St Joseph's Academy – East Ayrshire

Dear Parents/Carers,

We intend to operate the same system as in April for jotter pick up.

Please complete the form below to assist us with our planning. We anticipate that collection will take place on Wednesday 27th January.

Delivery or collection of Musical instruments sits separately from this exercise and we will confirm those arrangements in due course.

Good afternoon Mr Kane,

Could I ask you to share the following email with the wider parent forum via the school website and app? Once again, thank you for the dedication and hard work of you and your team!

Gavin

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you are all doing well, and keeping safe.

I just wanted to contact all of you to share an update which Mr Kane sent to me on Wednesday of this week. Updates, communication and feedback from the Head Teacher are not uncommon. However, I feel that in these most difficult of circumstances in which we all find ourselves, I should pass on some supportive and positive feedback about the quality of work and huge efforts being made by Mr Kane and all of the staff at St Joseph’s Academy. These are, as we know, unprecedented times. The schooling of our young people is neither ideal nor perfect right now but I think there is a huge amount of credit due here. The detailed communication which the Parent Forum regularly receives through the school website and App tells me that our young people are in good hands on a local school level!

Please have a read of the email below. It gives a great insight into just how much hard work is going on behind the scenes to support our school community. Also, a reminder that your Parent Council are here to support you too. Should you need to contact us you can email at: stjosephsacademyparentcouncil@gmail.com . We will endeavour to respond at the earliest opportunity.

Sincerest thanks to Mr Kane and all of his staff team.

Take care everyone and stay safe!

Gavin Duffy (Parent Council Chair).

UPDATE FROM MR KANE 13.01.2021

In terms of in-school provision, nine pupils were in attendance today, and our daily figure has varied between a low of three and high of fourteen. Members of SLT and PTs delivered various packs to pupils studying Art and Graphics.  This will support the completion of folio work.

Continue Reading →

Dear Parents/Carers,

As was the case during the first lockdown, our Frequently Asked Questions page is designed as a reference point for you until our building re-opens to all pupils.  This page will be updated regularly in response to questions that recur in correspondence with you. Continue Reading →

Dear Parents/Carers and Pupils,

Please see updates from EAC in respect of the planned S4-S6 January assessment diet and next steps.

Letter to Pupils

Click to access Letter-to-Pupils-11.1.21.pdf

Letter to Parents/Carers

Click to access Letter-to-Parent-Carers-11.1.21.pdf

Dear Parents/Carers,

A common question received by school staff is around how much work we expect pupils to complete when learning online.

Given that we are all working in unusual circumstances, it is not possible for all pupils and all staff to replicate a school environment when at home.

Staff have a duty to provide work that can cover the allocation of teaching time across an entire week. Where possible, we encourage pupils to follow their normal in-school timetable when working at home.

Any live lessons will always take place against the actual timetable which operates when in school. Thereafter, staff are likely to set work week to week, and be available for pupils from a class group during the times when the pupils are supposed to be with that teacher.

However, we are fully aware of the challenges that online learning can bring, not only for families but also for staff. The most important point to consider at this stage is that all pupils should respond to any emails from staff. If a teacher notices that a young person is not completing work, they are likely to email pupils directly. During the last lockdown, many staff did not receive any response. We are keen to reassure you that staff are here to support pupils. It is much better for all concerned if a pupil makes contact with teachers to say that they are struggling or cannot complete a task for a specific reason. In this way, staff can provide direct reassurance and guidance.

We also anticipate that S1 pupils may encounter teething issues when navigating glow. Please know that this is part of the process which will be less of an issue as the days progress. Staff will always respond quickly to help pupils and families.

Pupils should try their best to follow their normal timetable, but should also know that staff are not naive to the pressure online learning can bring, and will always do what is necessary to reassure and support pupils.

Kind Regards

Mr Kane

The file below shows various external support available to families during lockdown.

Click to access SJA-Lockdown-supports-JAN2021.pdf

Dear Pupils and Parents/Carers,

We have now published a directory to help you find content for each class when undertaking school work online.

Click to access SJA-Directory-of-Classes-January-2021.pdf

Dear Parents and Carers,

Please see an important update from East Ayrshire Council.

Key Worker Registration

All applications have been processed and you should have received a response via email.

In the light of the First Minister’s announcement yesterday and the rising rate of infections, please only send your child to school or ECC if approval for key worker status has been granted and it is absolutely necessary. If you will now be working from home or furloughed, please do not send your child to school/ECC.

If you have not already applied and both parents are key workers and there are no other childcare options available, you can still apply via these links:

Key Worker Registration – Primary/Secondary/ASN

Key Worker Registration – ECC

This link will be live until 11:45pm tonight (5/1/21).  If you have not applied by this time, please approach your school directly from Wednesday 6^th January onwards.

The central team will not be able to assist after deadline has passed and applications after this time will not be processed.

Sent To You By East Ayrshire Council

Dear Parents/Carers and Pupils,

Following this afternoon’s announcement, all pupils in Scotland will learn online from 11th January until 1st February. This position will be reviewed again on January 18th.

The only exceptions are for those pupils regarded by social work or school staff as vulnerable and children of registered key workers.

If you had completed a Key Worker registration form and have since received confirmation of your registration from East Ayrshire Council, then please be assured of the fact that we have a list of pupils scheduled to attend between Thursday 7th and Friday 15th January. Where applicable, school transport will be available as normal for those scheduled to attend school.

It is likely that a new form will be released to cover attendance from January 15th until February 1st.

Pupils attending school will have access to IT to complete learning online.

The majority of teaching staff will work from home from Thursday 7th January until Monday 1st February.

Our prelim diet will not run in January, but will take place as soon as school re-opens.

All pupils should ensure that they have logged into Glow via the Glow website (login must be via the Glow website, not through apps – Glow – Sign In (rmunify.com) . This will help us target those struggling to access Glow. Any pupil not to have logged in since we closed in December should do so as soon as possible. Work will be posted from Thursday 7th onwards

School staff remain on holiday until Wednesday 6th January. Urgent enquiries should be directed to us via the ‘Contact Us’ form on our website. Further updates are likely to follow in the coming days, particularly around the collection of jotters and free school meal entitlement.

Update – Since posting, it has been confirmed that those entitled to Free School Meals who are not in attendance will receive a school meals payment to cover the period between 6th January and 31st of January. Anyone entitled to Free School Meals who is in attendance will receive a meal on site as normal. All others in attendance can access the canteen to pay for meals as they normally would.

Kind Regards

Mr Kane

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