Park Mains High School - take2theweb

Dear parent,
Park Mains High School
April 2012
As we move towards the end of the spring term I would like to give you an update on
recent pupil achievements & participation in events as well as other information that we
feel it is important to highlight to parents at this time.
DATES FOR YOUR
DIARY
UPDATED
Thurs 29 March
School Concert
Park Mains Theatre
7.30pm
SPRING HOLIDAY
ARRANGEMENTS
Friday 30 March
School closes
at 2.30 pm
Mon 16 April
In- service day
Expectations of Pupils
At recent year group assemblies the SMT congratulated the vast majority of pupils on how they
behaved around the school, their good work ethic, their wearing of the dress code and the high
numbers of pupils who attend regularly & are on time. However, there are still areas for
improvement re:
Health & Safety- Unfortunately an S3 pupil was hit by a car when travelling to school a few weeks
ago on a road near Park Mains. Thankfully, he only received cuts and bruises and has recovered.
The issue of pupils crossing roads safely was highlighted to pupils at the recent assemblies and I
would value your support in reinforcing this message.
Pupil latecoming-The detention of persistent latecomers takes place regularly and I would
continue to ask for your support in ensuring your child arrives to school on time.
Dress Code – It states black trousers only (no black jeans, combat trousers, shorts)and with
respect to girls’ shirts /blouses, I would ask that these are respectable and they can allow the rule
of ‘only the top button being undone’ to apply. The dress code has been closely monitored during
the last few weeks to good effect and will continue to be at the start of next term. I would ask that
now the better weather has arrived that normal black footwear is worn and that our dress code
standards are maintained. Mrs McKay (DHT) will update you after the Easter break re proposals
for the revised dress code for 2012/13
Litter- This is an ongoing problem within the school and in the local community at lunchtime. I
would ask you to reinforce the message of disposing of litter in the bins provided. Please
encourage your child to re-cycle as I’m sure you and your family do at home.
Tues 17 April
School reopens
Wed 25 April
S4 Exam Leave
starts
Mon 30 April
Parent Council
Meeting
Fri 4 May
S6 Valedictory Event
Mon 7 May
Public Holiday
Friday 11 May
S1 reports issued
Thurs 10 May
S5/6 Exam Leave
Starts
CfE (Curriculum for Excellence)
S1 Reports – The issue of S1 reports will
be delayed. The introduction of electronic
reporting has contributed to this. As a
result, S1 reports will now be issued on
Friday 11 May 2011.The CfE progress
report has been finalised and will be
discussed at the next parent council
meeting after which it will be available on
the school website for information to
parents. Development work is continuing
particularly with respect to S3 for next
session and staff will make use of the
April inset day and SQA time with regard
to this.
New Build
Progress with the new school continues with
all external brickwork complete, external
hard landscaping underway and the soft
landscaping has commenced. Classrooms
are being populated with fixed furniture and
the whole school is starting to take shape.
Last week an independent "Gateway" review
took place assessing the school’s readiness
to realise the anticipated benefits of the new
school and the report was very positive.
Parent, staff and pupil groups continue to
meet and they have provided valuable input
into considering issues which require to be
addressed to ensure the smooth transition
into the new school building during the
summer period.
S4-S6 Exam Diet
Study leave for S4 pupils will run from
Wednesday 25 April until Tuesday 5 June
inclusive. Study leave for pupils in S5 & S6 will
run from Thursday 10 May until Tuesday 5 June
inclusive. Between these dates S4, S5 and S6
pupils need only attend when they have
examinations.
I wish to emphasise that staff will welcome pupils
for additional help or supervised study at mutually
agreed times. Any pupil who is having difficulty
with any aspect of preparation should not
hesitate to seek advice/assistance from either the
appropriate Year Head or Guidance Teacher. We
do expect pupils who are in school for any
reason to observe the school dress code.
All pupils should return to school on Wednesday
6 June.
Options Programmes
As the data coming in just now is finalised, Mr
Young (DHT) will use it to help complete next
year’s timetable. This is a complex process
involving data manipulation to try and meet the
option requirements of all pupils. As has been
highlighted recently, while we aspire to meet
these, there are always a few option choices we
will not be able to meet. It is likely that it will be
the middle of May before the school comes back
to pupils/parents if alternatives have to be found
for the new timetable commencing in June.

Music Department
The final School Concert to be given in Park
Mains Theatre will take place on Thursday 29
March. This will feature all our junior & senior
music groups. Tickets for the concert went on
sale from Monday 12 March, price £4.50, £3.50
(concession).
Congratulations to: Craig Hart (S4) on
winning the Intermediate Own Choice Section at
the West of Scotland Accordion Championships.
Shannon Stevenson (S4) who won the Violin
Solos A Class at the Glasgow Music Festival for
the 3 rd year in a row. Heather Munro (S1)
gained a 1 st place in Traditional Music category
at the Inverclyde Music Festival.
Parent Council: Thanks to all pupils. parents
and staff who turned out at the Bag Pack at
Morrisons, Erskine. The sum of £560 was raised
for ICT and lockers for the new school. The
Parent Council continues to look at ways to
fundraise for the school. If you have any ideas
on what we can do or if you would like to help in
any way with fundraising, please get in touch -
we will need all the help we can get! Please
contact Rhona Healy at
healy.crew@ntlworld.com
Don’t forget, you can also use the contact
details below if you have any issues you would
like us to raise or deal with on your behalf or if
you want to know anything about being a parent
at the school. Email:
Enquiries@parkmainshigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Our Website
As highlighted before, more use is now being
made of the school website in terms of
pupils/parents accessing information rather than
printing off information on paper to you. Please
let us know what you think of our more compact
newsletter and our updated website
www.parkmainshigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk
Links to other useful Websites
www.curriculumforexellencescotland.gov.uk
www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk
www.sqa.org.uk
www.LTScotland.org.uk.
Park Mains wins Scottish Basketball
final!
Congratulations to our senior girls’ team
who won the Scottish Open age group
final for the second year in a row
The game was very exciting as the
supporters who were at the match will
confirm! The girls beat Gryffe High School
75-55.Well done to everyone who took
part in the Scottish campaign. The same
team has been very busy as yet again they
scooped both league and cup doubles in
the Renfrewshire basketball competitions.
This is the third year in a row they have
completed this feat!
Congratulations to the following pupils who
have been selected for the Scotland
Basketball Squad at the levels stated.
Girls’ U 12- Shona McCrae,U13 – Zoe
McKinlay,U15 – Anna Mitchell,U18- Robyn
Lewis, Sarah Thomson & Gemma McCrae
Boys’ U12 – Lewis Toal
Dance: Within the extra curricular
programme we have a group of girls who
have been working hard to take part in a
Renfrewshire dance performance which
will take place on Tuesday 27 th and
Wednesday 28 th March at Trinity High
School.
Friends of the RSA Art Award (S4
Pupils):Heather McFarlane was awarded
the prize of Best New Entrant in the
Intermediate age category and Andrew
Herrington & Sarah Irving were highly
commended for their art work. All of their
art work will be exhibited at the
Royal Scottish Academy Galleries
Friend’s Room
The Mound
Edinburgh 17 March -14 April
Renfrewshire Young Achievers Awards-
Mrs McKay, Depute Head Teacher,
attended this event with around 21 pupils
who were a real credit to the school.
Please see the school website for details
of the awards.
Thurs 31 May
In-Service Day
Fri 1-Tues 5 June
Holidays
Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee
Wed 6 June
School re-opens
Start of new timetable
and new S5/S6 return
from Exam Leave
Mon 11 June
S3 Reports issued
Parent Council
Meeting
Thurs 14 & Fri 15 June
P7 Induction Days
Thurs 14 June
P7 Parents’ Evening
Thurs 21 June
Junior
Awards Ceremony
Mon 18 – Fri 22 June
S4 Work Experience
Week
School Closes for
summer
Wed 27 June
1pm
(Provisional date due
to new build)
Health & Wellbeing
No Smoking Day/Other Events
This was a very successful day where the issues of smoking were raised across the
curriculum. Pupils were given the opportunity to speak to staff from the school and staff from
Renfrewshire’s Health Improvement team at break and lunch time to find out the best ways
to stop smoking. From 1 April 2011 Tobacco Laws changed and it means that under 18s will
risk on the spot fines or prosecution if they are smoking in a public place. SMOKING IS NOT
ALLOWED IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDS.
Raising health issues is important in helping our young people make informed decisions
about their health and well-being.S2 pupils will be participating in the Young Person’s
Alcohol Project and in Health & well-being workshops next term.
Finally I would like to wish all pupils and their parents/carers a restful and enjoyable Spring
Break.
Michael Dewar Head Teacher
School Tie Prices
Junior Tie £3.50
Senior Tie £5.50