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Dear Parent/Carer and PupilsOn behalf of all colleagues at Nairn Academy, we wish all our families a Happy New Year…albeit 2021 has started in a way none of us had wished for. We are aware the current circumstances are far from ideal but we want to reassure you that we will continue to work together to support our young people over the coming weeks. We appreciate the road ahead is still unclear in terms of timescales and expectations especially for our Senior Phase pupils. Further advice and guidance is due from SQA and we will keep you updated on this as and when we get it. In the meantime, all senior pupils are encouraged to continue with all aspects of their SQA learning and linking with their teachers as required. It will be important to keep in touch and let us know if you are having difficulties in managing your workload. We are here to help and support. Contact emails are in the Contingency guidelines (attached to this newsletter). Online Learning arrangements (for Monday 11- Friday 29 January)The main purpose of this newsletter is to summarise the various other pieces of information which have been provided for you to assist in supporting your son/daughter to start their online learning with us as of Monday 11 January. As across all schools in Scotland, we are expecting further guidance from the Scottish Government on remote learning (due 8/11 January). We will add/amend our planning accordingly. Alongside this newsletter you will find -Covid-19 Contingency Planning guide An infographic showing you what an online school day looks like A video link (below) which shows parents how pupils access Google Classroom Google Meet (link below) has been arranged for parents on Monday 11 January at 4pm to allow for a Q&A on these arrangements as we appreciate there is a lot of information to digest. Please note, if you do not have a Gmail account, you can access this using a Chromebook. Key principles to our arrangements for the online learning We have taken feedback from the last period of lockdown to help inform our plans for the coming weeks. The main points of feedback were around routine/structure, how /when work is posted and connection with pupils and staff. We hope the formal registration slot will help in giving pupils a daily point of contact. In terms of the schedule of posting work, we will be using pupil timetables but simplified to double blocks on a 2 week schedule. This will mean fewer subjects to manage each day and hopefully more time to link in with staff, then time to complete tasks and, in some cases, an opportunity to link up for a check in/review. For example, on Monday 11 January and each day next week, pupils will receive work for their current p2, p4 and p6 classes. On Monday 18 January, work will be posted for classes p3, p5 and p7 subjects. A summary of key points to help you get started on Monday –Please ensure pupils have their Chromebook charged and ready to access from 9am on Monday. In following their timetables, p1 is now a register period with a softer start to the day. Pupils will find a request to join a register class and each day, between 9.20 and 9.40am, they will be required to submit an assignment indicating they are attending online lessons for that dayPupils will also find notifications from their teachers about lessons for that day. It may also include some tasks planned for later that week. All work will be posted in Google ClassroomsThe timetable process is explained in the Contingency document. We will go through this at the Google Meet session (this will be recorded for future access). We will also post a reminder on the blog/social media each Sunday evening. The main task for Monday 11 January is to help organise your son/daughter to access their Chromebook for registration and access the work that is posted for that day. Pupils must register each day. We need to have an accurate register of pupil attendance. Pupil wellbeingDuring the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is important to have accurate information. Accessing information and news from unreliable sources can make you feel more upset and anxious, which is unhelpful when it comes to mental wellbeing. Visit for the most up to date and reliable information. There will be a daily wellbeing drop-in event available to all secondary school pupils on Google Meet from Monday 11 January until Friday 15 January at 1.30pm until 2pm. These are informal sessions run jointly by former Youth Development Officer, Yvonne Ross, who is now a Community Wellbeing Instructor for Highland, and High Life Highland Youth Development Officers. Young people can drop in to informally chat. Monday 11th January - meet.bct-pbby-chx Tuesday 12th January - meet.xnu-adib-oat Wednesday 13th January - meet.pfq-xhjx-dbu Thursday 14th January - meet.vpi-iehh-pjy Friday 15th January - meet.bxw-iavy-dtrStaffingPlease note, we still have a few teacher vacancies (Modern Languages, Technology and Maths). Although appointments were made at the end of last term, the new teachers are not due to start with us until early February. This means work will be posted by our department colleagues for those classes but direct contact with teachers may be limited until our new colleagues start with us.Keyworker children and additional support pupilsPlease note, there will be a further Google form posted on Monday 11 January to request pupil places in school w/c 18 January and w/c 25 January. This is specifically for pupils in S1/2 where parents are keyworkers. We have been asked to stress that this should only be requested if no other childcare arrangements are available. Please note, following the parent letter from Highland Council (5 January), the keyworker requests are only for S1 and S2 pupils. Pupils with additional support needs and those whose circumstances mean they might specifically benefit from direct input will also be attending school. Families will be contacted by school staff via phone or email where they have not already been in touch. New schoolTo finish on a positive note, we move through 2021 knowing planning is ongoing for our new school. This is a very exciting prospect for the school community and Nairn and, as parents and pupils will appreciate, one which we have been pursuing for some time. We will share updates on the planning process alongside timescales and look forward to seeing plans develop.Keep in touchWe will continue to provide updates as and when required. To note, all information around home learning will be posted in our Home Learning page on the website. This should give quick access rather than checking through social media posts. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries by emailing nairn.academy@.uk. Please note, the school phone will not be manned so the best form of contact will be email.A reminder of the Google Meet link for Monday 11 January at 4pm where we will be available to answer any questions. you for your continued support and understanding through these challenging times. Please look after each other and keep well.Yours sincerelyJulie Macdonald ................
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