Author: Mr McGurn

HT Update

Dear parent/carer.

In response to the reported high prevalence of Covid-19 in our area at the moment, all pupils in The Robert Burns Academy, including those in S1-S3 will now be asked to wear face coverings for the duration of their indoor lessons as well as in corridors and communal spaces. This will offer an additional layer of protection for pupils, teaching staff and classroom assistants and assist our efforts to suppress the spread of the virus. Whilst this is a school-level request and not national guidance, I would really appreciate your support in encouraging your child to comply with this request unless they have a medical exemption.

Many Thanks

Stay safe and well

Peter Gilchrist 

Work Placement Opportunity

The Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce are offering our senior pupils an opportunity to take part in a Virtual Work Experience placement with Engie, week commencing 30 November 2020. They are also planning to arrange a ‘Females into Construction Virtual Talk’ before Christmas.

The work experience week consists of MS Teams meetings each day at 10 am for approximately 45 minutes with various tasks for the participants to complete. The proposed schedule is attached.

There is a quick turnaround with confirmation of the number of participants taking part required by Friday 13 November 2020.

If you would like to be involved in the work experience week please let you guidance teacher know before Thursday. Miss Kilpatrick will be organising the Females into Construction talk, please speak to her for more information and to register your interest. The date for this talk is still to be confirmed.

 

ENGIE – Virtual Work Placement Schedule

Day One at Barony Campus

As we prepare to welcome our young people to our new campus on Monday it would be beneficial to look over the two attached documents before then. These documents contain:

NEW PLP Tutors– Most PLP classes will have a new teacher for PLP due to our new merged timetable, it would be helpful for all pupils to see what teacher they now have.

PITCH ASSEMBLY POINTS-Shows where each PLP class should assemble on the sports pitches on Monday morning to register.

 

In the weeks leading up to the October break we have published several important documents on our school app and blog including the Passport to Barony and Barony Campus Travel Plan. These documents have been shared with pupils during PLP as well. We are confident that these documents provide all the information required for your child.

In addition to this pupils were issued with a Day 1 guide on the last day  of school. This guide shows them where to go upon arrival at the campus on the first day.

Below is a brief overview of the arrangements for the morning of the first day:

 

  • Upon arrival at the campus make your way to the sports pitches at the back of the school. Do not enter the building.
  • Go to your PLP class assembly point. Teachers and S6 prefects will be there to help you find it.
  • Wait for all of your classmates to arrive so you can be registered.
  • Your house group will be led into the building when directed to by your House Head.
  • Your PLP tutor and prefects will show you to your PLP class.
  • There will be an extended PLP period for periods 1-3 in order to cover some important information about the new campus.
  • S6 prefects will guide S1/2 pupils to classes on Monday and Tuesday.

In order for all pupils to enter the building safely we will not allow anyone into the building until registration has been completed outside. Please dress appropriately for potential wet weather.  Rest assured that we will have the majority of our staff outside to assist pupils in finding their way to the correct areas before and after entering the building.

 

We look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

 

 

 

New Beginnings

Barony Campus- key documents

As we edge ever closer to our first day in our brand new school we are delighted to be able to publish our ‘Passport to the Barony Campus’. This document gives a comprehensive overview of the new campus and amalgamates all of the information that has been issued to pupils during PLP lessons and via the school blog and app over the last few weeks. We hope that you find this document useful and encourage you to spend some time familiarising yourself with the content.

Robert Burns Academy Passport

In addition to our passport the following documents will also be useful in preparation for our move:

Day 1 at Barony Campus– our pupils have been issued a printed copy of this document which contains instructions for where to go on the first day.

Barony Campus Building Guide– our pupils have already had a chance to explore this document during PLP and it is already available on our blog. We will issue a colour copy of this to every pupil on their first day. We would also encourage them to keep a digital version of this document on their mobile phone if they are able to.

Barony Campus Travel Plan– This document was published on our website last week and contains information on suggested routes to and from school as well as details of drop off points and the new traffic management systems in place.

 

School Closure Days

A reminder that pupils will not attend school until the 26th October. Work has been provided for each year group during our school closure days via Glow and Microsoft Teams.

College WILL run on our exceptional closure days, pupils are expected to attend as normal. Bus warrants can be collected from the main office at Auchinleck Academy on Friday 9th/Monday 12th/Tuesday 13th October.

 

We are almost there!

School Closure Days Reminder

A reminder to parents, carers and pupils of our school closure days which are:

8th and 9th October– Exceptional closure, allowing staff time to pack up at each site.

12th – 16th October– School Holidays as normal.

19th October– Inservice Day as normal.

20th -23rd October– Exceptional closure, staff setting up at Barony Campus.

26th October- Secondary Campus opens to pupils.

During these school closure days work will be provided for our pupils via Microsoft Teams. Teachers will be issuing instructions to pupils this week. If your child has any issues accessing their Glow account ask them to let their guidance teacher or house head know.

Barony Travel Plan and RBA School Map

As we edge closer to our move to the new campus PLP classes have had a chance to look at two important documents:

 

  1. The Barony Campus Travel Plan-   Barony Campus Travel Plan

This document contains maps and essential information covering the routes pupils should take into the new campus. It is important that parents and carers read this document to assist with traffic management, as it will be a busy area in the morning. Our staff will be assisted by the local police on the first day to ensure that pupils find the correct route into the building.

We would appreciate the cooperation and support of parents transporting their child to school via car by using only the designated drop off points to avoid traffic congestion. If you have any questions about the travel plan, please get in touch with the school office.

 

  1. RBA Map-   RBA School Map

Each pupil will be issued with a colour copy of this map on their first day. However, we would encourage them to download a copy of the image onto their phone, if they are able to. The map will be useful for pupils and they have already been encouraged to look at where the access points to the building are. We will be issuing further details about the first day arrangements to pupils on Wednesday and there will be an extended PLP period on the first day to ensure pupils are familiar with the new building.

 

On Wednesday we will be issuing pupils will instructions for the first day and these will be made available on our blog and school app.

Getting ready to move!

This week we have been using our PLP time to begin looking at arrangements for when we move to our new school building. Over the course of the next week we will be explaining and sharing information with pupils about the first day arrangements, getting to and from the campus and how to find their way around the new building.

We will be publishing these lessons on our blog, app and Twitter feed so that parents / carers can see the facilities.

So far we have been looking at some images and features of the new school building.

RBA Move