Thanks to all of those who helped the S6 run such a wonderful Children In Need Day last week. All told, we raised £1400, which is tremendous. I continue to marvel at the generosity of our school community and at pupils’ ability to harness the energy that it takes to come up with costume ideas etc. Long may it continue.

Speaking of money raised, the Knox Academy Support Group has kindly helped us out with some funding. They have given us £500 towards the new piano and £190 towards the cost of running the Land Yacht Challenge. Whilst we would always look to provide these things for the school from our budget, I am massively grateful to KASG for taking some of the burden – their support (financial and action) is much appreciated. (By the way, KASG are always looking for new members or people just willing to help out at different events, so get in touch with Mrs Ball if you think you spare them some time.)

Last week we had groups of pupils out representing the school in Scottish Rugby Cup games: The U16 team was narrowly beaten by Morrison’s Academy and the U18s were beaten by Perth Academy. Both teams performed admirably and represented the school well. It was also lovely to hear that Scott Thomson (Judo player) has recently picked up two more awards: the first was the Midlothian Council Young Sports Personality of the year award (Scott qualified as his main club is based there and they nominated him) and the 2nd was the British Judo Association Male Cadet Player of the year. These awards round off an amazing year for Scott, of whom we are justifiably proud.

I was also delighted this week to present Saltire Award certificates to four young people who helped out the Haddington and Lammermuir Area Partnership last session. They helped the group develop part of their strategy for meeting the needs of young people in the ward. Hamish Hastie, Lois, Finnie, Abbi Robertson and Emma De Costa were all credited with 25 hours of volunteering. Well done to all four of them, and big thanks for providing their much-needed perspective and advice.

All pupils have been attending assemblies this week to explain about our new Connected Learning Network. This means that pupils can use their own devices on the school-wide Wi-Fi. They should have brought home some letters explaining how to use the network and what our expectations are. We will be giving the senior (S4 to S6) pupils their passwords next week and the juniors theirs by the 7th December. Please bear with us as we are sure to encounter some teething problems. Also, I must make very clear that pupils bring their own devices to school at their own risk – so they should take every care with them (e.g. making sure that they are marked in some way that identifies their ownership of the device).

Can I point you in the direction of the consultation on East Lothian Children and Young People's Service Plan 2016-19? The East Lothian Council Community Planning Children's Strategic Partnership (including health and the voluntary sectors) wants as many people as possible to take part in the consultation on its draft plan for services for and about children, young people and families in East Lothian. The plan sets out proposals for improving outcomes for children and young people's health and wellbeing in East Lothian over the next three years. The consultation is open until 13th December and you can take part at: https://eastlothianconsultations.co.uk/childrens-wellbeing/children-and-young-peoples-service-plan .

The first “Severe Weather Warning” from the Met Office pinged into my inbox yesterday – warning of snow this afternoon. So, on that note, can I ask that parents talk through their plans for what their children should do if we have to shut the school for any reason?

Have a great weekend.

S Ingham