Wishing you all a happy and holy Christmas

from all in the community of

St John Ogilvie High School

Parents’ Newsletter

St John Ogilvie High School December 2020

School Website- www.johnogilvie.s-lanark.sch.uk

@StJOHS

In this issue 2 School Holidays 2 Headteacher’s Message 3 Home Economics 4 Modern Languages 5 SLC Financial Support 6 Pride of Scotland 7 Art Dept. 8 English Dept. 12 PE Dept. 15 Cards & Hampers 16 Mr Wildman & Music Dept. 27 School Uniform

Full Story

on Page 6

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Christmas Holidays School closes on Tuesday 22nd December at 2.30pm

Pupils return on Wednesday 6th January at 8.50 am

Headteacher’s Message

‘Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.’ St Francis of Assisi As this most difficult of terms draws to a close, may I thank all pupils, families and staff for the fantastic lengths that you have gone to with regards to our COVID 19 safety measures and mitigations. Our young people have followed all of our regulations really well including sanitising their hands and work areas, following one way systems and wearing face coverings too. Thankfully, as I write this, we have had very few positive cases reported to the school since August 2020 and indeed no positive cases at all in the last 4 weeks. We have still managed to have an online senior school awards ceremony, a simply wonderful online Christmas music concert and even an online Transition tour and talk as well as providing our normal service in such trying circumstances. Although we really do miss meeting parents and carers in person at school events I am very proud of the lengths that staff have gone to in order to continue with these important traditions and events, albeit in a very different way in 2020. Since August, we have now raised nearly £4000 in aid of St Andrew’s Hospice, a generous sum at any time but in 2020 it is even more remarkable. What generous families and young people we serve here in St John Ogilvie. I would also like to thank our school Chaplain Fr Mark for his support during this time and for organising socially distanced Mass and services for pupils and staff in the school. Wishing all members of the St John Ogilvie High School Community a very happy, holy and peaceful Christmas. Lorna Lawson Headteacher

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In November the Home Economics department were excited to be working with lamb with our S3 classes. We'll be introducing the recipes this week. We were lucky to be part of an industry partnership and using the lamb which was donated by the Institute of Auctioneers, we were able to make Nan Bread pizzas. This was a great opportunity and a pleasure to see how interested the pupils were to sample and make a new food. The lamb for St Andrews Day was gratefully received.

Home Economics

Our Sew What classes have been working hard with textiles to make their own personalised face masks. Many of these have been gifted to family members and some have been sold to staff. With Christmas around the corner the high flyers have moved on to Christmas decorations too. Skills developed – Hand eye co ordination Hand sewing Cutting and pinning Mindfulness Creativity .

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Modern Languages

El Siglo de Oro del Deporte

Británico Agata Gruse, S5, has recently had another fantastic article published in Napier University’s ‘Worldwide Napier’ magazine. Agata’s article, written entirely in Spanish, is about the most successful British sportsmen and women and the influence they have on young people today. You can check out the online magazine here: Worldwide Napier #6 by Edinburgh Napier University Languages - issuu . Brilliant work from Agata and a great opportunity for our other Senior Phase linguists.

Alumno del Mes – Noviembre Congratulations to our Pupils of the Month for November. Our S1 and S2 pupils have been working hard in Spanish this term, S1 have been learning how to describe themselves and others, and S2 about how to talk about where they live. S1 Alumnos del Mes – Aimee Peters, Grace Gallagher, Libby Cunningham, Joshua Mackie, Dylan Murray, Aimee Morgan S2 Alumnos del Mes – Samantha Steel, Riley Hughes, Callum Campbell, Finn Holmes, Aidan Kennedy, Freya Meechan

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Information for Parents and Carers from

South Lanarkshire Council Financial Support

Free School Meals Covid-19 Update – 9th December 2020 South Lanarkshire Council are pleased to announce some new financial supports for families who have children or young people in school entitled to Free School Meals. This does not include those entitled to universal provision of P1-3 meals.

Winter Fuel Payment South Lanarkshire Council has approved a scheme to make a one-off payment of £50 to support with winter fuel costs, for families of pupils entitled to free school meals. This does not include those entitled to universal provision of P1-3 meals.

£100 Winter Payment South Lanarkshire Council has approved a scheme to make a one-off payment of £100 to families of pupils entitled to free school meals to support with winter costs such as Christmas presents, food, fuel and other essentials. This does not include those entitled to universal provision of P1-3 meals. This payment is per child; families will receive £100 for each eligible child.

Free School Meals Payment for Pupils Self-isolating South Lanarkshire Council has approved a scheme to make a one-off payment of £30 to parents/carers towards the cost of lunch for pupils eligible for free school meals but unable to attend school due to requiring to self-isolate as part of the Test and Protect Scheme. This does not include those entitled to universal provision of P1-3 meals.

Free School Meals Payments During School Holiday Periods The Scottish Government have provided Local Authorities additional funding for pupils currently in receipt of Free School Meals (this does not include those entitled to universal provision of P1-3 meals), to receive a free school meal payment for the following school holiday periods: Christmas 2020 One-off payment of £30 February 2021 Mid Term Break One-off payment of £9 Spring Break 2021 One-off payment of £33

Free School Meals Payment for Pupils Shielding During Tier 4 Lockdown Period

Any pupils eligible for free school meals and in receipt of a letter from the Chief Medical Officer advising they should not attend school and should shield for the 3 week period from Monday 23rd November 2020 to Friday 11th December will receive a one-off free school meals payment of £45 if they actually shield and do not attend school. This does not include those entitled to universal provision of P1-3 meals.

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Information for Parents and Carers from South Lanarkshire Council

Continued

£500 Self-isolation Support Grant

From 7th December the Scottish Government is giving a £500 Self Isolation Support grant to families if they are:

- The primary carer or parent of a child who has been asked to self-isolate by Test and

Protect or the school AND

They receive low income benefits AND

Are employed or self-employed and will experience reduced earnings because you have to stay at home to look after your child.

More information, including information on eligibility and how you can apply for this self-isolation grant can be found on the SLC website.

The SLC Website contains more detailed information for parents/carers including information on eligibility, how this will be paid and a Frequently Asked Questions section. Please refer to this information in the first instance. In many cases you do not need to apply as payments are automatic, but please check the SLC website for specific details.

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Ben McCallie in S3 was awarded a Pride of Scotland Award for Outstanding Bravery at the Hilton in Glasgow in mid-November. In early August, Ben rescued two younger relatives from an undercurrent in the sea while on a family holiday. Had it not been for Ben's calmness and actions, they may not have survived. It is understood that he and his mum may feature on TV in the New Year. Well done and congratulations to Ben.

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1574 Photography

Competition This was the 1st year we ran a photographic competition called the 1574 Photography Competition open to all S1, S2 and S3. The first theme was 'Angels, Hope, Peace and Joy' and was won by Kayla Beaton 1E whose winning photograph was made into a Christmas Card for the school (right) along with another design by a member of the Upper School. Each month there will be a competition with a different theme. The next competition will be for January 2021.

Art Dept.

S2 and S3 have been working on a portraiture unit with Miss Robak, while S1 have been busy on a Mark Hearld unit.

Here is a selection of the fantastic work they have produced. Come along to the Art Department so see the display.

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S1 Halloween Poetry Competition.

In October, we held our annual S1 Halloween

Poetry Competition and all our S1 classes took

part.

Congratulations to the winners. 1st place went

to “Halloween Night” by Orla Campbell, 2nd to

“The Clown” by Avah Egan and 3rd went to “The

Haunted House” by Michael Cairney!

We had many brilliant poems this year - special

awards for creativity and imagination also went

to Dylan Murray, Millie Smith, Orla McGuckien

and Mia McElhinney. Very well done to all our

talented writers.

Pupils received certificates of merit and prizes

kindly donated by our wonderful PTA.

English and Literacy Dept.

It has been a very busy term in the English department. Here are just a few things that have been

happening.

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Book Week Doors

We celebrated Scottish Book Week in November by raising awareness and enthusiasm for all types of

reading. The “Book Cover” doors decorated by staff across the school again proved a very popular

talking point – can you see one of your favourite classic books amongst them?

Staff also displayed their “much-loved” book choices on their doors to encourage all our pupils to

read as much as they can by giving them a variety of interesting suggestions and recommendations.

We also had a Big Book Quiz for S1 and S2 to test their knowledge of children’s literature.

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Scottish Book Trust’s Teenage

Book Prize.

Well done to all our S3 readers who

have started reading their books for

the Scottish Teenage Book Prize.

Our books this year are “The Gifted,

the Talented and Me” by William

Sutcliffe, “White Eagles” by Elizabeth

Wein and “Evernight” by Ross

MacKenzie.

Thank you also to Ms Wallace our

Librarian for helping us.

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Christmas Letters

Miss Kelly and Mrs Mackenzie’s classes also wrote some cheerful Christmas letters to the

residents of our local care homes this year. This was all organised by our amazing S6 pupil

Annabelle Brown- well done Annabelle for supporting our local community in this wonderful

way.

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PE Department

Dance Leaders 2020 Well done to the following pupils who successfully passed their

Dance Leaders qualification:

Olivia Leslie

Niamh Anderson

Gabriela Skladanek

Aimee McKean

Jenna Kinnaird

Emily Duffy

Molly Cuthbertson

Molly Ryan

Some of these pupils will now go on to sit the Advanced Dance Leaders course this year.

These pupils were a credit to St. John Ogilvie and Miss Screen is proud of their efforts!

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Santa Dash & Santa Dance

The PE department held a sponsored Santa Dash and Dance for all S1 pupils. Pupils raised money and selected whether to run around the course or learn to perform a Christmas dance. All pupils participated in a fun Christmas themed warm-up. Sports Leaders; Elena Fox and Ethan Elliott undertook a leadership role during this event. They promoted this during break and lunch time by dressing up in Santa suits. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the St Andrews Hospice. All S1s that participated were given a free Santa hat with the opportunity to win prizes including vouchers and selection boxes, these prizes are won by effort, best Christmas outfit and raising the most money for St Andrew’s hospice. Special thanks to Laura Gaddis for providing the Santa hats for this event.

PE Department continued

It is estimated that a total of over £4000 has been raised, so

far, for St. Andrew’s Hospice!

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Our S1-3 pupils have been working hard during PE to complete walking challenges over the last few weeks. S1 classes were set the challenge to walk/jog or run the distance of 1000 miles from St. John Ogilvie to St. Nicks in the North Pole. S2 made the journey of 2000 miles from Ogilvie to Olympia and S3 travelled over 3000 miles from the “Brunchie” to the Bronx. Each individual pupil was given the challenge to walk a minimum of 10 laps, with some pupils even doubling this figure. All classes have been competing in order to reach their destinations first, showing great determination and resilience. The PE department are very impressed and proud of all your effort during challenging times in PE. Prizes were awarded to pupils for effort, kit, motivation and resilience. Prizes included vouchers and selection boxes. Some special mentions for individuals recognised for their great effort:

PE Walking Challenge

S1: Aaron Burns Aidan Burke Alexander Syme Ava Martin Bartosz Stephkowski Caitlin McKenna Cayla Stewart Christopher Gillen Danny Dewar Dean Delshad Dylan Kennedy Emma McGovern Jacob Naismith Jivin Joy Josh Neary Joshua Finnon Joshua Fullerton Katie Fowler Keeley Brown Kieran Walkinshaw Lauren Taylor Levin Joy Louise Bartley Michael Pilat Miguel Felix Vitorino Orla Campbell Orla McGuckein Reece Ayvin Ronan Davidson Wallace Russell

S2: Aidan Kennedy Aidan Kennedy Alvin Reji Amelia Krawczyk Amy Staunton Ava Gallagher Caiden Malone Cain Kinney Callum Campbell Connor Tyrrell Corey McDonagh Deborah Iwuafor Elvin Matthew Ethan Hunter Euan McGovern Garan Syme Grace Higgins Iona Hunter Jack Wheeler Karla Pearce Katie Docherty Katie Hogan Katie Marshal Leechan Rose Graham Liam Johnstone Malcolm Waugh Maria Whyte Martin Kelly Michael – Connor Burns Natalie Karolak Nathan Clements Martin

S2: Piotr Labutin Ross McGuiness Ryan Galloway Ryan Healey Ryan Law Samantha Steel Stella Keeney Troy Woods

S3: Alexandria Pritchard Menzies Dylan Hay Francesca Marrocco Jackson Rodriguez Chicampo James Wedlock Lewis Price Luke Kelly Neve Whelan Niamh Balfour Norbert Owen McFall

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Well done to our Christmas card winners- Kayla Beaton, S1 and Eilidh Robertson, S6. Fabulous work.

Christmas Card Design Competition

This year the staff of St John Ogilvie decided to spread some Christmas cheer by creating wonderful Christmas Hampers for some lucky Ogilvie families. We managed to produce 127 hampers with the help of our S6 Caritas pupils who lovingly recycled old photocpying boxes, decorated them and filled them with Christmas goodies including selection boxes, biscuits, toiletries, tins and much more. We send our thanks to the staff of the school, Asda Hamilton, Salon White and the school PTA for their kind donations. Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas Hampers

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Everyone in the entire school community wishes the wonderful Mr Jon Wildman a happy and retirement in the coming months. Mr Wildman isn’t leaving us just yet and he will be here in 2021 but as this will be his last Christmas with us we wanted to mark it in some way. What better way than with this fantastic photograph of the man himself in his full Christmas get up. This image actually says a great deal about Mr Wildman as it is full of joy, colour and fun. He has been a positive force for good in St John Ogilvie for many years. He is always upbeat, cheerful and extremely caring. He fully embraces all that we do as a school and he has a warm welcome for everyone who comes into his classroom. As an expert chef and as a Maths teacher Mr Wildman has given so much to the community of St John Ogilvie that we would need a separate newsletter just for him in order to capture it all. From Wildman’s Kitchen to Advanced Higher Maths he has been a joy to all those working with him, pupils and staff alike. We wish him all the best in the coming years with his lovely wife and family. Lorna Lawson, Headteacher.

Last Christmas

This is the Music Department’s first virtual carol concert available on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/0BPlpMVV4RQ Everyone in the department sends their personal thanks to all the pupils involved, the music instructors and Mr J Ferguson, who created the final video.

Music Dept

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Green Blazer and Badge

Black school-length Skirt

Black Trousers (not denims or combat trousers or leggings)

School Tie

White Shirt or Blouse

Green or Black v-necked sweatshirt/knitted jumper (optional)

Summer Dress (optional)

Pupils are asked to refrain from wearing make-up.

Please provide below any issues, concerns or even positive remarks you wish to make about the newsletter contents or about any issue related to the running of the school. Your opinion matters to us. Return this tear-off slip to the school office. Thank you.

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We are very proud of the standard of uniform in the school and thank all parents and carers for maintaining this high standard of dress code.

HOWEVER, we ask that the following items are NOT part of the agreed dress code: leggings, shorts, culottes, denim trousers, dungaree-type items

In addition, as it states above, the AGREED school shoes should be BLACK. Vans and Converse-type shoes, if worn, should be black (not black and white or any other colour).

Thank you.