St Andrews High

School
December
Newsletter
End of Term Activities, Final Day Arrangements
& Christmas School Holidays
Friday, 12th December

Foodbank Friday: Christmas Jumper Day

Proceeds to Coatbridge Foodbank;

Tuesday, 16th December &

Wednesday, 17th December

Sacrament of Reconciliation: S3 pupils;

Thursday, 18th December

Christmas Concert, 7pm;

Friday, 19th December

Christmas Movie (morning): Ticketed all

proceeds to our Malawi Group;
Talent Contest The A Factor (afternoon)
Ticketed all proceeds to school fund;

Monday, 22nd December

End of Term Mass, (12noon);

S1 & S2 Christmas Party & Disco (afternoon)
S5 & S6 Christmas Dance (evening)

Tuesday, 23rd December

Christmas Movie (morning): Ticketed all

proceeds to St Andrews Hospice;
End of Term Carols: 12.15pm

School closes for Christmas Holidays at 2.30pm on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2014.
School buses are ordered accordingly.
We will reopen at 8.55am on Monday, 5th January, 2015, with the start of Spring
Term.

Parent Council
The next meeting of our Parent Council will take place on Tuesday, 13thJanuary,
2015 at 7pm. All parents and carers of pupils attending our school are automatically
members of the parent forum and entitled to attend Parent Council meetings.

All are welcome.

In - Service Days, Session 2014-15

Remaining in-service days for session 2013-14 are:
Wednesday 11th February 2015
Thursday 7th May 2015
Parents should be aware that the school is closed to pupils on these days.

School Holidays
Excluding the Christmas break, remaining school holidays for session 2014-15
are:
School closes Friday 6thFebruary 2015 and re-opens Thursday 12th February 2015.
School closes Thursday 2nd April 2015 and re-opens Monday 20th April 2015.
School closes Friday 1st May 2015 and re-opens Tuesday 5th May 2015.
School closes Thursday 25 June 2015 and re-opens Tuesday 18th August 2015.

Pupil Reports and Parents Meetings

Notice is again given of our remaining reporting dates and parents meetings for
Session 2014-15.
YEAR
GROUP

REPORT
DATE

PARENT
MEETING

PURPOSE

S1
S2
S2
S3
S4
S4 & S5

29.05.15

N/A

Pupil Progress

N/A

30.01.15

Choices Information

20.02.15

23.02.15

Pupil Progress

15.05.15

18.05.15

Pupil Progress

30.01.15

02.02.15

Pupil Progress

N/A

02.03.15

Choices Information

S5-6
S5-6

18.12.14

12.01.15

Pupil Progress

06.03.15

N/A

Summary Update

Adverse Winter Weather

Adverse winter weather can bring real disruption to school life and school transport.
As you know well, it can have a significant effect on the continuity of learning and
teaching.
Pupils should be in possession of sufficient school textbooks and materials to see
them through when the worst of the weather bites. Subject teachers have been
advising our pupils as to what to focus on should they find themselves confined to
home during adverse winter weather. In addition, there are educational websites and
other opportunities to be involved in on-line learning
I am grateful to my colleague Gerry Dempsey, DHT, who has produced a
pamphlet to Parents / Carers which I have enclosed with this newsletter. Further
information is available from our schools website (www.st-andrewshigh.nlanark.sch.uk) Twitter Feed (@stAndrewsHS) and the North Lanarkshire
Website (www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk.)

Spring Term : School Uniform

When our pupils return to school in January, please continue to support our uniform
policy. Our school uniform consists of

A white school shirt / blouse and school tie

Black tailored trousers or skirt and black tights
School blazer, complete with badge
Black v-neck pullover or cardigan
Black school shoes / boots

Note that leggings and jeans (all varieties) are not acceptable, nor are tracksuits. In
addition, please avoid purchasing grey items in place of black.

Mobile Phones & Internet Access

Many of our pupils will receive mobile phones or smart phones as Christmas gifts. I
would remind parents and carers that we discourage pupils from bringing mobile
phones into school. They are very expensive and if lost or stolen, North Lanarkshire
Council is not liable.
In addition, the school respectfully advises parents and carers of the need to monitor
appropriately the use of social network sites accessed via the internet (Twitter,
Facebook etc) by your children. Increasingly, teachers are having to intervene in
instances of cyber-bullying which originate from outwith the school. I am sure that
parents and carers agree that teachers should not be expected to police the internet;
however, where such instances are brought into school and played out by pupils, we
will take action as appropriate.

Finally
As we head towards the holidays, on behalf
of the staff of St Andrews High School, may I
wish you all the compliments of the Season.
Please have a very Happy and Holy
Christmas, and our very best wishes for a
prosperous 2015.
Best Regards,

Michael McKenna
Head Teacher