Staffing Update
Karen Fraser has been appointed as our Welfare Assistant (job share with Mae Ball).
Congratulations also go to Susanne Fox, our Curriculum Leader of Inclusion, who graduates with her Masters Degree (with commendation) next month. Her thesis focused on trauma informed practice and developing a programme of support to improve resilience and emotional wellbeing for young people who have experienced adversity.
Pupil News
Rugby – East Lothian Players
We have thirteen Knox Academy School of Rugby players who are involved in various U15, U16 and U17 East Lothian schools rugby training and development opportunities. The majority of these skills sessions take place at Meadowmill, which is the home base for the East Lothian & Borders SRU Youth Rugby Academy. Well done to all of these players on this very strong representation from Knox Academy.
Squash
Dylan Pearman, S3, will be representing Scotland in the British Junior Closed Squash Championship in Nottingham this weekend. We all wish him the best of luck in his performance and look forward to hearing how he gets on.
Parents/Carers Information
SQA Qualifications Information for Parents/Carers
To learn more about SQA qualifications and the range available, please click on the following link, which links you to our Parent Zone on our website Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
Achievement Ties – Nominations
The Achievement Tie Committee (pupils, staff and parents/carers) met on Tuesday 29 October to review the nominations and pupils/nominators will be made aware of the outcome of this by a letter winging its way home at present. Of 14 nominations 12 ties were awarded based on our criteria (see website). There will be a gathering of all those successful with the Senior Leadership team on Tuesday 5 November to present these. Congratulations to all those nominated and hopefully numbers will continue to grow across the year. Thank you to the parents/carers who came forward to be part of this committee.
S1 Parental Experience – Monday 28 October
It was lovely to welcome seven parents/carers who experienced a day in the life of an S1 pupil at Knox Academy. Feedback was very positive and parents commented on well-structured, dynamic lessons, enthusiastic teachers, well behaved/pleasant pupils and clear school values. Requests were also made by the group to see more S1 jotters home on a day to day basis and next time, during the experience, for teachers to talk about how parents/carers can access resources and support their child at home. We have already raised these points with staff so we can improve in these areas. Great to have critical friends along to help their own children and also to help support us on our improvement journey. Hopefully even more S1 parents/carers will come along next year when we offer this opportunity.
Hong Kong link school visit
We welcome pupils and staff from Tsung Tsin Christian Academy (TTCA) HK this weekend for a seven day visit to Knox Academy, Haddington and Edinburgh. TTCA is our new international link school and a very exciting venture for Knox Academy and the Haddington community. Pupils are being hosted by some of our families at Knox Academy and will attend Knox Academy to experience our school curriculum and experience our culture through family life too. We will be entertaining them with a Burns Supper, a visit to Camera Obscura, the National Museum and also the Museum of Flight. The week will culminate with our pupils and guests attending the Scottish China Education Network conference on Friday in Edinburgh. A very exciting time for the school and our new partnership with TTCA.
Dates for your diary (please also refer to the CALENDAR on the school website for all events across the year):
- 2-9 November – Hong Kong students visit from Tsung Tsin Christian Academy
- 6 November – S3 Parents’ Evening
- 25 November – 12 December – S4/5/6 Prelims
- 4 December – S1 Parents’ Evening
Sue Cook
