Balfron Highlights

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thanks for your positive feedback on the last edition of Balfron Highlights.  I hope that this edition will provide a snap shot of the wide range of pupil activities and successes.  I have also included details of the survey responses that will inform our improvements this year and some for next session.

I has  been great to re-start the HT  drop-ins.  The next drop-in is on 30 April.  If you would like to pop in to  chat with me without an appointment, you are welcome to come in between 330pm and 5pm.

We have a supportive and active parent council and are always looking to  include more parents and carers.  I have included the presentations that Mr Braid and I shared at the last meeting.  It was helpful to be able to link with the parent council to discuss our rationale for decisions and to further discuss improvements. The next parent council meeting is on Tuesday 6th May at 6.30pm. It would be great to see more parents come along.

This is an intense period for our senior pupils as we approach the SQA exam diet.  We have had a significant focus on study skills to help prepare our learners.  Our focus for studying is on the the Balfron Core Four - we encourage strategies to:

1. understand

2. retrieve

3. practise

4. get  feedback

Thanks to Mrs Skinner, I have included a range of resources below that will help you support your child with organisation and study at home at this stressful and intense time.. 

Thank you for your support and partnership.

Feedback is always welcome.  I am pleased to receive that directly 

Elaine Bannatyne

Head Teacher

Parents first point of contact is your child's Form Class Leader.  If you have a general query or are looking for information about your child, please contact the form class leader in the first instance.

Small things make a big difference :

1. Send your child in full school uniform - set the tone for a positive day, part of the Balfron Family

2. Chromebooks charged and ready for use at school

3. Maximise their attendance and punctuality - only stay off if absolutely necessary

4. Talk about what your child is learning with them.  Help build resilience -  learning should be hard!

Chromebook Safety Reminder & Update

Linked to questions relating to our mobile phone policy, I was recently asked about Chromebook safety.  I liaised with technicians and colleagues in school and at Stirling Council.  

Chrome devices do not have any form of filtering on them when they leave the school premise. This has been a long standing issue for us. It has always been stated that it is the parents’ responsibility to monitor their child’s activity when using technology at home. However, in practice we all know this is challenging.

I am pleased to share that Stirling Council has been provided budget to put a device based cloud filtering solution onto the Chromebooks this year. That means that whether inside or outside school premises, the same filtering applies to the Chrome devices and will essentially make the Smoothwall unnecessary as the filtering will be done by the cloud service. After April, Stirling Council will begin the procurement process to purchase this for the Chrome estate. 

Ideally, what we would like to do going forward is to incorporate all student devices into this platform so students get the same filtering whether on a PC, laptop, Chromebook, in school or outside of school. This will then allow us to eliminate the Smoothwalls altogether and provide a seamless filtering experience for all of Stirling Council’s students.

We will keep you updated on this matter.