Dear Parent/Carer
I hope that you are well and have had a great holiday. I have to say that it has been a real pleasure to see all of our young people once again on their return – looking so smart and eager to get back to learning. The new S1 seem to be a particularly bright and happy lot too. They are settling in just fine.
Please be aware that we do not permit S1 to leave the school grounds at lunchtime unless you give permission. You should contact Guidance if you wish your child to be allowed to go home for lunch or to leave school for any other reason.
As you will know, the teachers started back on Monday with various training events including an input from a company called “Show My Homework”, based in England. Following comments from the Parent Council and in response to questionnaire responses from parents and carers, we have decided to explore ways to issue homework electronically and track its completion. This involves all parents and carers. We will be issuing details (including a password) which allow you to download an app for mobile phone and/or receive email notifications of your son or daughter’s homework very soon. Mrs Davidson (Depute) is organising this and will be in touch shortly with more information.
Also on the training days, we had the chance to look at the SQA exam results in a some detail. Our initial analysis indicates some outstanding individual performances and some very strong improvement trends at all levels. Special mentions go to Chloe Newton, Jay Elder, Emma Fenton, Jade Hood and Rebecca Meekison – all gained straight “A” Grades and could not have done any better in the exams. Maybe you heard Chloe on the radio, talking about her success in the Highers on Kingdom FM News?
In S4, we saw a 7% rise in the number of pupils achieving 5 or more passes in the National 5 exam. In S5, we had a massive 15% rise in the number of pupils succeeding at Higher level and in S6, the proportion of students gaining 5 or more Highers rose from 14% to 24% (expressed as a percentage of the total intake). This means that of all the pupils coming in to KHS, nearly a third manage 5 or more National 5 passes by Fourth Year, more than half succeed at Higher level by Fifth Year and almost a quarter pass 5 or more Highers by the time they leave. Bear in mind that about three quarters of young people stay on at school these days. I am very satisfied with these trends, but we are already working on ways to do better still.
We had year assemblies today, and I shared some of this data. We also had a focus on “Growth Mindset”. It is clear that self-belief underpins achievement. We want all our learners to have the confidence in their own abilities to be able to try their best in all things. Success means different things for different people, but this principle applies to all.
Next week we’ll have House Assemblies, with Adam Smith on Tuesday, Carlyle on Wednesday and Oswald on Thursday. Also, our Advanced Higher Geography students attend a residential fieldwork centre in Perthshire, our Sports Ambassadors attend a training event at St Andrews University and our Higher English classes are at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Earlier this week, our Drama students visited the Fringe and had a great day out in the city.
Many thanks to the 14th (Dunnikier) Scouts, who delivered a letter and a copy of our latest Newsletter at the start of August. I do hope you received your copy of the Newsletter. In case you didn’t, please find an electronic version attached.
Just a wee reminder that the school bus times at the start of the day have not changed, although those at the end of the day are now 10 minutes earlier. There may be some confusion in the mornings as many regular service timetables have been altered and some pupils may have mistaken a service bus for a school bus. To help clear up any confusion, please see attached timetables. These are also available on our website and were recently posted on “Twitter”.
Finally, a warm welcome to all the new staff who joined us this week; Mr Reekie – Business Manager, Mrs Morris – PT Modern Languages, Mr Gallagher and Mr Hamilton – Craft and Design Technology, Mrs High – Modern Languages, Miss Beattie – Chemistry, Miss Fotheringham and Miss Stalker – Biology, Miss Brown – Maths, Miss Chen – English, Mrs Reid – Home Economics, Mr Redford – Geography. Also, welcome back to Miss Keeble (English), who returns from maternity leave and congratulations to Mrs Dempsey (Biology), who has recently given birth to a new baby daughter.
Next week’s hot dish menu is; Monday: Spaghetti Bolognese with garlic bread. Tuesday: Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and mash. Wednesday: Macaroni cheese with chips or garlic bread, Thursday: Steak pie and potatoes. Friday: Fish and chips. We also have our pasta, sandwich, soup and salad options too.
As ever, if we can help with any matter, please do be in touch. I’m sure that, with your continuing support, we can enjoy another successful session ahead in Kirkcaldy High School.
Usque Conabor!
Derek Allan
19 August 2016
