There were no exams today but we were pleased to see so many of our senior pupils in to get support in a range of subjects. The S3 pupils doing the John Muir Award enjoyed a glorious day at Glen Finglas this morning and at the RSPB at David Marshall Lodge this afternoon. Our Villarreal trip left as planned this morning with
some very excited young people and staff.
Support for senior pupils
As a minimum we plan to have a subject specialist on site on the day of exams. I know that pupils are keen to ask questions and see teachers, so when they are off site, this will be possible by email. Please encourage our S4-6 pupils to contact any of us as – we are keen to help. We are looking into options for additional study support. I will get back to you on that once it has been worked out giving consideration to three new timetables. Staff are going to Stirling schools for an induction tomorrow (Thursday) morning but will be back in school and available to support seniors from mid-day. Please note that Bellrock continue to provide catering for pupils and staff on site.
S1-3 Pupils
Staff are working hard to prepare a slightly amended curriculum for delivery at Stirling, St Modan’s and Wallace High Schools. Mr Slavin has now created three timetables that will run at each school. We have had fantastic support from colleagues in all three school behind the scenes. It was lovely to see the twitter messages. Please do have a look – they are on our feed @balfronhigh. Please ask young people to check Show My Homework for tasks that can be completed during the closure. I am sure some of them will be enjoying the good weather but there are some tasks for them to pick up too! Music tuition will continue for S1-3 pupils in the schools that they have been
displaced to. Our thanks to Mrs McEwan for organising that.
Transport
We have made the decision that all pupils and staff will start and finish their day at the usual times at Balfron as this articulates with our normal expectation. The rationale for this is that it is the safest, simplest and most fair way to manage the situation. As you can imagine a wide range of requests are being made that are difficult for us to manage. As a staff, we are viewing this very much as a team effort and we will encourage our young people to do the same. I am really keen that all of our staff and pupils are treated exactly the same for this temporary period. I know that this inevitably brings frustration but hope that you will understand the reasons for our approach and give us your support.
Building work
The investigation work should conclude on Thursday afternoon, so I will be in a better position to give you an update on Friday. I have an assurance that repair work will be prioritised in a way that will allow us to maximise areas of the school that are fit for use.
Once again, I would like to thank you for your support and patience.
Elaine Bannatyne
