Life @ EA
Rector’s Blog
2 September 2020
Dear Edinburgh Academy Parents and Guardians,
Well, another week has almost gone, and it is amazing that we have already made it into September! The term certainly seems to be flying by, made all the better by the presence of our students in the school. We are looking to now move back to regular weekly News Sheets to make sure that our parent body continue to be informed about what is happening at school. I am conscious that you must feel that you have been bombarded with information recently, as both the School and the Government have released documents regarding school opening. Please do consult the NHS Lothian flow-line document contained in the Coronovirus Toolkit for Parents, as this does detail out how the school deals with students should they either present with coronavirus symptoms or if someone in their house presents with those symptoms or has a positive test result.
As each week begins, we look to start new activities and move more towards a normal way of doing things, of course within the restrictions that are currently set for us by the Scottish Government. The principal move most recently was the need for all students to be carrying facemasks and I must congratulate the majority of students who have managed to comply with this request. It is still disappointing that some students seem not to understand the need for these masks and are still not carrying them. With your help and with further messaging from our class teachers and pastoral team we hope that we can move closer to 100% compliance.
You will also have noticed that some activities began for Geits and 2nds recently, and we look forward to restarting the CCF from next Monday as well. Of course, last Saturday saw a full range of sports return to New Field and we hope to continue offering winter sports to our students on an ongoing basis now, with the return of competitive hockey beginning very soon. Further changes will be made to our sports program as we gain more details about opening the Sports Halls and put the necessary procedures and requirements in place.
Many thanks also to those parents who have commented so positively, alongside many students, about how we have managed to provide lunches to the school so far this year. With year group bubbles needing to stay apart and with restrictions in place about we how we serve hot food, it is certainly been a challenging process. A huge thank you is due to David Black and his Sodexo team who have worked wonders to produce a safe and efficient system to feed over 750 people in a lunch hour. For those parents who remain dissatisfied with what we are managing to produce, please be reassured that our Covid group discuss all aspects of catering and dining on a weekly basis and the issues surrounding portion size and the quality and range of hot dishes available will be discussed at the next meeting. With a number of restrictions in place regarding serving and communal dining, we are doing our very best. Should you remain dissatisfied, please do contact the Rector’s Office and I will endeavour to answer your concerns and queries. As we look ahead, the next likely change of routines will be a move back to full School uniform, although advanced communication and plenty of time will be given before this occurs, so as to allow our students the time to ensure that they have the necessary school uniform for the year.
Kind regards
Barry Welsh
Rector
