I received the following bit of poetry in my inbox yesterday (it was National Poetry Day) and I thought I would share it with you:
The rose of all the world is not for me.
I want for my part
Only the little white rose of Scotland
That smells sharp and sweet - and breaks the heart.
                                                                                  (Hugh McDiarmid)
Thanks to Mr Swinney for passing that on.

In other news…
We had a successful S1 Settling-In Evening on Tuesday.  It started with the School of Rugby’s dance composition that had formed part of the Commonwealth Moves Festival, and ended with a film of S1 pupils around the school.  It wasn’t quite “Educating East Lothian” but it did show that the youngsters have settled in well and seem perfectly at home in a building that some thought they would never master.  The Depute Head Teachers (Mr Illingworth, Mr Simpson, and Mr Young) spoke about Wisdom, Engagement and Respect and how we think that relates to the pupils in the school.  From the feedback that I have had about the evening people thought it was worthwhile, thought-provoking and enabled parents to pass on any concerns or ask questions.

The Parent School Partnership met on Wednesday evening and was well attended (we obviously didn’t scare them off at the first meeting!).  We discussed a number of things, the first of which was who parents should contact if they need to speak to someone:

If your child is in Garleton their Guidance Teacher is Ms Adam and the Head of House is Mr Young, for Lammerlaw the Guidance Teacher is Ms Easson and the Head of House is Mr Simpson, and for Traprain it’s Ms Stevenson for Guidance and Mr Illingworth as Head of House.  As a rule of thumb you want to speak to Guidance for Pastoral Issues (relationships, settling in, general progress concerns) and Head of House for everything else.  If neither of those fit for you or you’re just not sure, you can email the school via knoxacademy@knox.elcschool.org.uk and the Office Staff will direct your email as appropriate. 

We also had a wide-ranging discussion about Activities’ Week and its future.  The points made are too diverse to mention here but will be contained in the PSP minutes that can be viewed on their website.  Thanks must also go to Mr Mackinnon (PE) for giving an interesting presentation on Heartstart and how we can get parents trained, too.

A number of Knox pupils performed at a charity concert (for Macmilllan Cancer Support) on Wednesday evening at the Town House.  The pupils involved were:
Eve Swinton, Rebecca Swinton, Holly Morton, Crea Campbell, Rebecca Wray, Peter Gilmour, Erin Scott, Emily Bowen, Isaac Smith, Harry Rogan, Katie Holton, Connor Moore, Georgia Kerr, Thomas Imrie, Katie Scott, Eiligh Watt, Dylan Noble and Alasdair MacFarlane.
As well as the Jazz Band playing, several pupils played solo items.

Wednesday was a very busy day because whilst the PSP were meeting and the Jazz Band playing, two of our senior pupils (Gemma Sandie and Emma-Lee Dick) were attending the Jack Vettriano question-and-answer event at Queen Margaret University.  They had been invited to attend by Councillor John McMillan.  The girls came back “buzzing” and I have seen the photos that they had taken with the artist and their coveted autographs.  I think that they will be heading off to Kelvingrove Art Gallery in the very near future to see his retrospective exhibition.  Huge thanks should go to Councillor McMillan for his support of the school and thinking of us.  The girls were the only school-aged people there and I believe impressed fellow attendees with their maturity and interest.

Please remember that the school shuts at 12.05pm next Friday and is closed to pupils until Tuesday, the 22nd October.

Have a very good weekend.
S Ingham