March 2022

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 25 MARCH 2022
Published: 25 March 2022

Staffing

Computing – closes on 3/4/2022 – full-time, permanent position

Curriculum and SQA Information

South East Improvement Collaborative (SEIC) – Research School

We have just been contacted by the Quality Improvement Officer from the SEIC to say that our application to become a SEIC Research School has been accepted. We will be focusing on Teaching for Excellence as our theme and this fits directly with the work our Learning and Teaching working group has being doing this session.

Easter Revision School and Booster Sessions

We are running a small Easter Revision School this year for S4-S6 to support our young people with preparation for their exams. The programme for this has been issued today and sign up forms will be issued to all S4-S6 pupils via their EduBuzz accounts on Monday. Pupils must sign up for this if they wish to attended the revision sessions during the Easter holiday as we need to know, ahead of schedule, who will be attending these as numbers are capped (20 for practical subjects and 30 pupils for the others). Our study programme also extends after the Easter holidays with in-school Booster sessions running at the end of the school day, and Immersion Sessions running the day before the exam in that subject. Targeted sessions will also take place for a small group of pupils, who will be invited in, over a three day period, to complete assessments/units of work required to achieve their National Qualifications.

National e-Learning Offer: e-Sgoil Easter Study Support 

Easter Study Support will run between 7 and 14 April 2022 and comprises of live, interactive webinars delivered by experienced, GTCS registered teachers. 66 courses are on offer, with a total of 80 webinar groups. The service is free to all learners and last year learners’ evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. Registration is open for the month of March so this is your last chance to sign up for these. There may be upper limits for registration numbers on some courses, therefore registration is on a first come, first served basis. The link to the registration and information page on the e-Sgoil website is here and a short promotional video also gives more information about the offer.

SQA Update

Your Exams 2022

The SQA’s new learner booklet, Your Exams 2022, is now available. The booklet gives pupils information about how to approach exams, including preparation for exams, what to do on the day, when and how they’ll get results as well as information about exceptional circumstances and appeals. Please do have a read of this and ask your young person to do this too. We will be issuing a hard copy of this to all pupils next week too.

Parents’/Carers’ Information

School Improvement Planning

Thank you to the parents/carers who have already responded - I do hope you will all manage to complete our questionnaire by today (it takes about 10 minutes to complete). The link was sent out again on Monday. The more responses we have will ensure we have a true representation of our school community’s views and what you believe are the important aspects we need to focus on to improve.  Your views are very much valued.

Achievement Ties – Applications Now Open

A reminder that Achievement Ties applications are now open with the deadline for nominations this session on Friday 6 May 2022.  Nominations can be completed through the google form found here .
For information please see the attached Presentation. A presentation to pupils is planned on this in the next week. 

Pupils’ Achievements

Young Enterprise Awards

Congratulations to Anna Grosse who won the Best Managing Director at the Young Enterprise Awards on Wednesday evening. Great work with her team to produce a stylish, bespoke bag which they sold across to the school to staff and pupils.  A huge thank you also to Mrs Ferguson (Business) for leading/guiding this group.

Gymnastics

Amy Reid and Oakleigh Robertson (S5) have qualified, with their reflective teams, at Saltire Team Gymnastics, for the Team Gym British Championships in Sheffield on 2/3 April. We wish them all the best from all at Knox Academy.

Netball

On Wednesday 16th March the senior netball team played Ross High School. This consisted of our S4 and S5 players - we had enough players to fulfil two teams. Some of these players were using this game to be formally assessed for their National 5 PE award. The contest between both teams was end to end, with both teams showing their ability to score under pressure. The game finished 18-8 to Ross High School with our goals coming from Ellie R, Ruby P and Annabelle M. Congratulations to all those that took part, as it had been over 2 years since we hosted a netball fixture. We look forward to welcoming Prestonlodge High School with their junior team in a few weeks. (By Lana Borwick, PE)

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. 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. Pupils should also continue to do a twice weekly LFD test and if this is positive, self-isolate until they get two negative LFD tests, two days apart after day 6.  If they do not, they are able to return after day 10.

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:

Friday 8 April                                   S6 Leavers’ Ceremony

Monday 11 – Friday 22 April        Easter holidays (Easter Revision Sessions for S4-S6 who have signed up to these)

Monday 25 April                              All pupils and staff return

Wednesday 27 April                       *Exam leave starts for S4-S6

 

Have a lovely weekend - the weather forecast looks amazing!  Our rugby teams are all in action at Knox Academy tomorrow - it would be  great if you could come down and support them (the senior boys are playing for a place in the final at Neilson Park - 10.30am). Haddington Farmers Market is also on from 9-1pm - so great to go to that too if you can and support our local produce.

 

Sue Cook

 

Parent Council

The Parent Council has requested a footer on my HT’s update that remains there year round and which offers quick links to remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and careers news. 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.

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk 96D4F7EE for the latest information and updates

 

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 18 MARCH 2022
Published: 18 March 2022

Mitigations

An update came out from the Scottish Government late yesterday and no mitigations will change in schools until after the Easter break. I will give more information about these changes nearer the time. Covid cases are increasing again across East Lothian (and nationally) and both pupils' and staffing absences have increased again over the last few weeks. It is interesting to note that visiting senior classes in particular, many of the young people are still choosing to  keep their face coverings on even though they no longer have to. On speaking to them they seem to want to retain these to minimise catching Covid over the next three weeks as this time is precious in terms of being in school in the lead up to their exams.

 

Staffing

Emma Whitfield, our Drama teacher, leaves us today. We would like to thank her for all her hard work and commitment to the school over the years and wish her well for the future.

Computing – advertised today – full-time, permanent position

Adam Welsh, our probationer in English, is our preferred candidate for the English post which starts in August. This post supports raising literacy across our Associated School Group.

Modern Languages – Lucy Fletcher, is our preferred candidate for this post which will start in August. Lucy is currently our languages probationer.

Drama – Mia Colquhoun is the preferred candidate subject to pre-employment checks. Mia is currently a Drama probationer at Leith Academy.

 

Curriculum and SQA Information

Easter Revision School and Booster Sessions

We will be running a small Easter Revision School this year for S4-S6 to support our young people with preparation for their exams. The programme for this will be issued shortly and pupils will need to sign up for this so we know who will be attending. We will also be offering in-school Booster Sessions during exam leave so that young people can attend a support session the day before their exam in that subject. More information will follow on this shortly.

National e-Learning Offer: e-Sgoil Easter Study Support 

Easter Study Support will run between 7 and 14 April 2022 and comprises live, interactive webinars delivered by experienced, GTCS registered teachers. 66 courses are on offer, with a total of 80 webinar groups. The service is free to all learners and last year learners’ evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. Registration is open for the month of March, and I must advise that there may be upper limits for registration numbers on some courses, therefore registration is on a first come, first served basis. The link to the registration and information page on the e-Sgoil website is here and a short promotional video also gives more information about the offer.

Leavers’ Information

The official leaving date will be Tuesday 31 May 2022 for all pupils in S6 and any pupils who wish to leave school in S5 and S4 (and who are 16 prior to 30 September).  Those leaving must ensure they complete a leavers’ form, which can be collected from the school office. We will do all we can to support our young people in to a positive and sustained destination. Our Careers Advisor, Chris Trotter, can also be contacted for support with next steps chris.trotter@sds.co.uk.

 

Parents’/Carers’ Information

School Improvement Planning

Parents/carers should have received an email on Monday asking you for your support in helping us identify the aspects we are doing well at Knox Academy and asking for the areas you think we can do better in/ need to focus on next session. By us all working together we aim to ensure we support all of our young people to achieve their potential. 

Thank you to the parents/carers who have already responded, and I do hope you will all manage to complete our questionnaire (it takes about 5-10 minutes to complete). The more responses we have ensures we have a true representation of our school community’s views and what you believe are the important aspects we need to focus on to improve.  Your views are very much valued.

Pupils and staff are also being asked for their improvement ideas. Once we have feedback from all groups we will look at these collectively and extract the main themes to focus on to help us on our journey to excellence. I will also report back to you about the findings from all groups and our plans for next session.

Parent Council Meeting

The next meeting is on Wednesday 23 March 2022 at 6.30pm (virtual meeting). Our DHT, Steve Johnson will be speaking about Autism. If you would like to attend this meeting please email our Chair of the Parent Council to gain access to our meeting code, parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk. It would be great to see as many people attend as possible.

Achievement Ties – Applications Now Open

A reminder that Achievement Ties applications are now open with the deadline for nominations this session on Friday 6 May 2022.  Nominations can be completed through the google form found here .
For information please see the attached Presentation. A presentation to pupils is planned on this in the next week. 

 

Knox Sport – Girls’ Football

We are delighted to announce that PureMalt is going to be sponsoring our Girls’ Football team this coming session. PureMalt is a Haddington based company that focuses on responsible ingredient Innovation and employs ninety-five people. It was set up in 1986 and currently produces natural ingredients for the global food and beverage industries. PureMalt distributes products to more than seventy countries on six continents. We look forward to a great partnership developing between the school and them and thank them very much for supporting our teams (Senior rugby as well).

Pupils’ Achievements

A number of our pupils were taking part in the Edinburgh Swimming Meeting at the Commonwealth Pool last week. They all performed superbly! Owen Williamson competed in the 50m & 100m Back and 400 freestyle; Louisa Stoddart competed in the 50m, 100m, 200m & 400m Freestyle and 50m & 100m Butterfly; Helen Stoddart competed in the 50m & 100m Freestyle, 50m Backcrawl, 50m &100m Butterfly; Lauren Clark competed in the 50m, 100m & 200m Butterfly, 400m Freestyle and 200m Backcrawl. Louisa was a junior finalist for the 100m Butterfly and was the 50m Butterfly junior reserve finalist. Helen was a junior finalist for the 50m Butterfly and Lauren was a junior finalist for the 200m Butterfly. 

They all said that it was an amazing competition to be able to qualify for as there was Olympians such as Tom Dean, Duncan Scott, James Wilby, Abbie Wood and Ben Proud racing too. A weekend of competing they will all take a lot away from and which will definitely help them with their preparation for the upcoming British and Scottish Nationals, which are both within the next two months. We will wish them all the very best of luck in the championships and look forward to hearing the results!  We are very proud of you all!

 

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. 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. Pupils should also continue to do a twice weekly LFD test and if this is positive, self-isolate until they get two negative LFD tests, two days apart after day 6.  If they do not, they are able to return after day 10.

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:

Friday 8 April                                   S6 Leavers’ Ceremony

Monday 11 – Friday 22 April          Easter holidays

Monday 25 April                              All pupils and staff return

Wednesday 27 April                       *Exam leave starts for S4-S6

Have a great weekend – the weather forecast is for warm and sunny weather so make the most of it!

Sue Cook

 

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.

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

 

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 11 MARCH 2022
Published: 11 March 2022

It was great to have our first face to face assemblies this week and talk about our school value of community. Follow up discussion on this took place in register classes. Our next assemblies will look at Achievement Ties and ‘The Cost of the School Day’ (and how we can aim to poverty proof our school).  

Staffing

Congratulations to Jenny O’Connor and Dionne Hogg who have been appointed as permanent ASN Auxiliary staff members at Meadowpark.

James Smith is also the preferred candidate for a temporary ASN post, at Meadowpark, for 1 year

Being advertised:

Teacher of Support for Learning – full time permanent – advertised today

15hrs Classroom Assistant – currently advertised

Temporary Pupil Support Worker – 27 ½ hrs until 1st July 2022

2 ASN Auxiliary posts at Meadowpark – 27 ½ hrs and 15 ½ hrs – both permanent

Interviews for full time permanent teachers in English, Drama and Modern Languages will take place over the next few weeks.

Curriculum

SQA Exam Support Materials

SQA has published revision support to help learners prepare for this year’s exams, given the significant disruption to learning and teaching they have experienced due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Revision support is now fully available on the SQA website for all courses that have an exam and is tailored to each course, including:

Advance notice of content that will or will not be in the exam - For some courses, we have published information on which broad topics, contexts or content will or will not be in this year’s exam. This will help learners to plan their revision and focus more on the parts of the course that will be in the exam, though learners can still use their knowledge of other parts of the course when developing their answers to questions.

Study guides - For some courses, we have published study guides to help learners practise answering exam questions. These give hints and tips on how to approach different types of questions, including how to gain marks.

Study notes (learners’ own) - In a small number of courses, learners will be allowed to prepare a short study note that they can take with them into the exam.

Our pupils can access the revision support here. It is still the clear intention for the 2022 exams to take place during April to June.

You can view the full exam timetable here.

In mid-March, we will provide our pupils with copies of ‘Your Exams’. This booklet tells learners what they need to know about SQA exams, including the essential information and rules they must read before the exams start. ‘Your Exams’ will also be available to download from the SQA website.

Education Scotland, in partnership with E-Sgoil, is also running a series of study support webinars for learners working towards National Qualifications in 2022. Details are available from the E-Sgoil website. 

SQA Exam Leave Letters

Details for SQA exam leave and leavers’ information was sent home on Monday for S4 and S5/6 parents/carers and also sent to pupils in these year groups.

Leavers’ Information

The official leaving date will be Tuesday 31 May 2022 for all pupils in S6 and any pupils who wish to leave school in S5 and S4 (and who are 16 prior to 30 September). 

Achievement Ties – Applications Now Open

Achievement Ties began their relaunch at the start of this week and there will be opportunities for pupils to join the committee and apply for the awards themselves.  Applications are now open with the deadline for nominations this session on Friday 6 May 2022. Over the last two years Knox Academy has recognised achievement in school based extra-curricular and non-school based wider achievements through the awarding of Achievement Ties.  Under normal circumstances the ‘Achievement Ties Committee’ meets twice yearly to discuss nominations and allocation of these. Due to Covid this is the first and only chance for this academic year to nominate someone.  The reason for this was that we felt opportunities to be eligible for these Awards had been reduced. It is our intention that these awards are issued later in the session towards the end of May.  There are two categories of achievement where 'half colour' ties and 'full colour' ties are awarded.

Nominations can be completed through the google form found here .

For information please see the attached Presentation. A presentation to pupils is planned on this in the next week. 

Trips/Excursions

Scottish Parliament

On the 8th March 2022, two higher modern studies classes went on a day trip to the Scottish Parliament. When we arrived, two ladies from the education department greeted us and took us into a presentation room, where half of our group was shown an informative slideshow about how the Scottish Parliament runs as well as about the different parties, and the other half was taken for a small tour to the debating chamber, where we were told about different debates and how the parliament was run throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Afterward, we were then able to have a 30 minute question time with Martin Whitefield and Brian Whittle, two of our regional MSPs. During this time, we were able to ask our MSPs questions about what an MSP does, committees that they are members of, and how they can hold the government to account. This trip was educational for us as we got a lot of useful information which we can use in our Democracy in Scotland and the UK topic essays. Overall it was an amazing experience for everyone. (by Mara Popa, S5)

Former Pupils’ News

Niamh Fraser began her Lacrosse' career as a fresher at Dundee University five years ago having never picked up a Lacrosse stick or "cradled a ball" before. She currently plays front attack position and for the past two years she has been the Vice-Captain of the team. This is a role she has fully embraced and played with determination. Through her passion for her sport she has encouraged many others to join the team and give it a go. She is keen that sport is accessible and inclusive for all. On Wednesday, Niamh and her team beat St Andrews University to win the Conference Final. In her own words, this win represents what can be achieved by belief, ambition, team work (community) and sheer hard work - all embodied by in our school ethos and values. Well done, Niamh!

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. 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. Pupils should also continue to do a twice weekly LFD test and if this is positive, self-isolate until they get two negative LFD tests, two days apart after day 6.  If they do not, they are able to return after day 10.

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 – Friday 22 April        Easter holidays

Monday 25 April                              All pupils and staff return

Wednesday 27 April                       *Exam leave starts for S4-S6

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 4 MARCH 2022
Published: 04 March 2022

World Book Day

This week staff and pupils in the English department have been celebrating the 25th Anniversary of World Book Day. We've had the infamous department Tik-Toks highlighting the importance of reading as well as the vast amount of books on offer in the school library. Junior pupils have taken part in book quizzes and reading bingo and to top it off the English department has launched a competition in conjunction with the school library, offering shiny new books as prizes. To be in with a chance of winning, S1-2 pupils should submit a video, reviewing a book they've enjoyed or would recommend to others.  (Z Machen)

Curriculum

Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)

Yesterday morning, 25 S1 engineers-in-the-making took part in a STEM event in conjunction with Edinburgh College.  Their challenge was to make a tower as tall as possible using a minimum of materials.  Once constructed, each tower was tested to see how well it could stand up to strong winds and an earthquake.  The pupils would gain extra points if their towers could withstand the worst of conditions. 

As each straw and pipe cleaner that was used to build the towers had a cost, the young engineers had to keep track of their total cost and also calculate their cost to height ratio. At the end, every pupil said that they had thoroughly enjoyed their morning of design, construction and numeracy.

Next Thursday the pupils will have an opportunity to discuss how they got on with engineers from the college and ask questions relating to tower building and other aspects of engineering. 

Also next Thursday, S2 pupils will have the opportunity to take part in the same tower building event.

Easter Study Programme

There is an online Easter Study Programme available through E-Sgoil. This covers a range of subjects and levels and pupils have been encouraged to sign up to this ASAP. Please can you support them to do this too. Thank you.

Career Ready Programme 2020-2022

The year 2 students (S6) are almost at the end of their Career Ready programme which leads a young person during their journey from education to employment.  Each student has spent S5 and S6 partnered with a mentor from the volunteer businesses - Charles River, Diageo and HSBC - who also provided a work internship for each pupil. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, not all workplaces were able to provide the internship opportunity this year, but those students that did, enjoyed the experience - and being paid was a bonus! 

By the end of March the four pupils will undertake the final "masterclass" entitled "Brand Me".  This teaches and encourages them to provide potential employers, colleges or universities with the full details and best examples of their experience, qualifications and skills. In addition, pupils are encouraged to have confidence of selling themselves and to see the importance of this to achieve their personal career goals.

The four students will attend a virtual Graduation Ceremony on Friday 18 March 2022 along with over 100 pupils from Edinburgh and the Lothians.  The event celebrates their achievements and progress alongside their mentor, school coordinator, family and friends.

Knox Academy is delighted the pupils have had the opportunity to participate in this programme and look forward to the Graduation. (D Ferguson)

Leavers’ Information

The official leaving date will be Tuesday 31 May 2022 for all pupils in S6 and any pupils who wish to leave school in S5 and S4 (and who are 16 prior to 30 September). 

Squash

Last weekend it was the Scottish Squash Junior Nationals and Jamie (S1) and Dylan Pearman (S5) were competing in this. Jamie played in the Boys U13's and finished in 3rd position. .Dylan played in the Boys U17's and also finished in 3rd position. Jamie has been selected to represent Scotland at the 5 Nations Championships in Warwick in April. This will be Jamie's third time of representing Scotland. Dylan has also played for Scotland on many occasions but is now too old for these championships.

Achievements in/out of School and Achievement Ties

We are very keen to celebrate the success of our pupils so if your young person had achieved in an event out of school, please do contact us to let us know so we can celebrate it and share it with our community.  Next week we will be inviting applications for Achievement Ties and it would be great if as many parents/coaches/pupils applied for these as possible if they fit the categories. The link to the application form will be in next week’s HT’s update but in the meantime, please read the information.

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. 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. Pupils should also continue to do a twice weekly LFD test and if this is positive, self-isolate until they get two negative LFD tests, two days apart after day 6.  If they do not, they are able to return after day 10.

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 – 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/pupils will be issued next week 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