October 2009

Knox News
T h e N e w s l e t t e r o f K n o x A c a d e m y

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to this, the first Knox News of session 2009-2010. I am sure that the session will be hectic,
enjoyable and successful. I know you will support the school in encouraging your youngster to achieve
their potential, not only in examinations but also across a range of activities and areas and I am sure we
all look forward to hearing about their achievements during the year.

The new term has been very busy and we have had a wide variety of events including the S1 Induction
Morning, Live‟n Learn Seminars, sporting events, S1 Settling in Evening, Staff/S6 Weekend and more.
Full details of all these events can be found later in the newsletter.

A summary of the SQA results is contained in this newsletter. Congratulations to staff and pupils alike
on an impressive set of results that reflect the hard work of last session. It is a great pleasure to see the
seniors achieve the results necessary to move on to the next stage of their lives and careers.

Since the last Knox News in June there has been some staffing changes. In August we welcomed the
following staff to Knox: Ms S Auchinleck (Art and Design), Mrs Slowther, Dr Wilson and Miss Ward
(Biology), Ms C Sayers (Geography), Ms C Morgan (Drama), Mrs H Harpur and Mr E Williamson
(Mathematics), Mrs D Ferguson (Business Education), Mr J Greig (Computing), Mr O Edwards
(English) and Miss C Irvine (Reception). Also, we welcome back Mr J Stirling and Mr A Lambert (PE).
Mrs M Maxwell (English) will be taking maternity leave after the October Break and she will be
replaced by Miss Z Machen.

Following the departure of Ms Black, Ms J Duff has been appointed Acting Principal Teacher:
Curriculum (Expressive Arts).

We have an extensive range of extra-curricular activities on offer in the school; please encourage your
youngster to take part in these activities, details of which can be found later in this newsletter.

We break for the October holiday on Friday 16 October at 12.05pm, pupils resume on Tuesday 27
October at 8.44 am.

Very best wishes.

J B Craig
Head Teacher
Page 2 Knox News

HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERN:

USE OF THE CAR PARK

Once again we have been having great difficulty at the start and end of the school day.
Too many parents are bringing their cars into the campus to drop off their youngsters.
This is causing obstructions and holds up the movement of the buses. This has become
dangerous. The taxis have been unable to park safely and as a result, our pupils who
require additional help have been put at risk and, on occasion, the wheelchair access has
been blocked.

PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR CAR INTO THE SCHOOL CAMPUS AT THESE TIMES UNLESS YOU HAVE
A PRIOR ARRANGEMENT WITH ME.

Your co-operation with this is essential and would be appreciated.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this, please contact me at the school.

Thank you

JB Craig
 Page 3
RMPS N EWS

In September, pupils across the RMPS Department experienced special lessons to inform them about
World Peace Day, which is held annually on September 21st. Here are a couple of reflections on what
they learned.

Peace One Day Poems

Peace is quiet, so people can sleep

Peace is no war, no children who weep
Peace is a world where we get our own way
This our dream, to have peace one day

We know how hard this dream will be

But not if everyone helps, not just you and me
If soldiers can stop, why just for a day?
Can‟t they see that the world is better this way?

Lives can be saved, not crushed and forgotten

Not left in the dark, alone, going rotten
Just think, for a minute, of the life you would lead
If there we no games or no toys, or nothing to read

Today, peace seems so hard to achieve

But when we‟re finally there, we‟ll be so relieved
This one-man quest for worldwide peace
Made humanity fit, piece by piece

No-one else can save the world, that is up to us

You might be wondering why we care, why we make such a fuss
But even far, far in the future, years and years away
I promise you we‟ll have peace, we‟ll have peace for one day!

Abbey Ellis (2nd Year)

Peace One Day was created by a single man

A man with a passion for every human
He travelled the world with his head held high,
Stopping in Third World Countries as he passed by.
Creating joy and spreading happiness,
To people who are poor, starving, homeless
A day without soldiers, no fighting no wars,
Creating opportunities, opening doors.
For the people of the world less fortunate than us,
He met with world leaders and made such a fuss.
But eventually he got his own way,
So we now have Peace One Day

Kirsty Wallace (2nd Year)

L Francis
RMPS
Page 4 Knox News

E X A M I NAT I O N R E S ULT S

The results for Knox Academy in the summer SQA examinations were good and are detailed below.

The results are as a percent of the relevant S4 roll and are pre-appeal for 2009. Figures in brackets are
for 2008.

Knox Academy East Lothian Scotland

2008 2009 2009 2009
S4 STANDARD GRADE
Achieving 5+ at Grades 1-6 96 96 95(94) 88(89)
Achieving 5+ at Grades 1-4 82 83 84(81) 74(75)
Achieving 5+ at Grades 1-2 42 45 37(39) 33(33)
Achieving English at 1-6 101 98 97(97) 85(88)
Achieving Maths at 1-6 99 98 97(95) 85(87)
S5 HIGHER
Achieving 1+ Higher at A-C 49 46 44(41) 40(39)
Achieving 3+ Higher at A-C 36 28 26(25) 23(22)
Achieving 5+ Higher A-C 18 13 12(10) 10(10)
S6 ADVANCED HIGHER
Achieving 1+ Advanced 27 25 15(16) 13(13)
Higher at A-C

Congratulations to all involved.

The results continue to be above the East Lothian (in all but one measure) and
Scotland averages, however, as a school we are not complacent and we have raising
attainment as a priority, we are committed to ensuring all pupils achieve their
potential. I am sure all parents and carers will assist us in this by encouraging
youngsters to work hard, complete homework, attend revision/study clubs, be
punctual and attend all classes. By working together we will help all pupils achieve success.

JB Craig
Head Teacher
 Page 5
S ET Y O U N G A M BAS S A DO RS C H AL L E N GE
Last year the Technical Department entered a team of students (Gabby Jackson, Conor McHugh, Gareth
Evans, Kelvin Craig and Fraser Thomson) into the SET Young Ambassadors Challenge. They
completed a fantastic project about Energy and Renewables, and won the competition,which was open
to all schools in Lothian region. Following their success the team are now entering their project into a
National Science and Engineering Competition; The Big Bang. We have our fingers crossed and we are
wishing the team the best of luck!

This year we are entering another S2 team into the challenge; Molly Ferguson, Erin Craig, Caitlin
Brock, Holly Merritt, Struan Stuart and Rebecca Friary. They have a lot to live up to but they are a
great team, and we are sure they will do the school and themselves proud.

A Leggatt
Technical Department

HORSE OF T HE Y E A R SH OW

Alice Hill, 4G3, has had a spectacular year competing and winning Working Hunter horse shows
throughout the country. Alice and her eleven year old horse, Kian‟s Choice (or Paddy to his friends) have
now qualified for the Horse of the Year Show which is being held in Birmingham.

The road to the Horse of the Year Show started off in Glasgow where Alice qualified for the Ponies UK
championships. She then won the Super League and was Reserve Champion at the championships held in
Nottingham in August, which now allows her to compete at the Horse of the Year Show. This year Alice
and Paddy have also qualified for the Burleigh Horse Trials.

We want to wish Alice the best of luck at the Horse of the Year Show and we will be keeping our fingers
crossed that she returns home with more rosettes.

R Couper
Sport & Physical Activity Coordinator

R AG B AG T E XT I L E B A N K

Knox Academy has a new textile bank that you can use to recycle unwanted textiles of any quali-
ty. You can donate adults‟ and children‟s clothes, paired shoes, hats, bags, belts, curtains, towels and
bed linen (sheets, pillow covers, duvet covers). It is important that the textiles are dry, clean and in a
bag. Please do not donate soiled or wet textiles.

Knox Academy receives £300 for school funds for every tonne of textiles deposited, so get recycling!!
In June 2009 Knox Academy donated 145kg of textiles and raised £43.50 for school funds. Keep
recycling!!

N Davidson
Business Manager
Page 6 Knox News

E X T R A - C UR RI CU L A R A CT I V I T I E S

These are some of the extra-curricular activities on offer. Further details can be found on the school web
site in the extra-curricular pages and the daily bulletin.

Music:
DAY TIME ACTIVITY STAFF IN CHARGE ROOM
Monday 1.20-1.55pm Wind Band D Robb/L Thorne Mus. 1
Monday 4-5pm Orchestra K Johnston/E Orr Mus. 1, Mus. 2,
Social Area
Tuesday 1.20-1.55pm Girls‟ Choir E Orr Mus. 2
Tuesday 1.20-1.55pm Soul Band/Big Band L Thorne Mus. 1
Tuesday 4-4.30pm Brass Band D Robb Mus. 1
Wednesday 1.05-1.30pm Guitar Group A Coady Mus. 1
Wednesday 1.05-1.30pm Lower Strings Group P Hair Mus. 2
Wednesday 4-4.45pm Senior Choir E Orr Mus. 2
Thursday 1.20-1.55pm Junior Choir K Johnston Mus. 1
Thursday 1.20-1.55pm Girls‟ Choir E Orr Mus. 2
Thursday 4-4.45pm Percussion Group D Swanson Mus. 2
Friday 12.20-1.20pm String Orchestra H Turbayne Social Area

Sport & Physical Activity Extra-Curricular Timetable 2009-10

Activity Time Venue Coach/Instructor Volunteers

Monday
Rackets Lunchtime Games Hall R Couper Rachael Weir
& Gemma Herkes
Netball 4-5pm Games Hall Nicola Love Alex Muir &
Kirsty Young
Girls‟ Rugby 4-5pm Playing Fields Keri Paterson Miss McBrierty

S1/2 Rugby 4-530pm Playing Fields Derek O‟Riordan &

R Couper
Girls‟ Football 4-5pm Playing Fields Megan McFarlane
Soccerone 4-5pm Playing Fields Mr Williamson Murray Baird
&Mr Stirling

Tuesday
Basketball 4-530pm Games Hall Thomas Munro
Hockey 4-515pm Astro Turf Miss Johnston & Aidan Lindsay
Mrs Garwood
Wednesday
Trampoline 4-530pm Games Hall Miss Jeffrey
S1/2 Rugby 4-530pm Playing Fields Derek O‟Riordan &
Mr Lambert
Thursday
S6 Club Lunchtime Games Hall R Couper Adam Szymooszowskyj
Run Club Lunchtime Playing Fields Mr MacDonald &
Ms Easson
Fit For Girls Lunchtime Drama Miss Morgan
Dance (RFD) 4-5pm Small Gym Jo Bain Francesca Campbell
& Emily Sandie
Football 5s 4-530pm Astro Turf Mr Flood
 Page 7
S C H OL AR

Is your child in S5 or S6?

Do you know about the SCHOLAR Programme?

Would you like a password to see what SCHOLAR is about?

…read on…
Heriot-Watt SCHOLAR is the world‟s largest e-learning education programme, with 100,000 registered
users. Created by Heriot-Watt University (http://www.hw.ac.uk/), based in Edinburgh, SCHOLAR
provides computer based learning materials to support teaching and learning in a wide range of subjects:

ADVANCED HIGHER:
Biology, Business Management, Chemistry, Computing, French, Information Systems, Maths and
Physics.

HIGHER:
Accounting, Biology, Business Management, Chemistry, Computing, Economics, French, German,
Human Biology, Information Systems, Maths, Physics , Psychology and Spanish.

INTERMEDIATE 1 & 2:
Maths

The SCHOLAR programme is designed to promote self paced, pupil centred learning in a teacher sup-
ported environment. The online learning materials are complemented by opportunities for teachers to at-
tend staff development workshops and learn how to use SCHOLAR when teaching.
SCHOLAR offers a well proven, innovative approach to academic study within schools, Further
Education colleges and foundation programmes within universities. Over 400 secondary schools in
Scotland are benefitting from using SCHOLAR.
The online learning materials have been professionally developed and consist of textual and graphical
descriptions, animations and simulations and online formative tests. The material is embedded within a
Virtual Learning Environment that provides channels for student and teacher communications, frequently
asked questions and progress reporting and monitoring.
Teachers in school have been provided with passwords to issue to all pupils studying a range of subjects
at Higher, Advanced Higher, Intermediate 1 and 2 Maths and Intermediate 2 Mandarin as summarised in
the table. If your son or daughter has not yet received their password, encourage them to ask their teach-
er.
In order to see the course materials SCHOLAR provides for your son or daughter, go to our website at
http://scholar.hw.ac.uk/, click on Scotland then “Try Scholar” on the left hand bar.

You will be presented with a preview of the available SCHOLAR courses. This is just a small sample of
the entire course. If you would like to see more , contact info@scholar.hw.ac.uk for a password which
will enable you to browse the content of the entire course. You can use the same email address to send in
feedback regarding your Scholar experience.

J Young
Depute Head Teacher
Page 8 Knox News

CALLING A L L PA RE NT S

The Maths Department is interested in forging stronger links with the community whilst also making
Maths as relevant as possible. In order to do this we need your help.

Most jobs use Maths so many of you use Maths in your work on a day to day
basis. We would like volunteers to come in and talk about Maths at work. I would
envisage this involving S1 pupils in the first instance. This need only be a short
talk and then a question and answer session.

If you would like to help please contact me at the school.

Many thanks in hopeful anticipation.

L.M.McInnes
Head of Mathematics

J E WE L L E RY CLUB

For the last few weeks the Technical Department has been running a lunchtime jewellery making club.
This has been a popular club and we currently have pupils attending from years S1-S5. The pupils have
been designing their own jewellery and are learning different techniques to manufacture it from copper
and silver. These techniques include cutting and shaping copper and silver, soldering, enamelling and
casting. Pupils will also be learning felting working with the Art Department.

This is a fun club and we are very impressed with the work the pupils are producing! They are all very
hardworking with a brilliant attitude, and are very keen to learn.

Lucy-Jade in S2 said “I‟m not bored on Wednesday lunchtimes anymore! It‟s great!”

Beth in S1 said “It‟s really fun and I always want Wednesdays to come!”

We are really looking forward to seeing the work the pupils

produce on the run up to Christmas.

A Leggatt
Technical Dept

B AT T E RY B ACK
Knox Academy have signed up to be a „Battery Back‟ recycling centre, so if you have any batteries you
wish to recycle please hand these into the school office.

Please contact Mrs Davidson (Business Manager) with any queries. Thank you.

N Davidson
Business Manager
 Page 9
E N G L I S H D E PART ME NT U P DAT E

It‟s been a busy start to the term in the English Department. We are all very excited about the arrival of
Accelerated Reader – a very sophisticated computer programme which helps pupils progress their
reading. September also saw the arrival of the Scholastic Bookfair to the library.
All S1 and S2 pupils have been issued with two things this term: the Language Toolkit and a
Homework book. The Language Toolkit is a vocabulary and language that should be used by the pupils
around the school to note important vocabulary and to help learn spelling and grammar as well as the
derivation of words. It has so far been a great success, encouraging our pupils to take a genuine interest
in the English Language. The Homework booklet contains a selection of tasks, giving pupils the free-
dom to choose which ones to undertake. Also it allows for extra work if pupils are feeling motivated.
The first deadline, at the end of September, saw the pupils produce some fantastic work - they should be
very proud.
The extra-curricular clubs in the department are all up and running. Debating club has been opened up
to pupils from all year groups and a new club, a senior book group, has been meeting weekly. Watch
this space for further extra curricular opportunities.

K Fairbairn
English Dept

P O E T RY

My Special Place

My Goblin My special place is hidden in the trees

Green face covered in spots.
Ripped rags for clothes.
Bad, bad breath
And a sharp, pointed nose.
but you can see
The beautiful, blue sea.
My special place has staff that are
brill‟. So is Trevor
When he cooks bbqs on the grill.

Right there under the stair,
If you dare you will share
The shock of his stare.
Stealing socks, food and more
That‟s what he does
Every night, all night.
In my special place the world just
keeps going round.
I my special place I have been lost but
then found.
In my special place I swim in the sea.
In my special place I feel safe, happy
and free.

By Peter Gilmour, 1G1 My special place is not just for me.

My special place is for us all to see.
And though some goodbyes are hard to
say,
The memories are always alive in
My special place – Brighouse Bay.

By Mary–Beth McFern, 2L1

Page 10 Knox News

P A RT NE R S HI P WI T H R WA N DA

For over a year now, Knox Academy and King‟s Meadow Primary School have been working on a
partnership with the primary and secondary schools in the remote village of Ruhanga an northern Rwan-
da. In April of this year, we were visited by the head teachers of the schools, Arsene Dukundigena and
Jean de Dieu Ngendahimana. They spent a week observing classes at Knox and King‟s Meadow, find-
ing out a bit more about Scottish culture and how we approach learning and teaching.
In May, I set off for a reciprocal visit, along with Russell Clegg from King‟s Meadow Primary. We were
both excited, but a little apprehensive about our trip. Neither of us had been to Africa before, and most
of what we knew about Rwanda had come from television reports or films about the 1994 genocide. We
read our guide books studiously on the long flight¸ hoping to find out a bit more information about this
small country. In terms of land area it is smaller than Scotland, with a population of 8.5 million. Unlike
many African countries the landscape is lush and green, with steep mountains and beautiful lakes.
The purpose of our visit was really to visit our partner schools in Ruhanga, and find out how learning
and teaching takes place there. The village was a 2 hour drive from our hotel, along a steep, pot-holed,
single-track road. When we first arrived at the school, we were greeted by groups of Primary and
Secondary pupils who sang and danced a song of welcome for us. We had a tour of the classrooms –
bare concrete rooms where classes of 45-50 pupils would receive their lessons. I observed lessons in
Physics, Music and English where teachers simply taught using the blackboard and nothing else – no
other equipment or resources. It made me realise how much we take for granted in our schools here, and
how fortunate we are to have access to technology.
The Rwandan pupils and staff were extremely friendly, and very keen to practise speaking English.
Some of the pupils gave me letters and photos to bring back to Knox pupils. On our final day at the
school, we were treated to a Cultural Exchange. Pupils from both the Primary and Secondary schools
put on a display of traditional song, dance and drama. This was a very prestigious occasion, attended by
the mayor of the district, and head teachers from several other schools in the region. Russell and I did
our bit to promote Scottish culture by attempting to teach some Rwandan pupils to ceilidh, but they
seemed to find it very difficult!
Our week in Rwanda passed very quickly, but it was an experience which we will not forget in a hurry.
Although we found a lot of the culture different and new, we found that we also had a lot in common.
We share values about the importance of education, and we realised that we share common ground in
the use of song, dance and drama in cultural celebrations. Knox Academy and King‟s Meadow Primary
are now committed to linking with their Rwandan counterparts in a whole-school capacity. S1 pupils at
Knox are finding out more about Africa and Rwanda in one of their ACE projects, and there are plans
underway for fundraising events later in the year. We hope that the links will be strengthened and
maintained in years to come, and that some Knox pupils may even get the chance to visit Ruhanga
themselves.

E Orr
Music Dept
 Page 11
O N - L I NE L E A RN I N G

Following on from the use of mp3 audio revision files for Standard Grade Computing Studies, pupils are
now able to access course revision materials and quizzes on-line. This pilot scheme is currently
available to S4 pupils, who have been issued with log-ons to the RSLearning site. Quizzes are being
used for tests and homework and can be accessed in the classroom, in the library, at home or anywhere
that Internet access is available. Pupils get automatic feedback with a score for the test and wrong an-
swers highlighted in red. To be effective, pupils should immediately review their wrong answers to find
out where they went wrong. Each quiz allows up to three attempts, but these can be cleared and reset by
the teacher. Members of staff are able to monitor pupil activity and progress on the site. Individual pupil
performances and their answers to all questions can be viewed. Teachers will be able to determine areas
that need further work in the classroom. Any pupil who has a long-term absence will find this a useful
resource because they may be able to do some work from home and their teacher can check on their
progress. You might like to try the demo pages at http://rslearning.co.uk/index.html.

By the way, you can still copy the mp3 files to your iPod for free. Someone asked if it could be effective
to listen to them while asleep. Nice idea, but I feel that you will benefit more when awake.

B Dillin
Head of Computing

U N I V E R SI T Y S UC CE S S

Congratulations to the following former pupils who have recently graduated from university:
University of Glasgow Heriot-Watt University
Nicola Cochran M.A. Andrea Clark BSc
Adam Gray B.D.S
Joe Hall B. Eng.
Andrea Llano M.B., Ch.B
Anna-Marie McFarlane M.A

University of Aberdeen
Callum Colquhoun M.B., Ch.B
Sarah Cruickshank B.Sc
Thomas Danks B. Sc
Jonathan Ferguson M.A
Roisin Halloran B.Ed
Paul McBean M.A
David McShane B.Sc
Catriona Rooney LLB
Christine Stuart M.A
Page 12 Knox News

S 5 & S 6 S T U DY S K I L L S W E E K : S E P T E MB E R 2 2 ND - 2 5 T H

All parents of pupils in S5&6 should now be aware these pupils were involved in a week concentrating
on Study Skills. The Study Skills Working Group in school had come up with the idea after a number of
parents, pupils and teachers had said that pupils didn‟t know how to study, what they should be stud-
ying and how much time they should be spending on study. As a pilot the group decided to pro-
gramme a week of activities for S5&6.

The week consisted of a number of events, starting with a Live „n‟ Learn Seminar. The intention during
this seminar was to motivate pupils, encourage them to achieve the best they can and to look to their fu-
tures and the achievements they would like to make.

On Wednesday morning Mrs Ingham presented an assembly discussing general Study Skills and all
pupils were issued with a Study Skills booklet specific to their chosen subjects. Each department had
provided information tailored to their subject and intended to support the pupils in how to carry out
study at home.

During class time on Wednesday and Thursday teachers were asked to present a Study Skills lesson that
was specific to their subject. The aim of this was to make clear to pupils what the expectations were in
terms of revision times and tasks and to look at different ways of revising and learning for specific
subjects.

On Friday, pupils attended a short session to consider the use of Study Timetables, and they were given
a further opportunity to collect any subject specific information they had missed earlier in the week.

In a move towards greater parental involvement we asked all pupils to get a parental signature on the
back of their booklet. This was simply so that we knew the booklets had made it home and that parents
were aware we had discussed methods and expectations with their children.

It is now our intention to put all the Study Skills information on the website so that pupils and parents
can access the help sheets and if you would like to know more or make a comment, please contact Ms H
MacLeod

H MacLeod
Support for Pupils Faculty/PT Curriculum: Support for Pupils

PILING UP T HE I R P OI NT S

Congratulations to the following pupils who have reached 125 points in the Pupils Points System and
have been awarded the Bronze Certificate. This is a fantastic achievement so early in the session, the
boys have got some catching up to do!

Emma-Lee Dick (2G2) Oliver Massie (2G2)

Ben Fairgrieve (2T3) Eve Swinton (2G1)
Stephanie King (3L1) Connor Tinch (2G2)
Danielle Kitt (2G3) Kirsty Wallace (2G1)
Jodie Lavin (3T1) Beth Watters (3T3)
Eilidh McClure (1G1) Megan Wilson (3L1)
 Page 13
O U T LO OK : Z A MB I A

In June this year a group of eleven pupils from last year‟s Fourth and Fifth Year and Mr Francis took
part in a life-changing month long expedition to Zambia and Botswana. The group undertook a five-day
community project, a five-day expedition, a three-day safari and a trip to the Victoria Falls.

Our community project was centred in a remote village called Kalonje, just twenty kilometres from the
Mutinondo wilderness area. The objective was to help the locals build two new latrines for the
community. We did this by collecting bricks and stones to line the latrines. We also worked closely
with the school and played ball and skipping games with the kids. Although it was hard work there was
a great sense of achievement at the end and we all were sad to say goodbye to the village - especially to
all the children we‟d had so much fun with.

Next was the expedition covering sixty-five kilometres through the beautiful wilderness of Mutinondo.
We camped in the wild; cooking on open fires every night. We were the first group to be taken on this
route and everyone was glad to have had that experience. We then crossed into Botswana where we had
three days of safari consisting of two early morning game drives and two evening boat safaris. During
the game drives we saw four of the „big five‟: the leopard, elephant, lion and buffalo, only the black rhi-
no eluded us. On the boat rides we saw plenty of elephants and hippos and a few crocodiles, not to men-
tion the stunning African sunsets. After our stay in Botswana we travelled back up to Zambia for the
Victoria Falls that were amazing. The group also went either White Water Rafting or Jet Boating . Both
of these were enjoyed in equal measure. All in all it was a fantastic experience and we would encour-
age everyone to take part in Outlook Expedition opportunities in the coming years.

Rhona Duff
5T1
Page 14 Knox News

2 M O RO ’ S D RI V E R

Knox Academy was given the opportunity to attend the „2Moro‟s Driver‟ event on Wednesday 2
September 2009. The event was organised by Lothian and Borders Police Road Safety Unit and was
open to all pupils in S6.

It was a multi-agency event, which was based on a play funded by Road Safety Scotland and performed
by the Baldy Bane Theatre Company. It dealt with the fun, risks and the responsibilities involved when
becoming a new driver and getting a first car.

The event was held at the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh and 74 S6 Knox Academy pupils attended
the event. This was an extremely worthwhile event, especially at this time of year when our current S6
will soon become tomorrow‟s young drivers.

E Garwood
PT Guidance

Get SCRATCHing in ICT

No, the Second Year ICT classes haven‟t got an irritating disease, but they are itching to show their
talents building programs in the SCRATCH environment. SCRATCH uses characters called sprites that
can be controlled to run around, jump, make noises and much more. The program is built like pieces of
a jigsaw. These can be re-arranged, broken up, or added to easily to try to program each sprite to act the
way you want.

This software was developed at MIT in Boston. It is available for Mac and PC and it is FREE. Go to
http://SCRATCH.mit.edu/ to download your copy at home. The site gives some useful tips and
examples of what can be achieved with SCRATCH.

Last year the University of Edinburgh Department of Informatics kindly lent us a set of interface boards
to use with SCRATCH programs developed by S4. The sprites were controlled using sliders, buttons
and light sensors on the board. Hopefully S2 classes will get a chance to try out the boards this year.
Look out for examples of pupil work on the website.

B Dillin
Head of Computing

V I C TO R I A S QUAR E

Pupils from the Standard Grade Drama class have been making their own radio plays based on fictional
soap opera „Victoria Square‟. Each group had to create a mini-episode that would be turned into a radio
drama. The mini dramas included; a granny dying and leaving her money to her dog (much to her
children‟s anger), a man set on revenge for his family‟s death and a hard-hitting scene about drugs. All
very dramatic!

Everyone enjoyed their time behind the microphone, with sound effects and theme tune.

J Campbell
Drama Dept
 Page 15
D ALG UI SE 2 0 0 9

As a group of excited souls disembarked in the middle of the beautiful Perthshire scenery a wave of panic
rippled through all 70 odd staff and pupils. How giant is the giant swing? Do I have to do it? What if I
cry in front of all my friends? These questions and more were racing through everyone‟s head.

We were able to try and calm the nerves on the Friday afternoon by settling in to our accommodation and
playing a few games…the teachers being „Funky Seaweed‟ will live long in the memory. Despite Mr
Stirling breaking Mr MacDonald‟s car they arrived in plenty of time to set up the evening‟s activities.
We all crammed in to the small and sweaty hall and had a go at Mr Wren and Mrs Garwood‟s quiz. The
fact that Mrs Garwood forgot the answers made things a little trickier, but we muddled through!

And then there was the filmmaking, some good, same strange and some truly awful. I don‟t think we‟ll
have to clear a space for Knox‟s first Oscar quite yet.

The next two days were a blur of mud, blood, snotters, tears, screams, strains, scrapes, dancing, half-
drowing and huge amounts of fun. Everyone survived the giant swing - even Bruce Halloran and
myelf…although the primary children watching might not recover as quickly.

As Head of S6 it made me immensely proud to see Knox pupils throw themselves into everything we did
with such enthusiasm and represent the school so admirably. A huge thank you to all for making it so
enjoyable for the teachers. A massive thanks to the teachers who came along, without whom the trip
would have been impossible – and the S6 would have no-one to laugh at. And extra-special thanks to Mr
MacDonald for doing such a fine job of organising and leading the trip.

S Illingworth
Head of S6

T H E L I O N , T HE W I TC H AND T H E W A RD ROB E
‘That really is the most enormous wardrobe, why somebody’s spilt sugar on the floor. It’s all crunchy.
Why… it’s a lamppost. Whoever heard of a lamppost inside a wardrobe’.

Yes you are right… we are stepping into Narnia for our Christmas production this year. Pupils from S1
– S6 will take to the stage to recreate the wonderful story of „The Lion, The Witch and The Ward-
robe‟. With Beavers, Lions, a White Witch and four lost children you will really be in for a treat!

„This is hopefully going to be a fantastic production‟ says Mr Campbell who will be directing the show.
„We really want to involve the audience in the magic of Narnia so we are going to incorporate some
exciting staging. We have a wonderful cast from all areas of the school and I‟m extremely happy that we
have managed to cast the four children from S3 – S6. Our fighting director starts after the October hol-
idays so the pupils are getting excited about working on the battle sequence.‟

Gavin McManus (S3) who plays Mr Beaver says „It‟s a good experience and I‟m really happy and
excited about getting the part of Mr Beaver and I‟m looking forward to the performance week. I‟m
going to be nervous but it‟ll be fun‟.

„The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe‟ will be staged in the main hall on 9 th and 10th of December
2009. Tickets will go on sale from the school office. Look out around the school for more details.

C Morgan
Drama Dept
Page 16 Knox News

S P ORT S ’ U P DAT E

Athletics

Fiona Cleat, 5L2, has had an outstanding season on the athletics circuit which gained her selection for
the Scotland team to compete at the Celtic Games held in Carmarthen, Wales in August. Fiona was part
of the U17 relay team that came second and she also came fourth in the individual 300m hurdles.
Fiona has also competed in the Scottish Schools Athletic Championships in June where she came
second in the 300m hurdles and then again in the Scottish athletic age group under-17-titles where she
managed to win the same event with a time of 47.81s (over a second quicker than her closet rival) in
August.
Badminton

Megan Richardson and Hannah Laing (both 4G1) continue to build on their success in a season that is
classed as a development year. Megan and Hannah who have made the step up to Under 17 and Under
19 levels are now competing against opponents that are a few years older than them.
On the 6th September the girls played in the U19 Midland tournament at Grangemouth. Hannah reached
the semis being knocked out by the number 1 seed. The same opponent then beat Megan in the final 21
-15 and 21-19. They got through to the semis in the doubles but were again beaten by the number 1
seeds before Megan and her partner reached the mixed doubles finals and won.
On Sunday 13th Sept the girls played in the U17 Glasgow tournament and won, narrowly beaten in the
doubles final by the number 1 seeds.
Basketball

Knox Academy hosted the first round of matches for the U15 girls‟ team and senior boys‟ team in this
year‟s East Lothian Basketball Cup in September. This is the first year that this event has run and after
being part of the event I am sure it will continue. With 5 out of the 6 East Lothian schools represented
there was a great atmosphere in the Knox Games Hall and the matches did not disappoint.
First up was a strong Knox senior boys‟ team that beat an injury plagued Ross High team 30-14. North
Berwick then beat Musselburgh before Knox triumphed over Dunbar 28-14.
The U15 girls‟ tournament sadly saw the Knox team lose both their matches but with promising
performances to the new-look team, Knox will surely get their first win in the next round of matches
being held at Knox in the future.
Eilidh McClure (1G1) attended the Basketball Scotland‟s Talent Identification Programme on Sunday
4th October at Bathgate Academy and was successful in gaining access to the programme for 2009/10.
This is the first step on Scotland‟s high performance pathway and a key development experience for
aspiring young players.

County Sports

Last year‟s County Sports were cancelled due to the heavy rain in June but thankfully the PE staff from
all East Lothian Schools managed to work hard to rearrange the date for the 2nd September this year.
However, our top athletes were a little off the pace after a long summer vacation and Knox Academy
only managed to finish 5th.
Missing some of our athletes on the day due to other commitments did hamper our performance but
there were some individual displays that deserve some recognition. Fiona Cleat (5L2) on the track was
as usual a great success in the senior championships. Neil Black, 2T2, on his first attempt in the sand pit
on the junior boy‟s triple jump and Kimberly Smith, 3L2, competed in three different age groups in the
relays.
It was a tremendous effort from all the participants and we will be looking to improve on our 5 th place in
the next County Championships next June.
 Page 17
S P ORT S ’ N E W S C O N T I NU E D

Golf

Jack Rogan (1G3) has been driving, chipping and putting to success this summer on the golf course. At
his home course, Whitekirk, he was fourth in the Professional‟s Day tournament, tied first in the sum-
mer competition and won the Junior Stroke Play. Playing away from his home course, he came third in
the Woll Junior Open and won the Junior Invitational at Castlepark. We look forward to welcoming him
into the school team.
Hockey

Knox Academy S2 hockey team managed to reach the semi finals of the September festival held at
Meadowmill Sport Centre. Qualifying with a win, a draw and a loss from their group stage, Knox faced
a strong North Berwick team in the semis that eventually went on to win the festival. A spirited
performance from the girls saw Kirsty Steven on target in attack and Holly Taylor organising a strong
defence. The team will now face the 5 other East Lothian schools in matches over the next few months.

Outdoor Education Challenge

Knox Academy entered 2 teams into the S5 Challenge held at North Berwick Law on Friday 25 th
September organised by the East Lothian Outdoor Education team. There were mixed results for the two
teams as one finished 2nd and the other finishing in 8th place out of 9 teams that entered.
The day was made up of 8 small challenges ranging from team building, orienteering and climbing. The
Knox team that were runners up behind Preston lodge were Declan Kane, Kris Bleakley, Kelsie
Hamilton, Tina Laing, Robyn Szymoszowskyj and Kirsty Young.

PaiS
Knox Academy has eight athletes in this year‟s East Lothian‟s Performance Athletes in Sports (PAiS)
programme, which looks to develop the pupils with the potential to becoming the stars of future.
The programme was a massive success for some of our young athletes last year with our 2 badminton
players being selected for Scotland and Alex Spence being included in the Scottish Rugby Union Junior
Academy. This year Hannah Baxter has been selected as the U16 City of Edinburgh Kool Kats captain
(Basketball) and Shaun Lund has been included in the U18 East District Hockey squad.

Athletes:
Hannah Baxter Basketball
Fraser Bell Hockey
Shaun Lund Hockey
Catherine Dodson Hockey *
Hannah Laing Badminton
Megan Richardson Badminton
Michael Hill Football *
Bruce Halloran Swimming *
* new this year
Rugby

Nine Second Year pupils have been included in the East Lothian Falcons squad for the next season‟s
rugby development programme. The boys will get the opportunity to train with other boys in the region
and hopefully go on to represent East Lothian in the U15 pathways programme.

Squad: Paul McClung, Jack Hamilton, Neil Black, Connor Munro, Harvey Blake, Gregor Denholm,
Mark Robertson, Alexander Ingram & Paul Fairgrieve.
Page 18 Knox News

S P ORT S ’ U P DAT E C O NT I N UE D

Knox Academy‟s first game of the S2 rugby season was against a strong Dunbar Grammar side that had
already beaten Preston lodge and Ross High. However it was Knox who got on the score sheet first and
never looked back. In the first minute a surging run saw Neil Black cross the line which was then
followed by a brace from Paul McLung and a superb solo effort from Harvey Blake. Dunbar did manage
to pull one try back before the half to make the half time score 28-7.
The second half was much like the first with another try for Neil Black, a debut try from first year Lorne
Black and tries from Connor Munro and Alexander Ingram. Paul McLung had a great day with the boot
converting 5 and Connor Munro slotted over the kick after his own try. The final score was 52-12.

Knox Academy travelled to Royal High on a windy Saturday morning on 3rd October. Only managing to
travel with thirteen boys Knox thought they may struggle against a strong Edinburgh side. However,
with the home team plagued by illness the game was played as an eleven-a-side match.
Knox continued their great start to the season with a 27-65 victory that saw Neil Black bag 6 tries.
Others on the score sheet were Harvey Blake, Alexander Ingram, Gregor Denholm and new comer
Sasha Dubitskiy with a double. Captain Connor Munro and Harvey Blake shared the kicking duties.

The under 15 team had a hard start to this year‟s Brewin Dolphin (formally the Bell Lawrie) Cup with a
round 1 tie versus local rivals Dunbar Grammar. With a relatively young and inexperienced team Knox
Academy were on the wrong end of 10 try thriller. However, the try of the day needs to be awarded to
the Knox Academy captain Jordan Currie 4L3 who took a short pass from Peter Wilson 3T2 to beat
three defenders and race to score under the posts.

The team that was made up of a large number of S2 pupils will now compete in the lower tier
competition where they can build and practise for next year‟s Cup when they will be competing against
boys of the same age and development.

Soccerone

The first East Lothian Soccerone event took place at the Aubigny Astro Turf on Tuesday 29th
September. The S2 and U15 boys‟ teams competed in the first round of matches and both the Knox
teams got off to flying starts with one win each and one draw each. Both the S2 and U15 team beat
Musselburgh and drew with North Berwick. The next event that Knox will host will see these teams
face Ross High and Dunbar.

R Couper
Sports and Physical Activities Coordinator

Soccer Results

Knox Academy under 16 boys‟ football team were victorious over Whitburn Academy in the Scottish
Schools Shield. Knox took a one goal lead when Jonathan Bisset scored the opening goal early in the
first half. Whitburn then took the lead with a goal either side of half time but Knox equalised quickly
with a goal from David Fairgrieve. After 80 minutes of normal time and twenty minutes‟ extra time the
game could not be decided so it went to penalties. Knox Academy finished the game with good saves
from Josh McFarlane in goal and a winning penalty scored by Richard Waddell.

J. Stirling
Knox Academy Director of Football
 Page 19
F R I DAY M O R NI N G S A RE AC E!
Health and Well-being

Many of you will be aware that we are piloting a new course this year with S1. The course involves
pupils in 3 activities over the course of the year and for 11 weeks, they are concentrating on discovering
more about their own health and well-being and the choices they make with regard to this.

For the current rota all Garleton classes (60 pupils) are with the Guidance, PE and HE staff trying out a
huge range of new activities and researching a range of health topics.

Each week pupils are encouraged to try out a new activity and we are very grateful to the many
volunteers who have come into school to let the pupils experience these activities.
So far the rota includes:
Cheerleading
Dance
Athletics
Dodgeball
Judo
Potted sports
Pilates
Kite making and flying
Ultimate Frisbee
Surfing! (in the hall!!)
Mr Couper doing the Haka!

As well as encouraging the pupils to „get active‟ and participate in new activities, a lot of learning goes
on too. The emphasis has very much been on discovery and a move to the pupils being responsible for
their own learning, and moving away from the old style lessons in front of the board.

Pupils have learnt how to take their blood pressure and what it means. They have assessed their own
levels of balance, agility reflex and lung capacity. They looked at working out a person‟s BMI and what
affects this number.

Guest speakers have been brought in from the Police and Integration Team to look at the topics of drugs,
smoking and alcohol. Currently we are also hoping to find speakers to look at the topic of Mental
Health. Each week pupils complete a diary telling us what they have learnt about health and assessing
their own health. They also set targets for improving their health.

As well as 2 weeks of sex and relationships education, looking mostly at revision from Primary School
and puberty, we have spent 2 weeks looking at Healthy Eating. Pupils made themselves healthy
sandwiches trying out new fillings and ingredients and they have also participated in a fruit tasting. The
aim of all these lessons is to make pupils increasingly aware of their own health, the choices they make
and how those choices may affect their futures.

As ever, if you have any questions about any part of this course, please don‟t hesitate to get in touch.

We are always looking for new volunteers to come in and exhibit your favourite activity to new faces,
so if you would be interested in this, or offering an incentive to pupils to come along to your club or
activity, please get in touch.

H MacLeod
PT Support for Pupils
Page 20 Knox News

F R I DAY M O R NI N G S A R E AC E!

DESTINATION: AFRICA

As part of „A Curriculum for Excellence‟, S1 Traprain pupils have been working on a project entitled
Destination: Africa for 11 weeks on Friday mornings. The project ties in with Knox Academy‟s link
with Ruhanga Secondary school in Rwanda, and gives pupils a chance to find out more about our
partner school. It also encourages them to find out more about the African continent and culture through
History, Art, Music, Drama, Geography and Citizenship. Activities include:
A trip to TESCO to investigate Fair Trade produce
The Big African Quiz
The Chocolate Game, investigating the journey from cocoa bean to chocolate bar
Mask Making
African Drumming and Dance
Scrapbook Making
Research Tasks
Letter Writing
Dramatising African folk tales
The project is led by Miss Orr (Music), Miss Johnston (Art) and
Miss Jeffrey (Geography) but several other members of staff
have been keen to get involved and offer their expertise,
including Mrs Craig and Mr Couper! All the pupils who have
taken part in the project so far have thrown themselves into the tasks with great enthusiasm and have
really enjoyed themselves. We look forward to seeing the rest of S1 in Destination:Africa over the next
few months.

E Orr
Music Dept

Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies

As part of the new-look Friday mornings for S1, the RMPS Department has been delivering their S1
course in a slightly different way. Instead of S1 pupils coming to the department for one period per
week over the year, they come for three hours every Friday for eleven weeks.
So far, pupils have made films about what it means to be a human being, made posters, tried
to answer the big questions of life in about 200 words, had a visit from one of our local
ministers (is it true you only work one day a week?) and will be filming in St Mary‟s parish
church.
Three hours certainly sounds like a long time to be doing anything, however, the youngsters
have taken to it with gusto, having more time to debate issues, try a bit of drama and getting
an opportunity to reflect on the topics at a deeper level.

S Ingham
Depute Head Teacher
 Page 21
L I T T L E S HOP OF H O RROR S

The S4 Standard Grade Drama Pupils went to Festival Theatre in Edinburgh to see the Touring
Production of the West End hit „Little Shop of Horrors‟.

„Little Shop of Horrors‟ tells the story of lonely shop worker Seymour who is in love with his co-worker
Audrey. When Seymour finds a mysterious plant one day his luck changes and suddenly everybody
wants to be Seymour‟s friend but when the plant suddenly likes the taste of blood things take a nasty
turn because this is no ordinary plant, this is a man eating plant from outer space!

S4 pupil Jordan said „I thought the production was brilliant, I had seen the movie and I didn‟t like it but
the stage show was really good. I thought the plant was amazing how it kept on growing and moving. It
was really good. The show was good and meeting the stars topped it all off‟.

Pupils had the chance to meet the cast after the show, asking them questions about their work as actors
and having their photo taken with Claire Buckfield (2.4 Children and Dancing on Ice star) who played
Audrey and Alex Ferns (best known as Eastenders baddie Trevor) who played the Dentist.

Mr Campbell said „The pupils were excellent in the theatre and it was great for them to experience this
exciting show in Scotland at the Festival Theatre. The cast were amazing and I think everyone had a re-
ally enjoyable evening.‟

Previously the Standard Grade pupils have seen „Mary Poppins‟ at the Edinburgh Playhouse and „The
Mystery of Irma Vep‟ at the Royal Lyceum.

C Morgan
Drama Dept

Y O U N G E N T E RP R I SE : RISE

Our team of 8 enthusiastic entrepreneurs have begun our quest to create the best product/service ever to
have graced Knox Academy‟s Business Department.

This year Young Enterprise is all about challenging ourselves as much as possible and putting in the
hard graft to give you all an exciting new product/service.

Watch out around the school for up-dates on our progress!

Bruce Halloran
6L
Page 22 Knox News

I N SI D E S TORY H E A DL I NE

Time Capsule 2009

We have created a Time Capsule which is intended to preserve photographs of everyday objects for
future generations of pupils to discover.

The objects in the Time Capsule reflect the inventions that were useful to us in the 21st Century. Some
of the things we buried include: a mobile phone, money, school bag, deodorant, pens and school work!

Here is our letter to future pupils.

Dear future person(s)

We have buried these photographs to show you some of the things we found useful in 2009.

Bikes were a common form of transport. We hope you still have them. Maybe you get around on sky
cycles in your days. Nearly everyone seemed to have a mobile phone. I expect you now communicate
with special bio-chips. At least you won‟t get into trouble like we did at school!

Shoes were important to us. Everyone loved trainers, we never took them off. Perhaps you are born
with them on your feet nowadays.

Well, these are just some of the things we valued.

We expect you are now all getting educated in a big shiny class with a robot teacher and holograms and
things.

Bet you are still late for class though.

Some things never change.

Yours truly

Mr. Halliday‟s S2 English class of 2009.

K N OX A C A DE MY S U P P ORT G ROU P
A big thank you to all who helped with our two summer events: the Duck Derby and Teas in the Park.
We raised a massive £1298.

Events that are planned for the next term are:

AGM – 27th October in the school Library from 6.30pm. This will be followed by a meeting of the
Support Group. We would be delighted to welcome new members. You can decide what level of
involvement you want with the group, but the more the merrier!

Whole School Dance – Tuesday 1st December 7.00pm-10.00pm

M Ball
 Page 23
T O N E R C ART RI D G E S

YOUR TRASH IS WORTH CASH!!!

If you are guilty of throwing away old inkjet cartridges and mobile phones, read on…..

Knox Academy has signed up to a leading recycling programme Recycool, a scheme that will help boost
school funds and divert products from landfill. Every time you donate a cartridge or old mobile phone
to us for the Recycool programme, the school will receive a cash donation and the company will plant
trees in our name.

Please put your old mobile phones, inkjet and toner printer cartridges to one side
You will be helping the environment and helping our fundraising. What‟s more, it won‟t cost you a pen-
ny.

This session we have already recycled 4 mobile phones, 28 laser cartridges and a whopping 229 inkjet
cartridges!!!

FACTFILE

 Mobile phones contain cadmium, a dangerous toxic substance.

 Binned mobile phones end up in landfill sites, where corrosion to their batteries causes cadmium to
leech out into the surrounding soil.
 Mobiles and printer cartridges are valuable and can be recycled to help the environment.
 Phones that are unsuitable for recycling are disposed of safely, without harm to the environment.
 Fewer than one in 25 mobile phones is recycled.
 Only 5% of printer cartridges are recycled. The rest, worth approximately £57 million, are buried in
landfill sites. They could be helping worthwhile charities.
 It takes more than 1.5 pints of oil to make a new toner cartridge.
 In the last decade it is estimated that printer cartridges worth around £500,000,000,000 were dumped
in landfill sites. They could have been used to provide much-needed cash to worthwhile charities.

Please contact Mrs Davidson (Business Manager) for more information. Items for recycling can be
handed in to the school office. Thank you.

N Davidson
Business Manager

T H U R SDAY F O OT BAL L FOR S 3 - S6

Thursday Football takes place at the Aubigny Centre, with 7 teams each week, approximately 45 boys.
Games are very competitive, but played in a good spirit. The Jetsons have made a flying start and are
well ahead of the rest of the teams.

R Flood
Technology Faculty
Page 24 Knox News

P A R E NT S C HO OL P ART NE RS HI P N E W S

Your Parent Council is back at work again and has already held its second Parent School Partnership
(PSP) meeting of the academic year. The PSP consists of elected parent representatives, teachers and
head teacher. It meets on a regular basis 8 times per year to discuss the various issues which arise. Any
parent may attend the meetings.

In a nutshell, the Parent Council functions are:

 supporting the school in its work with pupils;
 representing the views of parents;
 promoting contact between the school, parents, pupils, and the community; and
 reporting to the Parent Forum (the parent body)

An excellent website which gives a full description is:

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/parentsaspartnersinlearning.

Given that the essence of the Parent Council is to represent the parents‟ views, communication is key.
We have our own email list for this – PAMELA – which is separate from the Knox Academy list. If
you haven‟t already signed up then please do if you can at http://www.knoxparents.org.uk/ This website
also publishes news bulletins about Knox activities.

Please do contact us about any school issues. You can find our contact details at:
http://knoxparents.googlepages.com/contact

Last year was very busy and reasonably successful for the Parent Council. Issues successfully tackled
included the relaxation of the roll cap that had been applied to Knox Academy; and, through the county
wide organisation of parent councils (ELAPCM), took the budgeting issues directly to the leadership of
the county council as part of last year‟s budget consultation exercise.

This year we have identified improving school / home communications as a priority. Budgeting cuts
will also come around again and we are waiting to hear what the budget proposals will be for 2010/11.

T Holden, Chair

A B S E N C E N OT E S BY E M AI L

After the October holiday the school will be accepting absence notes via email. If you wish to do this
please email the address below, putting your child‟s name and tutor group in the subject line. We real-
ise that this system might be open to abuse, but we will be storing the emails and parents and carers can
still request absence print outs to check that they are up to date with absence notes. If absences remain
unexplained by either letter or email for a month they will be changed to either “N” for “unreasonable
excuse” or “T” for “truancy”.

knoxacademy@knox.elcschool.org.uk

S Ingham
Depute Head Teacher
A U B I G N Y & T WI N NI N G Page 25

Activities’ Week

For Activities Week this session, a large number of pupils have chosen to go to Aubigny and Paris,
which will help them to know our twin town as well as helping towards the work for their Standard
Grade exam. They will be able to write to pupils in our twin school in Aubigny and meet them when
they‟re there. The French pupils won‟t be able to visit our school and town this year as they did last
year, so we hope they will manage in 2011.

Twinning Scholarship

This scholarship is offered to S5 &6 pupils who would like to spend a month in Aubigny in the sum-
mer.Haddington Twinning Association provide travel and accommodation with a family. You just need
some spending money. You don‟t have to be good at French to do this and some work experience is pro-
vided.
Anyone who is interested should speak to Mrs.Elliott and write (in English) why they would like to
apply.
Nick Thompson came into school in September to talk to some S5&6 pupils about the month he spent in
Aubigny this summer. He enjoyed working at the primary school as well as the tourist office. Aubigny
was busy in the middle of July celebrating the franco-scottish connection.

Nick writes...

As I was awarded the Twinning Scholarship during my sixth and final year at Knox Academy last year,
I spent a month of the summer in Aubigny staying with two French families and gaining work
experience. I started off as a classroom assistant in the town‟s primary school and then spent two weeks
helping out in the tourist office. Although it was a little daunting at first I soon settled in and of course
got plenty of practice speaking French, while getting a valuable insight into daily life and French
culture. I think the main reason I enjoyed myself so much was just because everyone I met there, in
particular the families I stayed with and the people I worked with, were so welcoming and kind to
me. I‟m trying to keep in touch with some of the friends I made over there and I‟d love to go back one
day. And I‟d also like to say a big thank you to everyone in the Twinning Association who worked to
organise my trip - it was a fantastic experience and a wonderful opportunity for me.

E Elliott
Modern Languages

C OAC HI N G A WAR D

In early September one of our Geography Staff, Miss L Jeffrey, was awarded the Coach of the Year
Award at the Scottish Gymnastics Awards Dinner. This was in recognition of her work with youngsters
in the City of Edinburgh Trampoline Club.

Congratulation to Miss Jeffrey

J B Craig
Headteacher
Page 26 Knox News

D AT E S S E S SI O N 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1

Staff Pupils
TERM 1
Staff Resume Monday 16th August 2010 (In-Service Day 1)
Tuesday 17th August 2010 (In-Service Day 2)
Staff Break Friday 17th September 2010 Pupils Resume
Autumn Holiday Monday 20th September 2010
Staff resume Tuesday 21st September 2010 Pupils Resume
Staff Break Friday 15th October 2010 Pupils Break
Staff Resume Monday 25th October 2010 (In-Service Day 3)
Tuesday 26th October 2010 Pupils Resume
Staff Break Thursday 23rd December Pupils Break (End of Term 1)
2010
TERM 2
Staff Resume Monday 10th January 2011 (In-Service Day 4)
Tuesday 11th January 2011 Pupils Resume
Staff Break Friday 11th February 2011 Pupils Break
Staff Resume Monday 21 February 2011 Pupils Resume
Staff Break Friday 8th April 2011 Pupils Break (End of Term 2)
Spring Holiday Monday 18th April 2011
Good Friday Friday 22nd April 2011
Easter Monday Monday 25th April 2011
TERM 3
Staff Resume Tuesday 26th April 2011 Pupils Resume
May Day Holiday Monday 2nd May 2011 May Day Holiday Schools Closed
Staff Resume Tuesday 3rd May 2011 Pupils Resume
Victoria Day Monday 23rd May 2011 Victoria Day Schools Closed
Staff Resume Tuesday 24th may 2011 (In-Service Day 5)
Wednesday 25th May 2011 (In-Service Day 6)
Thursday 26th May 2011 Pupils Resume
Staff Break Friday 1st July 2011 Pupils Break (End of Term 3)

Please take note of the session dates above when planning for holidays. Holidays that are taken
during term time, unless because of exceptional circumstances, will be recorded as
“Unauthorised”. Holidays taken during term time will impede your child‟s academic progress
as they often find it difficult to catch up on work that has been missed.
Last session 97 pupil working weeks were lost due to unauthorised holidays.
 Page 27
P H OT O GR AP HY

Amateur photographer, Emma Campbell, 5T2, recently had her talent recognised in the Rotary Young
Photographer competition winning the regional section. Her composition is entitled “Shadwell Army
Attack”.

D R E S S C O DE

The Dress Code for Knox Academy is outlined below.

Years 1 to 6 inclusive:

· White collared shirt (boys shirts should be tucked in)

· School tie (to be worn at the neck)
· „V‟ neck sweater or fleece (plain – navy or black). No other colours allowed
· Smart black trousers from waist to toe. (No jeans/cargo or hipster trousers.)
· Smart black skirt
· Black shoes (no trainers)
· Shorts may not be worn other than PE in classes
· Headwear may only be worn in school for religious or health reasons
· Jewellery should be kept to a minimum and be discreet
· Accessories should be in dress code colours only eg bags, scarves and hats
· Belts should be black or navy only.

Items that are NOT Dress Code:

 Hooded Tops
 Strappy/Vest tops
 Hipster trousers
 Skirts worn over trousers or footless tights
 Footless tights
 Big belts that are not black or navy
 Large beads/pieces of jewellery
 Shorts of ANY kind (long or short)

T h e N e w s l e t t e r o f
K n o x A c a d e m y
Pencaitland Road
Haddington
East Lothian
EH41 4DT
Phone: 01620 823387
Fax: 01620 823186
Email: knoxacademy@knox.elcschool.org.uk
Dates for the Diary:
Tuesday 27 October
Thursday 29 October
Tuesday 3 Novermber
Wednesday 4 November
Wednesday 4 November &
Thursday 5 November
Friday 6 November
Monday 9 November
Tuesday 10 November
Monday 16 November
Monday 23 November
Wednesday 25 November
Tuesday 1 December
Wednesday 2 December &
Thursday 3 December
Tuesday 8 December
Wednesday 9 December &
Thursday 10 December
Thursday 10 December
Friday 11 December
Monday 14 December
Wednesday 16 December
Tuesday 22 December
Wednesday 6 January 2010
W E’ R E O N T H E W EB AT
W W W. K A - N ET. O RG. U K
Pupils Resume
S4 Parents‟ Consultation (5-7pm)
Dep Tet Polio Injections (S2)
S4 Music Prelims
Parent School Partnership Meeting (6.15pm)
Higher Drama Event (6pm)
S1 Challenge
S4 Prelims being
S1 Progress Reports Issued
S1 Parents‟ Consultation (5-7pm)
Enterprise Week
S4 Work Experience Week
S5/6 Progress Reports Issued
Whole School Dance
S5/6 Music Prelims
S5/6 Parents‟ Consultation (5-7pm)
Drama Production -
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
HPV Injections (S2/4/5 Girls)
S6 Challenge
S2 Progress Reports Issued
Christmas Concert (1.45 & 7pm)
S6 Pantomime
All Break
Pupils Resume