October 2020

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 30 OCTOBER 2020
Published: 30 October 2020

I hope you all managed to have a relaxing October break, and although restrictions were in place, you still managed to make the most of the week off with your young person. It is great to say that attendance this week at school has been really good and pupils have continued to adapt to all the protocols we have in place. Please, as far as possible, can we encourage the wearing of re-useable face coverings as part of our eco-school approach? These should be washed daily to ensure they are clean. If your young person does not have a re-useable one, we have a small supply at school and if your young person speaks to their Pupil Support Leader, they will be able to supply them with one as an alternative to disposal ones.

Staffing 

Charli Prime leaves us today after five years leading Meadowpark as Depute Head Teacher.  Charli’s passion to improve outcomes for all young people at Meadowpark and Knox Academy has been evident in all she has done since arriving at the school.

Meadowpark has not only grown in pupil numbers during her tenure, from three to twenty eight, but through her leadership working with teaching staff, a wide range of  professionals and community teams, Meadowpark has increased its range of facilities. These include Art Therapy and a wide range of outdoor activities e.g. creation of a sensory garden, Loose Parts Play, cycling and kayaking, life skills programmes, work experience and volunteering. Charli has cooperated with the wider SLT team to enhance curriculum links so that more young people attend a variety of subject classes at Knox Academy.

Charli has recently established a link with Our Community Kitchen (OCK) and a community kitchen garden is being developed in Meadowpark’s grounds which will ensure both Meadowpark and Knox Academy pupils benefit from growing fruit, herbs and vegetables, developing their culinary skills, and working in the community with support from OCK. This is a tremendous community partnership with mutual benefits for both. Charli’s entrepreneurial skills have been amazing and many projects at Meadowpark and Knox Academy have come to fruition through grants/funds Charli has applied for to make her vision a reality. 

We will miss Charli very much and wish her all the best in her courageous career change.

Phil Gilholm – Phil was recently nominated in the Instructor of the Year category of the 2020 Bikeability Scotland Awards. In a very competitive field, and following an initial shortlisting process, and subsequent judging panel review, Phil was selected as the Highly Commended runner-up.  Judges were particularly impressed by his dedication and commitment to supporting cycle training in East Lothian during school closures, and his energy and enthusiasm, in both developing new opportunities for the young people he works with, and in encouraging colleagues to take an active role in supporting training delivery.

Cycling Scotland will present Phil’s award to him at a virtual ceremony on Thursday 5th November.

A huge congratulations to Phil from all in the Knox Academy and thank you for all you do to support our school and wider community. A very worthy winner of this award and we are very proud and privileged to have you as part of our team.

Health and Safety at school

Just a short reminder that any pupil showing Covid-19 symptoms must not attend school and you can book a test online at www.nhsinform.scot or by telephoning 0800 028 2816. Only if this test is negative should the pupil return to school. If pupils have the common cold, they should still attend school if they feel well enough to do so. An updated frequently asked questions about Covid-19, for parents/carers, has also been produced by the NHS and is well worth reading. 

If your young person is absent from school, Covid-19 related or other, work will be available to access on Google Classroom and also through E-sgoil (Glow user name and password required); Scholar UK (S4-S6), SQA (past papers); SQA (subject content to work through topics) and BBC Bitesize.

The latest Covid-19 Strategic Framework can be read here .

S4/5/6 Prelims

We are awaiting advice from SQA soon about assessment data gathering and Secondary Head Teachers are meeting with our Head of Education next week to discuss an agreed way forward with prelims for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams (even though there are no final exams for National 5, prelims can be used as assessment evidence and also as preparation for S5/S6 when most will sit Higher/AH exams).  I will update parents/carers and pupils following this meeting but at present we are asking our young people in S4/5/6 to work towards prelims on the dates we have currently set in our calendar – 19th November – 3rd December. They should have a study plan in place and encouraged to attend our study sessions (see below). If we do have to delay prelims slightly based on the SQA information we receive, this will give pupils extra study time. Our Pupil Leadership Team is also busy making some You Tube videos to support study methods for pupils and these will be shared soon. Further advice and support for pupils is available from all their teachers and in this link.

Study Support

Please find a link to all study support subjects being offered at the school (some at lunchtimes as well as after school). Please encourage your young person to make use of these sessions as they can make a huge difference to their performance/attainment.

Achievement Ties - update

Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for Achievement Ties. The Committee met yesterday, 28th October, to review these.  All pupils who were nominated will receive a letter home over the next few weeks with the outcome of their nomination.

Attendance

We now have an “Attendance” inbox for parents to email with student absences/appointments. Please email attendance@knox.elcschool.org.uk

School Meals/Free School Meals

A reminder that pupils can still purchase school meals even without a Young Scot card (if they have forgotten it or lost it). Pupils just need to speak to the staff at the Food Court.

For those receiving free school meals - The facilities team will deliver free school meals to the homes of pupils who are isolating. Please call or email our school office if this applies to you. Parents/carers with a child who is isolating should not visit the school building to pick these up. Thank you.

East Lothian – Consultation

ELC is seeking feedback for the following draft policies:

‘Included, Engaged & Involved: Inclusion, Equality and Accessibility for All’ and ‘Respect for All: Promoting Positive and Respectful Relationships in All our Schools’.

These are the authority’s new inclusion policy and refreshed anti-bullying policy respectively.

It would be great if you, and your young person, could review these policies and provide feedback.

Parent Council

It was great to have over thirty parents/carers join us at our virtual meeting on Wednesday evening. An update was given by me about the school’s progress over the last eight weeks and also we discussed our School Value (Ambition, Respect and Community), Covid-19, SQA Exams and Prelims, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Virtual Parents’ Evenings and our links with Our Community Kitchen. Lots of really good discussion and questions. The minutes from the meeting will be online soon. If you would like to join the next meeting on Thursday 3 December, please email: parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk .

Dates for your diary

S3 Parents’ Evening – Tuesday 3rd November - Google Meets (virtual) – 5-7pm

Have a lovely weekend and if you can, please support local shops and Haddington Market which runs tomorrow from 9-1pm. 

Sue Cook

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk

 

 

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 16 OCTOBER 2020
Published: 16 October 2020

This week our Pupil Leadership Team ran an assembly, for all year groups, on school uniform and how it supports our identity as a school community and strengthens our common purpose. Our assemblies will continue after the October break with a focus on Mental Health and Wellbeing, our school value of ‘ambition’ and in November, Remembrance Day – Poppy Scotland.

Staffing 

Lana Borwick (PE) – leaves us today to go on maternity leave. We wish her well and look forward to hearing her news in the near future.

School Uniform

As it gets colder outside and classrooms remain well ventilated, it would be good to plan for this in terms of layering up.   We would like to suggest that in preparation for this that young people be able to wear a plain black fleece in classes (not hooded tops – as we have a no hooded top policy at the school for health and safety reasons). This will also mean that our young people still have a jacket they can put on top for going outdoors to keep warm. As young people are all wearing face coverings in social areas and corridors it is also important that they are wearing our school uniform as this is the easiest way to check that all in the school are indeed members of  Knox Academy. 

We are also aware that some parents/carers circumstances may have changed as a result of Covid-19 and this may mean you are now eligible for Free School Meals and/or a Clothing Grant to support you in purchasing school uniform.  If you think this may apply to you, please visit the Free School Meals and Clothing Grants area of the East Lothian Council website for further information and the relevant forms. If you need help completing these forms there is support available on the website or alternatively please contact your young person’s Pupil Support Leader (Ms Adam/Mr Meekison/Mrs Doig) who should also be able to help you via a telephone call/email.

As part of our re-use and recycle Eco-School we have available uniform, for free, for any parents/carers or pupils who wish it. Please just phone the school office to access this and we can arrange for you to receive it. 

Health and Safety at school

Just a short reminder that any pupil showing Covid-19 symptoms must not attend school and you can book a test online at www.nhsinform.scot or by telephoning 0800 028 2816. Only if this test is negative should the pupil return to school. If pupils have the common cold, they should still attend school if they feel well enough to do so. Some frequently asked questions about Covid-19, for parents/carers, have also been produced by the NHS and are well worth reading.

Protect Scotland App

You may be aware that Scotland’s new test and protect app is now live. The app is free and is designed to help us protect each other, reduce the spread of Coronavirus and avoid further lockdowns. Members of the public are encouraged to download the Protect Scotland app to their phone to help us minimise any infection.

The app isn’t a substitute for contact tracing but will alert you if you have been in close contact with another app user who tests positive for coronavirus. Visit Protect.Scot for further information and to download the app or search for ‘Protect Scotland’ in the Google Play or Apple App Store.

S4/5/6 Prelims

We are reviewing the timing of these based on Deputy First Minister’s/SQA’s recent announcement  and further information from SQA at the end of October. We will update you soon as soon as possible. Prelims will still be held for N5 (to support us with our estimates) and for Higher and Advanced Higher.

Study Support

Please find a link to all study support subjects being offered at the school (some at lunchtimes as well as after school). Please encourage your young person to make use of these sessions as they can make a huge difference to your performance/attainment.

Achievement Ties

Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for Achievement Ties. The Committee will meet on 28th October to review these.  All pupils who were nominated will receive a letter in regard to the outcome at the start of November.

Attendance

We now have an “Attendance” inbox for parents to email with student absences/appointments. Please email attendance@knox.elcschool.org.uk

Former Pupil News - Princes Trust Level 3 award accreditation

Three pupils who have recently completed S6 have been awarded Level 3 Accreditation from the Princes Trust. They worked consistently hard with significant support throughout their final year to achieve this. This involved volunteering individually, and as a cohort, demonstrating team work and independent learning.

This is a super achievement both for Knox Academy as a school community and for the pupils involved. Congratulations to: Angus Langlands, Leo Washington Mackay, Sarah Greenwell

Mental Health Day

Mental Health Day took place on Saturday 10 October. We also had our own Mental Health Awareness week in May, when we focused on ‘kindness’, which was the mental health theme at this time. Promoting the good mental health of everyone in our community is so important, especially during the current Covid-19 pandemic. We all need to take care of our mental health and wellbeing and ensure that we speak to, and treat our young people, family, colleagues, and even strangers we encounter, in a kind and supportive way; we often cannot see that people are struggling with their mental health as they manage to keep it hidden. We just do not know what people are going through, and although people may seem happy or strong, they may not be inside. As a community we all have our part to play. Although we have awareness raising days and weeks, mental health awareness is based in our actions on a day to day basis.

Mental wellbeing describes how you are feeling and how well you can cope with day-to-day life. It can change from moment to moment, day to day, month to month or year to year. The NHS defines mental health as, ‘a reservoir of resilience to help us get through the day. The reservoir can go up or down.’ At times we can feel happy and content, and at other times we can feel anxious and sad. Our mental health affects how we think, feel and how we react to things;  how we handle stress, how we relate to others and the choices we make. It is okay, to not be okay. It is also important that we know there are places and people we can go to when we need support.

If your young person would like support, or you feel they would benefit from support, please contact their Pupil Support Leader (Ms Adam – Garleton; Mr Meekison – Lammerlaw; Mrs Doig – Traprain).

There is also lots of good advice and resources which parents/carers may find useful on:

The CAMHS (Children and Family Mental Health Services) website

Other websites which offer good advice and resources are: The World Health Organisation, NHS and CWIC also offer support for adults over 18/parents/carers (Tel: 01620 642963)

A number of our S6 pupils have also opted to follow our new SQA qualification in Mental Health this session and feedback is exceptionally positive from them about this course. They are also creating a peer support network at the school for pupils. 

Bonfire Night/Fireworks safety

Please find a link to a joint letter from Police Scotland, East Lothian Council and Scottish Fire & Rescue regarding fireworks safety which is asking parents/carers to ensure COVID compliance. Please read this. Thank you.

Parent Council

If you would like to come along to our next Parent Council on Wednesday 28th October, please let Lesley Pirie (Chair) know by emailing her at parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk so you can be invited to the virtual meeting. 

Dates for your diary

October break – 17th-26th (inclusive) for Pupils (17-25 for staff)

Parent Council – Wednesday 28th October – 6.15pm – 7.30pm (virtual)

S3 Parents’ Evening – Tuesday 3rd November - Google Meets (virtual) – 5-7pm

Have a fun and restful October break and we will look forward to seeing all of our young people back, batteries recharged, on Tuesday 27th October, at 8.25am.  

Sue Cook

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk Twitter_logo_blue[1]

 

 

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 9 OCTOBER 2020
Published: 09 October 2020

School Uniform

As it gets colder outside and classrooms remain well ventilated, it would be good to plan for this in terms of layering up.   We would like to suggest that in preparation for this that young people be able to wear a plain black fleece in classes (not hooded tops – as we have a no hooded top policy at the school for health and safety reasons). This plain black fleece can be a half or full zip. This will also mean that our young people still have a jacket they can put on top for going outdoors to keep warm. As young people are all wearing face coverings in social areas and corridors it is also important that they are wearing our school uniform as this is the easiest way to check that all in the school are indeed members of  Knox Academy.  As I said in my email last week, sports leggings or leggings are acceptable for social wear but they are not appropriate dress code for school and I would ask parents/carers to ensure pupils wear our full school uniform – black or white shirt/school tie/ black trousers or skirt and black shoes or plain black trainers. This ensures equity for all and ensures that we are all buying in to a common purpose, which is being proud to represent the Knox Academy community.  It also keeps a uniform which is functional and not necessarily fashionable, albeit young people can still put their own personality on it in terms of the styles of clothing they wear. I would also hope that this approach support parents/carers in not having to fork out for the most expensive and latest gear. Thank you again for your support with all of this and making Knox Academy a place where pupils are proud of their school and wear their uniform with pride.

Students

We will welcome students to the school at the start of November for six weeks in English, Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, PE and RMPS

Health and Safety at school

Just a short reminder that any pupil showing Covid-19 symptoms must not attend school and you can book a test online at www.nhsinform.scot or by telephoning 0800 028 2816. Only if this test is negative should the pupil return to school. If pupils have the common cold, they should still attend school if they feel well enough to do so. Some frequently asked questions about Covid-19, for parents/carers, have also been produced by the NHS and are well worth reading.

Please remember that if you are going abroad on holiday e.g. October break (or any other time) it is highly likely that you and your young person will have to self-isolate on return. Some countries are exempt from this, so you may not have to self-isolate at all if you travel to them. See the latest travel restrictions and list of exempt countries  (countries you can travel to without self-isolating) on Gov.Scot.

SQA Update – Exam Diet 2020-21

The Deputy First Minister announced on Wednesday a number of measures for the awarding of National Courses at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher in 2020-21. There will be no external assessment of National 5 courses this year – either by an exam or by coursework. However it is likely we will still do a prelim exam and some in class assessments under exam conditions to help support our gathering of estimates. Higher and Advanced Higher externally assessed exams, including the completion of coursework where appropriate, will remain as planned. There will also be contingency plans put in place for Higher and Advanced Higher exams just in case these cannot go ahead.  We will know more about this by February and will of course keep you posted. The full details of the DFM’s announcement can be found here. Please can I ask parents/carers to discuss this with your young people if they are in S4, S5 or S6?

I also held a virtual assembly with S4/5/6 to update them on all of this information on Thursday morning.  I also stressed the importance of pupils attending all classes and asking for support from their teachers to help their progress.   Our study clubs are up and running in most subject areas now so attending these will also support their progress. S4/5/6 will also receive their tracking reports at the end of next week and these will indicate pupils’ working grades and next steps in learning. Please can parents/carers spend some time discussing these with your young person. Thank you.

P7 Parents’ Information Evening

It was wonderful to have so many parents/carers and P7 pupils attend our virtual information evening. There were so many insightful questions from our P7s at the open question session at the end. We are very much looking forward to continuing to build these transition links as we go through the year and hopefully to have pupils up to the school at some point should we be able to do so. If you did miss the event, you can see it here.

Achievement Ties

Nominations close today and the Achievement Tie Committee will meet after the holidays to review all nominations and agree the outcome of these. All pupils who were nominated will receive a letter in regard to the outcome at the start of November.

Parent Council

If you would like to come along to our next Parent Council on Wednesday 28th October, please let Lesley Pirie (Chair) know by emailing her at parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk so you can be invited to the virtual meeting. 

Dates for your diary

October break – 17th-26th (inclusive) for Pupils (17-25 for staff)

Parent Council – Wednesday 28th October – 6.15pm – 7.30pm (virtual)

S3 Parents’ Evening – Tuesday 3rd November - Google Meets (virtual) – 5-7pm

Have a lovely weekend

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk Twitter_logo_blue[1]

Sue Cook

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 2ND OCTOBER 2020
Published: 02 October 2020

Staffing

Following on from interviews at the end of last week Stephanie Inglis was appointed as our new Active School Coordinator

Awards Ceremony 2020

Thank you to all who tuned in to our virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday night.  It was wonderful to be able to present the awards for academic attainment and wider achievement from across the year. Our diligence certificates and achievement ties we brought in last session are also some of the other ways we recognise our pupils’ achievements throughout the session and build our ambitious community at the school. If you did miss seeing the event, you can watch it here.

Oxford University Experience (S4/S5 pupils from across our six East Lothian secondary schools)

A few weeks ago four of our pupils took part in a virtual Oxford University experience to experience student life and attending tutorials. At the end of this week they had to do a presentation to Tutors. All presented exceptionally well and the calibre of presentations was very high that picking a winner was very challenging (so much so they awarded two prizes instead of one for each year group). I am delighted to say that the 1st place winner of S4 was Isla Kilkenny. Well done! However, I would like to congratulate all of them; Isla, Hannah, Reuben and Kaci for all their hard work and effort they put in during the Oxford week (and always)!

Health and Safety at school

Just a short reminder that any pupil showing Covid-19 symptoms must not attend school and you can book a test online at www.nhsinform.scot or by telephoning 0800 028 2816. Only if this test is negative should the pupil return to school. If pupils have the common cold, they should still attend school if they feel well enough to do so. Some frequently asked questions about Covid-19, for parents/carers, have also been produced by the NHS and are well worth reading.

Please remember that if you are going abroad on holiday e.g. October break (or any other time) it is highly likely that you and your young person will have to self-isolate on return. Some countries are exempt from this, so you may not have to self-isolate at all if you travel to them. See the latest travel restrictions and list of exempt countries (countries you can travel to without self-isolating) on Gov.Scot.

Achievement Ties

Nominations close next Friday, 9th October. Nominations can be submitted by pupils, parents/carers, coaches and our community partners, using our online form. 

Parent Council

If you would like to come along to our next Parent Council on Wednesday 28th October, please let Lesley Pirie (Chair) know by emailing her at parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk so you can be invited to the virtual meeting. 

Dates for your diary

P7 Parents’ Information Evening – Tuesday 6 October – Google Meet 6.30pm (Primaries informed)

October break – 17th-26th (inclusive) for Pupils (17-25 for staff)

Parent Council – Wednesday 28th October – 6.15pm – 7.30pm (virtual)

S3 Parents’ Evening – Tuesday 3rd November - Google Meets (virtual) – 5-7pm

Have a great weekend

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk Twitter_logo_blue[1]

Sue Cook