I can hardly believe that, as I write, we are in the last day before exam leave for our senior pupils. Where has the year gone?
At an assembly this week, the senior pupils were reminded about the rules for being in the Hall during an exam (please, remind them NOT to bring mobile ‘phones into the exam). I also took the opportunity to wish them the best of luck for their exams. Senior pupils are welcome to come back into school during exam leave if they want to study or catch up with staff (but they must be in Dress Code so as to be easily identifiable as members of the school community). Yesterday about half of the S6 rounded off their time at school by going on a trip Paintballing. The staff were very proud of the pupils, saying that they behaved impeccably and were marvellous fun to be around. I think that I can echo that about the whole of the S6. We will miss them, but I know that they are going out into the world well prepared to take their next steps.
I really enjoyed my visit to the S4 Design and Manufacture class this week. They wanted to show me their final products, which were amazing. They had chosen a design era and built shelving units in that style. Hours and hours of hard work were evident in their final pieces, some of which would not have been out of place in galleries or showrooms.
We had a great P7 Numeracy transition event this week. Our prospective S1 pupils from our associated primary schools came up for the day on Wednesday and had a ball. They got to know each other and us a bit better and were able to demonstrate their numerical prowess. Please have look at our Twitter feed to get a sense of the day and some of the activities. I would also like to say thank you to the S3 helpers who got involved and guided proceedings.
The S3 Sky Sports Group has been particularly busy this week, being visited by Keith Cook as part of their Sky Sports work, and helping out at Haddington Infant School’s Health Week. The Depute Head Teacher wrote, “Your S3 pupils were all fantastic and we would welcome them back anytime. They were a credit to Knox Academy. All our staff were very impressed - they really were a great help.”
On Wednesday evening, instead of the Parent Council Meeting, we held a meeting to let parents and carers know about the inspection and how we are taking forward the recommendations and action points. I would like to thank the parents who attended (especially those who offered help and suggestions) and hope that we were able to inform and reassure. I am in the process of finalising the post-inspection plan and will be putting it on the website in the next couple of weeks and plan to have follow-up meetings for parents throughout the session.
Last Saturday Mr Flood and Rebecka Thorburn and Lauryn Demarco (S5) attended the annual Poppyscotland Volunteer Gathering in Stirling. They heard various speakers talking about the work Poppyscotland does in supporting veterans of various wars. It was heartfelt and inspirational. We are proud to be the Poppyscotland organisers for the Haddington area and look forward to this year’s appeal.
The school is closed on Monday 1 May owing to the May Bank Holiday. All pupils in S1 to S3 will resume at 8.44am on Tuesday 2 May. Design and Manufacture exams will take place, and senior pupils needing a place to revise are more than welcome to come in at any point.
Have a great week.
S Ingham
