September 2024

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 27 SEPTEMBER 2024
Published: 26 September 2024

Staffing

Modern Languages (temporary until June 2026) – I am delighted to say we have appointed Marie Elder to this position (subject to the usual employment checks)

S4 – S6 Pupils - DYW Roadshow Event

Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) are organising a Roadshow event on 2 October and we have reserved a limited number of places at it.

These places have already been offered to a targeted group of pupils, but there are some spaces remaining and so we are offering them out more widely.

The event may be of particular interest to you if a) you think you may leave school in May or December 2025 or b) you are unsure as to what you would like to do when you leave school.

There will be over 100 companies and organisations there, so lots of opportunities to find out about what they can offer you.

There is a bus provided for transport. It will leave Knox at 9:50 and we will return by lunchtime. Pupils will be expected to be in school dress code and obviously behave appropriately at all times, as they are representing the school and looking to make a positive impression with the exhibitors.

If your young person attends, they need to make use of the event as this will involve going to speak to some of the exhibitors.

If they would like to attend, please collect and then return a Parental Consent form from either Mr Russell or Mr Flood.

If your young person has any questions, please ask them to peak to either Mr Russell or Mr Flood.

Places will be offered on a first come, first served basis.

European Day of Languages

Every year in Europe, the 26th of September marks the European Day of Languages, a day which aims to raise awareness about language learning and linguistic diversity. In the Modern Languages Department this year, we are celebrating by running our annual EuroQuiz with S1 classes. This quiz explores a variety of topics including European languages, geography, foods, and sports. With S2 and S3 classes, we are doing an activity in which students have to guess the movie based on its French or Spanish title translation. The Modern Languages Department has also invited all registration classes to peruse a PowerPoint from the British Council which explores the many benefits of learning languages. We hope that this will inspire students to keep studying languages throughout their time at high school as it will open up an exciting array of opportunities in the future. 

S1 Parents’ Evening

It was great to see so many S1 parents/carers in attendance at the S1 Parents’ Evening on Wednesday. It was great to speak to so many of you and hear how your evening was going and about the feedback you were getting from your young person’s teachers. 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.

Dyslexia Awareness Week

Next week is Dyslexia Awareness week in Scotland next week (30th September - 6th October 2024).

We will be putting activities on in school and there will be posters, activities and information celebrating all that is wonderful and difficult about being dyslexic. We have over 100 pupils who are dyslexic at Knox Academy and we are working hard across the school to share individual  experiences. Dyslexia Scotland is also putting on a series of events that you may be interested in.  You can find the information here.

Some of the events available are:

An Evening with Hamza Yassin - Monday 30th September at 6.30pm in Stirling

Dyslexia Masterclass for parents/carers - Thursday 3rd October at 6.30pm online.

 

Dates for your diary:

30 September - LGBT+ Information Evening for parents/carers - 6-7pm (Knox Academy 

10 October – P7 Information Evening and visit to departments – 5-7pm

11 October – break for October holiday (staff return on Monday 21 October (in-service day) and pupils on Tuesday 22 October)

5 November – S5/6 Parents’ Evening - 4.30-6.30pm

21 November – Parent Council Meeting – 6.30-8pm (School Library) - all welcome

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

Quick Links:

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 20 SEPTEMBER 2024
Published: 20 September 2024

Staffing

Modern Languages (temporary until June 2026) – we are interviewing for this post on Monday.

Congratulations to Calum Blair, Curriculum Leader of Numeracy and Computing, who was appointed, this week, as DHT at Balerno High School. This will mean we will be advertising this post in the next few weeks.

Parent Council

It was fantastic to see so many parents/carers at our first meeting on the year, which took place on Tuesday this week. Great to see so many of our new S1 pupils along too. Feedback is that parents/carres founf it really interesting to hear more about the school and their young person’s pathway from S1-S6. The next meeting takes place on 21 November, in the school library, at 6.30pm (although Sarah and Morven, our Parent Chairs, are there for an informal chat from 6pm).

Dalguise

S6 head off this weekend for their outdoor adventure to Dalguise. It will be a fun weekend that will allow them to further gel as an S6 group. A huge thank you to all the staff going who have given up their weekend to take the trip. We will look forward to hearing all about it on your return.

Library update

We will have a temporary Librarian for two days per week, starting the week beginning 7 October. On the other days staff will still be able to access the library with their classes. We do hope that it will be open full time in the near future.

Dates for your diary:

25 September – S1 Parents’ Consultation – 4.30-6.30pm (Knox Academy)

10 October – P7 Information Evening and visit to departments – 5-7pm

11 October – break for October holiday (staff return on Monday 21 October (in-service day) and pupils on Tuesday 22 October)

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

Quick Links:

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 12 SEPTEMBER 2024
Published: 12 September 2024

Staffing

Modern Languages (temporary until June 2026) – this post closes on Sunday.

Rights Respecting Schools (RRSA) Assemblies

A huge thanks you to 1G1 and the RRSA group for presenting on our school value or RESPECT this week. They also covered the rights of all young people to an education and invited all of our young people to engage with the UNCRC rights. More to follow on this throughout the year as we aim to achieve our Silver Award by March.

S4 Parents’ Evening

It was great to see so many parents/carers in attendance at the S4 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.

Volunteering Fayre

Our annual Volunteering Fayre took place on Friday 6 September and was very successful. Many pupils signed up and many organisations received lots of applicants. Thank you to those who put their names forward and to those who didn’t we hope you do next year!

We had a variety of organisations on the day, which gave the pupils lots of different opportunities to start volunteering! The pupils were asked to listen to other people’s experiences with volunteering and its many benefits such as giving back to our community.

The organisers had positive feedback saying that the pupils were asking questions and showing interest in volunteering with them! We hope the pupils found this helpful in getting them started in volunteering.

Many thanks to all the organisations who came along on the day, both from within the school and in the wider community. (By Niamh McCauley and Anna Scott - members of the Retail class who helped to organise the event).

Music

The Music Department was humbled and delighted to welcome professional Scottish singer/songwriter Karine Polwart to Knox Academy on Wednesday 28th August. Karine kindly accepted our invitation to  facilitate a workshop for our Higher Music and Drama students on the craft of creative composition and the life-giving art of collaboration.  What an absolute treat to have Karine singing in one of our classrooms! A truly humble and gifted artist and an advocate for the Professional Music Industry in Scotland. ‘One of the finest singer-songwriters in Britain’ The Guardian ★★★★★ (Martha Middlemiss)

Pupils’ Successes

Tennis

Congratulations to Poppy Davidson-Kelly who won the Girls’ Club Championship at Haddington Tennis Club.

Dates for your diary:

13 -16 September – school closed for holiday

17 September – Parent Council (School Library – 6.30-8pm) – all parents/carers welcome

25 September – S1 Parents’ Consultation – 4.30-6.30pm (Knox Academy)

10 October – P7 Information Evening and visit to departments – 5-7pm

11 October – break for October holiday (staff return on Monday 21 October (in-service day) and pupils on Tuesday 22 October)

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

Quick Links:

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 6 SEPTEMBER 2024
Published: 05 September 2024

It was great to have our new S6 House Captains lead our assemblies this week on creating House identity as building our value of Community.

Staffing

Modern Languages (temporary until June 2026) – this post closes a week on Sunday. Flexible route probationers may also apply.

School Improvement Plan and Standards and Quality Report

These documents are now published on our school website and can be accessed through these links

SIP (School Improvement Plan)

SQIP  (Standards and Quality Report)   

School Photographs

Next Tuesday (10 September 2024) Tempest Photography will be in school to take S1 and S3 photographs.  It is important that we have an up-to-date image on school records. These photographs, as usual, will be available for parents/carers to order (if desired) once the proof sheets are distributed in the following days to registration teachers. S6 individual and group photography will take place on 5 November 2024. Pupils in other year-groups who have enrolled over the past year, or still have a primary school photograph on record have also been invited. Personalised emails have been sent to parents/carers and pupils, including a time to attend the library.  Please ensure that full school uniform is worn, as is expected each and every day. The Essentials Hub is always available for those who need support with uniform. Should any individual be unable to attend due to illness or appointments on the day, please contact Mr Dempster who will make alternative arrangements.

Parent Council – 17 September

The first Parent Council meeting of this session will take place in the School library on the 17th September and we would love to see as many parents join us as possible.  Come along from 6pm for coffee and cake and a chat before the meeting starts at 6.30 pm.  This meeting will include a brief overview of the role of Parent Council as well as a guide to the journey of a Knox pupil from S1-S6.

We hope to see you there! (Morven and Sarah - Co-Chairs)

Jericho Youth Cafe

This runs on the first Saturday of each month, from 7-9pm, and is for pupils in S1-S6. It has been running in the Nungate and Haddington Community Centre (16 Kirk Gate) for the past 15 years. It is a free event with snacks, games, crafts and a Bible lesson from Haddington Elim Church.

Health and Safety

If you are dropping your young person off for school please can you do this away from the school entrance (yellow lines) and also not outside the school main doors (the yellow crossed area). If you do have to come into the school car park to drop them off please do this at the area beside the playing fields.  Please also ensure you limit your speed to 5mph maximum. If you are attending the school for a meeting please use the car park at the back of the school. Only those with blue badges should be parking in disabled spaces. Thank you for your support with this.

Pupils’ Success Stories

Golf

Good luck to Bertie Cope (S4) who is taking part in the World School Golf Tournament in East Lothian. This takes place over four days - 15-18 September.

Squash

Congratulations to Phoebe Hamilton (S3) who came first in the Aberdeen Gold under 15 event last weekend and 2nd in the under 17!

Dates for your diary:

11 September – S4 Parents’ Evening – 4.30-6.30pm (Knox Academy)

13 -16 September – school closed for holiday

17 September – Parent Council (School Library – 6.30-8pm) – all parents/carers welcome

25 September – S1 Parents’ Consultation – 4.30-6.30pm (Knox Academy)

10 October – P7 Information Evening and visit to departments – 5-7pm

11 October – break for October holiday (staff return on Monday 21 October (in-service day) and pupils on Tuesday 22 October)

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

Quick Links:

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.