walks. From fire balls in science to learning about construction. From great sporting and dancing achievements to a class of bakers this PLus is full of learning, achievement, respect, community and happiness things that make PL the school we love.
ve also included some great feedback from our departing S6 students, including their advice to our P7 students about to join S1. We give a big PL welcome those students and their parents, now receiving PLus each week as they get to know our school. I hope everyone has a great long weekend!
Gavin Clark, Headteacher
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Coronation Afternoon Tea
On Thursday we were delighted to welcome some of our community from Harlawhill Day Centre and the British Legion to enjoy afternoon tea with our students. All S1 classes have been working hard making delicious goodies to enjoy as a class. Students from our Enhanced Learning Provision made beautiful invitations for everyone and helped with the setting up of the hall, as well as serving at the event and enjoying the company of our visitors. We were East Lothian’s Lord Lieutenant, Roderick Urquhart, was also able to join us.
Our own Stuart Wilson provided the entertainment, and it is fair to say we have some fantastic voices in our
It was a great event, which absolutely exemplifies our ‘Community’ being at the heart of what we are all about at
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Marvellous May Update
Wear Pink Day – Friday 12 May
We would like all students and staff to dress down and wear pink next Friday and ask that, if possible, everyone pays £1, or as much as they can if they do that. Register teachers will collect the money and all funds raised will be used to help support local families facing challenges. Prizes will be awarded to the ‘pinkest’ participants!!!!
Julia Robertson, DHTHave you … ?
In assemblies this week we reminded students that many (many) epraise points are being awarded in May simply for being nice. We asked students to reflect on whether or not they had done any of the following things:
Holding open the door for someone Speaking to someone they don’t usually speak to Asking someone how their day is going Carrying out a random act of kindness Offering to help a member of staff in or out of class Smiling! Doing something nice for themselves In general – being nice to others (and themselves!)
Kind Mugs
We are loving the wall displays emerging across the school in support of Marvellous May.
In Business Education students have been hard at work on a wall display, using tea and coffee cups to show ways in which students and staff can make
Cover story ...
Thank you to all the pupils in S1 and S2 who took part in the S6 Literacy Committee's Book Cover Competition. We had some amazing entries! Congratulations to Madison Taylor in 1Go2 and Skye Paculanang in 2Go2 who were joint first place, and to Zoe Taylor in 1Go3 who was runner up. We will be making a display of the book covers shortly so please look out for it.
The English Department
John Muir Way – ExPLorers: A school fundraiser
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks”
What a fabulous start to our walk!
John MuirStaff, students, family and friends of PL, set out on Friday 28 April to walk the first section of the John Muir Way, completing nine miles, from Helensburgh to Balloch.
The weather was kind to us on arrival, despite some fairly heavy rain as we travelled by mini bus from school to our starting point in Helensburgh.
Arriving in Helensburgh, our first stop was artwork created by the WAVEparticle where the sandstone and granite disc acts as prompt for a public sculpture, only complete when people occupy it. The hand-carved foot shapes are inspired by a footprint carved into the natural rock at Dunnad Fort, in Kilmartin Glen, said to be used in ancient ceremonies to inaugurate a new king and where day visitors to Dunnad traditionally place their bare foot in the carving.
The Historic footprint, along with the modern tradition, inspired the incorporation of footprints into the design of the John Muir Way artwork, with the thought that those travellers at the start or the end of the John Muir Way might occupy the work, barefoot on their own or with fellow travellers before heading off.
It was a bit wet to be barefoot so walking boots it was!
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe”. John
Next stop on our walk was The Hill House, considered to be Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s domestic masterpiece.
Unfortunately the materials and techniques at the cutting edge of architectural design haven’t withstood a century of the west of Scotland’s harsh, wet weather conditions so there is a ten year conservation programme underway to ensure continued access to the public house.
Find out more:
The Hill House | National Trust for Scotland (nts.org.uk)
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
We then continued walking, enjoying the views and stopping for photos with PLum our new school mascot along the way. We finished in Balloch, celebrating with a much needed hot chocolate and Irn-bru for PLum.
We hope you enjoy our photos from the first section of our walk. Next week we will update you on house points gained for miles walked. I wonder who will be in the lead…. Grange, Seton or Gosford?
Thank you to everyone who has taken part in section one and to those who have pledged to walk sections over the coming weeks and months. We look forward to sharing our journey and photographs with everyone over the coming weeks.
We would be grateful if could help share our link with your friends family and networks to help us reach our fundraising target. John Muir ExPLorers: A school fundraiser | Localgiving Please don’t forget to follow us on social media and tag us in your photos if you are taking part. @PL_LF @PrestonlodgeHS #ExPLorers #johnmuirway.
Thank you so much to everyone for their donations so far.
We couldn’t do this without your support.
Julie Lowe Head of DevelopmentPreston Lodge Learning Foundation
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Taylor Wimpey come to Preston Lodge!
We were delighted to welcome members of Taylor Wimpey East Scotland’s Young Persons’ Forum into Preson Lodge recently, with a day of workshops on offer for all our S3 students.
Taylor Wimpey East Scotland is one of East Lothian’s leading homebuilders, with developments at Letham Meadows in Haddington and Ravensheugh in Wallyford, as well as future developments in Dolphingstone and Blindwells. We have been working closely with them to make sure that our students are fully informed about the many employment opportunities that are, and will be, available to them.
This day of workshops offered an insight into the housebuilding industry, while also encouraging young local talent to explore the opportunities that could be on their doorstep.
Julie Lowe, our Head of Development at Preston Lodge Learning Foundation said: Having the opportunity to work directly with Taylor Wimpey East Scotland has created a great partnership.
“The team from Taylor Wimpey delivered workshops throughout a full day in school, which provided a helpful insight into the range of career opportunities the housebuilding industry offers. In fact, I think our students were surprised by the breadth of careers and jobs that house building needs in order to function, which are not just the typical trade roles you perhaps consider when you think of construction.
“Importantly, the team took the opportunity to explain their routes into employment with the company, which I think our students found incredibly helpful. Taylor Wimpey East Scotland is a fantastic partner for our school community and we are already exploring other ways to work together.”
Ellen Clark, Assistant Land Manager at Taylor Wimpey East Scotland said: “We enjoyed having the opportunity to be part of Preston Lodge High School’s careers focus day. We hope that our sessions have helped students to understand more about the career options that are available in the housebuilding industry, and how they could play a future role within it.
“Future-proofing and attracting fresh talent into the wide range of roles that our industry offers has never been as important as it is now. We hope that we have inspired some of the young people that we met, and that they will want to find out more about how they can be part of creating great communities where people want to live.”
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Next Steps for our S6
We always enjoy sharing our S6 students’ steps with the wider community, and those students who were took part in last Thursday Leaving Ceremony agreed we could share their destination in PLus.
It’s an amazingly diverse list of study and career options, and we look forward to hearing how our now-departed S6 get on!
Callum Aitken Business at Napier University
Megan Anderson Nursing at Queen Margaret University
Nicole Bain Working
Joey Barber College
Georgie Barker Will study International Relations
Daniel Barr Engineer
Elliot Brogan Coming back to PL (S7)
Ross Buckley Civil Engineering Graduate Apprenticeship with Amey
William Clarke Heriot Watt - Mechanical Engineering
Carolyn Cleghorn Animal Care at College
Charlie Cuthbert Professional golf at Dornoch
Emmy Dalgity Biomedical Science at Napier
Jamie Donnan Get a job
Kai Duff Childcare course at Edinburgh College
Gabriel Duncan-Skelton College
Kieran Fairfoul Apprenticeship
Fraser Falgate Apprenticeship
Aidee Filogonio Music at Napier
Daniel Filogonio Hoping to get into Edinburgh University for Sports Business
Cameron Furness Heriot Watt - Sports Science
Nora Gordon Queen Margaret University - Psychology
Cameron Graham College then University for Theology
Lachlan Graham Law at University
Rohan Johnstone-McHugh Mechanical Engineering at Edinburgh
Molly Kane Tattoo apprenticeship
Beth Kennedy Edinburgh - Animation
Josh Laidlaw Sports development and coaching - Edinburgh College
Skye Laidlaw Edinburgh Napier - Interior Design
Ebony Lees Body piercer
Mason Lees Professional racing driver
Max Letchford Edinburgh - Physics or Glasgow - Aeronautical Engineering
Aaron Loftus Aberdeen - Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
Valentina Lucernoni Edinburgh University for Finance and Business
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Amy MacDonald Napier University for Marketing
Josh Masterton To be a coppersmith
Ben McCabe Heriot Watt University - Sports Science
Jacob McDonald Napier University to study music
Rachel McDonald Edinburgh University - Sociology and Social Policy
Naomi McGregor Edinburgh University - Geography
Kane McMillan College for Travel and Tourism
Felix Menzies Earth Science at Edinburgh University
Mack Murdoch R.A.F.
Malice Murray Glasgow Caledonian University - Social Science
Hunor Nagy R.A.F.
Ryan Paterson College for Art and Design to become a Graphic Designer
Olivia Quinn Edinburgh Napier to study Marketing
Olivia Ramsay Psychology at Edinburgh
Dillon Rodger Gap year then college after
Hazel Royall Aberdeen - Primary Education
Meeya Rutherford Edinburgh University for Law
Jack Savage Edinburgh for Software Engineering
Iris Scott Napier - Product Design
Jonathon Simpson College - Hospitality
Madeline Smith Napier for Nursing
Zac Strang Games Design at Edinburgh College
Stefan Sweeney Business Management - Heriot Watt
Claire Taafe Work in Hospitality
Lucas Tait Study Business and Politics at University
Ben Lottie
Amy
Liam
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
S6 Reflections
Our S6 have been a great group of students, and on their final school day they gave us some really good feedback on their time at PL. It was a lovely combination of thoughtful nostalgia and
What is your happiest memory of PL?
“Every day in the common room.”
“Getting an A at Higher Maths.”
“William’s handwriting.”
“Lagganlia.”
“Correze ski trip.”
“Pitch Perfect performance.”
“Holland trip.”
“Winning the Scottish Cup.”
“Filming Future Assets!”
“Surgeon Museum school trip.”
“Being with my friends.”
“Sports day TikTok.”
“When Ms Miller rapped Eminem in class – she’s the goat tbh.”
“PL Fest. (Plastonbury)”
“Christmas dance”
“Meeting friends and spending time in LZ.”
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
What would you say to staff at PL?
“Ms Lugton you are amazing.”
“Thank you for helping me throughout my schooling career as your help has really meant something.”
“A big thank you.”
“PE You are PL!”
“Thank you, specifically Mrs Malamos.”
“Couldn’t have asked for better teachers.”
“Thanks Cargill, Pique and Grady.”
“Thank you for everything, all the lessons and tests.”
“Thank you for caring.”
“Thank you, Maths”
“Don’t miss us too much.”
“Cheers Ms Maconkey.”
“Thanks. It was fun.”
“Mrs Mitchell, you’re the goat.”
“Mrs Russell is my favourite.”
“Ms Illingworth goes above and beyond, she’s class”
“English are amazing. Thank you!”
“Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Thanks for everything.”
“Thank you for not bringing up how often I was late.”
“Ms Gascoigne is the best.”
“Love the music department”
“Big Ups Science department.”
“Love you Miss Tait. Mrs Russell = Legend.”
“Thank you for getting us our grades to get to university. Also, don’t miss us too much.”
“Goodbye.”
“I will miss you, Art!”
“Be like Wotherspoon. (Give the man a raise.)”
What message would you give to a new S1 coming to PL in August?
“Enjoy everything and take advantage of learning.”
“Respect the teachers.”
“Don’t leave, best years ever!”
“Play sports.”
“Enjoy it all.”
“Enjoy every minute.”
“Don’t be scared to talk to people.”
“Take advantage of time, it goes too quickly.”
“Face every new challenge with determination.”
“#Proud2BePL”
“Good luck.”
“Make sure to have fun but still work hard.”
“Work hard, play hard.”
“Follow your dreams. X ”
“Face each challenge with determination. Have fun and try your best no matter what.”
“Stick to it throughout the years, you will enjoy it. ”
“The best years ever, don’t leave!”
“Stick in, it’s worth it!”
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
What was the funniest thing that happened to you at PL?
“Fell on the first day back after Covid in front of everyone.”
“Bus stop soaking.”
“Gluing a face to my face.”
“Getting mistaken for an S1 as an S6.”
“The incident in the street.”
“The sheer sight of Finlay Yule.”
”Doing press ups with Felix.”
“Callum not scoring ever for the school.”
“Falling off the stacked chairs.”
What was your favourite piece of learning at PL?
As well as lots of (in fact, pretty much every) SQA subjects students mentioned …
“Columba 1400.”
“School of Rugby .”
“PL Challenge.”
“Future Assets.”
“Fuel Change.”
“Platinum Award.”
“All the Physics homework.”
What will you miss most about PL?
“Seeing friends every day.”
“The music department”
“Mrs Russell”
“Common room rizz.”
“The Lidl’s trips. Don’t forget the tote bag!”
“The new sofas.”
“Mr Clark’s receding hairline.”
“The friendliness within the school.”
“The laughs in the common room.”
“Getting to have a laugh with my friends.”
“The drama.”
“The lads, the patter and Audrey Brown.”
“Seeing everyone.”
“Sir Jessop.”
“Mr Bishop.”
“English Department”
“Spending time with my friends.”
“Common room vibes.”
“Friends and the teachers.”
“Everything. The staff and chilling out in LZ.”
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
U14 Scottish Cup
Congratulations to PLHS pupils Sean, Jack, Harry, Aaron, Max, Liam & Austin, who will be competing for
Congratulations to our S2 Boys Football Team who have reached the final of the EMSFA Cup. The boys went undefeated in the tournament with 2 wins and 1 draw! We will travel to Easthouses Lily FC for the EMSFA Cup
Best of luck again to our S2 Boys who are competing in the league playoff game against Lasswade on Thursday 11 May at Newbattle HS Campus!
Netball Stars
Well done to S1s MacKenzie Thomson, Maisie Jacobsen and Zahara Nagy, who were last week’s Netball players of the week!
Ice Skating
Semira Williamson in S1 took part in “Skate Edinburgh & Kirkcaldy 2023”, this is a National/International Competition, and was Semira’s first National Competition having moved up a level from beginner. Semira finished in 11th place. Well done!
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Cheerleading Success
Many congratulations to Rhia Jude, who was part of the Black Diamonds Junior Ruby team, competing at last week’s Summit Cheerleading Championships at ESPN World of Spots in Florida. Rhia’s under-a6 team reached the finals and came 10th in the world at level 1 International Division. They are the first team in Scotland to have achieved this, so they have made cheerleading history. Well done, Rhia an amazing achievement!
Dancing Star
Congratulations, too, to Alex Anderson in S1, whose Highland Dancing results last year allowed her to be graded within the top three Lothian dancers within her age group. She therefore qualified to represent Team Lothian in the National Highland Dancing Championship in Oban, with Lothian placing a very close second overall.
Alex also represented her dance school in their very first choreography competition later that evening, and then danced in her National Championship the day after, where she earned two third and two fourth place finishes within her age group.
Alex will be competing at The Cowal Gathering and Highland games in August this year again, where she will be competing in the World Championships, with dancers from all over the world attending and competing.
Dannsagubrath in Cockenziehas done a lot to support Alex's development, creating fantastic experiences that have helped her to grow as a person, as well as a dancer within her peer group. Well done, Alex, and good luck this
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
S1 Baking Club
S1 Baking Club started last week and we made Miss Turnbull's favourite "Old School Cake" and pizza muffins. The class was full, and everyone was so excited to start our Four week course. Next up we have Jammy Dodgers!
Emma Turnbull & Sophie Richmond, Home Economics
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
Where ? Mrs McGregor’s classroom (Maths 6)
When? Mondays at lunchtime
Problem of the week
S1-S3
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
School Lottery
Congratulations to our local weekly Preston Lodge High School lottery winner: Dr R, on Saturday 22nd April 2023.
If you would like to help us raise essential school funds and haven't signed up yet, you can visit our lottery here - https:// www.yourschoollottery.co.uk/lottery/school/preston-lodge-high-school
There is a guaranteed cash prize every week, lots of other prizes and the chance to win up to £25,000!
Thank you for your support
Julie Lowe, Head of Development, Preston Lodge Learning Foundation
Preston Lodge is a community of learning. We value achievement, happiness and respect. 05 May 2023
