On Monday 7 June we were delighted to be able to welcome the P7s from Haddington, Letham Mains, St Mary’s and Yester Primary Schools.  Each class visited in their ‘class bubble’ and met their House Teams and were taken on a tour of the school, with a ‘Treasure Hunt’ by their Pupil Support Leader.  We have really enjoyed all the online transition meetings – brilliantly planned by the Pupil Learning Team – but it was great to see all the P7s in person.

All parents/carers of P7 pupils have been invited to a virtual information evening on 14 June at either 6pm. or 7pm. and we are very much looking forward to meeting them at this. 

For those pupils who are coming from non-catchment primary school we are in the process of arranging for individual visits before the summer break.

Covid-19 Update

We have received an update from the Scottish Government that asks to retain all current mitigations at present to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in schools. This decision has been taken in light of the ‘Delta’ variant of concern. The Scottish Gvt will continue to review their guidance in readiness for the start of the new session in August and we will communicate with parents/carers about this prior to the start of the new term.

Staffing

We will be welcoming a number of probationers to the school in August and will give more details in the next few weeks about the subjects these will be in.

Pride

This week we have been celebrating PRIDE at Knox Academy. Throughout registration this week, we have been looking at a range of different things, which include the LGBT+ History, use of pronouns and Trans Rights. On the last day of term, we are going to have a PRIDE dress down day to raise awareness and celebrate the LGBT+ community at Knox and in our community. We are asking each registration class to dress up in the colours of the LGBT+ flag. There will be a prize for the best class. The school has come a long way in being more inclusive and next year we will be working towards the Silver LGBT Charter.

Parents/Carers Information

School Uniform

To help parents/carers with planning ahead over the summer for school uniform, please see our updated letter.

SQA Update/ Appeals and issuing of provision grades

S4-S6 pupils will be issued with a copy of their provisional grades on the afternoon of Tuesday 22 June. Those young people in S6, who have now left school, should pick these up from the office window, in the school vestibule, between 2p.m. and 4p.m. on this date, whilst maintaining 2M physical distancing if there is a queue.  Any not collected on this date will be posted home.

QMU Schools

If your young person is in S5/S6 and is interested in studying any of the health professions then they can sign up to QMU’s online week-long conference on 5 – 9 July! They should email:  stepintohealth@qmu.ac.uk if interested. An email with more details was sent to all S5/6 pupils on Wednesday.

Scottish Youth Parliament Elections

The Scottish Youth Parliament is the democratically elected voice of Scotland’s young people. The next elections will be held in November 2021 and this could be your young person’s opportunity to influence issues that affect children and young people in our country including poverty, mental health, travel, climate change and Covid recovery as an MSYP. Please encourage them to get involved and have their say. Find out more from the Scottish Youth Parliament.

East Lothian Council

A summer hardship fund will be paid to families registered and eligible for free school meals currently  in primary and secondary. The payment is £100 per child. If you are already registered for free school meals no action is required.

Fundraising for CALM

An amazing group of staff at Meadowpark, Knox Academy is walking 26 miles, on Friday 9 July to raise money for the Campaign against living miserably (CALM). This charity focuses on clamping down on the stigma relating to mental health and suicide, particularly in men. With a number of our community affected by mental health the team wanted to raise awareness that there is always someone who can listen and provide support.

The staff team got in touch with CALM and asked where any donations would go. £8 funds a potentially lifesaving phone call, which will be taken by a call taker trained highly in mental health and suicide de-escalation. During lockdown many people felt their mental health getting worse because of the lack of social interactions and CALM was able to support so many people with managing this.  CALM runs a confidential and anonymous phone line service from 5pm. - 12am, 365 days a year, so people can reach out to them anytime for support. 

So far the staff team has received support from the school, Shamin Akthar, Craig Hoy, John McMillan and Lesley Brown, as well as many others. Currently they have raised £2,234, which will be enough to fund an astonishing two hundred and seventy-nine phone calls, which can save lives.  As a team they are keen to highlight that men have mental health issues too and want to promote the importance of the reaching out for support too.  If you wish to find out more about the fundraising the team has been doing, you can do this at: @marathonwalkers.01 - the username for their Twitter and Instagram pages. If you would like to sponsor them you can do this here.  Thank you for your support of such an amazing charity and a great team here at Knox Academy, Meadowpark.

LFD Testing in school.

As Community transmission continues in East Lothian and schools report positive cases of COVID it remains crucial to continue to carry out testing if you have given consent for your young person to be part of this programme (or they have consented themselves of over 16).   This programme is voluntary but recommended.

Kits are available from the school office at any time and Mrs Fraser is present each morning to distribute kits to those who require them at the front of the school entrance hall. Despite nearly being the end of term it is vital that we aim to identify anyone with symptoms at the school and maintain safety of all at the school, as well as supporting our community and keep it safe too. Please also see below the current guidance from ELC;

“Testing continues to play an important role, in and out of schools/settings, in our fight against COVID-19. Staff should continue to test themselves and report results, and are asked to encourage young people in secondary schools to do likewise.” 

Thank you for your support with this.

Asymptomatic Testing in East Lothian

If you are asymptomatic, you can also visit a mobile unit in East Lothian to be tested.

COVID-19

Positive Cases: Please report positive cases to the school by phoning us on 01620-823387. Please also report any positive cases to covidinschools@eastlothian.gov.uk or if you do not have access to email, telephone 01875 613921.Thank you.

Please note: Please do not send your young person to school if they, or anyone in your household has tested positive or has Covid-19 symptoms – a new continuous cough; fever/high temperature; loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste (anosmia). Please self-isolate and book a test.

Be safe at the beach

We have been asked by water safety to share the following message with parents/carers and pupils now the warm weather has arrived and that the summer holidays are around the corner:

When warm weather arrives the beach is a popular destination for many people however playing or swimming in the sea is not the same as being in an indoor swimming pool. Waves can be great fun but are also unpredictable. Always supervise your young people playing in waves as they can easily lose their balance if struck by a larger wave. Inflatable toys, dinghies or lilos are a well-known hazard – with many incidents of people on inflatables blown out to sea. They are not designed for use in open water and should be restricted to sheltered and confined spaces only such as rock pools.

You might want to enter the sea simply to ‘cool off’ but the water may be much colder than expected. The average sea temperatures in the UK are just 12°C - below 15°C is defined as cold water which can seriously affect your breathing and movement.

Also be aware of tides, and if planning a walk across a beach, check when the incoming tide is expected so you are not cut off.

Finally remain aware of hidden dangers and don’t swim near or dive from rocks or cliff faces. Check safety notices at beaches which may indicate specific local hazards.

If you do see someone in difficulty in the sea call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

Dates for you diary:

Friday 25 June        End of term

Have a lovely weekend.

Sue Cook

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk @knoxacademy @knoxacademyHT for the latest information and updates

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