Dear Parent/Carer

Welcome to the weekly message or update from KHS. I hope you are well and looking forward to the weekend.

We’ve had a busy week with Yeargroup Assemblies which had a focus on our shared “Learning Charter”, which we developed along with our linked Primary Schools. This was led by young people, who did very well to explain our understanding of what makes for the best learning. There was also a focus on “Respect” … it’s always good to reiterate our school values and to examine what they mean in practice.

It was a Personal Learning Planning Week for S4 with discussions around progress and targets with teachers. The tracking letter will be posted out shortly.

On Tuesday, I had the privilege of attending Kirkcaldy Rotary Club lunch at the Dean Park Hotel with Blain Aitken, Stephanie Blyth and Kiara Montgomery (S6). All were sponsored by the club to participate in the RYLA Leadership Camp in the Cairngorms this summer and spoke about their experiences at the lunch. Many thanks to the Rotary for all their support. I was exceptionally proud of our three young leaders, who demonstrated, with real integrity and honesty, how much of a positive impact the experience had on them (below right).

The Wednesday saw Miss Wight and Miss Wallace out on a trip to Tentsmuir Forest with the Higher Geography class in association with the St Andrews University “Geobus”. They had a great day exploring coastal scenery and measuring wave action. Yesterday, for S5/6, the timetable was suspended for our Senior Health Day. After a series of in-school sessions in the morning which included a healthy breakfast and motivational talks, all S5/6 walked to Kirkcaldy Leisure Centre in the afternoon to take part in various classes such as Body Pump, Body Combat and Swimming. They also had a free induction to the gym. Many thanks to our PE staff and also to Fife Sport and Leisure Trust for their help with this major event.

For the S5/6 Assembly this morning, we welcomed Hannah and Conner, students of Lochgelly High School, who shared her recent experiences as part of the “Polar Academy”, visiting Greenland and undertaking a very challenging expedition. It was lovely to welcome Mrs Aitken back to KHS, accompanying the Lochgelly students. Mrs Aitken is enjoying her new challenge as Headteacher of Lochgelly.

Also today, our Sports Leaders are up at the Michael Woods Centre in Glenrothes supervising the “Go for Gold” event, which is a sports competition for vulnerable adults (see Sports Leaders photo). Meanwhile, we have a group of 30 S2 Science pupils through at the Glasgow Science Centre taking part in “STEM” workshops sponsored by the RAF.

Next week we are holding a ‘Next Steps’ parents/carers evening for S6. This takes place on Monday at 6pm. The focus is primarily on UCAS and university applications but we also cover college, apprenticeships and employment. There will be input from Skills Development Scotland too. The S6 have received a letter from Mr Farquharson. I hope to see many of you there on the evening.

I also hope to meet some new faces at our Parent Council meeting at 6pm on Tuesday. You will be aware that I sent a message home on Wednesday about this. Tuesday is a particularly busy day with our new crop of S6 “My World of Work” Ambassadors being trained by Skills Development Scotland, Our Platinum Sports Ambassadors are also attending a national conference at Perth Concert Hall and we are hosting BAE Systems for a “STEM” event for S1 in the Assembly Hall. We also have a vaccination “catch up” session for S3 who missed out in June.

On Wednesday, our Advanced Higher Geography students are off to Kindrogan in Perthshire for a residential fieldwork experience and in the evening, all S1 parents/carers are invited to our “Growth Mindset for Numeracy” evening. Many thanks to the Maths team who have organised this.

Next week’s menu is;

Monday: Lentil soup, Macaroni Cheese, chips, vegetables

Tuesday: Tomato soup, Roast Chicken, baby boiled potatoes, broccoli

Wednesday: Minestrone soup, Pork sausage casserole, potatoes and vegetables

Thursday: French onion soup, Red Thai Chilli Beef, noodles 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. We also have our “Breakfast Club” available from 8.10am and this is free to those facing hardship (it costs 44p otherwise). We have cereal, toast and jam and juice on offer.

Mr Young (Yearhead) has asked me to remind you that S1 pupils are not permitted to leave the school grounds at lunchtime without a prior arrangement with you (eg to go home for lunch). We discourage pupils from visiting local food outlets (eg the garage on Hendry Road), mainly for reasons of road safety. I hope you understand.

You will know that we have a big focus on helping our young people be ready for work. Thanks to Miss Malcom (PE) who has put together the employability bulletin (attached). Miss Malcolm takes on the “Developing the Young Workforce” remit undertaken by Miss Nessel before her move to Aberdeen over the summer. Congratulations to Miss Malcolm, who is currently busy setting up work placements and employer visits etc

We have other staff news. With Mrs Hamilton “acting up” as a Depute Head, Miss Grubb will be taking on the role of Head of Maths and she will be supported by Miss Cunningham, who joined us in the summer. Congratulations to both of them, I’m sure that they will do well.

Looking ahead, we’ll have assemblies during week beginning 10 September to unfurl our “Rights Respecting School” banner and I am pleased to report that we will be joined by David Torrance, the MSP for Kirkcaldy for this special occasion. In the afternoon of Tuesday 11 Sept we are delighted to be welcoming the Osiligi Maasai Warriors Dance Troupe to KHS. They dropped by in 2014 and caused quite a stir. I’m sure their amazing dance and jumping routines will be appreciated by our S1 and S2 pupils that afternoon.

On Thursday 13 September I’ll be joined by Dr Murray and three leading members of our KHS LGBT+ Support Group at Verity House (the COSLA HQ in Edinburgh) to deliver our presentation for the national Excellence Awards (Tackling Inequalities and Improving Health). As you may imagine, I am very proud of the young people who contribute to this group … in fact, I’m proud of all our kids. They never fail to inspire us.

Do come along to our “Friends of Kirkcaldy High School” fund raising Race Night on November 2. We are indebted to FoKHS for all their support, which includes sponsoring young people to take part in school activities and trips as well as purchasing equipment for the school. At the FoKHS meeting last week, there was a decision to purchase 20 laptop computers for the school. At a time when funding is tight, this in invaluable. Please see the flyer from Mrs Davidson, Depute Head (attached).

Finally, I wanted to alert you to the fact that we are recruiting new staff. We are getting by at the moment with a few temporary arrangements, however we currently have teaching vacancies in English, Maths and Music. Please spread the word. Perhaps you have friends or family in education? If you know any good teachers who are looking for a new challenge, you might want to ask them to have a look at the “MyjobScotland” recruitment portal. The English post should be advertised shortly and the other two posts are currently “live”. Much appreciated.

Please remember the Parent Council on Tuesday … do get involved.

Regards

 

Derek Allan

RECTOR

31 August 2018