It has been a quick week since our return from the October break.  I hope that it was a good break for the pupils and their families.  Since our return it has become clear that as a school community we do not remain untouched from Covid-19. With individuals testing positive and numbers of pupils having to self-isolate it just highlights the need to be extra vigilant and ensure we all follow procedures to help minimise the impact across the schools and within families.

At the start of the month we had our Parent Council AGM.  To have the large numbers we have interested in being involved with the Parent Council is heartening, and is a reflection of the vested interest that parents have in the school and the education of our young people.

Part of our School Improvement Plan for this year is around the health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff.  We have a pupil group of Mental Health ambassadors who have been busy in the school over the last few weeks. They organised the Wear Yellow day just before the October week. They  were also handing out purple lanyards with our school Mental Health motto #speakoutOLHS.  The lanyard is simply a visual aid for staff and pupils to sign post them to a person willing to listen and assist.

The ambassadors have also produced a school mental health mascot based on pupil voice.  It is a turtle called TAZ.  The mascot is visible around the school with inspirational quotes.

Members of our Personal development class have been making collections and receiving very kind donations from local companies to make care packages for Wishaw General.  Well done to them for all their hard work.

At the recent S1 class Masses Fr Ness presented a number of pupils with their Pope Francis award following all their great work at Primary – a fantastic group of young people who served their communities well.  We have a number of S6 pupils this year undertaking the Pope Benedict XVI Caritas award.

Another aspect of our School Improvement Plan is digital learning.  There is an increase in the use of Microsoft Teams and this is particularly important at the moment, especially for those pupils who are having to self-isolate.  If you have any concerns about accessing Teams at home, please contact the Pupil Support teacher to discuss further.

There has been a number of letters emailed to parents over the last few months.  If you have not been receiving these, please contact the school office to check and update your email address.  Another way we communicate is through the school app. If you have not already downloaded it search for School App for Parents in the Google Play or Apple App Store. When you have downloaded the app please search for our school name to see our dates, news and receive messages.

Due to circumstances there are not many activities or events that we are in a position to run at the moment.  The only forthcoming events currently are:

• Monday 2nd November    Parent Council Meeting 7pm
• Monday 16th November   Inservice Day (holiday for pupils)

W/b Monday 5^th October – Week 1

	DOUBLE BLOCK 1	DOUBLE BLOCK 2	SINGLE PERIOD	DOUBLE BLOCK 3
MONDAY	Mon 1	Mon 3	Mon 5	Mon 6
TUESDAY	Tue 1	Tue 3	Tue 5	Tue 6
WEDNESDAY	Wed 1	Wed 3	N/A	Wed 5
THURSDAY	Thu 1	Thu 3	Thu 5	Thu 6
FRIDAY	Fri 1	Fri 3	N/A	Fri 5

Given that the week after next is a holiday, we will be following the Week 2 timetable on our return on Monday 19^th October.

Parent Council AGM

A letter was sent last week from the Parent Council giving notice of the AGM taking place on Monday 5^th October.  This will be a virtual meeting and if you would like to join, please contact office@ourladyshigh.n-lanark.sch.uk

Mass

Thanks to Fr. Ness for his time spent with our first year classes so far, including a Class Mass. It was great to be back in the school chapel again! The rest of the Masses for S1 will take place this week.  S6 Captains also took the opportunity to introduce themselves to the S1 pupils.

Virtual Coffee Morning

Thanks to the Personal Development class for their work in organising the Virtual Coffee morning that took place last Wednesday. We received a delivery with our choice of tea/coffee and cakes and scones.  A great deal of effort went into this and the pupils did a great job. The money raised will go towards their class project providing care packages to three wards in Wishaw General Hospital – dementia ward, emergency care and cancer care.

The class also ran a Beat the Goalie competition to raise funds for the same project.

We will continue to work with our school captains Niall, Lucy and Paul (below) along with the house captains in prefects in taking the school forward.  The role of S6 pupils is always an important one in a school and despite the restrictions, we need to ensure that the pupils continue to have these opportunities.

Forthcoming Events

Monday 5th October – Parent Council AGM

Friday 9th October –  ‘Wear Something Yellow Day’ to highlight the issue of Mental Health.  Donations will collected on the day and ribbons for £1 will be available throughout the week.

Thursday 8th October – Pupils applying to University through UCAS will be spending time in a computer suite with their Pupil Support teacher to support them through the start of the process.

Monday 12th – Friday 16th October – October Week Holiday