According to our school calendar, the next two days would have been our annual activity days.
With this in mind there will be no new work posted on the S2 and S3 google classrooms. Instead we have posted some ‘virtual activity day’ ideas to provide pupils with something a bit different, to spark their interest.
We hope they enjoy them.
Mrs Cassidy, Mrs Goring and Mrs Brien
On behalf of the our Parent Council welcome to Hamilton Grammar School!
We know many of you have been involved in your primary school parent
council over the past few years or more . . . Can we please ask that you
really do consider continuing your parent council journey here at
Hamilton Grammar? We do need new members with fresh ideas to join us
more than ever before, because the majority of our current members are
all parents of our senior school (ie S5 & S6) We really need parent
representation from our new families joining us.
Hopefully we get to meet a good number of you at our 1st meeting in the
new term which will be our AGM which is scheduled for Wednesday 3rd
September 2020 at 6.30pm and usually held in the school. However, with
current climate this may well be held via ZOOM. This information will be
updated on the Facebook and Twitter newsfeeds which are detailed within
our attached information leaflet.
Until then STAY SAFE and we look forward to meeting you in the new term
H Battersby-Sword
HGS PC Secretary
Please find the latest letter below from the Executive Director of Education, Tony McDaid:
Dear S1-S5
Secondary Pupil Survey
Can you help and have your say? South Lanarkshire Council is keen to find out about your experience of lockdown and asks your views about schools returning, to help us plan and meet your needs. We enclose an anonymous short survey to get your views. Please can you complete this by June 15th?
SLC is keen to hear your thoughts on mainstream school transport solutions for August. Please click on the link to complete the questionnaire below and help inform the recovery planning process.
https://forms.gle/Fi5TW7aUR96MubPH9
There will be a separate questionnaire for ASN transport.
Dear parents and carers of all P7 pupil starting with us in August,
We hope your children enjoyed ‘meeting’ some of the HGS staff and completing the tasks they had prepared for them last month. This information, along with the P7 Primary Handbook can be found under the P7 Transition Tab on our website.
When your children visit this week (Monday 15th June – Friday 19th June), they will have an assembly in the Octagon where they will meet Mrs Goring, Miss Brien, Mr Franklin (Support for Learning ), Pupil Support staff and other support staff. They will get a tour of the school and a chance to ask questions about starting in S1.
Class lists were issued on Friday 12th June through Primary Google Classroom/e-mail/letter.
Please note there will be some temporary changes to this when the pupils come to school in August, to comply with the Government conditions of social distancing in classrooms.
We have eight classes and each one is linked to a PT Pupil Support who will support your children throughout their time at HGS and especially settling into S1.
1A1 Mrs Buchanan
1A2 Mrs Buchanan
1B1 Mrs Sanderson
1L1 Miss Morton
1H1 Miss McKenzie
1H2 Mrs Arrenberg
1S1 Mrs Costello
1T1 Mr Dyett
All year groups wear school uniform and this includes a HGS blazer. Please see P7 Handbook for details. Uniform can be ordered online from our school supplier Scotcrest (www.scotcrestschools.co.uk) and further details are on their website. If you encounter difficulties ordering online, please contact Mrs Goring and Miss Brien via the school office.
Our Parent Council are looking for new members and this is a great way to be involved at HGS. They are actively involved in school life and also link with our Pupil Council. Please see the post from the Parent Council on our website and under the P7 Transition Tab.
Full details of our return to school plans and arrangements will be made available as soon as they are finalised.
Yours sincerely.
Mrs Goring and Miss Brien
S1 Year Head
In session 2020-21 Hamilton Grammar pupils will be re-organised into 6 house groups instead of 3. We have always believed that house ethos is important in fostering a sense of belonging for our young people and we have encouraged this through initiatives such as our prefect and buddy systems, and inter-house competitions.
We hope that having smaller house groups will allow us to strengthen this sense of belonging by making these initiatives more effective and by being able to have events, such as assemblies, which can include all the members of the house group (once social distancing arrangements allow!)
The vast majority of pupils will remain with the same pupil support teacher, however we do intend to organise the house groups so that they are balanced in size and that siblings are in the same house group as each other. We will communicate with pupils and parents about any changes that result from this as we undertake this work.
In order to avoid confusion all pupils will remain attached to their current class groups for the time being, until any special arrangements are over. The exception to this will be our new S1’s, who will be assigned to classes based on the new system.
At Hamilton Grammar School our Mental Health & Wellbeing matters and we promote a stigma free environment.
Big White Wall is an online support platform for anyone requiring support when they are facing challenges with their mental health and wellbeing. It is FREE resource which is available to all 16-19 year olds in South Lanarkshire.
The online service offers complete anonymity and a safe space to get things off your chest, explore your feelings, get creative and learn how to self-manage your mental health and wellbeing. Whether struggling to sleep, feeling low, stressed or unable to cope, Big White Wall can help young people get support, take control and feel better.
To access Big White Wall, you can register for Free by providing your postcode and date of birth on the website link :- https://bigwhitewall.com/
Once registered young people will have access to the 24/7 online global community which offers:-
**If you are under 16 years old and would like more information about mental health, please contact your Pupil Support teacher or speak to a trusted adult.**
Big White Wall (BWW) offers:-
Community: – Clinically moderated, anonymous online forums. Design tool to enable the creative expression of difficult emotions. Moderated 24/7 by trained practitioners who keep members safe, and facilitate the process of people helping people in an online environment
Courses: – Quality self-help courses on promoting positive mental health, wellbeing and lifestyle topics. Share course progress with the community in specific online forums.
Resources . Library of useful articles and resources, plus helpful tests and features to self-reflect and track progress.
200 000+ young people from an education setting have accessed the BWW. 70% of members join for immediate access, 55% of members feel less isolated, 64% of members access BWW out of hours.
Please click on the link below for a step by step guide on how to sign up:
Dear Parents and Carers of all P7 pupils
We hope you and your families are well and continuing to keep safe during these challenging times.
As you may be aware, we have recently been given the opportunity to meet with our future S1 pupils before the end of term as part of this years adapted transition programme. In order to ensure your children are safe, all pupils will not visit at the same time. See table below for details.
| School | Date | Time |
| Beckford | Monday 15th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Neilsland | Monday 15th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Woodside | Tuesday 16th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Chatelherault | Wednesday 17th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Udston | Wednesday 17th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Machanhill | Wednesday 17th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| New Stevenston | Wednesday 17th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| St John’s | Thursday 18th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Quarter | Thursday 18th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Woodhead | Friday 19th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Townhill | Friday 19th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Glenlee | Friday 19th June | 10.30-11.30 |
| Park View | Friday 19th June | 10.30-11.30 |
All pupils should wear their Primary School uniform if possible and be brought to the school playground 5 minutes before their visit and collected at the end of the session.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide transport for this visit. Due to strict Health and Safety procedures, your child will be asked to sanitise their hands when entering/leaving the building and follow social distancing guidelines at all times. We would like to reassure you that all facilities within our building will have been thoroughly cleaned in compliance with covid-19 Health Protection Scotland Guidelines for Non- Healthcare settings.
If your child is unable to attend the visit for whatever reason please do not worry. All relevant information is available on our school website.
A great deal of time has been spent in recent months liaising with our Primary School colleagues in order to ensure transition to Hamilton Grammar School is as smooth as possible and that all support mechanisms are in place.
Full details of our return to school plans and arrangements will be made available as soon as they are finalised.
We would like to thank you for your cooperation and support. Should you have any concerns please contact us at the office via email: office@hamilton.s-lanark.sch.uk.
Yours Sincerely
Mrs Goring & Miss Brien
S1 Year Head
Please find the letter below from the Executive Director of Education, Tony McDaid:
School Letter from Executive Director
