Head Teacher Blog
Dear Parent/Carer
I hope you have had a good week, it has certainly been the start of winter!
A slightly shorter blog this week owing to the abbreviated week. 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. Moreover, I’m always delighted to share good news of pupil achievements outside of school as many pupils are participating at an exceptionally high level in a range of activities. If your son/daughter is involved in something, please do share this with me.
Art/Technical Showcase
On Thursday evening the Design and Make Faculty hosted our 2nd annual showcase evening. On the night there were displays of Art and Design folios from a range of courses as well as samples from our highly successful F1 in Schools Teams. As someone who can at times struggle to draw a straight line, the quality of the art work on display was breathtaking. A true testament to the skill and flair of all our young artists and the support and guidance provided by our dedicated staff team. Incredible stuff!
S1 Parent/Carer Night
All families of S1 pupils should have received an email with booking instructions for the S1 Family Night taking place next Wednesday from 4.30pm. This will be the first opportunity to meet your child’s teachers in a range of subjects. It will also be an opportunity to speak to your child’s Principal Teacher of Pupil Support or a member of the Senior Leadership Team. We are looking forward to seeing everyone on the night.
Interhouse Quiz
This week, our ever-competitive Interhouse Competition continued with the annual Interhouse Quiz. As someone who loves a wee quiz, I was desperate to get involved but unfortunately all the teams had full numbers so there was no cameo by the Head Teacher. All pupils equipped themselves well with a fine margin of victory as follows:
A big congratulations to Ness and Thistle who took the first place on the day!
Mid Term Assessments
The first Mid-term Assessment is on Monday 24th November for Higher English. All pupils should arrive in good time and in full school uniform. Seating lists have been displayed outside the Assembly hall. Any problem – see Mrs Beattie. A reminder that normal classes operate outside the MTA times and pupils will be expected to attend as usual. Good luck everyone!
Roman Legacy
As you know, we have now completed our Roman Legacy Project, with new mosaics both inside and outside of the school. Mrs Logan and a very enthusiastic team of pupils kindly helped Mr Mackay and Ms Armstrong out by creating a short video around the process and the impact that it has had. If you’d like to watch the short video it is available here.
STEM Event
A wee apology is owed to Heather Mullen, in S1, whose name I missed out in my post last week about the STEM event. Heather was in the winning team, but I missed out her name. Sorry Heather!
Well done to Heather Mullen, Summer Taggart, Alexandria Paige, Lucy Dixon, Isabella Gibson, Hannah Gibson, Kimberly McCombe and Matthew Dobson.
S3 Reports
Today, families of pupils in S3 should have received their first tracking report via the Parent Portal. This year, we have introduced a new addition to the report which we are sure you find helpful. The reports will contain a projected pathway. What this means is if your son/daughter continues to work at their current level, the teacher is indicating where they should be at the end of the year. Moreover, it will also indicate, where the teacher thinks your child will be at the end of S3 based on their current progress. This development comes from family feedback in terms of making reports and levels more meaningful.
Outward Bound Opportunity – Final Call!
You may remember from the HT Blog at the end of August, I highlighted that a group of our new S6 had returned from a week at Loch Eil in Fort William. Over the week, the pupils had engaged in a range of activities with a focus on gaining a Level 6 Award (equivalent to a Higher) in Leadership. All the pupils and staff returned from the week incredibly inspired by the experience. As such, we are keen to offer it again to pupils. On Wednesday of last week, all pupils in the current S5 were shown this presentation, however, I’m also mindful that not all information makes it home. If your son/daughter is interested, could you please ask them to speak to Mrs McNaughton or Mr MacLeod.
Parent Council Reminder
On Monday evening next week, the Parent Council will host their next meeting via Teams. The Parent Council is a hugely helpful and informative body for myself as Head Teacher and for the wider school. If you would like to attend any or all of the sessions this year the dates are as follows:
Monday 24th of November on Teams (Curriculum Discussion and Fundraising to be discussed)
Monday 26th of January
Monday 23rd of February
Monday 30th of March
Monday 27th of April
Monday 18th of June (in person and always a bring a dish night for a catch up and some lovely food).
If you would like to find out more, please contact me at the school.
Study Support
Last year, study support took place across the school in a range of subjects. This week, I was passed the programme for Maths Supported Study for both Junior and Senior Pupils. This is a great way for pupils to check their understanding and to get a little more practice in any areas of their Maths.
Evening Study Support 2025-26
Registration for this year’s evening webinars is now live. Study Support | e-Sgoil
Study support is for Senior Phase learners (S4-S6) who are working towards National Qualifications.
This year’s programme offers 55 weekly webinars covering 29 subjects across N4 to Advanced Higher levels.
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO BE LOGGED INTO GLOW TO ACCESS THE REGISTRATION FORM.
If you do not know your Glow username and password, please speak to a member of staffwho will be able to provide you with these.
Webinars will start week beginning 27th October 2025 and will run through to the SQA exams. Timetable is below:
Support for pupils with ASN
As a parent with a child who has an additional support need, I know that information can be particularly helpful to ensure you are supporting your young person in the best possible way. The Support for Learning department work closely with Speech and Language therapy, Occupational Therapy, Hope for Autism and the Neurodevelopmental Team. If your child is on a waiting list to see any of the services, or have been given an identification of an Additional Support need, the following Facebook pages may be useful to you. They share hints and tips, have rolling programmes of local workshops for parents and children on common themes such as Sleep, Anxiety, language processing, sensory difficulties.
NHS Lanarkshire Children and young people, Occupational Therapy
https://www.facebook.com/share/19hopRtsiN/
Speech and language therapy NHS Lanarkshire
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BevUC39FW/
Neurodevelopmental service-CYS NHS
Hope for Autism
https://www.hopeforautism.org.uk
Free School Meals
A reminder to all families, if your family normally receives Free School Meals please remember to reapply for continuation of this service as it does not automatically continue each year. Families need to apply annually. There have been a few incidences since we returned 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
EMA 2025-26 session
The new EMA form is now live on the NLC website for the new session 2025/2026 starting in August. Any students who got EMA last years has to reapply this year.
To apply you must meet the following criteria
| Gross Taxable income | No. of dependent children in household | Award |
| Up to £24,421 | 1 | £30 |
| Up to £26,884 | 2+ | £30 |
Please note – dependent children are all those up to the age of 16 and those over the age of 16 and up to age 25 if they are in full time Further or Higher Education (proof required).
Once students have their form completed and a letter confirming they are getting EMA they should bring their EMA contract to Mr Adler who will then discuss attendance requirements with the students, but to get EMA students must have excellent attendance and be on time to school.
Community News
As always, I’m delighted to share the following pieces of community news with you.
As an avid (albeit very slow cyclist) I do follow a number of social media posts relating to cycling. On Sunday, I was delighted to see that the Cumbernauld Centurions were awarded the Scottish Cycling Event of the Year at the Annual Scottish Cycling Awards. A number of pupils and families are linked with this club and as a spectator on 1 of the 2 days, I can testify that the event was a huge success, but I wanted to pass on my congratulations to everyone involved with the club.
Dates for your Diaries
Monday 24th November: Parent Council Meeting (6.30pm on Teams)
Wednesday 26th November: S1 Parent/Carer Night starting at 4.30pm
Moran Taing
Jamie
Jamie Vaughn-Sharp
Head Teacher
