November 2023

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 1 DECEMBER 2023
Published: 30 November 2023

Learner Pathway Meetings

This week Chris Trotter, from Skills Development Scotland, has started to meet with S2  pupils for a 10-15 minute discussion about their subject choices and the relationship they have careers.

Chris has also been speaking at PSE classes this week and the key message he has been giving to the S2 pupils is that careers post school is just one aspect to consider when making subject choices. He has also stressed that pupils should not worry if they don’t know what they want to do yet as their will be lots of support to help them with this as they progress through school.  Some pupils will already know what career pathway they wish to pursue and Chris will make sure he guides them in the right direction in terms of subject choice, whilst helping others to select subjects that keep their options open.

Prelims

The senior phase prelim exams are now well under way.  For the remainder of the prelims it is worth reminding pupils that they need to check the timetable of exams in detail and turn up at the correct venue, in plenty of time.  Pupils must also come to the exam with all the equipment they need.

Pupils in S1-3 should make every effort to move around the building in a quiet and calm fashion to avoid disrupting the exam candidates.

Parent Council

A quick reminder that PC Shaun Cruden, our Community Link Police Officer will be our guest at our Parent Council meeting this coming Tuesday evening. He will be offering advice about ‘How to keep your young person safe’ and themes around this too. All parents/carers are welcome to attend.

Diligence Awards

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).  We hope to issue these certificates just before the end of term.

These certificates 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.

Christmas Dances

Tickets are on sale now for both the junior (S1-S3) and senior (S4-S6) Christmas Dances. These can be purchased via School Pay at a cost of £3 each. Tickets for the S1-S3 dance should be purchased before the end of the day on Monday 4 December and tickets for the senior dance should be purchased before the end of the day on Monday 11 December 2023. It’s going to be a great night. Thank you to all staff and the PTA for supporting these events as it is their goodwill that makes these possible - it is much appreciated.

Christmas Concert

The Music Department will be hosting their annual Knox Academy Christmas Concert 2023 on Thursday 21 December 2023 at 7pm (Doors open 6:30pm). Tickets sales commence today and can be purchased from in the Music Department at break times. The cost £4 adult, £2 under 18s

The Music Department is also excited to be rehearsing the entire S1 year group (9 classes) to create an S1 Christmas Choir. The choir will perform The Bells of Christmas Medley at the Matinee Christmas Concert. Each S1 will be allocated one free ticket for a parent/carer which can be collected during Music class. All S1s should be in full school uniform for the performance on Thursday 21st December at 2pm. Please encourage your young person to practise their part using the content posted on their Google Classroom. We will also have guests from local Nursing Homes and p7s from local Primary schools attending.

School Uniform

I am sure we have all been affected by the cost of living crisis. As a school, we want to make coming to school each day as accessible as possible. Recently we have been aware that the standard of dress code has slipped with young people arriving not appropriately dressed for school and in such things as sportswear and tops that are short/cropped. Whilst we appreciate that our school uniform doesn’t keep up with the latest trends, it is about being functional rather than fashionable and young people saving these other clothes for their leisure time. Uniform is also important for safety in the school as it allows us, at a glance, to know that pupils in the school building are ours.

Our school uniform is detailed here. The following are not part of our uniform and should not be worn to school: non-black trousers, ripped trousers, crew neck jumpers, leggings/sports leggings, jogging bottoms, hooded tops (banned over three years ago for safety reasons) and tops which are short/cropped.  

If your young person doesn’t have uniform, or needs items replaced, we have a uniform bank with both brand new and high quality pre-loved clothing which we can arrange for them to have discreetly. Information about financial support/clothing grants can also be found in this link. Thank you for your support of this and hopefully it will also keep costs down for families as well as supporting our approaches to equity and inclusion at the school.

Please do not hesitate to contact our Pupil Support Team by emailing your young person’s House Team garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk, lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk, traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk if you would like to discuss any support we can offer.

Tesco

Please do shop at Tesco (Haddington) and use the blue tokens you are given at the checkout to pop in the Knox Academy Breakfast Club unit (near Customer Services). It would be great if we could be awarded the £3000 to help us in setting this club up for the young people at the school. You can deposit your blue tokens until 14 January 2024. Thank you for your support with this – as they say at Tesco, “Every little helps.”

Success Stories

Rugby

Huge congratulations to our Under 16s team (a mixed team with Dunbar Grammar School) who, following a win against St Columba’s on Saturday, now progress to the final of the Boys U16s National Schools Plate. This will take place at Edinburgh Rugby Stadium on Wednesday 6 December when they will play Lomond & Helensburgh (4pm kick off).

Drama/Music pupils

Last weekend four of our Drama pupils worked alongside Haddington Community Council members to help judge the local shop windows’ Christmas display and choose a winner. They also assisted at the turning on of the Christmas lights, spreading the cheer in their elves outfits. Well done to Freya Hennessy (S6) who sang 'Light of the World' for the switching on of the Haddington Christmas Lights on Sunday 26 November. Credit also goes to former pupil, Hannah Beevors, for stepping in to help Radio Saltire with the sound - thank you!

The Chair of Haddington Community Council commended their contribution to the community - they were a credit to the school and put a smile on lots of faces in Haddington!

*Please do email us and let us know about your young person’s achievements out of school so we can include them in our updates to our community. Thank you.

 

Dates for your diary:

5 December – Parent Council – 6.30-8pm (School library – all welcome)

7 December – S1-S3 Christmas Dance

13 December – S4-S6 Christmas Dance

21 December – Christmas Concert – 7pm

 

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 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 24 NOVEMBER 2023
Published: 24 November 2023

This week Mr Illingworth ran assemblies for S4 and S5/6 on prelims and how to prepare for these and what to expect on the day. Mr Russell also ran House assemblies on our school value of Community.

The prelims start this morning and all here at Knox Academy would like to wish all of our senior pupils the very best with these. When not attending a prelim our senior pupils should continue to attend their classes and use their teachers to support them with prelims they still have to sit. Where these have already taken place, teaching of the course will continue.

Staffing

Congratulations to Jacqui Paton, our Pupil Support Worker, who has been appointed to a new post at Holyrood High School.  She will start there on Monday 11 December.

We also wish Karen MacAulay, our HE Auxiliary, the very best for future as she pursues expanding her own company.  We wish you every success with this.

Parent Council

We would like to welcome all parents/carers to our next meeting will be on the Tuesday 5 December and will be in our school library at 6.30pm (tea/coffee and biscuits to welcome you all too).  PC Shaun Cruden, our Community Link Police Officer will be our guest and he will be offering advice about ‘How to keep your young person safe’ and themes around this too.

S3 Parents’ Evening

It was also great to see so many parents/carers in attendance at the S3 Parents’ Evening last night. All I spoke to were very positive about all the feedback they received from teachers about their young person’s progress and next steps. Thank you to all who attended. If you were unable to make it for any reason, or the staff member you had hoped to see was not in attendance, please do contact your young person’s House Team so they can get information from teachers for you. Thank you to staff too for your preparation and input before and on the evening itself; to the Prefect team for helping out and our wonderful janitors for setting up.

Children in Need

Our S6 Charities Committee raised over £1000 for this amazing charity. Thank you to all in our school community, and at St Mary’s, who donated. You have made a difference to many young peoples’ lives.

Author Visit

Author Craig Mooney will be visiting Knox Academy on Tuesday 12 December, and anyone from the school can buy his exciting new adventure story The Rebel of Time, even if not attending the workshop. He will be in the school library during break, where there will be the opportunity to meet him and to get books signed.  You can  pre-order here. If pre-ordering the book, please place your order by 5pm on Thursday 7 December. 

E-Sgoil study support

The latest study support timetable from E-Sgoil, which is brilliant, can be accessed here. This should be used by senior pupils to support prelim and exam preparation alongside attending our own support study programme and their individualised study timetable. More helpful resources can also be accessed here.

Our own  Supported Study Timetable.

Achievement Ties – Applications opening

A reminder that these are now open and the deadline for nominations will be Monday 4 December. Over the last four years Knox Academy has recognised achievement in school based extra-curricular and non-school based wider achievements through the awarding of Achievement Ties. Nominations can be completed through the google form found here . Further information can be found in this presentation.

Lil Re-Use Festival

Ten bikes, a paddleboard and 1237kg of “stuff” was kept out of landfill and in circulation at the Lil ReUse Festival at Knox Academy on Saturday November 18.

“When every 1kg of just clothes kept in reuse saves some 25kg of carbon dioxide equivalent, it really shows what a big difference we can make doing lil things together,” organiser Louise Hastie said.

Knox also hosted the Lil lorry for the week preceding the event, supported by pupils including the Eco Committee. The lorry was overflowing with donations by Friday. Beyond the items that were immediately rehomed at the event, 22 bags of clothes were donated to Cancer Research UK, several tubs of items shared to ReUse Scotland (formerly Zero Waste Dunbar) and the Knox Essentials Hub received more uniform, text books and gorgeous formal wear.

“Please pass on our thanks to Ms Cook, Ms McBride, Ms Laudi, the eco-committee and other pupils, and the janitorial team for making us so welcome and ensuring the event was a success,” Louise said. "As well as all the fab Knox community who donated, attended and shopped! Thank you also to ELC for their support too.”

Lil is looking forward to further supporting the Knox Essentials Hub, and has ‘Lil ReUse Suitcases’ available full of lovely clothes for anyone wanting to take one home for a rummage. Email hello.lilthings@gmail.com for more. 

Success Stories

Squash

Jamie Pearman (S3) came seventh in the Irish Open Squash Championships in his age group. A fantastic results – well done!

Swimming

Boyd Fearnside (S2) represented Knox Academy in the Scottish Schools Swimming trials (for East Lothian and Borders) with the aim of qualifying for the finals later this year. He won both his races and should find out soon if he has qualified for the national finals. We have our fingers crossed for him.

Golf

Congratulations to Archie Brownlee and Callum Hynd, both in S1, who won their first round play-off in the East Lothian Schools 2023/24 Foursomes Match Play. Great performance!

Duke of Edinburgh

The Knox Silver Walking DofE team were out a few weekends ago completing their Qualifying Expedition, in the Stobo/Peebles area, up and down many valleys and hills. The theme was to link old Roman forts and settlements in the area. It was three cold days but blue skies so although cold, the S5/6s enjoyed the views and weather. Always amazing to see what young people can achieve together as a group walking for three solid days, so roll on Gold for the group (By Mr Tait, CL Technologies)

Netball

It was good for our girls’ netball team to have a friendly game against Dunbar. It was played in great spirits and everyone enjoyed the experience.

Football

Congratulations to our S1 boys’ football team who won against Newbattle High School this week.

Please do email us and let us know about your young person’s achievements out of school so we can include them in our updates to our community. Thank you.

 

Guardian Summaries – Google Classroom

A number of parents/carers have been in touch recently to enquire about Guardian Summaries so I have included a link to it here.

Contacting Staff

Please can I ask that parents/carers do not contact teaching staff directly. All enquiries should go through your young person’s House Teams who will then direct things accordingly. Thank you. Addresses for House Teams are: Garleton - garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk; Lammerlaw - lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk; Traprain - traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk

Dates for your diary:

5 December – Parent Council – 6.30-8pm (School library – all welcome)

7 December – S1-S3 Christmas Dance

13 December – S4-S6 Christmas Dance

21 December – Christmas Concert – 7pm

 

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 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 17 NOVEMBER 2023
Published: 17 November 2023

Children in Need (today)

Our S6 Charities Committee has been great at leading all the preparation for today. They have organised a ‘one-off’ whole school dress down day, with a suggested donation of £1. All S6s are wearing fancy dress and will be visiting St Mary’s Primary school too as part of their fundraising.  They have also organised fundraising events during break time – the favourite one being ‘sponge the teacher.’ There will also be a 'Pin the bandana on Pudsey’ (prizes up for grabs!) and a bake sale. They also ran an assembly for S1-S3 yesterday afternoon to explain what the theme of Children In Need is this year – SPOTacular – to ensure that fundraising is fun and that we raise as much as we can to help disadvantaged young people. Our S6 have certainly done an amazing job and I will let everyone know the amount raised in next week’s update. Thank you to all our young people, staff and parents/carers for your donations.

Higher Economics Confernence – Loretto

As part of the Higher Economics course, we took a trip to the Loretto School to take part in the annual Economics Conference, run by the Institute of Economic Affairs. The morning started off with a talk led by Dr Steve Davies, on how productivity related with economic growth, a valuable discussion to help further our understanding of the Higher course. That was followed by Dr. Juan Castaneda’s presentation on how recent high inflation was caused, another relevant discussion for our course. After the final talk, led by Chris Snowdon, on the economics of happiness we enjoyed a lunch provided by the school and ice cream from the nearby Café Luca’s to finish off an enjoyable school trip. (Ian Scott, S6)

Career Ready

The Career Ready charity aims to help prepare young people to succeed in work and life through their school Programme.  This year we have 5 pupils in S5 who have been chosen to follow this programme for the next 18 months. Each young person is matched to a mentor from a business organisation who will be a key contact to support and guide them as they develop skills for career success.  Regular meetings in school and visits to the mentor’s workplace allows unique access to the world beyond school.  In June 2024 the pupils will join the mentor’s workplace for a paid 4-week internship - a potentially life-changing experience - to develop vital workplace skills.

 A series of informative and engaging masterclasses are held to develop skills, help manage the pupil’s career understanding and identify pathways.  Masterclasses include pupils from many schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians and are led by employers or the Career Ready team.  Some masterclasses are virtual events but when held at an employer’s premises, there’s the chance for insights into job and career options in different sectors.

When pupils become a Career Ready graduate, they join thousands of peers, employers, and volunteers who can keep helping them in the future, through the networks they make.

The Career Ready Launch Event is on Friday 17 November 2024, where pupils meet their mentors for the first time, and we are delighted to have mentors from a wide variety of organisations - Enercon, Savills, Charles River and the Scottish Government.  Knox Academy, and the programme participants, look forward to building positive relationships with these organisations and can’t wait to get started (By Mrs Ferguson, Social Subject Faculty)

Annual Data Check Forms

Annual Data Check forms were issued to S4-S6 last week, and forms for S3 issued this week.

Parents/carers should review these, and return these as soon as possible. (Knox Academy Office)

Supported Study

An updated Supported Study Timetable has been published on the website and covers all faculties.

Book Swap

This took place on Wednesday 15 November and was very well attended by staff and pupils alike. Many went home excited by the collection of new books they now have to read. Thank you to the English team for promoting literacy at the school and in line with our re-use/recycle approaches.

Event for potential adopters

The council’s adoption team is holding an event for potential adopters on Tuesday 21 November. If you’re considering adoption, the informal event will give you a chance to meet the council’s team and experienced adopters to find out about local support. It is being held on Tuesday 21 November, 6.30pm-9.30pm at the Brunton Hall, Musselburgh. Find out more about adopting in East Lothian or by call the team on 01620 827643.

Ormiston Pump Track

We are keen to better understand the impact that the Ormiston Pump Track has had on the lives of local people across East Lothian.  If you have been to Ormiston Park Pump Track, we would love you to complete the Ormiston Pump Track Consultation here. We look forward to hearing from you! (Mark Urwin, Active Schools)

Success Stories

Squash

This weekend, Jamie Pearman (S3) will be playing in the Irish Junior Open which is taking place in Dublin. We wish him all the best in his performance.

Ice Hockey

Harry Hudson (S1) has passed his first trial for selection for the UK select team, which is the stage before GB Ice Hockey team. This is a massive achievement for him and it is a testament to his hard work and dedication. We wish him all the best for the following trials on 18/19th December. These will take place in Glasgow.

Support

Please can parents/carers make an appointment if they wish to speak to a member of Pupil Support or the Senior Leadership Team.  Recently we have had an increasing number of parents/carers turning up, without an appointment, wishing to be seen and although we want to see you, we have been unable to do so as we have been teaching or in pre-arranged meetings. By making an appointment with us via the office, or email, we can ensure a time and date where we can meet to support you and your young person. When arriving at the school please sign in with our office team and wait in the foyer until the member of staff collects you. This is an important aspects of our safety procedures at the school – which also applies before/after school and break and lunchtimes. Thank you.

Please also 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 for your young person or to arrange an appointment to come in to speak to someone. The House team should be the first port of call for anything you wish to discuss.

 

Dates for your diary:

21 November – S2 Snapshot Report Issued

23 November – S3 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (Knox Academy)

5 December – Parent Council – 6.30-8pm (School library – all welcome)

7 December – S1-S3 Christmas Dance

13 December – S4-S6 Christmas Dance

21 December – Christmas Concert – 7pm

 

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 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 10 NOVEMBER 2023
Published: 10 November 2023

Tsung Tsin Christian Academy – Hong Kong

On Monday 27 November we will look forward to hosting the Principal, and Staff Development Officer, from our link school in Hong Kong. They will be observing some classes on their visit as well as speaking to the Senior Leadership Team, Pupil Leadership and Pupil Learning Team and visiting Meadowpark. Over the rest of the week they will be engaging in different lectures/meetings in Edinburgh and then all link schools will come together on Thursday and Friday to share practice.

Learning Support Department 

Pupils in receipt of alternative arrangements for their Prelim exams will receive a letter at the end of next week detailing the supports that will be put in place.  Please check carefully and sign and return the attached slip to Mrs Shorthouse or Mrs Wright. Thank you. 

Young Writer’s Unsolved Competition

A number of our young people entered the Young Writer’s 100 word Unsolved competition. We are pleased to announce that some of the entries were successful and as a result, pupils have had their work published in the collection Tales of Treachery.  Pupils can see their work in print as we have a copy of the book in the English department. Congratulations to all involved!

Book Swap

Do you have unwanted books at home? If the answer is yes, then we want them! To coincide with Book Week Scotland the English Department have organised a book swap on Wednesday 15th November at lunchtime in the Assembly Hall. Pupils should bring any books they no longer want to their English teacher and can exchange for a new book. Parents/Carers can hand books in to the school office. We would appreciate your support in making the first Knox Academy Book Swap a success

Youth and Philanthropy Initiative - UPDATE

The final of our YPI, which involved teams from S5, took place on Wednesday. After brilliant presentations by all of the following groups: Can Do Scotland; Homestart; Simpson’s Special Care Babies and Love Oliver and after much deliberation by the panel of judges, the winning team was Love Oliver. They were awarded £3000 for their charity – which will be put to very good use. We welcomed George McGuire and Therese Laing as part of our judging panel and they were extremely impressed by the passion and presentation skills of all of our groups (as we all were but nice to hear this from visitors to our school). We hope that following the YPI process many of our S5 pupils will continue to engage and support the charities they engaged with.

Veterans’ Coffee Morning

We welcomed our local Veterans on Tuesday and our senior pupils did an absolutely amazing job entertaining them with coffer/tea and cakes. We were all really interested in the stories the recounted of their times in the war and serving in West Germany and Ireland. We also heard about the life and role of a Wren from one of the ladies attending. This Sunday our Pupil Leadership Team will represent the school at the Remembrance Service at St Mary’s and lay a wreath on behalf of our school and our community. We will also have a whole school assembly today to mark Remembrance Day and hold a 2 minutes silence at 11am. 

Lil ReUse Festival

The Lil ReUse Festival will be taking place at Knox Academy on Saturday 18th November from 10am-2pm. In the week leading up to this, a donation lorry will be stationed in the front Knox Academy car park to collect donations. See Lil's socials for exact times (). 

Donation items accepted include: children’s clothes and footwear (no drawstrings that go all the way around necks or tummies); baby stuff; adult clothes & footwear; toys (Please check the CE labels still attached); bikes; gardening equipment/ produce/seeds/plants; tools (no electrical , sorry); homewares and kitchen equipment; soft furnishings (curtains & cushions, throws etc., as long as fire labels still on any cushions with fillings); sports kit; storage jars, food caddies.

Items NOT accepted: electrical items; large furniture; earrings; car seats.  

Anyone interested in volunteering with setting up, running, and clearing the festival should contact Lil by email at hello.lilthings@gmail.com.

Absence Reporting

Parents/carers are reminded that absences should be reported as early as possible, either via the ParentPortal, or through the attendance mailbox attendance@knox.elcschool.org.uk. Phone lines can be extremely busy in the morning, and this ensures that the school is aware of absences and attendance can be updated accordingly. 

School uniform

As the colder months arrive school uniform wearing often slips. We would ask that pupils continue to wear our school uniform and wear a cosy jumper/cardigan or non-hooded fleece over their shirt/ties or polo shirts to keep warm (the school is very well heated).  If your young person has lost their tie these can be purchased on SchoolPay(link is external) and collected from the school office.  We believe that wearing a school uniform promotes a sense of community and also equity. In a time where the cost of living is very high, it stops parents/carers feeling that they have to buy the latest fashions for their young people to wear to school and is clothing that is functional (even though perhaps not fashionable to pupils). It also makes their decision of what to wear every morning an easy one. We also have a fabulous uniform bank of new and preloved clothing should any pupils or parents/carers need any assistance with uniform – just ask their Pupil Support Leader to access any of this. Our aim is to make school as affordable as possible for our families

Clothing Grants and Free School Meals

The thresholds changed in April for Free School Meals and Clothing Grants.  Paper application forms are available from our school office for those parents/carers who are unable to complete online ones and the school office can then assist in emailing these for you freeschoolmeals@eastlothian.gov.uk

 

Study Support

An updated Supported Study Timetable has been published on the website and covers all faculties.

Success Stories

Duke of Edinburgh

We have five of our senior pupils out doing their Silver DofE expedition assessment this weekend. Good luck to them all and hope the weather is kind to you.

Still on DofE, it was brilliant to receive our social value certificate from the awarding body to say that between April 2022 and March 2023 our DofE participants volunteered for 650 hours. Wow! Well done to all of them for giving service back to our community.

Support

Please can parents/carers make an appointment if they wish to speak to a member of Pupil Support or the Senior Leadership Team.  Recently we have had an increasing number of parents/carers turning up, without an appointment, wishing to be seen and although we want to see you, we have been unable to do so as we have been teaching or in pre-arranged meetings. By making an appointment with us via the office, or email, we can ensure a time and date where we can meet to support you and your young person. When arriving at the school please sign in with our office team and wait in the foyer until the member of staff collects you. This is an important aspects of our safety procedures at the school – which also applies before/after school and break and lunchtimes. Thank you.

Please also 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 for your young person or to arrange an appointment to come in to speak to someone. The House team should be the first port of call for anything you wish to discuss.

 

Dates for your diary:

23 November – S3 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (Knox Academy)

5 December – Parent Council – 6.30-8pm (School library – all welcome)

7 December – S1-S3 Christmas Dance

13 December – S4-S6 Christmas Dance

21 December – Christmas Concert – 7pm

 

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 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 3 NOVEMBER 2023
Published: 02 November 2023

Senior Pupils’ Prelims

These will take place from Friday 24 November 2023 until Monday 11 December 2023 (inclusive) and an updated timetable was issued to pupils yesterday (Thursday). All pupils should now ensure they have a study timetable to prepare themselves for these and, if they need help with this, they should speak to their Pupil Support Leader. For those who will have Additional Arrangements for their exams, these will be communicated directly to them by the Support for Learning Team.

Supported Study

An updated Supported Study Timetable has been published on the website and covers all faculties.

Skills Development Scotland Work and Training event

SDS is running an event at the Musselburgh East Community Learning Centre in conjunction with East Lothian Works on the 16 November for school winter leavers and unemployed 16-19 year olds in East Lothian.

If you are interested in attending, further details are available from the event information leaflet.

Achievement Ties – Applications opening

Applications will open on Monday 6 November, following an assembly to all year groups, and the deadline for nominations will be Monday 4 December. Over the last four years Knox Academy has recognised achievement in school based extra-curricular and non-school based wider achievements through the awarding of Achievement Ties. Nominations can be completed through the google form found here . Further information can be found in this presentation.

Veterans’ Coffee Morning

Knox Academy will welcome our local Veterans on Tuesday morning for coffee/tea and cakes prepared by our pupils and HE Team. It is always a great morning with stories shared about wartime and some moving poetry read too. This also leads up to our Pupil Leadership Team representing the school at the Remembrance Service at St Mary’s on Sunday 12 November and laying a wreath on behalf of the school and our community. Lest we forget. 

Youth and Philanthropy Initiative

The final of our YPI, which involved teams from S5, will take place this Wednesday, 8 November. After class finals, which took place over the last few weeks, the finalists are: Can Do Scotland; Homestart; Simpson’s Special Care Babies and Love Oliver. The winning team is awarded £3000 for their chosen charity.

Cool Down Crew

Thank you to Haddington Firefighters for running a course for some of our S3 pupils on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. The course invoved learning CPR, how to support at RTAs and how to put out fires using the high powered hoses. Most of the course was focusing on team work and problem solving and the pupils absolutely loved the experience, which also involved watching scenarios using VR googles!  The crew commended the pupils who worked together brilliantly and learned many new skills of the pupils said they had been inspired to think about it as a future career.

Children’s Rights Celebration Event

Ross High School is hosting a special afternoon event on 17 November where children and young people from across East Lothian will show how their work on Children’s Rights is benefiting everyone. It’s a celebration of children’s rights and pupil voice with lots of ideas for families, classrooms, organisations and community groups. It’s also a chance to learn more about the things that matter to East Lothian’s young people.

The organisers would love it if as many children, young people, parents and carers as possible can come along. With lots of other stalls, schools and groups there will be plenty to see, learn and get involved in. Refreshments will be available.

Friday 17 November 1.30pm-3.30pm, Ross High School, Tranent.

 

Success Stories

Jamie Pearman (S3) came 15th in the British Squash Championships (Boys U15). This was a brilliant performance as he was competing against the best in Britain. The event had circa 450 juniors playing over 3 venues. On the Saturday the junior players and parents were invited to watch an exhibition match between Nick Mathews (3 times world champion & 3 Commonwealth games Golds) and Daryl Selby (previously world no 9). They both put on a great performance and afterwards they gave the juniors an opportunity to ask any questions. This was very inspiring for Jamie and great to watch and meet such talented players.

Jamie’s older brother Dylan, who left school in May, also played in the British Junior Championships and performed really well too.  He has already been selected to play for Edinburgh University's first team and next weekend he is going to Manchester to represent the University in the BUCS. Well done to both!

Support

Please can parents/carers make an appointment if they wish to speak to a member of Pupil Support or the Senior Leadership Team.  Recently we have had an increasing number of parents/carers turning up, without an appointment, wishing to be seen and although we want to see you, we have been unable to do so as we have been teaching or in pre-arranged meetings. By making an appointment with us via the office, or email, we can ensure a time and date where we can meet to support you and your young person. When arriving at the school please sign in with out office team and wait in the foyer until the member of staff collects you. This is an important aspects of our safety procedures at the school – which also applies before/after school and break and lunchtimes. Thank you.

Please also 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 for your young person or to arrange an appointment to come in to speak to someone. The House team should be the first port of call for anything you wish to discuss.

 

Dates for your diary:

23 November – S3 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (Knox Academy)

5 December – Parent Council – 6.30-8pm (School library – all welcome)

7 December – S1-S3 Christmas Dance

13 December – S4-S6 Christmas Dance

21 December – Christmas Concert – 7pm

 

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