We aspire to provide all our learners with access to the highest quality of learning and teaching alongside a mix of evidence based Autism specific approaches in order to maximise their success and encourage achievement in its broadest sense.
Our aim is to help all our pupils be the best they can be as:
To celebrate St. Andrew’s Day today we all attended an assembly from Tyne class this morning who proudly talked us through their IDL project on Scotland and the Picts. Pupils have been fully immersed in this topic and have created a Pictish village; Pictish messages used Ogham script, and discovered where the army settlements could be located. All pupils were able to talk about their project and relate to the Knox Academy values of respect and community identifying that the Picts had a strong sense of community and showed respect to their environment and each other.
I discovered similar values when covering Esk class this week when we explored more about the lives of the Viking race, who contrary to popular myth did not wear horned helmets and wave axes around but were a peaceful, community focused people who loved exploring the ocean, working collaboratively together to develop tools for cooking, storing and preserving food and of course fishing. Read more here...Newsletter 30.11.18
After much Tweeting since last Friday’s Children in Need I am delighted to report that Meadowpark pupil, staff and visitors raised £166 which is an outstanding achievement #what we can do #wecandoit. Huge thanks to parents who provide sweetie bags and cakes to sell, and for supporting such a worthy cause. Our next venture will be to raise funds for Meadowpark!
Miss Cook was in Meadowpark on Wednesday for a meeting and asked to pop into classes to chat to pupils and staff. We had a serendipitous moment when entering Tyne class. Following an incident last week which had upset a number of pupils, Miss Cook and I walked in to see L explaining through the use of Emotion Works how the situation unravelled, how they felt about things, what was said and by whom and who helped L to feel better. Read more here...
A bit of a catch up this week as the Meadowpark viral menace had me bed-bound last Friday.
There are a lot of good things to report on though which is exciting. Mrs Davis and I met with Max Sykes from Canon two weeks ago to request cameras to assist with recording and evidencing of activities and research related to SQA Personal Achievement Awards. Max has been a huge support to Meadowpark since we came into existence in 2015 and although hasn’t been directly involved, facilitated Katy Tunstall’s guest appearance in July 2017 with the pupil support team from Knox Academy which was hosted here and was a massive boost to all staff and pupils at the time. The good news is that Max was able to confirm this week that Canon will be generously donating 10 cameras to Meadowpark pupils so that they can express themselves digitally where often the voice becomes a hindrance. We are absolutely thrilled about this and look forward to sharing our story with Max and the team at Canon on how well our pupils progress. Read more here... Meadowpark newsletter
Masterclasses began in earnest this week and again I was delighted to see how quickly and easily pupils moved to their Masterclass room and engaged not only with the lead teacher, but with other pupils. I certainly had my skills challenged when I took over the Languages option as Mr Gilmour has been unwell this week. It is a very long time since I studied German, but was able to use the wonders of the internet to create a lesson introducing numbers and a little flavour of the German culture. What struck me was that all pupils were on a level playing field when it came to learning numbers 1-10 and all pupils put in a tremendous effort that they were rewarded with merits which go towards Knox Academy Personal Achievement Awards that are presented in the summer term at Awards Ceremony, so I am hopeful we will again see a large representation from Meadowpark pupils there. Read more here...Newsletter 02.11.18
The North wind has already delivered its first chilly bite this morning, but the school was warm and cosy for us coming in. Temperatures are set to plummet over the weekend and into next week and therefore will be a shock to us all so can I ask that all parents and carers bear this in mind. Many young people with autism are unable to self-regulate body temperatures and have to be told to put on a coat or a jumper. Some genuinely don’t feel the cold but this doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be suitably attired. Our kayaking programme will be continuing and staff, parents and pupils have all been reminded to wrap up warm, whether going on the water or watching from the side-lines, substance over style is the order of the day. Read more here...Meadowpark newsletter 26.10.18
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