Our School
Vision Statement – A Statement of our Intent
“Gracemount High
School creates a Responsible, Respectful and Safe community that values
learning, success and confidence.”
Dear
Parent/Carer
As
we are approaching the festive break I wanted to get in touch and update you on
how the school has been progressing this session.
Embedding
our School Values – what we stand for
Our school values are becoming more and more imbedded
as each day passes. Almost all our pupils are now fully aware of our focus on
Responsible, Respectful and Safe. It is my ambition that every pupil knows and
understands our values and that we can see these values come to life in our
school. They link directly to our school rules and are a fundamental part of
what it means to be part of Gracemount High School.
1.
Responsible
- We are responsible for coming to school
ready to learn, participate and contribute to the success of our school.
2.
Respectful
- We respect ourselves, our
environment and the rights of others.
3. Safe -
We all work to ensure our school community is safe and understand that everyone matters.
Our values are helping our
school focus on what behaviours we expect to see from all our young people and
staff and your support in reinforcing these really matters.
We
are now 7 weeks in to using Class Charts and I hope you’ve managed to sign up
to this via the Class Charts App? If not, please do contact the school and we
can help. Class charts allows you to track the behaviour of your young person
in school. It gives our pupils something more than the bare minimum to
achieve. It also gives our staff a structured way to recognise positive
behaviours. Over and above behaviours can be awarded by any member of staff at
any point across the school. Our focus is on the following:
1.
Achievement
– where a pupil succeeds with effort, skill or courage.
2.
Resilience
– where a pupil demonstrates grit and determination in class to succeed.
3.
Contribution
– where a pupil plays their part in bringing about a positive outcome for
themselves or others.
We also focus on
recording pupils who:
1.
Are
late to class
2.
Receive
a Low level on-call
3.
Receive
a high level on-call
Since our launch on
28 October we have awarded the following:
Award Type
|
Number of awards issued by staff
|
Registration on
time
|
4875
|
Achievement
|
1576
|
Contribution
|
1210
|
Resilience
|
281
|
Late to class
|
244
|
Low Level On Calls
|
273
|
High Level On Calls
|
143
|
Careers
Event and Options Launch– 9 January
We very much hope you can join us at our annual
careers event and options launch on 9 January. We have several employers,
colleges and universities attending during the day to speak to our young people
and advise them about their next steps. Parents and carers are very much
encouraged to attend.
We have worked hard on our options form to try and
provide a relevant and meaningful curriculum for our pupils and we are very
excited about the options we are hoping to deliver from S3 through to S6. We
look forward to seeing you there.
Formal AssessmentsAt the time of writing our senior pupils are just completing their formal assessments. These assessments form part of the evidence we gather to finalise our recommendations for presenting pupils for the final exam. Teachers are working hard to assess these and provide relevant and meaningful feedback. We will be in touch in due course about any changes to recommended levels.
As our pupils’ progress towards the examinations/assessments in May it is imperative that they remain focussed and determined to do their best. As a parent/carer, what can make a real difference is simply taking an interest, asking them about their results and talking to them about school. Of course, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
Staffing
Since I last wrote to you I am delighted to announce we have appointed the following staff:
Ms Gillian Davis – Curriculum Leader of Science
Mr Richard Murray – Curriculum Leader of Maths
Ms Carly Murray – Drama (maternity cover).
Both Ms Davis and Mr Murray have settled in extremely well and I’m delighted to have them on our team. Ms Murray will take up post in mid to late January and we look forward to welcoming her to the school. We are also in the process of recruiting in the following areas and will update you in due course:
1.
Mathematics
2.
Pupil Support Assistant
Important Dates
·
7 January – Inset day
·
8 January – Inset day
·
9 January – pupil return from school holidays
·
9 January – Career event and options evening
·
20 January – S1 reports issued
·
28 January – S3 Parents Evening
·
29 January – Parent Council
·
3 February - Senior reports issued
·
7 February – last day of term
Mobile Phone Policy
All
S1 parents have been made aware that S1 pupils are not permitted to use their
phone in school and should not bring this to school with them. Should they do
so, then it should remain in their bag at all times. Teachers have reported
that classrooms have been very settled and our S1 pupils have been very
respectful when asked to ensure their phones are not used in lessons. So far, this
policy has been very well received and I would like to thank the parents/carers
who are supporting us with this implementation.
All
other pupils in S2-6 are reminded that phones can only be used in class with
the explicit permission of the teacher. Despite the best efforts of our staff
this is an on-going area of concern and our approach to the use of phones in
schools is being reviewed this session. Our focus is on ensuring a positive and
focussed learning environment and the misuse of phones can significantly
compromise this. Parents are requested
not to directly call or message their child during the class times. Should they
require to make contact then this should be done out with class times or via
the school office.
Stay Informed
Last session we launched our Facebook page. This is a great way to keep
in touch with all that is happening in our school, so we’d encourage you to
follow us on Facebook if you can. Our school website http://www.gracemounthighschool.co.uk/ is also a great way
to keep informed.
We have so much to be proud of and to celebrate. Our young people
continue to amaze and inspire us all and I am very proud of our school. If you
haven’t already, then keep in touch through our social media and you’ll see how
amazing our young people are.
I look forward to continuing our progress and working alongside you all. Should you have any queries
please contact the school office on 0131 664 7440 or email GRA-Admin Account Admin@Gracemount.edin.sch.uk
In the meantime, can I take this opportunity to wish you all a very
happy, safe and peaceful festive period.
Kind Regards and
best wishes
Ross Hunter
Head Teacher