Rector’s Bulletin: 13th May 2015
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Dates to Note
Please note you can now subscribe to our school iCal calendar via the website
www.royalhigh.edin.sch.uk . Please click on the button on the right hand side of the front
page.
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Thursday 14th May – S1 parents evening
Monday 18th May – School Closed
**NEW** Wednesday 20th May – S1-3 Parents Learning & Teaching Event
**NEW** – an opportunity to come and see what really happens in our classrooms
and experience learning in 2015. Letters about this event have been sent to all S1-3
parents. Please return the slip to book a place as space is limited.
Tuesday 2nd June – new timetable begins
Wednesday 10th June 7pm – Parent Council AGM – please come along and support
your Parent Council
Thursday 11th June – Wider Achievement Ceremony
16-18th June – Summer Dance Show
Tuesday 23rd June – School Music Concert
Friday 26th June – Annual Prize Giving Ceremony
Police Scotland
Police Scotland are holding a Crime Prevention Event at Rosebery Halls, South Queensferry
on Thursday 14th May between 8pm – 9.30pm. They will be offering crime prevention
advice to householders and giving you an update on what action Police Scotland is taking to
curb housebreakings.
Leith Dragon Boats
Our school is affiliated with the Dean & Cauvin Trust which was established in 1733 as an
orphanage. It now looks after young mums and babies and you can read more on their
website here: www.deanandcauvin.org.uk
They need to keep raising funds to keep the houses open and hence have arranged a charity
event below. If any parents or pupils would be interested in being a rower on our boat please
contact us as soon as possible. The event will be held at Ocean Terminal on Sunday 7th
June. The details of the event can be found on the web site below.
www.leithdragonboats.com
The trust need to have a team of 20 rowers who can be of any age, size, shape and level of
fitness. It is a fun event which will provide an ideal opportunity to increase the profile of the
trust in the community. Rowers would be expected to find 10 sponsors who would donate a
minimum of £10.
Defibrillators
We are pleased to announce that, in consultation with the Scottish Ambulance Service and as
part of a Council wide approach, Edinburgh Council have made a commitment to install
defibrillators in all secondary schools. Some of these have already been provided through the
generosity and fundraising efforts of parents and the wider public. The rest will be provided
by the Council. I will keep you updated on this initiative.
Edinburgh Council Summer Holiday Program
The City of Edinburgh Council, Sports and Outdoor Learning Unit are launching their
Summer 2015 school holiday programme. Five weeks of outdoor and adventurous activities
are available to pupils P6 – S4. All sessions start in Edinburgh and activities include
Archery, Bushcraft, Canoeing, Climbing, Dragon Boating, Elie Chain Walk, Geocaching,
Gorge Walking, Hill Walking, Mountain Biking and Multi Activity Days. Detailed session
information and booking detail are online. A flyer with information can be downloaded from
the link below
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Summer Outdoor Learning Program Flyer
Summer Works
I am delighted that we are having quite a bit of refurbishment to the school over the next few
months which will improve our facilities for all the students. Please excuse any disruption in
our facilities while we are having these completed from May – July.
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PE changing room refurbishment and remodelling to add extra changing rooms and a
gym in old S6 common room
Relining of the swimming pool
Decoration to Library
Replace carpet in Library
Replace carpets in CDT
Replace marmoleum in management corridor and staircase, dining hall, glass corridor
and glass foyer area
Installation of projector and screen in main hall
Works to create outdoor learning space in our grounds
And finally
Please remember we welcome your feedback and if you would like to comment on anything
in this bulletin please feel free to contact us.
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Rector’s Bulletin: 06th May 2015
Follow us on twitter at @Royal_High_Sch
Dates to Note
Please note you can now subscribe to our school iCal calendar via the website
www.royalhigh.edin.sch.uk . Please click on the button on the right hand side of the front
page.
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Tuesday 5th May – SQA exam leave begins
Tuesday 5th May – Rugby Information Evening
Thursday 7th May – school closed for pupils, staff in-service day
Friday 8th May – S2 tracking reports issued
Monday 11th May – S1 full reports issued
Thursday 14th May – S1 parents evening
Monday 18th May – School Closed
**NEW** Wednesday 20th May – S1-3 Parents Learning & Teaching Event **NEW** – an
opportunity to come and see what really happens in our classrooms and experience learning
in 2015. Letters about this event will be with you later this week.
2015 Annual Parent Survey
Thank you to everyone who completed our annual parental survey for 2014/15 session. This
has been shared and discussed across the school. I have collated the 212 responses along with
our Next Steps which relate to these which we will be working on during the 2015/16
session. The feedback can be found in the ‘Parents & Carers’ section of website under the
‘Information’ tab.
We have also discussed all the comments which were made as part of the survey and these
are also being taken forward across the school or with the faculties they related to.
Your feedback is very important to us and we will continue to ask for your views through for
example surveys and focus groups throughout the session.
Curriculum Consultation
Thank you to all our parents who have engaged with our curriculum consultation. This was
discussed at the Parent Council last week. With their support we are now finalising our plans
based on the feedback from the whole school consultation (staff, students, parents and
partners) and I will share the final curriculum model for 2016 with you shortly.
Wider Achievement
We are always very keen to celebrate Wider Achievement at all levels. We do this through
our Student Bulletin, noticeboards, website and Twitter feed. We also have an annual Wider
Achievement awards ceremony (11th June this year) where we reward young people who
have demonstrated excellence in Wider Achievement.
Please do share any good news about your child with us and we will pass this on to staff and
also share it with our wider community. Photos always welcome!
Preparation for S6 pupils Applying to Cambridge/Oxford Universities
We are often asked what preparation we offer to those students intending to apply for
Cambridge and Oxford universities. Mrs White in our Guidance team has given a short
description of what happened this session to give you a flavour of the support we give and
also what to expect if your child is planning an application. Please do note the timelines and
events will be subject to change for 2015 based on deadlines and courses on offer.
The following two events took place in S5
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Attendance at general information event for Cambridge/Oxford universities- This event gave
information about UCAS application process and general information about what it was like
to study at these universities
Attendance at Cambridge/Oxford interview workshop event April 2014 Edinburgh Academy
– This event focused on the application and interview process and gave very good
information about how to prepare for an interview.
In S6 when the new timetable began June 2014
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June during S6 Administration there was a presentation and hand-out given out with
timeline about the UCAS application process
In August Nation heads linked with their own pupils who were doing an early
application which included our Cambridge applicants (Some of these pupils had visited the
university in the summer)
Applicants were supported with their personal statements and given advice by their Nation
Heads and Mrs White
Applications were sent off for the 15th October and pupils were informed about interview
times after applications had been processed
Mrs White met with all applicants as a group and individually to further prepare them for
their interviews
All applicants had an interview with their chosen college. Feedback was given from these
and the main information was the highly competitive nature of the interviews.
We are starting the process again with the current S5 and 6 pupils have already attended an
event at Heriots school on 27/2/15 about the application and interview process. They were
also given the opportunity to apply for a day at Cambridge to find out more about the
university and one of them has taken this up and has a place to go down at the start of April
for an overnight stay.
It is also worthwhile noting that Cambridge/Oxford applicants for STEM courses have often
completed a Brightest Watts and Headstart course earlier on in their school career. These
have already been advertised to S4 and S5 pupils.
The Royal High School Former Pupil Club – Note For All 2015 School Leavers
The Royal High School Club welcomes School Leavers to the Club. The once-off Life
membership of £25 helps to support Prizes and Bursaries awarded at the Prize Giving, and is
very welcome at a time when low interest rates means that Club funds are diminishing. There
has been a steady reduction in the numbers of Leavers joining, and we of course understand
the financial pressures involved. Last year around 10% of Leavers joined the Club, down
from the 20% to 25% of previous years.
If, as we hope, you do decide to join, can we ask that in addition to the postal address on the
application form, that you also supply an email address which will of course remove the cost
of postal communication, and greatly assist the administration of FP Club members by the
very small group of volunteers we have available. A record of Club activities is on the FP
website at www.royalhigh.co.uk and the FP email is royalhighschoolclub@gmail.com.
Out of School Care Survey 2015
The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to supporting the development of childcare
services including Breakfast Clubs, Afterschool Clubs and Holiday Provision across the
Authority. As a requirement of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, the
Council also has a duty to consult, plan and publish these plans in relation to Out of School
Care provision in the city.
We would like to hear the views of as many parents and carers of school age pupils as
possible.
The link to the survey is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ooscs The survey is live from
Monday 27 April and closes on Wednesday 27 May 2015.
Responses to the survey will be used to help plan future services. In the short term this will
include identifying specific issues for further exploration in focus groups with parents and
carers.
And finally –
Please remember we welcome your feedback and if you would like to comment on anything
in this bulletin please feel free to contact us.
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