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HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
I spent some time out of school this week at an Education Scotland professional learning in leadership event for Scottish Head Teachers to hear from and speak to national and international educational researchers and authors. It is also always valuable to talk to colleagues across Scotland about the challenges and opportunities in education, our leadership, and to hear about innovative and interesting practice that can be adapted for MGS.
Back in school, faculties have been busy discussing and analysing their SQA results, celebrating their successes, and identifying where improvement is needed. This will be reflected in faculty improvement plans and the overall School Improvement Plan, which will be published on the updated website in due course.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Jodie Hannan
Key Dates
Week beginning 25 September: S4-6 tracking reports sent home
Wednesday 27 September: P7 Parents Evening 6.30-8.30pm in school.
Thursday 28 September: Musselburgh Learns Modern Languages 5-7pm in school.
Tuesday 3 October: Prize Giving Ceremony 7-9pm.
Week beginning 9 October: S2 tracking reports sent home.
Thursday 12 October: Parent Council AGM in school 7-9pm. All welcome. As well as the Head Teacher’s Report, the Chair’s Report and Pupil Voice Report, Mrs Donnelly, Curriculum Leader of the Technologies Faculty, will be sharing the work she is doing in school and with businesses in the local area to develop our pupils’ employability skills.
Staff
Huge thanks and good luck to Mr Mather who leaves us (again!) for New Zealand. Mr Mather left in June but was good enough to return for these past 6 weeks of term due to the Maths Department being short staffed.
We are, very regrettably, short staffed in Maths until we can recruit to the vacancy. Due to the ongoing national shortage of Maths teachers it has not been possible to fill the vacancy so far. We have a supply teacher starting on Monday until the October break, and Ii will keep you updated on recruitment.
Musselburgh Learns
Musselburgh Learns is our approach to learning in and across our school community. Learning is not just for the young people at the Grammar. Learning is vital and lifelong for all us adults too, whether teachers or parents and carers. At the Grammar, we take our career long professional learning seriously, with staff constantly investing in their own CLPL across learning and teaching, leadership, wellbeing and inclusion and more, all to improve the experience for your children.
Our CLPL covers a wide range of activities, including listening to educational podcasts, reading and discussing books and articles, watching webinars, attending SQA events, and visiting other schools to see innovative and interesting practice.
A significant number of staff also engage with more formal professional learning which can lead to qualifications such as Into Headship and Excellence in Headship programmes run by Education Scotland; Middle Leadership courses facilitated by East Lothian Council; Learning Pathways and Professional Assessor training run by the South East Improvement Collaborative, as well as undertaking Masters and Doctorates on our own particular areas of interest.
We know how much parents and carers want to help their children learn, and how difficult this can be sometimes as school has changed a great deal since we were teenagers!
We want to work with you and support you to support your child’s learning, so to that end we are offering a number of Musselburgh Learns family learning sessions this term, starting with Modern Languages on Thursday 28 September. These events are for parents, carers and pupils to attend together and there is no need to book. Mr Jordan, Curriculum Leader Modern Languages, has emailed all parents/ carers whole children are studying Modern Languages with the details.
There will be Musselburgh Learns S1 Maths on Tuesday 31 October 6.30-7.30pm and Musselburgh Learns N5 and Higher Maths on Tuesday 7 November 6.30-7.30pm.
We look forward to seeing you at these events and will be asking for your feedback so we can keep improving what we do.
Parent Council
Please join us at the Parent Council AGM due to be held on Thursday 12 October, in the school from 19:00 – 21:00. The PC is going to treat all visitors to a drink made by our Burgh Barista team (the hot chocolate is delicious!). We’re hoping to have some nibbles available too. Ms Hannan will give her annual update, representatives from Pupil Voice will share about their work over the past year and the Chair will share an annual update. Then there’ll be some quick business approving volunteers in roles like Chair, Vice-Chair (or Co-Chair). You can come and visit and learn all about what’s going on without volunteering…so please don’t let that put you off! 😊 If you do fancy putting your name in for a role, please do. It’s a great opportunity to support the school, learn so much and make a difference for every young person at the Grammar.
Please give this event a click https://www.facebook.com/events/1194194704870085/ if you can come so we’ll know how many to cater for. Fingers crossed we see lots of you there. 🤞🏽
If you ever want to be paid for attending our regular meetings, we do have a clerk vacancy.
In other news we’re planning something slightly different in November – watch this space!
Shona Blakeley
Chair
Faculty Name Change
The Global Citizenship Faculty (History, Modern Studies, Geography, Classics, RMPS and Philosophy) will now be known as the Humanities Faculty.
‘The Wrap Up, with Charlie & Eva’
Welcome to another edition of ‘The Wrap up, with Charlie and Eva’, we hope you enjoyed the long September weekend and have had a good week back at school!
Next week in honour of Mr Gray there will be a 500 mile walk/ cycle/ swim (or whatever else you can think of) amongst all houses. The aim is to do 500 miles whether it be in PE or on your walk to and from school. This starts on Monday next week. There will also be a dress down day with a raffle, bake sale & live music on the Friday the 29th of September in order to support ‘CHAS’, the charity in which Mr Gray’s family have chosen. We are very sure that Mr Gray would be super proud of everyone and the efforts everyone has put into honouring him!
The first ever pupil voice meeting under the new structure is happening on Thursday the 28th September periods 3&4, so anyone interested in pupil voice who hasn’t spoken to their registration teachers about it, make sure to sign up ASAP so you don't miss out! Pupil voice is a fantastic opportunity to take part in discussion and to use our voices to impact the school! Sheets will also be coming around registration classes so you can suggest agenda items for the meeting, particularly those involving learning and teaching at MGS.
We’re looking to get plenty of people involved and to get everyone involved working together in teams to discuss the agenda items and to look at smaller teams focusing on different areas in the school!
Anybody interested in designing, a chance has opened up to design the shield for your house! We’re looking for your house colour (Caird = yellow, Moray = red, Grange = green), for it to be eye-catching, and for it to represent the school's values! The winning submissions will be used in assemblies and on house notice boards, these must be submitted to the office or Ms Craigie by the 29th of September. We know there is a huge artistic bunch out there, so put your creative caps on and get designing!
Many people have been granted awards for some amazing things at school, we are very much looking forward to seeing them all being handed out at the prize giving ceremony on the 3rd of October. Even if you didn’t get an award, you should still be super proud of your efforts throughout the past year!
Check out the new head pupil team Instagram account for more information on what we’re doing within the school and to find out more about other things going on at MGS at @mgs_head_pupil_team! Also check out the new Caird house Twitter account @CairdHouseMGS to keep up to date with Caird house!!
Thank you for reading this week’s ‘The Wrap Up with Charlie and Eva’, we’d like to wish everyone a great weekend!
Walk 500 miles (and 500 more) for Mr Gray
We will be celebrating the life of Mr Gray with a challenge! During the week beginning 25th September 2023 each House (Caird, Grange & Moray) will attempt to walk, run, cycle, swim 500 miles in their collective House groups. Each pupil will be given the opportunity to complete their miles during registration or PE classes.
In addition, staff and pupils can add their own miles on their commute to school, evening run or morning swim. Pupils can track this using a phone app or via their class teacher during their PE lesson. All miles must be logged on their house google form.
We will tally the miles in school throughout the week and celebrate the achievements on Friday 29th September with a dress down day, where pupils will be invited to spare a donation which will be given to CHAS – Rachel House Hospice. Street League have kindly donated a signed Hibernian Football Shirt which will be raffled on the Friday. CHAS have donated a CHAS shirt signed by all Hibs players that will also be raffled. All raffle tickets will be sold for 50p each during registration or, at the main office - please support if you can.
Hibernian Football Club have donated 10 tickets for the match against Dundee on Saturday 30th September and these will be issued to pupils who manage to complete the most miles. There will also be a bake sale, live music and other activities to make this a memorable week. We look forward to all pupils and staff participating in this challenging week in Mr Gray’s memory.
House Points
House point update for this week:
Caird = 1480
Grange = 2235
Moray = 2132
Our House point focus for September is still: Kindness.
A reminder this can be for pupils using manners, opening doors for others, being a good friend, giving each other compliments and various other activities.
Lateness and Attendance
A focus for MGS this year is maximising attendance and reducing late coming. Time lost to absence and late coming can have an impact on learning. The diagrams below illustrate examples of learning time lost.
Rights Respecting School Award
We are very proud to say that we are starting our journey to becoming a Gold Standard Rights Respecting School!
From starting work in August, we have now been accredited as being a Bronze Level RRS. To achieve this we had to start raising awareness and completed the following steps:
Registered as a Rights respecting school
Created digital displays
Used children friendly posters for every classroom and displayed them around the school
Outlined next steps to Curriculum Leaders to achieve a Silver Award
Added RRS to Pupil Voice agenda
Added our bronze logo (below) to letterheads and email signatures
You may know that the UNCRC United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in September 2020 and was passed unanimously in March 2021. The main purpose of the Bill is to bring the UNCRC into Scots law.
The Bill is a milestone on Scotland’s journey towards making rights real for every child. It follows a decade of developments that have been furthering children’s rights across legislation, policy and practice in Scotland – including GIRFEC (Getting It Right For Every Child), the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, Scottish Government's 2018-21 Action Plan, and most recently the Children (Scotland) Act 2020.
There are three stages to the Rights Respecting Schools Award. Its transformative and rigorous approach means the journey to the highest stage can take up to four years.
Together young people and the school community learn about children’s rights, putting them into practice every day. The Award is not just about what children do but also, importantly, what adults do. In Rights Respecting Schools children’s rights are promoted and realised, adults and children work towards this goal together.
There are four key areas of impact for children at a Rights Respecting school; wellbeing, participation, relationships and self-esteem.
The difference that a Rights Respecting School makes goes beyond the school gates, making a positive impact on the whole community.
Children are healthier and happier
Children feel safe
Children have better relationships
Children become active and involved in school life and the wider world
Our aim by next summer is to have pupils and staff being familiar with children's rights and referring to them regularly as part of their everyday school life.
SQA Exam Timetable
The SQA have now published the second version of the exam timetable, for the exam diet 2024. Please note, this is subject to change and any updates will be published directly on the SQA website. Other resources on the website include updates to course content and past papers. The past papers are free to download and are a useful tool in preparing for prelim examinations and final exams.
The 2024 SQA Exam timetable can be found here: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/nq-2024-exam-timetable.pdf
S1 Extracurricular Fayre - Monday 25th September, Period 7
With over 30 clubs to choose from, S1 pupils will have their own chance to sign up to as many clubs as they like!
Rugby
Fancy giving Rugby a try? We are currently looking for new players to join our youth teams!
Training Times :
S1-3 Girls
Monday 4-5pm @ Pinkie Playing Fields
S1 Boys
Tuesday 5-6pm @ Pinkie Playing Fields
S2 Boys
Tuesday 5-6.30pm @ Musselburgh Rugby Club
Wednesday 6-7.30pm @ Pinkie Playing Fields
S3 Boys
Tuesday 6-7.30pm @ Pinkie Playing Fields
Thursday 5-7pm @ Musselburgh Rugby Club
For more info please come and see Tom Foley in A45.
Duke of Edinburgh: Blythswood Shoebox Appeal
Thank you for your donations of shoeboxes, we have started wrapping them and they are ready for filling. (More shoe boxes and wrapping paper needed!)
How can you help?
Fill a shoebox with items, complete the leaflet and deliver it to school by 12th Oct
Send in items to put in shoe boxes and we will make them up. Key items we need are: toothbrushes, toothpaste, hat/ scarf/ gloves, soap, sponges/ flannels, socks, small toys, notebooks and stationary.
All items must be NEW and UNUSED.
Collect a leaflet from Miss Ferguson in A29 or check out the website link below: https://blythswood.org/shoeboxappeal/
Sports Achievements
A huge congratulations to Sophie Davidson and Finlay Duncan who were invited to attend trials for The Scottish Hockey Brave Academy earlier this month. The Brave Academy is an additional tier in the talent pathway between District and International levels. It provides additional support to talented emerging and aspiring hockey players, and helps them develop the tools and skills they need to bridge the gap between domestic and international hockey … and we are absolutely over the moon to announce that both Sophie and Finlay have secured a place in the Brave Academy!
On top of this they have both been selected to be part of the U16s Scotland squad - what an achievement. We are super proud of both of you and are looking forward to following your journeys this next year!
QMU Visit
Sport & Recreation had their first session delivered by Stuart from Queen Margaret University.
During the session, pupils were taken through all phases of planning a successful workout. For example, learning the difference between strength, muscular endurance and hypertrophy training sessions.
Pupils from Mr Michie’s and Mr Melvin’s classes are looking forward to working with QMU for the next three weeks.
Senior Phase Personal Development Class
Our senior Personal Development class are looking for donations for their annual Bingo & a Blether, organised for the elderly residents of Mansfield Court and Brunton Court retirement housing complex. Any unwanted toiletries, tins of biscuits, chocolates … would be welcome. Contact M Dreon-Goold, Hayden Morrison Emma Hamilton Jamie Cruickshank Room B21 at registration or leave your donations in the school reception.
East Lothian Youth Music Forum
ELJam (East Lothian Youth Music Forum) and Dunbar Music Festival are thrilled to announce our very first Youth Bands Showcase, happening this Saturday (23rd) 11am-3pm.
Come along to Dunbar Parish Church Hall to hear a selection of our finest young talent, some of whom have already performed at Haddstock, Fringe by the Sea and Hops in the Garden this summer.
Employability Pathway 2023
Please save the date, all welcome. If you are a business or know of any businesses who would like to secure a spot. Please contact the school or alternatively email, employability@musselburghgrammar.elcschool.org.
Medical
All flu forms need to be handed in as soon as possible. Please check your register class' time outside Ms Harvey's room. Vaccinations will take place on Wednesday 4th October and Thursday 5th October.
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.
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