School continues to be very busy with lots happening.  We recently had our Day of the Dead celebrations with our S2 pupils that was really successful and enjoyable.  Thanks have to go to the Modern Languages, RE and Art departments for the hard work they put in preparing for this and running the event.

This week was Dyslexia Awareness week and as part of this there were various events organised for the staff including a coffee morning and ‘wear blue’ day. There was a colouring competition available for S1/2 pupils throughout the week during lunchtime and there will be further awareness raising of dyslexia in PSHE classes.

We continue to try and ensure staffing is settled in the school.  This week we appointed a DHT to replace Mrs Donnachie who left in the summer.  Mr Derek Lang was successful and we look forward to welcoming him to the school.  My thanks go to the members of the Parent Council who helped out at the interviews for this. As many of you will be aware there has been a shortage in staff in some areas so we are glad to be welcoming a full time Biology teacher to the school soon and thank the council for their support in helping us to fill this gap.

Since the start of the month we have been praying for our departed family friends and have a book at the front of the school with the names entered by staff and pupils. This is also the time of the year when we remember those who have lost their lives in war. The annual War Memorial Mass will be taking place on Friday 24th November this year where former pupils of the school killed in war will be remembered.

Our annual Christmas Fayre takes place on Saturday 9th December.  Mrs Hill is working hard with our S6 Caritas pupils in organising this.  It would be great to see a good turnout at this event – bring your friends and family!

S6 continued with their fundraising this week with their ‘Soak an S6 pupil’ event.  They were shivering by the end of it and I have to say there were a number of pupils that took great pleasure in either throwing wet sponges or buckets of water at them – particularly their siblings!

So often we have pupils out at events/trips and always represent the school so well. Recently Julia and Eirinn took part in the Scullion Debate making a great effort.  We had pupils at a Chess competition beating Mearns Castle 4 – 1. A group of pupils represented the school at the Kids Lit Quiz.  And recently a group of Higher Geography pupils went on a field trip in Glasgow.  This is just an example of some of the great things that pupils have the opportunity to get involved in.

Not only do we have teams that represent the school but also a number of clubs that happen throughout the week that pupils are made aware of this through the daily bulletin.  I would encourage all of our pupils to get involved in something outwith the class.

The school also had the pleasure recently of welcoming the scriptwriter Marc Pye to the school to spend an afternoon with our Advanced Higher English class.

Staff have also been very busy in the school and many have been getting involved in working  groups, for example, the Discipline group, Mental Health group, Political Literacy group, etc…  All of these groups are looking at areas that we can work on and develop within the school.

As part of the process in identifying what we can improve, I have emailed all parents with a link to a questionnaire about the school.  Thank you to so many of you who have already responded to this.  The questionnaire will be open until the end of the month and I would encourage you to have your say.

We have now registered to make the steps to getting the Rights Respecting Schools Award. The Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) is an initiative run by UNICEF UK, which encourages schools to place the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of its ethos and curriculum.  Part of this process will involve working with staff, pupils and parents over the coming months and raising awareness of the UN Convention.

Forthcoming Events

• Thursday 16th  November – London Trip
• Friday 17th November – Football Race Night
• Monday 20th November – Inservice Day
• Tuesday 21st November – S1 Parents’ Reporting Evening
• Friday 24th November – Annual War Memorial Mass
• 8th December – S4 Prelim exams begin
• 29th November – S5/6 Tracking report issued
• 7th December – S5/6 Parents Meeting