Welcome to this weeks Rector’s Log, I hope you and your family are well.
The week that’s been…
An incredibly busy and action-packed week here at KHS…
On Monday we had over 30 young people in our new S4 take part in the Lift Off programme, in conjunction with Abertay University.
On Monday evening, Friends of Kirkcaldy High School (FoKHS) hosted the annual AGM and discussed a range of matters from what had worked well this session, through to planning for next. The committee also discussed and agreed spending for a number of initiatives for our young people including money towards equipment for Duke of Edinburgh awards, First aid training courses and outdoor seating. In total, FoKHS has contributed over £7000 towards supporting all our young people. We are very grateful to FoKHS for their continued support and enthusiasm for improving our school.
On Tuesday, we held our annual prizegiving evening, with a number of young people gaining awards for a wide range of academic and non-academic achievements. On the hottest night of the year, we had a packed assembly hall with many proud parents / carers in attendance. We were grateful to Mr Allan for coming back and being our guest speaker. We are also thankful to the many sponsors who continue to support our awards. Well done to all young people on their achievements and thank you to all staff who organised and supported this superb evening.
On Thursday and today, we welcomed our new S1 into KHS. P7s from all our cluster and non-associated primaries have attended KHS welcome days and taken part in a wide range of activities. It has been amazing to have them here and we look forward to all starting in August. A massive thank you to our S6 buddies who are exhausted after supporting their S1 teams around school.
We also held our P7 information evening on Thursday evening. Our new S1s treated us to a fantastic performance, singing with Mrs Duckett and Mr Wilkie for their parents / carers. Mrs Duckett also treated the audience to a fantastic rap about starting school and aiming to be the best version of themselves. Our guidance team met with parents / carers thereafter and gave an overview of all things KHS and the support offered to our new intake. Thank you to all staff involved and of course our amazing new S1s and their parents / carers.
This week, we also had a group of 8 S4s take part in a programme called ‘The Best of You’, with 8 young people graduating today. The programme is run by Mark Brown programmes and the programme aims to support and inspire participants whilst helping them to develop in key areas of drive, confidence, self-belief and commitment. Well done to all who took part and graduated!
Some staffing news, Mrs Kerry Gibb was appointed as permanent Depute Head Teacher (Support) on Tuesday following interview. Mrs Gibb is currently Depute Head Teacher at St Columba’s RC HS in Dunfermline and has a vast amount of experience within this role. We look forward to Mrs Gibb starting with us at the beginning of September. Mr Farquharson will continue in the acting DHT post over the next while.
The week ahead…
As you will be aware, we have been focussing a lot on attendance this session and we have seen improvement with this. We are asking all families to continue to support and promote attendance with their children. Our young people continue to learn in school, with courses and school work continuing. It is important that your child doesn’t miss any work to ensure they are ready for the new session.
Moreover, we continue to have the same high expectations in uniform, conduct and attitude as we have over the session. Our young people continue to show this everyday and we ask that this continues to the end of term.
I hope you have an enjoyable weekend
Best wishes
Chris McKay
Rector
16 June 2023
