PLus Friday 28 June 2019

Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

Dear Parent/Carer We’ve had a lovely end to term at Preston Lodge. We welcomed back students and staff who participated in residential trips, and they joined everyone who has participated in our home programme for a an uplifting concert provided by students who were part of this week's music school.

Five separate bands rocketed us towards the summer holidays!

This week’s home programme included a really enjoyable Alternative Highland games on Wednesday, then a sing-along version of Mamma Mia, with school trips for all yesterday.

I hope you have received our end of term letter, which was sent to all families by e-mail this week. Paper copies of this letter are still available from the school office.

I would like to thank all our families, staff, students and the wider community for the tremendous support we have had this year in all our work. I hope you have a very pleasant summer, and we look forward to working with you next session.

Gavin Clark Headteacher

Alternative Highland Games Winners!

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

Staffing Update This week we say farewell to Katherine Connelly, Aimee MacDonald and Cameron Pallister, who have all had great NQT years with us here at PL. We thank them and wish them well. We are delighted that Denise McHugh, also having completed her NQT year, joins us as a permanent Art teacher next year. We also say goodbye, and thank you, to Sandra Banks, who has been our Acting PT Support for Learning this year. Sandra has done a great job, and we wish her well in her next post as PT Guidance at Portobello High School.

This week we also say farewell to a number of long serving Preston Lodge staff, who are moving on to pastures new.

Katherine Balsillie has been an essential part of our Support for Learning team over the years. Katherine’s passion and energy have made a real difference to the learning of a very large number of students in the school, and she has been a key player in our Additional Assessment Arrangements for SQA examinations. Katherine has also progressed our school’s approach to outside learning, and we wish her all the very best as she takes up a mathematics post at Musselburgh Grammar School.

Maureen Campbell has been a huge asset to our Business Education team over the years. Many young people have benefited from her significant expertise in all things Administration, and her enormous knowledge has often extended to supporting staff in developing their own skills. Maureen, who has been a quiet tower of strength in this school, retires today, although her immediate next step is to take up a short-term internship with the Preston Lodge Learning Foundation. See you next term, Maureen ...

Jacqui Fitzpatrick has been a strong PT Modern Languages, and latterly PT Literacy, in our school. Job sharing with Nina Thain, Jacqui’s focus and inclusivity have made a real difference to the language learning of our students and now she moves on to seek alternative opportunities. We are delighted, however, that Jacqui has agreed to continue with a small amount of French teaching next session. Good luck, Jacqui, and we’ll see you, too, next term!

Fiona Forlow has been a member of our office team for many years. Fiona’s can-do attitude and cheery demeanour has contributed significantly to the positive engagement that we have with our school’s wider community, and Fiona now moves on to become a Support Worker at Newbyres Nursery. We know she will make a great success of that.

As PT Numeracy Liz Hewitt has built a team which has moved mathematics teaching in our school forward immeasurably over the years. In a recent survey 50% of our S3 students described mathematics as their favourite subject – no mean achievement in a national climate where mathematics teaching is under real scrutiny. Liz retires this summer, although she has promised us that she is available for occasional supply work! Good luck, Liz, and we hope we see your positivity, commitment and good humour back at PL soon.

As an art teacher Jacqui Nanson has made a major contribution to the very positive reputation our art provision has across our wider community. Jacqui’s calm demeanour and creativity have been really valued, and the positive outcomes that produces for young people are always visible around the school. We wish Jacqui all the very best as she moves into the next phase of her life.

On behalf of our whole school community I would like to wish all of these staff members the very best for their future, and to thank them for the significant contribution they have made to the young people of Preston Lodge. Once a PLer, always a PLer. Please keep in touch!

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

House Winners Day The House Cup has been fiercely fought all year by all three houses and the winning house this year is Grange! As a reward for their hard work throughout the year all Grange students attended the House Winners Afternoon on Thursday 20th June. The afternoon had a Hawaiian beach party theme, and was organised by prospective house captains. There was a variety of activities available for the pupils to enjoy, including a slip and slide, bouncy obstacle course, soak the teacher, rounders and lots of food and tropical drinks! All house events this year have been organised and run by the 2018/19 House Captains, who have been excellent, and Miss Lugton and Miss Vines would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their hard work and enthusiasm.

Make sure you get to attend the house winners afternoon next year by supporting your house and trying to win as many epraise points as you can in class!

Gail Lugton and Katie Vines

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

Pipe Band The bands had a very successful and enjoyable weekend at the UK Championships in Lurgan, Northern Ireland.

Out Novice Juvenile Band finished in 2nd place, winning the Drumming and the Juvenile Band finished in 4th place, Conditions were very wet on the day, but both bands just got on with the job and put in very professional performances.

Ruari Black and Josh Pollard once again assisted the St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band to tune up for their Grade 1 performance, which helped secure their second championship victory of the season with four firsts from all four judges.

Our accommodation was a self catering hostel and we had a great team of parents who were up at the crack of dawn each day to make everyone their breakfast. My father laid on a BBQ for the band on the Saturday night and we celebrated with a few tunes round a camp fire. The whole weekend was a great success and everyone agreed it was the best weekend away they'd ever had with the pipe band.

Lee Moore

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

Duke of Edinburgh Congratulations to all participants in the recent Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award assessed expeditions.

You've all done really well, and we look forward to welcoming you back next term to start your next level. Here are some captured moments on the John Muir Way, The Pentland Hills and on the Border Abbeys Way. Gordon Kidd

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

MRC Festival of Medical Research Preserving Future Fertility – A school event.

On Tuesday 18 June 2019, CRH welcomed students from Preston Lodge to experience the research that goes on in their laboratories up at Little France. As well as this they were able to take part in interactive science-based work stations, whilst learning more about one of our research topics, Fertility Preservation.

Experienced researchers guided our budding scientists through microscope activities, identifying both healthy and diseased cells. We also heard more about the ground-breaking research that takes place at CRH, got a taste of the work they do, with some hands-on experience, and took part in some science-themed games to show how much fun research can be, with Roma winning a prize for her efforts.

We learnt about Fertility Preservation research and how CRH is the first UK Centre to develop a fertility preservation programme to store testicular tissue from young boys with cancer prior to treatment, to give them the opportunity to become fathers in later life.

Throughout the event we meet doctors, researchers, and histology experts. An added bonus was that we all received refreshments and a goodie bag!

Dylan Bell

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

International Trade Summer School 2019 Five S5 Business Management students competed in the first International Trade Summer School in Edinburgh this week. The National Trade Academy Programme has been established to help students meet, discuss and learn about trade.

Preston Lodge competed against six other Scottish schools in two trade challenges. The morning involved some fierce trading and great teamwork to see Preston Lodge come from a relatively weak starting point, in terms of the resources they had, to be the winners of the commodity exchange challenge.

After hearing from some successful exporters, students set about developing an export plan in an intense two hour strategy challenge, which finished with students presenting their ideas to the judges. They worked incredibly hard, and showed creativity and skill in putting together an excellent pitch, but were just squeezed out of the overall winning position by a strong presentation from another East Lothian school. Hopefully we will be back next year to gain that top prize. Well done to all who took part.

Claire Simpson

Stop press: House Captains After a gruelling process the new captains were decided on today, they are as follows Gosford Daniel Burdett, Nicholas Guest, Isla Moodie, Jaime Sutherland, Mia Thomson Grange Declan Bellany, Ellis Corrigan, Amy Lumsden, Daniel Mair, Jack Quinn Seton Sam Bird, Emily Fisher, Rebecca Hamilton, Emma Lessels, Matthew Proudfoot

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

Web and App Development Showcase 2019 On 18 and 19 June more than thirty S3 students took part in the first ever Web and App Development Showcase Event organised by S3 Admin students.

The students worked hard to display the App and Website ideas that they had built over the previous ten weeks, and compete in a peoples’ vote for the best App and Web idea.

S3 Admin students sent out invites, created the certificates and tickets, as well as organising the voting, so this was a real collaboration for all the Business Education Departments students.

Web and App development students had to pitch their ideas to senior staff and students who came to see their work. There was a really positive atmosphere and sense of achievement amongst the hard working and creative students who took part.

Next year we hope to repeat the event and even expand it to include more voters, maybe displaying work in the entrance hall. Well done to everyone who took part and especially to those who won.

Claire Simpson

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

Climate Change ELC’s Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Officer would like to bring to the attention of pupils in all our schools that there is currently a consultation underway on the Draft East Lothian Climate Change Strategy. Key Points for Young People have been placed on the Consultation Hub among the downloads for the consultation https:// eastlothianconsultations.co.uk/policy-partnerships/climate-change-strategy/ A survey (on the next page) for children & young people has also been produced, to hear the views of children and young people on what they think are the most important things we should be doing here in East Lothian to tackle climate change.

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

The sixth instalment of the Preston Lodge Learning Festival will take place on

Friday 27th September 2019 Join us for an afternoon of high quality professional learning. Share, explore and develop your pedagogy at a festival of learning created by teachers, for teachers.

To find out more visit https://www.edubuzz.org/lovelearning/ and sign up to lead a learning conversation of your own or join in with everyone else's!

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

28 June 2019

The Preston Lodge Community Fund We recently launched The Preston Lodge Community Fund. A combination of corporate funding secured through the Preston Lodge Learning Foundation and further allocation of finance from our Pupil Equity Fund means that we are able to offer more structured financial support to those who need it, breaking down barriers to learning.

The fund provides financial help for the cost of learning. This might include, for example, support with the the cost of school trips, transport, subject resources or school uniform. Grants are expected to be in the region of £10-50, but all applications are considered on an individual basis and are completely confidential. Applications can be made by students, families, staff, or members of the wider community.

The Community Fund is in a trial phase, and will be reviewed before the end of the summer term 2019. An application form is available from the school’s website, www.prestonlodge.net, Preston Lodge Learning Foundation www.pllf.org.uk or by simply emailing pllf@prestonlodge.elcschool.org.uk. Alternatively, you can pick up a form in our school office.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss any aspect of your application please contact Julie Lowe (PLLF Head of Development) or Hannah Craigie (Attainment Manager) on 01875 811170.

Money Advice Service We are also offering a free and confidential Money Advice Service. Sinead Molloy, our money advice worker, is here to help you maximise your income by making sure that you’re claiming all the benefits you’re entitled to.

Please see the attached flyer for more details, or contact your child’s Guidance Teacher. You can phone Hannah directly on 07908399804 or 01506652436 or email Sinead.milloy@children1st.org.uk Most families face financial challenges from time to time, and I would encourage all members of our school community who might benefit from these services to get in touch. We are keen to provide support wherever it is needed.

School Uniform MIIXER have reopened their shop on a permanent basis on Musselburgh High Street (used to be Store 21). On the last Sunday of each month kids’ clothes will be free.

Each family can take up to 2 kg of children’s clothes (including shoes) which must be checked out at the counter so that they can record weights. This is a trial initiative for the next three months to ascertain demand.

School uniforms and wellies are free every day and anyone requiring a suit for interview will also be assisted in the same way.

Hannah Craigie

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Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect.

Dates for Your Diary!

Please note that these dates are subject to change

Friday 28 June

Activities Day, All Break

Monday 12 August and Tuesday 13 August

In-Service Days

Wednesday 14 August

Pupils Resume, S5/6 Recoursing

28 June 2019