Weekly Update
This week’s update is being issued early due to the fact that tomorrow our staff will be taking part in training as per our planned INSET programme and a reminder that Friday is a national holiday.
New Timetable for seniors
We are ready to begin our new Senior classes on Monday 11th May. All pupils currently in S3, 4 or 5 will receive an email confirming the subjects and level they have been assigned.
To ensure that our young people can access their work from their new teachers they will also be given a list of TEAMS (and access codes) to allow them to join their new classes. We have also agreed a timetable for when subjects issue their work and this will be staggered throughout the week. This will also be shared with our young people.
Please can we remind that there will be no changes of courses or levels at this time and that our general review of classes will still take place in August.
Handy Hints for Successful Home Learning for our Young People
- A regular routine and a schedule will help us manage in these challenging times and we strongly suggest that you follow a routine that is as close to a working day as possible.
- Regular breaks are essential – use this time to stretch and move. Build in time to exercise –you could start the day with a workout, or get out and run at the end of your work – create a daily timetable that works for you.
- Stuck on the work? Remember your strategies: 1. Re-read the task. 2. Read the task out to someone else to see if they can help you. 3. Move to the next part of the task and come back to it later. 4. Contact your teacher if none of these strategies work.
- Look after your digital health! Switch off alerts when you have finished working for the day, and make sure you switch off all devices two hours before you go to bed.
S6 Leavers and other school leavers
We are currently working with the INSPIRE team to coordinate the procedure that will be followed to ensure we plan the return of iPads, along with school textbooks and other school equipment.
Family Learning and Support – via Social Media!
At this time, we know that some additional support, ideas to support learning, or just a place to meet likeminded parents for support and reassurance around may be a positive. Just remember: chances are you are doing far better in supporting learning than you think you are given you know them best!
We have found that Twitter is a great place to find hints, tips and links to groups – often smaller more bespoke agencies and charities who may use this as their main means of communication. What we find is that, once you start following some groups, others ‘pop up’ or you see retweeted will also often be of interest. See below for some helpful sources of family learning and parental support opportunities. If you find any other pages that you think would be great for sharing with parents, why not tag it on your own twitter with #khsfamilylearning?
Please note recommendation to follow does not indicate endorsement or agreement of any account’s policies, contents or statements by Kelso High School or Scottish Borders Council.
@parentforumscot – national parent forum of Scotland
@youngscot – Young Scot – not just ID cards – a while wealth of resources and opportunities to connect young people and help them navigate the transition to adulthood
@children1st – Children 1st – national charity focussed on children’s’ wellbeing
@cisweb – Children in Scotland – may be more useful for S1/2 parents
@childrenuniscot – Children’s University Scotland
@HAFLS (Hertfordshire) – Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Services – although some of the terminology is related to England and Wales, some good tips and ideas.
@leicscountyhall – Leicestershire County Council – has a lot of regular help, hints and links to national support networks
@parentclubscot – Parent Club Scotland
@pns2018 – Parent Network Scotland
@dadsrockedin – network of encouraging dads to learn with their children
@scotparents – a network of charities who support parents to just enjoy being a parent
@cypcs – children and young person’s commissioner for Scotland – lots of info on Child rights around education
@fathersnetscot – another network of encouraging fathers and other male role models to increase their involvement
@ssff_Scotland – Stepping Stones for Families – mainly focused on Glasgow and Ayrshire however many good retweets and links around services in our area.
Hashtags to look out for:
#familylearning
#forparents
Home and Family Learning Support Resources
We know that things have changed considerably as we have moved, albeit temporarily, to being a virtual school. With this, as well as new opportunities, comes challenges for parents and young people. In order to support you in facilitating learning during this time, we are producing, compiling and curating a range of files, videos and self-help guides for those things that may come up during home learning sessions. These include how to use Show My Homework, Microsoft Teams and accessing some of the accessibility settings on iPad to assist those with additional needs.
Feel free to download these guides and share as you wish. They can be found here.
If you have any requests for something that you would like to be added or have a query, please do let us know and we will try to add it. We are here to help.
Parental Blogger – share your experience with us
During the home learning period, have you found that you now know the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, the bottom row of the periodic table off by heart, or what the longest word in the German language is while trying to also videoconference with your own work team?
Found something just truly positive from spending more time with your family? Has the cat photobombed some of the uploads of work sent to teachers?
We want to hear from your experience of how your home learning journey is going. If you would like to share the ups, downs, successes, frustrations and celebrations of home learning at KHS during the closure period with the wider school community, either as a one off or ongoing updates – get in touch! We can share your story anonymously if you would prefer.