Donald J Macdonald Kindness Award

18 September 2023: Sixteen pupils nominated for the inagural Donald J Macdonald Kindness Awards. All were outstanding nominations and were richly deserving of winning the award. However, the pupils detailed below had mutiple nominations from staff across the school and were awarded the prizes this year.

The prize was set up by the JGHS Parent Council through the many donations made to celebrate the retirement of the former headteacher Donald J Macdonald in June 2022.

Goodbye to Mr Macdonald

The pupils receiving the awards were given a glass pendant and certificate the to mark the occasion.

Rosa Connolly – S3

A foreign student spoke with a member of staff because they felt that they had no friends. They mentioned this to the student named above and they befriended the student and arranged a weekly lunch date together. They would have organised more lunches, but the students were at Darroch on other days.

The foreign student left JGHS this summer, to return home. However, they have swapped numbers and will keep in touch and a friendship has been established for life. Rosa has shown this level of kindness to a number of pupils and sought to make sure that they feel valued and included.

Kyle Balfour – S3

Kyle has been receiving treatment for cancer for several years. He had been granted a wish from ‘Make a wish’ foundation. When he found out that a mum didn’t get granted a wish due to being an adult. Kyle wanted to let her make a wish instead of him to make her feel better. This was granted and the lady got the experience of a lifetime.

When Kyle was in SFL another pupil was very upset and visibly distressed. Staff were working with the pupil to try and calm them down. Without any prompting, Kyle went to the cupboard, got a game, went over to the pupil and said, “do you want a game”. Within minutes the pupil was calm, then Kyle had them interacting and laughing and playing the game with him. This is how he approaches all young people and looks to support them.

Lennox Walker – S5

He is one of the kindest pupils I have ever met. He is always willing to help those around him and is nice to everyone he meets. Although I have only ever taught him when covering a class, he always comes out of his way to ask how myself and the others in the department are. Despite what he has been through he is so positive and kind. He comes in with Adam, Oscar and Dharun to work on his basketball and he always is so grateful for allowing him to do this and he has improved so much. He is so polite and just genuinely lovely and a really deserving person to win the award. He also helps with junior basketball on Mondays which the S1s love and he is an excellent role model for them and all that he is involved with in the school community.

Farra Dunn – S6

Farra has overcome many challenges over the past few years and yet has consistently shown kindness to others less fortunate than herself.

Farra currently works weekly in a voluntary capacity with children with a range of complex social, emotional, and behavioural needs despite facing challenges and adversity in her own daily life. Farra is an outstanding young person and is richly deserving of this award for the kindness she shows daily towards others. She is an excellent role model and works to look after others in our school community and beyond.

Wonderful send off from parents and carers

When the Parent Council made an appeal to families to contribute to a fund to mark Donald Macdonald’s retirement from teaching, and from JGHS, we were confident that it would be well supported, reflecting the high regard in which our departing Head teacher is held, and the affection which the school community has for him.

We are therefore delighted to announce that this appeal raised the sum of £2,212.86.

We were delighted, on behalf of parents and families at the school, to present Donald with a beautiful bowl from a local pottery, and also with his very own Leavers 2022 hoodie. The lovely farewell messages from JGHS families have been compiled and are being passed on to Donald as a further souvenir of his time at Gillespie’s.

Gifts presented to Mr Macdonald by the Parent Council

Donald J Macdonald Award

The generosity of families means that we are able now to set up an award which will be an enduring legacy of Donald’s time at the school. This will be named the Donald J Macdonald Award and will aim to recognise the achievements of pupils, reflecting the values of the school of respect, kindness, integrity, inclusion and high expectations, which Donald himself values so much and promoted throughout his time here.

Further details of the award will be announced in the new school year, to allow consultation with the school and – most importantly – Donald himself.

Thank you!

Over the last ten years at Gillespie’s Donald has seen thousands of children through their schooling and on to life in the outside world. We would like to thank him for for his commitment to Gillespie’s over that period, through good times, and great times, but also – and particularly over the last two years – in times which have been challenging and stressful.

His support of children and families throughout, and also his willingness to take unpopular stances on our behalf, knowing that it was in the best interests of the school and its pupils, has been very much appreciated.

Goodbye, Donald, and our very best wishes for a long, healthy and happy retirement. Or, as they might say in North Uist: Gur math a thèid leibh, a Dhòmhnuill – bidh sinn gur n-ionndrainn!

JGHS Parent Council