Last week saw extra-curricular activities start for 2012/13 at Knox Academy, with many of our pupils choosing to attend one or several of the clubs on offer at the school. Once again we look for help from parents/carers in encouraging pupils to become involved in extra-curricular sport and activity as a means of contributing towards a healthy and active lifestyle. In particular I would like to encourage pupils to try the Table Tennis and Racketwall clubs, especially those pupils not involved in any other type of school sport. Both table tennis and racketwall can be played with little or no experience, and place more of a focus on skill development than physicality. That said both activities are fantastic work outs, as well as being great fun. Table tennis and racketwall run on a Monday approx. 4-5.30pm in the Small Gym and Games Hall respectively.
I would also like to ask parents/carers to encourage pupils who have signed up for team sports to make every effort to attend training and make themselves regularly available for matches. While we understand and encourage the benefits of a varied social lifestyle, too many pupils who sign up to play basketball, football, hockey and rugby regularly miss training sessions and games. This makes it extremely difficult for the team to develop and as such both the players’ personal development and team performances are suffering. Poor results can often be put down not to a difference in natural ability, but to the commitment and desire of players to attend training and improve. For information, our sports teams train on the following days and times;
Basketball - Boys Tuesday 4-5.30pm, Games Hall: Girls Thursday 4-5.30pm, Games Hall
Football - U13s, Tuesday 4-5.30pm, School Pitches
Hockey – S1, Monday 4-5.30pm, Aubigny: Seniors, Monday 5.30-6.30pm, Aubigny: S3, Tuesday 4-5.30pm, Aubigny
Rugby – S1-S3, Mondays & Wednesdays 4-5.30pm, School Pitches
On the subject of team sports, our hockey teams are once again struggling for adult help. NQT Geography teacher Miss Stobie has very kindly agreed to coach the new S1 team, however unfortunately there are no other staff in the school with a background or interest in supporting school hockey. Unlike other sports, the local hockey clubs are also struggling for players and coaches and are unable to help more than they already do. Therefore we are targeting parents/carers as we try to increase volunteer numbers within school hockey. All players will shortly be given a letter with information on how to become involved in school hockey and I would appreciate it if you took the time to read this information and contact me if you feel you are able to help in any way.
Our school teams got their season started over the weekend with home matches. Unfortunately our S3 hockey team were heavily beaten by their Firrhill counterparts; onwards and upwards for them! Our S1-S3 rugby teams combined to take on and S1/S2 mix and an S2/S3 mix from Preston Lodge. Both teams lost narrowly in what proved to be two fantastic games of rugby and despite the results there were a lot of positives to be taken from the first game of the season.
This weekend the senior hockey team play Firrhill at home, 10am pass-back at the Aubigny and the rugby teams play Musselburgh at home, 9.30am kick-offs at the school. Please encourage all players to make themselves available, and your support is always welcome to cheer the teams on. We would appreciate all parents/carers reminding pupils they must return a Parental Consent Form signed by a parent/carer before they are able to participate in after school clubs. Failure to return this form means your child/ward will not be able to attend extra-curricular activities or represent the school in matches.
Finally, I would like to extend my congratulations to Holly Taylor and Emma North who have been chosen as the school’s Young Ambassadors for the year. Holly and Emma were selected ahead of many other high quality applicants and had to explain in detail why they wanted to be a Young Ambassador, why they felt they would be good in the role and explain their sporting backgrounds. Holly and Emma will now be partly responsible for driving and promoting sport and physical activity within the school and East Lothian, and I look forward to working with them during the remainder of my time here.
As always, if you would like to contact me for any reason, please do not hesitate to do so at the details below.
Many thanks,
Andy Lambert, Sport & Physical Activity Coordinator
t: 01620 823387 m: 07769428526 e: alambert@elcschool.org.uk
