As one of the boys said to me today, “we’re back at it Ma’am - full steam ahead!” and he couldn’t have been more right. The last few weeks have flown by and the holidays seem a distant memory! The boys are all in the swing of things and the locker room has been a frenzy of activity as they move between classes and activities. I have been incredibly proud of the way they have conducted themselves so far and will continue to have high expectations as we move into the business end of the term.

This week I spoke to the boys about the importance of behaving in a manner that is reflective of our core values and beliefs. It is important that our behaviours, mindset and traits all reflect the shared understanding that we have at school. The Classroom Learner Protocols and School Values document that your son would have or will be bringing home to show you was created by students and teachers and reflect these shared community behaviours. These behaviours are not hard. They are expected of the boys, especially as they transition into their role as senior students of the School. Some of the areas I focused on this week were asking boys to:

-greet staff when you see them and have a conversation.
-ask someone how they are.
-believe that if you give it your best and you work with your teacher, your academic marks will improve.
-listen to feedback and embed it, rather than dismiss it.
-respect and listen to your classmates, knowing that you can learn from others.

Each week I will focus on some more of these behaviours and I encourage you to have a discussion with your son about the benefits for them and for the community in supporting these protocols.  

I hope you all have a great weekend and stay dry in the wet weather. 

Vicky Cowell

Week 3 and all things sport well so it seems.

All boys in Years 7-12 have been sent an email with a link to an electronic form to enable them to select their Winter Sport choice. This must be completed by Friday 21 February. The email is from forms@edsmart.com. If the email has not been received please contact the Sports office. All forms are due to be submitted by Friday 21 February.

Any boy that missed Knox Swim trials on Saturday 1 February  has one last chance to qualify on Monday 17 February from 7am in the Knox pool.

Come along and support our 1st and 2nd Basketball teams Vs Trinity this Saturday. 2nds commence at 10am and 1sts commence at 11.15am.

Congratulations to the following Year 10 boys who have been selected to play in the CIS Under 17 Water Polo trials on Monday 24 February at Knox: Daniel Chivers, Lucas Banfield, Aiden O’Neill, Harrison Miller and Alexander Mercer. Shadow player: Jett Robens.

Knox International Women’s Day Breakfast 2020 - Tuesday 3 March – Save the date!

Our guest speaker will be Sallianne McClelland, who is the Development Director Women's Community Shelters and founder of ‘Mobilising for Mogo’. This would be a great opportunity to participate in this annual event with your son.

Venue: the Great Hall Foyer from 7am-8.15am

Cost: $20 per person and a light breakfast is included. Payments can me made via the Knox Payment Portal. Go to the Knox Payment Portal and click on ‘other activities’ and scroll down to the International Women’s Day Breakfast.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Rebecca Smith: 9119 0882

Assessment tasks and Illness/Misadventure Appeals (IMA)

As the boys approach completing their first assessment tasks of the year, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our assessment policy and Illness Misadventure Appeal process. Our policy is informed by best practice and the NESA requirements in Stage 6 (which requires medical documentation completed by the practitioner to approve on the basis of illness); we are committed to ensuring an equitable assessment experience and the IMA application policy, among many others, supports the academies to make special considerations to help your son achieve his academic personal best, wherever appropriate.

An abbreviated explanation of the Stages 4 & 5 IMA policy and procedure as it pertains to both hand-in and in-class assessment tasks can be found below:

If illness or misadventure prevents your son from attending or submitting an assessment task, an Illness/Misadventure Appeal (IMA) application together with relevant documentation (such as a medical certificate or an explanatory note from the parent/guardian) must be submitted to the SAO within one week of the assessment task date, to avoid a task penalty. 

As per our Assessment Policy:

• Late completion of an in-class assessment task without an approved IMA or leave form may attract a 10% reduction of marks.
• Late submission of a hand-in assessment task without an approved IMA may attract a 10% reduction of marks per day for two days. If the task is submitted more than two days late, the mark reduction will be determined by the Head of Department and Director of Studies on a case by case basis.

Please refer to the Assessment Policies and Procedures booklet that has been made available on the portal for more in-depth explanations.

Assessment Schedule for Term 1 (by Date)

The 2020 Assessment Schedule and Assessment Related Policies and Procedures booklet was sent via the newsletter and is available on the portal. The assessment schedule provided in that document is sorted by subject; however, I have created a quick reference of the assessment schedule, by date, for use when applying for leave.

Note: assessment dates are subject to change; official due dates for all tasks will be noted on the respective assessment notification. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they have read and understood the notification.

Afterschool support in the Middle Academy

We are pleased to offer flexible working spaces for the boys to use after school until 5.15pm in the Middle Academy every Monday through Thursday – there are beautifully designed alcoves, break out spaces, charging stations, conference tables and handheld white boards available for the boys.

In addition to the general supervision in the space, we are pleased to offer specialised English and Mathematics support on Monday and Wednesday afternoon, respectively, in our learning space on Level 1 (AGC 205).

• The English department is offering a drop-in support offering Mondays from 4pm-5pm; students must attend for the full hour but are not required to sign up or attend every week.
• The Mathematics department is offering Maths support on Wednesdays from 3.30pm-5.15pm; students can come at any time between 3.30pm - 5.15pm and are asked to bring home learning or revision to work through.

Learner Protocols, the Knox APA, and Academic Reports – Request for participation in Focus Groups

I have been honoured to work alongside many of our School's inspiring leaders and thought leaders as we consider how best to communicate your son’s achievement in our termly reports. A literature review was conducted and the team has been inspired by the Chicago Consortium’s Learner Protocols, which outlined some of the most meaningful contributors to students achieving their academic personal best. You may be familiar with the Learner Protocols as we have started using them in our pastoral care programs and as contracts with students at the commencement of 2020 – we are looking to enhance our academic reports and APA to pivot from these contemporary research findings.

If you are interested in participating in a focus group Tuesday 18 February from 7.30am - 8.15am regarding the Learner Protocols, the Knox APA and our Academic Reports, please email me and indicate if you have any dietary requirements.

On behalf of the team, I am very excited to consult our parent community to help co-construct reports that are increasingly useful and are underpinned by our Total Fitness and Education for the Future models.

Jake Plaskett

During the career assessment last week, it was mentioned that there would be an Information Session on Tuesday 18 February. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this information session has now been cancelled. However, the full presentation video is available on the Career Avenues website.

I encourage all students to view this presentation prior to the interview as it will assist them to understand preference styles and hence have a clearer understanding of how it relates to them.

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, the career interviews will commence on Monday 24 February until 18 March. The interview booking site will open on 18 February at 8am. Students should have received an email from me with their login details, PIN and the link to the PTO site. Parents are welcome to attend the interview and interviews will take place on level 2 of the Academy of Global Competency. Parents attending the interview are required to sign in at reception prior to meeting their son outside the Years 7-10 locker space a few minutes before their scheduled interview time. Students are required to email me if they are unable to attend their interview day/time due to absence from school. Please note that the interview bookings will be opened progressively during the interview period, with interview availability being staggered a week at a time.

I hope the students will find the Career Avenues feedback interview process informative to assist them to make important decisions around subject selection and careers.

Friday 14 February

Knox at Home 2020

Thursday 27 February

Doing da Vinci day

Friday 28 February

Elevate

Monday 2 March

Battle of the Bands - heats

Tuesday 3 March

International Women's Day breakfast

Thursday 2 April

AFX commences

Saturday 4 April

Year 10 expedition

Thursday 9 April

Term 1 concludes

Monday 27 April

Term 2 commences

The Senior School Tuckshops have a number of vacant spots which we are desperate to fill. If you are a new parent or an existing parent, helping out in the tuckshop is very rewarding experience and a great way to meet and socialise with new friends.  

To volunteer, please click on the following links:

Term 1

Term 2

Term 3

Term 4

If you have any questions about volunteering in the tuckshops, please contact Caron Suleyman, Tuckshop Convenor at tuckshop@knox.nsw.edu.au

Please note that the Photography and Digital Media classes have been moved to Thursday afternoons due to a scheduling conflict. The details for the two Art Classes are as follows:

Photography and Digital Media

Date & Time: Thursdays 3.30pm-5.00pm

Location: Art Building (VG02)

Cost: $50 (see link below to sign up)

Ceramics – Hand Building

Date & Time: Thursdays 3.30pm-5.00pm

Location: MK12

Cost: $50 (see link below to sign up)

To sign up for either of these, please follow the process explained here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nQdWVRruzwaHY154Ti4ogTzKE6wTHbj9/view?usp=sharing

The Middle Academy is launching an ambitious project to refresh our Service Learning Program in 2020. We aim to engage all Year 10 students with local and national community organisations in order for the boys to fill these organisations’ needs. This will involve staff and students working directly with the organisations to identify areas of need and design and deliver products, services or initiatives for the organisations.

In order to ensure an effective program for both the students and the organisations, Knox is encouraging all community members with connections to community organisations, Rotary clubs, non-for-profit organisations and special interest groups to reach out to us with the hope we will be able to fill a need for the organisations.

Some examples of potential projects might include:

·         Design and deliver a new awareness campaign

·         Webpage design and publication

·         Developing a fundraising initiative

·         Creation of a community mural to replace graffiti

·         Providing IT support of senior citizens

We are encouraging community organisations from all walks of like to reach out to Knox. An information evening for all potential organisations will be held on Wednesday 26 February from 6.30 – 7.30pm.

If you have a connection to an organisation you think may be able to benefit from our project, please reach out to Tom Waterhouse, Director of Student Development Stage 5 or RSVP for your organisations here .