This year we celebrate Haddington. 2018 will mark 700 years since the Bruce Charter – the oldest document in East Lothian Archives. While we know Haddington had already been a burgh for almost 200 years we are using the anniversary of the charter to bring together a whole host of events. Celebrating all aspects of history, culture and community we aim to make it a year to remember.

Learn more about the project and the charter and see how you can help make Haddington ‘buzz’ in 2018.

Information about the Opening Day on Saturday 20 January 2018 is now available.

Listen again to the Christmas Concert which was held on Tuesday 19 December 2017 in the concerts section of our website.  Previous concerts are also accessible on their individual pages.

Thanks to Laura Harrison, Abby Hickman and Rebecca Mackenzie for filming the Christmas Concert 2017.

In a recent Head Teacher’s Update, I shared with parents and carers our proposal to shorten the lunch break and finish school earlier. Thank you to everyone who sent me their thoughts on the proposal. As is often the case with change, there were mixed views.  We also discussed the proposal with our Parent Council and asked all pupils for their views via registration classes.

Taking account of the feedback, we have decided to pilot a change in the timing of the school day for the five weeks from Monday 8 January to the February break. The lunch break will be 45 minutes long and the school day will finish ten minutes earlier. Timings for registration to period 4, and for Friday, remain unchanged. Below are the timings for the school day during the pilot, Monday to Thursday.

• Registration  8.44am – 8.56am
• Period 1  8.56am – 9.55am
• Period 2  9.55am – 10.53am
• Interval   10.53am – 11.09am
• Period 3  11.09am – 12.08pm
• Period 4  12.08pm – 1.07pm
• Lunch   1.07 pm – 1.52pm 
• Period 5   1.52pm – 2.51pm
• Period 6  2.51pm – 3.50pm

Please take particular note that school will finish at 3.50 pm. For pupils who travel home on a school bus, the Prentice buses will leave school five minutes earlier than they do at present, at 4.00 pm. For senior pupils who are sitting benchmark assessments during the pilot, the start time of afternoon assessments will be adjusted accordingly. 

Having a lunch break of 45 minutes would bring us in line with the other five secondary schools in the authority. The timing of their lunch break is as follows:

• 3 schools: 45 minutes lunch break
• 2 schools: 45 minutes first bell; second bell five minutes later, by which time pupils are settled in class and ready to begin learning.

Head teachers of the other schools report that 45 minutes gives pupils adequate time to buy and eat their lunch, even for those who choose to go out of school. All schools offer a variety of lunchtime clubs and activities and manage to fit these in to the 45 minutes comfortably. For example, most of our music instructors work in other schools in the authority as well as Knox, so they are used to the 45 minute timing.

Pupils told us that, generally, they like the earlier finish as it gives them more time after school for extra-curricular activities and they can get home earlier. Some also said that they get bored towards the end of the long lunch break. Pupils have three main concerns about a shorter lunch break: less time to buy and eat lunch; less time for clubs and activities; and those getting buses would have a longer wait at the end of the day. The experience of pupils and staff in the other five secondary schools in the authority indicates that, with a 45 minute lunch break, pupils do have time to buy and eat lunch (even for pupils in those schools situated further from local shops than Knox) and lunchtime activities still run successfully. Regarding buses, the school buses will be leaving five minutes earlier; pupils getting a service bus can wait in the Food Court if they wish.

As I outlined in a recent Head Teacher’s Update, East Lothian is currently exploring the option of having a common school day for the six secondary schools. If this is put in place, the lunch break is likely to be 45 minutes. This pilot enables Knox Academy to see how we can work within...

East Lothian Council, in association with the Lord Lynn and the Scottish Flag Trust, is launching a public competition to design a new and distinctive civic flag for the county of East Lothian.

An increasing number of civic areas have had a new flag designed, recent Scottish examples being Orkney, Kirkcudbrightshire and Caithness.  While associated with the Saltire, the county does not have a flag of its own.  The benefits of having a flag would include allowing East Lothian residents to celebrate their heritage, express pride in their community, and help raise recognition and awareness of the county nationwide.

Anyone is free to enter the competition.  The closing date is 28 February 2018.  Entries can be from individuals or groups.

Guidelines for the competition set out the rules and requirements for submissions and explain the various stages leading to a winning design being chosen.