S3 pupils this week have been issued with the following homework, due week commencing Monday 12 November 2012:
1) Identify 4 characteristics of an entrepreneur. (4 marks)
2) Describe the role of an entrepreneur. (1 mark)
General News
Published: 06 November 2012
HELP US TO FIND OUT IF THIS IDEA WILL WORK!
For one weekend only on 24 and 25 November you can bring the whole family to a free show in a temporary Igloovision 360 degree cinemax.
Every hour on the hour from 10 am until 5 pm you can see surround-sound films of the natural world and tell us what you think of our plans for a permanent building.
Spend the day in Dunbar and see the harbours, playparks, leisure pool and much more. No on site parking. Dress for the weather!
For further information visit the Dunbar Coastlife Centre website or the Igloovision website.
National Lottery Funded
Published: 06 November 2012
The National Parent Forum of Scotland have produced a presentation entitled "Parents as Partners: Working Together to Deliver a Curriculum for Excellence". This informative presentation can be viewed here.
Published: 06 November 2012
S2 pupils visit the Brunton Theatre
Students thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the Brunton Theatre today. Miss Machen and Mr Plain say that pupils were a credit to the school. Recently in class, many S2 pupils have been reading the First World War play, "White Poppies", and watching the adaptation of Micheal Morpurgo's moving war-time novel has further developed their understanding of this period.
Published: 06 November 2012
J K Rowling in Haddington
Miss Machen and three S6 students, Phoebe Roebuck, Claire Wilson and Ben Nisbet, were proud to represent Knox at this year's book festival. They thoroughly enjoyed listening to Muriel Sparks' interview with J K Rowling and were excited to meet the Harry Potter novelist at her book signing. Thanks to Nicky Stonehill for providing our students with this fantastic opportunity.
Published: 06 November 2012
The Tyne and Esk Young Writer of the Year Competition
Last term a number of our pupils enjoyed creating their entries for this competition. There were over500 entries from across Lothian, and we are particularly proud of four Knox students who were short-listed.
Secondary Poetry (7 entries short-listed - 2 from Knox)
Cosmic Hill by Sophie Hay (14)
The Broken Heart, The Broken Mirror by Riona Bruce (12)
Secondary Prose (8 entries short-listed - 3 from Knox)
The Shadow of the Beach and The Past by Riona Bruce (12)
A Matter Of Life Or Death – Caitlin Black (15)
Left behind – Charlotte Smith (13)
You can read Cosmic Hill here...
Cosmic Hill
Don’t we all know we work all day
In the light of the golden sun?
That we work in all its warm golden ray
That we play, that we work, that we run?
Until night falls along with the light
Till all were home and in bed
We all would rest when our worlds were right
And wishes of good dreams were all said.
But some people came out at night
Because some of us didn’t sleep at home
We all knew that the world wasn’t right
And out in the dark we would roam.
And atop the Cosmic hill we sat
Alone out in the dark
Oh star, oh star where are you at?
Where I wonder where you are.
And time again this’ll never end
We collect our newest dreams
And imagine the people we did defend
Though nothing was as it seems.
And with all of this over
And the night is sure to be done
The stars go home and sleep again
And up comes out the sun.
So goodnight to the stars of the dark, dark night
Goodbye to the moon until
Away goes another day, you see,
And we sit atop the Cosmic hill.
Published: 05 November 2012
On Thursday, the School Council had much to discuss. Firstly, the concerns about the food court queuing system over break has been resolved as teachers are now observing the queue alongside S6's to try and reduce congestion and to help move the queue more smoothly. This is working effectively and no more complaints have been brought to the School Council. Also, the Communications Faculty are aware of concerns arising from the S6 priorty computers and are working to ensure the S6's will always have access to computers, other than the ones in the library, by creating "Study Rooms".
One of our S3 representatives told the council that they had complaints of the radio played over lunchtime being too loud. The radio was part of a Self In Society project carried out by the S5's which has now been completed however the volume of the radio will be noted for future reference. Relating to the radio,it was mentioned by S4's that many students have asked if the radio could be played more often during lunchtimes, even if it were just a couple of times a week. Donald Turvill (our very own radio guru who presents on Castle FM!) has decided to look into this matter and speak with Mrs Ingham. Combined, S5 and S6 had a fair amount of matters to bring up. There have been concerns by seniors of comments made by other students to them, which in some cases have been inappropriate. The Head Girl has adressed this and Mr Illingworth is planning to hold an assembly about behaviour. Another issue is the lack of pricing on products in the food court. Many pupils would like to see prices displayed in the food court in the form of posters. It has been agreed that two council representatives will arrange to speak with the Food Court staff and see if this is possible. Also, students are curious as to why the school doesn't hold more mixed religious assemblies. We will discuss this with Mrs Ingham and see if this something we could work on. And finally, we had concerns that there are some S6 Prefects not doing their duties consistently. This will be brought up with Mr Illingworth at our next S6 leadership meeting. S6 play a vital role in the school and we have had very good feedback from teachers. We want to ensure this continues so we will address this as soon as possible.
Miss Duff spoke to us about the recent house competitions which have been going on. Each house now has its own slogan and the mascot teddy bears all have names. Well done to the people that took part! All will be revealed to the rest of the school soon.
This Wednesday we will be working with Mr Blair and Mr Dempster to help develop the answers to S1's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's). We think this would be a positive feature to the school as it will help future S1's when they come up to High School.
The Faculty Challenge which took place a few weeks ago has had mixed reviews. However, we are aware that Drama, Music and PE created particulary exciting challenges which students found fun. Guitar Hero seemed to be a hit!
We wish all the S4's Good Luck with their Prelims. Our next meeting will take place on Monday 3rd December Period 4.
Published: 05 November 2012
Sarah Muir shares her story with us...
This summer I was lucky enough to win the Alice Burnett Twinning scholarship. This meant that I was able to spend a month living and working in Haddington’s twin town: Aubigny sur Nère, in the Centre region of France. I lived with four different families, and did three weeks of work experience at the Tourist Information Office. After six years of studying French in school I was really excited to go to Aubigny and be properly immersed in the culture.
I arrived on the Thursday before the Fêtes Franco-Ecossaises, where I realised I’d travelled for three hours only to end up in ‘Little Scotland’ where the locals (embarrassingly) seemed to know a lot more about Scottish history than I did! The Fêtes are a weekend of festivities that celebrate the shared history of Scotland and France as a result of the Auld Alliance. There were re-enactments, fireworks, parades and pipe bands from across Europe. It was a great social event, and I only briefly lost my novelty ‘Scottish person’ status for a couple of hours when I helped out at the omelette stall.
Working from ten until five, five days a week isn’t everyone’s idea of a summer holiday, but it was a fantastic experience, and so much better than sitting about at home in Haddington. My thick Scottish accent and bad grammar didn’t always go down well, but being able to help the tourists enjoy their holiday was a wonderful feeling. I also did a lot of translation work for the website, and now when you call up the Sauldre and Sologne Tourist Office it’s my voice on the English answer machine message!
I’ve got so many great memories of my time away, not just of the festivals and day trips, but also of the more day-to-day things: dancing around to French pop music, teaching some of the girls how to do a Highland Fling, getting a ride on a combine harvester and learning to make proper crepes (and then being given a crêpe pan with typical Aubigny generosity).
The scholarship gave me a fantastic month; some fantastic stories and now my appetite’s been whetted I can’t wait to return to France!
Published: 05 November 2012
The Scottish Book Trust Young Writers Conference 2012 will be held in The Mitchell Library, Glasgow on Saturday 1st December at 10am - 4.15pm.
Pupils aged 14 -17 who have an interest in creative writing will be able to participate in workshops and meet established writers who will encourage progress in your creative writing.
Annabel Pitcher, author of My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is this year's keynote speaker and Annabel will also be running a workshop along with other critically acclaimed authors.
The cost of the conference is £6 and you must book in advance at Young Writers Conference.
Published: 02 November 2012
Organised by Haddington Fireworks Committee, the fireworks return to our local community on Saturday 3 November 2012 at Whittingham Drive (near the Golf Course).
The 'new' Knox Academy KWN Team will be at the event filming the fireworks and interviewing those involved.
The programme of events can be viewed below:
6.45 pm Opening Ceremony by Fish from Marillion.
7.00 pm We light the bonfire. Guy's not happy.
7.45 pm Boom! Fireworks start.
There will be burgers, hot dogs and juice available courtesy of Haddington Scouts.
FREE ENTRY FOR EVERYONE
Please note that the above times were the published times by Haddington Fireworks Committee in advance of Saturday night... on the evening, the fireworks display started early.
