It has been lovely to welcome our young people back to school following the Spring break. They all seem full of energy again and ready to learn. Our S4/5/6 head off on exam leave today and we would like to wish them all the very best with these and we will look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour in August.

Staffing

Congratulations to Richard Watson – who has been appointed to a teacher of CDT at Rosehill High School and will start there in August. We will be advertising for a replacement member of staff for this post today.

Congratulations also to Tessa Martin who has been appointed as a Music Teacher at Castlebrae High School in Edinburgh (start date to be confirmed). We will be advertising for a replacement for this post in the coming weeks.

We wish them both well but will continue to benefit from their expertise before they leave us.

Parents’ and Pupils’ Information

S4/5 Leavers

It was lovely to meet with those leaving in S4/5 this morning and to thank them for all they have done during their time at Knox Academy both in their studies and, for many, their commitment to the many clubs and societies at the school too.  Each pupil was issued with a letter from me which wished them all the very best for their future and asked them to keep in touch with us in regard to their progress. I also asked them that if they did not yet have a positive destination to ensure that they made an appointment with Chris Trotter, our school’s Skills Development Scotland advisor, to ensure they got further support with this. Chris can be contacted on chris.trotter@sds.co.uk and parents/carers can also attend appointments with their young people too.

SQA Exam Leave

A reminder of the arrangements for S4 and S5/6 for exam leave this year. These letters also give information about the Induction Programme and the return to school dates. All pupils attending college courses should continue to do so during the exam leave unless they have an exam that day. Pupils in S4 who are part of the Meaningful May programme have been contacted directly by their House Team with details of that week.  Staff will also be in touch with all individuals in S4/5/6 who still require to complete any aspect of their coursework and will invite them in during the exam leave to do this.

Although the official leaving date for those in S4/S5 and S6 (who are over 16) is not until 31 May, I would like to take the opportunity on behalf of all staff at Knox Academy, to wish them all the very best for their exams and for their future. It is always great to hear about the progress of our former pupils so please do keep in touch with us.

SQA Exams

As you are well aware, the SQA exams begin on Monday 24^th April until 1^st June 2023. All young people have an individual timetable of their exams, with specific timings, rooming and seating. This was issued in registration on Monday. If for any reason this has not been received, this can be collected from the school office.

Prior to the Easter Holiday all young people were issued with a booklet from the SQA Your Exams 2023 (sqa.org.uk). This outlines all the expectations and supports for exams and is a useful read for both parents and young people.

Young people in S4-6 have had two face to face assemblies around preparing for exams, the expectations in exams and coping with exam anxiety.

Exceptional Circumstances for Exams

The Examination Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service (EECCS) supports learners who have been:

• unable to attend the exam
• or whose performance in an exam has been affected by a personal circumstance, or an unplanned incident on the day.

It is available for all exams that appear in the exam timetable. Non-question paper components are not eligible for this service.

The service will open on 24 April 2023 and the closing date is 10 working days after the exam for which the request is being made. Please contact the school (the Curricular Leader for the subject area or the Pupil Support Leader) either on the day of the exam or as close to the exam (before or after) as possible, if you feel this is necessary for your young person.

Full details of this service can be found on the link below.

Examination Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service - SQA

HPV Vaccinations

Due to SQA Exams beginning on Monday we have had to cancel the Community Vaccination team visit for pupil HPV Vaccinations, as there is no additional, alternative space for the team to use.

The revised visit will be Thursday 1 June (all day) for S1/S2 pupils, and Senior Pupils, who have already returned a consent form for the original agreed date of 25/04/2023. 

Pupils who attend Meadowpark WILL BE Vaccinated on Tuesday 25th of April as initially planned on campus. (By K Fraser. Welfare Auxiliary

West OS

West OS will be offering a variety of live lessons in the run up to the exams and pupils can sign up for these here. These live lessons are a way of boosting skills and confidence across a wide variety of subjects (GLOW user name and password will be needed so ask any of your teachers if you don’t have these).

World Book Night – 23 April 2023

On World Book Night, 23 April, books will be given away free of charge, to readers everywhere. We are delighted that Knox Academy was selected as a venue to distribute copies of This Monk Wears Heels by Kodo Nishimura, described as "a guide to self-love, self-acceptance, and taking a Buddhist approach to life". See This Monk Wears Heels for details.

We'd like to offer a free copy of this book to pupils in S4 - S6, teachers, and parents or carers who would like to read the book and discuss these themes with their families. To get your copy, ask for it in the school library from Monday onwards. If parents or carers would like one, please ask your young person to come to the library to fetch one on your behalf. We look forward to giving you your copy for this special event!

Indian Cultural Event – Fundraiser in Aid of Our Community Kitchen

This will take place on Sunday 4 June 2023 at Knox Academy. Come along and enjoy a welcome drink, three course meal and an afternoon of dancing and entertainment. Buy your ticket now (£25) available from: Erica’s Florist | Gibson’s | Graham’s the Jewellers | Haddington Wines & Spirits| Margiotta (Aberlady & Gullane) (By Elaine Gale, OCK)

Community Opportunities - FREE EXHIBITION by artist Lil Vischer

In 2020, I started collecting rubbish from one tiny stretch of beach at Longniddry Bents because I was really interested by the different kinds of plastic gathering there. I decided to go back to the beach 100 times (interrupted by several lockdowns!) and make a note of what and how much I was finding. I ended up collecting 26,513 pieces of plastic! What surprised me was that it wasn't just crisp packets, bottles and other 'usual' litter I was finding but everything from fireworks to car lights, cable ties, toys, electric cables, buttons, pens...pretty much everything we use on a day to day basis seemed to be ending up in the sea. I decided to document my find by taking a series of photographs of the items according to type/source and the 61 resulting images can now be seen in an exhibition in the Seabird Centre at North Berwick, along with information on how these objects have ended up in our oceans and what we can do to help prevent further pollution. (by artist Lil Vischer)

Open Daily until 25th June 2023 (10am - 5pm)

Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick

Parents’ Information

School Visits, Wider Achievement and Equity

In April 2023, East Lothian Council produced guidance for schools in relation to school visits, wider achievement and equity.

This document provides parents and carers with a summary overview of this guidance.

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 we can offer.

• Garleton - garleton@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• Lammerlaw - lammerlaw@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
• Traprain - traprain@knox.elcschool.org.uk(link sends e-mail)

Pupils’ Achievements

Aubigny Scholarship

Congratulations to Leila Maycock and Hannah Bagley, who have been awarded this year’s Aubigny scholarship.  This means Leila and Hannah will spend a month in Aubigny in the summer, living with a host family and participating in a work experience.  What a fantastic opportunity and I am sure their French speaking skills will also benefit hugely from this fantastic opportunity and will support their preparation for their Advanced Higher French in S6.

Squash

Congratulations to Phoebe Hamilton (S1) who has been selected to represent Scotland Under 13’s in the 5 Nations Squash Tournament this weekend. We wish her the best of luck from all here at Knox Academy.

Last weekend Dylan (S6) and Jamie Pearman (S2) played in the Newcastle Northern Junior Open. Jamie, although only 13, competed in the Under 15's & Under 17's for the match experience. Following two days of matches, he came 2nd in the Under 15's & 3rd in the Under 17's. A great achievement! Dylan entered the boys Under's 19 and won it – a fabulous result.

Dates for your diary:

Monday 24 April – Exam leave starts for S4, S5 and S6

Monday 1 May – Holiday (staff and pupils)

Monday 8 May – Holiday for King’s Coronation weekend

Monday 15 – Friday 19 May – S1-S3 Activities Week

Monday 22 – Pupils’ holiday and staff in-service day

 

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(link is external) @knoxacademyHT(link is external) for the latest information and updates.