This is the first of my Friday notes and we have had the most wonderful week back at school. The new S1 have settled in brilliantly and have made a fantastic start to high school. All young people have been in great spirits and have hit the ground running with uniform and a really positive attitude to learning. All pupils are managing ongoing Covid regulations really well too and are taking their responsibilities seriously. Thank you to all parents and carers who have invested so much time preparing your child/children for the return to school. We really appreciate all your support and it has certainly paid off this week. It has been a pleasure walking around the school, hearing and seeing busy classrooms and young people enjoying being back in school.
The HT and Year Head Assemblies this week focused on our school values; Confidence, Unity, Respect, Responsible, Initiative and Equality. There were important messages to send to all young people to set the tone for the year. The power of hard work, self belief, celebrating success and that everyone in our school matters will underpin all we do in ensuring positive attainment outcomes for all young people.
LFD Testing:
We know that for now the current restrictions we have in place are for 6 weeks. It is crucial to the preventing of outbreaks that all young people and staff participate in the LFD testing programme twice weekly. If you have not completed the consent form for your child, your child can collect one from the school office. This should be returned to us at school and your child will then receive their test kits. There is an LFD shop in the main foyer which operates at break and lunch. Please find too the link to the video that Young Scot have produced about testing which I think you and your child will find very helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgd2TfVL6pk
Vaccines for 16/17 year olds:
Public Health are asking schools to raise awareness of the opportunity for 16 and 17 year olds to get the Covid Vaccine. This weekend there will be a vaccine bus located at Waverley Bridge and young people are being strongly encouraged to access this service.
Registration:
Can I ask for your help in reminding your child that if they come into school between 8.25 and 8.40, they must attend Group Tutor. If they arrive after this, (this would be considered late to school) then they should sign in at the school office at the front of the school and then go to period 1 class. Punctuality has been very good overall this week and I would like to see from Monday all young people ready to come into school from 8.25am. Many thanks for your support with this.
Whole School Calendar:
Thank you to those parents who have completed the Reporting Consultation. We will be sharing in due course our Whole School Calendar which will detail when reports will be issued and when parents consultation evenings will take place by year group this session. Please look out for this over the next few weeks.
3G Pitch:
Work on the 3G Pitch will also commence next week as part of our New Build planning. The current 3G pitch will be in use and all access from the contractors around the back of the school. We will ensure as little disruption as possible to the normal school day. It is likely the pitch will be completed by December 2021.
Litter:
As part of our school values, we talk about respect for our community. Can I ask for your support in reminding your child of the importance of keeping our community greener and healthier by not dropping litter. We are going to focus on this as a continued aspect of our Eco Schools work this school session. A shared and consistent message from adults with young people taking the lead will make such a difference.
Parents in Partnership (PiP) Meeting:
The first PiP meeting of the session will take place on Tuesday 31st August at 7PM on Teams. I will send out the meeting link next week and very much look forward to continuing our Parents in Partnership work this year. We have lots to look forward to.
For now, I wish you all a fantastic weekend. There are lots of tired young people in the building who will need a well deserved rest after a very busy week! A massive well done to all of them.
The first Family Bulletin of the session will be published next week.
