World Mental Health Day
To celebrate world Mental Health Day on 10th October (when KHS is closed), we are inviting all of our community to wear a green piece of clothing within their school dress code on Friday the 7th of October. A green ribbon is the symbol for mental health. This could include a green ribbon, socks, a jumper, a coat, a hair clip or something similar. #pridekhs
Senior Phase Celebration of Learning Evening
Thursday 22nd September 2022 was a very special date on our KHS calendar as we held our very first S4-6 Celebration of Learning Evening. It was a really fantastic occasion which saw us gather together along with our award winners, parents/carers and friends of KHS to recognise and to celebrate the achievements of our senior pupils. We have a lot to be proud of at KHS.
Well done to all award winners and thank you to all who came along to support and celebrate the fantastic achievements of our young people. Thank you to our Head Team of Emma, Dougal, Zara and Dylan for their help in presenting different parts of the evening and well done and thank you to Rachel Wemyss for her superb musical performance. It was also lovely to be joined by Rebecca Middlemiss from last year’s Head Team – who as well as winning a number of awards also presented this year’s Head Team with their badges of office and a quaich. A huge thank you to Mrs Ashley Wilson from our school office who as always went above and beyond in ensuring everything was organised and that the evening ran smoothly. Please enjoy some photographs from the evening. #pridekhs
2022 Dux of Kelso High School Award
It is always a pleasure to welcome former pupils back to KHS and we were delighted that Ben Swaffield – last year’s S6 – was able to take a break from his university studies to join us at our S4-S6 Celebration of Learning Evening. Our heartiest congratulations to Ben who as Dux of Kelso High School for 2022 was awarded the Bowmont Medal donated by His Grace, the Duke of Roxburghe. All at Kelso High School would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ben on his outstanding achievements. We were delighted to be able to get a photo of Ben – and mum and dad too – in front of the KHS Dux Board. Well done, Ben! #pridekhs
KHS Proxime Accessit Award 2022
We would also like to take this opportunity to offer our very heartiest congratulations to Lexi Reader – a member of last year’s Head Team – who as KHS Proxime Accessit for 2022 was awarded the Scott Salver given in memory of Lady Isobel Scott at last Thursday evening’s S4-S6 Celebration of Learning Evening. Unfortunately Lexi was unable to join us in person to accept her award which was accepted on her behalf by her sister, Lara – thank you, Lara! We would just like to say a huge well done to Lexi on this acheivement and wish her all the best in her study of Medicine. Here is Lexi – second from left – pictured with fellow members Rebecca, Arrianne and Roseanna of last year’s Head Team. #pridekhs
Freedom of Kelso High School Award 2022
It is our great pleasure to announce that this year’s recipient of the Freedom of Kelso High School Award is our much loved and much missed Mrs L – Mrs Carol Lesenger, who taught here at KHS from February 1988 until she retired in December 2021. A graduate of Dunfermline College of Physical Education, Carol started teaching in Kelso High on the 1st February 1988, becoming a full time member of staff here in 1990.
During her time with us here at KHS, Carol was promoted first to Assistant Principal Teacher of Guidance in 1991 and then to Assistant Principal Teacher of PE in 2001. In 2003 Carol became Principal Teacher of PE, a post which she held until 2013 when she became Faculty Head of PE and Sport. Carol’s passion for sport and for improving the opportunities available to our young people extended well beyond the school timetable. During her time at KHS, Carol devoted twenty five years of Saturday mornings to extra-curricular hockey – a tremendous achievement and one of which hundreds of our young people will always be tremendously grateful.
It was our absolute pleasure therefore to welcome Carol – as well as her daughters and former KHS students Kate and Fiona – back to KHS last Thursday evening and we would like to thank Carol for presenting the S4-6 Celebration of Learning awards and for entertaining and inspiring all those present with her words of wisdom. Thank you Mrs L for all you did for KHS and its wider community over so many years. Keep in touch and keep enjoying your retirement! #pridekhs
S1/S6 Buddy Social
What a night! It was so so good to see so many happy faces at Wednesday evening’s S1 / S6 Buddy Social. We are sure that you will be able to guess from the photos what the theme of the evening was! Thank you to all S1s and S6s who came along, had fun and made it a night to remember. We are still debating which of the year groups enjoyed it more! A huge thank you to our S6 Buddy Committee for organising, to Noon Entertainments for the superb disco and as always our grateful thanks to all staff who came along in their own time to support the event – these events could not go ahead without volunteer staff and their time and commitment is very much appreciated. Lots more photos from the evening can be found on the KHS Facebook page! #pridekhs
Home Economics
Starting with immediate effect if young people do not have their container with them for practical lessons in Home Economics they will not be cooking. Due to the rising costs of foil containers it is no longer viable for us to hand them out daily. If your young person does not have a container at home and there is no way of acquiring one please speak to your HE teacher so we can help.
Thank you for your continued support.
Update from Monday 27th Parent Council Meeting
We had a lively parent council meeting in person in the school on Monday with some great ideas and input from those who were there. Thanks so much to them.
The formal minutes will follow but some highlights:
- We had a great presentation by Dougal and Dylan, two of the new S6 head team. It was lovely to hear what they have planned and our thanks to them. They are hoping to come along to our other in person meetings.
- Our theme was parental and carer inclusion – helping you to feel more involved in what’s going on in the school. We talked about:
- Parent’s evenings – should they be online or in person – we thought there were pros and cons on either side. We’d love your thoughts so do email us or get in touch via the school
- Involvement in improvement groups. If you want to be a sounding board (no meetings!) for idea on how to improve things in the school, including digital, resilience, life-long learning, celebrating learning, positive learning, attendance, pupil voice and tracking, monitoring and reporting (i.e. school reports), let us or the school know. Emails about this will follow shortly.
- We are going to be trialling some informal parent/carer meet ups with free coffee and tea in the school on week day evenings. Details TBC but we thought it was a good chance for parents to catch up, perhaps while waiting for young people to finish after school activities.
- We wondered whether it would be helpful for each year group to have a parent contact. What do you think?
- We also talked about possibly holding a ‘freshers fair’, and inviting lots of the clubs and groups around the town into the school for an evening so that young people and adults can see what there is to offer, especially after the last two years.
- The school might welcome donations of pallets/timber, cotton fabrics and plants/seeds/gardening equipment if you have any spare. Get in touch with the office or us.
- We answered questions raised by parent and had a good chat about phones, films and other issues
- We awarded funding to various school groups and are also hoping to raise more money to support the school, perhaps with some bigger projects. We’d love easy fundraising ideas if you have any – and in the meanwhile if you don’t play the lottery do join if you can. Details below.
- We held our AGM and elected our office bearers – Harriet, Leri, Ginny and Suzanne all stood again and were re-elected. But new people always welcome too. We may well be looking for a fundraiser soon…!
Our next meeting is online on 26 October (Wednesday) at 7pm. We will have an overview of the term so far and will be focusing on attendance, neurodiversity, mental health, bullying and inclusion. Some big and really important topics there so we’d love to have as many as possible there.
Funding Available – Thomas Maconochie Trust
Bids are invited from the above Trust for the meeting which will take place on Wednesday 16th November 2022. Application forms can be collected from the School Office or, alternatively, you can complete the electronic copy below.
Information about the Trust and the purpose of it is detailed below:-
The Thomas Maconochie KHS Trust was established in 2003 by Mr Thomas Maconochie, a former pupil of the school. The trust is a recognised Charity, Scottish Charity No: SCO34775.
The purposes of the Trust are “to advance the education of children at school in Kelso and its environment in such a way as are over and above the statutory requirement of the relevant Education Authority.”
In practice, this means that this Fund may choose to support educational activities carried out by Kelso High School pupils which are not directly funded by legal requirement by the Education Authority, namely Scottish Borders Council. This may include grants to support:-
- pupil participation in business and enterprise related activities
- pupils taking part in school activities and excursions where, for any reason, lack of finance is a barrier to participation
- the start up of new extra-curricular activities, e.g. school shows, drama, etc.
- ongoing running costs for extra-curricular activities, e.g. sport, music and drama
- extra activities offered in school for classes, groups or year groups, e.g. conferences, education for work initiatives, visits
- individual pupil participation in courses and activities, e.g. Gap Year
All groups / individuals who have received funding at a previous meeting should submit a report (with photographs if possible) indicating how the money was spent and the experience gained from taking part in the activity.
Deadline for Bids and Feedback Reports is 28th October 2022. Completed Application Forms should be returned to the School Office or alternatively, they can be e-mailed to KelsoHS@scotborders.gov.uk by the same date.
Lottery Draw – September 2022
The numbers drawn were 2, 17 and 20.
Unfortunately there was no winner this month.
The prize fund of approximately £580 will roll over and be drawn at the end of October.
To be in with a chance to win please download and complete the application form – Good Luck!!
KHS Hockey – Mixed fortunes for Kelso on the Scottish Schools stage
Kelso High School made its long-awaited return to the Scottish Schools Hockey Cups this week with matches against independent schools from the west of Scotland and experienced mixed results.
Our Junior team, featuring our S3s and three S2s, lost 4-0 to St Columba’s School from Kilmacolm at KHS on Tuesday, but only after a terrific fightback from our youngsters when they went behind to an early goal. Both teams produced some excellent hockey and Kelso showed a great work ethic and fine skills under captain Jenny Thomson, but St Columba’s proved just a little more accurate in taking chances that came their way. Unfortunately, Jenny also suffered a dislocated and broken finger during the second half which required a hospital visit, but she is recovering well and hopes to make a full recovery. We all wish Jenny well and thank her for her superb leadership of the team, and thank the team for representing Kelso and our pride values so well.
Our Senior team also had to show their fighting spirit away to St Aloysius College at the National Hockey Centre in Glasgow on Wednesday, as, led superbly by captain Issy Schaeli, they came back from a 2-0 half-time deficit to draw their tie 2-2, Orla Armitage getting on the end of terrific team play to score the two vital goals. That took the cup tie into a penalty shoot-out, and Molly Sutherland and Ellie Burton both scored with fine flicks while goalkeeper Ailsa Ogilvie denied St Aloysius three times, for Kelso to claim a 2-0 penalty victory. Again, this squad showed great resilience and every player, no matter how much time they played, typified the Kelso pride values.
Our Juniors will now go into the Scottish Schools Junior Challenge Plate competition and the Seniors progress to the second round of the Scottish Schools Senior Challenge Cup. The draws will be made next week and games take place at the end of October or early November.
We would like to thank our coaches David Ferguson, Emma Mack and Liv Ferguson, our former teacher and coach Mary Weir and umpire Lynn Young, for making these games possible; parent volunteers Lesley Cessford and Morag Thomson; our Head of PE Mr Brown and teacher Miss Allan, and janitors Richard and John; Granny Jeans Butchers for supplying the pies and sausage rolls, and Robertson’s Buses for their support for our hockey matches.
Finally, we would like to thank all of our supportive parents and pupils – both those who made the squads and those who supported (including former pupils Sophie Macrae and Lauren White, who turned up from university in Glasgow to support our Senior team) – for all your commitment to our hockey programme. We wish you the best of luck in the games against Jedburgh Grammar School this week and the matches to come. You are all a great credit to Kelso High School.
Canteen Menu
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| Main 1 | Spaghetti Bolognaise with Garlic Bread Mixed Salad | Sweet and Sour Pork with Egg Noodles and Mixed Salad | Chicken Tikka served with Rice and Mixed Salad | Fish and Chips with Peas | Bacon Roll |
| Main 2 | Roast Chicken in Gravy, with Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding and Seasonal Vegetables | Broccoli and Salmon Quiche Mixed salad | Chicken Korma served with Rice and a Chapatti Mixed Salad | Levi Roots West Indian Breaded Chicken Breast Fillet with Chips and Peas | Sausage in a Roll Veggie or Meat Free Sausage in a Roll Sausage Roll (pastry) |
| Main 3 (V) | Macaroni Cheese Garlic Bread Mixed Salad | Meat Free Sausages in Gravy Roast Potatoes Seasonal Vegetables | Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry served with Rice and Mixed Salad | Grilled Quorn Burger with Chips and Peas | Beef Burger Quorn Burger in a Roll |
| Soup + Bread | Tomato and Red Pepper | Lentil | Leek and Potato | Tomato | N/A |
| Sandwich Options | Cheese, Tuna, Chicken, Egg | Cheese, Tuna, Chicken, Egg, | Cheese, Tuna, Chicken, Egg, Ham | Cheese, Tuna, Chicken, Egg | Cheese, Chicken, Tuna, Egg, Ham |
| Hot Sandwich Options | Sweet Chilli Quorn or Chicken (non fried) | Veggie Fajitas or Chicken (non fried) | BBQ Quorn or Chicken (non fried) | Roast Veg and mozzarella or Chicken (non fried) | Cheese and Ham Panini Cheese Panini Cheese and Tomato Pizzini Spicy Chicken Pizzini |
| Baked Potato | Beans, Cheese, Salad Bar | Beans, Cheese, Salad Bar | Beans, Cheese, Salad Bar | Beans, Cheese, Salad Bar | N/A |
| Pasta King | Cook’s Choice (can have red meat) | Cook’s Choice (can have red meat) | Cook’s Choice (no red meat) | Cook’s Choice (no red meat) | N/A |
| Pizza | Cheese | Cheese | Cheese | Cheese | N/A |
| Additional Veg | Vegetable Sticks | Vegetable Sticks | Vegetable Sticks | Vegetable Sticks | Mixed Salad Vegetable Sticks |