13 November 2023: The next meeting of the Parent Council will be on Tuesday 28 November at 7 pm. The meeting will be held online and the link will be circulated by the school beforehand.
Agenda
Presentation by Rob Cockcroft, Head of Support for Learning
Headteachers Report, Neil McCallum
Parent Council report, including update on office bearers of the Parent Council
Open Q&A from meeting attendees
If you have any questions or issue that you would like to have addressed at the meeting, please get in touch with the PC by email:
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
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.
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.
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.
25 August 2023: This year’s first Parent Councilmeeting 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:
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
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
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.
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.
Updates from previous Parent Council meeting
Headteacher recruitment
Council engagement
Donald J. Macdonald prize
School events
Rising rolls
Arrangements for future PC meetings
Chair’s Report
Finance Report
Election of Parent Council and Office Bearers
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.
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:
JGHS Parent Council 