Some information from the University of Aberdeen:

The Medicine Open Day will be a virtual event and will take place online on Saturday 13^th June, 11:00am – 2:00pm. Registration is now open to all prospective students at this link. Further details about Open Days for all subjects will also be available in due course at abdn.ac.uk/openday.

The Medical Schools Council has also produced information for prospective Medicine applicants. For students who may be concerned about sourcing relevant experience or shadowing, they have produced this informative document. 

A series of informative videos about choosing a course and university, writing your personal statement, and funding information are available here.  These videos can be viewed at any time and students can ask questions relating to any these talks at our June and July Unibuddy Live sessions, which are scheduled on our Virtual Events page here. 

We will also be attending the UK University Search Virtual Fair on Wednesday 17^th June, and staff will be available throughout the day to answer questions from prospective students. Details about this event and how to register for students/teachers can be found here.

Please find below a copy of the email issued to S1-S5 parents this afternoon.

Dear parent,

As you will be aware, the First Minister announced the phased reopening of schools in her speech last week, allowing for some transitions work to take place with next year’s S1 cohorts in the latter part of June in addition to Hub provision for vulnerable pupils and the children of keyworkers.  All schools will reopen on 11^th August and pupils will attend school in a blended learning model with children spending part of the week in school and part of the week learning at home.  Tuesday 11^th and Wednesday 12^th August will be in-service days, with pupils returning from Thursday 13^th August.  We are now finalising the details for our August return, including timetables and practical arrangements, and I hope to be in a position to provide you with fuller information about your child’s return to school within the next week or two.  In the meantime, the following may be of interest.

NETHERLEE HUB

Pupils currently attending Hub schools will return to their base schools with effect from Monday 8^th June.  My thanks to Netherlee Primary School for their hospitality over the past ten weeks.

GOOGLE CLASSROOMS

Pupils’ engagement with Google Classrooms and the quality of the work they have been producing has been impressive, and your support in encouraging your child to engage fully in learning is greatly appreciated.  As you will be aware, staff in all subjects ask that pupils formally submit a piece or work each week to allow staff to gauge pupils’ engagement and progress.  Should a pupil repeatedly fail to engage with the work set, parents will be contacted to make them aware of any concerns.  I would remind you, however, that pupils are not expected to be online continuously during normal school hours.  A number of tasks are ‘open-ended’ and pupils can spend as much time on them as they choose.  If you find that your child is spending too long on Google Classrooms each day, please contact the relevant pupil support teacher who will be happy to offer advice.

A blended approach to education provision will be adopted when pupils return, with learners spending part of their time in school and part of their time learning at home.  Online learning will therefore continue to be a key feature of pupils’ learning.  This blended approach is likely to continue until the end of the calendar year at least.

Please remember that GLOW (and Google Classrooms) is a platform for pupils and teachers only and should not be accessed by parents or other family members.

P7 TRANSITIONS

For those of you with children in P7 who will be joining us in June, I am pleased that a limited transition experience will be able to go ahead.  During the final two weeks in June, pupils will be invited to visit the school in small groups to meet with their year head and pupil support teacher and to take part in some classroom lessons.  Mrs Gibson will write to you tomorrow to invite your child to take part.

SQA

We have completed the process of producing estimate grades for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher candidates in all subjects, ranking candidates based on evidence gathered over the course of the session.  SQA will now consider all of the statistical information available to them and remain committed to publishing examination results as planned on Tuesday 4^th August 2020.  I have attached some information for parents published by SQA which summarises the process.   https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/93825.html

RENEGOTIATION OF SUBJECT OPTIONS

Each year, following publication of SQA results, some of our pupils wish to change their subject options for S5 or S6.  We would usually set aside a particular date during the last week of the summer holiday for pupils to come to school to discuss any options changes.  This year, pupils will be asked to request changes to their subjects by email.  Those who require advice from pupil support staff or from our careers advisers will of course still be able to access that advice as normal.

VOCATIONAL COURSES

Senior pupils who secured places on ERC vocational courses will be advised of decisions affecting those courses as soon as the information becomes available from the colleges involved.  I understand that the Level 8 Human Body Structure and Function course will begin online learning in the next few weeks.  Mrs Sinclair will contact the relevant pupils directly with further information.

HEAD BOY / HEAD GIRL ELECTIONS

Campaigns for these positions will take place in June, and depute positions will be allocated in August.  Our new S6 pupils should continue to follow the S6 Google Classrooms page run by Mrs Sinclair where full information will be posted.

TIMETABLE CHANGE

Our final yeargroup to change timetable is S1.  S1 pupils will follow their S2 timetables with effect from Monday 8^th June.  Google Classroom codes will be posted on the school website as usual, and on the S1 yeargroup Google Classroom page.  Pupils should remember to join Google Classrooms (or Teams in the case of DAT) for their new rotation subjects as detailed below:

* Please join the appropriate social subject as follows:

I shall be in touch before the summer break with provisional details of our August return.  In the meantime, please pass on my best wishes to your children and let them know that we are very much looking forward to seeing them soon!

William Inglis

Head Teacher

Williamwood High School

The following information may be of use to pupils who have recently left school and who have applied for University or College.

Below are details of virtual fairs for pupils who are currently exploring their options for 2021 UCAS options for the University of Glasgow. 

Science and Engineering Faculty Fair, 3 June, 1-3pm

www.channeltalent.co.uk/event/science-engineering-online-he-faculty-fair-with-glasgow-warwick-uea/

UK University Search Virtual Fair, 17 June, 12 -6pm

www.ukuniversitysearch.com/fair-signup/virtual-fair-2

• Student Room, how can studying English make the world a better place?

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6510724

• Summer reading suggestions from the School of Humanities:

www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/historyresearch/welcome/#

For information about how the University’s research community is responding to the Covid crisis:
www.gla.ac.uk/news/coronavirus/headline_714460_en.html

 For information about how the University is supporting its students – including those due to commence their studies in September- during the Covid crisis:

www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/news/coronavirus/

Details of Summer Internships can be found here.

Children’s Parliament is engaging children in conversations about their experience of Coronavirus and the lockdown. They have now launched the JUNE edition of their national wellbeing survey How are you doing? The survey is here bit.ly/Coronavirus_Kids

This survey is for pupils in S1 and S2.   Pupils can complete the short survey on their own or with their parents.  More information is also available on their website.

Our LBGT+ students and allies are celebrating Pride month during June. Image courtesy of LBGT Youth Scotland.

Please find the latest Health and Wellbeing update here.

Please see attached details of various career related live streams happening over the next few weeks which may be beneficial to your pupils. 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/career-ready-8334526130

What are we looking for?

We are recruiting 9 individuals to join a two year training programme.  You will be responsible for supporting the co-ordination and delivery of a range of prescribing support services under the direction of the Prescribing Support Pharmacist.

Whilst you will be mainly based in our hospitals ( the acute sector) this post is rotational, offering experience in the dispensing and supply of medicines and products directly to wards, departments and patients.

The successful completion the Training programme will result in you achieving a National Certificate (NC) in Pharmacy Services SCQF Level 6 and a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Pharmacy Services Level 3 (SCQF Level 7)  and the achievement of any Core Skills that you have not achieved through previous learning.

Attainment of both of these national qualifications along with the workplace experiential learning that you will receive will ensure that you are then eligible to apply to the pharmacy professions regulatory body – General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to practice as a pharmacy technician (Reg. Pharm. Tec)

What qualifications do I need to apply?

At the time of submitting your application you must already hold a minimum of a National 5 Qualifications (or SCQF equivalent) in Chemistry at grade A to C and a three National Four (or SCQF equivalent) qualifications  in Biology, Maths and English.

These vacancies are aligned to the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Modern Apprenticeship Programme and therefore only open to those applicants aged 16 to 24 years (or 16 to 29 years for Disabled Applicants or applicants who are care experienced*), in line with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Widening Access to Employment Strategy and workforce projections.

* Care experienced applicants are people who live/have lived with foster parents/kinship carers or who live/have lived in a residential children’s setting/secure unit. If this describes you please indicate this in your supporting statement.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is an Equal Opportunities and Disability Confident employer. We welcome applications from disabled people, minority ethnic groups, those who are care experienced and from LGBT+ applicants.

Who is this apprenticeship suitable for?

This is an entry level position suitable for someone willing to learn and develop within the role. As well as meeting the educational requirements you will need to be enthusiastic with good manual dexterity and hand-eye co-ordination with excellent attention to detail, good communication skills and a strong team work ethic.

You must also demonstrate in your application that you possess good written and verbal communication skills, are enthusiastic and highly motivated, and are hardworking with good attention to detail

For full details and to apply visit our website https://www.nhsggc.org.uk/296562

Closing date Noon on Tuesday 9^th June.

A fun & informative series of short 30 minute webinars to support you with the next steps of your career journey!

We understand everyone is facing challenges just now and your plans may have changed or seem unclear due to the current situation.  We want to let you know we are still here to help and provide you with the career information and guidance you need for your future.

Join SDS advisers, Hilary & Erin for the first session on Tuesday 2^nd June at 3pm as they take a look at:

–          Acknowledging the current situation

–          Looking at the positives

–          What skills could come from this?

–          Understanding how Skills Development Scotland can help you

–          Learn about the future sessions we will be running

–          Some actions & links to resources that you can do yourself

–          You can also get involved through the poll questions and comments

Click the link to join – JOIN CAREERJAM SESSION 1

Today, all S1-S5 parents have been emailed a copy of this letter which explains the new Parentsportal system for parents.

The letter contains instructions for signing up and linking to your child.  Please note that the information you enter must match exactly the information currently held in school.

This is a video that may also help you to create an account: 

L:\ParentsPortal\Parentsportal Intro Video for parents.mp4

 If you experience any difficulties at all when logging in, please just email schoolmail@williamwood.e-renfrew.sch.uk and one of the office staff will be happy to help.

This year, Mrs Gibson’s S6 year group created their video on their final day of school due to lockdown.  They felt that this would serve as a happy memory of their 6 years at Williamwood.  The video can be viewed here.   We hope that you enjoy!