Unfortunately the school will be closed tomorrow (Friday 3 December 2021) as we are without water in one of the main buildings.
This has been a problem for the last two days and we have limped along with a small trickle, but it’s now not safe to stay open tomorrow, as we don’t have toilets and handwashing facilities.
Engineers came in today and once they’ve got the specific tools from Aberdeen, they should be able to put in a short term fix tomorrow so we’ll be back open on Monday, all being well. Although I’m frustrated at having to close tomorrow, at least it’s only a half day and there will be work set online in Google Classrooms for pupils.
It is that most wonderful time of the year, when the Learning Support Department hosts their annual Christmas Fayre! There are a range of homemade items that can be purchased and they have been made by our enterprise projects with pupils in S1-S3 who attend LS tutorials.
The Fayre will take place online, over the weekend and Pupils, Parents, Guardians and Friends of Grantown Grammar School have the opportunity to purchase using the order form above, which will be live until Monday 6 December.
On Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th December, any remaining stock will be on sale in the school hall for pupils. There will also be ‘Guess the number of sweets in a jar’ (£1 a guess), home baking and other Christmas treats for sale.
This newsletter from Headteacher Claire McGonigal has been emailed to all Parent/Guardians today. If you have any queries or need to update your contact details, please contact the school on 01479 872649 or email at grantown.grammar@highland.gov.uk.
Please follow this link to a presentation about how this year’s SQA Senior Courses will be awarded. There have been details about this previously but we feel it is worth having a zoom in on the plans as we come to the end of the calendar year.
We are delighted to be able to offer pupils the opportunity to benefit from professional ski and snowboard coaching delivered by the associated Cairngorm Ski and Snowboard clubs.
There are two training blocks, both consisting of one session a week, on a Tuesday afternoon for four weeks. Pupils can choose to take part in either or both of these 4 week blocks. There is also an additional Race day planned that all participants will be able to attend.
The first block of training will take place on Tuesday afternoons from 18January to 8February 2022.
The second block of training will take place on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 22 March 2022
The Race Day is provisionally planned for Monday 28th March.
Each block will cost £100 (4x £25 per session). This cost will cover transport to and from the venue, fully qualified coaching, equipment hire (if required) and uplift ticket (if required). This is a set price so pupils that don’t require equipment hire or an uplift ticket will still pay the same price as these elements are being covered by the Cairngorm Ski and Snowboard clubs and Cairngorm Mountain.
No refunds will be available for pupils that are unable to attend their sessions.
A confirmation of your child’s place will be sent out, along with payment details after numbers have been confirmed. Payment will be required in full before the Christmas break. Payment options are available if required and will be arranged on an individual basis.
In the event of snow conditions being poor or bad weather, the training sessions will still take place as a dry slope session or a fitness based activity.
The coaching group will be made up of potential BASI level 1 trainees (aged15+) and a group of Development trainees for ski and snowboard who are required to ski/board at speed, in control on all lifts and terrain found on Cairngorm.
This is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils, for whom skiing is a part of living in this area and for those who want to make the most of having the Cairngorms on their doorstep.
Please can Parents/Guardians sign and return the permission slip indicating whether your child/ren is interested in the development group or the BASI group by Thursday 2nd December.
Time flies and suddenly our own Option Choices for 2022-23 will be upon us.
This looks like a great opportunity to tune into advice from Skills Development Scotland (SDS).
Parents and carers can find out more about how to support option choice decisions, including the support and resources available from SDS. Careers Advisers will be providing advice and there will be opportunities for parents and carers to ask questions during the session.
Reminder to parents/carers of S1 pupils that the digital parent evening is a week today (Wednesday 24 Nov). Appointment slots are filling up quickly for most teachers and can be made up to 4pm on Monday 22 November.
Check your personal email inbox and spam for information from the school on how to book appoinments if you haven’t received it already. Please remember that PSE slots are ONLY for Guidance appointments should you wish to discuss pastoral issues rather than to discuss PSE lessons.
A slightly technical point: if you have downloaded Apple iPad update iOS 15.1 in the last 10 days, this seems to be causing connection problems for the online meetings. Other Apple devices work fine as do Android and Chrome. It is just this recent update.
Grantown Grammar School will re-open on Wednesday 10 November.
Reminders for:
S1 – A letter has been emailed to Parents/Guardians with all the information regarding the online parents evening on 24 November. If you haven’t received this, please email grantown.grammar@highland.gov.uk
S3 – Please return the Outdoor Residential Consent form to the office first thing, if you wish to attend next week.
12-15 year olds will be asked to complete their Covid Vaccination Consent forms, prior to the Vaccination Clinic on Friday 12 November. Please discuss this with your child so they are fully informed.
All pupils can collect their Lateral Flow Tests from Reception and we encourage everyone to test every Wednesday and Sunday. This is helping to identify positive cases early and control the spread of Covid within the school and community.
Grantown Grammar School 