, we have loved having you here and wish you every success for the next chapter of your lives after school. Go well and be happy.
Jodie Hannan
Key Dates
Monday 22 April: Study leave for all S4-S6 pupils sitting N5, Higher and AH exams begins.
Monday 20 May: Inset Day for staff only, and S1 reports sent home this is Modern Studies with Geography week.
Tuesday 21 May: all pupils return to school, and Parent Council meeting 7-9pm in school.
Monday 3 June: new timetable for S2-S6 begins.
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.
Wednesday 19 June: Sports Award ceremony 7-9 pm.
Thursday 27 June: Sports’ Day 9am-1pm.
Friday 28 June: term ends for summer holidays.
Staffing
Congratulations to Mrs Forgan who has been appointed to the permanent part time position in the office she has been holding on a temporary basis.
Interviews for the permanent full time Teacher of Business Management will be held on Monday 22 April.
Farewell and thankyou to
…..Ms Thomson, temporary Teacher of PE, and Ms Cummings, temporary Teacher of English who left us now that study leave for senior pupils has commenced.
School session dates consultation
East Lothian is consulting staff, pupils and families on the draft School Session Dates for 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 and the consultation will be open on the Council’s Consultation Hub from 17 April 2024 until 30 April 2024.
The consultation on the draft school session dates for these two school sessions is to seek stakeholder views. Our neighbouring authorities, City of Edinburgh Council and Midlothian Council have set, or are in the process of setting their dates. The East Lothian Council draft dates 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 have taken cognisance of our neighbouring authority dates and very much align with City of Edinburgh Council dates.
A copy of the draft dates have already been emailed to all families.
The link to the consultation is: Consultation on the draft School Session Dates for 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 - East Lothian Council - Citizen Space (eastlothianconsultations.co.uk)
Parent Council Chairs have also been directly informed of the consultation.
SQA Arrangements
Mrs Watson, DHT in charge of SQA exams held an assembly on Wednesday for all S4-6 pupils sitting exams: her slides are below for all parents and carers information too. An email has been sent out to parents explaining about exceptional circumstances.
Pupils are expected to attend immersion classes where possible, feedback from previous years has found these classes extremely helpful.
All pupils are also reminded that from Monday 22 April the backdoors at the dining hall should be used to access and exit school in the morning, interval, lunch and end of day. The main front doors are only for S4-S6 pupils sitting exams that day.
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)
Immersion May2024
Employability Programme 2024
If your son/daughter is part of the Employability Programme during the month of May they will need their consent form returned in order to take part. Paper copies can be obtained from school reception if required.
‘The Wrap Up, with Charlie & Eva’
‘The Wrap Up, with Charlie & Eva’
Welcome to the final edition of ‘The Wrap Up, with Charlie & Eva’, we hope you had a great Easter Holidays, now let's get into it!
Exam timetables have come out, through registration this week. If you’re a senior pupil and you haven’t received one yet, go check your registration class or the office for them as they have important information you’ll want to look at, such as your seat number, and the dates and times of exams. If you have multiple exams on at the same time, or if your address has changed and the address on the sheet is now inaccurate, you should go see Ms Watson immediately to get it rectified.
The S6 students vs teachers football game also happened this week. It was a hard fought battle, but in the end the teachers came out on top after a very solid performance. Thank you to all the teachers who took time out to take part and played, it’s really appreciated by all the pupils, both those who played in the game and those who spectated at the side.
Everyone with exams coming up had an assembly this week going over expectations and important information for upcoming exams. The first exam is coming up on Monday, so everyone doing exams should read through the booklet that was handed out to you and make sure you’re aware of all the information you’ll need, such as your SQA number. There is a card on the last page of the booklet that was handed out that you can take into your exams, it has a space to write your name, your SQA number, date of birth, and the name of the centre.
Unfortunately this is our last week here at MGS. It has certainly been a blast. And so we would like to say a massive thank you to everybody who voted for us to be part of the Head Team in the first place. It has been an incredible journey and we have had such fun doing it. We have learned so much and will carry these memories for the rest of our lives. We have tried our absolute best to make this year memorable and fun so that you all had a great school year. We hope that we have inspired you to be the best version of yourselves and potentially take on the role as a Head Pupil. We wish you the absolute best of luck in all you do, whether it be exams or generally achieving in school. It has been a pleasure being your Head Pupils of 2024!
And so that’s a wrap!
- Charlie & Eva
MGS Website
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.
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