February 2022

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 25 FEBRUARY 2022
Published: 25 February 2022

It has been great to see our young people return after their mid-term break. Hopefully you all had a great time off even though the weather was a bit wet and blustery!  This term is a busy one, particularly for our senior pupils as they prepare for their SQA exams in April/May.  It is really important that they commit time to study now to ensure they are ready for these and so they are able to demonstrate their ability in them.

I sent a letter home to all parents/carers yesterday asking for your support with your young person wearing school uniform. Please can you discuss this with your young person as our expectations are high in terms of dress code (and conduct in the school and in our community). Parents/carers are a key part in promoting these expectations and supporting the work of the school - working together brings the best results for us all and we know young people function best when they know what is expected of them. Thank you.

Covid-19 Update

Just over a week ago Nicola Sturgeon updated the Covid guidelines for schools, and these changes take place from Monday 28 February 2022. It is great to finally feel we are finally moving back to a more normal environment where we can see each other’s faces again after nearly two years!  More details can be found in our updated Risk Assessment but in a nutshell:

Face coverings for staff and pupils can be removed in classrooms. If staff are going to be working with a pupil and be within 1-2M of a young person/other member of staff they must wear a face covering still.

Staff must retain 1-2M distancing still from each other and pupils and if they can’t, wear a face covering

Face coverings must be worn by pupils and staff in corridors and social areas (unless eating or drinking or exempt).

Anyone who still wishes to wear a face covering in classes should be supported to do so (staff or pupils)

The Library and Assemblies will be seen as communal areas/gatherings so face coverings must still be worn (unless staff presenting at the assembly)

We can start planning for transition events as P7s are now allowed to visit once a risk assessment is in place

All other mitigations remain - hand sanitising/cleaning work stations and desks/CO2 monitoring (all classrooms will have a monitor soon)/ventilation/one way system/twice weekly lateral flow tests/self-isolating if you test positive or have symptoms.

A further update will be released prior to 21 March when all mitigations may be removed (although we may keep the one way system as many pupils and staff feel safer moving through the corridors in one direction and also gives pupils a stretch of their legs between classes and time to regroup their thinking for a change of subject).

Please can you discuss these changes with your young person and also please continue to ask them to bring a face covering to school (unless exempt) to wear in corridors and social areas. Thank you.

LGBT History Month

This week Knox Academy has celebrated LGBT History month. During registration pupils have been learning about historical LGBT figures. Today, Friday, our young people and staff were invited to wear purple, or a bright colour, to celebrate LGBT History month. During the week pupils have also been offered the opportunity to sign the LGBT flag as a pledge to support any of their peers who identify as LGBT+ at Knox Academy and in our local and wider community. 

Curriculum Information/Learning and Teaching

S2-S5 Coursing (Learner Pathways)

All pupils should have now submitted their course choice forms to Mr Russell. Please can parents/carers check with their young person that they have done this? The due date for these was 22 February.

S1 Parents’ Consultation 

It was lovely to have so many S1 Parents/carers along to the first meeting with teachers since your young people started at Knox Academy.  Teachers reported back that there was some really good conversations about progress and next steps and it was great see the pupils along listening to the feedback from their teachers too.

SQA Invigilation – Can you help?

The SQA exam diet is scheduled to take place from the 26th April 2022 to Wednesday 1st June 2022.

SQA Invigilators play a vital role in the effective running of the examinations and SQA is currently looking to appoint new SQA invigilators to support with the exams at Knox Academy.

If you are available for paid employment, on a part time or full time basis during the exam diet, please complete this form by Friday 25 February to register your interest.  Thank you.

School Records

Parent/Carer Contact Details

The School Office frequently use e-mail and mobile telephone numbers to issue communication, on behalf of the school, and to contact parents and carers.  To ensure that no communication is missed, please ensure that your details are current.  Contact detail changes can be requested at any time by notifying the office via knoxacademy@knox.elcschool.org.uk. Many thanks. (Office Team)

Covid-19 Information

Please continue to report all positive Covid-19 cases to covidinschools@eastlothian.gov.uk or if you do not have access to email, telephone 01875 613921. Please also inform the school so we can amend your young person’s attendance record. Pupils should continue to do twice weekly LFD tests. LFD kits are available every morning on arrival to school and during the day from the office. They can also be collected from pharmacies and test centres.

Please do not send pupils to school who have symptoms. They should self-isolate and book a PCR test and not return to school until they know this is negative and they have no symptoms.

We now have a dedicated section on our website for all things Covid, so please refer to it for the latest information.

Attendance

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

Dates for your diary:

Friday 8 April   - S6 Leavers’ Ceremony

Monday 11 April   - Friday 22 April   - Easter holidays

Monday 25 April   - All pupils and staff return

Wednesday 27 April   - *Exam leave starts for S4-S6

*Letters to parents/carers at start of March with more detailed information about exam leave

Parent Council Request

At the Parent Council meeting parents asked if there could be a footer on my HT’s update that stayed there year round and which offered quick links to remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and https://www.ka-net.org.uk/careersnews. Clicking on these headings takes you straight to these pages.

Please also look at our website for lots of other information. Please also follow us on Twitter for up-to-date news on a day to day basis.

Sue Cook

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk for the latest information and updates

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 11 FEBRUARY 2022
Published: 11 February 2022

It was an absolute pleasure to be part of the judging panel for the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Final on Tuesday. I was joined by Shamin Akhtar, Lesley Pirie (Parent Council Chair) and Katie Moore (Depute Head Pupil). We had teams in the final after progressing to this stage from the qualifying round of around twenty five teams.  YPI involves a team of young people researching a charity of their choice (usually a local one) to be able to present on this charity and secure £3000 for them. The charities represented in the final this year were: The Wave Project (Dunbar); Muirfield Riding Therapy (Gullane); Children 1st (National); The Bridges Project (Musselburgh) and Beyond Boundaries (Haddington).

The research and presentation skills of all the finalists were extremely high. They delivered passionately about the work of their charities, how they supported people and how £3,000 would make a significant difference to the continuation of their work. Every single charity would have been a worthwhile winner; however there was only one cheque and therefore the judging panel was versed with a very difficult decision! After much deliberation we selected Muirfield Riding Therapy to be this year’s recipients, after the team edged out the other ones with an outstanding question and answer session at the end of their presentation. A huge congratulations to the winning team of Kirsty Dee, Ellen Davidson and Olivia Dale. Well done to all teams who presented at all stages. The standard was exceptional this year and the engagement with the chosen charities evident, even though the current pandemic presented some challenges that all of our young people worked around.  Thank you also goes to Mr Flood who leads the YPI for the school and ensures that young people invest highly in this great project, run by the Wood Foundation.

Staffing

A huge thank you to Emma Whitfield, our Drama teacher, who will leave us on 18 March 2022 after many years of service here at Knox Academy.  Ms Whitfield’s creative talents and amazing teaching approaches made her an outstanding teacher and so many young people have benefitted from her talents.  She has also been a great colleague and has contributed to so many shows/performances across the years, as well as organising many trips and excursions for our young people. We wish her well.

The following posts will be advertised over the next few weeks:

English – full time, permanent (part of the Cluster provision with a focus of improving literacy)

French – full time, permanent

Drama – full time, permanent

SQA Invigilation – Can you help?

The SQA exam diet is scheduled to take place from the 26th April 2022 to Wednesday 1st June 2022.

SQA Invigilators play a vital role in the effective running of the examinations and SQA is currently looking to appoint new SQA invigilators to support with the exams at Knox Academy.

If you are available for paid employment, on a part time or full time basis during the exam diet, please complete this form by Friday 25 February to register your interest.  Thank you.

 

Curriculum Information/Learning and Teaching

S2-S5 Coursing (Learner Pathways)

The coursing recommendations for pupils in S3, S4 and S5 were distributed to pupils at registration yesterday and today.

If for any reason there are any recommendations missing, the pupil should speak to their teacher for that subject. If a pupil is considering taking a new subject, they can speak to a member of the relevant department to ask what their recommendation would be.

A reminder that all course choice forms (the Google Form) need to be submitted by the end of the school day on Tuesday 22 February. The Google Form is also available via the school website (in case your young person has lost it or can’t find the email) under the Course Choice Section of the website.

A series of videos are also available to help you and your young person consider options.

If you require further information or support please contact your young person’s House Team. (garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk, lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk, traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk ).

East Lothian Works (ELW) Information Events 

East Lothian Works ran a series of information events during January (and were advertised by the school). These proved to be very useful and popular. On the back of these events they have produced a FAQ document and a recorded version of the event so that pupils and parents/ carers can still access it. Parents who attended this week’s Parent Council said they had found this event very useful in supporting them and their young person with Course Choices.

Young Person’s Guarantee – Find Your Future

The Young Person’s Guarantee is a commitment to bring together employers, partners and young people. It aims to connect every 16 to 24 year old in Scotland to an opportunity. This could be a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training or volunteering. Discover what your young person could be doing next with the opportunity finder.

 

Pupils’ News

Aberdeen Squash Rackets Club Junior Gold Event

This competition was held last weekend and brings together the best squash players in Scotland. Three of our pupils were competing in this and performed to a very high level.

Jamie Pearman (S1) finished 2nd in the U13 Boys and 4th in the U15 Boys.

Isla Hamilton (S2 Knox) finished 2nd in the U15 Girls

Dylan Pearman (S5) finished 1st in the U17 Boys.

Rugby

Ollie Craig, S5, has been selected to represent East Lothian and the Borders for a match against Edinburgh this weekend. We wish him well.

Girls’ Football

Well done to our Knox Academy Girls’ team who drew 3-3 with Dunbar Grammar last night. It was a well fought match, in the bitter cold and wind, with Knox girls scoring a last minute equaliser! Thank you to Ms Stobie who has been coaching the team.

 

Covid-19 Information

The First Minister announced changes to the Covid in schools mitigations in her statement yesterday. More information has still to come through to Head Teachers in regard to this. These mitigations are set to take effect from Monday 28 February 2022. Once I have the detailed information about these changes I will inform parents, pupils and staff about these the first week back after mid-term.

Please continue to report all positive Covid-19 cases to covidinschools@eastlothian.gov.uk or if you do not have access to email, telephone 01875 613921. Please also inform the school so we can amend your young person’s attendance record. Pupils should continue to do twice weekly LFD tests. LFD kits are available every morning on arrival to school and during the day from the office. They can also be collected from pharmacies and test centres.

Please do not send pupils to school who have symptoms. They should self-isolate and book a PCR test and not return to school until they know this is negative and they have no symptoms.

We now have a dedicated section on our website for all things Covid, so please refer to it for the latest information.

 

Dates for your diary:

Monday 14 –Friday 18 February – Mid-term break (all)

Monday 21 February – staff in-service/pupils’ holiday

Thursday 24 February – S1 Parents’ Consultation (virtual)

Full details of our school calendar can be found here.

Have a lovely mid-term break and we will look forward to seeing all pupils return on Tuesday 22 February at 8.28am.

 

Parent Council Request

At the Parent Council meeting parents asked if there could be a footer on my HT’s update that stayed there year round and which offered quick links to remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and https://www.ka-net.org.uk/careersnewscareers. Clicking on these headings takes you straight to these pages.

Please also look at our website for lots of other information. Please also follow us on Twitter for up-to-date news on a day to day basis.

Sue Cook

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk for the latest information and updates

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 4 FEBRUARY 2022
Published: 04 February 2022

General Information

Fabulous to have twenty five of our pupils, across the year groups, competing in the cross-country competition at Vogrie Country Park on Wednesday. Huge effort by the whole team to come second overall. Well done to you all – cross country is a mind over matter, gritty event that requires a great deal of determination and endurance and you all showed this in abundance – along with great team spirit!

Updated Guidance for Reducing the Risks of Covid in Schools

The mitigations put in place for the Omicron variant have now been removed. This means little change in secondary schools. There are no ‘bubbles’ now so young people can mix in social spaces and across year groups. Trips and excursions (day trips) can mix year groups too, now that there are no bubbles. The default for Parents’ Meetings and Parent Council remains online/virtual. All other mitigations remain – face coverings for 12 and over in classrooms and corridors (unless exempt or eating or drinking); hand sanitising and cleaning of work stations; one way systems. Hopefully there will be some movement on these soon too! Please see our updated risk assessment for more detailed information.

SQA Announcement – A Move to Scenario 2

SQA has been closely monitoring the levels of disruption to learning and teaching across the country, including learner and staff absences. Following discussion with partners across the education system, and agreement by the SQA Board of Management, the Cabinet Secretary has announced that the SQA is now moving to ‘Scenario 2’. This means that some revision support will be published for learners during week beginning 7 March to help them with their revision in the final run up to their exams.

SQA will provide revision support for all courses that have an exam. This will be tailored to reflect different types of question papers, any modifications to the question papers that are already in place, and the type and volume of content that is assessed in each question paper.

Please be reassured that all of our teachers will work very closely with our young people to ensure they are prepared for their SQA exams and know exactly what is expected of them in all of their subjects.  We want them to do their best! As we get further information over the weeks we will share this with you to keep you updated so you and your young person can discuss this at home. The SQA has also devised an information blog for parents/carers on Scenario 2.

Diligence Awards  

These will be issued to our young people next week. Diligence nominations, from subject teachers, are given to those pupils who have demonstrated hard work and commitment, on a day to day basis, throughout Term 1 (August – December).  The certificate will detail all subjects they have been nominated in. The ultimate aim is for pupils to be nominated in all of their subjects. If they are not, the goal for term two (January – April) is to aim higher and achieve this. The idea behind these awards is to create ambition (one of our school values) and raise attainment and achievement through sustained effort and commitment to their studies, thus ensuring they achieve their potential. These are really important awards and parents/carers should review these with their young person to identify their successes and also support them where ‘subjects’ missing require more sustained effort. More information on our diligence awards is available by clicking on this link Diligence Awards.

HPV Vaccinations

HPV Vaccination Sessions will take place, at the school, on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 April 2022. HPV Consent forms are out!  Please discuss this with your your young person and return the completed consent form by 11 February at the latest.

Free Bus Travel for U22’s

The application route to order new cards with free travel or first time applications with free travel will be via the getyournec.scot website.

If you or young person is unable to apply online you can go to a library and the staff there will assist with the application process and order the card with the free travel on it.

The libraries will also take the photograph for the new card. It is important photographs are kept up to date as the picture on the card must be a true likeness or else the bus driver may refuse the free travel.

Half Marathon Sign Up

In May 2022 the Edinburgh Marathon Festival is hoping to run. After a successful fundraising event in 2019 we have encouraged both staff and S6 pupils only, to sign up in aid of the winning charity from the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative. This will be decided next week. We are hoping parents would like to support us in signing up. If you would be interested in running the Edinburgh Half Marathon alongside some staff and S6 pupils could you please send a note of interest to lborwick@knox.elcschool.org.uk by Friday 11 February 2022. (By Lana Borwick)

 

Curriculum Information/Learning and Teaching

S2-S5 Coursing (Learner Pathways)

All coursing information is online and pupils have received all the necessary information to complete their course choices and their choice forms were issued yesterday, to their EduBuzz accounts so please check this with your young person too. It is important that these are completed within the timeline.  A series of videos are also available to help you and your young person consider options. If you require further information or support please contact your young person’s House Team. (garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk, lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk, traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk ).

East Lothian Works (ELW) Information Events 

East Lothian Works ran a series of information events during January (and were advertised by the school). and these proved to be very useful and popular. On the back of these events they have produced a FAQ document and a recorded version of the event so that pupils and parents/ carers can still access it. Parents who attended this week’s Parent Council said they had found this event very useful in supporting them and their young person with Course Choices.

UCAS Applications

The UCAS application process is now complete for this year and a total of 50 applications have been submitted from Knox Academy pupils. Many of our young people have already received conditional and unconditional offers. (Stuart Meekison)

 

Meetings for Parents/Carers

Parent Council

Our Parent Council AGM takes place on Wednesday 23 March 2022. Please come along and vote and offer your services too (if you are able to).  It would be great to have as many parents/carers come along to this as possible. There will also be a presentation on Autism by Steve Johnson, our DHT from Meadowpark. To join, please email our Chair of the Parent Council: parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk.

 

Covid-19 Information

Please continue to report all positive Covid-19 cases to covidinschools@eastlothian.gov.uk or if you do not have access to email, telephone 01875 613921. Please also inform the school so we can amend your young person’s attendance record. Pupils should continue to do twice weekly LFD tests. LFD kits are available every morning on arrival to school and during the day from the office. They can also be collected from pharmacies and test centres.

Please do not send pupils to school who have symptoms. They should self-isolate and book a PCR test and not return to school until they know this is negative and they have no symptoms.

We now have a dedicated section on our website for all things Covid, so please refer to it for the latest information.

 

Dates for your diary:

Monday 14 –Friday 18 February – Mid-term break

Monday 21 February – staff in-service/pupil holiday

Thursday 24 February – S1 Parents’ Consultation (virtual)

 

Parent Council Request

At the Parent Council meeting, on Monday evening, parents asked if there could be a footer on my HT’s update that stayed there year round and which offered quick links to remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and careers. Clicking on these headings takes you straight to these pages.

Please also look at our website for lots of other information. Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk for the latest information and updates

Sue Cook