January
2018
Dear Parent/Carer
I hope you managed to have a peaceful and
enjoyable Christmas break. We are delighted to welcome back our young people to
school and look forward to working hard to secure the very best outcomes for
them.
I would not normally make contact this early in
the new term, however, I wanted to draw your attention to some very important
information and key dates as follows:-
These take place for S4-6 pupils from week beginning 29 January. In most cases performance in these assessments will determine what level young people are presented for in their final exam or indeed if they are presented at all. It is imperative that our young people are as prepared as possible. Key strategies to support them include:-
·
Attending
school as regularly as possible.
·
Attending
Gracemount After School Study (GASS) classes as often as possible.
·
Creating
a study timetable and stick to it.
·
Studying
at home (4 hours per week per Higher subject and 2 hours per week for National
5).
Please access our website http://www.gracemounthighschool.co.uk/ for hints and tips on study timetables and techniques.
Any pupils who work outside school should keep their hours to a minimum. We have found that working outside of school can, at times, be seriously detrimental to individual chances of success in school. Whilst we recognise that working outside of school has many benefits, it is important that hours are limited so that pupils have the best chance of success at National 4/5 and Higher levels.
S3 English Classes
S3 pupils have been condensed into 4 sets (rather than 5). This decision has been taken due to ongoing staffing issues.
From January to February pupils in all 4 classes will be covering the same material and studying a range of short stories as well as considering how to create and produce a creative piece of writing for the Nat 5 folio and developing further skills in analysis and evaluation.
The classes can and may change and no decision has been taken yet on National study levels.
Dress
Code
I wrote to you all before the Christmas break
to ask for your support in helping us promote our positive ethos in which dress
code plays a significant part. I have spoken with all pupils at assemblies this
week and I have indicated that they have two weeks (until Monday 22 January) to resolve any dress code issues. We encounter all too often inappropriate
footwear (black shoes only please), torn or ripped jeans and girls not wearing
skirts with leggings.
Our Depute Head Teachers will be in contact
with you to seek your support if your son/daughter exceeds 5 occasions where
they do not adhere to our dress code. We have taken the decision that pupils
who continually do not adhere to our standard of dress code without an adequate
reason will be prevented from representing the school at events and will not be
eligible to participate in school trips.
Should you need any advice on where to purchase
school clothing or where to access school clothing grants, please contact your
child’s Guidance Teacher in the first instance.
Winter
Weather
To
date the winter weather has been very kind to us, however, we are well aware
that Scotland can experience all seasons in one day and we do have procedures
in place if the weather takes a turn for the worst. As always the safety of our
staff and students is at the heart of all our decisions and we will keep
parents and students fully informed about our ability to open during poor
weather via Radio Forth, our website and text alerts. Please help us to keep in touch
by ensuring we have up to date contact details, particularly mobile numbers and
email addresses so that we can contact you at all times.
Important
Dates
·
Wednesday
10 January – Options Evening and Careers Event
·
Tuesday
16 to Thursday 18 January – S3 Personal Development Week
·
Tuesday
23 January – Senior Phase Parent Consultation Evening
·
Monday
29 January – Formal assessments begin
·
Thursday
1 February – S3 Parent Consultation Evening
·
Friday
2 February – S2 tracking report 2 issued
·
Monday
12 to Friday 16 February – half term break
·
Monday
19th February - Pupils return to school.
Kind Regards
Ross Hunter
Head Teacher
