Staffing

Andrea Campbell (Maths) has been appointed as Acting Curriculum Leader of Numeracy and Computing starting on 17 April. We also wish Calum Blair, our CL of this post, all the very best for his acting DHT post at Musselburgh.

Congratulations to Michael Lynch, Maths probationer, who has been offered a permanent teaching post at Holyrood High School starting in August.

We will be advertising for a full time permanent CDT teacher in the next few weeks to start with us in August.

Parents’ and Pupils’ Information

Football Tournament in Aid of Teenage Cancer

A huge thank you to Ms Reynolds and her register class who organised last Friday’s football tournament at the 3G pitch. S1 were the winner’s after beating the S2 team 2-1. The best result of the day however was the raising of £516 towards the charity. It was brilliant fun and thanks to all who played, supported, baked and gave generously.

Leavers’ Information

A reminder that all pupils in S4/5/6 who are leaving must complete a leavers’ form, which they can get from the office, prior to the Easter break.  Pupils should also use any remaining balances on their Young Scot Card before they finish their final exam.

Our S6 Leavers’ Ceremony, which will be for pupils only as activities will be part of this, will take place on Friday 31 March. The official leaving date will be Wednesday 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).   

All S4/5/6 will be expected in school for one week after Easter to help support them for their exams.

West OS

As exam time approaches we would encourage all those sitting SQA exams to attend supported study, have a study timetable they stick by and to engage in some Easter revision sessions. West OS will be offering a variety of live lessons in the run up to the exams and pupils can sign up for these here. These live lessons are a way of boosting skills and confidence across a wide variety of subjects (GLOW user name and password will be needed so ask any of your teachers if you don’t have these). This study tips video gives some great advice about study approaches.

Swish Event (Eco-school)

The swish went down really well and it was great to see so many Knox pupils come along and find items they were excited about! There really was a great buzz in the library! A lot of clothes were taken and hopefully they'll find a new lease of life. Thanks to Ms Laudi and the Eco committee for organising such an innovative event. LIL will now recycle any clothes not taken for their SWISH event.

Spring Concert – Thursday 30 March 2023

This is an entirely pupil led concert so please come along and support them. It is going to be a fabulous evening of music and dance. The concert will start at 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm). This is a ticketed event which is open to everyone! Tickets cost £5 adult, £3 concession and are available from Mr Tait in Technology at lunchtime (and available from the office for the wider community). There will be light refreshments available during interval - teas, coffees, home baking. All funds raised will be split between Our Community Kitchen (as our chosen charity) and a Spring Concert Fund to support future pupil led concerts.

The line-up for the evening Includes an exciting range of performances from the Knox Jazz band, Pipe Band, Orchestra, String group, Goats' Toes folk group and bands, duets + solos!

We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible for another night to remember.

Parents’ Information

School Improvement Planning for Session 2023-24

Parents/carers should have received an email from me last week asking 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. We are collecting email addresses as part of this process so we can contact you afterwards if you raise anything we feel needs following up in terms of supporting your young person. Once the overview of responses is done, all email details are deleted, along with the Google Form.

If you could complete this survey by Monday 27 March we would be very grateful. Your views are very much valued.

Raising Teens with Confidence

Connected communities Haddington and Lammermuir are delighted to be offering a six week course on Raising Teens with Confidence. This will take place at the Bridge Centre, starting on 6 May at 6.30pm. If you would like to apply for a place (these are free) please reserve a spot on-line.

Cost of Living Crisis

ELC has prepared a Helping with the cost of living of living e-leaflet, detailing information about financial support available to help ease the cost of living pressures faced by so many. 

Support

Please do not hesitate to contact our Pupil Support Team by emailing your young person’s House Team if you would like to discuss any support we can offer.

• Garleton - garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• Lammerlaw - lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• Traprain - traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)

Pupils’ Achievements

Congratulations to Maya Low (S5) who was not only selected to make her debut for the GB ice hockey team at the Global Girls 2023 game last month but also scored two goals! Having already represented the Scotland team this is a great accomplishment and testament to her hard work and dedication to the sport. Well done!

Very well done to our Career Ready pupils who graduated from this programme yesterday. This programme helps to prepare young people for a positive destination post school and to help them prosper in the world of work. Thank you to Charles River, Young Scot and EDF for supporting their internships and mentoring them.

Another huge congratulations to the Beach Beads, who won the Young Enterprise Lothian Social Impact prize at last night’s awards ceremony. Their company made and sold bracelets with the mission of being sustainable. Another great Eco project at our school.

Dates for your diary:

Thursday 30 March – Spring Concert (7-9pm)

Friday 31 March – Term Ends at 12.15pm

Monday 17 April – Term Starts for pupils and staff 8.26am

Monday 24 April – Exam leave starts for S4, S5 and S6

Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.

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   @knoxacademy(link is external) @knoxacademyHT(link is external) for the latest information and updates.

Staffing

Congratulations to Calum Blair, who was appointed as acting DHT at Musselburgh Grammar, following at interview yesterday. He will take up post on Monday 17 April – Wednesday 28 June.

Congratulations to Maria Millar, our School Meals Supervisor, who came first in the Food for Life (national competition) on Wednesday of this week. We are so lucky to have such a talented cook working here at Knox Academy!

Parents’ and Pupils’ Information

S1 Parents’ Evening

We are looking forward to meeting parents/carers, of our S1 pupils, at our consultation on Wednesday evening (15 March). Ideally young people should accompany their parents/carers so they are part of the discussion. If you are unable to attend for any reason, please contact your young person’s Pupil Support Leader to discuss feedback. Thank you.

Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM)

S1 STEM Challenge – Tower Building

On Thursday 35 S1 pupils took part in an in-school activity run in conjunction with Edinburgh College.  Their challenge was to build as tall a tower as they could out of straws and pipe cleaners. Not only was there tower to be tall, it also had to be able to withstand earthquakes and high winds.  The groups also had to consider cost so building simply the tallest building was not always the best option. 

The groups were fantastic and they finished towers stood up very well to the test.  The pupils were split into two classrooms and it was interesting to see how ideas spread across each class.  One class mainly went for tall towers while the other class went for sturdier shorter towers.  On speaking to the engineers from Edinburgh College at the end of the session they said this is very much what happens in real life where engineers may “pinch” ideas from others during the design stage especially.

At the end of the session the pupils had the opportunity to ask the engineers any questions they had and there were some very good ones ranging from what subjects you needed to study at school to what projects the engineers had been working on themselves.  It was clear that there was a great deal of interest in engineering from the group and the pupils involved should be proud of their efforts. (By Mr Taylor, Curriculum Leader of Science)

HPV Vaccinations

School pupils who have already had 1 HPV Vaccination in 2022 are now clinically protected for life and do not require a second Vaccination. Mrs Fraser (medical room) has letters for those whom this applies to, detailing full Vaccination status, for collection during registration.

If your young person wishes to check their status, or collect a letter, please ask them to pop down and see Mrs Fraser (By Karen Fraser, Welfare Assistant)

Parents’ Information

Parental Engagement Strategy

The Parental Engagement Strategy was launched in 2017 and aims to ensure that all Parents/Carers are encouraged and supported to engage as partners in their children’s learning, and to become involved in the life of the school.  The strategy also ensures that it can continue to build on good practice and create further opportunities for our parents and schools to work together. With this in mind, you are invited to respond to the following survey (Consultation Hub) which opens today. An email with a QR code was also sent yesterday to all parents/carers.

Parents only need to complete one survey if they have multiple children at the school, but will need to complete more than one survey if you have children at different schools. 

The survey results will be shared with me, and Chair of the Parent Council, to support any actions arising shortly after the closure of the surveys. 

Thank you for your support in completing this and helping us identify what we are doing well and where we could improve.

Parent Council

The next meeting of the Parent Council will take place on Wednesday 22 March 2023. This meeting will take place online and it will also include their AGM. This will be an online meeting, so if you wish to attend please email parentcouncil@knox.elcschool.org.uk for the link. It would be great to have as many parents/carers along as possible. The last meeting of the Parent Council will be on 18 May, where we will be asking for parents/carers views on our School Improvement Plan.  It would be great to have you along at that meeting too. This will be an in person meeting at the school. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided too.

Invigilator recruitment 2023

We are currently recruiting invigilators for the 2023 exams (thanks to parents/carers who have already been in touch). Invigilators play a crucial role in supporting the exam diet. Their role is to help maintain the quality of the external assessments of National Qualifications by ensuring they are conducted in accordance with SQA policy and procedure.

All invigilation activities are carried out under the direction of a chief invigilator. Full training is provided, and no prior experience is required. You will also be supported by your chief invigilator throughout. To find out more about the invigilator role and submit your application, visit the SQA website.If you have any questions or need more information, please contact our SQA Co-ordinator cfalconer@knox.elcschool.org.uk  or SQA directly at invigilation@sqa.org.uk.

Cost of Living Crisis

Please follow this link for some helpful advice/information and support from ELC in regard to this.

Achievements

We are always keen to celebrate our young people’s achievements. If yosur young person has achieved something out of school, please do let us know by emailing their House Team (see email details below). Our Achievement Ties applications open up again next week so please also have a look at these to see if you can apply for your young people too.

Support

Please do not hesitate to contact our Pupil Support Team by emailing your young person’s House Team if you would like to discuss any support we can offer.

• Garleton - garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• Lammerlaw - lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• Traprain - traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)

Dates for your diary:

Wednesday 15 March – S1 Parent Consultation (in-person)

Wednesday 22 March – Parent Council (online meeting) 6.30-8pm

Thursday 30 March – Spring Concert (7-9pm)

Friday 31 March – Term Ends at 12.15pm

Monday 17 April – Term Starts for pupils and staff 8.26am

Monday 24 April – Exam leave starts for S4, S5 and S6

Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.

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   @knoxacademy(link is external) @knoxacademyHT(link is external) for the latest information and updates.