As we break up for the October Week, I would like to wish all of our pupils, staff, parents and carers well for the week ahead and thank everyone for the hard work since our return in August.

It was great to catch up with so many parents and carers at this week’s S1 Parents’ Evening and hear about the really positive start our first years have made at St David’s. There was a really positive atmosphere in the hall on Tuesday and I was particularly pleased to see ‘Barrowman’s Baristas’ doing a roaring trade in lattes, cappuccinos and hot chocolates!

When we come back after the break, we move into a really busy time in the school calendar with lots of events planned for the Campus. There will be more details to follow but in the meantime here are a few reminders to ‘save the date’ and make sure you do not miss out (especially the Ceilidh at the end of November!).

Upcoming Events

Week Beginning 28 October   -   Senior Tracking Report to Parents

Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 6.00-7.30pm   -   St David’s HS Open Evening

Tuesday, 12 November 2024, 5.00-7.00pm   -   Joint Campus Career's Fair 

Thursday 14 November 2024, 5.00-7.00pm   -   S4 Parents’ Evening

Friday, 29 November 2024, Evening   -   Fundraising Ceilidh 

Thursday, 5 December 2024, 5.00-7.00pm   -   S5/6 Parents’ Evening

Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 7.00-9.00pm   -   Christmas Concert

 

Mrs Jackson has also been in touch with details about planned Prelim assessments for later this term and into the New Year.

Week 1:              Friday 29th November - Thursday 5th December 2024

Week 2-3:          Monday 13th January - Friday 24th January 2025

 

Finally, I would encourage you to respond to Midlothian Council’s Budget Consultation which is open until 30 November 2024. The saving proposals cover all of the council’s services, including education, so your views are very important in the decision making process.

 

As always, thank you for your continued support and have a safe and enjoyable week.

D MacDonald, Headteacher

Four weeks into the term and it is great to be able to report such a strong and positive start to the school year from all of our pupils. We have certainly hit the ground running, no sooner had we received another set of excellent SQA exam results before we had pupils performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, away on Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions, visiting Carfin Grotto, celebrating Mass with Fr Basil and contributing to the Midlothian Learner’s Conference at the new Easthouses Primary School.

The next major event is our annual celebration of achievement, which takes place next Wednesday evening. Despite crippling ICT issues in the school over the past week, our administration team have somehow managed to get all the invitations out to pupils and families, so we now all are ready for a wonderful celebration of pupil achievement!

Tracking Reports for S1-3

We are currently working with the council to put in place a Midlothian wide Reports system for all schools and all year groups this session. One of the changes will be how we report on pupil progress and achievement through the Curriculum for Excellence Levels. This should make it easier for pupils, parents and carers to track progress in the move from primary to secondary or if there is a change of school. Unfortunately this part of the system is not in place at the moment, so the initial report for S1-3 provides information on Effort, Behaviour and Homework only.

In this report we use our school rules 'Ready, Respectful and Safe' to describe Effort and Behaviour. The terms ‘Always, Mostly, Sometimes or Rarely’, describe how well your child is doing within these categories.

Comments will only be added if the class teacher has a particular concern regarding progress or learning.

Senior Phase (S4-6) Tracking - There will also be a slight change to the layout of the senior tracking reports, due towards the end of September, but the key information relating to attainment targets and on or off track to achieve will still be included.

Mobile Phones in Schools

There has been much debate in the news recently about mobile phones in schools. Are they good? Are they bad? Should they be banned?

Much of this discussion has been sparked by the government publishing a report, ‘Guidance on Mobile Phones in Scottish Schools’. This guidance reinforces the strong findings from research that inappropriate use of phones can have a significantly negative impact on learning. Even having your phone close by can be a distraction, as notifications continue to flood in to social media accounts throughout the day.

We believe that the proportionate advice set out in the guidance very much supports the policy that we developed last August in consultation with pupils, staff, parents and carers. We recognise that we all, to some extent, rely on our phones and that we are responsible for using them appropriately. In St David’s, phones are allowed but they should not be used in classes and they should, ideally be stored in bags or jacket pockets during lessons to avoid any distracting notifications. Use of phones at break and lunchtime is absolutely fine but in busy corridors they should be away so that you can see where you are going and they don't get knocked out of hands!

Our simple Mobile Phones Policy sets this out clearly and I am pleased to say that the overwhelming majority of pupils cooperate and benefit from the reduced distractions to learning. We will of course, however, be looking over the new guidance and adapting where appropriate.

In the meantime, thank you for supporting our approach to using phones in school.

Have a good weekend and remember that next weekend is the September holiday with staff and pupils off on Friday 13 and Monday 16 September.

D MacDonald

Headteacher

As shared earlier on in the week, the Secondary School Week Alignment Proposal has been agreed following the consultation earlier on this year. This means that all Midlothian schools will start and finish at the same time to allow for increased timetable collaboration in the years ahead. For us at St David’s the only change will be an earlier finish on Fridays, 12.15pm rather than 1.05pm. The change is due to start in the week beginning Monday 3 June.

SQA Exams 

We are now approaching the end of the second week of the SQA Exams.  A huge well done to all students who have completed exams so far.  As we look ahead to the third week the following exams will be taking place; English, Spanish Practical Cookery and Dance. 

As always students should carefully check their exam details and get in touch with the school if there are any queries.  Remember we also have our immersion days which will continue to run throughout the exam period.  The programme for these sessions have been emailed to all parents/carers and can also be found on the school website.  Good luck to all students!

 

Tickets for Grand Summer Raffle 2024

Our Parents’ Council is organising a grand raffle this summer term to raise funds for the school. This will allow us to keep supporting really important curricular experiences that do so much to enhance learning such as transport and other costs associated with subject trips.

We kindly seek your support in selling tickets to contribute to this cause.

Key Details about the Raffle

- The draw will take place at St. David’s RC High School on Friday 21st June at 11.00am

- The cost is £1 per ticket

- We have loads of outstanding prizes up for grabs, including a PlayStation 5 console, golf at Gullane Golf Club, a family meal voucher for a local restuarant, a gift experience at Roslyn Chapel, and so many more!

Selling Tickets

- S1-S3 students will receive 2 books of tickets (10 tickets) on Tuesday 7th May to sell.

- Tickets for S4-S6 students can be collected from the school office during their next visit (if they are in for an Immersion Day or Exam).

- Additional tickets will be available for students who sell all their first ten.

- All tickets (sold and unsold) and money must be returned to the school office by Friday 14th June.

Community Involvement

- If you are part of a business or community groups which support the selling of school raffle tickets, please contact the school office and we will arrange for additional tickets to be sent to you.

Prize Donations

- We welcome prize donations from those who are able. If you are able to help or have any links to a business who may be able to donate a prize, your help would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be handed in at the school office, and monetary contributions (which will be used to purchase prizes) can still be made through ParentPay.

Your support and contributions will make a significant impact on enhancing our students educational experiences.

Thank you for your continued generosity and

support.

 

School Leavers June 2024

Alton Towers S6 Celebration Trip

On Thursday 18th April our S6 spent the day at Alton Towers to celebrate their time as a St David's High School pupil. After an early start, we arrived fresh faced and raring to go. After multiple rides on The Smiler, Nemesis, The Wickerman, 13, Rita and Oblivion we departed with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. A fantastically enjoyable day for all involved. 

Chromebook Return

This is a reminder for any senior students who are leaving school this term -it is essential that chromebooks along with the case and charger are returned to Pupil Support before leaving school.

These devices together with chargers and cases will be distributed to our S1 pupils coming from outside Midlothian Council. If you do not return a charger there is a high chance that an S1 pupil will receive a device without a charger.  

Enjoy the long weekend!

D MacDonald
Headteacher

 

As we approach the Easter holidays, things seem to be getting busier and busier across the school and as you will see further on in the bulletin, the preparations for final exams are in full swing.

 

It has been great to see the safe return of over 70 of our S1-3 pupils from our first ASPIRE Trip to Whithaugh Park. They all seemed in great spirits and have clearly had a terrific time despite being out in some very special Scottish weather this week! A special thanks to all the staff who organised and accompanied the pupils down to the Borders.

 

We have had lots of SQA assessments and assignments being completed over the last few weeks in subjects from Home Economics to PE, Music to the Sciences and almost every other subject in between. Term 2 in the senior phase really is a challenging time for pupils and teachers, all will deserve their break at the end of next week!

 

The start of the week also saw three of our pupils, Elle C, Alex T and Borys P take part in an outstanding Scottish Young Musician of the Year heat at King’s Park Church. After an evening of breathtaking performances from pupils across Midlothian, our Elle, from S6, was declared the winner, singing Les Roses d’Isphan by Faure. Elle will now go forward to represent Midlothian in the National Finals in May. What an outstanding achievement, well done!

 

Finally as we prepare to welcome Father Basil in to say Mass next Tuesday morning, I would like to extend our deepest thanks to Father and the congregation at Our Lady of Loretto and St Michaels and our Parent Council for their enthusiastic and successful fundraising for the school earlier on this month. 

 

After the warmest of welcomes to the parish a small group of staff and students joined with our Parents’ Council to serve the teas, coffees, bacon rolls and home baking to the Loretto community after Mass. In truth, our amazing Parents’ Council did all the preparation, cooking and baking and our students were outstanding ambassadors as they served the lengthy queues of hungry parishioners! 

 

We are so grateful for this ongoing support from our whole community and for the contributions of £381, from the refreshments, and £500 from Fr Basil on behalf of the parish. This money will be put to great use supporting pupil activities in and out of the school.

 

Enjoy a restful weekend,

 

D MacDonald, Headteacher

 

 

SQA News for S4-6 Students

 

Your Exams Booklet  

 

All pupils sitting SQA Examinations this year will receive the Your Exams booklet next week in school.  This booklet provides important rules and advice to pupils on what to do before, during and after exams.  The booklet also contains a Scottish Candidate Number (SCN) card, which can be detached from the back cover. This card should be used by pupils to record their details and it can be taken into the exam to help complete the exam booklet correctly.  In addition, Your Exams is also available for download from the SQA website.

 

 

Study Leave and School Immersion Study Timetable

 

A letter with full details of Study Leave arrangements is available on our website and will be emailed directly to all parents/carers, along with the Immersion Timetable. Two key points to note about the arrangements are.

• All S5/6 students and S4 students sitting 3 or more examinations are entitled to Study Leave beginning on Monday 29 April 2024.  
• Given the extended diet, some of the exams fall before the ‘official’ start of Study Leave, however any pupil who has an exam in the week beginning 22 April is entitled to be off school the day before their exam for additional preparation.

 

The Immersion Days Timetable 2024 will be shared with pupils today (Friday) via Google classroom - St David's HS Student Notices.  The programme will also be shared with parents/carers via email and is on the school website.    

 

The Immersion Days allow pupils to attend a focused study session for a subject on a day very close to the final exam. To allow for planning,  any exam that is taking place on the same day as an Immersion Day has been included in the timetable.  It may be that pupils cannot attend all their Immersion Days, if this is the case, pupils can contact their subject teachers to arrange for a time to come into school for exam support if needed. 

 

SQA Exam Timetables

 

All pupils who are sitting SQA exams will receive an individualised timetable.  This will be given out to pupils in school between 16th - 19th April 2024. It is essential that pupils are in school to collect the timetable as the timings (not the date) may differ from the SQA Timetable.   The changes allow for the exams to be completed within the school day where possible and to accommodate any assessment arrangement support.   The individualised timetable also contains a seat number for each pupil which the invigilation team uses to ensure pupils are correctly identified in each exam.  Pupils should bring this timetable with them for each exam so they have all the relevant information required.  Finally, if there is an exam on a Friday afternoon during the exam diet it will be the responsibility of the parent/carer to make arrangements for their child to travel home.

	S4 5 6 Immersion Day Study Programme 2024	[pdf 66KB]
	SQAStudyLeaveArrange2024ver2	[pdf 594KB]

As well as sharing a couple of updates ahead of next week, I would like to thank the team involved in this week's Learning and Teaching Review of the Maths Department. It was tremendously exciting to welcome the views of Maths colleagues from other schools, members of the council's quality improvement team, pupils from all year groups and parents and carers about how we are delivering Maths at St David's. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about the learning, teaching, feedback and relationships within the department which is really refreshing to hear. Of course, the visit, which included over 20 visits to classes, was about how can we improve and the team have offered lots of advice on moving forward. 

Aligned Secondary School Week

Our Informal Drop-in Information Session takes place in the school this Wednesday between 5.00 and 7.00pm. Senior colleagues and I will be available in the school during this time to answer any questions about the proposals. There is no set presentation or lecture, just come along at any time during the 2 hours and we will be available. 

Remember if you have any questions about how this will affect St David's send them in through this link.

Consultation on the Alignment of the Secondary School Day in Midlothian

Course Choice

Our course choice process for S2-S5 pupils is well under way. One of the most important factors in getting your choices right is knowing what the courses involve. Please make you look at the full offer including the course information and pathways on the school website before making final decisions. Guidance teachers are available to answer all questions you may have and support you through the process. 

You will see from the information that there a huge range of courses available for S5 and S6 in particular including Foundation Apprenticeships. To help pupils, parents and carers become more familiar with these courses and how they fit in with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) we will be holding an online Information Evening at 6.30pm on Wednesday 6 March. Meeting details will be shared closer to the event.

Entrepreneurial Workshops for S3
On Monday all of our S3 Students will be taking part in a series of workshops where they will recognise and develop entrepreneurial skills & qualities required to achieve success in and out of school.

They will reflect on the life skills they have developed so far, what existing evidence they have which demonstrate these and what they can do to gain more evidence. Students learn the value of setbacks & resilience planning, whilst understanding the importance of incremental improvement, growth mindset, personal responsibility & grasping opportunities. They will look at the changing face of employment and the generic skills and qualities needed to be successful and fulfilled.

Enjoy your weekend

D MacDonald
Headteacher