Dear Parents and Carers, It has been great to have all our pupils back in school after the holidays and we are looking forward to a great term! Mr Neil Ewing Acting Head Teacher Today’s update contains 9 notices 1. Pupil safety 2. Papdale Halls of Residence Newsletter 3. Family Fridays @KGS 4. Breakfast@KGS 5. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils 6. Attendance 7. S5/6 Parents Evening 8. Cost of Living Crisis Support Scotland 9. S4-6 pupils: SQA Additional Assessment Arrangements for pupils who need additional support in SQA exams. 1. Pupil safety With the clocks going back this weekend and a return to dark mornings and evenings, we will be going over road safety and getting on and off buses safely etc in assemblies. If can we ask parents to reinforce this message too, that would be really appreciated. 2. Papdale Halls of Residence Newsletter The Autumn Papdale Halls of Residence Newsletter can be found here in the external resources section: https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/E/papdale-halls-of-residence.htm 3. 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 18th November and parents can email [email protected] by Wednesday 16th November to book a place. 4. 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. Securing the Best Outcomes (Joe McCall) 5. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils A reminder that Webinars in Maths, English, Social Subjects and Science subjects have started. All other subject webinars will start in the week beginning October 31st. Registration for Evening Webinars will be via the link below. (Pupils must log on to Glow before accessing the link to the registration form, and should check the timetable carefully before choosing the webinars they wish to attend.) https://www.e-sgoil.com/study-support/ Promoting Positive Behaviour and Relationships (Mr Harvey) 6. Attendance Over the coming weeks we will be speaking to some pupils and families in order to support attendance. Below is a reminder of the OIC guidance that we will be following to support young people and families with regular school attendance: We do work hard to ensure that we are aware if there are valid reasons for a pupil being absent or late, and where this is the case, support our pupils to catch up.
However, there is no doubt that poor attendance may significantly impact on achievement, as does poor timekeeping. We would ask that parents and carers are particularly mindful of this and continue to support us in ensuring that absenteeism is kept to a minimum, where possible, and that pupils are in school on time. 7. S5/6 Parents Evening There will be an S5/6 Parents Evening in school next Tuesday. Emails have been sent to allow you to book appointments. If for any reason you can’t attend, then get in touch. We look forward to welcoming you into school. Securing the Highest Level of Universal Support (Ms Devlin) 8. Cost of Living Crisis Support Scotland A new Scottish Government website has been launched to signpost advice and financial support available to people in Scotland. It includes information about support with increasing energy bills, Scottish and UK social security payments and benefits, support with housing costs, payments for families, as well as where to get further advice, benefit calculators, and wider health and wellbeing information. The website can be accessed at the link below: https://costofliving.campaign.gov.scot 9. S4-6 pupils: SQA Additional Assessment Arrangements for pupils who need additional support in SQA exams. School staff are in the process of having discussions with S4-6 pupils with a learning difference, eg. dyslexia and ASD regarding special arrangements needed for their Prelim examinations in January 2023 and SQA examinations in May 2023. At National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels staff can make a request to SQA for the following:
Your child’s class teacher needs to provide the SQA with evidence that the special arrangement (known as an accommodation) is needed on a day-to-day basis in school to access class activities, tests and assignments and that it has made a significant positive impact on their attainment. In addition, the KGS Curriculum Support department needs to provide the SQA with evidence of a specific learning need, for example dyslexia, visual impairment, ASD etc. Please ask your young person if they feel they need these accommodations to discuss them with their class teacher. If your young person is unsure if they meet the SQA criteria, please ask them to speak with Ms Marie Phillips in room GO38. Dear Parents and Carers, As we approach the holidays can I thanks all our parents and carer for their continued support. It has been a busy term but also a really positive one. Mr Neil Ewing Acting Head Teacher Today’s update contains 8 notices 1. Inset days and October holidays 2. Parent Council 3. Family Fridays @KGS 4. Breakfast@KGS 4. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils 5. Maths for S1 Parents 6. Attendance 7. S1 Parents Evening 8. S4-6 pupils: SQA Additional Assessment Arrangements for pupils who need additional support in SQA exams. 1. Inset days and October holidays KGS will be closed to pupils on Thursday 6 and 7th of October for Inservice days and then from Monday 10th October Friday 21st for the October break. 2. Parent Council The Parent Council AGM will take place on Tuesday starting at 6pm in the Conference room. All KGS parents are welcome. Prior to the official part of the meeting there will be a short presentation from the Schools Careers Service. The PC is keen to recruit new members and we have a desire to fill the post of Secretary or Treasurer. 3. 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 28th October and parents can email [email protected] by Wednesday 26th October to book a place. 4. 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. Securing the Best Outcomes (Mr McCall) 4. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils A reminder that Webinars in Maths, English, Social Subjects and Science subjects have started More details can be found here https://www.e-sgoil.com/media/2745/twitter_study-support-overview-sept-2022-copy.pdf All other subject webinars will start in the week beginning October 31st. Registration for Evening Webinars will be via the link below. (Pupils must log on to Glow before accessing the link to the registration form, and should check the timetable carefully before choosing the webinars they wish to attend.) https://www.e-sgoil.com/study-support/ 5. Maths for S1 Parents Roz McMahon, our Acting PT of Maths, launched the first of our Maths information events last week and the session is available here: http://www.kgsorkney.com/ The second online meet will be on Wednesday 5 October 7.30pm to 8.30pm on Vscene and will cover: Number and how we teach it Join here: https://app.vscene.net/r/uYOoVaC7XL Promoting Positive Behaviour and Relationships (Mr Harvey) 6. Attendance As well as regular study both within and out with school, other factors have a direct impact on a pupil’s success in school. Included in this are attendance and timekeeping. As you may be aware, we have mechanisms in school to track both in line with OIC guidance. The table below outlines the procedure we follow to support young people and families with regular school attendance: We do work hard to ensure that we are aware if there are valid reasons for a pupil being absent or late, and where this is the case, support our pupils to catch up.
However, there is no doubt that poor attendance may significantly impact on achievement, as does poor timekeeping. We would ask that parents and carers are particularly mindful of this and continue to support us in ensuring that absenteeism is kept to a minimum, where possible, and that pupils are in school on time. 7. S1 Parents Evening This week we had a very successful S12 Parents Evening in school. It was fantastic to welcome the parents/carers of our S1 into school to meet with their child’s teachers face to face for the first time in a couple of years. There was a lovely atmosphere, and we hope that S1 parents/carers enjoyed the event. We look forward to welcoming the parents/carers of other year groups as the year progresses. Securing the Highest Level of Universal Support (Ms Devlin) 8. S4-6 pupils: SQA Additional Assessment Arrangements for pupils who need additional support in SQA exams. School staff are in the process of having discussions with S4-6 pupils with a learning difference, eg. dyslexia and ASD regarding special arrangements needed for their Prelim examinations in January 2023 and SQA examinations in May 2023. At National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels staff can make a request to SQA for the following:
Your child’s class teacher needs to provide the SQA with evidence that the special arrangement (known as an accommodation) is needed on a day-to-day basis in school to access class activities, tests and assignments and that it has made a significant positive impact on their attainment. In addition, the KGS Curriculum Support department needs to provide the SQA with evidence of a specific learning need, for example dyslexia, visual impairment, ASD etc. Please ask your young person if they feel they need these accommodations to discuss them with their class teacher. If your young person is unsure if they meet the SQA criteria, please ask them to speak with Ms Marie Phillips in room GO38. Dear Parents and Carers, It has been short but very busy week and I hope everyone has an enjoyable and restful weekend. Thank you for your continued support. Mr Neil Ewing Acting Head Teacher Today’s update contains 7 notices 1. Family Fridays @KGS 2. Breakfast@KGS 3. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils 4. Maths for S1 Parents 5. Attendance 6. S1 Parents’ evening 7. Senior Phase Tracking reports 1. 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. 2. 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. Securing the Best Outcomes (Joe McCall) 3. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils There is an opportunity for students to attend additional study support online. Colleagues at E-sgoil have put together a schedule of events as per the link below. A wide variety of topics and SQA levels are supported by these webinars. There are various start dates to note in diaries, with webinars scheduled throughout the autumn and winter. Pupils are encouraged to engage with all the support available throughout the school year, as they prepare for the Prelim exams in January and the SQA exams scheduled for the spring of 2023. Webinars in Maths, English, Social Subjects and Science subjects will start in the week beginning September 26th. More details can be found here https://www.e-sgoil.com/media/2745/twitter_study-support-overview-sept-2022-copy.pdf All other subject webinars will start in the week beginning October 31st. Registration for Evening Webinars will be via the link below. (Pupils must log on to Glow before accessing the link to the registration form, and should check the timetable carefully before choosing the webinars they wish to attend.) https://www.e-sgoil.com/study-support/ 4. Maths for S1 Parents Roz McMahon, our Acting PT of Maths, launched the first of our Maths information events this week. There were some technical issues with Vscene but the session was recorded and will be available on the KGS website early next week. The second online meet will be on Wednesday 5 October 7.30pm to 8.30pm on Vscene and will cover: Number and how we teach it Join here: https://app.vscene.net/r/uYOoVaC7XL Promoting Positive Behaviour and Relationships (Mr Harvey) 5. Attendance As well as regular study both within and out with school, other factors have a direct impact on a pupil’s success in school. Included in this are attendance and timekeeping. As you may be aware, we have mechanisms in school to track both of these in line with OIC guidance. The table below outlines the procedure we follow to support young people and families with regular school attendance: We do work hard to ensure that we are aware if there are valid reasons for a pupil being absent or late, and where this is the case, support our pupils to catch up.
However, there is no doubt that poor attendance may significantly impact on achievement, as does poor timekeeping. We would ask that parents and carers are particularly mindful of this and continue to support us in ensuring that absenteeism is kept to a minimum, where possible, and that pupils are in school on time. Securing the Highest Level of Universal Support (Ms Devlin) 6. S1 Parents’ evening We are looking forward to meeting our S1 parents to their first KGS parents’ night next Wednesday. We met many of you at the P7 Parents’ information evening but are pleased to be able to meet you again. The Guidance team and Curriculum Support team will be attending the evening also, and the Senior Leadership Team will be available too, in case you have any queries. The KGS Parent Council provide refreshments, so do take this opportunity to chat to them and ask any questions. We are grateful to our S6 helpers who have volunteered to help with refreshments too. We hope you enjoy the evening and find it useful. Remember, if you have not had the opportunity to speak to all your child’s teachers at the evening and would like to find out more, please get in touch with their Guidance teacher. S1 Tracking reports will be issued Our online booking system remains open until Monday 26 September at 3.30pm. 7. Senior Phase Tracking reports Senior Tracking reports have been issued to S4, S5 and S6 pupils today. |
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