Dear Parent\/Carer<\/p>\n
I hope that you are well and are looking forward to the weekend.<\/p>\n
It was a particularly busy week in school with Assemblies for each yeargroup and our outdoor education camps at Fordell Firs, near Crossgates, for all our First Year pupils. The Oswald House pupils are there today and I can report that it has been great fun as well as being an opportunity to build leadership and teamworking skills. I know that quite a few young people addressed some personal fears too, maybe confined spaces, heights and such. Good on them.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, people from NHS Fife were in school for a photoshoot with some of our students. They are preparing some publicity materials about the School Nurse Service and the fact that we were asked is, to me, a statement about our strong partnership. We offer an especially well developed support service for young people – especially in relation to sexual health and contraception. We take young people’s health and wellbeing seriously and are helping to develop innovative ways of working together.<\/p>\n
My most challenging\u00a0engagement this week was addressing a very well attended public meeting held\u00a0at Eddy’s Bar in Birnam Road, Templehall on Wednesday evening. It was good to meet some parents\/carers there. I mentioned the problem of anti-social behaviour in\u00a0last week’s email. As the Courier report puts it, local residents are “fed up” … and I do not blame them. Dozens of young people, many of them KHS current or former pupils,\u00a0are making\u00a0residents lives a misery, with vandalism, fighting, drunken behaviour and drug taking in the streets. We have gathered intelligence information in school and I am passing on names to the Police, who are visiting homes and issuing letters. In some cases we have spoken to individuals in school or also contacted home. This is a very serious issue and I have nothing but sympathy for those affected. Some elderly people are afraid to leave their homes … this is a disgrace. A theme which has come to light is that in some cases kids are telling their parent\/carer that they are at a “sleepover” with a friend. The reality is they are hanging around the streets and perhaps even sleeping in a stairwell. I would urge all parents\/carers to prevent their children being out at all\u00a0in the evenings right now unless they can be absolutely sure they are not part of the crowd in\u00a0Templehall. This applies even if the majority of those present have no harmful intention in mind. Some parents we have approached with this advice have welcomed the warning and will be taking a stronger line … thank you.<\/p>\n
Today, in St Andrews, a very important “inter-faith” event is taking place. The “Declaration of St Andrews” sees representatives of the\u00a0Pope (although it is in fact rumoured that the Pope may actually be in attendance himself)\u00a0and the Dalai Lama\u00a0joining senior members of the other Christian churches, Hindu communities in the UK and India, and the\u00a0Jewish and Moslem community\u00a0at the town\u2019s university, calling for all faiths to unite against radicalisation and extreme viewpoints.\u00a0It is being described as an affirmation of our shared humanity and there are 11 points contained within the declaration. Our Head Girl and Boy, Bethany Cunningham and Lachlan Duncan will witness the signing then\u00a0put their names to\u00a0the declaration themselves as representatives of the youth of Fife. Watch out for updates on Twitter – Bethany and Lachlan have said that\u00a0they will be sharing photos of this very special occasion.<\/p>\n
The other big news this week, at national level, is the Scottish Government’s decision to remove internally marked assessments from National 5 and Higher courses. This is very welcome news. The stress caused by young people being subject to constant testing is a health concern to me. Crucially too, the workload implications for teachers are clear to see, and I must thank our staff for the efforts they have made to cope with an unreasonable burden. I\u00a0greatly welcome this reduced bureaucracy – it should give teachers and\u00a0young people\u00a0more time to concentrate on learning rather than testing.<\/p>\n
Next week is our “Employability Week” with a particular focus\u00a0for S3 learners. Pupils will have various workshops from Bright Green Hydrogen and Barratt Homes. They will work on interview skills, and take part in sessions on the “My World of Work” website operated by “Skills Development Scotland”. It is a particularly\u00a0relevant input to the curriculum\u00a0which includes workplace visits and a session from “Character Scotland”. All the details are shown in the programme and letter attached. Pupils know which groups they are in. This was shared at assembly this week and we have posters all around the school. I must thank Miss McIntosh and Miss Nessel (our Principal Teachers of Employability) for putting together such a rich programme.<\/p>\n
On Monday, we also have a visit from Roger Mullin, MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. Mr Mullin has a particular interest in “STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and spends the best part of the day finding out about our work in this field. You will perhaps recall that we were finalists in this\u00a0category in the Scottish Education Awards in June. He\u00a0should also be able to\u00a0see our S4 Maths students working with the training team of Babcock Rosyth on a team problem solving challenge. Many thanks to Babcock.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday we are hosting a travelling theatre group which delivers a powerful road safety message\u00a0to the First Years. Their show is called “The Nine Lives of Roddy Hogg”. On Wednesday afternoon we have a talk for S6 about university applications. Thanks to Mr Farquharson for setting this up.\u00a0After school, our St Andrews University “First Chances” graduates take part in one to one tutoring sessions with undergraduates from the university. On Thursday, our “Personal Development” class has organised a fund-raising coffee morning for the staff in support of MacMillan Cancer Care. Well done to them. The week ends with some of our young\u00a0people taking part in an “Enterprising Maths” event at Glenrothes High School. That day, Mrs Aitken and I will be joining colleagues from Lochgelly and Woodmill High Schools to share notes on the recent exam results and support each other by sharing our successes and advising one another … it’s good to collaborate on such matters.<\/p>\n
Next week’s hot dish menu is; Monday: Chicken and mushroom pie with potatoes. Tuesday: Gammon steak\u00a0and chips. Wednesday: Mince pie and mash. Thursday: Lasagne with garlic bread. Friday: Chicken curry with naan bread. We also have our pasta, sandwich, soup and salad options too.<\/p>\n
On a final note, may I remind you of\u00a0school policy on participation in PE. If a\u00a0young person\u00a0is feeling unwell or has an injury, it is\u00a0normally our expectation that your son or daughter still brings their PE kit as well as a note from\u00a0you\u00a0explaining the situation. The reason for this is that they may still be able to take part in the lesson. For example, practices can be modified to take into account an injury, pupils can be involved in officiating or timekeeping\u00a0and in some cases,\u00a0they may be able to temporarily swap\u00a0to another activity\u00a0in order to take part. Our aim is to achieve full participation and give our pupils the best experience possible. Without kit, pupils might need to be sent to a senior class to complete written work. As I said, we take health and wellbeing seriously, and it’s best if they can take part – even in a limited way.<\/p>\n
Please do be in touch on any relevant matter. And, without apology, I repeat my appeal – please be sure that you know your kids whereabouts this weekend.<\/p>\n
Many thanks<\/p>\n
Derek Allan<\/p>\n
23 Sept 2016<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Parent\/Carer I hope that you are well and are looking forward to the weekend. It was a particularly busy week in school with Assemblies for each yeargroup and our outdoor education camps at Fordell Firs, near Crossgates, for all … Continue reading