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Head Teacher Blog

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you are well and having a good week.

The last blog of this term leads me to reflect and ponder a few things.  Firstly, as I look back on, what teachers often refer to as the hardest term due to the pressures of the SQA, I’m struck by the continual determination of everyone in the school to ensure that pupils are in the best place to achieve their best.  Secondly, it also presents us all with an opportunity to breathe and relax for a few days.  Whilst I know that pupils in the Senior Phase will be working hard over the next fortnight, I would urge them all to find some time to relax and unwind before the final push and the exam diet.

As always, if you have any questions in relation to the information contained within this blog or any other school matter please do not hesitate to be in touch with the school.

End of Term Highlights

 At the end of a very hectic term, I feel it’s important to remember that we as a school community as well as delivering high quality learning and teaching that we continue to achieve so much including:

  • Having the highest percentage of school leavers moving into a positive destination in North Lanarkshire.
  • Our attainment projections indicate that our pupils in the Senior Phase are on path to equal and potentially even better last years amazing results in their exams in May.
  • Our pupils continue to support our community through their soup kitchen and food bank at Sacred Heart Church.
  • Our pupils visit Care Homes within the community and held a coffee morning for residents within the school.
  • Our Barista Bar opened this term to staff and pupils with 3 of our new barista pupils winning the West of Scotland Shark Tank with a message of supporting and promoting good mental health.
  • Our sports teams competed in a range of leagues and competitions both winning and engendering a sense of camaraderie. Their exemplary behaviour and attitude is regularly commented upon by other schools.
  • We have had visits to Bannockburn, Glasgow and we are getting ready for trips to the Battlefields of WW1 and the USA.
  • Our Gaelic pupils were shortlisted for a number of awards in the national Film G Awards.

 SQA Information

 All families should have received the following information from Mrs Beattie relating to the SQA, but given the importance of the information I have included it here to ensure that no families will have missed the messages.

SQA EXAMINATIONS

All of our S4/5/6 pupils sitting Exams will stop for Study Leave on Friday, 19 April.  They have already been issued with their personal SQA Exam timetables for checking but will receive another copy of this at Assemblies after the Easter break.  Pupils have also all been issued with the SQA ‘Your Exams’ booklet.  (link below)   We would encourage all parents to read this also via the link.

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/Your-Exams-2024-school-edition.pdf

Teachers have taken pupils through the booklet, discussing important information relating to Before, During and After Examinations.  In particular, we must stress that for all SQA exams, pupils are reminded to arrive in plenty of time – at least 15 minutes before the start, dressed in full school uniform.  Mobile phones, Smart watches, Earbuds, Notes etc are not permitted inside the exam room at any time – failure to comply can lead to an automatic fail.

Pupils and parents are also reminded that the SQA Exam dates and times cannot be altered.  There is no option to sit at any other time, therefore it is imperative that pupils and parents set reminders of dates and times.  The SQA timetable can be accessed using this link.

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/nq-2024-exam-timetable.pdf

STUDY RESOURCES AND EXAM SUPPORTS

A reminder that there is a wealth of support and study resources on the school Padlet on the school website, or via the links below:

SQA Learner support for National Qualifications 2023-24 – SQA

Esgoil Study Resources and FREE EASTER SCHOOL 2 WEEK PROGRAMME Home Page | e-Sgoil

Achieve Study Resources ACHIEVE for Students – ACHIEVE (letsachieve.co.uk)

PUPILS WITH NO SQA EXAMS

Pupils sitting N3, N4 or stand alone units do not have final SQA exams but are expected to attend school to complete all outstanding work and internal unit assessments.  They should arrange the most suitable times with teachers, or turn up at their usual timetabled class time.  Pupils will also be spoken to next week about possible Work Experience and other opportunities during Study Leave.

NEW TIMETABLE START

The new Timetable will begin on Mon 3rd June.  Senior pupils in the new S5 and S6 will be involved in Senior Induction Activities and more information around this will be shared with families in May.

RESULTS DAY

On 6th August pupils will receive their Certificates via the post, although they have also been encouraged to sign up to My SQA if they want their results by text or email that day.  Information about Appeals is on the first link at the top of the page or can be accessed on the SQA website.

 Mental Health Support

 We are all keenly aware of the challenges that our young people face.  One of the supports that we often sign post young people to is Kooth.  Kooth is a free, anonymous, online mental health and wellbeing resource for young people aged 10-18 in North Lanarkshire. They have been in touch this week to highlight some webinars which I felt your son/daughter might find helpful.  The webinars will each run for 30 minutes and are open to all children and young people aged 10-18 in North Lanarkshire. Space is limited so please sign up as soon as you can.

The sign up form for Exam Stress Webinar on 17th April at 1.30pm is here: Exam Stress Sign Up Form

The sign up form for Mental Health Week Awareness Webinar on 16th May is here: Mental Health Awareness Week Webinar Sign Up Form

Here is a link to all the Kooth digital resources if you wish to use any: Kooth Digital Resources

 Generations Committee

 On Tuesday the GHS Generations group hosted a ‘Spring Afternoon Tea’ for the residents and staff of Carrickstone Care home. Pupils served up lovely sandwiches and cakes and our barista pupils made coffees for the residents to enjoy. The residents enjoyed chatting and playing games with pupils who frequently visit them in the care home. Some retired teachers were even brought up to their subject classrooms to relive the classroom experience! A lovely day was had by all and it was great to be able to host them in our school again.

        

S3 Progam-A

 60 pupils in S3 were nominated to be trained as Peer Supporters for a project called Program-A. Program-A is a pilot project in conjunction with University of Edinburgh and Space Unlimited evaluating youth views towards gambling harm. Peer Supporters were trained in the risks of gambling and its wider impact. Pupils developed their communication skills, leadership and teamworking skills during an intensive two-day training at Broadwood Stadium.

Following their training they used their skills as Peer Supporters to speak with their social network about the harms of gambling with follow up sessions for the Program-A leads. Pupils have been a credit to themselves and the school during this invaluable opportunity.

 S6 Information

 Families in S6, should have received the following information regarding their last few weeks in school from Mrs McNaughton.

As we near the end of the term and indeed the end of S6 for our lovely young people, I would like to thanks you for all your support over the past 9 months as I got to know my very first S6 cohort in Greenfaulds HS. It has been a privilege to support them in their last chapter here with us and I am certain they will continue to flourish as they take their next steps in life.

We have a number of events planned for the S6 group and details of these are outlined below. If you have any questions regarding these, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Easter School: Tuesday the 2nd & Wednesday the 3rd of April 2024 from 9:30am – 3:00pm

Closing date for addition of pupils to group lists is Monday the 25th of March 2024.

There will be 2 sessions running each day for 2.5hrs each. There will be a 30 minute lunch break at 12:30pm

If your son/daughter has still to sign up, please ask them to contact Mrs French in the school office.

Graduation Ceremony: Thursday the 18th of April 2024 @7pm in Greenfaulds HS Assembly Hall

Closing date for confirming your 2 tickets is today, Friday the 22nd of March 2024.

If you have not confirmed your attendance, please contact the school office on Monday.

Please also submit your son/daughter’s baby photo to the following email address: enquiries-at-greenfaulds@northlan.org.uk

Leavers Day: Friday the 19th of April 2024

We have some surprises planned for our S6’s across the morning so can we ask all are in attendance.

Pupils will receive their Leavers Hoodie, Yearbook and sign their Leaver’s Form on this day. If they are unable to attend, they can collect these items at a later date.

Prom: Thursday the 30th of May 2024 @ Eagle Lodge, Bishopbriggs from 6:30pm

Final preparations are under way by our Prom Committee for what is shaping up to be a fantastic evening of celebration.

Transport will be provided to and from the venue from the front of the school and pupils have been asked to confirm if they require this by completing the following form before Monday the 25th of April 2024:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=oyzTzM4Wj0KVQTctawUZKfLb_JhEmM1MqV63XBkyEK1UNTlHVjAwSzVHNkpUUlI4QzQwNUhRU0xNRi4u

The following require to be paid by the date identified below to allow us to pay suppliers on time. All must be paid through iPayImpact. Please contact the school office if you have any difficulties accessing this:

Paid in full by Wednesday the 17th of April 2024

Prom –  £35

 S3 Family Night

 I was delighted to see so many S3 families join us on Tuesday night for the S3 Family Night.  The overwhelming feedback from families was positive around the feedback from staff as well as the new format of the evening with all staff in the assembly hall or social space.

We were also delighted to be hosting Bright Red Publishing on the night who were offering a range of study and revision materials.  These materials are still available via their website and Bright Red Publishing are also offering all Greenfaulds a discount on their study materials – more information and the code are noted later in this blog post.

Easter School

 We are delighted to once again be holding a Easter Revision School for pupils in S4/S5/S6 for 2 days      (2nd & 3rd April inclusive).  The day will be split into 2 study sessions of 2 ½ hours.

Unfortunately, there will be no transport available on these days or school canteen provision. There is no requirement for pupils to wear school uniform in Easter School.

Community Events

As you know, I’m always keen to promote community events in this blog.  This week I’ve been contacted by two separate organisations relating to three different events taking place during the Easter Break.  I hope you find the following information helpful.

 Bright Red Publishing Offer for Greenfaulds

 Bright Red Publishing offer a range of revision materials for National 5 and Higher Courses.  Very kindly, they have provided a special discount code for all families who wish to purchase any of their items via their websitehttps://www.brightredpublishing.co.uk/   Please note this offer runs all the way up until the end of April.

Leckie and Leckie

 We also received a special offer from Leckie and Leckie for revision guides and course notes for National 5 and Higher.  If you go to leckiescotland.co.uk and use the code N5&HIGHER24 you will receive 30% off all revision and practice workbooks.

School Colours

 You may remember in October that as a school we are looking to award Greenfaulds High School Colours this session.  In line with our school values of Ambitious, Progressive and Inclusive; this is part of our drive to recognise the significant achievements by many of our pupils who compete at both Regional and National Level whilst at secondary school. This would include a full range of activities from music and the creative arts, sport, STEM etc.  It will also recognise the dedicated service of senior pupils holding the major leadership positions.

Specially commissioned school ties will be worn by pupils who receive a School Colour at our annual Prize Giving Ceremony, and we anticipate pupils will be keen to apply for these where they have met the threshold criteria. Pupils and their families will be able to apply to the newly formed Colours Committee for this recognition using an online which is available here.  I would ask that all nominations are submitted by the end of March to allow the Colours Committee to meet in April to make decisions on the awards.

Selection to represent the Region (North Lanarkshire or otherwise) would merit Half Colours and  National  (Scotland, Great Britain or any other nation) would merit Full Colours.  We recognise that some of our pupils have achieved these honours in the past as secondary school pupils and would welcome applications that recognise these achievements.

Online Study Resources

For Senior Pupils we wanted to ensure that we were providing as much support for them as possible for studying and revising.  Alongside traditional supported study in school I felt it appropriate to draw your attention to two online resources.

Firstly, this year we purchased a school account to provide our pupils with access to interactive study materials via the ACHIEVE platform https://achieve.hashtag-learning.co.uk.

When signing up to create their own account pupils should use their school GLOW Email address and use the unique Greenfaulds High School Code (XQfQPVhy) to activate their account.  As you will see they will have access to many resources for learning key concepts, testing their knowledge, self-evaluating etc.

Secondly the e-sgoil study resources – Pupils can access a range of resources including help with Study planners, revision tips, managing stress etc.  They can also access a wide range of subject webinars every week.  Details are posted each week to advise what topics are being covered each evening in the Webinars.   They can google Esgoil Study support and it’s very straight forward or can use this link.  We have posted the link on Teams for them already.

Dates for your diary

Thursday 28th March:     School Closes at 2.30pm for Easter Holiday

Monday 15th April:           School Reopens for staff and pupils

Thursday 18th April:         S6 Graduation

Monday 22nd April:          SQA Exams begin with study leave

I hope you have a lovely Easter Break

Moran Taing

Jamie

Jamie Vaughn-Sharp

Head Teacher

 

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