{"id":1075,"date":"2019-09-13T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T11:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/?p=1075"},"modified":"2023-11-08T09:11:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T09:11:45","slug":"rectors-log-13-9-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/2019\/09\/13\/rectors-log-13-9-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Rector’s Log 13\/9\/19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Parent\/Carer<\/p>\n

Best of luck for Black Friday \u2026 I hope that you are well despite the alleged bad omens associated with today! Here is the news from KHS.<\/p>\n

\"Rights

Rights Respecting School Assembly<\/p><\/div>\n

This week we have had Yeargroup Assemblies with the usual pattern and the main theme has been \u201cPupil Voice\u201d with an emphasis on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Stonewall \u201cNo Bystanders\u201d Pledge, with its focus on challenging bullying behaviour. As I\u2019m sure you are aware, this is a big theme in our school, with our values of Respect for Self, Others and Learning. We\u2019ll be expecting an accreditation from the people from the UNICEF Rights Respecting School programme in November, and next week Miss Diamond will be in contact about a survey we are asking you to complete. Many thanks in advance for your help with this. At the Assemblies we also had an input from Stephen and Brendan, Fife Council Youth Workers, to explain about the work of the Templehall Action Group and to encourage our young people to participate.<\/p>\n

On Monday, those S4 who are currently studying the National 5 Mathematics course undertook a \u201cmini prelim\u201d in the Hall. Miss Grubb, Head of Maths, is sure that it will be useful to test young people\u2019s progress at this point. In the afternoon, a large group of young people with an interest in the automotive industry were over\u00a0at the Kwik Fit Training Academy in Broxburn for a hands-on session (see photo below). Many thanks to Mrs Davidson, who leads on this. I understand that we are the only Fife school involved in this way, and it was very worthwhile. There are some excellent pictures on \u201cTwitter\u201d. In the evening, a group of pupils were back in Glasgow for the Scotland v Belgium Euro qualifier. Sadly, despite this enthusiastic backing, Scotland were narrowly thrashed \u2026 again.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, after our S2 Assembly, it was the first mentoring session for S5\/6 students being supported by \u201cFoKHS\u201d members. I am very grateful to all our mentors, who helped last session\u2019s S6 students to achieve \u201cbest ever\u201d SQA exam results. It\u2019s a great way of helping young people who are not used to the study requirements of Higher courses, to keep \u201con track\u201d.<\/p>\n

The S3 Assembly was on Wednesday and in the afternoon, Calum Jackson and John Hamilton (both S6) attended Dundee University as part of their Advanced Higher Physics study programme. The Assembly for S4 was yesterday and S5\/6 took place this morning. Many thanks to Miss Young and the young people of our \u201cRights Respecting School\u201d Group for their leadership of these engagements.<\/p>\n

\"Kwik

Kwik Fit Training Academy<\/p><\/div>\n

Special recognition goes to Eilidh Drummond, Rebecca Greig and Phoebe Brand (above). All spoke really well and I thank them for extending our school\u2019s understanding of Human Rights.<\/p>\n

Next week we will welcome a new member of staff to KHS as we are joined by Suzanne Squires as our Principal Teacher responsible for Supported Learning. Ms Squires was previously of the \u201cDAS\u201d at Auchmuty High School in Glenrothes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be holding House Assemblies with Adam Smith on Tuesday, Carlyle on Wednesday and Oswald on Thursday. These are being led by Mrs Rae (Pupil Support Officer) and a group of young people on the theme of Period Poverty. We hare conducting a survey<\/a> to gauge young people\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

Please be reminded that free sanitary items are available in all our facilities. There is no need for any young person to miss lessons for want of appropriate support. Our PSO team are especially skilled in helping young people with this.<\/p>\n

Next Tuesday is also our S3 Parent\/Carer Evening. This takes place between 5-7pm and you can pick your own time slots or use the \u201cwizard\u201d available with the online booking system. Please call 01592 583405 if you have any problems making appointments. The system has been \u201clive\u201d for the last\u00a0fortnight.<\/p>\n

We have another \u201cParents\u2019 Evening\u201d next week, but this takes a different format. It\u2019s for parents and carers of S1 and we\u2019ll have a focus on developing positive attitudes to reading and numbers. You\u2019ve likely heard of \u201cGrowth Mindset\u201d? The evening runs from 6-7pm, with hands on sessions led by some of our lead professionals\u00a0in literacy and numeracy, Mrs Hume and Mrs Hamilton, Miss Wilson and Miss Hay.<\/p>\n

The hot meal menu for next week is as follows;<\/p>\n

Monday:<\/strong>\u00a0Lentil soup, Butter Chicken Tikka Masala and Rice, vegetables\u00a0Tuesday:<\/strong>\u00a0Mushroom soup, Grilled Sausage\/burger \u2013 veggie\/beef\/chicken, chips, baked beans\u00a0Wednesday:<\/strong>\u00a0Scotch broth, Roast chicken and gravy, potatoes and vegetables\u00a0Thursday:<\/strong>\u00a0Carrot and coriander soup, Lasagne, garlic bread and vegetables\u00a0Friday:<\/strong>\u00a0Yellow split pea soup, Breaded fish\/Sausage roll, chips, peas.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cfree school meals\u201d status. There is also our “Breakfast Club” (sponsored by Stephens the Bakers) available from 8.10am and this is completely free for those facing hardship. We have cereal, toast and jam and juice on offer.\u00a0Lunchtime meals are priced at \u00a32.20 for pupils, and this is the value of the \u201cFree Meal\u201d entitlement. Main courses are \u00a31.55 for pupils and desserts are priced at \u00a30.65 for pupils and \u00a31.10 for staff.<\/p>\n

Just a wee reminder for parents\/carers of S1 that payment for our forthcoming adventure trip to Fordell Firs (25-27 September) is now due. If you can use the online iPay Impact system that would be very convenient. It\u2019s also the way to \u201ctop up\u201d the Myfife school meals card. Do call if you need support. Many thanks. Young people qualifying for free meals will not be required to pay. If you think that you may qualify for free meals and need some support to make an application please do call us and ask for Mrs Hardie, our Family Link Worker.<\/p>\n

Please remember our \u201cFoKHS\u201d Race Night. This takes place in the school Hall on Friday 8 November and is always brilliant fun. It\u2019s also an excellent way to support KHS. FoKHS raises thousands of pounds annually to assist the school. Please call us and ask for Mrs Davidson to purchase tickets, or to sponsor a race or a horse.<\/p>\n

Mr Stewart (Head of PE), has asked me to remind you that if your son\/daughter has an injury or is feeling unwell, you should please provide them with a note to explain this. The pupil should still bring, and change into, their PE kit as they may well be able to take part in certain parts of the lesson. The PE staff can modify practices and activities or give other tasks such as officiating to pupils when they can’t fully take part in the full lesson. If a pupil arrives for their PE lesson without kit, they will usually be extracted to senior classes with written work to complete.<\/p>\n

I am very grateful to Carolyn Brown, our school link Educational Psychologist, who has produced another leaflet for you (see attachment), this time focussing on the issue of body image (especially in the context of social media). You may recall that earlier this year, Carolyn produced parents guides on issues such as teenage anxiety, eating disorders and exam stress. I hope you find the information useful. I think it\u2019s very relevant.<\/p>\n

The other attachment is our regular \u201cEmployability Bulletin\u201d put together by Miss Malcolm. It\u2019s a useful reminder of one of our purposes; to have young people ready to enter the job market or move on to another \u201cpositive destination\u201d. Thanks to Miss Malcolm.<\/p>\n

Finally, I mentioned the Stonewall “No Bystanders” pledge earlier. All our young people and staff are being invited to sign the pledge during morning tutor time. You are perhaps aware that Stonewall is a charity which primarily looks after the rights and welfare of LGBT people who have faced discrimination or harassment. However, the pledge goes wider, and is a commitment to challenge bullying behaviour of all types. The words of the pledge are;\u00a0\u201cI will never be a bystander to hateful language and abuse. If I hear it, I will call it out and report it, and if I can, I will stop it. By adding my name, I promise to stand up for fairness, kindness and to never be a bystander.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"No

No Bystanders Pledge<\/p><\/div>\n

The pledge covers all types of bullying and particularly hate related to the \u201cprotected characteristics\u201d listed in the 2010 Equality Act<\/a>\u00a0These are; age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

As a school, we are fully committed to promoting equality. I am very proud that we are a school where everyone is equally welcome. In fact, KHS is regarded as one of the leading schools in Scotland in this respect. You\u2019ll perhaps recall the COSLA Excellence Award presented last year? We are working with LGBT Youth Scotland on their \u201cCharter\u201d. You can find out more on our website, including our own \u201cEqualities Statement\u201d.<\/p>\n

Have a lovely weekend everyone \u2026 at least there are no more Scotland games for a month or so!<\/p>\n

Aye yours<\/p>\n

Derek Allan<\/p>\n

RECTOR<\/p>\n

13 September 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Parent\/Carer Best of luck for Black Friday \u2026 I hope that you are well despite the alleged bad omens associated with today! Here is the news from KHS. This week we have had Yeargroup Assemblies with the usual pattern … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10574,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news","category-rectors-log"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10574"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1076,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075\/revisions\/1076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/fi\/kirkcaldyhighschool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}