A thoughtful and reflective week for us all at Meadowpark.

Armistice Day was marked by a two minute silence and class discussions around the meaning and “why we remember”.  Classes produced some fantastic pieces of work, but I’d like to make a special mention of Tyne Class who made some amazing poppy creations and then laid them in remembrance at the memorial.

Esk have been finding out what school life was like in Victorian times, as part of our Heritage Hero award. A few were shocked to discover that school wasn't a requirement, and that children as young as 8 could have a (more than) full-time job!

They have also sent letters to the schools neighbouring houses, asking if they had any memories/photos/newspaper cuttings of the school, and got a lovely reply which included an old colourised photo of children working in the school vegetable garden.

All classes today are enjoying a dress down day for Children in Need and are proud to be able to do a small thing to raise some money for those who need a little extra help. 

I’ve been struck this week by the Meadowpark young people’s sense of social responsibility and civic pride.

Best wishes,

Mr Johnson and the Meadowpark team.

It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable first week for me at Meadowpark.  I’ve been completely bowled over by the very warm welcome from the young people and staff team, and I’m very grateful to them all for the help they’ve given me this week in “finding my feet”.  I’m particularly grateful to be reconnecting with one young person from my recent past who has helped me feel right at home.

I’m looking forward to a time when I can welcome our Meadowpark parents and carers into school in person but it is looking like that is going to be a little way off in the strange future that we are facing. Instead, I’ll look at how we can do something soon via those lovely virtual meeting platforms that we have all grown to love…..

Under Ms Prime’s leadership, Meadowpark has grown into a caring and stimulating provision, and I’m thrilled to be in a position to continue her hard work.   I’m picking up the reins of some very exciting and creative community partnership projects including the extremely worthwhile community kitchen growing project, the new sensory garden, and the amazing 12guitars project.  I’m a better drummer than guitarist, a better guitarist than gardener and a better gardener than cook so I’m sure I’ll be learning a lot of new skills by being involved in all of these projects. Needless to say, the Meadowpark young people will be much better than me at everything!

I know that Ms Prime was a Twitter wiz, but I am afraid I am definitely not.  I am, however, booked in for a Twitter lesson by my Twitter wiz wife so I’m hoping that you will continue see lots of exciting news from @MeadowparkCP as soon as I master #hashbrowns (or something like that).

Best wishes for a safe and happy weekend,

Mr Johnson

Thanks to those of you who managed to join us for our first virtual parents’ evening last night.  I think it was a learning experience for us all, and anecdotal feedback so far has been positive.

Could you please spend a few minutes giving us some formal feedback about how the parents’ evening worked for you, and how we might better improve the experience in future. We are also seeking the views from teachers and from the young people themselves.

Knox Academy will use this information to plan for further parental engagement throughout the Covid19 recovery, but we will also share key points with the other secondary schools in the authority who have not yet had parents’ evenings yet to help them plan for similar sessions.

Thanks again,

Mrs A Clubb

Knox Academy is pleased to invite applications for the following vacancy:

Closing Date: Sunday 8 November 2020

• Senior Facilities Assistant (Meadowpark) - Permanent - Term-Time - Full-Time

All current and previous vacancies can be viewed within our Recruitment section of our website.