Embedded Files
HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
We warmly welcome all our pupils and families back to a new school year. After a slower pace over summer, this week has gone at warp speed! It has been so uplifting to see our young people so smart in uniform and enthusiastic about returning to school- thanks to all families and students for supporting our dress code. S1 took the record this week with 100% of them in full uniform. Only 146 pupils in S2-S6 over the three days needed a uniform slip and this was mostly for not having a tie- these can be purchased at the school office. Please do contact the school if we can support parents and carers with uniform.
I held welcome back year group assemblies on Wednesday to praise our new S5 and S6 pupils for their SQA results, and to talk about the importance of high expectations and ambition to all year groups. Ms Holmes and Mrs McElhaney also reminded pupils of how easy it is to get House points for Caird, Grange or Moray, to try and win the House Cup and prize in June. These are the totals for each House after week 1... *drumroll please*
Caird: 795
Grange: 818
Moray: 659
It is amazing to see so many house points given in the first week- we know that they make such a difference to pupils’ motivation and it's great to start the term with such positivity.
It was lovely to meet so many S1 parents and carers in school on Wednesday morning, and I hope that all S1 pupils have come home with exciting news of new friends and experiences to share with you.
With best wishes for a lovely weekend.
Jodie Hannan
New Staff and Staff Changes
We welcome a number of new staff to MGS, including two new Depute Headteacher appointments and I am sure that they will have a happy and successful year with us.
There have been some changes to the Senior Leadership Team:
Mr Webster takes over from Mrs Ormerod as DHT and Head of Grange House, and Ms Chisholm (Mon, Thurs, Fri) is job sharing the DHT and Head of Moray House with Mrs Watson (Tuesday and Wednesday).
Ms Chisholm (Tuesday & Wednesday) and Ms McCrorie (Monday, Thursday & Friday) are job sharing the post of PT Geography and History.
We also welcome our new staff listed below:
Mr Devine Mathematics
Ms Collins English
Mr Fox Computing
Ms Gray PE
Mrs Marshall CDT
Ms Mitchell Biology
Ms Higginson HE
Ms Castles Mathematics
Mr Bowman CDT
Ms Ditchfield HE
Ms Smeaton RME
Mr Webster Acting DHT Grange House
Ms Carr Science Technician
Ms McKechnie Mathematics
School Improvement Plan
All schools work towards actions and targets set in a yearly school improvement plan and I thought it would be interesting for all pupils to know that our targets are all about ensuring the best possible school experience for them, namely: supporting their wellbeing, developing teacher and pupil leadership, ensuring our curriculum gives pupils what they need for life after school, and of course, making sure that our core business of learning and teaching is the highest quality we can provide.
Mathematics
We were fully staffed in Mathematics at the end of the school year, but unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control over the summer holidays, are now currently short staffed by 1.5 teachers. We are advertising for a permanent full time teacher of Mathematics and hope to resolve the situation as soon as we can. In the meantime, classes are being rotated between teachers in the department, with Science colleagues also teaching some classes to maintain progression through the curriculum.
Head Pupils
Hi! We’re Kayla and Rory and we are the Head Pupils this year. We both hope that everybody has had an amazing first week back and has had plenty of fun in their new classes. To all the new S1s, we hope it wasn’t as scary as you all imagined and that you are finding your way around easily. And we also hope that everybody got the exam results they wanted. We have a lot in the pipeline including an increase in whole school events for S1 all the way up to S6, as well as leadership opportunities for all. We are planning on establishing a junior leadership team to get junior views and organise events by juniors for juniors. We are also hoping to send out applications for prefects in the near future so if you are in S5 or 6 and would like to get your views heard, organise events for the community and gain skills and experience (which is super useful for UCAS applications!) please apply! We have a lot planned this year and I hope everyone has an amazing year!
Devices
We would like to praise pupils for how well they are adapting to our devices policy. Thank you for your continued support.
Below are the Pupil Posters displayed in every learning space and classroom.
OYTS Sailing Residential Trip
A group of 10 pupils will be going on a week-long residential trip with Ocean Youth Trust Scotland (OYTS) on board a yacht from 22-26 Aug.
The voyage will provide a uniquely powerful and extremely effective environment for the personal and social development of the selected pupils. The demanding work and often unpredictable nature of sail training requires participants to confront many challenges, both physical and emotional.
OYTS look to explore behaviours on land and at sea whilst developing confidence, resilience and teamwork, as well as personal and social skills. The selected pupils will make their own 'Passage Plan for Life' evaluating behaviours and the impact these have on themselves and their community whilst undertaking adventurous activity.
If you are interested to see more about this amazing organisation you can find them at:
Please watch out for the exciting photos on our return.
Ms A Hoffman
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club returns on Monday morning, from 8am - 8:20am. This provides pupils with a free breakfast and a place to relax with friends in the morning. There are a variety of breakfast items available to pupils, including Cereal, Toast (rumours are there is chocolate spread!), Fruit, Fruit Juices and hot drinks. If you have any questions, please ask Mrs McElhaney or Mrs McLean
Monday and Tuesday: C13 - C Floor. Food, Fabric and Care classroom.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: Nurture Room, SFL - B Floor
Food, Fabric and Care Containers
The FFC department is aiming to cut down on the use of plastic and foil containers within the department, as part of a drive to become more eco-friendly.
To combat this, it is an essential piece of equipment for all pupils to bring their own plastic food container with them to carry their food dishes home. Please note, there is no need to provide an oven proof container, as we will provide a foil dish in these circumstances. If pupils consistently arrive to class without a container, pupils will be unable to participate in the lesson and be given suitable written work.
It is also important pupils have their name on their container, to ensure all food is taken home with the right pupil. Pupils will be given a stick label each lesson on their container, should it be nameless.
If you are unable to provide your child with a container, or have any concerns, please contact Mrs McElhaney (amcelhaney@musselburghgrammar.elcschool.org.uk) who is happy to assist. Alternatively, please speak to your child’s guidance teacher.
Army Residential Trip
If you are interested in joining the Army, we have sourced a residential trip from Tues 22 - Fri 25 November. You have to be 14+ and have no medical conditions.
Please email me at ahoffman@musselburghgrammar.elcschool.org.uk if you are interested.
House Captain and Prefect Applications
The application deadline for House Captains and Prefects has been extended to the end of the day on Monday. S5 and S6 students can find out more information about this on their year group classroom.
Flu Vaccine
All pupils will be vaccinated on Wednesday 5th October 2022. Vaccination forms to follow soon. See Ms Harvey if you have any questions.
School Policies
A reminder that our school policies on uniform, lateness and the use of devices can be viewed by clicking on the button below, or via the school website.
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.
Page updated
Report abuse