General Information, Information from school

Information re Lateral Flow Device

Lateral flow

You may be aware that the Lateral Flow Device, LFD,  testing programme has been expanded to include S1-3 pupils after the Easter break.  This is a voluntary scheme to helps to identify those who have contracted Covid 19 but do not have any symptoms.

We have been informed today that on Tuesday, 23rd March, Jason Leitch, in partnership with Young Scot, will be hosting two live Q&A sessions for young people regarding the testing programme. The first event will take place at 13:30 for S1-S3 pupils and there will be a further session with S4-S6 pupils at 16:30. The live events will be held on e-Sgoil so that any pupil across Scotland can access.  We hope to share links to these recorded sessions after the event.

Further information is available at http://www.e-sgoil.com/lockdown-live/  

You can also read more on the Young Scot website at https://young.scot/get-informed/national/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-young-people-at-school

Information from school

Arrangements from 15th March to 1st April 2021

Arrangements from 15th March to 1st April 2021

We are looking forward to welcoming more pupils back to school next week. We have sent out several emails this week in an attempt to provide you with as much information as possible. Normally it takes us about six weeks to construct a new timetable and we build this into our calendar each year. Last week we were very surprised by the announcement in the Scottish Parliament and had to respond quickly due to the timescale involved to make formal arrangements for the return of pupils to school.

Due to 2m social distancing we can only have a limited number of pupils in the school at the same time.

S4, S5, S6

We have written a new Timetable for a Monday and Tuesday that only includes S4, S5 & S6 pupils. S1-S3 pupils will not be in school on Monday 15th, 22nd and 29th March as well as Tuesday 16th and 23rd March.  Each pupil in S4, S5, S6 has been emailed a copy of their timetable. They have also been told which extra day they should report, either Tuesday 30th March or Wednesday 31st March.

S1, S2, S3

We have split S1-S3 into three groups X, Y, Z, each group is only in for three days. The days that these groups will be in school will be as follows:-

  • Group X                Wednesday 17th March, Thursday 25th March and Tuesday 30th March
  • Group Y                Thursday 18th March, Friday 26th March, Wednesday 31st March
  • Group X                Friday 19th March, Wednesday 24th March, Thursday 1st April

S1-S3 will follow their original timetable exactly as it is printed, this will ensure they will see nearly all of their teachers over the three days.  We have printed a spare copy for each S1-S3 pupil.

Until this morning we had not expected to be permitted to offer any form of practical PE, however the guidelines were changed today to allow for small groups to participate in PE activities outside. Having spoken with the PE department at length this afternoon we have decided that S1-S3 classes will greatly benefit from these guideline changes.  So S1-S3 classes will be outside for PE, weather permitting, from Wednesday 17th March.  As we are still not permitted to allow pupils to get changed for PE, Pupils in S1-S3 should come dressed for outdoor PE on the days that PE appears on their original timetable.  On the other days they should be in school uniform.

All pupils will return on the 19th April to a Blue week Timetable.

School Uniform

We are aware that pupils have perhaps outgrown school uniform during the lockdown and appreciate the limited time left in this session. We do ask that you support our school dress policy as much as you can.

Safety measures

In order to keep school a safe place for all pupils and staff, all pupils from S1 to S6, across Scotland, are asked to wear a face covering when in the school building, this is because the new variant of the virus is 70% more effective at passing from one person to another. It is also estimated that 1/3 of all infected people do not develop any symptoms are asymptomatic, but are still contagious and can pass on the virus.

We all have a responsibility to keep each other and our families safe, the best way to do this is to the follow the guidelines, wear an appropriate face covering, wash hands and maintain a 2m distance.

Pupils will be outside when not in class as the chance of transmission is about 20 times less when outside in an open space.

As always if you have any concerns please contact the relevant Principal Teacher of Pupil Support in the first instance.

John Robertson

Headteacher

Calderhead High School

Information from school

Return to School Update

URGENT INFORMATION

Pupils in S4, S5 and S6 will return to school Monday 15th March for Monday and Tuesday ONLY. For the remainder of the week they will work from home.

Pupils in S1, S2 and S3 will ONLY be in school for ONE day each week until the end of term.

Please check TEAMs/ emails to find out which day your son or daughter is in school.

EXAMPLE

If your child is in S1 X they will only be in school on Wednesday of next week

If your child is in S1Y they will only be in school on Thursday of next week

If your child is in S1Z they will only be in school on Friday of next week

The same applies to S2 and S3.

To find out if your child is in group X, Y or Z please refer to the email sent out by Mr Russell or look on TEAMs for the information.

Please under no circumstances send your child to school on a day when they should not be in. Restrictions are in place to keep everyone in our school community as safe as we can make it and therefore your child would have to be sent back home.

We have emailed all S4-6 pupils a copy of their timetable for the 15th March to the Easter Break. We have also emailed the Main Contacts the actual days that their child(ren) are in school. If you have not received such an email, please contact the school by emailing ht@calderhead.n-lanark.sch.uk or calling 01501 826701.

Information from school

New School Week from August 2021

North Lanarkshire schools are 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.

There will be no reduction to the key curriculum subjects. Monday to Thursday will finish at the same time and in place of that extra period on a Friday afternoon, there will be a range of exciting voluntary opportunities.

As a result of the pandemic, young people may feel they have missed out on the social interaction at school, involvement in sport, creative channels and skills development. The voluntary afternoon is an opportunity to make up ‘lost time’ in those areas, as well as gaining skills for learning, life and work.

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

You can find out more  by clicking on this link and by clicking on the image below https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/future-fridays-its-yours-make

Future Friday
Future Fridays

 

Please see the attached letter from Derek Brown, Executive Director, Children and Families re the new structure to the school week from August 2021:

Click to access FINAL-parent-letter-32-period-week-8.3.21-002.pdf

Information from school

Phase 2 Return to School (15 March)

Update 3rd March 2021

Yesterday the First Minister made an announcement regarding Phase 2 of the phased return of pupils to in school lessons from Monday 15th March. This has taken many by surprise and was not something we were planning for.

The Senior Leadership Team in the school met this morning and had initial discussions around 6 key areas :

  1.  Criteria, for who can be in the building and for how long;
  2.  Parameters, 2m social distancing, key worker pupils, vulnerable pupils, capacity of each room, only 14 days;
  3.  New timetable for 14 days;
  4.  Information sharing, with staff, pupils, and parents
  5.  Plan in action; and
  6.  Remote learning.

We will share our plans in due course, it is a very complex challenge and we want to maximise the learning for all pupils.

John Robertson
Headteacher
Calderhead High School

Information from school, S5

Practical Learning Sessions for S4-S6

Update: We can only have a maximum of 41 Senior Phase pupils in the building at the same time. So although it looks as we could have added more pupils to the sessions, we needed to take account of pupils who will need to be in school due to transport arrangements.  These pupils will be in the library studying quietly when not in a Practical session.

Please bear in mind that certain staff will be in class teaching on the days of the Practical Sessions and other staff will have to supervise keyworker and vulnerable pupils more often.

The Scottish Government has prioritised the return of Senior Phase Learners based on the practical subjects they are studying. The Scottish Government have been very specific about who can attend and which subjects they can do work in. They have limited the number of Senior Phase pupils in the school at any time to between 5% and 8%. We are also limited by the number of pupils we can have in each classroom as all members of the school community must keep a 2m distance.  The 2m distance and wearing a face mask also applies on school transport.

The children of keyworker parents and those on our vulnerable list should continue to attend as normal.

A version of this message was sent to the 100 S4-S6 pupils who are eligible to come to school on every limited basis for PRACTICAL LEARNING.

“At Calderhead if you are in S4, S5 or S6 and are studying any of the following courses:

  • Practical Metalwork
  • Practical Woodwork
  • Graphic Communication
  • Admin and IT
  • Art & Design
  • Music
  • Design and Manufacturing
  • French (Speaking)

then you are expected to return to school on a very limited basis from Monday 22nd February.  We have set aside five half days for these Practical Learning sessions. The morning session starts at 0900 and finishes at 1130. The afternoon session starts at 1230 and finishes at 1500. This is to avoid those pupils who are already in school as part of the key worker and vulnerable pupil scheme.

You are asked to report directly to the class and to avoid the social area. The library will be open during the day.  School meals will be available as normal from 12 Noon.Please remember to wear a face mask, sanitise your hands on entry and to wash your hands thoroughly at regular intervals.  All Senior Phase (S4-S6) pupils are asked to use the toilets next to the library.

There is no need for School Uniform to be worn for these Practical Sessions, please dress appropriately, no football colours, no offensive slogans etc.

Please note if there is no subject next to the session then you are not expected to be in school at that time unless you are dependent on school transport. You are only expected to be in school when you have a subject session, if you need to get a school bus to school or home then please study quietly in the library when not in a subject session.
This timetable is unique to you.

Practical Learning Session Subject
Monday AM 0900 to 1130
Monday PM 1230 to 1500
Tuesday AM 0900 to 1130
Tuesday PM 0900 to 1500
Thursday AM 0900 to 1130

The Scottish Government has also asked that pupils in S4-S6 are offered the chance to use the Lateral Flow Tests twice a week. These test kits can be collected from the school office from Friday, 19th February.  This is a voluntary scheme to help identify and isolate those people who have COVID 19 but do not feel ill or have any symptoms (asymptomatic).”

Please bear in mind we are now deploying staff on supervision duties in school, preparing and teaching Practical Learning Sessions in school and asking them to prepare and deliver learning remotely across all year groups and and to provide feedback in a timely manner.  Many of these teachers are also attempting to home school their own children at the same time.

John Robertson

Headteacher

Calderhead High School

Information from school

Main Contact Email Addresses

On our system each pupil has a Main Contact, we now have an email address for 87% of these contacts. We are using these email addresses to communicate with parents and carers. We have sent out a text today to those where an email is missing, asking for a current email address.

We have now sent out two pupil engagement reports for S4, S5 & S6 pupils and one report for S1, S2 and S3 pupils. We plan to do this on a weekly basis. We are using the email address of the Main Contact. If you think you should have had a report this week and have not received it can you please check your spam/junk folder and if it is not there then please contact the school.

John Robertson
Headteacher
Calderhead High School

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