January 2024

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 26 JANUARY 2024
Published: 26 January 2024

Staffing

An advert will go live for a full-time, permanent teacher of CDT on Friday 9 February 2024.

Coursing for 2024-25

S2 into S3

All S2 pupils will receive a paper copy of the column choices either in registration or PSE next week. They can use this to identify the subjects and reserve subjects for each column. On Monday 29 January they will be emailed the Google Form that they then use to submit their choices. There is no advantage at all to submitting the Google Form quickly, the processing of the choices will begin after the deadline – which is 21 February.

They will also receive a paper copy of the Learner Pathway Mapping Tool – this might help pupils to think through the possible pathways they wish to follow as they move up through the school. It is not compulsory to use and does not need to be handed in but you may find it useful.

All the coursing information and resources are available via the school website – look for the green ‘Course Choice’ button on the front page. Please take time to use these resources and in particular the ‘Presentation from Coursing Information Event 2024’, as it has links to all the courses being offered by the Faculties.

Current S3, S4 and S5

All S3, S4 and S5 pupils will receive a paper copy of the column choices and instructions for their completion in either registration or PSE next week. They will also receive a copy of their recommendations (from their current subjects). These should be taken into account when selecting courses for next session. All pupils should have their choices completed (and highlighted on the columns form) by 21 February and hand them in to their registration teacher.

House Teams will then conduct 1:1 coursing interviews, referring to the form and finalise their choices.

Pupils in S3 and S4 will also receive a paper copy of the Learner Pathway Mapping Tool – this might help pupils to think through the possible pathways they wish to follow as they move up through the school. It is not compulsory to use and does not need to be handed in but you may find it useful. S5 pupils will not receive this as they are selecting the courses for their final year anyway.

All the coursing information and resources are available via the school website – look for the green ‘Course Choice’ button on the front page. Please take time to use these resources and in particular the ‘Presentation from Coursing Information Event 2024’, as it has links to all the courses being offered by the Faculties. (By Mr Russell, DHT)

Maths/Numeracy – Parents/carers support session

The third parent/carer Numeracy session is to be held on Monday 29th January in the Maths Department from 4:45pm - 5:45pm. If you wish to attend, please sign up here. The theme for this session will be based on how we introduce algebra and 'simplify and substitute into expressions'. This is a fantastic opportunity to come along, see the different methods we use to teach algebra in the classroom and help you to feel more confident in supporting your child at home. (By Ms Campbell, Maths)

Supported Study – S4-S6

Without wanting to stress our seniors too much, the reality is that they now have only nine weeks of learning and teaching prior to going on exam leave on Friday 19 April 2024. The focus of these nine weeks, and their Easter break, should be on revision and attending all supported study sessions in school that they are taking exams in. in the big scheme of things, this time will go in a blink of an eye. All teachers are continuing to teach subject content and cover study skills specific to their subject. There is also a Parents Information session on studying for the Sciences on Thursday 8 February and if parents wish to come to this they should fill in this form. The following resources are extremely useful to help support study at home and should be used by all: SQA - Understanding Standards: Homepage; Scholar (hw.ac.uk); SQA - NQ - Past papers and marking instructions; How to create a study plan - A guide - SQA.  The Esgoil webinars are also really useful and cover different topics each week and are a brilliant source of support . If any young person needs support is creating a study timetable they should speak to their House Team.

Vaccinations

A reminder that the booster vaccinations will take place on Monday (25 January) for S3s and some S4,5 & 6. (Mrs Swallow, Welfare)

S1-S3 Cross-Country

We have been working on our Personal Qualities in Physical Education this term. Each week we have set a new challenge Cross Country Course, ranging from small to large where students are able to develop their confidence, determination and self-esteem; building their resilience and target setting for themselves and learning  to pace and to build Cardio Respiratory Endurance. 

Every student has the opportunity to  win " Stars for effort ". The criteria for this is to do your PERSONAL BEST. These are collated and we are posting the winning register classes on twitter each week and also shout outs for exceptional runners of the week too. 

All athletes are considered for the County Cross Country, which is being held at Fox Lake this year. (By Mrs McSherry, PE)

Parent Council 

A reminder that our next meeting will take place this Tuesday, 30 January 2024. If you would like to join this meeting please contact the Parent Council by email, parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk, so they can send you the link as it will be online. It would be great to see as many parents/carers as possible.

Attendance Notifications

Parents/carers who received attendance texts throughout the day will now be able to respond directly to the text message to alert the office as to the reason for absence.  This is in addition to the existing methods of ParentPortal and the attendance mailbox  attendance@knox.elcschool.org.uk  .

Please note that notification by telephone should only be used when no other option is available.  (Knox Academy Office)

Lost Property

Please ensure that all clothing items are clearly marked with your young person’s forename and surname.  We have a large collection of lost items that we are unable to re-unite with their owners due to this. (Knox Academy Office)

Success Stories

Duke of Edinburgh

Congratulations to Colin Riley (S6) who has just completed his Gold Duke of Edinburgh award.

Ice Hockey

Congratulations to Harry Hudson (S1) who has been selected to represent Scotland Ice Hockey in the U13 age group and the UK Select squad for the 2011's. This will mean trips to Bratislava in March and April to play for Scotland and also attending a training camp, in Germany, in February.

Burns’ Supper

Messages of thanks were sent from the Probus Group and Our Community Kitchen for the Goat’s Toes and Pupil Leadership Team’s involvement in these events. They were commended for their playing and for their recitals. Well done to all involved.

Dates for your diary:

30 January – Parent Council 6.30-8pm (online)

22 February – S5/6 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (at Knox Academy)

12 March – S1 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (at Knox Academy)

 

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 19 JANUARY 2024
Published: 19 January 2024

Thank you to all the parents/carers and young people who came along to the coursing information event on Monday. I am sure it has helped in explaining the process your young person is about to embark on and provided you with the necessary information to support them well with it too. Thank you to Mr Russell who led the session. All the information you will need to support you and your young person with their choices can be found here.

Careers Event 2024

A huge thank you to everyone who came along on Wednesday. It was really busy and the feedback from those attending and the exhibitors was very positive. The addition of the Apprenticeship talks appears to have worked well and certainly gave those who attended food for thought. We are so grateful to all the companies and organisations who gave of their time to support us.

It is always risky to start thanking folks due to the risk of missing people out but the following deserve a wee mention:

Elaine Gorman, our DYW link, who pulled the whole event together. Her professionalism and determination are two of the key factors in its success.

The senior pupils who helped on the night deserve a wee mention, with a range of the exhibitors going out of their way to praise their competence, enthusiasm and positive demeanour.

The FES staff who put a shift in to set up all the tables and other logistics.

The parents who supported in terms of serving refreshments were also fantastic – a true school community effort.

If you attended the event and would like to provide feedback, we would be very grateful as we are always keen to improve things if we can. There is a very short Google Form available here – Career Event feedback.

Parent Council 

Our next meeting will take place, online, on 30 January 2024. If you would like to join this meeting please contact the Parent Council by email, parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk, so they can send you the link. It would be great to see as many parents/carers as possible.

Success Stories

Badminton

From 24-26 November, Badminton Scotland hosted the UK Para Badminton Championships 2023 for the first time at Tollcross International Swimming and Leisure Centre. The tournament brought together 65+ Physical Disability (PD) and Learning Disability (LD) athletes over three days to play in over 30 events. Aiden Dunn (S4) took part in the LD division that includes autism.   He achieved the following amazing results: Division 2 singles – Silver; Division 3 Doubles – Gold; Division 2 Mixed Doubles – Bronze. Aiden had only been playing for 2 months at that point which makes this achievement even more brilliant!

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 12 JANUARY 2024
Published: 12 January 2024

Happy New Year to all parents/carers and our young people. I hope 2024 will be a healthy, happy and successful one for you all.

The next two weeks are very busy with school events. This Wednesday saw our S4 Parents’ Evening and the main focus of discussions was on prelim performance, next steps and presentation levels. Thank you to all parents/carers who managed to attend. If you were unable to make it for any reason, please contact your young person’s House Team to get some feedback.

Next week is also a very busy week with two events which will support learner pathways (subject choices) for our S2-S5 pupils. On Monday 15 January we are holding a coursing information event, from 18:30-19:30, for parents/ carers of pupils in S2, S3, S4 and S5. This event will aim to cover the broad issues around subject choice, how the Scottish Curriculum works, how we will do coursing at Knox etc. It will be of particular interest/ use to parents and carers who are new to the coursing process. It would be good if as many parents/carers as possible can attend this to be able to support their young person with this process and so they know more details about all progression pathways from S2-S6.

Our Knox Academy Careers Event will take place on Wednesday 17 January from 6- 8pm. There will be over 60 businesses attending and a series of presentations about Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships running alongside the main exhibition, so there is something for everyone. We realise that car parking will be limited on the night (most of the exhibitors will have cars in the carpark so they can offload their displays quickly), so if you can walk please do, or park elsewhere.

The extensive range of exhibitors will include universities/ colleges, training providers, as well as businesses involved in finance, gaming, food and drink, green technology, science, make up and textiles. We hope that you will take this opportunity to visit and speak with those who can help you make informed subject choices which will help you in the years ahead. Come along and be inspired:

  • Learn how your interests, strengths and skills relate to specific job roles
  • How the subjects you will select relate to jobs and careers
  • How you can begin to build business networks, skills, confidence, knowledge and ideas for choices and next steps

Here are a couple of links with further details:

List of Exhibitors

There will also be a programme of presentations about Apprenticeships. For S1-3 pupils, attendance at the career fair will help you understand more about possible future career paths as well as the subjects you’ll need to gain qualifications in. The exhibitors are keen to share with you the opportunities that exist within their organisations/ companies and their own career journeys.  They’d be delighted if you asked them about how they got into their role; what skills, qualifications they look for in their employees and applicants; what advice they could give you about what skills development to focus on at school.

For S4-6 pupils attendance at the career fair will help you learn more about routes into college, university, apprenticeships and employment. This might include details of specific jobs that are available and the application process for their business/ organisation. Some of you may be leaving school next summer, or may be available for part-time weekend work or volunteering before then, so come along and hear about the varied opportunities for you to become inspired and ultimately hired.

Vaccinations

The Community Vaccination Team will be in school on Monday 29 January doing the Teenage Booster vaccinations for Diphtheria/Tetanus/ Polio (DTP) and Meningitis (MenACWY). This is for all S3 pupils and some of the S4, S5 and S6 who still have to get theirs.

S2/S3 Language Talk

Our S2s and language learning S3s were lucky enough to receive a talk from an outside speaker who has achieved great things in his career largely thanks to his language learning skills. He shared his inspiring story of working for a Premier League football team (Arsenal F.C.) for 11 years. Thanks to his modern language degree, he stood out as a fantastic candidate for the role and was able to travel all over the world, meeting incredible people along the way. We also learnt of the varied exciting careers in football or professional sport where language skills are either necessary or a real asset. His story demonstrates the many different doors that learning languages can open and the ways in which living abroad pushes you out of your comfort zone and allows you to build resilience. (By Ms Fletcher)

Breakfast Club 

Breakfast Club started this week. It is open to all young people and open from 8-8.20am in our HE Department.

Active Schools

Active Schools classes will be available to book as detailed below:

Free Classes live to book 15.1.24 from 6pm

Paid Classes live to book 1.2.24 from 6pm

www.eastlothian.gov.uk/activeschools

Success Stories

Congratulations to Harry Hudson (S1) who has been selected for the Under 13s Scottish Ice Hockey squad. Harry will be representing Scotland in upcoming tournaments in Bratislava in March, and also against England later on in the year. We continue to wish him the best as the season progresses.

Dates for your diary:

15 January 2024 - Coursing Evening – 6.30-7.30pm (at Knox Academy)

17 January – Careers Fayre – 6 – 8pm (at Knox Academy)

30 January – Parent Council 6.30-8pm (online)

22 February – S5/6 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (at Knox Academy)

12 March – S1 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (at Knox Academy)

 

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.