All the World’s a stage… even the classroom

So session 2008/2009 has begun and it’s all go already! I feel like i’ve been back months!

Knox Academy are offering Higher Drama for the first time and our cohort of pupils doing the course are brilliant with some really exciting script writing ideas taking place now for their Investigative unit. The Standard Grade students are underway looking at characterisation and S2 are already using all they have learnt from first year to produce some excellent work. So we are already well underway for an exciting way.

Some exciting things to look forward to in this session

Junior Drama Production - TROJANS

The House of Troy have abused their position for too long. They deny the Youths their rights, have destroyed society and squander the country’s wealth on a stalemate war with Sparta. Enough is enough! While the Royal family plan a big party, the Council of War plan one final assault on the enemy and as Princess Cassandra tries to appeal for peace the Youths are preparing to fight back. Will the House of Troy fall? Will the rebellious Cassandra jump? Will Helena be returned to Sparta? All will be revealed in this powerful drama that takes the legends of the Trojan Wars and throws them into the madness of the 21st Century.

Senior Production - The Crucible

Well today seen HRH Queen Elizabeth II open the new Queen Margaret University Campus in Musselburgh.

Knox Academy were honoured to be invited to the opening and we took six members of our student council to the State visit. Representing Knox were our Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Boy, A representive from 4th year, 3rd year and 2nd year and were accompanied by Ms Duff (PT Citizenship) and myself. I think I am correct in saying we were the only school representing East Lothian. The pupils were brilliant and really looked great in their Dress code and made their first public outing as the new student council at Knox. I’m sure the Queen was happy!

In previous posts I have spoken of the great work the final year students of the Drama and Theatre Arts course have done with the Drama pupils at Knox in the Mussel-In project. Today seen their efforts recongised as they performed right in front of HRH Queen Elizabeth (she was sitting in the front row and one wrong kick from dancing chip man in the play could have caused damaged!)

It’s not everyday you get to perform for Royalty and the pupils from Knox Academy shone in their role and the Queen seemed to enjoy it giving them a round of applause after their production.

I would like to thank once again the Students from QM who have worked so hard with our pupils, thank you. I would also like to thank every Knox pupil who represented their school today on stage or off. We may not all be Royalists but at least this is a memory we won’t forget.

(on a different note… very sad to be back as an ex graduate knowing that the school of Drama is no more but also interesting to see that most visual displays were all from the School of Drama! mmm interesting!)

So I have now, successfully, finished my first year at the fantastic Knox Academy and all I can say is roll on next year. Looking back over the past year I can honestly say it has a pleasure to work such committed teachers and amazing pupils.

Highlights this year include:

• Setting up my studio with my posters and visual aids and meeting my classes
• the S6 Pantomime ‘Cinderella’. A great rehearsal period and production that went down well with everyone who seen it. Great songs, dances, acting and great audiences.
• The senior play ‘In Holland Stands a House’. The pupils really took on board the challenges of staging a small intimate studio performance. This play also was the FIRST production at Knox Academy and we made the audience cry!
• Holocaust Memorial Day - An emotional experence enabling every pupil in Knox look at the themes of the Holocaust through the eyes of young people. It was great to see all our hard work pay off during our assemblies and the wall of silence that hit you after the string group stopped playing.
• Working with students from Queen Margaret University and enabling our young people to create an Award Winning piece of Drama.
• Creating the ‘Across the Pond Theatre Project’ with Carol in America which aims to enable our pupils to engage in various arts form from other countries.
• Seeing the department grow from just teaching S1 and S2 and S6 to having Two Standard Grade Drama classes and a Higher Class as well as two senior Acting Classes and the S1 and S2.
• Having two students accepted in Scottish Youth Theatre Summer School
• Fantastic trip to London with S2/S3 pupils.
• Seeing two students leave Knox Academy and pursue a career in Drama at Drama School.
• Attending my first Knox Academy Prom Night.

What am I looking forward to in session 2008/2009

• Higher Drama Investigative Drama performances in Oct.
• Senior Play (More News Later)
• Junior Play (More News Later)
• The First Knox Academy Musical (more News Later)
• New York, New York! CAN NOT WAIT!
• working with my two Standard Grade Classes on exciting projects.
• Creating more work with ‘Across the Pond’
• Possible exciting trip for Activities Week to the birth place of Theatre.

The Future is Bright… The Future is DRAMA!

I would like to take this time to say a few thank yous and goodbyes;

Thank to Mrs Craig who has fully supported me in everything I do and who’s door has always been open. Mrs Black for being my Faculty Head and dealing with any issues as soon as she could. To my wonderful pupils who with you I wouldn’t want to be in this job, you inspire the Drama we create and your ability to take everything I throw at you is amazing. Loving your work. To the S6 students of 2007/2008 - you were fantastic to work with. To all the staff at Knox who have helped pupils engage in Drama or who have supported the department. To you my readers (do I have any??? lol) a blog without readers is like an play without an audience.

Goodbyes! (CRY)

To Claire; thank you so much for all your help with the Pantomime and all your ideas for dance. You’ve been great to work with. To Andy, Fiona, Gill and Katie; You are great and will be a loss to Knox! All the best!

So that’s it! We’re off now for seven weeks - meeting the Queen on Friday with pupils and that’s my final duty of this session. Again thank you everyone and I will see you all in Session 2008/2009 - which to be honest… looks like another great year at Knox Academy!

Having made many great friends in my first year at Knox I am saddened that for four of them in my faculty they will be leaving at the end of this session as they were NQTs and there isn’t jobs available for them at our school or region.

It must be concerning for them and many others when they look at TES and see no jobs or very little jobs coming up each week for their subject and knowing that come August thousands of new NQTs will be starting schools over Scotland.

Universities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are still accepting lots of people for various courses only for no jobs to appear when the pass their NQT year. The Scottish Government has stated that jobs will be available… in a few years! Would you find a new career for a few years and return to teaching? would you?

It is slightly concerning that there is about 50 secondary Drama NQTs starting this year; is there 50 jobs for them? mmmm I don’t think!

Anyway… ‘BBCs Question Time’ is hitting Musselburgh on July 3rd! apply online here to be an audience member and make teacher unemployment an issue! I’m there! oh and don’t get me started on funding for the ARTS in Scotland!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As you have read in my previous post; pupils created an Award Winning Drama with Students from Queen Margaret University. The Mussell-Inn project has been an amazing opportunity for our pupils and they have gained a lot from the experience.

As a school, Knox Academy, has created a great relationship with the people running the project and has been great, as an ex graduate, to see the excellent work of the tutors continue in this difficult time (see No room for the arts).

We recieved good news on Friday that our students will be performing the award winning Drama for the Queen on July 4th. Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II will open the University and she has asked to see the Drama. This is a great expereince for our young people and they are very excited about the opportunity to act infront of her.

In a recent post I spoke out a collaborative projected between Knox Academy and Queen Margaret University. 10 pupils from S1 worked with final year community theatre students from the BA(Hons) Drama and Theatre Arts course. The final piece told the story of a small town in East Lothian called North Barr.  The pupils worked really hard and seeing the finished product was a joy to watch with some great storytelling and imagery used. A big thank you to the four students from QM who worked really hard on their project to make it a success. It gave our pupils a real chance to shine and show the people of East Lothian the talent we have here at Knox Academy.  The ‘Mussel-In’ project received the Santander Community Award for contribution to their local community with Knox Academy sharing the award. We are over the moon for all those involved and again a big thank you to everyone who supported the project. The four students who created the project should be very proud of their work and I’m sure we will see them nuturing the young talent of Scotland in the coming years.

Sad news leaked today that East Lothian’s new educational institute - Queen Margaret University - is to axe its School of Drama and Creative Industries! There are only two ‘conservatoire’ training schools in Scotland for Drama; Queen Margaret and The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Both schools have been under threat with RSAMD having to cut £600,000 from it’s budget next year. As an ex graduate from Queen Margaret I am devastated, gutted and emotional by this new direction. The School of Drama has been on a downward slope since leaving the Gateway Theatre on Elm Row to join the new campus; students have had to put up with cramped working conditions, non sound proof studios, no theatre and non creative surroundings. Having already had two students begin their training at Drama school, one starting this year and being a teacher of tomorrow’s creative artists I am left without words at what this country is doing to our future. A very sad day indeed for our future artists. for more details click here for the article in the Scotsman.

So the BBC are now doing a new talent search; first Maria, then Joeseph and now they are looking for a Nancy and an Oliver to star in the new West End production of OLIVER!

The final 12 girls have been announced and I am so happy that my friend from Drama school at Queen Margaret University has made it through to the finals!

Ashley is totally amazing and gives her all in everything she does! She constantly makes you laugh and has a voice to die for! She was two years below me at Drama school but we got on so well; we both loved ‘Sex and the City’. She played the role of Ida in our production of HONK! and sung ‘All the wasted Time’ at the showcase for her year!

I really hope she gets the part! She is the only Scot in the contest and John Barrowman has said she is his favourite to win! So fingers crossed!

Hope you will all get out your phones and VOTE for her! She has done a lot, gave up a lot and has the passion to do this.

I’ll be having ‘I’d do anything parties’ at school!

Find out more about the talent search here and hear Ash sing here

I have recently read an article printed in TES in 2003 by members of East Lothian council based at Dunbar Grammar School. It made me think…

I graduated from University of Edinburgh in 2005 and was placed in a council that had went down the faculty route and am now at a school that has also went down the faculty route, I haven’t known anything else.

I’m in the expressive arts faculty, before I was in the communication faculty (English, Drama and Modern Languages). I have to say on a personal level that I much prefer being in the Expressive Arts faculty, as creative people we can bounce ideas off each other.

I’m intriqued to know what others think of the system, do people want to talk about it? Is it a taboo subject? Can we openly discuss it? (if not… i’m in the dole que)

There are pro’s and con’s to the faculty system…

Pro’s

• We can discuss national objectives together and create cross curricular links
• CfE works better within the Faculty remitt
• Schools are able to save money and work round budgets
• PT faculty links are managers of people

Cons

• As a single person department I am doing everything really that an old PT used to do; create courses, manage daily running of dept, link for students re SQA etc
• Teacher on normal payscale
• PT Faculty has little subject knowledge of department (is this positive or negative?)

I have found it interesting to see some councils in the West and up North going back to PT subjects and the majority of City of Edinburgh schools staying with dept PT’s.

Will the faculty system survive? Can it?

I really think it depends on the school - in my current school, within my faculty, I think it does work however I did not feel like that when I first came into teaching.

How can we improve the faculty system? I honestly feel each dept should have a link teacher that liases with the PT Faculty that is in charge of running of dept, courses, subject knowledge etc (in theory this link teacher would act as head of department) but then defeats the point of faculties doesn’t it?

hhhhmmmmm…. where to I stand on this?! who knows! I find it interesting though… next discussion… Higher Still!!!!!!!!

AS you may see from previous post I am in the middle of Directing ‘The Women of Lockerbie’. This is becoming part of my life just now as a strive to take in every aspect of the disaster and understand what happened.

I came across this amazing website about a monument created by a mother of one of the victims. Suse’s amazing piece of art shows 76 larger than life size pieces, each portraying a mother or wife at that moment when they first heard the awful news of the death of their loved one to that terrorist act. This is powerful stuff.

I contacted Suse last night, moved by what I had seen and she sent me the most wonderful email giving me more hope about my project than I had before.

Please see her site here