Vinnie Posted August 28, 2019 Report Share Posted August 28, 2019 Statement expected this afternoon about how displaced kids will continue their education. My youngest has been receiving homework via their App that they use. At least the kids time shouldnt be completely wasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted August 29, 2019 Report Share Posted August 29, 2019 I got this from Woodmill last night. Sharing it as I dont live with my kids mum, and I can imagine that others in my situation might be left out of the loop. Dear Parent/Carers, We have identified solutions that will allow S5 and S6 pupils to return to their learning from this coming Monday, 2 September. We know our pupils are anxious to pick up their certificated courses and we’re inviting parents and pupils to sessions tomorrow evening, Thursday 30 th August, to talk about how arrangements will work. We have identified a possible opportunity to accommodate our DAS pupils in a single facility from Monday 9 September. We need to discuss these proposals with a number of groups before we can talk about more detail publicly, but we’ll be speaking to our DAS families directly and hope to meet many of them on Friday. Officers from across the council are still securing accommodation and transport for our 1,000 S1-S4 students – this is a large and complex task. We’re working on solutions that would keep whole year groups together and bring them all back into a school as soon as possible, which might be on a phased basis over the next week. To do that, we will have to use space within other secondary schools and community facilities in Fife, and there are still a lot of practical issues to work through. We will communicate with all the school communities that are likely to be affected as plans develop. I’ll set up information sessions for Woodmill parents and pupils in each year group as soon as we finalise workable arrangements for them. And I’ll be keeping in regular contact with the whole school community. Wherever our pupils and staff are hosted in the short-term, I’m keen to stress that we will still be maintaining our identity as Woodmill High, which will include wearing our uniforms. We’re all sad to have lost our school building, but the building itself doesn’t make a school - We are Woodmill! Lastly, I’d like to reiterate my thanks to everyone in the community for their support and, particularly, to thank our parents, pupils and staff for their patience during this difficult period. S5 and S6 information sessions will be held at Dunfermline High School on Thursday evening: S5 at 17:00-17:45, Assembly Hall Dunfermline High School S6 at 18:00-18:45, Assembly Hall Dunfermline High School An Information session for all of our DAS parents will be held at Duloch Primary School on Friday afternoon: DAS at 12.30, Duloch Primary School Due to limited capacity in the hall at the Dunfermline High School event, please limit attendance to one parent per pupil. Parking will also be an issue, so if it’s possible to walk or car share, please do. I think its only right and fair that S5 and S6 are relocated first, hopefully quickly followed by S4. These kids dont really have the time to lose as they work towards exams and final coursework pieces. I get the impression it'll be a week or two before S1 and S2 are back though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digs Posted August 29, 2019 Report Share Posted August 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Vinnie said: I got this from Woodmill last night. Sharing it as I dont live with my kids mum, and I can imagine that others in my situation might be left out of the loop. I think its only right and fair that S5 and S6 are relocated first, hopefully quickly followed by S4. These kids dont really have the time to lose as they work towards exams and final coursework pieces. I get the impression it'll be a week or two before S1 and S2 are back though. Well done for sharing Vinnie. I also agree on the order they should be going back. As somone who has had two kids go fully through the exam process, I know the work they have to put in and the pressure they are under and these kids will absolutely be worried about this. This is the thing, his mum made a comment on facebook criticising the stick he was getting saying 'No-one died', but this is these kids futures we're talking about here. The SQA won't take this into account when marking their exams, so they are effectively disadvantaged against everyone else competing for university, college and apprenticeship spots that rely on the grades you achieve. It shouldn't be understated how important this is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted August 29, 2019 Report Share Posted August 29, 2019 17 minutes ago, Digs said: The SQA won't take this into account when marking their exams, so they are effectively disadvantaged against everyone else competing for university, college and apprenticeship spots that rely on the grades you achieve. It shouldn't be understated how important this is. Work may well be sent via the app that they use for homework, but thats no good if you hit a point where you really need help and support of the teaching staff. I agree, this really shouldnt be understated. It may take that bit longer for S1 and S2 to get back to classes, but at least these kids have the time to catch up the work they are missing at the minute. I see there is a rumour circulating that schools in Dundee and Perth have spaces for the kids. Thats a ball-ache of a trek, and Id suggest sending S1 and S2 up there if necessary. Id suspect that the kids would be put on buses at 8.30, arrive at school at 9.15 (if not slightly later), but need to leave again around 2.30 to be home for 3.30-ish. Thats potentially an hour or so of lost schooling per day, equal to almost a day a week, which S1 and S2 kids could, hopefully, catch up once Woodmill reopens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teuchter Posted August 29, 2019 Report Share Posted August 29, 2019 A secondary school near me - less than two years old - has closed temporarily due to structural damage. The bus I take in the morning is now an overcrowded nightmare, but the kids seem to have been accommodated ok in other schools. Hopefully, commute apart, the Woodmill pupils won’t face too much disruption to their education. Bit ironic saying that given I would have been delighted if my secondary school burnt down when I was attending it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted August 30, 2019 Report Share Posted August 30, 2019 I believe this may have been circulating on Facebook, however.... Dear Parents/Carers, Things are still moving forward with arrangements for our school community. We have met this evening at Dunfermline High School to communicate the solutions for the short-term plans for our S5 and S6 pupils. Our S5 pupils will be working at Fife College, Halbeath Campus and our S6 will commence at St Columba's RC High School. The planning now in place will allow our S5 and S6 to commence at 9.30 on Monday morning, 2 nd September. I appreciate it must be frustrating for other families but please bear with us. Logistical arrangements are starting to line up and I hope we’ll be able to give you some more information tomorrow about plans for S1-S4. I believe we’ll be able to accommodate individual year groups together, within facilities in West Fife, by the end of next week. However, there are still some details to be confirmed, so we will be in touch with parents and pupils as soon as we can. In the meantime, work continues at the Woodmill building. There are parts of the building that we won’t be able to salvaged and demolition contractors are taking control of the site from tomorrow, Friday 30 th . The community should therefore be prepared for demolition starting on the DAS wing imminently as we start to make the site safe. I would urge people to stay away from the Woodmill site and I’d ask parents to ensure their young people are not heading to this area. It is not a safe place to be. Security fences and security guards are in place for a reason. If anyone sees people trespassing on the site, please call the Police on 101. Lastly – but by no means least – I must thank all the local businesses, community groups and individuals who have been so generous with fundraising efforts and financial contributions. It’s all greatly appreciated and will be of great benefit to our pupils in due course. 21 hours ago, Digs said: The SQA won't take this into account when marking their exams, so they are effectively disadvantaged against everyone else competing for university, college and apprenticeship spots that rely on the grades you achieve. It shouldn't be understated how important this is. Was talking about this this morning. Heard a story about a lass that had been working on an Art piece for Highers prior to the summer, and as coursework it was kept "safely" at the school. Hours and hours of work potentially down the drain as the lass doesnt know if the work survived. She's distraught at the potential impact on her marks. Even if it hasnt been burnt destroyed, there is potentially smoke and/or water damage. I just hope that the school or the lass has kept picture records that they can potentially recreate the artwork, though I doubt SQA would accept photo evidence of the completed piece - though you would hope that SQA might recognise the unique circumstances? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted August 30, 2019 Report Share Posted August 30, 2019 Woodmill Update: Dear Parents IMPORTANT UPDATE: Interim arrangements for pupils S1 pupils We have managed to secure the whole of the Vine Conference Centre to accommodate our S1 pupils from Tuesday 3 September. This will be an excellent environment for them and I look forward to explaining how this will work. A meeting for S1 parents to discuss details will be held on Monday at Dunfermline High at 5pm. S2 pupils Our S2 pupils will be moving to dedicated space within Queen Anne High School and will be able to start on Friday 6 September. A meeting for S2 parents to discuss details will be held on Tuesday at Dunfermline High at 5pm. S3 pupils Our S3 pupils will be moving to dedicated space within Beath High School from Thursday 5 September. A meeting for S3 parents to discuss details will be held on Tuesday at Dunfermline High at 6pm. S4 pupils The S4 pupils will be moving to dedicated space within Inverkeithing High School from Wednesday 4 September. A meeting for S4 parents to discuss details will be held on Monday at Dunfermline High at 6pm. S5 pupils The S5 pupils are starting at Fife College on Monday as discussed with parents last night. S6 pupils The S6 pupils are starting at St Columba’s RC High School on Monday as discussed with parents last night. Department of Additional Support (DAS) DAS pupils will be moving to Blairhall Primary School on Monday 9 September, where they will have exclusive use of the building. They will have a programme of activities to support their transition next week. Teams of Woodmill staff will be working with all of our young people in each location to continue their learning. Transport arrangements are being put in place and we’ll talk about the details of this and things like school lunches at our information sessions on Monday and Tuesday. As critical as folk are of their local councils, Im very impressed with the way the council and schools and staff have made all of these arrangements so quickly. Not ideal, obviously, but impressed they found a workable solution so quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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