May 2012

25 May 2012
Published: 25 May 2012

The Curriculum for Excellence Open Afternoon on Tuesday, for parents of pupils in S2, was well attended and I hope provided details and re-assurance regarding the plans for S3 in session 2012-2013. This was followed yesterday, by a very busy S2 Parents’ Consultation Evening.

Yesterday afternoon, the Home Economics Department hosted the final of the ‘Little and Large’ cookery competition. This involved teams of one primary and one secondary pupil, from 5 East Lothian Clusters. A good afternoon was had by all, and Preston Lodge teamed with Prestonpans Primary emerged as the 2012 winners. The judges were Craig Hunter (Avenue Restaurant) and Lorraine Faulds (Area Catering Manager for ELC); they were impressed by the standard of the work produced by all the pupils and they had a difficult task judging the entries. In the end only 1 point separated the winners from the runners up (Knox and Yester). The prizes were presented by Cllr McMillan and he was very impressed and positive about the ethos of the competition and the broad aspect of primary and secondary schools working together. Also, our senior pupils were praised by the guests attending the event who reported that the pupils were polite, efficient and confident in their duties. Congratulations to all involved and many thanks to Ms Hossack and her team for organising the afternoon.

As part of Activities Week, this morning (very early!), two trips left, one for Italy and the other for France (PGL). These will be followed by departures to London, Paris, Amsterdam and the west coast of Scotland (sailing). Over the next week, pupils will have the opportunity to try new sports, take part in technical theatre workshops, visit places of interest, find out how enterprising they are, undertake ‘Blades, Boards and Bikes’, explore the art of comedy, look at health and beauty and, all in all, have a fantastic Activities Week.

This morning Cape Canaveral came to Knox Academy when S2 pupils tried out home made rockets they had developed in science classes. Involving large juice bottles, water, pumps and corks, the rockets were very successful and very exciting.

Tomorrow, three members of staff, Ms Orr, Mrs Slowther and Ms Waters, joined by a colleague from King’s Meadow Primary, will be travelling to Rwanda to visit our partner schools. I am sure they will have an enjoyable and informative trip and I wish them a safe journey.

The SQA examinations for senior pupils continue, but are entering the last week and I am sure the whole school community joins me in wishing all the pupils every success as these important examinations draw to a close.

I would like to confirm that, to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and in common with all schools, Knox Academy will be closed to all staff and pupils on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 June 2012. All pupils and staff resume on Wednesday 6 June.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

 

18 May 2012
Published: 18 May 2012

Another busy week at Knox Academy and it doesn’t look like things will be easing up. Next Tuesday (22 May) we will be hosting a Curriculum for Excellence Open Afternoon, from 3-6pm, for parents of pupils in S2. This will provide further details of the plans for S3 in session 2012-2013 and I would encourage all parents to try and ‘drop in’ at some point if they can.

Yesterday was a very busy day. At the start of the day, 82 S3 pupils studying Standard Grade Biology headed off to Queen Margaret University to experience student life for the day and have a glimpse into career options in Biology. The day was busy and fun packed; the pupils had a chance to complete some research in the Learning Resource Centre (a very high tech library) and were amazed at just how many books and journals were to be found. They then completed a 'Cardio lab' that involved taking blood pressure measurements at rest, after jogging and after some high energy cycling. Also, they took part in a workshop called 'Broken Bodies'.  Some pupils had the opportunity to x-ray a knee surgery patient and complete mock keyhole surgery. Others met a patient who needed to have a toe nail removed due to diabetes and had the chance to complete a mock operation before doing a podiatry assessment of their own foot pressure. The last workshop involved treating a large (and scarily life like) mannequin who had been rushed into hospital suffering from a stroke - it was like a scene from ‘Casualty’! The staff at QMU commented on the exemplary behaviour of the pupils and were impressed by their enthusiasm and knowledge. Thanks to Mrs Slowther and the Biology Department for organising the trip and a very big thank you to Queen Margaret University for such a wonderful, enjoyable and educational day.

Yesterday afternoon, the Home Economics Department hosted the first round of the ‘Little and Large’ cookery competition. This involved 4 teams of one primary and one secondary pupil, competing for a place in the East Lothian final. After fierce competition from Gullane, King’s Meadow and St Mary’s Primaries, Yester emerged the winners and will represent the Haddington Cluster in the final. Congratulations to all involved, many thanks to Ms Hossack and her team for organising the afternoon and good luck to the Yester team in the final.

The SQA examinations for senior pupils continue and I am sure the whole school community joins me in wishing all the pupils every success in these important examinations.

Many of you will be aware that at the full East Lothian Council meeting on Tuesday 15 May, approval was granted to award an additional day’s annual leave for all employees of the council to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, on Tuesday 5th June. The Scottish Government has granted permission for an exceptional closure on this day for schools.

As a consequence, I would like to confirm that Knox Academy will be closed to all staff and pupils on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 June 2012. All pupils and staff resume on Wednesday 6 June.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

 

11 May 2012
Published: 11 May 2012

Last week, Drama pupils were involved in the National Theatre of Scotland’s Five Minute Theatre. For the second year running it was a great success for the Knox team and we have received the following message from Marianne Maxwell, Audience Development Manager, NTS:

‘Just a wee note from all of us here at the National Theatre of Scotland to say thank you for taking part in Five Minute Theatre last night (2 May). I’m sorry we asked you to pick just one performance – if we could have had them all, we would. Once again it’s been a pleasure working with you all on Five Minute Theatre – we hope you keep the ideas coming. Your show will be up on the ‘watch again’ tab of the site. We have still to do the sums on how many audience we had online; we streamed 62 pieces of theatre – 20 of them live – in six hours and had virtual audiences in Japan, Mexico, China, Germany, Serbia, Luxemburg, South Africa, Canada, India, France and the US and live ones in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bo’ness and Portskerra. It was a cracking event that we are very proud of. Thank you for making it happen, we literally couldn’t have done it without you’.

Knox Academy is delighted to announce that it has been chosen as one of only 20 schools in Scotland to be awarded “School of Rugby” status. The “School of Rugby” programme is run by the Scottish Rugby Union, and is funded by monies reclaimed from criminal activity through the “Cashback for Communities” programme. Schools involved aim to promote rugby in curricular and extra-curricular programmes; focusing on the development of social, physical and academic skills of boys and girls in S1/2. Knox Academy is using the funding to employ Scott Marnoch (development officer for Haddington Rugby Football Club) as a rugby development officer. Currently, there are 25 places available for S1 pupils until the end of June; many pupils already playing rugby will be part of the programme and members of staff have been asked to nominate pupils who they feel would benefit from taking part. Pupils on the programme will continue in S2, with another 25 S1 pupils beginning the programme in August. Good luck to all involved in what should be an enjoyable development opportunity.

The SQA examinations for senior pupils continue and I am sure the whole school community joins me in wishing all the pupils every success in these important examinations.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

 

4 May 2012
Published: 04 May 2012

Yesterday the S3 KWN Group (J Calder-Petrie, B Cole, O McHugh, E Munro, R Taylor, S Uddin, A Waddell and C Wright) were accompanied by Mr Dempster and Miss Duff to attend the KWN Awards Ceremony in Redditch.  After an early rise, followed by a flight to Birmingham, they arrived at the Palace Theatre.  The day consisted of screenings of all the entries from across the UK, a "5-ring" photographic workshop, followed in the afternoon, by the awards being announced.  After a tense wait, Knox Academy was the only school left without a certificate or award and amidst rising tension, the announcement was made: Knox Academy had won the UK Grand Prix.  This award is given for the film that demonstrates the best overall performance across all the judging categories. The Knox Team has been invited to attend the Global Awards Ceremony held in August in London.  Congratulations to all involved on an outstanding achievement; full details are on the web and you can view their documentary here.

The Parent School Partnership (Parent Council) met on Wednesday evening and the minutes will be available on the Parents’ website. Items discussed included the website, the results of the Management Structure Review and a presentation by Mr Illingworth (Depute) on how the school addresses concerns.

Today, it was a great pleasure to present K Neillans, 1T2, with April’s Purely Positive Pupil prize. Congratulations to Kathryn and all the Purely Positive Pupils.

We were delighted to welcome two teachers from our partner schools in Rwanda this week. Arsene Dukundigena is the Head Teacher of Ruhanga Secondary School and Celestin Kaberuka is a Primary teacher. Our guests observed a variety of classes including Science experiments, trampolining in PE, Art and African drumming as part of the S1 'Destination Africa' project. They were also persuaded to play on the Knox staff football team against S6 pupils! Both Arsene and Celestin have been very impressed with the behaviour and attitude of pupils at Knox, and the welcome that they have received from staff and pupils.

The SQA examinations for S4 pupils continue and those for S5/6 begin on Tuesday. I am sure the whole school community joins me in wishing all the pupils every success in these important examinations.

A reminder that Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 May are holidays for pupils (although Geographers have SQA examinations on Tuesday).

Best wishes.

JB Craig