MUSSELBURGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL
HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
We held the first House Assemblies of the school year this week reinforcing the importance of House ethos. I also formally badged the Head Pupil team so they are now official! We ended the week with a professional learning session for all teaching staff focused on our core business of learning and teaching: it’s so important that we teachers keep reading and learning, not just our students.
Huge thanks to all families for supporting uniform- the standard continues to be exceptionally high, and the number of pupils without uniform dropped this week. The main issue is not having a tie: these can be bought from the school office for £6. There was also a number of girls wearing leggings without skirts so a wee reminder that skirts are needed.
I’m also pleased that our mobile phone and devices policy is going so well and classes are able to learn without these distractions.
Have a lovely weekend.
Jodie Hannan
Awards Ceremony
I am delighted to let you know that our Awards Ceremony will be held in our Assembly Hall on Thursday 29 September 7-9pm after a Covid hiatus. Details will follow in due course.
S1 Students
Our S1 pupils have settled very well into school and I hope that they are coming home with lots of good news stories. To keep settling them into a routine and encourage good timekeeping while they still find their way around we will keep them in school at interval and lunch times until the October Break.
Head Pupils
It was a pleasure to meet the Head Pupil Team this week in the first of my fortnightly meetings with them, to discuss what they want to achieve this year. Apart from organising various social and charity events, we talked about their legacy- what they want to do this year to leave the school in a better place than when they started. These were the ideas that won them their roles and their focus this year: Rory is committed to improving communication in school and recording students’ wider achievements; Kayla is focused on improving the P7 to S1 transition experience; Jamie is focused on developing leadership opportunities for junior pupils; and Orla’s mission is to promote sustainability and recycling.
House Captains and Prefects
S6 House Captains and S5 & 6 prefects will be appointed next week, and for the first time, to recognise them as part of the Senior Phase, S4 pupils will also be invited to apply for prefect positions. The deadline for these applications is Wednesday 31st August.
Duke of Edinburgh
Shoebox Appeal - The S3 Bronze D of E group are running the Blythswood Shoebox Appeal this year. Does anyone have any EMPTY shoe boxes? Please send them in to Mrs Dias in D10. Information about the appeal itself will follow shortly.
Kit Appeal - overnight expeditions will be starting up again this session! We are trying to build up our store of outdoor clothing and kit. If you have any kit that you no longer use that you would like to donate, that is of a good quality, we would be very appreciative! E.g. 2 or 3 man tents (that can be carried), large walking rucksacks, walking boots, waterproof jackets/ trousers.
Thank you - Mrs Dias and the D of E team
Advanced Higher English
This year’s Advanced Higher English class took a little trip to the theatre last Wednesday to watch a performance of one of their texts: The Importance of Being Earnest. What a way to start the new school year!
It’s fantastic that we’re able to make use of the advantages of living so near to Edinburgh again and it was a brilliant way for pupils to get to grips with the comedy and style of Oscar Wilde.
Parent Council
We’ve set the dates for our future Parent Council meetings – please do join us online or visit us in person. Meetings will alternate between online and in person. We’re starting with an online meeting and plan to hold the AGM in October in person. We’re hoping to do something a bit more social in December. Links to online meetings will be sent out by the school. All meetings will start at 19:00 hrs and we’re aiming to finish by 20:30 hrs, though if a busy agenda we may keep going until 21:00 hrs. Dates for meetings are: 29 August, 12 October AGM, 9 November, 14 December, 24 January, 6 March, 19 April, 25 May, 21 June
The first meeting of the new school year is Monday 29 August 7-9pm online and can be accessed using this link meet.google.com/qnn-ofov-hrd.
Shona and Andrew
Co-chairs
Higher, NPA, S3 Photography
This year’s Photography students travelled to Edinburgh on Thursday to view the World Press Photography Awards exhibition at the Scottish Parliament whilst there they also photographed the debating chamber and John Swinney. This successful excursion also gave students the opportunity to take their own genre photos of Edinburgh architecture and the vibrant street performers on the Royal Mile during the Edinburgh Festival. These photos will form the basis of future classwork and a small in school exhibition. Photos to follow. All students were a credit to the school.
Young Enterprise
The Business and Administration Department are looking for motivated Year 6 pupils who would be interested in taking part in this year's Young Enterprise Programme. Young Enterprise offers pupils the chance to gain a level 6 qualification, valuable entrepreneurial skills, UCAS points and looks great on a CV.
Register alone or with a group of friends and you will have the chance to: Develop new skills such as creativity, commerce, leadership, budgeting and marketing. Liaise with an external Business Advisor during brainstorming sessions, and pupils will also get to keep all profits generated and distribute them accordingly. All interested pupils should contact Mr Shelton in Room B27 or email bshelton@edubuzz.org.
Readaxation
The library lunch club is back! 'Readaxation' club will take place every Thursday lunchtime in the school library from 13.05-13.45. We hope to offer a quiet place where young people (and staff) can switch off and relax with reading material of their choosing. Please see Mrs Scott (library) or Mrs Lock (B22) for more information.
Flu Vaccine
Vaccination forms should be returned to Ms Harvey by 5th September 2022. See Ms Harvey if you have any questions.
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.