Term 4, Week 8

Dear Parents and Carers

Thank you for your continued support this week – we have loved seeing so many of you watching our school production so far, and we know the final two performances will be unmissable too!

This week we saw our senior pupils return to school following their exams and it’s been amazing to see how focused and engaged they, along with our junior pupils, have been in their lessons.

On Monday and Tuesday next week we’ll welcome our new S1s for their transition days and we’re excited to have our Parents’ Information Evening in person on Tuesday.

Today’s update has 7 key notices:

1. Timetable change information (Mr Ewing)
2. S5/6 learner agreement (Mr Ewing)
3. Results and Appeals information (Mr Ewing)
4. Orkney College Open Day (Mr Ewing)
5. Positive Behaviour and Relationships (Mr Harvey)
6. Pupil Support Faculty (Ms Devlin)
7. P7 Transition (Ms Devlin)

​We hope you all have a wonderful weekend,
Miss Claire Meakin
Head Teacher

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Timetable change information (Mr Ewing)

Our new timetable began Tuesday. We have held several assemblies to update pupils on college and other arrangements.
If your child is unsure of College arrangements or about any of their options, can they please see me as soon as possible. Orkney College times for SfW, N5, Higher and Foundation Apprentices are available on the KGS website

​We are hoping to keep any subject changes to a minimum as the timetable settles, but we recognised that after pupils receive their results, changes may be required and further details on how this will work will follow shortly

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S5/6 learner agreement (Mr Ewing)

All S5 and S6 pupils will be required to sign a learner's agreement at the start of the new session, and I will be asking parents to sign this as well. The learner's agreement will be given to S5/6 pupils as a hard copy on the first day of the new term. The agreement will be a two-way document with clear expectations of the attitude and work ethic we expect from S5 and S6 learners but also what pupils in S5/6 should expect from the Kirkwall Grammar School.
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The learner's agreement was given out in assembly on Tuesday and should be returned to my office by the end of school Monday
Copies of the agreement can be found here S5_S6 Learner Agreement.pdf

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Results and Appeals information (Mr Ewing)

This year's results day is Tuesday 9th August. Pupils can sign up to get their results by text and details are in the Your Exams link below Your Exams 2022 (sqa.org.uk) 

​If on results day a pupil feels their result is lower than expected, they may be able to appeal that result. Appeals can be prioritised if pupils have a conditional place at university or college. There is no charge for appeals. Eligibility criteria for Appeals 2022 are in place to support fairness and to ensure that learners are accessing the service on an equitable basis. Therefore, the following criteria must be met:
· Learner’s estimate is greater than their certificated grade. For example, if the learner’s exam result is a grade C but their estimate was a grade B.
· All centres must submit an estimate to SQA for each learner per subject/level. Estimated bands of zero or blank will not be eligible.
· Learners must have taken and/or submitted all coursework and formal assessments including exams.
· At least one component of the course assessment must be marked by SQA. Fully internally assessed courses are not eligible for appeals
The deadlines for submitting a priority appeal are:
· Learner direct - Tuesday 16 August at 11.59 pm
· Centres - Friday 19 August at 5 pm
Results of all priority appeals will be released to centres on Monday 5 September and sent to UCAS on Tuesday 6 September.
The deadlines for submitting all other appeals are:
· Learner direct - Tuesday 30 August at 11.59 pm
· Centres – Friday 2 September at 5 pm

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Orkney College Open Day (Mr Ewing)

There will be an open day at Orkney College this Saturday between 12 and 4pm. If your child is considering a course at the College next year this a great opportunity to find out more. For more information follow this link:
Study at OC - What's On (uhi.ac.uk)
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Positive Behaviour and Relationships (Mr Harvey)

I hope all our pupils have had a good first week of the new timetable and have enjoyed being in their new classes. The focus in school over the next few weeks is Maximising Opportunities to Learn.

​Pupils have attended assemblies this week where we have highlighted the things that can get in the way of learning and gone over our expectations regarding:

• Morning Registration
• Being Punctual
• Regular School Attendance
• Dress Code
• Mobile Phone/Devices
• General Conduct in and around the school

We have started using a shared language across the school using the graphic below that will be displayed in all classrooms. This will give our pupils and staff an easy visual reminder to refer to. We reminded pupils that most of the time at KGS our pupils are:

• Meeting Expectations
• Exceeding Expectations
• Above and Beyond

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Pupil Support Faculty (Ms Devlin)

As you are aware, there are three Houses at KGS: Copinsay, Eynhallow and Fara. Currently one PT Guidance teacher is allocated to each house, in addition to a Curriculum Support teacher link. We are very pleased to be able to let you know that two more temporary Guidance PTs have been allocated to our Guidance team from August 2022. The enhanced Guidance team will consist of:  Mr Mark Berry, Mrs Kim Fletcher, Mr Colin Nisbet, Ms Bridget Taylor and Mrs Raksha Woods. Mrs Firth, our Guidance Manager, is reducing her hours of work to three days per week (Monday-Wednesday) from August 2022.
The current house structure will remain in place, but pupils in S5 and 6 will have additional support from the wider Guidance team.
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There may be some further changes to the Pupil Support faculty at KGS next session, and we will keep you informed.

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P7 Transition

​P7 transition days Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th June
P7 Parents’ Information Evening Tuesday 14th June 6pm
We are delighted, once again, to be able to hold two full transition days again for P7 pupils this year – the first time since June 2019 – and to be able to offer an in person P7 Parents Information evening. P7 pupils will experience two days at KGS, following their S1 timetables and meeting their new classmates and Guidance teachers. We are also very pleased that many of our school partners will have stalls at the P7 Parents Information evening, so that parents get a flavour of the many other agencies that support our young people.