Dear Parent/Carer,

Welcome to this weeks Rector’s log. I hope you and your family are doing well.

The week that’s been…

On Monday and Tuesday this week, a number of young people from S6 took part in the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) training. MVP is a peer mentoring programme that gives young people the chance to explore and challenge the attitudes, beliefs and cultural norms that underpin gender-based violence, bullying and other forms of violence. The MVP programme aims to support young people to positively influence the attitudes and behaviour of their peers through delivery of lessons and mentoring. Our S6 pupils engage in the sessions and are now ready to take on the next step.

Yesterday, our S1 pupils were involved in helping the maths department ‘solve the crime’ through CSI maths. All S1s participated and staff were impressed with their teamwork and attitude to the task.

Congratulations to Anna Drummond in S1. She placed 5th out of 43 amazing British skaters. She got a new personal best score of 32.08. This score means she has qualified for the British championships and has earned a place on the British ice-skating development squad. Well done Anna!

As ever, the DYW Padlet has a few local jobs such as many seasonal workers at the Retail Park if you are looking for a part time job. S5 pupils are invited to apply for Career Ready – an opportunity to get career input and mentoring from a local business. This will lead to 4 weeks paid employment next summer and the chance to build upon your employability skills. If you are interested, please speak to Mrs Whyte in C13. More information on the Padlet.

Lastly, we have some staffing information for you. On Monday, Mr Jack Walsh started with us in Business after what seemed like a long time following his success at interview at the end of summer. Mr Walsh has settled in well and we wish him our best as he gets to know everyone. Next term, we have some staff returning after maternity leave and others joining us following success in the recruitment process.

We welcome back Mrs Little in PE and Ms McFall in Science (Biology) after the break. We also welcome Ms Kelsey back to the English department after a short period away. We welcome Ms Rebecca Wilkie in Supported learning who starts with us on the first Monday back. On the 14th November we will be joined by Ms Clark in music.

Following the appointments of Mrs Hume and Ms Hay last week, we have now appointed the following temporary posts:

• Mrs Thompson has been appointed as PTC English until June 2023 and Mr Jones (Maths) has been appointed as PT Numeracy until January 2023.
• Following Mrs Thompson’s appointment to the PTC English role, we will appoint someone to her Guidance post early in the new session.

I have also sent parents / carers a school update via email.

The week ahead…

The October break begins today at 3.15pm. School will re-open to all on Monday 24th October 2022.

Thank you to everyone involved in our community for all your help and support this term. We appreciate it immensely!

I hope our young people have a restful and enjoyable break.

Best wishes
Chris McKay
Interim Rector
07 October 2022