Assembly
This week at assembly, our school heard from local community group BANZAI who are after your input to a Local Place Plan for the Bruntsfield, Merchiston, Marchmont, Sciennes area. This will feed into the 2040 Local Place Plan being developed by Edinburgh City Council and gives us an opportunity to have a voice about changes we’d like to see. The short survey linked here (Google form) involves imagining how we can improve our neighbourhood between now and 2040 and beyond and it would be great if you were willing to do it with your child as it can count towards our engagement and strength of our LPP.
The Class of the Week was P7D.
We wish all our friends and families a happy Eid.
Exciting discovery!
There are etchings on our window panes in Bruntsfield School. They are mostly initials. I have a few in my Office but not thought much about it. However, our Principal Teacher, Ms Dobie noticed another etching in the room she was teaching in and took this photo.
Then Mrs McLachlan and Miss McKenna did their own research deep dive to discover that this is a solider who was likely to have been accommodate at the school during the early stages of WWI. Sadly, they also discovered he may have died in the trenches a few short months after residing at Bruntsfield.
Looking back at the Headteacher’s Log, Miss McKenna confirmed that the school was used to accommodate soldiers from Sept 1914 to 1919 so likely that James Swan was one of these soldiers.
Mrs McLachlan then contacted an Neil Gilhooley, author of a book about the battalion. He replied almost immediately:
“What a fantastic find! Thank you very much for writing to me. I hope your classes are thrilled at his name having been hidden there all this time.
Yes, I agree entirely it will be James Blair Swan from Leith. His serial number 1975 means he will have joined up between 7th and 12th August 1914. Remembering the declaration of war was 4th August, he would have been in one of those long queues of young men signing up in the first few days of war. The battalion went to France on 24th February 1915, so one month after he left his name. His death in the War Diary.”
Miss McKenna also identified that James Swan had a brother, George, who also fought in the war with a different troop who sadly was also killed in action a few months after him.
The City of Edinburgh Media Officer has been notified along with the Archaeologist/Historian. We will let you know our progress!
Open Invite to all parents!
When: THURSDAY 26th March (9:00am-10:00am)
Where: Nurture Nook (enter via door near the bike shed side of the playground)
What: Mel Davidson (school nurse) on the topics of ‘Sleep’ and ‘Screen time’
Extra Bank Holiday
Councillors have voted against Edinburgh having a new bank holiday marking the Scotland men’s opening match of the football World Cup in June. It would have cost Edinburgh taxpayers around £350,000. Yesterday’s vote result was 35 against it and 26 in favour.
Term 3 Milk
This is a reminder to pay for Term 3 milk on ParentPay by Friday 2nd April if your child would like milk at school after the Easter break. The charge for Term 3 from 21st April to 26th June is £11.04
If you are eligible for free school meals, milk and clothing grants then the milk will be supplied free of charge. Please respond to this email advising if your child would like to be added to the list. More information and the eligibility requirements to apply for school grants is detailed in the undernoted link.
https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/schoolgrants
Parent Council Meeting – you’re invited!
Thursday 26th March, 7.00pm at St Oswald’s – all parents, carers and teaching staff are welcome; we’ll be hearing updates from our working groups, sharing Parent Council news and hosting the regular Q&A session with Mr Gilhooley.
Ask our headteacher a question here:- https://bruntsfield.org/ask/
Interested in volunteering with the Parent Council? Find out more here:- https://bruntsfield.org/get-involved/ and come along on 26th March to meet us 😊
We look forward to seeing you there!
Edinburgh Leisure Tennis courses
Edinburgh Leisure Tennis courses during the Easter holidays.
Safety Reminder for Parents:
To maintain our safeguarding standards, please remember:
- School toilets are for pupils only.
- After school shows, please vacate the building immediately and wait for your child outside at their normal exit.
Thank you for helping us keep our students safe!
Student Travel Entitlement
If your child hasn’t got a travel card yet, or it has been misplaced or lost, follow the links below:
Easter Basketball Camp
The West Edinburgh Warriors Basketball Easter camp will run at Tynecastle High School on Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th and Friday 17th April, all details and booking links can be found: https://westedinburghwarriors.com/holiday-camps/
Kind regards,
Stephen Gilhooley