September 2010

24 September 2010
Published: 24 September 2010

Although this has been a ‘short’ week due to the Monday holiday, it has been a busy one.

On Tuesday afternoon, staff had the opportunity to discuss elements of the Curriculum for Excellence initiative with two HMIe (inspectors). Discussions were wide-ranging and many ideas ‘fleshed out’ (or at least dissected), mainly around the issues of assessment and reporting.

At interval yesterday, as part of the ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’, the S5 Hospitality class prepared and served a wide (and very tasty) range of refreshments. The event raised over £140 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Congratulations to Miss Hossack and her team.

Yesterday’s S1 ‘Settling In Evening’ was well attended. Hopefully, the feedback from staff on how the S1 pupils have settled in re-assured parents about their youngsters’ move to Knox. The programme included information on Literary and Numeracy developments and the Health and Well Being ACE morning. The winners and runners up of the recent S1 short story competition were presented with certificates and prizes. The evening concluded with a short film of the ACE Commonwealth Games 2014 project: ‘Team Australia’ and included activities such as artwork, cricket and dancing. This proved to be a delightful end to an enjoyable evening.

Today the majority of S6 pupils and an intrepid band of staff head to Dalguise for the annual S6/Staff Team Building weekend.  Whatever the weather, I am sure this will be as successful as it has been in previous years.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

 

17 September 2010
Published: 17 September 2010

At last week’s assemblies, the S6 Charities Group prepared and delivered a moving and informative presentation on the floods and the aftermath in Pakistan. A coin collection was held after each assembly and at the end of the school day on Friday; also, an intrepid group of S6 pupils undertook an arduous bout of shoe cleaning. All this raised a wonderful £400 and has got the fund-raising year off to a terrific start.

On Tuesday, a brass quintet, ‘Pure Brass’ (all graduates of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) visited the school. They have been playing in various concerts during the Lammermuir Festival.  They performed an hour-long concert to pupils in Higher and Intermediate Music classes plus senior brass players. As well as playing a number of pieces from their repertoire, they took questions from the audience, demonstrated their individual instruments and highlighted various musical concepts and techniques present in the music. The whole performance was delightful and greatly appreciated by the Knox pupils.

It has been a busy week for the Drama department. Yesterday, the theatre company ‘Catherine Wheels’ ran 2 workshops for the S4 Drama classes. The theme was refugees and immigration and the workshops proved challenging as well as enjoyable. The school looks forward to welcoming the company back at the end of the month for a performance of ‘Hannah and Hanna’. Undaunted by the possibility of traffic chaos, yesterday evening senior pupils studying Drama travelled to the SECC in Glasgow for a performance of ‘Black Watch’ by the National Theatre of Scotland. The pupils and staff found the performance funny, informative and moving. Staff reported that the pupils were a credit to themselves and the school.

There was further drama during ACE afternoon yesterday; all S2 pupils watched the 'Baldy Bane' theatre company perform the road safety play, ‘The Nine Lives of Roddy Hogg’. This involved audience participation and proved to be a very lively event.

Next Monday, 20 September, is a holiday and the school will be closed. Staff and pupils resume on Tuesday 21 September.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

10 September 2010
Published: 10 September 2010

The theme of this week’s assemblies has been global citizenship. The S6 Charities Group prepared and delivered a moving and informative presentation on the floods and the aftermath in Pakistan. Various events are planned to raise money for this urgent cause, starting with bucket collections of change, no matter how small.

Wednesday was World Literacy Day and to mark the occasion, all S1 pupils have been invited to enter a short story competition on the theme of ‘Change’. S6 pupils will judge the entries and the winners will be announced at the S1 Settling In Evening (23 September).

Also on Wednesday, there was a full day’s training and team building for the School Council. They spent all morning working on the St Mary’s Community Garden. Knox pupils have undertaken this on several occasions and were commended on their hard work and energy.

On Wednesday evening there was a well attended UCAS Information event. I am sure the parents found the evening helpful to them in supporting their youngsters through the intricacies of applying to university. My thanks to all staff and friends of the school involved and particular thanks to Ms Garwood, who organised the event.

The Parent School Partnership (Parent Council) held their first meeting of the session on Wednesday evening and various issues and areas, including the 2010 examination results, were discussed. Minutes will be available on the Parents’ website.

Undeterred by the heavy rain in the week, sporting fixtures have started. Details can be found on the website.

Finally, yesterday, we were delighted to host the first visit to the school of Dr Richard Jennings as the new Head of Education. Following a tour of the school, he enjoyed lunch in the Food Court and chatted to staff and pupils. It was good to hear the many positive comments he said about the school and he was very impressed with the Head Boy and Girl and their Deputies who had acted as ‘tour guides’.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

3 September 2010
Published: 03 September 2010

The term is in full swing, in particular, the senior pupils have had a busy week.

On Monday, all S1 and S6 pupils had their photographs taken. In addition, the S6 had a photograph taken with the Senior Management Team and the S6 leaders with Mr Illingworth (Head of S6). I am looking forward to seeing these (and the S6 ‘mucking around’ picture).

On Tuesday, S5/6 pupils attended the Higher Education Convention and Mrs Garwood who accompanied them reported they were a great credit to the school and asked a lot of questions. I hope the pupils found the event informative and of assistance with completing their UCAS applications. There is a UCAS Information Evening on Wednesday 8 September, details available elsewhere on the website.

A group of S6 pupils attended the ‘2 Moros Driver’ event on Wednesday. This proved quite challenging and certainly made an impact on the pupils.

It is hard to believe that we are in September already, or, as I reminded the S4 pupils, with only 2 working months to the prelim examinations.

Best wishes.

JB Craig