Greenfaulds High School

Head Teacher Blog

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you have had a good week.

The last blog of this term leads me to reflect and ponder a few things. Firstly, as I look back on, what teachers often refer to as the hardest term due to the pressures of the SQA, I’m struck by the continual determination of everyone in the school to ensure that pupils are in the best place to achieve their best. Secondly, it also presents us all with an opportunity to breathe and relax for a few days. Whilst I know that pupils in the Senior Phase will be working hard over the next fortnight, I would urge them all to find some time to relax and unwind before the final push and the exam diet.

As always, if you have any questions in relation to the information contained within this blog or any other school matter please do not hesitate to be in touch with the school. Furthermore, if you have any news you’d like me to share, I’d be only too happy to celebrate the huge array of talent that exists within the school.

End of Term Highlights

At the end of a very hectic term, I feel it’s important to remember that we as a school community as well as delivering high quality learning and teaching that we continue to achieve so much including:

Our attainment projections indicate that our pupils in the Senior Phase are on path to perform extremely well in their exams in May.
Our pupils continue to support our community through their soup kitchen and food bank at Sacred Heart Church.
Our pupils visit Care Homes within the community and held a coffee morning for residents within the school.
Our sports teams competed in a range of leagues and competitions both winning and engendering a sense of camaraderie. Their exemplary behaviour and attitude is regularly commented upon by other schools.
We have had visits to Bannockburn, Podcasting Studios, Dynamic Earth and we are getting ready for trips to France and Berlin.
Our pupils in S1 competed in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative, where the winning team donated £3000 to a local charity.
Our school raised and donated £10,000 to the Catherine McEwan Foundation in memory of Mrs Reilly.

Recoursing Discussions

Following on from the Course Choice process, we are having to meet with pupils to discuss some issues with their choices. This stems from the fact that some classes are not running due to the low take up in some courses. For full transparency, courses with less than a 50% take up are classed as not viable due to staffing and budgetary constraints. Whilst we would love to run every course, I’m sure you will appreciate that this is simply not viable. As such, some pupils have been asked to explore alternative options.

Mental Health Support

We are all keenly aware of the challenges that our young people face. One of the supports that we often sign post young people to is Kooth. Kooth is a free, anonymous, online mental health and wellbeing resource for young people aged 10-18 in North Lanarkshire. Given the pressures that a number of our pupils will begin to experience in the run up to their final exams, I thought it important to remind families of the online offer that exists for their son/daughter.

Here is a link to all the Kooth digital resources if you wish to use any: Kooth Digital Resources

Generations Committee

On Wednesday the GHS Generations group hosted a ‘Spring Afternoon Tea’ for the residents and staff of Carrickstone Care home. Pupils served up lovely sandwiches and cakes and our barista pupils made coffees for the residents to enjoy. The residents enjoyed chatting and playing games with pupils who frequently visit them in the care home. Some retired teachers were even brought up to their subject classrooms to relive the classroom experience! A lovely day was had by all and it was a real privilege to host them in our school again. A particular well done to Kara Sweeney in S6 who led and coordinated the event.

Modern Language Ambassadors and now published authors!

I’ve previously highlighted the amazing work that our Modern Language Ambassadors have been involved in this school session with our associated primary schools. However, this week I received an update from the Modern Languages Team about the activities of 2 of our Ambassador Team who have become published authors.

2 of our S6 language ambassadors and fabulous linguists (Joshua Armour and Scott Main) are studying AH German online this year with Edinburgh College. Earlier this year they were specially selected to write a report about the importance of learning languages for a German magazine called “Babble.” The boys have worked incredibly hard producing a report entirely in German which has now been printed in this month’s edition of the magazine. The German report is on page 3 and 4 here. In particular, the magazine was interested in the constant battle for endangered languages such as Scottish Gaelic. As a department, we are extremely proud of this amazing achievement, and we wish them well as they move on from GHS to study languages further at university.

Viel Glück, Joshua and Scott!

If, like me, your German is a little rusty, I’ve also been given an English Language version of the article which is available here.

Celebrating Success

As a school we always want to share successes of pupils. A number of departments do this across the year in a range of ways. As a member of the Social Subjects Team, I take part in the Feel Good Friday initiative where each teacher nominates one pupil from their class each week. Other departments have different methods, unique to them. This week I received the Maths Playlists of the superstar pupils in Maths this term from Ms Rowe. The entire playlist is available to see here – a massive well done to all the pupils.

S6 Information

Graduation

On Thursday evening this week we held our S6 Graduation. This was our opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our S6. Whilst there is still the small matter of the SQA Exams to complete this was an opportunity to say a formal goodbye to all of our S6 pupils alongside their families. Supported in school by Ms McNaughton as Year Head all the other staff within the school, this year’s S6 have been a wonderful group of young people to work with, who have made a real difference to the lives of people within school and across the community. We are going to miss you.

Dates for Diaries

Families in S6, should have received the following information regarding their last few weeks in school from Mrs McNaughton.

As we near the end of the term and indeed the end of S6 for our lovely young people, I would like to thank you for all your support over the past 9 months. It has been a privilege to support them in their last chapter here with us and I am certain they will continue to flourish as they take their next steps in life.

We have a number of events planned for the S6 group and details of these are outlined below. If you have any questions regarding these, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Tuesday 22^nd of April

Pupils in S6 will have a brief assembly at the start of the day and then be called down in their house groups to complete leaver information, collect their yearbook and their leavers hoodies.

Leavers Day: Wednesday 23^rd of April

We have some surprises planned for our S6’s across the morning so can we ask all are in attendance.

Prom: Friday 6^th of June

Prom this year will be held in the Grand Central (Voco Hotel) in Glasgow. In discussion with the pupils, we have decided to change the timings of the prom this year, to 7pm – 10pm. All payments should now have been made, as should any transport requests. If there are any issues please see Mrs McNaughton.

Tyler Wins Silver

Congratulations to Tyler Short for his outstanding performance at the UKTC Scottish Taekwondo Championships last month, where he secured a well-earned Silver medal! Tyler’s dedication and hard work have propelled him to this impressive achievement, showcasing his determination to compete at such a high level.

With his continued commitment to the sport, Tyler is on track to achieve his Black Belt later this year—a testament to his skill, perseverance, and passion for Taekwondo. Well done, Tyler! We look forward to seeing what you accomplish next.

Consultation with families

A big thank you to all the families who were able to complete the uniform and phone policy survey. The results of the survey were overwhelmingly supportive of our current policies which chimes with staff responses as well. A sample of the responses are below. Moving forward, I will be feeding the views of families back into the working group before finalising our policies.

School should continue to limit/regulate use of mobile phones in class? 99% of respondents said Yes

Would you be happy to allow staff to dictate when a mobile phone can be used in class to support/aid learning? 89% of respondents said Yes

Would you support the school if, after requests to put the phone away/return it to a holder, that there should be a sanction including contact with home/removal of phone for a period of time? 89% of respondents said Yes

Would you support the school if it were to contact home for uniform to be brought to school, if your son/daughter was not in uniform? 80% of respondents said Yes.

Study Leave

As highlighted last week in the HT Blog, in response to the revised SQA Calendar for exams (available here), we have decided that study leave will commence on Thursday 24^th of April, with the first exam taking place on Friday 25^th of April. For pupils in S4, 5 and 6, Wednesday the 23rd of April will be the last day in school.

S6 will have our now traditional final morning on Wednesday 23rd and will be piped out of the school at 12pm.

During the period of study leave (24/4/25 through to 2/6/25) S4/5/6 if pupils are finding it hard to study at home, we are always happy to support them by providing a study space within school.

For those pupils with no formal written exam, we will be in touch with those pupils and their families separately with more information about their programme of study and supports across the duration of the study leave.

SQA Timetables

All pupils sitting SQA exams were issued with their personal exam timetable last week. This was to ensure that the details of the exams and their own personal details were correct. If there were any inaccuracies (including name spelling, home address) these must be flagged to Mrs Beattie as a matter of urgency to ensure that the SQA certificates are correct and delivered to the correct address.

School Colours

Last year saw the successful introduction of ‘Colours Ties’ which gives visual recognition of pupils’ achievements in a range of activities from music and the creative arts, sport, STEM etc. It also recognises the dedicated service of senior pupils holding the major leadership positions. In line with our school values of Ambitious, Progressive and Inclusive; this is part of our drive to recognise the significant achievements by many of our pupils who compete at both Regional and National Level whilst at secondary school.

Specially commissioned school ties are now worn by pupils who can receive ‘Full Colour’ gold ties at our annual Prize Giving Ceremony. ‘Half Colour’ silver ties were privately issued to those applicants who met the threshold criteria.

Pupils and their families are once again able to apply to the Colours Committee for this recognition using the online which is available using the QR code below. We would ask that all nominations are submitted by the end of April to allow the Colours Committee to meet and make decisions on the awards.

Half Colours:

Selected to represent the Region (North Lanarkshire or otherwise)
Winner of a Regional Competition

Full Colours:

Selected to represent Scotland (Or Great Britain or any other nation) in any activity after a competitive selection process.
Winner of a National Competition

We recognise that some of our pupils have achieved these honours in the past as younger secondary school pupils and would welcome applications that recognise these achievements.

Selection to represent the Region (North Lanarkshire or otherwise) would merit Half Colours and National (Scotland, Great Britain or any other nation) would merit Full Colours. If your son/daughter has already been awarded a colour tie there is no need for them to re-apply.

Parking bays

A big thank you to everyone for your engagement with the issues that we have faced relating to the school car park. Your support is greatly appreciated. I would continue to stress that if you are collecting your son/daughter at the end of the day by car, please be aware that the process may take a little longer than previously. I would also ask that if you are waiting to collect your son/daughter that you utilise the parking bays within the car park as there many spaces available here as well as in the drop/off pick up area. However, could you also please ensure that the disabled bays are for blue badge holders. This week we have had issues with people parking in these bays who were not disabled and as such disabled members of our school community had to park much further away from the school.

There is also the opportunity to collect your child a little later, the school building is always open, warm and safe for your son/daughter to wait inside for an additional few minutes to avoid you having to wait in standing traffic.

Thank you for all your ongoing support and understanding.

North Lanarkshire School Holidays

Families should be aware that North Lanarkshire Council are currently consulting on school holidays from August 2026 and are keen to capture the views of all families with today being the last day to share your views.

In October 2024, the council’s Education, Children and Families Committee agreed to consult on possible changes to school term dates.

School term dates are important for balancing learning with family time and other commitments, so we want to hear what works best for you.

We have two options for school holidays:

Option A – This option broadly maintains the current school holiday pattern, with a long weekend in September, a one-week break in October, a Monday and Tuesday off for the February mid-term break and a long weekend in late May.

Option B – This makes some changes, including:

One less day off during the September weekend
A two-week break in October instead of one week
A Friday and Monday off for February mid-term, with the in-service day moved to January
One day less holidays in December and April
Two fewer days off in May.

No matter which option is chosen, staff will still work 195 days per school year, with 190 teaching days and 5 in-service days for professional development.

The survey is live from Wednesday the 19^th of March until Friday the 4^th of April 2025. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey and let us know which option you prefer. You can find the survey here: https://forms.office.com/e/WuNjrez3mX

The outcome of the consultation will be shared with everyone in September 2025.

Parent Council – We Need You!

The Parent Council plays a very important role within the life of the school as it provides a forum to raise common questions, help to guide and support improvements in the life of the school as well as a forum for open discussion on educational matters. Currently, we are looking to recruit some new members and we thought it would be helpful to dispel some myths around this. Firstly, you do not need to come to every meeting. Secondly, you won’t need to do any fundraising events. Thirdly, you won’t suddenly be given a job. The key thing is to give families a voice in the direction of the school and to support the work of making the school better for all pupils. If you would like to find out a little more, please leave your details on this form and we will be in touch.

A possible Science Trip Launch

After the easter holidays, we will be looking at possible interest in a Science Trip to the Kennedy Space Centre and the Florida ThemeParks (amongst other Science related things) for S4, S5 and S6 pupils next session. Planning is in the early stages and we are currently investigating costs, duration and itinerary. We will formally announce this shortly after the easter holidays. Depending on interest and costs, we aim for this trip to run in June 2026 or June 2027. We cannot fix dates until the SQA publish their exam timetable for 2026.

First priority will be given to those studying 2 sciences in S4 and S5 and if places are still available then one science in S5 or S4. Behaviour and attendance in school will also be a consideration for places.

Parent Portal

As you will be aware from Previous HT Blogs, I’m keen to utilise the range of supports and resources that Parent Portal offer to families. Parent Portal gives families access to a range of platforms and information which means it is a one stop shop for families to access parent/carer evening appointments, view your child’s timetable, make online payments, report absence, monitor their attendance, access reports etc. As a school we have committed to reducing our carbon footprint and cash handling.

The sign-up process is relatively straightforward and is available here. If you are struggling to sign up, there is a help document which is available here. Alternatively, please contact the school and we can support you to access this resource.

Young Scot App

I was updated this week regarding the new Young Scot Card App which has just launched.

We’re excited to announce the launch of the new Young Scot app, developed with direct input from young people to ensure it meets their needs. This app provides an easy and accessible way for young people to enjoy the benefits of Young Scot national services on the go.

The app gives young people access to Membership Services (discounts, rewards and entitlements) as well as new exciting features including:

The ability to order a replacement Young Scot National Entitlement Card through the app.
A digital card within the app that will allow young people to access show and go discounts in

stores (young people will continue to use their physical Young Scot National Entitlement Card

for free bus travel and proof of age).

A ‘Near Me’ interactive map of discounts in their local area and beyond.

The app can now be downloaded from IOS and Android app stores.

Exam Timetable

Please find below the link to the updated 2025 SQA Exam timetable.

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/nq-2025-exam-timetable.pdf

Online Study Resources

For Senior Pupils we wanted to ensure that we were providing as much support for them as possible for studying and revising. Alongside traditional supported study in school I felt it appropriate to draw your attention to two online resources.

Firstly, this year we have continued our school account to provide our pupils with access to interactive study materials via the ACHIEVE platform https://achieve.hashtag-learning.co.uk.

When signing up to create their own account pupils should use their school GLOW Email address and use the unique Greenfaulds High School Code (XQfQPVhy) to activate their account. As you will see they will have access to many resources for learning key concepts, testing their knowledge, self-evaluating etc.

E-Sgoil Study Support

Registration for e-Sgoil’s 2025 Senior Phase Easter Study Support is now OPEN.

This webinar programme is a key element of Scotland’s National e-Learning Offer (NeLO) comprising of live, interactive webinars delivered by experienced, GTCS registered teachers.

A total of 57 webinars are on offer, covering 27 subjects at different levels. Each webinar group will meet for three sessions during 7th – 11th April 2025. This provision is free to all learners.

Last Easter, there were over 16,000 webinar registrations and almost all learners rated the overall quality of Easter Study Support as “excellent”.

The timetable, registration form, and a range of supporting documentation can all be accessed here.

Please note that our separate Evening Study Support webinar programme continues during term time until the start of the SQA exam diet.

If you have any questions or queries, please get in touch with e-Sgoil.

Additional Study Support from Scholar

We’re excited to share a new information leaflet designed to help parents and carers support their children as they prepare for National Qualifications. This leaflet highlights Scholar’s comprehensive curriculum coverage and explains how it can make a real difference to senior phase learners, even more so now that they are working towards SQA exams.

We encourage you to share this information with the parents and carers of senior phase learners in your school so they can help their children make the most of this valuable resource.

Scholar Parent and Carer Leaflet

Free School Meals and Education Maintenance Allowance

A reminder to all families, if your family normally receives Free School Meals or EMA (16+ yr. olds) please remember to reapply for continuation of this service as it does not automatically continue each year. Families need to apply annually. There were a few incidences today of pupils not having money on their cards. We did of course ensure that they received lunch but please do ensure that you have reapplied for Free School Meals. Please apply here: Free School Meals and Clothing Grant Application | North Lanarkshire Council

Likewise, for families of young people over 16 they may be eligible for the Education Maintenance Allowance and the link is here: Education Maintenance Allowance | North Lanarkshire Council Once pupils have received their forms they should bring them to Mr Adler for a meeting about expectations to receive their EMA.

If families would like any support with these forms, please contact Mrs Foley who would be delighted to support you in completing these.

Community Information

As you know, I’m always keen to share information relating to the wider community of Greenfaulds High School and as such would like to draw your attention to the following offers.

Ms Truesdale, who joined our amazing HE Team as a Student Teacher recently has been coming in to do a yoga intervention with a number of our students since her placement finished. Over the period of study leave, she is offering Yoga/Meditation/Breathwork sessions for girls. Full details are in the poster below.

Finally, we appreciate the added cost for some families of the school holidays and as such felt it appropriate to share with you the information relating to places where pupils can eat for free or at a discounted rate over the Easter Period.