Mr Neil McCallum to be Acting Head Teacher at JGHS

10 June 2022: Today parents and carers at JGHS received a letter from Jackie Reid, Acting Senior Education Manager at the City of Edinburgh Council, to say that Mr Neil McCallum, currently Head Teacher at Balerno High School, has been appointed as Acting Head Teacher at JGHS from August to December, 2022.

The letter went on to say that “Mr McCallum has previously worked in James Gillespie’s, which provides him with a well-established knowledge of the school context. His extensive leadership skills and experience will augment the strength of the existing senior leadership team to provide the continuity and stability needed at this time”.

Mr Macdonald is leaving us

1 June 2022: As you will be aware, our Head Teacher, Mr Macdonald, is retiring at the end of this term. 

The Parent Council thought it would be nice to mark the occasion by setting up some awards in his name for pupils, to fit with the school values.  We would also like to get him some small personal gifts.  

We hope that many parents would like to contribute to this, so if you wish to do so, please use the following link to CollectionPot: 

Mr Macdonald’s retirement collection

Once we have arranged the gifts, we will post the details on the PC website. please note that the Pot will close on 24 June.

We have also set up a ‘virtual’ leaving card which you may also wish to sign – this may be found here: 

Mr Macdonald’s leaving card

**PLEASE USE THE CARD AND NOT THE DONATIONS PAGE FOR ANY MESSAGES, as Mr Macdonald will not see the donations page**

Many thanks!

Update on recruitment of new Headteacher at JGHS

27 May 2022: The post of Headteacher at JGHS was advertised by the Council at the beginning of May, with the hope that a replacement for the school’s retiring Head, Donald Macdonald, could be put in post as close as possible to his departure date in August. 

That advert has now closed, and the Council have decided that the post should be re-advertised to allow more time for all prospective candidates to register an interest.  This will take place after the summer holidays at the beginning of the 2022/23 school session.

For the period up to Christmas, the Council are planning to designate an Acting Headteacher, and are hoping to recruit a suitable candidate from amongst the secondary Headteachers in Edinburgh.

Parent Council involvement

Parent representatives have been working with the Council to find the best way forward in this process. The Parent Council has emphasised the importance of a capable, committed and enthusiastic acting Headteacher being in place as soon as possible so they are able to work with Mr Macdonald in the run-up to his retirement and can take over smoothly after the summer. 

They have also stressed that the new recruitment process should be a dynamic and open one, which is advertised as widely as possible and will maximise the possibility of a competitive range of candidates being attracted to the role.

Please send any comments you have about this matter to the Parent Council.

Email the Parent Council

Recording of Parent Council meeting on 17 May now available

18 May 2022: Many thanks to those who attended the meeting of the Parent Council on 17 May. It was a momentous evening, as it marked the last time for our current headteacher, Donald MacDonald, to attend this meeting before he retires this summer.

We were also very grateful Nikki Graham, the new JGHS Mental Health Coordinator, who spoke about supporting pupils at the school with mental health challenges. You can access the slides from her presentation below.

Mental Health Matters at JGHS

If you were unable to join to the meeting, or would like listen again to any of the information presented, a recording is now available on YouTube.

James Gillespie’s High School Parent Council Meeting 17 May 2022

Results of survey on online parent consultations

18 May 2022: Many thanks to everyone who took part in the recent survey about online parent consultations at JGHS – over 160 people sent in their views – which was a fantastic response.

As was reported at the Parent Council meeting on Tuesday 17 May there was a broad overall split in views, between parents who preferred online meetings, in-person meetings, or a mixture of the two.

Many parents felt that it was more convenient to attend the meetings online, with no need to travel, or navigate their way around a busy school. Equally, many also missed the opportunity to see the environment in which our children spend so much time, and to engage with teachers face-to-face.

The survey results have been passed to the school to help inform their planning for the upcoming academic session.

A summary is presented below.

Next Parent Council meeting is on Tuesday 17 May

Updated 13 May 2022: A quick heads up that the next meeting of the JGHS Parent Council (and the last of this academic year) will be next Tuesday 17 May at 7 pm on MS Teams.

The joining link will be forwarded by the School the day before the meeting.

Agenda

  • School update – Donald McDonald, Headteacher,
  • Mental health support at JGHS – Nikki Graham, JGHS Mental Health Coordinator
  • Q&A

If there are any questions you would like to see addressed at the meeting, please email the Parent Council by noon on Monday 16 May.

Email the Parent Council

Edinburgh EIS Local Elections Hustings

27 April 2022: In the run up to the local council elections, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) will be hosting an opportunity to ask representatives from the main political parties about their priorities for education in Edinburgh. 

Online Any Education Questions next Tuesday 3 May 2022 at 6.30 pm (via Zoom)

Please come along to show our politicians that schools and children matter!

Click here to register
 
Please Note:

  • All attendees will be given the opportunity to submit questions in advance, so that we can try to ensure that we cover the full range of concerns.  The EIS will email those who register with more information about this, as well as sending them the zoom link etc
  • EIS are trying to secure BSL interpreters, but cannot guarantee that they will be able to have this in place.  They aim to set up captioning.  If there are other things they can do to make the meeting more accessible, please get in touch with then directly (via edinburghla@eis.org.uk).
  • *They have invited spokespersons from each of the parties represented at Holyrood/who are part of COSLA.

Online Parents’ Evenings – what do you think?

2 April 2022: The Parent Council would like to hear from parents about how online parent consultations with teachers have been working, and your views on whether we keep this format or go back to in-person meetings. 

What has worked for you and what has not?

In the future, what sorts of school events are best held in the school and what can be done online?

Our survey will be running over Easter and can be completed at the link below: 

Parents’ Evenings Survey 

It will only take 5 minutes and we hope to hear from as many parents as possible.

We will feed the results back to the School to help inform future planning.

Thank you!

Recording of JGHS Parent Council 22 March 2022 meeting now available

24 March 2022: Many thanks to those who were able to attend the meeting of the Parent Council on Tuesday 22 March.

The main issues discussed were:

  • Report on Parent Council activities by Sarah Scott, chair JGHS PC
  • Report of Active Schools clubs at JGHS by Eliot Ambrose
  • Presentation on the Maths curriculum by Ashling Dolan, Acting Curriculum Lead
  • Headteacher’s report by Donald McDonald
  • Q&A

Active Schools presentation

Maths Curriculum presentation

The recording of the meeting is now available to watch again on YouTube

JGHS Parent Council meeting 22 March 2022

Next Parent Council meeting on Tuesday 22 March 2022

22 March 2022 update: The next Parent Council meeting is tonight, Tuesday 22 March at 7 pm and will include a presentation by Faculty Head, Ashling Dolan, on the Maths curriculum. 

Agenda

  • Update on PC activities – Sarah Scott, PC Chair
  • Mathematics Curriculum – Ashling Dolan, Acting Curriculum Leader for Maths
  • Update on Active Schools – Eliot Ambrose, Active Schools Co-ordinator
  • Head Teacher’s Report – Donald Macdonald
  • Questions – via Q&A chat

The joining link has been sent out by email by the School.

Please email the PC with any questions or issues you would like included in the Head Teacher’s update.

Email the Parent Council

Details of last meeting

The recording of our last meeting on 26 January 2022, and a copy of the Q&A, are available on the PC website:

PC meeting 26 January 2022