Dear Parents and Carers
 
I intend to give you a full update, as usual, tomorrow (Friday) but I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your help and support whilst we continue to have covid-mitigations across the school.
 
Pupils have responded very positively to requests to follow simple steps to keep everyone as safe as possible whilst in school.  These include:

• Wearing a face covering in lessons and when moving around in communal areas
• Washing or sanitising their hands when they enter or leave the building, or change rooms
• Wearing a school hoodie, or having a base layer under their t-shirt (if that’s what they prefer to wear), to ensure they aren’t cold during lessons whilst windows are open.

 
We are also asking pupils (and staff) to continue doing lateral flow tests twice a week (where possible) and to log the results online.
 
Please can we ask that you are especially vigilant to the symptoms of COVID 19 (a new or continuous cough, loss of taste/smell or high temperature) at this time and should your child have symptoms, book a PCR test. Whilst waiting for the results, public health guidance states that your household should isolate.  At this time we have 11 pupils (from just under 850) who have had a positive PCR test which equates to 1.3% of the school roll.  Whilst the case numbers remain low, your vigilance and support is very much appreciated. Thank you.
 
Finally, please keep the school informed about any absences as this will help us to offer the very best support to our whole community at this time.
 
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us,
 
Miss Claire Meakin
Head Teacher

Dear Parents and Carers

Thank you for your continued support and understanding this week.  Covid remains a challenge across Orkney (and beyond), we are asking pupils and staff to continue completing lateral flow tests twice-weekly to help catch asymptomatic cases across our community.  We also ask that we all continue to log the results (whether positive or negative) online so public health have a clear understanding of the transmission rates across our community.

NHS Scotland staff were in school yesterday giving the flu vaccination to those pupils who they had received consent for.  Pupils and parents can read about the vaccination here: https://www.nhsinform.scot/childflu If your child received their vaccination yesterday, they can collect a slip confirming this from main reception.

Unfortunately, the Design and Technology Department has had to suspend cooking for all year groups next week (8th - 12th November) due to staffing issues. The cooking that was planned for this week will be done later in the term.  Pupils will still be going to their normal classrooms and working on theory related to practical cookery.

Whilst we were disappointed to not be able to hold our S1 parents’ evening in school, we loved seeing so many parents (and pupils!) online.  We’ve had very positive feedback about the evening but if there is a teacher that you would still like to have a conversation with, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s guidance teacher and they’ll liaise with the staff for you.

We were also hoping to be able to discuss the school’s development plan priorities with parents during face-to-face sessions but, since covid-mitigations remain in place for at least a little longer, we would like to start this discussion virtually.  Pupils and staff identified: “Promoting positive relationships and behaviour” as a key priority for the school so our first survey is on that theme. A link to the survey is here: https://forms.office.com/r/9Q2sjh7Zxx and it will take less than 30 seconds to complete.  The survey is anonymous although there is an option to leave your details if you’d be happy for us to follow up on your feedback.  Your opinions are important to us so thank you in advance for your help.

You may be aware that at the end of the holidays, Mr Harvey was asked to support Westray Junior High school every Thursday and Friday as interim Head Teacher whilst they make a permanent appointment.  We are lucky to have such a hugely dedicated staff team across KGS who will continue to ensure all pupils receive the very best experiences every day.  During Mr Harvey’s absence, Mrs Watson will be covering his specific duties.

This week Mr Harvey and Mrs Watson have been focusing on monitoring punctuality to lessons, including registration which starts at 08:35 each day.  Registration is a key part of the day where important information is shared and staff can ensure pupils have everything they need to be successful in their lessons. If a pupil arrives in school after 08:35 then they are recorded as late and we will be working over the coming weeks at supporting all pupils to be punctual every morning. Thank you to our parents and carers for supporting pupils to arrive to school on time.

Our senior pupils are preparing for examinations at the end of the year and we recognise that many of them will not have experienced formal, external examinations before.  Staff will continue to support pupils in lessons and in supported study sessions, but we wanted to remind all pupils about the ‘National e-learning Offer’ where they can find live, recorded and supported study materials.  National e-Learning Offer | Education Scotland