Penicuik High School

Parental Newsletter Easter 2008

www.penicuik.info

Dear Parents and Carers

This term has been a very short term with us breaking for Easter holidays on 20^th March, however as you will see we have managed to pack in as much as possible into the last few months. May I wish you all a very enjoyable Easter break and I look forward to seeing all our pupils back at Penicuik High School on Monday 7^th April 2008.

Parents' Association
As usual you can follow the activities of the PHSPA by reading the
school website or looking through our minutes folder in the
public library quiet room. We are currently working to increase
support for the 50-50 club, and to begin building our collection
of parents' guides. Since the last newsletter we have used some
of the money raised to buy new electronic equipment for the school
and to support pupil-led fundraising activities with prizes and
refreshments. As ever, all are welcome to attend our meetings - the
next is on 2nd June. The PA chair is Murray Cole, who can be contacted
on 672400 or by e-mail to mic@inf.ed.ac.uk.

Penicuik High School Parents’ Association 50/50 Club
For many years, parents and carers of the pupils at Penicuik High School
have given their support in many ways. There is also a history of
support from staff and the local community - traditions that the PHSPA aims to maintain and enhance.
The main source of fundraising by parents for the school is the 50/50 Club. The 50/50 draw is made at PHSPA meetings.
Recent 50/50 Club fundraising has helped to pay for
– A school tie for every pupil
– Electronic equipment for use by pupils
– A pool table for the 6th year common room
– A table tennis table for the 5th year common room
– Refreshments and financial support for various functions held in the
school, including discos, dances and charity events

Anyone with a parental responsibility for a pupil at PHS is part of the
Parents’ Forum. The PHSPA is made up of volunteers from the Parents’
Forum, who aim to continue to promote the fundraising activities of the
former Parents’ Association, it has additional co-opted members
including staff and senior pupil representatives.

What you can do:
– Join the 50/50 Club
– Review and increase your 50/50 Club membership

HMIe follow through inspection visit

We were visited in late February by a team of school inspectors from HMIe to follow up on the school inspection of January 2006. A report of this follow through visit will be published towards the end of the academic year to all parents and carers.

Urban Myth

Over the last 6 months or so an “urban myth” surrounding staffing issues at Penicuik High School has been doing the rounds in the local

community. Our staff are content to work in the school and many of the staff who have had to move on over the last two sessions have been our newly qualified teachers who have come to the end of their training year with us. Almost all of these teachers would have applied for a post at Penicuik High School had it become available. We also have had an ageing staff some of whom have decided to retire after many years of service to our school, this trend is likely to continue for a number of year as the age profile of the staff reflects the age profile of teachers throughout Scotland. We have also had staff who have been promoted to posts of responsibility in other schools. The Head of Schools for Midlothian told me recently that we are amongst the best schools in Midlothian at retaining staff.

St John’s Priory of Scotland

I am delighted to offer the congratulations of the whole school to Liam Dugan in S4 who was recently awarded the Priory of St John’s life saving medal for his role in saving the life of Mr Jim Allison who was the victim of a shooting incident in Penicuik. In the presence of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and the Provost of Midlothian and an array of invited guests Liam, along with former pupil Daniel Sturrock and Aaron Moore from Beeslack High School, received his medal from the Prior of the Order of St John during a special ceremony at Dynamic Earth. The boys then had to face a barrage of TV cameras and a round of press interviews. Everyone commented on how well the boys spoke about what they had done. I believe that the boys are in line for other awards later this year.

Malawi Partnership Signing

Our school celebrated our Global Citizenship Day on March 20^th. We also asked every member of the school community to sign our partnership agreement with Thyolo Secondary School in Malawi. Pupils, staff and guests were invited to sign two copies of the partnership both of which will be sent to Thyolo for signing there and one will be returned to Penicuik as a permanent  record of our partnership. We were delighted to welcome Robin Harper MSP, Yonah Matemba a Malawian PhD student in Education at Glasgow University and Mrs Linda MacDonald the founder of MUMs (Malawian Underprivileged Mothers). It was also a day when we were delighted to accept help from the Cooperative Society of Scotland and the Cooperative Educational Trust who both made such a wonderful contribution to our day. Pupils were rewarded with prizes of 3 bikes (2 provided by the school and one by the Co-op) for taking part in the enterprise exhibition and an i-pod presented by John Lewis and Partners. My sincere thanks go to all who worked so hard to make this day such a success. I would like to especially thank Mrs Mary Stewart PT Guidance who has driven forward so many of our links with Thyolo.

SQA ARRANGEMENTS

The final countdown to this year’s arrangements for the SQA examinations is underway.

Shortly, all candidates for the SQA examinations will be issued with a booklet published by SQA which contains helpful advice about preparation for the examinations, arrangements during the exams, and action to be taken in the event of illness.  The booklet also explains the appeals process.  Parents are encouraged to read the booklet.

Students will also be issued with their own personal timetable, with details of the examinations being taken – the subjects, levels, dates and times of the exams, and also room and seat numbers.  Students are asked to check them carefully to ensure the details are correct.  Please note that examination times listed on these timetables may differ slightly from the times posted on the SQA website.  The school has discretion to adjust the times so that wherever possible examination candidates are not disturbed by junior classes at break times or lunchtimes.  Students with coincident examinations also sit their exams at different times.

Students will also be issued with a laminated card on which they can write their SCN (Scottish Candidate Number).  They are permitted to bring this into the examination room.

Please note that mobile phones, pagers, MP3 players, or any other electronic devices must not be brought into the examination room – whether switched on or not.  Any student found to be in possession of such a device in an examination room will be reported to SQA and their result will be cancelled.

This is not an idle threat – well over 100 candidates across Scotland were affected last year.  Don’t let it be your son or daughter this year.

Study Leave

Study leave for S4 will begin on Thursday 1^st May and end on Thursday 30 May.  Study leave for S5 and S6 begins on Thursday 15^th  May, until 30^th May.  S4 and S5 students returning for a 5^th and 6^th year must attend an orientation morning on Friday 31^st May.  The new timetable starts on Monday 2nd June.  There are induction days on Wednesday 4^th and Thursday 5^th June for students returning to S6.

Return of Textbooks

All textbooks should be returned to the appropriate class teacher so that they can be checked and issued to the next class.  Please ensure that your son/daughter returns books promptly and in good condition.

Leaving Arrangements

Students intending to leave school must collect a leaver’s form from the School Office and have it signed by each class teacher to ensure that text books and other materials have been returned.

Again, we would ask that parents ensure that this has been done, so that we can have a clear picture of the demand for places in senior classes.

Lastly, we wish all candidates every success in the examinations, and in their future careers.

Mark Edie

Headteacher