There is a parent led group currently running at Knox Academy.  If any parent/carer with a child at Knox Academy wishes to set up another parent led Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme group, they should contact Jennifer Purves at the following address:

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Development Officer
Community Learning and Development
Musselburgh East Community Learning Centre
Haddington Road
Musselburgh
EH21 8JJ

Tel:      0131 653 4064
Fax:     0131 653 4070
Email:             jpurves@eastlothian.gov.uk

She will be able to assist you with setting up and put you in touch with the other group for support.

The bad weather before Christmas may have caused the school concert to be canceled but, luckily, we can still listen to the whole performance. If you haven’t yet done so, click on the Music Department’s Concert section and voila!

Even better news, soon the whole concert will be available for us to see as well as hear – watch this space.

The PSP have been discussing with Mrs Craig how parents/carers and the school can work together to help pupils achieve their full potential, particularly in exams. Mrs Craig has explained to us that teachers actively track pupils’ progress and intervene where there is cause for concern. There are regular revision lessons in most subjects at lunchtimes, after school and during the holidays. You can find the details of the revision and study sessions in the Extra Curricular section of the school website, and keep a look out for details of the upcoming Easter Holiday revision classes.

As parents and carers, we can encourage our children to attend these sessions wherever appropriate and, if we have concerns, then we can contact the school. It is important that we ensure that our children have a quiet place to study at home and have access to the internet, where possible, to see the material on the school website. We have also been asked to check our children’s homework diaries, to ensure that their homework is done regularly and is of a good standard.

Our aim is always to work closely with the school to help our children be the best that they can be. Don’t forget to check the school website regularly to see what is going on at the school. If you have any concerns or comments, feel free to contact us or contact the school directly.

For those of us who rely on Don Prentice buses for school transport, you can get up to date information from their website under the ‘school routes’ section.  They announced at 7:15 this morning that there would be no school buses today.  Radio Forth,  East Lothian Council and Knox Academy websites can also be checked.

For those pupils stuck at home because of the weather, there is a web page on the Knox Academy site with a list of “Snow Work” that can be done.

We have received further clarification from school regarding HE provision which we thought you would be interested to see:

In S1 Home Economics is running as part of the ACE Fridays curriculum. Pupils work in the department for 3 hours a week for a third of the year (13/14 weeks).  During this time they will undertake a mixture of practical and theoretical tasks, therefore, if a pupils cooks for an ACE Friday morning, they will have done the equivalent of cooking for 3 lessons under the old timetabling arrangement.

In S2, there is a similar arrangement whereby pupils attend Home Economics for a third of the year three times a week, however, in this case the lessons are not on the same day, rather they are spread through the week.

S Ingham

Did you enjoy the Ecolife Night? If so, then you may be interested to know that Sue Ryder Care, who supported the event, are holding a

Glitz, Glam and Fashion Night

on       Wed 1st Dec   7pm – 9pm
at        Trinity Centre, Church St,   Haddington

Refreshments, Raffle and Stalls

Tickets available at Sue Ryder Care, Haddington

Are you a regular visitor to the school website? If not, you could be missing out.

Most of the subject departments update their pages regularly. You can find detailed information about your child’s courses, examples of worksheets and homework tasks. All of these will help you to help your child with their homework and revision.

The pupils are given information from the Daily Bulletin at school each day, and this is also available on the website. This will help you to see what is happening at school every day.

The Prelims timetable, the Head Teacher’s report, sports bulletins, and other ‘what’s on’ information can also be found on the school website,  www.ka-net.org.uk

We have had a number of queries from parents regarding the amount of cooking undertaken in Home Economics. We raised this at our last PSP meeting and Mrs. Craig clarified that other activities were undertaken as part of HE as well as cooking. In 2nd year, there were three periods of HE per week, and one hour of cooking took place every 4 weeks. It was also explained that while cooking was still taking place, there was now more emphasis on the theory side of HE as part of Curriculum for Excellence. HE has moved from Technology to Health and Well Being within the school’s departments, and some aspects are now covered in other areas of the curriculum. Mrs. Craig clarified that the budgetary constraints which the HE department faces are no greater that those of any other department and that the school is not considering asking pupils to bring in their own ingredients.

We have had a couple of queries re. the Activities Week Excursions recently and asked Mrs Craig for some feedback at our last PSP meeting. Mrs Craig explained that costs of excursions were kept as low as possible, with staff working to get the best deal possible in terms of booking early, accommodation and price haggling where possible. A question had been raised about visiting theme parks, and this was done at the request of pupils, for example on return journeys and was sometimes built into the package by tour operators. Again, the best price possible was always sought.

Financial assistance is available, and Mrs Craig emphasised that no child had been turned down from attending a school visit because of lack of funds.

Tim Holden
Chair, PSP

We have had some correspondence regarding whether the 5th years should have to queue outside in order to gain entry into Tescos at lunchtime, particularly when the weather is bad. While this measure is designed to control the rush at lunch time the 5th years felt that there must be a better solution. Mrs Craig has spoken with the 5th years and is corresponding with Tescos to explore whether some alternative could be found.

We should be able to report back when we find what they come up with.