I hope that you, and your sons, have had some down time over the Easter holiday period and that you are ready for another busy term ahead. We are looking forward to welcoming you back to campus tomorrow. We have several new families joining Prep this term, and I know that you will warmly welcome them to our vibrant learning community.

One very welcome change for us all, is that parents are now welcome back onto campus, as restrictions have now eased. For K-2 parents, this means that each afternoon, you are welcome to come into the grounds and wait outside the K-2 Centre to collect your sons. For parents of boys in Years 3-6, the collection point is the Billyard Gates entry to the school.

We will continue to run carlines each afternoon. Parents are reminded that all cars entering carlines must join the queue from Billyard Avenue, not Cleveland Street. This ensures a steady flow of traffic and reduces congestion on Cleveland Street. Bus routes have been impacted by the Station upgrade, but we will send a separate notification with all of these details to parents of boys who are registered to catch the bus.

Wahroonga Train Station is being extensively remodelled and the railway bridge is now open only for traffic flowing from south–north. There is no entry to the bridge for cars travelling north-south, and this will be the case for the entirety of Term 2. I ask that you please consider your travel plans carefully. We will continue to walk the boys to the station during this redevelopment period. This may be a good time for you to consider allowing your son to catch the train to and from school each day.

Thank you to all of the families who have made time to read the Magpie each week and who have provided us with feedback. It is clearly making busy family life simpler, but as always, the format will continue to improve as the publication evolves. Our aim is to have all of the information that you need in one place, with just one notification each week, rather than the almost daily communications that you received previously. The Magpie is published each Monday afternoon during term time. Everything you need for your son’s year group is contained within. As always, please do make contact with us if you have any queries or concerns.

So, we are set and ready to go for another busy term, filled with music, sport and, of course, learning! We are really looking forward to seeing the boys back on campus tomorrow, looking smart in their full Winter uniforms.

Sue Floro

Maths and Reading groups for Term 2
At the end of last term, each year group team completed a detailed data dig process where we look at the areas we are covering in Term 2 and regroup the boys according to their current needs at the time. This is a process called fluid groupings and is a process that happens at Knox Prep across K-6. Your son may have a different teacher for Maths or Reading groups in Term 2. There are a  number of students that were moved around this term in Mathematics in particular. In Mathematics, We are starting with Fraction and Decimals which is a difficult topic to master. We continue to provide each boy with what he is ready to learn next. Home classes will remain consistent.

We will send out the MAP Maths profiles shortly with detailed information provided so that you can see your sons areas of strengths and his area of focus.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me

Tammy Paterson

Upcoming Photo Days
The following photo days will be coming up in Term 2:
Thursday 29 April (Week 2) – K-6 Class Photos, Sibling and Catch up Individual Photos
Friday 30 April (Week 2) – Summer Sport Photos
Monday 3 May (Week 3) – Winter Sports Photos

Please see the attached document for more information.

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope you had a wonderful break with your sons and that they enjoyed some down time over the holidays. A very special welcome to our new boys and families who are commencing their time at Knox in Term 2. We know that the boys will come back to school enthusiastically and ready for an action packed term of learning with their teachers.

Over the break, I had the opportunity to read a variety of texts which I believe are relevant for our boys and their learning journey across their early schooling years. As part of the Prep Magpie over the coming weeks, I will be sharing snippets of information from a number of sources with the hope that these experiences can assist you in promoting independence and resilience in your son.

The first book I would like to recommend is '50 Risks to Take with Your Kids' by Daisy Turnbull. This recently published book provides some great recommendations for age appropriate risk taking for children up until the age of ten. Building resilience is an integral part of the early years learning for our boys. Life will always have its setbacks and bad days but what makes our boys resilient is their ability to cope with these challenges and bounce back with positivity. It’s important to remember that resilience at its core is about learning and growing from an experience (whether that be positive or negative). I implore you to encourage your son to learn from his mistakes and continue to persevere when times get tough. I highly recommend you purchase a copy of this book and explore how your family can implement some of these age appropriate activities at home.

If you have any questions about the resources discussed or concepts raised within these Magpie articles please feel free to be in touch and I would be more than happy to discuss these further with you. I look forward to seeing you all either at the gate or at carlines this week.

Liam Flanagan, Director of Early Learning K-2

Welcome Back Kindergarten Boys
We hope you enjoyed a wonderful Autumn break and that you and your boys had the chance to think about the Easter message and that the Easter bunny found you all. We also hope that your boys are relaxed, recharged and ready to start Term Two. We are so delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community. We welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education, and we look forward to working with you and your children.

All signs point to another incredible and productive school term. Our beautiful boys began our new Knoxigations Inquiry in Term 2 Week 9 called Interconnected Systems. The big idea for this unit is People Work Together in Communities. Our dedicated and devoted Kindergarten team have been busily planning and preparing this exciting inquiry unit for your boys.

Welcome back to Term 2. The Year 1 Team hope you all had a lovely Easter break, found time to relax and spend some quality time together as a family. We are looking forward to a wonderful term of fun and learning with the boys.

As we begin a new term, Year 1 are focusing on being independent learners. We want to continue to encourage the boys to develop their independence by organising their learning space and equipment each day, completing tasks independently, having the confidence to make mistakes and learn from them and having the opportunity to make choices about how they present their learning.

This week we continue to delve into our big idea ‘I Can Protect My World’ by conducting various inquiries about one of Earth’s natural resources, water. The boys will investigate salt and fresh water, and the water cycle, through a variety of hands on experiences. They will keep an online journal of their discoveries and make observations of their findings. We look forward to sharing these with you.

Parent Action Required: ScopeIT Year 2

Welcome to Term 2 of Year 2. We hope that all families enjoyed a relaxing and restful holiday break and were able to use the time to build connections with those around them, including family, friends, grandparents and/or members of our community. The Year 2 teachers are very excited to see our boys' smiling faces as they return to school tomorrow. A reminder for all Knox boys that full winter uniform is to be worn.

As we recommence our learning, students will enter the ‘Sorting Out’ phase of the inquiry cycle where the boys will sort, organise and represent information they encounter throughout their exploration of ecosystems. This week students develop their understanding of the important role climate and rainfall plays in the survival of plants and animals living within an ecosystem. Students will analyse data with a purpose of understanding trends in the climate of ecosystems and the link between these and their geographical locations around the world. Furthermore, the boys will be exploring various biomes using Google Earth and will use their creativity to visually represent the characteristics of these.

Sarah Beaumont-Jones, Year 2 Team Leader

Welcome Back!
Welcome to Term 2. We hope our boys were able to take the opportunity over the holidays to switch off, relax and re-energise by spending quality time with family and friends. We continue to explore our second Knoxigations unit, ‘Tinkering Towards Tomorrow’ and delve deeper into unpacking the big idea ‘Purpose influences design.’ Harnessing the boys’ enthusiasm and providing them with opportunities to apply the skills they acquired from the first unit, will ensure another engaging and exciting learning experience. Please click here for the unit overview.

Winter Sport: Round One
After many weeks of trails and trainings amid great anticipation, our boys will represent Knox in their first round of winter sport on Saturday. If you haven’t had already labelled all clothing or purchased the necessary protective equipment (head gear, mouth guards, shin pads etc.) we encourage you to do so before the weekend. We wish all boys the very best and look forward to hearing about their achievements. As team selections are fluid throughout the season, all boys are encouraged to maintain a positive attitude and wholeheartedly apply themselves each week.

Parent Action Required: ScopeIT Year 4

Knoxigations
A warm welcome back to all our families on what will certainly be a busy, fast-paced Term 2. We are now in full swing with our second Knoxigations unit, ‘Colonisation: Impact, Power Opportunity’. Click here to access our Interconnected Systems Overview to view what the boys will be covering for this unit of inquiry.

Over the holidays our teachers enjoyed viewing their Google Expedition, noting the thorough research of some, the attention to presentation of others and the developing understanding of all. We will be returning these assessments to the boys and we encourage you to sit with your son, considering the feedback provided.

Values Awards
The Year 4 boys have been working hard to earn values stickers. The teachers are always trying to catch the students demonstrating the school values. As a result, we have five boys who received milestone certificates during Term 1. In Term 2, we are hoping to celebrate more milestone achievements.

A warm welcome back to all our families and to those joining the school for the first time. We look forward to seeing all the boys return tomorrow in their full school winter uniform. We trust that the boys had a well-rested holiday and that they took advantage of some of the beautiful weather.

Living Things- Impacting, Changing, Adapting
This term we commence our new Knoxigations inquiry under the ‘Interconnected Systems’ domain. For more information please view the Unit Overview and the Assessment Calendar. Access to these and other resources is available on the Year 5 Page of the Knox Portal under ‘Interconnected Systems’.

Uniform Reminder:
Some boys will commence on Tuesday in their sports uniform as they have PE. With the change of season, we wanted to kindly remind you that your son should only be wearing his sports uniform on his nominated PE day and on the day of his sports training. It is expected that at all other times, he is in his full winter uniform including boater and blazer. Please also ensure that black leather school shoes are worn.

Jared Rastall, Year 5 Team Leader

Parent Action Required: 

ScopeIT Year 6

Global Changemakers Parent Information Letter

Welcome back to Term 2! In particular, we welcome a new family to Knox Prep. Callin Duffin and his family joined 6M in the final week of Term 1 having recently relocated from South Africa. The Year 6 team are very much looking forward to hearing what each of the boys got up to over the holidays and the ways in which they manage to get some downtime away from academic learning.

Knoxigations
Over the coming weeks, the boys will continue to immerse themselves in our second Knoxigations unit within the learning domain of Global Changemakers. Throughout this unit, the boys will investigate the big idea, ‘Artistic expression connects diverse communities’. In the next phase of our learning, the boys will look at different forms of artistic expression as case studies in class. The overarching theme for this unit is the connections we make through storytelling, through which we can develop perspective, empathy and a deep understanding of diversity. Please click here for the unit overview.

Welcome back.
We have a very busy term ahead. Please be sure to check the School Calendar for all sport related items. I will do my best to keep you updated via the Knox app and The Prep Magpie communications.
A reminder that the Track & Field trials continue in Week 2 with Shot Put (please see the calendar for more details) and the 800m trials have been rescheduled to Wednesday of Week 3 at 7am at Gillespie Field.

Week 1 Term 2 – Sport training
As we return to school in Term 2 on Tuesday 20th April, some boys will miss their Monday training session. So that these boys are able to have a training session before their first Saturday Winter Sport on 24th April, arrangements have been made to accommodate this.

Please see the changes below:

Musical Quote of the week
Music is what tells us that the human race is greater than we realise
Napoleon Bonaparte

Welcome back to what will be yet another amazing term filled with music!! This term we will be holding our Band Camp! Please see the date and information below and if your son is in band lock in the date as this is a weekend not to be missed!

Important Dates in Term 2
Week 3
Monday 3 May – Special Photos and music ensembles photos (specific ensembles TBC).

Monday 3 May 6-7pm. Knox Instrumental Concert Series. In Prep Auditorium for students learning the Cello and Double Bass.

Week 6
Monday 24 May. 6-7pm in the Prep Auditorium – Knox Instrumental Concert Series (Woodwind Concert).

Saturday 29 May 1-6pm BAND CAMP at School. Involving all bands.
Sunday 30 May 9-4pm BAND CAMP (with a concert for all parents on the Prep Oval from 4-4.30pm).

Week 7
Monday 31 May. 6-7pm in the Prep Auditorium – Knox Instrumental Concert Series (Piano Concert).

Week 8
Monday 7 June. 6-7pm in the Prep Auditorium – Knox Instrumental Concert Series (Strings Concert).

Overdue Books
There are many books that are overdue and need to be returned to the 3-6 Library. Please ask your son to have a look for books at home that belong to our 3-6 Library and return these as soon as possible

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC)
What a fabulous start to the NSW PRC. Please see the teachers in the K-2 Literacy Centre or 3-6 Library if you need assistance with logging on and adding books to your reading record.  To complete the challenge, K-2 boys must read or be part of a shared reading experience of 30 books. Boys in Years 3-6 must read 20 books independently.

Please email Mrs. Wheatley if you are new to Knox this year and have completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge at a previous school. We are able to merge any previous challenges completed to your Knox account.

Upcoming School Photo Days

Year 2 Scope IT

Year 4 Scope IT

Year 6 Scope IT

This is my commandment: love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater, love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15: 12-13

We are pleased to announce that the Knox ANZAC Service and Parade will go ahead on Sunday 2 May 2021 at 8.30am with some modifications and restrictions. All students in the Cadet Unit are expected to attend this event.

Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, we will be limiting spectators to two tickets per Year 11 and 12 Cadets, Pipes and Drums, Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Gallery Choir students only. We will continue to monitor government advice and recommendations, and should more tickets become available, we will update parents. We apologise for any disappointment this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

The service and parade will be live streamed here.

If you have any questions, please email events@knox.nsw.edu.au.

We are so excited to be able to welcome parent volunteers back on campus to assist in the Tuckshop from the start of Term 2, 2021. The return of volunteers is subject to continued stabilisation of local and state health requirements regarding COVID-19.

We greatly appreciate our volunteers and their contributions to our School community.

Helping out in the tuckshop is very rewarding experience and a great way to meet and socialise with new friends. If you are able to volunteer in the Prep School Tuckshop, please click on the following link here.

Please click here for the latest notification regarding the Wahroonga Station upgrade.