It was great to have our first face to face assemblies this week and talk about our school value of community. Follow up discussion on this took place in register classes. Our next assemblies will look at Achievement Ties and ‘The Cost of the School Day’ (and how we can aim to poverty proof our school).
Staffing
Congratulations to Jenny O’Connor and Dionne Hogg who have been appointed as permanent ASN Auxiliary staff members at Meadowpark.
James Smith is also the preferred candidate for a temporary ASN post, at Meadowpark, for 1 year
Being advertised:
Teacher of Support for Learning – full time permanent – advertised today
15hrs Classroom Assistant – currently advertised
Temporary Pupil Support Worker – 27 ½ hrs until 1st July 2022
2 ASN Auxiliary posts at Meadowpark – 27 ½ hrs and 15 ½ hrs – both permanent
Interviews for full time permanent teachers in English, Drama and Modern Languages will take place over the next few weeks.
Curriculum
SQA Exam Support Materials
SQA has published revision support to help learners prepare for this year’s exams, given the significant disruption to learning and teaching they have experienced due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Revision support is now fully available on the SQA website for all courses that have an exam and is tailored to each course, including:
Advance notice of content that will or will not be in the exam - For some courses, we have published information on which broad topics, contexts or content will or will not be in this year’s exam. This will help learners to plan their revision and focus more on the parts of the course that will be in the exam, though learners can still use their knowledge of other parts of the course when developing their answers to questions.
Study guides - For some courses, we have published study guides to help learners practise answering exam questions. These give hints and tips on how to approach different types of questions, including how to gain marks.
Study notes (learners’ own) - In a small number of courses, learners will be allowed to prepare a short study note that they can take with them into the exam.
Our pupils can access the revision support here. It is still the clear intention for the 2022 exams to take place during April to June.
You can view the full exam timetable here.
In mid-March, we will provide our pupils with copies of ‘Your Exams’. This booklet tells learners what they need to know about SQA exams, including the essential information and rules they must read before the exams start. ‘Your Exams’ will also be available to download from the SQA website.
Education Scotland, in partnership with E-Sgoil, is also running a series of study support webinars for learners working towards National Qualifications in 2022. Details are available from the E-Sgoil website.
SQA Exam Leave Letters
Details for SQA exam leave and leavers’ information was sent home on Monday for S4 and S5/6 parents/carers and also sent to pupils in these year groups.
Leavers’ Information
The official leaving date will be Tuesday 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).
Achievement Ties – Applications Now Open
Achievement Ties began their relaunch at the start of this week and there will be opportunities for pupils to join the committee and apply for the awards themselves. Applications are now open with the deadline for nominations this session on Friday 6 May 2022. Over the last two years Knox Academy has recognised achievement in school based extra-curricular and non-school based wider achievements through the awarding of Achievement Ties. Under normal circumstances the ‘Achievement Ties Committee’ meets twice yearly to discuss nominations and allocation of these. Due to Covid this is the first and only chance for this academic year to nominate someone. The reason for this was that we felt opportunities to be eligible for these Awards had been reduced. It is our intention that these awards are issued later in the session towards the end of May. 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 .
For information please see the attached Presentation. A presentation to pupils is planned on this in the next week.
Trips/Excursions
Scottish Parliament
On the 8th March 2022, two higher modern studies classes went on a day trip to the Scottish Parliament. When we arrived, two ladies from the education department greeted us and took us into a presentation room, where half of our group was shown an informative slideshow about how the Scottish Parliament runs as well as about the different parties, and the other half was taken for a small tour to the debating chamber, where we were told about different debates and how the parliament was run throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Afterward, we were then able to have a 30 minute question time with Martin Whitefield and Brian Whittle, two of our regional MSPs. During this time, we were able to ask our MSPs questions about what an MSP does, committees that they are members of, and how they can hold the government to account. This trip was educational for us as we got a lot of useful information which we can use in our Democracy in Scotland and the UK topic essays. Overall it was an amazing experience for everyone. (by Mara Popa, S5)
Former Pupils’ News
Niamh Fraser began her Lacrosse' career as a fresher at Dundee University five years ago having never picked up a Lacrosse stick or "cradled a ball" before. She currently plays front attack position and for the past two years she has been the Vice-Captain of the team. This is a role she has fully embraced and played with determination. Through her passion for her sport she has encouraged many others to join the team and give it a go. She is keen that sport is accessible and inclusive for all. On Wednesday, Niamh and her team beat St Andrews University to win the Conference Final. In her own words, this win represents what can be achieved by belief, ambition, team work (community) and sheer hard work - all embodied by in our school ethos and values. Well done, Niamh!
Covid-19 Information
Please continue to report all positive Covid-19 cases to covidinschools@eastlothian.gov.uk or if you do not have access to email, telephone 01875 613921. Please also inform the school so we can amend your young person’s attendance record. LFD kits are available every morning on arrival to school and during the day from the office. They can also be collected from pharmacies and test centres.
Please do not send pupils to school who have symptoms. They should self-isolate and book a PCR test and not return to school until they know this is negative and they have no symptoms. Pupils should also continue to do a twice weekly LFD test and if this is positive, self-isolate until they get two negative LFD tests, two days apart after day 6. If they do not, they are able to return after day 10.
We now have a dedicated section on our website for all things Covid, so please refer to it for the latest information.
Attendance
We now have an “Attendance” inbox for parents to email with student absences/appointments. Please email attendance@knox.elcschool.org.uk
Dates for your diary:
Friday 8 April S6 Leavers’ Ceremony
Monday 11 – Friday 22 April Easter holidays
Monday 25 April All pupils and staff return
Wednesday 27 April *Exam leave starts for S4-S6
Parent Council Request
At the Parent Council meeting parents asked if there could be a footer on my HT’s update that stayed there year round and which offered quick links to remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and https://www.ka-net.org.uk/careersnews. 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.
Sue Cook
Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk 
@knoxacademy @knoxacademyHT for the latest information and updates
