March 2013

28 March 2013
Published: 28 March 2013

Anyone who thinks that schools coast into the last week of term would be in for a shock if they visited Knox last week.

On Tuesday our two teams participated in the Young Enterprise Awards’ Evening held at Stewart’s Melville College.  Despite the ghastly weather the teams and staff travelled safe and sound.  The trip was worth their while as they received the following plaudits decided from 40 companies:
Engage (engageeastlothian.edubuzz.org)
3rd place – Best Managing Director
3rd place – Best IT Director
3rd place – Best Overall Company
2nd place – Best Business Idea

Bottle It Up
2nd place – Best Interview

On Wednesday the school was a-buzz owing to the Red Nose Bake-Off that was held in the Home Economics Department from 4.15pm.  Pupils had to invite a member of staff to work with them.  The staff member had to bring their “Signature Bake” and then the teams had to work to produce a “Technical Bake”(, which was Maids of Honour) – testing our skills at both sponge and pastry.  The technical bakes were not without mishap – some people mistaking salt for sugar (pass me a glass of water!), but the twenty teams worked really well together and had a lot of fun.  The signature bakes were sold at Interval and Lunchtime around the school and made a heap of money for Comic Relief.  Our thanks must go to Ms Hossack and her team for all their hard work and I salute the bravery of our two judges:  Craig Hunter (The Avenue, Haddington) and Martin Kelly (Malmaison, Edinburgh) who faithfully tasted all of the technical bakes (even the salty ones).  The overall winners were Lucy Anderson and Mr Woolley.
 

Not only did we have the bake-off on Wednesday, but we also had the annual Spring Concert.  The pupils excelled themselves.  Every aspect of the evening was outstanding from the performances to the Stage Crew, to the lighting.  My thanks go to all the staff involved for working so hard with the pupils.  The progress that they make with the various groups is astounding, and to hear it all come together on the night makes me very proud.  The pupils demonstrated their diligence and passion for what they do and, if you missed it, I am sure that the recording of it will be posted on the website soon.

I had assemblies with all year groups last week and with the juniors made specific reference to behaviour in Haddington and showing respect for their environment.  The seniors got a little bit more of a hard time as I shared their overall prelim results with them.  We talked about the targets that I have set for them as year groups and I reminded them of the need for them to dig in and work hard between now and exam leave.  To that end all of the seniors (S4 to S6) should have received a copy of the Easter Revision Timetable . I would endorse it to all pupils – they can drop-in and out of the sessions, and it is a great way of getting that bit of extra help.

We have been spotlighting Dress Code recently and challenging youngsters who have not been complying.  Thankfully there aren’t many, but the pupils that we are seeing day-in-day-out are those who are choosing not to wear the requested footwear.  Just to remind you – pupils can wear any footwear that they like as long as it’s black – no coloured piping, no coloured edging to the soles, no coloured laces.  If you are out and about and buying shoes this, or next week, can you please bear this in mind – just in case your youngster has a momentary lapses of memory as regards the Dress Code.

So, as you can see – it was a very full week and this round-up only scratches the surface of what goes on at Knox.  I would like to thank all parents for supporting us this term – be it through attending extra-curricular, commenting on S3 Profiles, attending Parents’ Evenings or just ‘phoning in to have a chat.  We couldn’t do very much of what we do without you. 

The school re-opens to all on 8th April.

All the best.
 

15 March 2013
Published: 15 March 2013

On Sunday I was proud to attend the first Scottish School’s Pipe Band Championships.  The Knox Pipe Band was entered in the “Debut” class, and whilst I wasn’t able to be there to watch them perform, I was able to be there in the afternoon to hear some of the competition and the judging.  Although we didn’t “place”, I have been told that the band acquitted themselves extremely well and their teacher  was delighted with them.  Upon doing the obligatory post-mortem of the competition the pupils reckon (from their feedback sheet) that they were placed either fourth or fifth in their class.  Not bad for a first attempt and I know that they will go from strength to strength.

On Tuesday P7 pupils from King’s Meadow, St Mary’s and Yester came to school for the afternoon to do some PE.  It was organised through our senior Sports’ Leader Award class.  When I saw them they were getting their red noses painted on and were raring to go.  From the feedback that I have had I know that ALL the pupils involved enjoyed themselves.

On Wednesday we will have our fingers crossed for Robbie Watson as he plays football for the Lothian Schools Football Association against Lanarkshire.  I am very proud of Robbie and all the other youngsters who play sport at local, county or international level and will keep you updated with their progress.  Please pass on any news of pupil’s sporting success to me via the school email address – you never know – you might be hearing about future sporting stars.  In order to demonstrate our support for Glasgow 2014 we sported our trainers on Monday and hopefully reminded people about this massive sporting event.

I was delighted to attend the East Lothian Showcase Concert on Wednesday night.  The pupils demonstrated their talent and versatility and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the diverse musical styles.  It is our own concert next Wednesday, and I am looking forward to it immensely – the tidbits that I have heard from various rehearsals point to it being a thoroughly entertaining evening.  Hopefully I’ll see you there.

There are various activities going on for Red Nose Day today – there will be various pupils sporting red articles of clothing, “bad” hair and the obligatory red noses.  I look forward to telling you how much money the pupils raise.

On Friday 22nd March the school closes for the Easter Holidays.  The Easter Revision Club will run on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of both weeks of the holiday (details can be found on the website as of next week).  There will be subject specific drop-in sessions and the Library will also be open during those times.  Everyone resumes on the 8th March.

Have a very good week.
 

8 March 2013
Published: 08 March 2013

The theme for me this week has been self-evaluation (Alison Wishart, our Quality Improvement Officer visited on Wednesday for an Evaluation Visit, and that got me thinking):

It has been a week when some things have gone extremely well – S3 coursing, pupils going out to the East Lothian Cross Country Championships (despite the dreichest day we’ve had this month), and author visits as part of World Book Day.  However, there have been things that have not gone so well: most majorly (and embarrassingly) not getting information out to parents quickly enough for coursing S4 and S5 for next session.  That said, we are doing our best to rectify that, and information should have come out to parents ready for meetings next week.  Please remember, that we are starting a long process of coursing with these pupils and, for some, their coursing won’t be complete until the end of August (as some will have to change courses because of their exam results).  My advice is to hang in there and not to hesitate in contacting the school if you have concerns.

We have been trying our best to contact parents whose children have been absent for more than 15% of the year so far.  I know that some people have been put out by receiving these letters, but there is a link between how a child attains and their attendance.  We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t flag up to parents that their youngster’s progress might be hindered by not being in school.  At the minute 85% attendance means that a pupil has been absent for more than 15 days already this session – 3 whole school weeks.  Roughly 10% of our pupils have fallen into this category, so we can’t sit by and do nothing.

On a more upbeat note - congratulations to Paul McClung, Mark Robertson and Nick Stewart for getting into the U17 Edinburgh Rugby Squad.  I think that we’ll be hearing more of their success in the future as I believe that Scotland trials are looming.

On Sunday I will be attending the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships at Broughton High School.  For the first time, Knox will have an entry and they have been sounding mighty fine in their rehearsals.  Good luck to them.

Next week we start with a “wear your trainers to school” day to support the 2014 Commonwealth Games.  So don’t worry about your child wearing non-Dress Code shoes on Monday!  On Monday evening there will be a cabaret performance by some of our seniors as part of their music and drama courses.  I am looking forward to a feast of song and dance.
The East Lothian Showcase Concert takes place next Wednesday, 7.30pm at The Brunton.  Our pupils have been rehearsing really hard and they will do themselves and us, proud.  On that note (geddit!), remember that the school's Spring Concert will be taking place on the 20th March at 7pm.
We have rescheduled the disco that should have taken place near St Valentine’s Day, and we are hoping to get enough interest to hold it on the 14th March.  Keep an eye on the website for more information about this.

Have a very good weekend.
 

1 March 2013
Published: 01 March 2013

As ever there has been much going on at Knox Academy this week.

Last Friday I received a lovely email from Mrs Hilsley (Head teacher at Yester Primary School) to let me know how delighted she was with the help afforded to her from past pupils, our Art Department and their pupils, for help with their production of “Olivia”.  It’s wonderful that we can band together as a cluster community and help each other out.

Monday saw the school being represented by Roisin Kennelly (S5) at the latest Haddington Vision meeting.  Roisin will represent Knox Academy on the board.  She is a very able person and will be an asset to the group.  Thanks must also go to Mrs McInnes and Mr Flood for their support.

Wednesday night saw Jaimee Pickard and Louis Harrodine taking part in the regional Rotary Young Musician competition.  Sadly because of a Parents’ Evening I wasn’t able to go and listen to them, but I have heard that they did themselves proud, although sadly they haven’t progressed further in the competition.  I suspect that we will hear more of these two in the future given their talents.

As mentioned, we had the S3 Parents’ Evening on Wednesday.  This was well attended and, from my discussions with parents and staff, the pupils are pretty well set up to complete their coursing over the next few weeks – exciting times ahead.

Yesterday we welcomed a “Pathfinder” group of pupils from King’s Meadow Primary School.  They were a delightful and feisty bunch of P7 pupils who came up to check out the school for their colleagues.  They took plenty of photos and experienced some “classes”.  I think we managed to answer a lot of their questions and I believe that they are starting to look forward to coming up to “The Big School” in June.

Practical Music exams have been taking place in the Hall for most of this week.  It has been an absolute joy to stop and listen from time to time.  I hope that the youngsters are pleased with their performances and have “banked” some good scores that they can further boost with the written exams in June.

I am utterly flabbergasted that we only have three weeks until the Easter Holidays (so much to do, so little time…), so the school is going to be a busy place over the next while:
S3 Coursing Interviews take place next week.
There is an S4/5 Parents’ Information Evening on the 7th.

We are in the process of putting together the Easter Revision Programme.  That will be coming out soon and will be advertised on the website.  Please keep an eye out for updates and news of events.

Have a very enjoyable weekend.