June 2011

24 June 2011
Published: 24 June 2011

On Monday evening, we hosted a well-attended P7 Information Evening. This was an opportunity for parents and carers to order items of dress code, find out about the school’s progress with the Curriculum for Excellence initiative and, most importantly, to be re-assured about their youngster’s visit to the school on Tuesday and Wednesday. The two-day visit proved to be very successful, the feedback from the P7 pupils was positive, they enjoyed everything! We look forward to them joining Knox in August. Many thanks to all staff involved in the evening and the visit, and a big thank you to the S5 ‘buddies’ who provided such excellent support for our visitors.

All week, the S1 and S5 pupils, have been working on ‘State of Emergency’. In a changing world it is important for the pupils to be flexible, creative and solution focused. They had plenty of opportunities to develop their skills as they were confronted with the problems associated with emergencies such a ‘plane crash, war, energy shortages etc. Activities varied from a Maths roadshow to role-playing to investigating and problem solving. Congratulations to all involved.

On Tuesday, Mrs Barber (Geography) and Mr Jappy (Science) travelled to the Czech Republic as part of the school’s Comenius Project. On hearing that our partner school in Karvina has been working on a short  film to showcase their school, one of Mr Jappy’s S2 Science classes (as part of International Week) prepared a short film to showcase Knox Academy to the pupils at Gymnazium Karvina. I look forward to hearing about the visit and how the Knox film was received, when Mrs Barber and Mr Jappy return next week.

Five teams of Knox pupils were involved in the ‘Five Minute Theatre’ event marking the five years’ celebration of the National Theatre of Scotland. The event started at 5pm on Tuesday the 21 June and ran for 24 hours. A new piece of theatre was streamed on the website every five minutes. To look at the project, please go to www.fiveminutetheatre.com. The Knox productions were very well received and garnered ‘rave’ reviews: catch Joyce MacMillan’s review in ‘The Scotsman’ here and other comments can also be found on the Love Drama Blog. Congratulations to all involved and the Drama/Music Departments for supporting the pupils through the nerve-wracking process and performance.

Election fever is in the air, with School Council elections and senior pupils canvassing for the leadership roles for next session. So far, things have been very civilised but that could all change at the hustings next week……

Best wishes

JB Craig

17 June 2011
Published: 17 June 2011

On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week, the NC Musical Theatre class gave performances of their last collaboration. The S6 cast of Leanne Adams, Ryan Bissoonauth, Charlie Cowan, Ailie Henderson, Katie MacKinnon and Flora Muirhead, supported by the Glee Club, provided a wonderful evening of extracts from 3 musicals, including ‘Les Mis’. I was lucky enough to catch the Tuesday performance and was in awe of the talent and sensitivity on display; a fabulous way to finish the NC course. Congratulations to all involved, and thanks to Mr Campbell, Ms Whitfield, Ms Brown and Miss Orr for their support and hard work with the pupils. Also, thanks to the junior members of the Drama Club who helped with tickets and programmes, KASG for the refreshments and all those who attended as part of the audience.

This week and next week have an ‘International’ theme and classes have been looking at various international aspects of their subjects. On Tuesday afternoon, a group of S5 pupils attended a workshop on the Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz. The Scottish Poetry Library conducted the workshop, feedback has been excellent and the event was good preparation for pupils going on to study Advanced Higher English in S6.

All week, the S1 pupils have been involved in their Activities Week, this has given them the opportunity to visit the Glasgow Science Centre, undertake extreme sports at Bonaly, take a walk back in time in Edinburgh and take part in a highly competitive enterprise event. To finish the week, today the school has been alive with the sound of music as staff and pupils presented their favourite songs to S1 audiences. As this was part of the literacy initiative, the presentations included information on the text of the songs, why it means so much to the individual and what the songwriter was trying to express.

I would like to flag up the ‘Five Minute Theatre’ next week, when teams of Knox pupils will be involved in the five years’ celebration of the National Theatre of Scotland. The event  starts at 5pm on Tuesday the 21 June and runs for 24 hours, ending at 5pm on Wednesday 22nd June, with a new piece of theatre being streamed on the website every five minutes. To watch the project, please go to www.fiveminutetheatre.com. The Knox productions are 9.30am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm and 2.30pm and can be seen live on that website.

Something of a sad day today as we say farewell, at the Leavers’ Ceremony, to all of S6 and other pupils leaving the school at the end of session. I am sure the whole school community join me in wishing them health, happiness and success.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

10 June 2011
Published: 10 June 2011

Last Saturday, twenty-three pupils, mainly S1 but some from S2 and S3, participated in the Haddington Festival Float Parade. The school created a walking float with the theme "Knox is Fit for Life" and focused on healthy eating and sport participation. A colourful banner was followed by the enthusiastic cheerleading team and pupils dressed to represent the football, rugby, basketball and hockey teams. Next came pupils displaying a variety of giant fruit and vegetables they had created and real fruit was distributed to spectators by pupil chefs. Well done to all involved, including Mrs Ferguson and the staff from the Technology Faculty, who joined in the fun.

A big thank you to the staff (in particular, the organiser, Mr Lambert), senior pupils and volunteers who helped make National School Sports Week such a success for the S1 pupils. Everyone enjoyed the week, with a very high participation rate. Also, there were thought-provoking sessions on ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ and playing sports with a disability. The House Championship scores were: Garleton- 2275 points, Traprain- 1930 points, Lammerlaw - 1660 points. Congratulations to Garleton. Full details of the team and individual results will be available on the website.

All S2/3 pupils have been involved in their Activities Week and this has provided a huge range of opportunities. Groups have been in France, Italy, Shetland, the west of Scotland (sailing), Amsterdam and London. The remaining S2/3 pupils undertook activities including: golf, surfing, rock climbing, cycling, rambling, song writing, nutrition and cooking, health and beauty, art work and jewellery making. Feedback has been positive and full details (and photographs!) will be available on the website. Today, all S1-3 pupils are involved in a Literacy Day; activities include finishing the Big Read of ‘Kidnapped’. Congratulations to everyone on a successful and enjoyable week.

Best wishes.

JB Craig

3 June 2011
Published: 03 June 2011

Last Friday, the boys’ Under 15 Football team did extremely well to finish runners up in the Scottish Football Association's Regional Tournament held at Spartans Football Club (Ainslie Park), in Edinburgh. The team finished second in their group, winning two and losing one of their games. They then went on to beat Hawick High School in the semi-final, winning 1-0. In the final they came up against an excellent Broughton High School team. Knox Academy managed to take a 2-0 lead, however they were eventually beaten 4-2. Congratulations to the boys who did very well to get to the final and many thanks to Mr McFarlane, Team Manager.  

On Wednesday, a team of S2 pupils (Katie Scott, Lev Crofts, Peter Gilmour and Owen McHugh) competed against 10 other teams in the Scottish final of F1 in Schools, in Kirkcaldy. The team won awards for "Best Sponsorship and Marketing" and "Best Rookie Team". The competition involved them designing, manufacturing, testing and racing a model Formula 1 car.  The pupils' commitment and enthusiasm have been outstanding and on the day they represented the school magnificently. The team (established by Miss Leggatt) was supported and accompanied by Miss Morson and Mrs Ferguson. Congratulations to all involved in such a successful enterprise.

We have heard from the British Council that our application for a grant to fund a new Global Schools Curriculum Project has been successful. The schools involved are: Knox, Kings Meadow PS and the primary and secondary schools in Ruhanga, Rwanda. It is likely that the project will involve developing the existing Rwanda input into ACE as well as funding further reciprocal visits. Many thanks to Miss Orr and Mr Duddin for putting the application together; more details will be available in the new school session.

The Parent School Partnership (Parent Council) met on Wednesday evening and the minutes, of this the last meeting of the session, will be available on the Parents’ website.

Activities Week is almost upon us, yesterday a group left for France, tomorrow a group leaves for Italy, on Sunday the Northern Adventure pupils head to Shetland and the London trip departs early Monday morning. The remaining S2/3 pupils will be undertaking a range of activities on and off the school campus and S1 pupils will be tackling National Sports Week before their Activities Week (from 13 June). I am sure everyone will have an exciting and enjoyable week.

Best wishes.

JB Craig