Thursday 12 August

 

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope that you have had an enjoyable summer and managed some downtime with your family and friends.

We look forward to welcoming all pupils back to school on Wednesday 18 November. Pleasingly, the COVID-19 situation is much better generally than it was when we broke up in June, but there will still be risks for us to manage. Therefore, it will be important for us all to continue to be careful, cautious and sensible in the coming weeks. To that end, in line with Government Guidelines, the various mitigations we operated in June will continue from when we resume next week.

Hands                   Regular hand washing throughout the day

Face                       Face-coverings must be worn by all pupils and staff whilst in any of the buildings. (This includes classrooms) Pupils should bring their own face coverings to school with them. We will have some spares available at the main reception.

Space                    Pupils are requested to keep 2 metres from staff.

Community        All are asked to maintain social distancing from members of the community and to wear face coverings whilst using public transport and visiting local shops. All are reminded to be kind and respectful towards others at all times.

We will continue to keep you updated as national guidelines continue to evolve over the coming weeks.

 

Schools Asymptomatic Testing Programme

All pupils and staff are strongly encouraged to undertake twice-weekly at-home LFD testing. We would suggest testing is undertaken on Thursday mornings (prior to school) and on Sundays.

It is really important results are recorded online, whether positive, negative or void. This helps public health experts understand what levels of COVID-19 are, and can inform policy on matters such as mitigations in schools.

If your child is signed up to the programme at School, test kits can be collected from our School Reception between 830 am and 4pm. Alternatively, they can be ordered online for home delivery, or collected from your nearest test site or pharmacy. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested/

In approximately 4-6 weeks the Scottish Government will be reviewing this Testing Programme and we will provide an update from that review when received.

 

SQA Grades 2021

Warmest congratulations to all of our pupils as represented in this year’s SQA Grades. My sincere thanks to all pupils, parents and staff for your concerted efforts in the difficult times experienced by all over the past 18 months.

Mr Shankland will continue to update parents on all SQA related arrangements including appeals.

 

Arrangements for Wednesday 18 November

In order to issue updated timetables and to ensure that classes resume safely and efficiently, we will be operating a staggered start to the school day as follows:

8.30       S1s and S6 befrienders arrive on campus via the Lauderdale Street entrance. Details of what happens next will follow in a separate email from Mr Ian Porter (Depute Headteacher)

9.35       S2, 3 and 4 attend their Key Adult class.                

13.50     S5 & S6 will start Period 5 & 6. Those who have made subject change requests and/or require a new copy of their timetable may pick this up in the Forum from 1:00pm.

Pupils in S2,3,4,5 and 6 are allowed off campus at breaks and lunch times. S1 pupils must remain on campus throughout the school day.

If any parent/carer has any queries about their child then please email -  Admin@jamesgillespies.edin.sch.uk

Kindest regards to all,

Donald