It has been fantastic to welcome our P7s this morning for the first day of their transition. Lots of happy, smiley faces and keen to get started on their activities with their new classmates. S6 mentors are taking them from place to place and will continue doing so on Monday and Tuesday and for the first week once they return in August. They have a great energy and positivity and we hope to maintain that enthusiasm for the next six years here. We have also encouraged them to join the special extra-curricular lunch clubs, which we are putting on as tasters next Monday and Tuesday especially for them, as this will also help them make friends with other young people outside of their classes.

Staffing

Our full time, permanent English teacher post closes this Sunday.

We will also be advertising for a temporary, part-time (25hrs) ASN Auxiliary. This goes live next Friday.

Following interviews this week, we have preferred candidates for our Pupil Support Worker and ASN Auxiliary posts. These posts will commence in August.

Interviews for our Welfare Assistant take place next week.

Parents’ and Pupils’ Information

School Improvement – Session 2023-24

Our School Improvement Plan (SIP) for Session 2023-24 has now been finalised. Thank you to all parents/carers who completed the questionnaire as this feedback, along with pupils’ and staff feedback, helped direct our next steps. I will share the School Improvement Plan at the start of next term, once it has been approved by ELC. However, the Parents Overview can be viewed now. This will let you know what we have planned for next session.

The New Timetable and Success

Hard work and commitment to learning are vital to ensuring a young person’s success. Attendance and punctuality are also extremely important. You need to attend to achieve and be on time to classes to maximise the 50 minutes of each class – every minute is precious and means lost learning.

Since we have changed to the new timetable there have been a number of young people arriving late after break and lunch. This not only impacts on their learning but it also impacts on the teacher who has to stop their lesson to welcome them and then catch them up with what they have already explained to the class. If this happens two or three times in a lesson, these latecomers impact upon the whole class as it is disruptive and means the teacher has to explain things again as opposed to supporting those who were on time and now on task. Even 5 minutes late after break and lunch soon adds up to the equivalent to a period missed a week. Excellent attendance, and being on time, are core skills for life, learning and work. When we are asked to write references for pupils in S4/S5/S6, when they are applying for Uni, College or employment, we are always asked to comment on their attendance and punctuality, and we want to be able to report on these favourably to help them stand the best chance in gaining a place or the job. We would be grateful if you could support this with your young people so they can maximise their time at school and achieve their potential. Thank you.

Awards Ceremony

This takes place next Thursday, 22 June, from 6-7pm, for S1 and S2, and from 7.30-8.30pm, for those in S3-S6.  All pupils who are getting an award on this evening have been informed.

For those pupils receiving an award in S1/S2, they should attend a rehearsal on Tuesday 20 June, at the Assembly Hall, at 9.30am.

If your young person is receiving an award and is S3, S4, S5 or S6, they should attend a rehearsal at 11.30am in the Assembly Hall (this includes any pupils who have now officially left school).  

School uniform should be worn to the Awards Evening too.

Start of the New Term

I will be writing out to all parents/carers with details about this on 7 August 2023. In the meantime information about the school day, extra-curricular, school uniform and all other information can be found in our School Handbook which will go live at the end of next week.

Head Pupils’ Elections

Applications for the Head Pupils and Pupil Leadership Team were submitted last Friday. Today, pupils must submit their manifestos and on Monday, they will submit their campaign videos. Tuesday will be their interviews and this will be followed by an Open to Question session on Wednesday afternoon. It’s an exciting time for all those who have thrown their hats in to the ring. The voting will take place on Friday with the Head Pupils and Leadership Team announced next Friday. Good luck to all candidates!

P7 pupils

It was great to have so many parents/carers coming along to our P7 Information Evening. It was good to tell them about our school and opportunities their young people will be able to get involved with over the next six years.

Pupils’ Achievements

County Sports

On Wednesday 14 June, pupils from S2-S6 competed in the annual County Sports event at Meadowmill alongside the other high schools. The representation from our pupils was exceptional with some of our pupils stepping up to compete in a number of events. As the events drew to a close, the points became tighter and some exceptional relay performances, especially with our previous S2 girls, and S3 boys, helped us take 1st place in these events. The overall day was a huge success and we finished 4th. All pupils involved will be celebrating today, in the PE department, at 12 noon with a new take on Hot Chocolate Friday ‘Ice pole Friday.’  

Football

Ava Smith (S2) has signed for the upcoming season at Hearts Academy (National Performance League) at Under 16 level. We are very proud of all the dedication Ava shows towards her football and commitment to achieve.

Success Stories

If you have any success stories about your young person please send these in to our admin@knox.elc.school.org so we can share these with everyone in our school and community. Thank you.

Support

Please can parents/carers make an appointment if they wish to speak to a member of Pupil Support or the Senior Leadership Team.  An increasing number of parents/carers have been turning up, without an appointment, wishing to be seen and although we want to see you, we have been unable to do so as we have been teaching or in pre-arranged meetings. By making an appointment with us via the office, or email, we can ensure a time and date. Thank you.

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

 

Dates for your diary:

Thursday 22 June – S1/2 Awards Evening – 6-7pm; S3-S6 Awards Evening – 7.30-8.30pm

Wednesday 28 June – term ends at 3.25pm

Wednesday 16 August – new terms starts for pupils – 8.28am

 

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

Fit 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.