Notre Dame High School

Updated 1 April 2020

On behalf of all the staff, I send good wishes to you and your family during this difficult time. I hope that you are managing to follow the guidelines around social distancing in an effort to maintain good health.

Whilst good health is our primary concern, we are so fortunate and grateful to have our iPads which are allowing staff to provide learning in a digital format.  More importantly though, they are also allowing us to keep in contact with pupils, helping to remain connected so that the girls know we continue to support their wellbeing.

It is so important that while school remains closed, our young people continue to have a healthy routine to their day.

Learning at Home

Girls, I encourage you to check your class and year group “Teams” daily. Staff are using these to post assignments, video clips and resources which will help you keep an important focus on learning so that when we return to school, you will be able to make smooth progression in each subject area.

Parents/Carers, please encourage your daughter by making sure she has a balanced routine each day. I have attached an example of a “Daily Planner” that you could edit/design together to suit your own household routines. I encourage you to look at her “Teams” each day to help plan her school work for the day/week ahead.

With the SQA exams being cancelled for this year, there will be some uncertainty for our Senior Phase pupils. Please be assured that the staff and I are committed to ensuring that you are not disadvantaged as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. The current advice is that you continue to work on any coursework/assignments and submit these to your teachers as this will provide further evidence of your progress.

Health and Wellbeing

As stated earlier, health and wellbeing is our primary concern. Senior staff and myself are making wellbeing phone calls to pupils each day and our Pupil Support Team are e-mailing young people to ensure they have everything they need. This allows us to provide additional support and to intervene if required. Our partner agencies are also continuing to engage with pupils on the telephone, offering continued support on an individual basis.

In addition, young people aged 16 – 18 years who live in Glasgow, can access support through Big White Wall, an online resource for young people who may be experiencing anxiety or other forms of mental health concern. This is an anonymous, clinically supervised service, which provides a range of tutorials and self-help guides, all of which may be useful to our pupils during this time of social distancing. Information and links to this site have been posted on our year group “Teams” for pupils in Senior Phase and can also be found on our website in the ‘Support for Pupils’ section.

Getting in Touch

As Headteacher, I am happy to be your first point of contact and I would encourage you to get in touch via the e-mail account: Headteacher@notredamehigh.glasgow.sch.uk at any time. Mrs Henderson, DHT Pupil Support, has created a post on each year group “Team” with contact details for senior staff (copy attached – Support for Pupils). These are copied below:

Email addresses of Pupil Support staff are listed below for your information:

Pastoral Care Teachers:

Iona          –   gw10kellypauline@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

Melrose   –   gw13dunnlouise@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

Trinity      –   gw11mcquillanciara@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

Support for Learning:

gw10mccabecarragh@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

Year Group Heads:

S1/2 – gw10hendersonliz@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

S3/4 – gw14wattsarah11@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

S5/6 – gw08oneilldavid@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

Head teacher:

gw10martinrosemary@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

Please take care and we look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Mrs Martin

Headteacher