Monday 25th January 2021
Parental Update 3 – Various Matters 25 January 2021
Following the First Minister’s statement on Tuesday 19 January 2021, we will be continuing to deliver remote learning for all students until at least the middle of February.
This letter is intended to provide updates relating to;
Key Contacts
During the closure of schools we have re-established and expanded our Key Contact Team and now have 20 members of staff ready to provide support. Every family has now been allocated a Key Contact. This may be your Guidance teacher or may be another member of staff who will liaise with your guidance teacher and other members of staff on your behalf. Contact details for Key Contacts have been sent out via Group Call so all families will have specific mobile and email contacts to hand. We are here to offer every support possible to all of our families though this very difficult period. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need help.
S4 Parents’ Evening
On 19 January we held our third telephone based Parents’ Evening for S4 parents. This was an excellent opportunity for teachers to share updates on pupil progress and indicate key next steps. We have received positive feedback for our telephone based Parents’ Evenings and we extend our thanks to the parents/carers who have engaged in conversations with our staff; it is much appreciated as we work together to ensure we are providing our students with the best learning experience.
Remote Learning Reminder
From Monday 18 January teachers have been posting work on Google Classroom at times that are in line with our current timetable. Please remember that in some cases teachers will post work at the start of the day or week. In this scenario the teacher should make it clear in the instructions what period the work is intended for and any subsequent timescales for completion.
A reminder that pupils are not expected to complete the same volume of work as they would in school; work posted will be time appropriate and, in most cases, will not take students the full 50 minutes to complete but rather half of their usual class time. We are also aware of various home circumstances that can have an impact on the amount of work a pupil is able to complete. If you have any concerns about the work being assigned to your child, please raise them with your Key Contact.
Teachers will respond to questions raised by students via Google Classroom in a timely manner but not out with normal school hours. Please note that not all pupil work will receive feedback from staff; some tasks will be set with the intention they be completed to develop already established skills or to further embed knowledge.
Remote Learning Live Lessons
We are now offering a series of ‘live’ online lessons. Initially for Senior Phase students and then developing this tool over coming weeks for BGE classes. These lessons will take place via Google Meet during some of times when the subject appears on your child’s timetable. Live lessons does not mean that all lessons will be live online as remote learning requires multiple channels of delivery to ensure pace and challenge is balanced with the context of home learning and the known challenges. The timetable below gives an indication of when live lessons are currently taking place for senior phase students. We will put up BGE timetables for S1 -3 in the near future. Please note that the Senior Phase Timetable included here is a guide; teachers will communicate timings and instructions via the Google Classrooms as necessary. In general the online lessons will cover the material previously posted for completion and staff will attempt to make them as interactive as possible. There are a variety of other ways that staff can directly interact with young people via GC classrooms as well, including; pre-recorded materials with voice over and the chat/message function. Senior phase students should ensure they fully engage with live lessons despite the fact they may feel initially strange or awkward – as this will allow better feedback and learning. There is some anecdotal evidence of students being passive and shy in these new situations so they may need encouragement from you at home as well.
Quality Assurance
We are continuing to monitor feedback from Parent/Carers and will have a quality assurance framework in place over coming weeks. Selected stakeholder surveys will also occur by telephone or online formats and we hope you will find the time to feedback if invited. We are aware of concerns around when and how much work is being posted alongside when live lessons occur. We are receiving mixed feedback with some parents and students quite happy while others are expressing concerns. These matters will be discussed with Curriculum leaders in coming days and we will look to mitigate issues where we can.
We do encourage families with specific issues to use the key contact system to raise concerns. In turn, matters will be referred to teaching staff and or PTs so they can understand the concerns and work with you to help overcome any barriers to progress in learning. It is also useful for us to understand your current home context and domestic issues as we can ask staff to adjust demands for individuals to help reduce stress and anxiety. Student’s health and wellbeing is paramount in these circumstances.
SQA
At present we have no updates from SQA. You will be aware they have said that there will be NO exams for National 5, Higher or Advanced Higher in 2021. SQA have published advice on evidence and grades, reduced course content and also published a proposed Alternative Certification Model (ACM) for National 5 which involves; schools using high quality assessment and moderation to produce provisional grades that will be submitted to SQA. The same sort of model is likely to be used for Higher and Advanced Higher and schools will get more details around 29 January, 2021 of the proposed certification model for these awards. This advice will also take into account the current lockdown as this affects our ability to carry out assessments. One of the things that is likely to change is the submission date for provisional grades to go to SQA.
We realise that this is an uncertain and anxious time for young people but we urge them to fully engage with remote learning and seek support where they are having problems with progress and understanding. As soon as we have updates we will share them urgently with students and Parent/ Carers.
Course Choice
Planning for next year’s staffing, timetable and the course choice process are now underway. Parent/ Carers of S2 students will receive information about the course choice process and our supports of the decision making process for young people next week. Other year levels – S3 moving in to S4 and S5/6 will come out soon after. More information to follow.
Finally, I would like to thank all parents and carers for their support of young people’s learning and the constructive feedback received on issues that have arisen since we returned to remote learning.
I am aware that several families have suffered recent bereavements and I send my sincere sympathies to you on behalf of the school community. We also have young people who have family members who are unwell and we send our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Kind regards.
Craig Biddick
Head Teacher
LIVE LEARNING – Senior Phase Timetable – Week 3
| Senior Phase Live Lessons | Period 1 | Period 2 | Period 3 | Period 4 | Period 5 | Period 6 | Period 7 |
| Monday | Higher Biology 5B
Mrs MacFadyen
|
History AH Miss Docherty
Practical Woodworking R.Merson |
Tutorial S4 1-1
Mrs Blyth
Higher PE Miss McShannon |
Mrs Kinloch
N5 Early Education and Childcare
Higher RMPS Miss Graham
S4 Construction R.Merson |
Design and Manufacture N4/5
Mr Beards |
Tutorial S5 1-1
Mrs Blyth S4 Spanish Ms Colquhoun |
RMPS 4C N4/5 Miss Lyon
History 4C N4/5 Miss Blake
H Computing M McGovern
4C Geography Mr |Johnstone |
| Tuesday |
|
History Higher Miss Docherty
English AH Dissertation Ms Adams |
N5 Biology 5B
Mrs MacFadyen
Tutorial S4 1-1 Mrs Blyth
Higher RMPS Miss Graham |
Mrs kinloch
N5 Early Education and Childcare |
National 5 Physics
Miss Preedy
S4 N4/5 Chemistry Miss Campbell
|
Tutorial S5 1-1
Mrs Blyth
AH Chemistry Mr Proctor |
|
| Wednesday | Higher French
Mrs McEvoy
|
AH French
Mrs McEvoy
Higher Biology Miss Burrows |
Higher Geography
Miss Tavakoli
Higher Biology Miss Burrows |
National 5 Physics
Miss Preedy
N4 Env Sci Mr Proctor
Higher PE Miss McShannon
Higher Media (col E) M Smith |
N5 Chemistry
Mr Proctor
Design and Manufacture N4/5 Mr Beards |
N5 Spanish
Mrs McEvoy
|
S Milligen 5A Higher Eng
Higher Chemistry Miss Campbell
S4 N5 Media M Smith |
| Thursday |
History N5 Miss Docherty
|
RMPS AH Miss Lyon
Higher/N5 Media (col B) M Smith |
N5 Maths Mrs Cochrane
Senior N5 Miss Docherty
N4 Maths Miss Hill |
Practical Cookery N5/N4 Miss Gungui
S4 French Mrs Andrew |
S4 Spanish
Ms Colquhoun |
Tutorial S4 1-1
Ms Colquhoun |
|
| Friday |
|
Higher Biology 5B
Mrs MacFadyen
Higher History 5B Miss Blake
3C Geography Mr Johnstone |
HFT N5 Miss Gungui
N5 Biology 4F Mrs MacFadyen Higher English 5A Miss Blake |
Higher/AH Spanish Mrs Andrew |
Tweet Share on Facebook
