Parent and Carers' update 16th September

Dear Parents and Carers, 

It has been an unusual week with the news dominated by preparations for the Queen’s state funeral and the announcement earlier in the week of the public holiday on Monday.  
I hope everyone has a restful weekend and we look forward to welcoming all our pupils back to school on Tuesday. 


Mr Neil Ewing 
Acting Head Teacher 


Today’s update contains 10 notices 
1. School closure Monday 
2. Family Fridays @KGS 
3. Breakfast@KGS 
4. Maths for S1 Parents 
5. S1 Parents Evening 
6. Celebrating Success 
7. Attendance policy changes 
8. Safe Islander event for S1 pupils: Thursday 22nd September 2022 
9. S2 Hoy Outdoor Education activity trips May/June 2023. 
10. Applying for Free School Meal 
 
1. School closure Monday  
KGS will be closed on Monday, 19 September, for the national bank holiday for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. 

2. Family Fridays @KGS 
Over the course of this session the Parent Council would like to invite parents into KGS on Friday mornings for school visits. The visits would be in small groups and run between 10am and 11am. Each visit would include a tour of the school in action, a chat with the Senior Leadership team over a cup of coffee, and a visit to some classrooms.  The next visit will be on Friday September 30th and parents can email [email protected] by Wednesday 28th September to book a place.  

3. Breakfast@KGS 
Breakfast is available for pupils from 8.20am. The breakfast menu is on the school website and includes toast and cereals with hot food such as filled rolls and scrambled eggs available on demand 

4. Maths for S1 Parents  
Roz McMahon, our Acting PT of Maths, is putting on a series of Maths information events this session.  
The first online event will be on Wednesday 21 September, 7.30pm to 8pm on Vscene - Introduction to Maths and will look at the topics covered in S1, available resources, Assessments in S1 and Maths progression in the BGE and beyond. Both sessions will be recorded and will be available on 
Join here:  
https://app.vscene.net/r/V3x9LacmRa 
The second online meet will be on Wednesday 5 October 7.30pm to 8pm on Vscene and will cover the following: 
Number and how we teach it 
Join here: 
https://app.vscene.net/r/uYOoVaC7XL 

Promoting Positive Behaviour and Relationships (Mr Harvey) 

5. S1 Parents Evening 
At Kirkwall Grammar School we use an online booking system for our Parents’ Evenings. We will be using this system for the S1 Parent’s Evening on Wednesday 28 September 2022. 
The system will be open to take bookings from Monday 19 September at 8.00am until Monday 26 September at 3.30pm. We advise that you log on and make your appointments at your earliest convenience as bookings cannot be made after the deadline. 
A letter including full instructions will be sent to you today. 
 
6. Celebrating Success 
 
At KGS we want to recognise the efforts of our pupils regularly. Pupils are awarded House Points in class for effort, good work and behaviour. Each week we publish the weekly House Totals in our bulletin and the Tutor Group who have received the most House Points are awarded a prize. We also want to recognise those pupils who receive large numbers of House Points and this week have started sending home Certificates to pupils when they reach 20 House Points. These certificates are emailed to both the pupil and the parent/carer. 
 
7. Attendance policy changes 
School communities – from head teachers to parents and carers - are being asked to help support attendance at schools throughout Orkney. 
If your child is absent due to illness, please phone the school office before 9.00am and leave a message on the answer machine - explaining the reason why your child will not be in school. Parents will be expected to phone and inform us on each day of illness unless it is a planned absence.  
Where the school has not been informed of a pupil's absence, a text message will be sent to the main parental contact number (usually a mobile telephone number) asking them to contact the school to explain why their child is not in school (at this stage choose option 3 and speak directly to a member of the office staff). Parents/guardians/carers are asked to respond to these texts promptly, as there may be a serious reason why a pupil has not reached school in time to be registered. 
If we haven't heard from parents or carers at this stage, we will then try to contact you by phone to confirm that your child is absent with your permission.  

Securing the Highest Level of Universal Support (Ms Devlin) 

8. Safe Islander event for S1 pupils: Thursday 22nd September 2022 
 Safe Islander event reminder: it is organised to help young people become more aware of personal safety; react appropriately to dangerous situations; and understand the role of the emergency services and how and when to contact them avoid becoming a victim of an accident or crime 
Exact details of when your young person will attend during the school day will be shared with them directly nearer the time. 

9. S2 Hoy Outdoor Education activity trips May/June 2023.  
All parents/carers of S2 pupils should have received information via email about the S2 Hoy Outdoor Education Trips, for which the sign-up has now opened.  The Hoy trip is open to every second-year pupil at KGS. If you have not received the email, or if you have any questions, please ask your child to speak to Mr Memmott or let the school know. Full costs are yet to be confirmed, but if your S2 young person would like to go, and you are concerned about costs, please contact Mr Memmott via the school office.  

10. Applying for Free School Meals 
We are really keen that any parent or carer who thinks that they may be entitled to Free School Meals for their child does so. It helps the school to support our pupils too.  Please see the financial support section of the school website for further details of financial support for families and young people.  
Eligibility for Free School Meals 

You can apply for free school meals and clothing allowances if you are receiving: 

• Universal Credit and your monthly earned income is under £660. 

• Income Support. 
• Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance. 
• Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (contributions-based is not accepted). 
• Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit, and your annual household income is less than £17,005. 
• Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, and your annual household income is less than £7,920. 

• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. 

If you are aged between 16 and 18 years old and receive any of these benefits in your own right, you can claim free school meals and a clothing allowance for yourself. 

​You may also be eligible for assistance if you are caring for a formally ‘Looked After Child’ (LAC).