On Monday our Eco-Committee will be hosting its first assembly of the year and the aim of our assembly is to introduce our school to the idea of a Carbon Day of Action. This will take place on Monday 14 November. On this day, we want everyone in the school to engage with several simple actions in order to reduce their carbon footprint. These are:
- Go vegetarian – meat-free Monday at the canteen
- Use less electricity – Black Out Monday (keep lights off as much as possible during the day and at home in the evening)
- Recycle & Reuse
- Bin your litter
There are, of course, more carbon-reduction actions (e.g. walking/cycling vs. driving) which we could all aim to try out to lessen our carbon footprint. Anything that pupils, staff and parents/carers can do to support our action on climate change would be amazing!
Staffing
Congratulations to Rebecca Graham (PE) who was appointed to a Pupil Support Leader post at Berwickshire High School last week. Ms Graham will start this post on 28 November 2022.
Polio - Wear a flash of purple
Last week we raised £147.82. Thank you to all pupils, staff and parents/carers who supported this great charity.
School Photographs
A reminder that Tempest will be here this coming Wednesday (9 November) to do individual photographs of all year groups so please ensure that your young person arrives in school uniform and a smile for these. If they need a tie/shirt please ask them to speak to their Pupil Support Leader who can organise this. Following these photos you will be able to order them Thank you.
Dyslexia Awareness Week
Great to see a number of parents/carers attending the Dyslexia session that Mrs Wright ran on Wednesday afternoon. Some great questions asked by parents/carers and some fantastic advice as to how best to support young people with dyslexia. If you missed the session for any reason you can access the information here.
Parents’ and Pupils’ Information
S4/5/6 Prelims
Senior pupils and parents/carers should have received the Prelim Timetable for all National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses between 25th November and 12th December 2022. This follows on from the letter you received last Friday with the details of the expectations around this assessment period. Mrs Falconer also held a remote assembly for all S4/5/6 pupils during registration on Wednesday 2 November to share some supports to help them in preparing for these exams and also covered the expectations within the exam room.
Pupils should study this timetable carefully and highlight their exam times. If there are any clashes pupils should speak to the teacher concerned and they will be able to support adaptations (this will only affect a minority of pupils where the combination of subjects is less common). If the Prelim Exam is in a classroom, pupils will be made aware of the exact classroom nearer the time, as in some cases the exam will not be in their usual classroom for that subject.
Digital Inclusion Chromebooks
All Digital Inclusion Chromebooks require to be returned to School Office for audit and software purposes. If your young person has not yet done so, can you please ensure that this is done by Monday 7 November at the latest please. Thank you.
Achievement Ties – Applications Open Next Week
Applications will open next week, following an assembly for all year groups, with the deadline for nominations this session on Friday 25 November. Over the last three years Knox Academy has recognised achievement in school based extra-curricular and non-school based wider achievements through the awarding of Achievement Ties. The ‘Achievement Ties Committee’ meets twice yearly to discuss nominations and allocation of these. There are two categories of achievement where 'half colour' ties and 'full colour' ties are awarded. Nominations can be completed through the google form found here . Further information can be found in this presentation.
Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI)
Our YPI final will take place next Wednesday (9 November). YPI is an inclusive, multi-award-winning approach to grant-making that grows compassionate communities by connecting high school pupils to social issues, local charities, and philanthropy at a pivotal stage in their school careers. All teams have been amazing this year but only six S5 teams could advance to the final. This year the charities they are representing will be: Simpsons Special Care Babies; The Wave Project; Our Community Kitchen; Beech Wheelchairs; Keep the Heid and New Horizons. The winning team will be awarded £3000 for their charity. We wish them all well in their quest to win this money for any one of these worthy charities.
DYW Live Scottish Careers Week and then Creative Careers Week
From 7-11 Scottish Careers week will take place. There will be a wide range of inspirational talks from industry experts. From 21-25 November Esgoil will be offering five different 30 minute sessions on creative careers. For more information on both of these events and to sign up click here.
DYW Roadshow
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian are delighted to be running our second DYW Roadshow.
The event will bring together employers, further education, higher education, and training providers with the young people in our region to help them find their next step.
DYW Roadshow is set to take place on Tuesday 8th November 2022, from 9:30am-1:30pm at the O2 Academy Edinburgh. The event will feature a range of organisations from the key sectors across the region, many of which will have live vacancies on the day and is free for young people, parents, and carers.
If you are a young person looking to find your next step, DYW Roadshow will provide face to face interactions with employers and education/training providers offering jobs, apprenticeships, training, volunteering, college, and university courses to give you the full picture of your options when you leave school.
Parents and carers are encouraged to come along to gain an understanding of the current and future landscape and the options available to their young person.
The event is free to attend.
Open Days December
Media, Music and Sound open days in December. The Eventbrite booking links can are here: Milton Road and Sighthill.
Parents’ Information
Christmas Dance Tickets
Parents/Carers of all pupils who are attending the Christmas Dance should now have received an e-mail alerting them to make payment on the IPay system. Tickets are £3.00 and early payment is appreciated.
If you have not received an e-mail, please e-mail the school office admin@knox.elcschool.org.uk (School Office)
Safety
We know that all school staff, parents and carers want a safe environment for children and ask for your support in achieving this by reminding your school community of the following:
- Families should aim to walk, cycle or scoot to school where they can. This is often the best way for a child to start the day and helps them arrive ready to learn;
- If you have to drive, leave in plenty time and park as far from the school gates as possible;
- Do not park on double yellow lines or zigzag markings;
- Do not park on pavements or around junctions. This blocks children’s view of the road and makes it much harder for them to cross safely;
- It is a serious criminal offense to drive along a pavement (i.e. dangerous driving) which could result in significant fines, driving bans and even jail. We will not hesitate to report this type of behaviour to Police Scotland, where we have the evidence to do so.
(By Sustainable Transport Officer, East Lothian)
Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment/Hayward Review
The public consultation for the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment/Hayward Review is now live. I would encourage as many parents/carers as possible to respond to this as this is about the future of National Qualifications which will affect many of your young people and the generations to follow. The link is here.
Pupils’ Achievements
Dates for your diary:
Wednesday 9 November Pupils' photographs
Thursday 24 November S3 Parents’ Consultation (in school) 4.30-6.30pm
Friday 25 November - Monday 12 December S4/5/6 Prelims
Tuesday 6 December Dasher's Dance BGE (S1-S3): 7pm-9.30pm
Wednesday 14 December Christmas Concert
Thursday 15 December Blitzen's Ball Senior Phase (S4-S6): 7pm-9.30pm
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 @knoxacademyHT for the latest information and updates
