School Uniform

With the, hopefully, sunny weather approaching, please can I remind you about the school uniform policy which particularly applies in the hot weather.  Pupils should stick to the black and white uniform policy with no muscle tops, strappy vest tops or yoga style gym shorts.  Yoga style gym shorts are acceptable for PE but not for general wear around the school.  Pupils who repeatedly ignore the school uniform will not be able to attend the upcoming summer dances.

Thank you very much for your support with this, dress codes are a part of life and work and schools are no different in this regard. Claire McGonigal, Head Teacher.

Exams w/c 13/05/24

S1 Gradebook

All S1 pupils have received their latest Gradebook extract at Tuesday tutor time and a copy has also been emailed home to parents and guardians. If you have any queries or haven’t received your copy, please notify the office and they will be happy to assist.

Mobile Phone Policy

Recently, in the news, there has been a large amount of discussion regarding banning mobile phones in schools.  Research studies have shown that there is a correlation between young people having access to mobile phones and a negative impact on learning and teaching, behaviour, attainment and achievement.  The conclusion is that this negativity outweighs any potential benefits which having access to a mobile phone brings.

The Scottish Government is currently drawing up a mobile phone policy which all indications point to a recommended ban.  However, there is currently a large amount of new policy being developed in education which seems to have led to delays.  Therefore, as a school staff we have discussed mobile phones and concluded that the current policy doesn’t support the pupils with their learning. We would like to introduce a total ban from the change of timetable on Monday 20 May 2024 for S1 – S3 pupils and Monday 27 May 2024 for returning senior pupils.  The proposed, updated mobile phone policy is attached.

Research based evidence for banning mobile phones includes:

• Improvement in academic performance due to massively reduced distractions. This is greatest for pupils who are in the lowest 20% of attainers. 
• Cuts down on screen time.
• Reduces cyber bullying.
• Cuts down on anxiety regarding potential emergency phone calls.
• Improvement in concentration and memory.
• Removes the reinforcement of negative stereotypes, social media groups and F.O.M.O. during the school day.
• Improves both mental and physical health.
• Improves social skills as pupils chat more face to face rather than rely on text messages, even when they are sitting right next to the person they are texting.

The Parent Council have been approached for their advice and are supportive of this revised policy and a number of parents have raised concerns regarding mobile phones recently.  However, to enable all parents to discuss and understand the updated mobile phone policy, there will be an information drop-in on Thursday 9 May at 5.30pm before the S3 Parents’ Evening.  All parents, not just those parents attending the S3 Parents’ Evening, who would like to find out more about the new policy are invited to attend and the drop-in will take place in the canteen.

I hope that as a parent forum, you can understand the reasons behind our proposed updated mobile phone policy.  Please contact the school if you have any questions and I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, if you would like to discuss the issue in more depth.

Claire McGonigal, Headteacher

Updated Mobile Phone Policy letter – issued 07/05/24

Mobile Phone Policy – issued 07/05/24

Exam Timetable w/c 06/05/24

Online Blackmail

All schools in the UK have recently received information from the National Crime Agency, raising awareness of a recent rise in the reporting of financially-motivated sexual extortion. This is a type of online blackmail, often described in the media as ‘sextortion’. This letter aims to help parents and carers to understand what sexual extortion is and what can be done to help protect and support children who may become victims of it.   This letter has also been emailed home, so please contact the office if you haven’t received it.

Sextortion – letter issued 01/05/24

S3 Parents’ Evening, Booking Process

The S3 Parents’ evening will take place on Thursday 9 May 2024, between 6.00pm and 8.00pm.  The meetings will be in person within the main school building, and we are continuing use of an online booking system to make appointments.

The first parent/guardian contact for each pupil has been emailed the log in details today, so please call the office if you have not received this, it may be filtered to your junk, by your email provider.

You will be required to register at this website www.parents-booking.co.uk and your login details must match the data we have for your child’s first point of contact.  This Guide will help you book your appointments once you have logged in.  As always, contact the school office if you are having difficulty logging in or wish to change your contact details. You can then choose to print a confirmation of your appointments or receive an email.

Appointments will be activated and available to book from 4.00pm on Tuesday 30 April 2024 until 4.00pm on Wednesday 8 May 2024.  I would advise you to book early to avoid missing out on timeslots with the teachers you want to speak to.

Guidance teachers, Mr Abenheimer, Mrs da Costa and Learning Support teacher, Mrs Crane are available for drop-in meetings in the learning support department on the Ground Floor of the main building.

The School Leadership Team will also be available during the evening, should you wish to speak to them.

Exams for the rest of the week

Thankfully we don’t have any SQA exams during the Inservice day on Thursday.

Change of Timetable and Bus times

As we approach the change of timetable, I would like to update you on the revised bus times, effective from the dates below.

Monday, 20 May 2024 – S1, S2 and S3 pupils, moving into S2, S3 and S4.

Monday, 27 May 2024 – S4 and S5 pupils, who are returning to school following study leave to move into S5 and S6.

Revised bus timetable:

Route	Morning	Comments	Afternoon Mon-Thu	Afternoon Fri	Comments
Carrbridge	08:05	No change	15:47	13:02	Through service to Inverness
Boat of Garten	08:06	10 min earlier	15:47	12:40 / 13:05	See below
Cromdale	08:18	12 min earlier, and separate run for primary school at 08:41	15:47	12:45	Route will not extend beyond Cromdale / Balmeanach.
Advie (via Lettoch)	08:14	Will no longer include Braes.	15:47	12:55	Will no longer include Braes.
Braes	TBC	New route by Lindsay Jack	TBC	TBC	New route by Lindsay Jack

A reminder of the new timetable times is below:

Bus times letter emailed to parent/guardians – 29/04/24

A mix of exams on Monday

Well done to our S1-3 for getting better and better during the week at giving the exam pupils as much peace as possible – keep it going.