Blog Archives

Week Two

27/8/2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are incredibly proud of how well pupils have settled into the new academic year, focusing on their lessons and making the most of additional opportunities available to them across the school.

Digital Literacy. Mr Harvey will be working with all S1 pupils from next week ensuring they have the highest digital literacy skills. A booklet was created last year as a reminder for all pupils, and you can access this (along with a parents’ guide) on the homepage of our website.

Bike to School Week. Next week is Bike to School week. You can find more information here.

Photo Permissions. Any parents/guardians who do not wish to give permission for their child to appear in photographs used by or published by KGS must indicate this in writing to us within 7 days of receipt of this letter.

Orkney Traditional Music Project. This project is back with face to face classes. More information can be found here: http://www.kgsorkney.com/traditionalmusic.html

Face Coverings and Hand Sanitisation. You’ll be aware of the increasing numbers of covid cases across Scotland and the guidance recommending pupils and staff wear face coverings at all times whilst in the school building, including in lessons, along with very frequent hand sanitising. Therefore, from Monday 30th August, we will be implementing this guidance from the Scottish government at KGS and will be asking all pupils and staff (unless exempt) to wear their face covering when inside the school building, along with sanitising their hands when they change rooms. There will be occasions when staff allow pupils to remove their face covering, including practical PE lessons and whilst they are eating in the canteen, but pupils should expect to wear it at all other times when inside. Please chat with your child about this and ensure they understand that keeping everyone safe in school and reducing any possible disruption in the future is of paramount importance to us all. Thank you.

Thank you to our parents and community members who continue to ‘like’ our posts on Facebook and Twitter. Please remember each House has its own Facebook page full of useful information for you and your child!

We hope you have a lovely weekend,

Miss Claire Meakin (Head Teacher)

Week One

21/8/2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for all your support during our first week back in school this academic year.

It has been so lovely welcoming all pupils back into school and we have been really impressed with their positivity and determination to make the most of all the opportunities available to them.

Mr Harvey has reminded all pupils this week about the importance of Registration. He has also created a short video for our pupils and parents – you can find the link here: https://prezi.com/v/krn904pty_yt/

This week all schools have been notified by SQA that exams will take place in May 2022 for our S4, 5 and 6 pupils. SQA will be releasing more information later this month with specific details for each subject and we will share this with you as soon as it is available.

Over the holiday we’ve had a quick refresh of our school website, along with our main social media channels – Facebook and Twitter. We aim to keep these updated with key information that parents may need easy access to, along with sharing good news stories about all our pupils’ achievements. Links are available below:

Website: http://www.kgsorkney.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirkwallgrammarschool/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kgsorkney?lang=en

Parents receive lots of information from us via the Xpressions app. If you are unsure how to download this, or need any further support, please let us know. We would always encourage parents to contact your child’s guidance teacher in the first instance although I can always be contacted via email too if the matter is urgent.

I hope your child has had a very positive first week and we look forward to seeing them again after the weekend.

Yours faithfully,
Miss Claire Meakin
Head Teacher

Welcome Back

11/8/2021

Dear Parents/Carers

We hope all our families have had a relaxing and happy summer and we are very much looking forward to welcoming all pupils back to school on Tuesday 17 August.

We are particularly excited to welcome all our new S1 pupils. The new S1s will be greeted in the foyer by staff as soon as they arrive at school and will be directed into the Theatre for a welcome assembly. They will meet me and be reintroduced to Ms Devlin, their Year Head, and the Guidance team. They will also meet the rest of their registration class and their S6 buddies, who will accompany them to their classes during week one. We are aware that Tuesday will be their first experience of normal lessons at KGS, and we hope that they enjoy being introduced to their new teachers and subjects.

I am delighted to have been appointed as the new Head Teacher for Kirkwall Grammar School and I am very keen to get to know parents, as well as pupils and staff. Kirkwall Grammar School has a history of excellence, and I am looking forward to finding out more about the school and building on the brilliant work already happening.

I know that a happy and successful school relies upon a strong home-school partnership, with us all working effectively together. Whilst covid-restrictions remain in place, we are limited in the engagement activities that we can offer as the Scottish Government have asked that visitors to the school are at a minimum until at least the end of September. Once these restrictions are lifted though we hope to hold several events which will provide us an opportunity to meet properly. These events will take place at various times, including some virtually, which I hope will enable families to attend. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone if you have any questions or concerns.

Along with this letter are a few Key Reminders which we hope will help all pupils and parents feel confident about the return to school. The Scottish Government have asked that we retain our covid preventative measures from before the holiday so we will continue to ask pupils to sanitise their hands regularly and to wear face coverings in communal areas.

If anything is unclear, you can always contact me using: [email protected]

I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Yours faithfully
Miss C Meakin
Head Teacher