ÓûÂþɬ

ÓûÂþɬ has fantastic volunteers who make life better, even possible, for people in need. Responding to the coronavirus has brought that fact into sharp focus. From delivering food and medicine, to providing emotional support, hundreds of people across the area are generously giving their time, attention and hard work to help others. This is Volunteer Week, so a great opportunity to pay tribute to this amazing community spirit.

Two secondary schools in ÓûÂþɬ are leading the way in Scottish education when it comes to delivering remote, digital learning opportunities. Since before lockdown began, Oban and Tiree High Schools have been benefitting from shared live, digital lessons through Google Meet. Peter Bain, Executive Head Teacher of both schools, explains: “We made the decision to merge the timetables of both schools to allow for the delivery of live lessons to and from each one.

 The Scottish Government has announced they are entering phase 1 as lockdown restrictions start to ease.  Whilst some restrictions have been lifted including access to outdoor recreation, the guidance remains clear:

Civic amenity sites on Bute and in Cowal will reopen on June 1. Centres are likely to be very busy for the first few days. We would ask residents to use them only if it is absolutely necessary until the initial demand has died down, otherwise you may have to wait in queues to use the sites.

Civic amenity sites in Oban, Lorn and the Isles will re-open on 1 June. Centres are likely to be very busy for the first few days. We would ask residents to use them only if it is absolutely necessary until the initial demand has died down, otherwise you may have to wait in queues to use the sites.

Helensburgh and Lomond will have a temporary facility set up at Helensburgh Pier Head Car Park when the area’s civic amenity sites re-open on 1 June. The change of site is to manage traffic safely in what we expect will be a busy time when customer demand to use the centre is high. We would ask residents to use it only if it is absolutely necessary until the initial demand has died down.

Civic amenity sites in Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands will re-open on 1 June. Centres are likely to be very busy for the first few days. We would ask residents to use them only if it is absolutely necessary until the initial demand has died down, otherwise you may have to wait in queues to use the sites.

Pupils from St Columba’s Primary School in Oban have been putting their culinary skills to the test over the last few weeks, creating delicious food for a lockdown charity recipe book. Children from primary one through to primary seven have all taken part, each writing up a variety of delicious recipes, from sweet treats to fabulous main meals. Every pupil has their own handwritten recipe in the book, alongside a photo of their mouth-watering finished article.

Space rockets built by pupils from Port Ellen Primary School on Islay have caught the attention of NASA! The children created the rockets as part of their home learning activities during lockdown and were over the moon when they received congratulations from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Twitter.

Many services and organisations are having to develop new ways of working as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. With more people working from home, the use of digital communications has never been more important in maintaining vital services.  ÓûÂþɬ Council has been pioneering the use of secure digital communication for ten years and was the first UK local authority to use Skype as a communication tool to help connect employees who are working in remote parts of the region including our islands and to maintain business as normal with full remote access to council systems.