Here is a copy of our March newsletter for you to download.
Category Archives: General School News
What can parents do to help their children succeed in school?
This is the question that triggered some very interesting research that has been published by PISA. The answer to the question is surprisingly simple, has proven results that last and make a huge impact on your child’s ability to learn and progress. The solution? Read with your child regularly, be genuinely interested and engage them with the stories. Not rocket science!
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is an international study which began in the year 2000. It aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in participating countries/economies. Since the year 2000 over 70 countries and economies have participated in PISA.
Here is a copy of the research, it isn’t a hard read but is very interesting.
Money Week
Congratulations to Mrs Williams, all staff and pupils at Pinkie for producing such good work during Money Week last term that it was picked up by Education Scotland as being good practice and was launched at a Head Teacher’s conference in Dundee. You can download an outline of the pupils work, comments and pictures for your information here.
News Release: Consultation on new development plan
East Lothian Council is seeking the views of residents and others on future land-use and development in East Lothian as it prepares a new Local Development Plan.
The plan will eventually replace the East Lothian Local Plan 2008.
Councillor Barry Turner, the Council’s planning spokesman said: “The Council is interested in hearing the views of everyone with an interest in East Lothian. We want to know what aspirations you have for the way your area might develop over the next ten years or so, and what planning issues you think may need to be addressed in the new plan. Continue reading News Release: Consultation on new development plan
Qualifications are changing – information for parents and carers
Here is some information on the new qualifications from the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s (SQA) website:
New Qualifications – Support for Parents and Carers
Have you seen the new parent and carer section of our website?
It has a range of resources, including our new parent and carer leaflet, to help parents and carers to understand the changes to national qualifications. Our Mythbustervideos answer some of the most common questions.
We have a jargon buster to help explain the terms we are using while developing the qualifications. We also have a chartwhich tells you what qualifications young people will study depending on the school year they are in now.
We are publishing draft documents on our website for feedback as we are developing the new qualifications.
We have now published draft Course Assessment Specifications for National 5. These documents give more detail about how each National 5 Course will be assessed and define the mandatory assessment requirements.
The documents are quite technical and are aimed at teachers and education specialists but we also welcome feedback from parents. You can give us your comments via Have Your Say – www.sqa.org.uk/haveyoursay.
We have also recently published draft Unit Specifications for Higher. You can find out more about these documents on our website. Feedback on the latest documents can be given until 31 January 2012.
Keep visiting www.sqa.org.uk/cfeforparentsfor all you need to know about the new qualifications. Sign up for MyAlertsto receive e-mail updates.