It has certainly been a quick term.  It seems no time since I was welcoming pupils at the opening assemblies.  I took the opportunity at these assemblies to set out broad expectations for the year and also to highlight some of the priorities their representatives had delivered on last session and the hopes they had for the school this session.  I attach the presentation from that first day here for your reference – Assemblies August 2019

Even if you have looked through it before please look at it again as it highlights ideas we as a school community feel are important.  I have been very pleased with how the new session started and there has not been a week when our pupils have not been doing some remarkable things.  A few weeks back I was highlighting successes our pupils were achieving on a national stage.  But day in and day out it is my privilege to see the vast majority of our young people getting on well with each other and getting on with their work.  I have also seen them make a difference – for example our S2 classes have been working with Construction company Balfour Beattie on designs for the redevelopment of part of Union Terrace Gardens.  In 2-3 years time some of our pupils will be able to point to something in the new public space which they were part of creating and which citizens of Aberdeen will enjoy for many years.

Over the session we have also enjoyed the support of parents and the wider community.   It was fantastic to see so many P6-S3 parents support our Curricular evening in September and I am looking forward to welcoming many of you back after the holidays to parent meetings for some year groups.  It was also great to see the new playground equipment installed and in use.  I give pupils an allocation of £3000 and they put all of this into a pot along with around £12,000 from the Parent council and donations from others (Former pupils, Shell and Aberdeen Airport) to ensure we have transformed the playgrounds for our pupils.  The wider community have also given our pupils other opportunities, we have had presentations about careers from numerous businesses, some pupils have had the chance for work placements and others have been able to undertake volunteering as part of their Duke of Edinburgh and/or Saltire Awards.

Those of you who are parents or members of staff will have had a communication from me on the last week of term to indicate we will be inspected on the week of 11th November 2019.  The initial communication included a link to a survey which I hope you will take time to complete before 1st November.  I am likely to put further information out after the October break and when I have more information about the process.

For the present I wish to thank everyone who has supported the school over this busy term and wish you all a safe, enjoyable and relaxing October break.