St John's RC High School will be open as normal on Monday 15 December 2014. The problem with the heating which forced the closure of the school on Friday has now been resolved.

The heating system in St John's RC High School has failed and as a result we have no heating or hot water.

The decision has therefore been made to close the school today at 12.55 pm - Friday 12 December 2014 and send all pupils home.

All parents/carers have been contacted by school staff to ensure that it is safe to send their child home.  Any child whoose parent/carer cannot be contacted will be looked after in school until the normal end of the school day - 3.25 pm.

In the event of there still being a problem with the heating system on Monday 15 December 2014, advice on whether the school is open or closed will appear both here on the school website and on Dundee City Council main website.

A very big thank you to all the customers and staff of Tesco Riverside Extra and especially their Community Champion, Mrs Kath Torode, for supporting our young people as they bag packed to raise funds over the weekend of 22-23 November 2014.

The sum of £635.43 was raised towards the purchase of equipment for use by the young people on the Expedition Section of their Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

We really appreciate the help and support given by the cutomers and staff.

Sky Sports Victory Shield - Kieran Freeman

Kieran Freeman 3D1 was selected for the Under 16 Squad to represent Scotland in the Sky Sports Victory Shield. Scotland played Northern Ireland on Friday 31st October 2014, Wales on Friday 7th November 2014 and England on Thursday 20th November 2014. Well done Kieran.

Burgess Writing Competition 2014

This year marked the inaugural City of Dundee Burgess Charity Schools Short Story Competition. Schools all across Dundee were invited to challenge S3 pupils to write a short story which featured either a Dundee theme or a Dundee connection. Once the stories were written, each school then selected their best entries to be submitted for final judging. The judges commented on the exceptionally high standard of all of the entries submitted.

We were delighted to learn that Erin Findlay had been selected as the overall winner of the competition. Erin’s story was about A Day in the Mill and featured an introduction in Scots as well as an emotional and traumatic ending which illustrated the horrors of working in the mills. Erin received a book token and was presented with the trophy which now sits proudly in the school trophy cabinet.

Alongside Erin’s success, two other St. John’s pupils were rewarded by the judges. Olivia Adam was a runner-up and Allana Mitchell received a commendation and a book prize for her efforts.

Weeks Commencing 27th October 2014 and 3rd November 2014 - Anne Frank Exhibition, our associated primary schools will experience this in St John's at some point during these two weeks. Parents and carers will also have the opportunity to see some of the exhibition during our Information Evening on 11th November 2014 (see below).

We were very pleased to welcome former pupil Mark Stewart to St John's on Tuesday 7th October 2014. Mark spent time speaking to our S1 pupils at assembly and made them aware of how rewarding hard work can be. Mark left St John's in 2012 having gained 5 highers and entry into university. He is an accomplished cyclist and has been Dundee, Scottish and is currently British Cycling Champion. His speciality is the 'Points' event which involves cycling 160 laps of the track, and every 10th lap is a sprint lap. Mark is hoping to join the Great Britain team in order to pursue his dream of making the British Olympic team. Good luck Mark...make it happen!

Primary 6/7 Information Evening

Our Primary 6/7 Information Evening will be held on Tuesday 11th November 2014 at 6.30 pm. There will be a short presentation from Mrs McLagan our Head Teacher followed by a tour of the school. Parents, carers and young people will have the opportunity to visit our departments and speak to subject staff, our Support for Pupils Team and Senior Management.

EXTENDED REVIEW

Dundee City Council will be carrying out an extended review of your child's eduction. They will visit the school to review how well pupils are learning and achieving and how well the school supports young people to do their best. This is part of the continual drive to improve the performance of Dundee's schools and ensure that they provide the best education possible for our children.

As part of the review process the Department would like to find out parent's views of the school and the education experience your child receives in St John's. Your view are important and they will form part of the evidence collected in the review.

The online survey is available by clicking on the link below:

http://consult.dundeecity.gov.uk/school/index.php/722818/lang-en

The questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to answer and is available until 6 September 2014.

Thank you for your support.

Fiona McLagan