February 2012

Published: 24 February 2012

At assemblies on Tuesday, I raised concerns with the pupils about road safety. The vast majority of pupils are well-behaved and responsible when off campus. However, a few have been behaving in a silly and dangerous way (spilling out on to the road for example). I am sure all members of the school community will encourage the youngsters to behave in a considerate and responsible way at all times.

On Wednesday, the first of a series of visits by S1 pupils to the Seabird Centre took place. This week it was the turn of the Lammerlaw pupils and they had a great morning at the centre (and were very well behaved and polite). The visits have been organised by the Science Faculty as part of the school’s Comenius environment project.

Yesterday, I visited all the S1 classes during their Social Subjects time. The theme was attitude to work and all of the teachers were very complimentary about the classes (although a few pupils can be chatty). The S1 pupils are working hard and I’m looking forward to returning to the Modern Studies’ classes to see the finished models of a future Scottish Parliament building, designed by the pupils themselves; including one in the shape of a giant thistle. Well done to the pupils on their hard work and 100% adherence to the dress code.

Yesterday evening, a group of S3 pupils travelled to Glasgow to see ‘An Inspector Calls’. Mrs Maxwell, who organised the trip, reported that it was a great success and ‘the production was really powerful and engaging - the pupils got a lot from it and there was plenty of chat on the bus home! Conduct was excellent – the pupils were a real credit to the school’. Well done to all involved and thank you to Mrs Maxwell and the other staff who accompanied the pupils.

Today, it was a great pleasure to present J Dodson, 1T1, with January’s Purely Positive Pupil prize. Congratulations to Jonathan and all the Purely Positive Pupils.

Best wishes

JB Craig

Published: 10 February 2012

It has been a very busy week for the Knox Academy Drama Groups. On Monday and Tuesday, one group performed ‘Passing Places’ and on Wednesday and Thursday, another group performed ‘Lord of the Flies’. I was lucky enough to catch a performance of each play; teamwork, commitment and a great deal of talent were showcased in the performances.Many congratulations to all staff and pupils involved. 

There was further good news following Wednesday’s ‘Debating Matters’ competition at Tynecastle High School in Edinburgh. Congratulations to the Knox team, which won both debates in the regional heats and the pupils (Sophie Christman, Laura Lynas, Meg McVicar and Megan Rogers), are through to the regional final.  Additional congratulations to Megan, who won the award for best individual performance. Well done to them all and many thanks to Mr Edwards for coaching and organising the team. 

The Parent School Partnership (Parent Council) met on Wednesday evening; the monthly meeting was followed by the AGM and the minutes will be available on the Parents’ website. 

All break today for the February holiday and all resume on Monday 20 February at 08.44. 

Best wishes

JB Craig 

Published: 03 February 2012

At the end of last week, a group of intrepid teachers (Mr Jappy, Ms McPhee, Mrs Barber and Mrs Slowther) travelled to the Czech Republic and Poland as part of the Comenius project linked to the school in Karvina. On Thursday, they visited Auschwitz Birkenau and this proved to be a very moving experience. As the focus of the project is the environment, on Friday they drove to Pustevny, a small mountain village in the Beskydy Mountains, and walked to the top of Radhost (a mountain) to see the Church of St Cyril and Methodius (staff reported that this was very lovely but extremely cold). On Saturday, they toured the area surrounding Karvina to see the devastation caused by years of mining, before heading to Ostrava to experience the range of architecture built by successive political systems. Our Czech colleagues were keen to plan the remaining visits to Karvina to conclude the project and Knox staff will be returning to the Czech Republic in April, during the Easter holiday. Thank you to all staff involved, in particular Mr Jappy who organised the successful trip.

On Wednesday I attended performances by two of the S4 Standard Grade Drama groups. Both performances were very well done and moving, based on the struggle for human rights: ‘From Antigone to Rosa Parks’. There was a great deal of talent on display. Next week there are opportunities for everyone to see productions from the Drama Department: ‘Passing Places’ (Monday and Tuesday) and ‘Lord of the Flies’ (Wednesday and Thursday), all performances start at 7pm.

Yesterday, we had the February Community Assembly; as examinations were still being held in the Assembly Hall, this was a ‘virtual’ assembly presented to all Tutor Groups. The speaker was Ms Debi Gliori, the local children's author, who pre-recorded her talk. The feedback has been very positive; many thanks to Ms Gliori for taking part.

Just a reminder that all break for the February holiday at 12.05 on Friday 10 and all resume on Monday 20 February at 08.44.

Best wishes

JB Craig