I hope all had a good mid-term break and a chance to switch off. Pleasingly, there are positive signs that restrictions are starting to ease so we have much to look forward to in the coming weeks. Over the past few days, we have been planning for the return of a limited number of pupils in S4,5 and 6 for the purpose of undertaking assessment related work that cannot be completed online. The provision of our HUB for the children of Keyworkers and a few others continues. More to follow on that in the next few days as we work out the best way to safely operate the different groups . At the next Parent Council meeting on Tuesday evening, we will update on several matters including SQA business, Advanced Higher planning for next session, Lateral Flow Testing, Online learning etc. Earlier this week, Mrs O’Brien shared a link to a document with pupils on Tips for Online Learning. This is attached for information.
Senior Students – Essential Practical Activities
As you may be aware, guidelines have been recently shared with schools regarding the organisation for senior students to come into school to complete essential practical work, related to national qualifications. For clarity, this is work that cannot be completed remotely and may, for example, require the use of specific school facilities and/or resources. A broad structure for how we will organise these sessions has been agreed this week and we are now working through the finer detail of how the sessions will run in conjunction with our HUB and remote leaning activities. Contact will be made with students and parents next week regarding the specific times students will be expected in school. It is likely that most sessions will begin the week beginning 1 March.
SQA Update
Earlier this week, schools were given an update from the SQA regarding the arrangements for the delivery and assessment of this year’s national qualifications. The details of this update can be found using the link below. Most notably, the date for the submission of provisional course awards has been reviewed again and is now set for Friday 25 June, the last day of the summer term.
Update on Delivering N5, Higher and Advanced Higher Results
S4 & S5/6 Parents’ Evenings
Please be aware that we have upcoming parents’ evenings on the following dates:
S4 – Monday 8 March
S5/6 – Wednesday 17 March
Information regarding the booking of appointments and the requirements for conducting online appointments will be shared with parents in due course.
There is now a section on the school website (link included below) which contains information updates and key documents relevant to our Capacity Planning for 2021-22. Information will be uploaded regularly to this page as well as emailed out and included in the Friday updates.
https://www.jamesgillespies.co.uk/information/capacity-updates-2021-22/
The next Parent Council meeting will be held on Tuesday 23 February at 7pm. As usual, the meeting will be online and a link will be circulated via the school next week. This will be a chance for a general update on several issues such as SQA assessments arrangements, capacity contingency planning and feedback on home learning. There will be the opportunity on the night to ask questions via the Q&A typed chat facility, but if you want to raise a question in advance it should be sent by Monday at 2pm to the Parent Council email jghscouncilcomms@gmail.com and we will try to include it in the updates.
Course choice is now open for S2, S4 and S5 pupils to make subject selections for the 2021-2022 academic session. Please refer to the information sent out by Mr Warden and on the school website. If you have not already done so, please download the School App for Parents on your devices to get the latest updates. Please be assured that although there is a submission deadline for initial course choices on 1st of March, this does not prevent any amendment to these choices after further progress reports and parent/teacher consultations.
Apprenticeship Opportunity One of our former pupils, Josh Dow, is keen to offer an apprenticeship in his landscaping business. Any school leavers interested in a full-time paid Gardening apprenticeship can check out the details at https://www.apprenticeships.scot/vacancy-details/?refCode=13190
My quote for this week. ‘The future depends on what we do in the present’ (Gandhi)
Best wishes to all for a safe and relaxing weekend.
Donald
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