Dear Parents/Carers and Pupils,
Following our ‘soft start’ I write to you to provide a general update on our plans for next week. As you know, all pupils will return to school on Monday.
Pick up and drop off/Parental Gatherings
Thank you for ensuring that young people and staff could enter and exit school safely. By way of a reminder, parents/carers should not be on site in the playground in the morning or at the end of the school day. Parents/Carers dropping pupils at school are asked to park cars in designated spaces or to drop young people in a safe area outwith school grounds. The same would apply at pick up time.
Staggered Lunch
As you know, we will operate a staggered lunch break as of Monday 17th August. Lunch for S1, S2 and S3 will start at 12.25pm and end at 1.10pm. Lunch for S4, S5 and S6 will start at 1.15pm and end at 2.00pm.
Young people are encouraged to spend lunch outside. However, if the weather dictates that young people must remain indoors, pupils should use the following areas of the school.
12.25pm – 1.10pm
S1 and S2 – Street/Assembly Hall
S3 – Small Gym
1.15pm – 2.00pm
S4 – Small Gym
S5 – Street/Assembly Hall
S6 – Library
The above will help ensure that we can keep young people within social bubbles (by year group).
Online Portal/Ordering Lunch and ‘Eat Out to Help Out’
We helped the majority of pupils register for the new catering portal last week. Some pupils could not login to the school network and password reset requests are with the IT department at East Ayrshire Council. We will carry out a ‘mop up’ of those yet to register next week. Pupils should order online the day before they wish to purchase food from the canteen.
The secondary school menu can be found here: https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/Resources/PDF/School-meals/School-meals-menu-for-secondary-schools.pdf
Once registered, you access the ordering system as follows:
https://portal.east-ayrshire.gov.uk
(Will not work with Internet Explorer, you must use Chorme, Firefox, etc.)
When you open the link you are asked to enter a username and password.
Username: Pupil
Password: Meals
You will then see all secondary schools in East Ayrshire. Select ‘St. Joseph’s Academy’ and enter your school username and password. You can then order lunch.
East Ayrshire Council is participating in the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ programme until the end of August. This means that school meals are half price for the next two school weeks.
Health and Safety
You can find a copy of our risk assessment here: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/stjosephsacademy/files/2020/08/COVID-19-Secondary-School-RA-St.Josephs.pdf
A group of staff meet every Monday to consider Health and Safety and to highlight any areas of concern. At the beginning of September, we will consult with pupils around their perception of what is and is not working well. Parents/Carers should contact the school directly if concerned about Health and Safety.
