Staffing

Our teacher of Technologies (permanent) goes live today.

A warm welcome to Aaron Moises, our new HE Auxiliary who started on Tuesday.

HPV vaccinations

Consent packs for H.P.V vaccinations from NHS Lothian have been sent home to all S1 pupils. Please discuss this with your young person and return the completed and signed consent form to school by 1 March ’24. Vaccinations will take place for all S1s ,and some other year groups, on Tuesday 23 April. The H.P.V vaccine protects you from the human papillomavirus.

S2 STEM Event – Tuesday 6 February

On Tuesday the whole of S2 took part in 1hr 40 minutes of workshops led by SSE Renewables.  There were three sessions – one for each house.  SSE Renewables will soon start work on the Berwick Bank Wind Farm which will potentially generate enough electricity to power Scotland three times over. 

The pupils learned amazing facts such as the blades of each turbine will be longer than a football pitch, weigh the same as 10 elephants and be wide enough to drive a double decker bus through.

The pupils were fully engaged throughout the sessions, which were designed to develop the skills of problem solving, creativity, teamwork and speaking.  At the end they presented on what they had learned and there were several excellent presentations.

Berwick Bank is on track to be fully operational in 2030 so there is even a chance that some of the pupils involved in the workshops will gain employment on the project.

Many thanks, to Pauline Allison, Ciara Jamieson and Claire McGhie from SSE Renewables who ran the workshop. (By Mr Taylor, Curriculum Leader of Science).

Parental Study Support Session on Science
Thank you to all parents/carers who came along to the study support/exam revision session for Biology, Human Biology , Chemistry and Physics last night. Another very useful and informative session organised by Ms McBride. I am sure parents/carers found it very helpful in terms of knowing how to support their young person to study for these exams and what resources they can guide them towards. Thank you Mr Taylor and Mr Boyle for their great advice and leading these sessions.

过年好！Happy Lunar New Year!

Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, falls on the 10th of February this year, and S1 and S2 pupils have been busy preparing in Mandarin lessons. S2 pupils created a great array of eye-catching and informative posters, incorporating the popular Chinese tangram puzzle into their designs. Since we are entering the Year of the Dragon, S1 pupils are preparing to re-enact the traditional Chinese Tale of the Four Dragons. We wish you 龙年好 lóng nián hǎo, 身体健康 shēntǐ jiànkāng, 万事如意 wànshì rúyì, which means good health and all the best in the Year of the Dragon. (By Mrs Zhong)

Author Visit

P7s from our associated primary schools were invited to Knox Academy to hear a talk by acclaimed award winning author Stewart Foster (author of Check Mates, Bubble Boy, and Can you Feel the Noise?), who luckily was able to fly to Scotland in-between some of our winter storms in order to talk to us about his life, his books and how to write your own stories. After the event for P7s, he had time for a short talk to some of our Knox Academy young people too. It was lovely to have the opportunity to meet our future primary pupils for the first time. Thanks to SUBC for providing funding for the event (Ms Fry, Librarian).

Parentsportal Registration

Many parents/carers have already signed up for parentsportal , and current functions allow absence reporting, data updates and viewing of attendance.   

We plan to begin issuing reports to parents electronically.  This requires parents to register for parentsportal and to ensure details are kept up to date. 

If you are experiencing any issues trying to register, please contact the school office for advice. (School Office) 

Support

The first port of call is your young person’s House Team, should you wish to discuss any support for your young person or wish to arrange an appointment to come in to speak to someone. House Teams can be contacted via the following emails.

• Garleton - garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk
• Lammerlaw - lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk
• Traprain - traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk

If you arrive at the school we may not be able to see you if you don’t have a pre-arranged appointment as staff can be teaching or in meetings too, so please book appointments wherever possible so we can definitely speak to you. Thank you.

Success Stories

Golf

Congratultations to Rory Leitch and Ryan Pirie (both S5) who has been selected to go to Pinehurst, USA with the East Lothian Junior Golf team to play in several tournaments over the February break. We wish them all the best in these.

Rugby

Congratulations to Andrew Millar, Aiden Smith, Hamish Mainstone, Finlay Patterson and Archie Rettie, who were selected to play for East Lothian Falcons, against Borders, on Monday evening.

Scottish Junion National Squash Championships

Congratulations to the following young people who performed brilliantly in these championships, last weekend, in Aberdeen: Emily Westgarth(S1) 5th overall U13s girls; Phoebe Hamilton (S2) 3rd overall U15s girls; Isla Hamilton(S4) 3rd overall U17s girls; Fraser Westgarth(S3) 6th overall U15s boys; Jamie Perman(S3) 2nd overall U15s boys.

Inter-School County Cross Country at Fox Lake 7 February 2024

Our magnificent team of 45 athletes, were well prepared and ready to take on the challenge of the 3.35km course around the stunning countryside of Fox Lake grounds. Keeping their cool along the first uphill section from the start and clever pacing through the mud and tree lined routes, our runners soon passed close to the beach and then returned into the sun, to finish just at the Fox Falls. Every one of our athletes were cheered into the finish funnel by the rest of the team and all had with big smiles on their faces as they all did their absolute best. 

Individual medalists were:- S1 - Jack Fraser (3^rd);  S2 - Freddie Fendick  (2^nd) and Morven Kenny (3^rd);  S3 -  Ava Smith  (2^nd), Lucy Hall (3^rd), Connal Young (1^st); Seniors - Colin Riley (2^nd) .

The competition was fierce and we smashed our previous records for our team performances, combining all the team members scores we placed :- S1 girls –(1^st)  S1 boys (2^nd) ; S2 girls –(2^nd) S2 Boys (3^rd);  S3 girls (2^nd), S3 boys (1^st); Senior Boys - (1^st) . 

Overall, we came 2^nd to Dunbar. Hopefully next year we may even get that 1^st position as we were only 10 points behind – our best performance to date! A fantastic memorable day with outstanding effort from everyone, fabulous team spirit throughout.  (By Mrs McSherry. PE)

Events

Spring Concert Performers 2024

Calling all Knox Musicians and Dancers! If you would like to perform in this year's pupil-led Spring Concert on Wednesday 27th March, then please fill out the following form. We are keen to get as many pupils involved as possible; whether you are an S6 wanting to do a solo in your last Knox concert, or a new musician looking to perform in a band for the first time! Please fill out this form (edubuzz.org emails only) no later than the 23rd February, and we will be back in touch to confirm your slot in the running order and rehearsal schedule. Unfortunately there are limited spaces, so if the committee receives too many applications then we will hold auditions to make the selection process as fair as possible. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to the Spring Concert Committee. You can contact our main organisers @ka18lmaycock@edubuzz.org and @ka18ibriggs@edubuzz.org. Parents/carers – please do encourage your young people to come forward and be part of this showcase. Thank you.

 

Dates for your diary:

12 February – 19 February (inclusive) – Pupils’ mid-term break (staff resume on 19 February for in-service day)

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.

 

Have a lovely mid-term break with your young people and we will look forward to welcoming them back on Tuesday 20 February at 8.25am, bright and breezy in their school uniforms/with their school kit.

 

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   @knoxacademyHT for the latest information and updates.