Dear Parent/Carer

Welcome to the weekly news report from KHS … I do hope that you are well.

This week has been a shortened one for pupils, with a staff training day today. Despite that condensed timescale, it’s been another busy time, especially in relation to employability and vocational education.

At 11am on Monday 11 November, we held a two minute silence across the school as pupils and staff laid wreaths at the school’s war memorial, commemorating the 212 pupils and 3 teachers who lost their lives in the two world wars of the twentieth century. After an introduction from me, Head Boy Jake Ramsay told the story behind the brief life and death of Lt Harry Moodie, a former pupil who was killed in action in 1918. A poem was read by Head Girl Cara Turner and Cameron Hamilton (S5) played the last post on cornet. The senior prefect team laid poppy wreaths, joined by History Teacher Miss Osborne, who is a Royal Navy Reservist and laid a wreath in tribute to those currently serving. The senior prefects had all attended the Kirkcaldy Remembrance Parade on Sunday and laid a wreath at the memorial.

As you perhaps know, we also held special assemblies with dance and music as well as tributes from those who had been part of the school’s “Battlefields” trip in May. I am proud of the respect shown by all the school’s young people for the sacrifice of the fallen, and for their commitment to peaceful living.

On Tuesday, outreach staff from Edinburgh University held a “focus group” with S6 on the subject of widening access for young people from working class families. A group of S2 took part in an awareness event about job opportunities for “Allied Health Professionals” in the NHS. The focus was on Physiotherapy, Radiography etc. All of our S5 travelled to Glenrothes for the “Safe Drive – Stay Alive” Roadshow and at lunchtime, Mrs Davidson and I were joined by Interact Club members along at the regular Rotary Club lunch at the Dean Park Hotel. Our Interactors were presented with a cheque for £500 by President Robert Main as a contribution to our MND Scotland fundraising appeal.  That evening, it was a Parent Council meeting. The main focus was our efforts at consistency of approaches to relationships, our curriculum “rationale” and the upcoming “Rights Respecting School” initiative.

Wednesday saw  our Advanced Higher English students visiting the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. This will be very useful research for their dissertations. At lunchtime, to mark European day of languages, our Languages Department laid on a special free lunch with dishes from France, Germany, Spain and Italy (the countries whose languages we teach in KHS). This was very well attended and very much enjoyed. Also that day, we had more S1 pupils visiting Templehall Library with their English teacher.

The reading theme continued yesterday when we hosted a Book Fair which was visited by all S1 pupils. Each young person was then allowed to select any book of their choice to keep … the school is picking up the bill. Books are one of life’s precious gifts and seems appropriate to gift  a book to all in this way.

Also yesterday, Mrs Davidson was involved in a meeting about a new recruitment drive for the NHS, with a focus on Nursing careers. Later on in the evening, I joined her along with Mr Scott (CDT) at Fife College (Halbeath) for a conference on the School/College Partnership arrangements. We work closely with Fife College on a variety of different programmes including Foundation Apprenticeships in Childcare, Software, Engineering etc. We are actively looking at ways of doing things differently, considering new qualifications and approaches.

I mentioned the staff training day. The main part of this is a Teacher Conference hosted at KHS with the main speaker being Carrie Lindsay, Fife’s Executive Director of Education and Children’s Services and newly appointed President of the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES). Staff from Viewforth High School and several local primaries will be joining us this afternoon.

However, as I have said, our main theme, especially for S3, has been “Employability”. We are fully committed to giving all of our young people the best chance of a successful pathway to employment and want all of our leavers to be “job ready”. This week saw all out S3 out on a workplace visit on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday they were off the usual timetable to take part in team-building, supported by The Army, and then design activities. We also had an information session from Fife College. The “destination” for about a third of our leavers is the College, so this was a very relevant input. Today, our staff are delivering “Barclay’s Lifeskills” sessions on creating a CV. I hope you’ll agree that this sounds really relevant to the world of work. The final piece of the jigsaw is today. I do hope that as many as possible parents/carers of S3 pupils have managed to arrange for their son/daughter to spend either the day or part of the day with them in their workplace. That will be invaluable experience.

Next week is Book Week Scotland and we have various events planned. Also, our S3 will begin to undertake the Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) in reading, writing and maths. These are computerised tests which indicate progress with “Curriculum for Excellence” so far. On Monday, it’s also the training day for our S4 “Boozebusters” peer mentors.

Tuesday is an Adam Smith Assembly -and we’ll be having feedback from last month’s Rwanda trip all week. Many thanks to Ms Cunningham, Dr Murray and all the young people who are leading this. In the History Department, we’ll have a guest speaker from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and for English classes, creative writing advice from popular Scottish thriller writer Doug Johnstone. Doug has visited KHS before and we are having an author focus for “Book Week”. At 6pm we are hosting the Rotary Club of Kirkcaldy Sixth Form Quiz in KHS. This is for all the four local high schools. Best wishes to Team Captain John Hamilton and the rest of our quiz team. I should also add a “good luck” message for John, who has just learned that he has an interview for a place to study Mathematics at Cambridge University next month.

Wednesday is UNICEF World Children’s Day and we are delighted to be joined by Jenny Price of “Rights Respecting Schools” to mark this event. It’s the 30th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and we are having various events, including a special assembly, as well as our Rwanda reflections. Thanks to the parents who will be meeting Jenny to discuss our progress as a “Rights Respecting School” and also to David Torrance, MSP, who is joining us too. At 6pm, there is a meeting about our “Battlefields” trip which takes place in May 2020. Many thanks to party leaders Miss Osborne, Mr Harrower and Mr Mitchell.

On Thursday, we’ll hold those “Boozebusters” training sessions in the Hall for all S2. Our S4 mentors will deliver special alcohol awareness sessions. For Book Week Scotland, we have Royal Society of Edinburgh sponsored talk on poetry from Professor Jeremy Smith. That afternoon, Miss Wallace (Geography) and I will meet with people from the Duke of Edinburgh Award to discuss our progress with the scheme. Our first group have been practising their outdoor skills preparing for the expedition element.

Friday is the Oswald Assembly, not the usual Thursday and it’s also the Rotary Young Chef Kirkcaldy final at Fife College, good luck to Holli Moffat and Jake Ramsay, and many thanks to mentor, Ms Collins. Holli and Jake are up against other competitors from the Local schools. We also have another Royal Society of Edinburgh “Book Week” talk from Dr Alice Koning and a lunchtime bake sale in support of the Cottage Family Centre Christmas Appeal, organised by Ellie Hitchcock ( S5). Finally, as is fitting for “Book Week”, another group of S1 English pupils will walk down to earn about the services, and become a member of Templehall Library.

The hot meal menu for next week is as follows; Monday: Lentil soup, Macaroni Cheese, chips, vegetables Tuesday: Tomato soup, Red Thai Chilli Beef and noodles with vegetables Wednesday: Minestrone soup, Pork sausage casserole, potatoes and vegetables Thursday: French onion soup, Roast Beef, Potatoes and vegetables Friday: Leek and potato soup, Breaded fish/Steakbake, chips, peas.

We also have baked potatoes, pizza, pasta, sandwiches and salad available every day as well as our outdoor snack bar. Please do be aware that we offer a free cup of soup with bread for all our young people, regardless of their “free school meals” status. There is also our “Breakfast Club” (sponsored by Stephens the Bakers) available from 8.10am and this is completely free for those facing hardship. We have cereal, toast and jam and juice on offer. Lunchtime meals are priced at £2.20 for pupils, and this is the value of the “free meal” entitlement. Main courses are £1.55 and desserts are priced at £0.65. Please call if you are facing financial hardship and would appreciate help to apply for free meals. You should ask for Mrs Hardie (Family Link Worker).

Mixed fortunes on the sporting front this week with our U14 losing out on penalties to Grove Academy of Broughty Ferry in the Scottish Shield. The U13 boys however, beat Harris Academy of Dundee 8-2 in their age group Shield. In Netball, our S3 team lost out to Dunfermline High but our new S1 team won 13-5 in their first ever match (photo). Well done to all. Next week sees our U16 playing away at Harris Academy in the Scottish.

Finally, please keep a wee note of our forthcoming Christmas Fair. This takes place before and after our S2 Learning Fair on Wednesday December 4. There are stalls with crafts, jewellery, candles, cards and gifts. All proceeds will go towards subsidising the cost of the S6 prom and yearbook. I hope you can come along on the night. More details to follow.

Please never hesitate to be in touch if you need anything. All the very best.

Derek Allan

RECTOR

15 November 2019