6 November 2022: The November issue of the Connect newsletter is now available.
Amongst other features, there are articles on
28 October 2022: The James Gillespies High School Parent Council held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 12 October, in the school library. We were joined by approx 30 parents, for this first in-person meeting of the PC in over two and a half years.
The meeting addressed a number of issues, and a full minute of the proceedings will be available shortly.
There was considerable discussion about the rising rolls at the School, and this situation has been taken as an action for the Parent Council to pursue in the coming weeks.
The presentation made by PC treasurer Ros Ingle is available at the link below.
JGHS Parent Council Treasurer Presentation, October 2022
The PC heard from deputy head teacher Miss McIver about the refurbishment of the new Darroch Annex, which opened for business on 27 October 2022.
Pupils and teachers alike are very excited to be moving into the new teaching and activity spaces!
The images of the new annex at Darroch: clockwise from top left – new entrance, bright and spacious classrooms, gym hall (with a sprung floor), dining hall.
The meeting also re-appointed the existing office bearers of the Parent Council, and we were delighted that a number of new members have also joined the committee.
The full committee membership is below (new members are indicated by *):
We are very grateful to all the members, new and old, who have joined the Parent Council.
The next meeting of the Parent Council will be held online via MS Teams at 7 pm on Tuesday 29 November 2022.
More details will be available on our website in due course.
If you have any questions for the Parent Council, or issues that you would like to raise with us, please do not hesitate to get in touch:
14 October 2022: The City of Edinburgh Council 1 in 5 project, which seeks to raise awareness of child poverty across the city, has just published its 2nd newsletter.
In this edition there is information about free family activities happening through out October, including storytelling, bug hunting, and the Big Draw.
Read all the details in the newsletter:
1 in 5 newsletter, October 2022
The 1 in 5 Newsletter supports the work of the Equity Board and Equity Network groups, and aims to:
Updated 7 October 2022: The Annual General Meeting of the James Gillespies High School Parent Council will be held on Wednesday 12 October at 7 pm in the school library. All parents and carers are most warmly invited to join with us.
This will be an opportunity to review the activities of the past year, appoint office bearers, and to welcome new members.
The 2021/22 Annual Report from the Chair of the JGHS Parent Council, Sarah Scott, is now available, as well as the Annual Accounts and Treasurer’s Report prepared by the Treasurer Ros Ingle:
Information about the applications submitted to the Small Sums Fund over the past year, and details of the allocations awarded are also available:
If you are interested in joining the Parent Council, please get in touch with us by email before the AGM, or simply let us know on the night:
7 October 2022: The October edition of the Connect newsletter is now available. As always it covers a wide range of topics, and this month includes news about:
6 October 2022: Are you looking to return to work after a career break?
Making Work Work – for Women Returners is the Challenges Group’s women returners programme. It is a free online Skills Development Scotland-funded course for women returners looking to get back into paid work after career break.
Find out more and register to attend on the Challenges Group website
The programme seeks women in Scotland looking to step back into the workplace and who face difficulties in finding work that fits with all the commitments and fun of life following a career break (e.g. for maternity, caring, health issues / disability, redundancy, relocation or other reasons).
We are looking for women who have management experience or aspirations from across Scotland to take part in a peer-led skills refresher programme which will facilitate the confidence and networks essential to finding work commensurate with their skills, ambitions and potential.
Don’t worry if you have not had management experience – this will not exclude you from the programme. However, you need to be willing to learn about management and leadership skills – either for your next role or a future one.
Participants also get support with their job search, personal development and designing their (work)life blend.
2 October 2022: Every year the Parent Council’s Small Sums Fund provides additional resources to support and enhance the experience of youngsters in the school and in extra-curricular activities, in areas where funding is not provided by the City of Edinburgh Council.
The JGHS Parent Council Small Sums Fund is open to staff, pupils and anyone connected to
the school to bid for funding.
This year we were delighted to provide support for a range of different activities, include funds to help fit out the Support for Learning classroom in Bruntsfield House.
Mr Cockcroft, Support for Learning Leader, said:
As you know, we moved into a large, empty room in Bruntsfield House last year. We spent the money on making the room more welcoming for the students who access it and bought soft furnishings, plants, cabinets to display pupils’ work and lots of picture frames.
We held a small art exhibition in July of the work of the students who access SfL and invited their parents in to see this. It was a great success and something we plan to replicate this year. Thanks again for the money we received.
Some photos of the new classroom are shown below.
More information about projects supported by the Small Sums Fund is available at the link below
29 September 2022: Education Scotland has published an updated version of the Parent Council Resource. This is a guide for parents working in partnership with schools and the wider community to welcome all parents, gather their views and report back to parents.
The information is now live on Parentzone Scotland website
You can also access the details via the pdf linked below:
21 September 2022: Edinburgh Police Division are developing local policing priorities for 2023 to 2026. A forward looking Local Police Plan will be published in April 2023.
The views of the local community are fundamental to ensure their priorities align with local needs.
They are inviting the community to contribute to development of the Local Police Plan by completing the “Your Police 2022-2023” survey. They are keen to get as many opinions as possible, so please consider adding your input.
Your Police 2022-2023 – Police Scotland – Citizen Space
If you have further questions you can contact the South East Community Policing Team by email or visit their website:
11 September 2022: Connect, the body supporting Parent/School interactions, has just published its September newsletter. This edition includes a wide variety of issues including:
JGHS Parent Council 