Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome to this, the first Knox News of session 2010-2011. So far, the new term has been very busy and we
have had a wide variety of events including the S1 Induction Morning, 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 have been some staffing changes. In August we welcomed the following
staff to Knox: Ms A Gallacher and Ms K Hay (Art and Design), Ms E Whitfield (Drama), Mr C Blair
(Mathematics), Mr A McFarlane (Business Education), Mr J Clelland and Ms J Waters (P.E.), Mrs S Moore and
Ms A Morson (Technical), Ms C Barrass (Computing) and Mr P Bristow (English). Also, we welcome back
Mrs M Maxwell (English).
During the summer, Mr R Couper resigned as Sports and Activity Co-ordinator in order to take up the post of
SRU Regional Academy Coach for Glasgow South. During his 3 years at the school Mr Couper worked hard to
expand the range and variety of activities on offer at Knox and his good humour and enthusiasm will be missed.
ACE mornings will not be the same without Mr Couper energetically cheer-leading!
On Friday 15 October we say farewell to Mrs E Garwood, Principal Teacher of Guidance (Garleton), who is
taking up a post in the Borders. During nearly 5 years at Knox, Ms Garwood’s enthusiasm and hard work have
ensured that pupils have been able to access the very best opportunities in Work Experience and college
placements. She has been unflagging in her support for all pupils, not just those in Garleton. Mrs Garwood has
been a loyal and supportive colleague, playing a major role in the development and re-structuring of the Support
for Pupils Department. Like Mr Couper, she has been a driving force behind the ACE mornings. As well as
making significant contributions to the Drama and Modern Languages Departments, Mrs Garwood has taken
part in many extra-curricular activities, including dances, shows and assemblies, even on one notable occasion
portraying an Ice Age squirrel.
I am sure you join me in thanking Mr Couper and Mrs Garwood for their hard work and commitment and wish
them every success in their new posts.
J B Craig
Head Teacher
PAGE 2 K NOX NE WS
In the last issue of the Knox News we stated that Mrs Elliott had been a member of staff for 18 years, when in
actual fact it should have read 35 years. We apologise for any upset or offence this might have caused.
Secondly…
The next edition of the Knox News will be available on the website. We will not be printing copies for Knox
parents. If you do not have access to the school website, please get in touch with me and we can print you a
copy. Paper copies will be printed off and sent to P7 parents as usual.
S Ingham
Depute Head Teacher
Heriot-Watt University
University of Aberdeen
University of Glasgow
Your Parent Council is back at work again and held its second Parent School Partnership (PSP) meeting of the
academic year at 6:15pm on the 6th of October at Knox Academy. 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.
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.
Attendance
We continue to do our best to chase up unexplained absences. So far this term we have had an attendance
rate of 94% across the school. Whilst that is good, it could be better. Some absences have still not been
covered by a letter so, to that end we shall be sending out absence letters shortly. If you receive a letter, all
you need to do is amend the absence print-out and sign it. Inevitably mistakes are made and we apologise for
any inconvenience that our enquiries might cause.
Just to remind you that we require you to telephone the school on every occasion that your son/daughter is
absent. Please call us before registration (8.44am). If you know that they are going to be off for a considerable
time you should mention that to the member of the office staff when you telephone, otherwise you will get a
telephone call every morning that your child is absent.
S Ingham
Depute Head Teacher
PAGE 4 K NOX NE WS
SQA Results
Results % of the Knox East Scotland
by the relevant Academy Lothian
end of Sept S4 roll
achieving
J B Craig
Head Teacher
Amnestea
Well done to the Knox Academy Amnesty International Youth Group. They worked hard baking, icing and
making cups of tea for a great cause. The group managed to raise £127 by inviting staff for a cup of tea and
some tasty cakes. Special mention to Rosie Murray who baked a beautiful cake with the Amnestea logo iced
on the top.
Thanks everyone who helped to “Protect the Human”.
L Montgomery
RMPS Department
K NOX NE WS PAGE 5
Have you got any unwanted mobile phones at home? Now there is a great opportunity for Yester Primary and
St Mary’s Primary to get some new ICT equipment. If they can collect 250 old mobiles the company which
manufactures their interactive whiteboards will give them 33 handsets which work with the boards. They can
be used to send answers to questions, fire sentences onto the board, select multiple choice answers and
vote. The kit usually sells for £1900, so getting it free is quite a saving!
The two primary schools have teamed up in order to have a realistic chance of achieving the target. They plan
to share the handsets with each other (e.g. a month’s use in each school).
And the icing on the cake is that, if they achieve the target, the manufacturer will also give £500 to the
NSPCC! This will be used to support Childline and the NSPCC’s own helpline. As the number of calls to
Childline is now so high, the charity is no longer able to cope and this money will be put straight towards
alleviating this problem.
Please ask friends and relatives if they have an old mobile ‘phone or two lying around. They can be handed in at
Yester or St Mary’s Primary Schools or Knox Academy reception.
I Devereux
Yester Primary School.
During the Challenge the pupils were required to work in teams, and they were given a technical problem to
solve; to design and manufacture a wind powered vehicle that needed to travel the greatest possible distance.
Mr. Harrison from Had-Fab Engineering in Macmerry came in to judge one of the sessions, and three members
of east Lothian Council came to judge each of the other three sessions. This involvement was greatly
appreciated by staff and pupils, and gave the competition a valuable link with industry.
There were many original and clever designs and the event was thoroughly enjoyed by the pupils.
A Leggatt
Design and Technology Department
PAGE 6 K NOX NE WS
School Council
The pupils of Knox Academy have now selected their School Council Representatives for session 2010-11.
The School Council Representatives duties this year will involve taking forward any of their fellow pupils
concerns and ideas.
In order for the group to get to know one other we all went to St. Mary’s Community Garden on Wednesday
8th September. We spent the morning raking hay, trimming flowers and discovering the local wildlife. Back in
school in the afternoon, the pupils discussed the main issues that they would like to look at this year.
All of the minutes from the School Council meetings this year will be available to look at on the School
Website. Any issues that pupils would like discussed at School Council meetings should be passed through
their Representative.
The School Council would like to thank all of the volunteers at St. Mary’s Community Garden for an enjoyable
morning.
K Bulloch
Modern Studies Department
Lammermuir Festival
For one week in September East Lothian was treated to a brand new music festival – the Lammermuir Festival.
The festival organisers were very keen to involve young people in the region, and our Knox Academy musicians
were given the opportunity to take part in a few of the varied events.
Ben Nisbet (S4) and Gayle Middleton (S5) signed up for the festival youth team and were responsible for front-
of-house and ushering duties at several of the performances.
David Edgar (S5) and Louise Roberts (S5) attended a rehearsal/workshop session at St Mary’s church, given by
the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
We were also delighted to receive a visit at school from Pure Brass, one of the top brass quintets in the
country, who spent a very entertaining hour performing, answering questions, and demonstrating brass playing
techniques in front of an audience made up of Higher Music students and senior brass pupils.
Many thanks go to the Lammermuir Festival staff for organising all of these events. We look forward to the 2011
festival and hope that even more of our youngsters will get involved in some capacity.
K Johnston
Music Department
K NOX NE WS PAGE 7
1800 First meal. Would you like some carbs with your carbs?
2000 Eighty-five 16 and 17 year olds play hide and seek for an hour. Mr Illingworth loses his wedding ring. Jade
‘Eagle Eyes’ Burgess finds it. Divorce averted.
2200 The world record for the number of people in one corridor doing the Macarena is broken.
0730 All the S6 are up before the teachers. Honestly. Very odd.
0900 - 1600 Giant swing, Jacob’s Ladder, scramble, abseiling…basically hanging off ropes and screaming. Head Boy
commits GBH on Mrs Garwood playing frisby.
1900 Talent (!) show. And the winner is…Mr Wren for his insightful and constructive judging. Our Deputy Head
Boy shows us that boxers have to be good movers.
2000 Dalguise experiences a Knox disco. So much fun is being had even staff join in.
2200 Back at the dorms. Some plumbing issues. Resolved by pupil with strong stomach and long arms.
0900 – 1600 Another day of pain, terror, mud and blood…just like being at school really.
Yet another highly successful staff/S6 weekend is over. The pupils were a real credit to themselves, their parents and
the school. We are very lucky to have them as our S6.
A massive thank you to Mrs Garwood, Mr Blair, Mr Hutchinson, Miss Slowther, Miss Ward, Mr Edwards,
Mr Dempster and Mr Wren for making the trip possible by giving up their weekend. A huge thanks to
Mr MacDonald who, as ever, organised and led an excellent trip.
S Illingworth
Head of S6
PAGE 8 K NOX NE WS
The Amnesty Group is currently campaigning for Human Rights in Burma. The group are standing in solidarity
with Burma’s political prisoners by taking part in a photo campaign. These prisoners are not in prison for
committing any crime, but simply for peacefully protesting against the military Junta ruling. For followers of
Buddhism the open palm is a gesture of fearlessness, so the group wrote a name of a Burmese political prisoner
on their hand and have uploaded it to the Amnesty website. The images will be used to put pressure on world
leaders to take action on Burma.
L Montgomery
RMPS Department
K NOX NE WS PAGE 9
Aubigny
Five senior pupils (Gregor McMillan, Emma Campbell, Briony Fender, Lucy Thomson and Debbie Blair) spent a
week in Aubigny-sur-Nère in July with Mrs Elliott who retired from Knox this year, but who is still very much
involved with our twin town in France.
Aubigny was absolutely mobbed. Walking between stalls by the castle or in Les Grands Jardins
there was the sound of bagpipes echoing through the streets, various William Wallace types
queuing up for their haggis, the sound of bagpipes echoing through the trees, colourfully dressed
horse gymnasts, the sound of bagpipes echoing off bagpipes, weird costumes of every variety and
a pack of terrifyingly large dogs.
The spectacle was something of the likes I’ve never seen. Expecting a quaint village play I instead
was treated to ghosts and fireworks and flying machines and submarines and battles and devils
and fire and more fire and jousting and a lot more French than I could follow at that late hour. It
is definitely something I would like to see again.
It would be impossible to describe every detail of our trip, but it was a busy week indeed, and an
extremely steep learning curve. Personally, however, two things stood out. Firstly, the speed at
which I - and from what I hear, everyone – became confident with being in at the linguistic deep
end. Wandering around Aubigny on day one, everyone looked a little uncomfortable. A week
later, I didn’t feel like a tourist, more a French teenager out with friends.
Even better was the list of names and addresses we came home with, people that will forever be
more memorable and impacting than anything else. Everyone made friends. Everyone learnt
something. And above all, everyone had a great time.
Emma Lynas came in to talk to some S5 and S6 pupils about her month spent in Aubigny in the summer with the
Twinning Scholarship. She spoke about her work experience in the primary school and tourist office. Any S5 or
S6 pupil interested in applying for the scholarship for 2011 should speak to Mr Hutchinson or Mrs Cochrane as
soon as possible.
P Hutchinson
Modern Languages Department
PAGE 10 K NOX NE WS
Drama News
Hannah and Hanna
Pupils studying Standard Grade Drama were treated to a fantastic production of ‘Hannah and Hanna’ by
Catherine Wheels Theatre Company right here at Knox Academy. The play deals with a refugee from Bosnia
called Hanna coming to England, there she finds problems but soon makes friends with a girl called Hannah. The
play deals with the themes of Refugees, Bullying, Racism and Friendship. Beth Smith, S4 pupil, had this to say
about the production ‘I thought it was very well presented, it was different from any performance I’ve seen and
the ending was quite emotional. I really enjoyed it’.
Black Watch
The award winning ‘Black Watch’ returned to Scotland and we jumped at the chance to see it live on stage,
pupils from the Higher Drama, Intermediate Two Drama, Advanced Higher Drama and NC Musical Theatre
Classes took the coach to Glasgow to see the new National Theatre of Scotland production. Pupils were
amazed by the staging of the production and really engaged with every aspect of the show. We had lots to talk
about in class afterwards!
After the success of last year’s ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’, Academy Productions are asking you
to attend the tale of ‘Sweeney Todd… the Demon Barber of Fleet Street’. Blood, guts, limbs, meat pies and a
fine shave are all to be had in the school hall from 13th – 15th December 2010. Do not miss it!
Pupils from S3–S6 are taking part in an exciting new course in Theatrical Stage Make-Up, which when completed
all the outcomes will award them an SQA unit. This term they have been focusing on wounds, bruises, cuts and
aging! It is already proving to be very popular and there are photos in school showing their efforts.
Sports’ Co-ordinator
We look forward to welcoming Mr Lambert as our new Sports’ and Physical Activities’ Co-ordinator. He will
be responsible for organising extra-curricular sport and will be encouraging as many pupils as possible to get
involved in some physical activity. If you want to know more about what’s on in the school you can check the
school website or contact Mr Lambert through the School Office.
S Ingham
Depute Head Teacher
K NOX NE WS PAGE 11
Morocco 2010
Before we could even get to Morocco we had to raise money for our expedition. For fundraising, everyone had different
ideas – some of these included having coffee mornings, and doing car washes. We also organised a raffle, with prizes do-
nated from lots of shops in the local community. Personally, we all did different things to raise money. Some of us got part
time jobs whilst others even took part in a sponsored bungee jump. The bungee jump alone raised £900 for two team
members. The group fundraising was important because it brought us together and helped us to gel as a team. Personal
fundraising made us take the expedition seriously and take on more responsibility for our finances. In total we had 8
months to fundraise for the expedition.
After an early morning flight from London Gatwick we arrived in Marrakech in the afternoon. Our hotel was actually pretty
nice and was based right opposite the famous market square of Marrakech. The views from our hotel were super. We had
a view of the whole city. At night the square came alive. Hundreds of people would gather in the square to socialise and
watch many performances from people such as snake charmers and dancers. Many stalls would appear which sold an im-
pressive volume of fruit, spices and traditional Moroccan meals. All the merchants would come out to the square and try to
sell you their goods.
Marrakech is an amazing city. The city is full of many narrow alleys which stretch out in every direction. It felt like being in a
maze. Within these alleys were more shops full of all types of goods. We had to stay together as it was way too easy to get
lost either within the mass of people or more simply by losing your bearings.
The trek up Jebal Toubkal took a total of 3 days. It was a very challenging journey. Before starting out we had to buy lots of
supplies to keep us going. When we arrived in Aroumd we met our tour guide and cook – they were both so friendly and
knew a lot about the local area.
The next day was possibly the longest walk of our lives! We followed a narrow path for nearly 7 hours. This path led us
through some amazing scenery and was an indicator to how hard climbing the mountain would be. We found this first hike
difficult as our bodies were becoming adjusted to the altitude. This long walk eventually took us to base camp which was
situated approximately 3000m above sea level, above us towered Jebel Toubkal. It was hard to imagine how we would ever
get to the top.
Eventually we reached the summit of over 4000m. This is three times the height of Ben Nevis and half the height of Mount
Everest. The view was spectacular. We could see the whole of the Atlas Mountain range all the way down to the start of
the Sahara desert. After a well deserved rest we started our descent. This was challenging as it was steep and extremely
rocky. The next day we climbed a smaller ridge and then slowly walked back to Aroumnd.
On Day 8 we travelled to a very small village just outside of the costal town of Essaouira . Here we stayed for two nights
with a traditional Moroccan family. The family were very kind and their cooking skills were very impressive. With basic
equipment they would serve a good tasty tagine. This is the Moroccan speciality and involves lots of vegetables piled on top
of meat.
Staying with the family gave us the opportunity to develop our own cooking skills. The next day was our camel trek.
When we first saw the camels we would be riding, everyone became slightly worried as they were so big. Getting on a
camel was simple. Our guides would get them to crouch down on all fours meaning we could step up on to them. Once we
were on the camels would stand up. This was slightly frightening as we did not expect to feel so high up .
Overall our trip to Morocco was a once in a life time experience. It opened our eyes to a completely different way of life
and culture. I think everyone would agree the trip was an amazing experience, leaving us with new skills and memories
which will last forever.
I would highly recommend taking the opportunity like this with Outlook Expeditions. You might think the price is high but
at the end of the day it is truly worth it. It’s not every day you get to work so closely with your school mates and challenge
yourself to do new and exciting things.
Tom Hutcheon
(S6 Pupil)
PAGE 12 K NOX NE WS
Car Park
HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERN:
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 obstruction 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.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this, please contact me at the school.
Thank you
JB Craig
Head Teacher
Ecolife Event
The Biology Department are holding an event called Ecolife to be held in the Hall and Social area on Thursday
4th November from 7pm.
The evening is for pupils, parents and members of the community to attend. The event will have stalls with
· Eco crafts and jewellery
· Eco food
· Plants
· Information stalls about what we are doing in school and how to become more eco friendly at home.
As part of the evening we will have a 'swap in the city' clothing, book, computer game and DVD exchange
where people can bring in unwanted items and swap them for something they would like.
In addition to this we will also have an eco fashion show during the evening where pupils will model clothes
from the local charity shops.
We will be offering refreshments in the form of local goodies and home baking.
Tickets will be £3 and are available after the October Break at intervals in the Social Area. Alternatively
payment can be made on the door.
Favourite teacher at school: - Difficult choice, they were all very good, but if I had to opt for one it would
be Mrs Barber. She was always supportive, a good motivator, and had a cheerful disposition.
In karate you need to be fast, fit, fearless, very focussed, and very determined
Winning the World ‘Wado’ Karate Championships in August 2010 in Japan, the birthplace of the sport, with my
Mum Sheila there in my corner.
Anything else?
Karate encourages a healthy lifestyle whilst instilling discipline and a respect for others.
My advice to all the pupils at Knox Academy is to engage in sport, appreciate your involvement, and enjoy
everything that is associated with it, whether it is fitness, friendship, or success.
Finally remember that in any sport, ‘To win is wonderful, but to train is everything’.
PAGE 14 K NOX NE WS
Cycling News
At the UK Youth Track Champs in Wales on Friday 27th August, Sean Noon finished 12th overall in the U14
Boys’ Omnium.
An Omnium has around 6 different types of races, and it is a good test of someone’s all round ability, so as the
day unfolds, the positions can change from race to race. He had an up and down day, probably the same as most
others. He finished with a good performance in the scratch (bunch) race, only losing out at the very end as he
tired rapidly.
It was only his 2nd track race in England, so he has a lot to learn, because with track racing things happen so
fast, that tactics play a large part, and it's not always the strongest riders who do well.
It was a long day, we were at the track before 8.30am, and his last race was at 5.15, so we stayed one more
night in South Wales, before setting off on the long journey to Edinburgh on Saturday. The roads were very
busy (August Bank Holiday), so we were caught in lots of traffic jams. Because of this, we headed straight to
Meadowbank, staying the night in our van, then it was out on the track for the Scottish U14 boys Championship
on Sunday 29th.
The Scottish Champs were almost the opposite of the British, with Sean winning all his races, and taking the
Gold medal, there being no real opposition compared to Wales. A great ending to a busy weekend.
He now has won two Scottish Champs, and with the road season drawing to a close, he has two more targets :-
1) To beat his existing PB (personal best) in a 10 mile TT (time trial), currently 27:12
It's all good fun, and he is enjoying it, which is the main thing.
T Noon
Trampolining
Knox Academy continues to lead the trend on Trampolining in East Lothian. The school now has four trampolines, 3 of
which have been fully serviced and upgraded (by Active Schools) for use by Knox Academy PE Department, KATC and
Active Schools East Lothian. The fourth is in need of repair and we would welcome any donations or sponsorship to-
wards this.
Active Schools Secondary operate 2 Recreational Trampolining classes exclusively for Knox Academy pupils, these classes
have proven popular with both classes nearly full, with girls and boys from S1-3 signing up for the first 6 week block of
2010-2011.
Active Schools Primary, organised by Suzanne Laing the cluster coordinator for Haddington, had an extremely successful
launch in 2009. The classes have expanded to meet the growing demand and 6 classes a week now run at Knox Academy
for the local Primary Cluster pupils. This is a great link to help with the transition of pupils from primary to secondary
and it is great to have a new activity on offer in the area.
The trampolining programme at Knox Academy is facilitated by City Of Edinburgh Trampoline Club, offering specialist
instructors in each session and creating a pathway into competitive trampolining for those who show potential or wish to
progress further in the sport. The Club are working closely with Active Schools East Lothian to develop trampolining,
with the most recent development being the launch of 8 Recreational classes at Musselburgh Grammer.
More information on Trampoline classes available at Knox Academy or City Of Edinburgh Trampoline Club is available
from Miss Jeffrey, Suzanne Laing or the PE Noticeboard.
L Jeffrey
Geography Department
Cooking Up a Storm
The East Lothian Young Chef Competition took place on Friday 1 October, at Knox Academy, where S3 and S4
pupils from five of East Lothian's secondary schools competed for the title.
The winners this year were Shannon McLauchlan and Kerri Scambler from Knox Academy who created a fantastic dish of
Chicken Feuilletes with Celeriac Bake, followed by Steamed Blackberry and Apple Pudding with Crème Anglaise which
was greatly enjoyed by the judges.
The winners will enjoy a day of work experience at the Waterside Bistro where they will have their winning dish on the
menu for the day.
The East Lothian Young Chef Competition took place on Friday 1 October, at Knox Academy, where S3 and S4
pupils from five of East Lothian's secondary schools competed for the title.
The winners this year were Shannon McLauchlan and Kerri Scambler from Knox Academy who created a fantastic dish of
Chicken Feuilletes with Celeriac Bake, followed by Steamed Blackberry and Apple Pudding with Crème Anglaise which
was greatly enjoyed by the judges.
The winners will enjoy a day of work experience at the Waterside Bistro where they will have their winning dish on the
menu for the day.
K Hossack
Home Economics
Dates for the Diary
Knox Academy
Pencaitland Road
Haddington
EH41 4DT
www.ka-net.org.uk
Email: knoxacademy@knox.elcschool.org.uk