Liberton High School Bulletin

To all parents, pupils and staff
In an attempt to keep parents, pupils and staff more up to date with what is happening at Liberton High School we will, from now on, be producing a monthly bulletin which we will distribute in the first week of each month. This bulletin is in addition to the Liberton Link magazine that is produced four times each year. We have decided to produce this monthly bulletin following feedback from parents on how we could improve our communication with you.

Inspectors return visit
In the second week of May the Inspectors (HMIe) revisited us to check on progress during the past year. I am delighted to report that we were able to demonstrate good progress across all the areas they identified as action points for us in May 2006. A copy of the progress report should be ready by the end of June and will be posted to all our parents as soon as we receive it.

Liberton Link
The next Liberton Link will be sent to parents in early July.

SQA exams 2007
The exams have run particularly smoothly this year. The invigilators who helped supervise the exams commented extremely favourably on the arrangements and, in particular, on the exemplary conduct of all our students. The results should be received by all candidates on
7 August 2007. Those candidates who opted to access results on the Internet will be able to access their results on 6 August. This year we had pupils in S2 and S3 sitting national examinations in Maths, Computing and Art.

Sports day
Our sports day is scheduled to take place on Monday 11 June. Should the weather be unsuitable the sports will be postponed until later in the week. We would be delighted if parents could come along in the afternoon to support all our youngsters on what is sure to be a keenly fought contest among the four houses. Drinks and snacks will be available from the school dining room throughout the afternoon for a moderate outlay!


Staffing update
I am delighted to report that Mrs Lee (PT Behaviour Support) will return to school during June after a period of illness. Mrs Reid (Learning Support) is continuing to recuperate after a serious illness. Mrs Welsh (History) is moving to Firrhill High School in August to take up a similar post in History.
Congratulations to Mrs Shona Wallace who has been appointed PT Chemistry at Balerno High School.
Congratulations also to the following staff who will take up full time posts with us from 15 August 2007:
Ms Welsh (French)
Mr McGuinn (Maths) and
Miss Mackinnon (English)

Congratulations
Well done to Gemma Lawson, Kirsten Stirling and Natalie Allan who were successful following auditions for parts in ‘High School Musical’ at Edinburgh Playhouse this summer. Gemma won the lead role!

New Timetable
The new timetable for Session 2007/2008 started on Monday 4 June. Numbers in the senior school have increased this year as has the projected intake at S1. S5 and S6 experienced a range of presentations and activities as part of their induction programme on Thursday 31 May and 1 June.

Email
I apologise for any difficulty you have experienced in contacting the school by email. The problem is council wide and is being worked on by council staff in order to resolve the difficulties. Thank you for your patience.

Prefects
All S6 pupils are invited to become prefects for this session.

Parent Forum Update
The constitution for the Parent Forum has now been agreed and formally accepted. Thank you to everyone who contributed to its development. Any one who would like to be a member of the Parent Forum is requested to contact Karen Traill, the Chairperson of the School Board.

Activities Week
The vast majority of our pupils have signed up to take part in our activities programme during the last week of term. Some changes are still being made to accommodate last minute requests.

‘Echo’ Newspaper
I am pleased to say that the monthly column in the Echo continues to go from strength to strength. Following discussions with the new Editor, coverage of events at Liberton High School is to be extended to a half page each month.


Dates for the Diary

Thursday 7 June New S4 parents’ night (5-7 Pm)
Monday 11 June School Sports Day (Parents are welcome to join us on the playing fields from 1.30 pm)
Wednesday 13 June Prizegiving (7 pm)
Monday 18 June P7 parents’ night (7-8 pm)
19 – 21 June incl. P7 pupils’ visit
26 – 28 June incl. Activities week
Friday 29 June Term ends at 12.35 pm. Pupils may dress down and contribute a £1 to charity. The money will be collected during registration.

Please let me know if there is anything in particular that you would like to see included in future editions of this bulletin. Do also let me know if you would like a translation of this bulletin in a particular language. Every effort will be made to provide such a translation.

Donald J Macdonald (Headteacher)