Dear Parent/Carer,
I am sure you will have heard by now that South Lanarkshire Council has reversed its decision to save money through reducing transport and, as such, that secondary transport will continue to be provided beyond two miles. You will share in my relief that this has happened.
Dance Success
Congratulations to our dance groups who participated in the South Lanarkshire Secondary Dance Competition at the Town House. The junior group, Georgie and Annie, danced really well but were unplaced. The senior dance group won the best performance prize and the prize for the best choreography! They were superb! The audience gave them a fantastic ovation at the end of their performance. Congratulations to Amy, Abbie, Glen, Hannah, Brooke, Chloe, Tess, Darryl, Olivia, Lauren, Jenny and Taylor. Congratulations also to Poppy Murphy, one of our Sports Ambassadors, who introduced our dancers.
Mental Health Awareness
School Captains Nicola Rose, RoryMacDonald, Jennifer Dyet and Jonathan Roarty recently organiseda Mental Health Awareness Week initiated by Jonathan. The event was so successful that they were invited to present their work at South Lanarkshire’s Health and Wellbeing Conference. They were then asked to open St. Andrew’s and St. Bride’s Mental Health Awareness Week and now they are talking at a National Conference in Stirling on positive mental health in schools. They are becoming quite famous! Congratulations to them for their hard work and commitment.
Photographs and Filming
Pupils in schools are not allowed to photograph or film their other pupils or staff. This is to protect and respect the privacy of everyone. As you will be only too aware, it is very easy for young people to take photographs and put them on social media which then causes unhappiness and anger. Please make it clear to your child that this is totally unacceptable.
Aerosols
If you have a child who is asthmatic then you will know of the dangers that aerosols can have on their health. Please provide your child with non-aerosol deodorants and remind them not to bring any aerosols to school.
Litter in the Community
Yet again, I have received a complaint from a member of the community about the litter left around the village at lunchtime. Whilst litter is a problem for all of society, and adults as well as young people are responsible for the mess, we need to ensure that our pupils show more respect for their own environment. Please impress upon them the need to put litter in a bin or bring it back to school for disposal here. I would be very grateful if you would discuss this within your family. So many parents and pupils work alongside staff to make this the best school possible that it is disappointing when a few pupils ruin the reputation of the school.
Parentpay
The Parentpay project is reviewing its progress and the organisers would like to obtain feedback using an on-line survey. It would be great if you could find the time to make a response. The survey can be accessed via the link – https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=145623659428
Register to Vote
The lowering of the voting age for Scottish Parliamentary Elections means that 15 year olds can appear on the electoral register in preparation for voting when they turn 16. It’s easy to apply to register online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and it only takes a few minutes. If your child will be 16 by the time of the election in May encourage them to register now.
Easter and Spring Break
The school is closed on Friday, 25th March, and Monday, 28th March for the Easter weekend. We are then back for four days until we finish on Friday, 1st April, for the two week Spring Break. School reopens on Monday, 18th April.
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Ross,
Head Teacher