Category Archives: Whole School News

Whole School News

Future Fridays

You may have heard already but our secondary school week is changing. We’re moving to a four and a half day week from August 2021, which means that school will officially finish at 12.30pm on a Friday.

This follows a council review which recommended that schools should offer more structured pathways in work-based learning and routes to employment to enhance and improve young people’s prospects after leaving school.

There will be no reduction to the key curriculum subjects. Monday to Thursday will finish at 3.45pm and in place of that extra period on a Friday afternoon young people in secondary schools can voluntarily attend a wide range of extra curricular activities through Future Fridays.

It’s really exciting. Some people will have access to activities they’ve never done before, and for others, there will be workshops and projects to enhance existing skills or to learn new ones.

The fresh and lively programme spans the fields of employability, music, sport and arts, health and wellbeing, digital learning, outdoor education, and academic and leadership development to give young people greater opportunities to be job-ready, independent, confident and better equipped for post- school experiences.

After all, it’s your future, so grab opportunities while you can.

CLICK HERE to find out more

Whole School News

P7 Transition Event

We look forward to welcoming P7 pupils to a transition event on Tuesday the 1st of June.  The video contains some information on what pupils will do when they come for their visit.  In addition, Miss Kerr has sent all pupils a letter containing an invite and some essential forms.  If parents could fill the forms in and ask their child to bring them into school during their visit it would be much appreciated.  See you soon P7!

Whole School News

BRAIDHURST’S COVID SPIRIT

Throughout the pandemic schools have been working closely with their communities to ensure that those in need are supported.  Our school is a great example of this collective and determined spirit.  The school continued to keep in touch with families, with staff volunteering to make phone calls; garden visits; positing welfare cards and sending regular emails and texts. Charities have also provided support and the school has ensured these were passed on to families who needed them.  In particular; Sunny sid3 Up charity donated £1000 in Farmfoods vouchers at Christmas; Tesco donate food on a weekly basis; The Daily Mail provided 10 free laptops; Vodaphone provided 8- top Up cards; generous benefactors who donated warm clothing; Motherwell Disclose for their financial donation and Freedom City Church who donated food parcels and numerous childrens toys – many of which were given to our local Family Learning Centre to distribute.  The school continues to distribute parcels of food to the local community with over 60 going out this week alone.   Carolyn Rooney, Head Teacher  said “We cannot thank everyone who has helped us support our pupils at Braidhurst enough – we are indebted to you”.

Whole School News

Pride Alliance May 2021

As we start to move into the month of May and things start to feel more summery, it is fitting that we are celebrating the yellow stripe of the Pride flag.  The yellow stripe represents sunlight, a perfect fit for this time of year.  You can view the LGBT+ Icons for the month of May on the Pride Alliance noticeboard in the foyer.

One of this month’s LGBT+ Idols in Katharina Lindner, who was a star striker for Glasgow City from 2005 to 2011.

Now that the days are longer and we are starting to enjoy some good weather, we start to think about spending more time outside and enjoying sports.

Sport has often been a challenging place for LGBT+ to find acceptance.  Many LGBT+ people have felt excluded or discriminated against in the world of sport.  This is why Stonewall started the Rainbow Laces Campaign.

Rainbow Laces is a Stonewall campaign where participants do something active while wearing Rainbow Laces in their boots or trainers, to show their support for LGBT+ equality.  It has grown from a campaign that specifically focused on homophobia in football, to something that now acknowledges the challenges all spectrums of the LGBT+ community face within sport as a whole.  It’s a positive campaign that celebrates LGBT+ people and their allies, and helps to start conversations about how we can improve LGBT+ inclusion across sports so that they become everyone’s game.

Sport is a fantastic way for people to come together and if you would like your very own pair of rainbow laces to wear on the court, pitch or to the gym they will be on sale for £1 in the foyer every Tuesday in May or you can see Miss Logan in Social Sciences.

Whole School News

New Contact Tracing Procedures

FOR INFORMATION ONLY – there are currently no positive cases Braidhurst.

Parents & carers should note that following a change in the communication process for positive Covid-19 cases in schools, if your child is identified as a close contact of a positive case, contact tracers from NHS Test & Protect will be in touch with you directly with information.

Schools will still be in contact to ask for children and young people to be collected but won’t be issuing close contact letters from NHS to parents/carers directly.  Schools will be kept informed and a wider community letter will be issued from the school.

Whole School News

Pride Alliance April 2021

As we advance through the year, each month will be dedicated to a colour of the Pride Flag.  This month the Pride Alliance invites you to celebrate healing, the orange stripe.  At the moment we may be focusing on physical healing, or our mental well-being, but there are other aspects to healing.  Visit our notice board in the foyer to see this month’s LGBTQ+ Icons.

Healing and action are important across all aspects of society.  Consider the Black Lives Matter movement, the democracy protests in Hong Kong and Myanmar, and the push for LGBTQ+ equality around the world.  In five countries and in parts of two others, being LGBTQ+ is still punishable with the death penalty, while a further 70 countries imprison citizens because of their sexual orientation.

In the UK conversion therapy is still permitted.  Conversion therapy includes medical, psychiatric, psychological, religious, cultural or any other interventions that seek to erase, repress or change the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of a person.  Stonewall’s “LGBT in Britain Health Report” found that one in twenty LGBTQ+ people (five per cent) have been pressured to access services to question or change their sexual orientation when accessing healthcare services.

This comes at a time when Alan Turing is about to be feature on the new £50 note.  Turing is seen as the father of modern computing and a hero of WWII.  He ended his life after his forced conversion therapy.  Many are questioning how the UK government can continue to allow conversion therapy while expressing regret at the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the past.

If you wish to find out more about how you can help to end conversion therapy you can check on the following link:

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/ban-conversion-therapy

Whole School News

Senior Phase Update

Good afternoon to our Senior Phase pupils.  We hope this message finds you and your families well.  NLC have issued information on the date when grade judgements have to be submitted by staff. 

This is scheduled for the beginning of June.  As a result, you will be assessed regularly between your return to school on the 19th of April and the 4th of June. You will be given the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills with the support of your teacher. 

Please ensure that you revise over the break, just as you would before any assessment.  Also, take time to relax and rest in preparation for a return to school. 

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact with your class teachers.  Believe in yourself, you can do this!