Dear Parent/Carer
Welcome to the weekly news update from KHS. I’m hoping that you are well.
Last week I mentioned the “Friends of Kirkcaldy High School” Ceilidh, which took place last Friday. The ceilidh is a true highlight in the KHS calendar and it will have raised around £2000 to support the school (eg to upgrade the Assembly Hall or aid young people facing hardship to get the most from opportunities we offer). We had the Bert Pozzi Ceilidh Band and a Valente’s Fish Supper, with various other entertainments. Many thanks to FoKHS for all their brilliant support of the school. It was a great night enjoyed by well over 200 people, including a large group of former pupils. Great credit goes to Mrs Davidson, who was chief organiser. As ever, this was done with great care and some flair.
On Monday, we welcomed our new Head of Music, Ms Simpson, who joins KHS from Broxburn Academy in West Lothian. Ms Simpson has got off to a great start and is hosting the SQA visiting examiner today. This was also a “themed learning” week across S1-3. Where appropriate, lessons focused on the skill of numeracy eg calculating, estimating, drawing graphs, use of shapes etc. This was timed to coincide with “Pi Day” on Wednesday … it’s always on 14 March as our American cousins reckon that particular date should be written “3.14”, get it? Teachers were creative in planning learning that day, with circles a theme in many lessons.
It was also a busy SQA assessment week including; Administration, Art and Design, Drama, Fashion and Textiles, Music and Spanish tests and assignments taking place at different times throughout the week. On the Monday, our “First Chances” group had a trip to St Andrews University after school. Many thanks to Mrs Hunter for her support of this group.
On Tuesday we had more S1/2 vaccinations in the Hall then after school we held our rescheduled S2 Parent/Carer Evening (postponed from the previous Tuesday because of the snow). Many thanks for the positive feedback received. Most seem to feel that meeting in classrooms is preferable to using the Hall and Library.
It was also our regular Parent Council meeting on Tuesday. The main items were feedback about the recent snow closures, an input from our LGBT student group and an update from Miss Ashby about our “Rights Respecting School” work. An assessor is visiting KHS to see if we qualify for the UNICEF “Silver” Standard. Miss Ashby (Social Subjects) has prepared a booklet explaining our progress with the RRS Award and our “Charter” sets out the 7 Articles selected by our school community to be the focus of our work. It explains what the pupils will do and what the adults will do to ensure everyone accesses their rights in our school. We also sent out a Parent/Carer questionnaire on “Survey Monkey” last week and we would really appreciate your feedback about how well you feel we are doing. Your views will be taken into account as part of the Silver Award Assessment. Many thanks for helping with this.
As well as “Pi Day” on Wednesday, we hosted an NHS Fife “stall” outside our dinner hall to highlight the dangers of smoking. In the evening, we had another rescheduled performance of “The Ceasefire Babies” in school. What a remarkable show … tense and unnerving with tragedy and optimism at the end. It’s set in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles”. Well done to all the cast and crew and also the supporting staff: Ms Bruce, Mr McPherson and Dr Murray. We are performing the play as part of the National Theatre “Connections” Festival at The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh on Wednesday 28 March.
I mentioned that our Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender group gave a wee talk at the Parent Council on Tuesday. This was very well received by the Council members. The group also led a staff training session after school on Monday. The aim was to help teachers create an LGBT friendly classroom environment. Perhaps you saw the Fife Free Press yesterday? The KHS group was featured in a double page spread. I must say that I am exceptionally proud of all our young people, and the work of this group in ensuring equality and fairness is of particular importance to me. We are a school which respects, protects and promotes human rights.
At lunchtime today, all S6 with an interest in Further or Higher Education (ie College or University) are invited to a talk from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). The theme is student finance. Thanks to Mr Farquharson for setting this up.
Tomorrow’s Saturday School is Biology (including Human Biology), Chemistry and Physics. We hope to see a healthy turnout.
Next week we have yeargroup assemblies with the theme being “Pupil Voice”. These are led by young people, encouraging others to get involved in raising any issues of concern. One aspect is our “Don’t be a Bystander Box” … this has been suggested as a confidential way to report any concerns about bullying. We’ll also have “Rural and Urban Training Scheme” (RUTS) working with a target group of S3 on a motorbike maintenance course all week. We are trying to engage in different ways with those who find regular lessons challenging and you may have read about the RUTS boxing programme in the FFP recently? We are hoping that, following the disruption of the snow closure, our S4 Reports will be issued either on Wednesday or Thursday.
Next Tuesday I will attend the Kirkcaldy Area Committee along with Mr McNeil, the Rector of Balwearie HS. We will discuss our schools’ successes and challenges, including how we are using the “Pupil Equity Fund” to help those from families affected by childhood poverty. Also on Tuesday we have a visiting author, the sci-fi writer Russell Jones. Wednesday is another round of the Disability Sport Fife Football as well as the Cashback Sevens, another football competition. Then on Thursday we’ll have a group of young people at the Higher Geography Conference at St Andrews University.
To end the week, our motorbike maintenance group gets the chance to go off-road biking at Knockhill and we are also looking forward to the visit of Sara Rowbotham from Rochdale, who will be talking to staff and pupils about Childhood Sexual Exploitation (CSE). Sara was the “whistleblower” who was at the centre of the abuse scandal in Rochdale and she was featured in the BBC drama “Three Girls”.
Also, I am delighted to report that Jaime-Leigh Campbell, Kayla Greer, Sophie Lennon and Rebecca MacMillan (S2), have been declared national winners of a UN sponsored schools’ competition to design a poster on the theme of ‘Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Scotland’. They will now attend a special event at the “UN House Scotland” conference at the Scottish Parliament next Friday. In addition, the poster will be displayed in the Members Room of the Parliament. This is an excellent achievement as the organisers said they had received an “overwhelming response”. Well done to all the girls, and also to Ms Mahr, their teacher.
Saturday School next week (24 March) is Spanish and English, the session being held over from 3 March, which was lost due to snow.
The menu next week is;
Monday: Lentil soup, Butter Chicken Tikka Masala and Rice, vegetables
Tuesday: Mushroom soup, Grilled Sausage/burger – veggie/beef/chicken, chips, baked beans
Wednesday: Scotch broth, Roast chicken and gravy, potatoes and vegetables
Thursday: Carrot and coriander soup, Mince pie, potatoes and vegetables
Friday Yellow split pea soup, Breaded fish/Sausage roll, chips, peas
We also have baked potatoes, pizza, pasta, sandwiches and salad available every day as well as our new 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 50p otherwise). We have cereal, toast and jam and juice on offer.
On the same theme, please do discourage you son or daughter from visiting the Shell garage on Hendry Road at lunchtime. You will be aware that there is a “Greggs” bakery and “Subway” sandwich bar on the forecourt which attract very big numbers of our young people every day. The problem is that this is a busy petrol station and there is no room on the forecourt for the number of young people hanging around. Vehicles are driving in and out, often reversing, and I am very concerned about safety and the risk of an accident. Please discuss this with your son/daughter. We have a very good canteen in school and an outdoor servery with sandwiches, toasties tec. There really should be no reason to leave the school grounds at all. We intend to emphasise this safety issue at assemblies next week.
Also, please remember that you can easily create a “Myfife” account which you can use to “top up” your son/daughter’s “Myfife” card remotely, even using an app. This means that any dinner money you give can only be spent in school. Many parents/carers use this service and appreciate the ability to have some influence over lunchtime habits. The card is topped up automatically where a young person qualifies for free meals.
Finally, may I remind you of the dates for our “Easter School” study classes which are taking place during the holidays; 30 March: Maths (H), 3 April: Computing, Business Management and Administration, 4 April: Design and Manufacture, Engineering Science, Graphic Communication and Maths (N5), 5 April: Classical Studies, Support for Learning (all subjects), 6 April: Modern Studies (N5/AH), History (N5), 9 April: Biology, Chemistry and Physics, 10 April: Art, Fashion and Textiles, Photography, Drama, Music, Maths (AH) and Spanish, 11 April: French and Health and Food Technology, 12 April: Care and Latin, 13 April: English. Many thanks to all staff who are giving up their time. This goes for the “Saturday School” sessions too.
Best wishes
Derek Allan
RECTOR
16 March 2018
