By the time you read this message from me, I expect you may have also seen the fantastically full e-news edition for this half term or read the ‘Sportlight’ ezine produced by the PE department to round up this term. It is incredibly impressive just how many opportunities there have been for the students to try new activities, develop existing strengths or learn from working with others in teams. One of the things that really struck me when I first came to interview for St George’s, was the clear emphasis on providing pathways for every single student to shine, on offering unparalleled opportunities. This last two weeks alone has demonstrated this in abundance.

We have all enjoyed seeing the students hone their performance skills in a series of confident, vibrant concerts and performances. From delightful nativity performances in nursery and P1-2, to accomplished concert performances at the P3,4,5 and Lower School/Junior School Winter concerts, it has been a joy to hear the outcome of all those rehearsals and music lessons. This Thursday, we enjoyed our Lower School Carol Service at in Murrayfield Parish Church and it was such a pleasure to enjoy this in person. We still have the final Carol Service at St. Giles to look forward to for our Upper School girls and I look forward to seeing many of you there. Given that we have been battling various diseases in school it has been no mean feat pulling all these events together in such a polished fashion and I am exceptionally grateful to the team of staff involved in making these things happen, particularly the Music Department and leadership and administration teams in all three sections of the school. Since I wrote last, we have also enjoyed a spectacular Young Musician Competition evening in the Robertson Music Centre and Christine S. was a well-deserved winner.

Students Performing in the Nativity, "It's a Party!"

Our charities reps across the school have been very busy raising funds and over the last fortnight we have seen Carol Singing at Edinburgh Airport and in our local neighbourhood to raise charitable funds, as well as a visit to Fresh Start by our Lower School reps and a successful ‘Festive Jumper’ event raising funds for Children in Need. Our students take a very active role in leading these initiatives and we are most grateful for your support of them in these financially challenging times.

I had the great pleasure of judging, alongside our Head Student and Pastoral Deputy Head, the Lower 5 Young Philanthropy Initiative final last week, which saw groups of students present on a local charity that they have built links to, in order win a £3,000 donation from the Wood Foundation to their chosen charity. The eventual winners secured the donation for The Yard Edinburgh, which is a great local charity, but we also saw wonderful presentations on charities like Bikes for Refugees Scotland, which I am sure we will seek to support in other ways in the future.

Our older students have enjoyed several social events, including an Upper Four social with Merchiston Castle and the long-awaited Upper Sixth Ball at the weekend. The students themselves do a great deal to organise their Ball and it was a real pleasure to see them celebrating together, with their friends, kicking off their heels for a good ceilidh. A very well-deserved celebration! All our Sixth formers will head into mock examinations after the Winter break, so it has been good to see them let their hair down ahead of some serious revision in the New Year.

As I write this, I am about to head into our Christmas Lunch, followed by House Glee, so I apologise in advance if your children are in full festive mode by the time we reach 4 pm. I hope to see many of you next week, at our remaining events and I will write again as we reach the final day of term.