Staffing
Interviews for the permanent teacher at Meadowpark took place on Monday and I am pleased to let you know that Victoria Trueman was appointed to this post.
Assemblies
There will be assemblies on anti-bullying next week and Ali Sewell will be leading our Christmas assemblies the last week of term.
Christmas Lunch
Our Food Court team always put on an absolutely fantastic Christmas lunch so please do come along to this. This will take place on Wednesday 10 December. The menu can be accessed here. S1-S3 will be released at 12.50pm to go for lunch and S4-6 at the normal time of 1.05.
Rights Respecting Schools (RRSA)
This week’s right of the week is Article 15 Setting up or joining groups
Children can join or set up groups or organisations, and they can meet with others, as long as this does not harm other people.
Our RRSA and Equity Committees are holding a luxury raffle for Christmas. The money they raise will be split between Lammermuir Larder and a Christmas gift drive. There are some amazing prizes up for grabs including a huge hamper full of goodies, and lots of vouchers for our lovely local businesses. You could also win a 2-night stay in a luxury cabin in Pencaitland (worth over £200!). Tickets cost £5 for the standard raffle, and £10 for the 2-night stay and can be bought from the school office with cash or on iPay. The raffle will be drawn on Friday 12th December. Any donations for prizes are more than welcome and can be dropped off at the office or brought in by our young people.
Knox Academy and Meadowpark Reading Schools
Reading Schools Funding 2025
We are thrilled to announce that we have been successful in our Reading Schools funding application to purchase new books for both Meadowpark and Knox Academy. The Reading Leadership teams have worked very hard on a video showcasing how we could use the funds to benefit all pupils in the school. The competition this year was extremely tough, and our pupils were praised for their ingenuity, videography skills, and passion for reading. The panel was also particularly impressed by demonstrations of strong pupil voice, a whole-school ethos and clear reading for pleasure strategy, genuine pupil-led agency in book choice, and the potential for sustainable impact as a result of the funding. Both Meadowpark and Knox Academy have been granted £500 each. What a fantastic sum of money to purchase lots of books to continue to develop our quest for reading for all.
If you would like to be a part of the Reading Leadership Team, they meet in the library on the 4th Tuesday of every month at Lunchtime. All staff and pupils are welcome to attend. Please speak to Miss Robertson (Librarian) if you have any more questions about the fund or would like to suggest any purchases.
Trips/visits/events
Parents’ Evening S2
It was great to see so many parents/carers and young people along to our parents’ evening on Wednesday evening. Those I spoke with had found the feedback from teachers really useful at this stage and just before course choices in January/February. It was also great to listen in on some of the conversations and hear parents/carers asking how they could support their young person’s learning at home – brilliant!
If you were unable to make this evening for any reason, please do contact the House Team so we can get some feedback for you on your young person’s performance.
Festive Fayre
Please do come along and support our S1 pupils at our Festive Fayre this weekend (Saturday 6 December). They have spent ages designing and making their products and are keen to sell them. There will also be a raffle run by our PTA – lots of goodies in the hampers. There will be tea/coffee/cakes, face painting and Santa will also be calling in. Our Jazz band, Goats Toes and Choir will also be performing. All in all, a great Saturday outing.
Christmas Concert
Tickets are still on sale for our Christmas Concert and can be purchased from our Music Department. This always a great night and gets everyone in the Christmas spirit so please do come along and join in the festive fun as a community.
Last Day of Term
Scottish Country Dancing
Our S1-S3 Ceilidh will take place in the Games Hall from 8.40-9.30am.
Our Senior Ceilidh will then follow this from 9.30-10.20 our
After break, pupils will return to register classes as compete as House Groups for our whole school quiz, which will be run by our Pupil Leadership Team.
At midday, we will all gather together in the Assembly Hall, to sing The 12 Days of Christmas!
Pupils will then be released for the school holidays at 12.15pm.
Dates for you diary:
25 November – 11 December – S4/5/6 Prelims
6 December – S1 Festive Fayre – 10am -12pm
8 December – S1-S3 Winter Ball – 7-9pm
10 December – Christmas lunch (food court)
11 December – Christmas Concert – 7-9pm – Assembly Hall
11 December - S1-S6 Flu Vaccinations (library)
16 December – S4-S6 Winter Ball – 7-9pm
Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.
Sue Cook
