It was nice to start our Friday morning with a visit from thirty Norwegian teachers, This visit involved them visiting all curricular areas and Meadowpark. There was also a presentation on the school from the Senior Leadership and Pupil Leadership Teams, and a meeting with a group of staff to talk about our approaches to learning, teaching and assessment.
Parents’ and Pupils’ Information
S1 Parents’ Evening
It was lovely to meet our S1 parents/carers on Wednesday evening and to see so many pupils attending with their parents to engage in these consultations. Speaking to both parents/carers and staff it seems to have been a very useful evening in terms of discussing progress and next steps and parents/carers seemed really pleased with the learning and teaching their young person is receiving. If you were unable to attend for any reason, please contact your young person’s Pupil Support Leader to discuss feedback. Thank you.
Leavers’ Information
The official leaving date will be Wednesday 31 May 2022 for all pupils in S6 and any pupils who wish to leave school in S5 and S4 (and who are 16 prior to 30 September). Our S6 Leavers’ Ceremony will take place on Friday 31 March. All S4/5/6 will be expected in school for one week after Easter to help support them for their exams. Exam leave starts officially on Monday 24 April 2023. All pupils in S4/5/6 who are leaving must complete a leavers’ form, which they can get from the office, prior to the Easter break. Thank you.
Achievements in/out of School and Achievement Ties
We are very keen to celebrate the success of our pupils so if your young person had achieved in an event out of school, please do contact us to let us know so we can celebrate it and share it with our community. Next week we will be inviting applications for Achievement Ties and it would be great if as many parents/coaches/pupils applied for these as possible if they fit the categories.
Swish Event (Eco-school)
The first ever SWISH (free clothes store) by the Eco-Committee isn't far away! Here are all the details you need to know to make the most of this event! It will take place during lunch times on Tuesday 21 March, Wednesday 22 March, and Thursday 23 March in the library. The Thursday Swish will take place only if supplies last. Pupils are encouraged to come and browse uniform items and a variety of clothes to enhance their wardrobe. We will have casual clothes, dresses, sports shoes, and more. You never know what gems you might find at a swish! And the best thing about it is everything if FREE!
Meet the Russell Group Webinars taking place on April 25th, 26th & 27th.
The webinar will run from 18:00 - 19:30 pm and cover topics such as Personal Statements & Applying to a Russell Group University, Researching University Options and Student life, as well as a special session for International Students. This is an incredible opportunity for students considering applying for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cambridge, Oxford, Liverpool, LSE, Bristol or any of the 24 Russell Group Universities. Pupils and parents can sign up for each webinar via this registration link.
Lammermuir Festival – How to get involved
In brief, East Lothian Council Instrumental Music Service and Lammermuir Festival are looking for singers and actors to join their new community musical, Catriona and the Dragon (which includes the Anthem they performed last year), to perform alongside three of Scotland’s top professional singers, a huge orchestra of professional players and musicians from East Lothian Instrumental Music Service , under conductor Sian Edwards, director Laura Attridge and chorus director Moira Morrison.
The storyline
Queen Catriona is the reluctant ruler of the Kingdom of Beagland, terrorised by a fearsome dragon who lives beyond the Bridge to Nowhere. Will Catriona find the courage to go over the Bridge to confront her worse fears and to fight the dragon? Can she persuade her people to change their ways?
How to get involved?
To join our Young Person’s Chorus and help Catriona conquer the Dragon living beyond the Bridge to Nowhere and who is terrorising the land, register HERE
Adults can join in too in our Adults’ Chorus by signing up HERE
Project Schedule (Note: all rehearsals will be in Dunbar unless otherwise indicated).
Pre-Production Weekend - Saturday March 18th (2pm - 4pm)
Weekend 2: Friday March 24th (1pm - 3pm); Saturday 25th March (10am - 1pm); Sunday 26th March (2pm - 5pm) ;Tuesday 28th March (4pm - 7pm)
Production Week: Saturday April 1st (2pm - 5pm) ; Sunday April 2nd (2pm- 5pm) in Haddington; Monday April 3rd (10am - 5pm); Tuesday April 4th (10am - 5pm); Wednesday April 5th, 2pm rehearsal, with performances at 4pm and 7.15pm
Further details and links to our registration and all application forms are here.
We hope you will consider joining us for this exciting project! (By Jonathan Gawn, Team Manager - Instrumental Music Service)
Parents’ Information
School Improvement Planning for Session 2023-24
Parents/carers should have received an email on Tuesday asking you for your support in helping us identify the aspects we are doing well at Knox Academy and asking for the areas you think we can do better in/ need to focus on next session. By us all working together we aim to ensure we support all of our young people to achieve their potential. Your views are very much valued.
Pupils and staff are also being asked for their improvement ideas. Once we have feedback from all groups we will look at these collectively and extract the main themes to focus on to help us on our journey to excellence. I will also report back to you about the findings from all groups and our plans for next session.
Parent Council
The next meeting of the Parent Council will take place on Wednesday 22 March 2023. This meeting will take place online and it will also include their AGM. If you wish to attend please email parentcouncil@knox.elcschool.org.uk for the link. It would be great to have as many parents/carers along as possible. The last meeting of the Parent Council will be on 18 May, where we will be asking for parents/carers views on our School Improvement Plan. It would be great to have you along at that meeting too. This will be an in person meeting at the school. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided too.
Cost of Living Crisis
ELC have prepared a Helping with the cost of living of living e-leaflet, detailing information about financial support available to help ease the cost of living pressures faced by so many.
Support
Please 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 we can offer.
- Garleton - garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
- Lammerlaw - lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
- Traprain - traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
Dates for your diary:
Wednesday 22 March – Parent Council (online meeting) 6.30-8pm
Thursday 30 March – Spring Concert (7-9pm)
Friday 31 March – Term Ends at 12.15pm
Monday 17 April – Term Starts for pupils and staff 8.26am
Monday 24 April – Exam leave starts for S4, S5 and S6
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 
@knoxacademy(link is external) @knoxacademyHT(link is external) for the latest information and updates.
