MUSSELBURGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL
HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
Friday 21st June 2024
It was an absolute pleasure to have our P7s in school for their transition days, and staff commented on how friendly, polite and curious they were during their visit. I hope that they made some new friends, learned new things and loved every minute! We look forward to getting to know them properly when they join S1 in August.
The last few weeks of June are a bit of a social whirl with prom, the Sports’ Awards ceremony, the Summer music concert and S2/3 summer dance and Sports Day, all while we try to tie up the loose ends of the current year and plan for the next!
I hope you enjoy all our news this week, and have a lovely weekend.
Jodie Hannan
Key Dates
Wednesday 26 June: Summer Music concert 7-9pm
Thursday 27 June: Sports’ Day 9am-1pm at Pinkie playing fields. Pupils should come to school as usual to register
and then be walked down to Pinkie.
Friday 28 June: term ends at 12.25pm for the summer holidays.
New school year
Monday 12 August: Inset Day for staff only.
Tuesday 13 August: Inset Day for staff only.
Wednesday 14 August: all pupils return to school.
Staffing
It’s that time of year when we say thank you and farewell to a number of our colleagues who are moving on from the Grammar.
Our probationer teachers, Mr Crawford in Biology, Ms Nisbet in History, Ms Gillies and Ms Taylor in FCC, and Mr Pereira in Computing.
Ms Irvine, in the Support for Learning team moves to Knox Academy.
Mr Brown in Nurture and Inclusion is moving to Rosehill High School, as is Mrs Roberts in Modern Languages. Mrs Roberts has been at the Grammar for 19 years, so it really is the end of an era!
Mr Melvin, PE, moves to Ross High School, and Ms Smeaton in RMPS moves to a new post at Eyemouth High School.
It has been a pleasure working with all of them and we wish them all the best for the next stages in their career.
Website
Our website is still being redeveloped and we aim to have all content updated by the end of June 2024. It can be accessed here Musselburgh Grammar School.
The School Handbook for Parents for 2024-25 is now available, with a few sections still to be updated for the new session School Handbook 2024-25
Expectations of Senior Pupils
An assembly was held for all S5 and S6 pupils on Wednesday morning, two weeks into the new timetable, to reiterate our expectations of their commitment to their classes, uniform, and their 90% attendance in all classes as lack of attendance is one of the main barriers to progress and reaching potential.
Ms Craigie, DHT, has emailed all parents and carers copies of the agreement letters we distributed to S5 and S6 on Wednesday. We will be recording returned letters but have informed pupils that the default is the expectation outlined here regardless of the letter being returned. We hope you find the expectations useful in discussions with pupils.
There is a direct link between attendance and privileges in the senior school e.g. attendance at prom in S6 and invitation to Dalguise (in S6) for current S5.
Pupils have been advised that letters should be signed and returned to the school office by Wednesday 26 June.
Thank you for your support of our expectations.
MGS Pupil Senior Leadership Team candidates
This week, our seven candidates for the pupil senior leadership team presented their ideas for the year ahead to the rest of the school in House assemblies. Pupil and staff voting is now open and closes on Monday at lunchtime. Voting forms can be found on pupil year group Google classrooms where pupils can also read over the presentations again.
Good luck to all our candidates. It takes courage and confidence to put yourself forward for these posts and everyone rose well to the occasion. Interviews to follow next week.
Information for pupils
All pupils have been sent an email making them aware that anyone found downloading games or non-educational material to a school device, will have their account disabled and the material deleted.
The CDT department is undergoing a refresh of equipment. Contractors will be working in the department from next week onwards, and the department will be out of bounds - with the exception of two classrooms. Any pupil found to be in a cordoned-off zone will face serious consequences, as it would pose a serious risk to their own and others’ safety.
Police Scotland Youth Volunteers
A massive congratulations to Keir Mitchell in 5C2 for his excellent presentation promoting Police Scotland Youth Volunteers. Keir presented a lesson to all S1-S3 PSE classes showing great skills in communication, patience and dedication. He already shows strong attributes, which will help him achieve his ambition to be a police officer in the future.
However, if he changes his mind, he’d also make a fabulous teacher!
Well done Keir.
Sports Day 2024
Our Sports Day will be held this year on Thursday 27th June at Pinkie from periods 1-5.
Pupils are encouraged to wear their house colours and sports kit so that they can take part in the various activities we have on offer!
If you would like to take part in the 100m or the mixed relay, please let your PE teacher know by Wednesday 26th June.
There will be 100m heats before a final for each year group.
For the mixed relay, you need a team of 4 from your house (this will get you extra points!) But if you are struggling to find all members from the same house you can recruit from another.
Remember to bring water and possibly sun cream (check the forecast!) as well as cash if you’d like to buy ice cream or anything from the tuck shop. Feel free to bring your own snacks and you will be dismissed for lunch from Pinkie.
Please ask the PE department if you have any questions. Your register teachers will also remind you of all the important information this week.
Sports’ Awards
It was a pleasure as always to attend our annual Sports’ Awards ceremony. We value all of our young peoples’ successes and achievements across all areas of Art, Music, Drama and so on whether in school or the community. Our students’ energy, passion and commitment to being the best they can be deserves to be celebrated and we proudly celebrated their sporting achievements on Tuesday night.
Picture: Rosie Livingstone, guest speaker, ex MGS pupil and professional footballer with Hibs; Sarah Robson (DHT Campie); Alison Elgin (DHT Campie); Ms Swann, representing Anna Zunova; crashing the photo is the irrepressible Isla Dowdeswell, lead singer with the ‘08 band!; Councillor Andy Forrest; Ms Hannan, Head Teacher; Mr Brims, and Mrs Fiona Brims, presenter of the Richard White Sports Personality of the Year Award in memory of her father.
I am delighted to share our winners and runners up of the three main awards:
Sportsman of the year (S1-3):
Runner up: Zachariah Ng
Winner: Tom Barrett
Sportswoman of the year (S1-3):
Runner up: Lauren Davidson
Winner: Anna Zonova
Sports personality of the year (whole school):
Runner up: Stanley Wiggins
Winner: Jamie Lawson
Events like these take a great deal of organising so thank you to Mr Michie, PE, and Ms Marshall, Pupil Support, for supporting our fabulous young ambassadors to organise, run and present the entire evening: they were a credit to our community. Thank you and well done to Charlie Bell, Eleanor Myles, Macy Laidlaw and Summer Gargaro.
Thank you also to the ‘08 for excellent musical interludes.
Ocean Youth Trust Scotland June 2024
What a fantastic week it was, sailing with OYT Scotland from 3rd to 7th June. We began our journey with a minibus ride to Oban, where we were met with OYTS who equipped us with all the necessary waterproofs and life jackets.
Monday afternoon we set sail from Oban, we anchored in the sea near Sallin for the night. It was truly an impressive sight to waken up to.
The next morning, we resumed our sailing and made our way to on the island of Mull, a charming little spot. Spending the evening and the following morning there was delightful, allowing us to explore. Another highlight of stopping here was being able to enjoy a refreshing shower—a welcome treat on our adventure.
Continuing our journey, we sailed back towards Oban and found a secluded, sheltered spot to anchor for the evening. The next morning, we ventured ashore using the dinghy and discovered a secluded beach where we enjoyed playing games and soaking up the serene surroundings.
Following the beach excursion, we returned to the yacht and sailed back to Oban, where we moored for the night. It was now Thursday night, our final evening aboard the yacht.
On Friday morning, we rose early for breakfast and participated in what the crew termed "happy hour," which consisted of tidying up the yacht. After this, we were presented with our certificates before being picked up to return home to Musselburgh.
What an adventure, both pupils and staff will remember this for the rest of their lives.
House Champions
Summer Jam
Royal Highland Show trip
On Thursday 20th June we made our annual trip to the Royal Highland Show with 80 senior pupils and 10 pupils that access Support for Learning. Pupils delighted in the opportunity to learn about agriculture and rural life in Scotland through meeting livestock, marvelling at machinery, testing their awareness of saving water and of course, tasting all the locally produced foods! Pupils were an absolute credit to the school and a big thank you to all the staff that made the trip possible - fabulous organisation skills at work!
Letter for parents and pupils
At times last year various issues of Anti-social behaviour developed around the county which were linked to young people behaving irresponsibly through the school holidays. We appreciate the overwhelming majority of young people behave in a respectful and law-abiding manner however, unfortunately there were a minority who were involved in criminal and antisocial behaviour which portrayed a negative image of the areas concerned and caused suffering and inconvenience for people who live and work there.
East Lothian Police, Council, Fire and Rescue Service and wider partners want to ensure that this does not happen and that the county is a safe and enjoyable area for all to use during the summer. We are therefore encouraging all those who have young people to ensure they behave responsibly by checking where they are going and what they are doing and more especially that they are not in possession of alcohol.
Issues of water and fire safety around beaches and areas of woodland are paramount and are why our School link and Fire Safety officers have been delivering talks on these subjects to young people throughout the year. We would urge you to discuss these topics with your young people in order that they are reminded of the dangers and avoid the need for Emergency services to have to respond which creates additional demand that could be avoided.
Our aim is to make East Lothian as attractive and safe to both residents and visitors and we ask you to share the contents of this letter with your child / young person to ensure they are not involved in any antisocial or criminal behaviour, highlighting their own personal responsibility for their actions. We do again acknowledge that the majority of young people behave responsibly, respecting the community and environment and it is hoped by having this conversation you can reinforce the importance of being a responsible young citizen, keeping yourself safe and respecting others.
By working together, highlighting personal responsibility and an awareness of our actions we can prevent anti-social incidents and ensure that East Lothian is a safe and pleasant location for all to use and enjoy.
Kind regards
Chief Inspector Ben Leathes, East Lothian Local Area Commander, Lothian & Scottish Borders Division
Kenneth Black, Community Protection Manager, East Lothian Council
Steven Tilston, Local Area Liaison Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
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.
Messages from the School Welfare Assistant
All Pupils who have Asthma please carry your inhaler with you at all times.
Please come along and have a look at the lost property in the medical room, to see if anything belongs to you. Any items remaining will be recycled just before the Summer break .