A very warm welcome back to the new academic year after what I hope has been a happy and restful summer. And an especially warm welcome to those of you who have just joined the Knox Grammar community – you are extremely welcome and I hope you and your sons have a very happy time here.

Unfortunately, the challenges of COVID-19 are still very real and something that we continue to deal with. Whilst our focus is on teaching and learning, the School will remain vigilant in ensuring we follow the latest health advice to support the health and safety of our community.

Once again, our 2020 graduates demonstrated just how talented they are with the release of the HSC results. This group of young men made a wonderful contribution to Knox, and what shone through was their incredible resilience. While the boys were constantly challenged in every respect in 2020, they proved they are strong and capable leaders. As a group they were supportive, cohesive and caring; they worked and studied as a team and supported each other to improve their performance individually and collectively. The teachers, with their high expectations of the boys and themselves, selflessly worked to ensure each boy was fully supported in his learning. Parents and carers partnered with us, entrusting the School to enable their sons to flourish and realise their potential. The outstanding 2020 HSC results can be attributed to our strong community.

Congratulations to the boys, parents and teachers.

As we commence the new academic year, I am filled with optimism. Knox is a School “on the move”, modernisation is everywhere, there is courage, purpose and, above all there, is great confidence in the future.

Our ‘Knox Total Fitness’ model of education focusses on developing great boys into great men who are mentally fit and resilient people with a joy for life, a sense of purpose and a sense of relative optimism.

Ensuring that Knox delivers an education which is superior and substantive is our goal – our single purpose. I look forward to continuing to journey further with all of you as an integral partner. By working together, we can optimise our ability to live our mission, become our vision and achieve our educational purpose.

On behalf of the School and School Council, thank you for entrusting us with the education of your son. I am certain 2021 will be a successful and educational one for all of us.

Scott James

To plan ahead for the year, please refer to the 2021 Term Dates on the Knox website here.

Applications for our 2022 scholarships are now open.

Knox Grammar School offers an extensive range of scholarships with remission of tuition and boarding fees up to 100%. The scholarships are for boys entering Year 5, Year 7 and Year 11 in 2022.

The scholarships available for entry to Knox in 2022 are:

• Academic
• Music
• All-Rounder
• Sons of Old Boys
• Boarders (from regional areas)

Applications close Friday 19 February 2021. Scholarship exams will be held in Sydney and Dubbo in early March 2021.

For more information and to apply, please visit www.knox.nsw.edu.au/scholarships.

If you have any questions, please contact the Head of Enrolments, Martin Gooding, or phone +61 2 9473 9768.

The following statement is provided to all families with respect to insurance cover for their son(s) while they play sport at school.

Please note that the FlexiSchools cut-off time for placing orders has been changed to 7.30am.

The Knox portal and our other online portals, such as Parent Lounge, can be accessed at knoxnet.knox.nsw.edu.au.

School App for K-12
The Knox Grammar School app allows you to stay informed about the School. Keep up to date on everything from Sport and Co-Curricular, to the newsletters and school calendar with instant notifications. You may install the Knox Grammar School app which is available for download from your app store. Please use the following instructions to download, install and set up the app:

KGS School app download instructions

Parent Directory
The Parent Directory is designed for parents and guardians to optionally share contact details with other parents/guardians.

Parents/Guardians may 'opt-in' the Parent Directory accessed via the Knox Parent Lounge. It is an ‘opt-in’ system and requires that you select which contact details (if any) you wish to share with other parents/guardians.

Please be advised that the Parent Directory is to be used for personal, private use only and is not to be shared with third parties. By agreeing to share contact details through the Parent Directory, parents are enabling other parents and guardians at Knox Grammar School to view their details and possibly make contact.

Parent Lounge User Guide (see page 6 of this user guide on how to update the Parent Directory)

If you have any issues logging into Parent Lounge please contact the Knox Helpdesk.

Welcome, everyone, to the new school year in 2021. I trust you had a nice break over the Christmas holidays and are excited for the school year ahead.

The Knox Parents' Association (KPA) is a very active group made up of parent volunteers from all year groups from Kindergarten through to Year 12. As a Knox parent you are automatically a member of the KPA. The KPA strives to create opportunities for parents to actively engage in the school while building connectivity and community across the parent network. Obviously COVID-19 has and will impact our ability to run events that have proven to be successful community-building opportunities. The KPA committee will continue to work with school leaders and communicate with parents when opportunities to safely gather together can again occur.

Parent Community Meetings are hosted by the KPA once per term. Currently due to COVID-19 restrictions these meetings are live-streamed. You are welcome to join and hear from the Headmaster, members of the Executive Team and invited speaking guests at these meetings through the year (details for the February meeting are included below). This is your opportunity to listen to school leaders and ask questions and discuss issues that are important to you as parents.

Follow Knox on social media
From time to time, photos and videos of Knox students are published online via Knox social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vimeo.

If you have any questions, please contact the Communications Department.

David Hayes, Media Communications Manager

Trading Hours
Monday to Friday: 12.30pm-5.30pm
Saturday (Terms 1 and 4 only): 9am-12noon

Phone (02) 9487 0191 or visit the Knox website here for more information.

Julie Blackburn, Knox Uniform Shop Manager

If your son is unable to attend School, please use the Knox Grammar School app, or contact the Prep School Absentee Line on 9473 9302.

The School uses an SMS notification system for unexplained student absences. If you have not notified the School about your son’s absence from school, we will send you an SMS reminder to contact the School.

During the academic year, a number of key events are captured by professional photographers for families to view and purchase online. Galleries from the end of Term 4, 2020 include Presentation Day for Senior School and Knox Preparatory School.

To access these password protected photos, please go to the Knox portal and select the photos tab from the main page.

A push notification is sent via the Knox Grammar School app when a new gallery is available. Please use the following instructions to download, install and set up the app on your mobile device.

If you have any issues logging into the Knox portal, please contact the Knox Helpdesk.

Eileen Aroyan, Publications Manager

Please ensure you are familiar with our key policies and documents which are available on the Knox website here.

Welcome to the first edition of the Prep Magpie. Whilst it might seem a strange name for a newsletter publication, it has its founding in the very first steps to a school magazine, a 13-page typescript called 'Magpie' published back in 1926. It is both an interesting and stark realisation, to know that the magpies that rule the airspace (and at particular times of year, the oval space as well) predate all history of Knox Prep on the site. It is little wonder they’re so territorial!

Our aim in this new weekly publication, is to centralise all communication to you. We are conscious of the overwhelming and seemingly endless barrage of communications that we send you, on almost a daily basis, and this is our attempt to streamline it, so that you know that on a Monday afternoon, you will get one publication that will have links to everything you need to know, need to complete and need to give permission for.

Of course, the success of this initiative relies on us all playing our parts – we need to meet the deadlines to get information in each week; and we ask that you please read it! We thank you in advance for taking the time each week to attend to the information that is contained within.

It has been wonderful to see all the smiling boys faces as the boys came back through the school gates for their first day of the year. The teachers are very excited to get to know all your boys as they begin their journey in their new year group. Over the coming weeks there will be opportunities for you to gain more information about your son’s year group and to spend some time with your son’s class teacher. With this in mind, please think about the information you wish to convey to your son’s teacher to ensure they can start the year smoothly and that staff can put into place learning experiences which work best for your son. The teacher/parent relationship is of vital importance, particularly in the early years. We look forward a wonderful year of learning with your boys and look forward to sharing with you the positive learning experiences he has here at the Prep.

On a personal note, I look forward to getting to know all the wonderful K-2 families. Thank you so much for all those who have welcomed me so warmly at the gate. Please do come and introduce yourselves when you get the chance.

K-2 Messages
• Birthday Treats – small birthday treats, commercially packaged only, may be sent in for the boys to share on their special day. Please do not send in gifts for the other boys in their class.
• Afternoon Pick up – if you have a son in K-2 and Years 3-6, the K-2 boys will be supervised at the K-2 Centre until their older sibling finish school at 3.05pm. They will then walk to the car lines together to be collected.

Liam Flanagan, Director of Early Learning K-2

It was wonderful to spend last Wednesday and Thursday meeting all the Kindergarten boys and their parents. Collaboration between all stakeholders is the most important aspect of meeting a student's every need. The Kindergarten teachers enjoyed being able to chat and spend some one on one time with the boys as a start to getting to know them. Thank you to all the parents for attending.

Our first official day of school on Friday was filled with much anticipation and excitement. The boys looked so grown up and ready to take on the world in their Knox summer uniforms, showing great courage as they bid their parents farewell when the bell rang. They showed much calmness and steadiness, bringing positive energy. We all had a fun day reading stories, singing songs, learning rhymes, painting hands, role-playing and constructing. It was a great beginning for their first day of Kindergarten and we look forward to a fabulous year of exploring, discovering and learning together. Friday was very wet and one of the boys suggested jumping in puddles during recess and lunch. It would be fantastic if all Kindergarten boys could bring a labelled pair of gumboots and a spare pair of socks to school so they can play outside together when it is wet. 

Welcome to 2021 and Year 1! The Year 1 teachers are so excited to be a part of your son’s Year 1 learning journey and look forward to working with you this year.

We have had a great couple of days getting to know the boys and cannot wait to watch them grow and develop this year. The Year 1 team are looking forward to meeting all our parents over the next couple of weeks. If there is a need for contact us before this time, please feel free to email your son’s teacher. Communication between you and your son’s teacher is a critical element that supports your son in having a happy and successful year.

Welcome to 2021 and Year 2! The Year 2 teachers are excited to begin this wonderful learning journey with you and your son this year. A wet few days to begin but the smiling faces of the boys were on full display as they met their new teachers and classmates.

Homework and Home Readers will begin in Week 3 and further information regarding these can be found in our welcome letter. On the second page of this introductory letter is a questionnaire that we would greatly appreciate you completing (either digitally or by printing) and returning to your son’s classroom teacher. This will enable us to gather pertinent information and make the required accommodations to assist your son to succeed.

Parent Action Required: 3-6 Swim Trials 2021

A special welcome to the new families joining Year 3 this year. This is a year where boys begin to display their independence coupled with increasing maturity, further their love of learning and strengthen their friendships. We are sure you will relish the Knox experience.

We have received the majority of stationery packs and we are now organising, labelling and allocating the subject areas to the materials. If you have not had a chance to order these, please do so by the end of this week.

Parent Action Required: 3-6 Swim Trials, Year 4 Camp

Welcome to Year 4! This is an exciting time in the boys’ schooling as they are now familiar with the routines and expectations of the primary years and can really focus on developing their maturity as young gentlemen who are inquisitive, resourceful, resilient and motivated. We especially welcome the new families joining us this year. We are sure you will relish the Knox experience.

Class Homework will be posted on the Knox portal each Friday and your son will need to hand this in on the following Thursday. This provides time for him to complete the work when it suits both his and your family’s schedule. Please inform your son’s teacher if you feel this homework needs to be adjusted in any way. Homework will begin in Week 3, Term 1. We will be conducting some lessons in regard to study habits to support the homework program.

Parent Action Required: 3-6 Swim Trials

Welcome to Year 5 2021 and to what will be an exciting and adventurous year for your son. A particularly warm welcome to our new families joining us this year. We know that you probably have lots of questions, some of which might be answered through our welcome letter and general information about Year 5. We value open and respectful communication with parents, recognising it as an essential component of your son’s success at school. 

Thank you for supporting us in preparing the boys for the first week back at school. We have been busy preparing books and equipment for Term 1 and we have also enjoyed getting to know your son better through a range of activities. The boys will certainly be kept busy this year and I will therefore endeavour to keep you informed about events throughout the year. Please refer to the Prep Magpie and the Knox portal as a first point of call.

Parent Action Required: 3-6 Swim Trials

Welcome to Year 6! This is an exciting year in the schooling lives of your boys, whether it is your first year at Knox or your final year in the Prep School. The Year 6 team and I look forward to supporting your children as they strengthen friendships and continue to develop their love of learning. It is a year where we look to the boys to demonstrate their growing maturity and leadership skills as the leaders of Knox Prep School. We have no doubt that the boys are ready for the challenges and opportunities that will arise this year, including leadership programs, peer mediation and in their learning.

This section of the newsletter will contain recent correspondence to parents requiring action.

Term 1 Cocurricular Clubs

Years 3-6 Swim Trials

Year 4 Rathane Outdoor Education Camp

The journey of a lifetime starts with the turning of a page.
Rachel Anders

Welcome to the Library. We look forward to sharing our love of books with all of our students.

Infiniti
The boys in Years 3-6 are able to access our Library Database System, Infiniti, from home. Infiniti is an online electronic database that lists the resources within our Prep libraries. Students can browse through the catalogue, make reservations and check their loan records. To access Infiniti at home, go to bit.ly/knoxpreplibrary. Access is available for students only as they are patrons of our Library. Your son will need to log in using his Knox email address and password.

Ensemble News
All Bands and Strings start back in Week 2 of this term. If your son is in an ensemble and you haven’t heard from their ensemble director, please email Mrs Morris or, if it is a string enquiry, email Ms Irik. If you have enrolled your son in Choir, sadly our choirs will hopefully commence later this term. Currently there will be no choir rehearsals until the COVID-19 restrictions ease. We will keep you updated via the Prep Magpie when choir recommences.

If you are unsure of what ensemble your son is in this year, or would like your son to join an ensemble, please email Mrs Morris.

Prep School Saturday Sport Protocols

A few important announcements were made over the break by the NSW Government regarding sport and COVID. Knox can confirm the following for Prep sport on Saturday.
Each school will have a different policy with regards to the number of spectators in the coming weeks. It will be important to carefully read the information each week and ensure you are aware of where your son is playing his fixture.

Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9