General

The list of Activities that will be available for each day/half day is shown below. Pupils will start to make choices next week so please be ready with your 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd choices for each day.

Our Activities Brochure is now live. Please take the time to look through it carefully with your child and help them choose their 1st, 2nd and 3rd preferences for each day. One full day or two half day activities is required per choice.

This will help us make sure everyone gets a chance to take part in something.

Pupils will make their choices in the week beginning 15^th September.

Thank you for your support!

Last week our S2 students attended an important assembly on the issue of knife crime from Martin Crosser, the founder of the charity Charlie’s Promise. This was a hard-hitting and thought-provoking session designed to raise awareness of the dangers, consequences, and impact that carrying or using a knife can have on young people, their families, and the wider community.

We appreciate that the content may have been challenging or upsetting for some students. To ensure that they feel supported, our Guidance staff are available for any student who would like to talk further, ask questions, or seek reassurance. We will continue to provide safe spaces for discussion and reflection in the days ahead.

We encourage you to speak with your child about what was shared today. These conversations at home can help them process what they have learned and reinforce the importance of making safe and positive choices.

If you have any concerns or feel that your child may benefit from additional support, please do not hesitate to contact their guidance teacher.

Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our young people safe. We would like to thank Martin for coming in to deliver the presentation, and to Inverness Caledonian Thistle Community Trust who informed us of the connection that they have made with Charlie’s Promise. Inverness Caledonian Thistle have stated that they will offer tickets to an upcoming fixture to the S2 students who attended the presentation.

Last week our Travel & Tourism class benefitted from an engaging visit and talk from Mr Scott Murray, owner of Murray Travel. Pupils asked lots of questions about the industry and got a great insight into life as a travel agent. This will help them hugely with their units of work on Tourism at home and abroad, Customer Service, and Employability. Faheem was the lucky winner of the travel quiz and got a fabulous bag of travel goodies! Our huge thanks to Mr Murray for giving up his time each year to come and speak with our classes. These visits really do inspire our pupils!

Last term our S2 classes were working through the Citizen, Maker, Worker, Entrepreneur, Gamer and Independent employability badges on the iDEA website.

We then had a celebration for the pupils with the highest points in each class – well done to all those pictured for all your hard work!

As well as this we had three exceptional pupils in the year group who managed to gain Bronze and Silver awards for their efforts. Congratulations to Aarti and Simmy – this is the first time we have ever had pupils achieve Silver! And Charlene who achieved Bronze – an amazing effort too!

We are delighted to share with you the Planet Youth Parent Hub – a dedicated space created in partnership with the NHS to support parents and families. The hub offers a range of helpful resources, including practical advice, online webinars, and supportive guidance for parents of secondary school children.

They would greatly value your views and opinions as they continue developing this service to make it as useful as possible for families like yours.

Abby MacLaren (S6) and Ella White (S4) have both recently recorded over 500 hours of volunteering as part of the HLH Leadership Programme, earning themselves the Gold Hoody on the leadership pathway.

Steve Walsh, HLH Chief Exec, presented their hoodies to them at Smithton Primary last Friday where they do the majority of their voluntary hours.

Ella is one of the youngest recipients of the gold hoody in the Highlands and has recorded her hours by leading P1-3 dance sessions at Smithton Primary, Active Schools holiday camp sessions and charity events at the Barn Church.

Abby also leads the P1-3 dance at Smithton and volunteers at gymnastics sessions at Culloden Leisure every Thursday and Friday evening.

This letter was emailed to all Parents and Carers earlier today. It covers:

• Staffing Changes for next session
• Key Dates for August and September
• Uniform
• Car Park
• SQA Results
• Farewell from Dr Vance

Our Silver Duke of Edinburgh Expedition took place on Thursday to Saturday last week in the Torridon area. . It was a tough expedition and the students were excellent. They showed great teamwork, resilience and were still smiling at the end of it.