November 2013

29 November 2013
Published: 29 November 2013

As for many in East Lothian, this week has been one of highs and lows.

I would like to take this opportunity to send our condolences to the parents, staff and pupils of Dunbar Grammar School.  We will continue to hold them in our thoughts at this difficult time.
We at Knox have much to be grateful for.

Last week Ms Hossack took young chef Bethany Hunter to compete in the Rotary Young Chef Competition.  To both their delight, Bethany won her heat and will be going on to represent East Lothian in the next round of heats.  We wish Bethany best of luck and I look forward to hearing how she gets on.

On Monday I had the pleasure of being asked to judge a lunchtime debate run by our seniors.  The topic revolved around hate speech and whether it should be allowed in public fora.  The motion to allow it was carried after some spirited argument.  The audience participated well and made thoughtful points.  Thanks to Lev Crofts, Janina Calder-Petrie, Naomi Rogers and Saimah Uddin for their eloquence and to Ms Summerling for organising it.

Wednesday saw the final Parent School Partnership meeting of 2013.  Mr Greenaway gave a presentation on profiling, tracking and monitoring in S1-S3 and Mr Simpson spoke about curriculum design.  Both presentations made for interesting discussions.  The next meeting will be on the 8th January 2014.  I would like to point you in the direction of the Parent council website that can be accessed here and would urge you to sign up via the “Mail Chimp” link to receiving updates and emails from them.

You can tell that Christmas is approaching and with that there are a few events, Christmassy and not-so-much, going on:
Tuesday 3rd December     S4 Parents’ Night (5-7pm)
Tuesday 10th December   Christmas Dance (Please see the “rules” pertaining to dances here)
Thursday 12th December  S5/6 Parents’ Night (5-7pm)
Tuesday 17th December   Christmas Concerts (2pm & 7pm)

And finally...There will be an opportunity to see a preview performance of the snappily titled S6 production of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the Tale of the Poisoned iPod" at 7pm on Thursday 19th December.  Put the date in your diaries!

Have a very good week.
S Ingham
 

22 November 2013
Published: 22 November 2013

I think that we can be certain that winter is upon us now.  I have been advising pupils to dress appropriately and to layer up before coming to school, but within Dress Code: white shirts, ties, black knitwear and black skirts or trousers/jeans and all black footwear.  I would be grateful if parents could reinforce this for me.  We also put out letters last week requesting information on the “Plan B” that you have made with your youngsters for bad weather and school closures.  Please can you return those forms (plus the Family Update ones) as soon as possible.

Despite the cold, the Under 18 Rugby Team travelled to Hawick on Wednesday to play in the final of the Brewin Dolphin Plate.  Sadly we didn’t win but played hard against a strong Hawick team.  One player remarked to me that the conditions were among some of the most unpleasant in which he had played – and knowing him, and his enthusiasm for the sport, I guess it must have been pretty miserable.  However, my congratulations go to all involved and I am delighted that we gave a good account of ourselves.

I experienced some of the cold weather on Wednesday when myself and Mr Simpson popped up to Colstoun House to visit our Prince’s Trust group who were up there.  They are helping to renovate the Walled Garden.  I expected to find them hard at it, digging and raking, instead we encountered them finishing their soup and roast chicken lunch in the magnificent dining room!  I was assured that they had been working hard and, when I went out with them to the garden (me being woefully dressed and shod for the excursion) they had, indeed, been hard at it.  I suspect that there were some aching limbs yesterday morning.  Huge thanks to Cameron at Colstoun for making this possible.

On Tuesday we hosted our, now annual, Haddington Business Question Time.  My thanks go to all the business people who gave so generously of their time.  It’s quite daunting speaking to an audience of pupils, but I hope they enjoyed themselves.  Mr Flood was mightily impressed with the co-Chairs of the event:  Shannon McLauchlan and Holly Taylor.  Well done one and all!

Some of our senior PE pupils are working towards their CSLA (Community Sports Leadership Award) and have been going to King’s Meadow Primary School to organise sporting activities for the youngsters.  The primary teacher has been very happy with their work commenting, “The hockey today was fabulous... the pupils came with their own sessions and all were very keen to be independent. I was delighted with them.”  High praise indeed!

Next Wednesday sees the final Parent School Partnership meeting of 2013.  Any parent is welcome to come and we will be in L3 (down the corridor on your left as you come in the main doors, first door on the right) from 6.15pm.  I look forward to seeing you there. 

The S4 Parents’ Consultation Evening will take place on the 3rd December.  The letters will be coming out to you either today or Monday, and pupils will be making appointments with their teachers over the coming week.  Progress reports are being collated and you should receive them (photocopier willing) by next Tuesday.

I wish you well for the weekend.

S Ingham

15 November 2013
Published: 15 November 2013

Today, I sit here typing decked out for Children In Need (don’t ask!) and am struck by the theme of “togetherness” that has pervaded the week for me.

Last Friday the school decided who should be the Batonbearer for the Haddington leg of the Commonwealth Baton Relay.  It is a huge honour to be chosen to be part of the international community who are taking part in the Commonwealth Games.    Pupils and staff voted for who they thought would be the best candidate and decided on Scott Thompson.  Scott is renowned within the Physical Education Department for applying himself diligently to both theory and practical sessions. He also came 2nd in the recent GB Judo Championships - some effort considering he has another year at this age group. This comes off the back of a vast amount of training per week both locally and up at Ratho (home of Scottish Judo).  Scott was characteristically modest when told of his success and I know that he will represent the school and his sport with aplomb.
 
On Sunday I was inordinately proud to walk with pupils in the Remembrance parade.  The pupils were determined to be there to join with their community in remembering all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.  I can tell you that I walking tall behind them and it was wonderful to show our commitment to being a proper part of the Haddington community.

We have close working relationships with many businesses in Haddington (and that will be demonstrated at the Business Question Time event being held on Tuesday), but we are now spreading our net further afield.  Several pupils were given the chance to interview for a work experience day with Canon.  The pupils were of such a high calibre that the company have offered the opportunity to two of our pupils:  Holly Taylor and Amie Cowan, and soon they will be travelling down to Canon’s UK headquarters to have their visit.

The S4 go away on Work Experience next week.  I think that they are daunted and excited in equal measure. I spoke to them at assembly, encouraging them to make the most of this opportunity and I look forward to hearing how they got on when they return.

Apologies if any of you have been accosted by strangely dressed S6 pupils today - they have been collecting money for Children In Need and have hopefully raised quite a bit of money in the process of having a lot of fun.

Have a very good week.
S Ingham

 

8 November 2013
Published: 08 November 2013

This week pupils have been contemplating Remembrance at all our assemblies.  They have heard the moving story of war widow Kirianne Curley and hearing what wearing a poppy means to her.  We will be observing the minute’s silence on Monday morning.

On Wednesday evening some dramatically-minded pupils attended a performance of the Lion King in Edinburgh.  Thanks to Mrs Ball for organising the event and I know that the pupils had a fabulous time.

Yesterday, Amie Cowan and Lev Crofts travelled to Bowhill House, Selkirk, to compete in the quarter and semi-finals of the Debating Matters STV Referendum debate. They successfully won the first round against Penicuik High School but very narrowly missed out during the semi-final against Mary Erskine School. The judges were very complimentary of the team and said it had been a very difficult decision to make (illustrated by the fact they spent twenty minutes deliberating the result.) Amie was congratulated on her 'dogged attack' on the opposition, and the judges suggested a political career could be the future for Lev. They were both praised for the passion and fire they exhibited during the competition. It was a fantastic debate, and the STV production team told us that it was the best semi-final that they'd seen so far, having filmed 6 heats already all around the country. Debating Matters will be releasing the footage online in a couple of weeks, so watch this space for a chance to see Lev and Amie in action!

Yesterday evening I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours in the audience of “Tally’s Blood”.  The all-female cast stayed in the moment and produced some excellent dramatic and comedic turns.  The stage crew were professional and ensured that the whole production flowed seamlessly.  Thanks to all the parents, pupils and staff who were there, but particular thanks go to Ms Whitfield and Ms MacKinnon for their help and support of the cast and crew.

Next week sees us range from the medical (HPV injections for S2 girls on Monday) to the musical (S4 Performing Prelims on Tuesday and Thursday), so I’m sure that there will be a lot to tell you on Friday.

 
Remember that the S4 go off on their week’s work experience in the week of the 18th.  I believe that everything is in place and I think that the pupils are looking forward to their forays into the world of work.

Have a very good week.
S Ingham
 

1 November 2013
Published: 01 November 2013

Last weekend a bunch of intrepid pupils and staff travelled south to Manchester for a football trip.  They had a tour of Manchester City’s ground and then attended the Manchester United versus Stoke City match.  The match was apparently close fought and everyone got into the spirit of it. The staff were proud of how the pupils conducted themselves and, while it was an exhausting day it was well worth it.

On Tuesday we had a packed Hall for the P7 Open Evening.  It was great to see everyone and get a sense of the excitement that the primary youngsters already have about coming up to Knox.  As I said on the evening – there is no such thing as a daft question and primary parents should not hesitate to get into contact if there’s anything we can do to assist.  If they do not live in the catchment area for the school and they want their youngster to come here, parents need to remember to contact the council to make an “Out of Catchment Placing Request”.  Details can be found here.  Any questions about transition should be directed towards Mr Simpson (Depute Head Teacher).

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of welcoming a party of Norwegian Librarians to the school.  They had a mix of school and public library experience and were looking at how East Lothian runs its library service.  They were very impressed with the pupils who were using our library at the time, but expressed some surprise that not every pupil has a designated PC in the building.  If only…However there will be a school-wide WiFi  network available at Knox in the new year, so maybe the opportunity for a device per pupil will be achievable in the near future.

The PSP meeting on Wednesday was well attended.  Our Business Manager (Ms Skirrow) gave an illuminating and impressive insight into the school budget and the Head Boy and Girl introduced themselves to gathered parents.  Thanks to everyone who attended, but special thanks must go Ms Skirrow for her presentation and to our Head Girl (Gemma) for coming to a PSP meeting on her birthday.  Our Head Boy (Mark) also had reason to celebrate having been a member of our U18 Rugby Squad who had just beaten Dunbar Grammar 55-33 to get into the final of the Brewin-Dolphin Plate.  We await news of who else is in the final and wish the team all the very best.

On a sadder note I have been made aware of some thefts of money that have occurred from the PE Changing Rooms.  Whilst we investigate every single one of these incidents we can’t guarantee to apprehend the person responsible.  When they register in PE all the pupils are reminded to give their valuables to their teacher for safe keeping.  Pupils should never leave money, jewellery or mobile ‘phones in the changing rooms.  As Head Teacher it always disappoints me when members of our community show disrespect to others, and taking things that you have no right to is the ultimate disrespect.

Next week sees the much-anticipated production of Tally’s Blood.  It’s on the 7th November at 7 pm (easy to remember) and tickets cost £3 for children and £5 for adults. Please come along to support the pupils and the Drama Department.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Have a very fine weekend.
S Ingham