PC Meeting

JGHS Parent Council AGM October 2023

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.

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.

Parent Council Annual General Meeting 2023

27 September 2023: All parents and carers are warmly invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Parent Council on Wednesday 11 October at 7 pm in the JGHS library.

The minutes from the AGM in 2022, the accounts and annuals reports from the Chair and Treasurer of the Parent Council, and the JGHS Trust, plus an updated description of the roles and responsbilities of office bearers of the PC are now available – all links open as pdfs.

If there are any issues that you would like to raise at the meeting, or if you would like to join the Parent Council committee, please get in touch.

Email the Parent Council

Meeting agenda

  1. Welcome
  2. Minutes of last in-person meeting
  3. Updates
    • Donald J. Macdonald prize
    • Rising rolls
    • PC fundraising
    • Arrangements for future PC meetings
  4. Minutes of last in-person meeting
  5. Chair’s Report
  6. Finance Report
  7. Election of Parent Council and Office Bearers
  8. Report from JGHS Trust (PC representatives)
  9. Headteacher’s Report
  10. AOCB
  11. Date of next meeting: 28 November 2023 (online)

Download meeting agenda

Recording of PC meeting 5 September now available

7 September 2023: Many thanks to everyone who was able to attend the meeting of the JGHS Parent Council on Tuesday 5 September.

The recording of the meeting is now available on YouTube:

JGHS Parent Council 5 September 2023 – listen again

You can also download a brief note of the meeting, a copy of the presentation on SQA results given by Mr Nigel Cotter, DHT, the Headteacher’s report and details of the School Improvement Plan for 2023-24.

Note of JGHS PC meeting 5 September 2023

SQA results, tracking and reporting

Headteacher’s Report, 5 September 2023

JGHS School Improvement Plan, 2023-24

JGHS Parent Council meeting on 5 September 2023

25 August 2023: This year’s first Parent Council meeting will be on Tuesday 5 September at 7pm.

This will be an online meeting and will be an opportunity to find out about the work of the PC and what is happening at the school in the new term. The joining link will be shared by the school before the meeting.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to all parents and carers, especially those who are new to the School. We have prepared a brief note about PC with more information about our responsibilities and activites:

About the JGHS PC, August 2023

Meeting agenda

  • Update on Parent Council activities, Parent Council Chair Sarah Scott
  • Head teacher update, HT Neil McCallum
  • Update on SQA results, DHT Nigel Cotter
  • Q&A

Questions for the meeting can be raised in advance by email and we will try to include them in the updates:

Email the Parent Council

There will also be the opportunity to raise questions via the Q&A typed chat facility on the night.

Finance report

Details of the bank account activity since the previous Parent Council meeting on 31 May 2023 is available:

Finance report for 5 September 2023

Meetings for 2023/24

This year’s PC meetings will once again be mixture of online and in-person meetings:

  • Tuesday 5 September 2023 (online)
  • Wednesday 11 October 2023 – AGM (in person)
  • Tuesday 28 November 2023 (online)
  • Wednesday 31 January 2024 (in person)
  • Tuesday 19 March 2024 (online)
  • Wednesday 29 May or 5 June 2024 (in person) – to be confirmed

Reports from Parent Council meeting on 31 May 2023

2 June 2023 (updated 12 January 2024): Many thanks to all those who were able to attend the Parent Council meeting on 31 May.

Attendees heard presentations about the Pupil Equity Fund, attendance at JGHS and supporting pupils in gaining qualifications, the Headteacher’s report, an update on the work supporting mental health in the school, information about the JGHS Trust and a review of Parent Council finances. 

Links to presentations and updates made on the night are now available, and a copy of the minutes are available below

Attendance at JGHS and support for pupils

Summary of parent survey on equity

Head Teacher’s report

Mental Health and Well-Being at JGHS

Minutes of the meeting on 31 May 2023

Links to information about management of Parent Council finances can be found on our Useful Files page

Useful files

This was the final Parent Council meeting of the 2022/23 session. The first meeting after the summer will be held online on 5 September.

Agenda for JGHS Parent Council meeting on 31 May

Updated 30 May 2023: The last meeting of the JGHS Parent Council for this school year will be on Wednesday 31 May at 7 pm in the school library.

Agenda

  1. Welcome
  2. Pupil Equity Fund, attendance and supporting pupils in attaining qualifications
    • Presentation and Q&A
  3. Minutes of last in-person meeting (1 February 2023)
  4. Review of Parent Council Finance
  5. Connect Guidance and Checklist
    • Catering supplies
    • Report from JGHS Trust (PC representatives)
  6. Parent Council Update
  7. Headteacher’s Report
  8. Dates/Format of meetings for 2023/24
  9. AOB

More information about the JGHS Trust, and details of the financial guidance provided to Parent Councils can be found below.

About the JGHS Trust

Information about the JGHS Trust

JGHS Trust Annual Report 2021/22

JGHS Trust website

JGHS PC finance update

Financial guidance provided to Parent Councils by Connect

JGHS PC Money Matter finance health check May 2023

JGHS PC completed finance health checklist May 2023

Finance report for Parent Council meeting 31 May 2023

Get in touch

If you have any questions or issues that you would like to raise at the meeting, please contact the Parent Council by email:

Email the Parent Council

Previous and future meetings

This is the last meeting of the Parent Council for this school year.  Details of the previous Parent Council meetings are available on our website:

Parent Council meeting on 1 February 2023

Parent Council meeting on 21 March 2023

Minutes and notes from past meetings

You can read the minutes of all parent council meetings back to 2015/16 here:

Parent Council meetings

Meetings for AY 2023/24

The provisional dates for meetings in 2023/24 are below:

  • Tuesday 5 September (online)
  • Wednesday 11 October (in person)
  • Tuesday 28 November (online)
  • Wednesday 31 January (in person)
  • Tuesday 19 or 26 March (online)
  • Wednesday 29 May or 5 June (in person)

Connect – money matters for parent councils

27 March 2023: Connect, the body supporting parent councils and other parent groups in schools, has produced some useful guidance for financial regulation.

Financial guidelines for Parent Councils from Connect

Money Matters Health Check for Parent Groups

Money Matters Guidelines for Parent Groups

The JGHS parent council will be reviewing these documents, and discussing how the guidance will inform our own handling of parent council financial processes, at the our next meeting on 31 May.

More about Connect

Recording of Parent Council meeting on 21 March 2023 now available

21 March 2023: Many thanks to those who were able to join us for the James Gillespie’s High School Parent Council meeting on Tuesday 21 March.

Agenda

  • Welcome from Parent Council Chair – Sarah Scott
  • Parent Council Report – Sarah Scott
  • Science Curriculum at JGHS – Iain Coltart, followed by Q&A (slides available below)
  • Headteacher report – Neil McCallum, followed by Q&A

The recording of the meeting is now available:

Watch the Parent Council Meeting 21 March 2023 on YouTube

Note of JGHS parent council meeting on 21 March 2023

View presentation from Ian Coltart

Headteacher’s Report 21 March 2023

Report from Parent Council AGM on 12 October 2022

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.

Meeting business

The meeting addressed a number of issues, and a full minute of the proceedings will be available shortly.

  1. Updates from previous Parent Council meeting
    • Headteacher recruitment
    • Council engagement
    • Donald J. Macdonald prize
    • School events
    • Rising rolls
  2. Arrangements for future PC meetings
  3. Chair’s Report
  4. Finance Report
  5. Election of Parent Council and Office Bearers
  6. Headteacher’s Report

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

Darroch Annex

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.

New members and office bearers

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 *):

  • Sarah Scott (Chair)
  • Kirstin Leighton (Secretary)
  • Ros Ingle (Treasurer)
  • Hilary Snaith (Communications)
  • Laura Bird (Communications)
  • Tiziana Basciani*
  • Nicolas Boyes
  • Rob Dunbar
  • Orla Hobson
  • Christiane Kerlen*
  • Padraic Kinsella*
  • Ailsa Macintosh
  • Caroline McKellar*
  • Aileen Nimmo
  • Bec Phipps*
  • Kate Pinault*
  • Vikki Plant
  • Joanne Sapienza Chapman*
  • Steffi Schultze
  • Lisa Sutherland
  • Penny Tarsia
  • María Angélica Thumala Olave*
  • Charles Warlow

We are very grateful to all the members, new and old, who have joined the Parent Council.

Next meeting

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.

Contact us

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:

Email the Parent Council

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