Staffing

The post for Curriculum Leader of Maths and Computing was extended for a further two weeks and will now close on Sunday 17 November.

Prelims (S4-S6)

Prelims next Friday and will continue until Tuesday 10 December. Unless a young person is sitting a prelim they should attend classes as normal as the coursework for all subjects will continue throughout these two and a half weeks.

S2 Subject Choice - Careers 1:1s

Chris Trotter, our Careers Adviser (Skills Development Scotland (SDS)), has spoken to all S2 PSE classes over the last few weeks.

He has been talking about jobs that you can do with subjects that students might want to choose. The new website has lots of useful tools on it. The young people were encouraged to use the ‘Option Choice’ tool to identify jobs they can do with subjects they like. They also used the ‘Job Profile’ search to identify subjects that are useful for specific jobs.  Chris will be seeing everyone for a 1:1 appointment to explore what they have found out. The main message, throughout, is that careers and jobs are just one thing they might want to consider when choosing subjects. And, most importantly, not to worry if they don’t know what they want to do as there will be lots of support in the years to come.  Young people will not be choosing subjects at the appointment as it is just an initial discussion. If you would like to speak to Chris please email, chris.trotter@sds.co.uk , or call the school. Parents and carers can click on the following link for further information about how to help choose subjects.

Diligence Awards

Diligence nominations, from subject teachers, are given to those pupils who have demonstrated hard work and commitment, on a day to day basis, throughout Term 1 (August – December).  These certificates will be issued just before the end of term.

These certificates will detail all subjects your young person has been nominated in. The ultimate aim is for pupils to be nominated in all of their subjects. If they are not, the goal for term two (January – April) is to aim higher and achieve this. The idea behind these awards is to create ambition (one of our school values) and raise attainment and achievement through sustained effort and commitment to their studies, thus ensuring they achieve their potential. These are really important awards and parents/carers should review these with their young person to identify their successes and also support them where ‘subjects’ missing require more sustained effort. More information on our diligence awards is available by clicking on this link Diligence Awards.

Achievement Ties – Applications opening

Applications are now open, an assembly to all year groups takes place next week. The deadline for nominations will be Monday 2 December. Over the last five years Knox Academy has recognised achievement in school based extra-curricular and non-school based wider achievements through the awarding of Achievement Ties. Nominations can be completed through the google form found here . Nominations are welcome from pupils, parents/carers, staff and coaches/leaders. Further information can be found in this presentation.

Flu Vaccination Reminder

Flu vaccinations will take place at Knox Academy on Monday 18^th November.

Flu can be serious, even for healthy children. The flu vaccine is an easy, painless and safe way to help protect your child this winter. For more information visit here.

War Veterans Coffee Morning and Remembrance Evening

It was an honour to welcome our war veterans to Knox Academy last week for tea and cake. Our seniors enjoyed speaking to those who came along and hearing their stories about serving in WW1 and WW2 and asking them about the medals they were wearing on their uniforms. Our Head Pupils and Mr Flood were also involved in laying a wreath at the war memorial, at St Mary’s Church, on behalf of the school and the Remembrance service on Sunday.

It was also lovely to see so many parents/carers, pupils and partners of the school, along at our first Remembrance Service at Knox Academy, on Monday evening. Thank you to the pupils, who were our comperes for the evening ,and to Mrs Sinclair, Mrs Loughrey, Mrs Middlemiss and Mrs McSherry for organising it and to all pupils who performed on the evening to make it the special event it was - honouring those who served the country to give us the freedom we have today.

Quadrant

Following a meeting with the Quadrant Committee on Thursday 30 October, we have approved a design by a company called Tree-ditions. A copy of the design and the detail of it are available on our school website. Pupils will also be given the opportunity to be involved in the creation of the school’s story on the Totem Pole and also in some of the planting up of the garden itself. Once finished, by May 2025 at latest, this will become an outdoor classroom, which various subjects across the school will put to good use for learning and teaching. The design has been based around being eco-friendly and sustainability. Exciting times! Thank you to all who contributed to the group or fed back to us on the designs.

PTA – Hamper donations

Knox Academy Support Group (PTA) is excited to announce its first fundraising event of the school year at the S1 Christmas Fair in December. We are raffling off Xmas Hampers and would be extremely grateful for any donations. We are looking for and not limited to, Christmas puddings, mince pies, Christmas cake, chocolates, sweets, tea, coffee, jam, chutney, soup, biscuits, crisps, cheese crackers and oatcakes. Please hand in any donations to Ms Borwick in the PE Department by no later than Friday 29th November. Thank you in advance for your support!

Clothing Grants and Free School Meals

Please do check if you are able to claim for these. Paper application forms are available from our school office for those parents/carers who are unable to complete online ones and the school office can then assist in emailing these for you freeschoolmeals@eastlothian.gov.uk

Reporting Absences

Parents/carers are reminded that when notifying the school of absences, either via ParentsPortal or attendance@knox.elcschool.org.uk, a reason for the absence must be stated.  Parents/carers can also leave a message on the school telephone service. This allows for the appropriate code to be entered against the pupil record.

Parent Council

Morven Atkinson and Sarah Ramsay, our Parent Council Chairs, would like to invite all parents/carers along to the next Parent Council Meeting, which takes place in the school library, on Thursday 21 November, at 6.30pm. Tea, coffee and biscuits, along with informal chat, from 6pm onwards. It would be great to see as many of you along as possible, to work in partnership with the school and provide support whilst representing the views of parents and help with school improvement. If you would like to let us know of any issues or queries you wish to raise at these meetings, please email us at parentcouncil@ka-net.org.uk before the 19 November.

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 for your young person or to arrange an appointment to come in to speak to someone. The House Teams should always be your first point of contact if you wish to discuss anything in relation to your young person (learning or pastoral). Thank you.

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

Pupils’ Successes

Karate

Congratulations to Bella and William Gold (S5 and S3 respectively) who participated in the Sankukai Open Karate Championships during the weekend of 2/3 November. Bella won two golds in Kata and Ippon Kumite and a silver in Sanbon Kumite. William, age 14, competed in the age 16 category and won a silver in Kata and a bronze in Ippon Kumite.

East Lothian and Borders Schools Swimming Time Trials

On November 17th, Emma Carmichael, Emily Westgarth, Boyd Fearnside and Murray Hutchison will participating in this event. These trials are a fantastic opportunity for them to qualify to represent Knox Academy at the Scottish Schools Swimming Championships in January 2025. We wish them all these best in their events and look forward to hearing how they got on.

S6 – First Aid

Congratulations to twelve of our S6 pupils whom, after a two day training session, have achieved a SCQF level 6 Emergency First Aid at Work qualification, along with an Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health SCQF Level 4 qualification. They will now use their qualifications to support young people at the school. It will also be a great addition to their CVs.

ScotBlood

A huge thank you to some of our S6, staff and parents/carers who donated blood, at our school, when ScotBlood visited yesterday. These donations will be put to use in so many different ways. We are hoping this will become an annual event and those donating will grow over the coming years.

Dates for your diary:

21 November – Parent Council Meeting – 6.30-8pm (School Library) - all welcome

23 November – 10 December – S4/5/6 Prelims

5 December – S1-S3 Christmas Dance (6.30-9.30pm)

11 December – S4-S6 Christmas Dance (6.30-9.30pm)

12 December – Christmas Concert (7-9.30pm)

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

Quick Links:

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   @knoxacademyHT for the latest information and updates