Monthly Archives: November 2020

HT Blog – 11 November 2020

Thanks to everyone for the great support to the school, especially since we came back after the October week.  Unfortunately a number of pupils have had to self-isolate, which is not ideal.  Teachers are trying to ensure that appropriate work is available via Teams.  Please contact us if there are any problems with accessing Teams or work as it is important that pupils try to keep as up to date as possible.  SQA have now issued the timetable for Highers and Advanced Highers for 2021.  Dates can be accessed here:  https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/exam-timetable-2021.pdf

Due to the lack of a final exam for National 5, along with the uncertainty that is still around Highers and Advanced Highers, staff continue to gather evidence that will be recognised by SQA. Unfortunately this can be stressful for pupils and as soon as you add isolation periods into the mix, it can potentially have an adverse effect on mental health.  In the last blog I highlighted some of the things that were happening in the school around mental health.  We had a number of pupils in S6 taking part in training to become Mental Health Ambassadors and I have no doubt they will have appositive impact on what is happening in the school over the next year.

Please encourage the pupils to come and talk to us if they have any issues before they become bigger than they need to be.  And if they are not wanting to talk to us, then parents can phone us to chat.

We are delighted that this week we saw the start of indoor PE again. There is no change yet in the use of changing rooms but this is step in the right direction and should certainly make a difference in the activities needed for pupils undertaking certificated PE in S4/5/6.

We have a number of departmental Twitter accounts that you can follow to keep to speed with some of the great work going on in the school.  For example if you follow OLHSart&design you will be able to see some of the work of our talented pupils:

The school’s main twitter account is OLHSMotherwell and other twitter accounts include:

  • @olhs_healthwb
  • @OLHSRE
  • @OLHSMathematics
  • @OLHSSocSubjects
  • @OLHSTechnical

11th November was Armistice Day, which was marked in the school with a two minute silence.  This was followed by Peter in S5 playing the pipes in the yard.

Most of our correspondence these days is via email – if you have not been receiving these emails, please contact the school office to update details on 01698 274925.

Please note that Monday 16th November is an Inservice Day and therefore a holiday for pupils.