Parent Council AGM Tuesday 1st September Westhill Academy

Hi
A reminder that the Parent Council AGM takes place in the academy staffroom on Tuesday, all welcome.

Parents may also be interested in a couple of items from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council.

The regular Newsletter Chat back is available at http://www.sptc.info/backchat/110.html

Additionally an excellent guide to School Inspections and Parent's Role in that can be found at http://www.sptc.info/leaflets/school_inspector_visit.html


Their Homepage is http://www.sptc.info/index.php

HPV Vaccination Consent Forms

All S2, S4 and S5 girls have received consent forms for this years HPV immunisation programme. Please ensure that forms are returned via the school by Friday 28th August. If you have any queries regarding please contact the school nursing team, Joanne Robinson or Susan Galashan who are based in the Academy.
Thanks.

Swine Flu

Please check your son/daughters bags for a letter that was issued late last week with advice regarding swine flu.

Exam Results: Due 5th August 09

If you have any questions about the results:
The SQA run a candidate advice line to provide general information regarding the layout of the certificate and how to understand it. The information on how to contact this will be with your certificate when it arrives. Information can also be found at www.sqa.org.uk .

This line will be unable to answer any queries regarding the actual results. Please note that only success is reported on the summary certificate, so a missing subject may be due to failure in the examination or not having passed all the units of a course. If you have any concerns regarding the results then contact the school. As the new term does not start until the 18th August we cannot guarantee that the member of staff you wish to speak to will be available. If that is the case your concern will be logged and looked at as soon as possible.

Appeals:
The school automatically considers for appeal any pupil who has performed below the estimate. You do not have to make a request. However we do not always appeal, it depends on how strong the evidence is. The purpose of Appeals is to provide an opportunity for centres to seek upgrades in Course awards for exceptional cases where a candidate has failed to perform to the standard expected, and where there is acceptable evidence of achievement, for example a very good performance in the prelim. We can therefore only make an appeal where the candidate has performed below the estimate AND we have sufficiently strong evidence that the candidate can perform at a higher level. If you wish to ask whether an appeal is possible then contact the office who will pass your request to the appropriate person.

When enquiring about results or about an appeal please indicate whether resolution is required for college or university entrance. You should provide the name and course for each College or University.

Changing Courses for S5/6:

If you wish to change your courses following the results

. Contact the school to make an appointment to see your Guidance teacher. Please note that these interviews will be scheduled from the 18th August, the start of the new term.
. Before the meeting complete the change of course form which was issued before the end of term. If you have lost the form come into the school and collect one.
. The form should be signed by the pupil and parent/guardian
. Bring the form to the meeting with your Guidance Teacher to discuss your choices and agree any changes
. Your Guidance Teacher will check that the changes are possible
. The signed form will be passed to Mr Struthers to arrange for a new timetable

You will be issued with a new Timetable and a start date. Until then you should follow your existing Timetable.

Holiday dates 09/10

Holiday Dates and In-Service Days for 2009/2010

Term begins : Tuesday 18 August 2009
October Holiday : Friday 9 October 2009 (4.00pm)

Term begins : Monday 26 October 2009
In-Service Day : Monday 16 November 2009
In-Service Day : Tuesday 17 November 2009
Christmas Holidays : Friday 18 December 2009 (4.00pm)

Term begins : Tuesday 5 January 2010
Mid-Term Holiday : Thursday 11 February 2010,
Friday 12 February 2010 and
Monday 15 February 2010
In-Service Day : Tuesday 16 February 2010
In-Service Day : Wednesday 17 February 2010
Easter Holidays : Friday 26 March 2010 (4.00pm)

Term begins : Monday 12 April 2010
May Day Holiday : Monday 3 May 2010
In-Service Day : Tuesday 4 May 2010
Summer Holidays : Friday 2 July 2010 (4.00pm)

Please note that there is no holiday in September this year, as this day has been added to the Christmas Holidays.

Session 2010/2011

Term begins : Tuesday 17 August 2010

Westhill Academy Newsletter Summer 09

This has gone out as "bagmail" this week, have trawl through those school bags.

P7 Guidance Info Night Reminder Thursday 11 June 09 7pm

A reminder that the Thursday evening is a chance to meet your son/daughters guidance teacher and hear how the guidance system works and about the school's Personal and Social Education programme. Refreshments will be available afterwards in the school library and there will be a chance to meet other parents whose children are transferring to secondary. We'll also have on hand parents whose children moved to the Academy in previous years who can answer any queries new parents have. See you Thursday.