Last weekend was a very good weekend for Scottish music in these parts. Friday Night saw the school Hall full to the brim of pipers and musicians as we hosted the Haddington Pipe Band “Striking Up” concert. It was an event to mark the end of the collaboration between the Pipe Band and composer Ailie Robertson. A number of our pupils were part of the pipe band and still more were part of “The Goat’s Toes” – our folk band. Each group performed separately and then joined together to perform “The Dance of the Haddington Goat”. I could not have been prouder of all the pupils involved given the hours of rehearsal that went into the evening. I would like to thank Haddington Pipe Band for allowing us to share in their evening and Mr Johnston for directing The Goat’s Toes.
On Sunday I was invited to attend the Scottish Schools’ Pipe Band Championships held at Broughton High School. In last year’s competition, the Knox Academy Pipe Band were pipped to a place in their class, so they were determined that this year would be different. The pupils were stunning and played their hearts out (and given that some were also involved in the heavy rehearsal schedule to be ready for the “Striking Up” concert, doubly impressive). This resulted in them being placed third in their class – not bad for a group that’s only been together for 18 months! We are all delighted and I am hoping to persuade them to play at assemblies in the near future. Thanks to the instructors: Davy Barnes and Dave Henry and to the dedicated parents – they couldn’t have done it without you!
The Cross Country Team ran for all they were worth last Thursday, and the team managed to place a creditable third. They functioned well as a team, but there were some outstanding personal performances, too. Well done all.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the community volunteers who have been helping with our “Paired Reading” scheme. One of the organisers, Ms McBride writes: "This term the Communications Faculty has successful started running a Paired Reading Scheme. We currently have volunteers coming in everyday to work with pupils from S1 and S2 to further their reading skills. The initial stages of the scheme have been encouraging and beneficial to all involved. We hope to continue the Paired Reading programme after the Easter Holidays." Reading is one of the vital skills that youngsters need to access just about everything that happens in a school, so we cannot underestimate the good that this scheme is doing. If you are concerned about your child’s reading, or would like some advice on what they should be reading,please do not hesitate to contact the school.
I had an informal meeting with some S1 parents this week – just to get their views on the school, how we are doing, and if they had any concerns. We talked a lot about communication and I really can’t commend this website to parents more strongly. If you are unsure about an event, if you want to know what’s going on, or even what pupils are covering in classes, you are likely to find it on this site. I know that staff spend time updating information e.g. Modern Languages has recently posted updates with links to homework tasks and links to support learning. Click here.
Have a very good week.
S Ingham
