On Wednesday 19 May, four pupils from Knox Academy each paired up with two Primary 6 pupils from Knox Academy’s cluster schools for the heat of the “Little and Large” cooking competition.

Contestants were required to make a pasta dish and a tasty Angel Delight crunch. The winners were Ben Nisbet from Knox, with Emily and Claire from Kings Meadow Primary School. They were then able to progress to the finals on Thursday 17 May where they faced teams from Ross High, Preston Lodge and Musselburgh Grammar.

In the final, the teams were given the choice of cooking dishes from China, India, Mexico or Italy and for desert, a chocolate pizza decorated with fruit. The Knox Academy and Kings Meadow Team decided they would choose the Indian plate. After chopping, stirring, burning, washing and serving up, it was time for the judging to begin.

The judges who had been monitoring our progress throughout the cooking time tasted our dishes. Once each dish had been sampled they gave us the results. Everyone was congratulated and told how well each team had done.

The winner was then announced: Knox Academy and Kings Meadow had been successful! They had won! The team were all very happy about their results. They received a trophy to keep for the year and a smaller plaque for the schools.

The competition had been so close. A judge later told us that if she had been served the winning dish in a restaurant, she would have been very pleased.

The event was an incredible success and everybody had fun cooking and creating.

Ben Nisbet 3G1 / (New) 4G1

Thank you to all the parents/carers who contact Knox before the school day to inform us if their youngster is going to be absent.  Sometimes the telephone lines are very busy and your patience is appreciated.  We also appreciate the letters sent in with pupils when they return to school.

Following a telephone call, pupils are recorded as having a verbal explanation for absence, however a letter from their parent/carer is required before the reason for absence is confirmed.   If absences remain unexplained they will be changed to ‘N’ for ‘unreasonable excuse’ or ‘T’ for “truancy’.

For pupils in receipt of an Educational Maintenance Allowance, absences can affect the payments they receive.

Please help us by:

• Continuing to contact the school before the school day if your son/daughter is going to be absent (the office is open from 8 am).
• Sending notes regarding appointments in to school at least one day before the appointment (including child's name and registration class).
• Sending notes when your child returns to school (including child's name, registration class, dates of absence and reason for absence).
• The school now accepts absence notes via email.  If you wish to do this please email knoxacademy@knox.elcschool.org.uk with your child’s name and registration class in the subject line.  

Your help is most appreciated.

The Admin Team
 

A reminder that the current S5 (new S6) return from Study Leave on Tuesday 8 June 2010.

All pupils in the new S6 are expected to attend school at 08:44 am for their Induction Day.

Our journey to Shetland began on Sunday 9 May at 10 am, when we set off from Knox by minibus bound for Aberdeen.  It took us about three to four hours to get to the ferry in Aberdeen.  The journey from Aberdeen to Lerwick, via Kirkwall in Orkney,  took us fourteen hours, but the ferry provided enough entertainment to satisfy everyone.  This included a cinema, a bar area, restaurants, an arcade and a deck that gets very windy!

Once in Lerwick we had a short wander in the fresh air.  Strangely enough the weather was constantly shifting but we still got to see some seals.  Before we headed to our hostel, we went to the Shetland Museum that contained exhibits about the history of Shetland and its inhabitants.  After spending some time in the museum, we headed to our hostel.  The accommodation was moderately comfortable with plenty of space to muck about in.  For the rest of the day, we tried to play rounders on the beach but the tide was too high so we skipped stones on the water for a while.

On Tuesday we went to the shopping area of Lerwick to purchase souvenirs.  The shops there were decent and had a colourful variety of products to buy.  In the afternoon we went to see Puffins at Sumburgh Head followed by a visit to a 18th Century Croft House and Watermill.  The lichens growing on the walls around Sumburgh Head were not yellow and powdery as in Haddington, but light green and bushy.  Before heading back to the hostel, we had a quick game of rounders and cricket on the beach.  If I hadn’t known where I was, I would have said that the beach was in a tropical region.

On Wednesday we headed for Unst, the most northerly inhabited island in the United Kingdom.  This involved two short ferry crossings from the mainland of Shetland.  Once there, we walked through the Hermaness nature reserve to see Muckle Flugga and its stack.  This really is as far North as the United Kingdom goes.  Whilst on the nature reserve we saw Bonxies – or Great Skuas – huge brown birds that swoop and shriek at visitors.

On the final day we went to another museum in Lerwick and to do some last minute shopping before setting off home.  The journey on the ferry was only twelve hours as it went straight from Lerwick to Aberdeen.  Arriving in Aberdeen at 7 am we set off for Haddington.

An enjoyable trip had by all.

William MacIntosh-Smith and Mr Jappy