Stage 2 2008-

Dear Parent/Guardian

Welcome to our second newsletter since the summer. We are well into the

academic year and I am delighted to report that the focus and application of

our students is at a very high level. One of the real pleasures of my job is

walking around the school and seeing students engaged in purposeful

learning. I extend an invitation to any parent to come into the school and walk

around with me – I am confident that you will be impressed with what you see.

As this newsletter shows the school is involved in a process of much change.

Some of those changes are quite considerable, such as the introduction of

Curriculum for Excellence, but with the significant support that we have from

our Parent Council and the skills our staff have I am confident that as we

enter this next phase for Scottish education we will be able to work together to

ensure that our school and community thrives.

If you have any ideas on how we might improve our newsletter or on any

other aspect of our work, contact me at the school on 01875 811170 or e-mail

admin@prestonlodge.elcschool.org.uk. I would be delighted to hear from

you.

Gavin Clark

Head Teacher

Preston Lodge High School

20 November 2009

Issue 2

House Captains 2

Dates for Your Diary 2

Progress Report 3

School Updates 4

Successes 6

Staffing 7

Home Economics Links

With Community

8

Farewell 9

What’s Going on In

School?

10

Extra Curricular News 12

Inside this issue:

Read all about these successful students on page 5

November

Newsletter

House Captains

Congratulations to the following students who have been elected as House Captains. They will work with our Head Boy and Girl and Deputes to lead the S6 pupils.

GOSFORD

Captains Kirsty Sandilands

Darren Watson

Vice Captains Louise Byrne

Dominic Tartaglia

GRANGE

Captains Shannon Garrity

Ross Barron

Vice Captains Lauren Paylor

Stephen Kinnaird

SETON

Captains David Gibson

Matthew Banks

Vice Captains Marna Doidge

Arif Hussain

Park View

Prestonpans

East Lothian

EH32 9QJ

Phone: 01875 811170

Fax: 01875 810060

Email: admin@prestonlodge.elcschool.org.uk

Website: www.prestonlodge.net

Page 2 I ssue 2

Preston Lodge High School

Dates for

Your Diary!

To see our online calendar

go to the School Calendar

tab on

www.prestonlodge.net

Christmas Concert 8/9 December 2009

Senior Dance 17 December 2009

Term Ends 22 December 2009

Christmas Holidays

Staff Resume 5 January 2010

Pupils Resume 6 January 2010

S3 Parents Meeting 13 January 2010

S4 Parents Meeting 26 January 2010

Burns Supper 28 January 2010

S2 Options Evening 2 February 2010

All Break 12 February 2010

February Holidays

All Resume 22 February 2010

Term Ends 1 April 2010

Easter Holidays

All Resume 20 April 2010

May Day Holiday 3 May 2010

All Resume 4 May 2010

Victoria Day 17 May 2010

Staff Resume 18 May 2010

Pupils Resume 19 May 2010

Term Ends 1 July 2010

Page 3 I ssue 2

lead a discussion around educational

issues with students and undertake a

traditional interview. I am confident that

this change has already allowed us to

recruit the very best staff available for

posts.

♦ has strong and fair discipline

Although the new term saw a large number

of temporary exclusions students are now

clear about our key messages and

exclusions are decreasing. Behaviour in

classrooms is excellent.

♦ is well led and develops leadership skills in

all staff and students

The new prefect system has opened up

significant leadership opportunities for

almost all of our S6 students and we are

now recruiting S5 prefects. We have also

selected House Captains who have taken

on a major leadership role within the

school. Staff working groups have been

re-launched and a large number of staff

have strong leadership roles within them.

In future newsletters I will update you further on

progress we are making against the markers that

have been set out.

Progress Report

In our last newsletter I outlined the key markers I

would like parents to use when judging our

performance as a school. Now we are some way

into the new term I will outline some areas where

considerable progress has been achieved

already. I suggested that we would have a school

which:

♦ has a clear vision and values which are

shared by the whole school community,

and inform all of our work

On Friday 20th November we launched a

consultation with staff regarding our vision

and values. We will soon involve all

students and parents in the next steps of

this process.

♦ has a welcoming, clean and positive

environment

We have dramatically improved the litter

situation within the school through the

introduction of a prefect system. A major

and commendable effort from our school

cleaners has kept the school completely

free of corridor graffiti. Many visitors have

commented on this improvement.

♦ has high expectations of students, staff

and parents

Almost all of our students behave

fantastically all of the time, of course, but

considerable efforts have gone into

ensuring the good behaviour of every

student in and out of class. Key

assemblies have outlined our

expectations, and we have involved a

number of parents in this process. A

number of students have significantly

improved their behaviour.

♦ can attract, recruit, retain and develop

skilled staff

We have completely changed our

recruitment process. Staff who wish to be

recruited to permanent positions in the

school must now undergo an

administrative task, give a presentation,

Page 4 I ssue 2

School Updates Swine flu

In their most recent communication with all

schools the Scottish Government reiterated

statements regarding hand hygiene and tissue

use as the best way of reducing the risk of

infection. To date, the outbreak has not been as

significant around Scotland as expected, but we

are continually monitoring the situation and have

robust contingency plans in place should things

change.

School Uniform

Although almost all of our students returned to

school looking very smart, we have encountered

some practical issues when trying to enforce the

school’s clear dress code. A number of parents

have contacted me suggesting that they bought

their children’s black jeans etc because their

children were able to wear these items in

previous years. In these difficult economic times

it seems unreasonable to ask families to spend

yet more to allow us to further tighten up our

dress code . I will be writing to all parents this

term providing a clear outline of uniform

expectations for 2010-11. Between now and the

end of this term all students should do their

absolute best to comply with the dress code, but

we will be flexible where minor departures from

that code occur. From summer 2010 we will

expect all students to comply with the full dress

code that already exists.

Sport

Preston Lodge High School has had a good start

to the season, with individual and team

successes.

S1 and S2 hockey teams have performed well in

East Lothian tournaments. The S1 team recently

pushed North Berwick all the way, but were

beaten by a single goal. The S2 team also

worked their way through the group stages to

reach the final, where they played North Berwick.

The game was settled with a goal in the last

seconds in North Berwick’s favour. Four pupils

have been chosen for the East Lothian

Development Squad - Abbie Robertson, Mekala

Osborne, Rachel Campbell (all S1) and Katie

Cochrane (S2). Both teams are a credit to the

school and their coaches - and with a strong S3

and senior team, it looks likely to be a good

season for hockey.

Preston Lodge junior rugby teams have had a

good start to the season in competitive games,

with S3 beating Ross High School in a Bell

Lawrie derby to set-up a tough second round tie

against Hawick High School. Unfortunately they

were beaten in this game, but their performance

and behaviour did them great credit. Coaches

are delighted with team progress so far and over

60 boys attend rugby training on Mondays and

Wednesdays after school.

Italian Experience for S1 Pupils

In recent years our cluster schools have

established a very successful twinning link with

Barga in Italy. A number of pupils and staff from

Preston Lodge HS have already visited Barga

and we hope to build on this link. We are

fortunate to have been linked with Barga Media

School and to assist with fostering this link we

have managed to secure the services of an Italian

teacher who will work with each S1 class for 6-8

weeks giving them a taster of the Italian language

and some cultural input. If you would like further

information about this exciting project please

contact Mrs Robertson, DHT, at school.

Ross Irvine (Deputy Head Boy), Megan Rourke (Head

Girl), Iain Richardson (Head Boy), Laura Kerr (Deputy

Head Girl)

Outdoor Challenge Winners!

The school’s football teams have started the

season well. The Under-14s, Under-16s and

Senior team have all progressed in the Scottish

Cup and are looking forward to tough second

round ties. SFA programmes Soccerone and

Soccertwo continue this year with support from

coach Sam Gait, allowing football opportunities

for all. The girl’s have also had large numbers at

training and although the team performed well

they lost their recent Scottish Cup tie against St

Augustine’s. Four pupils will represent the school

at Lothian level. Douglas Horne and Jack

McIntyre have been chosen for the Under-15

squad, with Connor McKillop and Matthew Banks

selected for the Lothian Schools Under-18s.

Three pupils have been chosen for the South

East Scotland Regional Football Squad U16’s for

2009-10. They are Taylor McKillop, Nicholas

Garrity and Daniel O’Rourke. We wish them

every success in their forthcoming games.

Our badminton club is off to a great start with

large numbers attending Monday lunchtimes and

Thursdays after school, and the club is still

looking for more players in the junior school to

attend on Monday lunchtimes. Four pupils have

been chosen to participate in year two of the

Performance Athletes in Sport (PAIS)

programme. The pupils are Anna Devine,

Alexander Caughey, Euan Cameron and Fraser

Whillans. Our Under –14 badminton team won

last year’s Scottish Quaich and have been

chosen to represent Preston Lodge and Scotland

in the World Badminton Championships next May

in Bulgaria. These pupils are Alexander

Caughey, Andrew Morgan, Euan Cameron and

Fraser Whillans. This is a fantastic achievement,

and is a great honour for the school. Well done,

boys!!!

There has been success

on an individual basis for

one of our Basketball

players—Kirsty Edwards

has been chosen for the

Scottish Schools Under-

15s. Well Done Kirsty.

We are all very proud of

you!

Page 5 I ssue 2

This is a fantastic

achievement, and

is a great honour

for the school.

S1

S3

S4

S5

Successes Preston Lodge continues winning streak!

Over the past few months Preston Lodge has

been excelling in the Outdoor Challenges set

for each year group by East Lothian Council’s

Education Department. Competing teams are

faced with many physical and mental

challenges such as orienteering, tight-rope

course construction, fire-lighting problems, rock

climbing etc. Last term PL retained the S6

Challenge, followed by S2 winning in the

Orienteering Challenge. Several weeks ago

PL again entered two teams into the S4

Outdoor Challenge, which was held at John

Muir Country Park. The PL teams proved too

much for the other high schools from around

the county and took both first places! Next

came the S5 challenge, held around North

Berwick Law, with two Preston Lodge teams

securing first and third place in a closely fought

challenge. Pupils from S3 continued the

winning streak with another victory held near

Innerwick recently. Finally, our S1 pupils won

their own challenge last week! This means

that we hold the title for all the ELC Outdoor

Challenges! An amazing achievement—well

done to the students involved, and many

thanks to Mr Kidd, Mr Frost and Mr Kiernan for

their efforts in this field.

Duke of Edinburgh News

Fraser Kiernan (Biology) reports:

Another very successful year for pupils and

staff alike! The local community and beyond

have really benefited from our pupils’

dedication to voluntary work. Some pupils have

taken up new skills and activities such as ca-

noe polo, draughtsmanship, accordion playing,

bagpipes, bowls etc while some have

participated in more familiar activities such as

football, karate and rugby. The expedition has

again proved to be a winner with many pupils

amazed at what they can achieve. The smells

coming from the pupils’ camp at dinner time

made us feel like we had walked onto the set

Page 6 I ssue 2

of Nigella Lawson’s latest project! Our pot noodles

suddenly seemed less appetising...

All students should be tremendously pleased with

their achievements. They have done themselves

and the school proud. A presentation evening on

15th December will recognise the achievements of

our pupils. Watch this space!

Next up, the current 3rd year pupils are about to

embark on their journey and many of last year’s

Bronze candidates want to return for the Silver

Award. We are also trialling the new ‘eDofE’

programme which will allow our pupils to record

their progress online, moving away from the

traditional logbook. Staff are currently engaged in

training to become canoe/kayak coaches and

Spring 2010 will see the next clutch of practice and

assessed expeditions

taking place. Fingers

crossed for good

weather!

The boots have been

cleaned, tents have

been aired, stoves

have been polished,

rucksacks fumi-

gated and we are all

ready for whatever

2010 (and the rest of

2009!) will throw at us.

Here’s to another suc-

cessful year!

Higher Success!

In our last newsletter I talked about exam results.

Among several notable success stories, one result

stands out for a special mention. Our head boy,

Iain Richardson, achieved six Highers at grade A.

Iain studied for his sixth higher in his very limited

spare time, and to achieve this set of results in one

sitting is quite remarkable.

Well done, Iain! We are all hugely impressed.

Staffing Barry Smith is currently Acting Depute Head

Teacher following Kenny McKay’s departure, and

in January we will welcome Yvonne Binks to the

school as Kenny’s permanent replacement.

Yvonne is currently Principal Teacher of Inclusion

at Ross High School.

Since our last newsletter we have welcomed Clint

Lanyon into our school community as Principal

Teacher of Geography. Clint joined us from

Currie High School. We have also recruited Emily

Hallauer as a part-time Modern Languages

teacher.

In Guidance, Jillian Binnie is currently filling Eilidh

Proudfoot’s shoes on a Friday morning and Grace

McGeachie (Modern Studies) is sitting in Barry

Smith’s seat whilst he acts up.

Iain Main has taken a two year leave of absence

and Kirsten Carson (Biology) will take his place as

a Grange guidance teacher for this period.

Getting to know our staff

We have six guidance PT’s in the school.

They are:

We also have six Support for Learning teachers

in the school. They are:

The Education Department are currently looking

to recruit Supply Additional Support Needs

Auxiliaries and Supply Nursery Nurses. For

further information please contact East Lothian

Council HR Department, (telephone number

01620 827625) for an application form.

Page 7 I ssue 2

Seton House

Gosford House

Ms Blakey (PT)

Pastoral Development

Mr Bell (PT)

Ms McGeachie (PT) Mrs Welsh (PT)

Grange House

Mrs Proudfoot (PT) Ms Carson (PT)

Ms Hoban (PT)

Learning Development

Mrs Prime

Ms Balsillie Mrs Binnie

Mrs Todd Ms Hughson

Home Economics

Links with

Community

There are many events that have happened, or

will happen this term involving Home Economics in

the local community:

Mrs Hogg’s S4 Hospitality class

• 15 October – The class welcomed visitors from

Harlawhill Day Centre to attend a coffee

morning with musical performances.

• December – The class are visiting Prestonpans

Nursery to organise a Christmas Party with

party food and games for the boys and girls.

The class have also been working at the Pit Stop

Café, Pennypit over the past year. Each pupil has

worked for 1 morning per week over a 6 week

placement to learn about food preparation and

service.

East Lothian Young Chef Competition

Rebecca Atkins and Claire Wilson were selected

from tough S4 competition by Keith Marley, Head

Chef and owner of the prestigious ‘La Potinere’ in

Gullane, to represent the school in this

competition. The advice given by Keith stood the

girls in good stead for the final and the girls

produced wonderful results. However, the winners

on the day were Knox Academy!!!

Mrs Nicoll’s vegetable delivery enterprise team

This class has been packing and selling

vegetables sourced from a local farmer and

distributing them to staff each week. Each veg bag

costs a mere £5 and they are proving very

popular.

And finally….

Do you need a little help or inspiration in the

kitchen this Christmas? Miss Angus, Mrs Nicoll

and Mrs Hogg are offering an after-school

Christmas Cookery class to staff, parents and

other members of the community. It takes place

on a Wednesday at 3.45 pm and although it has

now started it is not too late to join! Any interested

parents, please call the school on 01875 811170.

(There will be a small charge to cover costs of ingredients).

Page 8 I ssue 2

Parent Council Information

The new school year has seen a few changes in the make-up of your Parent Council. After many years of work and dedication on both the Parent Council and previously the School Board, Marion Gilroy retired as Chairperson. Several new faces have been welcomed onto the Council. One of the new faces is, of course, our new head teacher Mr Gavin Clark who we warmly welcome to Preston Lodge and look forward to working alongside. The full membership of the group can be found on the Parent Council section of the school website.

Our aims for the forthcoming school year are to support the school and staff in all areas of their work, to campaign strongly to maintain a fair financial budget for our school, to help establish the new Curriculum for Excellence and, finally, to do as much as possible to increase the involvement of parents in the life of the school.

One of the possibilities open to all parents/guardians is to become involved one of the two main sub-groups of the Parent Council.

They are:

Fund-raising: Looking at ways of bringing essential funds to help the school purchase items their limited budget would otherwise find it difficult to afford.

(We also hope that if you are not already a member of the Preston Lodge 2000 Club then you will consider joining. This is a very effective way of raising extremely useful funds for the school at very little cost to individual families!)

Publicity/Communication: Finding the most effective ways of keeping information flowing from school to parents and vice-versa. Also publicising and promoting Preston Lodge.

If you are interested in being part of these groups or have any suggestions for your Parent Council, please contact any committee member or leave details at the school office. You can also make contact with Parent Council members at Parents’ evenings.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Dave Munro (Chairperson).

Farewell Kenny McKay left the school in October and three budding reporters tracked him down just before he went.

Looking back at your days as a school pupil, how would you describe yourself then?

I was probably too studious, or people thought I was. Actually rather than doing things I would often just put music on or something! I was very shy, and quiet.

What inspired you to become a teacher in the first place?

I did a degree in civil engineering, and I didn’t enjoy it. I remember my tutor at university saying to me “have you ever thought of being a teacher?” I kind of forgot about it, and worked as a civil engineer for nearly four years, but my future mother-in-law got me thinking about it again. So I became a teacher of physics and science, and a wee bit of RME from time to time.

What were your first impressions of the school when you arrived?

It just blew me away, because it is fantastic. This is the fourth school I’ve taught at and nowhere else is anything like it. You know, there’s just such an undercurrent of talent and enthusiasm within the school.

Do you have any special memories, good or bad, of things that have taken place at Preston Lodge?

I’ve got lots of happy memories, mainly to do with working with people. That’s what it’s about really, it’s all about people. It’s about making a connection with folk, and there have been times when things have been an absolute belly-laugh.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen happen at Preston Lodge, since you started?

The whole PPP thing was a big change, and was very difficult. I think another change has been the way that teachers work with young people - even the most difficult and challenging ones. Nowadays they’re not kept away from the rest of the school. They’re absolutely included, and I that think it’s the most important change, because it’s an improvement of the way staff and

pupils work around each other.

What impact do you think you’ve had on the school?

It’s really for other people to say what impact I’ve had. I’ve usually got a smile on my face and people appreciate that. I try and be helpful, and I think people appreciate that too. I’d like to think that people always saw me as a person who was helpful and who supported them to do their job. I’d like young people to be able to see me as someone who had supported them through things they have found hard. That’s what I hope people think of me.

What will you miss most about the school?

You become very emotionally involved in a place; it becomes part of your life. So it’s the people I will miss the most; the teachers and the kids. And also the parents. There is a lot that I’ll miss.

And for our final question, we know you as our deputy head teacher, but we’d also like to know a bit more about you as a person out-side of school. Here is our quickfire round:

What’s your favourite film?

Eh, my favourite film-used to be The Alamo when I was a little kid. Actually, The Chorus is one of my favourite films.

What is your favourite type of music?

Jazz.

Favourite interests?

I like playing music. I’m not particularly good at it, but good enough to have fun.

Favourite holiday destination?

Oh, I would have to say Italy. France is a close second.

Favourite meal?

Probably lemon chicken and fried rice.

Favourite person?

That’d be Patricia, my wife.

Favourite book?

A book I really enjoyed was “The Shadow of the Wind”. It’s well worth the read.

Christie Sinclair,

Kirsty McLeod,

Ellen Whillans.

Page 9 I ssue 2

What’s Going on In School?

Curriculum for Excellence

Many parents and family members will have seen information about Curriculum For Excellence in the press and it is, undoubtedly, going to have a massive influence on our work in the future. But what is it?

Curriculum For Excellence aims to transform Scottish Education by providing a more flexible, coherent structure of learning for all young people aged 3 to 18. The curriculum itself is based around the values written on the mace of the Scottish Parliament—wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity.

The diagram on page 11 outlines the curriculum in its entirety. This is a ‘map’ of everything a child will come across in their time at school.

One can see the learner placed at the centre of the diagram and the “outcomes and experiences” a child will encounter are gathered around the learner. These are listed more fully to the left of the circle and describe the learning areas for each child will experience in school.

In the third circle the four ‘capacities’ of Curriculum For Excellence are described. The curriculum will enable each young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor.

In the fourth circle the ‘cross-cutting themes’ are outlined. Literacy, Numeracy and Health & Wellbeing are the parts of the new curriculum which will be assessed at the end of S3.

Other areas of the new curriculum are detailed in the surrounding boxes. All in all they make for a very challenging description of high quality learn-ing which every child is entitled to.

Why did Scotland Need to Reform the School Curriculum?

The world has changed a great deal in recent times. To provide students with the knowledge,

Page 10 I ssue 2

skills and attributes needed for life in the 21st century we need a forward looking curriculum which will allow all young people to achieve at the highest levels.

Two recent reports from school inspectors (HMIe) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggested that too many people are leaving Scottish Secondary schools with minimal or no qualifications. There was also a need to sort out a confusing system of qualifications which have accumulated over time. Curriculum for Excellence is a bold attempt to deal with these issues!

In future editions of our newsletter we will return to Curriculum For Excellence, and after Christmas we will be holding information evenings for parents. In the meantime you might wish to find out more about Curriculum For Excellence by looking at the website: http://www.itscotland.gov.uk/curriculum for excellence.

Page 11 I ssue 2

The Curriculum at a Glance A schematic guide which presents a summary of the components used

to build the 3-18 curriculum, with the learner at the centre.

Useful websites:

www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence

www.ltscotland.org.uk/parentzone/

Extra Curricular

News

Ecuador 2011

At the moment, 23 of our students are in the early stages of preparing for the trip of a lifetime to Ecuador. Those students are working with Outlook Expeditions to decide their exact itinerary for the three week adventure - could it be white-water rafting down the Rio Napa? trekking to Laguna Quilitoa (a beautiful turquoise lagoon in an extinct volcano)? Working on a community project in the Amazon Basin? Spotting one of the hundred or so species of hummingbirds or relaxing in Quito? Who knows? Watch this space as the itinerary develops and chart our progress with fundraising. This exciting venture will take place towards the end of the summer term 2011 and for the students involved the really hard work has just begun. How to raise the funds for this life changing experience? Birthdays, Christmas presents and pocket money only go so far. We are already brimming with ideas but could always do with more. Any parents, guardians or carers with ideas or experience of fundraising, connections or simply some spare time and energy, we need you! Please contact me at school if you feel you can help in any way.

Mr Kiernan.

Page 12 I ssue 2

Strandard Grade Chemistry Paintball

Challenge

Two very academically competitive classes laid down their pens one recent Friday afternoon and picked up paintball guns instead battling it out at the Raceland Centre near Gladsmuir. In a series of games both teams came up with strategies to defend their flags and at the same time capture the enemy's.

Discipline in the ranks soon fell apart in the games, as each trigger-happy player seemed to have their own agenda regarding who they wanted to hit - including the teachers!

In the end, the day was declared a draw, and what remained was 40 pupils and 5 staff comparing wounds and bruises from where the paintballs had hit. A great day out was had by all.

Mr Kidd

Djembe (pronounced ‘”Jembay")

Interested in drums or Djembe? Want to improve your rhythm and percussion skills, or even just want make a lot of beautiful noise with a bunch of like-minded people? Come and join us for our West-African Rhythms (they are energetic, dynamic and funky!) Beginners’/Improvers' Course. See Mr Ramsay or Mr Smith for more information or just come along on a Tuesday lunchtime to the music department! Drums provided! Miss it... miss out!

Mr Ramsay

Canoe Polo

After a break for the summer term, things are moving again and the sessions are due to start when structural problems with the swimming pool have been resolved. A little minor tweaking of the PL polo machine and we will be ready to compete.

Mr Kiernan

Escape Parenting Group

Teenagers in the house? Do you need help,

advice or ideas? If so then help is on it’s way...

If you are experiencing difficulties with your

teenager then why not come along to one of our

parenting support groups? We aim to support you

with how to improve communication, set

consistent boundaries and manage challenging

behaviour your teenager may be displaying. By

coming along you will also meet other parents who

are in similar situations and you will realise that

you are not alone!

The programme runs for approximately 7 sessions

and there are new groups starting all the time. So

give us a call if you want to find out more and we

will happily come and speak to you when the next

group starts to see if you would like to take part.

Call Heather Fleming on 01875 824327 for more

details about the Escape group.