Rector’s Bulletin: 19th March 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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Friday 20th March – Solar Eclipse solareclipse2015.org.uk
Thursday 26th March – S3 Parents Evening
Monday 30th March – Growing Confidence Parents Session (see information
below)
Thursday 2nd April – school closes for Easter holidays
Nationals in a Nutshell Resource
These Revision in a Nutshell National 5 subject guides supplement learning and revision in
class. They cover 20 of the most popular subjects which have exams and for which the SQA
has provided relevant past paper questions. Pupils should check with their teachers to ensure
that the guides are relevant.
www.npfs.org.uk/national-5-revision-in-a-nutshell
Parental Surveys
Thank you to everyone who has completed our parental survey. This results of this is now
being discussed across the school and we will provide feedback through the Parent Council
and also a You Said We Did for this bulletin and the website.
S1 & S2 Parental Curriculum Consultation
Thank you to our S1 and S2 parents for their responses so far in our curriculum consultation.
The survey will close on the 20th March to allow us to collate returns and make final changes
to our plans for the summer term.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RHSParentCurriculum15
I look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure we provide the very best curriculum
possible for the learners in the Royal High School.
Maths Parental Questionnaire
As part of our self-evaluation process we are currently involved in a review of our Maths
department. We are seeking the views of parents, carers, pupils and staff on the quality of the
learners’ experience in Maths. We would like you to give us your views. Your views are
important to us, because they will form part of the evidence we collect and feedback to the
Maths department.
The questions will take less than 10 minutes to answer. Please read each statement and click
the answer that best describes your experience of the Maths department. You may wish to
discuss the questions with your child prior to answering. If you have more than one child at
the school, please think of the oldest child as you answer the questions.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RHS_Maths_Walkthrough_Parents
Admin & IT Exams
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Admin and IT exam – NAT 5 Tuesday 24th march, blocks 3 – 6
Admin and IT higher – Friday 27th blocks 1 – 4
Solar Eclipse
On Friday 20th March 2015 we will experience a solar eclipse. We plan to have a short school
event to enable all our students to experience the Solar Eclipse. This will be at its height
around 9.30am in our area. We have purchased special viewing glasses for groups of pupils
to use and will be explaining all safety precautions prior to them taking part. Our Science
department will also be overseeing classes conducting a number of experiments.
Form teachers will be going over safety precautions with pupils prior to the event and in
particular this leaflet which can also viewed on our website:
http://www.ras.org.uk/images/solar_eclipse_leaflet.pdf. We will be emphasising that at no
time, (before, during or after the eclipse) must anyone look directly towards the sun.
If any parents or carers would like to join us for this event we would be very happy to see
you.
If you would prefer your son/daughter did not take part in this event please contact the school
office and we will ensure they remain inside with a member of staff.
Raising Teens with Confidence
We will be hosting the ‘Why what you do matters’ introductory session, open to all
Parents/Carers, in the Main Hall during the evening of Monday 30th March, from 7 –
9pm. There will be an opportunity to sign up for the subsequent five sessions which will run
after Easter; depending on uptake, we will organise waiting lists for courses to be delivered
after the summer.
Pauline Walker
Rector
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Rector’s Bulletin: 9th March 2015
Staffing
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We continue to have a vacancy in Maths despite 3 advertisements. We have two very
good Maths supply teachers with at present covering this vacancy.
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 10th March – S4 Parents Evening
Friday 13th March – S3 Tracking Reports Issued
Friday 20th March – Solar Eclipse solareclipse2015.org.uk
Monday 30th March – Growing Confidence Parents Session
Thursday 26th March – S3 Parents Evening
Thursday 2nd April – school closes for Easter holidays
Parental Survey
Thank you to everyone who has completed our parental survey. This results of this is now
being discussed across the school and we will provide feedback through the Parent Council
and also a You Said We Did for this bulletin and the website.
Solar Eclipse
We plan to have a short school event to enable all our students to experience the Solar
Eclipse on Friday 20th March. This will be at its height around 9.40am in our area. We have
purchased special viewing glasses for groups of pupils to use and will be explaining all safety
precautions prior to them taking part. Our Science department will also be overseeing classes
conducting a number of experiments. If any parents or carers would like to join us during
this occasion we would be delighted to see you. Fingers crossed for no cloud cover!
Raising Children with Confidence for Deaf Parents/Carers
Please see attached invite to an exploratory session on Raising Children with Confidence for
deaf parents/carers on Saturday 21 March in MacDonald Road library.
Modern Languages Final Speaking Exam
Please be aware that the National 5 speaking exams for Modern Languages will be taking
place from the week commencing 9th March onwards. Class teachers will confirm the date
and time of the exam with pupils. It is vital that all pupils are fully prepared for this exam,
which accounts for 30% of the overall final mark.
Accounts
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National 5 Accounts – Accounting Assignment is taking place on 9, 10, 11 March (50
marks of the overall exam)
Higher Accounts – Accounting Assignment is taking place on 25/26 March (50 marks
of the overall exam)
SQA National Exam Timetable
www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/1439.html
The SQA national exam timetable commences with the first examination on Tuesday 28th
April (Drama). For all S4/5/6 pupils study leave will officially begin on Tuesday 5th May.
New S5/6 pupils will return on Tuesday 2nd June (the start of the new timetable).
Any pupil with an exam during the week Monday 27th April until Friday 1st May, study
leave will be granted 2 school days prior to each examination. In the event of any remaining
examinations during the week 1st June until Friday 5th June, pupils will be granted 2 days
prior to each remaining examination.
For S4 pupils who are being presented for national examinations at National 1-4 level no
formal study leave will be granted. For S4 pupils being presented for one or two National 5
qualifications, pupils will be granted 2 days for each examination. S4 pupils sitting three or
more National 5 qualifications will be granted study leave.
Easter Holiday Program
The City of Edinburgh Council, Sports and Outdoor Learning Unit are launching their Easter
2015 school holiday programme. Two weeks of outdoor and adventurous activities are
available to pupils P6 – S4. All sessions start in Edinburgh and activities include climbing,
mountain biking, archery, hill walking, and canoeing. Detailed session information and
booking details are online. For flyer click here
Raising Teens with Confidence
Our second six week Raising Teens with Confidence course for parents / carers has been
another success, with final comments about the most important lesson to take away noted as:
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Patience and reflecting
To try and become a consultant as opposed to a manager
The sections about sleep and managing stress have been very useful and extremely
well timed however have found whole course very interesting
Listening more, not trying to fix everything, that some of what my teenagers are going
through is horrendous for them
Not to fix the problem
How important listening is
The different effects of stress and its impact
Too many to mention. Really interested in fact we deal with children making
mistakes – physical etc., in a different way than we tend to do with teenagers. The
example of support given when a child falls off a bike versus the “I told you so” I can
do with my teenager
How the brain “prunes” itself throughout teenage years and it is not until 25 years
before they have an adult brain
We will be hosting the ‘Why what you do matters’ introductory session, open to all
Parents/Carers, in the Main Hall during the evening of Monday 30th March, from 7 –
9pm. There will be an opportunity to sign up for the subsequent five sessions which will run
after Easter; depending on uptake, we will organise waiting lists for courses to be delivered
after the summer.
The teenage years can often feel like being on
a rollercoaster for parents, carers and young people – plenty of highs, lows and uncertainty
about what might be round the corner! The many physical, emotional and behaviour changes
that occur mean that adolescence can be a time of vulnerability as well as a time of great
opportunity for young people.
As part of the work we are doing with Growing Confidence, there is the chance to find out
more through a 6 week course. Following the success of Raising Children with Confidence
which has been delivered to 1,500 parents and carers in Primary Schools, Raising Teens with
Confidence aims to give parents and carers time to explore how they can best support their
teenage children to navigate increasing independence and develop confidence, security and
resilience, as well promote emotional wellbeing in themselves.
Drawing on the latest research and findings around what helps support emotional wellbeing
throughout life, the course will give you an opportunity to explore with other parents how the
teenage years can be a time for the whole family to ‘thrive rather than just survive’(Siegel
2014)!
For more info click here
Pauline Walker
Rector
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