21 September 2025: The Annual General Meeting of the Parent Council is on Wednesday 8 October 2025 at 7 pm in the library at James Gillespie’s High School.

All parents and carers at the school are warmly invited to join the meeting.

Agenda

The meeting will (re)elect office bearers for the Parent Council, invite new general members to join, review PC activities over the past year, and hear an update on school activities from the Headteacher.

• Welcome
• PC report for 2024/25 – Co-chair
• Treasurers report for 2024/25 – Treasurer
• JGHS Trust comments – PC representative
• Election of office bearers and PC members
• Headteacher’s report – Neil McCallum, Headteacher
• Q&A, discussion

If there are any topics you would like to raise at the meeting, please contact the PC by email.

Reports

Annual report 2024-25 from Parent Council (draft; opens as pdf)

Minutes of 2024 Annual General Meeting (draft; opens as pdf)

Gaelic Learning Board report 2024-25 (opens as pdf)

Joining the Parent Council

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Parent Council, please contact us by email.

You will also be able to indicate your interest during the meeting.

9 October 2024: The Parent Council held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 9 October 2024 in the school library.

The following officer bearers were appointed for the 2024/25 session:

• Tiziana Basciani – co-Chair
• Hilary Snaith – co-Chair
• Liz Hilton – co-Vice-Chair
• Sam Ross – co-Vice-Chair
• Kirstin Leighton – Treasurer
• Padraic Kinsella – Secretary
• Kate Pinault – Communications coordinator
• Julita Burgess – Refreshments coordinator

New members joining the Parent Council:

• Duncan Bell
• Shane Buckeridge
• Adam C
• Ulrike Peter
• Séamus Spencer

Full list of members

Reports presented at the meeting

Annual PC reports and meeting agenda

Parent Council report – Hilary Snaith (opens as pdf)

Active Schools update – Eliot Ambrose (opens as pdf)

Headteachers update – Neil McCallum (opens as pdf)

Minutes

A draft of the minutes of the meeting are now available. The minutes will be formally approved at the next in-person meeting on 29 January 2025.

Minutes of 2024 JGHS Parent Council AGM (draft, opens as pdf)

JGHS PC refreshments and fundraising activities 2023-24 – Aileen Nimmo (outgoing refreshements coordinator, opens as pdf)

12 October 2023: Many thanks to everyone who was able to attend the Annual General Meeting of the JGHS Parent Council on Wednesday 11 October.

Meeting business

We were very pleased to welcome several new members onto the PC for the coming year, as well as appointing the PC office bearers (see below).

However we were very sorry to see Sarah Scott step down as Chair, and Ros Ingle come to the end of her term as Treasurer. They have both made huge contributions to the work of the PC over the past years, and we are extremely grateful for all they have done. Thankfully both will remain members of the PC, and will continue to share their wisdom and experience.

We are also very grateful to Kirstin Leighton who has agreed to step into Ros’s shoes as Treasurer, and to Aileen Nimmo who will continue to coordinate the fundraising refreshment stalls.

Office bearers elected for 2023-24

• Kirstin Leighton (Treasurer)
• Aileen Nimmo (Refreshments)
• Hilary Snaith (Communications)

PC Members 2023-24

• Carissa Barenblat*
• Tiziana Basciani
• Laura Bird
• Liz Hilton*
• Orla Hobson
• Ros Ingle
• Christiane Kerlen
• Padraic Kinsella
• Barbie Lyon*
• Vanesa Magar*
• Kathryn Pak*
• Bec Phipps
• Kate Pinault
• Vikki Plant
• David Pollock*
• Joanne Sapienza Chapman
• Steffi Schultze
• Sarah Scott
• Leda Sharkey*
• Penny Tarsia

*New members. At present the PC is without a Chair or Secretary, so if anyone from the wider parent body is interested in taking on either of these roles, please do get in touch

Email the Parent Council

Reports and updates

The meeting discussed annual reports from outgoing Chair and Treasurer, as well as updates on school activities and on Active Schools from the Headteacher Neil McCallum. The meeting also approved the minutes for the last in-person PC meeting on 31 May 2023.

• Annual reports and other meeting information
• Headteacher’s Report
• Active Schools Update
• Minutes of PC meeting on 31 May 2023

Next meeting

Our next meeting will be held online via MS Teams on Tuesday 28 November at 7 pm. Further information will be available nearer the date.

All parents and carers are warmly invited to join us.