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)