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HEAD TEACHER'S NEWSLETTER
It was lovely to see so many families in school last night at the S2 Parents’ Evening, and to hear all about their child’s many successes. These evenings are such valuable opportunities to keep building our relationships with parents, carers and pupils and are enjoyed by staff as much as by families. It was a great way to end the week.
Whatever you are doing, I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Jodie Hannan
Staffing:
We have a number of interviews coming up:
PT Maths post on Monday 30 January.
PT Equity post in the week beginning 30 January
PT Guidance post in the week beginning 6 February.
CDT post in the week beginning 6 February.
Unfortunately, Mrs Roberts will be absent from school for the foreseeable future, and no Modern Languages supply teachers currently available. This means that several changes have had to be made to the Modern Languages timetable as follows:
Miss Coats and Mr Jordan will be teaching Mrs Roberts' S3 German classes.
Miss Swain will be taking over National 5 and Higher ESOL.
Mrs Scott and Miss Swain will now be teaching Mrs Roberts S1 and S2 French classes.
Key Dates
Tuesday 31 January: S5&6 Parents' Evening online 5-7pm
Monday 13-17 February: February holiday week
Monday 20 February: Inservice day for staff only
Tuesday 21 February: Pupils return to school
Equity Strategy
2019/20 statistics show that between one quarter and one fifth of the county’s young people live in poverty and the current cost of living crisis and energy charges are exacerbating this. It is estimated that 53% of children have experienced poverty in the past 12 years and over a quarter of children in Scotland are worried about their family having enough money.
Poverty increases the likelihood of health issues, fewer qualifications, stigma and bullying and becoming care experienced.
The evidence base also shows a strong correlation between drug and alcohol misuse and deprivation. East Lothian is one of the areas in Scotland that has shown an increase in the number of families living in poverty.
All secondary schools in East Lothian are appointing a Principal Teacher of Equity as part of the authority’s strategy to improve the educational outcomes for young people disadvantaged by poverty and other circumstances such as being a young carer. All teaching staff in MGS are eligible to apply and the successful candidate will be in post from February this year until February 2024.
Restructuring at MGS for August 2023
As part of the strategic planning for the reduction of our school roll as Wallyford Learning Campus opens, and the need for fewer staff, I have made some changes to the Grammar’s management and faculty structures and thought it would be helpful for the community to know what will be in place in the Grammar from August 2023.
Our current management structure is as follows and this structure will broadly remain in place until the end of June 2023 unless a vacancy opens up as a result of staff taking up post elsewhere.
It is expected that this structure will remain in place until the end of June 2023.
Key:
DHT= Depute Headteacher
HoH= Head of House
PT= Principal Teacher
SfL= Support for Learning
CDT= Craft, Design & Technology
HWB= Health & Wellbeing
There are usually changes to a school’s staff during year for professional and personal reasons but as it currently stands, the following staff will be in place:
Pupil Support leaders (PSLs)
As we move to one guidance teacher per House, PT Guidance changes to Pupil Support Leader (PSL) to reflect the changing role and responsibility. We will be advertising for the temporary PSL in February to commence in August 2023. This PSL will have responsibility for a number of classes of pupils across all three Houses.
The PSL Caird post will be filled next week to commence as soon as employment paperwork is complete.
I will confirm staff in PSL posts for August 2023 around Easter time.
Curriculum Leaders (CLs)
With the move to faculties across the whole school, the Principal Teacher of department role changes to Curriculum Leader of a faculty to reflect the increased responsibility and leadership role.
The CLs indicated in green will be in place towards the end of April/ beginning of May.
CLs indicated in orange will be in place in August 2023.
CL Communications- Mr C Greig
CL Expressive Arts- Mr K Dickson
CL Global Citizenship- Ms A Chisholm
CL STEM Technologies- Mrs M Donnelly
CL Mathematics- to be recruited
CL Modern Languages- Ms A Ryan (currently on maternity leave until December 2023- Ms S Coats is covering this post)
CL STEM Sciences- Mrs J Kivlichan
CL HWB- Mr K MacDonald
CL SfL- Mr D Donnelly
CL Inclusion- Mrs C McLean
Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
The Headteacher, DHTs and Business Manager are the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
Headteacher- Ms J Hannan
DHT Caird- Ms J Craigie
DHT Moray- Mrs N Watson
DHT Grange- Mr M Scott
Business Manager- still to be recruited for
Mr J Webster, currently temporary DHT Grange, will leave MGS at the end of June 2023.
Extended Leadership Team (ELT)
All Curriculum Leaders (CLs) and the SLT are the school’s Extended Leadership Team (ELT).
Number of pupils moving to WLC
We are awaiting confirmation of the numbers of current P7 pupils going to WLC from Wallyford at Pinkie primaries, as well as the number of our current S1 and S2 pupils also moving there to allow Mrs Watson, DHT, to start building the timetable for session 2023-24.
These pupil numbers, along with the completed course choice process for S2-S5, will allow us to see where we are overstaffed in school and it is likely to be the case that some staff will move to another secondary school in the authority, not necessarily WLC, where there are vacancies for those subject teachers. This staffing process is undertaken every year, not just this year because WLC is opening.
Looking forward….
Change is an inevitable part of school life but I know that many pupils, families and staff feel unsettled and upset by what is happening. Our young people will be seeing some of their friends and peers move to another school, and PT colleagues, some of whom have been at the Grammar for over 15 years, will be moving to WLC towards the end of April. Families who have been part of our MGS community will be at the forefront of building WLC’s school community. These are the exciting opportunities that this change brings, and we wish all the young people and teachers who are moving on every success and enjoyment at Wallyford Learning Campus.
The young people who remain at the Grammar will be given opportunities to build new friendships as part of the transition to what the Grammar will look like after this summer and their classes change.
It will also be a time of excitement and opportunity at the Grammar as we adjust and look ahead. My determination to make our school the best possible place for all our young people- your children- to learn and thrive is stronger than ever and I know that all my colleagues share this vision equally.
Kayla and Rory's Weekly Rundown
Hi and welcome back to Kayla and Rory's weekly rundown!
S2 parents night was this week and it was great to see so many prefects helping out- we hope our S2s didn't get in too much trouble! Kayla also spoke at parent council this week and it was great to give an update on all the fantastic work going on in the school.
We hope you enjoy the run up to the February break over the next two weeks.
House Points
House Charities
Over the past week pupils have been nominating charities that they believe should be supported by their house. The nominations have been collated and every pupil has the opportunity to vote for their preferred house charity. The voting forms are available on every year group classroom. Pupils should ensure that they are completing the correct form for their house. Well done to all those who took the time to nominate a charity. The votes will be open until the evening of Thursday 02/02/23 and house charities will be announced next Friday.
National 5 English Revision Site
Team English have launched a revision site for all National 5 English pupils.
Pupils can use this site to support their revision of the MacCaig poetry, ‘Tally’s Blood’ or to support them as they redraft persuasive essays.
The site can be accessed from Edubuzz accounts on Google Classroom or by using this link: https://sites.google.com/edubuzz.org/mgsenglishrevision/home
Musselburgh Rotary Club Young Musicians Competition
On Thursday night, MGS music pupils competed in the Musselburgh Rotary Club's Young Musician of the Year competition that featured pupils from Lorretto RC and Mansfield School of Music. They performed in the Lorretto Chapel, joined by members of the Rotary Club, community, parents, carers, friends, and the music team. Our five pupils represented MGS brilliantly, and it was an honour to watch all of the performances. MGS pupils competing were:
Fraser Walters - Alto Sax
Tess Devlin - Voice
Libby Henderson - Piano
We are delighted to announce that Kira Meszaros won first place in the Junior's category with her stunning performance of ‘Turning Tables’, and Eva Hills won first place in the Senior Vocal category with her outstanding performance of ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade!’ Eva will move on to the regional final at the end of February. Congratulations to everyone involved! You all should be proud of your brilliant work!
PE Practical Assessments
A reminder to all National 5 and Higher pupils that the following SQA practical assessments are taking place next week:
Tuesday 31st January
Periods 1-3 : Football (come to PE period 1, pupils will change at Pinkie)
Periods 4-5: Gymnastics/Dance
Wednesday 1st February
Periods 1-3: Basketball
Periods 4-5: Badminton & Advanced Higher Swimming
All teams and pupil lists are on your Google Classroom and are displayed in the PE Department. Please see your PE teacher if you have any questions. Good luck!
PE
The PE department would like to remind all parents, carers and pupils that PE kit is an essential part of your child's school uniform. All pupils are reminded that PE kit is essential for health and safety and hygiene reasons. Pupils without kit will not be able to participate fully or achieve their full potential.
Thanks,
The PE Department
Medical
Polio Dip Vaccine
All vaccination forms must be returned by the end of January. Please return your forms and direct any questions to Ms Harvey. The vaccination day is Thursday 23rd February.
HPV Vaccine
All S1s will be vaccinated on Thursday 23rd March 2023. If you have received a form in S2-6 you will be vaccinated too. See Ms Harvey if you have any questions.
Lost Property
There are lots of jackets, jumpers, etc. Please come and see if these belong to you. Thank you, Ms Harvey
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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