Dear Parent/Carer

Welcome to this year’s Easter newsle er. We have now reached an important milestone in our development of Curriculum for Excellence and firm plans for our S4‐6 Senior Phase were shared with parents through various events and communica ons in recent months. I would thoroughly recommend all parents take a look at our summary anima on outlining our aspira ons for our Senior Phase. This can be found at h p://www.prestonlodge.net/.

The strength of our new curriculum can be seen in the improved range of op ons for S4‐6 students. From developing philosophical understanding to making a mobile App, there is something for everyone at Preston Lodge High School.

On that theme, you may wish to download our new school App or, indeed, listen to our new radio programme on East Coast FM over the next few weeks. Full details are contained within.

I hope all families have a really pleasant Easter break and we look forward to working with you in the new term.

Yours faithfully

Gavin Clark Head Teacher

Preston Lodge High School 22 March 2013

Page 1

Issue 5

Welcome 1

School Updates 2

House Update 4

Learning In and Out of School

6

Sports Update 10

Sports Personality Awards Evening

11

Smartphone App 14

Dates For Your Diary 15

Inside this issue:

Stage 3 2009‐2012

@PrestonLodgeHS

Easter Newsletter

Final Entries in the Great PL Bake Off

Issue 5 Page 2

School Updates  

Staff Update 

Catriona Henderson returns to Languages a er the Easter break, following her maternity leave, and in an exchange deal Haley Dalrymple starts her own maternity leave. We are delighted Sally Davidson will be covering Haley’s metable during her absence.

In Technologies we recently appointed Heather Tait in CDT and we are currently embarking on a round of interviews in a number of other curricular areas. A full update will appear in the next edi on.

Earlier this week Colin Cruikshank re red. Colin has given eight years of service to CDT and much more in Preston Lodge High School and will be much missed by staff and students alike. In his me with us, Colin has offered a great deal to the development of subjects in his area, but also to a number of school innova ons, such a the PL Challenge. Colin has also ac vely par cipated in foreign trips and, as all staff know, has offered up his quiz master skills on many occasions. Many staff will s ll remember the quiz at Portobello Rugby Club and the ferociously difficult ques ons Colin threw at staff that night!

We wish Colin all the very best in his re rement and many thanks from all of us for all that you have done for Preston Lodge High School. Do keep in touch.  

School Uniform  

Many thanks to all our families who have played a big role in keeping school uniform strong this term. I am well aware that many have made addi onal commitments this winter in order to keep this key part of our school ethos strong.

Our planned update to all families regarding uniform expecta ons for session 2013‐14 has been somewhat delayed by last‐minute considera on of some new op ons, and I will now write early next term to all parents and carers. Changes to our school uniform will, however, be minimal. More of an update than a reworking.

Easter Revision  

A number of teachers run revision sessions in school during the holiday period and will advise students in classes should a session be available.

However, it is important to note that all students

receive everything they need to support effec ve revision within regularly metabled classes. Students enter the Easter holidays well aware of what they need to do and how to do it. I would ask all parents and carers to check their child’s understanding of what they need to be working on and to support them through the Easter holiday. The key factor affec ng student success in examina ons will be the focus that they give to revision at home.

Please do contact your child’s guidance teacher if you would like any individual advice about specific subjects.  

Senior Phase 

Now that we are moving into final choices for our S3‐5 students, we are really keen to spend any me necessary with parents and carers who are uncertain about the new structure and the process of choices. We have already had some very posi ve conversa ons unravelling some misconcep ons that inevitably surround significant curricular change.

If you would like to talk further about the structure or your child's process of making subject choices, do please contact any member of the Senior Management Team at the school.

Comic Relief 

Once again PL was ac vely involved in suppor ng Comic Relief. In the run up to Friday 15 March various events took place; soak the teachers, beat the goalie, selling of cakes, guess the square and a ‘Bake‐Off’ compe on run by the Home Economics Department, which was open to staff, students and members of the community. Five S1 students (Faith Brown, Leah Lumsden, Rachel Kenny and Lee and Jamie Colquhoun) also demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills by collec ng sponsorship for running the Cross Country.

On Friday students dressed in red and donated £1. A ‘red rave’ was held in the assembly hall during morning break. There is s ll money to be collected but the total received so far is £ 891.71. Well done to everyone!

 

 

 

 

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East Coast FM 

East Coast FM is a Haddington‐based East Lothian community radio sta on which has been broadcas ng on the internet since 2009, with a dedicated team of volunteers. In January they were allocated the radio broadcast frequency of 107.6FM and will very soon begin 24 hour FM broadcas ng on this frequency throughout East Lothian.

Each weekday evening you can tune in to the School Bell show. These shows are planned, organised and presented by school students from each of the East Lothian Secondary schools with guest features from associated Primary schools. Thursday evening from 6pm – 8pm is the Preston Lodge School Bell show.

The School Bell shows are managed en rely by the young people. They are responsible for planning and delivering programme content, and are trained in the technical opera on of the sta on and how to work as a team of up to 4 or 5 in the delivery of the programme.

The show needs to broadcast 52 weeks of the year, so we now want to have more students involved, allowing us to cover every week, including holidays, and providing a variety of voices and interests on the show.

Involvement in the School Bell is a great way to develop new skills and self‐confidence. It is not just about hearing your voice on the radio. Some of the volunteers work in the office taking calls, answering emails and other roles associated with producing a radio show.

If you are interested in being involved contact Mr Stewart.

If you want the PL Crew to play a request email: plschoolbell@edubuzz.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Persian Ladies 

The fantas c fundraising efforts of a staff group (The Persian Ladies) resulted in just over £3,000 being donated to the Moonwalk charity in aid of Breast Cancer last year.

This year’s chosen chari es are CHAS (and very specifically Rachel House Hospice in Kinross) and Marie Curie Cancer Care. The Persian Ladies will be undertaking two walks this year – the KiltWalk in Edinburgh on 19 May and the Marie Curie Walk Ten on 31 August.

To date we have organised 2 raffles – one to celebrate Valen ne’s Day and one for Mother’s Day. Thank you to all parents, staff and students for suppor ng these events, which raised a staggering £532.

The Hospitality and Tourism Academy students organised a Candy Fundraiser on 7 March and had such delicacies as fruit kebabs, smoothies and candy floss on offer. They very kindly donated proceeds of £64 from this event to Rachel House.

On 16 March Jill Johnstone from our SfL team organised a charity Zumbathon with over 60 par cipants working up a sweat in the assembly hall to raise £677.

Our next event is a Daffodil Cream Tea at break on Friday 22 March.

A er Easter we will have a Wear Pink Day on Friday 19 April for all staff and students (with a £1 dona on being requested). We hope that Preston Lodge will again become a sea of pinkness for the day. Prizes will be awarded for the most pink boy, girl and member of staff.

Thank you for your con nued support for our fundraising efforts.

J Robertson

Issue 5 Page 4

House Update

 

House Rugby 

So close as Seton Simon's speed seals it

House rugby took centre stage on 6 February when senior teams represen ng Gosford, Grange and Seton competed in a hard fought contest to decide the House Rugby Champions for 2013. For the last three years, Grange have emerged comfortable winners and, as such, this year's team were looking to make it four wins in a row led by Head Boy, Jamie Halvorson.

Up first were Gosford and Grange in a head to head that saw the reigning champs run out comfortable winners against a plucky Gosford team. Mr Thomas and Mr Bennion could be heard from some distance away (Tranent) shou ng on their respec ve sides, but it was the blue of Bennion and Grange who prevailed. Next up were Gosford and Seton, with the speed of Simon Blair almost impossible for the Gold of Gosford to contend with. Poor Mr Thomas did his best to rally the troops but Simon's pace alone made such a difference to proceedings and Seton ran out the victors … just in me for Seton's own rugby fana c, Mr Lanyon to appear with his Press Pass.

The final was set up nicely to be decided by a 7 minute contest between 2012 winners, Grange, and a likely looking Seton.

The opening exchanges saw Grange's obvious power advantage mean they had a fair bit of possession but challenges were being made all over the pitch by both sides and a tanic struggle ensued. Seton endeavoured to try and get the ball to Simon Blair in an a empt to exploit the stunning pace that undid Gosford with ease but Grange recognised this to be the main thrust of Seton's game plan and made sure they countered this as a priority. Things could not be poised more closely. The game looked almost certain to be heading for a 0‐0 draw un l it was jinxed by the prophe c words of Grange Head Coach Bennion...

"One try is going to win this" he said with all the foresight of a lo ery predic ng woman called Meg. And one try did. With literally 5 seconds on the clock Seton finally got the ball to speed merchant Simon with space

and daylight ahead of him. Alex Caughey tried valiantly to track him down but Seton's answer to Bryan Habana skipped swi ly over the try line to touch down, whilst simultaneously Mr Thomas blew the whistle for full

me. Game and rugby reign over.

The House Team would like to thank all of the pupils and staff who came out to watch the compe on and support their respec ve teams ‐ the players appreciated it. A big well done to both Gosford and Grange who had the majority of the support on the day, with a big shout in par cular for 1Gr1 who were there en masse to support their house. Congratula ons to Seton and well done to Grange for making their fourth final in a row. Commisera ons to Gosford, but everyone appreciated the effort the players made to represent their side, even if rolling around in the mud isn't their sport we blame their House Mentor. Finally, thanks to the staff who gave up their lunch me to help referee, organise, take photos or marvel at Neil Manderson's ghts.

Grange feel the lurve for Valen nes Day 

House Blind Date was a roaring success on Thursday 7 February as pupils and staff competed for such wonderful prizes as a meal for two at Munchies or a wet weekend in Port Seton Caravan Park…

Female contestant, Anna Wright, was fabulous in her role and really played to the crowd with her caricature from Port Pans. She had to choose from a likely trio from Grange, Gosford and Seton who had to answer ques ons including what they would do with three wishes and who their heroes were. Won over by the pa er of Craig McLeod from Grange, the two of them sailed off into the sunset and the prospect of a paddle in Port Seton …

Meanwhile, in the staff contest, Miss Walker asked what special powers Mr McNeill, Mr Ramsay and Mr Hay might have – and what animal they might want to be. You can work out for yourself who was the cheetah, the bat or the lion! Miss Walker was suitably bowled over by the flexible super powers of Mr McNeill and so chose him for their Blind Date at Munchies!

The House Team would like to thank the hundreds of pupils and many staff who came along to support the event and enjoy the entertainment. A special thanks to Neil Manderson who hosted the event as Priscilla Black. He gets special bonus points for ge ng in a colouring in gag at the expense of a Biology teacher!

J Binnie

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Grange 1120

Gosford 1032

Seton 1100

Current House Standings

Issue 5 Page 6

Learning In and Out of School

 

PLHS Pipe Band 

The Preston Lodge High School Pipe Band has made a promising start to their first fully compe ve season. In a miniband compe on at George Watson's College on Sunday 3 March one of our bands was placed 3rd and the other 6th out of 19 bands in the junior compe on. Eilidh Alexander also won 2nd prize in the 16yrs and under solo piping from over 30 compe tors.

The following Friday the band was once again in ac on at Glasgow Highland Club, pu ng in a very good performance in the senior compe on. Clare Boothman and Eilidh Alexander were placed 3rd and 4th respec vely in the Intermediate Solo Piping and Daniel Luby finished 4th in the Senior Drumming.

Sunday 10 March saw the band take part in the inaugural Sco sh Schools Pipe Band Championships at Broughton High School. The band finished just outside the prizelist in the Novice Juvenile Grade. A great result.

Everyone in the band is prac sing really hard and there is great enthusiasm from everyone involved including the Pipe Band Parent Commi ee and I am confident that with con nued hard work we will be bringing home more silverware to Preston Lodge.

Lee Moore

Great 'PL' Bake‐Off  

What a fantas c me we had last week!

Monday night saw a number of pupils compe ng for a place in our very own Bake‐off and they all produced a

fantas c selec on of sweet & savoury scones for judging. A great deal of thought and effort had gone into deciding what flavour their scones would be. The winners were Amy Gallacher (S1) & Brooke Ritchie (S3). Their efforts were rewarded with a place in Friday’s final crea ng their 'Show stopping' red nose themed cupcakes.

Thursday night saw staff take up the challenge. Excitement had been building all week with recipes flying about and trial runs happening in prepara on for the task. Some staff may even have tried to shake opposi on confidence by pos ng 'burnt offerings' on facebook!!

On the night, stress levels rose, as did the colour in their cheeks! Again, fantas c crea ons appeared, with a whole variety of flavours in the scones.

The winner was Mr Kidd & his daughter Abby, with runners up Ms Armstrong & Ms Pa erson. Due to Mr Kidd being unavailable for the final both runners up competed in the final.

The 'Show stopper' crea ons were wonderful. Again , the two hour me‐slot proved a challenge, but they managed to get their selec on of cakes on the presenta on table in me for judging.

Mr Stewart took great delight in judging the finished items. Not an easy task!

The eventual winner was Ms Armstrong from CDT who made two contras ng varie es of cakes (white chocolate and raspberry & chocolate Nutella and hazelnut) which were presented with beau fully cra ed Red nose cake pops!

PL Mini Band at George Watson’s College

Ms Armstrong with her winning cakes

Page 7 Issue 5

Well done to all who entered. It was a terrific compe on. Along with the sale of the red nose cakes created by our S4 students, we managed to raise £165 towards the school total for Comic Relief. Thanks to all involved.

Rotary Young Technology Compe on 

Wednesday 7 March saw pupils from many schools including Musselburgh Grammar, Dalkeith High school, Eyemouth High School and Preston Lodge High School assemble at Musselburgh Grammar School for the Rotary Young Technology Compe on.

Preston Lodge was represented by 14 pupils split into four teams; one founda on team, two intermediate teams and one senior team. In the founda on team we had three second year pupils Tyron Marshall, Emma Turnbull and Jenny Gibson. The two Intermediate teams were made up of seven fourth year pupils: Lewis Berg, Daniel Luby, Dean Apicella, Arooj Alim, Robert Ferguson, Erin Ketchion and Ruairi Mason. The Advanced team were made up of two S5 and two S6 pupils: Craig Law, Simon Blair, Sam Donaldson and Adam Cherry.

All teams faced the challenge of designing and making a weight‐powered vehicle which could travel up a slope. They had to work as a team to design a por olio in the morning and hand that in to the judges for marking. A er lunch they had to construct their chosen design and test it on a slope. This involved cu ng, drilling, gluing and a aching weights and elas c bands to make the vehicle move. At the end of the day all vehicles were tested on the slopes and awarded points for design, construc on and movement.

This was a very difficult task and all groups took part well and produced great models. The Preston Lodge teams worked par cularly well (not biased at all) which

was rewarded by Dean, Daniel and Lewis winning first place in the Intermediate sec on. The other sec ons were won by St David’s and Dalkeith High School. All PL teams were great compe tors and did the school proud. Well done everyone!

S.Vaughan and A.Hay

Film News! 

Cockenzie Power Sta on documentary 

The film club has almost completed filming for its documentary about Cockenzie Power Sta on. Edi ng will begin a er the Easter holidays. It has been a real privilege to have been given access to the building on several occasions and interview employees past and present about their experiences. The first screening of the film will be held on 13 June at the school. There will be refreshments and speeches and all are welcome to a end.

World War Two documentary 

The S3 film Op ons class recently gained success with their first produc on – a tourist film for Prestonpans which can be viewed here: h p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV07zCwEVRE or by googling ‘Prestonpans Tourist Film’. So far they’ve made the local press and had over 1300 views on YouTube – more views than any other PL film! Ex PLer, Panner, school technician and musician, Alex Hodgson allowed them to use his song “The Toon O’ Prestonpans” as the sound track. This was recorded with pupils from Prestonpans Infant School.

Recently, the class has been interviewing a variety of people from the Longniddry and Gladsmuir Parish about their experiences during World War Two. Rev Robin Hill and Mary Barron from Longniddry Parish Church have been helping to set up the interviews. The class will

The Intermediate team test their model

Our Intermediate Young Technology Winners

Page 8 Issue 5

also be visi ng Gosford Estate to film, where one of the interviewees was sta oned as a Polish soldier from 1942. The film will be shown for the first me in June at Longniddry Parish Church. Refreshments will be available.

We look forward to seeing you at the above events.

Louise Marr

Hospitality Academy helps kids take their pick. 

Extracts from a recent Academy press release:

The Hospitallity and Tourism Academy, involving Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh College and East Lothian Council has 15 of our S5 students on track to complete the first year of the programme. Understanding the advantages of being part of the Academy, students have enthusias cally embraced academic and prac cal skills classes which take place at Queen Margaret University and at Edinburgh College several mes a month.

A major success of the Academy project has been the total buy‐in of partner hotel groups such as Marriot Hotels, The Point, Archerfield, Prestonfield House, Novotel, MacDonald Hotels and the Caledonian Waldorf Astoria. These hotel groups expose students to the workings of the industry by providing placements and hands‐on event opportuni es. The enthusiasm of the hotel groups is also about crea ng a dynamic young workforce which is fit for purpose – a ready‐made source of young talent equipped with skills and knowledge.

Viewed as a programme that will deliver real solu ons for Scotland’s young people, the East Lothian Hospitality and Tourism Academy model is gaining the respect of many policy makers, and the Sco sh Funding Council has pledged £4.6million to roll out the model to other areas of the Lothians and the Borders, making new Academies available in food industries, the crea ve industries and healthcare. The new funding will see up to 1200 young people benefit from new skills development. The project could revolu onise how young people access educa on, training and employment, and it is hoped that it will raise pupils’ aspira ons, enhance employability and support Scotland’s economic development in key areas of growth.

Case Study 

Since day one, Shelby Dalgleish has been focused on maximising every opportunity that has come her way through the programme. Even as a youngster, she had a passion for food but Shelby has a keen eye on the bigger picture when it comes to her hospitality career. In year 2 of the Academy, students can choose to work towards the Industry Award, which has a more prac cal focus, or the Management Award, which develops managerial and leadership skills. On comple on of the Academy’s first year, Shelby is choosing to follow the Management stream during her second year of the Academy. This will see her develop managerial and leadership skills in a variety of hospitality areas, giving her the op on of direct entry (from S6 at school) to the second year of the BA (Hons) Interna onal Hospitality and Tourism Management programme at Queen Margaret University.  

Shelby said: “One of the highlights of my first year Academy experience has been my placement with the Point Hotel in Edinburgh. I worked in recep on, which I

Issue 5 Page 9

really enjoyed, and gained an insight into the important area of customer rela ons. However, the best thing about the Academy is that it gives you plenty of opportuni es and op ons for shaping your future educa on or career. I can hardly believe that comple ng the Management Award in my final year of school would guaranteed me a place on the second year of the degree course at Queen Margaret University!”

Nick Howgarth, Recep on Manager at The Point Hotel, described Shelby’s placement performance as “brilliant”.

 

Borneo Group 

Longniddry Rotary group very kindly donated £650 to the PL Borneo group, who depart in June for their month long expedi on. Presently they are receiving all their inocula ons and the other weekend the group had their training expedi on up in the hills around Comrie where they had to live off a budget of £6 per person for the whole weekend! It was extremely cold (sub zero temperatures), wet and windy and everyone found out all about themselves. They are presently running an Easter Raffle and the last fundraising event is a Race Night and Disco, Saturday 27 April in Cockenzie and Port Seton Bri sh Legion. Tickets are £5 and can be bought from McKirdys Butchers, Port Seton, Suzanne/Iain Smith (01875 852159) or by emailing the school with your details.

Cheque presented by President Jim Strachan and Keith Forrester, Convenor, New Generations Services Committee to Craig Munro and the Borneo group

Sport Update

S5 pupil Cameron Simpson has recently been picked to play scrum half for Edinburgh u17's. As many of you will know, he is not the tallest of pupils but this has not stopped him. His determina on and excellent a tude have helped him become Edinburgh's best scrum half. Cameron has worked very hard to improve his performance and he has been doing extra work developing his skills, as well as strength and condi oning. Cameron is a great example of a PL pupil 'going the extra mile' to achieve a goal. With con nued effort and strong performances in an Edinburgh shirt, who knows ..... maybe he could be switching the Edinburgh shirt for a Scotland jersey. Well done Cammy!

PLHS rugby teams have been involved in lots of fixtures and tournaments recently with mixed results. Many of the players have been doing extra training sessions to increase their chances of making the East Lothian squads. Mark Coull, the Preston Lodge community development officer, is running extra sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays (8.00 am to 8.37 am) and at lunch me alongside the normal sessions a er school on Mondays and Wednesdays. All rugby players are welcome to come and be er themselves. Keep up the good work folks!

Preston Lodge sport has been on a high in recent months with lots of spor ng success individually and as teams. Even with the bad weather postponing matches rugby, hockey, football, badminton and other sports have all seen great successes.

Dean Appicella claimed victory at the recent Sco sh Kickboxing Championships at Ravenscraig sport centre. Dean, who is 15, won in the men's points sec on. He con nued his fine form when he dropped down to the boys sec on and he is now due to fight in Dublin at the largest tournament in the world, with more than 2500 fighters represen ng 29 countries.

The girls hockey  team have braved the weather and con nued to get teams out on a Saturday with S1, S2/S3 and a senior team compe ng every week. They recently played Trinity in very close games. As well as that, they played North Berwick and Knox a er the christmas break. They finish their season off with tournaments a er Easter. However, the last Saturday match is against Ross High which the girls will be hoping to win to finish the season off.

Issue 5 Page 10

The badminton club has con nued to run well again this year. The U‐19 team qualified for the Senior Quaich finals at Ravenscraig Sports Centre. In the first match they beat Eastwood 5‐0. They were handed a tough group and played Auchinlek in the second match. The match was ed at 2‐2 and went down to the deciding game. Auchinleck won the final game 21‐19 to seal their place in the final. Preston Lodge played off in other matches and ended up finishing fi h on the day.

The football  teams have competed in many cup compe ons in recent weeks, with the senior boys reaching the quarter‐final of the Lothian Cup, winning against North Berwick and drawing with Ross High in the East Lothian Cup. They will now play Knox and Dunbar for the final of the East Lothian Cup.

The U‐15 girls and Senior girls have both qualified for the Quarter ‐final of the Sco sh Cup. This is the second year that the senior team have qualified. The senior girls travelled to Stornoway this week for the quarter‐final a er bea ng Bell Baxter 2‐1 in the last 16 and Crieff 5‐0 in the round of 32. Unfortunately they lost 3‐0.

A er Easter, Ac ve Schools will con nue to offer clubs to the pupils of Preston Lodge with alterna ve sports such as tennis, cricket, dance and golf but we will also be con nuing hockey, football and rugby as a transi on programme.

Graeme Bennion

East Lothian Cross Country 

A team of six boys and six girls from S1‐3 represented the school in the East Lothian Cross Country Championship held at Meadowmill on Thursday 8 March. The boy’s teams were outstanding and swept the board winning all three team trophies. In S1 Jordan Purves, Daniel Purves and Ma hew Foot won individual medals being placed in 1st, 2nd and 3rd respec vely. In the 2nd year team Lewis Mitchell received a 2nd place medal as did Brandon Archibald in the 3rd year.

The girls teams were placed in a respectable 3rd placed in both S1 and S2, with individual medals being presented to Ka e Lessel in S1 (1st place). Unfortunately the S3 were not placed as a result of the whole team not finishing the race.

 

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S1 Boys S1 Girls Jordan Purves 1go1 Katie Lessels Daniel Purves 1go1 Shawnisay Millar Mathew Foot Kirsten McCann Mathew Knox Emily Sneddon Ben Muir Rebecca Milburn James Morgan Caroline Dunn Res: Harvey Cunningham Res: Erin McDonald Melissa Quinn S2 Boys S2 Girls

Jonathan Pryde Robyn Clark Lewis Mitchell Charli Slarks Aaron Wallace Alicia Steele Tyron Marshall Karli O’Brien Brad Scott Laura Moos Aiden Shearen Kirsty Dunlop Res: Craig McDonald Res: Chloe Fitzpatrick S3 Boys S3 Girls

Conor Gordon Meghan Collins Brandon Archibald Claire Connelly Johnny Brown Kimberley McKay Duncan Wilson Erin Inverarity Douglas Crawford Jessica Stevens Aaron Lawson Claire McGovern Res: Elliot Mannion Res: Katie Paterson

Sports Personality Awards Evening. 

Thursday 18 April is our invita onal evening celebra ng our pupils’ hard efforts and success in extra curricular sport. As well as awards for most im‐proved player and player of the year we also see our most successful teams of the year recognised for their efforts. Along with that we celebrate pupils who represent their country in any sport. We would like to make sure eve‐ryone that deserves this accolade is invited so please see Mr Bennion or Mr Sellwood if you are one of these pupils and have not already been invited.

As this event is by invite only we would like to ask all pupils who have had that invite to hand back their return slip as soon as possible so we can plan for the appropriate numbers.

We look forward to another great evening of celebra on and chat with our mystery Sports Personality!

Issue 5 Page 12

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Page 13 Issue 5

Smartphone App We have a brand new smartphone App. Using the Preston Lodge App you can get up‐to‐date informa on about events, informa on and news from school.

For pupils our Daily No ces will be easy to view on the App and we hope that this will also make it easier for parents to keep up with events and ac vi es in the school.

The easy to use “Contact” facility allows parents/carers to easily report an absent pupil, or contact a Guidance teacher.

The App is now available for iPhone and Android phones and tablets and will be available early next year on Windows phones and Blackberries. You can download the App for free from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Alterna vely, type the link below into your phone’s browser and choose the phone you wish to download onto h p:// nyurl.com/plhsapp

We do hope you find this exci ng new development a helpful way to stay in touch with your child’s educa on, and ask you to spread the message so that we get more and more parents to download the App. Over the next few months we will improve the func onality of the App and we would welcome any feedback.

Issue 5 Page 14

Monday 8 April All Resume

Monday 15 April Spring Holiday

Tuesday 16 April All Resume/Monday Timetable on Tuesday

Thursday 18 April Sports Personality Evening

Friday 26 April S4 last day in school

Monday 29 April First Day of S4 Exam Leave

Friday 3 May S5/6 last day in school

Monday 6 May May Day Holiday

Tuesday 7 May Pupils Resume/Start of S5/6 Exam Leave

Thursday 9 May Monday Timetable on Thursday

Friday 10 May S1 Reports to Parents

Thursday 16 May S1 Health Day

Monday 20 May Victoria Day Holiday

Tuesday 21 May Inservice Day

Wednesday 22 May Students Resume

Friday 31 May S2 Careers Carousel

Friday 7 June End of Exam Leave

Tuesday 11 June and Wednesday 12 June S5 and S6 Induction

Thursday 13 June East Lothian Sports

Tuesday 18 June Prizegiving (to be confirmed)

Wednesday 19 June—Friday 21 June P7 Visit (Thursday 20 June P7 Parents’ Evening)

Week beginning 24 June Activities Week

Friday 28 June All Break

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Please note that these dates are subject to change Dates for Your Diary!

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