June 2017
Dear Parent/Carer
Curriculum Structure
Our new curriculum together with our
new school week started on Monday 29 May. It is progressing very well and feedback
from pupils has so far been very positive. Pupils particularly like the 50
minute periods and the earlier break at 10.20am has also been received well.
We are all still adapting to the 7
period day and our focus in the forthcoming session will be to embed our
structure across all year groups. We are also mindful that the new S4 will be the
first year group to be sitting up to 7 national examinations.
Registration
We are in the process of consulting
pupils over changes to registration which may take place in August. As you
might be aware, pupils overwhelmingly voted to keep registration as part of the
school day and for it to remain at the start of the school day. We are now
considering a move to an “horizontal” system where pupils will register in
their own year groups. We would envisage placing S6 with S1 in order to retain
and further develop our approach to mentoring/buddying. Year groups 2-5 would
remain separate. Consultations are taking place this month.
SQA Exams
I am delighted to note that the SQA
examination process went very smoothly. Results will be sent to pupils on Tuesday 8 August. Pupils who have
signed up to https://www.mysqa.org.uk/ will get their results at 8am on that day.
SQA Update – Changes to National Qualifications
We
are continuing to liaise with colleagues in the SQA over proposed changes to
national qualifications. On Monday 5 June our leadership team met with an SQA Liaison
Officer to discuss the implications of the pending changes and we are currently
finalising our SQA policy which we will make available to all parents.
You
can keep up to date with the proposed SQA changes to by visiting www.sqa.org.uk/nqchanges
Post Results Process
Where a candidate’s grade is significantly
different from that expected, based
on the evidence the school holds about the candidate’s performance throughout
the course, a school may request a clerical check and/or an SQA marking review. The candidate must, however, give
permission for this in writing.
· A
clerical check is a check that all questions have been marked and all marks
totalled correctly
· A
marking review is where an SQA senior examiner will review the marks awarded to
each question to ensure that the original marking was in line with national
standards: the work will not be re-marked. The decision to ask for a marking
review rests solely with the school, and no alternative evidence will be sent
to the SQA. The only evidence checked is
the candidate’s 2017 examination script.
Please note:
PRS (marking review) requests must come from the
school itself.
· Any requests made must be based on a change in letter grade and not only a change in
band.
· The school can only consider making a PRS
request where there is evidence of
consistent performance throughout the year and over a full range of assessable
elements.
· The school will always consider a PRS request
where strong evidence exists to support it.
· By agreeing to a PRS request, pupils and
parents acknowledge that the grade may go down as well as up.
S3 iPad Launch
We have now issued our new S3 cohort with iPads. We plan to
support parents in the use of the iPad at home to encourage engagement with
your son/daughter in their learning. As a result a family learning event will
take place on Thursday 15 June and
we very much look forward to seeing you there.
Staffing Update
Support for Learning
Dr Lyon will be leaving us at the end of term and the
vacancy has been advertised. We hope to appoint in mid-June to secure an August
start date.
We have also advertised for a 1-year temporary post in
Support for Learning combined with Modern Languages. This is to address staff shortages
in both these areas and we will be interviewing at the start of June for this
post.
Science
Mr Iain Nugent, currently at Balerno High School, will be
joining us as a Physics/Science teacher in August.
Mr Robert McKenzie, Biology and Science, will be returning
in August from a 2-year teaching post in Egypt.
Social Subjects
Mr Andrew Reid will be leaving us to take up a post at
Queensferry High School and will be replaced by Ms Rachel Sheehy, currently at
Holy Rood High School, who will be joining us in August.
Senior Leadership
Team
Mrs Dee Scott will be on maternity leave from Monday 16
October and is likely to return in August 2018. A temporary post has been
advertised and we hope to make an appointment before the summer break.
Annual Awards Ceremony
Our annual awards ceremony takes place on the evening of Thursday 29 June. The venue may not be
as glamorous as last year but we are delighted to be hosting the event back in
school. Plans are well underway and we look forward to seeing many of you at
the event to celebrate the success of our amazing young people.
Pupil Achievements Section
Dance
On Wednesday 7 June our junior dancers attended the Edinburgh Schools
Dance Competition at Broughton High School. Three groups performed, one in
level 1, one in level 3 and one in the Pupil Choreography Section. Both group
pieces were based on books, with the girls choosing ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and
‘Jekyll and Hyde’ themes. The pupils’ choreography was based on Drug Abuse and
its effects on close family members.
Achievements
Category: Pupil Choreography
Gracemount placed 3rd with a piece about Drug Abuse and its
effects on close family members.
Category: Group Level 3
Gracemount placed 2nd with a piece about the fight
between good and evil in the form of Jekyll and Hyde.
Gracemount also won ‘Best Costume’ within level 3 for Jekyll and Hyde.
Music
Well done to the following pupils who took part in the
City of Edinburgh Council’s Resonate Concert series on Friday 31 March in the
Queens Hall.
·
Maia Robinson
·
Esme Page
·
Sneha Joseph
·
Abbi McBeath
·
Connor Inglis
·
Michelle Bahat
The following pupils were also involved in the Edinburgh
Schools Wind Ensemble
· Thomas Jamieson
·
Esme Page
·
Maia Robinson
The Virgin Atlantic Scholarship Trip
Congratulations
to Richard Nye who has been selected for the Virgin Atlantic Scholarship trip
to India. Richard will travel with 30 young people aged 12-18 to a village community
in Rajasthan, India where he will get his hands dirty working on a
volunteer project. Experiencing life alongside community members, and engaging
in vibrant discussions of complex social issues which affect the country will
help him to come to understand how it can connect to his life at home.
Duke of Edinburgh
We have 9 pupils completing their
Silver or Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards this session as follows: -
Bronze Awards
Julia Sanderson, Gregor McRae, Esme Page, Iliana Ortiz and Lauryn
Anderson have successfully completed their qualifying expedition and Ellie
Tollet has completed her practice expedition.
Silver
Awards
Lucy Hunter, Jessica Simpson and Miriam Castano
Viera have successfully completed their practice expedition which involved
canoeing along the Union Canal and they will be taking part in their qualifying
expedition on Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 June.
Good luck to all
involved.
S3
German Success – Scottish National Galleries
On Thursday 18
May the S3 German pupils showcased their presentations on how to encourage
young foreign visitors to engage with artwork on display at the National
Galleries. Despite some nerves, the pupils did a sterling job and the Galleries
and Council were both delighted and moved by the work of our pupils. Their
suggestions on engagement with the art work included edible chocolate artwork, making
food at night in the Gallery Café for the homeless and sophisticated Virtual
Reality displays! Well done to all
of them!
Ramadan
Ramadan has begun and many pupils in the school are fasting.
In line with the philosophy of Islam all pupils are encouraged to continue to
work hard and give of their best efforts.
Muslim pupils are able to access Ms Fleming’s room at
lunchtime and an adjacent room has been set aside for prayer. There is a strict
no food and no water rule in these rooms at this time.
·
Monday 12 June – Senior Phase Induction Day
·
Thursday 15 June – Family Learning – iPad event
·
Tuesday 20 June – P7 Visit/School Sport Awards
Ceremony
·
Wednesday 21 June – P7 Visit
·
Thursday 22 June P7 Visit
·
Friday 23 June – Sports Day
·
Thursday 29 June – Awards Ceremony
·
Friday 30 June – last day of term (school
finishes at 12 noon)
