Dear Parents and Carers
Another week flies by in the busy life of the school. This week our staff have begun to complete progress tracking reports. These will reach home later in the month. Preparations are also well underway for S4 work experience. Work experience plays a crucial role in preparing young people for life beyond school. Unfortunately, there seems to be fewer placements in the work experience database every year. For this reason, we are encouraging students to find ‘self-found’ placements and we would ask anyone who could provide a work placement to please get in touch.
During Hot Chocolate Friday today, Mrs Scott and I caught up for a chat with six S2 boys. The boys were selected by Zayed who was spotted going Over and Above earlier in the week. As well as drinking large amounts of hot chocolate and polishing off my marshmallows, the boys shared their views about what is working well in the school and what things we should be improving.
It was great to see our senior students playing football this afternoon. Forrester are running three teams for the first time in a number of years, with two matches taking place tomorrow, S1 at Queensferry and S2 at Leith. Thanks must go to the incredible support and dedication of our parents, staff and volunteers. Indeed, two of our Young Ambassadors will be coaching the new S1 team – good luck to Alex and Kieran.
We were delighted to find out last week that one of our senior student’s performance in her exams was even better than we first thought – congratulations to Rebecca who scored the highest mark in Scotland for her final Biology Higher exam.
MATHS WEEK SCOTLAND – 10TH TO 16TH SEPTEMBER 2018
Next week we take part in Maths Week Scotland, the second year of a national initiative to help everyone in our nation see maths positively. The aim is for everyone to experience the “… benefits, joy and beauty of maths in exciting new ways”.
At Forrester we will celebrate Maths Week Scotland with a range of activities in and out of the Maths department. S1 will take part in a Maths treasure hunt around the school – each teacher will have the answer to a Maths question in their classroom. But who can get the most answers correct? Mr Cunningham has assured me there will even be prizes for the winners!
Our S2 will get to watch the film, Hidden Figures, on the big screen in the main hall. For those who have not seen it, the film tells the true story about the women who changed NASA’s place in the Space Race. It is a fantastic and inspirational movie which has Maths, Science and Technology at its heart.
The Maths department will also be running a range of other activities throughout the week.
On Wednesday the 12th of September, nearly forty S4 students will take part in the inaugural Fire Up Scotland Event at the SSE Hydro. Fired up Scotland is a “… truly unique learning experience for Scotland’s young people.” It will give students a chance to meet “… inspirational role models challenging them to be the best they can be while proving there is truly no wrong path to a positive destination. Presenters, speakers and performers from across the world of education, business, entertainment, art, sport and culture will gather, all rolled up into a giant fireball of energy creating one enormous, interactive, fully immersive learning experience never to be forgotten…we dare our young people to not be inspired!” This certainly sounds like a great opportunity to inspire our young people. Thanks to Mr Carter and the Pupil Support Team for grabbing this opportunity with both hands.
I have been approached this week by the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Filmhouse who are looking for Young Programmers. This should appeal to any young person aged 15-19, who loves cinema. They will have the chance to work with the Filmhouse team to pick and promote films for Filmhouse and the Film Festival. There will be information sessions to recruit new members at Filmhouse on Monday 10 and Monday 17 September at 4.30pm. Please follow the link below if you would like to find out more.
FILMHOUSE YOUNG PROGRAMMER FLYER
Finally, a reminder from Mr Ennis for S4 students to complete their iPad applications. We want to support all senior students in their studies throughout the senior phase (S4-6). The opportunity of ‘anytime anywhere learning’ provided by one-to-one technology can provide. Please follow the link below to complete your application.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LL7VNDT
Thanks
Stephen Rafferty
Head Teacher