Dress Down Day – Friday 23rd February

This Friday (23rd) is our ‘February Dress Down Day’.

As you know, our two chosen charities (as per student vote) are Breast Cancer Awareness and the Sick Children’s Hospital.

This month, our students have chosen to support a charity which is close to the hearts of many people in and around the local community, Sepsis Awareness. With one in every five deaths worldwide being associated with sepsis, our students want to support this fantastic charity to help develop effective treatments and save lives.

Payments can be made on ParentPay or in cash on the way into school on Friday. Our S6 Charities Committee will be collecting cash in buckets at the main entrance and play ground entrance on Friday morning. Please give what you can.

The Lasswade High School Christmas Appeal 2023

Mission Christmas: What is Mission Christmas? What can you do and when?

Mission Christmas is here to make sure that children living in poverty can have a great Christmas and wake up to a gift on Christmas morning. Some families are already struggling to make ends meet and the current cost of living crisis has pushed even more into poverty. For so many people this year, Christmas is a luxury they just can’t afford.

Within our local area, 1 in 4 young people live in poverty and we want to do our bit to support disadvantaged children and young people. With that in mind, we would be so grateful if students, families and members of the local community could donate a gift for a local young person. We are collecting gifts for children of all ages 0-18 years old.
We will be collecting gifts at our front entrance and the playground entrance on the following mornings:

• Friday 1st December
• Friday 8th December (also Lasswade Christmas Jumper Day)
• Friday 15th December

Last year as a school community, we donated over 500 gifts to Mission Christmas. Please donate what you can!

Mission Christmas: How to confidentially sign up to receive a Christmas present for your child

If your child attends Lasswade High School and you would like to request a Christmas gift for them, then please complete this short and confidential Google Form to register.
All Christmas gift requests must be submitted by Friday 8th December. We will try our very best to supply you with an appropriate Christmas gift for your child.
If you have more than one child at Lasswade High School, please complete an individual Google Form for each of them, so that we can personalise gifts.

Mission Christmas 2023: Request a Gift

Food Donations & Christmas Food Hampers: What can you do and when?

Christmas can be a really challenging time of year for families, especially with the ongoing cost of living crisis. We are welcoming food donations from students, families and members of the local community. Your donations will help us to create our very own Christmas Food Hampers for families linked to Lasswade High School.
We will be collecting food donations at our front entrance and the playground entrance on the following mornings:

• Friday 24th November – THANK YOU for your kindness!
• Friday 1st December
• Friday 8th December (also Lasswade Christmas Jumper Day)
• Friday 15th December
• Wednesday 13th December – at the Lasswade High School Christmas Concert (7pm-8.30pm)

All food donations must be long-life/have a long shelf-life. Below is a list of the top items to donate. Other items, for example for babies and specific to Christmas, would be gratefully welcomed too.

Please donate what you can!

Christmas Food Hampers: How to confidentially sign up to receive a Christmas Food Hamper

If your child attends Lasswade High School and you and your family could benefit from a Christmas food hamper, please complete the following short and confidential Google Form to register for a Christmas Food Hamper. Last year, we supplied Christmas Food Hampers for over 50 local people.
All Christmas Food Hamper requests must be submitted by Friday 8th December. We will try our very best to supply you with a variety of foods for a few meals/days.

Christmas Food Hampers 2023

Scottish Child Payment

The Scottish Child Payment conditions have recently changed. In some cases, you can get a payment for every child you look after who’s aged between 6 and 16. Families will receive £100 every four weeks for each eligible child under the age of 16. Don’t miss out on a double December Bridging Payment of £260, which will be made before the start of the Christmas holidays for children who receive Free School Meals on the basis of low income on 30 November. Payments for children who are subsequently registered and become eligible for Free School Meals ahead of the Christmas holidays, will be made as soon as possible in the New Year

You may be able to get Scottish Child Payment if all of the following apply:

• you live in Scotland
• you or your partner are getting certain benefits or payments
• you or your partner are the main person looking after a child who’s under 16 years old

The main person looking after your child (if any) might want to complete the application form, or use their bank details for payment. You can apply whether you’re in work or not, if you or your partner are getting one or more of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

Social Security Scotland also accept claims if you alone are named on one of these benefits:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

Please be aware, that Child Benefit on its own is not an accepted benefit for Scottish Child Payment. You must get one of the above benefits. If you’re not getting any of these benefits or payments, but have applied for one, you can still apply for Scottish Child Payment.

More information can be here: Scottish Child Payment  or call 0800 182 2222.

Please get in touch if you require any further assistance.

Foodbank Referrals: Trussell Trust Midlothian Foodbank

Now more than ever, families are relying on support from foodbanks to get by. In fact, the Trussell Trust distributed more than 2.1 million emergency food parcels to families in 2021-2022. At Lasswade, we are working together with the local foodbank and our families to provide support and promote equity across our school and local community.

How can we help?:

• Starting on Monday 14th November, you can contact your child’s Student Support teacher (phone or email) who will gladly complete a foodbank referral form on your behalf and send it to the Midlothian Foodbank.
• Referrals will then be processed and families will be contacted when food parcels are ready for collection.
• The Trussell Trust cannot deliver food parcels to families. All parcels must be collected from Gorebridge Parish Church or Mayfield Church.
• At this time of year, the foodbank is extremely busy, so please get in touch ASAP.

Please be aware that this support is available all year round and not just at Christmas. You can contact us at any point to have a foodbank referral form completed and submitted on your behalf.