Parents Meeting

Good Morning

This is just a gentle reminder that there is a parents / guardians meeting in the Forum at the Malala building on Tuesday 17th November at 19.15. We will be sharing further information about the trip and completing some necessary paperwork. I look forward to seeing everybody there. Thanks Mr McCallum

Hot off the press - our 2015 newsletter

The sixth year students who visited South Africa last month have put together a newsletter to share some of their experiences of being a part of the project, and what has been achieved this year. We hope you enjoy it!

Access the newsletter here

Remember to like our page on facebook at www.facebook.com/jghssouthafricaproject

How quickly 10 days can go!

Yesterday the 2015 trip returned from Durban with heavy hearts but wonderful memories and new friendships.

We'll be sharing details of our adventures once we have recovered from the intense schedule, but for now check out some sneak peeks of what we got up to on our facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/JGHSSouthAfricaProject

2015 trip arrives safely

Well the 2015 trip has arrived safely after the long journey from Edinburgh to Dubai and then on to Durban. They had an amazing welcome from the schools in the arrivals area and are now on their way to hotel for a well needed shower and meal, followed by a long sleep with a busy day tomorrow. This is the start of an amazing experience for both the pupils and the staff.

And we're off!

This year's team of 54 pupils and 8 staff depart for Durban this afternoon after a couple weeks of hard work pulling all of our plans together.

We've had an incredible amount of donations and will be trying to pack as much into our suitcases as possible. Fundraising money is still coming in, be we are very close to reaching our £5000 target. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us and contributed.

We'll try to post some updates about what we're getting up to while we are away via our twitter account www.tiwtter.com/JGHSSouthAfrica and will share more detailed information upon our return.

Plea for pencil cases

Over the last few days we have received a few enquiries about what we still need in terms of donations to take over to South Africa next week.

Unfortunately this year some of our usual pencil case donations for Charles Memorial Primary School have fallen through, meaning that we have lots of lovely stationery... but not enough pencil cases to put it into!

We have always tried to take a pencil case for as many of the 550 pupils as possible, and as you can see from the pictures they are received with great delight and excitement! We are hoping to continue the tradition this year, therefore if you have any spare pencil cases lurking at home we would be very happy to take them off your hands and give them a loving new owner.


Any donations can be dropped to Miss Gray at the Lauderdale campus (room S6) or Miss Grant at the Darroch campus (G8).

Take Me Out / Would I Lie to You?

Well done to the organisers and participants of last night's show for an entertaining evening! The Drama Studio was jam-packed with people and so far the event has raised £440 for the project.

Follow us on Facebook

We've recently created a page on facebook to share more information, news and photographs about the project and possibly even gain some more support.

https://www.facebook.com/JGHSSouthAfricaProject

Please 'like' and share with your friends!

Fundraising Update

Our Fundraising total is now sitting at £2747, so we're now well past the halfway point towards achieving our goal.

Thank you and well done to everyone who has contributed to fundraising events and activities so far. These have included...

The S5/6 social, pyjama day, bake sales, individual donations, football tournament, S1/2 Christmas disco, donations from the Reid Memorial Church and the sale of some very tasty tablet!

We've still got a few activities coming up in the next few weeks including:

Take Me Out / Would I Lie to You show
JGHS staff quiz night
Raffle (available to buy from anyone going on the trip in February)
Cryptic Quiz competitions (available from Eilidh Grant)
Sponsored dip
More bake sales!

Most of the money we raise is used for keeping the soup kitchens at Zwelibanzi and Dloko High Schools running all year round. Each kitchen provides food for 250-300 pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. A small proportion is used for annual projects such as painting classrooms or improving resources.

Hopefully we'll soon smash our £5000 target! Thanks for your support.

Update: Donations Appeal

We are still appealing for donations to take over to the schools and charities we work with in South Africa, so please contiune to ask around your friends, family and neighbours.

A quick reminder that this year we are focusing on collecting the following items:

• Primary school shoes, preferably black (We are aiming to provide every learner at Charles Memorial Primary with one pair!)
• Dresses (for age 13+, all sizes)
• Football tops (for age 13+, all sizes)
• Toothbrushes and toothpaste
• Sportswear / equipment (particularly for football)

Although these categories are our main focus, other high quality donations are welcome, particularly clothing for all ages.

Donations can be dropped off with Miss Gray in S6 at Lauderdale, or Miss Grant in 1.18 at Darroch.

Many thanks for your support so far!

2015 Trip - Final information for parents

Thank you to everyone who came along to last night's meeting. It's safe to say that both staff and pupils are getting very excited about leaving for South Africa now that there is only just over 4 weeks to go!

Below are links to all of the information that was shared for those who didn't manage to make it along.

Powerpoint presentation

Itinerary

Code of Conduct

Flight and contact details

Operation Bobbi Bear

At this week's meeting the group of students and staff who will be travelling to South Africa in February were introduced to the charity Operation Bobbi Bear, as JGHS will be visiting this organisation for the first time this year.

We first heard about Operation Bobbi Bear through the Jabulani Project, who have been providing volunteers and financial support to the charity for a number of years and have great admiration for the work that they do.

Operation Bobbi Bear was established in 1992 to support and fight for the rights of sexually abused children. They carry out amazing work that includes providing medical and emotional support to child victims of sexual abuse, educating communities about how to support these children, and liaising with the South African legal system to try and ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are prosecuted without compromising the safety and wellbeing of the child.

Please visit the Bobbi Bear website at www.bobbibear.org.za/ to find out more and watch their excellent video on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW9ZYXhScls

Fundraising Update

Although there is not yet much money in the bank plans are now moving along for this year's fundraising activities. Each 'family' will be hosting a fundraiser in an attempt to help us reach, or even surpass, our £5000 target. Here is an update on our plans so far...

Mr Charity's Family are organising a raffle and will be selling tickets in the coming weeks once prizes are finalised. They are still appealing for high-quality prizes, so if you think you can help please get in touch via jghssouthafrica@gmail.com. Even if you can't donate a prize remember you will be able to buy tickets soon!

Miss Gray's Family have organised a social for S5 and S6 students at JGHS which will be held on December 11th at the Columcille Centre in Morningside.

Mr Adam's Family will be participating in a sponsored 5km run later this months.

Miss Smith and Miss Grant's Families will be working together to organise an end of term Christmas Party for the S1 and S2 pupils at JGHS.

Miss Campbell's Family will be hosting an "Art Attack" event by selling off sections of wall space in Warrender and Spylaw to be painted by pupils before we move into the new school building next year.

Mr Warden's Family are yet to decide on their fundraiser due to only having been together for a few weeks, but we are looking forward to seeing what they come up with!

In addition to our Family Fundraisers there has been a lot of discussion about other ideas from bake sales to bag packing, and we are also delighted that some enthusiastic S1/2 pupils will be working with Miss Smith to help raise money to buy shoes for the children on Charles Memorial Primary School.

Of course we are also still appealing for donations as shown in the image below. Some of our S6 have also been our to our cluster Primary schools speak to the children about the project and launch appeals for pencil cases and sports equipment to take over to our partner schools.

Please keep up with our achievements over the next few weeks and keep an eye out for how you can support our efforts!

Reflecting on 10 years of the JGHS South Africa Project

The James Gillespie's South Africa Project began back in 2003 when the school's former head teacher, Alex Wallace, first visited Durban and Umlazi and chose to link with Zwelibanzi High School.

Since then, th project has grown from strength to strength and now incorporates links between the JGHS community and is cluster primaries, three South African Schools (Zwelibanzi HS, Dloko HS and Charles Memorial Primary), and a number of charitable organisations supporting disadvantaged young people in South Africa.

The project has contributed to the development of values of Global Citizenship in countless members of the South African and Scottish communities that have been involved in the project over the years, in addition to providing financial and material support for the education and care of young people living in impoversished communities.

In 2015 we hope to share some of the sucesses of our project with the wider community and would like to invite anyone who has been involved in the project to get involved by sharing your thoughts and reflections of your experiences. What did you gain from being part of the project? What affect did your experience have on you? What are your lasting memories of your visit to South Africa? We would love to hear from you!

If you would be willing to share your thoughts (and photographs if you have any) please send them to jghssouthafrica@gmail.com

Many thanks and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Stepping up the preparation for 2015...

With less than 4 months to go before we depart for South Africa this year's group will be really stepping up their fundraising and preparation over the coming weeks. We'd like to take this opportunity to share our plans, let you know what the money we fundraise will be used for and let you know how you can get involved.

Every member of the group going to South Africa in 2015 is part of a smaller group tasked with organising one aspect of this year's project. The activities they are involved in include:


Soup Kitchens

As ever, a large proportion of the money made through fundraising will be used for continued support of the soup kitchens at Dloko and Zwelibanzi. The soup kitchens make a big difference to learners who come from families that find it difficult to provide them with a good meal each day. While we are in South Africa some of our pupils will be learning more about how the soup kitchens are run and how much of a difference they make to the young people at the schools, and will also have the opportunity to cook and serve a meal while they are there.

Cooking in the soup kitchen at Dloko

School Improvements

Some of this year's fundraising money will be used to make improvements to some of the classrooms at Dloko High School that are in most need of a little TLC. The atmosphere of learning environments make a real difference to the classroom experience, so teams of Dloko and Gillespie's learners will be working together to paint classrooms and make them more positive places for studying. We will also be collaborating with the teachers at Dloko and Zwelibanzi to found out if we can provide low-cost teaching resources that would help to facilitate day to day learning and teaching.

In a classroom at Dloko

Pen Pal letters

S1 pupils at JGHS write pen pal letters to South African learners as part of the English curriculum. A team of JGHS pupils will be taking these letters over for the grade 8s and Zwelibanzi and Dloko and will bring replies home for our S1s. Through this scheme we hope to foster a link between students in Scotland and South Africa from their first year in secondary education, and help them to learn a little about another culture.

Reading penpal letters at Zwelibanzi

Cultural exchange

The most importnat aspects of our trip are the cultural exhange between South Africa and Scottish learners and staff, and the global citizenhip values that the trip promotes. During their visit the Gillespie's pupils will be bale to experience lessons in the township schools and will also be participating in a number of cultural workshops. The Gillespie's pupils will be offering workshops in Highand and ceilidh dancing, music and sports and will be given the change to learn some traditional zulu song and dance in return.

Singing and dancing with the choir at Dloko HS

Donations

Although our project focuses on global citizenship, empowerment and cultural exchange we do like to take over donations for the South African learners who are not able to afford some of the things that we often take for granted. Over the coming weeks we will be sourcing donations of toothbrushes and toothpaste and will also be trying to collect enough black gym plimsolls to provide a pair for every child at Charles Memorial Primary School, the school linked with James Gillespie's Primary School. As a treat for the high school learners we will also be collecting football tops for the boys and dresses for the girls. All donations are very welcome!


Fundraising... can you help us?

To allow us to continue to support the soup kitchens in our partner schools and make the planned improvements to the school environment we are hoping to raise as much money as we can this year. There will be a number of fundraising activities going on over the coming weeks so keep checking the blog for updates!

At the moment the 'Charity Family' are organising a raffle to be drawn at the end of term before the Christmas break. We are appealing for high quality raffle prizes (restaurant vouchers, theatre tickets, beauty treatments, days out etc) and would love to hear from you if you think you can help! Please contact jghssouthafrica@gmail.com.

Update from parents' meeting on October 7th

Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting last night. A powerpoint summary containing most of the information that was shared can be accessed here.

The final parents' meeting will be on 13th January at 7pm in the Darroch resource centre. Please ensure that somone from your family is able to attend this meeting as important information will be shared.

To keep up to date with what is going on with preparations for the trip all pupils should join the facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/jghssa2015).  Parents are also invited to join the group as your support and involvement is welcome and much appreciated.

Parents' Meeting for 2015 trip

Just a quick reminder that we are hold a meeting for parents on Tuesday 7th October at 7pm in the Resource Centre at Darroch.

We'll be sharing more information about the trip and what's coming up over the next few months and will also be able to answer any questions that you may have.

Hope to see you there!

Fundraising

Now is a good time to start thinking about ways you can contribute to fundraising for the project. The more money we raise, the more we will be able to invest in continuing to support the development of our partner schools.

A number of people have expressed an interest in organising fundraising events which is fantastic, however these will need to be well planned and you will need to discuss your ideas with the staff going on the trip.

If you'd like to organise a fundraising event please download and complete the proposal form below and come and chat to one of the staff about getting your idea off the ground.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6p8a86ggm0r557y/Fundraising%20proposal%20form.docx

Keeping in the loop...

Remember there are loads of ways to keep up to date with what's going on with the project!

If you are going on the trip this year join the facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/jghssa2015

Parents, pupils and others interested in keeping up to date with the project can also follow us on twitter @jghssouthafrica and check this blog regularly for news and updates.

Information about the meeting will be shared through all three sources as soon as dates and times for these have been decided.

And finally remember Mr McCallum's homeworks for the next meeting:

1.  Make sure your EE2 is haded in and that your passport will be valid for 6 monts after out date of return to the UK
2. Go and see your doctor to enquire about travel vaccinations.
3. Investigate potential contacts who might be able to support the project!

Two weeks of fun and friendships

The choir perform at Assembly Rooms
(photo from the Jabulani Project)

On Sunday we bid a sad 'farewell and see you soon' to our wonderful friends from the Dloko High School choir as the end of their visit to Edinburgh to perform at the Fringe festival reached its conclusion. The trip was a resounding success which allowed this phenomenally talented group of young people - many of whom have never before left Umlazi township - to enjoy experiencing a different culture, be empowered by sharing their love of music and raise a huge amount of money that will be used to support projects tackling poverty in their local community. We at James Gillespie's feel so proud to have played a part in this amazing event and are delighted that the link between our two schools is now stronger than ever.

The schedule for choir's visit was incredibly busy and it would be impossible to document every event in detail but some of our top highlights included:

• 6 shows at St Andrew's and George's West Church.
• 2 shows at Woodend Barn in Banchory.
• 3 shows at the Assembly Rooms with the JGHS chamber choir and Anna McLuckie, including selling out the on the final night and having to open the upper balcony!
• Appearing on the BBC Culture Studio with Janice Forsythe.
• Filming on an Edinburgh tram for BBC Edinburgh Extra.
• A visit to the Scottish Parliament.
• Special performances at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Montessori Nursery.
• A visit to JGHS to join in with classes and perform for staff and pupils.
• Countless open stage performances at St Andrew's Square and other promo performances around the city.
• Shopping for new shoes at Schuh thanks to fundraising lead by the Assembly Rooms.
• A final night party at Darroch with an experimental fusion of Zulu and Scottish traditional dancing!

The Dloko HS Choir and JGHS community on the final night
(photo with thanks to Ian Miller)

Unbelievably in addition to all of this there was still plenty of time for making strong friendships with the pupils, parents and former pupils of the JGHS network who kindly opened their homes to host the youngsters during their time in Edinburgh and spent time buddying the group on their travels around the city. There can be no doubt that the past two weeks have been a wonderful showcase of the strength, kindness and generosity of the JGHS community of which we are so proud.

We would like to thank all of the many people who helped to make this trip so wonderful, but special thanks must go to the following, as without their hard work and generosity it would never have been possible:

• The Iris Initiative, who funded the choir's travel to Edinburgh.
• The Jabulani Project, lead by Alex Wallace, for the huge amount of hard work in getting ID cards, passports and visas for the pupils.
• The parents, pupils and former pupils of JGHS who hosted and buddied the pupils and staff during their stay.
• The Assembly Rooms Fringe and St Andrew's and St George's West church, who provided their venues free of charge to allow revenue from ticket sales tobe fed back into projects in the school's local community.

Finally, we'd like to thank our friends from Dloko High School for allowing us to share two weeks of music, dancing and sheer joy. We have gained so much from you during your time here and those of us travelling to South Africa next year can't wait to see you again soon!