The preliminary examinations for S4 pupils have continued this week and so far seem to be running smoothly. I look forward to hearing all about the results and I am sure you join me in wishing all the pupils good luck in these important examinations.

On Tuesday, the author Michael Dahl visited the school. Mr Dahl has written many books for children, but his focus at Knox was graphic novels. An audience of 25 S2 pupils attended his interesting talk on how graphic novels are written and that now he has the licence to use well known ‘superheroes’ in his fiction (Batman, Spiderman, etc.). The talk was appreciated greatly by the pupils and staff who attended.

On Wednesday, the first ‘Purely Positive’ pupil was awarded the monthly prize. Randomly picked from the list of pupils who had no demerits during the month, the winner for October was S4 pupil, Bethany Quirk. Congratulations to Bethany and all the purely positive pupils. 

Yesterday afternoon, accompanied by the staff of the RMPS Department, a group of senior pupils studying RMPS at Higher and Advanced Higher levels, set off for Samye Ling, located on the banks of the river Esk. Samye Ling is the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre to be established in the west. At the centre, the pupils will participate in meditation and courses regarding the Buddhist faith. Many thanks to Ms Montgomery and the RMPS staff for organising the trip. 

Yesterday evening, senior Drama pupils (including those studying Musical Theatre) travelled to Edinburgh to attend a performance of Stephen Sondheim’s musical ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’. Staff report that it was quite funny, the pupils ‘laughed at bits’ and the cast was good. 

During the week I have visited all the S3 classes in column D of the timetable. It is a delight   to report that all the classes are progressing well and most work is being completed to a high standard. Also, I visited the S5/6 classes in column A, again a positive experience as the vast majority of the seniors are working hard and keeping up with their studies. 

Today, along with Mr Illingworth and Mr Plain, it has been a pleasure to judge the models of First World War trenches made by S3 pupils studying History. As usual, the standard was very high and this year, for the first time, included a wonderful (and edible) trench cake. 

The week ended on the sombre note of the two minutes silence that we held at 11.11 am on this 11/11/11. During the silence, pupils and staff watched images from the two World Wars and other conflicts. As in all previous years, the school community has given generously to the Poppy Appeal.

Best wishes
J B Craig