Last Friday we bid a fond farewell to Laura Stevenson, who has worked at Knox as both a PE and Guidance Teacher for over twenty years. She will be greatly missed by pupils, staff and parents alike. We wish all the best in her retirement. On Monday we also said goodbye to Jackie McKenzie, a stalwart of our Support for Learning team. She has been assisting pupils in the learning here since 2002, and has made a difference in the lives of countless pupils. Again, we wish her all the best in her retirement.
Conversely, we welcomed a member of staff into a new post and a new member of staff. Mr Mackinnon (of PE) is stepping up into Ms Stevenson’s role on a temporary basis, so all Traprain pupils will see him for Guidance matters. We also welcomed Mr Trafford to Support for Learning. He will be working with pupils on a one-to-one basis, supporting them in classrooms. I hope both of them enjoy their new posts.
Scott Thomson, one of our new S5, has been exceptionally busy in his sporting life of late. Scott is an international judoka, representing Scotland and Great Britain all over the world. Most recently he took gold in his category in the UK School Games held in Manchester last weekend. In July he represented Team GB in the European Youth Olympics – possibly the first pupil from Knox Academy to hold that honour. Scott is a great role model for our younger pupils as he wears his talent very lightly and manages to balance his school and sporting life with the minimum of fuss. I suspect that he has another year of successes to come and we will be supporting him all the way.
Speaking of sport…City of Edinburgh Trampoline Club (CETC) that works in Partnership with Knox Academy to deliver the active schools programme had a successful weekend at the Edinburgh Coaching Awards 2015. The presentation was at Broughton High School on Sunday 6th September, with a drinks reception and guest Commonwealth athletes in attendance. CETC were runners up in the "Club of the Year (50+ Members)" category. Coach Greig Barnett was winner, with junior Coach Adam Corbett (also Spartans FC) in the "Community Coach of The Year" award. Kirsty Beaton (Knox A/S Programme Lead Coach) was runner up in the "Young Persons Coach of the Year" section. And our own Ms Jeffrey won the award for "Performance Coach of the Year 2015", which was a most welcome surprise given the very tough competition in that category. Congratulations to all involved.
On Wednesday some of our cyclists, accompanied by Mr Easton and Mr Marnoch, went up to Gifford and the surrounding area to cheer on cyclists in the Tour of Britain. The day was perfect for cycling: warm but with a breeze, and everyone involved had a great time. Thanks to the staff for organising it and I hope that the hills weren’t too steep!
There are a couple of things to put in the diary for next week: We have our annual P7 open evening on Wednesday 16th September. Anyone whose child would be eligible to join S1 in August 2016 is welcome to attend. We start at 6.30pm and following a brief information session in the Hall, tours of the school begin. Refreshments will be served in the Social Area from 7.40pm. School is closed on Friday 18th September and Monday 21st September, and will reopen to pupils and staff on Tuesday 22nd September.
S Ingham
