Today, as we navigate through uncertain times, our students are showing that the worst health crisis in memory is no match for this proud and active generation of youth. When we get through this crisis, I am sure that history will show that the world’s young people helped to build a bridge from fear to hope and from confusion to understanding. The courage of our students gives me confidence that young people can manifest the best in humanity – and that is a light that will shine for generations to come.

As we approach our centenary, the School must continue to focus on developing young people who are mentally fit and resilient with a sense of relative optimism and courage.

While issues confronting the community today are different to those encountered almost 100 years ago, our approach to engagement, partnership and support remain as strong as ever.

Our course will run on either a Tuesday or Wednesday or both mornings, starting at 7.30am, once minimum numbers are confirmed.

A minimum of seven students, and a maximum of ten, ensures individual attention. The course costs $300 for seven sessions of 45 minutes.

The Introductory seven week course includes a tub of theraputty, that is designed to improve hand muscle strength and fine motor skills.

Availability of places is dependent upon a first come first served basis. All students who miss out on a place in Term 3 will be placed on a waiting list.

Should you be interested in pursuing this option for your son, please contact Rebecca Papageorgiou in the Learning Enhancement Department ASAP.

Food Drive - thinking of those in our broader community
Traditionally in the winter months, we do a food drive of daily staples for Sydney families who are struggling and living in very challenging conditions. The following non-perishable donations may be handed in to the SAOs or Mrs Clarke's office: long-life milk, cereal, coffee, tea, cans of meat, vegetables, fruit and/or soup, cup of soup, dried fruit. Note: no glass items, please.

The Knox Social Justice Club
The Club is meeting as a group again each Friday at lunchtime in the WSA Auditorium. Updates are still available in the e-Club platform. Please email Mrs Clarke for more information on how to join or volunteer. 

We collect a gold coin donation at each meeting to support projects for Youth of the Streets.

This collection of information is approved via the Australian Education Act 2013, and data supplied will remain compliant with the Privacy Act 1988. Census date for 2020 is 7 August.

Please click here for further information.

A decision has been made to cancel the 2020 IPSHA track and Field Championships. As you will understand, this is not a decision that was taken lightly, and it reflects the apprehension felt by all primary school sporting bodies, that an event that brings children and adults from all around the state is not viable at this time. Whilst it is terribly unfortunate that there is no representative pathway, and therefore no formation of a Prep Athletics Team, this year, we may have the opportunity to take some boys to an invitational event that is scheduled, but not confirmed at this stage. Mrs Dewar will be in contact with the details if this event does go ahead.

Parent Teacher interviews are scheduled to take place during the course of next week, and all interviews will be conducted via Zoom. Whilst all of our teachers got to know many of you so well during our period of online learning, this is a good opportunity to discuss your son’s performance, the strength of his approach to learning, and his next steps for Semester 2. The anecdotal correlation between a boy’s level of performance and the approach he takes to his learning is strong. It is something we are beginning to monitor closely, so that we can effectively strengthen each boy’s skills and then performance. The teachers are looking forward to reconnecting with you next week to discuss your wonderful boys!

Finally, a warm thank you to all who are using the car lines each afternoon. While it took a few days to set the process into action, it is relatively smooth sailing most afternoons. I am sure that you will be interested to know that each afternoon, two of the criteria we use for assessing how well this complicated operation has gone, is the number of beeping horns that have been sounded, and the number of dangerous 3 point turns that are attempted (attempted, rather than performed, because it is a highly challenging manoeuvre in such narrow streets!) . Clearly, the lower the number, the better! We achieved zero beeps for three consecutive days but, alas, the beeping returned on Tuesday this week. Whilst this paragraph is written in a somewhat tongue in cheek vein, it is really an appeal for patience. We are doing our best to clear the campus as quickly, but safely as possible, and we thank you, most sincerely for your ongoing support of us as we do.

Research has shown that patience is more of a muscle than a skill. In children, it takes practice as well as plenty of positive reinforcement and there are often multiple times a day where you can reinforce patience with your children!

Start expecting small doses of patience from a very early age. Children find it hard to conceptualise the need for or benefits of patience. Not only is their concept of time not quite developed, but neither is their sense of delayed gratification. When you set a timeframe for something, they’re going to ask if it’s time yet…frequently. Stay patient, kind, and positive when they ask, even if it’s for the twentieth time. Remember, they’re not trying to wear you down with their questions—they simply don’t have the capability to conceptualise time yet. It is important to reinforce the idea that waiting is a positive experience.

Thank you for your patience!

Reading the storybooks aloud is an interactive component of the program where good reading is modelled, vocabulary is developed, retelling the story is practised, as well as, literal and inferential comprehension skills are focused upon. It also provides the perfect opportunity to extend their language abilities as questions are open-ended and analytical.

The boys find the storybooks engaging as they actively listen for the three highlighted vocabulary items. The chosen vocabulary are words they are not necessarily exposed to on a daily basis, such as ‘humid’, ‘sneaks’ and ‘inspected’ with child-friendly definitions given. The boys’ responses to the stories are heartfelt as they make connections to their own world experiences, explore different feelings and emotions and build a rich and expressive vocabulary.

We are really excited to see so many Year 1 boys completing the Premier's Reading Challenge. We are also enjoying hearing about all the reading experiences the boys are having at home. Being a good reading role model for our boys is so important and another way we can do this is by modelling and valuing the importance of reading each night as part of homework. All boys need to be reading their Home Readers to an adult each night for 20 minutes. Home Readers are changed each Monday and Thursday.

Over the next few weeks we will be completing our Knoxigations Sustainable Solutions Inquiry. The boys will be given the opportunity to reuse and recycle materials to create an item of use or purpose for others. The boys will be asked to bring in materials from home for this. More details regarding this will be sent home later this week.

Kindness will be an ongoing focus for Year 2 throughout Term 3. The old adage of ‘kindness is contagious’ is one that we are hoping to instil in our boys, reminding them of the power that one kind act, one kind word or one kind smile can have to change someone’s day. The K-2 ‘Wave of Kindness’ is beginning to take shape and we are encouraging our boys to be ‘unsung heroes’, as no act of kindness is too small. We are especially concentrating on what it means to be kind to others and the many ways we can show kindness to our friends, other Knox students, to our teachers and to our families. In the K-2 Centre all K-2 boys will be adding their acts of kindness to the ‘Wave of Kindness’ in the void. This value is more important than ever in these challenging times, please take a moment this week to speak with your son about the importance of kindness in our world and if possible, watch the following clip on being an ‘Unsung Hero’.  

Just a reminder that Parent Teacher Interviews will be conducted next week. If you haven’t yet booked, there are still times available. The Year 2 Team is looking forward to speaking with each of you and discussing the ways in which we can work together to assist your son to achieve his personal best throughout the remainder of the year.

On Tuesday 4 August the Year 3 Parent Teacher Interviews will be conducted online via the Zoom. Each interview will run for a maximum of 10 minutes and the necessary Zoom links for all of the Year 3 teachers will be provided to parents over the coming days.

As part of the current Knoxigations unit of inquiry on ‘Sustainable Solutions’, students are eagerly working on their overall assessment task related to the Big Idea, ‘Energy Innovations Sustain Our Future’. The boys have been challenged to propose the installation of several renewable energy sources in a particular location, whilst demonstrating their understanding of specific criteria related to how the energy sources work and why they were chosen.

All students are very much looking forward to being able to share their work with you over the coming weeks.

Dates for the diary:
• Tuesday 4 August – Year 3 Parent/Teacher Interviews (online)
• Friday 7 August – Jeans for Genes Day initiative
• Monday 17 August - Friday 21 August – Prep School Science Week
• Wednesday 19 August – Years 3-6 Winter House Gala Day
• Monday 21 September – Wednesday 23 September – Years 3 and 4 Musical performances
• Thursday 24 September – House Cross Country Carnival
• Friday 25 September – Term 3 concludes

If you have any queries with upcoming events, please do not hesitate to contact your son’s classroom teacher or me.

Recycling
You may have seen and heard about recycling at Knox Prep as we work to reduce 20 bags of rubbish to 1. We encourage our boys to consider how they can reduce their impact on our environment by re-using and, when not possible, recycling into the proper bins. We hope that you can reiterate this important message at home.

Letters to Year 12
Late last term, our Year 5 boys each wrote a letter to our Year 12 Knox boys. The letters were in response to some that we received just after the period where we were learning online. Our boys really enjoyed reading the letters and wanted to reply – sending our  Year 12 boys best wishes for the upcoming trial exams. We are hoping that this will be the start of a new tradition.

This week, we continue our Stories of the World and its People unit of inquiry. This unit of inquiry focuses on human rights issues from around the world and some of the indigenous cultures from different parts of the globe. The boys have an extremely good knowledge of these issues and the focus of this unit is to give the boys a global perspective of some of the basic rights that all human beings deserve. As we continue through this unit, the boys will begin to identify one particular individual who is known for standing up for the rights of others and completing a research task based upon the life of this particular person.

Just a reminder that Parent Teacher Interviews will be conducted next week. If you haven’t booked in yet there are still times available. The Year 6 Team is looking forward to speaking to each of you and looking at ways which we can assist your son develop throughout the remainder of the year.

This week the Senior School will hold their Track & Field Championships at SOPAC with a record 420 entries. The vibe around our Athletic program is continuing to build and attendance at training for all comers is an indication the boys are enjoying their Athletics and giving it their absolute best to be a part of the Knox team at CAS later in the term. Please help us encourage your boys to come and participate in the program and let our experienced coaching staff help your boys get fitter, faster, stronger and compliment their current sports program whilst also prepare for the summer ahead.

On Thursday all boys will be asked to start considering their Summer Sport in the Senior School with a link to register by no later than Friday 14 August. Could you please take the time to help your son choose carefully and avoid anyone wanting to swap sports later in the season. We have an obligation to commit teams into a draw with CAS and sport changes are simply unacceptable after 14 August.

This week in the Senior School we host CAS friends Cranbrook School across many sports. A note will go to all parents later in the week with details from all schools and their own policies around spectators.

Have a great week everyone and Go the Black & Blue.