Dear Parent/Carer
I’m hoping that you are well and that it’s been a good week for you and your family.
This week has been Maths Week Scotland. As well as in-class activities we had a “Growth Mindset” in Maths Parent/Carer evening for S1 on Wednesday. This was very well attended and I must thank Mrs Hamilton (Principal Teacher) and her team for their excellent work in promoting numeracy as a vital life skill. It is well appreciated that many Scots have a poor attitude to Maths. We need to change this to prosper as part of a hi-tech global economy. Last night the Maths Department organised a number based “Treasure Hunt” around Kirkcaldy. This was fantastic fun. Congratulations to the Science staff who made up the winning team.
Also last night, our Drama Department really enjoyed their trip to the Adam Smith Theatre to take in the National Theatre Live performance of “Yerma” which featured an award winning performance by Billie Piper. It was described by Mrs Bruce as “gripping, intense and heart-breaking”!
During the day our S4 Modern Studies pupils were shown around Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, which was a great learning experience. We have quite a few who are interested in a career in law. At the end of the day we had a Parent/carer evening for our “First Chances” candidates. As you know, this is an excellent wider access programme with St Andrews University. It’s an opportunity for working class kids with no family tradition of Higher Education to experience university life.
Today we will be posting home a “tracking” report for all S5/6 students. This should be very helpful information for you. It will help our young people understand what needs to be done to keep “on track” for success in the SQA exams in 2018 and give you a chance to engage with your son and daughter about their learning. It will be an indication of who needs to work that bit harder to cope with the step up to “Higher”.
This afternoon, representatives from the Fire Service are in school to talk about “Gary’s Appeal”. Maybe you saw the story on the front cover of last week’s Fife Free Press? Gary Dall is a local fire-fighter who has a very rare type of blood cancer and Kirkcaldy Fire Station crew are holding a public donor registration event for the Anthony Nolan Trust at the Station tomorrow, Saturday 16 September between 11-4pm.
The aim is to recruit potential bone marrow donors to join the Anthony Nolan Trust register. All people aged between 16-30 years are invited along to complete a form and give a saliva sample. They must not have eaten or taken a drink for 30 minutes prior to this process. That’s it, they are then registered to be a potential life saver! I hope some of our young people and younger members of staff will sign up.
Next week we’ll be having Yeargroup Assemblies with an input from the School Nurse Team, explaining about the services they offer, including our sexual health drop-in, pregnancy testing and contraception service which runs every Friday.
On Tuesday evening, it’s the Annual General Meeting of our Parent Council at 6pm. Chairman Derek Dunsire extends a warm welcome to all. We’ll meet in the school Boardroom and we’ll have exam results and improvement planning on the agenda. As I think I have explained before, please don’t think that you will be coerced to become an office-bearer … it’s not like that at all. I hope to see you there on Tuesday.
From Wednesday to Friday, all our S1 pupils (by House) are having an adventure and team building day at Fordell Firs Outdoor Centre near Dunfermline. I’m sure it will be terrific fun once again. There is rock climbing, caving, archery etc
On Thursday, S6 pupils with a university place in their sights will be attending the “UCAS” Convention. This takes place at the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes in the afternoon. Then, on Friday, a group of Business Management students will attend the “Future Assets” Conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, organised by Miss Nessel and accompanied by Miss Samfat.
May I post a wee reminder about our Friends of Kirkcaldy High School (FoKHS) Race Night on Fri 3 November? Tickets are £5 which includes a supper of stovies or macaroni. Horses are only £5 to buy too. Businesses can place an advert in the programme from £25 or perhaps sponsor a race for £50 which includes 4 tickets for the event. Please contact Mrs Davidson for all enquiries about tickets, adverts or sponsorship. As ever, many thanks to FoKHS for their excellent support.
I have some news about the “Show My Homework” online tracker we use. Firstly, if you have more than one child in school and would prefer to have a single password for a multiple account, please contact the school. We can link separate accounts as required. Secondly, the company have asked us to apologise on their behalf for recent glitches. They have now updated both the app and the website. Their instruction is that you should log out and then sign back in to the system. You will be asked to update details. This should solve the access problems which have been a recent issue. Many thanks.
Finally, our menu for the week ahead is;
Monday: Lentil soup, Stovies with crusty bread, turnip
Tuesday: French onion soup, Chicken korma, boiled rice and vegetables
Wednesday Tomato soup, Sweet chilli beef and noodles, vegetables
Thursday: Green pea soup, Steak pie, potatoes and vegetables
Friday: Vegetable soup, Breaded fish/Scotch pie, chips, peas
We also have baked potatoes, pizza, pasta, sandwiches and salad available every day as well as our new outdoor snack bar. Please also remember that we offer a free cup of soup with bread for all our young people, regardless of their “free school meals” status.
As always, please do be in touch if we can assist with any matter of concern.
With very best wishes for the weekend.
Derek Allan
RECTOR
15 Sept 2017
