Well, it has been a very unusual week in schools across Scotland with the closure due to the adverse weather. From the pictures on social media, it looks as if young people have had fun in the snow but I know that lots of learning has continued to happen, too. Staff made excellent use of Google classroom and Twitter to ensure that pupils had plenty of work to do, particularly seniors who are preparing for their National Qualifications - so much so that one of our S6s remarked on Twitter:
What is it about the snow that’s made every Knox Academy teacher 100 x more active on Twitter, emails and Classroom???
From the huge amount of communication that went on via email for the three days of closure, I know that staff were kept very busy, whether working from home, from Knox or from another county school that they were able to reach safely. I am very grateful for all that they did to ensure that the impact on pupils’ learning was kept to a minimum. There is no doubt that the snow looked beautiful but, having been snow-bound for four days, I have to say I was very glad when a local farmer cleared our road enough to let residents out this morning. Hopefully, all will be back to normal from Monday.
SQA Assessments
There were some National Qualification assessments timetabled for the days that school was closed last week. Pupils should be prepared to sit those assessments on their return to class. Rescheduled dates will be confirmed on our return to school.
What Matters at Knox Academy – Our Values
At assemblies recently, I shared with pupils some of the responses to our values consultation. Three things that really matter came out very strongly from pupils, parents and staff:
AMBITION *** RESPECT *** COMMUNITY
You will shortly find more details about these values on our website, together with a summary of responses to the consultation. Thank you to all parents and carers who took the time to respond. We are now considering how best to promote these values in our school community and I would welcome any further suggestions from parents as to how we might do so. As a starting point, every register class is considering what those values mean to them. It is all very well having shared values but what really matters is that everyone in our school community puts them into practice every day and that’s what we are aiming for.
Staffing
Recently, we welcomed Mrs McDonald to the science faculty as our new biology teacher. We will shortly be welcoming Mrs Fox as our new Principal Teacher of Inclusion and Mr Gilmour as a class teacher in Meadowpark. We are also pleased to have Mrs Mulroy joining the office team. There are some vacancies (either due to staff changes or long-term absence) that, so far, we have been unable to fill despite advertising and/or trying East Lothian’s list of supply teachers. Subjects affected are: CDT, drama, geography and maths. Principal teachers are doing all they can to ensure that pupils are taught by a subject specialist as much as possible. This has resulted in some re-jigging of the timetable for classes in the affected subjects. The issues with staffing have put a considerable pressure on staff in some departments and I am hugely grateful to everyone who is going above and beyond to ensure that our pupils are supported with their learning. We currently have four student teachers with us in school, carrying out their placements in the following departments: biology, business education, English and modern studies. We are delighted to support future entrants to the teaching profession – I’m sure we will learn plenty from them, too.
Home Learning Event, Tuesday 6 March
The Home Learning Policy, produced by the Learning and Teaching working group, is launched at our Home Learning evening on Tuesday next week. At the event, you will have an opportunity to learn about the kind of home learning tasks your child might be set and how you can support them with that home learning. A new system of monitoring homework will also be shared with parents and carers at this event. Show My Homework software will be easily accessible to parents, enabling you to have an overview of your child’s homework. I hope that many parents and carers will be able to attend our Home Learning Event.
Parent Council Meeting and AGM, Wednesday 7 March
Another event for parents and carers this week is our March Parent Council meeting and AGM. The meeting starts at 6.15 pm and all are very welcome to attend. The partnership between school and the Parent Council is a strong, supportive one and it would be lovely to see some new faces coming along. A good example of that partnership working took place recently, when a group of PC members looked at some of the action points in our 4 Key Priorities document. As well as evaluating how successful we are in achieving these actions so far, the group made suggestions for taking things forward. It is an exciting time for Knox Academy and I am very grateful for the support of our Parent Council, and of our other parent group, the Parent Teacher Association.
HMI Follow-up Visit
As you know, Knox Academy was inspected by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate in November 2016, with the inspection report being published in March 2017. One year later, an HMI team will be returning for a follow-up visit to the school. This takes place the week beginning Monday 19 March. The team will be observing lessons, meeting with the senior management team and talking to pupils, parents and staff in focus groups. In addition, questionnaires are sent out to members of our school community. If you are one of the randomly-selected parents and carers sent a questionnaire, I would be very grateful if you would take the time to send in a response and share your thoughts on the work of the school. We are really looking forward to welcome the inspection team and sharing with them the very positive things that are happening in our school.
Pupils’ Sporting Achievements
We are proud of the recent achievements of two of our pupils in their chosen sports. Dylan Pearman in S1 has been selected to play squash for Scotland in the Under-13 Five Nations championship which will be held in Nantes, France in April. This follows his wonderful achievement as runner-up in the Nationals. Well done to Dylan, and we wish him the best of luck in April. At the other end of the school, S6 pupil Harry Rogan had a very exciting trip to Pinehurst, Carolina with the East Lothian Junior Golf League team. As well as playing Pinehurst, the team played a number of other courses and took part in the Winternationals Junior Series event. There was even a write-up by a local journalist, with a quote from Harry:
“Those greens,” Rogan says in a trailing, wistful Scottish lilt native to his hometown of Haddington. A slight nod and a shake of the head brings him back a bit, his eyes, though, still radiant. “It’s an extremely historical place,” Rogan says. “Being designed by Donald Ross, with U.S. Opens and a Ryder Cup having been here, and all the famous names who have played here, when I go home, whether I’ve played bad or good, it will have been a memorable experience because it’s Pinehurst.”
Having spoken to Harry on his return, there is no doubt it has been a very memorable trip for him and we wish him continued success with his golf.
If your child has achieved success in any activity outwith school, sporting or otherwise, please do share it with us. We would love to know about it!
Lovely Message
Recently, I received a lovely email from a member of the public which I would like to share with parents and carers:
Good afternoon,
I’d just like to pass on my gratitude to pupils, staff and families for making Haddington such a lovely place to live. I walk past Knox daily and often pass groups of pupils gathered outside on their break. They always step aside and make room for me with my pushchair, every time. I have lived in many areas where this doesn’t happen and it’s impossible to get by without being bumped or stepping into the road (including a very nice area of Edinburgh!). We moved here last summer and I have always had such a positive experience with your pupils. There’s often too much criticism of children nowadays and so I wanted to pass on my thanks.
Thank you!
This is the kind of behaviour that staff see every day from our young people in Knox Academy and it’s lovely to have it appreciated by someone from outwith the school.
Free School Meals Eligibility
I have been asked to pass on the following message regarding uptake of free school meals:
Is your child eligible for free school meals, and if so, have you registered?
Schools receive additional funding of £1,200 from the Scottish Government for every pupil in P1 to S3 who is registered for free school meals. This is called Pupil Equity Funding, and schools use this additional money to help fund a wide range of initiatives to support achievement and provide the best possible opportunities for children’s learning.
How do I know if my child is eligible for free school meals?
Please visit our website www.eastlothian.gov.uk to check your eligibility and download an application form.
Even if your child does not wish to take up the option of having a free school meal every day, we would encourage you to register so that your child’s school will receive the Pupil Equity Funding allowance to support their learning.
Lauren Rodger
Head Teacher
lrodger@knox.elcschool.org.uk
4 March 2018
