S6

News relevant to S6 year group parents carers and students.

Headteacher’s Update – 22nd March

/ balernohighschool

Good afternoon,

This week’s updates include:

Information for all parents and carers

Information specifically for S4/5/6

Information specifically for S1/2/3

  • No specific updates this week

Information for all parents and carers

Easter holidays

To confirm the school will close for the Easter holiday at 15:30 on Thursday 28th March and will reopen at 08:30 on Tuesday 16th April.

Gmail accounts

Just a reminder that we are aware that emails from school can go to Spam or Junk folders if sent to a gmail email address.

Please be aware and check regularly if this applies to you.

City of Edinburgh Health and Wellbeing Survey

A reminder that all pupils will complete a CEC Health and Wellbeing Survey on Thursday 28th March.

Please refer to the email dated 13.3.24 to view the questions your child/ren will be asked.

If you would prefer that your child does not take part in this survey, please complete this form https://forms.office.com/e/M62ryWuA04 by 09:00 by Monday 25th March 2024.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education, Article 24 Health, Water, Food, Environment

The Balerno Spring Concert

We look forward to welcoming you to the Spring Concert on Tuesday 27th March.

Tickets are limited but still available via ParentPay.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education, Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture, Arts

Lost property

There is a rail with this term’s lost property in the print room. The rail has jackets, hoodies and T-shirts. If your child is missing any clothing please ask them to pop in to check before next Thursday.

The Edinburgh Community Climate Fund – Edinburgh Remakery Tech Donation Box

The Edinburgh Community Climate Fund Tech Donation Box is now at Balerno High School!

The box will provide an easy and secure way for students and their families to donate their old personal tech devices to be refurbished and reused.

Here is how it works…

Q – What are the items that students and families can donate in the tech donation boxes?

A – We accept donations of laptops, tablets, iPads, smart phones, cables, chargers, routers, smart watches, headphones, speakers, and peripherals such as keyboards, webcams, and mice.

Please note that we are not able to accept printers, monitors of any kind, or general household electrical goods, such as toasters, Hair dryers & straighteners, kettles and lamps.

Q – How do I donate off the tech?

A- Drop off the tech you want to donate to the box at the entrance to the school this. It will then be collected by the Edinburgh Community Climate Fund who will refurbish and repair the tech items.

Q – Why should I consider donating any old tech?

A – By donating the old personal tech devices that are no longer used or needed, such as laptops and tablets they are stopping these items from going to landfill where they would cause pollution. Instead, these devices go to the Edinburgh Remakery team to be refurbished, repaired and given a new life before being passed on.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education, Sustainable Development Goal 12 – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Additions to the padlet this week

General Information section

  • This month’s RRSA Article of the Month – Article 24: Health, Water, Food, Environment

Support for families

  • Mental Health Support in Edinburgh South West
  • Vaping – Parental Support Resource
  • Autism – Support and Information for Families
  • Post 16 ASN Future Pathways Event

Information specifically for S4/5/6

Study support offer

A reminder that Miss Wright shared an email with study support information earlier this week.

This offer provides an extensive offer which will support revision over the Easter holidays.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

S4/5 Leavers Event – please respond by 28.3.24

In order to help us plan for an event for pupils and families of S4/5 leavers, please ask your young person to ensure they have completed this link if they intend on leaving school in May 2024. S4/5 Leavers Form  

Please complete the MS Form to confirm if you can attend or not by 28.3.24.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

SQA Estimate Grade

You will receive your child’s SQA estimate grades by email on Monday 25th March.

There will be an accompanying email providing key information.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

S6 iPad return

All S6 pupils should return their iPad, iPad case, charger plug and cable on Thursday 30th May.

Mrs Anderson will share further information after the holidays.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Communications Padlet

We hope you are finding the padlet available on the school website helpful Balerno High School | 0131 477 7788 (wordpress.com) Balerno Community High School (padlet.com)

If you have any feedback it would be much appreciated so we can take this into account https://forms.office.com/e/hZv1jq46jU

I hope you have a restful weekend,

Ros Ranger

Head Teacher

Headteacher’s Update – 26th January

/ balernohighschool

Good afternoon,

I hope you have had a good week despite the weather.

In this week’s update we have the following information:

Fieldwork and curricular trip

  • Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre visit– Two S6 pupils travelled to Glasgow to visit the Jewish Heritage Centre
  • Travel and Tourism – The Senior Pupils taking Travel and Tourism visited the Granton campus of Edinburgh College to participate in a Cabin Crew experience.
  • English trip – a group of S4 students studying the Scottish text Jekyll and Hyde attended a performance of the story at the Lyceum.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education, Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts

S3 Pathways event

As part of our support with course choice for S4, on Tuesday S3 pupils had the opportunity to speak to some parents and partners to find out about their jobs and possible pathways.

This included the Police, Edinburgh College, Skanska, jetlogic, Jacobs Engineering, AMD, Catherine Currie Consulting Ltd, EPCC, University of Edinburgh, NatWest Legal dept, VMware, NHS and Private Healthcare.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

SQA Formal Assessment Proposal for 2024-25

Maree Anderson, DHT, shared an email earlier this week to communicate a proposal for assessments for next session, 2024-25.

It is becoming increasingly challenging to timetable the large volume of assessments during the November/December window and along with multiple other challenges and constraints, we have reached a point where we need to look at another potential model.

Please read the proposal in the email you received and complete the consultation form below.

Consultation Form

If you have any questions regarding the proposal, please pop these in the space provided in the form. This consultation opens today and will close on 9th February.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

Senior Career Fair  –  Tuesday 30th January

As per the email previously shared, the Senior Phase Careers Event for S4, S5 and S6 Balerno and Currie High School students is scheduled for the evening of Tuesday 30th January 2024 from 5pm – 7pm. Please click on the link below for more information and to confirm your attendance at the event. https://forms.office.com/e/3sbjetQ6Qw

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

Lessons from Auschwitz

Many thanks to Rebecca Montogomery 6C1 and Luke Foster 6M1 for sharing there experiences from their visit to Auschwitz before Christmas. This week they shared their powerful reflections along with what they have learnt with the Parent Council, staff and pupils. The focus was the ‘Fragility of Freedom’, the theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education, Article 2 No Discrimination

LGBT Silver Award

We were delighted to hear we have achieved our silver LGBT Award this week. Inclusion is one of our school values and we thank the GSA group along with Mrs Loy, Mr Laing and Miss Atchison for all their hard work.

UNCRC Article 2 No Discrimination, Article 13 Sharing thoughts freely

S4 Course Choice

S4 students will meet with their PSL next week to discuss coursing with their PSL. If you have a S4 child you will have received an email from Mrs O’Doherty with further information yesterday.

UNCRC Article 28 Aims of Education

Additions to the Padlet

Support for families – SAMH Parent/Carer Workshops

  • These workshops are free and offer information on understanding and managing stress and anxiety.

General Information – Balerno HS Pathways Document

  • An updated version is available on the padlet, it now includes sound bites from our young people sharing their experience of the subjects.

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Communications Padlet

We hope you are finding the padlet available on the school website helpful Balerno High School | 0131 477 7788 (wordpress.com)

Balerno Community High School (padlet.com)

If you have any feedback it would be much appreciated so we can take this into account https://forms.office.com/e/hZv1jq46jU

Kind regards,

Ros Ranger

Head Teacher

Headteacher’s Update – 13th October

/ balernohighschool

Good afternoon,

Included in this week’s communication:

Curricular excursions/fieldwork

  • A group of Senior Phase students participated in Edinburgh’s inter-schools mini trials.

UNCRC Article 29 Aims of Education

October break information

The school closes today for the October break. Monday 23rd October is an INSET day and we welcome students back at 0830 on Tuesday 24th October.

Revised SQA timetable

The revised October 2023 version of the SQA Examination Table is now available on the school padlet under general information and the school website.

UNCRC Article 29 Aims of Education

Parent Information sessions 24th October 2023

The cancelled Internet Safety and Social Media information session has been rescheduled for the same night as the session on Vaping on the 24th October. The Internet Safety session will be at 6.30pm – 7.30pm and the Vaping session from 7.45pm – 8.45pm. If you plan on attending or would like the teams link for either of the sessions please email the Parent Council on balernohspc@gmail.com . This will ensure we have contact details in case of last-minute changes.

Autism Information Sessions for Parents and Carers

ASL Service and Psychological Services together with NHS partners are coordinating a series of 6 Autism Parent Information Sessions for parents and carers of autistic children in attending City of Edinburgh, mainstream High schools. 

The sessions are appropriate for parents, grandparents or carers. Young people themselves should not attend. The sessions will take place at lunchtime on Microsoft Teams. 

Interested parents should book a place by contacting the number on the flier below or via Eventbrite.

Book via Eventbrite

*Please note that we welcome parents of children without a formal diagnosis.

high-school-autism-parent-info-session-flier-2023-24-high-school-1Download

Addition to ‘Our Balerno Way…dressing for excellence’ – update

A reminder that Stevensons have round neck black Balerno sweatshirts available on their website at the cost of £16. Apologies with earlier problems with ordering via the website, this has now been fixed.

Stevensons Website

UNCRC Article 12 Respect for children’s views

Balerno Time October Addition

Please see the below link to enjoy reading the Balerno Times October Edition

Balerno Times – October Edition

Balerno Community High School (padlet.com)

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Communications Padlet

We hope you are finding the padlet available on the school website helpful Balerno High School | 0131 477 7788 (wordpress.com) Balerno Community High School (padlet.com) If you have any feedback it would be much appreciated so we can take this into account https://forms.office.com/e/hZv1jq46jU

I hope you manage to find some time to relax and recharge over the October break,

Kind regards,

Shaun Ferguson on behalf of Ros Ranger

Depute Head Teacher

Headteacher’s Update – 28th June

/ balernohighschool

Good morning,

Included in this communication

Senior Phase Information Evening – save the date

We are running an information evening in school on Thursday 24th August on the Senior Phase Curriculum.  This is open to all parents/carers of pupils from S4-S6.  Mrs Anderson will be in touch after the holidays with more information.

UNCRC Article 29 – Aims of education

Balerno Times – Summer Edition

The Balerno Times Team are delighted to share their Summer Edition, we hope you enjoy it.

UNCRC Article 29 – Aims of education

End of year reflections

As we finish out last day of session 2023-24 I wanted to take this opportunities to reflect on the year past.

It has been a busy year with many highlights for the school community to be proud of.

Between August and December some of the key events included:

  • The BBC Share Your Story with JJ Chalmers – All S3 pupils had the opportunity to hear about his life, including his time as a teacher at Balerno High School.
  • Our Academic Awards Ceremony – An evening which celebrated the SQA academic successes of our S5 and S6 pupils session 2021-22.
  • Our Senior Phase Information Evening – An opportunity for S4/5/6 parents and carers to find out about the courses their child is taking and how they can support them.
  • Our P7 Open Evening
  • Rights Week – Our Rights Respecting Schools (RRS) and Equalities Teams organised a wide range of events during Mental Health Awareness Week.
  • Our Wider Achievement Evening – We ran our first wider achievement event post pandemic with young people nominated under our school values.
  • The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative – All our S3 pupils researched local charities and the winning team won £3000 for the Lothian Youth Literacy Project (Books For Kids).
  • Our Christmas Concert – Our annual showcase of the incredible musical talent at Balerno High School.

Then from January to now some of the amazing opportunities and school events included:

  • Toilet Twinning – Our RRS group started to raise funds for toilets in developing countries, they raised funds for 5 toilets and Balerno is now a Toilet Twinning Village.
  • Holocaust Memorial Day – S4 and AH History pupils heard from a Holocaust survivor and S1 completed projects which they shared in the concourse.
  • Senior Study Support weekend – We were delighted to run this weekend which gave young people the time to study as well as develop their study skills.
  • Raising Teens with Confidence – Two very successful and well received courses were ran this year to support our parents/carers.
  • Balerno and District Schools Pipe Band Fundraising Concert – This wonderful Scottish evening included contributions from young people from other schools as well as showcasing Balerno talent.
  • Our Spring Concert – A wonderful evening of musical excellence including final performances from the class of 2023.
  • Rights Respecting Schools Gold Accreditation – We were delighted to hear we achieved our Gold Award which recognised all the hard work that has taken place to embed the rights of the child in our daily practice.
  • Sponsored Walk – Our first sponsored walk for a number of years raised a substantial sum for a school opportunities fund and a contribution to our school charity CRY.
  • S1-3 Activity Days – All S1-3 pupils had the opportunity to participate in activities and excursions over two days and was well received by all our young people.
  • Our second Wider Achievement Evening –  We ran a second event led by our new Senior Pupil Team, this was another fantastic evening to hear about the achievements of our young people.
  • S1-3 Balerno and Currie Athletics match – Balerno won this inaugural event and we hope this will become an annual fixture.

The end of an academic year is also a time when we say farewell to some staff. We have a number of staff moving onto new posts, these include our probationers Dr Levy in RMPS, Miss Harley in English and Miss Henderson in Art and Design. Miss Duncan in HFT, Miss Allan in Biology and Ms Hanna in Art and Design are also leaving us to take up positions in other schools. Mr Condie one of our PSAs is leaving us this week to take up Teacher Training. We thank them all for the support they have given to our school community and wish them all the very best in their new posts.

We are looking forward to welcoming back Mrs Mathew to Art and Design in August following her maternity leave and I will share information on all the new staff who are joining us in my first Head Teacher update in August.

I also look forward to session 2023-24 with excitement.

Our Balerno Way…aiming for excellence will be at the heart of what we do with high expectations and ambition for all our young people. Working with you to ensure the very best experiences, achievements and enjoyment at school will be at the core of this.

I wish you all a restful and enjoyable summer, I hope the sun shines no matter where you are!

Kindest regards,

Ros Ranger

Head Teacher

The S6 Experience

/ balernohighschool

Expectations

We have the highest expectations of ourselves and of you. It is our expectation that all our S6 pupils will:

  • Be ambassadors for Balerno within the school and local community.
  • Be committed to our values of Respect, Inclusion, Excellence, Resilience and Honesty.
  • Be responsible for bringing a fully charged iPad to school each day.
  • Be positive role models to our younger pupils.
  • Be smartly dressed by following The Balerno Way… Dressing for Excellence.
  • Be committed to learning by achieving course targets.
  • Be reliable, responsible, punctual and diligent.
  • Be active in the life of the school through embracing opportunities.

Routines

Key Adult TimePupils should be in school at 8:30 after the warning bell rings. This includes pupils who have study periods in the morning. Tutor time is a crucial time for the sharing of information, and for staff to liaise with S6 pupils on various issues and opportunities.
AttendanceAttendance continues to be closely monitored in S6 and arrangements, such as the Truancy Text Alert, still apply. Lateness, low attendance and truancy can impact on any EMA payments. The expectation is that you have 95% attendance or higher. Attendance below 85% without valid reason can result in a formal meeting to discuss alternative to school pathways.
Study PeriodsPupils who are not in a subject class (including AH) can remain in school and undertake personal study in the following areas:
• The LRC (this is a quiet space; not for socialising)
• Identified Faculty classrooms with the agreement of Curriculum Leaders
If you are not studying, you should go to Riverside.
Pupils are responsible for coming prepared to study with appropriate work.
Signing In/OutDuring non-teaching times, S6 pupils are permitted to sign out from Period 3 onward. A designated “sign out” log is available at reception. It is vital, from a Health & Safety perspective, that any S6 pupil leaving the building during the school day MUST sign out and sign in on their return. If a pupil is not returning to school, they must indicate this when signing-out. Please note; when leaving school for a medical appointment, etc. pupils must sign-out at the school reception. Driving lessons MUST NOT be arranged for during class time.
Dress CodeIt is our expectation that all S6 pupils wear the full Balerno dress code as outlined in The Balerno Way… Dressing for Excellence in order to set an appropriate example to younger pupils. S6 ties are available from the main office at a cost of £5 for a pre-owned tie or £7 for a new tie.
PromAttendance at the Prom is available to all pupils, including those who choose to leave school for a positive destination such as college or employment prior to completing S6. The Prom will take place at Tynecastle function suite with the date agreed when the SQA timetable is released.
TimetableAll S6 pupils will commit to the expectations of full-time education. Pupils in S6 often undertake courses which have a high degree of personal preparation, and individual work. To recognise this commitment, study allocation is as follows:
• 3 Advanced Highers – maximum 2 study columns
• 1+ Higher – 1 study column
• National or Level 4/5 – no study allocation
Pupils in S6 are committing to a year of academic study and will be expected to complete their courses. Pupil Support Leaders and House Heads will monitor the progress of S6 pupils and highlight any concerns throughout the year with pupils and parents/ carers. Where a pupil isn’t making sufficient progress and is likely not to achieve a full course award, an alternative arrangement such as studying for units only or attempting another level may be required. Pupils will remain in that class for registration purposes. It is important to understand that any pupil who requests to ‘drop a course’ may subsequently be asked to leave school if their timetable is no longer viable.
Work Placement / VolunteeringS6 pupils who are involved in work placements will negotiate arrangement with their Pupil Support Leader.
PSE / MentoringIn PSE, S6 pupils will engage and be supported in the application process for College, University (UCAS) and work. PSE is an integral part of the S6 experience and are mandatory components of the S6 year at Balerno High School.
Educational Maintenance AllowanceIf you are staying on at school after summer 2023 you may be entitled to EMA of £30/week. EMA is for young people from low-income families and is paid every two weeks (excluding school holidays) into a bank account in your name. You need to apply now. You can apply using this link: https://www.mygov.scot/ema
School EthosThere is an expectation that all S6 pupils will make a positive contribution to the
wider life of the school and local community. This can be achieved by an active involvement in a variety of areas such as school improvement groups, mentoring, leadership and/ or extra-curricular clubs.

Parent’s and Carer’s News

/ balernohighschool

Good morning,

What a glorious day, I hope you have managed to enjoy some of the good weather this week.

Included in this communication

Sponsored walk update

Many thanks for all the sponsorship money we have received over the last 3 weeks. The current total is £3400 which is just fantastic. We will share how parents/carers and young people can access the opportunities fund in August 2023.

UNCRC Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts, Article 26 Social and Economic Help

Activity days

We were so lucky with the weather on Tuesday and Wednesday for our activity days and I hope your child/ren had a super time. I received so much positive feedback from staff on how wonderful the pupils were and what a fantastic job they did representing the school.

UNCRC Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts

Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme

The Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme is currently being evaluated, with a survey available for parents/carers of children aged 5-23, and young people themselves aged 12-23.  Feedback is being sought from both those with experience of using the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel, and those that do not use it in order to find out why. 

The survey seeks to understand use of the scheme and any benefits or challenges that have been experienced since its introduction. It should take about 10 minutes to complete, and there is the opportunity to enter a free prize draw to win up to £250 in One4All vouchers.    

The survey can be accessed here: https://online1.snapsurveys.com/Yr1-YPFreeBusTravel The closing date for all responses is 9th July 2023. If you have any difficulties in accessing or completing the survey, or any questions about the work, you can contact the project manager at elaine@wellsideresearch.co.uk. 

UNCRC Article 26 Social and Economic Help

Balerno & District Schools Pipe Band 

Balerno & District Schools Pipe Band offers lessons for local children from P4 upwards. You might well have seen the band out and about locally but if not there are some photos and videos facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BalernoSchoolsPipeBand

Balerno & District Schools Pipe Band are looking for expressions of interest for beginners lessons in piping or drumming from August. Time and location of lessons is tbc but it it is likely that lessons will be £6, however funding may be available if required; enquire in confidence. Drums and uniforms are provided by the band and pipes can be hired for free for 3 years. 

Please email balernoschoolspipeband@gmail.com to register interest, letting us know your child’s name, school and school year.

UNCRC Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts

New timetable – 5th June 2023

All pupils received their new timetables this morning. If your child/ren have not been in school today they can collect their timetable from the Main Office on Monday morning.

UNCRC Article 29 Aims of education

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Communications Padlet

We hope you are finding the padlet available on the school website helpful Balerno High School | 0131 477 7788 (wordpress.com) Balerno Community High School (padlet.com) If you have any feedback it would be much appreciated so we can take this into account https://forms.office.com/e/hZv1jq46jU

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Kind regards,

Ros Ranger

Parent’s & Carer’s News

/ balernohighschool

Good morning,

I hope you have had a good week, here are this week’s updates.

Included in this communication:

Sponsored walk S1-S3

S1-S3 pupils received their sponsor forms today for the walk on Friday 26th May. The money raised will support a opportunities fund, wider achievement, and the school charity. Sponsorship money can be handed in as cash or paid via ParentPay by Friday 2nd June.

UNCRC Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts, Article 26 Social and Economic Help

Activity Days S1-S3

S1-S3 pupils have now received their activity information for the 30th and 31st May. Activities off-site are all full, so changes are not possible at this stage. For any young person who would like to amend a choice the option would be school based and allocated on the actual day. For any young person who would want to do this they should pop in to see me by the end of the day Tuesday 16th. All pupils will meet the staff taking the activities on Wednesday morning next week to receive more specific trip information.  Excursions with charges will be available on ParentPay later today.

UNCRC Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts

S1 Social Subjects trip

The S1 pupils were a credit to the school this week while they were out on their excursion, I hope they enjoyed their day out learning about Scottish History and Scotland over time.

UNCRC Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts

School uniform

I hope you have had the opportunity to read the email about the updated school uniform.

As shared in the email, if you have any questions or need clarity please complete this Form by 26th May and we will create a FAQ which we will share with you by mid-June. 

Also if your young person requires any bespoke uniform requirements owing to medical or additional support needs, please make contact with their Pupil Support Leader so they can discuss and make staff aware. Any current arrangements in place will continue to be in place in August if appropriate.

Finally, the Parent Council are going to start collecting second hand blazers and school branded sportswear. If you have any items you would like to donate these can be handed into the school reception. Donated items will be available for sale before the end of the school year for those who want a pre-loved option.

UNCRC Article 29 goals of education, Article 2 No Discrimination, Article 26 Social and Economic Help

School Communication

We want to make you aware that it has come to our attention that some young people are blocking the school number on their parent/carers phone so the phone does not receive school attendance texts as they do not come from the main school number. We ask that you check that you can receive these messages, the number is 07860029539 or ##7860029539. Depending on your phone you should access settings, messages, filter unknown senders or blocked contacts. Many thanks for your support with this matter.

UNCRC Article 18 

S6 Induction

For young people currently in S5, just a reminder that the S6 Induction day is the morning Friday 2nd June 2023. 

UNCRC Article 29 Aims of education

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Communications Padlet

We hope you are finding the Padlet available on the school website helpful Balerno High School | 0131 477 7788 (wordpress.com) Balerno Community High School (padlet.com) If you have any feedback it would be much appreciated so we can take this into account.

Wishing you a restful weekend.

Kind regards,

Ros Ranger

Parent’s and Carer’s News

/ balbulletin

Good morning, 

As we approach the Easter holidays, I would like to take this opportunity to share what has been happening in school over the past 2 weeks. 

Included in this communication: 

HPV vaccination update 

Our HPV Vaccinations will take place on Thursday 27th April 2023. 

The vaccination team have asked that pupils being vaccinated wear a short-sleeved shirt or T-shirt and have eaten breakfast that day. 

If you have lost your consent pack, please contact the school office and if you have any questions in relation to the vaccination you can email  loth.cvtschools@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk with Balerno High School in the subject line. UNCRC Article 24 – Health and health services 

Social Media guidance for Parents and Carers 

Police Scotland has shared guidance document to support you with the ever changing social media young people use today. The document includes information on: 

  • The negative and positive impact of social networking 
  • Social media platforms – useful information 
  • Guidance in relation to use of social media 

As a school, we are aware parents/carers are seeking further advice and support around social media and we hope you find this helpful along with the information shared by Shaun Ferguson this week. 

UNCRC Article 17 – Access to information  

S6 Information 

Mr Coulson has communicated information about the last day of school for S6. (email sent on Wednesday 29thMarch 2023) 

Friday 21st April will be their last school day and the email from Mr Coulson also included details on the school reception prior to the S6 Prom on Thursday 1st June 2023.  

UNCRC Article 31 – Rest, play, culture, arts 

S6 Photographs – all orders must be placed directly with Tempest by 3rd April, please note the individual proof gives information on ordering the Year Group photograph.  

Ordered Photographs will be delivered to school w/b 17th April ready for collection prior to exam leave. 

Toilet Twinning

Our RRS team organised a ‘Soak the Teacher’ on Wednesday this week to raise money for our toilet twinning project.  

As you may have seen on our social media, I was well and truly soaked! The fantastic news is we have raised enough money for an actual toilet block and the team are now looking at which country they will select. 

The RRS team’s Just Giving page remains open if you would like to contribute: Click to Give

Help us reach out to local businesses: To become a Toilet Twinned village, we are looking for local businesses and groups to get involved by organising their own fundraiser for Toilet Twinning. If you are interested in helping with this part of the project and know a business or organisation that would like to be involved, please fill in this Form and we will be in touch.  https://forms.office.com/e/C6MLENKpq7  

UNCRC Article 24 – Health, water, food, environment 

Christopher Cowe – a celebration of his life 

On Saturday 22nd April, 2pm and 5pm, the family and friends of Christopher Cowe are hosting a celebration of his life in the concourse of Balerno High School on what would have been the occasion of Christopher’s 18th Birthday, (16th April).

Christopher passed suddenly in January 2021 from an undiagnosed heart condition and due to the pandemic and the rollercoaster of the last two years we have been unable to celebrate Christopher’s life in a manner befitting the way he lived.

Please come along and wear a football or sports top, a Hawaiian shirt or something with bright colours.  Those that remember him well will recall that at one point he had collected over 80 football strips from different teams and leagues across the world and he would be thrilled to know that he was being celebrated and remembered in this way. 

This is not a fundraiser but if anyone would like to make a contribution towards Cardiac Risk in the Young there will be donation buckets in the concourse on the day or you can make a donation to Christopher’s memorial page at www.c-r-y.org.uk/christopher-cowe  

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Uniform Consultation 

Many thanks if you took part in the school uniform consultation, we received 193 responses from parents/carers, 275 responses from pupils and 59 responses from staff. 

We are currently collating the feedback and will share our revised school uniform policy at the start of May, with a planned implementation for August 2023. 

UNCRC Article 12 – Respect for children’s views 

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Communications Padlet 

We hope you are finding the padlet available on the school website helpful. We are still setting up processes and protocols to move general and DYW information to the padlet and hope to have this in place in May. 

Balerno Community High School (padlet.com)

You can access the Padlet on the Homepage Balerno High School | 0131 477 7788 (wordpress.com)

If you have any feedback it would be much appreciated so we can take this into account while we are setting this up https://forms.office.com/e/hZv1jq46jU

In terms of my communication, I hope listing the contents of my email at the start and sending the information in the email rather than an attached letter is also helpful for you. 

As you will see, where appropriate, I am also linking the information I am sharing with the UNCRC. 

‘Our Balerno Way’ – Further consultation 

During May I will be touch with you to ask what is important to you in relation to the school so we can build this into our school planning for 2023-24. 

I am currently gathering views from pupils and will also be working with our staff and partner agencies. 

Balerno and District Pipe Band Concert 

We were delighted to host the first Balerno and District Pipe Band Concert on Thursday 23rd March.  

This was a fantastic evening which, in addition to the Pipe Band, included performances from the Pentland Junior Singers, our Ceilidh Band and fiddlers as well as Craigmount High School’s Traditional Music Group. 

UNCRC Article 31 – Rest, play, culture, arts 

Balerno High School Spring Concert 

Last night we had a pleasure of our young musicians performing at our final concert of the academic year. 

It was a poignant evening as it was the last concert for our current S6 and we also said goodbye to Kirsty Miller, our strings instrumental teacher, who has worked within the Balerno Learning Community for 20 years.  

We wish Kirsty all the very best as she leave us. 

UNCRC Article 31 – Rest, play, culture, arts 

School success – Senior Boys Football 

A huge congratulations to our Senior Boys Football Team who became Lothian School League Champions on Monday night, this is a real achievement and we are incredibly proud of the team. Many thanks must also go to Ryan Charters and Steven Russell who have coached the team over this season.

UNCRC Article 29 – Aims of education 

Finally, I hope you manage to find time to have a restful break over the holidays and we look forward to welcoming all our young people back to school at 08:30 on Monday 17th April 2023. 

Kind regards, Ros Ranger